According To Luke: The First Woe

According To Luke: The First Woe

Opening Illustration: An Unhealthy Obsession

Money magazine declared money was the number one obsession of Americans. Newsweek tells of a woman saddled with debt who charged a diving trip to French East Indies. Instead of trying to break free, it's as if she's given up. She said, "I’ve spoiled myself and can’t change my habits." 

Advertisers say if we buy more products, we’ll be happier, fulfilled, comfortable, popular, cooler. Yet they never warn of excess or hint that having things won’t make us happy. 34% of Americans in 2000 ranked shopping as their favorite activity! 70% visit malls at least once a week. That’s more than go to churches or synagogues! The average American shops 6 hours a week, but only plays with their children 40 minutes. By age 20, the average American has seen around one million commercials.

Point:

Most of us know this one central truth, our wallets can be a great resource or it can serve as a jail cell, a restraint that puts us into the bondage of debt and the never ending cycle of greed. We all know people who have used their finances to be a blessing to others, their family, their friends, and even the church. They have found freedom in using their financial means to help others and to see others blessed. When they bless others, they find the blessing really belongs to them. Then there are the people who are like this woman, they are trapped. They spend hours on Amazon and an eternity on Ebay. They have a hunger for happiness that they believe only comes in selfish purchases. They are slaves to greed. Sure, they may want to help other people but they never have resources for others because they are all spent on trinkets and do-dads that will ultimately mean nothing tomorrow. 

So, finish this statement this morning. Your wallet can be a resource or a restraint. 

Your Wallet Can Be A Resource Or A Restraint!

Background:

Have you ever had a time when your mentor gathered you and several others around, looked you in the eyes, and said, "There's something you need to understand...."? This is one of those times for Jesus' disciples.

A large crowd is crammed together to listen to an increasingly famous teacher -- people all the way from Judea and Jerusalem in the south, as well as hearers from the Gentile lands along the coasts of Tyre and Sidon to the north, present-day Lebanon. Jesus is healing the sick with great power, and many, many are being healed.

But at this moment he is speaking to his disciples. The word "disciples" in vs. 20 is broader than just the Twelve. These disciples are Jesus' followers, his adherents, but they are distinguished from the multitudes who are present on this occasion. Still, there is a "large crowd" (6:17) of disciples. Jesus is speaking to followers.

Today we start looking at the 4 woes that are attached to the beatitudes. They run parallel to Jesus earlier words. This is a really unusual thing that Jesus does. Most people would say blessed are the rich, but for the poor…but instead of saying that Jesus blesses the poor and the rich are cursed. He does this so that people will revaluate their value systems. He is flipping their worldview much as He flipped the money changers tables. 

So, let’s read from Luke this morning the words of Christ to His followers. 

Scripture:

Luke 6:20 ESV

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Luke 6:24 ESV

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”

3 Responses To Jesus’ First Woe!

I. Invest Gratefully

Luke 6:24 ESV

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”

Point:

Jesus is using the word woe when referring to the rich. What exactly does that mean? The word being used here is οὐαί and is pronounced ü-ī. It means an exclamation of grief. So it is more than just being sorry for doing something wrong. When Jesus says woe to the rich, the rich should have their hearts penetrated to the core. They should cry, weep, and be sorrowful for how they have used their resources in such a irresponsible way. 

It is almost like Jesus is saying that He has given the rich chance after chance and they simply blew it. They invested poorly. They were selfish. They did not see the value in the eternal, they only saw the value in the now. 

Jesus’ simple point here is that the rich took what was given to them by God and instead of investing in things of God, they used the money to invest in their own comforts and pleasures. 

It reminds me of the parable of the talents that Jesus tells in Matthew 25:14-30 ESV

Matthew 25:14-30 ESV

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Point:

So we have three servants. The master gives them talents to use and invest. Two of the servants invested wisely and grew what the master gave to them. The other servant sat on what was given, did not invest, did not grow, and the master threw him out. 

Remember, the master owned the talents. The talents were on loan to the servants. 

Remember, the master had an expectation that the servants would take what he owned and invest it wisely. 

Remember, the master displays that there is a consequence, a severe consequence, for not using HIS talents in a manner worthy of the master. 

Point:

So, what is the lesson for us today? We need to understand that each of us have talents. No, I am not talking about New Testament currency. I am talking about blessings that have come directly from God. Sure, those may be financial blessing. I would say that all of us have room to give more financially. However, I am also talking about time, the most important resource that we have. God grants each of us time that really does not belong to us. It belongs to the Master. So, the Master grants us resources and time, therefore, we should use those resources wisely and constructively. 

Point:

We should invest gratefully because God has given to us what we don’t really deserve. We should invest our time and our treasures because we know that there is a severe consequence if we don’t when the Master returns. 

Illustration:

A man at the San Jose International Airport was worried about missing his plane. He had no wristwatch and could not locate a clock, so he hurried up to a total stranger and said, “Excuse me, could you give me the time, please?”

The stranger smiled back and said, “Sure.” He set down the two large suitcases he was carrying and looked at the watch on his wrist. “It’s exactly 5:09. The temperature outside is 73 degrees, and it is supposed to rain tonight. In London, the sky is clear and the temperature is 38 degrees Celsius. 

The barometer reading is 29.14 and falling. And, let’s see, in Singapore the sun is shining brightly. Oh, by the way, the moon should be full tonight here in San Jose and—”

“Your watch tells you all that?” the man interrupted. “Oh, yes, and much more. You see, I invented this watch, and I can assure you there’s no other timepiece like it in the world.”

“I want to buy that watch! I’ll pay you two thousand dollars for it right now.” “No, it’s not for sale,” said the stranger as he reached down to pick up his suitcases

“Wait! Four thousand. I’ll pay you four thousand dollars, cash,” offered the man reaching for his wallet.

“No, I can’t sell it. You see, I plan to give it to my son for his twenty-first birthday. I invented it for him to enjoy.” “Okay, listen—I’ll give you ten thousand dollars. I’ve got the money right here.” The stranger paused. “Ten thousand? Well, okay. It’s yours for tenthousand even.”

The man was absolutely elated. He paid the stranger, took the watch, snapped it on his wrist with glee and said, “Thanks!” and he turned to leave.

“Wait,” said the stranger. With a big smile he handed the two heavy suitcases to the man and added, “Don’t forget the batteries”.

Point:

Sometimes we invest in an irresponsible way don’t we. Invest wisely. Invest gratefully because we ultimately know that what we have we do not really own. It all belongs to the Master. 

Psalm 24:1 NLT

A psalm of David. The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.

3 Responses To Jesus’ First Woe!

I. Invest Gratefully

II. Give Compassionately 

Luke 6:24 ESV

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”

Point:

Again, this Scripture is attached to the words of Christ found in verse 20 where Jesus blesses the poor. Blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus remarks reminds the hearers that the poor today are blessed tomorrow but the rich, who have ignored the poor their entire lives, will receive today their reward. 

The poor will have an eternal reward of the Kingdom of God.

The rich will have the reward of temporary worldly wealth. 

Point:

What Jesus is saying is that we who have much, should be conscience of those who have little. 

Point:

Again, let’s read another parable of Christ. Turn in your Bibles to Luke 16:19-31 ESV.

Luke 16:19-31 ESV

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Point:

Again Jesus uses a powerful parable about using our God giving financial means to be a blessing to someone else. This rich man was not compassionate in the least and received his rewards. When I read the story of the rich man and Lazarus, I see the beatitudes being played out in real time. 

Point:

Again, you do not have to read far into the words of Jesus to realize that there is an expectation of Christ for those with blessings to use those blessings to benefit the less fortunate and more importantly God’s Kingdom. 

Jesus cares for poor, hurting people. He does not care for them from afar. No. He cares for them by granting to each one of us resources to meet the poor’s needs. How do we do it? What is Christ’s conduit to care for the poor?

The simple answer is the Church. Christ uses the church to bless those who have little. This is why we take the tithes and offerings of our church members and use them to host ministries like Family Promise. Starting today our church will host families from around Baldwin county here at ESBC. Each family is at risk, homeless, and in need. So we use our resources, the resources that we have given to meet those needs. We provide for them food and shelter for an entire week. We will do this 3 more times this year. 

Another example is that we take the resources that are given here at ESBC to host foreign students and adults from France. We did that last week. For an entire week, our people housed and fed 20 people from France, most of them Muslim. Our church for an entire week planted the seed of the Gospel in their lives. They were confronted by Jesus each and every day in hopes that one day they might accept Christ. 

Our church uses our resources to conduct food distributions, we provide Christmas for literally dozens of children in Baldwin county, we have church members have have recently purchased beds for a family whose house has burned down, we use our facilities to host young people from across the street so that they can play basketball and hear the Gospel through Josh Raybon. 

Friends, the list goes on and on. When you give to the church, your resources, God’s resources are used to see people in need have those needs met. 

Point:

Do we give so that people can have food and shelter? The answer is yes. We as a collective church want make sure that we are living out the words of Christ and ministering to those in our community. However, we also give so that we can embody Christ, we share Christ, we want to influence people towards accepting and following Christ. If we are just giving to feed, clothe, and shelter, ours is an empty social Gospel. We must remember that Jesus met the physical needs of His followers so that His followers could know their biggest spiritual need was salvation. 

Hebrews 13:2 ESV

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

3 Responses To Jesus’ First Woe!

I. Invest Gratefully

II. Give Compassionately 

III. Provide Joyfully

Luke 6:24 ESV

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”

Point:

Jesus understood a deep truth that He was trying to communicate to His followers. When we hoard our God given wealth, we miss out on our God given joy. It is strange really. Our world tells us that we are happiest when we have an over abundance. More is never enough. If you want to be happier, just get more for yourself. Jesus tells us that true consolation comes through gratefully giving back and taking care of the needs of those around you. It is a strange truth but a truth nevertheless. 

Point:

We all know that God loves a cheerful giver. For the cheerful giver, there is a consolation.   The word that Jesus is using is παράκλησις and is pronounced pä-rä'-klā-sēs. It means comfort, encouragement, and refreshment. Quite literally, when we give to God’s purposes, we are refreshed and renewed. We receive comfort and encouragement. 

Jesus here is really driving home the point. The greedy rich will receive consolation, but their comfort and encouragement will only be temporary. It will be short lived and ill timed. For those of us who can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we know that our generosity back to God will end up in an unending consolation. An eternal comfort. A never ending enjoyment. 

Illustration:

Money will buy:

· A bed, but not sleep.

· Books, but not brains.

· Food, but not appetite.

· A house, but not a home.

· Medicine, but not health.

· Amusement, but not happiness.

· Finery, but not beauty.

· A crucifix, but not a Savior.

Point:

Money is not everything, that is certainly true. Yet, money used wisely for God’s Kingdom and given with the correct heart and motivation can be of tremendous benefit. Listen to the prophet Malachi.

Malachi 3:10 ESV

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Closing Illustration:

Today I want to close with a story that I ran across about a man named Dan. Dan was in the military and suffered some injuries. He became a believer and God reshaped and reframed how he looked at giving. Check it out. 

God Loves A Cheerful Investor!