Podcasts about Luke 18

FLORIDA TRIP 2025 Sunday, May 25, 2025 Come and See: Healing Hands (Luke 18:35-43) Will Washington

18th May 2025 Hope for the Humble Luke 18:18-30 by Robertson Anglican Church

Here in Luke 19, Jesusis giving us this story of a rich man getting saved and making sure weunderstand what's impossible with men is possible with God. If you go back to Luke18, you might remember the rich young ruler who came running to Jesus and leftvery sorrowful. Jesus then made the statement, "How hard it is forthose who have riches to enter the kingdom of God."  The rich man in Luke 18came running to Jesus, but this man, Zacchaeus, ran ahead of Jesus because hesought to see Him. He was small of stature and had to climb up into a sycamoretree. We go by a sycamore tree whenever we go to Jericho, visiting the HolyLand, and we always get out and take a picture right there in the middle of thecity of Jericho. They believe it's possible that this very tree is from theroots of the tree that Zacchaeus might have climbed up. I don't know, but it'salways great to see that tree and think of the story about Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus ran ahead,and my friend, I think about how it says Jesus came to the place where he was. Zacchaeusset himself in the place where God's grace would come by. My friend, I'm goingto tell you, you're more apt to find Jesus at church than you are in a bar orout doing some wicked, evil deed. When you put yourself in the place of God'sgrace, that's when God's grace will pass by you. This place is called humility.Zacchaeus humbled himself. Jesus said, "If you're going to become rich andenter the kingdom of God, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is thekingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). You want to inherit heaven, you must humbleyourself and become like a beggar. So here's a rich manrunning ahead, putting himself in the place of God's grace. Jesus is going topass that way. How do you put yourself in the place of God's grace? I wouldencourage you, if you're struggling to find salvation, read the Gospel of John,study the Gospel of John, hang out with some believers who love Jesus Christ,talk to people who want to talk about the Lord, put yourself in the place ofGod's grace, get away from those who are leading you into sin and continuing toencourage you to sin. This man ran away, he humbles himself, he climbs in thetree, and I love it. It says, "When Jesus came to the place, he looked upand saw him and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down."Interestingly, Jesuslooked up. When we read the scriptures, God is looking down from heaven. Jesuswas in heaven,  but one day, and he leftthe splendors of glory. “He who was rich became poor”. He became poor,and now he looks up to where Zacchaeus is. My friend, it is because Jesushumbled himself and became a man, became a servant, and became obedient even tothe death of the cross, that we can experience His grace of salvation (Philippians2:5-11).  Then Jesus makes thestatement, "Salvation has come to this man's house today because he isa son of Abraham." There was evidence of Zacchaeus' salvation. Hegives half his goods to the poor. He didn't have to give that much back to thepoor, but he did. Why? Because when a man meets Jesus Christ and the grace ofGod comes into his life, everything changes. We become new creatures in ChristJesus. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians5:17). A son of Abraham means he is a “son of faith” (Romans 4:12; Galatians3:7).  Today, will you putyourself in the way of God's grace? “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Callupon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6).

Ryan Land preaches from Luke 18:9-14 on May 18th, 2025.

Luke 18:35-43 - Bartimaeus and Me - Pastor Dan PlourdeMESSAGE NOTES:http://www.calvaryword.com/Luke/a1404.pdf

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Today,we're looking at Luke chapter 18, specifically verses 35-43, the last verses ofthe chapter. Jesus began this chapter by teaching about prayer, that men oughtalways to pray and not to faint. He gave us several stories about prayer. Inthese last verses Jesus teaches us that the prayer that always turns the ear ofGod to see our need, and give us the miracle that we need, is the “desperate prayer”.Now, as Luke ends this chapter, he points out a certain man who was a beggarand blind, who came to Jesus.  Inthis chapter, we've seen contrasts between different people and situations.Here, we see the contrast between this beggar who was blind and the rich manwho came to Jesus. Matthew's and Mark's gospels tell us there were two beggars,but in the Gospel of Luke, it appears Luke loves to point out how Jesus isinterested in the individual. It didn't matter if there were a hundred sheep;he's interested in one. If there are ten pieces of silver, there's one. Ifthere are two sons, there's one. If there are two beggars, here in Luke's Gospel,there's one. God is interested in you. He knows your need. He wants you to cryout to him. Ifthere's anything we learn about prayer in this chapter, it's that men oughtalways to pray. We're not to pray like the Pharisee, but we come desperately toJesus. The rich young ruler came, thought well of himself, and bragged abouthis goodness. This beggar wouldn't be quiet when he heard Jesus was passing by.He was desperate for his need to be healed and would cry out, even when peopletold him to be quiet. That's another thing you learn from this chapter: thewidow in the first verses of the chapter kept crying out, even though the judgewouldn't listen. The beggar, even though people told him to be quiet, cried outanyway. Ilove the contrast here, and we're encouraged to cry out in desperation. TheScripture says, "You shall seek me and find me when you have searchedfor me with all your heart." That's how you come to Jesus; that's howyou come in faith, believing. This man was blind and acknowledged it. He had nospecial merits to cry out and say, "Oh, I've been good; I've donethis." He had nothing. He came empty and went away rich. The rich man camevery rich and left eternally poor. Myfriend, there's so much we learn from this. I encourage you today: you mightfeel like you have nothing, no merits to come to Christ, or that you've lived alife that merits none of his grace. But you can come in your desperation. If Iknow and have learned one thing from my years of ministry it is that God hearsthe prayers of desperate people. Honestly, I don't know if we really pray untilwe get desperate. The fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much because wemeet Jesus where He is, and we cry out to Him. The"human stories” we have "read" in this chapter should also encourageus to put our faith in Jesus Christ, no matter what others may say or do. Thewidow was not discouraged by the indifferent attitude of the judge, nor thepublican by the hypocritical attitude of the Pharisee. The parents broughttheir little ones to Jesus in spite of the selfish attitude of the Apostles,and the blind men came to Jesus even though the crowd told them to keep quietand stay put. Jesus always responds to faith and rewards those who believe. Whata wonderful story to end this chapter. This poor blind beggar left rejoicing,and the people were praising God. Remember, the rich man left very sad andsorrowful. Don't leave that way, my friend. Come to Jesus, meet Him, have yourlife changed, and let Hm give you your sight.  Jesusasked this blind man, "What do you want Me to do for you?"? Theman said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." God made himpoint out his need, and Jesus met that need right where he was. I trust thatyou'll trust the Lord today to meet your need. Jesus is always ready to answerthe prayer of a desperate person!

May 11,2025

Today,we will continue looking at the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesuslooking for salvation. He came running, knelt before Jesus, asked the rightquestion, and came to the right person—all the right things. Matthew's gospelcalls him “young” twice, emphasizing he also came at the right time of life.That's a good time to give your heart to Christ, but it's never too late. Aslong as you have breath in your lungs, a beating heart, and a thinking mind,it's time to come to Jesus. Jesustold him to give everything he had, because he was rich, and give to the poor.The Bible says when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was veryrich. Jesus saw he was sorrowful and said, “How hard it is for those whohave riches to enter the kingdom of God. It's easier for a camel to go throughthe eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Those whoheard it said, “Who then can be saved?” But He said, “The things which areimpossible with men are possible with God.”  Petersaid, “We have left all and followed you.” Jesus replied, “Assuredly I say toyou, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife orchildren for the sake of the kingdom of God who shall not receive many timesmore in this present time and in the age to come eternal life.” WhenJesus saw the man was sorrowful, He said it's easier for a camel to go throughthe eye of a needle. I've heard, from my many visits to Jerusalem andBethlehem, that the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has a small door youcan barely get through. They made these doors small so raiders on animalscouldn't invade the church where everyone might be taking shelter. A camelcouldn't get through the door with a person with any burden of wealth on it.The door was like the eye of a needle, very small making it hard for anythingto get through it.  I'm not sure all thatit meant, but Jesus was saying that for a rich person, the problem is theybelieve that their wealth gives them their security. Iread years ago, and never forgot it, that whatever becomes our source ofsecurity becomes our idol, our God that we worship. It might be a person, ajob, or money. And most often it is our money—our job, savings account, orretirement plan. If that becomes our source of security, it becomes our God,our idol. Jesus said it's hard for a person to give up that source of security.Jesus made it clear elsewhere you can't serve God and mammon.  Youeither serve the Lord God, finding your security in Him and your relationshipwith Jesus Christ, or you trust in your wealth. Money can go away, people die,everything can change, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, andforever (Hebrews 13:8). The real source of security for eternity is Jesus andyour relationship with Him. Jesusfinishes this passage by taking the twelve aside, saying, “We're going up toJerusalem. All the things written by the prophets concerning the Son of Manwill be accomplished. He'll be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, insulted,spit upon, scourged, and killed, and the third day He will rise again.”Jesus pointed them to the cross. My friend, that's how you come to Christ—youcome to the cross, to the suffering of the cross.  What'simpossible with men is possible with God. Salvation can take place when youcome to the cross, and your life can be totally changed. No matter how wealthy,poor, sinful, wicked, evil, or good you are. You can come to the cross and besaved.  Today,come to the cross of Jesus.

Do You Recognize Jesus As The Messiah Luke 18:38 38He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

22 So when Jesus heard thesethings, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you haveand distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,follow Me." 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for hewas very rich.  Today,we're looking at Luke chapter 18, verses 18-30, the story of the rich youngruler who comes to Jesus looking for salvation. In verse 17, Jesus had justmade the statement, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as alittle child will by no means enter it." You have to come to Jesuslike a child, totally dependent upon Him, hungry for Him and Him alone. In thevery first “Beatitude” Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, Fortheirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). This young ruler comes toJesus is an illustration of someone who will not enter the kingdom of heavenbecause of their pride, possessions, and their wrong views of Jesus, self, sin,and also basic dishonesty. Jesussays to this rich young ruler, "Keep the commandments", and Helists five of them: "Don't commit adultery, don't murder, don't steal,don't bear false witness, honor your father and mother." The manresponds, "I've done all these things since I was a youth." Hecalled Jesus "good Master," honoring the Lord with his lips, but hisheart was far from Him. He didn't truly believe Jesus is the Son of God,despite implying it by calling Him "good Master." He also had a wrongview of his own sin, claiming he'd kept all the commandments. Noticethat Jesus didn't quote the last commandment, "Thou shalt not covet."He tells the man, "Go sell everything you have, give to the poor, andfollow me." The man went away very sorrowful because he had greatriches. We see that this man had a problem with covetousness, and Jesus knowinghis heart deal with that by telling him to give his wealth away. What'simportant is that unless we come to Jesus with a heart like a child, willing inhumility to repent of our sin, our selfishness and our pride, we will notreceive the grace of God to be saved (Ephesians 2:8-9; James 4:6). This manthought he could get saved by what he did, asking, "What shall I do toinherit eternal life?" He wasn't looking at his heart or the need torepent of his sins. He felt he was a pretty good guy, keeping all thecommandments. Youdon't get to heaven by keeping the commandments. I've asked people over theyears, "Are you going to heaven? How do you know?" They'll say,"I do the best I can and try to keep the commandments." But myfriend, that doesn't take away our sin. Our problem is a sin problem, acovetous, selfish, prideful heart problem. “All have sinned and come shortof the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We must come like a child, admit inhumility that we have sinned, turn from our sin, and trust Jesus. Scripturedoesn't teach that it's wrong to be wealthy. You can possess great wealth andbe a wonderful, loving Christian, making a major difference in the kingdom ofGod. But you can't let wealth possess you. Keep your focus on kingdom work, notpersonal gain. I'll never forget a wealthy friend who said, "I take careof God's business, and God takes care of my business." He was one of themost giving people I'd ever met. Keepyour focus on eternity, knowing we are sinners. The only way to heaven is torepent, turn from sin, and trust Jesus Christ as Savior. Go to the cross, wheresin was taken care of. Jesus died in our place, gave us the only parachute lefton the plane, and went down with it. But thank God, He rose again the thirdday. He's alive, and today He can save you if you come by faith to Him.  Don'tbe like this rich young ruler who goes away “very sorrowful”. No, youcan live a happy, joyful, wonderful life in Christ when you give your heart toHim.

18Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do toinherit eternal life?" 19 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Megood? No one is good but One, that is, God. 2Lukenow tells us what we call the story of the “Rich Young Ruler” in verses 18-30.This incident takes place as Jesus is traveling with His disciples to Jerusalem.What is interesting to me is that this exact story is repeated in almost the samedetails in the first three Gospels. We find it first in Matthew 19:16-30. Nextin Mark 10:17-31 and then lastly here in Luke 18:18-30.  Mark'sGospel begins this story by telling us: “Now as He was going out on theroad, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher,what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  (Mark 10:17). Notice that this man came “running”,he “knelt”, he “asked” the most important question a person could ask.  Therich young ruler may be the only man in the Gospels who came to the feet ofJesus and went away in worse condition than when he came. And yet he had somuch in his favor! He was moral and religious, earnest and sincere, andprobably would have qualified for membership in the average church. Yet herefused to follow Jesus Christ and instead went his own way in great sorrow. Whatwas wrong with him? In a word: dishonesty. In spite of the fact that came theright way, “he came running”, he knew his need was urgent. That he camewith the right attitude of humility, “he knelt”. That he came to theright Person, he came to Jesus, the Teacher of teachers. And that he asked theright question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” and he receivedthe right answer, he still made the wrong decision.  Why?Because he was not honest with God or with himself. Therefore, he would not dowhat he was commanded to do. He was a superficial young man who said one thingbut did another. We will consider the areas in which he was dishonest.  Firstwould be his view of Christ (vv. 18-19). Notice that he called Jesus, “Goodteacher”. I always wondered why Jesus responded by asking him, “Why doyou call me good?” The rabbis in the days of Jesus were called "Teacher”,(Master), but it was most unusual for a rabbi to be called "Good."The Jews reserved the word good for God alone (Psalms 25:8; 34:8; 86:5; 106:1).This explains why our Lord asked the young man what he meant, for if he reallybelieved that Jesus was "good," then he had to confess that Jesus wasGod.  Byasking this question, our Lord was not denying His deity but affirming it. Hewas testing the young man to see if he really understood what he had just said.His subsequent behavior proved that the young ruler did not believe that JesusChrist was God. If he really thought he was in the presence of Almighty God,why did he argue politely about the Law, brag about his character, and thenrefuse to obey the Word? Surely he knew that God sees the heart and knows allthings! Today,the real question that should settle all the questions about Jesus andsalvation is, “Do you really believe that Jesus is indeed God in the flesh?” Thatis what the entire Gospel of John is about (John 20:30-31)! We might say thesewords in our heads and with our lips, but there if there is no change in ourlives and in our hearts, we really are being dishonest with ourselves and withGod. Today,is a good day to ask what do you really believe about Jesus in your heart! Godbless!

InLuke chapter 18, Jesus begins this chapter talking about prayer, teaching aboutprayer. He's preparing His disciples for the time when they will have theresponsibility and the command to take the gospel to the far ends of the earth,and he knows a major part of accomplishing this great task will be knowing howto pray. You'll see in the first chapters of Acts how the disciples must havelistened to that lesson and learned it.  Herein Luke 18, Jesus tells us first that we're to be praying always withoutceasing, to pray and not to faint. He tells the parable about the widow whodidn't have anything, and how she goes to the unjust judge and begs, cries, andscreams for help to avenge her of her adversary. He won't listen, but finallyshe wears him down, and he says, "I'm tired of this woman doing this, andI'll finally avenge her." But God says, "Listen, I'm not like thatunjust judge, and you're not really like that widow either. I'm your heavenlyfather who cares for you. You can come running to me, and I'm ready to avengemy own that cry unto me day and night." Thenhe goes to the story of the Pharisee who comes to the temple to pray with aproud, arrogant, self-righteous heart. He's better than everybody else, he praysto be seen by men. The Lord is teaching us not to pray like that. Then hefinishes this story by telling about the publican, the tax collector, who getson his face before God, beats his breast, and cries out, "Oh God, bemerciful to me, a sinner."  I'llnever forget the time a man came to my office and told me his wife had lefthim. He had two little children. He told me that he couldn't read or write, buthe had a good job, but now he was at the end of his rope. I said, "Well,you need to pray." He said, "I've never prayed before. I don't knowwhat to pray." I said, "Just call out to God." We bowed ourheads, and I'll never forget as it got silent for a moment, then all of asudden this man with tears cried out, "Oh God, help me." I thoughtmaybe for the first time in my life I really heard someone pray. By the nextSunday, I saw him at church, and something had happened. He came in with thiswoman by his side, introduced me his wife, and said, "It didn't take God24 hours to answer that prayer."  Jesus is now teaching us that we should pray like a child.A child has faith. We have a great grandson, his name is Keanu, almost 8 months old, and Edith and I have the responsibility anddelight to babysit him every day. I can tell you he has faith in us to holdhim, take care of him, and meet his needs. I can see his faith in his eyes, ashe trust us to hold him, feed him, watch out for him. Children are totallydependent. You're not only dependent as a child, you have faith to believeyou're going to be taken care of every day with what you need to sustain you.  Itwas customary for the Jews to bring little children to the rabbis to receivetheir special blessing, so it is strange that the disciples would stand in theway. Perhaps they thought Jesus was weary and needed rest, or they may havedecided that He was not really interested in children. How wrong they were! However,this was not the first time the disciples had attempted to get rid of people.They wanted to send the crowd away hungry, but Jesus fed them (Matt. 14:15);and they tried to stop the Canaanite woman from asking Jesus to heal herdaughter (Matt. 15:21), but Jesus answered her prayer. The Twelve did not yethave the compassion of their Master, but it would come in due time. Jesuswants us to be childlike but not childish. An unspoiled child illustrateshumility, faith, and dependence. A child has a sense of wonder that makes lifeexciting. The only way to enter God's kingdom is to become like a child and beborn again (John 3). If the proud Pharisee had become like a child, he toowould have gone home justified.Myfriend, we need to learn to pray to our Heavenly Father with the humility, faith,and dependence of a child!!

Jesusbegan this chapter (vv. 1-8), by telling a parable about prayer, speaking aboutthe necessity of prayer, that we ought always to pray and not to faint, and thefrequency of prayer, that we are to pray without ceasing, continuously,believing that the presence of the Lord is in our lives, knowing that He'sthere, and we have open communication with Him through Jesus Christ. Oh, howwonderful that is. Thenin verses 9-14, Jesus is talking about the failure of prayer as He tellsanother parable. Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselvesthat they were righteous and despised others. Now, how should we pray, and whatshould our attitude be when we come to pray? First, we see this Pharisee whowas deceived. He was deceived about himself; he trusted in himself and prayedthus with himself because he wasn't praying to God, and God wasn't listening tothis kind of prayer from a proud heart. He was deceived about his pride; hethought he was better than others. He despised the sinners around him insteadof loving and caring for them. Hethought that he could please God by his works. He fasted twice a week. Jewishlaw required fasting maybe once a year, but this man fasted twice a week. Hegave tithes down to the smallest detail of whatever he might have brought in,even from the field. Oh, he thought he was so good. That'sjust like so many of us who think we can please God and can gain His favor byour service, when God just wants a humble heart coming to Him, totallydependent upon Him for our salvation and everything in our lives, acknowledgingthat we are sinners and deserve nothing. That's why the Bible says in Ephesians2:8-9, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourworks, lest any man should boast." This Pharisee was boasting.  ThroughoutHis public ministry, Jesus exposed the self-righteousness and unbelief of thePharisees (see Luke 11:39-54). He pictured them as debtors too bankrupt to paywhat they owed God (Luke 7:40-50), guests fighting for the best seats (Luke14:7-14), and sons proud of their obedience but unconcerned about the needs ofothers (Luke 15:25-32). The sad thing is that the Pharisees were completely deceivedand thought they were right, and Jesus was wrong. This is illustrated in this parable.That's what Jesus is doing here, exposing the hypocrisy of a man who thinkshe's religious enough to merit favor with God rather than humbling himself andcoming like a sinner. That'swhy Jesus said this publican, this tax collector, went home justified. To bejustified means to have a right standing with God, to stand righteous beforeHim without sin, without any guilt. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore beingjustified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.  We are justified by faith not by our works.Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins. This publican came with ahumble heart; the Pharisee came with a proud heart. God wants us to come humblybefore Him in prayer and not “pray with ourselves” to be seen publicly,like Matthew 6:5 says about the hypocrite, so others will see him. I'mafraid many prayers, even in our churches today, by good, well-meaning people,are just flowery words that mean nothing to God because the person is prayingout of a motive to make sure everybody knows how religious, how special, howgood he is by all his deeds and works of service. God, help us, forgive us,cleanse us from that kind of attitude. May we come before Him with a humbleheart, trusting in the Lord for His grace and mercy today. We need to come likethis publican. He smote his breast; he knew his heart was dirty, not clean, andonly God could clean it. "Be merciful to me, a sinner"! What agreat prayer.  Itrust we will learn how to pray with frequency, with necessity, and with ahumble heart.

Luke 18:18-30 - Who's First - Pastor Dan PlourdeMESSAGE NOTES:http://www.calvaryword.com/Luke/a1403.pdf

Luke: The Stories | The Sower | Luke 18:1-15 Sermon from May 11, 2025 – Deron Spoo, Pastor Part 1 of 4 of the series Luke: The Stories

by Brett Erickson | From the Series: Amazed By Jesus | Scripture: Luke 18:35-43 Download Audio

Evening Devotional on Luke 18:12 preached on May 11, 2025 by Julian Strickland.

Todaywe're looking at Luke 18:1-8. Jesus is teaching a lesson on how men oughtalways to pray and not to faint. We are to pray without ceasing, and here Jesusgives us a story of contrast. There is a widow who has no standing with thecourt, going to an unjust judge, asking to be avenged of her adversary. In ourfirst lesson, I said this widow is like us in some ways, but that's beforewe're saved. We have no standing with God; we are lost, hopelessly andhelplessly lost.  Butthe contrast begins when we realize what Jesus says at the end of this story: "Shallnot our Father in heaven, shall not our God avenge his own elect who cry untohim day and night?" He closes by saying, "Yes, he'll avengethem speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really findfaith on earth?" Eventhough this widow is lost and helpless and can't find help unless she bribessomeone, which she has no money to do, the judge avenges her because she'sdriving him crazy with her screaming and yelling, "Help, help, help!"Jesus is basically saying to us, "Hey, you're not like that widow anylonger. You're a child of God, you are in the family of God, you have thepromises of God in the Bible."  Godis a great and awesome God; He loves His children, protects His children, andcares for His children. In Romans 8, we can call Him Abba, Father, dearprecious Father. We can sit in His lap; He longs for us to come into Hispresence. “If God spared not His own Son, how much more freely through Himshall He give us all things” (Romans 8:32). The unjust judge did it becausehe got weary of this woman crying to him. God is teaching us to pray withoutceasing, but remember, you have a Father who is ready, willing, able, andpowerful to answer your prayers. ThenJesus closes this passage asking the question, "Shall He find faithwhen He comes?" In Luke 17, we see the story of Noah and the ark,where only eight people were saved. The gospel was preached, the message ofhope was preached for hundreds of years, and no one responded by faith to trustNoah's message and escape the judgment of God. Remember at Sodom and Gomorrah,only four people were saved from that destruction.  Jesusis saying, "Shall the Son of Man, when He comes, find faith on theearth?" According to 2 Timothy 3:1-7, in the last days, it will beperilous times, evil, terrible times. People will be blasphemers, haters ofGod, and haters of Christians. It's not going to get better, my friend; it'sprobably going to get worse before Jesus comes again.  ButHe's reminding us we have a heavenly Father. You don't need to bribe Him. He'sa God that doesn't have to be bribed; He has a willing heart. The Bible says “ifwe ask anything according to His will, we know that He hears us, and we canhave this confidence that whatever we ask of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).  He will give it to us if it's according to Hiswill. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires ofyour heart” (Psalm 37:4). Jesusis teaching us to pray in this passage with faith, believing we have a loving,kind, providing heavenly Father, Who, when we come to Him, will meet every needwe have. What an awesome God we have! Come to Him today in faith, believing. Weare not like the widow with no standing. Through Jesus Christ, we have fullaccess, and He is also our intercessor, making intercession for us (Hebrews7:25). We have the Holy Spirit making intercession according to the mind andwill of God (Romans 8:26-27).  Thereis no reason we should not be crying out to our Heavenly Father day and night,"Oh God, we need help in this evil, wicked, cruel world. We need yourprotection, your grace, your strength." We can do that today.  Let'sbe encouraged to pray always and not to quit. Our Heavenly Father is waitingfor us to come to Him! Godbless!

1Thessalonians 5:17 - “Pray without ceasing”.  Ifwe don't pray, we will faint; it's as simple as that! The word faint describesa believer who loses heart and gets so discouraged that he or she wants toquit. There is a connection between what our Lord said in Luke 18:1 and Hisstatement in Luke 17:37. If society is like a rotting corpse, then the"atmosphere" in which we live is being slowly polluted, and this isbound to affect our spiritual lives. But when we pray, we draw on the"pure air" of heaven, and this keeps us from fainting.  Inother words, we're living in a polluted, ungodly, wicked world, it appears tobe controlled by Satan, and if we're not careful we will faint. On severaloccasions, I have fainted. It is usually when a doctor or nurse sticks a needlein my arm to draw blood or put something inside me. It causes me to start goingout, and I'll say to the people around me, "I'll see you later." Myblood pressure drops, my pulse drops, and I faint. Have you ever notice that onething they always do when someone faints is give them air or some good oxygen. Inthis passage in Luke 18, Jesus said men ought always to pray and not to faint.Then he tells the story of the widow and the unjust judge and talks about theadversary that's out to overcome this woman. My friend, we live in a pollutedworld, breathing its air, and if we're not careful, we won't get enoughspiritual oxygen, the pure atmosphere of heaven in our spiritual life. We willthrow in the towel and quit, looking at the circumstances rather than the greatGod who is in charge and has already defeated Satan on the cross. We need to breathethe spiritual air of heaven.  That'swhat praying is all about. Men ought always to pray, as the scripture teachesus. We are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Thisdoesn't mean repeating the same prayer over and over, but that praying should becomeas natural as breathing. We don't think about breathing until we can't breathe,until we need oxygen in our body. That's when we learn to pray always, withoutceasing, because prayer becomes as natural as breathing. We're always thinking,"God, you're right here with me, you're going to answer our prayers,you're a Father who cares about me." Prayeris much more than the words on our lips; it's the desires of our heart. Ourhearts are constantly desiring Him. If you're desiring the things of the worldand the flesh, looking at circumstances, problems, and difficulties, you'll beoverwhelmed and faint. You won't have enough spiritual oxygen. That's when ourheart cries out to God, "Oh God, help me, meet my needs, speak to me,strengthen me, give me the grace I need to face this situation." Prayingwithout ceasing means that we have holy desires, we want to do the will of God,we're constantly loving Him and in communion with our Father in heaven,desiring His blessings. That's what real prayer is. Myfriend, we're either going to choose to pray or we're going to faint, throw inthe towel, and quit. We'll lose heart in the battle. But we need to rememberthat the battle's already won through Jesus Christ and His cross. Yesterday, Isaid we're kind of like the woman, hopeless and helpless, with no standingbefore the court. But in another way, it's just the opposite. We're not likethis woman; we are children of God. We have access to the Father. (We will talkmore about that tomorrow). Today,remember you're a child of God. God delights for you to be in His presence. Hewants you to have Him on your heart continually. When you do that, you'repraying without ceasing, breathing the spiritual air of heaven. You'restrengthened, encouraged, you sense His presence, and everything's okay. “Iwill not fear, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,for Thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4). Itrust you will have a wonderful day thinking about these things.

Erin Pacheco, Director of Worship

8 I tell you that He will avenge themspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith onthe earth?" Luke18 is a chapter that has influenced my prayer life as much as any other passagein the Bible. I love Luke chapter 18. We mentioned yesterday how people changeour lives, but it's not so much the people themselves, it's the stories fromtheir lives that teach us lessons. We might forget a principle, but we rarelyforget a story. That's why Jesus told parables, and why Luke, a compassionate physicianwho cared about people, wrote about widows and politicians, Pharisees and publicans,children and adults, rich men and beggars. He gave us a rich cast of charactersto learn from, showing how God worked in their lives, how He can work in ours,and how He wants us to live, not just to make a living, but to enjoy life as Heintended. Thisis a powerful story about prayer. Jesus begins this parable by saying that menought always to pray and not lose heart or quit. Either we're praying, or we'requitting. Luke introduces us to a story Jesus told about a widow, featuringthree characters. First, there's a judge in a certain city—an unjust judge whodidn't fear God or man. He did what he wanted, was corrupt, and favored his owninterests, his party, and his friends. We live in a day in America where itseems we have many unjust judges, though, thank God, we have good ones too.Let's not give up on all of them because of the unjust ones. Interestingly,Luke mentions widows more than do all the other Gospel writers combined (Luke2:37-38; 4:25-26; 7:11-17; 18:1-8; 20:45-47; 21:1-4). In that day, widowsusually had a difficult time making ends meet, in spite of the care Godinstructed His people to give them (Ex. 22:22-24; Deut. 14:28-29; 16:9-15; Ps.146:9; Isa. 1:17, 23; Jer. 7:6). The early church was serious about the care ofChristian widows (Acts 6:1; 1 Tim. 5:3-10; James 1:27), a good example for usto follow today. Then,there's an adversary. The widow said, "Give me justice from myadversary." We are like the widow—hopeless and helpless without someone tostand up for us. In Jesus' time in Palestine, widows had no legal standing.They couldn't go to court themselves, had no husband to represent them, and nomoney to bribe a judge or court officials. Judges back then moved from place toplace, setting up court in a tent. Bodyguards or officials stood at the door,and only those who paid bribes or had the right connections could even see thejudge. This widow had no way to get to the judge. All she could do was standoutside, yelling and screaming, "Please avenge me of my adversary." Jesustells us this unjust judge is a picture of God, which we'll explore in thecoming days. For now, we see that we are like the widow, and our adversary isthe devil. He goes about like a roaring lion, deceiving, devouring, stealing,killing, and destroying. This widow had no way to defend herself, and byourselves, we cannot stand against our adversary, the devil. We need to besober and vigilant. He makes a lot of noise, making us think we're in bigtrouble—and we are, if we don't know how to go to our Father in prayer, askingHim to defend us, avenge us, meet our needs, and strengthen us. That'swhy every morning, as I walk around our house, after I pray the Lord's Prayer,I pray, "Lord, avenge me of the adversary in my life, in Edith'slife," and then I pray for my children and grandchildren by name, otherfamily members, and church members, and their families, asking God to avenge usof the adversary today. We have a God who is willing, ready, and waiting withopen arms for us to call on His name to avenge us. What a great lesson. We'llstudy it in more depth tomorrow.   Wemust learn to pray, or we will be overcome by our adversary and will loseheart, faint, and quit. Are you learning to pray? Godbless!

Todaywe will be looking at a new chapter, Luke chapter 18. Over 50 years ago when I was in BibleCollege in Lynchburg, I went to Winchester, Virginia, to be a part of startinga new church, Shenandoah Valley Baptist Church. Right after I graduated in1975, I became the senior pastor of the church. Shortly after that, I met adear friend who greatly influenced our lives and greatly encouraged andassisted us in my early days of ministry. His name was Dave Sisler. Wewere very sorry and sad to hear that Dave went to be with the Lord earlier thisweek. He was someone who invested in us in many different ways. One of the wayshe tried to help us, I'll never forget, was taking me and my brother-in-law,Ronnie Riggins, to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, because we were getting ready toplant a new church up there. Ronnie was going to go up there and meet somepeople and start a church, and we were excited about that. So Dave took us upto Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and he introduced us to a man that he knew by thename of Charlie “Tremendous” Jones. Dave was involved in Amway in a really bigway, and Charlie Tremendous Jones was one of the top motivational speakers inthe world at that time and spoke at the Amway conventions. So Dave personallyknew him. I'llnever forget our first meeting with Charlie Tremendous Jones there inHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, in his bookstore with Ronnie Riggins and Dave. That'sa longer story, but Charlie Tremendous Jones, over the years, also became apart of the church that was started there with Ronnie, and became a friend ofours too. One of the things that Charlie was famous for saying is, “Two thingswill change your life more than anything else in the next five years are thepeople you meet and the books you read.” Isaid all that to first give honor to my friend Dave Sisler. He's going to begreatly missed by many people, especially his family, but also to make a point.The Bible is a book of people. If you want to learn the Bible, learn the peopleof the Bible. God introduces us to people in the Bible, and through thesepeople, the main person we meet is God Himself. When you meet people, you meetthem in their books, you meet them in their lives, you meet them in theirstories, and your life can be forever changed because. And especially throughthe people of the Bible, you meet God. Now,in this story in front of us today in Luke chapter 18, Jesus is teaching alesson about prayer, that men ought always to pray, not to faint, not to giveup hope. This parable is teaching us that either we're going to be praying, orwe're going to be fainting, quitting, throwing up our hands, throwing in thetowel, and walking away from our Christianity. The importance and the power andplace of prayer that Jesus speaks about here is wonderful. SoJesus told this parable, saying, “There was in a certain city a judge whodid not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city, and shecame to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.' And he would notfor a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear Godnor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest byher continual coming she weary me.'” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjustjudge said. And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry out day and night toHim, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge themspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on theearth?” Forthe next few days, we'll be talking about this parable and the three people inthis story that we're going to meet: the widow lady, the unjust judge, and thewidow's adversary. Through them, we're going to hear and learn about how greatour God is to take care of us when we cry out to Him day and night. Todayyou might think about who you're going to meet and how you can influence theirlives or maybe how they might influence your life.

Lord's Day Service | Pastor Beau Bekendam

Luke 18:9-14 - How to Pray 101 - Pastor Dan PlourdeMESSAGE NOTES:http://www.calvaryword.com/Luke/a1402.pdf

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The Gospel of Luke

Look Up To God Not Down At Others Luke 18:13 13“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

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Luke 18:1-8 - The Father Who Loves Me -  Pastor Dan PlourdeMESSAGE NOTES:http://www.calvaryword.com/Luke/a1401.pdf

The Gospel of Luke

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We are responsible for our humility. For more resources on reading through the Bible in a year, visit my church's website at this link or text us at 888-644-4034. Feel free to join me on my other daily podcast, Your Next Step. God bless - Doyle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we're finishing Luke chapter 15. In this chapter, Jesus tellsthree parables in response to the Pharisees who criticized Him for being afriend to tax collectors and sinners. The theme running through all threeparables is lost, found, and rejoicing. Keep that in mind.  At this point in theparable, the scribes and Pharisees felt confident that they had escaped ourLord's judgment, for He had centered His attention on the publicans andsinners, pictured by the prodigal son. But Jesus continued the story andintroduced the elder brother, who is a clear illustration of the scribes andPharisees. The publicans and sinners were guilty of the obvious sins of theflesh, but the Pharisees and scribes were guilty of sins of the spirit (2 Cor.7:1). Their outward actions may have been blameless, but their inward attitudeswere abominable (see Matt. 23:25-28). We must admit that theelder brother had some virtues that are commendable. He worked hard and alwaysobeyed his father. He never brought disgrace either to the home or to thevillage, and apparently he had enough friends so that he could have planned anenjoyable party (Luke 15:29). He seems like a good solid citizen and, comparedto his younger brother, almost a saint. However, important asobedience and diligence are, they are not the only tests of character. Jesustaught that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love others(Luke 10:25-28), but the elder brother broke both of these divine commandments.He did not love God (represented in the story by the father), and he did notlove his brother. The elder brother would not forgive his brother who wastedthe family inheritance and disgraced the family name. But neither would heforgive his father who had graciously forgiven the young man those very sins! When you examine thesins of the elder brother, you can easily understand why he pictures thescribes and Pharisees. To begin with, he was self-righteous. He openlyannounced the sins of his brother, but he could not see his own sins (see Luke18:9-14). The Pharisees defined sin primarily in terms of outward actions, notinward attitudes. They completely missed the message of the Sermon on the Mountand its emphasis on inward attitudes and holiness of heart (Matt. 5-7). My friend, the heart ofGod is for lost sinners to be found, and when they are, there is rejoicing.Jesus rejoices, heaven rejoices, angels rejoice, friends rejoice. But do youknow who wasn't rejoicing? The Pharisees. They were sanctimonious,self-righteous, proud, angry, bitter religious people. Their religion was builton good works, and they thought they were better than everyone else. Jesusnails them with this story.  Jesus uses the story ofthe older brother to drive this home. My friend, we need to be aware of this.Our churches are full of people who work, work, work, serve, serve, serve, butit's often to be seen, to be commended, to get a pat on the back. Like thePharisees, they say, “I'm not like others. I tithe, I go to church, I do allthese good things.” But they miss the point. When the publican bowed his headand prayed, “I'm a lost sinner, have mercy on me, O God,” Jesus said he wenthome justified, not the proud Pharisee. Today, we don't want tobe like the Pharisees—critical, sanctimonious, self-righteous, proud, angry, orrefusing to rejoice when a sinner comes home to the Lord. This is a powerfulending to the chapter. Let's not forget the lost elder brother, who missed itall because his heart wasn't right with God or his father.  I trust these threestories of lost, found, and rejoicing will resound in your soul. Keep an eyeout for those around you who need to be found, so you can bring them to Jesus.  God bless!

Click here for the SermonClicking here will take you to our webpageClick here to contact usWelcome to the Westside church's special Monday Morning Coffee podcast with Mark Roberts. Mark is a disciple, a husband, father and grand dad, as well as a certified coffee geek, fan of CS Lewis' writings and he loves his big red Jeep. He's also the preacher for Westside church.

Do You Believe? How The Resurrection Changed Everything!

Holy Saturday is traditionally a quiet day in the Church. It is a day of thinking, reflecting and doing a private faith-check of yourself.  It is the best day of the year to believe.What you do and think on Holy Saturday depends on what you think will happen on Sunday. He gives us all we need for faith on this day.  Have the faith of Easter Sunday before Easter. It is the best day to believe.https://youtu.be/eMaJfjcwjbI

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Download the Journey Through Scripture reading plan.Make a donation on my Ko-fi account.Check out more art by Matt Novak.

Theme From Sunday's Sermon: Evangelism: Sharing the Good News On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell, Jay Rivenbark, and Alyssa Bream discuss the following questions: Well, yesterday we talked about people who depended on their own righteousness for salvation: those who were "too good to get saved." This entire week seems to have focused on sharing the Gospel with people who don't realize they need it. And we're in the same theme again with this passage. I know it is hard for people in America to believe that money and wealth would hinder people from following Jesus. In fact, there are probably some wealthy people who will hear this and it will sort of ruffle their feathers. What can we say to those people? When you are sharing the Gospel, are you aware that God is working on the heart of the person who is listening to you? When we share the Gospel with someone, do we usually concentrate more on what to say rather than depending on the power of God to convince the person they need Jesus? If so, why? The reading for the day is: Joshua 15:1-63 Luke 18:18-43 Psalm 86:1-17 Proverbs 13:9-10

Theme From Sunday's Sermon: Evangelism: Sharing the Good News On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell, Jay Rivenbark, and Alyssa Bream discuss the following questions: We have been talking about the importance of sharing the gospel this week. I've noticed in the last two passages we've looked at, there has been an emphasis people being unaware of their own condition, or being unaware of the nearness of eternity. When I read this story, I noticed a similar thing. The Pharisee seemed to be completely blind to his own issues. Is a part of sharing the Gospel really about trying to convince a person of their own unrighteousness? Was there ever a time in your life when you think you were depending upon yourself for your own salvation? What are some ideas of how to approach a person that seems to be living a moral life, but does not have a relationship with Jesus? The reading for the day is: Joshua 13:1–14:15 Luke 18:1-17 Psalm 85:1-13 Proverbs 13:7-8

Lent 5 Luke 18:31—19:10 at Common Table: The Unexpected  w/ Tony Lancaster

Lord's Day Service | Pastor Beau Bekendam

The Gospel of Luke

astor Geoff Alfassa preaches on Luke 18:31-20:20 for Palm Sunday.

Send us a textGood morning! Thank you for taking a few minutes to listen. If you are interested in the Daily Bible Devotional, you can find it at the links below:Amazon - (paperback, hardcover, and Kindle)Spiritbuilding.com - (premium quality paperback)Youtube Video Introducing the ContentFeel free to reach out with any questions: emersonk78@me.comLuke 18 Saving faith is defined by humility. Throughout this chapter, this is taught in many ways. It starts with persistent, thankful, modest prayer. How we approach God, and if we compare ourselves to others, says a great deal about us. This humility must persist after prayer and in how we treat those less fortunate than us. A ruler walks away from Christ because he will not sell his goods and help others. For those who are willing to do so, Jesus will care for them now and forever in heaven. Jesus demonstrates this entirely when He gives His life on the cross. So much of this for us is tied to our unworthiness. We are like the blind beggar, saved by the relentless pursuit of the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.   Jesus' teaching from Luke's perspective is quite challenging. It demands of us things we may easily understand, like prayer and trust and seeking Him diligently and fully. But then Jesus turns attention to how we see others. He demands we never elevate ourselves over others. He tells us to give up our own goods to help those who have less. Instead of telling us to be cautious about that, He demonstrates unprecedented charity by giving His life on the cross. He then challenges us to love like He loves. Would we have stopped to help the blind man? Part of growth is realizing that we are that man. But this must then extend to the compassionate way we see others.   Ever-present Lord, we thank You for always being willing to hear our prayers. We believe You always answer in a way that honors You and is good for us, according to Your will. Help us to self-evaluate as we pray. Teach us to be loving toward others, and to ask for wisdom to give, to serve, and to spread Your mercy and kindness to them. Your Son gave everything and now sits in glory. Show us how to pattern our daily lives after Him. Open our eyes to Him and give us the opportunity today to help others see His way. -       How impactful is daily prayer in your life? If you are consistent and filled with thanksgiving, how will prayer be helpful to you? -       Do you pray for others? Not just friends, but the needy, the hurting, and even those who don't love you. Why is this important? -       “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Do you appeal to Jesus in this way? How does Jesus respond to genuine calls for healing and help?