Jesus lays it out there pretty clearly! We are blessed if we’re poor in spirit, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mourn, and are persecuted. But, woe to us if we’re the opposite of these. So, where are we? Hard to really see what’s going on inside with all the noise of life. We need to find some downtime and assess our heart and we will find that it’s going to be dark, selfish, wicked…and…it’s OK to not be OK, but it’s not OK to stay there. We’ve learned what it means to live a blessed life.

So far, Jesus’ ministry has been operating in a “Come and See” way. These verses switch gears as He calls people to come and follow Him which means they are getting ready to engage in a “Go and Die” life. It’s no longer just listen to the sermons, receive ministry, stand at a distance b/c these men are about to get a total life overhaul of their lives and the world will never be the same as a result. We will look at some of the early disciples lives and consider how to dive into the deep end of what it looks like for us as a disciple of Jesus where we move from “Come and See” to “Go and Die” so that others might “Come and See” and learn to “Go and Die”…it’s the church or it’s lights out!

In Luke 6 we see that the battlefield is the Sabbath, but the issue at stake here is LEGALISM. Just like the previous week, we see religion pop up again! On one side we have Jesus who is a rescuer, redeemer, and restorer inviting people into relationship VS religion who is a punisher that pounds people into submission out of devotion to the regulations and rules. Martin Luther said: “Religion is the default mode of the human heart” and we’re going to do battle with that tendency this week!

How far will God go to save people separated from Him because of their sin? Who is He willing to forgive and offer life, purpose, and meaning to? He saves the ungodly, the lawless, unholy, profane, immoral, liars and anything else you want to add to the list that is contrary to a life that takes sound teaching from the Bible and rightly applies it to life. Broken and repentant people realize they have fallen short and are rescued because of what Christ has done and through faith in Him, turning from a self-ruled life, and following Him as Savior and Lord, forgiveness and restoration are found. I Timothy 1:8-17 is a good reminder that we will find mercy as Jesus demonstrates His perfect patience and shows us what redemption looks like for those who believe and experience eternal life.

The Bible puts it pretty simply for us: If you’re filthy…come to Jesus and He can and will cleanse you. If you’re guilty…come to Jesus b/c He can and will forgive. And if you’re religious…knock it off!

When we gather Sunday’s, it’s often called a “Church Service.” But, that’s not it at all…it should actually be considered a training exercise that is focused on teaching truth that teaches us what it means to love God to then take what we learn and go apply it. We need to be prepared for the battle raging out there for our marriages, kids, relationships, time, and money that has been entrusted to us and when we employ what Jesus teaches it changes us!

Jesus has a busy day and preaches, heals a demon possessed guy, and then heals Simon's mother-in-law. Lots of spiritual activity with some study of the enemy, spiritual warfare, and keeping focused on Jesus. Through it all we do believe that there is an enemy, but we EMPHASIZE Jesus and He is central to our thinking, doctrine, and we should be enamored with Him. HEB. 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Him!

Today…if you’ve heard His voice then head to the feet of Jesus and ask Him what the next step looks like. HS is prompting you towards obedience…don’t let that nudge on your heart become a callous that makes it harder and harder for you to hear from Him.