Luke 7:1-10

I know we looked at this text last week, but sometimes it is impossible for me to cover everything that is important in one sermon.  There is one principle in this text that needs to be examined… it is a principle that is not “in season” today… either in the world or in the church, and this principle that I am referring to can be summed up in one word, the word authority.  Let’s review how it is used in this text.

Luke 6:46-49

Luke 6:46-49: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say? 47 “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 “But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

What is the thrust of this passage? I believe it is this: obedience to Jesus’ commands is not optional. This gets tricky, so please stay with me… as Brad Bigney says frequently, “I don’t want you going away today hearing what I am not saying.”

Luke 5:1-11

Before we read the text I want to take a moment to consider the setting. Jesus is in the early part of His ministry… He has been introduced, if you will, by John the Baptist… He has been baptized… He has defeated every one of Satan’s wily attempts to bring His ministry to a close before it ever got off the ground…   He has performed some miracles… He has begun to teach and the response to His teaching has been intense … so intense that some in His home town of Nazareth tried to kill Him by throwing Him over a cliff.  Others, however, welcomed Him… His teaching and His miracles were that balm in Gilead that cures the sin-sick soul.  Jesus has gained a huge following as evidenced by the multitudes gathered to hear him as we open up chapter 5 of Luke.