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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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We're going to be in Luke chapter 9 in verse 51, and you're going to see things a little bit differently today and get some insights that perhaps you hadn't had before you came today. Verse 51. Now it had come to pass. I told the first service that this is one of my favorite verses or sayings in the Bible. You're no longer fasting and praying. You're no more waiting and believing. This statement is only made because it's finally happening now. It came to pass. Luke is indicating that we have hit a pivotal point in his narrative. The one who measured the oceans in his hand, the heavens between his pinky and thumb. He had humbled himself to become one of us, to remove all our fears of what God might be truly like. And then, as if that wasn't enough, I mean, coming down from heaven where there's no devil, you know, causing mischief and everybody's on your team, no crime rate. I mean, everybody's worshiping God to be dropped into planet Earth before there was toothpaste, refrigerators, trains or airplanes, central air or heat. As if coming from God's glory down to earth was not enough, he went even lower. He allowed himself to be tortured on a wooden cross to prove his love for us once and for all. You see, we can give without loving, but we can never love without giving. And on the cross, Jesus gave his all. All to him I owe. Now it came to pass. Watch this. When the time had come, Jesus operated with a very acute sense of God's timing. Ecclesiastes 3 and 1 says, There's a time and a season for everything under heaven. And Jesus realized that before this time, he was in heaven looking down, but now he's in earth, so he's paying attention to the seasons and the moments in time. But I think Yogi Berra said it almost as well. He said this. You don't have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you get the timing right, it'll go. Life is so much easier when you get your timing right. You don't have to swing as hard, you don't have to try as hard when it's the right time. Luke said when the time had come for Jesus to be received upon. How many of you know everybody wants to go up, but we forget, in God's kingdom, going up means first going down the Greatest must first become the least. Remember, the ark didn't float until there was a flood. Abraham struggled for 25 years before having his promised child. Joseph was enslaved and jailed before the sun, moon and the stars bowed down to him, as the dream said it would. Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the desert tending sheep before God trusted him to deliver his people. David spent some say 4, some say 7, some say 15 years on the run from Saul before he became king. You see, everyone wants to be on top until they see what it takes to get there. Everyone wants to be a beast until it's time to do what only a beast can do. But in this moment, Christ's time had come. And he didn't miss his moment. And we see from the text, in a couple moments, we're going to see he did not even flinch when his time had come to be received upon. It doesn't say that he set his face. It says he steadfastly set his face. Something was obviously going on with Jesus face. And we will all have moments in our lives where we have to bite our lips. Moments in our lives, we have to square our shoulders and we gotta put our game face on for the moment and season we're in. And he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, the place he encountered all the trouble. The tension between Jesus and the religious leaders had really begun to reach a climax. It had simmered for literal years, and finally it was about to go down. Now I will walk a mile to avoid a fight. But when the devil starts one, I won't give him an inch, because the devil is the ultimate opportunist. Give him an inch and he'll soon be your ruler. And Jesus sent messengers before his this is word again, before his face. So he sent people ahead to make arrangements for his time of ministry. But in this case, you know, it's a little different than other times. He not only. The disciples didn't just go ahead to prepare for Jesus from this text. They were actually preparing the Samaritans for Jesus face. You see, God is all loving all the time, but there's also moments where he's all business at the same time. How do you react when God doesn't feel near and he doesn't seem nice? See, sometimes when you're doing big things, you just don't have time for small talk. And as they went, the disciples, probably two that he sent ahead. They entered a village of Samaritans, their ethnic enemies, if you will, to prepare for him. And what we see in this text is Jesus ministry wasn't as simplistic as many of us tried to make it. His operation or his ministry operated on a level of organization and discipline that Jesus absolutely required. Jesus didn't just go to cities. The disciples carefully prepared the cities before he came. And this here's the question for you. What are cities? Would your neighborhood, your block or your home be prepared if Jesus came tonight? Jesus always sends people ahead. Okay, let me back up. Behold, I sent a messenger before his face. Before Jesus came, someone had to come to make the street straight, to make the mountains low and the valleys exalted. Jesus is not just some country preacher. He's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And his disciples over time began to treat him as such. But watch. 53. But the Samaritans did not receive him. Some people are not ready for a full dimensional Jesus. You see, they gladly accept the goodness of God, but they fall apart as soon as they see just a little bit of the severity of God. You see, God is both merciful and just. It's not a legitimate coin if it doesn't have faces on two sides. My Bible says he both loves and hates. The Bible says God hates sin. And the reason many of us are stuck in it because we still like the mud. We still like the mire. It's not till we get sick and tired of being sick and tired are we finally going to come out. The Bible says God both lifts up and he puts down. He blesses and he curses. You know, as the song that we just sung. I worship you for who you are. We must worship God for who he is, not just who we want him to be. But they did not receive him. And there are aspects of God that many people won't receive because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. Meaning you could see on his face that Jesus was on assignment. You could see on his face he had a made up mind. You could see on his face that he had larger issues that he was focused on and concerned about. And you can't do big things distracted by small things. And if you're going to do anything significant in life, you got to learn to first qualify your critic, qualify your critics. I know it was hurtful that the Samaritans didn't receive him. But what's amazing is we don't see Jesus falling apart, crying out to the Father and saying, oh my God, how can you call me? The ministry. And they don't even like me and God, they won't receive me. But Jesus wasn't like me, because I don't always qualify my critics. See, if you haven't been there and done that, I really don't. I love you, but what I know this is not in the Bible, but if I could write one, this is what I put in the Bible. He who listens to a fool becomes one. You got to learn to qualify your critics. So why was Jesus face like this? Why is so much said about his face? Why did it impact the Samaritans? Let's dig deeper. Let's go Back to Isaiah 56. Isaiah wrote this 700 years before Christ was born. But it's so accurate, it's almost scary to read. And it says this. Basically, the Holy Spirit put Isaiah in the mind of Jesus even before Jesus was on earth. I gave my back to those who struck me. And you might have missed what was just stated there, But John chapter 10 and verse 18 says, no one takes my life, but I lay it down. I gave my back. She said, pilate, I know you think you got all this power and all that stuff, but let me tell you something. I could call a legion of angels. If this moment wasn't ordained by the Father, it would not be. I gave. I offered my back to those who struck me. It was like deity came to Irv and said, devil, take your best shot. And he hung there and he took. I gave my back to those who struck me. And what you'll see about Jesus in the Gospels. One time he was in his hometown and they wanted to throw him off a cliff. And the Bible said he walked right through them. You see, no one could do anything to Jesus unless he let them. You gotta understand the type of guy Jesus was. It was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross. It was his love for you and his love for me that kept him there. So I gave my back and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. A long beard was a mark of honor and distinction in that culture, and it still is today in the Middle East. One of the worst insults you could give a man in that period in that part of the world was to cut his beard. And you see that in 2nd Samuel, chapter 10 and verse 4. But Jesus allowed himself to be completely degraded. Completely, completely humiliated. He gave his best, though. Humanity and mankind was giving him his worst. Despite what was done to him, Jesus stayed on point. No indignity and no cruelty could stop him from demonstrating the full extent of God's love for you and I. And sometimes God puts us in positions that's why? Jesus said, if you're gonna follow me, you too gotta take up your cross. Because God will intentionally put you in positions where you get an opportunity to show the love of God to some sideways, backwards, hateful person. And you know, what's the point of having love if you can only love the lovely. Real love loves the unlovely. Yeah. And the unworthy love never fails. And then it continues in the first person. This is 700 years prior. I did not hide my face from shame. Meaning he didn't flinch, he didn't back up, he didn't whine, he didn't cry, he didn't snivel. I didn't hide my face from the shame. He stared it down, looked it in its eye. And spitting. In that part of the world, they don't cute spit. They grab stuff from deep down. And let me tell you something, if I was God and you spit on me, it would be the last time. But that's why we worship him. It's his kindness that leads us to repentance. The Bible says, I'm going to challenge you a little bit on your image of this Jesus we worship. Jesus was at a dinner and this woman came in and started washing his feet with her hair and was crying. And she had this fragrance, this perfume around her neck that was super, super, super expensive. And she cracked the alabaster box in the jar and poured it on Jesus feet. And people were like, Judas in particular. It's like, listen, all that money you're wasting on worship, that's what some people say about this church. But you see, when you understand who you're worshiping and Simon was watching and he was like, well, Jesus, if you know who that woman was and you know the type of life she was living, you wouldn't let her be touching your feet like that. And certainly not rubbing her hair on your feet. This is improper. This don't look good. Jesus. What type of man are you? Jesus, by the way, you know what's going on. So Jesus looked the Pharisee Simon in the eye and he said this. He who is forgiven much, loves much. And that's why some in this room, something lies to me. You don't get the worship, but you ain't been maybe where I've been, maybe you don't realize the extent of your sin. You see, the worst sin really wasn't even that woman's sin who some say she was a prostitute. It's really that Pharisee sin. Self righteousness is the most stinky, smelly s there is. But the reason sometimes I cry, the reason sometimes I shout, I bow down, I'm on my face. I know how good God has been to me, despite me. And if I can just love him a fraction of how much I know I hurt him in this life, my living won't be in vain. You hear what I'm saying? And my worship is out of gratitude. From washing me and cleansing me and taking time to talk to me and teach me and to guide me and hug me and hold me, place his spirit on me. And if that's not been your experience, you won't get it. But those of us who come from nowhere, we were nothing. But God made us something. We can't help but praise him and honor him and thank him. Lord God, I'll give you to close out my back, Lord. All the money out my pocket. God. All the tears in my ducks, God. What is it you might want, Lord? I owe you everything. God and a thousand tongues. God couldn't begin to praise you. Verse 7. Yeah. Then he said again, he's in the mind of Jesus, Isaiah. For the Lord God will help me. This is what Jesus was thinking while he was facing unspeakable horror. For the Lord God will help me. You see, God doesn't always stop it, but he will always get you through it. When mother and father can't help you, sister, brother, can't help, friends can't help you, your degrees, the study, the amount of money in your bank account. Can't help your friends, can't help the Lord. God will help me. And there's some miles on your journey, you gotta walk alone. And Jesus carried that cross. Some say he stumbled under the weight of it. And that's why the other man, Simon, he grabbed the cross from him. And sometimes you will stumble under the weight of your assignment. And all that does is show us. Jesus was not only God, he was human. He knows what it's like to feel the weight of a thing and have to deal with stuff that's uncomfortable and painful. He said, for the Lord God. Not the Roman emperor, not Pilate, the high priest, not his disciples, none of his friends. The Lord God will help me. Watch this therefore. What do we learn when there's a therefore in the scripture? Look and see. Paul's right. And see what is what. Therefore. Therefore I will not be disgraced. Why is there therefore? Because the fact that God was with him caused the outcome that's announced in this next sentence. The Lord will help me. And because of this, this is what he was thinking while he was matted with blood. I will not be disgraced. Meaning trouble won't last always. You see, because Jesus knew where his help came from. He knew how things would end up. And sometimes when you're in the middle of it, you can't think about the middle. You've got to think about the end. That's why the Bible said he endured the cross for the joy that was set before he saw the other side. And when you lose the image and the vision of the other side of the thing, that's when we give up. That's when we quit. Therefore, I will not be disgraced. You see, when God is your help, you keep going when everybody else stops. Why? Because you know, God's the alpha and the Omega. He will finish everything he starts. And if it's not good, that just means God's not done. And whenever you find yourself in the middle, there's only one direction to go with God, and that's forward. Jesus set his face. Okay, now we're going to see the verse. Therefore, I have set my face. This is what the Samaritan village was dealing with. This is what was showing on Christ's face. I have set my face like a flint, like a stone. I will not be moved. Despite the agony ahead for Jesus, he made up his mind and he fixed his face that he was going to run his race. You see, we don't quit when we're tired. We quit when we're done. I have set my face like a flint. I know I get tired sometimes. How many of you get tired? Sometimes I feel discouraged at times, get disappointed at times. I don't see a good end of things. Sometimes. Sometimes I feel weak. Sometimes I don't feel so strong. Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel. Sometimes I feel like giving up. But the Psalms have become my comfort. And I've learned to do what David did. In Psalm 42, he said this. It was as if he was looking in the mirror. And he looked at his face. He was all upset and worried, his brow all quenched up and squinched up and lips all poked out. He said, self, why? Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disquiet? I have no peace. Why have you lost that sense of peace? Why so disqu. Why all this noise going on on the inside of me all the time? I just hear hollering and screaming, and I just want to give up. Self. Hope in God. Sometimes you can't hope in yourself. All you can do is hope in God. Watch this, for I shall yet praise him. Watch this. Watch this. Though the help of my countenance, God will help your face in the midst of whatever you're facing, whatever you're going through. And my God, therefore, because I know whose I am and whom I serve, I set my face like flint in a few things stronger than a made up mind. And I know some things you just gotta know. And I don't know how long you have to sit here and hear it before you know it, but stay here till you do. There's some things I kind of hope for, wish for, and kind of believe. But when I know that, I know that, I know that's a whole nother thing. And I know Jesus went to the cross knowing something. And you need to face your tomorrow knowing something. Not just wishing, but a firm confidence where you could set your face like flint. I know my redeemer lives. I know God is for me. I know God is on my side. And I know that I will not. When this is all over, when everything is said and done, I will not be embarrassed. I will not be ashamed. I know it looks bad now, I know it feels bad now. But my Bible said, weeping may endure for not. But joy comes in if I hold on in the nighttime, if I just keep doing what I need to do, morning will come, the sun will rise and my situation will Change back to 9 and 54. Just two more verses and we're through. And when his disciples, James and John saw this, they said, lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume those Samaritans over there just like Elijah did? You see, the problem was the disciples misread Jesus face. As confidence can easily be confused with arrogance and pride. Focus can easily be confused with anger. You see the disciples, this is the problem this way. See, the disciples were mad about the Samaritans not receiving him. The problem was they assumed Jesus was too. Today psychologists call this projection. And a projection happens whenever you transfer your emotions, your feelings onto a different person thing. And what the disciples did then, many disciples still do today. We begin to attribute our own personal prejudices, our own personal feelings onto God. And if we're mad at him, we think God should be mad at him. If we don't like them, we think God shouldn't like them. If we think we're better than them, God ought to treat us like we better than them. And today what we do is we build whole denominations and whole churches around projections. We see God like us and we're going to remake him in Our image in our likeness. You know, it's a very human thing to remake others according to what you feel and what you see. I have found that it's usually the thieves that are most likely to accuse other people of stealing. It's the dishonest that are always accusing people of lying. Verse 55. Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. He had things to do, his assignments on his mind. But he couldn't let that pass, despite he was going, for he had to turn back. And he rebuked them. He said, you don't know what manner of spirit you are of. The disciples made two mistakes here. First, they didn't really know themselves or realized the depth of their ingrained ethnicism, where the Jewish folks thought they were better than the Samaritan folk and vice versa. But secondly, they didn't really know Jesus or his heart. Whenever you're about to find fault with someone, this was first said and I modified a little bit by an ancient king or emperor. Really ask yourself what fault of mine most closely resembles the one I'm about to criticize. And this will always help you be just a little bit kinder, a little bit sweeter. Put yourself in their shoes. So Jesus rebukes them, says, you don't know what you don't. What type of spirit is that? I've been with y'all this long. I'm at the end of my journey, and y'all still twisting my actions and my deeds and my expression. You don't know my heart yet. And then this next sentence is actually part of the rebuke. And we're going to begin to end on this. He said, for the Son of Man. And I can imagine some exasperation in his voice for the Son of Man. Guys did not come to destroy men's lives. Y'all were already messed up. Y'all were already on the path to destruction. I didn't come to destroy men's lives. If God was trying to get y'all, y'all would have already been God. So here's Jesus rebuke. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy, but to save them. The reason this church is here, the reason I'm standing here and people are serving here and all the rest is not to get you, but to help you. That's the only reason for the church, for the Son of Man did not come to beat you up. Now he'll tell you the truth. He said, you wrong. You double wrong. And you've been wrong for a long time. And I'm here To help you get it right. And also let me tell you, there will be consequences for that wrong if you don't make adjustments about that wrong. But Jesus didn't come to destroy us. Every time he knocks on our heart, knocks on our conscience, he's trying to help you. He's trying to protect you, trying to preserve you. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. But watch this next clause and I'm going to end here. And they went to another village. And as I read this, I realized this is the thing I need to relearn. This is the thing I think you need to learn from Jesus. Once you have done everything humanly possible. I didn't say everything perfectly. I don't do anything perfectly. But when you do everything you can humanly possible with the gifts, the talents, the understanding you have, and you're doing everything to fulfill your assignment and people don't receive you, people still unfairly find fault with you. People don't like you, people talk about you. This is when we need to learn from Jesus. What did Jesus do? The Samaritans did not receive him. But it says, and they went to another village. So what did Jesus do when they didn't receive him? Did he cry? Did he whine? No. Did he even call down fire? No. He let it go and moved on to a village that will. And sometimes you gotta let it go and move on to others who will accept. But you're hanging on to someone who didn't like you, didn't get you, didn't understand, you, treated you wrong. But you gotta let it go and move on. Jesus had bigger and better things to do. He wasn't gonna let the small mindedness of some little town get in the way of his destiny. And you gotta stop. Stop letting small minded people who know very little about God get in the way of your destiny. And they went together to another village. You do not drown. This is not my original statement, somebody else said it. But you do not drown by falling in water. But you do drown by staying there. Yes sir. Yes sir. And yeah, stuff has happened to you. It's not fair, it's bad, it's wrong. They didn't treat you right. But at some point you gotta move on. 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, some of y'all knocking on 90. It's time to get up and move on. Give God a hallelujah and a praise because he's a good God. Come on, stand on your feet. Give him a hallelujah. And a Praise Lord. Help us move on. Help us let it go.
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Thank you for joining us. Until next time, Remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Rear Ministries and bring in the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekre.com by clicking the link in the description.