Gary Gleans

Luke 14:15-24 15  When one of those who were reclining  at the table  with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16  But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;  17  and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’  18  “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’  19  “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’  20  “Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’  21  “And the slave came  back  and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lane...

Luke 14:12-14 12  And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and  that  will be your repayment.  13  “But when you give a reception, invite  the  poor,  the  crippled,  the  lame,  the  blind,  14  and you will be blessed, since they do not have  the means  to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Hospitality is an important part of our lives before God.   He wants us to use our homes as a place of ministry and service to others.   Too often we view our homes as a sort of refuge for ourselves instead of a tool for the Lord’s use.   Both Jesus and Paul talked about the importance of hosting.   In today’s text Jesus explains some principles we should keep in mind as...

Luke 14:7-11 7  And He  began  speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor  at the table, saying to them,  8  “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,  9  and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give  your  place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.  10  “But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you.  11  “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Pride is one of those areas that seems to be at the root of every one of our sins.   It is ironic that se...

Luke 14:1-6 1  It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on  the  Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely.  2  And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.  3  And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”  4  But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.  5  And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”  6  And they could make no reply to this. Most of us don’t enjoy the feeling of being under scrutiny.   No matter where Jesus went, He was constantly under the watchful eye of the Pharisees who were just waiting to find some fault with anything He did.   On this occasion He was going to the home of a Pharisee for breakfast, but it seems the enti...

Luke 13:22-25 22  And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.  23  And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there  just  a few who are being saved?” And He said to them,  24  “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  25  “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Results always seem to be much more important to us than they are to the Lord.   As Jesus was preaching in towns and villages on His way to Jerusalem, someone asks Him if there are just a few that are being saved.   This person seems to be concerned with the small results that His preaching was having.   Jesus does not seem concerned with the lack of results, instead...

John 10:40-42 40  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.  41  Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.”  42  Many believed in Him there. The methodology of Jesus must have been confusing and, at times, frustrating to those who followed Jesus.   People who believed He was the Messiah were constantly wondering when He would begin His process of liberation and overthrowing the Roman government.   Clearly, the most strategic place for this to occur was Jerusalem.   Yet, Jesus is constantly wandering out to the outlying areas and even going out to the middle of nowhere.   His plans and methods were far different than those He was expected to follow because His purpose was not what the people imagined it to be. THE WITHDRAWAL TO THE WILDERNESS: Jesus had healed the woman on the Sabbath, defen...

John 10:22-39 22  At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem;  23  it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.  24  The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  25  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.  26  “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.  27  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  28  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  29  “My Father, who has given  them  to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch  them  out of the Father’s hand.  30  “I and the Father are one.” 31  The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him....