Luke 17-18, Ash Wednesday, not remembered, Kingdom within us, Children understand the gospel, God Is Good, Fear God, 100 Prophecies, Noah's Ark Seen, Tithing

Luke 17-18
Ash Wednesday, The former things will not be remembered, Fear
God, The Kingdom Of God is “within us” or “in our midst,” Can
Children Understand The Gospel?, God Is Good The Little
Apocalypse, 100 Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus, Noah's Ark Seen, Fire
And Brimstone, We Ought To Pray, Fear God, Persistent Prayer,
Seventy times seven, Tithing, Tithes, Tithe, Children Came To Him
Photo by Ken Stillwell, Watch Out

Luke 17:4, Seventy Times Seven
• NAU Luke 17:4 "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and
returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him."
• Christians should absolutely be the most forgiving people on the
entire planet! We alone of all humanity should completely and
thoroughly understand the joy of being forgiven. And we should want
to give that gift to everyone. So forgive others as God has forgiven
you.
• I have often heard it said that Christians are the only ones that shoot
their wounded. This should not be!
• NAU John 8:7 …”He who is without sin among you, let him be the
first to throw a stone…
• NAU Romans 3:10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT
EVEN ONE;
• NAU Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God,
• NKJ Colossians 3:13 …forgiving one another… even as Christ forgave
you, so you also must do.

Luke 17:6
Little Faith
• NAU Luke 17:6 And
the Lord said, "If you
had faith like a
mustard seed, you
would say to this
mulberry tree, 'Be
uprooted and be
planted in the sea';
and it would obey you.

Luke 17:12, An Attitude Of Gratitude
by Michael Belcher
• “Two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an
enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming
bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it.
Terrified, the one shouted to the other, “Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for
it!” John answered, “I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life.” “But
you must!” implored his companion. “The bull is catching up to us.” “All
right,” panted John, “I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to
repeat at the table:
• ’O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.’”
• If there is one sin that most prevalent today, it is the sin of ingratitude. God
does so much for us. Our indebtedness to him is enormous and yet we rarely
or at least infrequently offer thanks for what he has done. In fact, most
professing Christians don’t even offer thanks over their meals much less offer
thanks over all that God does in their lives. We are much like the little boy
who was given an orange by a man. The boy’s mother asked, “What do you
say to the nice man?” The little boy thought and handed the orange back and
said,
• “Peel it.”
• For a child of God thankfulness is not confined to a day or a season, it is an
attitude that we should have everyday and every hour…”

Luke 17:12, An Attitude Of Gratitude
by Michael Belcher
• With the same loudness and intensity he cried for mercy, he glorified God. Many
times we cry loud for help and low with praise. But with the same zeal we sought
help we should praise him…. But by grace he was healed and he comes to worship
the one who unconditionally healed him. And he got more than the others did. They
received physical healing from a distance. But this one not only received physical
healing but he got close to God and worshipped him as Lord and received spiritual
healing. God may chose to physically heal a man from a distance but spiritual
healing comes only when we fall prostrate before the feet of Jesus Christ and
worship him as Savior and Lord. His faith did not save him but it connected him to
the one who could save him.
• Close:
There was a father and mother of a young man killed in the military in a little
church. One day they came to the pastor and told him the wanted to give a
monetary gift as a memory to our son who died in battle. The pastor said, “That’s a
wonderful gesture on your part. He asked if it was ok to tell the congregation and
they said that it was. So the next Sunday he told the congregation of the gift given in
memory of the dead son.
On the way home from church, another couple were driving down the highway
when the father said to his wife, “Why don’t we give a gift because of our son?” And
his wife said, “But our son didn’t die in any conflict! Our son is still alive!” Her
husband replied, “That’s exactly my point! That’s all the more reason we ought to
give in thanks to God.”

Luke 17:21, The Kingdom Of God is
“within us” or “in our midst”
• NAU Luke 17:21 nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There
it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
• NIV NET NAS NAU … in your midst."
• NIVO YLT NKJ KJV …within you. [looks like a KJV’ism]
• NJB CSB … among you."
• ESV … midst of you."
• Strongs, <1787> ἐντός entos
• Meaning: within, among
• Usage: inside(1), midst(1).
• Notes: Or within you, a Luk 17:23
9

NAU Luke 10:9, The kingdom of
God has come near to you.
• NKJ Luke 10:9 "And heal the sick there, and say
to them,`The kingdom of God has come near to
you.’
• NIVO NKJ … come near to you.
• YLT KJV … come nigh unto you.
10

NAU Luke 10:9, The kingdom of
God has come near to you.
• NKJ Luke 10:9 "And heal the sick there, and say to them,`The
kingdom of God has come near to you.’
• NAU Luke 9:2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of
God and to perform healing.
• NAU Matthew 10:7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The
kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
• NAU Matthew 3:1 …John the Baptist came, preaching… 2
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
• NAU Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and
say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
11

Luke 17:22-37
The Little Apocalypse
• Luke 17 is often called “the little apocalypse”
because it covers the end times scenario as a
summary of Matthew 24.
12

Luke 17:24, Like The Lightning
• NAU Luke 17:24 "For just like the lightning, when it flashes
out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the
sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.
• NAU Zechariah 9:14 Then the LORD will appear over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord
GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm
winds of the south.

Luke 17:25,
• NAU Luke 17:25 "But first He must suffer many things
and be rejected by this generation [genea].
• “<1074> γενεά genea
• Meaning: race, family, generation…”
• This is the same word as used in Matthew 24:34 to
identify who would not pass away till all prophecy is
fulfilled. Does it make more sense in this verse context
that Jesus would suffer at the hands of all the people
who lived at that time, or that he would suffer at the
hands of the Jews, the race, bloodline, family, who
would crucify him?
• Also, what did Jesus mean by "many things"?
14

Luke 17:25
Rejected By This Generation, genea
• NAU Luke 17:25 "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by
this generation [genea].
• Jesus was not rejected by everyone who lived at that time. All the apostles,
thousands of disciples, in the great multitudes of the triumphal entry did not
reject Him.
• However, the nation of Israel, through their leaders rejected Him. Exactly as
prophesied.
• NAU John 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not
receive Him.
• NAU Isaiah 53:3 …we did not esteem Him.
• NAU Psalm 22:6 …despised by the people.
• NAU Isaiah 49:7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy
One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the
Servant of rulers, "Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down,
Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen
You."
15

Rose Book of Bible
Charts, Maps And
Timelines Volume 1
• 100 Prophecies Fulfilled by
Jesus
• Prophecies more than 1200
years before Jesus birth are
highlighted in green
highlighted in yellow
highlighted in blue
16

Luke 17:26, Noah
• NAU Luke 17:26 "And just as it happened in the days of
Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
• Q.. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
• A.. Noah. He was floating his stock while everyone else
was in liquidation.
• Q.. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
• A.. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of
the Nile and drew out a
little prophet.

Luke 17:27, TODAY'S CREATION MOMENT
Was Noah's Ark Seen In 1989?
• “As they rose toward the 15,000-foot plateau on the west side of
Mount Ararat, they spotted a familiar looking dark form. It looked
almost like the drawing of Noah's Ark developed from the
descriptions provided by others who had seen what they thought
was the Ark in this area. The year was 1989.
• Chuck Aaron and Bob Garbe, both seasoned creationists,
estimated that the visible portion of the dark object was about 60
feet wide, 30 feet high, with about 225 feet of it extending out of
the ice and snow. The next morning they returned to the site and
shot more video and photographs. With a storm moving in,
working time was limited.
• The following year, other researchers returned to the site in a
helicopter. While they could not land, they were able to get much
closer to the site to get better pictures. From their vantage…

Was Noah's Ark Seen In 1989?
• point, they concluded that the object was simply an unusual
rock formation – a typical story in the search for Noah's Ark.
• It's a good thing that our faith in the truth of God's Word does
not depend on physical evidence. Many creationists feel that
even if the Ark were discovered and moved to Times Square in
New York, unbelievers would eventually concoct their own
explanation to discredit the story of God's judgment in the
Flood.
Photo: Little Ararat (left) and
Mt. Ararat (right). (PD)
http://www.creationmoments.com/radi
o/transcripts/was-noahs-ark-seen-1989

TODAY'S CREATION MOMENT
WHAT WOULD THE SIGHTING OF NOAH'S ARK MEAN?
• Notes: Photo: View of Mt. Ararat from Turkey.
• Courtesy of Henri Nissen. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)

TODAY'S CREATION MOMENT
WHAT WOULD THE SIGHTING OF NOAH'S ARK MEAN?
• In our previous program we heard how two creationists had scaled Mount Ararat
and had filmed an object projecting from the ice near the summit. That object looked
very much like Noah's Ark. The year was 1989 and other creationists at the time
could have reported with great fanfare that Noah's Ark had indeed been discovered.
• But that's not how science works. Confirmation of the discovery was necessary, and
the following year, other creationists, using a helicopter, found that the object was
simply a rock formation. Some Christians think that confirmation of Noah's Ark will
cause millions to come to Christ. However, this is unlikely to be the case. We are
reminded of the rich man in hell who asked that Lazarus be sent back from the grave
to warn his brothers about the judgment. Jesus said, "Even though the dead be
raised, still they will not believe!"There is something else: Confirmation of the Ark,
resting too high on the mountain to be explained by a local flood, would instantly
make thousands of liberal theology books good for nothing more than heating fuel.
Even liberal scholars would be forced to accept what they now consider to be
ignorant myths of a pre-scientific age. They would be forced to deal with our
message that the Word of God is true in every subject that it mentions!
• NAU Luke 16:31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the
Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Luke 17:29, Fire And Brimstone
NAU Luke
17:29 but on
the day that
Lot went out
from Sodom it
rained fire and
brimstone from
heaven and
destroyed
them all. Sparks fly from a welder’s torch in China.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JODI COBB, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The Former Things Will Not Be
Remembered
23

Luke 16:25, 17:32, The Former
Things Will Not Be Remembered
• NAU Isaiah 65:17 "For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth; And the former things will not be
remembered or come to mind.
• NKJ Isaiah 43:18 "Do not remember the former
things, Nor consider the things of old.
• NAU Jeremiah 3:16 "It shall be in those days when
you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares
the LORD, "they will no longer say, 'The ark of the
covenant of the LORD.' And it will not come to mind,
nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor
will it be made again.
24

Luke 18:1, We Ought To Pray
• NAU Luke 18:1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at
all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
• “Dear Compass,If Predestination is true, then what is the purpose
of prayer? In particular, intercessory prayer? If the outcome of the
situation being prayed for has already been determined—what is
the value of my prayer? Do prayers ever produce a result different
from what would have happened anyway? In the case of a miracle
healing, if predestination is at work, then theoretically, the
"miracle" would have occurred regardless of the prayers. Or does
predestination only refer to our salvation and no other areas of
our lives?
• ANSWER: Prayer changes things. How and under what principle
God doesn't reveal to our understanding, other than that He's God
and can do what He wants. Most likely the problem of
understanding the

Luke 18:1, We Ought To Pray
• predestination application to prayer lies in our attempt to decipher a
limitless God with limited understanding. But any way you slice it, prayers
are certainly not fruitless: For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
and His ears attend to their prayer . . . —1 Peter 3:12. . . The effective
prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. —James 5:16
• . . . the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick . . . —
James 5:15
• . . . This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer. —Mark 9:29
• Praying . . . that God may open up to us a door for the word . . . —
Colossians 4:3
• Therefore, when God instructs us to pray, we should pray.
• Devote yourselves to prayer . . . —Colossians 4:2 . . . in everything by
prayer . . . let your requests be made known to God. —Philippians 4:6 . .
. pray at all times . . . Ephesians 6:19 . . . devoted to prayer . . . —
Romans 12:12…”

Luke 18:2, Fear God
• NAU Luke 18:2 saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who
did not fear God and did not respect man.
• Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God
for nothing? 10 "Hast Thou not made a hedge about him and
his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast
blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have
increased in the land.
• Ecclesiastes 8:13 But it will not be well for the evil man and
he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does
not fear God.
• Oswald Chambers said, “The remarkable thing about fearing
God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else,
whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.”

Luke 18:5, Persistent Prayer
• NAU Luke 18:5 yet because this widow bothers me, I
will give her legal protection, otherwise by
continually coming she will wear me out.'"
• NAU Isaiah 62:7 And give Him no rest until He
establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the
earth.
• NAU 1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing;
• NAU 1 Samuel 12:23 "Moreover, as for me, far be it
from me that I should sin against the LORD by
ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the
good and right way.

Luke 18:1-8, Persistent Prayer
• The main point of the parable of the persistent
widow is that if even a corrupt judge could be
persuaded by persistence entreating. So how
much more should we cry out to the Lord with
persistent prayers?
• Might also want to pray that you don't get a harsh
judge like this one…

Luke 18:6, The Unrighteous Judge
NAU Luke 18:6
And the Lord said,
"Hear what the
unrighteous judge
said;

• Play the hymn; A Rich Young Man, Luke 18,
(Simple Living).flv
33

Luke 18:12, Ash Wednesday
• NAU Luke 18:12 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all
that I get.’
• Fasting can be an issue of religious pride.
• Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) Wednesday,
February 18, 2015
• NAU Matthew 6:17 "But you, when you fast, anoint
your head and wash your face
• gotquestions.org says, “Jesus’ command to “wash
your face” seems to conflict with the practice of
rubbing ashes on one’s face on Ash Wednesday.”
34

Luke 18:12, Tithing, Tithes, Tithe
• NAU Luke 18:12 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I
get.’
• Luke 11:42 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint
and rue …
• Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the
weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and
faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done
without neglecting the others.
• Hebrews 7:7+9 …Abraham…received tithes, paid tithes,
• These are the only NT, NASU, uses of tithing, tithes, tithe
• Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does
the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And
to walk humbly with your God?

Luke 18:16,
Children Were Brought To Him
• NAU Luke 18:16 But Jesus called for them,
saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and
do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God
belongs to such as these.
• Mark 10:13

Matthew 19:13,
Children Were Brought To Him
• Matthew 19:13 Then some children were
brought to Him so that He might lay His hands
on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked
them.

Children Came To Him
• NAU Luke 18:15 And they
were bringing even their
babies to Him so that He
would touch them, but
when the disciples saw
it, they began rebuking
them.
• NAU Matthew 19:13
…some children were
brought to Him…
• NAU Mark 10:13 And they
were bringing children
to Him…

Luke 18:17,
Can Children Understand The Gospel?
• NAU Luke 18:17 "Truly I say to you, whoever does
not receive the kingdom of God like a child will
not enter it at all.” [Mark 10:15 Matthew 18:3 Luke
18:17 1 Corinthians 14:20]
• Dwight L. Moody said, “It is a masterpiece of the
devil to make us believe that children cannot
understand religion. Would Christ have made a
child the standard of faith if He had known that
it was not capable of understanding His
words?”

Luke 18:19, God Alone Is Good
• NAU Luke 18:19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me
good? No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10:18)
• NAU 3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what
is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does
evil has not seen God.
• Psalm 5:4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in
wickedness; No evil dwells with You.
• NAU Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will
He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
• NAU Hebrews 6:18 so that by two unchangeable things in
which it is impossible for God to lie…

Solid Ground by Stand To Reason March April 2012 by Greg Koukl,
Who Says God Is Good?
• NAU Luke 18:19…No one is good except God…
• "As Scott Rae puts it, “Morality is not grounded
ultimately in God's commands, but in his
character, which then expresses itself in his
commands." In other words, whatever a good
God commands will always be good."

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF THE BIBLE
• Matthew 23:24 “Ye blind guides, which strain out a gnat, and swallow
a camel!”
• Some Christians give others the idea that Christianity is a dull and
joyless faith, and that God is stern and humorless. But God is the One
Who created humor.
• For example, did you ever hear of the Bug Bible? Published in 1551,
the Bug Bible got the name when, for some unexplainable reason,
“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night” from Psalm 91:5 was
printed as, “Thou shalt not be
afraid of any buggies by night.” Human
error was also presumably responsible
for The Wicked Bible, published in 1717.
The Wicked Bible got its name because
the word “not” was left out of one of the
Commandments, leaving the
Commandment to read, “Thou shalt
commit adultery.”

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF THE BIBLE
• One of the most amusing word plays was by Jesus Himself and
is found in Matthew 23:24. Here Jesus warns hypocrites about
straining at gnats and swallowing camels. In Aramaic, the
language Jesus spoke, the word for gnat is nearly identical to
the word for camel. The verbal humor, which is an excellent
way of teaching, produced a simple slogan that was easy for
the common man to remember: “Blind guides, who strain out a
galma, and swallow a gamla!”
• Despite occasional human printing errors, we can be sure that
the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. And despite God’s
sincere earnestness in calling us to Himself, we can also be sure
that He created humor.
• Notes: Dr. Crypton. “Mathematics in the Bible.” Science Digest, May 1985, p. 78. Photo: Close-
up of the error in The Wicked Bible.

Luke 18:20, Divorce VS Murder
Exodus 20:13 "You shall not murder.
A respectable lady went into the pharmacy, walked up to the
pharmacist, looked straight into his eyes, and said, 'I would like to
buy some cyanide.'
The pharmacist asked, 'Why in the world do you need cyanide?'
The lady replied, 'I need it to poison my husband.'
The pharmacist's eyes got big and he exclaimed, 'Lord have mercy!
I can't give you cyanide to kill your husband. That's against the law!
I'll lose my licence! They'll throw both of us in jail! All kinds of bad
things will happen. Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any
cyanide!'
The lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her
husband in bed with the pharmacist's wife.
The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, 'Well now, that's
different. You didn't tell me you had a prescription.'

Luke 18:22, All That You Possess
• Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One
thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and
distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in
heaven; and come, follow Me.“
• Martin Luther quoted as having soon, “I have held many
things in my hands, and I have lost them all, but
whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still
possess.”
• Mark 10:21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and
said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you
possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven; and come, follow Me."

Luke 18:22,
Honor God With Our Wealth
• NAU Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him,
"One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and
distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in
heaven; and come, follow Me."
• Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD from your wealth And
from the first of all your produce;

Luke 18:25, the eye of a needle
• NAU Luke 18:25 "For it is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They
who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?”
27 But He said, "The things that are impossible
with people are possible with God.”
• This is not a difficult gate to enter, it is
impossible to enter. And the context
determines that it's about eternal salvation.
Only God can save men.

Luke 18:25, Eye Of A Needle
• The Archaeological Study Bible says, “As illustrative as these theories are,
they in fact diminish the force of Jesus' words. The point is not that
salvation is difficult without God but that it is impossible without him.
Jesus contrast of the largest animal known in Palestine with the smallest
of holes created a vivid and memorable illustration. The fact that modern
day gates have been so named can most likely be attributed to the
influence of this and similar statements within the Talmud and the
Koran. In other words, the term "needle’s eye gate" most likely did not
precede the teaching; rather, the popularity of the term evidently came
about because of the teaching.… Bible readers do not do well to beware
of legendary, pseudo – archaeological interpretations, which can be
quite misleading and even distort or undermine the true meaning of a
Biblical text."

Luke 18:25, Camels
• NAU Luke 18:25 "For it is
easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of
God."

Luke 18:27, All Things Are Possible
• NAU Luke 18:27 But He said, "The things that are
impossible with people are possible with God."
• Corrie ten Boom said, “If all things are possible with
God, then all things are possible to him who believes
in Him.”
• NAU Mark 9:23, 10:27, 14:36 And He was saying,
"Abba! Father! All things are possible for You;
remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but
what You will.“

Luke 18:30, God Has Promised
• Luke 18:30 who will not receive many times as much at this time and in
the age to come, eternal life.”
• God has not promised skies always blue,
flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God has not promised sun without rain,
joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God has promised strength for the day,
rest for the labor, light for the way,
grace for the trials, help from above,
unfailing sympathy, undying love.
• Annie Johnson Flint
• 1 Corinthians 15:19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all
men most to be pitied.
• 2 Corinthians 5:4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan…
• James 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various
trials,
• 1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if
necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,

Luke 18:31, Up To Jerusalem
• NAU 1 Kings 12:28 So the king consulted, and made two golden
calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the
land of Egypt."
• NAU Ezra 1:11 …Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who
went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
• Jerusalem Inspiration
• The late, Hassidic Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach used to quip, “Did you
know that the Jerusalem is the highest city in the world?” Many were
skeptical, but he was correct, at least in the spiritual sense. The
exacting Hebrew states that “Abraham went down to Egypt…”, and
when the people return from the Babylonian exile, “the exiles
ascended”. Biblical verse teaches that no matter where a person is in
the world, their spiritual compass should always indicate the direction
of Jerusalem as “up.”

Jerusalem Daily Photo
Ilan Rosen brings us this picture of golden
Jerusalem in its evening glory.

In closing; Ambucycles
• Jerusalem Inspiration “God is the ultimate savior.
Life and death are in His hands.… Every one of us
should strive each day to imitate the ways of God.
'United Hatzalah' lives this maxim to the fullest,
rescuing lives each day in Israel. Now YOU have the
opportunity to share in Hatzalah's work, and be
part of rescuing lives as well. …your donation to
'United Hatzalah' will be put towards a gift of life
saving equipment to help strengthen Hatzalah's
abilities to imitate God and save lives.
57

THE END
• Jerusalem Daily Photo
• Ambucycles ready for action in Jerusalem.
58

• Matthew
13:31 He
presented
another
parable to
them, saying,
"The kingdom
of heaven is
like a mustard
seed, which a
man took and
sowed in his
field;

Luke 17:12, Ten Leprous Men, Ingratitude
• NAU Luke 17:12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;
• An Attitude Of Gratitude
• Michael Belcher
• Two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it. Terrified, the one shouted to the other,
“Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for it!” John answered, “I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life.” “But you must!” implored his companion. “The bull is catching up to us.” “All right,” panted John, “I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used
to repeat at the table: ’O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.’”
• If there is one sin that most prevalent today, it is the sin of ingratitude. God does so much for us. Our indebtedness to him is enormous and yet we rarely or at least infrequently offer thanks for what he has done. In fact, most professing Christians don’t even offer
thanks over their meals much less offer thanks over all that God does in their lives. We are much like the little boy who was given an orange by a man. The boy’s mother asked, “What do you say to the nice man?” The little boy thought and handed the orange
back and said, “Peel it.”
• For a child of God thankfulness is not confined to a day or a season, it is an attitude that we should have everyday and every hour.
• To magnify this point I want us to examine the account of the ten lepers in Luke’s Gospel and see some important truths concerning an attitude of gratitude.
• Message:
• I. The Position Of All!
• Look at verses 11 and 12. “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:”
• We see here the position of the lepers. Firstly,
• · They Were In An Awful Position- Luke says here they stood afar off. The disease of lepercy was a painful disease but the physical pain was not the most terrible part of the disorder. Lepers were separated. They were shut out and cast off. It seems here that these
lepers were shut out to an area away from everyone else. They were shut out from their Family. No one knows how long it had been since they had felt the touch of their wife or the kiss of their children. They were shut out from their Friends. Friends no longer
came over or invited them to go somewhere with them. They were shut out from Fellowship of the church. Notice that Jesus on his way to Jerusalem entered into a certain village and there met the lepers. The religious crowd had no room for these leprous men.
But most awful, they were shut out from the Father. Here is Jesus, the only way to the Father, and they stood afar off from him. Sinners are not near God, they are afar off. And they cannot and will not draw near on their own. Do you know what kept them at a
distance? The Law. The law shut them out. The law set forth the conduct of lepers. The law said when you pass one, pass on the other side and cry out Unclean! Unclean! Sin puts us in an awful position. And they were all in this awful position.
• · They Were In An Approachable Position- Here are these men living shut out lives. But I am grateful this morning that where the law says man cannot go, Jesus goes. What the law declares off limits, Jesus barges in. When the law passes on the other side, Jesus
makes it a point to make contact. Oh, listen, Jesus came to save sinners. He went this way on purpose because even in the awful position sin puts us in, Jesus is able to reach us and to save us. My family can’t help me, my friends can’t help me, the church can’t
help me, but Jesus can. And while we stand afar off from him, he does not stand afar off from us. When they could not get to Jesus, Jesus got to them. When they could not come to him, he came to them.
• But they were all in the same position!
• II. The Prayer Of All!
• Now look at verses 13 and 14. “And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”
• All ten utter the same prayer. Notice two things here quickly.
• · Their Observation- They saw and they sensed their need. You don’t pray and call out for help unless you feel your need. The reason sinners don’t come to Christ for salvation is that they don’t sense their need. But the loneliness and the pain of this disease were
evident to these ten lepers. They knew they needed help and there was none to be found except maybe in this one called Jesus, whom they heard healed the sick. There is no doubt they need help, so they cry out for mercy.
• · Their Obedience- Prayer without obedience is useless. Jesus tells them to go to the priest. Now the priests had no power to cure but he had the authority to declare the one cured clean. And to issue the certificate of cleanliness so that all would be sure of his
healing. But do notice that they were not healed immediately but they were healed as they went. As they obeyed the command of the Lord they were healed. So not only did all pray to Jesus but Jesus healed also all physically.
• III. The Praise Of One!
• Verses 15-19, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but
where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”
• Here is the key to the whole issue. All were in the same awful position. All prayed and all were healed. Yet only one of the ten returned to offer thanksgiving. Notice:
• · The Opportunity Of Praise- And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back. He saw a reason to praise. He saw a difference Jesus had made. He saw a change wrought by Christ. He saw an opportunity to praise God. Many see their need to pray
but don’t see their need to praise. I don’t know how it happened, we are not told here. But maybe as they walked toward the priest’s house. He began to notice his skin loosing that scaling white appearance. Or maybe they passed by some people and he
expected that they would run to the other side and yell, Unclean! Unclean! But it never came. I don’t know how he came to the conclusion but when he saw that he was healed he stopped going the one direction and made a bee-line to Jesus Christ. He had
reason to praise God. They all had reason to praise God, but only one saw it.
• · The Object Of Praise- Where are the other nine? I have no doubt that after they were declared clean by the priest they made their way to be with their family and their friends. To hug and kiss the wife and the children. To visit with Mom and Dad. To talk with
friends. Their minds were occupied on all that the blessing brought to their lives. But one. One loved his wife and children just as much as the others. One wanted to hug and kiss his wife and children just as much as the others. One wanted to spend time with his
friends just as much as the others. One wanted to enjoy the blessing just as much as the others. But one had his priorities in order. One did not get so wrapped up in the blessing that he forgot the blesser. One put family, friends and fellowship on hold so that he
could worship the one that made his being with his family and friends possible.
• Notice that with a loud voice he glorified God. With the same loudness and intensity he cried for mercy, he glorified God. Many times we cry loud for help and low with praise. But with the same zeal we sought help we should praise him. And he fell down on his
face at his feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. Oh he was not a Jew, he was not worthy of this healing. He was not worthy to receive God’s help. But by grace he was healed and he comes to worship the one who unconditionally healed him. And he
got more than the others did. They received physical healing from a distance. But this one not only received physical healing but he got close to God and worshipped him as Lord and received spiritual healing. God may chose to physically heal a man from a
distance but spiritual healing comes only when we fall prostrate before the feet of Jesus Christ and worship him as Savior and Lord. His faith did not save him but it connected him to the one who could save him.
• Close:
There was a father and mother of a young man killed in the military in a little church. One day they came to the pastor and told him the wanted to give a monetary gift as a memory to our son who died in battle. The pastor said, “That’s a wonderful gesture on
your part. He asked if it was ok to tell the congregation and they said that it was. So the next Sunday he told the congregation of the gift given in memory of the dead son.
On the way home from church, another couple were driving down the highway when the father said to his wife, “Why don’t we give a gift because of our son?” And his wife said, “But our son didn’t die in any conflict! Our son is still alive!” Her husband replied,
“That’s exactly my point! That’s all the more reason we ought to give in thanks to God.”

Solid Ground by Stand To Reason March April 2012 by Greg Koukl, Who
Says God Is Good?

• The Pharisee And The Tax Collector
• Thursday, April 17th, 2014Parables
• Q. Re: Luke 18:9-14, the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. For whatever reason, I love this scripture, but at the same time, it scares
me. I’m sure I’m to look at the very first part of the scripture for the context. But, I am thankful for so many things that could be part of my life but are
not. I’m not on drugs or alcohol, I don’t commit crimes, etc. I know this is not from my own power, I know it is the Lord. But how can I pray to express
my thankfulness for not being caught up in these lifestyles without it seeming that I’m exalting myself like the Pharisee?
• A. Here’s the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector;
• To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to
pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers,
evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
• “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
• “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who
humble themselves will be exalted.”
• As you pointed out the context of this parable is people who are confident of their own righteousness and look down on everyone else. Notice the
Pharisee appears to be thanking God, but he’s really bragging about himself. And he made no mention of the fact that regardless of his external
behavior, at heart he was still a sinner in need of forgiveness.
• There’s nothing wrong with being thankful for a good life, as long as you give the credit for everything to God, as you havedone, and recognize that
you’re still a sinner in need of forgiveness.
•
• http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/pharisee-tax-
collector/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gracethrufaith+%28GraceThruFaith%29

• The Parable of the Persistent Widow
• Saturday, April 26th, 2014Featured
• Prayer
• A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
• People ask, “If the Lord’s return is a foregone conclusion (Matt. 24:36), why is it important for me to pray for it” In this study we will answer this question, using the Parable of the Persistent Widow as our guide.
• Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town
who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
• “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out
with her coming!’ “
• And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and
quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8)
• Let’s Put This In Its Proper Context
• The background for this parable is found in Luke 17:20-37. A pharisee had asked the Lord, “When will the kingdom come?” This question established that the context for all that follows is the coming kingdom. In response
the Lord told him that he shouldn’t think of the kingdom as something he could watch for, because the kingdom is “within you.”
• When Luke wrote this, the Holy spirit prompted Him to use an interesting word for the one we translate “within” because it also means “in your midst.” In the general sense I believe Jesus was speaking of phase one of the
Kingdom, the “invisible” phase that consists of born again believers all over the world. But in the specific sense He was also speaking to the Pharisee, telling him that the personification of the kingdom was standing right
there in front of Him.
• Then He told His disciples that one day soon they would long to see one of His days (days like this one when He was with them) but would not see it (Luke 17:22). He continued with an abbreviated description of events
leading up to the time of His return. The rest of Luke 17 is sometimes called “the little apocalypse” because it speaks of end times events like it’s a summary of Matt 24.
• After that He told them the parable of the persistent widow. His point was that if even a corrupt judge could eventually be persuaded by the persistence of a widow, someone without standing or influence in their day, how
much more likely would the Lord be to respond to the persistent prayers of His people?
• It’s Not The Only Time We’ve Been Told That
• “Pray without ceasing,” Paul wrote in 1 Thes. 5:17. Good advice. Earlier the Lord had given us similar instruction.
• “Ask and it will be given to you;” He said, “Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
• “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt; 7:7-11)
• It’s funny in a way, how the Lord longs for our participation in His plan. He knows what we need before we ask (Matt. 6:8) yet He wants us to ask. He knew we were going to pray for salvation before He created the world, yet
He wants us to say the sinner’s prayer (Romans 10:17). His return is a foregone conclusion, yet He wants us to keep praying for it, and to never give up till the day it happens. It’s almost as if He’s saying our prayers could
influence the timing.
• If so, it wouldn’t be the only time. Through His disciples He told the Jews in Jerusalem that as the time for the Great Tribulation draws near, to pray that it will not begin on a Sabbath or in the winter (Matt. 24:20). Does that
mean He would alter the start date of the worst period of judgment ever to befall humanity to accommodate the needs of what will surely be a religious minority? Does prayer really have that kind of power?
• To drive home the point He began in the widow’s story, the Lord closed with a question. “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”(Luke 18:8). Though His return is certain, will there be anyone
left with the persistence to still be praying for it when He comes?
• Prayer Power
• The prayers of righteous people are powerful and effective, the Bible tells us (James 5:16), sufficient to forgive sins and heal the sick. And, if the above examples are any indication, to influence the timing of God’s plan as
well. But the lack of persistence in our prayers can indicate a lack of desire as well as a lack of faith. Do people not pray for the Lord’s return because they don’t really want Him to return yet, or because they don’t think He’s
going to, or both?
• The widow hounded the judge to a point where he thought her obnoxious, and he answered her request just to get her off his back. Jesus was telling us God rewards our persistence as well. And Paul said there’s a crown in
store for all those who long for the Lord’s coming (2 Tim. 4:18).
• Pray without ceasing. Ask and it will be given to you. Be persistent, especially when praying for His return. Let the Lord know that at least in some hearts, there’s still faith on Earth. Maybe if enough of us persist in this, we
can hasten the day of His coming. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah 04-26-14.
• http://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/parables/the-parable-of-the-persistent-widow/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gracethrufaith+%28GraceThruFaith%29

Watch What You Ask For, heart stop
•
Martha C. Kaptan tells that, “My granddaughter
overheard conversations about an occasional heart
problem—loud beating—I experienced when I
would try to sleep. One evening her father heard
her concerned prayer:
• "And Lord Jesus, please make Grandma's heart stop
so she can get some rest.”

Age Of Accountability
• Raptured Children
• Thursday, April 17th, 2014Rapture
• Q. I am searching scripture looking for something that tells me that the children under the age of accountability will also be
taken in the rapture. A friend asked me this and I told her that yes they would be removed at the rapture but could not back-up
my statement with scripture that actually spells that out.
• A. The idea that all children under the age of accountability will be taken in the rapture comes from two places. The first
is Matt. 18. Verse 3 says we have to change and become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. That
means children are the model to which all believers have to conform in order to enter the kingdom. Verse 10 says that all
children have an angel in constant contact with the Father. This leads us to conclude that all children belong to God.
• The second place is Romans 7:9. Here, Paul wrote about being alive apart from the law, but then the commandment came,
sin sprang to life and he died. Since he was still physically alive he had to be talking about spiritual death. So he was saying
that before the age of accountability, he had eternal life. But as soon as he reached the age where he became accountable for
his sins, he was scheduled for death and needed to find a way to regain eternal life.
• Put it all together and it appears that all children are born with eternal life. They belong to God and and their sins are not
counted against them. The way adults become like them so we can have eternal life is to be born again, because then we
become a child of God again (John 1:12-13) and our sins are no longer counted against us (Romans 7:18-20). This makes all
children and born again adults equally qualified for the rapture.
• . http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/raptured-
children/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gracethrufaith+%28GraceThruFaith%29

Luke 18:3, Persistent Prayer Mount Scopus
• Do not give Him silence until He establishes Jerusalem as a source of praise in the Land.
• ISAIAH (62:7)
• Jerusalem Inspiration
• Interestingly, the same Hebrew word that here means ‘silence’ ‫י‬ ִ‫מ‬ ֳ‫ד‬ / da-mee, can also
mean ‘blood.’ ‫/דם‬ dam. Commentators explain the connection in light of Ezekiel (16:6)
“by your blood you shall live.” The hidden meaning behind this verse is, “by your silence
you shall live.” In relationships, the truism “silence is golden” can protect against an
insensitive remark, and also when it comes to our relationship with God, oftentimes we
can’t comprehend His ways and become frustrated, even angry with the suffering we see
in this world. Nevertheless, we must try to emulate Aaron who loses two of his sons yet,
according to the Bible, “and Aaron was silent.” Learn more Hebrew with a free word-a-
day email.
• Jerusalem Daily Photo
• Noam Chen's photo of the Old City from Mount Scopus.
• Luke 18:3 "There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me
legal protection from my opponent.'

Are We Truly or Superficially
Thankful?
• http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?
SID=1125141559542
68

Luke 17-18, Ash Wednesday, not remembered, Kingdom within us, Children understand the gospel, God Is Good, Fear God, 100 Prophecies, Noah's Ark Seen, Tithing

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