On January 28th of 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger
disaster launched from Cape Canaveral. It was
an unusually cold morning, as you can imagine,
for Florida. We've got some Florida people here.
It doesn't get cold often. It was cooler there
than it normally is. And they needed... to launch
this shuttle, or I guess they wanted to launch
this shuttle. And it was a colder day than normal
for a shuttle launch. It was colder than the
previous shuttle launch. And the night before
this launch, engineers from a company that was
contracted with NASA, Morton Teokal, they...
expressed concern for this launch. They told
NASA that the rubber O -ring, which bonus points
if you know what that is, in the booster joints
might not function properly because of the temperatures.
And their concern was very specific. They told
NASA exactly what they were worried about. And
they had discussions. NASA, they debated it.
They discussed it. They argued about it. There
was pushback. There was pressure to launch because
we need to get this done. We need to do this.
They had schedules. People had expectations.
There was public anticipation. And so the launch
proceeded. And maybe you were alive and are aware
of what happens after the launch happens. 70
-something seconds pass after liftoff and tragedy,
chaos. Lives ruined. And it all stems from this
truth. Under pressure, Weakness is exposed. This
space shuttle had a weakness. It was very clear
to the people that were responsible for building
this shuttle. The people that designed it, they
built it, they made it happen, they knew everything
about it. These are engineers who have degrees
that I can't even imagine how to pronounce. I
mean, they are qualified. They are authorities
in the field. And they told NASA... Not a good
idea. And under pressure, the weakness was exposed.
The shuttle broke apart and seven crew members
lost their lives. And what makes this tragedy
especially sobering is the fact that the risk
had been identified. They knew exactly what could
be the problem. Not only had the risk been identified,
but they warned them that the warning was voiced.
Somebody told them this is not a good idea. And
then the authority of the engineers, they spoke.
But the warning was ultimately ignored. And when
the pressure came, the whole thing failed. History
time and time again shows us what happens when
we don't. Listen to authority. History time and
time again also shows us something that's very
hard for maybe, I won't speak for you, but my
thick head to get through is that ignoring rightful
authority doesn't always produce immediate consequences,
but it does produce consequences. Now for the
challenger, it didn't immediately break apart,
but it wasn't very long after that the weakness
was exposed. See, sometimes everything looks
fine at liftoff. Sometimes everything looks good.
Everything feels right. It seems like things
are going to plan. And then life happens. Bad
things happen. Sickness, death, pain happens.
And when that happens, the weakness is revealed.
And that brings us to Luke chapter 6. Because
here in Luke chapter 6, Jesus is going to make
authoritative claims. He's going to show his
expertise. He's going to speak from a place of
authority. And just like the engineers from Morton
Theocle, they are going or he is going to challenge
the beliefs and the expectations of those in
positions of power. He teaches, he does things
that challenge the traditions, that challenge
the beliefs of those witnessing his teachings,
of those witnessing his actions. And throughout
this entire chapter, there is one question that
I want us to ask ourselves today. It's actually
two questions. And that is, who has the authority
to make rules for living? And will we submit
to him? Because there's only one person that
has that authority. And are we going to listen?
And so Luke 6 begins with Jesus and the disciples.
They're walking through a field on the Sabbath,
which if you know Jewish, I guess, culture, tradition,
Sabbath is Saturday, which is supposed to be
a day of rest. And so the disciples, they're
walking, and as they walk, they're picking some
grain from a field, and they eat it. And so you...
will see that this is an issue because the Pharisees,
these religious elites, they get upset at this.
And there's a reason we'll talk about it, but
they asked this question to Jesus and the disciples
and they say, why are you doing what is not lawful
to do on the Sabbath? And so the reason that
they are upset about this, the reason that they're
questioning Jesus, they're questioning his followers
is because they were doing something They were
actually doing two things that were problematic
for Jews to do on the day of rest. They were
walking probably more steps than they were allowed
to. I tried to find out what the rule on this
was. And essentially, it breaks down to you couldn't
walk more than half a mile on the Sabbath. So
think about how little that is. Like you might
walk half a mile just getting up and walking
around your house, okay? And so they were breaking
Sabbath by walking more than they were supposed
to. They were also harvesting. They were picking
grain and they were eating it. So they were working.
And that's what it essentially breaks down to
is they were working on a day of rest. And so
the Pharisees, these men that are charged with
keeping tradition and making sure that the people
under their leadership are following these rules,
rules and their religion, they're upset about
this because this man is claiming to be a rabbi.
He's claiming to be a good Jewish teacher and
he is doing things that are not lawful. And now
he's leading other people astray in doing that.
And so the ancient Jews, they were very serious
about the law. And Sabbath, it wasn't just this
small command. This is something that was instituted
by God. God very clearly wanted his people to
have a day of rest. God himself took a day of
rest. He creates the world. Six days, he takes
a rest on the seventh day. And so it's something
that God wants for his people. It's something
that's woven into the rhythm of Israel's life,
and it is a sign that they belong to him. Think
about Christians, for example. People know that
we gather on Sundays to go to church. We gather
for worship. And so when you're a Christian and
you maybe apply for a job, if that job, that
place of employment is open on a Sunday, they
may ask you, is Sunday going to be an issue?
I can remember my first job. I was 16. I got
a job at Little Caesars. And I remember the owner,
when he was interviewing me, he asked me, he
said, you know, what are your schedule requirements?
What days are you looking to work? What days
do you need off? And I said, I cannot work on
Sundays. I cannot work on Wednesdays. I go to
church on those days. And he tried to push back
and he was like, are you sure? Like, you know,
church is only from, you know, nine to 12. You
can't come to work after. I said, I cannot work
on Sundays. I can't. man, I work on Wednesdays.
I don't work those days because those are my
days that are committed to God. And so people
that know me, they know don't ask Donovan to
do stuff on Sundays and don't ask him to do stuff
on Wednesdays because there is one thing that
is going to take precedent. And for the Jews,
this was their life. But what happened is...
The Jewish rabbis and their leaders, they kind
of cultivated this elaborate list of these do's
and don'ts for Sabbath. These things that the
Jews were not allowed to do on the day of rest
or the things that they were allowed to do. And
Jesus and his disciples, they were doing the
don'ts. And so this is an issue. And I just want
to illustrate how serious this is. So in 1992,
tenants living in an Orthodox Jewish community,
they had a fire in one of these apartments in
this community. What happened is the fire breaks
out in one apartment, but it's on a Sabbath.
And so the tenants, they asked their rabbi, they
say, hey, is it considered work if we call the
fire department? And in the half hour it took
the rabbi to decide, yes, it is work. You should
not call the fire department on Sabbath. Two
other apartments caught fire, three apartments
burned down because it was Sabbath and we can't
work on the Sabbath. Now that's a bit of an extreme
example, but it's a real life example of how
serious Sabbath is. So when Jesus and the disciples
are breaking Sabbath, this is a real issue for
the Jews. And it's not to mock, it's not to disregard
devotion. This is to point out what happens when
the rules take precedence over mercy and needs.
And so this is how Jesus responds to the question
of why are you doing what is unlawful? He says,
have you not read what David did? And that's
underlined, so I want us to read that together.
Have you not read what David did when he was
hungry? Have you not read what David did when
he was hungry? He and those who were with him.
And he tells this story. He refreshes their memory
because when he says, have you not read? He knows
they read it because these are people that know
scripture way better than any of us could ever
know it. So he knows that they've read it. He's
really saying, do you understand what you've
read? Or do you not remember when David? And
his people were hungry. And he refreshes their
memory on this time when David, this well -respected
hero in their history, he took bread that was
meant for God, known as the bread of presence,
and he gave it to his men so that they could
be fed when they were in need. And what Jesus
is not doing is he's not dismissing the law.
He's just revealing its intention. The law was
never meant to overtake or suffocate mercy. Human
need was not meant to go, to be crushed under
the man -made layers of tradition. What Jesus
wants them to know is that the law was meant
to help. The law was meant to protect. The law
was meant to care for God's people, to keep God's
people safe, to take care of them where they
needed to be told what to do and what not to
do. The law was not meant to keep them under
the rule of oppression. And so when Jesus is
saying this, what he's saying is, don't be mistaken.
The law is not about the... regulation. The law
is about the relation. It is about taking care
of God's children. And then he says something
far greater for a clarification about mercy,
or far greater than a clarification about mercy.
He says, read this with me, the Son of Man is
Lord of the Sabbath. Now, I want us to just sit
there for a moment. I want you to just think
about that. The Sabbath belongs to God. It's
under his rule. The Sabbath was instituted by
God. The Sabbath was commanded by God. It was
a covenant sign between God and his people. And
so Jesus isn't just saying, I interpret the Sabbath
differently. He's not saying I interpret the
Sabbath correctly. What he's saying is I am Lord
of the Sabbath. I'm over it. So once again, Jesus
is not making a minor statement. He is making
a statement that tells them exactly who he is.
He is claiming deity. He is claiming divine authority.
He's not just correcting their tradition. He's
asserting authority over something that belongs
to God himself. He's saying the Sabbath answers
to me. And then he walks into another Sabbath
moment. We see this in Luke 6, verses 6 -11.
Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, and this
man with a withered hand approaches him. And
what you would imagine is the man is seeking
healing because he's heard that this great rabbi
is not just a great teacher. He does these miraculous
healings. And so he comes to Jesus, probably
for healing, and... I think that was God saying,
hey, don't go long. So he comes to Jesus for
healing and the Pharisees, the scribes, they're
watching him closely to see if he's going to
heal on the Sabbath because healing would count
as work, right? And so they're making sure this
man is not working on the day of rest. They're
not concerned about the man with the withered
hand. They are concerned about catching Jesus
committing sin. But Jesus knew exactly what they
were thinking. He knew their minds. And so he
brings the man front and center. He brings him
up into the front of the synagogue, right there
in the middle, right in front of everybody. And
then he... heals the man. But before he heals
the man, he looks at these religious leaders
and he asks this question, underline, read it
with me. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good
or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?
And so in other words, Jesus is asking, is there
ever a bad day to do good? Is there ever a bad
day to let somebody go unhealed? Is there ever
a bad day to not take care of the needs that
somebody has? Is there ever a bad day to do good?
He forces these religious leaders to wrestle
with the heart of the law, and then he heals
the man. And this makes them so angry. It fills
them with fury. And so they start to ask themselves,
what are we going to do to him? Are we going
to hurt him? Are we going to throw him out? Are
we going to kill him? They start talking about
what they might do to him. Why? Because this
is no longer about grain in a field. It's no
longer about just walking around on the Sabbath.
This is no longer about a technical violation.
This is about authority. And they don't like
that this man is claiming divine authority. He's
teaching, he's healing, he's redefining and commanding
with an authority that for nobody or for anybody
but the Messiah, anybody but God, this would
be considered blasphemous. And that is like chief
sin number one. And so they have an issue with
this. And everyone watching is forced to ask,
is this the Messiah? Is this the Lord? And some
answer yes, some answer no. But no one in that
room, nobody witnessing this can ignore the claim
that he thinks he is Lord. And so then Jesus
appoints 12 apostles, which apostles just means
sent ones. So he appoints these people among
his followers, these 12 to be his sent ones.
And that in itself is an authoritative act. That
in itself is him claiming that he has the ability,
he has the right to form this new covenant community
around himself. And then he stands before a great
multitude and he preaches what is referred to
as the Sermon on the Plains. You've probably
heard of the Sermon on the Mount. Some people
refer to this section in Luke chapter 6 as the
Sermon on the Plain. And in the sermon, he speaks
of the poor being blessed. He speaks of the hungry
being filled. The weeping will be laughing. The
hated will be rewarded. He commands love for
our enemies. He teaches generosity without repayment.
mercy instead of condemnation, self -examination
instead of judgment, bearing good fruit as opposed
to just being, as we said last week, a pew potato.
These aren't just suggestions. They're not just
inspirational thoughts. Jesus was not just a
motivational speaker. This series is called The
Jesus Way because this is Jesus establishing
a new way of living. Scratch that, the way of
living. This is Jesus establishing his way. He's
telling us again exactly what his way is. It
is a way of others before self. It is a way of
mercy. It is a way of love. And these are commands
issued by one who speaks as king, one who speaks
with authority. And after all of that, after
all that teaching, after he says all of those
things that we need to do, the things that we
don't need to do, the way we need to live, the
people we need to be, the way we need to think
and speak and act, after all of that, he looks
at them and he says, why do you call me Lord,
Lord, and not do what I tell you? Why do you
call me Lord? Why do you claim that I am your
master? Why do you claim that I am your teacher,
that you are my followers, that you're my disciples,
that you're my apprentices, but you don't do
what I'm teaching you? Why is that? You've heard
me teach. You've seen me heal. You've seen this
challenge of religious power. You've heard this
godly claim of authority, and you're calling
me Lord. But if I'm your Lord, why are you not
obeying? Why are you not acting? on what you
are learning. See, it's not a casual thing to
say, Lord. This is a title of master. It's authority.
It's owner. And what he's teaching right here
is that it is possible to say the right words.
It's possible to admire Jesus. It's possible
to believe in Jesus. It's even possible to agree
with Jesus. I saw a tweet the other day from
Elon Musk. He tweeted out, I agree with the teachings
of Jesus. And I sit there and I wonder, okay,
well, are you going to follow him? Are you going
to live in accordance with those teachings? Because
it is possible to do all of these things, these
right things, and still not do all that he has
taught us. It's possible to do all of that and
still not be all that he has taught us. He's
called us to be disciples, to be apprentices,
not just students. He's called us to be people
that will do what he is instructing us to do.
And Jesus explains this further by giving them
a picture in verses 47 through 49. And this is
what he says. Everyone who comes to me and hears
my words and does them, I will show you what
he is like. He's like a man building a house
who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.
And when a flood arose, the stream broke against
that house and could not shake it because it
had been well built. But the one who hears and
does not do them is like a man who built a house
on the ground without a foundation. And the stream
broke against it. Immediately, it fell. And the
ruin of that house was great. Here's something
I want us to notice. Both houses in that illustration
faced the storm. Both houses faced pressure.
Both houses probably looked good until the flood
came. And the difference when that flood comes
is not the appearance. It's not the intention
of the builder. The difference is the foundation.
What is the foundation? You know, we started
this lesson talking about the challenger. The
engineers warned NASA. The authorities on the
situation, they spoke. But when the pressure
came, the weakness was exposed. And so Jesus
is saying something similar here. He says, you
can call me Lord. You can sit here under my teaching.
You can listen to all of these wise words that
I have to say. You can see all the healing. You
can be near me. You can be near my people. And
I'll make it modern. You can come to church.
You can read your Bible. You can listen to sermons.
You can sing the songs. You can put the cross
tattoo on your arm. You can wear it around your
neck. You can put a cross on your house. But
when pressure comes, when persecution comes,
when life throws its wrenches at you, when Satan
slings his flaming darts at you, when temptation
comes, when cultural opposition comes, when suffering
happens, even the final judgment of God, when
all of that hits you, what you have built on.
will be revealed. The foundation of your life
will be exposed. Obedience to Jesus is the foundation.
Submission to Jesus as Lord is the foundation.
It's so much more than just this verbal acknowledgement.
It's so much more than just believing. It's so
much more than just attending. When the flood
of life, when judgment breaks against your life,
A life built on his authority will stand. But
a life built on just believing, a life built
on just attending or just claiming, that life
will fall. And the life built on his authority
stands not because it's comfortable. It stands
because it's anchored to the one who is Lord.
And so the question we have to ask ourselves
daily is, Will I submit to the authority of Christ
as Lord? You see, a lot of people want Jesus
as Savior. A lot of people want Jesus as healer.
A lot of people want Jesus as miracle worker.
We love, you know, there's the song, Waymaker,
Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the
Darkness. We love. that Jesus. But do we love
the Jesus that calls us to do something? Do we
love the Jesus that calls us out of these seats
into the community to heal people, to feed the
hungry, to heal the sick, to be there for the
hurting, to be there for the outcast, to be there
for the marginalized? Do we want to follow Lord
Jesus or do we just want Savior Jesus? Do we
just want friend Jesus? Will I leave my comforts?
Will I set aside my traditions and my preconceived
ideas of life and follow Jesus? Will I love my
enemies when it costs me something? Will I show
mercy when I want to condemn? Will I examine
myself before I critique and judge others? Will
I bear fruit that reflects obedience to his commands?
Simply, will I build my life on his teachings?
instead of just admiring them. Will I follow
Lord Jesus? Because the truth is pressure is
coming for all of us. Our moment of pressure
is coming and maybe you faced it. Maybe it was
the loss of a loved one. Maybe it was the loss
of a job. Maybe someone walked out on you. Maybe
someone that you trusted betrayed that trust.
Maybe you've been given the diagnosis that just
shakes you to your core. Maybe you've been walking
in this life with trauma and hurt. I don't know
what pressures have already come, but I do know
pressure is always coming for all of us. Pressure
will come. No one can escape it. And so when
that pressure comes, Will your foundation be
exposed as strong or will it be exposed as weak?
I also want to make this clear because I know
that's a little heavy. I need to make clear that
the same Lord that... us to get up and do something.
The same Lord that looks at us and says, why
do you call me Lord if you're not going to obey
me? The same Lord that does have the authority
to condemn. He has the authority to say who's
in and who's out. The same Lord that has that
authority has the same mercy for those of us
not following in accordance to his teaching.
And that same Lord continues to invite us. And
so this morning, we offer the same invitation.
If you've not been following Jesus as Lord, if
you've not been following him as rabbi, if you've
not been in an apprenticeship relationship, and
I want to say this, there's a difference between
being a student and an apprentice. An apprentice
trains so that he can go do. You know, a lot
of schools, high schools, they're implementing
like vocational tech programs. My high school
finally started to implement some of those things.
They have a welding class now. And so you can
be in the welding program and then by the time
you graduate high school, you're a certified
welder and you can go straight into the workforce.
Isn't that awesome? Well, what those welders
do is they're essentially apprentices to the
teacher of that class, the instructor. And they
are learning so that when they... graduate, they
can go then be welders. Do you know where the
term Christian comes from? In early church history,
the people that were witnessing Christians would
call them little Christs. Kind of like, you know,
if you saw my youngest son, Peyton, you might
say, oh, that's just a little Donovan. because
he looks like me, and he's kind of crazy like
me, and he's annoying like me. And so you'd look
at him, and you'd be like, that's a little Donovan.
And so people would start calling the followers
of Jesus, they would call them little Christ.
And then it was those Christians. Like you would
say, I'm a Blairsvillian, or I don't know what
you, is that the right way to say that? I don't
know if anyone would say that. Like Whoville,
you'd be a Whovillian, right? And so you would
say they are Christians. Christ ends. They are
little Christ. And what it is, is they lived
a life that followed the teachings of Jesus so
closely that when people saw them, they saw Jesus.
And I'm asking us today, when people see the
church today, do they see Jesus or do they just
see a bunch of people that look at and observe
and admire a motivational speaker? Do they just
see people that like the teachings that claim
Jesus, but they don't actually live like Jesus?
Are we going to follow and obey? Or are we just
going to claim salvation? Is he Lord or is he
just Savior? Jesus here wants everyone to know
he is not just here to be their buddy. He's not
just here to be a good teacher. He is here to
call them into a life of submission to God's
way, to the Jesus way. And so this morning, If
you've never said yes to the lordship of Jesus
and you feel the need to respond to his teachings,
whether that be publicly or privately, I want
you to know the invitation's here. And also,
because I know there's a lot of us in this room
that we have said yes to Jesus. We accepted him
as Lord and Savior. We gave our lives to him
in baptism when we rose up committing to walk
in a new life, but we haven't exactly been following
our rabbi. We haven't been apprentices. We've
just been students. If you've been in that boat
and you want to commit, you want the prayers
of the church, you want the encouragement of
the church, you want people to help you to become
a better disciple, the invitation's here. Wherever
you're at today, whatever you need, whatever
it is that you're struggling with, whatever you're
hurting with, it doesn't have to be about this
lesson. It can just be about life in general
because I know life is hard and that pressure
is hitting some of you right now. Whatever it
is. We mean this sincerely when we say the invitation
is here. If you need anything, please come now
as we stand and as we sing.