How to get justice from an unjust judge

 

“There was a judge in a certain city,” he (Jesus) said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 

A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 

The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. 

I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Luke 18:2-6 NLT

Jesus

For when you feel like giving up…


“Keep your eyes on Jesus.” 


HOW HE DID IT 


1. Forgive everyone who’s trying to ruin your life. 



(Luke 23:34) Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 


2. Help others who are experiencing your same struggle.



Luke 23:39-43) One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him.


 “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 



Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” 


3. Be sure you’ve taken care of those closest to you. 



(John 19:26-27) “Dear woman, here is your son… Here is your mother.” 


4. Realize that until you get to heaven, there are some things you will never understand. 



(Matthew 27:46) “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 



5. Be human enough to acknowledge your need. 



(John 19:28-29) Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 



6. Be assured, there is a purpose and an end. 


(John 19:30) “It is finished.” 


7. Finally, surrender your day to God and let it go. 



(Luke 23:46) “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”   

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands  

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/jesus1

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/4-1-12.pdf

Jesus is coming again

(Acts 1:9-11) “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” 


 He will come unexpectedly. 


(Matthew 24:3) “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ ” 


(Matthew 24:40-42) “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” 


 He will come to get His Church.



 (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 


 He will come to judge the earth. 


(2 Thessalonians 1:6-10) “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes…” 


SINCE HE IS COMING AGAIN… 


(2 Timothy 4:1) “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:” 



1. Reach people. 


(Jude 1:22-23) “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them.” 


2. Stay focused on eternity. 



(2 Corinthians 4:18) “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 


3. Be ready. 


(2 Peter 3:10-12) “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”


Video
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/coming-again

Discussion Guide
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/04-03-11.pdf

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands

Jesus is my Shepherd

(John 10:10-11) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd.”


(Psalm 100:3) “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” 


(1 Peter 5:2-4) “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”


(Psalm 23:1-6 NKJV) “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” 


1. The Shepherd provides.


(Philippians 4:19) “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” 



2. The Shepherd restores. 


(John 14:27) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” 


3. The Shepherd leads. 


(John 10:3-5) “The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 


4. The Shepherd supports. 


(2 Timothy 4:16-17) “No one came to my support, but everyone deserted me…but the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.” 


5. The Shepherd defends. 


(John 10:11) “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” 



6. The Shepherd blesses. 


(Hebrews 13:20-21) “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” 


OUR RESPONSE 

 Know the Shepherd. 


(John 10:14) “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”


Video
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/my-shepherd

Discussion Guide
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/03-27-11.pdf

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands

Jesus is the miracle worker

RUNNING ON EMPTY 


(John 2:1-3) “On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’” 



 We focus on feelings instead of faith. 


(2 Corinthians 5:7) “We live by faith, not by sight.” 



 We take matters into our own hands. 



(Isaiah 30:15) “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” 


 We exaggerate the negative. 



(2 Corinthians 1:20) “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.”


 THE MIRACLE WORKER 


1. Do what Jesus says to do. 



(John 2:5) “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” 


(Isaiah 55:8-9 LB) “This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours.” 


2. Focus on what God wants to do in you. 



(John 2:6) “Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.” 


(1 Peter 1:6-7) “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 



3. Believe the unbelievable. 


(John 2:8-9) “Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.” 


(Mark 10:27) Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”



4. Expect the best. 


(John 2:10) “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”


 (Ephesians 3:20) “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.


Video
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/the-miracle-worker

Discussion Guide
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/03-20-11.pdf


Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands

Jesus is the teacher

(1 Corinthians 2:1-2 Message) “You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did--Jesus crucified.” 


(John 13:15) “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” 



WHEN WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO… 


(Proverbs 14:12) “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”


 We try and fix it ourselves. 

 We look to others. 

 We learn to live with it. 

 We turn to God. 


THE TEACHER 


(Ephesians 5:1 Message) “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love.” 


(Ephesians 5:1 NCV) “You are God's children whom he loves, so try to be like him.” 



HE CAME TO SHOW US…


1. How to overcome temptation. 


(Matthew 4:11) “Then the devil left him, and the angels came and attended him.” 


2. How to face impossible situations. 



(Hebrews 11:6) “And without faith it is impossible to please Him.”


3. How to submit to God’s plan. 


(1 Peter 2:21) “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” 


4. How to show unconditional love.


 (Luke 7:47) “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Jesus did not come to earth just to die, He came to teach us how to live.


Video
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/the-teacher

Discussion Guide
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/03-13-11.pdf

Brandon Isbell, Church of the Highlands

Jesus is my best friend

(1 Corinthians 2:1-2 Message) “You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did--Jesus crucified." 


HE UNDERSTANDS


(Matthew 1:21) “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 


(Matthew 1:23) “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” --which means, “God with us.” 


(John 1:14) “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” 


(Hebrews 2:17-18 Message) “That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.”



 He understands relationships.


(Mark 6:3) “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?” 


(Mark 3:21) When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 


 He understands life. 


(Hebrews 4:15) “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.” 


 He understands pain. 


(Isaiah 53:3) “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.”


(Isaiah 53:5) “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” 


MY BEST FRIEND 


(Proverbs 18:24) “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” 


1. Make Jesus your best friend. 


(John 15:15) “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” 


2. Talk to Him. 


(Hebrews 4:16) “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” 


3. Trust Him with your life. 


(John 1:12 TLB) “But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them.” 


(Psalms 37:5 NLT) “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.


Video
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/my-best-friend-1

Discussion Guide
https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/files/groups/guides/03-06-11.pdf

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands