e hope today Lord that the songs and instruction from your word be an encouragement in that regard in Jesus name amen you can sit down well I’m excited today for two things we are continuing in our study on The Parables under the theme face to face with God where we’re asking and answering the question and the circumstances of Life how would God have us act and I don’t know about you but these Parables have kind of gone through me like a winnowing fork so to speak

to use an Old Farmer’s phrase of separating the chaff and the seed in a way that and I still haven’t recovered from the persistent Widow of two weeks ago and I kind of hope I never do and we’ll talk briefly about that again today but today we’re in the third Parable in our text in Luke chapter 18 from this the plan to the extent I have opportunity to continue to provide instruction teaching we’ll go to the Book of Matthew for Parables there we have a couple

of housekeeping matters to take care of first last week we talked about pride and humility we talked about the tension between trusting God to do the work in us and remembering to give him the credit and we also talked about the anatomy of a man in the Bible and that was our first Rabbit Trail last week we’re going to do our second Rabbit Trail this week with the anatomy of a woman but you know the point of The Parables is really pretty dramatic because if God

had all kinds of ways in which he could have communicated to us he chose the story form the Proverbs The Parables he did it can I say this carefully he did it to kind of dumb down life for us simplify it that’s a better way to say it so that we understand the concept of the kingdom of God In terms that are familiar to us you know last week we talked about being educated beyond your intelligence and I had a number of you afterwards asked me

about that speaker I introduced who had a couple of doctoral degrees and and who I kind of teased him from the from the chapel and it reminded me that if we’re not careful we can kind of be educated beyond our intelligence and March the 15th in the daily daily mail a British version of that publication there was an announcement made from the Stanford University the goofball scientists there decided they’d come up with a new origin of Life Theory and it was this it’s called micr lighting

where when waves and waterfalls and oceans crash among themselves it creates a friction and that friction or that Sparks and water do droplets create if you put it in a certain gaseous atmosphere certain DNA and they said well maybe that’s the way life began and yet they never do answer the question about that happens so infrequently in nature that it would not account for not only Life as we know it but the the laws of thermodynamics where things deteriorate and I have to smile because you

know I’m sure they’ve got all kinds of academic degrees but they work real hard at coming to some kind of a thesis where God doesn’t have to be part of their life I like more simply the peanuts cartoons and when I was a boy growing up in Texas hot hot Texas we would often lay out in the field in the summer and look up at the clouds in the sky how many of you did that as a kid there pretty much everybody on the beach well

Steve you’re California you know we gota we’re we’re rehabilitating you up here in Oregon but Charlie Lucy and Schroeder were laying in this proverbial field one summer day and Charlie said what do you see in the clouds and Schroeder said you know the way the clouds Peter out toward the right hand side I see Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony unfinished Symphony but I see his Symphony in the in the skies Charlie kind of thought for a minute said well Lucy what do you see he said well you

see those cumulous clouds over there that’s a tower and there’s a damsel in distre distress and you see these other clouds coming along that’s a knight coming to rescue her from the tower and then they turn to Charlie said what do you see he said well I was going to say I see a horsey and a ducky but I’m not going to say that anymore life doesn’t have to be real complicated at times and in these Parables Jesus breaks down the Kingdom of Heaven in terms

that we can understand there are two basic themes in the Bible salvation and discipleship salvation and growing your Christian life and in that regard Jesus in The Book of John for example came n Nicodemus and said what’s going on what must I do to be saved and Jesus said you must be born again and and it blew his circuits he didn’t understand that though he was versed in Jewish traditions and then Jesus wonderfully got in John 4 to the woman at the well and said woman

give me something to drink and she said you don’t have a cup he said if you knew who you asked that you would get living water which Springs up to eternal life and after a little more of a dialogue theologically about who’s going going to be in Jerusalem and who’s not Jesus said woman you’ve been married five times the man you’re with now is not your husband and she knew she was doing she was dialoguing with the one who was promised the Messiah and she said

we know messiah’s predicted to come and Jesus said I who you speak to am he and that was salvation and that woman beat a path back into her Village and she said I want you to meet the man that told me everything I knew that I that I could do that he clearly was one has come from God but before we catch our breath in John 4 on that I’ve got a lot of material today so I’m going to move quick we get in John 4

to Jesus tell his disciples come to him and said hey we’re hungry we don’t have any food and Jesus said and they said we’re going to go into town and get some food and Jesus Saidi have food that you know not of and the disciples look around and they couldn’t see any food and he said my food is to do the will of the father of him who sent me and that’s the second theme of discipleship eternal life and discipleship and it never gets much more

complicated than that although I’ve got to say to you that when you are dealing with the Bible as the word of God and see it John has a new Bible because of this little exercise I have and Colin has a Bible that he can read out of and I think that’s great I kind of I kind of misconstrued the reality of the of the Bible a little bit because it’s Eternal and being Eternal it is infinitely the word of God and if you were at times

for example going to entertain the subject of baptismal regeneration does the bible teach that in order to be saved you have to be baptized I could take you to seven problem texts which we’d have to deal with contextually one at a time and I think we then come back to say we’re saved by grace by faith not of works but it can be a complicated subject other times and that’s where we get into the good news of the parable it is is really straightforward but the

Bible says do your best to show yourself a Workman fully approved by God able to understand and to be consistent to be and to be a student of the scriptures in terms of what it takes to understand the word so the Bible is both a simple and a complex book but for The Parables for us today and now we’re in Luke 18 turn to Luke 18 we are straightforward and it’s the parable of the rich ruler which is very similar to another rich man that we

studied a few weeks ago and that’s we’re talking today about what does it take to guarantee an eternal reward so the rich ruler in Luke 18 reads A Certain ruler asked him good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life so he asks that first question what gets me into the kingdom of God what shity do I have that I can be born again well you know when we ask questions like that of people we get one of two answers the first answer which this

Rich Young Ruler has the text says why do you call me good Jesus answered no one is good except God alone you know the Commandments do not commit adultery do not murder do not steal do not give false testimony because you’re honor your father and mother all these I’ve kept since I was a boy he said so this ruler you could write a book about him he was at the top of the religious Pile in terms of the requirements of the Old Testament and maintaining the

ten commands Commandments when Jesus heard this he said to him you still have one thing your gide up is still short one thing sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven then come follow me the text says when he heard this the Man became very sad because he was a man of great wealth Jesus looked at him and says how hard is it for the Rich to enter the kingdom of God indeed it’s easier for a camel to

go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God so the disciples who are with him said well then who can be saved you know why they ask that because wealth was the measure of God’s one of wealth was one of two things that was the physical measure of God’s blessing in the Old Testament and if you had surroundings of wealth the Assumption was you were on the right path with God and that’s was the course this man

was on and Jesus said no now the issue is Proverbs 4:23 which is above all else guard your heart from which comes the Wellspring of life James Kennedy years ago came up with two questions to help people understand their place with God and the first question as we’ve talked about before is if you died tonight and went to heaven well if you die tonight do you know whether you go to heaven and usually there’s various answers that people give to that some I hope so or

I don’t know whether it exists but the first question is only designed to lead to the second question which is if you died tonight and went to heaven and Peter met you at the gate and he said why should I let you into my heaven what would you say and there are two things that people come up with all the time one Church attendance well I haven’t really been regular at church but but I know I need to and the other thing is well I I

don’t really give very much to the church but I know I need to do that too God do care about either of those things compared to the heart and nature of what it means to be redeemed and following him him and this Rich Young Ruler had mistaken the external for the internal and he had kept all the Commandments but his heart was far from God and and then interestingly he went away sad why didd he go away sad he could have done it he could have

given away what he had but he didn’t because his heart was wrapped around things and the disciples were puzzled by that because they said if you know this zillionaire over here can’t get into heaven then who can be saved and Jesus answer is with it with what is impossible with with man is possible with God and Peter said to him we left we’ve left all we had to follow you I am tell you the truth Jesus said no one who has left home wife brothers or

parents or children for the the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this life and in the life and in and in the Life to Come age to come eternal life so Jesus moved from the subject of Salvation to Eternal reward and he said where your heart is becomes a measure for you of how in fact you’re going to address things that count for eternity this is a passage that we’ve seen in other places as well in Luke

12 for example the warning came out from Jesus that in fact the possessions are the things that can capture your heart and keep you distracted in terms of your walk with him let’s go to Luke 12 and verse 15 ah it’s up there now then he said to them watch out be on your guard against all kinds of greed life does not consist in the abundance of possessions you remember that was the man who said I have such a good crop I’ve got to tear down

my Barns and build bigger ones and it was God who said to him you fool today your life is required of you so this instruction says watch your heart that you don’t get it barnacled up with things that become a substitute for things that count for eternity so this the dangers of wealth the dangers of giving are essentially that it becomes a distraction and to this one man to his eternal demise unless we hear differently in heaven it was his collection of things which distracted him

from the greater issues of Eternity you know in Mark chap 12 we have when we’re starting the subject of giving we really can’t do any better than Mark 12 and in Mark 12 we have the Widow the modest means Widow who says Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were were being given and in the temple there was a a large metal horn it was probably brass and the way people gave is they often gave in coins and you could tell by the rattle

of coins and the brass horn how much people were giving and this Widow came and he was watching the crowd put their money into the temple treasury many reached people through in large amounts I’m sure they love the noise but but one but one Widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny calling his disciples to him he said I tell you the truth this poor Widow has put more into the treasury than all the others they all

gave out of their wealth but she gave out of her poverty put everything she had to live on you know the subject of Believers that were following Jesus in the New Testament really go more candidly to women than to men so guys you can like last week when the ladies stopped listening to me you can stop listening to me for a minute or maybe five because I want to talk to the ladies you ladies are the Quin essential completion of creation according to the Bible creation

wasn’t completed till you were made one old historian said you know woman what didn’t wasn’t made from the head of man to rule over him wasn’t made from the feet of men to be Trampled Under by him but came from his side to be his equal his helpmate and in Genesis that’s really what we have because in Genesis 2 we find that Adam for everything that we found about him last week he was unfulfilled he was alone and when it says it was not good for

him to be alone the biblical text means to say it was bad so there is a strategic compliment that women make to our world that is IR that is irreplaceable that nothing else will satisfy and so in fact Jesus said I mean God said I’m going to make a helper one corresponding to Adam for him now the word suitable for is occurs 19 times in the the Old Testament and every time it’s used it’s used in a way that speaks of the issue of one coming

alongside one who is a helper so when we say corresponding to we in fact understand that to mean one who is equal in design and so in Genesis chapter 2 we find that this one who is now bone of my bone and Flesh of My Flesh Adam says is one who is created delightfully to finish off creation and yet we found last week that the curse from Genesis 3 which is bad times Coming For Men because of Adam’s refusal to take responsibility for his sin and

blame it on the woman is also the true of the woman as well so in Genesis 3 the woman who disobeyed God and ate of the fruit the knowledge of the Tre in Good and Evil has consequences commensurate to her sin and it says I’ll greatly in increase your pain in child birth while pain you’ll give birth to Children your desire will be over your husband and he will rule over you that verse we talked about last week that desire and ruling was the first marital

conflict you wonder why for all of the amazing amazing enthusiasms of courtship and marriage things go south in a marriage and you can take it back to Genesis 3:16 woman’s curse because of her sin and those of you who are daughters of Eve have it your desire is to is to rule over him to rule over your husband to not take a step back but to be one who resists his leadership in your life you know we triy to do it the right way there was

a man who met a woman and Saidi certainly think she’s going to be the one for me so he thought how can I best get to know her and he decided that the way he was going to do that was by writing her a letter every week and so he wrote her a letter every week but she never got back to him so he said I got to up the antie so he started to send her three letters a week and after about 6 months she’

not reached out back to him and so he inquired what’s going going on and found out she’d married the mailman so sometimes in courtship guys we haven’t got it figure it out but in marriage maybe we do there’s what’s called The Seven Ages of marriage and it goes something like this the first year of marriage when a man’s wife has a cold he says sugar I’m worried about my little girl you’ve got a bad snuffle I want to put you in the hospital for a what

checkup I know the food’s lousy but I’ve arranged for your meals to be up from rominos it’s all arranged second year of marriage listen honey I I don’t like the sound of that cough call Dr Miller and he’s going to rush right over here now will you go and be a good girl and just meet with him third year marriage that same cold maybe you better lie down honey nothing like a rest if you’re feeling bad I’ll bring you something to eat have we got anything

in the house sound familiar doesn’t it fourth year Lord be sensible excuse me look dear be sensible after you fed the kids wash the dishes and all you better hit the sack that’s marriage in the fourth year fifth year to his wife with a cold he says why don’t you take a couple of aspirin sixth year if you just gargle or something dear instead of sitting around barking like a seal you make it better and seventh year For Heaven’s Sake stop sneezing keep it up and

you’re going to give me pneumonia so you know if not in courtship then in marriage things deteriorate I suggested last week to you men that as a application you ask your your wives how you’re doing in the marriage and Rob afterwards reminded me that he doesn’t have to ask Bonnie Bonnie keeps him real plugged in on how he’s doing and good for Bonnie I think that’s a good thing but while we as men don’t listen to our wives to our women are in the church we

don’t listen to the women of the church because we’re in leadership in fact the curse on woman in Genesis 3 for the man the curse that he ruled over and dominated his wife is translated in Ephesians 5 and to be one who loves his wife as Christ loves the church and who just as he cares for his own body he’s to translate that care and love into his wife same true for wife the curse of Genesis 3 there’s still pain in child birth I’m told but

the curse of conflict of of resisting the ruling of the husband of the direction of the husband of the leadership of the husband of the leadership of the church as men over women is one in the New Testament that’s translated in a way that’s very gentle and loving Peter for example says live with your wife in an understanding way as with a weaker vessel Grant her honor is a joint heir of the grace of God you have a gift beside you if you’re married are you

have a gift in this assembly with the women in this assembly of one who is a joint air every bit as honorable and strategic to God as we are as men and that’s the honor and praise that we’re to give to the females in fact it’s even addressed in a passage that’s rarely ever taught in the church because it’s a problem text but you know we tread in where others don’t want to go and it’s in first Timothy Chapter 2 1 Timothy Chapter 2 and what

one reason I actually ask you to bring your Bibles because you can flip around to these passages with me let’s turn to it 1 Timothy 2 gives us the instruction of male leadership in the church in relation to females and one of the reasons is because the woman first sinned and not the man we’re not there yet on command on first 1 Timothy 6 we’re in 1 Timothy 1 where the text reads and I’m reading Timothy my son I give you this instruction in excuse me

I think it’s excuse me thank you first that it is ver Timothy verse yeah get to my notes it’s chapter 2 that’s the problem 1 Timothy Chapter 2 and verse 11 and I’m reading a woman should learn in quietness and full submission I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man she must be silent so in the first century Church the instruction was the men were to provide the leadership for the church we’ll give a caveat to that in a

minute for Adam was formed first and Eve and Adam was not the one deceived it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner first but then verse 15 is this acclamation that’s just wonderful but women will be saved they’ll be preserved they’ll be Sanctified through childbearing if they continue in faith love and holiness and propriety so the curse of the Old Testament that placed you under your husband with potential conflicts as you apply a Godly form of living out your life trusting God to

work through those who are over you and with you God says that’s the thing that provides a sanctification and an honorable place for you as daughters of Eve in fact that becomes the measure not only of a marriage but the measure of a Godly church as well so male and female were ones that ones that in the New Testament the women actually surpass the men not only do we have this Widow who gave the two coins commended for her gift but we have the disciples who

follow Jesus and just before his death on the cross every man split he ran he deserted Jesus and after Jesus’s death and burial who were the ones that came to the tomb it was the women so gentlemen you can turn your earbuds back on now you should be ones who with great honor and and appreciation understand that the daughters of Eve are the things that fill out our world both in our marriages and our churches in a way that makes us together join HS of the

Great of God so where does that leave us in terms of the parable if in fact this woman was one who was commended for a gift though she was poor she gave of everything that she had in fact the commentator Bruce walkey says it best I think about the design of men and women when he says and I’m reading the Old Testament and New Testament affirm the structured dependent relationship of men and women in the the Old Testament a woman may serve as a prophetess but

not a priestess the relationship of the godhead in heaven is son spirit and Par parent child spirit in the New Testament the apostles were all men but it was the women who were persevering with Jesus and in fact it was the final recommendation that we are to be people who are together the inheritors of the kingdom of God so when we get back to the parable of Luke 18 and we come back to the measure of the money we actually are asking the question where is

my heart and now we’re ready for 1 Timothy chapter 6 where we’ve been there before but every time Jesus teaches on money we usually go here and it says here that instruct those who are rich and the rich in this text are ones that have their food and covering already supplied if you’ve got a roof over your head if you’ve got clothing if you are fed then that defines to that slave population of the first century that you are rich and Timothy writes command those who

are rich in this present world not and be arrogant put their hope in wealth which is so uncertain but to put their hope in God who doubly who richly provides for us everything in our enjoyment command them to do good and to do good deeds and to be generous and willing to share in this way they lay up Treasures fors a firm foundation for the coming age so they may take hold of life that is truly life indeed I would recommend for you that in your

estate planning as you desire to be people who have eternal wealth that you structure your life and your schedule and your money in a way where you do good deeds James 1 says visit the widows and orphans in their distress and that keeps you unspotted in the world that’s good and good religion to visit the widows and orphans in their distress so it is is US caring for those who are less fortunate is us structuring our lives to care for those around us that become what

Jesus called to the disciples ones who are inheritors of the eternal life Matthew 19: 28 and 29 Jesus again speaking about the Eternal reward teaches truly I tell you that the renewal of all things when the son of man sits on his glorious Throne you who have followed me will also sit on 12 Thrones judging the tribes of Israel and everyone who’s left houses or brothers or sisters or fathers or mother or wives or children or fields for my sake will receive a 100 times as

much and will inherit eternal life what does God want you to do he’s given you four things he’s given you time money relationship and possessions with each of those you want to structure them in a way that says I want to count them and make them impact for eternity there was a young man in the 1940s who was a Plymouth Brethren devotee and he went to Wheaten College before Wheaten College got a all weird and woke in the last few years and H he went to

the mission field and at the mission field he decided to go to the Indians of that had not heard anything of Jesus that in fact they were ones who were Believers in the gods that were in their ancestors and the witch doctors and that Jim Elliott went with three other men so four men went to the Indians of of the of the Primitive countries and in that had not heard of Jesus and they knew that their life was on the line as they took the message

conflicting with the witch doctors and on October 29th 1949 Jim Elliot wrote in his journal he never dreamed that it would be a journal that we can go on the internet and look and see now and read but the journal that Jim Elliot wrote says he is no fool who gives when can what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose I can’t do that for you but I can do it for me and in fact we come back to the stead of the of

the Widow when she was assured that when God comes he will do justice on the Earth but when he comes will he find faith will he find those of us that have structured our churches and our marriages and our relationships in a way that sacrificially give what we have to count for eternity the best thing about that is that’s a simple message not easy to do but it’s a simple message a Ken I suppose to a horsey and a ducky let’s pray Lord we’re grateful people

today that we can rest ourselves in your stead and confident that you’re working in our lives and in fact believing that it’s the structure and circumstances of Our Lives that we can put in your hands and trust that as James Elliot said in fact we are a people most blessed to be able to trust you and the circumstances around us so we pray that the men that we have responsibilities to lead and provide encouragement to the women of our marriages to the women of our churches

that we do it well that we’d be an honorable joint air of the grace of God and as women Lord we pray that we’ll be people who follow you and follow your lead in the direction of those who are under or over us in Jesus name amen would you join us in Stand I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold I’d rather be his than have is unold I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands I’d rather be led by his nail pierced hand than to

be a king of the vain or beheld in sin dread s I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today I pr ra have Jesus than men’s Applause I’ ra be faithful to his dear cause I’ rather have Jesus than worldwide Fame I’d rather be true to his holy name then to be a king of a last domain or beheld in sins I’ rather have Jesus than anything this world ofs today he’s fairer than lies of R BL he’s sweeter than honey from out the

co he’s all all that my hungering spir needs I’ rather have Jesus and let him L then to be a king of a vain or be held in sin dread s I’d rather have Jesus than this world of for today will you pray with me Prec

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 5,538 words.