Dealing with Difficulties

Todays Passage:Luke 6:20-29(Please read in advance)

6:20 - 26

December 15, 2013Axiom - a universally accepted principle or rule. usually self-evident. not necessarily always true.JHK

Maxim a set rule or principle for action. usually pithy or terse. accepted as always true.Do the Beatitudes that Jesus spoke represent requirements for being His disciple or encouragement to those suffering?6:20 - 261) They are requirements these are characteristics of Jesus target audience. not everyone who is poor will be saved nor will all the rich be condemned.JHK

2) They are encouragement they speak to those who suffer to follow Jesus. they encourage people to continue following since there will be a reward.6:20 - 26Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20)Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. (Luke 6:24)Do the Beatitudes that Jesus spoke represent requirements for being His disciple or encouragement to those suffering?JHK

6:20 - 26[Jesus]said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. When he heard this, he was very sad, since he was very wealthy.Jesus looked at him and said, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.Those who heard this asked, Who then can be saved? Jesus replied, What is impossible with man is possible with God. (Luke 18:22-27)JHK

6:20 - 26Jesus looked at him and said, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!He has filled the hungry with good thingsbut has sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:53)Fool! This night your soul is required of you. Who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:20-21)JHK

6:20 - 26Dont fall into a trap! We tend to rationalize and justify our disobedience to difficult teachings, such as those about money.

We sometimes spin or twist Jesus words so that He ends up saying something completely different from what He actually said. How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! (dyskolos) hard or with difficultyJHK

6:20 - 26Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20)Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. (Luke 6:24)Generally speaking the rich feel secure because of their wealth. the poor have nothing to trust in but God.

being wealthy is a barrier to entering Gods Kingdom. being poor forces you to seek someone (God) to help.JHK

6:20 - 26Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. (Luke 6:21a)Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. (Luke 6:25a) (empimplemi) full or well fed to take one's fill of, glut one's desire for, satisfy, sate (peinao) hunger to suffer from hunger because of needinessWhoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal lifemy flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in themYour ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. (John 6:54-58)JHK

6:20 - 26do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drinkIs not life more than foodLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?... Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink?For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:25-33)Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has comeBlessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! (Revelation 19:6-9)JHK

6:20 - 26Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. (Luke 6:21b)Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. (Luke 6:25b) (gelao) laugh to laugh and make merry (klaio) weep to mourn, weep or lament as a sign of pain and griefGo throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it. (Ezekiel 9:4)JHK

6:20 - 26Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:19-21)For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (II Corinthians 4:17-18)So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:31-33)JHK

6:20 - 26Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. (Luke 6:22)Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. (Luke 6:26)Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophets reward (Matthew 10:41a)There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. (Luke 13:28)Gods people are not to seek acceptance with the world or build their self-esteem through the approval of others. We are to identify ourselves with Jesus, even though they may bring negative consequences for now. Seek faithfulness to God, not popularity with man.

If persecution arises because of our faithfulness to God, consider it a badge of honor.JHK

6:20 - 26Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25)From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. (Galatians 6:17)JHK

6:20 - 26But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28)JHK

6:20 - 26Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (echthros) enemies one that is hostile; enemy. (miseo) hate pursue with hatred. (kataraomai) curse to doom or imprecate evil upon. (epereazo) mistreat to insult, treat abusively, revile or threaten with harm.JHK

6:20 - 26Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (agapao) love verb form of agape selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love.Eros - physical, sensual love between a husband and wife.Philos - close friendship or brotherly love.Storge - family love among parents, children and siblings.JHK

6:20 - 26Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.Love active, deliberate act to benefit another.Do good to honor, perform a good deed on behalf of.Bless praise, speak well of.Pray for offer prayer on behalf of, petition.You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodlyBut God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)JHK

6:20 - 26 Passage ThoughtPointMatthew 5:29-30 Cutting off a hand Hating sin or gouging out an eyeMatthew 19:24 A camel going through Difficulty the eye of a needleLuke 6:41-42 A beam in one's eye Clear judgmentLuke 14:26 Hating ones family Absolute commitmentHyperbole - an extravagant statement not intended to be taken literally.JHK

6:20 - 26Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1) The principle of intended meaning interprets a passage seeking what the original author really meant. The principle of literal meaning interprets a passage using the literal meaning of every word.Hyperbole - an extravagant statement not intended to be taken literally.If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. (Luke 6:29a)JHK

6:20 - 26Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (I Corinthians 13:4-7)If someone takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. (Luke 6:29b)JHK

6:20 - 26As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. (Proverbs 26:21)Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? (Proverbs 6:27-28)Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34)JHK

6:20 - 26When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (I Peter 2:23)

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, but leave room for Gods wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge;I will repay, says the Lord. (Romans 12:17-19)