Every believer gets satisfaction
in knowing that Christ shall be satisfied. Would you turn back to Luke chapter
13. Luke the 13th chapter. The Lord had answered the ruler
of the synagogue, thou hypocrite, in verse 15, does not each one
of you on the Sabbath day loose his ox or his ass from the stall
and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman being
a daughter of Abraham? Now that's the key, being a daughter
of Abraham. whom Satan hath bound low these
eighteen years, be loose from the bond on the Sabbath day."
I've entitled this message, A Daughter of Abraham. And we'll consider
what a daughter of Abraham is in a few moments, but let's consider
what we do know about this woman before the Lord announces to
us that she's a daughter of Abraham. We read in verse 11, and behold,
there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity. And that word infirmity
is weakness. Weakness. Powerlessness. Without strength is what it means. Like Paul said in Romans 5, 6
when we were yet without strength. In due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. And this spirit of infirmity
suggests satanic influence, which certainly was the case with this
woman. Look in verse 16, And art thou not this woman, being
a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound? Lo, these eighteen
years be loose from this bond on the Sabbath day. There certainly
was satanic influence going on in this situation. And in her
spirit of weakness, the scripture says she was bowed down. And
I take that, I mean, she was like this all the time. She couldn't
look up. She couldn't look up at you.
She was looking straight down at the ground, and all she could
see was her walk. All she could see was her feet. Well, that'd be a miserable position,
wouldn't it? And this word bowed also refers sometimes to depressed. No doubt this woman was depressed
in spirit. Can you imagine what a horrible
affliction that would be? To be bowed down to where you
couldn't look ahead. All you could do is look down. What a physical infirmity. And if all you can see is your
walk, what a depressing sight that would be. physically, mentally,
emotionally, spiritually, bowed down. I wonder if there's anybody
here like that. Even right now, bowed down. She could have no wise lift herself
up. Perhaps she tried on many occasions,
but she was completely unable to do this. She could in no wise
lift herself up. This speaks of the inability
of the sinner. The inability. Our Lord said in John chapter
6 verse 44, no man can come to me except the Father which has
sent me draw him. Can't come. The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, neither indeed can he
know them, because they're spiritually discerned, and he lacks the ability
to discern these things. carnal mind is enmity against
God, it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be. It lacks the ability. Now what this woman represents
is the inability of the sinner. She could in no wise lift up
herself. Perhaps she tried many times,
but she couldn't do it. You can't lift yourself up. You
can't look up. You can't look to Christ. You
can't repent. You can't believe. You can't
feel. You cannot. You're in a state
of inability and you cannot change the state of your heart. This woman could in no wise,
no matter how hard she tried, she could in no wise lift up
herself. A state of inability. But let
me say this also about this state of inability. This state of inability
does not in any way mean you're not responsible to do what you're
unable to do. That's very important. This state
of inability that I'm in is all my fault. I can't blame Adam. I can't blame God's providence.
I can't blame God's sovereignty. It's all my fault. God said to Israel, thou has
destroyed thyself. It's all my fault and I can't
use my inability as an excuse for any of my actions or for
any of my sins? Well, I can't help it. I'm unable.
What if a man became so intoxicated that he couldn't walk straight
and then he got in the car and started it up and got it going
and ran over somebody and killed them? Could he say to the judge,
I shouldn't be held responsible because I was unable to drive
straight? What's true, he was unable to drive straight. But
that doesn't take away his responsibility in it. And here is where we have
a mess. Somebody that really believes
in inability, your own inability, and yet you really believe in
responsibility. It is my responsibility to do
all that God commands me to do, to do all that I cannot do. Now here we have this woman bowed
down, unable to lift up herself. All she could see was her feet. Verse 16, our Lord tells us, Satan hath
bound her low these 18 years. She was bound up, tied up. And you know something we don't
read about this woman? We don't read where she asked for mercy.
We don't read where she asked the Lord to heal her. We don't
read where she did anything. She was just bowed down, but
she did have this going for her. She was a daughter of Abraham. I don't know if she knew yet
that that's what she was, but I pray that everybody in this
room might be a son or a daughter of Abraham. We read in verse 12 of Luke chapter
13, And when Jesus saw her, Oh, I want the Lord to look down
on me, don't you? When Jesus saw her, she didn't see him,
I suppose, being in the crowd, bowed down, She couldn't see
and she would be very difficult to see. She was so short of stature
because of the way she was bowed down. But yet the scripture says
when Jesus saw her, these were the eyes of love. He saw her for what she was,
a daughter of Abraham. That's why she should be loose
from this bond, because she was a daughter of Abraham. Now, I ask myself the question,
am I a son? Am I a daughter of Abraham? Do
I have the same position of this woman? Am I truly a son of Abraham? Well, the Lord saw her in verse
12, and he called her to He called her. The Lord saw her and he
called her. And this is the call of effectual
grace. He saw her and he called her
to himself. Zacchaeus, make haste. Come down. Today I must abide
at thy house. And you know, everybody he calls,
they make haste. They come down, and they receive
him joyfully, just like Zacchaeus did. Matthew, sitting at the
receipt of customs, Matthew, follow me. And he arose, forsook
all, and followed the Lord Jesus. What power there is in his call.
Lazarus? Lazarus is dead. He'd been in
the grave four days. The process of decay had reached
a point where he was stinking. Lazarus, come forth. He that
was dead came forth. You don't think about the Lord's
call. You remember when you were in
grade school and the teacher was looking for somebody to call
upon and everybody's, you know, raising their hands like that.
Call me! That's me. Call me! Call me. Lord, call
me. Call me to yourself. I want the
Lord to call me, don't you? I don't want this just to be
something that I have some kind of understanding of. The prayer
of my heart is, Lord, call me. Look down my way. Call me, just
the way you called this woman. Now, here's my question. What
does this call sound like? When he calls, what does this
call sound like? What is it you hear? Well 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2 verse 14 says, whereunto he called you by our gospel. Now this is what that call is. It's the call of the gospel. Not just the presentation of
the gospel. Although the gospel certainly
is presented, you can't believe something you've never heard.
You can't call upon an unrevealed Christ. But this is the call
of the gospel. Let me show you what takes place
when the gospel calls. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter
1. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Verse 4. Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God. Now that's quite a statement,
isn't it? What if I said to somebody, I know you're one of God's elect.
If somebody said that, and I heard him say it, I'd have a tendency
to think, how do you know? Have you seen in the Lamb's Book of Life? Can
you know infallibly whether or not somebody is really believed?
How do you know? How did Paul make a statement like that? Knowing,
brethren beloved, your election of God. He says to this church,
I know God elected you. How do you know, Paul? Well,
look what he says in verse five. For our gospel came not to you
in word only, but also in power. and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance." It didn't come just in word. It came in power. It smoked through you. It brought
you down. It came in the Holy Ghost, the
power of the Holy Ghost, and this much assurance is not a
reference to you all of a sudden you had much assurance that you
were saved, but you had much assurance this is the Gospel. This is the Gospel of God. This
is the very Word of God. Look in 1 Thessalonians chapter
2 verse 13. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing,
because when you received the word of God which you heard of
us, you received it not as the word of men, not as a man's opinion,
not as man's word, but as it is in truth, the word of God,
which effectually worketh also in you. Now, he called her by
the gospel. And back to our text in Luke
13, what took place? Verse 12, And when Jesus saw
her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art
loosed, thou art set free, thou art released from thy infirmity. Lord say that to me. He's got
the authority to say it. Thou art loosed. That word is translated dismissed,
divorced, forgiven, let go, put away, depart,
release, set at liberty. And I love the way he says this. He doesn't ask her if she'll
receive it, does he? He doesn't say, do you have enough faith
for this to take place? He says, woman, You're set free. You're loosed from your infirmity. It's been dismissed. I think
it was very much like Barabbas laying there in the cell. Oh,
can you imagine that day he woke up and how horrible he felt knowing
that very day he was going to be crucified. The dread that
filled him. And when he heard the soldiers
coming and opening up the gate, the jail cell, He was expecting
to say, come on, we're going to crucify you now. And they
say, you're set free. You're released. Somebody took your place. Woman, thou art loosed from thine
infirmity. And notice what happens next.
Verse 13, and he laid his hands on her. Now this laying on of
hands, it goes with Hebrews chapter 6 verse 2 where we read of the
doctrine of the laying on of hands. The laying on of hands
is not, you know, the way you've seen preachers on TV where they
put their hands on somebody and all of a sudden, pop, they're
given the Holy Spirit, start speaking in tongues. No, no,
it's not that. It's not the way some preachers
will lay hands on other preachers, kind of, they call it a, what
do you call it? I can't remember what it's called.
Whatever it is where they're giving their affirmation, this
guy, we're saying he's somebody. Ordination, that's it, ordination.
It's not an ordination where a preacher puts his hands on
some other preacher and ordains him and now he's ordained. No.
What this laying on of hands represents is what the great
high priest did when he laid his hands on the head of the
sacrifice. signifying the transference of
sin. Not just the transference of
guilt, but the transference of sin. And the transference of
righteousness. Here is how I can be loosed from
my infirmity. My sin, all my sin, became Christ's
sin. That's so horrible to think about.
It makes me ill to think of him
bearing my iniquity and my filth and my wickedness. But the scripture
says, who his own self bear our sins in his own body. on the tree. My sin became His
sin. So He said, My sins are like
a heavy burden. They're too heavy for Me. That's
what happens when the priest laid his hands upon the head
of the sacrifice. It signified the transference
of sin. But not only did it speak of
the transference of sin, it speaks of the transference of righteousness. The very righteousness of God,
the righteousness of Jesus Christ becomes my righteousness. Now that's how this woman was
loosed from her infirmities because of this great transference of
sin and of guilt. And what happened? The scripture
says, immediately. Immediately. There wasn't a process
that took place. She didn't get up and just gradually,
oh, no. Immediately, just like that,
she was made straight. When Christ died, immediately,
all my sin was put away and I was made straight. I was justified,
justified before God without guilt, made straight. What a
glorious gospel we have. And I love the way the Lord just
announced this to this woman. He didn't say, I'm going to offer
it to you, or do you have the faith to do it, or here it is,
if you can take it. No. He said, women, thou art
loosed from thine infirmity. And he was gone. Oh, the authority
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't you love his authority?
I love the way he speaks. He doesn't ask permission, or
he doesn't ask for it. He just says, woman, you're set
free. And she was set free. Now, she did what all without
exception do. who the Lord does this for. It
says in verse 13, and he laid his hands on her. Immediately
she was made straight. And what did she do? She glorified
God. She gave him all the glory. Don't
you know that she knew that he did it all? She did what every
believer does. She glorified God. She gave him all the glory. Then something unusual takes
place. Verse 14. After beholding this, now can
you picture what happened in your mind? This woman was bowed
down. All she could see was her feet.
She was in such a horrible condition. And all of a sudden, she's made
straight! A miracle has taken place! How glorious! Now look
at the response of the ruler of the synagogue. Verse 14. And
the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus
had healed on the Sabbath day. And he said unto the people,
there are six days in which men ought to work, and then therefore
come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. Really? Really? Is that really your response?
And this ruler was doing what all religions do. He was making
a work out of not working. He was taking the Sabbath day
that represents resting in Christ. The rest that is in Christ Jesus. Not working, but resting. And
he was making a work out of it. And he had the unmitigated gall
to say, don't come here to be healed on the Sabbath day. I
mean, six days you can come and be healed, but not on the Sabbath
day. And the Lord gave him the only
proper response. Verse 15, the Lord then answered
and said unto him, Thou hypocrite. Nothing else to call him. Let
me show you how inconsistent what you say is. Doth not each
one of you on the Sabbath day loose his ox or his ass from
the stall and leave him away to watering? Well, of course
you do that. And ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound lo these
18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day. Now, the word ought, ought not
this woman, our Lord is saying it's absolutely necessary It's
absolutely necessary that this woman be loosed on the Sabbath
day because she is a daughter of Abraham. That's why it's necessary
she's a daughter of Abraham. Now, turn over to Luke chapter
19 for a moment. You're familiar with the story
of Zacchaeus. Verse 1, And Jesus entered and
passed through Jericho, and, behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus. which was the chief among the publicans, and he was
rich, and he sought to see Jesus who he was. And he could not
for the press, because he was little of stature. Now let me
tell you this, whenever you seek to see Jesus who he is, you know
the first thing you're going to find out? You can't. You can't. He could not because
he was a little of stature and he ran before and climbed up
into a sycamore tree to see him for he was to pass that way.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him. Just like he saw that woman,
he saw him. Lord, look at me. And said unto
him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. For today I must abide
at thy house. And he made haste, and he came
down, and he received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all
murmured, saying that he was going to be guest with a man
that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold,
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I've taken
anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come into this
house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. That's why
salvation's come here, because he's a son of Abraham. She was
a daughter of Abraham. Now what in the world is a son
of Abraham? Turn with me for a moment to
Genesis chapter 18. Genesis chapter 18, verse 17. Genesis 18, verse 17. And the
Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do,
seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation,
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him, for
I know him. that he'll command his children and his household
after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice
and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which
he has spoken of him." Now, is he talking about his physical
descendants? My soul, that's the most disobedient bunch of
people, well, like you and I, to ever live. I mean, they were
just disobedient. They didn't... Was he talking
about his physical descendants? No, because they sure didn't
do... He's talking about the true spiritual seed. He's talking
about the true sons and daughters of Abraham. Turn with me to John
chapter 8. John chapter 8, beginning in
verse 30. And as he spake these words,
many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are
you my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free. They answered him, we be Abraham's
seed, and we're never in bondage to any man. How sayest thou you
shall be made free? I think that's real ironic that
they were in a Roman, the Romans totally governed them.
They were under the dominion, under the thumb of Rome. And
they said, we've never been into bondage to any man. Yeah, you
are. Rome's in control of you right now. Verse 34, Jesus answered
them, verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin,
is the servant of sin. If you sin, you know what that
means? You're a slave to sin. You can't stop sinning. Can you
stop sinning? If you can't stop sinning, you
know what that means? It means you're a slave to sin. You fellas
talking about being free? You're slaves. Verse 35. And the servant abideth not in
the house forever, but the son abides forever. A servant, a
slave, he's going to be turned out, but not the son. Verse 36, if the son therefore
shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Beloved, if Jesus Christ makes
you free, you're free. You're free. Verse 37, I know that you're
Abraham's seed. I know you're physical descendants
of Abraham, but you seek to kill me because my word hath no place
in you. I speak that which I've seen
with my father, and you do that which you've seen with your father.
They answered and said unto him, Abraham's our father. Jesus saith
unto them, if you were Abraham's children, you'd do the works
of Abraham. You'd believe just like Abraham
believed. That's what you'd do if you were really Abraham's
children. You'd believe what Abraham believed.
Abraham believed God, and it was counted for him for righteousness.
He's that one, to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly. Talk about Abraham's faith, his
faith is counted for righteousness. That's how Abraham's children
They believe what Abraham believed. Verse 40, But now you seek to
kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard
of God. This did not Abraham. Abraham would have never done
this. You do the deeds of your father. Well, they said unto
him, We be not born of fornication. We have one father, even God.
Jesus saith unto them, If God were your father, you'd love
me. For I proceeded forth and came
from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not
understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear
my word, you're unable. You're of your father the devil,
and the less of your father you'll do. He was a murderer from the
beginning and abode not in the truth, because there's no truth
in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he
is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth,
you believe me not. Which of you convinces me of
sin? Not one of them good. And if
I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that's of God,
heareth God's words. You therefore hear them not,
because you are not of God. You see, sons and daughters of
Abraham, He that's of God, every one of them, they hear God's
words. They bow to God's words. They believe God's words. Everything in the Bible, every
truth revealed concerning who God is, how he saves sinners,
we believe, don't we? Then answered the Jews, verse
48, and said unto him, Say we not well, thou art a Samaritan,
hast a devil? You're crazy. Jesus answered,
I'm not a devil, but I honor my Father. And you do dishonor
me. And I seek not mine own glory.
There's one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily I say unto you,
if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the
Jews unto him, now we know that you have a devil. Abraham's dead,
and the prophets. And thou sayest, if a man keep my saying, he'll
never taste of death? Art thou greater than our father Abraham,
which is dead? Well, they didn't have any idea
who they were talking to, did they? Are you greater than Abraham?
Yes, infinitely so. And the prophets are dead? Whom
makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself,
my honour is nothing. It is my Father that honoureth
me, of whom you say that he is your God. Yet you have not known
him, but I know him. And if I should say I know him
not, I would be a liar, like unto you. But I know him, and
keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it, and he was glad. I have no doubt
about what he's talking about. He was talking about when he
saw that substitute for Isaac. The ram caught in the thicket.
He had already willingly raised up his hand to slay him. He'd done it in his heart. And
the Lord provided a substitute. And he untied his boy. He put that lamb in his place.
He killed the lamb. And can you imagine them skipping
down that mountain in joy and happiness? Oh, Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. And he saw it and he was so glad. Verse 57, Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast
at him, but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going
through the midst of them, and so passed by. Now, we see from
that passage of scripture, there are daughters and sons of Abraham,
they're real children, spiritual children of Abraham. and they're
people who are not children of Abraham. Now this woman was a
daughter of Abraham. And go back to our text in Luke
chapter 13. Verse 12, Now here is what every son or
daughter of Abraham does, and you can tell right now, you can
tell tonight, whether or not you are a son or a daughter of
Abraham. Now that's the elect, and to
this represents the spiritual seed, the elect, those given
to Christ before time began, those for whom Christ died, sons
and daughters of Abraham. Verse 11, And behold, there was
a woman which had a spirit of infirmity, utter weakness, unable to lift herself up. Now if you're a son or a daughter
of Abraham, you have found that that is true about yourself. You know this is true about yourself. This spirit of infirmity makes
it to where you in and of yourself cannot believe. You cannot repent. It's beyond your ability. And
you don't use that as an excuse. You don't find comfort in the
fact that, well, you know, I can't be held responsible for what
I can't do. No, you are ripped apart by the fact that
you cannot do what you should do. She could in no wise lift up
herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called
her to him and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine
infirmity." And you know what her testimony would have been? I was loosed from my infirmity
because he willed it to take place. I know that. That's my experience. I was loosed. He said, woman, you're loosed
from your infirmity. And then he laid his hands on
me, signifying that great substitutionary work of grace. And immediately, I was made straight. I was justified. Immediately. It wasn't something
that gradually took place. It's what he did. And you know
what she did? She did what every son or daughter
of Abraham does. She glorified God. That means she gave him all the
glory. One of the reasons I know that
the gospel I preach is the gospel, because the gospel I preach gives
God all the glory. That's what we wanted, isn't
it? Verse 17, And when he had said these things,
all his adversaries were ashamed. They weren't ashamed of what
they had done, they were ashamed of how they looked. This made
them look bad. And all the people rejoiced for all the glorious
things that were done by him. And you know who rejoiced the
most? This woman. Boy, she'd gone a long time looking
at her walk. Isn't that a miserable thing
if all you can see is your walk, your feet, the things you do?
Oh, what misery. But now she can look to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now the gospel is so clearly
set forth here. Which crowd am I? One of these
adversaries or somebody who rejoices in the great things that he has
done? Now, we're getting ready to observe the Lord's table.