Dan Willis examines Luke 4:38-44 to argue that good deeds aren't the same as God's purpose. Jesus healed and cast out demons, but left to preach the kingdom elsewhere. Willis warns that merely doing good work misses the point if it isn't your specific calling.
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Welcome back to the Iron Saints Podcast with your host, Dan Willis.
Welcome back, Saints. It's a new day. We're going to get into Luke in just a second here. Huge shout out to all of you guys that have been listening along. It's actually been amazing to watch all the people piling in. Excited to keep going through Luke today, guys. Any comments or questions that you guys have, I do watch social daily. So if you guys have any thoughts that you want to put out, all the social media links are in the description below. Feel free to enter. Pretty much any Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, they're all there. Feel free to pop by and any thoughts that you might have, I'd love some feedback. I'd love to be able to tailor the program a little bit to you listeners. So without further ado, let's get down to it. But know that I am watching and listening for any feedback in regards to whether you like what's going on. You might want to see this added. Just let me know. All right, so yesterday in Luke we saw Jesus throwing down with a demon-infested man and how powerful the word of God could be. I love those moments when you get to see Jesus not being the kind, demure, compassionate Jesus, but instead being that, that wrath of God hammer to evil. I, I just love those moments. And, you know, the Elijah Mount Carmels, the, the, the, the thing that we saw yesterday with, with demons being pulled out of people, the, the tables being flipped over, people being driven Out of the market in the temple, and we'll get to those later. But there's just so many amazing instances of Christ having this strong backbone where he can be as soft and compassionate as he needs to be when he needs to be, but he can also be strong and tough and, and just as badass when he needs to be. So we're going to keep going today. We're going to see the other side of the healing. We're going to keep going on some of Christ's teachings and speaking today. So without further ado, let's get down to that. Luke 4, we're going to start chapter 38, finish around 44, just finish off the chapter for the day. If you guys are reading along, like I said, Luke 4:38 is where we're getting started. I'm going to be reading out loud from the ESV, though. So no matter where you're listening to this, you'll be able to hear the scripture and then we'll break it down. So, and he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now, Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she rose and began to serve them. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. Demons also came out of many, crying, you are the Son of God! But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because he— because they knew that he was the Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people that sought him and came to him and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, for I was sent for this purpose. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. So it wasn't just a one and done with the demons. He kept going into the night. He just kept healing whoever was brought his way. He healed them. If there was demons, he pulled them out. If the demons were trying to give up the show before he was ready, they were trying to tell people that, oh, this is the Christ, this is the Messiah, he He didn't let that happen because he wanted people to focus on what was happening and not on the Messiah has come, the Messiah has come. It's really, really cool to see. What I like even more here though is people keep coming to him and saying, oh no, don't leave, don't stay, there's still so much work here to do. And his response is, I need to go. I need to leave to do the thing that God is calling me to do. I have a bigger purpose than just being here. It's not that I don't recognize there's a need here, but that's not what I was sent to do. I think that this is the really important thing that we should be wrestling with as we head into the weekend here. Take a look at what you're doing. So often we can be doing something and it seems good and it seems right, and it's not that it's a bad thing necessarily, but is it the thing that God called you to do? There will always be somebody to do that job. Always, always, always. God has a plan. He has a purpose. Your purpose, your role, your design that God has for you though, nobody else can fulfill that. And if you aren't doing that, if you're not pursuing that calling, if you're not pursuing that thing that you can do, you're just missing out on this massive blessing that God has not only for you but for the people that you're meant to serve in that capacity that you're meant to serve. Take a moment today, man. Take a moment and just think. Pray. Look to the scriptures. God, what is it that I'm supposed to be doing with my days? Am I doing it? Am I serving as best as I can? Is there something that you are calling me to that I don't see? Open up your hearts. Open up your minds. Take a look around you. If already doing the calling, blessings on you. That may just be an affirmation that you are in the right place, you are doing the right thing. But if not, if you have that hesitation, if you have that small voice in the back of your head saying there might be something else, pray on it, read scripture, wrestle with that, guys. That's it for today. Have an amazing weekend, guys. I will be back Monday with another episode. We're going to pray here and then we're going to head out. Lord, I lift up the men that are listening to this podcast. I pray that this would be a blessing to them, that Listening to the word of God and really wrestling with it can help them to come to know you better, Lord, know themselves better, and to seek out the purpose that you have for us. And what are we supposed to do? What are you calling us to do? What is the thing that we are meant and equipped and built and crafted to do, Lord? I lift up all the men that are out there that are preparing their sermons for this weekend. I pray for the pastors that are overseeing their congregations. Bless them, Lord. Help them to have the revelation that they need to speak your word from the pulpit with power and authority. I pray for those that are going off to the office today that are finishing their week, that they would finish well, that they would show you in their, in their work efforts, in their ethics, in the conversations that they have, that they would be honoring and glorifying to you, Lord. I just pray that we have an amazing weekend and we can come back here and continue reading and praying and wrestling through Luke. In your name we pray. Amen. All right guys, that's it. Have an amazing week. I will be back— weekend. I will be back on Monday with the next episode. Have an amazing weekend with your friends, your family. Make sure that you hit up your congregation. And as always, guys, feel free to share this out. I am amazed with how far this is reaching all over the world, seeing listeners in Germany, in the Middle East. We're seeing Asian listeners, American listeners, Canadian listeners. I'm absolutely loving seeing how far this is going. So continue to share, continue to spread the word. Have an amazing weekend. I will catch you Monday. Later.
Thank you for listening to the Iron Saints Podcast. If you are looking to share your prayer requests, check the description for social media or email to contact the show. Blessings on you all until next time.
