A. The One who prepared the feast is God
B. The Servant is Christ (Philippians 2:7)
C. Those invited are the Jews who trusted in their status as the chosen people of God – but they refused to come (Matthew 3:9-10)
D. The “poor…maimed…lame…blind” are those seen as second class – the sick, tax collectors, prostitutes, etc. (Mark 1:32; Luke 5:15, 29)
E. Those in “the highways and hedges” are the Gentiles (Ephesians 2:12)
II. Examine the excuses
A. One’s possessions hindered him (Luke 14:18; 18:18-23)
B. One’s profession hindered him (Lk. 14:19; John 12:42-43)
C. One’s people hindered him (Luke 14:20; 14:26)
III. Who will taste the great supper?
A. Those who recognize their inability to repay (Luke 14:13-14; Matthew 5:3-5)
B. The humble who are exalted by God (Lk. 14:11; Jas. 4:10)
C. None who offer excuses (Luke 14:24)
A. Prophesied (Isaiah 9:6-7; 52:7; 53:5; 57:19-21)
B. Peace demands unity, and unity demands peace (Acts 2:42-47)
II. Peace in the body
A. Among different nationalities (Ephesians 2:14-17)
B. The peace of Christ is found only in the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
C. Made possible for all “through the cross” (John 3:16; Romans 5:8-11)
III. Peace with the Father (Ephesians 2:18)
A. Access to the Father restored through Christ by one Spirit (Isaiah 59:1-2)
B. There can be no peace apart from the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13), shed on the cross of Christ (Eph. 2:16)
A. Who is an Antichrist? (1 John 2:18; 2 John 9-11; Matthew 24:5, 24; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
B. What does an Antichrist do?
1. Disobeys (1 John 2:19)
2. Denies (1 John 2:22-23; John 5:22-23)
3. Deceives (1 John 2:26; Acts 17:11; 20:29-30)
II. The anointing
A. Christians are opposed to those who oppose Christ!
(1 John 2:20-21; 1 John 4:1)
B. Abide in the truth (1 John 2:24; Luke 12:8-9; Acts 2:42)
C. Abide in the Son and the Father (1 John 2:24-25; John 8:31-32)
III. The assurance
A. What does inspiration teach? (1 John 2:27; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)
B. Confidence (1 John 2:28; Acts 4:13; 4:29; Eph. 6:18-19)
C. Be modeled after the righteousness of God (1 John 2:29; 2 Timothy 2:11-13)
A. Background (Luke 13:1-5)
B. The Father [the owner] planted the Jewish nation [the fig tree]; He condemns it for fruitlessness (13:6-7)
C. Jesus [the vinedresser] implored for more time (13:8)
D. The judgment if it remained fruitless (13:9)
II. Lessons for us
A. The urgency of repentance (Acts 17:30-31)
B. The longsuffering of God (2 Peter 3:9)
C. The limit of His longsuffering (Genesis 6:5-7; 2 Chronicles 36:15-16; Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29)
D. God expects His people to bear fruit (Luke 8:15; Matthew 7:19)
E. Learn from the failure of the Jews (Hebrews 2:2-4)
A. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46)
B. It doesn’t matter where you come from; what matters is where you are headed!
II. He was a Prophet (24:19)
A. The Prophet like unto Moses, as prophesied (Deut. 18:15)
B. Jesus surpasses both Moses and Elijah! (Matthew 17:1-5)
C. He is God’s spokesman to us (Heb. 1:1-2)
III. Mighty in deed and word before God and the people (24:19)
A. People marveled at the things He did (Matt. 8:27; 9:8, 33)
B. …at the things He said (Matt. 7:28-29; 22:22, 33)
C. His focus was on pleasing the Father (John 8:29)
IV. He was killed by the religious elite (24:20-24)
A. They should have known better
B. Even the disciples were confused about the empty tomb
V. Jesus finishes the sermon about Him (24:25-27)
A. Moses and all the Prophets pointed to this (24:27)
B. He died, but He was raised from the dead! (24:32-35)
C. Through His death and resurrection, He has become the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)
A. Abel (Genesis 4:3-5; cf. Hebrews 11:4)
B. Noah (Genesis 7:2; 8:20)
C. Abraham (Gennesis 22:1-13; cf. Hebrews 11:19)
D. The Passover (Exodus 12:3, 5-7, 12-13)
E. The deficiency of animal blood (Hebrews 10:1-4)
II. The blood of Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29)
A. Provides redemption (1 Peter 1:17-21)
B. Washes and frees us from sin (Revelation 1:5)
C. Furnishes justification (Romans 5:9)
D. Imparts sanctification (Hebrews 10:28-29)
E. Allows for reconciliation (Colossians 1:19-20)
F. Cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7)
G. Purchased His church (Acts 20:28)
III. His blood is applied to us in baptism
A. Salvation is in Christ (2 Timothy 2:10; Galatians 3:27)
B. Jesus is the Savior of the body, which is His church (Ephesians 5:23; 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:13)
C. His blood was shed for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28; Acts 2:38)
A. What you want (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-6)
B. Where you reside (Genesis 13:711; 19:31-38)
C. What you do (1 Kings 4:29-30 11:1-9)
D. What you think (Isaiah 5:20; 30:9-11)
II. Parables of watchfulness (Luke 12:35-40)
A. Watching for the master to return (Luke 12:35-38)
B. Watching for the thief (Luke 12:39)
C. The application: watch for the Lord (Luke 12:40)
III. A parable of preparedness (Luke 12:42-48)
A. The wise steward will be blessed in doing the will of his master (12:42-44)
B. The wicked steward will take advantage of his master’s absence, be wasteful with his provisions and cruel to other servants, leading others astray (12:45-48)
IV. Apostolic instructions
A. Be vigilant (1 Peter 5:8)
B. Be prepared (Ephesians 6:15)
C. Why? (Romans 14:12)
A. What type of “love”? Agape – sacrificial love
B. What is “the world”?
1. God’s creation (John 1:10)
2. Mankind (1 John 2:2; John 3:16)
3. Hostility toward God (John 15:18; 1 John 3:1; 4:4-5)
C. What is your primary concern? (Romans 12:2)
D. “…or the things of the world” (Mark 10:17-22)
E. “…the love of the Father is not in him” (Matthew 6:24; Romans 8:5)
II. The temptations of the world (1 John 2:16)
A. “The three avenues of temptation” (Genesis 3:1-6; Matthew 4:1-11)
B. How to avoid the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (Galatians 5:16-24)
III. The fleeting nature of this world (1 John 2:17)
A. The world is fleeting, temporary, non-permanent (2 Corinthians 4:18; 2 Peter 3:10-12)
B. Eternal life is with God (2 Timothy 2:11; Matthew 25:46)
A. Distractions draw us away (Luke 8:13-14)
B. Warnings against worldly lusts (Matthew 6:19-21; 1 John 2:15-17; Colossians 3:1-4)
C. Our life must be focused on the eternal, not the temporary! (Romans 12:1-2)
II. Do you want to help others find the truth?
A. The mission of Jesus (Luke 19:10)
B. The mission of the apostles (Mark 16:15-16)
C. The mission of ALL — including YOU! (2 Timothy 2:2)
III. Do you avoid doing all you should do?
A. The danger of procrastination (James 4:13-17)
B. We need to take care of the things that we know we must do while we have the time to do them! (Salvation + Service + Evangelism)
A. The reason for obedience (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-3)
B. Do you still love Him, or are you going through the motions? (Revelation 2:1-7)
II. Does the story of the cross still move you?
A. What is the gospel message? (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 1:21-25; Romans 1:16; Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 26:28; Acts 4:12)
B. For too many, the cross is little more than academic knowledge
III. Does the church bore you?
A. Have you ever thought, “I just don’t get anything out of services?” What are you putting into the church?
B. Worship is participatory (John 4:23-24; Acts 12:5; 2 Corinthians 9:7; Ephesians 5:19; Acts 17:11; 1 Corinthians 11:26)
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)
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