Welcome to Warrington Bible Fellowship. This week, Pastor John is preaching from Luke chapter 22, verses 24 through 38. You might remember last week he preached from verses 1 through 23. He entitled his sermon, The Not-So-Last Supper. Well, today's sermon from 24 through 38 is part two of that sermon. Now, while scripture can be crystal clear at times, it's still easy for us to miss the point. Well, why is that? Well, the answer can be found in the events surrounding the Last Supper. Be sure to like and subscribe to our channel and hit that notification button so you won't miss a thing. God bless you. I'd like you to turn to Luke chapter 22. We're going to be in verses 24 through 38 today. And while you turn there, I'm going to tell you a story that some of you have heard before. When I was growing up, my dad used to go with a group of guys from Youngstown to Cleveland about once a month or so. And he was driving along there, and he had three guys with him, and they got to Streetsboro, Ohio, just a little town between Youngstown and Cleveland, not much there. And one of the guys in the back seat said, Hey, John. My dad's name was John. Thank you. There's a cemetery up here that has two tombstones that have snow and frost on them all year long. And so Dad said, I don't believe that. And they said, well, pull over, and they went another mile or two. He pulled over and says, right there in the front row. Dad goes into the front row and he looks at the two tombstones. He's walking around them, he's touching them, put his arms on them to see if he's missing something, looking at the graphs around them and everything. Got back in the car and he says, I don't get it. And one of the guys in the back seat said, you're missing the point. And that's our lesson for today. It's easy to miss the point. It's easy to miss the point. Now last week we heard that there's always more. that when we set our eyes on eternity, when we look at our situation through eternal eyes, we can see that even in our darkest hour, that all the blessings of the kingdom belong to us. If we're believers in Jesus Christ, we are members of the kingdom of Christ, and our kingdom is eternal. And regardless of what's happening around us, we have that eternal kingdom as a promise from a faithful God. So we call the meal, and as an example of that, we call the meal that Jesus shared with the disciples in the upper room the Last Supper. But it's not really the Last Supper. In the context of all that, we find out that it's the Last Supper until they have the supper again in the kingdom. it just before that last meal that they would share was a precursor of the banquet that they would all share in heaven together at the end of day. So we saw in the first half of chapter 22 this promise of Jesus's return, the guarantee, the deposit on his coming back. And this would become far more significant for this small group of people in just a few hours from where they were right now. So this week we're going to see the prelude to the arrest, the prelude to the crucifixion, how everything begins to roll out, and we're going to see how easy it is to miss the point. to miss the message of eternity when we allow ourselves to get preoccupied with worldly situations, when we allow ourselves to get preoccupied with worldly circumstances. Our sermon title today is The Not-So-Last Supper, Part 2. This is Part 56 of our ongoing series in Luke, God's Love for All People. Passage Day is broken up into four truths that we can embrace, four ways that we can avoid missing the point if we hold to them. There's four actions that help us to stay on track as believers. We should be in service, verses 24 through 27. We should be still, verses 28 through 30. We should be sifted. 31 through 33, and we should be sent 24 through 38. So let's take a look at how we can avoid missing the point by being in service. Now, Jesus just told these guys that one of them would be trans. That was shocking news. But he's also told them that he's going to go and he's going to suffer. He's going to die. So what is their response? How do they react to this? Verse 24, a dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. They start arguing about who's the greatest. I mean, this incredible news just comes down. There's a spy in their midst, a conspirator, and Jesus is about to go into Jerusalem and die and be tortured. And so they start arguing about who's the greatest. So maybe we give them a little bit of leeway here, because they think, they're absolutely convinced that the kingdom of God is about to reveal himself. It's all going to manifest right there in front of them. And they're totally missing the point of what Jesus is saying. So instead of taking up their cross and following Him, they begin to jockey for position in the kingdom. That's what they're doing. The kingdom's coming. They're thinking, watch this. What's in this for me? What am I going to get? out of this kingdom. We need to think about this for a second. We need to consider this very carefully. Jesus is going to slow them down a little bit. He's going to redirect their focus, but the idea that the disciples had is we're going to get this stuff. We have an expectation of what will come out of this kingdom, and we need to get ready for it. I'm more ready than you are. No, you're not. I'm more ready than you are. No, you think you're greater than me? Yes, I do. And you know how these things happen. And so the question we have to ask ourselves, do we have any expectations of the kingdom of God? I think the evangelical church today has got themselves in that position that people go to church to get their needs met. Look, there's nothing wrong with that. We all have needs. And a church should be a place where those needs are met. That's not why we go to church, people. I mean, we hear it all the time. Oh, I go over here, I like the music. I go over here, they have this program. I go over here, they have that program. The purpose of the Sunday morning assembly is not to meet your needs. The purpose of the Sunday morning assembly is to equip you to go out there and take up your cross and follow Jesus. But a consumer mentality has arisen in the church. I don't like what's happening here, so I'm going to go over here. And I hardly ever hear anybody say, I just want to find a church that preaches the Word of God. I need to be equipped. I need to be ready for the kingdom that's coming. I need to be ready to live in the kingdom that's here. See, the disciples are going through that process right now. What am I going to get? What will I receive when I'm in the kingdom? So again, Jesus is going to slow them down. He's going to redirect their focus, take it from themselves to how the kingdom functions in the real world. Verse 25, And he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. So he starts out by telling them how the world functions, how things operate out there in the real world. The people with the power and authority rule over the people, they control them, and they call themselves benefactors. Now think about that for a second. The message is that those who think they are in control, are in it for themselves, in it for what they can get out of it, for more power, more influence, and they claim to do it for the good of the people. Does that sound at all familiar like anything we experience today? I mean, oh, the people, not 50 miles from here, stand up and go, we're doing this for the good of the people, the good of the people, oh, the constituents and everything. And meanwhile, we're not seeing any of it. So the situation was the same back then. The current political system and everything that supports it, and I'm not just talking about the politicians, brothers and sisters. I'm talking about the commentators, the talking heads, the people who are writing the columns and everything. They're all in it to garner support. I've got three million subscribers. That gives me credibility. No, it doesn't. It's the same thing. Nothing has changed in 2,000 years. They're trying to garner more support, gain more influence, and accrue more power. Jesus says that's not what kingdom people do. Verse 26, but not so with you, he says. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader is one who serves." So, Jesus says, take that world system and turn that apple cart upside down. Upset it. Show them something different. Don't be like them. Don't get drawn into their schemes. Be a servant. Don't aspire to gain power. Don't become a victim of their plans to gain power. Be humble. Be innocent. Be like a child. Be a little bit like a baby. Verse 27, for who is the greater, one who reclines at the table or one who serves? Rhetorical question. Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. Now, Jesus just reminds them of the meal that they just ate. He said, think back about what has just happened. Free men recline at those meals to show that they're free. Servants stand. Jesus' message is clear, and it will become very clear in the next passage. Yes, you're free. Yes, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you're free. You have the freedom of being in Christ, the freedom of being a member of the kingdom. He said, but I come to serve, and I'm asking you to emulate me. I'm asking you to imitate me, because this is how the kingdom functions. God has come down out of heaven, taken on flesh to serve you. But don't be thinking it's about you. Do what I do. I used to train managers when I ran car dealerships. The first thing I would teach a new manager was you don't have to prove anything to anybody. You don't have to assert yourself. You don't have to demonstrate your authority. You don't have to show that you have power over people. And they would always go, why not? I said, because you have it. You're the boss. They know that if you say you're fired, they're fired. And so if you're not so busy asserting yourself all the time and making sure everybody understands all of this authority you have, when it comes time to exercise it, they'll have respect for you. Not everybody got that. That's an easy point to miss. You don't have to show that you have power. You never have to assert yourself. You never have to be right. You, as a member of the kingdom of God, don't have to be right because in eternity you are. So you don't have anything to prove to anybody. You don't have to dominate. You don't have to win the argument. We have eternity. We have the truth. And brothers and sisters, it is not a weapon that we use against people. We don't beat them over the head with the truth. We are here to serve them by lovingly sharing the truth with them, with mercy and compassion and everything that Jesus did. Now, this is exactly what Jesus is doing with the 12. He's lovingly redirecting them from being self-centered being self-concerned to being servants. And he has to do this because they're missing the point. They're not getting it. Our first way to avoid missing the point is to serve, to be in service. It forces us to focus on others rather than ourselves. The second way to avoid missing the point is to be still. Watch this, verse 28. You are those who have stayed with me in my trials. Note, he's talking to those who have remained, those who have believed, those who have stayed steadfast, those who remain still with him, even when things are going crazy all around him. Those who have been faithful. And right after he says in verse 25 that the world believes in authority and power, that all the authority and power belong to the kings and the leaders, to masters and celebrities, he says this to his faithful followers. And I assign to you, verse 29, as my father assigned to me a kingdom. Did you catch that? I'm giving you a kingdom. He's not saying someday, He said, I am assigning one to you now that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Now watch this. They just came from the Temple Mount. They're in the upper room. They just came from the Temple Mount. They saw the authorities. They saw the leaders. They saw the hate that those leaders had for Jesus Christ. And Jesus tells them that the faithful will rule over those that are over on the Temple Mount. You think those guys have power? You're going to rule over them. Well, that's kind of heady. But the truth of the matter is that their power is only temporary. It's not eternal. It's going to fade as they fade. The real leaders, the ones who are going to lead God's kingdom, are those who remain faithful and still serving, those who keep the faith, those who fellowship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, those who sit around his table. They just did it. I think you guys are the real leaders. If you have fellowship with me, you've got a kingdom. Wow. Incredible reward for striving to be like Jesus, isn't it? It's over the top for being still before the Lord, for allowing Jesus to bear the brunt of the hate of the world has for him. Our second way to avoid missing the point is to be still in our faith in him. Just rest in him. Well, that has ramifications for his followers, being still in him. And that takes us to our next way to avoid missing the point. Our third way is to be sifted. Oh boy. Verse 31, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. This is a somber note, this repetition of the name. Sobering. This tone is gravely serious. And we need to understand that Peter represents all of the apostles. When Jesus says you, it's plural. It's not just Peter. All of his followers are going to be sifted. Satan has demanded that he be able to sift all the disciples. Now, when Jesus uses that word, it evokes an image that the Jews would understand completely. Heads of grain being put into a sieve, shaken and rattled around until the chaff is destroyed and shattered and separated from the grain, the grains left in pieces. So this is what's going to happen to Peter and the disciples. They're going to be shaken around until everything that's not authentic and everything that's not holy lies in pieces, and they themselves might be in pieces as well. And it looks like the Lord's going to let this happen. So all of the disciples are going to be tested. But Peter, Peter's the unspoken leader among them. You know how impetuous he is. And he's going to be sorely tested. And Jesus wants to not discourage him, but encourage him and let him know that the testing will neither destroy him nor exclude him from the kingdom. This is really important. Verse 32, But I have prayed for you. Now it's singular. He's talking to Peter. that your faith may not fail. And when you've turned again, strengthen your brothers." Now, the idea is that Peter's sifting is going to be an incredible trial. But Jesus tells him how it's going to turn out. He says, when you've turned again, not if you've turned, but when you've turned again, strengthen your brothers. And the message is clear. Things are going to get tough. But you'll get through. As a matter of fact, Jesus just told all of them, the whole group, how things are going to end. They're going to be rulers in God's kingdom. That's their eternal destiny. It's a beautiful promise to them and to you and me. You know, sometimes we look at these things, we're always talking to the disciples. These things are here for our edification, for our nourishment, for the building up of the body of Christ. So these are promises that are made to us. So we're going to be rulers of kingdoms. I love that. Don't you? Thank you. But we've got to be careful. We've got to be careful that that doesn't go to our heads. Doesn't make us arrogant. Peter shows us the pitfall of allowing pride to take hold. And the real point in these few verses here is that Satan is going to be on attack. Peter is going to be attacked. The disciples are going to be attacked. The church is going to be attacked. Are we watching that happen today or not? You and I are going to be attacked. But brothers and sisters, if your faith is in Christ, you'll survive. You'll get through whatever that attack looks like. There will be an attack. And we have to be careful how we approach it. Look what Peter does. Verse 33, Peter said to him, Lord, I'm ready to go with you both to prison and to death. Isn't this so much Peter? Oh, that's not going to happen to me. I'm not going to have any trials. Let me tell you something. I'm on your side. I'm the one that's here to protect you. I'll take care of you. Don't you worry about me, Jesus. Hmm. Jesus said, Verse 34, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you deny three times that you know me. The point that Peter's missing is that he will be sifted. And the problem Peter has is he thinks he can handle it. Oh, I love this. Jesus says, no, no, you can't handle it. That's the whole point. You can't handle this on your own. You're going to have to lay hold of the promises that I'm giving you right now, and trust me for the outcome. Have you ever heard that saying, God will never give you more than you can handle? It's attributed to Francis of Assisi. He never said it. Matter of fact, there's nowhere in the Bible that indicates that God will not give you more than you can handle. As a matter of fact, the overarching text of scripture shows us that time and again, God will overwhelm those who are faithful to the point to where they have no choice but to bow down before him and ask for mercy. God will give you more than you can handle, but not to drive you away from him, to drive you towards him. Peter thinks he can handle it. Don't worry, I got this. Just think about it for a second. If we could handle it, why would we need God? I mean, sometimes we have that attitude. I've been guilty of it. Don't worry, I know you're busy. You got a lot to do. I got this. And that's usually about three minutes before my pride is absolutely shattered. I don't have this. Stop, stop, come back. If we could handle it, we wouldn't need a Savior. We wouldn't need God. We could handle it all ourselves. And Peter makes that mistake. He's saying, no matter what the enemy throws at me, I'll be faithful to you, Lord. Jesus says this sifting is going to come, and it's going to cause Peter to deny Christ. And it's going to be really, really hard. Now I want you to notice as we go through this narrative, Peter is never once described as a failure. This is important for us to see. Yes, he will stumble. Yes, he will fall. But Jesus will see him through. Peter's overconfident attitude will be his downfall. Pride always is, isn't it? We think we can do it, but we see here that a temporary lack of faithfulness does not upset God's plan. Did you hear what I said? A temporary lack of faithfulness does not upset God's plan. Whatever you did this morning or yesterday that you think derailed God's plan for you, it didn't happen. God has grace. God has mercy. Peter's going to have a dark hour, but he will be sustained and he will be restored. Now, how do we know that? Watch this carefully. Jesus has already told them how things are going to turn out. When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. How is Jesus so confident that Peter will turn? You know how? Jesus is praying for Peter. Oh, that's an easy one to miss, isn't it? Jesus, the Son of God, is praying for Peter to survive the sifting. Peter has an advocate in heaven, the most powerful advocate in all of the universe. If you are a believer in Christ, if you're a follower of Christ, you have the same advocate that Peter has. First John, the apostle, writes to the church, and he says this, My little children, that's us. I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin, and there could be a little parenthesis here, and I know you will, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Like Peter, Jesus is praying for you. He knows your name. He takes it before his Father in heaven. You ever had somebody praying for you, and when you see them, you know immediately that there's been some connection, that they've had you on your minds, they've had you on your hearts? This is Jesus in them saying, I'm praying for you. Don't worry about what's going on around you. I got it. You don't have to try and handle it. I already know the outcome to this story. And it might be a little bit of a rough road for you right now, but let me tell you something. In the end, we're going to be having a big banquet together, and you're going to have a kingdom. We will be sifted. Our faith will be tested. To avoid missing the point, what we need to do is remember who's praying for us. Likewise, we would do well to remember what our calling is. And Jesus reminds them of their calling as he delivers the fourth way of avoid missing the point, is to be sent. Verse 35, and he said to them, when I sent you out with no money bag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything? They said nothing. Now he's talking about the sending of the 12, the sending of the 72 in chapters 9 and 10. And he wants to remind them that God provided for them, God protected them. And in light of this warning that they're all going to be sifted, he's reminded, don't worry, God's got you. You've already seen that. It's a good thing to look back upon. God's taken care of them so far. He's going to take care of them as they go forward. But there's also a hint here that things are going to be a little bit different. So in verse 36, he said to them, but now, a very carefully chosen phrase, because it's but now, it's not just do this. This is what happened before. Keep your eyes open. Things are going to change. Jesus is going to leave. Their mission of being sent will remain. That's still what they're called to do. They've had their practice run. They've seen the power of God. They've been blessed by him. Now the instructions are going to change a little bit. Verse 36, let the one who has a money bag take it, and likewise a knapsack, and let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. So before, Christ sent him out with nothing. He had to trust God. And this was to show them that God protects them and provides for them, demonstrated to them. Now they've seen it. Now Jesus wants them to prepare for a lifetime of ministry. So this time they're going to go out, they're going to be ready to encounter the world. The phrasing here says that they should be fully equipped. Each man should have money and provisions and a way to defend himself and his family. Wait a minute, defend myself and my family? We're the good guys. Why would I need to defend myself if God's protecting me and providing for me and all that? Well, it's the real world and there's going to be opposition. Jesus is saying, don't be naive. Watch what they do to me. They're going to do the same thing to you. This is why I've been telling you to keep your eyes on eternity. This is why I've been telling you about the kingdom to come. Because this place here is going to be pretty miserable for some of you. Some participation is required as you go forward. There are things you have to do to prepare. Verse 37, Jesus says, Now he's citing Isaiah 53 here, and we see it now as a messianic prophecy. Back then, when we got into the middle to late chapters of Isaiah, the Jews would read it as the suffering servant was them. But somewhere along the line it gets personified, and now it becomes clear that the Messiah is the one who will suffer. It becomes clear right here. He's the one who's going to suffer at the hands of those who came to save. So right here, Jesus tells them all this stuff so that they'll understand that Jesus is their model for how to engage the world. They're going to reach out, they're going to minister, they've got to be vigilant, they've got to be careful, they've got to be practical, and they're going to do all this with compassion and mercy and all the things that Jesus has been teaching them, but the world is going to be harsh towards them. The message is clear. What is about to happen to Jesus is going to happen to all those who follow him, and they need to be ready. They need to listen to him very carefully. Now, upon hearing about swords, the disciples demonstrate that they have once again missed the point. And they said, look, Lord, here are two swords. We're on our way, right? And you know what they're thinking, oh, swords. Now it's time. Woo, boy. We'll get to use these things. So they immediately take an inventory of their war gear. Nobody says, look, we've got money bags and clothing and all this other stuff. We've got swords. We're ready to wade into battle. We've got two swords here amongst the 12 of us. In the next passage, we're going to find out that Jesus doesn't intend for them to use the swords aggressively. I mean, you know what's going to happen. The guards are going to come. Peter's going to pull his sword and lop off the ear of one of the guards. And what does Jesus do? Put your sword away. Did you think that's what I asked you to have the sword for? They're not being called to battle the enemy. Listen carefully. They are not being called to battle the enemy. It's not their calling. And with this remark about the swords, the passage ends on a somber note. The disciples have not yet learned the things that Jesus is trying to teach them. They will, they will, and Jesus is being patient, but they don't have it yet, because Jesus' final remark is in verse 38, and he said to them, it is enough. Now, we had similar phrasing in Hebrew in Deuteronomy 3, in 1 Kings, and in 1 Chronicles. That's on your notes there. You can take a look at that later. But it means, OK, it's enough of this foolish talk. Let's move on. Literally, that's what he's saying. Jesus is just showing them that the point of being sent is to be prepared, to be like Him, to practice obedience to the Father, to reach out to the lost, to abhor spiritual pride and arrogance, and be willing to die for the sake of the gospel. So, how do we avoid missing the point? We've got four things we can do. We can be in service. Being willing to humble ourselves and serve helps to keep our focus on what's important, what we've been called to do. Helps to keep us from getting self-absorbed. We can be still. We can strive to be faithful to Christ in our calling. We can strive to be trusting in Him in all that we do. And that can keep us from getting caught up in the cares and the circumstances of the world and losing our eternal perspective. We can be sifted. We should expect to be opposed. We should expect to be persecuted. And the question is not whether or not that's going to happen. It's going to happen. The question is, how will we react to it? What will happen when that comes? And that will demonstrate whether or not we get the point. Because persecution and trials, brothers and sisters, another part of the biblical narrative. Persecutions and trials are opportunities. And they're not opportunities to fight for ourselves. They're not opportunities to demand our rights. They're not opportunities to gain control or influence. The whole world is trying to do that. There are opportunities for us to put Christ on display in our lives, to show them what holiness looks like, to show them what somebody with an eternal perspective functions like in the real world, to show the world that we are indeed set apart, a chosen people, a royal priesthood. That's us. We can be sent. We're sent into the world to be His ambassadors. Just think about this. We're sent in the world to represent God, to be His spokesmen in everything we do. Ambassadors don't fight for their king. The king does the fighting, doesn't he? When the time comes, the king does the fighting, and when the time comes, our king will win. My dad didn't get the point. It wasn't until they were on their way home that they stopped at the cemetery again. They had to get flashlights out. They walked up to the tombstones, and one said, snow, and the other said, frost. My dad's looking for snow and ice. I give my dad some leeway on this because there are times when I have all the evidence in front of me and I miss the point. There are times when I interpret it the way I'd like to interpret it rather than for what I know to be true. This is the Word of God, brothers and sisters. And everything that Jesus is telling his disciples right now is to prepare them for the moment that he hangs on that cross. To tell them this isn't the end, this is the beginning. Not just for me, but for you. That's the beginning for us. And our future stretches out to eternity. Let's pray. Father, we give you thanks. You are above and beyond things like time, epics, politics, even above and beyond worries and concerns. Lord, we thank you for the guarantees that you've given us. We thank you for sealing that with the body and the blood of your Son and giving us a home that we will spend eternity with you. We confess sometimes, Father, that we miss the point on that. We thank you that you're merciful and gracious and patient with us. And like Peter, You will get us through, Father, and call us to strengthen those around us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you for joining us online. Thanks for joining us here. We'll see you next week.