Are we well? Yeah, we're a bit sleepy, aren't we? Great to be here this morning. Why don't
we just pause as we come to God's Word this morning and let's pray and let's ask that
He'd be so kind and gracious to us and that He would speak to us this morning. Let's pray
together. Dear Father, as we turn to Your Word now, our prayer is that You would capture
our hearts with the all-surpassing greatness of Your Son, Jesus Christ. And would You fill
our hearts, Lord, maybe even for the first time this morning, for a fresh, with a fresh
love for Him and a desire to know Him more. And so it's in His name that we pray these
things. Amen. Well, I wonder if there's anyone here this morning and you have a phobia of something.
According to phobialist.com, there is actually such a thing as that website. There are 530
official recognized phobias. Now, I learned of a new one this week. It's on the screen.
It's called Me-phobia. And it's the fear of becoming so great that the world is no longer
able to handle you. Now, just in case you wondered whether that is actually a real phobia, really
it's a tongue-in-cheek way of telling somebody that they're a little bit proud. It's not a term
you use of yourself. It's a term that you use of someone else to tell them that they're a little
bit proud. Well, what we're going to see this morning is we're going to see Jesus at a meal.
And at this meal, He's going to interact with some people who have come down with a serious dose
of me-phobia. So, would you like to grab a Bible and turn to Luke chapter 14? That's where we are this
morning. And as you're turning there, let me get you up to speed with where we're going this morning.
If you remember last week, Alistair helped us see the big question of this new section of Luke's
gospel. Jesus has been speaking about His kingdom, this upside-down kingdom, where the first are last
and the last are first. This kingdom that is full of followers, not of fans. And it's a kingdom that's
full of people. And so the question that we've got to be asking ourselves in this section of Luke's
gospel is, what are the marks of this kingdom people? What does the people of Jesus' kingdom,
what do they look like? What are they characterized by? Well, here's what we're going to see this
morning. Is it humility? Is it the heart of the kingdom? And now here's the warning before we dive
into these verses, that Jesus is going to go after your heart this morning. He's going to probe,
and He's going to search, and He's going to expose, and He's going to challenge, and He's going to
transform your heart. Why is He going to do that? Because that's what He does. That our God loves us
too much to see us stay the way we are. So if you're here this morning, and you wouldn't call
yourself a Christian, and we love that you're here. We absolutely love that you're here. You're so
welcome. But Jesus is going after your heart this morning, because He wants you to come to know Him.
If you are a Christian here this morning, then Jesus is going to go after your heart, because God,
your Father is committed to the business of transforming you, His child, day after day after
day after day more into the likeness of His Son. So Jesus, in these verses, is going to go after your
heart this morning. What I want us to see as we work our way through is that there are two confessions
at the heart of a humble heart. Two confessions that we'll see that these men that we meet this
morning. Two confessions that they don't have, and two confessions that Luke is telling us, as the
readers, that we need to have. So Luke 14, let's just read it together from verse 1.
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.
There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the
Pharisees and experts in the law, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? But they remained silent.
So, taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. Then he asked him,
if one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately
pull it out? And they had nothing to say. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of
honour at the table, he told him this parable. When someone invites you to a wedding feast,
do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.
If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, give this person your seat.
Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
But when you're invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you,
friend, move up to a better place. Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests.
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Then Jesus said to his hosts, when you give a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends,
your brothers or sisters, your relatives or your rich neighbours. If you do, then they may invite you
back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid
at the resurrection of the righteous. Amen. And I'm sure God will bless the reading of his holy words
this morning. So here's confession number one, verses one to six of chapter 14 of a humble heart.
Jesus, you are right and I am wrong. So come with me. Verse one, Jesus is at a meal.
So this ruler of the Pharisees has invited Jesus to join him and his Pharisee buddies at dinner.
And Jesus accepts. Now from everything that we've seen in Luke's gospel so far,
we may well have expected Jesus to say, dine with you guys? Are you kidding me?
I've actually got some paint at home that I need to watch dry on the wall. But Jesus goes. He goes to
this meal. Why does he go? Because he's concerned about the hearts of these men. But Luke lets us know.
Do you see in the text that this was no olive branch invitation from the Pharisees to Jesus?
What are they doing? They're watching him carefully. And as if by magic, verse two,
behold, behold, says Luke, that's meant to get our attention. Behold, this man with dropsy appears in
front of him. This man suffering from intense swelling. And because of his suffering, he would
have been rendered unclean and he would not have been allowed to enter the temple. And yet this man
just happens to show up at dinner at the ruling Pharisee's house. I'm not buying it. This is a sting
operation. This man has been planted there quite deliberately by the Pharisees. Notice when?
On the Sabbath to get a reaction from Jesus. No small talk at this arrival from this dinner. No mood
music to create an ambiance. This dinner party has well and truly kicked off. Jesus, knowing the
intentions of these men, he responds with his own words. Do you see verse four?
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? Genius. Genius. Here's why it's genius. If they say yes,
then having Jesus there but forbidding him to heal is lacking compassion and mercy. And if they say no,
then they risk admitting that they were wrong the whole time, dividing themselves and having their
whole organization and manner of life questioned. Genius question. Checkmate move from Jesus.
See how they respond. They remained silent. And in passing, notice the quite distasteful way that
they are treating this man. Like he, this human being who has been so beautifully and wonderfully made in
the image of his creator God, this human being is some kind of fodder for their spectator sport.
They have no love for this man. They have no compassion for this man.
But Jesus does. And the funny thing is, is what the Pharisees did in using this man as a pawn in their scheme.
Best thing that ever happened to him. Jesus touched him. Do you see Jesus again getting involved in their
lives, these messy lives? Jesus touched him and he healed him and he sends him away. Just like that.
Verse 5. Jesus isn't done. Which one of you? Again, do you feel the language? Which one of you? He speaks to them.
Having a son or an ox which has fallen into a ditch won't pull him out. Answer none of them.
Verse 6. They have nothing to say. Nothing to say. Pin drop in this moment.
And here's what we need to see. The Pharisees at this point, instead of waving the white flag
and saying, you win Jesus, you were right, they cannot bring themselves to say,
Jesus, you are right and we are wrong. Now why? Do they have an intellectual problem that Jesus is saying here?
No. They cannot say it because of the stubbornness in their own hearts.
And because of the stubbornness in their own hearts, they will not budge.
The confession of their hearts for no other reason than their own pride
is that Jesus, we are right
and you are wrong.
And as Luke invites us in, as he tells us about this incident in Luke 14,
he's saying, this is what a kingdom heart
doesn't look like.
So what is the state of your heart this morning before our Lord?
What is the state of your heart this morning before Jesus?
Do you see yourself in these men?
Are you here this morning?
And for no other reason than your own pride,
you will not raise the white flag in surrender to Jesus.
Now could this morning be the first day
where you render submission to this King?
Jesus, you are king
and you are right
and I am not.
But let me ask you,
maybe you are here this morning
and you're thinking to yourself,
listen, I've made that confession.
I made that confession when I was six.
Let me ask you,
is that confession
day by day,
hour after hour,
minute after minute,
is it working its way
through your life?
Jesus, you are right.
You are right
and I am wrong.
Now let me show you
what I mean by this.
Our little girl,
Chloe at the minute,
she's really into climbing,
just loves climbing.
And in our flat,
we've got a toy box
and she loves to climb
on top of that toy box
but the only thing
that we know
that she doesn't know
is that when she presses up
against the glass,
that there's a 15 foot drop
the other side
of that single pane glass
and she would probably
go to her death.
Chloe,
come down from the toy box.
Chloe,
come down from the toy box.
Again,
and again,
and again.
The other day she did it.
She climbed on the toy box.
Chloe,
sweetheart,
please come down
off the toy box.
So she looks me
right in the eye
and she proceeds
to slowly come down
on the toy box.
She leaves her right leg up.
And it's one of the
surreal moments in life
when you're looking at her
thinking,
I'm having a showdown
with my two-year-old daughter.
Where have you learned
this stuff?
And why are you good
at this stuff?
But the confession
of her heart
in that moment,
Dad,
you're kind of right.
Dad,
you're kind of right.
And because you're
kind of right,
I'm going to offer you
semi-obedience.
A kingdom heart,
one that says,
Jesus,
you are right
and I am wrong,
does not offer him
semi-obedience.
Is there an area
of your life
where right now
you've still got
your right leg
on the toy box?
Think about your own
life for a minute.
You know what God
has said in his words.
You know what an
honoring life
to Jesus
looks like.
And you may not be
like these Pharisees
who will 100%
not budge.
Let me ask you
in your life
right now,
is there an area
where you 20%
won't budge?
Is there an area
of your life
where you 10%
won't move?
in your relationships,
in your conduct
at work,
in your speech,
the way that you
speak about people,
in the way that you
use your money,
in the way that you
use your free time,
in your dreams,
in your aspirations
for your own life.
A kingdom heart
does not 80%
submit to him.
A kingdom heart
does not 90%
conform to his word.
A kingdom heart
offers Jesus
100% devotion.
That's a kingdom heart.
Humility
is at the heart
of the kingdom.
Confession number one.
Jesus,
you are right
and I am wrong.
Here's confession number two,
verses 7 to 14
of chapter 14.
Jesus,
you are first
and I am last.
Verse seven,
we're back at this
dinner party.
I'm sure the atmosphere
would have been at this point
a bit frosty,
but mercifully,
it's time for folks
to take their seats
for the meal.
Now we might not get
the full force,
no sorry,
to get the full force
of what Jesus is saying here,
we need to understand
a bit about
how a meal worked
in the first century.
The table would have been
shaped something
like a U
and the host
would have sat
at the bottom
of the U.
And so the position
of honour
at one of these meals
was on the immediate left
or the immediate right
of the host.
You can understand
the closer to the host
that you sat,
the more important
you were considered
to be.
And the flip side
is also true,
that the further away
from the host
you sat,
the less important
you were considered
to be.
So what does Jesus
do at this meal?
He just hangs back,
he watches this
all unfold.
He watches these men,
probably elbows and all,
battle their way
to the top.
Battle their way
to be top dog.
You can imagine them,
can't you?
One man so obviously
coming in and hanging
his coat really obviously
over the right hand seat.
Another man coming in
and getting a cup
and putting big letters,
Mark a pen,
Bob slamming it down,
that's his seat.
They want these seats.
And Jesus,
observing all this going on,
tells them a parable
at verse 8.
About a wedding feast.
Now we might not
immediately click
with the U-shaped table,
but we do click
with the wedding feast.
You know what it's like
the moment when it comes
to dinner time.
You go in to the hall,
what do you see?
You see the seating plan.
Now we don't normally
have a ranking order,
but we do have a top table.
And close to the front
normally comes
the close family members
and other members
of the wedding party.
And if you made it
onto the list
as a plus one afterthought,
you're probably
somewhere at the back.
Jesus,
as he watches these men
jostle for position,
he speaks to them
and he appeals to their sense
of knowing what a wedding feast
is like.
Would it not be better,
says Jesus,
if instead of presumptuously
racing to the top
of the table
and taking your seat
next to the bride
before being confronted
by an angry groom
who tells you
to take the walk of shame
to the lowest place
and there's no other seats
left in the house
because all the other guests
have taken them
and you're humiliated,
would it not be better
if you took the lowest seat
in the house
and the groom came over
and said to you,
dear friend,
you don't deserve
to be here,
come on up.
What are you?
You're honoured
in front of all the guests.
Publicly honoured
because you were bumped up
rather than downgraded.
You ever had that experience
on a flight before?
Remember when we were young?
My dad,
we've got two brothers,
my dad always used to make us
dress really smart
because of this reason.
But you know what?
We laugh at him,
one time he absolutely nailed it.
And I remember that moment
as we got onto the plane
instinctively,
what do you do?
You go right?
No, no, no, sir.
Show me your ticket.
Hey, you're going left.
The thing about these men
is they have walked in
and they have presumptuously
assumed that they're going left
when in actual fact
they should be going right.
Now what's Jesus getting at?
He's not interested in seats.
He's getting at the heart.
What's going on
in the hearts of these men?
I need to get ahead.
I need to be in the spotlight.
I need to be recognized.
And Jesus looks at them
and he lays out the principle
of his kingdom at verse 11.
If you want to be humbled,
go right ahead and exalt yourself.
If you want to be exalted,
then go right ahead
and humble yourself.
Humility is at the heart
of the kingdom.
C.S. Lewis,
humility is not thinking
less of yourself.
It's thinking of yourself less.
Jesus then proceeds
to talk to the host of the party.
Do you see it?
Verse 12.
I'll be honest,
I'm amazed he's even still
at this party at this point.
He's offended the guests.
He's at a pop at their habits.
And here he is talking to the host.
What does he say?
Can I make a few observations
about your invite list?
Can I see the names?
The only people
that you tend to invite
to these things
are the people
who are in a position
to give you something back.
When was the last time,
when was the last time
that you invited somebody
to one of your parties
who had absolutely nothing
that they could give you
in return?
No connections,
no prestige,
no glitz and glamour.
In particular,
if you're struggling
to picture them,
the crippled,
the lame,
the blind.
Those who have literally
got nothing
to give you back
in return.
Now I doubt that this man
has ever,
ever done that
in his life.
But here's the crux of it.
Why should he?
I mean,
who's this guy,
Jesus?
He just rocks up
and tells me
how to run my life.
Why should he?
Because he's at the heart
of who God is,
right at the heart
of who our Savior is.
And it's at the heart
of the gospel.
The God who simply,
because he is gracious,
welcomes the unclean
to come and dine with him.
Because a heart of humility
sees oneself
not as the giver
of the invitation,
but as the recipient
of the invitation.
And a recipient
who knows
that we cannot
ever possibly
fully repay God,
our host.
And we are simply
at his table
because of his free grace.
We are the crippled,
the lame,
and the blind.
And this is
who our God is.
And Jesus,
in the wider context
of Luke's gospel,
is on his way
to the cross
to make a way
for his people
not to be at God's table
simply as an afterthought,
but to be at God's table
as his adopted sons
and daughters.
The gospel is incredible
and we see it right here
in Luke 14.
This is how
the kingdom works.
And this is how
kingdom people think.
And Jesus is here
saying to this man
that there is a direct link
between how you operate
and how you treat others
and how you think
and perceive
God has treated you.
The second confession
of a kingdom heart,
Jesus,
you are first
and I am last.
As we seek to apply
this to our lives,
let me just bring
one challenge
and one observation.
As we work to a close.
Firstly,
the challenge.
This confession
of Jesus,
you first
and me last.
It needs to work
through every single
aspect of our lives.
It needs to work
in our wallets,
Jesus,
you first,
I'm last.
It needs to work
in our schedules,
our weeks,
Jesus,
you first,
me last.
It needs to work
in our priorities,
Jesus,
you first,
me last.
It needs to work
through our dreams
and ambitions
that we have
for our own lives,
Jesus,
you first
and me last.
Submitting to Jesus
and willfully
bringing ourselves
to say,
Jesus,
you first
and me last.
my prayer this week
has just been,
Lord,
would you help me
take my eyes
off myself?
Help me take
my eyes off myself.
Would you help me
to be more aware
of people?
People in the church,
but people outside
the church as well.
The staff who look
after my girls
at nursery,
the shop assistant
who serves me
at Tesco.
Father,
would you help me
see that these
people are not
just here to serve
me,
that these are
people who you've
put in my path
deliberately,
and would you help
me have a heart
that takes a loving
interest in these
people and wants
to serve them?
Why?
Because that's what
you've done for me.
You are so good
to me,
Lord.
So let me ask you,
is there people
in your life
that you can think
of?
How is this going
to play out
in your own life?
Jesus, you first,
your agenda first,
your kingdom first,
me last.
That's the challenge.
Here's the encouragement.
I see a lot of you
doing this.
I see a lot of you
doing this.
The way that some of you
serve one another
so sacrificially,
the way that some of you,
I see it behind the scenes,
you give up your time,
the way that some of you
practically care and love
for other people,
and you get nothing
in return.
Accept the thought
and truth in your mind
that I'm living
for the last day
when I will meet
my Savior face to face
and he will say to me,
well done,
good and faithful servant,
which I presume
in the language
of this passage here
means when you'll be
exalted at the resurrection
of the just.
That's what some of you
are living for.
I see it,
and it's inspirational.
And is it not
a wonderful witness
as we do this
as a church family?
Is it not a wonderful witness
to the watching world
of the truth
of the gospel?
That Jesus
is alive
and by his Spirit
the Father lives
in the hearts
of his people?
That I want people
from the outside
to look into my life
individually
and to look into
our lives corporately
and say that there is
no explanation
for how those people
love one another
except that the gospel
is true.
humility
is at the heart
of the kingdom.
Humility
is at the heart
of the kingdom.
Two confessions
of a humble heart.
Jesus,
you're right
and I'm wrong
and Jesus,
you're first
and I'm last.
We started out
joking about me-phobia.
I hope you've seen
as we've journeyed
through this
that Jesus,
well Luke is telling us
that Jesus' kingdom
is completely opposite.
What does a kingdom
heart look like?
What does it mean
to have these confessions
at the heart
of your heart?
Well as we close
let me just tell you
a story
of a minister
from Glasgow
named John Harper.
It was great,
we were talking about him
this week
in our home group.
1912,
he's on his way
with his six-year-old
daughter to Chicago
to speak at the famous
Moody Church.
Now it was rumored
that he went,
they invited him
to speak
because they had him
down as being
their next minister.
Now that's a wonderful
life opportunity,
that is a wonderful
career progression,
especially since
this church
had just experienced
a time of great revival.
And in April 1912,
they set sail
for America
along with thousands
of others
on board the Titanic.
The iceberg hits
and John Harper's
first thought
is not,
what of my job,
his first thought
is what of these
people on this boat
who do not know
Jesus Christ
as the Lord,
King and Saviour.
Sees his daughter
onto the lifeboat,
makes sure that she's safe.
Then not only does he
not get on the lifeboat,
but he takes off
his life jacket
and he hands it
to someone else,
saying,
you need this
more than me.
And the ship
goes down,
he finds himself
in icy waters
and he comes across
this young man.
Do you know Jesus,
young man?
He says.
And I don't,
replies the man.
And they drift apart.
A little while later,
they drift together again.
Do you know Jesus yet?
Says John Harper
to this young man.
No, I don't,
says this man.
John Harper
sinks to his death.
Now, incredibly,
seven people
were hauled
from the icy waters
that night,
including
Anguilla Webb,
the young man
that John Harper
had spoken to
in the icy waters.
So he stands up
in his church at home
and he makes
this confession.
He says,
there alone
in the night
and with two miles
of water underneath me,
I first believed.
And I am John Harper's
last convert.
So in the face
of death
and drowning,
there is a man
who is concerned
for Jesus' kingdom,
not his own career.
There is a man
who,
despite the fact
that he was about
to lose everything,
said that in Jesus,
I have everything.
two confessions
of a humble heart.
Jesus,
you're right
and I'm wrong.
Jesus,
you're first
and I'm last.
Humility
is at the heart
of the kingdom.
Just as we close
and just before we move on
with the rest of our service,
why don't we just
pause and let's have
a moment of reflection
and then I'll close
in prayer.
and maybe there's
someone here
for the first time
this morning
convicted
that you need to say
in your own life,
Jesus,
you're right
and I'm wrong.
and so Father,
we thank you
for your word
this morning.
We ask,
dear God,
that you would help us
by your spirit
to take our eyes
off of ourselves
and by your spirit
help us this week
to place them
and affix them
on your son,
Jesus Christ.
Would you help us
to be humble
like him?
And so this is our prayer,
dear Father,
in Jesus' name.
Amen.