30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 18 9-14 The journey of humility 08 Identifying with the people
📖 Luke 18:9-14
16Sep2020 - *Identifying with the people* - _Luke 18:9-14_ - THE JOURNEY OF HUMILITY 8 – Bible reading: _Psalm 119:136_
In this journey of humility, we have been learning vital lessons from the Pharisee in this parable. Lessons of what should not be in us.
_Luke 18:9-12 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: (10) “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. (11) The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. (12) I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'_
The Pharisee should have been concerned and burdened for the tax collector and for sinners but he isolated himself, claiming superiority over them. The religious leaders were angry and could not understand and accept that Jesus associated with sinners. In their mind, if He was the Son of God, He should be separated from sinners. They did not understand the meaning of holiness.
Holiness is not removing ourselves from amongst the people but to be removed from sin. We are to be connected with those, who are alienated from God.
Not only are to be connected with the people around us (but separated from sin), we are to bear the sin of our people and pray, repenting and seeking God’s forgiveness on behalf of the land. The Lord is looking for such who will weep and repent for the sin of the land.
_Ezekiel 9:4 and the LORD said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it." Ezekiel 22:30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
Consider the pain of God’s heart. He sees amongst us, more of Pharisees, whose prayers are all centred on ourselves. We have not matured to be those who sigh and cry over all the sin of the land.
_Psalm 119:136 Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law._ Are we troubled by the fact that men do not keep the law?
Are we identifying ourselves with the sin that our people have committed and are we repenting as one amongst the people? _Psalm 106:6 We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, We have done wickedly._
This was how Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and Jeremiah prayed. _Daniel 9:3-5 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. (4) And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, (5) *we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled*, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
Daniel was a righteous man before God but he prayed to say, “we have sinned…”.
_Ezra 9:6-7 And I said: "O my God, *I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You*, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. (7) Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day._
Ezra was righteous before God but he took the sin of the people on himself and he was ashamed, humiliated and could not lift his head before God.
_Nehemiah 1:6-7 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. *Both my father's house and I have sinned*. (7) We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses._
Nehemiah was far away, from where the sin was committed but yet he identified himself with the sin of his people and of the land. Jeremiah took the shame and reproach of the people on himself. _Jeremiah 3:25 We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. *For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers*, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God."_
Jesus took our guilt, shame, our fear and even our death on Himself. This is the suffering, this is the cross that we must bear every day, in order to follow Him.
*Thought to ponder*
```Are you sighing and crying over the sin of the land?```