Luke 3:18-20 (10/23/24)

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Luke 3:18-20 (10/23/24)

Speak Up

October 23, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Luke 3:18–20

- We know that all Scripture is used for teaching, training, exhorting, correcting, reproving, and rebuking (2 Timothy).

- We see a real live picture of what this looked like by John the Baptist.

- In these verses, we see John exhorting and teaching the crowds, but when the civil leader of his day took his own brother's wife, John reproved him for it.

- Quick side note - why would John get into the political scene?

- Because John knew that there's no division between the sacred and secular.

- If a leader of people is doing something that is a sin against God, he must be reproved for it.

- vs 18 - “And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.”

- This is the fun part - training and exhorting!

- John proclaimed the “good news” - what news is that?

- It’s not just salvation - that is a part of it.

- The good news is that God's kingdom has come into the world and overthrown Satan's kingdom.

- And as God's followers, we can participate in that kingdom.

- That's the gospel - the full gospel.

- But Good news doesn't discard reality.

- John wasn't going to duck and dodge this fact because he didn't want to hurt peoples' feelings.

- Watch what John does:

- vs 19-20 - “But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.”

- We love to teach, train, and exhort with the Scripture, but we're not fans of reproof, rebuke, and correction.

- We fear those things - we want approval too bad.

- But John didn’t, and it got him in BIG trouble.

- We should heed John's example and use the Scripture for "everything" it was intended to be used for, not just for half it's purpose.

- This means we have to be willing to stand against the evils of culture when the fight comes our way.

- The AMP version says John (repeatedly) told Herod about his fault.

- This wasn’t a one-time reproof. John kept reminding him.

- Why couldn't John have just kept quiet about Herod's adulterous relationship?

- He could have protected his platform if he did.

- MLK said, “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or servant of the State. Rather, it is the conscience of the State.”

- John was the conscience for Herod - he spoke truth to power.

- Christian leaders must remind ruling authorities in our nation when they have overstepped and broken God’s law.

- If God's kingdom truly reigns supreme, then we can't keep quiet when His law is trampled on.

- EX: How would you respond if someone maligned your spouse?

- If John had kept quiet, he would have stayed out of jail, but he would have forfeited the power of the Holy Spirit, which only dwells in the heart of a believer willing to follow Jesus and speak His Truth boldly, whatever the cost.

John 6:53 (12/18/24)

December 18, 2024 • Benham Brothers • John 6:53

* You've heard it said that "seeing is believing.” * But in Christ's world "eating is believing." * Drinking is also believing. * vs 53-58 - “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” * To “eat” and “drink” of Jesus is to believe in Him. * And to believe in Him is to commit to Him fully. * This is why Christ implemented communion as a symbolic way to remind ourselves to keep eating and believing in Him. * When you eat something, you put the essence of the thing into your body. * So if I eat a steak, I eat whatever that cow has eaten. * My body will become the very food that I put into it. * Our soul and spirit work the same way--this is why we have to feed on Jesus. * When we eat of Him through spending time with Him, devouring Him in His Word, we become like Him. * Jesus says that if we don't eat of Him then we have no life in us. * It would be like eating my daughter's plastic steak in her kitchen set--it's a fake. * It won't nourish. * Jesus is real food and He nourishes the human soul. * Nothing else can do that. * But why did Jesus start talking like this? * Because He knew they had just started the "Jesus for King" campaign. * He had just fed over 5,000 of them with two small fish and three small loaves. * They wanted more bread like this, like what Moses gave them in the wilderness. * But Jesus didn't come to give them physical food, but spiritual food. * So He needed to thin the crowd, to separate those who wanted Him from those who just wanted what He could do for them.

John 9:25 (12/18/24)

December 18, 2024 • Benham Brothers • John 9:25

* In the bestselling book, The One Thing, Gary Keller asks this question: * “What’s the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” * Then organize your life around this one thing! * He then breaks down the Four P’s of success - Purpose, Priority, Productivity, Profit. * Most people start with profit, but you must start with purpose. * Here’s the key - God defines your purpose! * We see this in the story of a blind man Jesus healed. * He had to defend himself against a group of religious leaders demanding an account of what happened. * They accused Jesus of being a sinner and they wanted this man to admit to that fact. * Two days prior to this event he was just a blind man sitting beside the road begging for anything anyone would give him, and now he is thrust into the middle of the greatest debate of his time - was Jesus the Son of God or not? * Look at what he said: * vs 25 - “He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” * He focused on the ONE thing! * Your “one thing" you know is your testimony of what Jesus has done for you! * This is why a testimony is so powerful, because it gives you a first-hand experience with the God of creation - something that can never be taken away! * You don't have to have all the answers to their tough Biblical questions - just hold on to that one thing. * How did this man get here? * By the experience he had with Jesus! * Jesus had touched Him and healed him - now he could see. * Jesus met the need this man had and cured him of what ailed him. * That's all this man knew - he didn't know anything else. * And this is all he needed to know! * He had been touched him and it was so real to him that he was willing to tell everyone what had happened. * He didn't try to figure out how it happened or how to defend Jesus from these attacks. * He simply spoke from first-hand experience of what Jesus did for him. * Notice in the next verse: * vs 26-27 - “They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” * They asked him “how” he came to see. * The man didn’t respond with how, but WHO! * The “one thing” is never about how, when, where, why, or what - it’s always about WHO! * KEY - choose to do the ONE thing you’ll do in your life that will always keep you attached to God. * Spend time with Him daily! * In my life, a lot of times I didn’t know where to go or what to do, but I knew I was going to do ONE thing - get up and spend time with Him!

Psalms 119:97-104 (12/11/24)

December 11, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Psalm 119:97–104

* If we love God, we will love His Word. * It might not be immediate, but the more time we spend with Him, the more of Him we’ll want. * The Bible is a book all about Him! * The book of Psalms is like a love letter to God. * It’s a prayer journal that we get to peek inside of. * Psalms 119 is the longest psalm, and is made up of blocks, each one containing eight verses. * We’re in the MEM section. * vs 97a - “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” * Dwelling in God’s Word is a continual meditation of the poet’s life. * How did the poet get to this point? * The next seven verses show us the steps he took to get there. * 1) He knew he was in a battle. * vs 98 - “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine.” * The first step to falling in love with God’s Word was the recognition of the immediate and sustained threat of enemies. * Because of that threat, he recognized his reliance on God’s Word. * Knowing you’re in a fight is the first key to winning the battle over evil. * 2) He knew the value of teachers. * vs 99 - “I have more insight than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.” * His teachers prepared him to trust in God’s Word. * He became wise because of them. * 3) He welcomed “elders” into his life (older people) * vs 100 - “I understand more than the aged, because I have observed your precepts.” * Elders model the way and also keep us accountable. * These elders lived by example, which led him to seek out teachers, which led him to prepare for conflict. * 4) He knew he could easily be just like his enemies. * vs 101 - “I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep your Word.” * Being repulsed by this discovery is what led him to listen to his elders, learn from his teachers, and prepare to be someone different. * 5) He discovered that God’s way was the best way to live his life. * vs 102-103 - “I have not turned aside from your ordinances, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” * 6) He based his thinking on truth, not the falsehoods of the world. * vs 104 - “From your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.” * With this examination in mind, we can see the connection to the next verse in the NUN section. * It elaborates on how deeply God’s Word has changed him. * vs 105 - “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”