GOD Morning! July 20, 2016 / Ignore Him and He’ll Go Away? Think Again.

GOD Morning! July 20, 2016


Ignore Him and He’ll Go Away?


Think Again.



Luke 20:1-26
Jesus’ Authority Questioned


20 “On one of the days, as Jesus was instructing the people in the temple [area] and preaching the good news (gospel), the chief priests and the scribes along with the elders confronted Him,2 and said to Him, “Tell us by what kind of authority You are doing these things? Or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you a question. You tell Me: 4 The baptism of John [the Baptist]—was it from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men?”5 They discussed and debated it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are firmly convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they replied that they did not know from where it came. 8 Then Jesus said to them, “Nor am I telling you by what [kind of] authority I do these things.”
Parable of the Vineyard Owner


9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time [to another country]. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant [as his representative] to the tenants, so that they would give him his share of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So he again sent another servant; they also beat him and dishonored and treated him disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third; and this one too they wounded and threw out [of the vineyard]. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will have respect for him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves, saying, ‘This [man] is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and put these tenants to death and will give the vineyard to others.” When the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders heard this, they said, “May it never be!” 17 But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is [the meaning of] this that is written:


‘The [very] Stone which the builders rejected,
this became the chief Cornerstone’?


18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken and shattered in pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
Tribute to Caesar


19 The scribes and the chief priests tried to [find a way to] arrest Him at that very hour, but they were afraid of the people; because they understood that He spoke this parable against them. 20 So they watched [for a chance to trap] Him. They sent spies who pretended to be upright and sincere, in order that they might catch Him in some statement [that they could distort and use against Him], so that they could turn Him over to the control and authority of [Pilate] the governor. 21 They asked Him, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and that You show no partiality to anyone, but teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] for us to pay taxes (tribute money) to Caesar or not?” 23 But He saw through their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a [Roman] denarius. Whose image and inscription does the coin have?” They answered, “[the Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”26 They were not able to seize on anything He said in the presence of the people; and being unnerved at His reply, they were silent.”


Jesus saw through all of the Pharisees’ tricks and manipulations. He didn’t let them stop Him from teaching. He had no fear of what they might do to him. He just laid it out clearly. They knew who he was referring to in the parable of the tenants. Themselves. They had killed the prophets. They even killed John the Baptist. They were plotting to kill Jesus!


Lets look at verses 17 and 18 again.


‘The [very] Stone which the builders rejected,
this became the chief Cornerstone’?


18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken and shattered in pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”


An OT scripture for you…


"He will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall" (Isaiah 8:14).


And here’s another passage regarding the Stumbling Stone in Daniel chapter two…


31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.


36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.


39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.


44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.


“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”


We will all face the dilemma of Jesus, the Stumbling Stone, at some point. Fallen humanity simply cannot ignore Jesus. We will run smack dab into Him whether we choose to or not. We may as well choose to be broken by that Stone. That Stumbling Stone will pick up the pieces and make us a brand new creature in Him.


Whether we choose Him or not, Jesus is a fact of life and death.

Here are some ways that humanity deals with the delimma of Jesus, the Stumbling Stone.


1. Unbelief. “God came down in the form of a human, took all of humanity’s sins on himself, died on a cross, came back to life, and ascended up to heaven? No way, that’s too bizarre.”

Unbelief is fatal.

2. Acknowledging but rejecting Him. “I believe this really happened. But I do not want to submit my life to Jesus. No. Period. End of story.”

Rejection of Jesus is fatal.

3. Acknowledging but ignoring. “Jesus changed your life? That’s great. Gotta run. TTYL.”

Ignoring Jesus is fatal.

4. The Later Mentality. “I believe in Jesus, but for now, my decision is no decision. I really would like to serve Him some day, but I want to put that decision on the back burner for now.”

Postponing the decision to follow Jesus is fatal.

5. The “I Tried and Failed” No. “Yeah, I have been there, done that. But serving Jesus didn’t work for me. I just couldn’t. I quit. Am I happier now? Not really. But I have to say I’m a little relieved. I talk to God. But changing my whole life is just too hard. No thank you. Not doing that again.”

This is a fatal decision.

6. The Almost Yes.

“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Acts 26:28

Fatal.

7. The Tentative Yes. “Sure, I will give living for Jesus a try. I will see how it works out.”

When things get a little rough, quitting is inevitable. Fatal.

8. The Casual Yes. “Yes, I believe in Jesus. I attend most services. I love feeling His presence during the worship and the sermons are thought provoking. I consider myself a Christian but not a radical Christian. I have some great friends who aren’t Christians. I don’t really talk about my faith much outside of church.”

I can quickly think of two reasons why this choice is going to be fatal. Number one: If we aren’t moving forward, we are slipping back. Number two: Jesus doesn’t accept part time Christianity.

9. The Good Intentions but Struggling Yes. “I am really struggling. I want to be closer to God. I want to have daily prayer and Bible Study time. I want to fast one day a week. But I seem to be failing at everything. I am discouraged.”

This is actually not fatal! Just keep talking to Jesus about your struggle! Keep trying! There is a 100 percent chance that you will make it if you keep trying!

10. Hundred Percent, All Out Yes. Determined Yes. I have never forgotten a sermon that one of our pastors, Pastor Thomas, preached, entitled the Holy Highway.

The hundred percenter sometimes fails miserably, but always gets back up on that Holy Highway! The hundred percenter not perfect, but is determined. She simply keeps on keeping on, step by step. And the journey is filled with God’s blessings. Yes, she will have tests and trials, Yes she will have struggles. But she will be victorious! The battle is already won through Jesus Christ. He is her Counselor. And her Best Friend. He walks beside her! He guides her every step of the way.

Why would anyone want to choose any other path but the Yes path? All the other paths are fatal. Plus they are much harder than living for Jesus. With Jesus, life on earth is joyful even in the hard times.

There is a one hundred percent chance that you will run into the Stumbling Stone. And any choice but Yes is fatal. Period.

Jesus is waiting for your answer. Just say Yes! He’s not like a drill sergeant. He is the Gentle Shepherd.

“Dear Jesus, thank You for Your Word of truth. How I love to study Your Word. I must take a hard look at me this morning. Which one am I? Sometimes I am the Good Intentions Yes. Sometimes I am the Hundred Percenter. Please! Have mercy on me, a sinner! I long to view this life for what it is, a vapor that disappears in an instant. I long to focus my eyes on eternity through this vapor of smoke, and live accordingly. Please don't stop drawing me, wooing me, and convicting me. How I love You, Jesus. AMEN."