Luke (Gospel)

Introducing the Christ

In Luke 4:16-30, Jesus returns home to Nazareth, where He visits the local synagogue and reads from Isaiah 61. His visit came after having spent time preaching and teaching along the shores of Galilee, near Capernaum. Those who had heard Him preach glorified Him, and He had apparently performed some miracles along the way.

The passage He read at the Nazareth synagogue was a Messianic prophecy concerning the healing and restoration that Messiah would bring, a reference to the power of the Gospel. The people, however, were unimpressed, wishing that He would rather perform some of the same miracles He did in Capernaum. When Jesus confronted their hardness of heart, they tried to kill Him, but He passed through them and escaped.

In reading the opening of Isaiah 61, we are reminded of the power of the Gospel. It is the Gospel that brings healing and eternal salvation. We are also reminded of Who Jesus really is, and why we should place our faith in Him. Ultimately, we are reminded of the hope that our faith brings.

People, Get Ready (Luke 3)

The ministry of John the Baptist is a key component of the Gospel story, hence it is included in all four accounts of the Gospel. The ministry of John the Baptist is one more fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, and John’s ministry demonstrates the divinity of Jesus Christ.

However, if we only make a theological point about John’s ministry, and miss his words, we’ve missed the point altogether. John’s preaching in Luke 3 teaches us three key things. (1) Judgment day is upon us, (2) The way of repentance, and (3) the power of Christ.

John the Baptist said, “The axe is laid to the root of the trees.” In that statement, he warned that Christ was coming, and so the people would need to make a decision regarding their faith. The proper choice, of course, is to repent and believe.

In discussing repentance, John gave clear teachings on what it meant to repent, and what true repentance looks like. The word repent means to turn and never return. It’s very similar to the word “forsake,” which means to turn away and never return.

While the repentant sinner may stumble and fall in the sin again, his life and desires are no longer consumed by the sin. Along those lines, John gave some guidelines by which to evaluate your life.

He said, “Let those who have two coats give to the one who has none. Let the tax collectors collect no more than is due. Let the soldiers no longer extort the civilians.” At the root of these statements are an evaluation. Are we covetous, are we content, are we prideful?

Had John been preaching today, he may have said, “Let the porn addict log off his computer, let the drug addict put down the pipe, and let the thief earn his way.”

The fact is that we often self-medicate with sin. If we are self-medicating, have we repented? And if we are self-medicating, are we really trusting God for healing and salvation?

John’s ministry also points out the power of Christ, who will baptize us with the Holy Ghost and with fire. The Holy Spirit indwells us at the point of salvation, giving us the power to overcome sin and heal. The fire is the adversity God uses to transform and purify us. Our job in life is to trust that process.

Judgment day is closer now than it has ever been, and if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that business as usual can no longer be trusted. Let us all repent and trust the Lord as we move into 2021.

The Boy Jesus (Luke 2:41-52)

The Gospel of Luke teaches us Who Jesus is by telling us everything we need to know about Christ. Jesus is identified as the Christ by His identity, teaching, and mission.

In Luke 2:41-52, we are given a peek into the childhood of Jesus Christ. This is the only look, aside from His birth, that we are given into the life of Jesus before He became an adult. What we see in this snapshot of Jesus’ childhood is a boy that is already empowered by the Holy Spirit. He is already God in flesh, and this makes sense, as the angels who heralded His birth didn’t say, “Come see the future Christ,” but rather announced, “Come see Christ the Lord.”

This passage puts to rest the notion that Jesus wasn’t born Christ, but rather became Christ. Had Jesus not been the Christ prior to this passage, He would not have had the wisdom to be able to confound the doctors of the Law in the Temple. His wisdom and teaching in this moment can only be explained by His divinity.

In this passage, we see the divinity of Christ, the wisdom of Christ, and the mission of Christ. The divinity is shown when Christ declares that He is in His Father’s house, the Temple. The wisdom is shown in his interaction with the doctors and lawyers. His mission is shown in the words He spoke, translated by the KJV as “I must be about My Father’s business.”

Check out the video above to see Pastor Leland Acker demonstrate Who Christ is from this passage of scripture.

What Child is This? (Luke 2:22-40)

Simeon was a man who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would live to see the day that Christ would arrive. Think about how amazing that must have been?

How would you feel if you knew that scripture would be fulfilled in your lifetime? How would you feel knowing that you would live to see the second coming of Christ, and the establishment of His Kingdom on Earth?

How would you be impacted if that which you believed in your entire life was suddenly real, tangible, and right in front of you?

All of these were realities to Simeon, who in Luke 2:22-40, was overcome with his excitement and lifted up his praises toward God. In his and Anna’s praise, three observations are made:

  1. Jesus is the Christ.
  2. Jesus is Salvation.
  3. Jesus is Redemption.

The Christ is the Anointed One, the Chosen One, the Messiah. In scripture, God made multiple promises to Israel, and He made many promises to us. Each and everyone of those promises would be fulfilled by the Christ. Simeon identifies the Christ as Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus is Salvation. It’s His very nature, and it’s even in His name. The name “Jesus” literally means “The Lord is Salvation.” Jesus gave His life on the cross to save us from our sins, from darkness, from hopelessness, and to bring in everlasting life, and eternal reward.

Jesus is redemption. Redemption means to be liberated from bondage by the payment of an outstanding debt. We were in bondage to sin and condemnation, but Jesus liberated us by paying our sin-debt, that we may go free.

Simeon’s words are deep and profound. Check out Life Point’s worship service, posted above, and learn more through Pastor Leland Acker’s message on “What Child is This?”

What stops love?

DSC_0213Fear.

The one obstacle to following the Biblical command to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to love our enemies, is fear.

The Biblical commandments to love go beyond a tender affection toward others. The Biblical command to love involves putting that love into action. Indeed, the very meaning of agape love indicates that a personal sacrifice is made on behalf of the recipient of love.

This bears out in the way Christ taught us to love. In Luke 6:30, He says, “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.” Then, in Luke 6:35, Jesus says, “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”

While we want to follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, the idea of loving so sacrificially can carry with it the fear that our love will not be returned, or even worse, those we help will turn around and hurt us. We fear the result would leave us empty handed, and looking foolish.

There’s not a person alive who hasn’t loved someone who in turn rejected or betrayed them. It’s not a good feeling. It can leave one jaded, angry, and fearful to love again. To find yourself in that state is to find yourself in a dark place.

Yet, we worship the Light of the world. Jesus Christ shined His light into darkness, dispelling sin, degradation and hopelessness. Perhaps our focus should be on the Light, as opposed to the possible darkness.

Fear of love comes from not trusting the Lord to work in the situation. It comes from not seeing the redemptive power of love, and not trusting the Lord to work through the love toward the redemption and well-being of the one loved. Without that faith, one can only see the risk, and the possible negative consequences.

Love is not a risk. Love is not a gamble. It’s not even an investment. Love is a promise. While the one to whom you show agape may reject or betray you, the Lord promises to bless you for that love.

You see, when you focus on the Lord as you show love to your neighbors and enemies, the same people He loves, then the risk of rejection and betrayal is no longer as big of a deal. It may still happen, but it’s secondary to the fellowship you build with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the process. Furthermore, it’s secondary to the change and reconciliation that can come as a result of your love toward others.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., may not have changed the hearts of segregationalists and white supremacists in the South. Indeed, his efforts landed him in jail on multiple occasions, and even saw him assaulted numerous times. Yet, when we discuss the legacy of Dr. King, we don’t say, “There lived a man who was beaten and jailed.” We say, “There’s a man who forever changed our nation for the better.”

Was the change he made worth the suffering he endured? If he were alive today, I think he would say yes.

Let’s elevate this conversation.

Jesus Christ loves sinners. He loved the publicans and the sinners, and dined with them many times. Scripture teaches that He loves all people. The Lord, who loved people, took on the form of a person, and came and lived among us. He came to save us. Yet, mankind rejected Him, beat and tortured Him, then killed Him in the most brutal way possible.

Yet, His love for us, which propelled Him to the cross, accomplished something no one understood at the time. His death on that cross satisfied the need for judgment, and thus our sins are forgiven if we believe on Him.

He loved. He was rejected. He suffered. Yet, His love redeemed us. For Christ, was it worth it? In scripture, He says, “Yes.”

So, in Luke 6:38, Jesus says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

Far too often this verse is interpreted that we will be materially rewarded for love. In reality, this verse promises that your love will not be in vain, and by loving, you could very well change the world.

Love your neighbors and enemies, and keep your eyes on the BIG picture.

–Leland Acker is the pastor of Life Point Baptist Church. Life Point meets for Sunday School at 10 a.m., Morning Worship at 11 a.m. Services are held at the Early Chamber of Commerce building at 104 E. Industrial in Early. This week, Bro. Waymon Childress will bring the morning message. 

Motorless Mustangs Are No Fun

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In the back of every red-blooded American’s mind is a dream to take a classic car from America’s golden days, restore it, and hit the open road. Very few actually undertake this project, because restoring a classic car to its former glory is an involved process. You have to disassemble the car, all the way to the frame, and rebuild it from the ground up, replacing worn out and broken parts with new parts, and making sure all parts fit properly together.

To me, the most exciting part of restoring a classic would be the finishing paint and chrome. At that point, the final product takes shape, and that newly restored car sits in its full glory in your garage. However, if that car doesn’t run, it’s no fun. Worse, it has little value. So, the true car enthusiast will begin his restoration project by restoring the mechanical components of the car. After all of that is complete, then comes the body and paint.

If the one doing the restoration is successful, he will roll out of his garage in a car that has been restored to its former glory. That awesome moment comes only after the car has been rebuilt from the inside out.

This process is time consuming and intense to perform on a car. It’s even more intense to perform on one’s life. All too often, we get to a point in our lives where we see the need to rebuild, to start over. We look for redemption in our lives, but we don’t think about Spiritual redemption. We merely want to fix our current physical situation, whether we’ve wrecked our careers or marriage, or whether we’ve lost everything to drugs and alcohol.

The fact is, if we only try to fix the problems in our lives, our restoration will be just as shallow as putting a coat of paint on a car with no engine. We have to get to the root of the problem, and that’s our Spirituality.

In Luke 24:13-27, we meet two disciples who were disenchanted after the death of Christ. They had believed that Christ would come in and restore the Kingdom of Israel. However, when Christ died on the cross, and rose again, it appeared that the restoration of the Kingdom would never happen. So, these two disciples, disillusioned and disappointed, left town.

The mistake these two disciples made was desiring a surface-level restoration of the Kingdom while overlooking the deep restoration that would come through redemption and salvation.

However, Christ met these two disciples along the road, and began to preach to them all things concerning Himself in the scriptures. The plan wasn’t thwarted. The plan was carried out beautifully. Christ paid for the sins of man so that man could dwell with Christ eternally in that restored Kingdom. The most important thing Christ had done for them, and us, was paying for their sin, thus giving them eternal life. Once that issue was settled, then the Kingdom on earth could be addressed.

You may be struggling right now. Perhaps your life has fallen apart. Perhaps you’ve seen destruction in your life. Perhaps you’ve lost everything. Or, perhaps your setback is relatively minor. If you simply try to solve your own problem, and restore your own life, any progress you make will be temporary and superficial.

However, if you repent and trust the Lord, He will rebuild you from the inside out. He will turn your sorrow into joy and form you into the person He intended on you being. That restoration runs deep, and is eternal. The question is, will you trust Him?

See you at church Sunday. Sunday School at 10 a.m., Morning Worship at 11 a.m., at the Early Chamber of Commerce building, 104 E. Industrial Drive, Early, TX 76802.

The Old Coot at the Temple

What seemed like a normal day must have taken a strange turn when the old man approached the young couple to adore their baby. Mary and Joseph were on their way to the Temple to present Jesus to the LORD, as required by the Law of God, when Simeon approached them to praise the newborn Son of God.

We don’t know much about Simeon. This was his only appearance in the scripture. All we know about him is that he was just and devout, and was told by the Holy Spirit that he’d live to see the birth of Christ.

Often, we get so excited reading Luke’s account of the birth of Christ that we dismiss Simeon as just an old coot at the Temple. However, Simeon actually holds theological significance. He shows us exactly who we are to be in Christ.

The Bible says in Luke 2:25 that Simeon was “just” and “devout.” He was just in that the Lord had forgiven his sins based on the future crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He had been declared not guilty because God would cleanse him of his sin. He was devout in that he was devoted to the Lord, and he diligently worshiped Him. Like Simeon, the first thing God wants from us is that we trust Him for salvation. If you haven’t turned from your sins and trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, nothing else matters. Without salvation, everything you do is temporary. If there is any doubt in your heart about your salvation, or your eternal destiny, it’s a good time to do what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:10, to “give diligence to make your calling and election sure.” Repent, ask forgiveness, trust God for salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Questions? Email me at LelandAcker@gmail.com.

Simeon also set an example for us in that he was devout. He diligently worshiped God, which means he placed priority on worship, and he put his energy and concentration into his worship. Often, we can fall short in this regard. Many times, church becomes something we go to if nothing else is happening, and often, when we are in worship services, our minds are elsewhere. Then, we leave, wondering why we didn’t get anything out of it.

God honored Simeon’s devotion by immortalizing him in scripture, allowing him to see the newborn Christ, and then giving him eternal life in the Kingdom. If we are devout, if we place priority on worshiping God, and do so diligently, God will honor that. God wants us to worship.

The last lesson we learn from Simeon is that we, too, ought to look forward to the return of Christ. Luke 2:25 tells us that Simeon was “waiting on the consolation of Israel.” He was looking forward to the arrival of Israel’s deliverer, their comforter. He was waiting on the arrival of Christ.

Scripture also teaches us to be looking forward to the return of Christ. In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul wrote that the Lord would not only give him a crown of righteousness, but also “all them that love His appearing.” Faith can be measured by how much you are looking forward to the Lord’s return. Those who desire the Lord to return soon trust that He will establish His Kingdom on earth and bless us forever. Those who wish the Lord would delay are worried that Jesus will get in the way of something happening in the here and now.

Don’t make the mistake of placing the here-and-now before Christ. Look forward to the arrival of Christ, because his arrival will make your salvation tangible. It will set everything right. We look forward to the day when “the struggle” is over and we can live in peace and prosperity in His paradise.

So, let’s take a few lessons from Simeon. Settle your standing with God, worship him diligently, and eagerly await the return of the Lord. Do those three things, and watch God do big things in your life.