Monthly Archives: October 2021

Luke 9- Faithless and Perverse Generation

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And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. Luke 9:38-40

Here we see a boy possessed with a demon, and his father brought him to Jesus to be healed. Now from the details it’s clear that this is a demon possession. It’s described as the boy is screaming, convulsing, and foaming from the mouth. As you continue to read through the New Testament, its clear a spiritual battle was going on. There were many demon possessions and people being tormented by demons. So why would we think this is still not going on today? 

Another interesting note is the disciples were unable to exorcise the demon. It doesn’t give a reason why the disciples failed, perhaps its the same reason today many Christians fail to have power over demons. Perhaps its lack of true faith, or lack of understanding, whatever may be the reason they were powerless against the demons at this point

And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.  Luke 9:41-42

Jesus sounds really annoyed at this point, he said “You faithless and perverse generation, how long do I have to stay with you” Wow, so much for the watered down Jesus the liberals try to portray these days. Jesus was disgusted with the lack of faith and perversion of that generation. Imagine what Jesus must think of this generation? 

Jesus rebuked the demon and healed the child, demonstrating his deity as the Christ, the Son of God. But the disciples failed to do this even though Jesus gave them power and authority to perform this duty. Why did the disciples fail? Why do we the Church fail today?

Well since we know the power comes from Christ, then the answer is Christ. If we are failing to have power over demons, then we must examine our relationships with Christ and reveal where we are lacking. We don’t want to be the perverse and faithless generation, we want to be the well done servants generation Amen!

Luke 9- The Transfiguration

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And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:28-31

The Transfiguration, one of the most mysterious events in the Bible, yet one that reveals so much about the past, present , and future. First we notice the scene is on a mountain. There is very similar to when Moses went up Mt Sinai to talk to God and received the Ten Commandments. Another fulfillment on how Jesus is the greater prophet of Moses, fortold by Moses himself (Deuteronomy 18:15)

Secondly we see Jesus come into his glory, being transformed into pure white. This is the same we see Jesus in Revelation Chapter 1 and Daniel 7. If you read Revelation 1 you can get the further description of how Jesus probably looked at this moment, eyes of blazing fire, his feet were like bronze, and his voice was like roaring waters. This must of be a terrifying moment for the disciples that were there

Third, we see Moses and Elijah there, now for those who believe in “Soul Sleep” how are Moses and Elijah there? They are still alive and well. I believe Moses represents The Law and Elijah represents The Prophets here. This is a revelation of the New Covenant through Christ, the Law and Prophets have been fulfilled through Jesus

But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. Luke 9:32-35

Then the voice of God The Father is heard from a cloud “This is my beloved Son, Listen to him” Imagine the terror of hearing God speak, this is looking more like Mt Sinai. As Peter asked Jesus “Is it good for us to be here”? Imagine as a sinful human standing in the presence of the Holy God, reminds you of Isaiah 6

And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. Luke 9:36

Jesus told them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen” why? Because remember up until this point, Jesus wasn’t revealed as the Messiah to most. We just heard Yahweh confirm Jesus is the Messiah, so that would have made it clear cut. But Jesus wanted people to come to him, and learn more about him, have a desire to know God.

The Transfiguration was a unique moment in history, that should be pondered. What would you have done if you were up on that mountain, face to face with the transfigured Lord, in the presence of Moses and Elijah, and hearing the voice of God? Pretty intense, but get ready, because Christ is coming again soon Amen!

Luke 9- The Cost of Christianity

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And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:23-24

What does it cost to be a Christian? Some would say it costs nothing, however that is not true. As Jesus teaches us here, it will cost you everything to be a Christian! Now am I talking about money , no! To be a born again disciple of Christ will cost you your life. You must die to your old self and become a new creature in Christ. 

As Jesus said “If anyone wants to come after him or follow him, they must deny themselves” The first step in becoming saved is understanding you need to be saved! When people come to Christ for the wrong reasons, this is why you have false converts. People need to understand God is Holy and we are sinful, the only way we can become saved is through Jesus Christ. When you don’t have this understanding of your sinful nature, people come to Christ for the wrong reasons.

Jesus also said “If you want to save your life, you must lose it first” If you truly are born again, then there should be evidence of your conversion. If you’re still dead in your sins, then what were you saved from? This is a paraphrase of the late preacher Leonard Ravenhill, you must crucify your old flesh before you can become born again in Christ

 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. Luke 9:25-27

Jesus asks another question “ What does it profit you to gain the whole world and to lose your soul” Money will not save your soul from Hell, only Jesus Christ will. So don’t spend and waste all your time working and acquiring things. Spend your time on your spiritual lives, spend your time serving Christ. Your bank account will not buy you a house in Heaven. Only those who are born again will see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3)

So do you tell others the good news about Christ? Are you ashamed to be a Christian? Jesus said “Anyone ashamed of him , he will be ashamed of them before God the Father” This is about a relationship with Christ, it’s a two way street, you can’t neglect Jesus, and expect him to adore you. You must develop a relationship with Christ by prayer, reading your Bible, and worshipping in a community. Don’t be ashamed of the One who died for your sins, on that shameful rugged cross

Everyone thinks its easy to be a Christian, say a prayer and you have the golden ticket to Heaven! That’s not Biblical or reality, fact is you need to carry your cross on a daily basis and follow your Lord Jesus Amen!

Luke 9- Who Is Jesus?

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And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. Luke 9:18-20

Throughout history, the same question has been pondered by many generations, Who is Jesus? We see Jesus asks his disciples this question, “Who do people say that I am”? And we see their responses were all over the place, some believe Jesus is Elijah, some believe Jesus is actually John the Baptist, some believe Jesus is an Old Testament prophet returned. But then Jesus asks the important question, “Who do you think I am”? 

Even today, the world has many different opinions on who Jesus is. Depending on who you ask, you will get different responses, for example if you ask a Muslim, a Mormon, a Jehovah Witness, and a Catholic, your going to get 4 different responses on who Jesus is. But Jesus wants to know, who do we think he is. Nevermind what I say about Jesus or your local Pastor, or your family. What is your personal experience and revelation of Jesus?

Jesus wants a personal relationship with us all, remember he personally died for everyone of us. Remember Jesus will say to many in Matthew 7, “Depart from me, I never knew you” , many people are professing the name of Jesus, yet he doesn’t have any idea who they are! Christ wants a personal relationship not just a religion

And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. Luke 9:21-22

Peter amazingly knew who exactly Jesus is, the Christ , the Son of God. Jesus said Peter only knew this because of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 16:17) Remember Jesus didn’t reveal he was the Messiah at this point, but Peter through scripture, the Holy Spirit, and his personal relationship with Jesus figured it out. 

Next Jesus reveals more about who He is, the Messiah that must suffer for the sins of the world. And he prophesied about his resurrection on the 3rd day, Jesus made it very clear who he is to those who took the time to know Jesus. So why do so many still today have the wrong Jesus?

Many people today are putting their trust in a false Jesus created by their own false religion, false doctrine, or false ideology. If we want to know the real Jesus, we must surrender to him as Lord of Lords. Does your idea of Jesus line up with the Word of God? Make sure you know him, before it’s too late Amen!

Luke 9- Feeding the Multitude

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And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.Luke 9:12-14

So as Jesus continued to preach, and continued to perform miracles, including healings, the crowds just continued to grow massively. So Jesus decided to keep moving out more remotely from Jerusalem, however the crowds still continued to follow him anyway. So now you can see the issue, a massive crowd out in the middle of nowhere. These people had no food, no where to sleep, many of them had families. So the disciples suggested to Jesus to send them all home!

But notice Jesus’ response “You give them something to eat” Jesus was not only not going to send the crowds away but he ordered the disciples to find them food, the disciple had no idea what to do. Now as we are reading this, lets remember the Israleites in the wilderness, God sent down the Manna from Heaven to feed the Israelites. Jesus is the Bread from Heaven sent to the entire world

A little boy had 5 loaves and 2 fish, notice the symbolic number of 7, which Biblically represents completion. Jesus was going to feed the great multitude from what he was given, alot more symbols and shadows will be revealed during this event

And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. Luke 9:15-17

Notice Jesus broke the bread, distributed among the multitude. This was a foreshadow of Christ’s death on the cross. The Lamb of God, broken on the cross, to deliver salvation to the entire world. Jesus is the Bread of Life, that came down from Heaven, this was a foreshadow of the New Covenant.  This also reminds you of the sacrament of communion, the bread blessed, broken, and distrubed to the multitude through Christ

Another symbolic number of 12, remember the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 Apostles. This symbolizes the completion of God’s governing rule. The Bread from Heaven, Jesus Christ, has fulfilled and established God’s Kingdom.

The more you look at this event, the more you understand Gods plan and purpose through Christ. Jesus is the Bread from Heaven, that died for our sins, so we can inherit eternal life, the food that lasts forever Amen!