All right, let's turn to Luke
chapter six. Luke chapter six. You remember
our last study from three weeks ago, I guess. Today, we were
talking about the Lord choosing his apostles and named
them apostles. He chose them to an office and
then called them apostles. And then right after that is
where our lesson this morning takes up in Luke chapter 6 verses
17 through 26. And he came down with them and
stood in the plain and the company of his disciples and a great
multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem And from
the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, to be
healed of their diseases, that were vexed with unclean spirits. And they were healed. They were
healed. And the whole multitude sought
to touch him. For there went virtue out of
him, and healed them all. Now you remember, I wanna stop
here for just a second. You remember the woman with the
issue of blood. She said if I could just touch
the hem of his garment. And she did. And she was cleansed
and it said the Lord felt virtue go out from him. What is virtue? What's he talking about there?
Have you ever looked at righteousness? Virtue has to do with righteousness,
and it also has to do with righteous authority. You marry someone
and you say, by virtue of the authority vested in me. You're
talking about a righteous authority, a power to do these things. Virtue came out of him. For there went virtue out of
him and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on
his disciples and said, blessed be ye poor, for yours is the
kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now,
for you shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now,
for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men shall
hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company,
and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the
son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap
for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, For in the
like manner did their fathers unto the prophets, they did the
same thing. But woe unto you that are rich,
for you have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full, for
you shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now,
for you shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you when all men shall
speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
Now, with each of these blessings, he also counteracts with a woe. And it's pointedly the very opposite
of the blessing. Did you notice that when I read
through there? They're the very opposite. Now, when our Lord
came down with his disciples into the plain, he'd just chosen
them to be apostles. Highest office in the church.
This isn't a day when nobody even knew what a church was.
This is the beginning of the New Testament. This is the beginning
of the gospel age, if you will. And some of these men would be
used to pen Holy Scripture, and all of them would be used to
preach the gospel of Christ and establish churches throughout
that part of the known world, I suppose you could say. And
these 12 and all true believers are going to suffer persecution
in this world. Their families would suffer for
their sakes. They had family members who weren't
preachers. They had family members who weren't
believers. They had family members that
were just family. And they would suffer persecution
because of what these men preached. Their names would be slandered
because of what these men preached. Their friends, their friends
would shun them, just as Job's did. He had friends, ate with
him, came to his house, feasted with him during birthdays and
things that he had, but as soon as the Lord allowed him to come
down with these boils and this great disease, Well, they started
pointing the finger. What did you do? What did you
do? You done something wrong. Called
them miserable comforters. And they were. There are going to be times that
you're going to ask yourselves, have I done the right thing? Did I really hear the truth?
Have I made the right decision? Did I join a true church? Is
this thing really of God? Am I a true believer? Would these
things happen if God were with me? And so our Lord gives him four
situations, four conditions, four blessed evidences of God's
blessing. He's gonna tell, he's gonna put
them in this situation and he's gonna He's gonna tie this in
as a blessing. He gives them four things. Four
distinguishing characteristics of all true believers and four
opposites which characterize all them that believe not. So
let's look first at the true believers. In all four things,
he calls them blessed. Blessed, blessed. He chose us
in Christ before the foundation of the world in order to be blessed. Isn't that what he said? Blessed
be. Blessed. Blessed with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ according as he has chosen us
in him. He chose us to bless us. But it didn't feel like a blessing
when he was despised and rejected of men. And his apostles looked
on. They wasn't expecting that. even
though he told them. They weren't expecting it. They
were expecting him to be exalted. They were expecting him to rise
up and take the throne. And he would, but not that throne
in Jerusalem. He gonna sit on the throne of
God. But it didn't feel like a blessing when he was despised
and rejected of men, but it was. It didn't seem like a blessing
when he went through the agony of the cross and they were spitting
in his face. slapping him and whipping him.
Didn't seem like a blessing, but it was. It was. And my point is this, you can
be blessed and not know it. Not know it. I've seen people
weep and mourn that were blessed and just didn't know it. Just
didn't know it. You can be blessed and not feel
it. and you can be blessed and still
be miserable. To rejoice in the blessing, you
have to have knowledge. You have to understand what the
blessing is and what the blessing's all about. Paul said we glory
over in Romans chapter five. We glory in tribulations also
knowing You don't just glory in the tribulation, you glory
in the tribulation knowing there's something you need to know. Knowing that tribulation worketh
patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope
maketh not ashamed because of the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. That's
why we glory in tribulations, because we know what they're
all about. We know what they're for. It's like that old rock,
and it's got gold in it, but it's full of dross. And so they
put it through the fire, and they separate the gold from the
dross. And that's what happens in trials. He burns up those
things. He destroys those things that
you had hope in, and they were nothing but old dirt. That's
all they were, just old dross. And he burns those things up
in them trials, and he leaves nothing left but the pure gold.
Pure gold. So here's the first word of blessing.
Luke chapter six, verse 20. Blessed be ye poor. for yours is the kingdom of God. Now, I could go through a long
debate, I suppose, or a long talk to show you that this is
not the Beatitudes. If you want to read the Beatitudes,
you can go over to Matthew and you can read them. But those
Beatitudes were delivered on the Sermon on the Mount. He ain't
on the Mount, he's in the plain. And he's picking these things
and he's talking to them about these things because he's chosen
them to go through these things. They're holding an office in
the church and they're gonna suffer some things for it. And
he's gonna talk to them about it. There's no blessing in physical
poverty. Sometimes physical poverty was
given as a judgment of God upon men. It's not always a blessing. And in his Sermon on the Mount,
he said, blessed are the poor in spirit. The poor in spirit,
those who have been taught of God concerning the total depravity
of this flesh. And certainly this applies here.
But here, he's addressing a physical poverty, but one brought about
by the grace of God. By the grace of God. Matthew,
or Levi, as he's called in Luke chapter 5, it says he left all. What did he leave? He left the
best job he ever had. He was a tax collector. He was
plugged into society. He could make money, Russell.
He knew what to invest in, what not to invest in. He had friends
in high places. He had money. That's obvious. He throwed a feast for everybody. He left all, Winston. He just
packed up, left off, and there's no other way to follow the Lord.
Now you might not have to. He might not require that of
you. But he's gonna require a willing spirit. And I guarantee you,
if it's an issue, you're gonna have to. You're gonna have to. It was an issue with the rich
young ruler What must I do to inherit? Well, you can keep the
law. Oh, I've already done that. Well, then you won't have no
problem with this. Take all that you have and sell it and give
it to the poor. All his holdings, everything
he worked a lifetime for, and then take up the cross and follow
me. Now, if you can keep the law, you can do that. But you
can't keep the law. There's no other way to follow
the Lord. When he sent out his disciples
to preach over in Matthew 10, verse 10, here's what he said
to them. I'm gonna send you out, and don't
you pack no gold when you go. Don't put no gold in there. Don't
put any silver in your purse, not even brass. Don't even take
a penny with you. No script. for your journey. Don't take an extra coat and
don't even take an extra pair of shoes. Boy, that wasn't me,
was it? I had the whole truck filled
full of shoes and clothes and coats and everything in the world. When he sent those apostles out,
he said, don't you even take an extra pair of shoes. Just
take one coat. Don't take no money. The blessed poverty is those
who have left all in obedience to Christ to assemble with the
saints and to be blessed with a word from God. This is what
they seek. They're seeking God's will. They're
seeking God's glory. They're seeking God's way. And the way of God is to sit
under the gospel. That's the way of God. The way
of God is Christ. He is the way. If you're hearing
anything else, you need to go where you're hearing nothing
but Christ. He's the way. And we give up all in order to
do that, if it's required. And preacher or hearer, in most
cases, results in a poverty compared to what they once had or maybe
once could have had. It's a poverty. I know lots of
preachers that are making $80,000, $100,000 a year, some of them
more than that. Now they're making $30,000. That's poverty compared to what
they had. They still had food on the table,
they still can raise their families and got people to take care of
them, but I'm just simply saying what he's talking about here
when he's talking about poverty, he's talking about a willful
poverty. putting yourself in a position
where there's nothing out there, nothing this world can guarantee. And what of them that don't have
to move? Well, I think you'll find it impossible to climb any
kind of a social ladder and confess Christ at the same time. You
try it. Oh, is that what you believe?
Let me put you over here on this list. That's how it goes, ain't it?
You're a little strange, they'll look at you. And I'm pretty sure even if you
have a little money, you'll have a poverty of friends and a poverty
of family. Blessed be ye poor, for yours
is the kingdom of God. And then secondly, here's another
blessing, he tells them. Blessed are ye that hunger now. Ye should be filled. And again,
the Beatitudes of Matthew say who hunger after righteousness. All believers who are poor in
spirit, who understand something of the depravity of the flesh,
they hunger for righteousness because they can't produce it.
And because they've learned that it's the free gift of God. And
they hunger for it. They want that. I can't produce
one. Man at his best states altogether
vanity. All my righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. I don't have a righteousness.
And if I do, it's his righteousness. But those who willingly, knowingly,
lovingly follow after Christ will often experience physical
hunger. Physical hunger. And not to any
extreme. I don't want you to think I'm
saying this to any extreme, but I've experienced this in my ministry.
I've experienced this. I wondered where the next meal
was gonna come from. Listen to this. Paul said, I
know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere
and in all things I am instructed both to be full, now listen,
and to be hungry. God's already instructed me as
to these things. Both to abound and to suffer
need and both have a purpose. That man who is hungry for Christ's
sake, he's blessed of God. And those who hunger now shall
be filled. God'll provide them bread, just
as he did Israel in the wilderness. Spiritual and physical. And believers
are men and women who willingly deprive themselves of that which
otherwise would have been theirs, lawfully theirs. And they could
have enjoyed it, but for the gospel's sake, They put themselves
in a position where they could hunger. Where they could hunger. God gave me no guarantee when
I came down here that I was going to have food on the table. He
gave me no guarantee that this church was going to support me
and grow in their support and grow in membership. I didn't
have no guarantee of anything. But he did. But he did. And that's what he's telling
you here. They're gonna be filled. They're
gonna be filled here, and they're sure enough gonna be full there. And then thirdly, verses 21,
the last half of the verse. He said, blessed are ye that
weep now, for ye shall laugh. The lives of all true believers
are filled with tears and weeping. Weeping over our sins. My sins,
oh, oh my soul. My sins. No matter how much I
try. No matter how much I strive.
No matter how much I read. No matter how much I preach.
My sins. Oh, wretched man that I am. That's what Paul said. And he
was an apostle. Oh, wretched man that I am. We
weep over our sins and weep over our children. I see my children
and they're leaving these things. They're leaving the gospel. They're
leaving the blessings of God and they're going out here and
finding hope in the world and comfort in the world. And I weep
for them. I weep for them. Weeping over the loss of our
loved ones. We weep for them. We know the
end, don't we? We know what it is to die in
your sins. And it's an awful thing. It's
an awful thing. It makes me sick when I go to
a funeral home and hear them talking about how blessed they
are. And these people had no interest in Christ whatsoever. And when we weep in our ignorance
over things we ought to rejoice in, we weep. And like everybody
else in the world, we experience sorrows and sicknesses, pain,
bereavement, broken homes, wayward children, and earthly troubles.
We all do. We all do, and we weep. But unlike
this world, we have a God who said he'll wipe away all tears. And he'll wipe some now, but
he'll wipe them all in that day. Our God shall wipe away all tears. Scripture said, those who sow
in tears shall reap in joy. And then it says this, weeping
will endure through the night, but joy cometh in the morning. And those whose weeping is scent
of God is a blessing, and they'll one day laugh. They'll one day
laugh. They'll laugh at themselves. How foolish was I? How foolish
was I? My soul, we serve a risen Savior. He's seated at the right hand
of God. He spoke this universe into existence. You don't think
he can give you a piece of bread? He said in Romans 8, he who spared
not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not also with him freely give us all? We ain't gonna spare
you a hamburger because he didn't spare his son. He ain't gonna
spare you anything. It's just unbelief and doubt.
And when we see the blessing, we'll laugh. We'll laugh at how
foolish we were. And then fourthly, verse 22.
Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company, Get out. I've heard that before. Get out. We don't want you anymore. We don't like you anymore. We
don't like what you're saying. We don't like what you're doing.
Get out. Get out. Blessed are you when men shall
hate you and when they shall separate you from their company
and shall reproach you. And listen to this, cast out
your name as evil. He's a evil man. He's an evil
man. For the son of man's sake. Listen to this, 1 John 4 verse
4. Ye are of God, little children. Now he just spent four chapters
telling you what that is. You are of God, little children,
and you have overcome them, these false prophets, these false teachers.
You've overcome them, worldly ministers, because greater is
he that is in you than he that's in the world. God has taken up
his abode in you. It's God's light shining in you. It's God's grace working in you.
Greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. Verse five, they are of the world.
What's he talking about? Well, they're of the world in
their nature. They walk according to the course of this world.
They're of the world in its curse. under the judgment of God, a
fallen nature, depraved. They're of the world and the
influence of the world. Satan has an influence on this
world through antichrist religion. And you can even go, you can
go into the worst bars around and you'll hear men in there
talking like they know God. They're of the world, therefore
speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. They
love them. They'll listen to them. They'll fill up synagogues. They'll
fill up cathedrals. I guarantee there's one over
in Shreveport on Erie Drive that covers three city blocks. I guarantee
you that place is full this morning. They're of the world, and therefore
the world heareth them. Now watch this, verse six. We
are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. He that's not of God, heareth
not us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error. And those who cannot and will
not hear the truth, they hate and despise them that do. They're
no middle ground. No middle ground. They hate their dogmatism. My
sister used to tell me all the time, why are you so dogmatic? I said, I'm not, the scriptures
are. Scriptures are dogmatic. I don't have any right to change
scripture, do you? No. They hate their dogmatism. They hate their harmony with
the truth. They hate the fact that you can go in here and verse
after verse after verse after verse. and show them, and they
can't show you a single verse supporting what they say. They
hate that. They hate their attitude. They
don't like your attitude. They don't like that gracious
attitude that you have. But most of all, they hate your
God. They hate your God. And what
seems, at the time, accursed is in reality a blessing. And
then let me close with these four woes. Remember he talked
about the poor. Blessed be you poor. That's the
first thing he said. Now watch this. Verse 24. Woe unto you that are rich. Rich. You got rich because you didn't
go where you knew you had to go. You stayed there for the
money. You stayed there for the security. Woe is you. Woe is you. You have what you bought. You're
reaping what you sow. Woe unto you that are rich. Like the Laodiceans, they said,
we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing
and knoweth not that thou art wretched and poor and blind and
naked. It's a great woe to be content
with this world. Now there is a godly contentment,
which is great gain. But that contentment has to do
with being poor and still being content. To be hungry and still
being content. Content in whatever state I'm
in, that's what Paul said. I've learned, I've learned this. It's a great woe to be content
with this world, comfortable in your situation without Christ. Happy in a false sense of security. And the contented of this world,
he said, they have their consolation. You better enjoy it because that's
all there is. That's all there is. Be no consolation
in the next world. Be no security in the next world.
You got all you're going to get right here. And then secondly,
he says, woe unto you that are fools. Now he says this. Just as he
said that blessed be the hungry, those that hunger. And now he's
saying, woe unto you that are full. The full soul, the scripture
said, loatheth even the honeycomb. He don't want the honeycomb.
He don't like even the light bread. My soul, how good does
bread smell when it's baking? Back in the old days, they'd
bake that bread and then brought it out and served it. It was
still hot. A fool's soul doesn't even want any. I don't want none
of that. I don't need Christ. I don't
need his blessings. I don't need no church. I'm self-sufficient. Woe unto those that are full. I just need the things that I
have. No hunger after spiritual thing. No need of a pastor. No need of anybody's understanding. No need for God to reveal things
to you. He's full. He's full. And there's
a woe on him. And then watch this. Woe unto
you that laugh now. Those who find themselves above
all danger, secure and satisfied. safe in the refuge of lies, looking
at the world and laughing at eternity. My oldest brother used to tell
me all the time, he said, well, at least in hell I'll be in good
company. I said, you won't have no company
in hell. Uh-uh. There won't be no fellowship
there. There won't be no fellowship
there. Laughing at the world and laughing
at eternity, laughing at judgment, laughing at the danger. Those who laugh now, weeping
is their future. He said he cast them out into
outer darkness where there's what? Weeping and wailing and
gnashing of teeth. Ain't that what it says? You're
gonna weep then. You laugh now. And the bars are
full of people down there laughing this morning. They're laughing,
just laughing, having a good time. But they'll weep in eternity. And then finally he says, woe
unto you when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their
fathers to the false prophets. There was a time when I was scared
when every preacher I knew spoke evil of me. I was seeing things
in the scriptures that I'd never saw before and was just, I wasn't
being dogmatic about it at all. I just was asking them questions
about predestination and election and so on. And boy, they tagged
me and the three or four churches that I used to visit, man, they
put you over there by yourself somewhere. Nobody talked to you. Now I understand it was a blessing.
It was a blessing. This world hates the light of
Christ. And the scripture says they hate
it because their deeds are evil. And no man gonna come to the
light unless his deeds are gonna be reproved. He's not gonna come
to that light. Here's the condemnation, Christ
said. Light came into the world and
men loved darkness rather than light. They preferred the darkness. They preferred to live in the
darkness. And how many people have I invited here and you've
invited here who preferred the darkness? I'll just stay over
here where I'm at. I'll stay over here where I'm
at. Show them in the scriptures,
here's what it says. How shall you hear without a
preacher? I'll stay over here. I'll stay over here. I can see things right out here
on the river. You can see the river. That's
all you can see. This world hates the light of
Christ because her deeds are evil. And this hatred, he said,
is the condemnation of this world. Woe unto you. Woe unto you. If you be of God, woe unto you. or pretend to be of God. Let
me put it that way. Woe unto you when everybody speaks
well of you. Woe unto you. May the Lord teach
us what it means to be blessed and to be heirs of his distinguishing
grace. Who maketh thee to differ? Who
made you laugh instead of weeping? Who made you to be hungry instead
of full? Who separated you? What have
you gotten that you haven't received? And if you received it, if it
was a gift of God and you know it, you better give him the glory. Better give him the glory. All
right, thank you.