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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Carlos Moretta

You Know Enough, Part 2

Father God, you know I have no business being up here, but yet I'm here.

And I would ask that your Holy Spirit would put in my mouth the words that you want me to say and that You would take the message and personalize it for each and every listener.

I ask that You would condescend to join us now.

Turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 10, Luke chapter 10, verse 25.

25, Verse 25 says, and behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, What shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26, he said unto him, What is written in the law?

Verse 27, and he answered, saying, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul, and all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.

Now, you know, I wonder, I often wonder how often, maybe I don't often think about this, but I've thought in the past how often Michael Jordan had to deal with guys on the street coming up to him saying, I bet I can take you in a game of one-on-one.

You know, it's for the simple bragging rights of either saying that I beat him, arguably the best basketball player in the history of the NBA, or that I just got to play with him.

I mean, what a great story to tell your grandkids, right?

So here you have this lawyer who is tempting or testing Jesus.

He's looking for some one-on-one action with Christ.

Jesus answers, what is written in the law?

You know, in his parables, Jesus was known to engage the people with their particular professions.

With the Pharisees, he talked about the Word.

And now with this lawyer, he engages him with the law.

Now, answering the question with a question is something that we're pretty used to seeing in the medical center.

I'm going to spare you the term that we used this morning, but Jesus uses it here in this particular instance.

I don't want you to think that Jesus goes into hair splitting.

And I take the hair splitting thing pretty personally.

Over the past few years, I've been coming to Advent Hope, and sometimes seeing our small groups break up, and we would have these wonderful discussions.

And it was always interesting to see that brother that shoots his hands up in there and, 000, please pick me, pick me.

And then, you know, when he's given an opportunity to speak, you know, he says, well, he starts out his comment by saying, well, you're going to think I'm totally crazy about the way I see this.

But, and then he goes on to explain some, you know, just to get the corporate gasp from the group or, wow, I've never seen it that way.

You know, I would have a word of warning when our Sabbath school or our church becomes a platform for debate because sometimes this thing would go back and forth and back and forth.

If I'm right and I have biblical defense, I must also remember to be righteous and deferential and respectful.

Remember that there is something just a bit more important than having knowledge or even gaining new knowledge, and that is living what you already know.

This is much more important than convincing someone else that their point of view is wrong and yours is right.

I'm cautious of individuals who want to engage in theological discussion, chiefly because, you know, I'm more interested in the spirit with which we approach that discussion.

Remember, our church often loses members, and it has nothing to do with our theology or our doctrine.

It has to do with people who are talking the talk but not walking the walk.

Now if you ever heard me speak before, I'm painfully practical, and so, you know, I often say things that I need to hear myself, so don't take it so personal, but if you need to, take it personally.

So he squashes this entire… this question, what could be an incredible debate in public, he squashes it by saying, how read is that?

It's interesting how the lawyer asked Jesus a question about salvation, and Jesus refers him to the law.

The Bible has been shown to teach with this concept of review and enlarge.

You see it in the prophecies, you see it in Christ's parables as well, and he's using it here as well.

Reviewing in large, John 3, 16 says, you just have to believe.

Mark 16, 16 says, you got to believe and be baptized.

And so here he says, you have to follow the law, do this, and you shall live.

You see, it All happens in a time continuum.

In the moment I believe, in the next moment, I show the world that I believe through baptism.

And In the remaining moments of my life, I keep the law.

I'm saved by loving the Lord with all my heart, with all my soul and all my strength and all my mind, and my neighbor as myself.

How people nail the law to the crosses and make it irrelevant, you know, for us today is just beside me.

I mean, the lawyer asked this question, and Christ made it painfully obvious.

Christ said, thou hast read well, now go and do.

Sometimes I believe the gospel is so simple.

In other words, Christ wanted to say, young man, you know the law, I know the law.

Why don't you go and live the law and let's stop talking so much.

It seems as though there comes a time to stop talking and start doing.

I mean, anyone who's talking more than their share?

You know, Christ had a brief warning for lawyers in his day.

In the very next chapter of the text that we're reading in Luke chapter 11.

You can turn there, just 1 page, verse 52.

And it says like this, Woe unto you lawyers, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge.

Ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering, you have hindered." Notice what Christ says that the lawyers are doing.

They had taken away the key of knowledge of the people.

They had the education, they had the key to knowledge, but they didn't enter themselves, and they didn't let anyone else enter.

And Those who wanted to enter, they forbade.

In Spanish, there's a saying that goes a little like this, no come, ni deja comer.

It means he has food, he doesn't eat, but he doesn't let others eat either.

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You Know Enough, Part 2

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