An Honored Position As His Family - Luke 8:15-21
GODLY ATTITUDE - 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
It’s not always easy to smile and be nice, When we are called to sacrifice.
It’s not always easy to put others first, Especially when tired and feeling our worst.
It’s not always easy to do the Father’s will. It wasn’t so easy to climb Calvary’s hill.
But we as His children, should learn to obey; Not seeking our own but seeking His way.
It’’s not always easy to fight the good fight. But it is always good and it is always right!
Glenda Fulton Davis
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
*t is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not constraint and contention that advance us in our Christian course. On the contrary, it is the yielding of our wills without restriction and without choice, to tread cheerfully every day in the path in which Providence leads us, to seek nothing, to be discouraged by nothing, to seek out duty in the present moment, to trust all else without reserve to the will and power of God.
Dr. B. J. Miller once said, "It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it." - Today In The Word
Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in ‘71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team. Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."
LOGICAL DEDUCTION - 8:16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
1. A witness must have a first-hand experience of Christ. Hearsay is not acceptable in a court of law. People will listen what we have personally seen and heard.
2. A witness must be able to express himself verbally. Be ready answer anyone who asks about the hope that is in you.
3. A witness will have confidence in the power of God. He relies on the power of the message of Christ and him crucified, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
4. A witness will have compassion for the spiritually lost. He will care for them as individuals who matter deeply to God: made in his image, redeemed by his Son, and to be indwelt by his Spirit.
Luke 11:33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
Luke 11:36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.
REASONABLE MOTIVATION - 8:17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
The believer is assured of salvation from hell and is eternally secure, since that salvation is based solely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ (John 10:28,29; Rom 8:38,39). Therefore, it is inconsistent with the Gospel and with Scripture to seek to gain or keep eternal salvation by godly living. The Scripture, however, does present several motivations for obedience in the Christian life. Author unknown
*1. A powerful motivation for living the Christian life is gratitude to God for saving us by His grace (Rom. 12:1,2; 2 Cor. 5:14,15; Gal. 2:20).
2. Believers should also be motivated by the knowledge that their heavenly Father both blesses obedience and disciplines disobedience in His children (Heb. 12:3-11; Lev. 26:1-45).
3. Finally, every Christian must stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, not to determine his destiny in heaven or hell, but to assess the quality of his Christian life on earth (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:12). Anticipating either reward or loss of reward at the Judgment Seat should also motivate believers to perseverance and to faithfulness to God’’s revealed will (I Cor. 3:10-17, 9:24-27; James. 5:8,9; 1 John 2:28).
JUSTIFIABLE WARNING - 8:18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
Prov. 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE - 8:19-21 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
It is said that on his retreat from Greece after his great military expedition there, King Xerxes boarded a Phoenician ship along with a number of his Persian troops. But a fearful storm came up, and the captain told Xerxes there was no hope unless the ship’s load was substantially lightened. The king turned to his fellow Persians on deck and said, "It is on you that my safety depends. Now let some of you show your regard for your king." A number of the men bowed to Xerxes and threw themselves overboard! Today in The Word, July 1997
*Where our Captain bids us go, ‘Tis not ours to murmur no; He that gives the sword and shield Chooses too the battlefield. Where we are to fight the foe. Anonymous