https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/The-First-and-the-Last.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Luke 13:22-30<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. A friend that I correspond with once asked me about Luke 13:30. He wanted to know\nwhat Jesus meant by his statement.\n A. The context shows that some of his audience realized that not everyone would be\nsaved. In fact, relatively few would be saved. – Luke 13:23\n
B. Jesus confirms this and begins explains why<\/p>\n
II. Why few are saved<\/p>\n
A. There is only one way in – Luke 13:24<\/p>\n
B. There is limited time to respond – Luke 13:25<\/p>\n
III. What you think is an advantage is not<\/p>\n
A. Who you know will not help you – Luke 13:26-27<\/p>\n 1. In business they tell you that you need a network of connections to get\nahead. But such doesn’t work in the kingdom of God.\n 2. Being in the same neighborhood or knowing the right people does not\nimply a personal conviction – Titus 1:16\n
B. Your social status is of no help – Matthew 23:1-12<\/p>\n
1. Some believe that if others think you have it made, then it must be so.<\/p>\n
2. Yet, it is God’s approval and not men’s which we must seek<\/p>\n a. The Jewish leaders would not admit to their belief in Christ – John\n12:42-43\n
b. We need the Lord’s commendations – II Corinthians 10:18<\/p>\n
c. Seek to please God – Galatians 1:10<\/p>\n
C. Personal wealth is not an aid – Matthew 19:23-30<\/p>\n
1. It is easy to think that the wealthy have all the advantages<\/p>\n 2. When Jesus pointed that wealth causes greater difficulties into entering the\nkingdom, the disciples were shocked.\n
D. Aggressive self-promotion will not get you in – Luke 14:7-14<\/p>\n 1. I can’t recall how many times I have been told, “If you want to get ahead,\nyou have to look out for yourself.”\n 2. I even had a friend in college who took aggressiveness training to enhance\nher ability to be successful.\n
3. Self-promotion will not get you anywhere with God.<\/p>\n
E. Positive self-esteem will not benefit you – Luke 18:10-14<\/p>\n
1. Tell me, did not the Pharisee have a positive self-esteem?<\/p>\n
2. Self-esteem is just another term for pride – James 4:6<\/p>\n 3. Yet, what God looks for in a person is not pride but humility – Matthew\n5:3\n
F. Youth is not an advantage – I Peter 5:5-6<\/p>\n 1. Sometimes we older people pine for our lost youth. There is so much\nenergy and potential among the young. Oh, what we could do if we were\nyoung again!\n 2. It is very easy for youth to be over proud and such pride is a hindrance to\nserving in the kingdom of God.\n
G. Past performance is not a guarantee – Matthew 21:28-31<\/p>\n 1. Of course, older people have their problems as well. It is easy to look back\nat all we have done. We pat ourselves on the back and then lean back in\nthe easy chair.\n 2. The Pharisee’s saw themselves as righteous and therefore had nothing else\nto do. \n 3. Those in sin realized their lack and their need. They were driven to find\nthe solution in Christ.\n
H. Length of service is not an assurance – Matthew 20:1-16<\/p>\n
1. Some think they are better because they have been at it longer.<\/p>\n
2. God looks at who you are, not how long you have been working.<\/p>\n
IV. The disciples did not understand this<\/p>\n A. They actively discussed who would be getting the best positions in Christ’s\nkingdom – Luke 22:24-30\n
B. Jesus responds with an example – John 13:3-17<\/p>\n
V. This is why Paul recorded – Galatians 3:26-29<\/p>\n
A. A man doesn’t have an advantage over the woman.<\/p>\n
B. Slaves are not at a disadvantage compared to their masters.<\/p>\n
C. Jews don’t have a special in road unavailable to Gentiles.<\/p>\n
D. We are all one. We all entered the church the same way.<\/p>\n 1. If you are not a member, there is no better time to join. Paul mentions we\nare made children by faith. That we have put on Christ by baptism.\n
2. If you are a member and would the prayers of your brethren, please come.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 13:22-30 I. A friend that I correspond with once asked me about Luke 13:30. He wanted to know what Jesus meant by his statement. A. The context shows that some of his audience realized that not everyone would be saved. In fact, relatively few would be saved. – Luke 13:23…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-62489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67673,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-was-zacchaeus-family-saved-with-zacchaeus\/","url_meta":{"origin":62489,"position":0},"title":"How was Zacchaeus’ family saved with Zacchaeus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Brother Hamilton, What does Luke19:1-10 mean when it says Zacchaeus' whole household was saved when he (Zacchaeus) was saved? Answer: \"And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44056,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-luke-748-50-prove-that-baptism-is-unnecessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":62489,"position":1},"title":"Does Luke 7:48-50 prove that baptism is unnecessary?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I need help with the following question: Does Luke 7:48-50 prove that we do not need to be baptized to be saved? Can you help me with an answer that shows that these verses are not inconsistent with the teaching that baptism is essential for salvation? It is being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49002,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/saved-through-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":62489,"position":2},"title":"Saved Through Water","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford Genesis 7:11-24 tells the story of the greatest cataclysm ever to overtake the earth. Because the wickedness of man was great on the earth, God sent a flood to cleanse it by destroying everything that lived on the land. In this flood, every human being died\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Noahs-Ark-300x228.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25083,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/perceptions-of-gods-word\/","url_meta":{"origin":62489,"position":3},"title":"Perceptions of God’s Word","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Malachi 3:16-4:3 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The prophet Malachi declared there would be a distinction between the wicked and righteous \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The rising day would burn the wicked like chaff, but serve as healing balm for the righteous. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The same event produces two dramatically different results. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The result did not depend on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33905,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-humble-servant-king\/","url_meta":{"origin":62489,"position":4},"title":"Jesus – Humble Servant King","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ross Ward Text: Mark 11:1-11 The king of the Jews enters Jerusalem Mark 11:7-11 - on a colt donkey Zechariah 9:9-10 - fulfilling prophecy Significance of Donkey Horse symbol of war Size Strength Speed Chariots - Zechariah 9:10 Donkey symbol of peace Jesus was not a conquering King taking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46614,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-faith-has-made-you-well\/","url_meta":{"origin":62489,"position":5},"title":"Your Faith Has Made You Well","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 18:35-43 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While looking at some of the miracles of Jesus in order to answer a question, I noticed something that I had not seen before \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If you look at the various miracles, you soon realize that faith on the part of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}