Sermon Cloud

The Purpose Of The Church Luke 14:1-14

I. Introduction:

What is the church?

The word is found 110 times in the New Testament.

In 1st Corinthians Chapter 12, The Bible gives a comparison of the church to a human body. It  draws on the interdependence of all of the parts of a human body and encourages us to function in the same way. And in Ephesians 1:22 we learn that Jesus Christ is the head of the body.

Outside of our main purpose of worship and bringing glory to God there are two main functions of the church. Starting here in our passage we are going look into  the two main functions and our personal attitude as members of the church.  (Church as a spiritual body not a physical organization).

The two main purposes are; (1) Build up the Saints (2) Reach out to the lost

Our attitude should be one of personal humility recognizing our place in His Church is a privilege that we received by faith because of what Jesus has done for us at the cross...

II. (1-6) A Practical Ministry To The Saints

Luke 14:1-6  Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. (2) And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. (3) And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

(4) But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. (5) Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” (6) And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

While the word Church is not in our passage the example and teaching of Jesus Christ is clear in this passage.

A. (1-2) Where People Come With Real Problems

1. A Certain Man

@ The Dinner Party: We are not told whether he was an intruder, a guest, or a plant to trap Jesus. But Luke does not see the importance of telling us that but focuses on his need.

2. Dropsy

probably edema in which various parts of the body become filled with fluid.

3. You And I

B. (3-4) Where The Lord Always Response To People

1. They Were Staring At Jesus

2. He Was Committed To The Man With Dropsy

3. He Is Committed To You And I

When you and I place God first He will respond. 

When you and I enter into worship by faith God communes with us.

When you and I bring our burdens to God He will work.

Sometimes Just not in the way we would expect.

Sometimes He desires to test our faith.

Sometimes He desires to increase our faith.

C. (5-6) Where God Demonstrates Our Importance To Him

1. Love Before Legalism

Keep in mind that Jesus had already “violated” their Sabbath traditions on at least seven different occasions. On the Sabbath Day, He had cast out a demon (Luke 4:31–37), healed a fever (Luke 4:38–39), allowed His disciples to pluck grain (Luke 6:1–5), healed a lame man (John 5:1–9), healed a man with a paralyzed hand (Luke 6:6–10), delivered a crippled woman who was afflicted by a demon (Luke 13:10–17), and healed a man born blind (John 9).

2. People Before Pets

The Religious Rulers had more love for their animals than for this sick man.

(It is tragic that some people even today have more love for their pets than they do for their family members, their neighbors, or even for a lost world.)

3. Example Of David Fleeing From Saul

All three synoptic Gospels include the interaction with Jesus and the religious rulers where Jesus mentions David in 1st Samuel 21 where he was running from Saul and came to Ahimelech the priest and asked for bread for he and his men and was given the show bread from the temple which was only for the priests to eat.

III. (7-11) A Personal Humility In Christ

Luke 14:7-11 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: (8) “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; (9) and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. (10) But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. (11) For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.

A. (7) Because Our Hearts Are Prideful

1. They Chose The Best Places

As part of their culture the seat closest to the head of the table was the place of honor. 

So they desired to be honored.

2. The Mind Of Christ

Philippians 2:3-4 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

B. (8-10) Because Our Lord Calls Us As Servants

1. He Is The Example

Philippians 2:5-8 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

2. We Belong To Him

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

C. (11) Because Our Lord Taught Us To Be Humble

Parable Illustrating James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

1. Scriptural Basis

Psalm 25:9 9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.

Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

James 4:6 ....“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Romans 12:3-5 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

IV.  (12-14) A Powerful Message To The World

Luke 14:12-14  Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. (13) But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. (14) And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

A. (12) Requires Stepping Out Of Our Comfort Zone

B. (13) Requires Seeing The Spiritual Need In Others

C. (14) Requires Seeing The Next Life As Priority

1. Rewards  -  1 Cor 3