Luke 10:13-16

Luke chapter 10, verses 13 to 16 for our text and study this morning. Woe unto thee, Corazon, woe unto thee the Seda. For if the mighty works had been done in Tyrant Sidon, which had been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sack cloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Cydden at the judgment than for you. Thou Copernium, which art exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell. He that heareth you, heareth me, and he that despiseth you, despiseth me. and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. May God bless to us his holy and sacred word this morning. One of the ancient Greek cities, there was a statue, a statue of a man that had wings, a lock of hair on his forehead, but he was totally bald on the back of his head. Underneath, jizzled out in Greek letters, were these questions and answers. Who made thee? Lysipius made me. What is thy name? My name is opportunity. Why hast thou wings? that I might fly swiftly over the earth. Why hast thou I forlock that men may seize me as I come? Why art thou bald on the back of my head? Because when I am gone, none can lay hold of me. And the lesson, of course, is that opportunity must be seized, or you lose out as soon as it passes. In this passage, Jesus has sent out the 70 men that preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and healed the sick prior to Christ arrival. He was going to follow up, and they went out first. Now, in some places, the gospel message we found was received. In other places, the gospel message was rejected. Our day today, speaks about our text today speaks about opportunity lost by various cities to embrace the gospel and the serious consequences of failing to embrace the gospel and rejection of Christ. Obviously, this is not just ancient history, but we find that it would apply to today just as vividly as this text does for Christ’s day. I want to talk about your guilt of wasting spiritual opportunities. In verses 13 to 15, this is the point that seems to be made. Now let me say this. Some enjoy greater opportunities when it comes to spiritual things. than others. The cities of Corson, Besseda, and Copernium, all bordered, you recall, on the Mediterranean Sea. And this was sort of the hub of where Christ’s ministry took place. He went to other places, but he often was in this area. And in these cities, preaching the gospel. He frequently was there. And he preached the gospel. for many of his miraculous healings in this particular region. The Gentile cities of Tyran Sidon, you recall, were bordering way far away at a distance along the Mediterranean Sea. And of course, there was ancient Sod that once was at the bottom, if you would, the southern end of the Dead Sea. they were not given this kind of privilege. They were far away from Christ’s ministry, or they knew nothing of Christ’s ministry. Christ never preached to them. They didn’t see one miracle that Christ performed. Now, as we look at this, we begin to realize that Christ here, and the Scripture certainly teaches us here, this truth, he’s teaching us that God is free to send the gospel wherever he pleases. He withholds it from some areas. He gives it an abundance to others. Now, God has his own wise reasons why he didn’t send the gospel to Tyran, or even the ancient Sodom. The Lord sovereignly controls the spread and the results of the gospel whenever it is preached. In Amos, God declares that he caused it to rain on one city and we withheld rain from another. It is true also with regard to the gospel, which Isaiah tells us that his word is like rain. God’s word is like rain. And it shall accomplish. that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing wherein I sent it. And so God sends the rain on some cities. He sends the gospel to some cities. He withholds it from others. He withholds the gospel from others. So God sends the gospel to one city and brings that people to repentance and withholds it from another and that people perish. At one point, you recall, that Paul wanted to go further into Asia and preach the gospel. But the scripture says in Acts 166, they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost that preached the word in Asia. It couldn’t go any further. And so God turned them, Paul and Silas, into Macedonia and Greece, Europe, if you would. I should say Paul and Barnabas. instead. And so the gospel goes that direction instead of the other direction. Now, friends, you and I have for many years been privileged to live in a country where the gospel is preached. So you’ve had many opportunities for many years to hear the gospel is preached. So you’ve had many years. of Christ being proclaimed. There are people in many lands that have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. They do not have the word of God in their own language. And so the message of salvation that’s provided in Jesus Christ is something they know nothing about. The darkness of ignorance has settled upon that land. Faith comes by hearing. and hearing by the word of God, but how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall someone preach unless they are sent by God? And yet God has not sent them a preacher. And therefore they have not heard the word of God. Can you not appreciate that? The great spiritual advantage that you have had to sit under the Word of God year after God? year be taught through book after book of scripture and the Bible and hear about Christ from the Old Testament and the new. The clear message of the gospel. You’ve been privileged to have it. Don’t take that privilege lightly. God can withdraw it and send a famine of the word where the word is no longer available to feed the soul and people die. Some enjoy greater spiritual privileges than others. There’s no question about that. Notice also, your response to these great spiritual privileges should be mourning and repentance. Beware of stubbornly rejecting the spiritual life that you enjoy. Corazin, Bessadon, Copernian, should have repented in sackcloth and ashes at the preaching of Christ. What an indication here of the exceeding hardness and unbelief of the human heart that you could have the Son of God preach in your midst. You could have him perform great miracles and yet remain so hardened that you would not repent of your sins. My friends, it’s a fearful thing to see man’s natural inclination to resist the outward call of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To ignore it, to ridicule it, to adamantly oppose it is a very common thing. In Pilgrim’s progress, right after he has come to the cross up on that hill, and the burden on his back has fallen off and rolled down the hill and into the grave and disappeared. And he’s jumping for joy and excited because he’s been brought to salvation. He runs across three men. And their names are simple, sloth, and presumption. And he sees the sad situation that they are in. Because these three men were fast, to sleep and they had fetters upon their heels. They had shackles like a prisoner would wear. And he tries to wake them up. And he offers to help them to get their shackles off. He says, you are like them that sleep on the top of a mask for the dead sea is under you and a gulf that hath no bottom. You don’t even realize the danger you’re in. You’re like way up there on the top mask on a sailing ship. On a sailing ship. You can fall off. You can be killed any moment. And you’re not even aware of it. He says, Awake, therefore, come away. Be willing. And I will help you off with your irons. He that goeth about as a roaring lion, meaning Satan, on the prow for souls, comes by. You will certainly become a prey to his teeth. He’ll eat you up. He’s frightened. He’s saying, you guys got to get out of this situation you’re in. This is bad. This is terrible. Now, you would think these three men would be thankful, Mr. Christian, for trying to help them. That they would be eager to be released from their shackles so they would no longer be prisoners. But alas, they’re completely indifferent. And they see no need. And Simple says, I see no danger. I don’t see any problem. So I says, yeah, I need a little more sleep. Don’t wake me up. Don’t be bothering me with this. And presumption says, well, every vet must stand on his own bottom. It may be good for you, but for us, we don’t need that. We don’t need this gospel stuff. We don’t need salvation. And Mr. Christian is troubled that men in such soul danger would so little esteem his kindness and trying to help them. Beware stubbornly rejecting the spiritual light you enjoy because there are people who are like this when you try to help them. By giving them the gospel, they see no need. They’re just like these three men. Others, if so privilege, would have repented long ago. Look at verse 13. He says this, whoa under the Corrism. Whoa under the Chorazin. woe unto you, bestsaida, for if the mighty works which had been done in, if the mighty works had been done in Tyrant Sight, which had been done in you, they had a great while ago repented in sackcloth and ashes. Christ didn’t preach, nor did he do any miracles in Tyran Satan. So they didn’t hear the gospel. They didn’t see the deaf here. They didn’t see the blind be given sight. They didn’t the lame walking. They didn’t see the demon possessed, freed. None of that. These were Gentile cities. Christ wasn’t sent to them. He was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It’s clear, though, as we look at this, that the Lord knows exactly what would have happened if the gospel had been preached and these miracles have been done there. The city would have been brought to repentance. Now think about that. He knows exactly how this would have played out. Do you remember the story of David? When he and his men, when they were running away from Saul trying to keep from him in his army, that there was a city of Kila, was attacked by foreigners. I think the Philistines at the time. And David says, well, should we go on and rescue them? The Lord says, go. You shall rescue them. So he goes down. and he beats off the enemy and saves the city from the Philistines. Then David prays. He says, Saul seek it to come to Kila to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Kila deliver me up to him? What are they going to do? If I stay in the city, what are they going to do? And God says they’ll deliver you up. God knows all the contingencies that could possibly happen. If Christ had gone to Tyrant Sidon, if he had preached the same doctrine, if he had done the same miracles, they would have repented deeply long ago in sackcloth and ashes, he says. sackcloth is the coarsest clothing you could possibly put on. And ashes on their heads would be a token of humiliations. and self-abhorrence, a sign of true repentance. What do we see here? It was not God’s purpose to bring salvation to Tyre and Sidon at this time. Nor was it his purpose to save Sodom years ago. Think about that in a minute. You remember how Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel that Russell read for the call to worship, or the Y, scripture reading this morning. How Jesus prays and thanks to the Lord that he’s hidden. He’s revealed it the bays, but he’s hidden it from the wise and the provenment. And he thanks God for doing that. And here’s what we see in this text. It is not God’s purpose to bring salvation to everyone. Can you not see that? If God desire to save everyone, he could have easily accomplished it by sending the gospel to Tyrant Satan. He didn’t send us to heaven. them the gospel. A clear indication then that God does not desire the salvation of all men, despite what is commonly taught in popular religious circles. This passage is devastating to such teaching. The Bible plainly teaches in the clearest terms the absolute sovereignty of God when it comes to salvation and granting it to people. Now you live in a day and age when it is taught that man controls when and where and how he will be saved by his own free will. Scripture declares that God determines every person’s eternal destiny according to his own goodwill and pleasure. Therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will, he hardness. God’s unconditional election determines who will be saved and who will not. as many as were ordained to eternal life believed we read in Acts chapter 13 and verse 48 and no one else. You ponder carefully verse 13 tonight or this morning and you will come to the obvious conclusion the Lord could easily have saved Tyrant Sidon but withheld the means necessary to bring it to pass because it was not his will. So your response to these great spiritual privileges should be. mourning and repentance. But the truth of the matter is no one can repent without God’s sovereign grace dealing with their hearts, bringing to them to repentance, giving them the gift of repentance as the book of Acts talks about. We see also here, your eternal punishment will be greater for wasting this spiritual privilege you have received. Now notice verses 13 to 15. woe unto you Corzine, woe unto you Bitheta, or if the mighty works had been done in Tyrancyden which had been done in you, they had a great while ago repented sitting in sackcloth and ashes, but it shall be more tolerable for Tyrancine at the judgment than for you, and thou Copernian which art exalted to heaven shall be thrust down to hell. Christ pronounces a woe here against Corzine. and to Seda. That is a fearsome word. That’s a word that speaks of the certainty of divine wrath falling. You remember the book of Revelation? Whoa, whoa, whoa on the inhabitants of the earth. You know, there were as a triple woe with all the judgments that were going to fall. The pouring out of the most awesome judgments. have the word, whoa, associated with them. It had been better for these people. If they had not known the way of righteousness, then after having known it, to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered under them 2. Peter 2.21. Copernium was often the hub of Christ’s evangelistic ministry. He was often at Copernia. And so, in a sense, it’s exalted to heaven. it had the highest place of them all. It was given the highest, most spiritual privileges of all, and yet it squandered them and did not repent. Therefore, it shall receive a heavier punishment. You shall be thrust down to hell. To perish under these circumstances means dying and unbelief in suffering the endless anguish of hell far. scripture speaks of the joy of the hypocrite, the false religious professor in this manner in Job 20 verses 6 and 7. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens and his head reach under the clouds, yet he shall perish forever. He’ll be thrust down. The bottom line is this. In the day of judgment, it shall be more tolerable for tar and sidon than for you. While all the inhabitants of these cities are hellbound, both the Gentile ones and the Jewish ones, the torment for Tyran Sidon, but will be less severe than for the people of Korr’s and the Satan. I like to think of it this way. Do you remember how Nebuchadnezzar and his anger with the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedigo, because they wouldn’t bow down to his idol? He heated his furnace seven times hotter before he threw them, had him thrown in. Hell, if I can put it this way, was going to be heated seven times hotter for those who had all these great spiritual privileges and yet rejected it compared to those who, did not have it. They were in the darkness of ignorance. Friends, you and I are going to be judged on the last day by the Lord Jesus Christ, the very person whose gospel is being rejected. And from those who enjoy the great spiritual privileges and squandered them, much more will be required. Those who repeatedly hear the gospel and remain unrepentent and unbelieving receive a stricter, a more severe punishment than others. So what am I saying this morning? I’m saying, don’t sit there and do nothing when you hear the gospel. Today is the day of salvation. You’re not promised tomorrow. When you hear the gospel, it’s time to repent. It’s time to make it. things right with the Lord. There’s an interesting passage in Pilgrim’s Progress, concerns a man named ignorance after Christian and hopeful have reached the celestial city and they’re taken in. They see this guy ignorance who comes to the river of death and he has someone ferry him across Mr. Vainhope, who is a ferry him. So he didn’t have to go through the mainst, struggle, you know, death, supposedly. He got through easily where a Christian and hopeful had to struggle through the waters to get to the other side. And he says, I saw this man did ascend the hill up to the gate here, the gate of the celestial city. Only he came alone. Neither did any man meet him with the least encouragement. When he was come up to the gate, he looked upon the writing that was above it and began to knock supposing that entrance should have quickly been administered to him. But he was asked by the men who looked over the top of the gate, whence came you? And what would you have? And he answered, and listen to this carefully. I have ate and drank in the presence of the king and he has taught in our streets. That’s all he had to say. I was privileged. I heard him. I ate and drank with him. I heard him. I heard him teach. Then they asked him for his certificate, certificate regarding his salvation, that they may go in and show it to the king. So he fumbled in his bosom for one and found none. Then they said, have you none? The man answered never were. So they told the king. But he would not come down to see him. But commanded the two shining ones that conducted Christian and hopeful into the city, to go out, take ignorance, and bind him hand and foot, and have him away. And they took him up and carried him through the air to the door that I saw on the side of the hill and put him in there. Then I saw that there was a way to hell, even from the gates of heaven, as well as from the city of destruction. So awoke, it was a dream. You may be exalted to the gates of heaven and still be cast down to hell. Being in a biblical congregation, where you hear the Word of God taught week after week and enjoy the sound preaching, the edifying spiritual conversation, it’s like being at the gate of heaven. It’s the closest thing we’re going to get to being in heaven on this earth, but to perish after such an experience. To have that experience and still perish. Wow said. that would be to be thrust down to hell. Don’t let that be you. Don’t let that be you. So your guilt of wasting spiritual privileges. Notice here, the second point here that I want to make and briefly, your guilt of mistreating Christ’s ministers. Verse 16. He that heareth you, heareth me. He that despiseth you, despiseth me, and he that despiseth me, and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me. You are to regard Christ’s ministers then here as the faithful minister as Christ’s ministers. What is said here of the 70 is significant because they weren’t apostles. They were just preachers. And so we make very direct application that when we reject a gospel preacher, we’re rejecting the message then of Christ. Faithful ministers in every age are to be regarded as Christ Christ ambassadors then. As long as they preach the genuine gospel, they’re worthy of honor and respect for the master’s sake. There is probably no stronger language in the New Testament about the dignity here of the minister’s office than we find in this text. He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully what is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord. The false prophets give you the chaff. God’s people give you the wheat. We should appreciate that. And as long as the minister declares Christ’s true word is to be respected. Now, how you treat Christ’s messengers demonstrate your feelings toward Christ. Since the son is sent by God the Father, they that honor Christ honor God the Father. Since ministers are set by Christ, those who honor the ministers, honor Christ. Now, if you fail to respect Christ’s ministers, then you fail to respect Christ, which also mean you fail to respect the Father who sent Christ. So if you reject the gospel, proclaimed by Christ’s messengers, you are rejecting the word of Christ. When Hanan, the king of Amnon, abused and mistreated David’s ambassadors, it was a serious mistake that he made. David had sent messengers in order to comfort Hainan because his father had died, the previous king. But Hainan treated them as spies and horribly mistreated them. And he shaved off half their beards and left them with half a beard on one side and none on the other. And cut off the garment in the middle so even their buttocks would be shown and sent them away terribly ashamed and humiliated. The insult was very resented by David because he took it as a personal insult to him when they did this to his messengers and this is what Christ is saying with regard to his messengers. There are always two extremes to avoid. The first extreme we have to avoid is the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church which has a superstitious reverence for those who are priests as if they are some kind of mediator between God and man. That’s wrong. But on the other hand, the common action here of despising the minister and treating it with contempt is also wrong. So we must be careful in both regards. Remember the scriptural warning. Touch not mine an anointed and do my prophets, no harm. Psalm 105, verse 15. That statue in ancient Greece portrayed opportunity as a purpose of person with wings that’ll lock a hair in the front and he’s bald in the back. You’ve got to grab him as he’s coming by or you’re not going to get it. My friends, our text relates your guilt in wasting spiritual privileges and it results in greater eternal damnation. And also your guilt in mistreating Christ’s ministries. It reveals a disrespect for Christ and also for his fault. May God’s blessing rest upon us as we consider his word this morning. Let’s have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to hear this word even as frightening in some ways as it is and how mindful we are of the privilege to hear the gospel that we have. We pray, Lord, that we may not waste those opportunities but enjoy them and and gain benefit from them spiritually. Bless this is your people, Father. Help us in our labors to give out the gospel of Christ. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray and ask these things. Amen. Now this morning, as we’re going to have the Lord’s supper, as you know, I’ve been going through the book of Song of Solomon and I direct your attention there briefly for one verse of scripture in chapter two. We have come to verse 3. And so I want to look at verses 1 to 3 here, but our focus will be on verse 3 briefly this morning. We’ve done this over a year ago. I did this separately, but I revisited it, rewrote it, and decided to keep the continuity going. It would be good to just revisit this again. Jesus says here, I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorn, so is my love among the daughters. And then, verse 3, as the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. Now, Christ has commended his church, and she, conscious of her own spiritual unworthiness of such praise, is moved to speak here of Christ’s excellence and his preciousness. Whatever the bride finds in herself of value, she knows it’s a result of God’s goodness and grace to her. So the church here bursts with praise for her. for her Lord and Savior. Let me begin by saying you should appreciate the specialness of Christ. He is an apple tree among the trees of the wood. Now, just as the church is special among the sons of daughter, the, uh, excuse me, the daughters of men, because she’s the bride of Christ. It bears his image. Christ is special among the sons of men. Because he’s the of God, and he is the Savior of his people. Christ has looked upon here in his office as mediator. He’s looked upon in his offices among the people of God, or among human beings. He’s God manifested in the flesh, peering in the likeness of sinful men but without sin. Now, among all the sons of men, there’s no one like Jesus Christ. It’s like finding an apple tree in the midst of a forest. of wild and barren trees. Thou art fair than the children of men. Psalm 452. My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among 10,000. Song here, 510. We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth, John 1.14. There are many trees in the forest. They all have their uses. But when you’re hungry, and you’re faint, and and you’re thirsty. There’s only one that’s going to satisfy you. You need the apple tree. Jesus Christ alone provides the needs of men. Neither is there salvation in any other. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. X 412. Now, friends, you can’t easily find an apple tree in the midst of a huge forest. Even if you were told there’s one there, it’d be difficult to find. The fact is none ever find this apple tree except they’re led to the tree by the Spirit of Christ himself. Draw me and we will run after the chapter 1 and verse 4 of the song. So we see you should appreciate the specialness of Christ. Secondly, you should appreciate the shadow provided by Jesus Christ. Now picture this. The sun is hot. But shade was found under the branches of this apple tree. You remember how the sun beat down on Jonas’ forehead and he was so glad when that gourd came up and gave him a little shelter he could get a little shade. This is what we have. She’s darkened by the sun, she tells us in chapter 1 and verse 6. But here she finds shade. Now friends, we are exposed to the full wrath of God’s judgment as sinners. Christ provides shade for his people. In other words, the Lord is thy shade, Psalm 121, verse 5, a shadow from the heat, Isaiah 254. The apple tree receives the heat, and so you escape it by just being under it. So God’s wrath can’t fall on you, because it falls on Christ in your behalf. I sat under his shadow. Well, my friends, that’s the place to remain where you’re protected from God’s wrath and the heat. This is a wonderful thing. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty Psalm 91-1. You as a believer, take great, the light in the shade of Christ. You find salvation, you find security, you find self-satisfaction in such a wonderful Savior. Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Psalm 37 and verse 4. So you should appreciate the shadow provided by Christ. And then thirdly, lastly, and briefly, you should appreciate the sweetness of Jesus Christ. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him, Psalm 348. There are many sweet and excellent fruits associated with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that benefit the believer. You reach out by faith and you partake of Christ’s sweet apples. The salvation he grants, the peace, the reconciliation with God, the justification, the sanctification, the pardon of sin, the adoption, the access to God, and on and on we could go because all those things are sweet to us. Let me close by saying this. When we come to the Lord’s table, let us remember all these things about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Is he not special? Is he not precious? Fellowship with Christ? sit under his shade. Let’s remember what he’s provided for us. Let us enjoy all the fruit that comes from him. I always ask that you have examined your own heart. You’ve first spoken to the elders of the church, in this case the elder of the church, before partaking of the Lord’s supper with us. But I hope that you’ve prepared your heart, that there’s no sin in your heart that you haven’t confirmed. as we come now to the table of the Lord. At this time, I will have Mark to come as we prepare to take of the Lord’s supper. Let’s have…