Luke The Orderly Account of Truth - Your Message Counts - Luke 13:18-21

We are in a series called Luke The Orderly Account

of Truth. It'll be up there shortly. We are going

through Luke's careful examination and eyewitness testimony of the life, death,

and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, who was here last week.

Good amount, good amount of you. For those of you

that weren't. I left things on a cliffhanger last week.

That something I normally do, but I thought it'd be

fun to try, whether you were here or not. And

if you were here, you may have already guessed what

it was, because it's not that hard to figure it out.

You don't, you may have absolutely no idea what I'm

talking about, But don't worry. I'm gonna give us all

a recap of what we talked about, and then at

long last tell you what the most important act of

goodness for us to do is. Last week. Last week

we looked at a time when Jesus went to a

synagogue on the Sabbath to teach, and while he was there,

he andcu a woman who had suffered from a debilitating

condition for eighteen years that was caused by an evil spirit.

When he saw this woman, he called her over, healed her,

and she immediately responded by giving praise to God. But

the synagogue leader who was there who saw this happen,

became indignant and responded in anger by telling the people

there to come and be healed on a working day,

not on the sabbath. Come back some other time. And

then we saw Jesus call out the hypocrisy of that statement,

and he said, you have no problem taking your livestock

to water on a sabbath, but you aren't willing to

show the same concern and love for your own neighbor,

another daughter of Abraham. While God did command them to

rest on the sabbath, not to work, but rest, God

also told them in his commandments, love your neighbor as yourself.

And the religious leaders by adding all these extra rules

and conditions on God's simple command to rest on the Sabbath,

they still sinned by not doing good toward their neighbor.

And in that moment of healing the crippled woman, Jesus

showed them and showed us thanks to Luke's eyewitness accounts

that he gathered. He showed us that doing good is

not assigned to specific days. Doing good is not reserved

for special occasions or only when it's easy or when

it's convenient. Doing good is something we must do all

of the time. Because our perfect example of doing good

didn't wait for the moments it was easy to do good.

He did good everywhere he went, all of the time,

and in the face of hardship and betrayal and rejection,

he completed the ultimate act of goodness by dying on

the cross for our sins, when we had not one

ounce of goodness in us. In light of Jesus' life, death,

and resurrection, we must now strive to do good all

of the time, and to resolve my cliffhanger from last week,

to share Christ's gospel message at every opportunity. That's our

most important act of goodness, to share Christ's gospel message

at every opportunity. And if you're taking notes, a sermon

today is titled your Message Counts. I'll explain that the

first turn with me to Luke chapter thirteen. We'll be

in verses eighteen through twenty one. If you need a Bible,

we have some on the connectable pass those double doors.

That is our gift to you. You can keep that.

I'm gonna read through today's texts and then I'll pray

before we begin verse eighteen. Then Jesus asked, what is

the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?

It is like a mustard seed which a man took

and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree,

and the birds perched in its branches. Again, he asked,

what shall I compare the Kingdom of God to? It

is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into

about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through

the dough. This is God's word. Let's pray, Lord, I

thank you for being our example of true goodness. I

thank you for accomplishing the greatest act of goodness by

dying on the cross for our sins. I pray that

your words today, Lord, what you said, would change us,

would challenge us, help us to submit to them, to

see how even a small what seems like a small

thing of doing good, what seems like a small thing

of sharing your gospel message, has huge influence in your kingdom.

I thank you that we have the privilege, as citizens

of your kingdom to watch your kingdom grow. Lord, may

you be glorified and praise in our time together. Amen,

your message counts on my eighteenth birthday, I remember being

really excited that I could finally vote in an election

and know this is not an election sermon to stick

with me. I was so excited to finally be able

to do that. Not because I knew anything about politics

or had any particular candidate that I wanted to support.

I was excited because as we get older, we begin

reaching different milestones that allow us to do and experience

different things. When you're eighteen, you can vote, and then

the government awards all the boys with a mandatory draft

yay milestone in Washington. When you're twenty one years old,

you can rent a car, among other things I'm not

going to talk about. And now thirty fifth birthday is

coming up, and I'm excited again because I can now

officially run for president hashtag l Wanger twenty twenty eight,

completely kidding that will never happen. But when I turned

eighteen and I could cast my vote in an election,

I started to notice all of those signs and campaign

posters and TV ads telling me your vote counts, your

voice matters, your vote counts. It was like when you

buy a car and then all of a sudden, you

see that car on the road everywhere. When I could vote,

I started to notice and mostly believe how much my

vote mattered and how much my vote counted. And every

four years I'd see the same messaging, your vote counts,

your voice matters. Fast forward to twenty twenty four, I

still saw the same messages. Nothing had changed in that regard,

but this time felt different. This time, it felt like

there was more urgency regarding how much my vote mattered.

The media, the candidates, the social media, everything was perfectly

constructed to have me believe that the outcome of this

election mattered more than any other election I had ever

voted in. The message had become your vote matters, and

it matters so much that if you vote for the

other person, you're dooming us. All the strategy hear me.

The strategy was to make me feel fear, and through

that fear, make me feel as though my single vote

held so much weight that, somehow, among the three hundred

and thirty five plus million people in this country, my

one vote signaled either doom or peace, destruction or rebuilding,

catastrophe or salvation. But what the people behind these pr

campaigns of fear don't realize is that not one person

in this election could ever or will ever save us

from eternal doom. Neither person in this election could ever

or will ever save us from eternal destruction. Neither person

could ever or will ever save us from eternal catastrophe.

Now you should vote. I'm not saying you shouldn't, but

just know that no human will ever save you from yourself.

No human will ever give you what you truly need.

Every candidate in every election, past, present, and future can

ever truly save you in light of eternal consequence, in

light of eternal judgment. How we vote doesn't matter. The

choice you make with your vote in an election does

not change your eternal destination. But the choice you make

with Christ's gospel message, that's the only choice that secures

your eternal destination, either apart from Him or in his presence.

That's why sharing the Gospel message is the most important,

most necessary act of goodness any one of us will

ever do. And it's a command from our Lord that

we must obey. Not only that, it's the greatest privilege

that we get to partake of. Think about it. We

get to be the ones that deliver the best message

that every sinner needs to hear and will ever hear,

and that message matters. That message actually counts for something.

If you're taking notes. My first point is the gospel

message is the greatest you'll ever deliver, because that message,

that good news you're delivering, is one of hope and hopelessness.

It's a message of forgiveness from wrath. It's a message

of light in darkness. It's a message of peace amidst chaos.

And every time you share it, every time you deliver

that message, the most important act of goodness will ever do.

It furthers God's kingdom. Let's look at the text again,

Verse eighteen short, I'm just kidding, Duncan. Then Jesus asked,

what is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I

compare it to? It is like a mustard seed which

a man took and planted in his garden. It grew

and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches. Again,

he asked, what shall I compare the Kingdom of God to?

It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed

into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked through

all the dough. Sharing this message may seem like a

small thing, but when we look at it as if

it's a small thing. It makes it very easy for

us to talk our way out of sharing it in

the first place. Maybe we overthink it, leading us to

making us feel like sharing the message is scary. It

makes us avoid it altogether. But like the seed of

a mustard tree or just a little bit of yeast

in dough, something so seemingly small is how the Kingdom

of God spreads. We mustn't discount the impact of the

message we bring, the power in that message, the influence

it has in God's kingdom. When Jesus acted in goodness

and he healed the woman plagued by an evil spirit

that had crippled her, it sent ripples throughout the synagogue

and the surrounding area. There were those who objected to it,

were indignant towards it, and those that praise God because

of that act of goodness, because it showed the people

a glimpse of God's goodness and his power and resulted

in praise to God. And when you share the Gospel

message with someone, it furthers God's kingdom because the power

of that message regenerates the hearts of God's elect, brings

them to repentance of their sins and results in praise

and glory to their heavenly Father, just like the woman

that Jesus healed. Look at Romans ten with me verse twelve,

For there is no difference between jew and gentile. The

same Lord is Lord of all, and richly blesses all

who call on him, For everyone who calls in the

name of the Lord will be saved. How then, can

they call on the one they have not believed in?

And how can they believe in the one of whom

they have not heard? And how can they hear without

someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless

they are sent? As it is written? How beautiful are

the feet of those who bring good news? Your message

counts because the message you bring is not your own,

It's God's. Even our texts today itself seems small, it's

a handful of verses, but what it means for God's

Kingdom is massive. As citizens of God's Kingdom, it's our

duty and our privilege to do good everywhere we go,

and to share Christ's message of goodness and salvation and

redemption whenever there's opportunity to do it, And that duty,

that privilege has a promised and eternal return from our efforts.

These aren't just empty words. Is the word of God.

What he says comes to pass. If you're taking notes

right down, start planting, Start planting, Go and plant the

seed of the Gospel by simply telling people. I say simply,

but I know that any introverts here are probably getting

anxious just at the thought of starting up a conversation

like that. Any extroverts here might be feeling hesitant with

thoughts like I don't even know what to say, So

I'm gonna try to do next? Is free you from

that fear with just some basics basics of delivering the message. First,

make sharing the message as simple as the content of

the message. Make sharing the message as simple as the

content of the message. I'll make sense of what that means.

Two of the most common hurdles of sharing the gospel

message is one, I don't know what to say. I

don't know what to say. Two I'm scared I'll say

the wrong thing. Maybe it's both I don't know what

to say and I'm scared I'll say the wrong thing,

And that fear or hesitancy of what we should, should

or should not say stops us from saying anything at all,

and we make the message of the gospel bigger than

what it says. What it says is simply this. There's

just one sentence. It's not written on my notes, on

the on the on the television screens here, but hear me.

We are all sinners deserving of God's wrath, but God,

in his mercy made a way for us to be forgiven,

believing in the death and resurrection of His one and

only son, Jesus Christ. That's it. That's the gospel message

at its core. The gospel message is that we are

all sinners deserving of God's wrath, but God and his

mercy made a way for us to be forgiven believing

in the death and resurrection of His one and only son,

Jesus Christ. That's it. It doesn't have to be more

complicated than that. That's the message that we are to deliver.

That's the seed that we are plant and then watch

God's kingdom grow. Now, the next thing you might think is, Okay,

well that is easy, but how do I even start

the conversation. I have a tip for that too. It's

easy to talk about salvation when you act like God

saved you. It's easy to talk about salvation when you

act like God saved you. Here's what that means. When

you act like a child of God, like a person

that knows Jesus as their Lord and savior, people take notice.

It's evident to people around us because it's countercultural. It

goes against everything else the world says to do. And

let me just tell you. People are looking for answers.

That's more evident today than it ever has been. I'd argue,

the problem is they're looking in the wrong places, or

they're looking to the wrong people. When they see you

acting the way you should, in a way that's different

from the world, they're going to want to know a

few things. They're going to want to know. How do

I get what you have? You're not worried? How do

I get rid of my own fear? You're not terribly

sad and depressed? How do I get that joy? How

are you so happy and content and unafraid? And different

people are going to notice, And when they ask those questions,

you can respond with, well, let me tell you. Let

me tell you how one person changed everything for me.

It's easy. It's easy to talk about salvation, to talk

about the message when you act like God saved you

when you act according to his will, when you act

according to everything He told us to do, when you

act in obedience to him, that's the message We're to deliver,

plant that seed, and watch God's kingdom spread. So now

we know the message is simple, and we know that

starting the conversation is easy when you act like God

saved you. And by the way, I don't mean put

on a happy face and act like God save you.

I mean your actions reflect the change in you. Does

that make sense? So we know the message is simple.

Starting the conversation is easy, especially when you act like

God saved you. But you might still have one more

burning question one I thought might come up because it's

come up from me. Your next question or thought might

be But what if there are follow up questions? That's

also an easy one to answer. It's okay to say

I don't know. It's okay to say I don't know. Oh,

I don't know the answer? Follow up? Why don't we

find out together? I don't know the answer? Why don't

you come to the roots with me and find out?

Or any church fill in the blank there? Why don't

you come to church with me find out? This is

kind of off the cuff, but it came to mind.

I remember Matt Chandler saying this in one of his

sermons years ago, years ago. It's easy for people to

not want to hear what you have to say when

you're sharing the gospel. But no one turns down prayer.

No one turns down prayer. If you say I'm gonna

pray for you, or let me pray for you. But

let's just say you said I'm gonna pray for you.

Let's say someone said my marriage is heard, coworker friend,

someone checking out, an over talkative person at the grocery store.

I don't know, my marriage is hurting. I'm not doing well.

You say I'm gonna pray for you. The next time

you see them, you come back and say, hey, I've

been check check, hey, I've been praying for you. How

is that going countercultural? It's easy to say things and

not follow up on them. But when we follow up

with them, they're gonna notice that just opened a door

for a future conversation. That planted the seed that you

can now come and just water a little bit. It

creates a connection, a relationship that's just a bonus point

for you. I thought it was really good that that

opened my eyes years ago. It's another another way we

overcomplicate things. When you're about to share the gospel message,

when you're about to plant the seed, and you encounter

any fear or doubt or hesitancy, I want you to

remember this about the message you're delivering. We deliver the message.

The sender opens the eyes of the reader. We deliver

the message. The sender opens the eyes of the believer.

I think sometimes we have hesitancy to share the gospel,

maybe because there's we take on unnecessary weight of sharing

that message. What if I say something wrong, what if

I don't know the answer to a question. What they

do with the message you deliver has nothing to do

with you. That's on God to open their eyes and

their hearts on how they respond to it and praise God.

That's the case. If it was all up to us,

no one would be saved, not a single person. God.

The sender opens the eyes of the reader. Imagine if

we wrote a letter and we left it up to

the postal worker to communicate and to make sure the

reader really understands what we're writing. That should be movie idea.

Let me write that down, but imagine that and praise God.

That's not the case that God has. God is sovereign

over everything. He will open the eyes and hearts of

the people He sent you to deliver his message to

and we can trust in him. We're not the ones

that save God is. It's our job and our joy

to deliver it. It's his message. We just deliver it.

I have a quote from an unknown pastor that came

from a pastor I know. This pastor said God didn't

call us to be successful. He called us to be faithful.

God is the one who takes care of the impossible part.

We walk in obedience to the part he told us

to do. The results are in his hands. God wrote

the message you are delivering. He'll see to it that

it's read or not. Praise God. God made the seed

that you're planting. He'll see to it that it grows

and flourishes. God will see to it that his the

Kingdom spreads. What we need to do is our part.

What we need to do is be obedient. We plant

the seed, we deliver the message. We do good. Your

message counts because it's God's message that you're delivering, and

it may feel small and unassuming, but our text and

Luke today showed us that the Kingdom of God starts

small and unassuming, then it grows into something huge. Thing

about this, the Kingdom of God came in a way

that people did not expect when Jesus was born. They

expected the Messiah to show up and do a full

governmental takeover. But the Messiah showed up as a baby, small, innocent, unassuming.

Their expectations were off. We should take time to reflect

on any areas where our expectations are off. Maybe we

think the Kingdom of God should be spread in some

way other than what we're told to do, some way

other than what He commanded and modeled. Do we push

against the instruction of Romans ten where Paul said how

can they hear without someone preaching? Maybe we think, oh,

someone else will do that. Someone else will deliver that message,

someone else will plant that seed. It's a small thing.

I don't really need to worry about it. Let me

go back to what I said earlier about acting like

God saved you. This is one of the many ways

we are obedient to God's commands by delivering his gospel message,

by doing good God called us to do. He saved

us from doing the wrong thing to doing the right thing.

The right thing is being obedient to his commands, not

for sitting back and relaxing and watching other people do

his work. You've probably heard it a dozen times if

you spent any time in church. But it's not a

cruise ship. It's a battleship. Man your stations. God uses

us to accomplish the spreading of His kingdom. It's our

job to be obedient and do it. And it's our

joy and privilege to be the ones to do this

good act, to deliver the gospel message because it's the

most important message we will ever deliver, because it's the

only message of forgiveness and salvation. It's the only message

that eternally matters, that eternally counts. No human being will

ever save us. We must put our hope and faith

in the only one who can. And that's a message

that people need to hear.