A woman loosed, a sinner saved

Let's turn for a reading to the Gospel of Luke, please. Chapter 13. Luke's Gospel and Chapter 13.

We thank you all for coming tonight to the gospel meeting and trust the Lord will bless this word to our hearts. Luke chapter 13, and we'll read from verse number 6. And he, the Lord Jesus, spake this parable, a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.

Cut it down, why comberth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also till I shall dig about it and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well, and if not, then after that, thou shalt cut it down. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years and was bowed together and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said unto her, woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.

And we have the ruler of the synagogue objecting to that which was done on the Sabbath day, verse fifteen. The Lord then answered him and said, thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. The Lord will bless to us the reading from his word further tonight.

Now, one thing to keep in mind when we come to the gospel of Luke is that context is always very important in the gospel of Luke. And so it is for the story, this miracle of healing that we have read about tonight regarding this woman who was made whole straight by the Lord Jesus. So we want to consider, first of all, Dr. Luke's account in terms of the background that he provides to this miracle that took place.

Then I want you to notice regarding the woman, her diagnosis. It says that she was bound by Satan. She was bound over and she could not in any way straighten out.

She couldn't stand up straight. She was bent over, likely something wrong with her spine or whatever. But we have a diagnosis, a description of her physical condition is given.

We see the Lord Jesus and his interest in her. We want to notice his design is that she would be blessed and that she would be delivered and it would all be for her betterment, for her blessing. And you know, he has an interest in you tonight in the meeting and his design for you is that you would be blessed with the greatest of all blessings, the blessing of God's salvation.

So we're glad you're here tonight and we trust that God will bless his word to our hearts. We find that in the Gospel of Luke from chapter 9 there is a change that takes place. It comes in at verse number 51.

You'll read something like this, and when it came to pass that the time has come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. And from that point on in Luke's Gospel from chapter 9, 51 right through to chapter 19, he's on that journey. He's on his way up to Jerusalem and he's going up to Jerusalem to die.

So on that journey we find him moving through the villages, the towns of Samaria and through Judea, until eventually he's going to come to the city of Jerusalem. On his way, as he is teaching, we find this parable that he gives to the people regarding the fig tree, the fig tree parable. We read it here at the beginning of the chapter.

And in the parable there's a man who comes looking for fruit off of a fig tree. And this fig tree is in a very peculiar position. It's actually found in a vineyard, in a place where you would normally find vines and in a place where those plants, those vine plants, would be given a lot of attention by the vine dresser.

We have a vine actually at home and one thing about it is if you want a crop of grapes the year before, you must make sure and have that vine pruned and take care of it, look after it, take off the extra growth that's not needed so that the vine produces fruit. So in a vineyard the plants would be given careful attention and that's where the fig tree was found. All right, so a man comes looking for fruit.

First year he finds none. Second year he finds none. Third year he finds none.

Three years and there's no fruit. Why do you suppose in the parable, why do you suppose the Lord selected three years? Why did he not go to four? Why did he not go to five? Why did he not stop at two? Why three years? Bear in mind that for the interpretation the Lord is nearing the end of his earthly ministry. How long was that? That's right, about three and a half years total.

So now you get it. There's a clue that will help us. For three years the Lord Jesus has been moving amongst the people of Israel.

He's been looking for fruit, the fruit of repentance, the fruit of them receiving him as their Messiah and he has found none. Now let me just pause for a moment. How many years have you been hearing the gospel? How many years has the Lord in grace been speaking to your heart and up until this moment has he found that fruit, that fruit of repentance? Has he found that sincere trust in him as the savior of a soul like you? Has he found that or are you like this fruitless fig tree? You notice that the word then was cut it down.

Why cumbers it the ground? Why is it taking up space in my vineyard? Cut it down. We never know the moment when we'll be removed from time to eternity do we? For this fig tree the time of opportunity for producing fruit was coming to an end. For the nation of Israel back in the day when the Lord Jesus was moving amongst them the time for that nation to receive him as their Messiah was fast running out.

It was coming to an end and in that sense it was about to be cut down. There's a plea made by the dresser of the vines that the tree would be spared and give an extra opportunity to produce fruit and then after that thou shall cut it down. I don't know tonight but in this meeting it could be.

I'm speaking to someone and you're living on borrowed time. We don't know but heaven knows. And written over your life there could be this cut it down.

Why cumbers it the ground? And the day of your opportunity to receive Christ as your savior would be gone forever. I do know this as we look around us in the world and we see the gathering darkness and we see the things that even will take place after the Lord comes. We see it falling into place.

We know this that written over the day of opportunity when the gospel will go out we call it the day of grace. Written over that is this cut it down. Your day of opportunity is fast running out the Lord is coming.

Isn't it about time you get down to business with God? We've been hearing tonight of our brothers that have been telling us how God was dealing with them. How it came to that crisis that moment when their sin and the awfulness of meeting God and hell before them and they would be getting what they deserve if they died in their sin till they found rest and they found peace and trusting Christ as their savior. You had a moment like that in life in reality now come on or are you still living on borrowed time with very limited opportunity.

Let's come and take a look at this woman because the Lord Jesus told that parable just before he dealt with her case. Now Dr. Luke who was a physician himself he's careful to bring before us the great physician's ability to perform healing miracles. In fact in the gospel of Luke you'll find more records of healing miracles taking place than you do in Matthew and Mark both combined.

Interesting. Dr. Luke is recording the healing miracles of the Lord Jesus and so he's very careful to tell us exactly what the problem was here. He carefully notes the condition of this dear woman.

He says that she was bowed together bowed together. Now I don't know what the medical term would that would be for that curvature of the spine or or whatever but at any rate it seems that she was all bowed over and she she couldn't straighten out there was something wrong with her her back or her frame in some way that she couldn't straighten up. She was all bowed over so that her face was pointing toward the ground and it was a very pitiful condition in which she was found her gaze was entirely earthward.

There she was for a woman probably poked that and made fun of and so on but her condition there is physically described. But that's not all of her diagnosis is it? You notice before we finished reading the Lord Jesus himself he makes this comment concerning the woman. He says whom satan hath bound lo these 18 years.

So there was the work of the enemy behind it and this woman's problem was primarily spiritual whom satan had found and it manifested itself in this physical condition in which she was found. You know tonight in the meeting I don't know about your life um what difficulties you face in life what problems you have in life how your outlook in life appears to you tonight whether your soul is happy or you're walking around in in pure misery but I do know this that if you're not saved if you're just as you were born your problem before God is a spiritual problem. That's the core of the problem it's a spiritual problem.

The source of that problem we will have to go back to the book of Genesis and way back to those early chapters in our bible and there we read about how God made man and put him in the garden of eden and you remember that in that garden Adam was given dominion and he could rule actually his dominion was planet earth he had the whole world to rule he was the only man around and God gave it to him as his dominion. He was actually a king like a king ruling and furthermore he was able to have fellowship and friendship with God and in the majesty of his innocence he moved in fellowship with God straight and tall he walked in the garden of eden able to commune with God and have fellowship with the God who made him walking straight and tall but then there came that day when he disobeyed God when he disobeyed God he rebelled against God and when he rebelled against God he sinned against God and when he sinned against God he became a sinner and Adam became infected with this thing called sin from then on the human race has been infected by that same thing and as a result Adam and mankind have been moving around all occupied with earth the sweat of his brow he will eat bread all the days of his life and in a deeper sense that is what occupies people's attention even to tonight and their head is where their feet should be and we find that their feet are kicking against heaven and rebellion and everything else is twisted out of place and man has become something of a spiritual monster not able to commune with God anymore but all occupied with life with earth isn't that right isn't that north america tonight how does the bible describe it listen to it whose end is destruction whose God is their belly satisfying their own cravings whose God is their belly whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things and says paul they are the enemies of the cross of christ and their end is destruction what is it that occupies your life your time from day to day in your life is it the things of God the things of christ the things of the bible the things that point us forward to heaven and home is that what occupies or is it all taken up with earthly thing the man in luke chapter 12 who was all occupied with earth and had no thought toward god says the lord jesus thou fool this night thy soul shall be required of thee a fool all kinds of things can occupy our time might be business might be a relationship might be sports might be work schedules might be the pressure of living and some of these things are legitimate and so on but if it's excluding god and it's at the expense of your eternal well-being then you're making a drastic mistake by continuing on on that course in your sin just like this woman you've got a problem her gaze was entirely earthward you'll notice in verse 16 it says whom satan hath bowed low these 18 years that spiritual problem it was the result of the nefarious activity of the of the enemy of souls of satan himself the arch enemy of men and of god the one who is on your track to you know he's a real expert at saying to it that men and women boys and girls lose their soul for all eternity he's an expert at it he's been at it for a long time and he knows just what it would take he knows just the right carrot the right color of carrot to dangle in front of your nose he knows just what appeals to you and he'll see to it that this world supplies the lure that carries you on through life until your life is at an end and then over the edge you'll go to drop into that place where people go to die in their sins says the lord jesus where i am you cannot come the bible calls that place heaven if our gospel is hid it is hid to them that are lost if the gospel test your own heart tonight i challenge you to test your own heart in this meeting if the gospel has no appeal to your heart if our gospel is to you hid it is hid to them that are lost the god of this world satan of whom we're speaking the god of this world has blinded the minds he's pulled the blinds down on them that believe not lest the light of the gospel of the glory of christ would shine in on to them we'll be saved we have the enemy in his activity but i noticed the lord jesus interest in this woman too um he alone really is fully qualified to to diagnose her condition and to meet her need isn't he the great physician he's got tremendous qualifications he's the son of god from heaven he's the one that made all things he is the creator of the ends of the earth from everlasting to everlasting he is god and here he is moving on earth a man god manifest in flesh yes with jesus come to bless the son of god the savior too and on that cross at calvary he dies to provide salvation for poor sinners like you and me his tremendous qualifications and he has an interest in this one he looks upon her it says that jesus verse 12 jesus saw her and when he saw her it says that he called her to him he's got an interest in this woman i'm glad to tell you tonight he's got an interest in you he really does and he sees you here tonight he knows exactly where you are in your situation in your life he knows all about your heart he knows all about your soul he knows the address of the street in which you live he knows your number he knows all about he knows your thoughts as you sit in that chair he knows exactly what you're thinking he knows all about you and he has an interest in you and you'll notice that when he saw her it says that he called her to him and tonight in this meeting through his word it could be that he's talking to you he's calling you he is calling you he's calling you to repentance and he called her and there was a response on her part notice that there was a response because when she comes to him comes near i don't know how many people were there in the synagogue that day but the eye of the lord jesus was upon that one woman and when he called her she came to him and he said to her you'll notice that this is now a personal transaction between him and her i like that that's what salvation is it's not believe in some theory it's not two and two make four it's a personal transaction between your soul and the only man who can save you the lord from heaven you need to have dealings with christ so she comes to him and she hears his word what does he say he says woman thou art loosed from thine infirmity now gospel meeting's not a time to start getting technical uh about the greek language and all of that and we don't intend to do that but i just want to make this point when the lord said those words the tense of the verb was perfect woman thou art loosed right now here and now you stand loosed completely from your infirmity you know to meet the need of sinners the lord jesus had to go to the cross one of the last things the lord jesus cried as he hung upon that cross was one word in the greek language and he spoke it in the perfect tense and he cried finished yes think of that tonight what was finished what was finished what was finished was this that on that cross he who himself had never sinned for sinners sin was made and he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself and he cried it is finished could that be a personal word to your heart tonight to understand that on that cross the savior was taking my place and the work that god gave him to do to put away those sins it is finished woman now it looks there's another point of detail here and it says it says that he led his hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified god he led his hands on her what's that that's contact between the woman and christ there was a point of contact that point of contact tonight is made listen that point of contact is made between your soul and christ the moment that you trust him as your savior the bible calls that faith and the boldness of faith simply steps toward christ with a confidence that he has died for me and that link is formed what happened then immediately she was made straight and glorified god and the good news tonight in the meeting we've come to tell you is this that the savior stands ready even this evening to deliver you from your sins and he can straighten out your life into the bargain and give you a purpose in life into the bargain and give you a home in heaven into the bargain and it's all a great big package that he's willing to give the repentant sinner who comes in his need and trust the savior and him alone for salvation tell me do you think that this dear woman go away from the synagogue that day kind of happy in her soul that now she's able to walk straight i want to tell you she was happy and so at every soul tonight that comes to christ and trust them as their say from that moment on they have the ability that god gives to walk straight and tall with god in fellowship with him enjoying communion with him on a pathway that leads home to heaven and leads home to the glory that we've been singing about already that's all made possible by the lovely savior of sinners who died on that cross for me the question is can you take it in it was for you take it in tonight rest upon him trust him as your savior and be safe for time and eternity