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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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Luke chapter 13 and verse 10. Now, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. By this time in Jesus ministry, he was not welcome in most synagogues, but unlike many of us, he didn't crawl up into a ball and hide in a corner saying, I'm never gonna go to church anymore. This is important. The moment you make peace with the fact everyone's not gonna like you is when you take your power back. You know, I've learned to say to myself, okay, that some people don't like me because God hasn't given everyone taste. So Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. And despite the rejection, the opposition, the animosity that some people showed, all it did was make Jesus character even clearer, because few things reveal our character like adversity. Let's take a peek at Hebrews 1 and 3, and we're going to come right back. In verse 2, it says, God has in these last days spoken to us, not through a prophet, certainly not through an angel, but by His Son, who He has appointed heir of all things, and through Whom he has made the worlds more literally the ages, who being the brightness of his glory. The Nicene Creed interprets this verse that Jesus is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, and the same essence as the Father. When God added deity or better added humanity to his deity, he bridged the gap from where we are to where God is. R.C. sproul says it this way, touching his human nature, Jesus is no longer present with us, but touching his divine nature, he's never absent from us. And then it continues in the express image of his person. These two words are the two words I want to focus on before we get back to Luke 13. That term or the two words, express image, is actually derived from one Greek word. It's the term character. And in Greek it has a K. But what English word do you see in that term character? And this term character that the Greeks began to use, it came from an engraving stone that was used to make statues. And by the time the New Testament was written, it came to mean an exact expression. So, you know, words kind of have the etymology and they kind of evolve into things. But since, you know, statues were designed to look just like the person character, the term evolved out of this particular tool. It says here that Jesus is the express Image or the very character of God. Which means when we see Jesus, we have seen God. And because of this verse, we can loosely say that Jesus became God's living statue. He's God's unique son and representative, and he was always in character. And if Jesus was a statue, we could kind of. Now, listen, I loosely say that Jesus was not a statue. But we see such character in Lady Liberty. No matter how hard it rains, her arm is up. When a bird flies and poops on her head, her arm is up. When two planes crashed into the Twin Towers, her arms stayed up. Character is what you do when it's not easy. Character is what you do when it hurts. Character is when you keep your hands up to God when everything around you is trying to pull them down. Back to Luke 13. And Luke said, and behold, meaning, pay attention to what I'm about to lay out. There was a woman. And in some ways, this woman was a whole lot like Jesus. You know, despite the criticism, Jesus kept teaching in church. But likewise, despite this woman's condition, she kept coming to church. You see, I have no other strategy in life except to keep showing up wherever Jesus shows up for me. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity. Now, some things in life are just random. Don't get too deep on this. But other things are not as arbitrary. We might think some, you know, things that look like, you know, just the toss of the dice really have deep spiritual roots. And we need God's help to help us discern the difference. Don't misread the passage. Everything is not caused by a spirit. But also everything is not just a result of chance either. Yes, we have a friend in Jesus, but the Bible's clear. We also have an adversary in the devil. God is real, but so is Satan. She had this spirit of infirmity. 18 years, literally. The writer says 10 and 8. And this was how numbers were commonly expressed. But has anyone in this room had a problem that you could divide into unequal halves? At first it was like this, but it progressed into this. So at first it was just kind of a little lean. But before long, it bent you completely over. She had this spirit and was bent over, but she kept coming to church. How many of us come to church faithfully but still find yourselves bent over in some area? When you've done everything the Bible tells you to do, you listen to the pastor, you read your Bible for yourself, and you keep staying somehow in the same condition. It may not be a flesh and blood issue. More could be Involved. Now, today, a doctor will would probably diagnose her issue as a curvature of the spine. But the scripture saw behind it, saw deeper than just the surface, just what you could read in a book. The scripture saw a spirit. And again, she had tried everything, but she couldn't raise herself up. And when you've done everything you know to do, there may be more to your problem than you might think. But God. But God. But God. But when Jesus saw her, he didn't just see her condition, he didn't just see the spirit oppressing her, he saw her. Does anyone still believe in a God who sees? When Jesus saw her, he shooed her away, shamed her for having a spiritual problem. No, he called her to him. Not because she was better than anyone else or worse than anyone else, but because he saw her need. And he spoke to her, said to her. Now, in a room crowded with people, this is a synagogue and this is Jesus. He's one of the most popular, loved and hated figures at this time in Israel. So you know the room is full. So in order for him to say what he said, he had to project his voice in the crowd. And when he spoke, though, she heard in a special way. And today you may see some guy up there talking, but if somehow in my voice you can hear his voice, you can have the same results that this woman had on that day. My Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Listening to God is the first step of every answered prayer. So out of everyone in the room, he addresses this bent over woman. He doesn't just feel pity for her, obviously he's moved with some compassion. He didn't even know the woman's name, which means she wasn't in his family, it wasn't an associate or near friend. But he saw this stranger in this condition and he said, woman, you are loose. Again, he projected his voice. But here's our problem. We can be in a situation so long, we can become so used to suffering, so familiar with issues and problems, we don't raise our voice anymore. We're too scared of what people might think, what people might say, what people might do. But with every eye on him, everyone watching, he raised his voice and said, woman, I can't stand by and watch you that way. I can't preach this message I'm about to preach with you in that condition, woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. How many believe that Jesus only did God's will? Yeah. If Jesus didn't want this woman living with her physical Illness. God doesn't want you living with whatever ails you either. Whether it's physical, psychological, financial, social. God cares about the types of spirits that are showing up in your life. Then watch verse 13. This is why you can't put God in a box. And he laid his hands on her. So we see here it was both a word. He spoke it, you're loosed a touch. It was faith and action. All this woman did to get free was hear the voice of Jesus in her heart and she was healed. And each person listening, whether you're live, streaming or in this room, you could be healed today if you keep listening until you hear. No, no. It's one thing to hear with the ears on your head, but when you hear it with the ears in your heart, that's when faith arises. You see, sometimes, at least with me, I'm a little bit stubborn in my brain. I might hear it a thousand times with my natural ears, but it's that thousand and first time that finally it drops down into my heart and I know I've heard from the Lord and freedom and deliverance springs immediately. She was made straight and glorified God. When you finally realize that this book called the Bible is not made for a preacher, it's made for you. Every promise, every word spoken, every story is to say something to you. When you realize that even a devil of 18 years is no match for the God of eternity. When you realize that you glorify God too. Just like this woman. But now watch the contrast. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation. He got mad. Christ's power and this woman's praise absolutely annoyed him. It was like the demon left her body and went right into this man's heart. Be careful about wrongly criticizing someone else's praise. You see, this leader was more concerned with appearances than the ultimate well being of God's sheep. And he was mad because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. So this man was more concerned about his particular denomination's rule book, more concerned with the opinions of the learned in culture than the opinions of God. And instead of addressing Jesus, well, he couldn't control Jesus. But he was the pastor, if you will, he was the rabbi, he was the ruler of the synagogue. He could address those that were under his authority. So he said to the crowd, but he makes the mistake here. When you're uncomfortable with something the Holy Spirit is doing or does, before you go to people, you need to go to God. Yeah. I mean, all Jesus did was set a woman that had been bound for 18 years free. But this man acted like Jesus smacked his mama, like Jesus ate his last French fry. And then he goes on to preach to the crowd when Jesus is supposed to be the one talking. He said, there are six days in which men ought to work, therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath. See, a tradition arose that a doctor could only act or use medicine in life or death cases. But if it was just a chronic disease, the doctor on the Sabbath wasn't supposed to do anything. But the problem is. But the problem is there's nothing in the law of Moses. There's nothing in the first five books of the Bible that forbids a person from being healed on the Sabbath. But here's what I've learned. Most people will not let God's word get in the way of what they believe. I know. Ooh, yeah, think about that. Well, mom and them did it that way. My old church did it that way. Not. The Bible says, okay, okay, I lost everyone in the room. I want to say it one more time. Most people won't let God's word get in the way of their beliefs. So after he preached his little sermon, the Lord answered him. Jesus is a bad boy. You don't want to mess with Jesus. Jesus was not scared. He was unintimidated. He was not bothered by this man's position or his title. But we're about to learn something here. We quote the first part of Isaiah 54, and we say, no weapon formed against me shall prosper. That's good and that's true, but we leave out the part that we play because the next piece says, in every tongue that rises up against you, you, you shall condemn. Meaning you got to open your mouth. When. When my kids were still in the house and we watched television and somebody would do something sideways, I'd speak to the tv. I drove my children crazy. But I'd have an ongoing conversation with the television set because there were certain things that were being done and said I didn't want to land in my home. So every tongue that you got to open your mouth and address and condemn, do not fear confrontation. Fear what happens if you don't speak up for yourself, if you don't speak up for God. The problem is not what they saying. The problem is your silence. We to study, to show ourselves approved and give an answer for the hope that's within us. But watch Jesus. Like I said, Jesus is a bad boy. He didn't pull him off to the side, take him into the private room in front of everybody. And that's the problem. You come at somebody in public, they might have to come. Okay, let's keep. Okay, Jesus, look at this learned man. He's like the mayor of the city. I mean, you can't buy and sell without the approval of the synagogue. A man of reputation looked him in the face and said, hypocrite. He's nobody's joke. He immediately addressed the man's motive. He was saying, if you can't rejoice over this woman's freedom, you are only an actor. You act like you love God, but you don't. People are often opposed to good, not because it's bad, but because it's not done their way. And Jesus said, okay, you preach. Let me preach. Does not each one of you on the Sabbath lose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? Religious pride is the worst kind of pride at all. It destroys your sense of reason. It dulls your normal sense of compassion and sympathy. And Jesus was saying, how is it you're more loving toward animals than the people? Now, verse 16 is really where Jesus leans in. Elsewhere, there was this widow woman, and I see the clock. Just stay with me. Unjust judge, whole situation. Waiting for a bribe. She didn't have the money to bribe him. And at the beginning of the parable, he says the meaning of the parable before he tells it, which is rare for Jesus. And he said he's telling this parable so men could learn that they ought to pray. Ought to pray and not faint. Men ought always pray. Okay? Ought, ought, ought. Always pray and not faint. Okay, it makes sense in a minute, he says, so ought. The problem is many of us have lost our ought. We become so sophisticated that we lost our normal common sense. Never lose your sense of outrage. Just make sure you direct it properly. Get me mad, I'll turn over my plate. I'll be found on my knees. I will cry out to my God. So ought hear Jesus indignation at that woman's condition. Ought not this woman a member of your congregation, being a daughter of Abraham? Now, I want you to notice the only reason Jesus used the term ought here is not because she was better than anyone else or she did everything right. It was only because she was a daughter of someone God honored. Don't tell me what God won't do for someone else because of his relationship with you. Don't tell me what he won't do for your children, for your neighbor, your brother, your sister, your mother, your father, your church, your community, your nation, because of his relationship with you. If my people who are called by my name would humble themselves, pray, seek my face, turn from their wicked ways, I'll hear from heaven and heal their land. Never lose your sense of outrage. Just direct it properly. Ought not. This woman being a daughter of Abraham, who Satan has bound? God is not our problem. Satan is. Again, whether it's physical, as in this case, mental, spiritual. Otherwise, watch what Jesus does here. He's really trying to help the man. And yeah, he's rebuking him, but ultimately it's redemptive. He's trying to help him. And he says, dude, use your head. Think of it. Come back to your sense of reason. Dude, you're so religious, you're dumb right now. Think, think, think. Think of it. This woman's been coming to your church for 18 years with a problem. And, Rabbi, you okay with that? But when she got free, you get mad because it didn't go exactly the way you would have liked. And Jesus is saying, listen, I know you're the head of the synagogue and everything, and I salute you for all your work and labor, but who are you compared to God? Art. Art. Art. We've become so accustomed to trying to survive and just make it so accustomed to the level of pain in our life. We have adapted, we have adjusted, and we lost our ought. My life ought not be like this. My brain ought not be like this. My situation ought not be like this. I am a child of the most high God. This ought not be this way. I no longer accept this. I reject this. I deny this. I have an ought in my heart. And Jesus was trying to return the ought. Spiritual indignation. If I belong to God, it shouldn't be this way. I dedicated my child on that altar. He shouldn't be walking that way, acting that way, living that way. Ought not. This woman being a daughter of Abraham who Satan has bound. And he said, think of it, Guy. For 18 years be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath. And what Jesus was trying to do in this synagogue and what he's trying to do in each of our hearts is to help us get our ought back. And when you embrace the ought, you'll get free. He'll untie you. He will loose you. The true Sabbath is not a rule to be kept, but freedom. God wants to release. And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame. And God still knows how to silence his critics. Let them argue. But they won't be able to argue with the results. I just came from Missouri this Week. And Missouri is a show me state. And a lot of people are not going to believe it till they see it. And don't argue with the manner. Show them the results. Jesus said it this way, wisdom is justified of her children. Then it said, and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. The religious leaders or leader got angry, but people with common sense rejoice. And my prayer is that God would simplify our faith one more time again. We read thousands of books and listen to thousands of hours justifying our mess and we lose our sense of it ought not be like this. I don't need to read a thousand pages of excuses. Jesus said it in just a word, one sentence. What things, soever you desire, when you pray, seek me, you'll find me. Ask, it'll be given. Knock. The door shall be opened. We've gotten so sophisticated. We've gotten away from the very clear and direct promises. When I knock on the door and I know that my wife's on the other side of that door, I expect the door to open. She ought to open it by virtue of our relationship. And we go to God in prayer, knocking on his door and he calls us sons and daughters. The door ought to open. There ought to be an expectation. When we pray. There ought to be a sense of demand. And Lord, I trust you as listen, I don't just call you God. I call you Father. Father. And there's something to that title. And if you're my daddy, I'm not going to go hungry. If you're my daddy, you going to take me to the doctor and get me well? If you're my daddy, you going to protect me if I'm out there running on the street and some folks try to run on after me? If you my daddy, I got an expectation. You're saying she's a daughter of Abraham. How much more, sons and daughters of God. God is saying, where's your expectation? Where's your art? Where's your fire? Where's your passion? Where's your zeal? Where's your earnest expectation of God doing what only God can do? God is saying, when you let that rise up, you're going to be loosed, you're going to be untied, you're going to be healed. Give God a hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Yeah, yeah. Don't accept it anymore. Don't accept it. Don't beat up on people, but deal with the spirit. God didn't build you for that.
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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 Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekreer.com by clicking the link in the description.