Exodus 19, Luke 16

Friday, February 29, 2008 - Brandon Hatmaker (Exodus 19, Luke 16)

"What God said, what Jesus said."

(Exodus 19)

“So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.” Exodus 19:7-8

Here’s a significant moment of truth. Moses sat down with the elders, he laid out God’s vision, and they made a commitment together to do EVERYTHING the Lord said. Regardless of their tradition, regardless of their experiences, regardless of their personal desires, regardless of their personal doubts and inadequacy, they committed to do everything. Because the Lord was their God and they recognized that He was up to something way bigger than them, and they realized God had given them the honor of being a HUGE part of it.

Today the Lord still speaks loudly. Our gift is His Word. So what did He say to us?

Jesus taught a ton about love. Not just about it, but how to love. The fruit of the Spirit outlines how Godly love is manifest in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I think it’s interesting that just like the ten commandments, four of those are mostly about and come from our relationship with God (love, joy, peace, faithfulness) and while those four can certainly be applied to others as well, the rest are all about something inside of each of us that determine how we treat other people. (patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control).

Are we willing to do EVERYTHING the Lord had said?

The second most common topic Jesus dealt with was money. Many times it was in regard to our affections towards money. Often, however, it was in regard to what we do with it. This could apply to almost any of our personal resources that we hold dear, our time, our abilities, our experience, etc… It takes all of these resources to do what Jesus taught in Matthew 25:31-40. It takes sacrifice of these things we hold affection for to do what James affirmed when he said, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” In my understanding of scripture, how we treat (and feel about) the poor, the oppressed, the sick, and the abandoned was not only one of the most discussed topics of Jesus, but one of the major topics in which we will be judged. This relates directly to the number one topic of love. I think that’s on purpose.

There are other things as well… but I have a feeling that if we’re committed to doing these top two things, the rest will fall into place.

(Luke 16)

“The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.” Luke 16: 14-15

At every level of my being, as a Christ follower, a husband, a father, and as a friend, I’m personally very challenged by this statement. What are the things highly valued before God? This scripture says that they are the opposite from those that are highly valued among men. We have to be constantly re-evaluating what we value and why we value it.

Father, it’s so hard to fully understand what it means to be an “alien” to this world. I know it starts with a focus on you and not our flesh. Help us to stay there.