Posts tagged Bible-believing
What About the Resurrection of Jesus? | Matthew 28:1-15
What About the Resurrection of Jesus? | Matthew 28:1-15

Series: All!

  • Jesus has all authority,

  • So that all nations

  • Might pledge all allegiance to him.

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-15, Title: “What about the resurrection of Jesus?

Bottom line: The resurrection of Jesus shows us the power of God to change our lives.

  1. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  2. SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

  3. MAIN REFERENCES USED

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discovery Bible Study process:

  1. Retell the story in your own words.

  2. Discovery the story

    1. What does this story tell me about God?

    2. What does this story tell me about people?

    3. If this is really God’s word, what changes would I have to make in my life?

  3. Who am I going to tell about this?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Q. What do I want them to know?

A. That the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ really happened.

Q. Why do I want them to know it?

A. 1. Because it means that we can be resurrected too when we die and live forever with Jesus.

  1. Because it means we don’t have to fear sin and death. The cross shows us the love of God. The resurrection the power of God.

Q. What do I want them to do about it?

A. Believe, worship, and obey Jesus.

Q. Why do I want them to do it?

A. So that they can live the life God created them to live in the first place.

Q. How can they begin to do this?

A. Like the women did: Believe Jesus, worship Jesus, and tell others about Jesus.

Introduction

Not a Mickey Mouse Religion

In 1998 when a little girl in Mablethorpe, England died of Batten's disease her graveside was marked by a simple cross. Soon afterward the local authorities asked her family to remove it due to a new local ordinance that stated "Crosses are discouraged, as excessive use of the supreme Christian symbol is undesir-able." In lieu of the cross, the family was allowed to erect a headstone with Mickey Mouse on it.?4 No joke.

The cross will always be an offense to the world. But let's not change the symbol from a cross to the head of a harmless make-believe mouse. Mickey Mouse couldn't save a fly or hurt one. But Jesus will come again in power to judge the living and the dead, and his judgment will be based on what you thought of this scene in Matthew. Is Christ crucified a stumbling block for you, or is Christ crucified your only hope of salvation? I pray that "that old rugged cross, so despised by the world" would have "a wondrous attraction" for you.25

Let’s start with the cross.

The Most Important Question in the World

“The brilliant professor of philosophy at London University, C.E.M. Joad, was not a Christian. He was asked on a radio programme, 'If you could meet any person from the past and ask them just one question, whom would you meet and what question would you ask? 'Professor Joad answered without hesitation: 'I would meet Jesus Christ and ask him *the most important question in the world* - "*Did you or did you not rise from the dead?*"'

“There came a day in Professor Joad's life when he assessed the evidence, encountered Jesus himself and wrote a book called, *Recovery of Belief*. If Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, this changes everything.

When the New Testament writers speak of God's love they point to the cross. When they speak of God's power they point to the resurrection. God's 'incomparably great power' was 'exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead' (Ephesians 1:19-20). The risen Jesus says to his disciples, 'All authority (*all power to rule*) in heaven and on earth has been given to me' (Matthew 28:18, AMP).

The resurrection means that the risen Jesus is present with you now. Jesus continues, 'I am with you always' (v.20).

The result of the resurrection is not only his power and his presence but also his provision.”

Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel: Day 45 • Devotional

SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

Bottom line: 

28:1 Faithful, courageous women continue to serve Jesus. Up early Sunday morning (Easter first sunrise service) they go trusting that God will make a way for them to get into the tomb.

28:2-4 “And behold” (implied in NIV) is Matthew’s way of saying, “Watch this!” Another earthquake but this one is caused by the angel moving the gigantic stone from the opening of the tomb. This “violent earthquake” might have been caused in part by the angel’s arrival. I imagine they are quite ticked off at humanity at this point. The appearance of this angels reminds me of the appearance of Christ at the mount of transfiguration. It’s funny to me that there is no dead Jesus there but that the guards become “like dead men” at the sight of the angels. They would have been terrifying to see.

28:5 Here we see the first of 3 commands by the angel to these courageous women. This first command is what angels have to tell every person they meet: “Don’t be afraid.” People realizing they were seeing angels assumed that what followed was death. Because angels are holy and we aren’t. Holiness does not put up with wickedness. Wrath and divine judgment are appropriate. But the angel’s job is to pass along his message from God.

Note that the angel confirms that Jesus was crucified. He died by asphyxiation (and more) on a Roman cross as he said he would.

28:6 He also rose from the dead as he said he would! And now the second command from the angel: “He has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” Don’t take our word for it—come and see. Use your senses. He didn’t rise spiritually and his body is still here. No, he rose bodily/physically from the dead. And they are about to see that for themselves!

28:7 The third command is to, “Go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’” They become the first evangelists post resurrection!

O’Donnell tells us that if you were trying to make this up, the last person you’d use as a witness would be a woman. The Jews wouldn’t even take their testimony about anything in a simple court of law. Yet here God provides the biblical “two witnesses” and makes them women. No man creating a myth would do this. Yet all four gospel writers share this.

28:8 The women hurry away afraid but in joyful obedience when they run into none other than Jesus himself! Another “And behold” to get our attention.

28:9 Jesus greets them cheerfully and so human-like. Their response is powerful and instructive:

  • They grab his human feet. They cling to him because they are ecstatic he’s really alive and there. Notice that when people draw ghosts, they never seem to have feet. (Think Casper or Ghostbusters) Here we have no ghost.

  • They bow with their faces to the ground in worship. They know he’s divine too. God in the flesh. God with us!

28:10 Jesus repeats the angel by telling them not to be afraid but instead to go and tell his brothers (not traitors) to meet up in Galilee (at the mountain they probably spent a lot of time at before) where they too will see him.

28:11 We go from a joyful scene of resurrection truth to a wicked plan of more deceit covering up the truth that they were trying to prevent. The irony is that everything they do just strengthens the case for the resurrection. Nicky Gumbel writes:

“The attempts of others to explain away the empty tomb began very early on (v.13). It was suggested that ‘his disciples… stole him away while [the soldiers] were asleep’ (v.13). Some people still postulate this explanation. But it does not fit the evidence:

  1. The disciples were discouraged and frightened. Only the miracle of the resurrection could have transformed them.

  2. They did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead. They had no motive to steal the body.

  3. The tomb was heavily guarded (27:62–66).

  4. They were not the only ones who saw Jesus. Many others saw him after the resurrection and interacted with him over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:6).

  5. If the disciples did steal the body, their whole lives thereafter were based on a lie.”

28:12-15 So the guards go to the chief priests and report what happened. The truth, actually. Notice that they are not cross-examined. Everyone responds as if this is what actually happened. Damage control. Not challenging the guards that it didn’t happen. Just a cover up of the truth. Instead, they just pay off the guards so that they story they want out there comes from those who were there.

And some buy this even today despite the overwhelming evidence.

What are we supposed to do with the resurrection?

Conclusion

The apostle Paul writes that if the resurrection isn’t true, then we as Christians are to be pitied because all we believe is a lie. Everything rises and falls on the resurrection.

This is why atheists like Lee Strobel, reporter at the time of the Chicago Tribune, decided to prove it was a hoax. His wife had recently started following Christ. He could not deny the real change in her towards him and in life. Yet he couldn’t buy into this religious gobbledygook. So he interviewed bible scholars and asked them the most difficult questions like any investigative reporter would and should do. In the end, he was compelled to believe. He follows Jesus Christ now. He has written books. He now has a movie. All so that others can see that the overwhelming evidence that God became man so he could die for humanity’s sins.

“For God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

  • The cross shows us the love of God.

  • The resurrection the power of God.

So what are we supposed to do with the resurrection?

Look at how the women responded:

  1. Believe it. They saw Jesus bodily and they fell at his feet in worship. They went from fear to joy to worshiping the one who conquered sin and death, shame and guilt, and hell itself.

  2. How do we believe?

    1. Repent = goes beyond just confessing (agreeing with God) to resolving to let God change by grace through faith.

    2. Believe = Trusting that God can and will forgive sin in Jesus’ name.

Pray

NOTES

Nicky Gumbel notes

I have found that there is nothing greater in life than to experience the sense of the presence of the resurrected Jesus.

The risen Jesus commissions his followers to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ (v.19a). This is our calling as individuals and as a church community. The vision statement of our church is ‘to play our part in the evangelisation of the nations, the revitalisation of the church and the transformation of society’. It is based on this command of Jesus.

Together with the command comes a promise: ‘I am with you always’ (v.20b). The resurrection isn’t just an historical fact or religious idea; it is a life-changing reality. God promises that as you go about fulfilling his commission, the presence of the resurrected Jesus goes with you.

When the women see the empty tomb the angel tells them, ‘He is not here; he has risen… you will see him’ (vv.6–7).

Filled with ‘great joy’ they ran to tell the disciples. As they did so, ‘Jesus met them’ (v.9). They experienced the presence of the risen Jesus (vv.8–10), ‘clasped his feet’ (v.9) and worshipped him as God (vv.9b,17a).

The attempts of others to explain away the empty tomb began very early on (v.13) and, in spite of all the evidence, not everyone believed (v.17b). It was suggested that ‘his disciples… stole him away while [the soldiers] were asleep’ (v.13). Some people still postulate this explanation. But it does not fit the evidence:

  1. The disciples were discouraged and frightened. Only the miracle of the resurrection could have transformed them

  2. They did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead. They had no motive to steal the body

  3. The tomb was heavily guarded (27:62–66)

  4. They were not the only ones who saw Jesus. Many others saw him after the resurrection and interacted with him over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:6)

  5. If the disciples did steal the body, their whole lives thereafter were based on a lie. My friend Ian Walker, a Cambridge scientist, became a Christian because he could not believe that the disciples would have been willing to be tortured and put to death for something they would have known was not true.

It really is true. Jesus is risen. Death and burial are not the end. In Christ, you too will be raised from the dead.

It was women who were the first to be entrusted with the message of the resurrection. This is particularly noteworthy since women at the time were not considered valid witnesses in court…

Matthew’s Gospel starts by stating that Jesus is ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). In the very last verse of the Gospel, Jesus affirms his eternal ongoing presence with all of his followers. To those who believe and obey Jesus’ command, he promises, ‘I am with you always’ (28:20b).

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org

“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app

ChatGPT https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

AnswerThePublic.com

Wikipedia.com

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian Fellowshipnon denominational church, Ladson, SC, Grace Christian Fellowship, Darien Gabriel, ALL, resurrection, Matthew 28, Bible-believing
How to Prepare for When All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2 | Matthew 26:47-75
How to Prepare for When All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2 | Matthew 26:47-75

Series: All!

  • Jesus has all authority,

  • So that all nations

  • Might pledge all allegiance to him.

Title: “How to prepare for when all hell breaks loose, part 2”

Scripture: Matthew 26:47-75

Bottom line: We prepare for when all hell breaks loose by watching and praying as we surrender to him.

  1. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  2. SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

  3. MAIN REFERENCES USED

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discussion questions for group and personal study. Reflect and Discuss:

1. Explain why Matthew 26-27 is so crucial to our understanding of God, the world, sin, salvation, etc.

2. What impact should the cross have on our reading of the previous chapters in Matthew's Gospel?

3. Discuss how the following attributes of God are displayed in the cross: sovereignty, righteousness, wrath, and love.

4. Explain what is meant by the idea that the cross is fundamentally for God's sake.

5. How does the cross expose our sin? What does it say about the seriousness of our sin?

6. How would you explain the terms substitution and propitiation to an unbeliever with little or no theological knowledge or vocabulary?

7. Why is it important to see Jesus as our substitute, propitiation, and reconciliation, and not just a loving example?

8. How does the truth of Christ's substitutionary death impact our daily pursuit of holiness?

9. Discuss several ways in which the cross fulfills Old Testament prophecies and expectations.

10. How does the cross rule out the possibility of a works-based righteousness?

Discovery Bible Study questions:

  1. Retell the story in your own words.

  2. Discovery the story

    1. What does this story tell me about God?

    2. What does this story tell me about people?

    3. If this is really God’s word, what changes would I have to make in my life?

  3. Who am I going to tell?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Q. What do I want them to know?

A.

Q. Why do I want them to know it?

A.

Q. What do I want them to do about it?

A.

Q. Why do I want them to do it?

A.

Q. How can they begin to do this?

A.

Introduction

In his book King Solomon, Phil Ryken recounts a story by Robert Coleman:

It is the story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. She was suffering from the same disease that the boy himself had survived two years earlier. The doctor explained that her only chance of recovery was to receive a blood transfusion from someone else who had conquered the same disease. Since the two children shared the same rare blood type, her brother was the ideal donor.

"Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated at first, but with his lower lip trembling he finally said, "Sure, for my sister."

Soon the children were wheeled into the hospital room Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither one of them spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. His smile faded as the nurse inserted the needle into his arm and he watched the blood flow through the tube. When the ordeal was almost over, Johnny's shaky voice broke the silence. "Doc-tor," he said, "when do I die?"

Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated and why his lip had trembled when he agreed to donate his blood: he thought the doctor was asking for all of it! Yet out of love for his sister, he was willing to give it.

Now there is a subtle but significant difference between Johnny and Jesus. The boy was willing to die but didn't understand what was happening.

Jesus was willing to die but fully understood what was about to happen.?? He was about to drink damnation dry.

O’Donnell, pp. 800-801

SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

Bottom line: We prepare for when all hell breaks lose by watching and praying as we surrender to him.

In the last two weeks, we’ve seen:

A. We’ve seen the prophecies of Jesus. (31-35) (We’ll see their fulfillment in 69-75)

B. We’ve seen the prayers of Jesus. (36-46)

C. Today, we’ll see the persecutions of Jesus. (47-68)

1. He is arrested (26:47-56)

a. Jesus and Judas (26:47-50a): Judas betrays him to the soldiers by a kiss.

b. Jesus and Peter (26:50b-54): Peter is rebuked for cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant.

c. Judas and the soldiers (26:55-56a): He reminds the arresting soldiers of his innocence.

2. He is accused (26:57-66)

a. The attempts (26:57-61)

(1) The frantic efforts to locate false witnesses against Jesus (26:57-59)

(2) The futile efforts to locate false witnesses against Jesus (26:60-61): No two people can agree in their testimony.

b. The affirmation (26:62-64): Jesus acknowledges to the high priest that he is indeed the Messiah.

c. The agreement (26:65-66): The Sanhedrin votes to put him to death for blasphemy!

3. He is assaulted (26:67-68): The Jewish leaders spit upon him and strike him.

Conclusion

Kent Hughes writes as he wraps up his thoughts on this:

“Conclusion

Gethsemane was not a tragedy, and neither are our Gethsemanes. This does not do away with the wounds of affliction in this life, but it is encouraging to see that behind human tragedy stands the benevolent and wise purpose of the Lord of human history. Life may be dark at times, tragedy may come, and at times the whole world may seem to be falling apart. The wheel may appear ready to crush us. But this is not the end. "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28), even in Gethsemane.”

He shares this poem:

Great Nights of the Bible, quoted in E. W. Wilcox, Poems of Power (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1953), p. 166.

All those who journey, soon or late,

Must pass within the garden's gate;

Must kneel alone in darkness there,

And battle with some fierce despair.

God pity those who cannot say,

"Not mine but thine." who only pray,

"Let this cup pass," and cannot see

The purpose in Gethsemane.

Pray

NOTES

OUTLINE BIBLE, MATTHEW 26

Jesus and disciples celebrate Passover in the upper room. Jesus predicts Judas's betrayal and Peter's denial, both of which come to pass. After supper Jesus prays in Gethsemane, then is arrested and taken before the high priest.

I. THE ACTION PRECEDING THE UPPER ROOM (26:1-16)

A. The prediction (26:1-2): Once again Jesus predicts his betrayal and crucifixion.

B. The plots (26:3-5, 14-16): On two occasions wicked plans are made to kill Jesus.

C. The preparation (26:6-13): Jesus is anointed by a woman at Bethany.

II. THE ACTION IN THE UPPER ROOM (26:17-30)

A. The instructions (26:17-19): Jesus directs two of his disciples to prepare a room in Jerusalem for the Passover.

B. The indictment (26:20-25)

C. The institution (26:26-30)

III. THE ACTION FOLLOWING THE UPPER ROOM (26:31-75)

A. The prophecy of Jesus (26:31-35, 56b, 69-75)

1. As foretold (26:31-35): Jesus makes a twofold prediction concerning the disciples.

a. All will desert him (26:31-32): He will meet them in Galilee after the Resurrection.

b. One will deny him (26:33-35): He says Peter will deny him three times before the rooster crows!

2. As fulfilled (26:56b, 69-75)

a. The desertion (26:56b): All the disciples flee.

b. The denial (26:69-75): Peter denies Jesus three times.

B. The prayers of Jesus (26:36-46)

1. The assistance he seeks (26:36-38): Jesus requests that Peter, James, and John keep watch with him.

2. The agony he suffers (26:39-46)

a. His first prayer (26:39-41)

(1) The struggle (26:39): Jesus begs his Father to remove the suffering he is about to endure but emphasizes that he desires the Father's will, not his own.

(2) The sleepers (26:40-41): Returning, he finds the three disciples asleep.

b. His second prayer (26:42-43)

(1) The struggle (26:42): Similar to the first prayer.

(2) The sleepers (26:43): Again he finds them asleep.

c. His third prayer (26:44-46)

(1) The struggle (26:44): Similar to the first two prayers.

(2) The sleepers (26:45-46): Upon awakening them, he warns of his imminent arrest.

C. The persecutions of Jesus (26:47-56a, 57-68)

1. He is arrested (26:47-56)

a. Jesus and Judas (26:47-50a): Judas betrays him to the soldiers by a kiss.

b. Jesus and Peter (26:50b-54): Peter is rebuked for cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant.

c. Judas and the soldiers (26:55-56a): He reminds the arrest ing soldiers of his innocence.

2. He is accused (26:57-66)

a. The attempts (26:57-61)

(1) The frantic efforts to locate false witnesses against Jesus (26:57-59)

(2) The futile efforts to locate false witnesses against Jesus (26:60-61): No two people can agree in their testimony.

b. The affirmation (26:62-64): Jesus acknowledges to the high priest that he is indeed the Messiah.

c. The agreement (26:65-66): The Sanhedrin votes to put him to death for blasphemy!

3. He is assaulted (26:67-68): The Jewish leaders spit upon him and strike him.

My personal notes

JESUS ARRESTED: Judas betrays with soldiers and a large crowd sent by chief priests and elders.

Betrayed with a kiss which was a signal to help soldiers ID Jesus in the dark, torch-lit night. Jesus, known for being able to just slip through the crowd and avoid arrest. But now his time has come and he does not resist. In fact, we’ll see him turn the other cheek and not resist at all.

Jesus is arrested. We see him call them out for doing in secret what they were afraid to do in public. Fulfills prophecy.

Tells Peter to holster his sword. He’s not defenseless. It’s just that this isn’t the way to save the world.

“Am I leading a rebellion” - yes, actually. “That you have come out with swords and clubs” - ah, no, not that kind of rebellion.

Jesus is not rebelling against Rome or the Sanhedrin per se. E.g. the current government systems to overpower them and replace them. Jesus is rebelling against the forces of darkness, sin and death. He’s rebelling against the status quo in culture that goes against his kingdom. But he doesn’t fight fair—he fights by his rules—kingdom of God rules. Upsidedown rules.

  • the last are first

  • Fight on our knees

  • Turn the other cheek

  • Don’t resist evil AND resist evil

  • Start small and see great transformation come out

  • Goal isn’t to take over—he already rules; goal is to lead, feed, and protect

What scriptures are being fulfilled?

V. 24 “The son of man will go just as it’s written about him.”

Ex. Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Ps 22

Peter follows Jesus to court of Sanhedrin

Sanhedrin is trying to convict Jesus to crucify him. Couldn’t convict until Jesus confessed.

Jesus finally breaks his silence and admits he’s Messiah, son of God. Then he doubles-down. This is what convicts him in their eyes. But, he’s actually telling the truth!

Peter disowns Jesus. Jesus’ prophecy is fulfilled the same night. Peter leaves devastated.

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org

ChatGPT https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

AnswerThePublic.com

Wikipedia.com

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian Fellowshipnon denominational church, Grace Christian Fellowship, Ladson, SC, Darien Gabriel, Bible-believing, church, Matthew 26, hell, ALL
What's the Last Supper About? | Matthew 26:17-30
What's the Last Supper About? | Matthew 26:17-30

Series: All!

  • Jesus has all authority,

  • So that all nations

  • Might pledge all allegiance to him.

Title: “What’s the Last Supper About?”

Scripture: Matthew 26:17-30

Bottom line: The Last Supper birthed the Lord’s Supper reminding us of God’s amazing love for us. (Romans 5:8 articulates this well)

  1. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  2. SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

  3. MAIN REFERENCES USED

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discussion questions for group and personal study. Reflect and Discuss:

1. Explain why Matthew 26-27 is so crucial to our understanding of God, the world, sin, salvation, etc.

2. What impact should the cross have on our reading of the previous chapters in Matthew's Gospel?

3. Discuss how the following attributes of God are displayed in the cross: sovereignty, righteousness, wrath, and love.

4. Explain what is meant by the idea that the cross is fundamentally for God's sake.

5. How does the cross expose our sin? What does it say about the seriousness of our sin?

6. How would you explain the terms substitution and propitiation to an unbeliever with little or no theological knowledge or vocabulary?

7. Why is it important to see Jesus as our substitute, propitiation, and reconciliation, and not just a loving example?

8. How does the truth of Christ's substitutionary death impact our daily pursuit of holiness?

9. Discuss several ways in which the cross fulfills Old Testament prophecies and expectations.

10. How does the cross rule out the possibility of a works-based righteousness?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Q. What do I want them to know?

A. What the Last Supper is about. (The death of Christ that brings forgiveness for those who believe)

Q. Why do I want them to know it?

A. Because this is where Jesus transforms the Passover meal to the Lord’s supper to connect the Passover to the cross which brings us 1) Forgiveness from God, and 2) Fellowship with God forever.

Q. What do I want them to do about it?

A. Confess/Repent and believe, and then (re)enter into fellowship with God forever.

Q. Why do I want them to do it?

A. This glorifies God for his mercy poured out on those who’ve trusted and obeyed Jesus Christ.

Q. How can they begin to do this?

A. Begin to really believe what you say you believe. This will look like someone sharing good news like they believe it’s too good to keep to themselves. Repent/believe and receive forgiveness as you step into fellowship with God and his people forever.

SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

Introduction

The Story

“This is my story, this is my song. Praising my savior all the day long…”

In 2010, I took our oldest daughter Kelsi to the great city of Franklin, TN (just outside of Nashville) to spend a day with our favorite author at the time, Ted Dekker and 200 of his best fans. In the course of that amazing day, we heard Ted talk to us about why he writes the stories he wrote. He said, in essence, that he writes the stories that he writes as a way to tell The Story from another angle. In other words, he wants to retell The Story in different ways to both engage it personally in a fresh way while taking others there.

It has been said that Matthew’s gospel is the Passion narrative with a very long introduction. Well, I can see that. Starting in chapter 26, THIS IS THE STORY OF STORIES. THIS IS THE STORY THAT MATTERS. We must not miss this story.

So we find ourselves looking over the disciples shoulders as Jesus begins to assert himself, dare I say, in a more kingly manner. After tall, he does have ALL kingly authority. So it’s the festival of unleavened bread, one of 3 annual feasts.

It’s the Passover so I need to explain what that is and why it matters.

SERMON OUTLINE

The Last Supper in the Upper Room (26:17-30)

I. The instructions (26:17-19): Jesus directs two of his disciples to prepare a room in Jerusalem for the Passover.

A. What’s the Passover?

    1. The Passover refers to the time when God passed-over any Hebrew who followed Moses’ instructions just before the 10th plague in Egypt. They sacrificed an unblemished lamb and painted the door frame of their home with it’s blood. This caused the angel of the Lord to Passover that house and not take the life of the firstborn male.

    2. The Hebrews were instructed in the law (Leviticus) to celebrate this festival very year in remembrance of that event so that they could connect it to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

B. Why does it matter?

    1. This foreshadowed Jesus coming as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (J the B) by shedding his blood. All who believe his blood covers us are passed over by God as well and receive abundant, eternal life.

    2. It’s the blood of Christ that covers us with mercy when we stand underneath it by grace through faith. Ask God now to pour out his mercy on you as you trust him.

II. The indictment (26:20-25)

A. Jesus' betrayal (26:20-24): The Savior announces that one of the Twelve will betray him.

B. Jesus betrayer (26:25): He then identifies Judas as the one. (It appears; confirmed in John 13:26)

III.  The institution (26:26-30)

A.  The supper (26:26-29): The Lord's Supper is now instituted as the last supper (the last Passover meal) is celebrated and transformed all at the same time.

    1. He speaks concerning the bread 26:26): It is his body. He made it about himself instead of about the lamb and it’s blood.

    2. He speaks concerning the cup (26:27-29) Itis his blood, poured out to forgive sins. Again, Jesus makes it about himself. This is when the Passover meal becomes the Lord’s supper.

B. The song (26:30): They sing a hymn, then go out to the Mount of Olives.

Conclusion

Bottom line: The Last Supper birthed the Lord’s Supper reminding us of God’s amazing love for us.

This week I was having lunch with three guys, two of which I had just met that morning. All three are in gospel ministry in some capacity in the area. We’ll call the guy next to me Alan. In the course of our meal, Alan engaged our server and asked if she knew Jesus. It was a little abrupt and I could tell she wasn’t wanting to have that conversation right then and there. Nevertheless, he moved through a short gospel presentation. You could tell from how she answered the questions that she didn’t know the Lord nor was she interested in the implications of her answers to her questions. At least not at that time. Her responses were sad but in my mind I kind of moved on as well that didn’t go well.

Our table was very quiet. No one spoke. I turned and looked at Alan next to me and noticed his head in his hands. Then I saw the tears. He was crying. He was crying because she was lost and seemed unconcerned about the path leading to destruction she was on. What Jesus calls “The broad road that leads to destruction.” I was immediately ashamed at my lack of compassion for that young lady. I was convicted over my lack of belief that the gospel is called good news for a reason—it’s great news! And that when someone rejects it they miss out (at least for the moment) in the grace and mercy of God.

It’s this lack of feeling that infects our churches today. This lack of believing in the sacrifice of Jesus made on the cross on our behalf.

We celebrate the Lord’s supper nearly every Sunday so that this doesn’t happen. As you can see, it’s no guarantee. The spiritual gravity of this world pulls us away from believing that the good news of Jesus is really good news—for us and others. I still have a long way to go.

My prayer today is that God will rekindle our love for him so much that we’ll actually believe this news is good enough to share it (even awkwardly) because it’s such good news.

“Jesus Loves Me” song

Yes, Jesus loves me. Hear it again for the first time. Embrace the reality that Jesus took your place. Death passes over us because we’re under his blood of mercy.

How much do you love me? THIS MUCH! (Arms spread out wide)

Questions

  • Do you have trouble remembering why the good news is good news?

  • Do you believe that the good news is really good news for you?

  • Do you share the good news with others like you share other good news?

“Every time you receive communion, you are reminded both of the hostility of the world towards Jesus and of his love for that same world.” -Nicky Gumbel

Let’s pray

Notes

Understand God’s solution

Have you ever been falsely accused or betrayed by a friend? Have you had people plotting against you? Or have you ever experienced some other form of personal hostility? Jesus experienced all these things.

God has revealed himself in creation. However, his supreme revelation is in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ.

God himself has come to be part of this hostile world to do something about it. In this passage we see a glimpse of God’s solution, which he achieved through coming in the person of his Son Jesus. Yet the world was hostile even to Jesus.

Plotting

We should not be surprised by the world’s hostility to Jesus and to Christians today. Jesus knew he would be ‘handed over to be crucified’ (v.2). The chief priests and elders ‘plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him’ (v.4).

Jesus says to the Twelve, ‘One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators’ (v.21, MSG).

Accusations

When a woman came to Jesus ‘with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head’ (v.7), even the disciples regarded what was done for Jesus as a ‘waste’ (v.8).

There is something deeply moving about this incident. Jesus is given for us. The cost is beyond anything we can ever imagine, and his death is imminent. A jar of expensive perfume is only fitting, and yet the disciples are fussing about waste.

Most people understand your works of social action (for example, in response to poverty) but they find it harder to understand your worship of Jesus and all the things associated with it. They regard these things as a ‘waste’ and think that surely there is a better use of your time and money (v.9), but Jesus sees things differently: ‘She has done a beautiful thing to me’ (v.10). She showed her extravagant love for Jesus.

Betrayal

What people will do for money! Judas waited for an opportunity to hand Jesus over for ‘thirty silver coins’ (v.15). How painful this must have been for Jesus! Judas was one of his closest ‘friends’; one of the inner circle of twelve he had chosen. He knew – ‘one of you will betray me’ (v.21).

Yet Jesus in his extraordinary love, dies for them all. During a meal together, he begins to explain the meaning of his death. He explains through the breaking of the bread and drinking of wine that his blood is to be ‘poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (v.28). Jesus’ answer to a hostile world was to be crucified in order to make forgiveness and redemption possible.

Every time you receive communion, you are reminded both of the hostility of the world towards Jesus and of his love for that same world.

''Lord Jesus, thank you that you died for me and demonstrated how to love a hostile world.''

Outline Bible

OUTLINE MATTHEW 26

Jesus and disciples celebrate Passover in the upper room. Jesus predicts Judas's betrayal and Peter's denial, both of which come to pass. After supper Jesus prays in Gethsemane, then is arrested and taken before the high priest.

I. THE ACTION PRECEDING THE UPPER ROOM (26:1-16)

A. The prediction (26:1-2): Once again Jesus predicts his betrayal and crucifixion.

B. The plots (26:3-5, 14-16): On two occasions wicked plans are made to kill Jesus.

1. The plot by Caiaphas (26:3-5): Jewish leaders meet at the palace of this high priest to discuss ways to murder the Savior!

2. The plot by Judas (26:14-16): He agrees with Jesus' enemies to betray the Messiah for thirty pieces of silver.

C. The preparation (26:6-13): Jesus is anointed by a woman at Bethany.

1. The dedication (26:6-7): A woman pours a very expensive alabaster jar of perfume over his head.

2. The denunciation (26:8-9): The disciples criticize her for not selling the perfume and giving the proceeds to the poor.

3. The defense (26:10-13): Jesus defends the woman, referring to two aspects:

a. The preparation aspect (26:10-12): She did this to prepare his body for burial.

b. The prophetic aspect (26:13): Her act will be remembered wherever the gospel is preached!

II. THE ACTION IN THE UPPER ROOM (26:17-30)

A. The instructions (26:17-19): Jesus directs two of his disciples to prepare a room in Jerusalem for the Passover.

B. The indictment (26:20-25)

1. Jesus' betrayal (26:20-24): The Savior announces that one of the Twelve will betray him.

2. Jesus betrayer (26:25): He then identifies ludas as the one.

C. The institution (26:26-30)

1. The supper (26:26-29): The Lord's Supper is now instituted.

a. He speaks concerning the bread 26:26): It is his body.

b. He speaks concerning the cup (26:27-29) Itis his blood, poured out to forgive sins.

2. The song (26:30): They sing a hymn, then go out to the Mount of Olives.

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org

ChatGPT https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

AnswerThePublic.com

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Darien GabrielGrace Christian Fellowshipnon denominational church, Ladson, SC, Bible-believing, Grace Christian Fellowship, Darien Gabriel, Matthew 26, last supper, ALL
The Significance of Faithful Work | Matthew 25:14-30
The Significance of Faithful Work | Matthew 25:14-30

YOU HAVE BEEN WALKING THROUGH THE BOOK OF MATTHEW:

- You’ve seen how Jesus used parables to help provide a window into HIS KINGDOM.

- Parable would typically have a singular overarching meaning.

Kent Hughes Commentary - HELPS US CONNECT WHERE YOU’VE BEEN TO TODAY

“So we might say that readiness looks like HOPE (The parable of the Virgins), LOVE (The

Parable of the Sheep and Goats), and FAITH (The Parable of the Talents).”

In this sermon our focus is on faith, more specifically on faithful working, or even more

accurately a faithfulness that works.” -

These set of passages in Matthew are a series of parables about how we should live our

lives at his eminent return.

What we should discovery is an urgency to live out what God has put in each of us, for his

glory and our joy? And caution against not taking it serious.

READ PASSAGE: MATTHEW 25:14-30

The Parable of the Talents

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[c] and entrusted

to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[d] to another two, to another

one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the

five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So

also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received

the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a

long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he

who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying,

‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His

master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[e] You have been faithful over

a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who

had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents;

here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and

faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into

the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward,

saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and

gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your

talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him,

‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and

gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with

the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with

interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten

talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance.

But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the

worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and

gnashing of teeth.’

1

2 Things to Highlight in this Passage:

1) It helps us see ourselves rightly

2) It helps us see God rightly

1) You cannot know yourself without knowing God

1) You can do a deep dive and know your desires and then find a group of people with

those desires and sprinkle Jesus on top of it...but that is still not HOW YOU ARE

WIRED AND HOW YOU WERE PLACE.

First Thing We See in the Passage:

God distributes his talents and abilities not to all alike, but to each

individually.

• THIS NOT WHAT THE MASTER IS DOING -

“Here’s 5 talents for you and 5 talents for you”

• IN OTHER WORDS - WE ARE NOT ALL GIFTED THE SAME WAY?

- HE GIVES ACCORDING TO THEIR ABILITIES...

• THE TRUTH IS - Some of US would get killed with 5 talents. WE would just be crushed.

The day God has for SOME US and the day he created you for YOU MAY require the 1 talent.

PROBLEM: 5 TALENT PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT

We look at the 5 talent guy and think important and then the 1 talent guy and think less

important. WHEN WE THIS THIS WAY - IT IS AN ACCUSATION AGAINST GOD.

• ACCORDING THIS PASSAGE:

• 5 TALENT PEOPLE ARE NOT:

• Loved more by God or know more of God’s pleasure

• Listen...its not about “Man I wish I had what that guy or that women has...”

• Praise God our cultural score cards are not His.

• HIS SCORE CARD IS NOT EVEN ABOUT THE TALENT!!!

His Kingdom score card is about FAITH, RISK, COURAGE, and

WILLINGNESS to step into what HE built for you...

• NOT you trying to be a cheap imitation of somebody else.

• ARE YOU WITH ME? WE HAVE GOT TO SEE OURSELVES RIGHTLY.

• He didn’t gift us all the same way.

EXAMPLES:

• America’s Got Talent

• Work Place

• There are people at your job that have a skill set that is not your skill set. And if you

tried...you might even get a B.

• But you’d be EXHAUSTED, It would ware you out, you’d hate it - It would be B level work.

• Meanwhile there’s that guy that came out of the womb asking for a spreadsheet.

• Hello - Im here to create systems and structures.

WE ARE GIFTED IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

• ME: If I tried to get into the weeds at that level - I can pull it off to a point. But then its like

C level work -

2

• BUT if I stay in my lane and I’m me - NOT THEM

• MY STORY - CALLING TO MINISTRY - NOT SURE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE

SAY

YOU ARE NOT THE BEST AT EVERYTHING, YOU ARE LIKELY NOT THE BEST AT MOST

THINGS - BUT YOU ARE GIFTED BY GOD...WITH A TALENT

ONE THING I LOVE ABOUT - The idea of Compound Interest

• The 1 talent guy could have sewed his - just as the 5 and 2 talent person.

• What’s at stake here is not the TALENT - BUT What you do with the talent.

DISCOVERY:

• SO WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF YOUR GIFTS:

• 1st - THEY COME FROM GOD - THERE ARE HIS

• Nature abilities God just wove into you

• Your Story - Through your story God has redeemed some things

• Kelly - Single mom who wanted to create a place for other single moms to find love and

hear about the love of Jesus.

• People would tell Kelly - you are so gifted at this - No -“I’m so broken, and know what

others are feeling and have to do something about it.”

• PIC 2 - Kelly & Ladies On Stage

• PIC 3 - Kelly & Family

* PLACE - Story of Dee & Marc

• Somethings Given At Salvation:

• When we surrender to Jesus that a manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common

good

• 1 of 2 Ways:

• Comes in and Begins Something That Wasn’t There Before

• Most Time - Electrifies What Was Already There

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of

service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same

God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the

Spirit for the common good.

DO you see what ’s happening -

Where we are prone to go - THAT PERSON’S got this really amazing thing and I got this little

baby thing... God is freeing you up...He’s saying same team, same team, same team...

Why is this so important?

• It frees us up to celebrate one another.

• Whether its the same gift or a completely different gift.

• You see what He’s doing...

- Variety of gifts, variety of services....One God, One Spirt - Same Team, Same Team....

• HE’S BUILDING THAT TEAM - to cause problems with the darkness of the world.

• SAY: Oh if we could see ourselves correctly - Our attention would be ON Him -

And you would realize just how dangerous you are to the darkness. Oh that we

might come awakened.

Some of You Get This:

- Football season is around the corner

3

- Something you will not see

- Is a 6’5 - 350 lb guy lining up in a slot receiver place

- That kinda guy was built to fight you in phone booth.

- You get him out of his spot - He looks stupid and the team suffers.

- BUT - IF HE WILL PLAY HIS SPOT - Its like a cascading effect

- He blocks/opens up a space for the guy to run or creates some protection...not we can

move the ball down the field.

- If we get him out of position - he’s a liability.

SO IT IS - IF WE WILL SEE OURSELVES CORRECTLY - AND YOU PLAY YOUR SPOT.

- Not your friends spot

- Not my spot

- Not your cousins spot

- Not your spiritual hero spot

- YOUR SPOT

- The kind of joy you can walk in that you are not walking now.

My heart breaks for some maybe today - You’ve been walking in someone else’s

spot. You are poor version of someone else. NOT the beautiful version of what

you could be.

SAY:

I’m not trying to puff up your self-esteem. This is God’s economy. He’s involved in

that. Its not you that’s amazing - Its God that’s amazing IN YOUR STORY.

WE MUST SEE OURSELVES RIGHTLY - You have been gifted.

BUT MUST SEE GOD RIGHTLY AS WELL

Now - The Guy w/ 1 Talent

- He has no eagerness and no urgency - no joy and confidence

- Rather - He makes accusations against the character of God

- The bible says to this man - You are lazy and wicked - I don’t know how you are wired - but

I’m not wanting that said about me BY GOD.

How is he lazy and wicked?

- I think this how this works.

- SAY: When you don’t see God rightly - AND you don’t see yourself rightly... You

will begin to think thoughts about God that are out of step with who he is and

what He does.

- In so doing, you will make accusations in your heart just like this servant.

- Maybe He Thought, “Man my talent is so small and God is so rich”. It just

doesn’t even matter. REPEAT —- What I have is so SMALL and God is SO

big...I don’t have to do anything.”

- Let the people with the 5 talents do it.

IF YOU WERE MADE FOR THE DAY AND THE DAY FOR YOU.

- God is intimately involved in shaping and forming you.

- Redeeming You - Redeeming your hurt, victories and losses

- Giving you a life a purpose and belonging with an unshakeable identity.

That kinda thinking - “My gift is too small, he’s so rich, he wouldn’t even miss

this...is an accusation against God.

This is why he calls him wicked and lazy.

4

What we really know - God is actually very generous.

You posses nothing that is not Gods and has been given to you to steward.

CS Lewis - 6 Pence None the Richer

- So it is - You and I have nothing that does not rightly belong to the creator

God. You don’t have a talent, you don’t have an opportunity.

- BUT I WORKED HARD FOR WHAT I GOT.

- Great - But Be Honest:

- Were there other people that worked hard-Did’t get quit as far

as you?

- Were those others that positioned themselves rightly, yet the

opportunity was not there for them?

- Is there nothing naturally not in you that gave you that edge?

GOD IS GENEROUS!

• IT IS GOD WHO:

• ...GIVES, ...SAVES, ...SETS, DRAWS, MAKES A WAY,..POSITIONS US

RIGHTLY, HE IS AT WORK

• JOB MOVING HERE - I WAS NOT THEIR FIRST CHOICE

Vs 25 - He gets real honest about why he was paralyzed- HE WAS AFRAID

- WHY BECAUE HE DIDN”T KNOW WHO GOD WAS:

- HE’S MAKING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST GOD.

- He’s saying I was afraid - of what might happen if I invest it and loose?

- At least the 5 talent guy has margin to spare - “I got 3 left - some

bitcoin got me”

HERE’S ONE OF THE BIGGER TAKE AWAYS - I’ll SAY IT AGAIN - GOD’S SCORECARD IS

NOT THE SAME AS OUR SCORECARD.

SAY: What HE delights in, what HE is honored in —- IS FAITH - Not our

metrics of success.

- I tell you - a lot of us are going to get ROCKED when we get to glory. When we see

who the big deals are. - RANDY ALCORN EXAMPLE

GOD’S SCORECARD IS NOT OUR SCORECARD:

He honors FAITH, RISK, COURAGE

- Our guy here was AFRAID

- THINK ABOUT YOU AND I:

- FEAR Will Likely Keep You From Moving Forward in Faith

- Maybe You’ve Been Hurt:

- Not doing that again, Not trusting anyone with information again,

- Fear of IT not working.

- Here’s I Guy - I WAS AFRAID - I only have 1 talent - What if I bet it and loose it. Your

powerful, so what does that mean for me?

HOW DO WE STAY ROOTED? SEE OURSELVES RIGHTLY?

SAY - Your faith and what Jesus is doing is WAY bigger than your personal

salvation. LOOK AT ME - It is not LESS than your personal salvation.

• But it is epically MORE than your salvation.

• We have been so conditioned to think when we hear Gospel (Good News)

to only think - PERSONAL SALVATION.

5

PERSONAL SALVATION:

- The transfer out of the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of His Beloved Son.

- So, you want to play in the Kingdom, personal salvation is a necessity.

BUT IT IS BIGGER THAN PERSONAL SALVATION - YOU AND I ARE CAUGHT IN A STORY.

ITS THE ONLY STORY - ITS THE STORY THAT ALL STORIES FIND THEIR PLACE.

HIS STORY:

- THE CREATOR GOD OF THE UNIVERSE CREATED THE WORK IN SHALOM.

- In rhythm and beauty to reflect His glory - an overflow of his divine, triune perfection - Father,

Son, Holy Spirit overflowing on the canvas of creation.

- THE MAN AND WOMAN WERE NAKED AND UNASHAMED - Little do with nudity and

everything to do with the heart and their relationship with the Father and each other.

- SIN ENTERS THE COSMOS AND FRACTURES IT

- The man goes from WO-MAN, Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh to - Its that WOMAN

YOU GAVE to ME.

- Relational strife immediately between each other and God and man.

- HERE’S GOD’S RESPONSE: To move towards - to redeem / to save

- He makes a people - Exodus 17 - And you will be for more a Kingdom of Priests that the

Nations might see my light.

- Christ come - kills sin and death for those who would believe

- You and I by the power of His spirit are called into this Kingdom

- Uniquely wired - Uniquely Placed - Set to cause problems for a vanquished enemy who

doesn’t know He quit vanquished yet.

THAT’S THE STORY YOU AND I ARE IN.

If we are to have the urgency we need - The FAITH, COURAGE TO MOVE - WE HAVE TO SEE

GOD RIGHTLY.

If we see God Rightly, We Will See Ourselves Rightly and Place Ourselves into the Story -

There are no SMALL TALENTS?

DEEP WORK, OVER TIME, IN COMMUNITY:

DEEP WORK - IN the quite - With the Holy Spirit

ON SCREEN

TALENTS:

What do I love to do?

What motivates what I do?

What do I constantly think about?

HEART:

What would I do if I knew I wouldn’t fail?

What do I care most about in this world?

How do I hope others describe me when I die?

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Guest UserGrace Christian FellowshipClay Jernigan, Grace Christian Fellowship, Ladson, SC, Bible-believing, church, non denominational, Matthew, ALL, Matthew 25, parable of the talents, parables
How Do You Prepare for the Return of Jesus Christ? | Part 1 | Matthew 24:1-36
How Do You Prepare for the Return of Jesus Christ? | Part 1 | Matthew 24:1-36

Series: All!

  • Jesus has all authority,

  • So that all nations

  • Might pledge all allegiance to him.

Title: “How do you prepare for the return of Jesus Christ?”

Scripture: Matthew 24:1-36

Bottom line: In light of Jesus’ 2 prophecies, Jesus calls us to prepare for his imminent return.

  1. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  2. SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

  3. MAIN REFERENCES USED

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discussion questions for group and personal study. Reflect and Discuss:

1. What differentiates unhelpful speculation from a sincere desire to understand our future hope?

2. Summarize the overarching point of Matthew 24:1-36 in one or two sentences.

3. What factors make it difficult to determine the timing and the relationship between the destruction of Jerusalem and Jesus' second coming?

4. How should we respond to those who take a different view of prophecies such as those we read in Matthew 24?

5. Explain how this passage points us away from sinful, short-term pleasures.

6. How does this text speak to the authority and divinity of Jesus Christ?

7. What kind of treatment should believers expect as they await Christ's return?

8. What does it look like for followers of Christ to be eagerly watching for Jesus and urgently working for His kingdom purposes?

9. As it concerns Jesus' return, which truths in this passage should discourage us from date-setting or from making rash judgments based on current events?

10. How should the second coming of Christ inform our witness in the world?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Q. What do I want them to know?

A. Jesus is coming back to establish his eternal reign on earth.

Q. Why do I want them to know it?

A. So that they will make sure that they are ready for his return.

Q. What do I want them to do about it?

A. 1) Get ready for his return, 2) Help others do the same.

Q. Why do I want them to do it?

A. Because their eternal destiny is cast in stone once Jesus returns.

Q. How can they begin to do this?

A. 1) Repent and believe the gospel, 2) Lead others to do the same.

SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

Introduction

Today we will answer the question: How do I prepare for the return of Jesus?

Illustration (RC Sproul):

“Imagine that you are part of my congregation at Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida. One Sunday morning, when I step into the pulpit to deliver my sermon, you hear me give the following statement:

“Last night I received a special revelation from God. I was given a vision in which God told me things that will shortly come to pass. Sometime within the next twelve months, the United States of America will fall as a nation. The Capitol Building and the White House will be destroyed. The union of the fifty states will be dissolved. America as an independent nation will be no more. I do not know the exact date. I cannot tell you the day, the week, or even the month. But I know that within the next twelve months, all these things will come to pass.”

I suggest this hypothetical scenario as a way to help you put yourself in the place of Jesus’ disciples, who heard Him speak the words in the texts of Matthew 24 that we are considering in this chapter, as well as the whole sum and substance of the Olivet Discourse, which is found in all three of the Synoptic[…]”

Excerpt From, Matthew - An Expositional Commentary, R.C. Sproul

David Platt asks us several questions to consider:

  1. Are we ready for whatever may happen in our life this week or in the next year?

  2. Are we prepared for what may happen in the world in the next 10 years?

  3. Are you absolutely certain of where your life will be in eternity?

SERMON OUTLINE

I. Context

A. Jesus is just days from the cross.

B. Jesus shocks the disciples talking about 2 prophesies

    1. AD 70

    2. His return in the future

II. Jesus shares 12 imperatives they should observe as they await the fulfillment of his prophecies.

A. “Watch out” (4)

B. “Not alarmed” (6)

C. “Flee to the mountains” (16)

D. “Let no one go down” (17)

E. “Let no one go back” (18)

F. “Pray” (20)

G. “Do not believe it” (23)

H. “Do not go out” (26)

I. “Do not believe it” (26)

J. “Learn this lesson” (32)

III. Jesus shares lesson from fig tree.

IV. Jesus’ words are eternally trustworthy.

Conclusion

Bottom line: In light of Jesus’ 2 prophecies, Jesus calls us to prepare for his imminent return.

Are you ready for his return?

  1. Repent and believe. The first way to prepare is to trust Jesus’ words, ways and works. That is the good news of the kingdom that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. To rest in that for our eternal security.

  2. Obey, pray and discern. The second way is to obey his words, pray as he directs, and hear what other people are saying about him with great discernment.

Pray

Notes

“When” is the return or second coming of Jesus Christ is the most asked question by far.

https://answerthepublic.com/p3eqcg/reports/b0570fee-4245-4ef4-bce0-593a2362d8fe/edit?recently_searched=true

David Platt’s notes

I. Trust in the Authority of Christ.

A. Understanding the text.

    1. Prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem.

    2. Prophecy concerning the return of Jesus.

B. Applying the text.

    1. The things of this world are passing.

    2. The truth of his word is permanent.

II. Persevere in the Power of Christ.

A. Followers of Jesus will face deception.

B. Followers of Jesus will face tribulation.

    1. Christians are not saved from trials.

    2. Christians are saved through trials.

C. Followers of Jesus will face temptation.

D. Followers of Jesus will face persecution.

    1. Persecution inevitably follows kingdom proclamation.

    2. Proclamation ultimately results in kingdom consummation.

III. Long for the Coming of Christ.

A. He came the first time lying in a manger; He will come the second time riding on the clouds.

B. He came the first time in humility to provide salvation; He will come the second time in glory to execute judgment.

C. Christians confidently watch: His timing will confound our wisdom.

D. Christians patiently wait: His return will exceed our expectations.

Ex. Christians urgently work: His church (our lives!) will accomplish his mission.

“His return will exceed our expectations.

We've all been hopeful for some thing or some anticipated event, waiting eagerly to experience it, only to be deeply disappointed when it didn't meet our expectations. It will not be so with the second coming of Christ. Our words are inadequate to describe the glory of what that scene will be like, as well as all that will unfold in the days to come after that. In The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis gives us a rich, imaginative picture of what that eternal state will be like. He ends the last book in the series like this:

‘As Aslan spoke, he no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.’

For believers, the return of Christ and the end of this world will be the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21-22). While waiting and watching confidently, Christians urgently work. We fight deception and temptation, we persevere through tribulation, and we…”

David Platt, Matthew, P. 323

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org

ChatGPT https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

AnswerThePublic.com

Wikipedia.com

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian FellowshipDarien Gabriel, non-denominational church, Bible-believing, Grace Christian Fellowship, Ladson, SC, return of Christ, prepare, Matthew 24
Why Did Jesus Come to Earth? | Matthew 20:20-34
Why Did Jesus Come to Earth? | Matthew 20:20-34

Series: All!

  • Jesus has all authority,

  • So that all nations

  • Might pledge all allegiance to him.

Title: “Why did Jesus come to earth?

Scripture: Matthew 20:20-34

Heavily indebted to Douglas Sean O’Donnell’s & David Platt’s commentaries for this message. (See below)

Bottom line: The way of greatness is the narrow way as seen in the humble example and sacrificial substitution of Jesus Christ on the cross.

““Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.7.14.NIV

The cross of Christ is great because

  1. It shows that humble servanthood and sacrificial suffering are exalted actions, (Example) and

  2. It gave eternal life to many as he died in their place. (Substitution)

“The first reason can be shortened to Jesus’ death as example, the second reason to Jesus’ death as substitution.” -O’Donnell

  1. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  2. SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES

  3. MAIN REFERENCES USED

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discussion questions for group and personal study. Reflect and Discuss:

1. How does the misguided approach of the disciples beginning in Matthew 20:20 parallel your own approach to God and the Christian life?

2. How does Jesus' healing of the blind men in Matthew 20:29-34 contrast with the request for privilege by James and John in the previous paragraph?

3. Why can't grace and pride coexist? Can you think of other Scriptural passages that speak to this truth?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Weekly questions I answer in preparation for the sermon:

Q. What do I want you to know?

A. Why Jesus came to earth. That he came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom. And he came to show us how to live after our rescue. He came to show us how to live and to empower us to live that way.

Q. Why?

A. To remind us why we follow Jesus in this way. His example and sacrificial act should inspire us through gratitude.

Q. What do I want you to do?

A. Live like he lived serving others sacrificially. (SOS)

Q. Why?

A. Because his example and his substitution are worthy of our entire lives. This is why we were saved in the first place.

OUTLINE & NOTES

Introduction

How to Avoid the Titanic Mistake (by Rick Warren via Nicky Gumbel)

James Cameron, director of the movie *Titanic,* describes the Titanic as a ‘metaphor’ of life: ‘We are all living on… \[the\] Titanic.’

When the Titanic set sail in 1912, it was declared to be ‘unsinkable’ because it was constructed using a new technology. The ship’s hull was divided into sixteen watertight compartments. Up to four of these compartments could be damaged or even flooded, and still the ship would float.

Tragically, the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 at 2.20 am. 1,513 people lost their lives.  (111 years ago almost to the day)

At the time, it was thought that five of its watertight compartments had been ruptured in a collision with an iceberg. However, on 1 September 1985, when the wreck of the Titanic was found lying upright on the ocean floor, there was no sign of the long gash previously thought to have been ripped in the ship’s hull. What they discovered was that damage to one compartment affected all the rest.

Many people make the Titanic mistake. They think they can divide their lives into different ‘compartments’ and that what they do in one will not affect the rest. However, as Rick Warren (from whom I have taken this illustration) says, ‘*A life of integrity is one that is not divided into compartments.’* David prayed for ‘*an undivided heart*’ (Psalm 86:11). He led the people with ‘*integrity of heart*’ (78:72). Supremely, Jesus was a ‘*man of integrity*’ (Matthew 22:16; Mark 12:14).

I would add that what makes this sinking so tragic is the hubris behind the idea that because of technological cleverness, they could move full steam ahead without concern for anything bad happening. But they were vulnerable because of this.

So are we.

Bottom line: The way of greatness is the narrow way as seen in the humble example and sacrificial substitution of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Why did Jesus come? “To serve and give his life as a ransom for many.” (20:28)

He came to show us how to live and to empower us to live that way.

Because…5 reasons:

  1. He came to suffer. The “cup” was descriptive of Jesus “drinking down the wrath of God in the place of sinners.” (Platt, p. 271)

  2. He came to save. “Ransom is a word that can refer to a payment made to release someone from slavery.” As in slavery to pay off a debt.

  3. He came to be our substitute. “For” can also be translated “in place of.” Read the verse again substituting these words (no pun intended). He died for you but he also died instead of you.

  4. He came to show us how to live.

    1. A different kind of leadership.

    2. To selflessly live for the good of others instead of yourself.

    3. Love people by serving people.

    4. SOS = Serving Others Sacrificially

      1. James was beheaded and John was exiled to the island of Patmos.

      2. This kind of sacrificial service is what defines kingdom greatness.

  5. He came to serve us.

    1. He came to be our lowly servant by becoming a man and providing salvation for us.

    2. The one who deserves to be served came to serve, and this service was ultimately demonstrated on the cross.

    3. Cf. Phil 2:3-8 Furthermore, He said He came “to give His life a ransom for many.” Some scholars say Jesus paid a ransom to the devil to set us free, but that is not the biblical picture. It is true that ransoms were paid in military tribunals in antiquity to secure the release of those who were held captive by the enemy. More frequently, however, ransoms were paid to secure the freedom of those who could not pay their debts and were facing indentured servitude. Jesus paid a ransom to purchase His beloved people out of their bondage to sin. Is it any wonder that the Apostle Paul says, “You were bought at a price” (1 Cor. 6:20)

    4. Jesus is our servant.

      1. But this doesn’t mean I tell Jesus what to do.

      2. It does mean Jesus gives us what we need.

    5. We are Jesus’ servants.

      1. But this doesn’t mean that Jesus needs our aid.

      2. This does mean that we submit to Jesus’ authority.

Two Blind Men

Applications:

  1. Boldly confess your need for his mercy.

  2. Humbly believe in his power to do the miraculous.

Conclusion

A missionary to Africa told someone, “When we want to share the gospel in a village in Africa, we don't send them books. We send them a Christian family.”

Why is it better to send the family than some books? It’s certainly cheaper. Seems more efficient. But this experienced missionary understood that the Christian life lived like Jesus would demonstrate the love of God through serving others sacrificially. Therefore, the gospel wouldn’t just be taught but caught.

It’s not about putting God or our church experience into a compartment and then living the rest of our lives without a care for what Jesus did for us. We recognize that we are vulnerable if even one compartment gets hit. We need God to cover everything in our lives. We must live with him at the center of our lives as we trust and follow him completely.

What about your neighbors? Co-workers? Classmates? Teammates? Coffee dates?

Bottom line: The way of greatness is the narrow way as seen in the humble example and sacrificial substitution of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Q. What do I want you to do?

A. Live like he lived serving others sacrificially. (SOS)

Q. Why?

A. Because his example and his substitution are worthy of our entire lives. This is why we were saved in the first place.

Notes

LGLP = SGSP

Compassion motivated by love

SOS = Serve Others Sacrificially

Search and Rescue Operation at great personal risk

Matthew 20:17-28

Mrs. Zebedee (Salome?) asks Jesus to elevate her 2 sons to second highest in his kingdom. She obviously thinks they deserve it and she wants the honor for them and for herself. Some think that Salome is Mary’s sister (Jesus’ mother Mary) so they’d be related. This seems inappropriate to ask. Perhaps she feels so safe with Jesus (they were among the earliest followers) that she boldly asks the desire of her heart. And is it really a bad thing for a parent to want to see their sons in such a prominent, honorable position empowered to serve under Jesus’ reign?

Jesus clearly sees the inappropriateness of her question. For he makes decisions by the leading of the Holy Spirit. she may not yet realize that.

Jesus gives 2 responses:

  1. “You don’t know what you are asking.” Because she—and they—don’t yet see that his kingdom is not of this world. That his kingdom is not run like other king domes. Her ignorance is not her fault.

  2. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” This question seems to be directed towards her sons (you is plural) for they answer Jesus. The “cup” refers to God’s holy wrath for the sins of the world. This will happen at the cross. It refers to suffering for his kingdom cause/mission. Now they may know what he’s referring to. After all, he just shared that in vv. 17-19 (and that for the 3rd time)

Well, whether they do or not, they answer that they can drink from that cup. It’s hard to believe that they comprehend what that could be like. In our zeal, we all tend to be overly optimistic about what we can and will do. Certainly they are willing. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

Jealous replies that they will indeed drink from the same cup but ot so they can get what they want. That’s for the Father to decide.

Of course, the other 10 are infuriated about this because either

  1. It’s inappropriate for them to ask,

  2. It means they think they’re more worthy and that Jesus might choose them. Hence, jealousy, or

  3. It means they asked first and the rest missed their chance.

Jesus moves now to teach them a kingdom principle: unlike the rulers of the kingdom of this world, if you want to be great or first in God’s kingdom, you must serve others sacrificially. (SOS)

Jesus is the ultimate SOS example. He served by literally exchanging his life for ours at the cross. Great love!

O’Donnell says that Mrs. Zebedee’s question is cowardly, commendable and condemnable.

  1. Cowardly in that the guys seem to have put their mother up to it. (Maybe not, but they didn’t stop her either; this is bold for a woman (unless she’s Jesus’ auntie))

  2. Commendable in that they believed Jesus’ kingdom was inevitable.

  3. Condemnable in that they were asking for glory when Jesus just said he was going to pathway of shame via the cross. Who are they to think their path would be any better? “Jesus will be lifted up on a tree, and these boys want to be lifted up to thrones number two and three.”

I would like to add some thoughts here on American Christianity and our collective desire to be in power politically.

Our desires to affect change in our culture is not bad in and of itself. But the way we tend to want to go about it is the same as the “Gentiles” and Romans did. (And everyone else) We want to operate from a position of power. But Jesus calls us to change our ambition from being served and first to being he servant and slave and last. Who’s doing this today? Very few.

What I’m trying to say is that I wonder if we’re not operating more like Mrs. Zebedee, James and John than we are like Jesus.

Matthew 20:29-34

Two blind men are out panning for alms as they likely did every day. They hear a large crowd coming. They’re excited because they’ve already heard that Jesus of Nazareth is coming through. They believe he will heal them.

So when he comes through, they cry out for mercy. They call him:

Lord = master, sir at the very least; but, in context, probably even Messiah

Son of David = Not only a king in David’s dynasty but the prophesied king of kings (divine)

Have mercy on us. They are indeed in need of mercy. They can’t see and so are dependent on others for most needs. Those they depend on already have a hard life.l

Jesus stops after they cry out again (despite the crowd’s reaction) and asks them what they want him to do for them. They reply they want what they obviously need—to see.

Jesus, motivated by compassion, gives them what they ask for but way more than they asked for. He gave them the ability to see

  1. In this world

  2. Into the next world. This was the greater blessing.

So Jesus models SOS adding a key ingredient to the recipe of LP: Compassion. That is our motive—the mercy and love of God for those in need around us.

Notes from Douglas Sean O’Donnell

Nothing funny about prideful ambition.

O’Donnell says that Mrs. Zebedee’s question is cowardly, commendable and condemnable.

  1. Cowardly in that the guys seem to have put their mother up to it. (Maybe not, but they didn’t stop her either; this is bold for a woman (unless she’s Jesus’ auntie))

  2. Commendable in that they believed Jesus’ kingdom was inevitable.

  3. Condemnable in that they were asking for glory when Jesus just said he was going to pathway of shame via the cross. Who are they to think their path would be any better? “Jesus will be lifted up on a tree, and these boys want to be lifted up to thrones number two and three.”

2 lessons:

  1. “We should recognize that true faith and real error can be mixed in the heart of the Brest Christian’s…Thus we ought to persistently pray for purity, and we ought to gently seek to purify one another.”

  2. “Do we believe Jesus will reign? Do we give a passing thought to the eternal kingdom? Do we hope to get a good spot in it?

Jesus won’t condemn the 12 but he will correct them.

He’s given us his last-first theology (his view of kingdom greatness) twice in these last 2 sections in Matthew.

He follows with telling them why the cross is so great:

  1. “The cross of Christ is so great because it shows that humble servant hood and sacrificial suffering are exalted actions.

  2. “The cross of Christ is so great because the two-day death of one man gave eternal life to many.”l

Jesus’ Death as an Example

“Jesus’ corrective her is straightforward:

A. Gentile or pagan rulers rule this way because they view greatness this way;

B. You are to rule another way because you view greatness in the opposite way; and

C. That way is the way of the cross. And the way of the cross is humble servanthood.”

“Whoever would be great among you

Must be your servant.

Whoever would be first

Must be your slave.” Vv. 26-27

Synonymous focus:

“I’ll put it this way. Do you want to be ‘great’? Then you need to be a ‘servant’ (diakonos)—that is, wait tables, serve others. Do you want to not just be ‘great’ but to be ‘first’ I(the first among the greats)? Then you need to be a ‘slave’ (doulos)—that is, someone ‘who has no right or existence on his own, how lives solely for others.” P. 571

“Our culture ‘ceaselessly’ directs us up, up, up; we must ‘pray almost daily for the wisdom and courage’ to go down, down, down.” “He descended into greatness.” Cf. Phil 2:5-11

Jesus’ Death as a Substitution

“The cross of Christ is so great because the three-day (Good Friday, Holy Saturday) death of one man gave eternal ire to many. The first reason can be shortened to Jesus’ death as example, the second reason to Jesus’ death as substitution.

3 Key words: (2 from v. 28)

  1. “For” — or “in the place of”; The preposition means substitution

  2. “Cup” — 1) “the hostilities that arise from faithful gospel proclamation and living?, 2) “God’s wrathful judgment upon wickedness.”

  3. “Ransom” — The price paid to release slaves. “It could also refer to money pain int he place of capital punishment.”

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB)

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian FellowshipDarien Gabriel, Ladson, SC, Bible-believing, church, Grace Christian Fellowship, non-denomination church, Matthew 20, Why did Jesus come to earth
How Will You Respond? | Matthew 20: 17-19
How Will You Respond? | Matthew 20: 17-19

How Will You Respond?

Matthew 20:17-19

Matthew 16: Christ first prediction of his death followed by Peter’s shocked response.

Christ second prediction of his death in Matthew 17 followed by the disciples being greatly distressed. (Not focusing on Jesus stating he would rise again).

Christ third prediction of his death Matthew 20:17-19 followed by the disciples seeking position and power. It was like they had become numb to Jesus’ message.

Shocked to distressed to glory seeking. May we not tire or miss the Gospel in our lives as we reflect upon the cross and the resurrection.

Read More
Ken DorrityGrace Christian FellowshipEaster, Ken Dorrity, Grace Christian Fellowship, non-denominational church, Bible-believing, Ladson, SC, Matthew, Jesus' death
Who is the GOAT? | Matthew 18:1-9
Who is the GOAT? | Matthew 18:1-9

How to be the GOAT (Greatest of All Time)?  Matthew 18:1-9 || 2/19/23

Have you heard the saying, “He is the GOAT” “Greatest Of All Time.”

Disciples ask a version of the question, "Who is the greatest?"

Here in Matthew 18, we find the fourth of 5 great discourses in Matthew.

The Lead In:  

  • Matthew 16 - Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?”  Followed by “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16. 

  • Matthew 17 we read the account of the transfiguration on the mountain with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  Peter, James, and John witnessed. 

·      Moses – burning bush, parting of the Red Sea, 10 Commandments,…

·      Elijah – powerful OT prophet, facing off against prophets of Baal. 

The disciples knew He was the messiah who the O.T. spoke of.  Jesus also told them He would suffer and die, but they seem to have missed the point.  

Notice these first four verses of Matt. 18 set the stage for the rest of the chapter and how to relate to other Christians.  God will deal with those who lead His children into sin.  Jesus illustrates that sin is deadly and His followers should be deal with quickly with it.

Read More
Ken DorrityGrace Christian FellowshipKen Dorrity, GOAT, Matthew, ALL, Grace Christian Fellowship, Ladson, SC, non-denominational church, Bible-believing, church
How to Avoid Making Bad Bread | Matthew 16:1-12
How to Avoid Making Bad Bread | Matthew 16:1-12

Series: All!

Scripture: Matthew 16:1-12

Title: “How to Avoid Making Bad Bread” (Mikey Brannon)

Bottom line: We avoid making bad bread by remembering that God can, God cares and therefore by heading his warnings.

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

Reflect and Discuss

1. How does self-righteousness blind us to Christ?

2. If Jesus performed signs in His ministry, why was it wrong for the Pharisees and Sadducees to request signs?

3. How is self-denial different from works-righteousness?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Q. What do I want you to know?

A. Jesus invites you to come and feast with him and his family by grace through faith.

Q. Why?

A. To empower us to save, satisfy and serve all peoples of all nations.

Q. What do I want you to do?

A. Accept his invitation by faith.

Q. Why?

A. So that you’ll be propelled to save, satisfy and serve your neighbors.

Mikey’s notes

JANUARY 22, 2023

Bad Bread

Grace Christian Fellowship

FALLEN CONDITION FOCUS

Because our flesh weak, we are susceptible to influences that can corrupt our beliefs and our discipleship.

 

INTRODUCTION

Please turn in your Bible to Matthew 16:1-12. It is an honor to be up here this morning. Thanks to Darien, and to such a gracious and loving church family to allow me to share with you this week.

Let us just have a word of prayer.

When Brooke and I were just married, we were in college, and we lived in a manufactured home in North Alabama. And back then we were young and all I can remember is we could sleep for days back then. There were no kids to wake us up, and on Saturday morning after we had worked all week in the day, and went to school at night when Saturday rolled around we would just sleep until lunchtime.

But on this Saturday there was a bout of severe tornadoes that were working their way through our town. And we rented the “land” our house was on from an elderly couple across the street. Very sweet people, they had a house with a foundation, and they even had a storm cellar that they always said we were welcome to use. And on that morning, all the weather radios were blaring in the town, and the sirens on top of the water tower were blaring. And the TV was flashing red because guess what there was, a Tornado warning. All morning long, just tornado after tornado. And guess what Brooke and I were doing. Yep, sleeping. Not a care in the world. And across the street that elderly couple who could see our house from the cellar they were in were just worried sick, because we were not heading any of the… warnings.

We are familiar with warnings in our day and age. We get them all the time. You may see a tornado warning, hurricane warning, you may get a warning from you car regarding your engine temperature or something like that. But what we really don’t expect to see is a warning about bread. Today I want to talk to you about just such a warning that Jesus gave his disciples after an encounter with his disciples.

I. The Unreachable Moment

We know from Chapter 15 that Jesus is on the West side of the Sea of Galilee in a place called Magadan. And when they arrive they approached by 2 groups of people.

[Mat 16:1 ESV] 1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

Pharisees and Sadducees came

At first glance this may remind you of what we saw back Matthew 12:38. In fact, Jesus is going to give this group the same answer that he gave those guys. But there is something different here. We now have not scribes, but Sadducees.

We know the Pharisees right. They were the keepers of the law. They were religious leaders who made sure everybody was following the rules. They would be considered the “right wing” of the Jewish religion. These legalist as we have discussed “added to Scripture” all sorts of rules and regulations.

The Sadducees were sort of like the Jewish elite. They were the upper class, and generally worked in the care of the temple (corruption) and held positions like high priest or chief priest. They had very different beliefs than the Pharisees. For instance they really didn’t believe in anything supernatural. They didn’t believe in miracles. They didn’t believe in resurrection. They sort of spiritualized all of scripture so that it was basically just meaningless. They took away from Scripture because they only believed in the first 5 books of the Bible.

So one group of Scripture adders, another group of Scripture subtractors. These 2 groups did not get along very well at all. But they are united in our text today in their hatred toward Jesus, and their commitment to try to expose him as a fraud.

 

test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

The motivation for this request is evil. We have seen already that Jesus has produced numerous undeniable miracles. In fact if you recall in Matthew 12:24, that when Jesus cleansed a demon-oppressed man they said that the miracle was in fact performed was performed by the power of Satan. So we know that even when faced with overwhelming evidence of Jesus’ deity they will not believe. They are spiritually blind and spiritually dead.

In Matthew 12 they asked for a “sign”, but here they as for something more, they ask for a “sign from heaven”. Bible scholars tell us that some in this day had the belief that Satan could do a miracle on the ground, but only God could do a miracle in the sky or in the heavens. So they want something grand.

 

Now don’t miss this. They are looking for a sign from heaven, when THE sign from heaven is standing in front of them

[Luk 2:34 NIV] 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

And now we see from Luke that in denying him as a sign from heaven fulfills the words and fulfills this prophecy from Simeon so many years ago.

II. They Lack Vision to See

[Mat 16:2-3 ESV] 2 He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'

3 And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

As you might expect, Jesus does not grant the request to perform a sign for the Pharisees and Sadducees. Instead he draws their attention to their Spiritual Blindness.

This saying that we read Jesus saying is one that you are likely familiar with even today. “Red sky at night, sailors delight, red sky in the morning sailors warning.” The saying can even be traced back to shepherds in this day who applied the saying to their occupation in a similar way.

I think its first of all kind of funny. In a way, Jesus says, you are better meteorologist than you are theologians. The problem is that they were supposed to be experts on theology not on weather, but Jesus says your theology is so bad, perhaps you should stick to being a weather man.

I suspect that Jesus has something in mind when he makes this statement. In order for them to discern the weather, they had to utilize one of their five senses right. We see in verse three the word “red”. In order for them to discern what the weather would be they needed to be able to SEE the sky.

[Mat 15:14 ESV] 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."

I think Jesus is pointing out that they have the vision to see the physical world, but when it comes to His Kingdom, when it comes to Him, they may as well not even have eyeballs in their head. They are completely and totally Spiritually blind.

This is the condition of man as he enters the world. It was the condition of his disciple even at one point. It is likely the condition of somebody here today. Spiritual things are not just dim, or hard to understand, but they are invisible. Unless the Holy Spirit brings about conviction, and illuminates the gospel there is no hope to see the Kingdom.

4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.

It wasn’t very long ago I was riding in my car, and a long time I used to listen to the radio, but I don’t know if people still do that. I usually have my phone and I listen to podcasts. And it was a particularly popular podcast, completely secular, and the subject came up about God. And the guest was sort of half-heartedly advocating for the existence of God, but the host wouldn’t have any part of it. And at the conclusion of the conversation the host said, “why won’t God just do one big miracle and make it so obvious that there is no debate.”

“Evil and adulterous generation”, we have God’s full revelation of Scripture. We have the biggest miracle that we could ever hope for in the resurrection of Jesus, and we have the nerve to ask God to do something else? It’s pure evil.

Jesus along those lines, answers as he did back in chapter 12, “no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.”

The Old Testament is full of what theologians call Christ types. And this term is used to acknowledge someone who in the OT that is meant to forshadow the work and person of Jesus Christ. I don’t have time to go through them, but there are many Christ types in the Old Testament. One of those Christ types is Jonah. Now obviously Jonah had his issues, but that’s not the point. As we read his story we get a picture of Christ. Christ would be sent to bring salvation to his people. Johan would be sent to save the people of Nineveh. Jesus would be crucified put in the ground for three days and then live again. Jonah would spend 3 days in the belly of a fish, and then appear on dry land again to do God’s work.

Now think about what Jesus is saying about Jonah and the people of Nineveh. The Ninevites have a long history of idolatry and wickedness. It is not the place you want to go on mission. There are some bad, wicked people in Nineveh.

[Jon 1:1-2 ESV] 1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me."

So we have Jonah, who is just a shadow of Christ. Flawed and sinful, and here he is, sent to the absolutely depraved place. And guess what happened. With just a shadow of Christ, they were broken to the core. They covered themselves in sackcloth and ashes. The fasted in brokenness for their own sin. All in faith that God would turn from his wrath and save them.

Now there is a picture of repentance. So often we (the church) are guilty of watering down what repentance really looks like. True brokenness for sin. It’s so much more than, “I’m sorry God”. It’s starts there, but it goes further into physical action of turning from sin. Does our rebellion from God break us the way it broke the Ninevites?

And so Jesus looks at the Pharisees and the Sadducees and he says you want a sign, just look at Jonah. They didn’t have God the Son incarnate standing in front of them. They didn’t have the countless miracles that you have heard and seen performed in front of you. They didn’t have the Son of Man teaching in their synagogue. All they had was, Jonah, a shadow. The shadow of the one who stands 2 feet in front of your face, and yet you are too blind to see the light.

III. The Teachable Moment

[Mat 16:5 ESV] 5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.

In verse 5 we get a change in setting. No longer are we in Magadan in the heated exchange, but now across the Sea of Galilee we move. And I can just picture the disciple begin row the boat out to sea. It’s been a long day, and they realize they don’t have any bread.

Now listen, for those of us who do road trips, we can identify. Brooke is always good when we head off on a long road trip to pack snacks, and let me tell you if I don’t have some snacks you don’t want to be around me. It’s not pretty.

Where they land on the North Eastern side of the SOG, there is likely no place for them to buy bread. And if I’m honest, and I was in that boat, listen, I would be the guy who was like. There are no bread stores here. What are we going  to do?

So Jesus recognizes the nutritional unrest that has ensued among his disciples and he uses that as a launching point to what he wants them to hear. As those of us who disciple others, whether it’s in a group or our family or our friends we should follow Jesus’ model here and always be looking for teachable moments like this.

You see Jesus’ mind is still on what happened back west, and the danger that is hidden in what has just transpired with those Pharisees and Sadducees and he issues a warning.

[Mat 16:6 ESV] 6 Jesus said to them, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

This is where we get the warning “beware”. This is a warning from Jesus that there is danger lurking, but the danger comes from somewhere that they don’t immediately understand. Jesus says watch out for the “leaven” of the P & S.

When Jesus talks ab out leaven what is he talking about. Leaven was used in those days like yeast. Something that was used to make bread rise from something flat to something full. They used a process where they had a “starter” for the bread. And that starter contained the leaven that was required to make the bread rise.

As many times we saw when Jesus would use figurative speech to illustrate a point the disciples weren’t the quickest to catch on to the meaning. I can remember when I was taking High School literature, and we would read an abstract poem that had some deeper meaning often times the teach would ask the class to write a paper about what the poem meant. Usually this meant I was in trouble. I am a very literal person, that’s why I became an engineer and not a poet.

But Jesus like a good teacher, is patient with his pupils.

[Mat 16:7-8 ESV] 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread." 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

 

Now this is where some of you skinny people start getting real spiritual and say those guys are thick head. But I promise you, I know if I had been in that boat I would have been saying the same thing as the disciples. Wait, Jesus is the bread bad or what, we don’t even have bread! We are so hungry.

But Jesus put’s his finger directly on what the real issue. What is the real reason that they don’t see his point. Not hunger. It’s not their thickheadedness or anything else, it is faith! They don’t have faith. And Jesus reminds them of some things that he had done.

[Mat 16:9-10 ESV] 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?

There is a powerful connection that Jesus makes between the current situation, and where they have been. It’s so easy for us to say, they should remember that Jesus can make bread. He has demonstrated to them 2 times that he has the power to make food. But in this moment is their faith has failed them. The don’t remember.

How many times are our eyes so blinded by our current situation that we don’t remember the one who has us in his grip? When the trials of life that we all face come and grab us and shake us up sometimes our first instinct is to exactly what these disciple do. We begin to worry. We begin to talk among ourselves, woe is me I don’t have what I need.

Sometimes our faith can fail us in these moments. We forget the one who sits in the boat with us too. We get so focused on our day to day that we forget the sovereign God of the universe promises us that every detail of our life is in his control. Not only is capable of helping, he is willing.

And I think now he has their attention. They are ready for the bigger picture, so he repeats it again.

[Mat 16:11 ESV] 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

So we know what leaven is now, but let’s go a little deeper into that thought. I was thinking about this. Jesus could have used any word he wanted. He could have said something like this “Beware of the poison of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” But he didn’t say that. Why do you think that is?

We all know what poison looks like right? You’ve seen it on the cartoons. It comes in a dark brown bottle and what is on the outside of the jar? Right it has a skull and cross-bones and it plainly says right there on the jar “poison”. But leaven is not like that is it?

You see we all love bread. We need bread to eat. And bread is a good thing to eat! But there is something hidden in that bread. A very small amount of leaven was put into that bread. And that tiny amount of leaven has had a huge impact on how that bread turned out.

Jesus is warning his disciple to be very careful that they don’t let something like this leaven of the Pharisees creep into the gospel that he is teaching them. It only takes a small amount, and you may mistake it for something good, and before you know it, it creeps and destroys.

It doesn’t just destroy one loaf of bread, because that starter that was used to make the bad bread, guess what the baker does tomorrow. It gets a new batch of starter and he makes bad bread after bad bread after bad bread. Sound familiar? Have you seen that happen?

That is why Jesus is so right when he says beware!

[Mat 16:12 ESV] 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

At the beginning of verse 12, I love this phrase, “then they understood”. Isn’t that wonderful. Jesus is a persistent teacher. He has patience with his students. He sees this teachable moment and walks them right up to the point that they UNDERSTAND. This is every disciple makers dream come true.

What is the leaven? It’s given to us right there in verse 12. Jesus says it is the “teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. And his warning is, if you are not very careful this bad doctrine can sneak into you. It can sneak into your teaching, into your preaching, into your life. And if you’re not vigilant, your bread can be ruined, and you can multiply that bad bread further than any of us care to think of.

So real quickly as we close I want to give you just a brief summary

 

How to avoid making bad bread

1) In difficult circumstances remember that we have a loving Savior who has the ability and the desire to care for our needs. Matthew 16:9-10

2) When your faith is weak, REMEMBER what God has done for others. Mathew 16:9-10 & Hebrews 11

3) When your faith is weak, REMEMBER what God has done for you. Hebrews 12:1-2

4) Guard yourself against bad doctrine, for your sake and for the sake of others. Psalm 1

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

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Guest UserGrace Christian Fellowshipnon-denominational church, Ladson, SC, Mikey Brannon, Matthew 16, bread, Bible-believing, church
How Do I Know That I'm Saved? | Matthew 7:21-29
How Do I Know That I'm Saved? | Matthew 7:21-29

Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-29 (Main); Matthew 16:15-18, John 20:31

Title: How do I know that I’m saved? (Darien Gabriel)

Bottom line: I know that I’m saved when I practice what Jesus preaches, doing God’s will by obeying God’s word.

Q. What do I want you to know?

A. How to know that you are saved.

Q. Why?

A. Because knowing leads to confident, wise and peace-filled living.

Q. What do I want you to do?

A. Do God’s will by obeying God’s word.

Q. Why?

A. Because it leads to abundant, wise living now and eternal life hereafter.

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

1. If not everyone who says they know Jesus iOS in fact known by Jesus, how can you know for certain that Jesus knows you? How can the church help make sure each person genuinely knows Jesus as their Lord?

2. How can you know whether the authority over your life is reason, experience, tradition, or revelation?

3. Examine the characteristics of the two types of wisdom from James.

Is wisdom a mental, emotional, or physical trait?

4. Where else in Matthew do you see Jesus warn of judgment?

5. How should Christians balance salvation by grace with judgment based on obedience as Jesus teaches in this passage?

6. Why is Jesus's parable of the two builders a fitting conclusion to his

Sermon on the Mount?

7. Read the other passages about great storms of judgment (Isa 28:16-

22; Ezek 13:10-16). What are the causes of impending judgment in those contexts, and how do they compare with Matthew's context?

8. What does "casual and comfortable Christianity" look like, and how does that compare to how Jesus calls his followers to live?

9. In what areas of your life (finance, work, family, recreation, etc.) would you say that you were more

"amazed" at Jesus's teachings

instead of obedient to them? What can you change to be obedient in those areas?

10. Since Jesus's words have divine authority, how does that affect your approach to the Bible?

11. How is the obedience Jesus desires both an inward piety and an outward action? How does Scripture characterize and describe obedience in both areas?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Intro

Some of you know that I went to Clemson my freshman year thinking I was a Christian. Two months later, I learned that I wasn’t surrendered my life to Jesus Christ.

I thought I was saved but I wasn’t.

What about you? Do you ever have doubts? Do you ever ask yourself whether or not you’re the real deal? It’s not a bad question to ask.

Jesus answers this question using some shocking words. It’s like he’s trying to jolt the spiritually inoculated. Jesus tells us how to know you are really saved.

The result should be a sense of peace, joy and confidence in who you are and how to live.

Last week we looked at 2 kinds of

  • Roads/Gates—one leading to life the other to destruction,

  • Animals: Sheep and wolves; Prophets or disciples—one part of the flock, the other out to devour the flock

  • Trees—one bearing good fruit, the other bad fruit and teaching falsehoods

This week we’ll look at 2 kinds of

  • Evangelical Christians—both look and speak the part, but only one is alive inside. Like the ancient oak tree that falls in the storm and it’s revealed that it was weaker than expected because the inside was rotten at the core.

  • Foundations—one built wisely on stone is built to last while the other is built to impress or for show.

Today Jesus will challenge the veracity of your faith.

Jesus ends his sermon on the mount (SOTM) with a challenge to do more than just hear and be impressed by it. And notice in v. 29 that the people were very impressed by it. They noted that it was authoritative instead of just footnoted well. His aim is that people would take it to heart and be changed by it. The evidence of this would be them starting to build their lives on the lasting foundation of Jesus the Christ.

The sad truth, however, is that our churches are full of false evangelical converts who rely on

  • Their vocabulary—we know the lingo “brother”, “fellowship” and “born again”

  • Their social conventions—attitudes like “don’t drink, smoke or chew or date girls who do”

  • Their similar likes and dislikes—eat at Chick-fil-A, shop at Hobby Lobby, Ben & Jerry’s, smirk at rainbow stickers, and make it clear to anyone who will listen what we’re against.

  • Their strong heritage—My granddaddy was a pastor; my grandmother was a missionary

  • Their successful jumping through the hoops—I’ve been through confirmation class; I was baptized at an early age.

While these things are not necessarily wrong or bad in and of themselves, the result of all of this is often inoculated people who believe that they are evangelical, bible-believing, Christ-trusting, cross-wearing, member-pledging Christians who in fact are false converts that Christ will say to at the day of judgment, “I never knew you.” “Many” are in this boat. Beware of thinking that you could not possibly be in this boat.

Bottom line: I know that I’m saved when I practice what Jesus preaches, doing God’s will by obeying God’s word.

In today’s news cycle, it’s not unusual to hear pundits talk about evangelical Christians as a voter block. But this can leave one shaking his head when they hear the results of the poles describing these creatures. Could it be that the culture has hijacked the word evangelical and defined it in political terms differing from the original religious terms?

What is an evangelical Christian? A person who believes:

  1. The Bible is divinely inspired and infallible, and subscribes to the doctrinal formulations that teach

  2. The total depravity of humanity,

  3. The inerrancy of the Scriptures (The Bible),

  4. The substitutionary death and atonement of Christ,

  5. Salvation by unmerited grace through personal faith in Christ (not through good words),

  6. The necessity of a transformed life,

  7. The existence of a literal Heaven and Hell,

  8. And the visible personal return of Jesus Christ to set up his kingdom of righteousness. Moreover, they believe in

  9. The proclamation of the gospel and

  10. The mission of winning the world to Christ. —Evangelical Dictionary of Theology

Does that sound like the people CNN & Fox are talking about during their election coverage? Or do they define them differently?

In vv. 13-20 Jesus warns against the dangers that come from the outside. In vv. 21-27 he warns us of the dangers that come from ourselves. That is

  1. The danger of basing your salvation on lip service, and

  2. The danger of basing your salvation on lifestyle.

John Newton, the former slave trader and author of Amazing Grace said, “If I ever reach Heaven I expect to find three wonders there: 1) First, to meet some I had not thought to see there; 2) Second, to miss some I had thought to meet there; and 3) Third, the greatest wonder of all, to find myself there.”

This outline is heavily influenced by Kent Hughes.

I. I know I’m saved when I do his will. (7:21-23)

John Stott’s remarkable confession by the “many” in vv. 21-22:

  1. This confession is polite. He is called Lord which is to say “sir”. Even today, this is a courteous and tolerant way to address Jesus.

  2. This confession is orthodox. Of course, it can also mean and does mean divine rule. Context requires that we see Jesus as Lord as in divine ruler by the authority given to him by God the Father.

  3. This confession is fervent. “Lord, Lord” shows enthusiasm and zeal.

  4. This confession is public. Not a private or secret confession of faith. It’s gloriously public.

So what’s wrong with this confession of faith? Nothing! But there is a problem. You can do any one of these and still not truly be saved.

The problem is that you can confess these things in this way and still not have abundant, eternal life. How do know then? How can we tell if we are truly saved?

The answer lies in the bookends of the SOTM. The SOTM begins with the beatitudes (beautiful attitudes) and ends with the application of them. That is when we practice the attitudes and following heart-felt obedience of the will of God on a regular basis, then we evidence genuine knowledge of Christ and salvation by him.

Said another way, we are genuinely growing in Christ-like character and conduct on a regular basis. We are practicing the principles taught in Matt 5-7. No wonder Matthew chose this to be the first of Jesus’ 5 major teaching passages in the book of Matthew!

At Grace, we’re all about making disciples who make disciples. But when do you know you have a disciple of Jesus Christ? When he/she is growing in being and doing like Jesus Christ. What does that look like? It looks like the words, ways and works of Jesus found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But you can start with the SOTM if you want a quick summary.

II. I know I’m saved when I obey his word. (7:24-28)

“Fool” comes from the Greek word moro from which we get our word moron.

“The man who builds his house upon the shifting foundation is likened to the person who hears Jesus’ words but who does not put them to practice. The man who builds his house upon the rock is like

In this passage, we learn that 2 people can go to the same church, do the same things, believe the same things but find themselves in very different places after the storms of life and/or ultimately at the day of judgment.

Both build a house that looks the same. But one cares more about the foundation and he digs deeper through the sand to the rock and builds his foundation on that. As a result, when the storms of life come, his house will stand. (Metaphorically) And when Jesus returns, Jesus will not say, “I never knew you” because he built his life on the rock-solid confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and that by believing in him will have life in his name. (Matthew 16:15-18 + John 20:31)

III. I know I am saved when I live based on his authority. (7:28-29)

I like how Matthew ends this sermon for Jesus. He tells us what the people say which tells us two things:

  1. His words are amazing.

  2. His words are authoritative.

Norm Geisler gives us 4 sources of authority that shape our decisionl-making:

  1. Reason (I think),

  2. Experience (I feel),

  3. Tradition (I have always done), and

  4. Revelation (God says in his word).

Geisler adds, “one or more of these authorities will govern how we live.”

Who’s your authority in making decisions in life and hereafter?

Conclusion

Bottom line: I know that I’m saved when I practice what Jesus preaches, doing God’s will by obeying God’s word.

“Look around and be distressed; look within and be depressed; look to Jesus and be at rest.”

-Corrie Ten Boom

Bill Murphey, my favorite e newsletter guy, shared an idea that he’s heard that people die 3X in life:

  1. When their body stops working,

  2. When they’re buried, and

  3. After the last time anyone says their name.

I’ll add a fourth. It’s either when

  1. When they die to self and surrender to Jesus Christ, or

  2. When they enter the hereafter in a real place called hell.

I want you to know that abundant and eternal life is possible when we do God’s will by obeying God’s word.

In summary,

We know that we are saved when we do his will and obey his word, outwardly and inwardly, because we trust he is good, able and trustworthy. As a result we love him and gladly submit to his authority evidencing our genuine salvation.

  1. Do you believe God is good?

  2. Do you believe God is able?

  3. Do you believe God is trustworthy?

  4. Do you believe God loves you?

  5. Do you gladly submit to his authority?

If you don’t, then you haven’t answered 1-4 with a yes yet.

If you do, then you know that you’re saved. Continue to walk in his grace and wisdom.

So I ask you to you know that you’ve been saved from sin and death, shame and guilt, and hell itself?

Is your life pattern to do the will of God?

Is your life pattern to obey the word of God as summarized in the Sermon on the Mount?

Repent and believe today! Trust him who is good, able and trustworthy! Trust him who loves you unconditionally and sacrificially through the cross of Christ.

Pray

Outline Bible

II. JESUS' ILLUSTRATION (7:13-27)

A. The two roads (7:13-14)

1. The broad highway to hell (7:13): The gate is wide, and many choose this way to destruction.

2. The narrow road to heaven (7:14): The gate is narrow, and only a few ever find it.

B. The two animals (a condemnation of false prophets) (7:1)

1. They pretend to be sheep (7:15a): They seem harmless.

2. They prove to be wolves (7:15b): They tear you apart.

C. The two kinds of disciples (7:21-23)

1. True disciples (7:21a): On judgment day, the true disciples will be separated from the false ones.

2. False disciples (7:21b-23): On judgment day, the false disciples will be condemned.

a. The wondrous deeds they will say they did (7:22): They will say they prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles in his name.

b. The wicked deeds Christ will say they did (7:21b, 23): They disobeyed the Father, and God will say he never knew them.

D. The two trees (7:16-20)

1. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit (7:16, 18).

2. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit (7:17, 19-20).

E. The two builders (7:24-27)

1. The structures (7:24, 26)

a. One man built his house on solid rock (7:24).

b. One man built his house on shifting sand (7:26).

2. The storm (7:25, 27)

a. The house on the rock stood firm (7:25).

b. The house on the sand fell flat (7:27).

III. JESUS' DEMONSTRATIONS (7:28-29): Jesus continues to teach, amazing his listeners with his authority.

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Sermon on the Mount” by Charles Quayle’s

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson 

Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey

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Darien GabrielGrace Christian FellowshipBible-believing, church, Grace Christian Fellowship, Darien Gabriel, non-denominational church, Matthew, saved, how do I know I'm saved?, Ladson, SC, All
What's the Bottom Line of the Sermon on the Mount? | Matthew 7:13-20
What's the Bottom Line of the Sermon on the Mount? | Matthew 7:13-20

Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-20 (Main)

Title: What’s the Bottom Line of the SOTM? (Darien Gabriel)

Bottom line: The bottom line of the SOTM is that you have a choice to believe it or not. There is no middle ground.

Q. What do I want you to know?

A. The bottom line of the sermon on the mount (SOTM)—which is that you have a choice which way you will go—the narrow or broad way.

Q. Why?

A. Because to not decide is to decide and choose death and destruction.

Q. What do I want you to do?

A. Enter through the narrow gate embracing the SOTM as your way to follow Jesus

Q. Why?

A. Because it leads to life—abundant and eternal

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

1. How can you know if you are walking on the wide path or the narrow path?

2. Is the choice between the wide and narrow paths a one-time choice, or will you need to choose between them on multiple occasions? Why?

3. Is the path to eternal life narrow because of God's design or man's choices?

4. Read all of Psalm 73. How does the psalmist's realization help us choose the narrow path when it is the more difficult one?

5. True teachers and false teachers will both appeal to Scripture. So how can the church know which teachings are true and which are false?

6. Why are false teachings so convincing at times?

7. What false teachings are popular today that the church needs to be aware of?

8. What are steps the church can take to protect itself against false teachers and false teaching?

9. Is it possible for someone to teach something incorrect but not be a false teacher? Why or why not?

10. If not everyone who says they know Jesus is in fact known by Jesus, how can you know for certain that [esus knows you? How can the church help make sure each person genuinely knows Jesus as their Lord?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Intro

The Forgotten Way—do you remember?

  • Discerning which road to take

  • Discerning False Preachers/Teachers

Fleshing out the SOTM = the narrow way (aka The Forgotten Way, devotional by Ted Dekker)

This is the beginning of the end of the sermon on the mount (SOTM). Jesus moves from

  1. kingdom character as outlined in the beatitudes (“beautiful attitudes”, Hughes) to

  2. two metaphors of salt and light to illustrate how to live as kingdom citizens.

  3. He followed this with how to live a righteous life greater than the religious leaders.

  4. Then he gave many examples of what this looks like in the raising the bar to the spirit of the law.

  5. Then he gives specific instructions on giving, praying, fasting, materialism, worry, wrongly judging others, and prayer.

  6. He caps this off with the golden rule.

His lengthy conclusion is in effect this: Of all the things I could have said, that’s what I’m saying to you as God in the flesh. Now, what are you going to do about it?

Discerning which road to take

In sum, the SOTM “is about getting on the right road and staying on it.” -Hughes

I. The road to destruction (7:13)

  • Easy traveling: Picture a large entrance to a city; wide gates, lots of room, easy to travel down

  • Take it all: You don’t have to leave anything behind to work your way down this street

  • No boundaries

  • Apparent freedom

  • Crowded: Most people are here

  • Road ends at the edge of the abyss—but the traveler does not!

II. The road to life (7:14)

  • Road is narrow (but straight or direct) because truth is specific; it is or is not

    • Salvation is by no other name than Jesus…Acts 4:12

    • I am the way and the truth and the life…John 14:6

    • Our affections are narrow; our love for the Lord >…

      • Our parents

      • Our children

      • Our spouse

      • Ourself

  • Way is hard: Help is needed

  • Hard to find: You have to search for it to find it; even then you need help

  • Count the cost: Jesus is upfront about this road being narrow and difficult; take up your cross…

  • Leave it all: You don’t need anything

  • Leads to life: Life that is eternal is knowing the Son and knowing the Father…John 17:3

  • Few find it: not many traveling on this road

  • Embracing the beatitudes (by grace through faith) are finding the gate; walking the beatitudes (by grace through faith) is walking the narrow road

  • This is a command; It’s no accident that Jesus placed this text at the beginning of the end of the SOTM. He knew some would simply marvel at the message. So Jesus commands us to “Enter through the narrow gate”

  • There is no such thing as everyone gets saved. (Universalism) The Bible teaches that those who choose the narrow way find life. But that most people will not find it because they don’t believe it.

  • There is only one way to heaven—

    • “I am the way…” John 14:6

    • “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

    • “For there is on eGod and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Tim 2:5

Which road are you on today?

Discerning False Teachers

“CHUCK SWINDOLL TELLS THE STORY about an unforgettable evening when a friend of his ate dog food. Contrary to what we might expect, he was not starving, nor was he being initiated into a fraternity. Rather, it happened at an elegant physician's home near Miami. The dog food was served on delicate little crackers with a wedge of imported cheese, bacon chips, and an olive, topped with a sliver of pimento. Hors d'oeuvres a la Alpo! The deed was not perpetrated by an enemy but by a friend. (With friends like that, who needs enemies!) She had just graduated from a gourmet cooking course and decided she would put her skills to the ultimate test_-and did she ever.

After doctoring up those miserable morsels, she placed them on a silver tray.

With a sly grin she watched them disappear. Swindoll's friend could not get enough. He kept coming back for more. Evidently the woman's friends were a pretty laid-back group because everyone had a good laugh when she told them what they had been eating. To each their own.

That is a perfect illustration of what goes on in another realm-namely, religious deception.” -Hughes

III. The character of false teachers (7:15)

  • They will come and are already present around us

  • They can be distinguished from genuine ones

  • They “come to you in sheep’s clothing” i.e. they look like most other sheep

  • Their preaching

    • isn’t filled with wrong things as much as it lacks truths that matter

    • Says nothing offensive

    • Avoids dwelling on the cross

    • Avoids talking about sin; some admit they don’t even use the word

    • Is more about self-help than our need for a savior

  • Jesus calls them ravenous wolves—that should sober us to wake up and ask ourselves if we’re sitting under this teaching

  • Goal is to devour and destroy the sheep

  • 2 Cor 11:13-15: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.”

Therefore, Jesus therefore commands us to “Watch out” or “Be on guard” for false prophets/wolves in sheep’s clothing.

IV. Testing the Messengers (7:16-20)—Having given us warnings, Jesus tells us what to test (Hughes)

Two categories: A. What they teach and B. How they live

A. What they teach:

  1. You will recognize them by their fruit (first and last of this section)

  2. Recognize = know; full knowledge of what one really is

  3. 4 doctrinal tests suggested by Kent Hughes:

    1. The false prophet avoids preaching on such things as the holiness, righteousness, justice and wrath of God.

      1. He doesn’t say he doesn’t believe these truths;

      2. He ignores them or just acknowledges in passing

      3. He emphases God’s love without balancing it with God’s holiness (justice/wrath)

    2. The false prophet avoids preaching on the doctrine of the final judgment. The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses do this too. They reject the biblical doctrine of hell in favor or lesser punishments.

    3. The false prophets fail to emphasize the falleness and depravity of humanity.

      1. We are sinners.

      2. We cannot save ourselves.

    4. The false prophets de-emphasize the substitutionary death and atonement of Christ.

      1. They may talk about it

      2. They avoid saying it’s vicarious, substitutionary atonement view

  4. False prophets talk about God and even Jesus. They don’t seem like heretics. They are likable and even pleasant to be around. Churches can even grow under their leadership. But they leave in their wake disciples of unbelief.

B. How they live.

  1. “Being a true Christian means there has been a radical change in the depth of the person through the grace of God.” -Hughes

  2. “There is an awesomely deep connection between what comes out of us and what we are.” -Hughes

  3. “False prophets encourage us to try to make ourselves Christians by adding something to our lives instead of becoming something new.” -Hughes

  4. “Time will reveal the true nature of the fruit.” -Hughes

True Christ-followers:

  • Display the character of God’s kingdom (beatitudes)

    • Poverty of spirit

    • Grief over sin

    • Meek

    • Hunger and thirst for righteousness

    • Merciful

    • Pure in heart

    • Peacemakers

    • Persecuted for Jesus’ sake

  • Teach others how to live this narrow way (SOTM)

Conclusion

“Today whole groups of people are being served things they would never consciously east, for the sliver trays and attractive garnishes have them completely fooled.” -Hughes

  • Don’t be superficial in evaluating your preachers/teachers

  • Don’t be superficial in evaluating your own lives either.

  • Is the fleece you’re wearing really yours?

LOTR vs GOT article

In sum, worldviews are contrasted vividly. David French opines the worldview of GOT isn’t “win or die” but “win AND die.” I would say that LOTR seems to be saying “die AND win.” I’m not sure French would say that but it seems like he would.

Pray

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Sermon on the Mount” by Charles Quayle’s

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson 

Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian Fellowshipnon-denominational church, Darien Gabriel, sermon on the mount, matthew 7, Bible-believing, church, Ladson, SC
How Do I Obey the Golden Rule? | Matthew 7:7-12
How Do I Obey the Golden Rule? | Matthew 7:7-12

Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 7:7-12 (Main); Luke 11:1-10)

Title: How do I live obey the Golden Rule? (Darien Gabriel)

(See below for bibliography)

Summary: call Matthew puts the other half of the sandwich on here when he says “the law and the prophets.“ He summarizes 5:17 through 7:12 with the golden rule.  And an effort to give us more insight and how to pray, he gives us the golden promise that empowers to Golden Rule.

My bottom line: Doing to others as you want them to do for you (Golden Rule) is possible when we pray with persistent expectation (Golden Prayer).

Q. What do I want you to know?

A. How to live out the golden rule realistically.

Q. Why?

A. Because this is the bottom line to Christian living.

Q. What do I want you to do?

A. Live the golden rule by leaning into the golden promise.

Q. Why?

A. Because

  1. it’s a worthy goal and

  2. the only way you’ll succeed at doing it.

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

1. Why is it astounding that God hears and responds to your prayers?

2. If God hears you, why is it important to pray persistently? Why does he want you to pray more than once for your needs?

3. What is the difference between casual prayer and expectant prayer?

4. What prayers can you look back on and be glad that God did not answer in the way you initially wanted? How did God answer the prayer better than you asked? Or how was it good that God refrained from giving you what you wanted?

5. The Bible says to ask and God will provide. What in your life do you desire but are not praying for? Why?

6. What could you begin praying for this week that God would change in your life?

7. How brave are your prayers? Are they filled with needs that you can accomplish on your own or needs that require God to provide?

8. What happens when you follow or teach the Golden Rule without teaching and depending on the golden promise or the gospel?

9. How does the Golden Rule flow out of the way Jesus has treated you?

10. Our culture often privileges some people over others for sinful reasons. How does the Golden Rule change how the church welcomes and serves those who are marginalized by the culture?

“We can never ask too much spiritually. Let us ask and receive. Someone once said, "Any discussion of the doctrine of prayer that does not issue in the practice of prayer is not only not helpful, but harmful. That is true. We would all do well to engage in the following actions:

1. Search out some spiritual qualities that you lack but would like to have.

List them on your prayer list.

2. Pray passionately for them -keep asking, seeking, knocking.

3. Have confidence that God your Father will give them to you.” —Kent Hughes

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Intro

When our girls were young they would often ask Anita for things. After all, she was there all day everyday. Easy habit to start. Sometimes when they were asking for something of, and I was in the house, she would then say go ask your father!

At other times, the kids would just come ask me if they thought I was more likely to say yes. Because I loved to say yes to our girls. Don’t get me started on them asking the grandparents for stuff!

Our heavenly father loves to say yes to his kids too. He loves to say yes—unless he has a better answer than what we’ve even asked for. Ever thought about that? Sometimes he says no to our request because he has something better for us.

In this passage we’re going to see that the Lord wants to bless us to be a blessing to others. This is why he gives us the golden promise – so that we will practice the Golden Rule.

So let’s ask our father for help with this!

Main idea: “Because God is a good Father who desires to answer persistent and expectant prayers we are able to treat others as we want to be treated.” -D Akin

My bottom line: Doing to others as you want them to do for you (Golden Rule) is possible when we pray with persistent expectation (Golden Prayer).

The Golden Rule came from an emperor of Rome putting this verse on the wall of his palace in gold.

We think of it as such a good rule that we call it golden. Both work.

It starts with God and moves to people. (Like the 10 commandments)

Our bullseye for being a faithful learner and follower of Jesus the Christ is:

  1. Growing in Christ-like character, and

  2. Growing in Christ-like competency. (See video)

So, we can see why Jesus ends this part of the sermon on the mount with this verse. It’s a summary verse for the Christian life. Let’s dig in a little more.

I. Golden Promise: God promises to answer our prayers. (7:7-11)

A. We should ask persistently. (7-8)

B. We should ask expectantly. (9-11)

II. Golden Rule: God challenges us to obey the Golden rule. (7:12)

A. START with what YOU would want.

B. FINISH with what OTHERS want.

C. REJOICE that this is what GOD wants!

Conclusion

My bottom line: Doing to others as you want them to do for you (Golden Rule) is possible when we pray with persistent expectation (Golden Prayer).

In the Rose Bowl parade each Jan. 1st we watch through the lens of the TV network we get a limited perspective on the entire spectacle that is the Tournament of Roses Parade.

In contrast, the Lord sees the entire parade route with floats cued up through blocks and blocks of streets awaiting their turn. In addition, there are so many stories of how their float came together and the associated drama.

When we pray, it’s easy to let our limited perspective keep us from believing that God “knows how” to give us good gifts. But he does. Every time.

So pray persistently by asking, seeking and knocking continuously.

And pray expectantly believing that God knows how to give good gifts to those who ask.

We start with thinking of what we want.

We move to thinking of what others want.

This gets us to what God wants.

Pray

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Sermon on the Mount” by Charles Quayle’s

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson 

Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian Fellowshipgolden rule, obey, matthew, Darien Gabriel, Grace Christian Fellowship, ALL, Ladson, SC, non-denominational church, Bible-believing, church
Should You Judge Others? | Matthew 7:1-6; 15
Should You Judge Others? | Matthew 7:1-6; 15

Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-6; 15 (Main); 2 Samuel 12:1-7; John 7:24; Romans 14:1-4; Romans 2:1; 2 Cor 5:10-11

Title: Should You Judge Others? (Darien Gabriel)

(See below for bibliography)

Summary Matthew 7: Jesus teaches us to ask God for what we need, how to treat others, and how to live as a true child of the Heavenly Father. (Outline Bible)

Bottom Line: While we need godly discernment and confrontation in the body, we must avoid hypercriticism and judgmentalism. Otherwise, we’ll be establishing the standard by which God will judge us. There’s a way to judge that is biblical and there’s a way to judge that is not. It’s a matter of the heart.

I. What do I want you to know? Jesus taught that we’re to exercise discernment (judge) without a spirit of judgmental-ism or hypercriticism. “Judge the fruit, not the fruit” comes to mind.

Why? Because one is dangerous, foolish and unhelpful while the other is wise and protective. And you’ll be judged by God the way you’re judging others.

II. What do I want you to do?

  1. Deal with the sin in your own life at least as aggressively as you deal with the sin in other people’s lives.

  2. Avoid judgmental-ism and hypercriticism.

  3. Use discernment in who, how and when you share the gospel with others.

Why? Because why bring unnecessary harm onto yourself and those around you? Why waste resources on those hostile to God when there are many ready to receive the good news enthusiastically?

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

1. In what areas of your life are you most likely to be judgmental of someone (e.g., finances, work, health, spiritual disciplines, parenting, marriage, emotions, etc.)?

2. What is the difference between church discipline (cf. Matt 18:15-20; 1 Cor 5) and sinfully judging a brother or sister?

3. Why would you not want to be judged with the same standard you judge others (7:2)?

4. What aspect of the way God has treated you in the gospel should compel you to be humble and patient instead of judgmental?

5. Why do your actions toward other people affect how God acts toward you?

6. Jesus, like you, would have been tempted to judge sinfully. What are some examples in the Bible where you see Jesus not being judgmental when it would have been tempting to do so?

7. Unlike you, Jesus judges perfectly. Where in the Bible do you see Jesus giving grace and not judging when he has the right and the authority to judge?

8. Are you more sensitive to the sin of others than to your own sin? If so, how can you swap this sensitivity?

9. This chapter teaches that "some things are right and wrong, but some things are just different." What are examples of things that are culturally different and not proper reasons to judge someone?

10. Does social media increase or decrease your temptation to judge others? How do you use social media without sinfully judging someone?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Intro

Our world is a criticizing world. You cannot escape it. And we’ve moved from being critical to canceling people now. It’s out of hand.

And yet that’s the world we live in. But we don’t have to be that way.

This passage contains one of the most misused verses in the Bible. Don’t judge. Jesus will explain it to us today. Today’s message is “Should you judge others?” Jesus weighs in and gives us guidance on judgment, discernment, and criticism as it relates to others in the world as well as in the church.

I. Don’t be judgmental to others. (7:1-2)

A. Don’t judge refers to not being judgmental to others.

B. That does not mean we don’t judge. Reasons this cannot be made to say we a never to judge include:

    1. V. 6 Shows we cannot obey Jesus’ command here without exercising judgment (discernment). You must judge whether or not a person is a dog or pig metaphorically.

    2. V. 15 “Jesus warns us to ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.’ This requires subtle, discriminating judgment on our part.” -Hughes

    3. John 7:24 says, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

C. Discerningly critical vs hypercritical; constructive vs destructive

D. Warning against pettiness on secondary issues found in Romans 14:1-4.

E. There are 2 eternal judgments:

    1. Bema seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10-11)—not guilty + rewards

    2. The Great White Throne (20:11-15)—guilty

    3. The point: God will judge us as we’ve judged others (7:1) (Romans 2:1)

II. Don’t be hypercritical to others. (7:3-4) A crazy and sarcastic picture.

A. Plank/log = huge piece of wood (bring a 2x4 as a visual)

B. Speck of sawdust = tiny dust of wood

C. Impossible, comical, and, unfortunately, common

D. Illustration: King David, 2 Sam 12:1-7

E. Illustration: So easy to turn a Microscope on others vs wrong end of the telescope ourselves

F. We can be “log-toting speck inspectors” = hypocrites (Hughes)

G. This is where church discipline is possible. It requires humble judgment to know how best to discipline church member. (18:15-17)

What are we to do instead?

III. Be brothers and sisters to each other. (7:5)

A. Judge yourself—“take the plank out of your own eye.” Only then will be begin to see clearly enough to help someone take the speck out of theirs.

B. “We then see ourselves as we are, and we see others as they are.” -Hughes

C. “Instead of being critical, we weep for ourselves and them.” -Hughes

D. “Jesus does want us to discern the sins and shortcoming in others, but he wants us to see them through clear, self-judged eyes—eyes that are tender and compassionate.” -Hughes

E. How do we remove a speck from the eye of another?

    1. Carefully! Nothing more sensitive in the human body than the eye. In the spiritual realm, nothing more sensitive than the human soul.

    2. Therefore, “we must be humble, sympathetic, conscious of our own sins, and without condemnation.” -Hughes

    3. Conclusion by D. Akin:

    4. “I want to be both helpful and practical as we conclude our study on being judgmental. How can those of us who have been redeemed from all of our sin by the precious blood of Christ rightly make judgments without wrongly being judgmental?

    5. 1. CHECK YOUR MOTIVES. Ask yourself, Why am I doing this? Check your heart, knowing that ultimately only God knows the motives and intentions of the heart (Prov 16:2; 1 Cor 4:3-5).

    6. 2. EXAMINE YOUR OWN WALK WITH THE LORD FIRST. Ask, Am I walking in the Spirit, characterized by a gentle spirit, careful to monitor my own sin (Gal 6:1-2)?

    7. 3. SEEK OUT THE WISDOM OF GOD’S WORD AND GODLY COUNSEL BEFORE ACTING (Prov 10:13-14; 11:14; 15:22).

    8. 4. PRACTICE THE GOLDEN RULE. Think about how you would want to be treated if you were on the receiving end of correction (Matt 7:12).

    9. 5. BE CAREFUL NOT TO MAKE A SNAP DECISION OR QUICK JUDGMENT. Take the time to get the facts, and listen before taking action (Prov 18:13).

    10. 6. PRAY FOR THE ONE WHO APPEARS TO BE CAUGHT IN SIN BEFORE CORRECTING HIM OR HER. (Jas 5:15-16).

    11. 7. DO NOT FORGET THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS, WHO HELPED AND MINISTERED TO SINNERS. Jesus was condemned and ridiculed for the way he cared for and loved sinners, tax collectors, pagans, and the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53-8:11).

    12. 8. SPEAK THE TRUTH BUT DO IT IN LOVE. (Eph 4:15).

    13. 9. KEEP IN MIND THAT SOME THINGS ARE RIGHT AND WRONG, BUT SOME THINGS ARE JUST DIFFERENT. (Rom 14:1-6,13-23). Be careful not to judge someone because of personality or cultural differences.

    14. 10. NEVER FORGET THAT ULTIMATELY EVERYONE MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT TO THE LORD, BUT NOT TO YOU. (Rom 14:7-12; 2 Cor 5:10).

Conclusion

There’s no shortage of criticism in our world and even in the church. Let’s pray for God to purge us, our churches, and our world of hypercriticism and judgmentalism.

Pray

My Notes:

Akin’s outline

Main idea: “To judge others without examining and correcting oneself first is hypocritical and foolish, but it is biblical and wise to discern kingly judge those who abuse God’s message” (and messengers).

I. Jesus warns us about being judgmental towards others. (7:1-5)

A. It is foolish. (7:1-2)

B. It is prideful. (7:3-4)

C. It is hypocritical. (7:5)

II. Jesus counsels us to judge those who live wickedly. (7:6)

A. Some tear up God’s precious truth.

B. Some trample God’s precious truth.

Hughes’ outline

I. We are not to relate judgmentally to others. (7:1-2)

II. We are not to relate hypercritically to others. (7:3-4)

III. We are rather to be brothers and sisters to each other. (7:5)

Sinclair’s outline

I. Seeing More Clearly (7:1-5)

II. Seeing others more clearly (7:6)

III. Seeing God more clearly (7:7-12)

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Sermon on the Mount” by Charles Quayle’s

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson 

Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian Fellowshipnon-denominational church, Bible-believing, Grace Christian Fellowshiop, Ladson, SC, Darien Gabirel, Darien Gabriel, judgment, ALL
Jesus Teaches How to Stop Worrying | Matthew 6:25-34
Jesus Teaches How to Stop Worrying | Matthew 6:25-34

Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34 (Main); Philippians 4:6-7; 2 Corinthians 11:28-29

Title: Antidote to Anxiety, pt 2: Jesus Teaches How to Stop Worrying (Darien Gabriel)

(See below for bibliography)

Bottom Line: We don’t have to worry about anything in life because

  1. our Creator is our Father (he cares) +

  2. our King (he can).

  3. He can and wants to take care of all our needs.

I. What do I want you to know? Worry is unproductive and unhelpful.

Why? Because worry and anxiety rob us of the joy of the Lord that comes when we believe that God cares about us and can meet all our needs.

II. What do I want you to do?

  1. Decide what kingdom you’re going to live for.

  2. Seek first his kingdom and his righteous way i.e. Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly

Why? Because when we seek first his kingdom and righteousness, all these things will be added to us.

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

1. How is worry sin? Have you considered worry a sin and repented of it?

2. How does Jesus's instruction not to worry about what you eat shape how you think about diets, eating lifestyles, and food choices? What is the difference between wise eating and worry eating?

3. What in your life creates the most worry? Why does that event or item cause you to worry? What does the gospel say about that issue that can help you trust God?

4. How does thinking about eternity help you not worry about your life?

5. How does your culture and economic status shape what you consider to be the appropriate standard for God's feeding, clothing, and taking care of you? How might your perspective change if you lived in a different context?

6. Were first-century Christians less susceptible to the desire for clothing than Christians today? Why or why not?

7. How can our trust in God, when we would naturally worry, be an

evangelistic witness to others?

8. Do you ask God more often for wants or for needs? How does God

handle our requests for things we want?

9. How can increasing our desire and concern for God's kingdom

lessen our worry over our lives and the future?

10. If your treasure is in heaven, how will that affect how much you are

willing to sacrifice now on earth?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Intro

Bring back the coins (problems) and show how focusing on (worrying) just one problem affects everything else in life. It blinds us from the resources we have available to us and the perspective that keeps us grounded in those God-given resources.

If I have a handful of coins representing a handful of problems (family, marriage, work, school, finances, health, addictions), I’m going to have stress, worry and anxiety as long as I obsess on those from a perspective that God doesn’t know, doesn’t care, can’t help, isn’t trustworthy, or isn’t your King/Lord.

  • Worry is a symptom of a greater disease.

  • Worry is also a sin. It is the sin of unbelief. It’s not believing that God is who he says he is and/or that he won’t do all he’s promised to do.

  • The disease is heart disease—a heart of “little faith” in an infinitely loving Father and King.

  • “Do not worry” is a present imperative from Jesus. That is, it’s a command of constant and continuous action of not worrying. (Not do not be concerned but don’t worry from a self-centered place)

Outline

Jesus tells them not to worry about life.

  • Be concerned, sure.

  • Be worried, no way.

Gives 3 reasons why.

Gives 3 examples/illustrations to support those reasons.

Gives the antidote to anxiety and worry about life today.

And tomorrow. You have enough to deal with the worries of life today.

You don’t have enough to deal with the worries of tomorrow. So don’t try.

“Anxiety can never be cured by getting more of what we have already…Anxiety can be cured only by the assurance that our needs will be met by our King. For this reason, the chief drive in our lives should be to live under the authority of the king and to see his kingdom extended in every possible way—morally, socially, and geographically, as well as personally, inwardly, and spiritually. When our hearts are set on his righteousness pervading our lives, we have our priorities in order, and will discover two things:

First, all we need, he will provide. He has never failed one of his children.

Second, many of the things we thought we needed we now discover we did not really need, and do not now want.” —Sinclair Ferguson

Food, drink and clothing are great servants. They are terrible masters.

Simple Outline (Hughes)

I. Do not be anxious! Why? Because God is the King of life. (25-30)

II. Do not be anxious! Why? Because your the King’s Children. (31-34)

6:26

“Look at” the birds.

  • They are industrious, hard workers.

  • They do not sow or reap though.

  • Birds don’t deal with ulcers, see counselors or tranquilizers.

  • They have what they need most of the time.

  • Yes, bad things still happen to them.

  • Yet they fulfill their purpose in life.

  • Aren’t you worth more to God than these?! Yes! Why?

    • You’re human > animals

    • You’re greater because you’re created in the image of God. They are created but not in his image.

    • They call God their Creator, yes. But they don’t call God their Father and King!

    • Not only are we created in his image, we’ve been redeemed even though we were traitors and rebels. And at the cost of his one and only son Jesus.

6:27

Worry is pointless, fruitless, and foolish. It may add to the quality of your life—but not because it improves it!

  • Worry won’t lengthen our lives. In fact, if anything, it shortens your life!

Why worry when your Father + King has your life in his hands?

Your worry is a sign that

  1. You don’t adequately know him

  2. You don’t trust him

  3. You haven’t yet yielded to him

6:28-30

  • Avg American family spends $1,700/yr on clothing. (Johnson, “Real Cost”)

  • 1st century Hebrews in Israel had what they needed but not much more.

  • South Sudanese own 2 sets of clothes and a pair of sandals according to “Pastor Sam”

  • Did God not clothe Adam and Eve in the garden when their need became obvious even though they’d just rebelled against him?

  • “You of little faith” is intended as a “healing dagger”

  • Worry is energized by “little faith”—the issue is faith; do we trust God or not?

  • “Call it what you want: tension, anxiety, worry. But we need to call it what God calls it: unbelief. At it’s core worry is practical atheism, practical deism, or practical finite theism.” -Akin

    • Practical atheism—I don’t really believe God is real or knows about me

    • Practical deism—I don’t believe God cares

    • Practical finite theism—I don’t believe God can do anything about it

Transition: Now it gets more personal…

II. Do not be anxious! Why? Because your the King’s Children. (31-34)

6:31-32

Worry makes you like those who don’t believe or live like they don’t believe God matters. As a result, they worry because they have nowhere else to turn for help with the problems in this world.

  • If this is us, it should sober and humble us towards faith.

  • If this is those around us, as Christians, it should move us compassionately towards others.

  • Little faith

  • Misplaced faith

Jesus concludes with a simple truth: “Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.” -Akin

  • “Heavenly” as in sovereign God who can.

  • “Father” as in YOUR loving Father who cares.

He knows.

He sees.

He cares.

How then should we live?

6:33-34

We should not be anxious about anything but instead seek first his kingdom and his righteousness knowing (believing) that all these things that we’re tempted to be worried about will be given to us.

  • “Seeking his kingdom primarily means trying to spread the reign of Christ through the spread of the gospel. It involves a profound poverty of spirit.”

  • “Seeking his righteousness involves making his righteousness attractive in all areas of life—personal, family, material, international.”

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” 5:6

Again Jesus uses present imperative (command, continuous action) “But (constantly) seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” -Akin

Seek God’s rule

Seek God’s righteousness

Life’s needs will be provided

Cure for worry —> First things first: Stop worrying and start seeking. Stop worrying for your little kingdom and start seeking God’s big kingdom first. The watch him care for you.

6:34

“We are not to worry about tomorrow. Worry will not destroy tomorrow’s trials, but it will sabotage our strength. George Macdonald put it this way: ‘No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today, that the weight is more than a man can bear.’

“Worrying does not enable you to escape evil. It makes you unfit to cope with it. The truth is, we always have the strength to bear the trouble when it comes. But we do not have the strength to bear worrying about it.”

Therefore, live for today instead of worrying about tomorrow. “Focus on today, and watch anxiety disappear.”

“In John Piper's excellent study of Matthew 6:24-34, he highlights eight reasons not to be anxious:

1. Life is more than food and clothing (v. 25).

2. The birds of the air work and count on God (v. 26).

3. Anxiety doesn't get you anywhere (v.27).

4. God delights to adorn things (W. 28-30).

5. Unbelievers are anxious about food and clothing (v. 32).

6. Your heavenly Father knows your needs (v. 32).

7. God will carry your burdens if you seek first his honor (v. 33).

8. Tomorrow will be anxious for itself (v. 34). ("Nine Arguments")

The last two items on Piper's list summarize well what we find in Matthew 6:33-34. God knows our needs and will take care of them so we do not.

have to worry.”

Phil 4:6-7 is another key ingredient.

Conclusion

Bottom Line: We don’t have to worry about anything in life because

  1. our Creator is our Father (he cares) +

  2. our King (he rules—because he’s able).

  3. He can and wants to take care of all our needs.

“In summary: Reject the secular reductionist mindset. You are more than a body. Along with this, refuse to focus on the world’s trinity of cares.

Consider the birds and the flowers. If God cares for the lesser, what will he do fro the greater—for us?

Do not live in the future. Live now. Put your arms around your wife right now. Take a walk with your child today. Enjoy the life God has given you.”

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” 6:33

Pray

My Notes:

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Sermon on the Mount” by Charles Quayle’s

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson 

Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian Fellowshipnon-denominational church, Bible-believing, church, Ladson, SC, Grace Christian Fellowship, Darien Gabirel, Matthew 6, worrying
Jesus' Antidote to Anxiety | Matthew 6:19-25
Jesus' Antidote to Anxiety | Matthew 6:19-25

Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-24

Title: Jesus’ Antidote to Anxiety (Darien Gabriel)

(See below for bibliography)

Summary of passage: Jesus lays out the principles and rules of kingdom living.

Bottom Line: Jesus teaches us to bank in heaven, keep our windows clean, and serve the right master to be free from anxiety.

Group Video Outline:

I. What do I want you to know?

Why? Because

II. What do I want you to do?

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

1. How does treasure in heaven compare to treasure on earth? What does each look like, and how are they different?

2. Why is it often easier to desire earthly treasures over heavenly treasures?

3. According to this chapter, how do you store up treasure in heaven? Are you pursuing any of these?

4. Does what you treasure show that you prefer God over this world?

5. This chapter teaches that you are to be single in your devotion. How does Christ's single devotion to his people empower his people to be single in their devotion to him?

6. What does it mean to be devoted to God? Is this devotion an inward, personal response, or is it an outward action? Why?

7. Why does Jesus contrast God with money as opposed to something else? What about money makes it particularly capable of being a master over people?

8. Why is money not able to provide satisfaction, security, and stability? In what ways is God alone able to provide satisfaction, security, and stability?

9. How do you lessen your desire for money and earthly treasure and increase your desire for God and heavenly treasure?

10. How is Jesus's previous discussion about prayer and fasting connected to Jesus's teaching about treasures and money? How do prayer and fasting (or the lack thereof) affect what you treasure?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Intro

You can’t take it with you when you die.

There are no U-hauls behind Hertz’s in funeral processions. King Tut left all that gold behind that was entombed with him. We can’t it with us!s

But we can send it ahead.

Jesus deals with anxiety the next two weeks.

This week he uses money to get to the heart of the matter.

Next week he’ll use food, clothing and drink.

Paul gives us his command about anxiety in Philippians 4:6-7.

“Earthly treasures may leave us in this life. It is certain we will leave earthly treasures in our death.” -Akin

Treasures are things we value:

  • Possessions

  • Wealth, money

  • Looks

  • Brains

  • Education

“You can’t take it with you, but you can send it ahead.” -Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle

“Seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” -Paul, Colossians 3:1-2

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” -Jesus, Matthew 6:33

Akin says in 6:19-24 that Jesus deals with our priorities or what we treasure (truly value) head-on.

Jesus wants us to

  • have the right treasure,

  • Be single in devotion, and

  • Be single in master.

Quarles says vv. 19-24 “explicitly state the priorities that the model prayer (9-13) assumes.”

Outline

Who doesn’t want to be fully themselves without a care for what others think about them!

Who doesn’t want to be free from constant anxiety over the things of this world?

Jesus was. We can be too.

Q1. What do I you to know?

A1. Jesus teaches us that the life free from anxiety is the life wholeheartedly focused on the Lord Jesus and his agenda; his kingdom.

Q2. Why do I want you to know this?

  1. It leads to anxiety-free life. Largely, stress-free.

Q3. What do I want you to do?

A3. I want you to:

  1. Bank in Heaven .

    1. Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.

    2. Randy Alcorn says it this way: “You can’t take it with you but you can send it ahead.”

  2. Keep your windows clean.

  3. Serve the right master.

Q4. Why do you want me to do these?

  1. Because that’s where your wealth will last and multiply.

  2. Because that’s how you will see where to go, what to do and how to do it. It’s how you light up your heart.

  3. Because we’re all created to serve a master. Serving the wrong master leads away from a joyful, peaceful, wise life.

Conclusion — Summary story:l from Treasure Principle.

Imagine that you live in the US but get a 12 month job in the Philippines. And the company rules dictate that you can buy whatever you want there but it all has to stay there. Or you can invest it for later. Now you’re getting paid 5 times what you’d make in America but you are responsible for all of your expenses. How will you spend your money? Will you buy an expensive house? Expensive car? Will you buy all of the niceties for your apartment like big screen TV and build a deck out back? Or will you live simply? Buying what you need but sending the rest to invest in the future back home? I imagine the wise person will live frugally and invest in the future where they’ll spend the rest of their lives.

Bottom line antidote for anxiety.

Pray

My Notes:

Initial read and thoughts…

6:19-21

  • Don’t…

  • Do…

  • Why? Because heart; where do you want your heart ot be: heaven or earth?

6:22-23

  • Truth: eye is lamp (window) of the body. (Metaphor)

  • If: eyes are healthy (clean, open, un-shuttered), body full of light (good, God)

  • But, if: eyes are unhealthy, body full of darkness (no light) (evil, no God)

  • God is light! Jesus is the light of the world!

6:24

  • Truth: No one can serve 2 masters.

  • Why not? Because it’s just no possible.They both claim your allegiance which conflicts with the other. And their purposes are as different as light and dark.

Diving deeper…

Danny Akin’s commentary:

Jesus says…

I. Pursue heavenly treasures over earthy ones (19-21).

    1. In life we make choices everyday. They can get complicated with all the choices.

    2. Jesus Simple’s pointing out there are really only 2 places we can store up treasure: heaven and earth.

A. What you treasure shows what you value (19-20). Jesus is direct:

    1. Don’t treasure the things of this world…why not? Because, earthly treasures don’t last

      1. Stolen

      2. Fade—high school memorabilia like my letterman jacket are gone; one shirt left

      3. Forgotten—trophy’s in SHS trophy case covered in dust

      4. It’s all hevel—a vapor; a wisp of smoke (use candle to illustrate) cf. Ecclesiastes

    2. Do…therefore, Jesus says treasure the things that don’t fade but the things that last forever. How? See sermon on the mount. This is what Jesus is talking about throughout. It’s about the kingdom of God. And his kingdom is for this world—for this city! It’s

      1. Suffering persecution for his name’s sake

      2. Loving our enemies

      3. Being generous to the poor

      4. Fervent, sincere prayer

      5. Humble fasting

    3. Command

    4. Constant vigilance

B. What you treasure shows what is in your heart (21). (Light or darkness)

    1. Where is our treasure located? Truly it’s in your heart.

    2. Cf. Luke 12:16-21—->ties v. 21 to 19-20, Parable of a Rich Man

“And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; east, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21

“In fact, the condition of our heart and what we value will become clear for all to see. Why? “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Basic truth: Our heart (thoughts, feelings, will) should belong to God.

  • He created us.

  • He redeemed us.

To love anyone or anything > we love Jesus = spiritual adultery or adultery of the heart

II. Pursue light over darkness (22-23).

    1. Basic truth: light = good; we should pursue good over evil

    2. 1 John 1 “…God is light, in him there is no darkness at all…” 1:5-7

    3. John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

    4. Matthew 5:14 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

    5. John 3:19-21 What do we love? “This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished byGod.”

    6. Basic principle: Pursue light

  1. 2 truths:

A. Be single in your devotion (22).

    • “Just as a window lets light into a house, the eye lets light into the body. Therefore, it is important that we have good, healthy eyes.

    • Good eye is one of fixed and single devotion. No fuzzy vision, double vision (2 masters), lazy eye. (My lazy eye surgery)

B. Be on guard against all self-deception (23). Evil is a sense of good (or corruption of good).

III. Pursue God over money (24).

    1. The mark of a disciple:

      1. His eyes are fixed on heaven. (Upward)

      2. His spiritual vision is single, not divided, (Single-minded) and

      3. He serves the right master. (Wisdom)

    2. Piper says either

      1. You are mastered by money and therefore ignore God or make him the servant fro your business, or

      2. You are mastered by God and make money a servant of the kingdom.

    3. “But if either tries to master you while you are mastered by the other you will hate and despise that other master.” -Akin

    4. This is why we sometimes push back when a church or missionary invites us to partner financially with them in kingdom work. Because sometimes at those moments we’re exposed to our submitting to the master of money. (Or fear of loss) “This is why Jesus said it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom”

A. We can only serve one master.

    • Truth: No one can serve (fully, faithfully) two masters.

      • Think master—slave relationship.

      • Think what it’s like to work 2 jobs.

      • Think the tension between family and being in the military.

    • Implication: We were made to have a master in life. S. Ferguson

    • “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his…he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26

    • Spurgeon

      • You can live for this world

      • You can live for the next world

      • But you can’t live for both

B. We can only satisfy one master.

    • Why is money the other master? “Jesus now specifies the #1 challenge to total and absolute surrender to his lordship: money.”

    • “Originally the word (money) meant ‘something in which one puts their confidence’” -Carson

    • Interesting that when we talk about the health of the American economy we talk about consumer confidence.

    • The issue isn’t what you have. (Rich or poor)

    • The issue is what controls you, for who or what we live. Which is back to what we value.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Want true life? Don’t settle for being rich on earth. Pursue storing up heavenly riches, open windows, and single, wholehearted devotion.

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Sermon on the Mount” by Charles Quayle’s

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson

Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian FellowshipDarien Gabirel, Bible-believing, church, Grace Christian Fellowship, non-denominational church, Matthew, anxiety, antidote to anxiety
How Did Jesus Teach Us to Pray? | Matthew 6:9-15
How Did Jesus Teach Us to Pray? | Matthew 6:9-15

Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15 (Main); Matt 18:32-35

Title: How Did Jesus Teach Us To Pray? (Darien Gabriel)

(See below for bibliography)

Summary of passage: Jesus lays out the principles and rules of kingdom living.

Bottom Line: Jesus teaches us to pray resting on the Father as we forgive one another.

Group Video Outline:

I. What do I want you to know? How Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

Why? Because it’s essential to know God as Father.

II. What do I want you to do?

  1. Forgive where appropriate

  2. Pray this prayer daily

  3. Teach it to someone else

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

1. How would prayer change negatively if you were not able to call God Father?

2. Why does Jesus instruct you to pray for God's name to "be honored as holy" and "his kingdom come" before making requests for daily bread and forgiveness of sins?

3. Should Christians wait for God to make all things new or work now to shape the world to what it will be one day?

4. When God's kingdom does come, how will all of life (politics, art, education, science, economics, etc.) be different? Why should your

prayers be concerned with aligning these areas now to how God will change them in the future?

5. How does praying "your kingdom come" spur you toward action in social justice?

6. How does Jesus's resurrection demonstrate that you can pray confidently for God's will to be done in your life?

7. Do people in first-world countries need to pray for their daily needs less than people in third-world countries?

8. How can having easier access to food, water, and shelter hurt your dependence on God?

9. Why is your forgiveness from God dependent on you forgiving others?

10. Are you regularly aware of Satan's work against you to tempt you? How does knowing that temptation comes not only from your sin inside but from Satan outside help you pray and fight against sin?

If you have time…

11. What do you learn from the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant? How does this relate to Jesus’ words on forgiveness? Matt 18:21-35

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Intro

Have you ever been in a situation where you just didn’t know what to do?

I remember the day 9/11 occurred. We watched the TV in stunned silence in the church office. I was a youth pastor and staff in North Carolina. Didn’t know what to do. Eventually we went to the conference room and we went to the one who knew what to do. We prayed to God the father.

Who do you go to when you don’t know what to do?

Well, here’s a great verse, principle and life-lesson to consider:

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” -2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV

Today’s message is how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. He taught them this because Luke tells us they asked. This is the only thing scripture records the disciples asked him to teach them.

  • I hope today that you will become more familiar with the model prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

  • I hope today that you will choose to pray it daily letting Jesus teach you it’s depths every day.

  • I hope that you will learn it, pray it and share it for the rest of your life.

Outline

Review from last week: (optional)

  1. Don’t pray for show. Why? Because

    1. You rob God of his glory (for which you were created to give)

    2. You rob yourself of heavenly rewards. (5-6)

  2. Don’t babble on like pagans (7)

  3. Don’t forget that God knows…but ask still (8)

  4. Lord’s Prayer (this week)

  5. Forgiveness (this week)

    1. Summarize parable in Matt 18:32-35

    2. God is king. But he’s a merciful king. He’s a merciful father too.

This week: How did Jesus teach us to pray?

Q1. What do I you to know?

A1. How to pray like Jesus taught his disciples.

  1. He used what we call the Lord’s Prayer

    1. It’s a model prayer or pattern for prayer.

    2. It’s a prayer to be prayed. (See v. 7-8 for warning though)

  2. It’s all about Father!

    1. Father—Kid jumps from refrigerator: “When I was a young father and my children were small, my younger son hid on top of the refrigerator one day. As I walked by, with no warning, he suddenly dove off the refrigerator onto my back. I did not see him, I did not feel him coming, but he just tackled me and held on. Carey felt that if he jumped in the direction of his father, he would certainly be safe. It never occurred to him that I would not catch him. And that is the way it is with our Abba, our heavenly Father. He gives us a great sense of security and confidence--and we know he will not disappoint us.” Kent Hughes, p. 161-2

    2. Abba, dear daddy or dear father…immanent vs. transcendent.

    3. This is partly what we’re going for when we ask fathers to come up and pray for their children. In a couple of weeks, we’ll do this with grandparents. 9/10 is grandparents day weekend.

  3. Mike Breen’s breakdown centers our Father in heaven…(these are all elements of salvation):

    1. The Father’s character

    2. The Father’s kingdom

    3. The Father’s provision

    4. The Father’s forgiveness (Jesus expands on this in vs. 14-15)

      1. The forgiveness you give others is evidence that you have truly received his forgiveness.

      2. This is not you forgive to get forgiven transaction.

    5. The Father’s guidance

    6. The Father’s deliverance/rescue

      1. “Lead us not into temptation” - what does this mean?

        1. Temptation = trials (similar, but not exactly)

        2. Temptation of Christ (Matt 4, Luke 4) - the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness “to be tempted by the devil” (4:1)

        3. RSV translation: “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.”

        4. “For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he temp anyone.” James 1:13

        5. So, God tests and allows trials and temptations to come our way. Just ask Job. But we can ask for his mercy and help in this, apparently.

        6. Hughes says 3 possible solutions:

          1. Jeremias: 2 shades of meaning from Aramaic language:

            1. Causative = “Don’t cause us to go into temptation (i.e. don’t lead us into) which he can and does.

            2. Permissive = “Don’t allow us to go into temptation/trials

              1. He allows trials

              2. We give in to temptation “Oh,Lord, hold us back and do not let us take that path”

          2. Bailey: Every desert traveler needs a reliable guide. “The phrase in the Lord’s Prayer expresses confidence of an earthly pilgrim traveling with a divine guide. The journey requires the pilgrims to affirm daily, ‘Lord, we trust you to guide us, because you alone know the way that we must go.’ This affirmation of the trusting traveler reflects the confidence of the community that prays this prayer.”

          3. Father Mattah al-Miskin of Egypt: Reflects on the story of Job…a righteous man severely tested by Satan with God’s permission.

            1. “When we pray, argues FAther Matta, we are protected by Jesus and his cross from Satan and his attacks.”

            2. Deliver us from the evil one” could mean keep us out of Satan’s court room of accusation. Satan = accuser

      2. “But deliver us from the evil one”

  4. Kent Hughes breakdown shows 6 petitions we pray in this prayer: (optional)

    1. Upward

      1. Your name

      2. Your kingdom

      3. Your will

    2. Us-ward

      1. Give us

      2. Forgive us

      3. Lead us not…but deliver us

Q2. Why do I want you to know this?

  1. Because if Jesus taught the disciples that this is how you pray, you need to know this!

  2. Because of these benefits (optional):

    1. It’s your lifeline to God. Jesus teaches us how to commune with God.

    2. It’s life-giving. It is how we receive the life-giving, spiritual sap of Jesus to flow in and through us to the world.

    3. It’s defining. Are you his son/daughter or not?

    4. It’s equipping.

      1. It gives us structure on which to hang our beliefs.

      2. It empowers us to live out our faith well.

    5. It’s essential theology.

Q3. What do I want you to do?

A3. I want you to:

  1. Forgive any and everyone you need to forgive.

    1. Whether they asked for it or not

    2. Cut the strings that you are tempted to use to remind people of how they’ve hurt you or others.

  2. Pray this prayer daily

  3. Memorize it

  4. Teach it to someone else

    1. Kids

    2. Grandkids

    3. Friend

    4. Family

    5. Stranger

Conclusion — Summary questions:

  1. What do I want them to know? The summary principle and warning: Don’t practice your righteous deeds (shine your light)

  2. Why? Because to not heed the warning is to

    1. Rob God of his glory.

    2. Rob yourself of his rewards.

  3. What do I want them to do? Live out your Christian life (Shine) with a heart bent towards pleasing God over yourself. This helps you minimize or avoid hypocrisy.

  4. Why?

    1. You fulfill your chief created purpose fro existing—glorify God.

    2. You reap a superior reward—from God.

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Sermon on the Mount” by Charles Quayle’s

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson 

Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Baile

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian FellowshipDarien Gabriel, non-denominational church, Bible-believing, church, Ladson, SC, Matthew 6, how to pray, Lord's Prayer
How to Not Be a Hypocrite | Matthew 6:1-8
How to Not Be a Hypocrite | Matthew 6:1-8

Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-8; 16-18 (main) Matt 5:14-16; 48

Title: How to not be a Hypocrite (Darien Gabriel)

Heavy credit: David Platt and Douglas Sean O’Donnell (See below for bibliography)

Summary of passage: Jesus lays out the principles and rules of kingdom living.

Bottom Line: We avoid being hypocrites when we shine his light with pure motives.

Group Video Outline:

I. Principle

II. Summary questions

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

1. Regarding giving, is your motive less important, equally important, or more important than the act itself? Why?

2. How can you know when you are acting to be seen by others and when you are letting your light shine before others?

3. Does God want you to be motivated by reward in heaven?

4. Why is God himself the best reward you could want for your work?

5. Why do Christians struggle to pray? How might knowing that the desire to pray is a spiritual battle affect how you approach prayer?

6. Do you use the Bible to help you pray? How can praying the words of God to God help your prayers?

7. Do you believe God wants to listen to you? How does his relationship to you as Father affect the way you approach prayer?

8. Do you fast? Why or why not?

Why should Christians fast?

9. How can fasting increase your love for God and improve the practice of your other spiritual disciplines?

10. Of the three disciplines (giving, prayer, and fasting),

  • which is easiest for you to do?

  • Which is most difficult?

  • How can you use your strongest discipline to help you grow in the one you find most difficult?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Outline

Intro

In the Christian’s effort to “let our light shine before others,” (Matt 5:15-16) we often give into the temptation to make it about us. We naturally desire to be relevant, spectacular and powerful (Henri Nouwen; Matthew 4:1-10). Jesus warns us to not practice our righteous deeds to be seen and praised by others; we do them so others will praise God. We do them discreetly or even secretly, if necessary.

Why do we do this? Jesus tells us that we do this because if we don’t, we’ll rob God and we’ll rob ourselves.

We’ll rob God of his glory. (And it’s our created purpose to glorify God)

We’ll rob ourselves of his reward. (Instead, we settle for inferior and fleeting reward)

It might seem contradictory to hide what you’re doing after Jesus’ earlier words. Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:16) Jesus doesn’t want us to hide our light under a basket. (Matt 5:15)

Of course not. However, if we’re finding ourselves tempted to shine our light for the wrong reasons, then perhaps we need to do it more discreetly until we can. (Is it even shining his light if done for ourselves?) So we check our heart and motives to assess whether we’re pleasing God or not.

Jesus explains this principle using three scenarios or case studies that most Christians can relate to.

  1. Giving to the needy

  2. Praying

  3. Fasting

Here we go…

  1. Giving to the needy. (6:2-4)

    1. Note: Not if but when you give.

    2. Needy not necessarily the poor. You can be needy even if not poor.

    3. Give in such a way that it doesn’t call the attention of others to you resulting in praise of you.

    4. Rewards matter

      1. Earthly

      2. Heavenly (mostly this)

    5. God sees everything. When done in secret, he’s the only one who sees

  2. Prayer. (6:5-8)

    1. Again, when not if.

    2. Temptation is to be a hypocrite.

      1. Hypocrite = pretending to be someone you’re not

        1. Mask

        2. Costume

      2. These religious hypocrites were pretending to glorify God but in reality were soaking in the glory meant for God themselves.

    3. Again, rewards matter.

    4. Again, God sees all.

    5. Also, don’t babble on and on.

    6. God knows what you need before you ask.

  3. Fasting (5:16-18)

    1. Again, when not if.

    2. Fasting = giving up something you need for a period of time to communicate to God you need him even more.

      1. A neglected spiritual habit/discipline.

      2. Rewards matter. Rewards from heaven are lost when seeking the rewards from people instead.

      3. God sees all.

Conclusion — Summary questions:

  1. What do I want them to know? The summary principle and warning: Don’t practice your righteous deeds (shine your light)

  2. Why? Because to not heed the warning is to

    1. Rob God of his glory.

    2. Rob yourself of his rewards.

  3. What do I want them to do? Live out your Christian life (Shine) with a heart bent towards pleasing God over yourself. This helps you minimize or avoid hypocrisy.

  4. Why?

    1. You fulfill your chief created purpose fro existing—glorify God.

    2. You reap a superior reward—from God.

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Sermon on the Mount” by Charles Quayle’s

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson 

Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26

“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey

Read More
Darien GabrielGrace Christian FellowshipDarien Gabriel, Grace Christian Fellowship, Ladson, SC, non-denominational church, church, Bible-believing
How Will People Know We Follow Jesus? | Matthew 5:33-42
How Will People Know We Follow Jesus? | Matthew 5:33-42

Matthew 5:33-42 – How Will People Know We Follow Jesus?

Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to

the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is

God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great

King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need

to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. [a]

Eye for Eye

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ [b] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an

evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone

wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile,

go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants

to borrow from you.

“I say to you” – divine authority and Kingdom ethics

+ Jesus is again drawing out the real significance of the Old Testament law

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to

the Lord the vows you have made.’

“Do not break your oath” – alludes to:

Leviticus 19:12

2 “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

Numbers 30:2

2 When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not

break his word but must do everything he said.

- Do not perjure yourself…don’t lie

+ “…to swear” does not mean to curse or use bad words, but to affirm the truth of a statement while

calling on God to judge oneself if it is in fact untrue.

+ Jesus is basically saying “don’t swear at all”

+ TO CLARIFY: There are oaths that are consistent with God’s character and demands even in the New

Testament

2 Corinthians 1:18

18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”

Galatians 1:20

20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

+ Given the elaborate hierarchy of laws of first century Judaism on oaths, Jesus declares that it would be

best to avoid them altogether…not because of the commandment, but because of their traditions.

+ The Lord’s name was not to be used falsely, so the Jews developed a “theology of oaths”

34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for

it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head,

for you cannot make even one hair white or black.

+ Basically, Jewish leaders viewed swearing by “heaven’, “earth”, “Jerusalem” or one’s head as

less binding than swearing “by God” – they weren’t swearing by God, so they were releasing

themselves from the promise they were making

- Jesus responds by stressing that each of these items belongs to God in an important

way, so that the conventional Jewish distinctions are not genuine.

Isaiah 66:1

66 This is what the LORD says:

“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

Where is the house you will build for me?

Where will my resting place be?

- Heaven is God’s throne – earth is His footstool – Jerusalem is His city and He numbers

the hairs of our heads and chooses their color.

Matthew 23:16-22

16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone

who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the

gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means

nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which

is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar

swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the

one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who

sits on it.

+ The Jews apparently reasoned that, because a lien could not be put on the temple or altar,

then oaths invoking those objects were meaningless. Jesus maintains that the temple, gold, altar

and gifts all point to God and remain equally sacred – so oaths taken in their name remain

equally binding.

+ All that being said, No promise can ever be made, no word ever spoken without it being done in the

presence of God

+ Jesus is pointing out their deep-seated dishonesty – their lies masquerading as theology (whoa)

THE POINT IS: Let your YES mean YES and your NO mean NO. We should not have to call on God to

witness what we say because God is watching us and present as we speak, knowing our hearts through

and through. Jesus’ followers should be people whose words are so characterized by integrity that

others need no formal assurance of their truthfulness in order to trust them.

37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. [a]

+ Jesus said that anything beyond straightforward honesty comes ‘from the evil one’’

+ Do you start sentences with “to be honest”, or “honestly” to drive home your point? What

does that say about the rest of the time?

We know now what this is saying…what is this NOT saying?

1. This is NOT talking about oaths in a court of law. It’s highly unlikely that this is what Jesus was talking

about. He was obviously prepared to speak under oath during His trial:

Matthew 26:63-64

63 But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the

Son of God.”

64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man

sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” [a]

+ When He was under oath, Jesus broke the silence He had maintained in the earlier part of the

proceedings as though recognizing the binding nature of being put under oath.

2. This is NOT talking about being “brutally honest” letting your venting, attitude, irritation, jealousy and

arrogance masquerade as actual honesty.

+ “I just call it like it is. That’s the way I am”. “The truth hurts”… Don’t confuse honesty with

being a unkind. Christians can be really good at this. Our arrogant frankness masquerading as

honesty

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ [b]

“Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth…” – Jesus is alluding to:

Exodus 21:23-24

23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,

foot for foot,

Deuteronomy 19:20-21

20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done

among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

+ These were speaking of justice, not retaliation. In fact, it was done to limit, and if necessary, restrain

retaliation.

+ Christian kindness should transcend even straightforward retribution

3. In light of prevailing ethical thought, Jesus contrasts radically with most others of His day in stressing

the need to decisively break the natural chain of evil action and reaction that characterizes human

relationships.

39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the

other cheek also.

+ “resist” often used in a legal context

+ Jesus’ teaching similar to 1 Corinthians 6:7 against not taking fellow believers to court, though

it could be translated “do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you”

+ But we are to resist evil:

James 4:7

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Striking a person on the right cheek suggests a backhanded slap from a typically right-handed aggressor

and was a characteristic Jewish form of insult.

+ The only legal recourse against this insult is to take someone to court…similar to libel or

defamation of character

+ Jesus teaches us not to trade such insults, even if it means receiving more

( In NO way does it require Christians to subject themselves or others to physical danger or

abuse)

+ Don’t make your “rights” the basis for your relationships with others. Jesus is teaching us that

standing on OUR rights and seeking to have OUR dignity reaffirmed is not the Christian response

to an insult.

+ Will anyone be won for the Kingdom by your retaliation?...by standing for your rights?

40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.

+ Clearly limited to a legal context. If a coat was taken as a financial pledge, it had to be returned

by nightfall, because for some, it served as both clothing and bedding.

- One must be willing to give as collateral an outer garment – more than what the law could

require, which was just an inner garment (Exodus 22:26-27)

Exodus 22:26

26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only

covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am

compassionate.

+ Coat and shirt are contemporary parallels to cloak and tunic

+ Jesus’ point is this: when His followers meet with opposition and persecution, they should not stand

on their legal rights. Instead, where the sin of others abounds, grace in them should abound much more.

In that, we will be like Him.

41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

+ Referring to the Roman conscription of private citizens to help carry military equipment for Roman

soldiers

The soldiers didn’t have the right to make someone go more than a mile. Jesus is saying to do it

voluntarily.

+ Simon of Cyrene – forced to carry Jesus’ cross

+ The Jews hated this practice because it publically illustrated the humiliation of being a

subjugated people.

+ Jesus’ point here is that the Christian does the unexpected, because grace makes him or her

seek to win others by love rather than retaliate on the basis of rights.

4. Each of these commands require Jesus followers to act more generously than what the letter of the

law demanded – sometimes literally “going the extra mile”

+ Not only are we called to reject and avoid retaliation, but to positively work for the good of

those with whom we would otherwise be at odds.

42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

+ Jesus presumes that the needs are genuine, and commands us not to ignore them.

+ This was not a legal duty

Romans 13:10

10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

+Only when we show love, grace and sacrifice for the sake of others, will they see what the God-given

meaning of the law really is…the “but I tell you”…Then, they will understand that our citizenship is in the

Kingdom of Heaven

BE DIFFERENT than what the world would teach and expect

BE SELFLESS (think of your SELF less)

BE HONEST without being unkind

BE KIND

BE OBVIOUS

+ The works of the flesh disqualify us for the Kingdom of God because they break God’s law, but there is

no law against the fruit of the Spirit, those things whose opposites the law forbids.

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Matthew 7:15-20

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are

ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from

thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree

bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good

fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by

their fruit you will recognize them.

+ Way too many Christians who are not demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit

By our fruit, people will know us. - They can trust us when we speak.

Matthew 5:33-42 – How will people know we follow Jesus? 07/24/22

Matthew 5:33-42

Matthew 5:33

Leviticus 19:12

Numbers 30:2

2 Corinthians 1:18

Galatians 1:20

Matthew 5:34-36

Isaiah 66:1

Matthew 23:16-22

Matthew 5:37

Matthew 26:63-64

Matthew 5:38

Exodus 21:23-24

Deuteronomy 19:20-21

Matthew 5:39

James 4:7

Matthew 5:40

Exodus 22:26

Matthew 5:41

Matthew 5:42

Romans 13:10

Galatians 5:22-23

Matthew 7:15-20

Read More
Guest UserGrace Christian Fellowshipnon-denominational church, church, Grace Christian Fellowship, Bible-believing, Matthew 5, Ladson, SC, follow Jesus
The Heart of the Matter is the Matter of the Heart| Matthew 5:27-30
The Heart of the Matter is the Matter of the Heart| Matthew 5:27-30

Matthew 5:27-30 – The Heart of the Matter is the Matter of the Heart

Jesus moves on from the 6 th to the 7 th commandment…”You shall not kill”

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ [a] 28 But I tell you that anyone who

looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye

causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body

than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it

off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go

into hell.”

Exodus 20:14 – “You shall not commit adultery” One of the 10 commandments

Leviticus 20:10 – Punishable by death

10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the

adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.”

Jesus says “You have heard it said”. He is not quoting scripture or changing scripture, but referencing

man’s traditions around the old testament law.

+ Moses and the scribes did not emphasize the internal aspects of adultery, but just the external…the

act…which was punishable by death. For many, it became a conveniently narrow definition of sin. You

were either an adulterer or not, and if you were caught, you were dead.

Part of that narrow definition…

Deuteronomy 24:1 – References divorcing a woman because she is “displeasing”

If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about

her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house

1. According to some of the scribes, a man could divorce his wife if he grew “cool” toward her if he

didn’t like her cooking.

+ A law that was clearly intended to safeguard marriage and the women of Israel was turned

into an escape clause for self-indulgent men…also pious and proud

+ Jesus was speaking to these arrogant leaders who were counting themselves righteous,

knowing , but He knew the condition of their hearts. He knows the condition of our hearts too.

It was very natural, as it is today, for those of us who are non-adulterers to feel maybe a little smug or

conceited…the whole…”I haven’t done THAT”. “Jesus isn’t talking to me on that one.”

(Proverbs 11:2) When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

So in this passage, Jesus introduces a radically new standard.

Few of us have not crossed that line from attraction to lust at some time – this should fill us with a

poverty of spirit and a humility that realizes that we are spiritually bankrupt. It also should make us

amazed that God loves us the way He does.

+ Jesus carries us to a place that we never saw coming but was intended by God all along.

…”but I say…” Jesus is speaking with authority…

+The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart

+ In this life…in this world, much like Jesus saying hatred in our hearts being the same as

murder, the penalty is not the same as it is for murder, neither are the consequences of lust

literally the same as adultery, but God sees them as worthy of the same penalty…

+ Jesus calls a halt to this distortion of God’s word by saying that the lust that leads to adultery

will also lead a man to hell.

+ Adultery actually breaches several of the 10 Commandments: the commandment that forbids

it, coveting which leads to theft and even idolatry.

2. Jesus is not talking about looking or recognizing someone’s beauty, but lustfully looking or fantasizing

about more than just looks…a GAZE, not a GLANCE...and to Him (“But I tell you…”) it’s the same.

It starts in “The heart”…What does the Bible say about the heart?

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things

and beyond cure.

Who can understand it?

Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

3. We need to recognize that those thoughts and actions which, long before any overt sexual sin, makes

the possibility of giving into temptation more likely, and we must take dramatic action to avoid them.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

The crucible for silver…refinement of precious metals…to purify us

Proverbs 25:4-5

Remove the dross from the silver,

and a silversmith can produce a vessel;

5 remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,

and his throne will be established through righteousness.

Consider God a silversmith refining us…impure stuff comes to the top under heat

James 1:2-4

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, [ a ] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of

your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect

and complete, lacking in nothing.

We need to leave our lives of sin behind…all sin, and allow God to refine us.

John 8:2-11

2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat

down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.

They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of

adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were

using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning

him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a

stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left,

with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they?

Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

+ Jesus does not condemn her, but calls out the hypocrisy of those willing to stone her.

+ We don’t really know what Jesus wrote, but consider this possibility….

+ Jesus wrote in the sand twice…you could say that Jesus was drawing a line in the sand – for her

to step over and sin no more.

+ We need to draw a line in the sand in our own lives

4. How do we draw a line in the sand?

Colossians 3:5

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and

covetousness, which is idolatry.

Vs 29:

29: If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose

one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes

you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for

your whole body to go into hell.”

+ The eyes can entice the heart, and the heart, enticed by the eyes, directs the hands

+ Does Jesus want us to literally cut off our hand or pluck out our eyes?

No. He wants us to:

+ Realize where sin will take us and turn from it. Jesus said that Hell is the direction where all sin

leads

+ God has something better for all of us

+ Deal with sin aggressively, immediately and decisively. You don’t need to cut off your hands, but…

+ If you need to cancel Netflix, then do it

+ If you need to get a flip phone, then do that

+ If you need to quit your job to guard your heart, prayerfully consider it.

+ If you need to get rid of your romance novels, then do it

+ You may need better friends

Do whatever you have to do…for your eternal soul, for your marriage, for your children…

Jesus is also addressing you and YOUR sinful heart, me and MINE. He says to pluck out YOUR eye, not

someone else’s.

Matthew 7:4-5

4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a

plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see

clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

+ Don’t blame others for your sin…take responsibility for it. While there is truth in avoiding doing things

that cause a brother or sister to stumble, blaming how people dress or whether you are satisfied at

home for the condition of your heart, or the actions that come from it, is no different than the scribes’

escape clause for their self-indulgence. Jesus put that idea to death.

James 4:17

17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Why did He have to say it? He doesn’t want us to go to hell. Sin takes us there. Period.

Francis Chan-

“Hell is the backdrop that reveals the profound and unbelievable grace of the cross. It brings to light the

enormity of our sin and therefore portrays the undeserved favor of God in full color.”

There is good news…He is good news, and a greater understanding of the depth and scope of our sin,

will give us a greater understanding of our need for a Savior.

Romans 5:8

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the

dead, you will be saved.

We’re saved by the cross…the same God that said “this is how I see it…” is the same one who rescues us

from it. The more we understand the depths and consequences of our sin, the greater appreciation and

desire we’ll have for the One who rescues us from it.

The Heart of the Matter is the Matter of the Heart – July 17, 2022

Scripture References

Matthew 5:27-30

Exodus 20:14

Leviticus 20:10

Proverbs 11:2

Jeremiah 17:9

Proverbs 4:23

Psalm 51:10

Proverbs 25:4-5

James 1:2-4

John 8:2-11

Colossians 3:5

Matthew 5:29-30

Matthew 7:4-5

James 4:17

Romans 5:8

Romans 10:9

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Guest UserGrace Christian FellowshipChris Karpus, Grace Christian Fellowship, non-denominational church, church, Ladson, SC, Grace Christian Fellowshiop, Matthew 5, Bible-believing
What's Up with Divorce? | Matthew 5:31-32
What's Up with Divorce? | Matthew 5:31-32

What's Up with Divorce?

Matt 5:31-32; 19:3-9

In 2021, there were 1.7 million marriages with 700,000 divorces.

1,000,000 million children see their parents’ divorce annually.

I was reading RC Sproul and the book by Harvard sociologist, Pitirim Sorokin, around the middle of the 20th century. He was pointing to the impending crisis in families between 1910 and 1948.

The divorce rate in:

· 1910 was 10%

· 1948 was 25%

Sorokin (historian of culture) said no civilization can survive when 1 out of 4 marriages are falling apart.

The divorce rate in:

· USA – 45% ---- in 1981 it was 53%

· Spain – 63%

· Belgium – 71%

· Global Divorce Rate projected for 2022 – 48%

Pharisees tried to trap Jesus.  The thought was to get Jesus to offend the powerful or the religious.

Divorce for Sexual Immorality and Abandonment. 

Church should comfort and confront.

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Ken DorrityGrace Christian Fellowshipdivorce, Ken Dorrity, Grace Christian Fellowship, non-denominational church, Bible-believing, church, Ladson, SC, Matthew 5