This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "Problems In The Church", 1/5/2014

 

PROBLEMS  IN THE CHURCH

 

Luke 6:1-11

 

JESUS IS THE LORD OF THE SABBATH

 V:6. " Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain." NASV

V:6 "And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands." KJV

A. The Lord identified the day of His teaching as being on the Sabbath.

    1. This second Sabbath was the Sabbath after the celebration of the Passover.

    2. This second Sabbath is the first of seven Sabbaths between the celebration of the 

         Passover and celebration of Pentecost; the giving of the Holy Spirit.

 B. The Lord challenges our religious beliefs through His teachings.

    1. Is your salvation based on works or based on Grace?

    2. Do you see keeping God's commands as the way to heaven?

        a. Do you condemn others because they don't believe what you believe?

 C. The Sabbath was set aside by God as a holy day and a day of rest.

    1. The disciples of Jesus picked corn and rubbed the corn in their hands to break

        off the cornels to eat.

    2. This was considered work by the Pharisees.

    3. Do your religion see taking care of the  needs of others as good or bad?

        a. Surly the preparation of food to eat is work.  Is it a violation of God's command

           to keep the Sabbath Holy?    

        b. If I don't keep all of God's commands, am I good or bad?

 

V:2. "But some of the Pharisees said, "Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

 A. When you are looking for a reason to criticize someone, you will find it.

      1. The Pharisees were interested in finding fault with Jesus teaching to condemn

          Him.

      2. They interpreted the Law of the Sabbath incorrectly to suit their interest.      

          Due 23:25

 B. The Pharisees were like the FBI, pursuing Jesus as if He was a criminal.

     1. They followed Jesus and His disciples through a corn field on a holy day 

          hoping to see a crime committed against the Law.

     2. They were not interested in being enlighten by the eternal Word, but condemning

          the eternal Word.

     3. They had an agenda to bring Jesus down.

         a. They did not understand that Jesus came down from heaven to provide the way

            to  heaven.

          b. They refused to see that they were sinners in need of the salvation that only

             Jesus could provide.

         c. They counted themselves righteous by their on standards.

         d. We need to be careful that we don't count ourselves righteous by our own

              standards.

         e. We need to be careful that we don't condemn others by our own standards.

 

THE WORD IS THE TRUTH

V:3-4 " And Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read what David did

  when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, 4 how he entered the house of

  God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except

  the  priests alone, and gave it to his companions?"

 A. Jesus responded to their question with a question.

     1. He used the example of King David, who disregarded the Law to do good.

        1 Sam   21:1-6

     2. David's men were hungry, so he allowed them to eat the bread in the Temple.

     3. Jesus gave the Pharisees an example of a King disregarding the Law to do good.

 B. God gave us His laws of righteousness for our good.

     1. The Law was given not to oppress but to build up.

     2. The Law was given to draw us closer to God and not to put a distance between us

         and God.

     3. The Law is for good and not for bad.  Gal 3:21

 

V:5. " And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

 A. Jesus established the Sabbath as a day of rest.

     1. All of Jesus' creative work was done in six days and on the seventh day He

        rested.

     2. Jesus declared that His work was good, so He rested from His work on the

         seventh  day.

     3. Jesus made the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy.

 B. The Sabbath was made for the good of man.

     1. David gave His men the bread in the temple for their good.

     2. The Sabbath was set aside as a day of rest.

     3. The spirit of the Law is for the good of man.

 C. The Pharisees used the Law to oppress and not to lift up the spirit of man.  

     1. The Pharisees used the Law as a way to control the Jewish people

         and to exercise authority over them.

     2. Jesus establish the Sabbath to give men rest from their work and as

         a day of worship.

 

GOOD IS ALWAYS IN SEASON

 V:6. " On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was
   a  man there whose right hand was withered."

 A. The Lord continues to do good on the Sabbath.

      1. You should not let anyone stop you from doing good.

      2. There is no better place than the Church to teach the Law of righteousness.

 B. One sure place to find Jesus is in the Church.

     1. One sure place to find help is in the Church.

     2. One sure place to find a word of encouragement is in the Church.

 C. The best place to be when you have a problem is the Church.

     1. God pays close attention to those who come to be taught the Word.

     2. God designs messages of encouragement for those who are hurting in the Church.

     3. Preachers and teachers of the Word should let their teaching be guided

         by the Holy Spirit.  

V:7. " The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him."

 A. The leaders of the Church, those in charge of teaching the Word, those in charge of

      the synagogue were the first to condemn Jesus.

      1. They should have been the first to recognize Jesus as Lord of Lords, but they

          sought to condemn Him.

     1. The JBI (Jewish Bureau of Investigation) had a 24 hour surveillance on Jesus to

         discover evidence for accusation.

     2. If you looking for bad, you will find it.  

         a. If what you see is not bad you can twist it so that it looks bad.

         b. Any good will be ignored and not counted, because bad is what you seek.

         c. There is none so blind as one who refuses to see.

 B. Healing is good, but because it was on the Sabbath, the Pharisees counted it as evil.

    1. The Pharisees and the scribes knew Jesus could perform miracles yet they

        attributed His works to the devil.

    2. An evil mind will find evil.

    3. An evil mind is a selfish mind.

       a. Instead of rejoicing for the one who was healed,  the Pharisees sought

          punishment  for the one doing the healing.

       b. They would rather deny their brother the opportunity to be healed if he had to

           get  the cure on the Sabbath.   

       c. An evil mind does not regard the well being of others.

       d. An evil mind is destructive.

       e. An evil mind can't see the good in others.

       f. An evil mind is irrational.

 

JESUS KNOWS YOUR THOUGHTS

 V:8. " But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the
  withered   hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he got up and came forward."

   A. God knows what you are thinking before you say a word.

        1. God knows the hearts of everyone.

        2. An evil mind can't hide in the Church.

    B. Jesus can use the thoughts and actions of an evil person to teach the truth of

         the Word.

        1. A man with  a withered hand was in the Church.

        2. The Church is a place to go get healed.

        3. A broken person ought to be made whole in the Church.

    C. If Jesus is in the house, the power to heal is in the house.

       1. The man with the withered hand was an opportunity for Jesus to show His

           power   and authority to heal any day of the week.

       2. If you got a problem, you ought to come to Jesus for help.

       3. Notice, Jesus invited the man to come to Him.

           a. We have an open invitation to Jesus.

           b. Jesus knows your problems, and He will set the time for a solution.

           c. We should trust Jesus with our problems.

       4. When Jesus calls, you ought come immediately.

          a. Procrastination delays your blessings.

          b. You never know if Jesus is using you as an encouragement to others.

          c. You never know if Jesus is using you to teach others about Himself.

  D. The text says the man had a problem with his right hand.

       1. Jesus will only do what is right.

       2. Jesus is the Father of righteousness.

       3. The man was in the right place at the right time.

       4. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercessions for us.

       5. Jesus deals blessing from His right hand.  Ps 16:8

 

V:9. " And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?"

A. The Pharisees were determined to harm Jesus on the Sabbath.

      1. They were determined to destroy the Father of righteousness on the Sabbath.

      2. The Pharisees were determined to use the Law as an instrument of evil.

 B. Jesus caused the Pharisees to question their motives.

      1. There are times when we need to look into the mirror at ourselves before we

          condemn others.

      2. We should always measure ourselves the by the Law of righteousness.

          a. Without the Law there is no way for us to know what sin is.

 C. The Pharisees used  the letter of the Law to condemn, rather than the spirit of the

       Law to uplift.

 D. The Holy Day is the day to do good and to proclaim the salvation of the Lord.

     1. The Lord Jesus came to provide the way to eternal Life.

     2. Jesus came to save the lost.

     3. We draw others to Jesus by the good we do for them.

 

JESUS IS THE LORD OF RESTORATION

V:10. " After looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And
  he  did so; and his hand was restored."

 A. Jesus knew that He was being watched by the "JBI", so He did exactly what they

      expected Him to do.

    1. Jesus gave the "JBI" the evidence they were seeking.

    2. Jesus, though His miracles showed that He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

 B. The man did not ask to be healed.

     1. Because of his faithfulness, he received the unexpected.

     2. The faithful can always expect God to do the unexpected.

 C. The miracles of God are always before us.

     1. We see God miracles everyday.

     2. The question is, do you give God the credit for what He does in your life?

     3. Life is a miracle.

        a. The devil seeks to steal, kill and destroy what God has done.

        b. There are devils all around us. We need not be afraid because God is watching.

 

THE DEVIL GETS MAD WHEN GOD BLESSES

V:11. " But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they

 might do to Jesus."

 A. Whenever God does good in your life the devil is full of rage.

     1. When you get blessed by God, someone is filled with hatred.

     2. Thieves and robbers are all around, seeking to take what God has blessed you
          with.

 B. Someone is always plotting to do evil to you.

     1. Jesus did what was good. But the Pharisees hated His good.

     2. An evil mind loves company.

 C. The text says, "they got together to do harm to Jesus".

     1. The devil has an army of demons ready to bring you down,

     2. The devil works through folk who look like you.

 D. The Good News is "with God on our side, He is more than the whole world against

      us."

    1. Trials and tribulation are opportunities for God to do miracles in our lives.

    2. The world is not for your good.

    3. With Jesus in your life, you can work for the good of others.

       a. All good comes from the Lord.

       b. The more good we do for others, the more good God does for us.