Kingdom Truths from Luke 14: Compassion, Humility, and Sacrifice

You want to turn in your Bibles to the Gospel

of Luke. So, you've got the New Testament, Matthew,

Mark, Luke. The Gospel of Luke. And we're going

to go to chapter 14 together. If you're a visitor,

welcome along on the journey. I know today's

a little different in setting things in place,

but I think you get the importance. But we welcome

you. And we welcome you to a journey that we're

taking as a church. The last number of years,

we really feel like God has called us as a church

to be kingdom people that truly put His kingdom

first on the earth. And I'm so proud of you.

I feel like as a church, you've really received

that identity, that assignment of the Lord. In

2024, we spent the entire year kind of building

a foundation of loving each other deeply. I want

to remind you of the unity covenants that we

signed as a church that put one another above

our own interest. If you have a desire to read

over, pray, and sign a unity covenant and you

weren't here for that, just let anybody on staff

know. We'll get you a copy. You can look through

it, pray through it. It's really important. So

we built this foundation of unity and a commitment

to maturity. Knowing the Word of God. Receiving

maturity of the Spirit. And on that foundation,

we feel like God has now put us in a season as

a church in which He has called us to expand

His kingdom supernaturally on the earth. And

so we've been given this challenge to both go

across the world and in your home and in your

workplace. Everywhere that God sends us and places

us. Our commitment is to expand the kingdom of

heaven on the earth as Jesus taught us to. And

so in Luke chapter 14 and 15 and 16, Jesus begins

Luke 14 · chapter mention

to teach a series of parables based on this invitation

to eat at the banquet table of the kingdom of

God. And in these parables, Jesus teaches some

beautiful truths. about how to live in a kingdom

expansion kind of mode and lifestyle. And so

we're going to spend however long it takes for

the next amount of time to kind of work through

these, or until the Holy Spirit asks us to do

something different. So today, could we look

at Luke chapter 14, and I'm going to read verse

Luke 14 · chapter mention

1 through 14. Luke chapter 14. verses 1 through

Luke 14 · chapter mention

14, if you'll follow along with me as I read.

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house

of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully

watched. And there in front of him was a man

suffering from dropsy. And Jesus asked the Pharisees

and experts in the law, is it lawful to heal

on the Sabbath or not? But they remained silent.

So taking hold of the man, he healed him and

sent him away. Then he asked them, if one of

you has a son or an ox that falls into a well

on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately

pull him out? And they had nothing to say. And

when he noticed how the guest picked the places

of honor at the table, he told them this parable.

When someone invites you to a wedding feast,

Do not take the place of honor for a person more

distinguished than you may have been invited.

If so, the host who invited both of you will

come and say to you, give this man your seat.

Then humiliated, you will have to take the least

important place. But when you are invited, take

the lowest place, so that when your host comes,

he will say to you, friend, move up to a better

place. Then you will be honored in the presence

of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts

himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself

will be exalted. Then Jesus said to his host,

When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite

your friends, your brothers or relatives, or

your rich neighbors. If you do, they may invite

you back, and so you will be repaid. But when

you give a banquet, invite the poor. the cripple,

the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.

Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid

at the resurrection of the righteous. So Jesus,

we just humble our hearts before You and we are

asking right now by faith for a demonstration

of the Holy Spirit's power through these words

to create radical, permanent change in our life

for Your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Alright,

so let's work our way through some, I believe,

incredibly valuable kingdom truths from Jesus.

Could I pause right now and just say happy birthday

to my son who's 20 today. He's watching from

Camp Pendleton, California. Love you, son. I'm

proud of you. Today's his birthday. Happy birthday.

We love you. Alright? Just felt led to do that.

I guess that's the perks of being the pastor.

You get to just pause and say happy birthday.

Alright, number one, kingdom truths. Number one,

if you're taking notes, I encourage you to write

these things down. They'll help you remember

it and you'll have a record of it if somebody

needs it this week. Number one, in the kingdom,

love and compassion are more important than man

-made religion or legalistic righteousness. In

the kingdom, love and compassion are more important

than man -made religion or legalistic righteousness.

When we read verses 1 -6, what we have is Jesus

at a Pharisee's house for a banquet. And He asked

them, see this man here with dropsy? I had to

look up what dropsy was. So it's basically an

older medical term that talks about his body

was retaining fluid in a way that was dangerous

to him. Okay, so, which is interesting. It's

the only time it's mentioned in the Bible, dropsy,

right here in Luke chapter 14. So Jesus shows

Luke 14 · chapter mention

up at the Pharisees' house. There's a man with

dropsy. And Jesus asked the Pharisees, who were

watching him closely, why? To entrap him. We

know this. So it says the religious people in

the house are watching him closely to try to

entrap him. Jesus sees this man who needs healing,

but it's the Sabbath day. It's the day to be

set apart as holy. It's a day to have no work

done. And so Jesus asks them, is it rightful

on this day of Sabbath no work should be done?

Is it right that I would heal this man? Of course,

they're silent. So Jesus... in his love and compassion

for the man, heals him right there. And then

he asks them, if your son or your ox falls into

a well on a Sabbath day, will you not pull him

out? And I think Jesus is teaching an important

spiritual lesson for us. And that if we're not

careful in the church, we can become so wrapped

up in the man -made part of religion. Now there

is a religion, that the Bible speaks of in James,

that honors God. And it has nothing to do with

church buildings. It says, and the religion that

honors God is that we take care of widows and

orphans and refuse to be defiled by the ways

of the world. That is the religion that God loves

and approves of. However, man has this tendency

to take the baseline of what God does and add

on to it and add on to it until eventually it

doesn't even resemble the heart of God. And if

we're not careful, our religion, our religious

lives can be so consumed with being right and

proving everyone wrong. that we walk right past

hurting people and offer no solution. The same

man that was in need of healing sat in a room

with the most religious, holy people of the day

with this incredible need, and instead of seeing

with eyes of compassion a man in need, all they

could see was a critical attitude of how we can

prove Jesus wrong. We have to be right. This

man Jesus has to become wrong because he has

tested the box of our religious understanding.

They call him Messiah, but he does not fit our

religious picture of what Messiah should look

like. So instead of seeing the need of the man,

they critically looked and said, we have to prove

him wrong. Alright. Do you love me? I love you.

I honestly do. I give my life for you in this

church. I hope that you understand that this

is out of love. If we put a fraction of the effort

that we use to justify ourselves and make us

right and win our battles against the people

who are theologically incorrect or sinners in

the world, if we put a fraction of the effort

into having a compassionate eye for the needs

of broken people, it would be glorious. And I

want to challenge us the way, because before

you see yourself as the good guy in this story,

I just want to challenge you that if you and

I sitting in this... this church building right

now, if we were going to put ourselves in this

story, where might we most likely fit in? So,

let's be careful that we don't become so concerned

about being right. That we walk right past hurting

people without providing a supernatural solution.

In James chapter 2, if you want to turn there,

James 2 · chapter mention

it's this great passage. Are we okay? I mean,

I think this is healthy. And listen, there's

nobody more steeped in religion than the guy

sitting up here receiving the conviction, right?

I mean, we're preaching through this together.

Sometimes, our lives can be so focused on accomplishing

things for Jesus that we forget to be like Him

with people who are in deep need. James 2, verses

James 2:12–13

12 -13. I think you'll be familiar with this

passage. It says, Speak and act as though who

are going to be judged by the law that gives

freedom. What is the law that gives freedom?

James is drawing a comparison between the law

of condemnation and the law of freedom through

the Spirit. If you back up to verse 8 in the

context, it says, if you really keep the royal

law found in Scripture, love your neighbor as

yourself, you are doing right. So, back to 12.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged

by the law that gives freedom. Because judgment

without mercy will be shown to anyone who has

not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

That's a good word for us. Yes? And Jesus teaching

in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, verse

Matthew 7:2

2, He says, listen, be careful in your attitude

to judge others because He says, the very measure

that you use to judge others, that very same

measuring stick will be used to judge you. Harsh

words, right? In the kingdom, love and compassion

are more important than religion and legalistic

righteousness. Love is so important. Without

love, we have nothing. You can be right all day

long, and if you don't have love, it's invaluable

for the kingdom. Does that make sense? Alright,

so let's just repent if we need to. Some of you

don't need to. Some of you are the most loving

person I've ever been around. But maybe some

of us, we need an opportunity to repent. To repent

just means to agree with the way God thinks.

To change your thinking to agree with Him. So

if you need to just come alongside God, mercy

triumphs over judgment, just receive this lesson

that He's teaching the Pharisees in this time.

Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness, Your patience

towards us. We commit to be people who look with

mercy and compassion. Who love people and provide

a kingdom solution to them in Jesus' name. Amen.

This is my honest belief. When I look in this

room, I see a lot of empty chairs. and I see

a lot of space where more chairs could be in

here. And you know I've never been about numbers

or church growth or anything, but you know why

these chairs are empty? Because we're not walking

in the supernatural power of God. Because if

we were walking in the fullness of God that Jesus

has called us to, and we're going out to work,

and everyone who's in depression, we... in the

name of Jesus, put our hand on them and pray

and they're complete free and everyone that we

see that needs love and we're meeting every physical

need and financial need and we're living a supernatural

Jesus lifestyle, there's no way you could keep

people out of this church. There's no way you

could keep people out of this church. And so

let's not lower the bar. We don't need more religion.

We need more Christ -like love and compassion.

We need supernatural answers to worldly problems.

Yes? Amen. Alright, number two. Kingdom truths

from Jesus in this passage. I feel like today's

a little rough, but I think you can handle it.

I think you can handle it because I think these

are good truths from the Lord. Number two. There

is no room for self -promotion in the kingdom

of heaven. God opposes the proud. There is no

room for self -promotion in the kingdom of heaven.

God opposes the proud. When we look at this next

portion of Jesus' teaching, He starts teaching

a parable about a banquet and the seats of honor.

Verse 7, and when he noticed how the guests picked

the places of honor at the table, he told them

this parable, when someone invites you to a wedding

feast, do not take the place of honor. For a

person more distinguished than you may have been

invited. If so, the host who invited both of

you will come to you and say, give this man your

seat. Then humiliated, you will have to take

the least important place. But when you are invited,

and we all have been invited to the banquet of

the kingdom, Take the lowest place, so that when

your host comes, he will say to you, Friend,

move up to a better place. Then you will be honored

in the presence of all your fellow guests. For

everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Self

-promotion is an epidemic in the culture. It

has taken over the world by firestorm. And in

my opinion, social media has played a huge hand

in that. But we're consumed with a culture that's

consumed with promoting ourselves to get what

we feel like we deserve in the timing that we

feel like we should get it. And it's the way

of the world. We should look at the world who's

always self -promoting, always self -advertising,

and we should look at them and go, duh, yeah,

of course you are. I mean, of course, because

that's the way you get things done. But in the

kingdom, his kingdom is upside down. In the kingdom

of heaven, we don't promote self to be exalted.

We lower self and trust that when the timing

is right and the sovereignty of God is correct,

he will exalt us to the place that he wants us

exalted. And this concept of continually promoting

ourselves, putting ourselves out there, you know,

bragging about the things that the Lord is doing

us or giving us or being so focused on our gifts.

I'm telling you, it's crippling the kingdom of

heaven on the earth in the church. And I believe

that it's coming to an end as we usher in revival

and the return of Jesus. Jesus... was the most

popular man on the planet, the most successful

ministry, healed the most people. I believe it

was the Apostle John said, this is just a portion

of what Jesus did. If we were to write down everything

that Jesus did, the whole world couldn't hold

the books of what was accomplished in Jesus.

And what you never saw once was Jesus promote

Himself. Instead, what you saw was the Son of

the living God. Coming into the flesh of man

in a feed trough, in a cattle barn, in a city

that would later be called Nazareth. And people

go, nothing good comes from Nazareth. Do you

see? Do you still love me? I'm being hard in

the Scripture today because I think we may have

lost the fear and awe of what it means when God

says, I oppose the proud. That ought to make

us shudder a little bit. Our oldest daughter

has a boyfriend. It's glorious. I love it. I

love him. He was over at our house last night

and he walks in. And he's got stitches on his

face right here. Like right in his forehead,

right on the bridge of his nose. So we're like,

tell us the story. He said, my friend and I,

we had shopping carts and we were at the store

and my friend rammed my shopping cart and we

kind of started this shopping cart jousting thing.

And he said, I didn't think anything about it.

He said, because... I outweigh the guy by, he

said like 35, 40 pounds. Like I'm a much bigger

guy. And so we rammed our carts and he said,

I wasn't even concerned about it. But that flap

that lets the next cart go under, when he rammed,

that thing came up and smacked him right in the

face. It took a chunk out of his face right here.

And he came over last night with these stitches,

you know, and we're just waiting for his eyes

to turn black. And he's sitting there, you know,

hugging our daughter. And I just was thinking

when we, come to this portion of the Scripture

where Jesus is saying, you dodo, do not take

the place of higher importance. Don't think more

about yourself than you ought. Take the lower

place. How many of you know when you come in,

and I'm not saying anything against him, it wasn't

like a pride issue, but I'm saying in the concept,

when you come in thinking, I've got this. I have

the ability. I have the upper hand. How many

of you know you walk away with scars that stay

for a long time? Why? Because God will always

oppose the proud. God opposes the proud. But

this is such a great opportunity for us because

like the Scripture says, we have the opportunity

to humble ourselves to purposely take the lowest

place. Real briefly, these three things in self

-promotion, these three truths. A, self -promotion

demonstrates a lack of security in the love,

acceptance, and favor of God. It says, I'm not

secure in God's love for me, so I must get adoration

and importance from my fellow man. This is where

I feel like if you're not careful, social media

can become disastrous. Self -promotion only should

raise a red flag to say you are not secure in

what God has already done for you in acceptance

and love. Because my friend, when you come to

the place to which you are convinced and cannot

be unconvinced that God accepts you, loves you,

wants you, and cherishes you, not by your behavior,

but by the blood of Christ, and he becomes enough

for you, you will no longer need to self -promote

yourself so that other people will accept you.

In fact, it will so become not a part of your

identity, and I'm praying this for you, that

it will become an absolute foreign thought for

you to ever want to promote yourself because

you know that you are so loved, so accepted,

so blessed. So favored by God that you don't

want to pervert that by attempting to promote

yourself so you would get it from somebody else.

It will never work. It'll never work. It doesn't

matter how many people adore you. You will still

lay down your head at night with an empty soul.

Because you were created to be accepted, adored,

loved, and favored by one. By one. And He is

enough. So if you struggle with self -promotion,

don't be condemned about it, but let it raise

a red flag that said, maybe you need to come

into an encounter in which God pours out His

love into your heart by the Holy Spirit. Romans

5 .5 And seek after that. Pursue that. B, self

-promotion is unbelief in the ability of God

to correctly promote me. Self -promotion says,

God is not promoting me in the way I deserve

to be promoted, so I must promote myself. Are

you with me? Self -promotion is unbelief in the

ability of God to correctly promote me. Now,

we would never say that out loud. We would never

really put verbiage to it that way. But when

we say, I need to promote myself. What we're

saying is, I don't believe that God has the ability

to promote me as I should be promoted. And so

in my own effort, I will promote myself so that

I get the promotion I deserve. Do you understand?

Do you understand how manipulative that is toward

God? And that's why we hear the Scripture say,

God opposes that kind of pride. See, self -promotion

is impatience. and a lack of trust in the perfect

timing of God. Self -promotion says, I've worked

too hard for too long. God is not promoting me

quick enough, so I must promote myself so that

I don't miss my opportunity. Does this sound

familiar? Any lies you hear in your heart from

time to time? Intrusive thoughts that come in

from the enemy? If we look at the core of what

it is, self -promotion is saying, God, I do not

trust your timing. There's an opportunity. I

don't want to miss it right now. So I need to

promote myself so that I don't miss it. I've

done too much. I've worked too hard. I have to

put myself out there. I have to promote myself.

When in reality, God has a perfect timing of

perfect favor and perfect promotion. And He says

to us, Son, Take the least place. Sit in the

lowest place. Are you with me? Jesus said these

words for everyone. Everyone. Is that you? It's

certainly me. For everyone who exalts himself

will be humbled. And he who humbles himself will

be exalted. I hope you know this about you. I

think you're the most incredible church on the

face of the planet. And I've been to a lot of

them. I wouldn't be investing my life if I didn't

value you beyond measure. You are the most generous,

serious, kingdom -minded group of people that

I've ever been around. And you deserve to be

promoted. And I believe God is going to promote.

He has promoted you. He is promoting you. And

He will promote you. If you're a business owner

and you're seeking first His kingdom, you can

guarantee favor in your business. Why? Because

you're trusted with little to take the least

place. Does that make sense? You deserve and

you are going to be promoted. But hear me when

Jesus says it will not be by your self -promotion.

If you're going to choose self -promotion, you're

short -circuiting the favor and promotion of

God that He has for you. Because as long as you're

operating in self -promotion, you're not prepared

for God -promotion. And I get it. I struggle

with it. I mean, to be honest, I've got people

that I've discipled and sent out to churches

and church plants, and their churches are bigger

than mine, doing better than mine, doing crazy,

glorious things, and at times I'm tempted to

think, God, what about me? What about our church?

Why can't we see those guys? God's just saying,

son, you keep taking the least place. You don't

worry about your promotion. You just wait on

me and I'll do what I want to do with you. And

I have to keep sacrificing things. I don't know

about you. I have to keep sacrificing things

on the altar of humility because God will humble

you or you can humble yourself. It's much more

enjoyable to humble yourself. Yes, would anybody

testify? Much more enjoyable to humble yourself.

Lord, I'm just asking that You would bring consuming

fire on Your holy bride, starting with this heart,

my heart right now. And I'm asking that You would

burn up all self -promotion in us. I'm asking

that You would so refine the church that the

world no longer sees a hint of pride in us, but

only humility to take the lowest place like our

King did. Would You do that in us, Lord? We ask

in Jesus' name, Amen. Number three, we'll close

with this. Number three, there is no quid pro

quo in the kingdom of God. The kingdom lifestyle

is sacrificial living without expecting anything

in return from man. Jesus, in verse 12, 13 and

14 here. Then Jesus said to His host, when you

give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your

friends, your brothers or relatives, or your

rich neighbors. If you do, they may invite you

back and so you will be repaid. But when you

give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,

the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.

Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid

at the resurrection of the righteous. Do you

know what quid pro quo means? It's a Latin phrase

that means something for something. And it's

the way of the world. It's the way of business.

It's the way of promotion. It's the way of sports.

It's just the way of the world is if you do something

for me, I'll do something for you. Or if I do

something for you, I expect that later I can

put in that favor and get something from you.

And it's become so subtle. And so pervasive in

the culture that we don't even see anything wrong

with it anymore. We just feel like it's just

part of the way the world works. And so we have

to submit ourselves to that system. If we're

going to be successful, then we have to submit

ourselves to that system. If we're going to be

promoted, then we're going to have to do it the

way that the world does it. And Jesus has this

very interesting principle about the kingdom.

And he says, in my kingdom, when you hold a banquet,

do not invite anybody that would ever pay you

back. Instead, intentionally invite the people

that could never repay you. Because when you

do that, you'll be truly blessed. I think this

is so important. for the church to come to grips

with. God is not a quid pro quo kind of kingdom

guy. Can you imagine if Jesus treated us that

way? I'm going to scratch your back with redemption.

I expect you to do it for me. No, no. Jesus modeled

a self -sacrificial lifestyle. I will lay down

my life for you knowing. You could never do anything

for me that I couldn't do for myself. Complete

sacrifice. Complete laying it down. And if I

can, I would like to probe into your life for

a moment. And I want to challenge you, especially

husbands and fathers. You need to begin to lead

your kingdom families in this way. Quit operating

in quid pro quo marriages. It says, as long as

you bless me, I'll be a blessing. As long as

you meet my needs, I'll meet yours. As long as

you're kind to me, I'll be kind to you. That

is immaturity, and that is not kingdom. True

men of God, true leaders, true husbands and fathers

say, I will treat you in this way. I die to myself.

I lift you up, and your response to me does not

change my attitude or my action. How many of

you know that's difficult? That's difficult.

But it will radically change everything. When

your action is based on the acceptance of God,

I have the best wife in the world. If you think

you've got a good one, she's nothing compared

to Jill. She's nothing compared to Jill. I mean...

Our marriage is a blast. Not that we don't want

to throttle each other. Every once in a while

we do. But our marriage is a blast. But I want

you to know, if I were waiting to receive my

acceptance and love and adoration and respect

from Jill before I operated in my husband duties,

in my attitude, it would never happen. Because

she cannot fulfill what God has created to do

in me. But now that I've understood that He fully

accepts me, fully wants me, fully loves me, fully

embraces me, then even when I feel like she's

not being what she should be to me, I go to Him

and say, I've received it fully. And He empowers

me to be to her what my obedience is. And it's

not based on hers. And that's the way we should

live our lives. Does this make sense? Again,

a failure to trust the sovereignty, goodness,

and timing of God is when we live in this quid

pro quo kind of lifestyle. And we often forfeit

the blessings and favor of God by looking to

men to return favors. or blessing. Could I just

encourage you that... No. I'm going to be quiet

right there. I feel like the Lord says to be

quiet. At its root, the quid pro quo system is

a manipulation of God and it's actually using

His name in vain. When the Ten Commandments says,

thou shalt not use My name in vain, it's a good

idea not to drop the GD bombs. Right? It's good.

I wouldn't recommend cursing using the name of

God. But I want to tell you, I believe it is

much, much, much deeper than that. When he says

do not use my name in vain, he's not just talking

about dropping GD bombs. He's talking about be

careful that you do not use the Yahweh I am that

I am name for your own gain. Yeah. So let me

encourage you, business owners, husbands, people

out there in the workforce. Stay -at -home parents,

teachers, all of it. The world will want to put

you into a system of quid pro quo, something

for something. But Jesus says, if you will live

your life in a way that no one would ever be

able to repay you, then in that day when you

see Me face to face, I Myself will repay you.

And how many of you know that's going to be a

much glorious payment? He's a God of stewardship.

Alright, we're done. I feel like today was a

little heavy. But I think every once in a while

that's good. Anybody else? Every once in a while

just need a little swat in the rear end? Hey,

knucklehead, you've been thinking about this

all wrong. That's what I feel like today is for

me. But I hope it's productive for you. Just

in review, love and compassion is more important

than being right. There's no room for self -promotion.

Take the lowest place. Let God promote you. And

don't live in a quid pro quo system of the world.

The kingdom of God says die to yourself and I'll

make sure you have everything you need. Amen?

Alright. If you're willing to just yield to those

things, let's just stand this morning. If you're

willing to say yes to those truths, live by those

truths in the kingdom of heaven, just stand.

I just want to pray for you in my own heart.

Lord, thank you for my friends. We love each

other. We love you. And we love your word, God.

Jesus, thank you for pointing out these things

that are tough, but they're good. They're holy.

They're right. And we just lay our hearts before

you. If there's any... any area in these areas

that You've shown us today that are perverted

in our thinking. Spirit of God, bring the mind

of Christ. Correct our thinking. Lead us into

repentance. And change us so that we could represent

You well, Jesus, this week. For my friends, I

pray that... This week will be filled with encounters

with you, conversations with you, and that each

of us would not miss one opportunity to release

your kingdom in the places that you lead us.

All for your glory, Jesus. Amen.