March 3, 2024
No Worries
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
Luke 12:1 NIV
Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."
Luke 11:37-38 NIV
When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
Luke 11:39 NIV
Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness."
6 woes = "watch out!" or "danger!" – "…impending doom is ahead."
Malachi 3:2 NIV
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.
Malachi 3:3-4 NIV
"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years."
Malachi 3:5 NIV
"So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me," says the Lord Almighty.
Woe 1: Tithing and Mercy
Luke 11:40-41 NIV
You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
We clean both the inside and the outside of our cups by doing what is right in God's eyes.
Luke 11:42 NIV
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone."
Tithing - the command to give a tenth of all I produced to the temple for religious work.
God is in search of a people who have His heart rather than a checklist of religious practices!
Malachi 3:7 NIV
"Ever since the time of your ancestors, you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
Malachi 3:8 NIV
"Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings."
Tithe = 10% of my production for the religious work and workers.
Offerings = everything else I offer of my life in assistance to God and others.
Malachi 3:9 NIV
"You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me."
Malachi 3:10 NIV
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
10% with God goes further than 100% without!
Question: Is the tithe still applicable today?
Answer: It’s a great place to start!
1Corinthians 9:9-11 NIV
"For it is written in the Law of Moses: 'Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.' Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?"
1 Timothy 5:18 NIV
For Scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."
Question: Should I tithe on the gross of my production (the total amount) or on the net (what is left after several deductions)?
Answer: Do you want God to bless the total amount of your hard work or just a portion of it?
Woe 2: Reputation and Priorities
Luke 11:43 NIV
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces."
It’s hard to love the marginalized when you’re focused on the powerful.
Luke 11:45-46 NIV
One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also." Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them."
Luke 11:53-54 NIV
"When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say."
"Jesus did thunder warnings of suffering & condemnation, but primarily to those who were convinced they were healthy & in no need of Him. To the weak, diseased, hungry & sin-bound, He had another message. 'Come to me, all you who are weary & burdened...'" - Mike Yankoski, Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."