“Go or Woe” - Luke 6 - June 8th, 2025 - Pastor Scotty Brown

Hey, if you got a Bible, we're going to be in Luke chapter 6, and we're going to look at the, I'm backing up just a little bit from last time.

Luke 6 · chapter mention

We're going to go ahead and look at the blessings, the aka Beatitudes.

So there's four blessings in this passage and four woes.

And we're going to look at that this morning.

So if you have a Bible, Luke 6, we'll read verses 20 through 26.

So it says, then he, Jesus, lifted up his eyes towards his disciples and said,

Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for indeed your reward is great in heaven.

Let's pray.

Lord, thank you.

Thank you for your word that's alive and it's real and it applies to our life, Lord, on a daily basis.

And so, Father, I just pray that you would teach us just some applicable truths, Lord, that we can apply to our life as we look at these blessings and these woes.

And knowing that they come from you, Lord Jesus, and that your word to us is life and it is spirit.

And we pray that we pray that we would be those who build our lives up on the rock and not upon the shifting sand of this world.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

So, here we have the four blessings and the four woes.

And we're just going to look at them at face value and we'll continue on our Sunday.

Some of you are going to go play a little ball this afternoon, maybe, and baseball.

And I got to go see some Major League Baseball last week.

And the Dodgers throttled the Yankees.

18-2.

But then the Yankees came back the next day and beat them.

I don't get this thing.

It's, you know, the whole Major League Baseball thing is kind of psychotic.

But the game we were at, both teams pulled in outfielders to pitch the last two innings.

I've never seen that before.

I mean, these guys are like junior hires just Chuck getting it across a plate, barely.

You know, it was probably going 45 miles an hour or something like that.

I guess they're saving their pitchers.

I didn't know they did that.

But you learn something.

Every day.

So hopefully we'll learn something today.

So he starts off here.

Jesus does.

It says he lifted up his eyes towards his disciples.

Right?

So he's specifically teaching his followers these truths here in these six verses.

And he starts off with,

Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Most believe that he's talking spiritually here.

He's not talking necessarily those who are poor materially.

And so those who are poor in spirit, says David Guzik, recognize that they have no spiritual assets.

They know they are spiritually bankrupt.

They know they are spiritually bankrupt.

Poverty of spirit cannot be artificially induced by self-hatred.

It comes as the Holy Spirit works in our heart and we respond to him.

And so it's acknowledging the fact that I have nothing to offer God.

He has to breathe life into me.

Because in my flesh, right?

Paul said, you were dead in sins and trespasses.

Absolutely dead.

Not even seemingly conscious of God.

Any consciousness of God that I had in my life before I surrendered my life to Jesus

was probably the prayer of my grandmother.

And the hounds of heaven wouldn't leave me alone.

And I was never totally satisfied in my sin.

Though it was fun.

Woohoo!

Right?

The Bible says there's pleasure in sin for a season.

But Jesus said whoever sins is a slave to sin.

And so I had become this slave.

And I didn't even realize it.

And then the Holy Spirit came along and began to convict me.

And I was overwhelmed with my spiritual poverty.

And that's what Jesus is talking about here.

These beatitudes, they kind of remind me of a chain linked together.

Right?

When once I realized how poor I was in spirit,

I started to become hungry.

Right?

Which leads you to the next blessed.

It says, blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.

And so all of a sudden I became hungry.

Spiritually hungry.

And I pray that that hunger never fades.

And that I stay in that place of being hungry.

I had a hunger to know how does a person become righteous.

I want to know.

It becomes like a passion.

God, I want to be right with you.

And so that came with starters that I was spiritually bankrupt.

And then how do I make this right?

And how do I stay in this relationship with this God of heaven?

It is interesting when Paul's talking to the Corinthians and he says that nobody can even say that Jesus is Lord,

but by the spirit of God.

And so it's like God comes along and he whispers to us,

hey, I got this life for you.

Do you want it?

Do you want it?

And if you want it, I'll stir up that hunger in you where you'll want to seek me.

And so this hunger, it is.

It's a real passion because physical hunger is real.

Have you ever been physically hungry?

If you haven't, then maybe fast today.

Feel what it's like.

Remember when we were in Africa, there were some little kids there.

Their meals, they would have like three to five meals a week.

And it was shocking.

How these little guys would be hungry and what it would do to them.

And how they would treat each other and treat you if you had food.

Right?

They'd take you out if you had food.

And for a bite.

And so that's the kind of hunger that this is talking about.

And that you and I, when we're hungry for the Lord, it's a good thing.

Luke implies here a kind of longing.

Right?

And I think in men's lives, when we want to be righteous and we long for that.

Right?

We want to have this righteous nature that we're very well aware of our sinful nature.

And when we're born again, all of a sudden there's this sense of rightness.

But it still fights with the wickedness.

Right?

I feel like sometimes we're Jekyll and Hyde.

In fact, my boy was just sharing with me about his little boy, Hiddy's mommy, and made her cry.

And now, all of a sudden, first he's mean.

And now he wants to be nice.

And then he doesn't just want to be nice to her.

He wants to be nice to others.

But with exception.

So he has cousins.

And he's got one that is his rival.

He's not quite two.

He's a little bit younger than Towns.

And Towns is like, I like Tizer and I like Noah, but I don't like Fisher.

And so he has this struggle in his heart.

And so his dad's correcting him with his treatment of his mother.

And he's saying, well, Daddy, I'll be nice now.

And I'll go to Auntie Shai's and be nice to Fisho.

And I'll be mean to Tizer and Noah.

There it is.

Displayed in a two-year-old, a struggle that we all have.

But we long.

We have this longing to be, I long to be right with God.

I want to be holy.

The problem is my flesh.

And so to be hungry simply is just a good way to say, you know what?

You're in for a fight.

So until you take your last breath, just put your dukes up every day that you're awake.

And pray that the Lord would be in your dreams when you're asleep.

Because even they could be desperately wicked.

And so we have this desire.

And Jesus is saying, here, you stay hungry.

And guess what?

You shall be filled.

You can be filled.

But it's a continual filling.

It's not a one-time filling.

So many people say, I got saved 20 years ago.

Yeah, but what's been happening since then?

Has it been continual?

Continual?

Or are you just kind of stuck?

No, I need continual feeling.

Filling.

Feeling comes and goes.

But filling of the Holy Spirit.

So he says there in Matthew 6, verse 33.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

And all these things will be added to you.

You'll be filled up.

But what do you got to do?

You got to seek.

You got to seek first.

It's interesting that he uses the word now there on a couple of these blessings.

It says, blessed are you who hunger now.

Blessed are you who weep now.

It's almost like he's suggesting that there's a future.

There's a future when you're going to be totally filled.

There's a future when you're going to not weep anymore.

It's like every tear is going to be wiped away.

And we know that.

Those who study God's word.

You're well aware that says every tear will be wiped away.

But I don't know about you.

The older I get, the more tears that I shed.

The hungrier I get for the Lord, the more I long to be in his presence.

Thirdly, the third blessed, and I just kind of mentioned it here.

Blessed are you who weep now.

For one day you will laugh.

This life is full of tears, is it not?

Full of tears.

Whether it's getting whacked in the head by a two-year-old.

Right?

Or going broke, or losing your job, or losing your marriage, and your family.

Tears are just seems to be always there.

Just the thought sometimes of the trouble that my children and my grandchildren have gone through

has brought me to tears.

The thought of my own sin and my own failure brings tears.

And Moses and Jesus both promised,

you're going to have a gut full of this.

You're going to have a life full.

In Psalm 90, when Moses mentions, you know, that man lives three score and ten,

or if by reason of strength he lives to be 80 years,

their only boast, all of them, is labor and sorrow.

That's their only boast.

Some of you might be saying,

well, Pastor Scott, this is pretty depressing.

But I think that heaven is going to be such a contrast to this life, you guys.

Right?

This is as bad as it gets for us.

But sadly to say, this is the best that it is for some.

This is the best that they ever going to have.

This is their heaven.

Right?

That's why the elite want to live forever.

Because this is their heaven.

They can't see anything beyond.

They have no faith.

They're trusting in themselves.

And Jesus said,

in the world you're going to have trouble.

You're going to have tribulation.

You're going to have tears.

But be of good courage.

Right?

The psalmist wrote,

weeping may endure for a night,

but joy comes in the morning.

Amen?

Do you have joy in the Lord,

even in the midst of your crying?

I do.

I remember being at the bedside of one of our loved ones,

our family members that died.

It was funny.

It wasn't funny, but it was funny.

Because we were weeping.

And then seconds later,

we were laughing and joking.

And it's like this juggling act

in this life that we live.

Some have said that this life is,

it's a tragic life.

Life is tragic.

Tragedy comes all the time.

You just kind of have to get your gear on

and have your catcher's mitt

and get ready to catch it

because it's coming.

But in the midst of it,

praise God,

he can give us joy.

He can be with us.

He can see us through.

And then the fourth blessed here is,

it's like it's,

it's so counter to the world

that it seems insane

when he says,

blessed are you when men hate you

and when they exclude you

and revile you

and cast out your name as evil

for the son of man's sake.

Rejoice in that day

and leap for joy

for indeed,

your reward is great in heaven

for in like manner

their fathers did to the prophets.

Really rejoice that people hate me?

Yeah.

Blessed are you.

Listen,

they hated Jesus.

Okay.

Why,

why would we ever expect

anything different?

He experienced this,

this persecution

that it talks about here

in verse 22.

And so would his disciples,

right?

But how can we rejoice

when men attack us?

By remembering

that it is a privilege

to suffer for his sake.

This week we were reading

in the book of Acts,

correct?

And in chapter five,

the religious leaders

were wanting to keep

the apostles quiet about Jesus.

You remember,

because of the incredible miracle

of the guy,

the poor man

at the gate beautiful.

And they were wanting

to,

to keep him in check.

And so it says,

and when they had called

the apostles

and beaten them,

they commanded

that they should not

speak in the name

of Jesus

and let them go.

And so they departed

from the presence

of the council,

rejoicing that they

were counted worthy

to suffer shame

for his name.

And daily in the temple

and in every house,

they did not cease

teaching and preaching

Jesus as the Christ.

These guys,

they were kind of

excited.

See that bruise

right there?

Right?

I don't know if you've seen

pictures of our youth group.

They got caught

in a hailstorm

in Colorado.

And I mean,

they got,

these were almost

golf ball size

hail

stones.

And,

and these kids

have welts

and stuff all over them.

that's maybe

the closest

we've got

to being wounded

for Jesus.

They were at a

Christian concert.

However,

it did,

it did wake them up.

They,

they,

they were rattled.

It's,

it was,

you know,

it,

any act of nature

like that,

doesn't it just kind of

take your breath away?

just like makes you feel

so little.

But they thought,

hey,

cool.

The world hates us.

I,

I had somebody tell me

the other day about,

about a guy that,

that doesn't like me

because of something

I've said.

And I'm just like,

well,

praise the Lord.

I was telling

some guys this morning

out in the foyer,

I about got in a fight

on Friday.

It's been a while

since I've had a fisticuff.

And I would have got

my clock cleaned.

I was jogging

and this guy

pulls by me

when I'm jogging.

He honks,

he's turning

and pedestrians

have the right of way.

Is that right?

Is that correct?

Anyway,

so I think I cut him off.

He's in a big pickup

and he,

he pulled by me

and I just,

he honked at me

and I ignored him.

And then I look back

and I recognize

the truck

and I thought

it was a friend of mine

and so he was

waving his arms

and so I waved at him.

And,

and I went a few more steps

and I'm jogging along

and I look back

and he pulls over

and I thought,

that's my friend,

he wants to talk to me.

So I go jogging up there,

running,

I'm running to the truck.

I don't,

have no idea

what's going on

in this guy's mind

but he gets out

and it's not my friend.

But I think

it's another guy,

another friend of mine.

And,

you know,

I'm smiling

and he's getting out

and he's said something

about flipping him off.

I go,

yeah,

I flipped you off,

joking.

Right?

And,

this guy puffed up,

got quite a bit bigger

and I,

and then I'm jogging up there

and I think,

oh no,

this ain't that guy.

And so I get up there

and he goes,

did you flip me off?

And I said,

no,

I waved at you.

He said,

no,

you flipped me off.

I said,

no,

I waved at you.

And I didn't explain

why I would have waved.

But I would not have

flipped the guy off

and then ran up

to his truck.

I mean,

I would have got

my butt kicked.

and,

you know,

God's word always works.

And the thought hit me,

Proverbs,

right?

That says,

a soft answer

turns away wrath.

And the guy was pretty hot.

He's a pretty good sized fella.

You guys would have

probably come visit me

in ICU.

Hope you would have.

And I finally just looked at him

and said,

man,

you know what?

I am really sorry.

And I put my hand out

and he shook my hand.

And then all of a sudden

he said,

well,

you got to watch out,

man.

You might get killed.

All of a sudden

he has pity for me,

right?

I don't know why

I told you that story,

but

it was quite the life experience.

Listen,

I haven't flipped

anybody off

for at least

10 or 12 days.

I'm just kidding.

It's been over 30 years.

so

mistaken identity.

Wow.

But people are going to,

the world

hates Jesus.

He encouraged us.

He let us know

it was going to

hate him.

And it is a great,

it is a great

barometer

of what,

where we are in life.

If somebody hates us,

because of his sake,

it says,

listen,

for in like manner

their fathers

did to the prophets.

The fathers of who?

The fathers of those

who hate the lovers

of God.

That's who it is.

And

we see it

in the book

of Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

In fact,

if you got your Bible,

turn there real quickly,

would you?

Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

And I so forget

this sometimes,

but what they

experienced,

the Old Testament

saints.

And now they were

looking forward

to Jesus coming,

the Messiah to come.

They didn't see it.

They didn't see that

he went to the cross

for them

and propitiated

their sins.

Right?

they didn't see

that he had risen

from the dead,

though many of them

knew it,

but they never saw it.

And they were still

willing to die

for it.

Looking forward

to it.

And so,

in verse 32,

I'm just going to

read it for you,

but it talks about

all the exploits

of the Old Testament

saints that were,

you know,

made strong,

were valiant in battle,

turned to flight

armies and aliens,

women received their

dead to life again.

But it says,

others,

verse 32,

were tortured,

not accepting

deliverance,

that they might

obtain a better

resurrection.

Still others

had trial

of mockings

and scourgings,

yes,

and of chains

and imprisonment.

They were stoned,

they were sawn in two,

were tempted,

were slain

with a sword.

They wandered about

in sheep's clothing

and goat skins,

being destitute,

afflicted,

tormented,

of whom the world

was not worthy.

They wandered

in deserts

and mountains

and dens

and caves of the earth.

And all these

having obtained

a good testimony

through faith

did not receive

the promise.

They were looking

forward to it.

You and I

have received it.

God having provided

something perfect

should not

be made perfect

apart from us.

And so,

how much more,

if these guys

were willing

to do this,

how much more

should we

heed

need the encouragement

and the exhortation

of the Lord

to be those people?

For in like manner

their fathers did

to the prophets.

It's just part

of this life.

Not popular.

Jesus isn't popular.

He's popular

to persecute.

And so,

we have to,

as believers,

be okay with that.

And I believe

that's what we're

called to.

We're called to this

life that is tragic

and it does

involve torment.

It does involve

suffering.

And then he

transitions from

blessed are those

to

woe.

Woe.

Woe.

Woe.

Now,

this woe

in the cowboy

world

means that

everything needs

to come to

a screeching halt

like right now.

In fact,

I know some

horse trainers,

they won't even

say the word

unless they're

asking a horse

to stop.

They spell it.

But they spell

it different.

It's a

W-H-O-A.

Woe.

But it means

to stop.

Right?

And Jesus

gives four

woes here.

Four woes.

Let's

look at the

first one.

The first

woe.

Well, let me

back up a

second.

In the reading

this week,

we were in

Deuteronomy

and something

struck me

that sandwiched

that sandwiched

in between

the woe

and the

blessing

and the

woe,

we see

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

where Moses

is talking to

the people.

And so

this isn't

something new,

the blessings

and the woe.

Moses called it

the blessing

and the curse.

Right?

There in

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 11:26–28

chapter 11

verses 26

to 28

where it

says,

Behold,

I set

before you

today

blessing

and a

curse.

Blessing

if you

obey the

commandment

of the

Lord your

God,

which I

command you

today,

and the

curse if

you do

not obey

the

commandment

of the

Lord your

God,

and turn

aside from

the way

which I

command you

today,

to go

after other

gods which

you have

not known.

A blessing

and a

curse.

And

these woes

are the

Lord

calling

people to

you know

what,

you better

stop right

now.

Stop.

And it

says the

first woe,

woe to

you who

are rich

for you

have received

your

consolation.

Woe to

you who

are rich.

Now,

I believe

that this

is talking

about the

material things

of this

world.

it's

something

that

woos

all of

us

in this,

especially

in this

country.

So,

I think

the average,

I got

online and

got the

average

income

for an

American

household

is I

think it's

between

75 and

85,000.

Right?

that's

the

average

income

of a

household.

Okay?

That's

in America.

The

average

income

for a

household

around

the

world,

okay,

around

the

world

is

12 to

15,000

annually

per year.

woe

to you

who

are

rich.

We

Americans.

Now,

you say

people,

well,

income

is,

you know,

it's

relative

to your

economy.

Maybe.

But the

Lord is

really,

I think,

encouraging

us.

Every

person,

every

human

has to

ask

themselves

the

question

is,

how

much

is

enough?

How

much

is

enough?

And do

you know

that right

now?

Because if

you don't,

this might

just be

you.

Because

riches

just have

this way

to make

us forget

God.

You know,

when you're

poor,

and your

car's on

its last

leg,

it's got

1.5

million

miles.

right?

And you

go out

and you

get in

it,

what do

you do?

You pray

that it

will start.

But when

you have

enough

resources,

you go

buy yourself

a new

car.

When you

get in

that new

car,

guess

what?

You don't

pray that

it starts.

You take

it for

granted

that it's

going to

start.

I've

had

people

ask me,

why do

you drive

cars that

look so

terrible?

Well,

because I

know it's

going to

get beat

up,

so I'm

not going

to buy

anything

nice.

But

I got

to tell

you,

as a

pastor,

I get

watched,

right?

I get

watched.

Grocery

store,

see people

from the

church.

Hey,

Pastor

Scotty,

what you

buying

there?

It's

apple

cider,

you know,

the sparkly

cider.

We had

our

secretary

buy that

one time

and she

saw some

people,

she was

horrified.

But I

do,

there's a

flip side

to that.

It is

fun to

walk into

a store

and run

into people

and go

hey,

what do

you guys

buy?

Oh,

a couple

cases,

huh?

You get

under the

microscope.

But woe

to you

who are

rich.

The

Lord is

so concerned

about our

attitude towards

money.

It's so

important.

The rich

young ruler,

you guys

remember this

story when

he comes

to Jesus.

Hey,

what must

I do?

He was a

good guy,

probably a

tithe

payer,

right?

Probably

paid 10%,

maybe 20.

Jesus

goes,

you know

the

commandments.

It's

interesting,

the commandments

that Jesus

mentioned.

He didn't

mention any

of the

first four,

which is our

relationship with

God,

right?

Have no

gods before

me,

right?

Don't make

under the

self any

grave

enemies,

don't take

the Lord's

name in

vain,

run the

Sabbath day

and keep

it holy.

That's your

relationship

with God.

He didn't

mention those

four.

And then he

didn't mention

the last

one.

The ones

that he

mentioned to

the kid,

he got

pretty

puffed up.

All these

I've done

since I

was a

child.

And Jesus

said,

you lack

one thing.

If you

want to be

great in

God's

kingdom,

go and

sell everything

that you

have and

give it

away to

the poor

and then

you'll be

rich in

heaven.

and it

says he

went away

sorrowful

because he

has so

much.

I have

so much.

I have

more than

I need.

And I

don't know

that it's

necessarily a

sin to

have things,

but it is a

sin for

things to

have you

and for

your bank

account and

your investment

portfolio to

have you.

You can

learn a lot

about people

when the

stock market

goes down

a couple

thousand

points.

Right?

People are

scrambling.

Talk to a

stockbroker,

would you,

after that

happens?

Right?

Their poor

lives is

absolute

misery.

They're

going,

oh,

Jesus,

please come

and get

me out

of this.

You know,

Jesus talked

about money

more than

any one

single

subject.

Why?

Because it

rivals us.

for our

attention,

away from

God.

And so,

James says

something

similar when

he says,

come now,

you rich,

weep and

howl for

your miseries

that are

coming upon

you.

Notice,

he says,

you have

your

consolation.

What does

that mean?

Does that

mean when

you serve

money,

that's

all you

get?

That's

all you

get.

You don't

get heaven.

I remember

hearing of a

pastor's kid

who,

in his

teens,

he says,

by the

time I'm

30,

I'm going

to be a

millionaire.

And he

did what it

took.

By the

time he

was 30,

he had a

million dollars.

Totally

destroyed his

family.

Destroyed his

witness.

Destroyed his

walk.

And just

now,

I believe,

in his

late 40s,

is he coming

back to the

things of the

Lord.

Now,

if riches is

all you want,

it appears that

riches in this

life is all

you get.

So,

be generous with

what God's

giving you.

Because who

gave it to

you?

God did.

No,

I worked

hard.

who

puts the

breath in

your lungs?

Who

allows the

blood to

pump through

your veins?

God does.

So,

he should

get all

the credit.

It's all

his anyway.

Now,

there were

rich people

in the

Bible that

God used

mightily.

Job was

a man of

wealth.

Abraham had

multiple

riches.

Joseph of

Arimathea

was a rich

man.

It's one

thing to have

riches.

It's quite

another when

riches have

you.

And

isn't it

interesting?

Only you

know the

truth about

that.

Secondly,

he says,

bless it,

or excuse

me,

woe,

woe to

you who

are full.

Full of

what?

Themselves.

They want,

they want,

they want it,

they want it

now,

right?

This,

this attitude

really starts

within gratitude.

When you're not

thankful for what

you have.

What are you

thankful for?

Don Isham,

before he took

his last breath,

I got to talk

to him.

And it was

after his son,

Jeff,

had gotten

killed in a

motorcycle accident.

And Don told me

that he had a

night where,

that he spent

with the Lord.

He couldn't

sleep.

And Don said,

I thank God

for things that

I have never

thanked him

for in my

entire life.

Bingo.

That's where

all of our

hearts needs

to be.

This,

this heart

of gratefulness

and thankfulness.

when we forget

him and,

and all we

can pursue

is our own

life.

And Jesus

says,

he who would

save his

life will

lose it.

But he

would,

who would

lose his

life for my

sake will

find it.

Whoa.

Forgetting

what God

has done.

The Israelites

had forgotten

the work of

God.

Psalm 106

Psalms 106:13

verse 13.

They soon

forgot his

works.

They did not

wait for his

counsel,

but lusted

exceedingly in

the wilderness

and tested God

in the desert.

And he gave

them their

request,

but sent

leanness of

soul.

It's not an,

it's not as

important to

have your

barns or

your mouth full

as it is to

have your soul

filled with the

Holy Spirit.

woe to you

who are

full.

And that

can simply

be by

humbling

yourself and

asking,

Lord, I

need to be

filled with

your Holy

Spirit.

He says

that if we

ask, he'll

give it to

us.

But the

thing about it

is, is God

will give you

what you

request.

Here, he

gave them

what they

wanted.

You

remember, they

wanted meat.

So he

goes, here,

get your

full, get

your fill,

right?

And it was

coming out

their nostrils

they had so

much.

And then he

killed them.

What do you

want?

What do you

want from

God?

Whatever you

really want

from God,

he's willing

to give you.

be filled

with the

Holy Spirit.

Thirdly,

woe to you

who laugh.

Laugh what?

Probably laugh

in the face

of God.

People give

God the

finger all

the time.

Right?

Just by the

way they

live their

life.

Like Titus

tells us,

you say you

love God,

but by your

works you

deny him.

And he

will wipe

that smirk

off of their

faces.

Revelation 3.17,

many of you

know this

scripture,

talking to

the church

at Laodicea.

He says,

because you

say I am

rich,

I have

become

wealthy,

I have

need of

nothing,

and do

not know

that you

are wretched,

miserable,

poor,

blind,

and naked.

That's the

reality of it.

And so many

people in the

world,

they can't

see it.

Many

laugh at

the things

of God.

They

laugh at

people of

faith.

Jesus said

this would

happen.

It would

happen to

us.

And I

say to

you,

that many

will come

from the

east and

the west

and sit

down with

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob

in the

kingdom of

heaven.

But the

sons of

the kingdom

will be

cast into

outer

darkness.

There will

be weeping

and gnashing

of teeth.

He's talking

about his

brothers here.

He's talking

about the

Jewish people

that rejected

him.

They

shook their

fist in the

face of

God.

They

laughed

as they

nailed Jesus

to the

cross.

Save

yourself.

Fourth,

woe.

Woe to

you when

all men

speak well

of you.

Woe to

you when

all men

speak well

of you.

That's

scary.

For so

did what?

So did

their fathers

to the

false

prophets.

Flattery.

Oh,

you got to

listen to

this guy.

You got to

listen to

that guy.

Please just

listen to

the word

of God.

So,

as believers,

we don't

look for a

pat on the

back from

the world.

In due

time,

you will

receive one

from the

Lord.

And I

think that

all of us

are looking

forward to

that day

when we

hear that

Lord say,

right?

Well done.

Well done.

I was at a

little funeral

service over

at the

Shelton

Ryrie

Cemetery

yesterday.

And I

know that

woman

heard those

words.

She heard

those words,

well done,

thou good

and faithful

servant.

Enter into

the joy

of your

Lord.

It's so

exciting to

do funerals

for people

like that

because you

can just

share the

gospel.

You said,

man,

this woman

is dancing

a jig

in the

presence

of her

king.

It's

awesome.

So,

where's

your life

at?

Do you

need a

woe?

Okay,

when I was

studying for

this,

I had to

look up

Yosemite

Sam.

That

great

theologian.

Some of

you remember

the Looney

Tunes

episode where

he's chasing

Bugs Bunny

has got

the camel.

And he's

sitting on

the hump

of the

camel.

Whoa!

Whoa,

mule!

Whoa!

And the

camel just

keeps going.

And Yosemite

gets his

gun and

takes the

butt end

of it and

whacks the

head on

the mule

and stops

him dead

in his

tracks.

When I

say whoa,

I mean

whoa!

And then

he gets

on the

mule,

camel.

He calls

it a

mule.

He gets

on,

go mule,

go!

And the

camel don't

go.

So he

gets off

and he

whacks it

in the

hind end

and the

camel leaves

him in

the dust.

And I'm

just thinking,

man,

that's just

like so

many of

us.

Right?

We won't

listen to

the woe

or the

go.

Right?

We always

get them

backwards.

We're

going to

woe or

are we

going to

go?

And I

think the

Lord has

called us,

he's called

us to go,

right?

Go ye

therefore into

all the

world,

preaching the

gospel to

every creature,

baptizing them

in the name of

the Father and

the Son and

the Holy

Spirit.

So simple,

but so hard

sometimes.

may we be

encouraged.

May we

be those who

as we

looked at

the

Beatitudes.

May we

heed and

learn from

the woes.

Because I

don't want to

get before the

Lord and

have him

tell me,

you know

what?

Just get

away from

me.

I don't

even know

you.

That,

I don't

know about

you,

but that

scares me.

And that

is a good

fear.

Right?

the fear

of the

Lord is

the beginning

of wisdom.

May we

be wise

in these

days,

folks.

It's

short.

Time is

short.

The Lord

is coming.

We need

to be

right in

tune and

in step

with his

every call

and his

every move.

And we

do that

by heeding

his word.

Shall we

pray?

Father,

thank you.

Lord,

we ask

that you

would,

by your