LUKE 6:17-23 FULLY SATISFIED IN JESUS2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 6:17-23 Fully Satisfied In Jesus

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011. The crowd of his disciples, and here on this level place, he begins to teach forth a message. We're looking at a portion of it this morning, and we'll be looking at the rest of the message in the coming weeks.

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And as we look at this portion, you might say, hey, that sounds a little bit familiar for those who were here last week because George taught last week out of Matthew chapter 5. And it was such a great blessing to me because I was studying and preparing for this message last week and I was, you know, ready to teach it. I was getting ready. I was preparing.

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And I was planning on sharing a little bit of background from Matthew chapter 5 as we headed into this portion here in Luke chapter 6. The reason why is because there's parallels and the teachings are similar. Well, last Saturday, I came down really bad with a sore throat.

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and I wasn't able to teach. And so I called up George or I text messaged him and I said, hey George, you got to teach? He said, yeah, right. I said, no, for real serious, you got to teach. And so he had a message prepared out of Matthew chapter 5. And so I logged in on Sunday morning from home and I was watching and

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Oh, it's such a blessing to see him and hear him say, you know, turn with me to Matthew chapter 5 because God is doing this work. He orchestrated it and so he already did the background for me. So if you weren't here last week, you can go online and listen to the message or get the CD.

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But Matthew chapter 5 is the Sermon on the Mount. And there's many parallels. Some of the wording is in fact identical in Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7 to what we'll see here in Luke chapter 6 and in this message that was given. And I'm pointing this out to you this morning because I think it's important for us to remember that we need to be reminded of the things that we know. This is

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Chapter here, Luke chapter 6, the message that is given is actually a different place than what is recorded in Matthew chapter 5. Here in Luke chapter 6 verse 17 it says that he came and he stood on a level place and he shared this message with his disciples.

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In Matthew chapter 5, Matthew says in verse 1 that Jesus went up on a mountain and then shared this message with the disciples. And so there's the idea of him sharing in a plain or in a flat land. And then in Matthew chapter 5, he's sharing on a mountain.

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And so he's sharing there on a mountain. Over here he's sharing on a plane. The messages are similar. Some of the wording is identical. And what we learn from this is that it's a similar message. It's a message that Jesus taught more than once. These words were something that he shared more than in just one location. In fact, probably as he went around the different regions of Israel, he was sharing this message and teaching these things over and over again.

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We learn throughout the scriptures that repetition is necessary. Sometimes we have a tendency as Christians to, you know, really want something different. We want to hear something that we've never heard before. We want to hear some kind of connection, some cross-reference, some spiritual insight, some truth, some twist on a passage like we've never heard before. And when we do, it's like, wow, that's amazing. I've never heard it taught that way before. I've never seen it that way before.

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But there's also a danger with that for those of us who are hearing, but also for those who are teaching. Because if we begin to chase after those things, the new and fresh, you know, the new twist, the super secret insight, the hard things to discover, well, we can quickly be led astray.

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Paul the Apostle, in Philippians chapter 3 verse 1, he says, For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Paul says, look, I'm writing to you things that you know. This isn't new information that I'm writing to you, Church of Philippi.

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These are things that you know. But for me to write the same things to you is not tedious. He's saying, look, I could just skip over this part. I could skip over these truths and just say, okay, you know what I'm talking about and not share with you the things that I'm saying. But it's not tedious for me to actually write out the things that I know that you know. The things that you're familiar with.

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He says, because for you it's safe. It's necessary for you. It's important for you to be reminded of the things that you know. And as believers in Jesus, you and I, we need to be reminded of the things that we know. Peter says this as well. In 2 Peter chapter 1, he says it a couple different ways, a couple different times. But in verse 13, he says, as long as I'm in this tent, in this body, he says...

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I think it's right to stir you up by reminding you. And then he actually goes on to say, and I'm setting it up so that when I'm gone, when I'm dead, you'll still have reminders of the things that you've learned. You and I as Christians, we need to be reminded of the things that we have learned, the things that we know. I'm sure you've heard the saying, if it's new, it's not true. And if it's true, it's not new.

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It's not new information that we need. Even though you might be in a situation today and you're thinking, man, I really need some new information. It's not new information. You might be in a situation, you might be thinking, man, I really need something different. I need something fresh. I need something I've never heard before. But we really don't need new information. We don't need new teaching. What we need is to live according to the teaching that we already have.

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What we need as believers is to live in obedience to what we already know. Today we're talking about being fully satisfied in Jesus. And to be fully satisfied is not found in newness, but in obedience. And being reminded of what we already know and living it out. And so I want to encourage you as we look at this portion this morning.

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If you're thirsting, if there's a need in your life, if you're facing a situation where you're wrestling, you're struggling, you're yearning, you're desiring, it's not something new that you need. It's not something you've never heard before, but it's something you have heard. And you need to put it into practice. You need to live it out. It's not something that's never been taught, but it's what has been written here for us in the Word of God. That's why we study this. To be reminded. To be stirred up. To be encouraged. To be encouraged.

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Because we get complacent and we forget. We begin to compromise and then we need to come back and revisit the same truths. And there's a danger for us to kind of go, oh yeah, I already heard that message. I've studied this before. I've read that before. I've read through the whole Bible. You know, there's nothing new you can teach me. Well, that's fine.

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The objective isn't to teach you something new, but to remind you what God has said so that you can practice, so that you can live out what God has said. And we need those reminders because we forget and we wander off. And so I want to encourage you as we study this portion this morning to pay attention, to stay tuned. Don't tune it out because you were here last week. Don't tune it out because you've read or studied this before.

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approached this morning the the passage that we're studying with a fresh heart saying yes i i need to hear from you lord i want to follow you and so we're looking at being fully satisfied in jesus there's a couple points i want to share with you first thing we see is in verses 17 through 19 and here what we find is that jesus heals with power jesus heals with power look at verse 17

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It says,

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In verses 12 through 16, we saw Jesus gather his disciples together. He named 12 of them apostles. They were to be with him and be sent out by him. And now he comes to this level place and it's not just his disciples anymore.

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It's the 12 apostles plus this group of disciples. We don't know how many were there. But then also in addition to that, there was this great multitude, Luke says, people who came from Judea and Jerusalem. That's the southern area of Israel. And then Tyre and Sidon, that's the northern area of Israel. They're on the coast of the Mediterranean.

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And so from the northern part of Israel to the southern part of Israel, this great multitude gathered together to Jesus. Why? Well, he says there in verse 17, to hear him and be healed of their diseases. They came to hear and to be healed. Now this group of people that was gathered there to hear and be healed, I think it's interesting that Luke points out that

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It's a group of his disciples as well as a great multitude. He makes a distinction. There are those who are disciples who said, yes, I want to follow Jesus. I believe he is the one we need to listen to and I want to live with, you know, my life according to what he says. A disciple wasn't just one who, you know, learned but who was with the master and learned his ways and sought to live their life like the master did.

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And so there's this crowd of people who said, yes, I want to follow Jesus. I want to be like Jesus. I want to obey Jesus. And they're there hearing this message along with the great multitude of people who are coming to hear and to be healed. As Jesus is about to give this message, he's about to declare these great promises of blessing. You'll see that he directs it to the disciples.

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Not just to the great crowd that's there, but he's speaking specifically to those who say, yes, I want to follow Jesus. These things are true for everybody, but he's specifically targeting, he's specifically speaking to those who are his disciples, to those who are believers in him. And he says, you need to hear this message. And so this crowd is gathering together.

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It's made up of disciples, a multitude from all over Israel. They're coming to hear and to be healed. Notice verse 19, it says, the whole multitude sought to touch him for power went out from him and healed them all. I like how it says the whole multitude sought to touch him. It gives me this picture of everybody reaching out, trying to, you know, get to the front, trying to reach out, to connect with him, to make contact.

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But the amazing thing is as they're making contact, as they're reaching out, as they're connecting with him, it says power went out from him and healed them all. This word healed, it means to cure, to restore to bodily health. But it also is used in the sense of healing or restoring spiritually. It's not necessarily only physical healing that is taking place here.

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But spiritual healing, as well as we saw in verse 18, that those who are demon-possessed were being healed as well. And so this healing that is going on is not just a cut and scrape or a physical ailment, but whatever's wrong in that person's life, whatever's going on, they're being healed as they connect with Jesus. There's power going forth from him, and he heals them as they connect with him.

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This is really important for us today, guys. Because Jesus still heals today. There's still power coming forth from Jesus today to bring healing in a person's life. For those who are there to hear Him, for those who are seeking to touch Him, to connect with Him, for those who are seeking Jesus, walking with Jesus, looking to Jesus, there is power to heal today.

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Did you know there is no condition, no infirmity, no affliction, no sickness, no ailment, no nothing that you can face that Jesus is not able to heal. Whether it be some kind of demonic oppression or even demonic possession, Jesus is able to heal. Whether it be some type of mental issue, some type of mental deficiency,

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some type of mental hang-up, some type of thing in your mind, Jesus is able to heal. Sometimes we forget this, even as believers today. Jesus is able. He heals with power.

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If it's a physical ailment, a physical sickness, maybe even a life-threatening disease, Jesus is able. He heals with power. Maybe it's an emotional sickness, an emotional illness, an emotional issue that's got you hung up. There's this pain, there's this scar, there's this tragedy, and you just can't move on. You can't get past it. Jesus is able to heal.

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Whatever affliction, whatever ailment, whatever issue that's in your life, Jesus is able to heal. And this morning I want to encourage you to go to Jesus. Be like this multitude and seek to touch him. Seek to connect with him. As you hear him, as you connect with him, power goes out and he heals. Now please don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that Jesus heals everything.

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every condition without exception at the moment on the spot whenever you ask him to if that were true then I wouldn't be having a cough drop in my mouth right now if that were true then well Paul wouldn't have been sick he wouldn't have suffered the infirmity the physical affliction that he had no so what I'm not saying is not that everybody gets healed but here's what I'm saying Jesus has the power to heal so go to Jesus

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Ask Jesus. James tells us sometimes we do not have because we do not ask. We need to ask Jesus for healing. You have some type of emotional thing going on in your life? Ask Jesus for healing. Some type of physical issue, some type of mental issue, some type of demonic issue? Ask Jesus for healing. Ask Him for deliverance. He has the power to heal.

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Now when you ask him, then the ball's in his court. And now it's up to him. It's according to his will, what he wants to do. Now Jesus has the eternal perspective. He doesn't just see what we see, the right here, the right now. But he sees into all of eternity. And he knows what's best for us in the perspective of all of eternity. He wants what's best for us. And so when we give him the opportunity, if healing is what's best for us, he heals us.

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If a slow process of healing is what's best for us, then he'll be doing that. Or he might say, as he said to the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, my grace is sufficient for you. He might say, I'm not going to heal you. I'm not going to take this away, but I'm going to be here with you. I'm going to give you extra grace. I'm going to carry you along. I'm going to help you endure, and you're going to experience life with me like you've never experienced before as you go through this.

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That's up to Him. He knows best and we have to trust Him for that because He is able and He sees all of eternity. And so I'm not saying that everybody gets healed without exception. You know, whatever your problem is, Jesus will take it away. But I am saying He has power to heal. Don't forget that. And we need to be like this multitude to seek to touch Him, to connect with Jesus, to hear Him, and to be delivered, to be set free, to be healed.

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physically, mentally, emotionally, whatever the case may be. I want to encourage you this morning to pursue Jesus. Allow Him to bring healing in those areas. We'll see in a couple weeks there's a woman, the doctors couldn't do anything for her, but when she touches Jesus, she's healed and completely restored. Jesus is able to work even when nobody else is. He's able to heal. Well, the second part of healing

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What we want to look at this morning is there in verses 20 through 23. And here we see that Jesus promises blessings. And these blessings are promised. And notice in verse 20 it says this. Again, notice what it says here. He lifted his eyes toward his disciples.

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Are you a disciple of Jesus? Are you one who said, yes, I want to follow Jesus. I want to walk with him. I want to be obedient to him. I want to spend eternity with him. If that's you, then Jesus is looking right at you and he's saying, here's the things I want you to hear. Here's the blessings I want you to receive. Here's the truths that you need to know. Again, these are true for everyone.

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That he's looking directly at us as his believers, as his followers. And he's promising blessing. Now as we talk about these promised blessings, I want to point out, he's speaking about spiritual things.

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Sometimes there's a misunderstanding, there's false teaching that goes along the lines of God wants you to be wealthy, God wants you to be healthy, God wants you to be wise, you should never have any problems, and if you do, it's because you don't have enough faith, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's all bogus, that's not biblical, that's not what the Bible teaches. When he talks about promised blessing, he's talking about

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Internal and eternal. He's talking about the eternal perspective, but he's also talking about within. And so as we talk about being poor, he's not just talking about physical, financial, it's not about the amount of change in your pocket. It's about the condition of your heart, the condition of your soul. Internally and eternally.

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And so these promised blessings are for you and I. He's speaking directly to believers and it's for our spiritual condition. It's for us internally and eternally. And he says, blessed are you over and over and over again. This word blessed, you heard a little bit last week because Pastor George was sharing about it. It could be translated, oh how happy. And that's a good sense of the word, but

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To take it a little bit farther, the word blessed really could carry with it the idea of being fully satisfied. That's why I want to share with you and remind you this morning to be fully satisfied in Jesus. Because that's what it means to be blessed, to be fully satisfied. Is that how you walked in here today? Fully satisfied? You're just, yes, life could not be any better. God is great, content with where you are in life.

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THAT'S WHAT THIS WORD BLESSED MEANS. ONE BIBLE DICTIONARY SAYS THAT THE BLESSED ONE IS ONE WHO IS IN THE WORLD YET INDEPENDENT OF THE WORLD. HIS SATISFACTION COMES FROM GOD AND NOT FROM FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.

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And so this being blessed is not just, yes, I'm blessed because I got a new job or I'm blessed because I got a new car. I'm blessed because I didn't get the cough that's going around and I didn't get sick or I'm blessed because, you know, this situation is going good or I'm not blessed because something bad happened or something difficult is, you know, what I'm going through. It's not about the circumstances and those are going to be up and down and we're all going to go through highs and lows in this life.

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But this blessing that Jesus promises is a being fully satisfied internally and eternally. And it's not based on our circumstances, but it's based on our relationship with Him and what He's doing in our hearts. And so there's four things He promises blessing for. Four conditions that He addresses. And He says, if you're in this condition, you...

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are blessed or you will be fully satisfied. And so these are conditions for you and I to consider and to make sure that they match our heart so that we can receive these blessings that are promised to those who are in that condition. So the first thing we see is, blessed are you poor, those who are poor. He says, you who are poor, you will be fully satisfied.

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Why? Well, he says, yours is the kingdom of God. The poor will be satisfied. The poor will be blessed because to them belongs the kingdom of God. This word poor, again, we're not just talking financially. We're really talking about a spiritual condition. In fact, in Matthew chapter 5, as Jesus is teaching this, he says, blessed are the poor in spirit. And so he's talking about our hearts. He's talking about us within.

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This word poor, it means to be helpless. One who needs lifting. There's another idea of poverty, another actual Greek word for poverty, which is the idea that you work really hard and you make just enough to be able to survive that day. That's a different kind of poverty. This kind of poverty that he's talking about is a poverty that you can't even work really hard. You can't do anything for yourself. All you can do is beg.

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And hope for someone to have mercy on you. Jesus says, blessed are you poor in spirit. Blessed are you when your internal condition, when you recognize. See the reality is we're all poor. This same word, we are all in this condition of needing to be lifted. But blessed are you. Fully satisfied you will be when you recognize that you are poor.

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Because you will inherit eternity. Is there anything better than inheriting eternity? No way. There's nothing better than the eternal inheritance that God has promised to those who follow Him, to those who walk with Him. He's talking about salvation here. This is really the core of the gospel message. That you and I...

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As human beings, we are in a helpless state. We're in a state of poverty spiritually because of our sinful condition. Because we're sinners. We fall short of the glory of God. And we are not able to enter into eternity with God because we fall short. We do not measure up because we sin. We break God's word. We break God's commandments.

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Every one of us does. Every day. Constantly. Continually. We are sinful. And there's no amount of good works that can reverse that. We can't work really hard and then, you know, be able to get into heaven. We can't work really hard to try to make up for our sinfulness. No, we are in this state of poverty spiritually. That we're helpless. We are one who needs lifting up.

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We can't do it ourselves. We cannot save ourselves. There's nothing that we can do in our own strength. But that's the gospel. Because God, because He loved us, He saw it. He said, hey, I don't want to spend eternity without them. And so He sent His only begotten Son. Jesus said, yes, I'll go. I'll take their place. I'll receive the punishment for their sin.

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Yet they deserve judgment for their sin, but let it be upon me. I'll receive it. He hung upon the cross, received on our behalf the judgment and the penalty for our sin. He was crucified. He was buried. He resurrected. And he said, believe in me and you'll be forgiven. You'll have everlasting life. And so we are able to be saved today

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Not because we work hard, because we do something for ourselves, but because we are poor when we recognize our poverty and realize, I can't do anything, but Jesus has done everything, then we can receive His gift of forgiveness and salvation that He offers to us by believing in Him, by receiving Him as Savior and Lord. So that is our condition. We are all in the state of poverty. We cannot

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be religious enough. We cannot be good enough. We cannot do enough good works. I cannot lift myself. I cannot save myself. I'm hopelessly lost without Jesus Christ. And Jesus said, blessed are you when you recognize that, when you are poor, when you realize that. Now, that's true of someone who has not yet believed in Jesus Christ and received him, not yet been born again. That's true of you.

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But I want to point out, who's Jesus talking to? His disciples. He wants to remind you and I as believers, those of you who've been around the block a few times as a Christian, don't forget how much you need Jesus. Sometimes we get confused, guys. And we start thinking, Jesus, you know, he did a good thing. He started us off and then now we got it from here. Now, of course, we would never say that, but that's how we live.

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That's how we behave, as if that were the case. But Jesus wants to remind us, listen, you need me desperately. You're hopelessly lost. We need to have that continual understanding and acknowledgement. I need Jesus and I'm lost without him. And when you have that heart, when that is your condition, Jesus says you are fully satisfied. You're blessed.

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Because yours is the kingdom of God. You've got a great promise of eternal inheritance. It's incorruptible. It's undefiled. And it fades not away. Reserved in heaven for you. Well the second thing we find here is the promises of blessing is in verse 21. He goes on to say, Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who hunger, for you shall be filled. So for the hungry, he says, you will be fully satisfied.

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Of course, again, he's not talking about, you know, you miss breakfast, you're hungry because lunch is coming up. He's not talking about physical food. He's talking about a spiritual condition, an internal condition. Are you hungry? Did you come in here hungry? This word hunger, it means to famish or to crave. It's a strong desire. In Matthew chapter 5, when Jesus is teaching this, he says, "...Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness," or for God's rightness."

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This hunger that he's talking about here is for the things of God. Do you desire to know God and to walk with Him? Do you have that hunger? Is it a strong craving? Is it a strong desire within? Do you seek God? In the situations that you face in life, is there a continual hunger? As you go throughout the day that you're hungering, Lord, what would you do? What would you have me do in this situation?

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Lord, where do you want me to be? Lord, what do you want to say to me? It's a continual hunger, a desire for God to be working, to be speaking, to be moving in your life. Do you have that hunger? Or do you just do what you think is best? Do you just, you know, make your decisions, go your directions, do it, hey, this makes sense to me, sounds good to me, this is what I was raised to think, this is what I was brought up to believe.

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Or do you have a hunger to connect with God, to hear from God, to know what God's will is and to walk in it? Do you hunger? Do you study the Word of God? Do you spend time on your own digging in to His Word? Because you have a hunger to know who He is, what He says. Because you have a hunger for Him to speak to you. Do you seek Him for those decisions?

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Again, there's this great multitude. They hunger. They came to hear and to be healed. But he's speaking specifically to the disciples. He says, disciples, blessed are you when you hunger. Blessed are you when you're hungry for the things of God. Again, as Christians, we need to be reminded of this. Because it's very easy for us to get religious. And we go through our routines. We go through the motions. We go to church. We even read the Bible regularly.

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But the question is, is it out of a hunger for the things of God? Or is it out of the religion that you practice? Is it out of a hunger to know God? Is it because you're yearning for Him to work in your life? Or because you're going through some rituals that you think will earn you some points or make some blessings? Or just because you know, well, that's what good Christians are supposed to do, so that's what I do. No, blessed are you. You'll be fully satisfied when you hunger for

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When there's that desire, that craving, that yearning. He says, blessed are you who are hungry, who hunger, because you will be filled. You shall be filled. This word to be filled, it's one of my favorite words. It means to gorge. It's a food supply in abundance. It's hometown buffet status, right? I mean, it's just like more than you can handle. All you can eat. He doesn't say, you know, blessed are you who are hungry because you'll get an appetizer.

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Or you'll get a little snack. I'll give you a little bit of something. God says, look, if you hunger for me, I'm going to give you so much of me, more than you can handle. As much as you can take in, I'm going to give to you. What an incredible promise of God. If you hunger for the things of God, you will be filled. That's a promise. And you can count on it. When you hunger for God,

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Time and time again throughout the word, God said, if you seek me, you will find me when you seek me with all your heart. These are promises of God. Look, if you want more of God in your life, seek him, hunger for him, and it's a promise. He will fill you. You will gorge in the things of God. You'll have an abundant supply of God in your life, of God working in your heart, working through your life, speaking to you, directing you,

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God's not playing hide and seek. And his objective isn't to stay hidden. To hope you don't find me. But keep on trying. No he's like right there. He's saying look just hunger for me. And I'll give you more than you can handle of me. I'll give you more than enough. An overflow. An abundance of me. Blessed are you who hunger. You will be fully satisfied. Are you fully satisfied? Because you've been hungering for the things of God.

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Jesus told us, seek and you will find. Ask and you will receive. Knock and it will be opened unto you. These are promises of God. If you hunger, if you seek Him, if you desire Him, if you crave Him, He will fill you completely.

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James tells us in James 1.5, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him. Anybody need wisdom? Ask God, James says, and it will be given to you. If you desire, if you hunger to know what God wants in a situation, ask him and

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And it will be given to you. Ask and you will receive. Hunger and you will be filled, Jesus says. As I was thinking about this idea, I was noticing something that our cat does at home. Every time we open the fridge, we've got one of those fridges that the refrigeration is on top and then the freezer is on the bottom. So we go, we open up the fridge.

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And Milo, our cat, wherever he's at in the house, he comes running. Now, it's interesting because never once have we pulled something out of the fridge and then given it to the cat. We've never done that. There's nothing in the fridge for the cat. That's our food. But every time he comes and he starts pawing at the freezer, he's like, I want it. I want it. Give me something. Something sounds good. I smell something.

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I don't know what it is, but he wants it. He craves it. When you open the fridge, you can count on it. Wherever he's at in the house, he'll come running. He'll start pawing. He wants what's in there. That's the kind of hunger that Jesus is talking about. Listen, do you have that kind of hunger for the things of God?

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That whenever there's a situation, whenever doors are being opened, you're there pawing, you're like, Lord, what do you want to do? You want to work in this situation? Do you want to use me? Do you want to speak to me? Do you want to instruct me? Do you want me to go do something for you? Lord, what do you want? What do you want? It's this passionate hunger, this drive, this craving. Do you run when the word of God is open? Like, yeah. You're kind of like drooling a little bit. Like, yeah, I'm hungry. Lord, speak to me. What do you want? Reveal to me more of you. Help me to know who you are. Help me to love you.

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Do you have that hunger? Blessed are you if you do, you'll be fully satisfied. You'll be filled with abundance because, well, when you seek God, you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart. Do you have that hunger to know God? Peter tells us to desire the pure milk of the Word by which we grow. We're to have that continual hunger in the Word of God, in the things of God, in the situations of life. And Jesus says, blessed are you if you have it.

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Because you will be filled. The third promise we find is also there in verse 21. And that is that if you weep, he says, blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. If you weep, he says, you'll be fully satisfied. You'll be blessed and you will laugh.

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This word weep, it means to sob or to wail aloud. It's not kind of like a silent or just like a little bit of sorrow. I mean, it's a real serious sorrow to wail aloud. This brings about another aspect of our Christian life that we need to come face to face with and come to terms with and recognize and accept. Real Christianity is costly. Real Christianity is costly. And there will be times of weeping.

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There will be times of great sorrow. It's not out of despair because Jesus says, blessed are you who weep, you'll be fully satisfied. But there is hurt. There is loss. There is cost. There's a couple examples of this. I'll just run through a couple of them briefly. Jesus said in another place that he came not to bring unity but to bring division. He said, I didn't come, I came with a sword.

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And mother is going to be against daughter and son is going to be against father. There's going to be division within the home because of Jesus. There's going to be division within the home. Those who turn to Jesus and those who don't. And it's going to make a division. It's going to disconnect. It's going to break up relationships between those who follow Jesus and those who don't. And there's going to be times of weeping as a result.

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Because as you walk with Jesus, as you hunger and thirst for the things of God, you're going to be pursuing God. They're not pursuing God. You're going in different directions. There's going to be a tear. There's going to be a disconnect. And those relationships are going to break down. And it's going to be hard. And there's going to be some weeping. There's going to be some wailing aloud. But Jesus gives the promise in another place. He says, those who have left father and mother, those who have left son and daughter, those who have left friends and family,

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In the kingdom of God, they will receive a hundredfold. And so blessed are you who weep. Yes, it's hard. It's difficult now. But looking at the eternal perspective, in the kingdom of God, you have a family. In the kingdom of God, you have brothers and sisters who love you, who care for you, who pray for you, who take, you know, encourage you and take care of you. But also in eternity, you receive a hundredfold.

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And so he says those who leave, who go on the mission field, those who take off and leave family, leave friends behind, who make that disconnect to pursue the things of God, they will receive a hundredfold in the life to come. I think another good example of this is what Jesus said in John chapter 13. He says, the world will know that you're my disciples by your love for one another.

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We're going to have a love for one another as we hunger and thirst for the things of God. As we become more like God and have His nature. We're going to have His love for others. And as we love for one another, it's going to be different than the world loves. It's going to be real sincere agape love. But here's the other side of the coin in regards to love. Love opens you up to new hurts. Think about it. There's people who die every day.

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It doesn't bother you at all. You don't even think about it. It doesn't pay attention to it. But when someone you love dies, your life is shaken. Your life is altered. It's changed. Because of your love for that person, it opens you up to a hurt that wouldn't otherwise be there. And so there will be occasion to weep because, well, you love people with a greater intensity than you ever could before. And because of our love for one another, we have...

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The capability of being hurt by one another. Either by losing them or by them offending us or turning on us or betraying us. But the point is, love, well, it makes your heart soft. It's amazing how God works. I mean, He takes some, you know, big tough guys and He makes us cry babies. Right, Richard? He makes us soft. He gives us a new heart. Because it's His heart. You see, because God weeps when people are lost. Right?

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And God weeps when sheep are hurt. God weeps over those conditions as well. And so he says, blessed are you who weep. You're fully satisfied because you will laugh. There's laughter, there's joy coming. Remember Jesus wept in John chapter 11 at the death of Lazarus. Even though he knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead, he wept. Paul said in Philippians 3 that he weeps as he's telling the Philippians about those who are enemies of the cross of Christ.

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And so there's many opportunities. There's many ways that you and I will weep as followers of Jesus. But fully satisfied are you. Blessed are you when you weep. Now the normal thing for us to do, we kind of have our defensive measures, right? So normally we get hurt. We let someone in. They hurt us. And then we set up some walls and we say, well that's not going to happen again. Nobody else is going to get that close. That's our normal defense mechanism. But we can't do that as Christians. We're not allowed.

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That's not God's heart. We have to continue to love. And so yeah, there will be hurts. There will be weeping. But look at the eternal perspective. You'll be fully satisfied. It doesn't mean it will always be easy and everything will be cake. But you'll be fully satisfied. Well, the fourth promise that we have is found in verse 22 and 23. And that is those who are persecuted will be fully satisfied. Look at verse 22. It says, blessed are you when men hate you. We might need to read that one again.

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Did we read it right? 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. He says 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. Blessed are you when men hate you.

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Isn't that a promise you want to hold on to? Yeah, let me write that one down. Put it on a post-it on my fridge and I want to remember that one. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you, when they revile you, and when they cast out your name as evil or they use your name as a bad word. Blessed are you. He says leap for joy. Now, very, very important point here. At the end of verse 22, look at the last phrase. For the son of man's sake. Okay, this is key.

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It's not, blessed are you when men hate you because you're a jerk. No. If you're a jerk, then you need to repent. But when people hate you because you hunger for the things of God, because you walk with God, because you thirst for God, because you want to know God, because you want to be obedient to God, when you are hated by people because you're holding fast to the Lord, blessed are you.

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When they revile you and exclude you and say, oh, don't count him in, don't invite him, you know, he'll kill the party. We don't want him around. Blessed are you. When they say, oh yeah, we don't want to talk to you anymore. We want to cut you out of our lives. Blessed are you. When it's for the name of Jesus' sake. He says, rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Is that what we do? No. We go around all sad and sorry. Oh, people hate me.

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There's a desire, there's a yearning for us, you know, to be accepted, to be liked. But as Christians, we need to set that aside. And we need to realize you're blessed. There's going to be separation. There's going to be people who don't like you. There's going to be some conflict. But blessed are you when it's for the name of Jesus' sake. When you're persecuted for His sake, you're fully satisfied. Because He says, great is your reward in heaven. Again, looking at the eternal perspective.

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It might be rough right now, but you have a great reward for suffering for the name of Jesus in heaven. He says, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. So he says, look, you're in good company. When people hate you for the name of Jesus, remember, they hated Isaiah, they persecuted him. They hated Jeremiah, they persecuted him. They hated Daniel, they persecuted him. They hated Micah, they hated Jonah, they hated all the prophets of God. They were persecuted by the people around them.

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And yet we look at them and we realize these are great men of God. These were blessed. These men knew God. He says, blessed are you. Rejoice. Leap for joy. Woo! That was a one foot leap because my foot's broken. But otherwise I'd jump higher. But leap for joy. Be excited. Because you have great reward in heaven for suffering for the name of Jesus. That's what they did to the prophets. And so Jesus gives us these promises of blessing to be fully satisfied.

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When you came in here today, were you fully satisfied? Are you content with your life? Are you like just like overwhelmed? Like, Lord, I can't take anymore. You're just doing too much. You're doing so much. I'm just overwhelmed. Jesus promised in John chapter 10 verse 10. He said, look, I came that you may have life and life more abundantly. Are you fully satisfied? Are you experiencing life abundantly? You see, because we get confused and we think, you and I, this is how we are. We think we're

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Well, I'm not fully satisfied because, you know, things are just so tight right now. I mean, if I even just had 20 bucks a week extra, I mean, it would be so much easier. Then I would be fully satisfied.

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Then I'd be okay. Or if I got into that house, then I would be fully satisfied. I mean, then things, yeah, that's what I need. Or if I got that car, then I would be fully satisfied. If I got that new gadget, that new phone, whatever. That's me talking right there. Then I would be fully satisfied.

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You see, we think, I'm not fully satisfied because I don't have these things. Or I'm in this condition. I'm not fully satisfied because I'm weeping. Because people have turned against me. Because people have hurt me. Because this is what's going on. I'm not fully satisfied because I've had a hard life. Or I'm in a difficult situation. I'm not fully satisfied because people don't like me. And I'm not accepted. I'm not popular. This is what we think. But we're wrong. If you are not fully satisfied...

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It's because you're lacking in your relationship with Jesus. That's the bottom line. If you're not fully satisfied, it's because you lack in your relationship with Jesus. And you need to draw close to Him. And you need to love Him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. That's it. That's what you need. That's what I need. Jesus gives us these promises. The question isn't whether we have lack or whether we have need. That's a given. We all do.

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The question is, how are you trying to meet that need? How are you trying to satisfy yourself and to become fully satisfied? You can chase all those things and you'll find, as you already have, you already know this, but we still chase them anyways. You'll find, I got the house, I got the car, I got into that relationship with that guy or that girl, I got out of that difficult situation, and I'm still not satisfied. You'll find those things don't satisfy.

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Or you can believe Jesus at his word. And he said, blessed are you who are poor. Blessed are you who recognize I'm helpless and Lord, I need you. I'm helpless without you. I need you. Your salvation, your forgiveness. I can't do anything apart from you. Then you'll be fully satisfied, Jesus says. That's the promise. You want to be fully satisfied? He says, blessed are you who hunger.

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Yeah, you're craving, you're desiring the things of God. You're thirsting after. You can't get enough of God. Then you'll be blessed. Then you'll be fully satisfied when you're seeking after God. Even in your times of weeping. Yeah, life is going to have some difficulties. But you'll be fully satisfied. God will be with you every step of the way. His grace is sufficient. You'll find that to be true. And even when you're persecuted, even when people hate you, you'll be blessed, fully satisfied.

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If you're not fully satisfied, it's because you lack in your relationship with Jesus. If you want to be fully satisfied, like we saw earlier in the passage, the multitude gathered together, they sought to touch Him. That's what we need. To have that desire, that heart, to reach out, to connect with Jesus. And He heals us. He blesses us as we connect with Him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray for all those who are hearing this, God.

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Lord, that you would help us to be fully satisfied in you. Lord, that we would not look to other things in life. We would not look to the temporary things to satisfy us any longer. But Lord, that we would grasp hold of you. God, I pray that you would help us to love you with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. To walk in relationship with you and experience the abundant life that you promised to your followers. And so God, I pray that you would help us.

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It's not about something new that we've not heard, but Lord, it's about walking in the things that we have heard, that you have shown to us. And so help us, God, to live these things out, to receive these blessings that you promise, to be fully satisfied in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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