Posts tagged Mikey Brannon

How to Measure Up in the Spiritual House | 1 Peter 2:3-10

How to Measure Up In the Spiritual House.

Grace Christian Fellowship

1 Peter 2: 3-10

Fallen Condition Focus

We must be believe on Jesus to be united in his Kingdom. He is the standard by

which we measure ourselves.

Introduction: (Show Picture of Airplane Assembly)

If you have your Bible this morning I would ask you to go ahead and turn with me

to 1 Peter chapter 2, as we continue our study of that book today.

Notice on the screen I have a picture of an airplane assembly, I remember back in

2011 when I moved to Charleston to take a job in this very building to work on

this very airplane in the photograph. It was the first 787 assembled right here in

Charleston.

And one of the things I didn’t have an appreciation for was the complexity of how

all these parts came together. While as engineer, I understood many of the

technical challenges, I think maybe one of the even greater challenges was

logistically getting all these pieces in place.

How many of you have ever seen the Dreamlifter flying over Charleston? Well

there are four of those giant airplanes and their sole purpose is to fly all over the

globe to collect these parts, and bring them back to Charleston for assembly.

Can you imagine the complexity of wings built in Japan, fuselage sections built in

Italy, a cockpit made in Wichita, the parts literally scattered around the globe.

And when they arrive in Charleston they have to be assembled to exact

specification. Everything has to fit. It’s an overwhelmingly complicated system.

This morning Peter talks about an assembly, in this case a building that has to

come together. How can Christ’s church scattered all over the world be arranged

exactly the way God has designed. In fact this morning we are going to see that it

is not designed carelessly, but in a way it is engineered perfectly, designed

thoughtfully by God himself. Beginning in verse four let’s look together.

[1Pe 2:4 ESV] 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,

I think it is interesting that Peter begins with a stone analogy. After all Peter name

was changed from Simon to Peter which literally is translated rock. You may

remember back to Matthew 16 when Jesus asks the disciples a question, “Who do

you say that I am?” Peter has the famous answer, “Thou art the Christ the Son of

the living God”. And do you remember what Jesus says.

[Mat 16:17-18 ESV] 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-

Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in

heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus reminds him firstly that his knowledge of Christ was first and foremost a gift

of a grace from the Father. And secondly, the Church would be built on Jesus

Christ.

The verse uses 2 words to describe how God views Jesus, chosen and precious.

God views Jesus as precious. As a treasure to be lifted high, to be praised and to

be adored. Peter also notes that he is “chosen” the word is eklekton which literally

means to be selected. More on that later, but for now think back to the airplane.

The dreamlifter does not just stop at a random spot on the globe, grab a couple of

wings and head back to Charleston to slap them on an airplane. No the wings are

carefully chosen or selected to fit.

So if we see Jesus rightly as we sit here today we see Jesus in the same way God

does. We see him as a treasure worthy of all praise and worship. But many people

do not see Jesus this way at all do they. In fact, many people curse his name, and

treat him with supreme disrespect. We saw that in the book of Matthew, but I

think we see it all around us today. Those who are not born again don’t see the

treasure in Jesus.

Perhaps even as believers it is good for us to be reminded, we should rightly see

Jesus as the Father sees Jesus.

[1Pe 2:5 ESV] 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer

spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

In verse 5 Peter continues his stone building analogy. Peter says not only is Jesus a

living stone, if you are born again (chapter 1), you too are a living stone.

Every year about this time of year, I go to Brooke’s STEM class and talk to the

kids about engineering and about airplanes. And one of the things I always like to

ask he kids is this. If you were going to build an airplane what are some materials

that you might use and why? And then we kind of walk thru the pros and cons of

different building materials; things like weight and strength and corrosion

resistance its always a great conversation.

So one thing I notice as I’m reading Peter’s metaphorical spiritual house is the

building material that he chose for his house is STONE. Jesus is a living stone, we

are living stones. I think Peter is pointing to something here about the significance

of this structure. Jesus is not putting together a tent or a hut. Jesus is a great

powerful stone and he makes great stones out of us. This spiritual house will not

be destroyed.

We know that the Jewish temple was destroyed, and in that destruction they had

no way to continue practicing Jewish religion in terms of sacrifices.

Jesus built a better temple, one not made with rocks, but one made with living

human stones.

Then we have Holy Priesthood. When I think about the Priesthood two things

come to mind. First of all is sacrifice. Did you know you are a priest if you are a

believer? In the old physical temple we know that the primary role of the priest

was to perform animal sacrifices. But in what way are we now priest? We are

called in this new spiritual temple to offer up “acceptable sacrifices”.

But we don’t offer up animal sacrifices do we? Our sacrifices are our affections to

God. Our true worship is a sacrifice. In fact in how we choose to live our lives we

choose to make (living) sacrifices each and every day.

[Rom 12:1 ESV] 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to

present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is

your spiritual worship.

The second thing that comes to mind when I think about the priesthood is access

to God. Remember how the temple was constructed. It was a series of walls. And

in the very center of all of the walls was the arc of the covenant. Now any person

could not just waltz in to the center of the temple. If you were a woman you had to

stop on the outside, men could get a little closer, but then priest could go even

another layer in. Until finally the most high priest on a certain could go all the way

inside to the mercy seat and the ark. He has access to God. Remember the veil that

was in the Holy of Holies the curtain that shielded the ark was torn when Jesus

was crucified signifying that the access to God is now open.

So when Peter says here that we are a Holy Priesthood, he is saying now you can

come in to the most holy place and commune directly with God. And the only way

that was ever possible was because of Jesus!

[1Pe 2:6 ESV] 6 For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and

precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

Peter goes on now to quote Isaiah here as he continues with his analogy of this

spiritual building.

There are some things I want to pull out of verse 6. First of all, notice who is

doing the action. Who is laying the stone? “I” is the Father. It is the Father who

initiated the building of the house. The Father sends the Son into the world to

build this house.

The son is the supreme stone he is called here the “cornerstone”. The cornerstone

is the most important stone in the structure. The cornerstone would be the

reference by which all the other stones would be laid. The cornerstone would

establish where the foundation would start. What would be vertical what would be

horizontal. All other stones in the structure would be compared to the cornerstone

to ensure they were correctly place.

So many get this wrong today. They think that they themselves will establish what

is right and what is wrong, and then they will just get a version of Jesus that lines

up with their own wicked ideas. We have to be very careful, if indeed we are part

of this magnificent structure that we align ourselves with Christ the cornerstone.

[2Ti 4:3 ESV] 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound

teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to

suit their own passions,

Paul speaks here of those who have no interest in alignment with cornerstone but

instead have found false teachers who will distort horizontal and distort vertical so

that this false cornerstone lines up with their own sinful desires.

One thing that you should always look for when studying a passage of scripture is

things that are repeated. If something is repeated it is probably important. And

here in verse 6 we see a repetition of “chosen and precious”. To those who are in

this house, there is nothing more precious, more treasured than the cornerstone.

Peter says this most sacred stone was “chosen”. I think what Peter has in mind

here is something from 1 Kings. In 1 Kings we see the building of the Temple. In

this book we get a good look at the physical process that Peter is speaking to in a

spiritual sense.

[1Ki 6:7 ESV] 7 When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the

quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the

house while it was being built.

The perfect stone was selected at the quarry. And can you imagine that the stone

was so perfect, that after the stone arrived at the temple no tool was even required.

This is the opposite of how I do carpentry work. Sometimes I will cut a board take

it hold up its to long. Back to the saw. Cut it. I may do that several times before I

get a perfect fit. Jesus was the perfect stone who was chosen because he did not

require shaping are correction he just fits perfectly.

[1Pe 2:7 ESV] 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for

those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,"

[1Pe 2:8 ESV] 8 and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the

word, as they were destined to do.

We talked about those who try to shape scripture to shape Jesus into fitting their

personal distorted view right. Remember as we studied the book of Matthew we

saw time and time again the religious leaders try to reshape the cornerstone

because he didn’t line up with what they wanted.

The Jews were looking for a messiah that would be a warrior, who would lead

them and free them from the oppression of Rome. The wanted a messiah who

would validate their corrupt authority, their disgraces at the temple, and their

religious system that crushed the poor and elevated them.

Do you see that the house that they had built was not plumb, it was not level

because they had lost the reference that was given to them in Scripture.

They didn’t look at Jesus and see a treasure or anything precious, but they were

filled with sin and hate to the point of murder. They are the “builders that

rejected” him.

And what does Peter say is the ultimate end of this rejection? They didn’t align

themselves with the cornerstone, but they tripped over the stone and met the

“stone of offense”. Which to the Jews of that day would be to trip over and to be

crushed or fatally wounded by the stone.

There really is no middle ground. We either see the infinite value and preciousness

of Christ or he becomes the stumbling block for our ultimate judgement and

destruction.

[1Pe 2:9 ESV] 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,

that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Here we have our repetition again. Do you see it? Underline that word “chosen”.

Now Peter shifts from Jesus being a chosen stone and he says YOU are a “chosen”

race. Who is you? You are those in the Spiritual house. Those who have been born

again (1 Peter 1). Those who see the preciousness of Christ. Those who have not

stumbled over him. Those who have aligned with him. YOU are a chosen race.

Doesn’t that just make your heart want to burst? Why me Lord? Why have you

extended such amazing grace to me? I don’t deserve it! No you don’t. Let that be

the essence of your worship.

It’s interesting that Peter uses the word race here. Because a race of people share

genetic characteristics. And he we sit as the body of Christ, made up of all

different races, nations, cultures you name it and Peter says you are now all a

chosen race. Because you are my children. The Spiritual DNA of our heavenly

father has bonded us all together in such a way that we are now a common race of

people in all our diversity.

We are now a royal priesthood. Earlier we talked about the significance of being

priest but Peter extends that now and says not only are you a priest but you are a

royal priest because you belong to the King! You worship the King and you are

his possession.

If we find ourselves as part of this Spiritual building then we can worship so

wonderfully this morning and every morning because our cornerstone allowed us

to assemble.

We have been called from darkness and into marvelous light. I don’t have to tell

you that the world is a dark place. When you walk outside those doors and into the

world you can see darkness all around. But in Christ we have the light.

(Call the musicians and Lord’s Supper folks)

My prayer this morning is for those this morning who maybe have never trusted in

this Stone. For those maybe who have stumbled over the stone for whatever

reason. Today, you have heard that God is calling people to him. Today maybe he

is calling you to join in this great building.

Maybe you have been a part of the spiritual house and you know that when you

look over at the cornerstone your life is not level. You are not plumb. You don’t

line up with the reference. This morning is your opportunity to confess those sins

and repent or align with him.

Let’s Pray.

Guest UserOctober 29, 2023Grace Christian FellowshipMikey Brannon, Grace Christian Fellowship, Ladson, SC, Bible believing church, church, christian church, non denominational church, 1 Peter, spiritual house, measure up

How to Prepare to Meet Jesus | Matthew 25:1-13

Fallen Condition Focus

Our nature is to procrastinate and not prepare.

Introduction

Do you know those people who always seem to be prepared for anything? I am not

one of those people. I am more of a, “will figure it out later” kind of person. It’s

funny because as I was preparing to preach this morning I was thinking about

preparation. Some things I have to force myself to prepare for.

Our family loves to go camping, and we really do 2 different kinds of camping.

First there is the main activity we do which is better called “glamping”. In fact,

Lucy, Joe, and I are doing this right now. My preparation for this kind of camping

is very casual. I know I will be by my truck. I know that I’m just a few minutes

drive to the nearest store. So when I go to pack for the things we need, I don’t

really sweat it too much. The worst thing that can happen is that I will need to

drive down the road a few miles and pick up whatever it is that we may have

forgotten.

On the flip side of this is, sometimes I will take a couple of my kids backpacking.

Now this is an entirely different thing. We have to pack everything we are going

to need for the trip on our back. Typically, we will find a trail and hike several

miles into the woods. We don’t have access to a car, or a store, electricity, or any

of the modern luxuries of life.

Now, even though I am not by nature a preparer, when I go backpacking, I

suddenly intentionally become a very prepared person. Spreadsheets are involved,

I have lists. I sit down an methodically load all the items into my packs and the

kids packs so that we have everything we might need. Why do I do this for a

backpacking trip, but not for a trip in the glamper?

The answer is, the stakes are so much higher. If we get out into the woods and

realize we don’t have anything to start a fire with, we are going to be miserable. I

can’t just jump in the truck and go get what we need.

Jesus has been teaching us this lesson on a spiritual level. And he has been

teaching it over and over again. He, gives us so many warnings on this topic,

because he knows our nature. He knows we tend to think, I will worry about it

later. I’ve got time to deal with spiritual things some other time. He knows that

some of will one day realize we never prepared ourselves to meet him.

Remember back to how Jesus closed his Sermon on the Mount. It is one of the

most troubling passages in all of Scripture. Jesus leaves his hearers in that passage

with some really troubling words about a “narrow gate” “few find it”. He really

depicts this mass of people who all think they are moving toward the kingdom of

heaven but they are deceived.

[Mat 7:22-23 ESV] 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not

prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty

works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you;

depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

This is the exact same warning that we get as we look at this parable teaching

today.

25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took

their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

Right of the bat Jesus informs us exactly what the parable is intended to illustrate.

We are talking about the kingdom of heaven. And we continue the same flow of

end times teaching that Jesus had been talking about in chapter 24.

[Mat 24:44 ESV] 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is

coming at an hour you do not expect.

The point of this teaching is to emphasize what we read in Matthew 24:44. You

must be ready. Jesus effectively gives us warning after warning after warning

about this topic.

To understand the parable we need to understand a little about ancient Jewish

wedding practices because that is the setting of this parable. It was customary in

those days for the bridesmaids and the bride to wait at the family home of the

bride. Unlike modern times there really was not a set schedule for when the events

of the wedding would take place.

What we have pictured in the parable is basically a wedding party. Those who will

actually be in the wedding ceremony.

At some point the groom would arrive at the family home of the bride. And when

he would arrive something kind of like a parade would take place as the wedding

party would move from the bride’s family home to the groom’s family home.

This parade if you will would be a great honor and a significant part of the overall

wedding celebration.

We see that the 10 bridesmaids are equipped with lamps. The same word can be

translated either lamp or even torches. It could be either, but the point is the same.

Seemingly when the bridegroom arrives they will be expected to light the torches

and proceed as a wedding party with the groom.

25:2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

While the 10 bridesmaids seem to be one unit, Jesus draws our attention to

something right in the beginning. These 10 people are not the same. Even though

they all appear to be ready for the wedding procession, they all are equipped with

lamps, but there is something very different under the surface. In fact they could

not be more different. 5 of them are wise, and 5 of them are foolish.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m an engineer, but sometimes I am tempted to

probably read too much into the mathematics of the situation. Jesus is making this

story up. He could have used any number he wanted here. He could have had 8

wise and 2 fools, or 2 fools and 8 wise, but he does a 50/50 split. I don’t know if

that is significant, but perhaps it is. Is Jesus trying to tell us that about 50% of the

people who profess to be a Christian are inwardly fooling themselves? I don’t

know, but I think it bears some consideration.

25:3 & 4 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with

them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

We find in verse 3 what separates the foolish from the wise. If it is a torch or

lamp it does not matter, because they work the same way. If it is a lamp then the

wick will pull up the oil from a well and the oil will fuel the flame. If it is a torch

then the same principle holds.

If one were to light a wick or a torch without any oil the flame would consume

the fabric in mere moments. The flame would not last.

This is common knowledge and the entire wedding party is seemingly aware of

the laws of combustion. However 5 of them have made the proper preparations.

But 5 of them have not prepared because they have brought no oil.

I think we have to be careful not to allegorize the entire parable, but it seems safe

to me to say that the oil represents a reborn heart or even the Holy Spirit living

within a reborn heart. No person will see the kingdom of God without being born

again.

We (overall church not necessarily GCF) have made church pretty comfortable

for worldly folks. We have dismissed books of the Bible as outdated, we have

adjusted our theology, skipped over the difficult passages, and reinterpreted the

others so that they are no longer hard to hear.

Many times the church does this with the best of intentions. We want our

congregation to grow. We want people to understand the gospel, and if we can

skip the hard stuff, then maybe they will get connected and be ready for that later.

But later never seems to come. Or even worse we start ourselves down a slippery

slope of symbolic interpretation of scripture that allows the entire bible to be bent

into whatever shape the reader wants.

What we end up with is churches full of people who are not true Christians.

Hearts that have never been reborn. These people come to church each and every

week, and they are carrying a lamp that has no oil. Can you image 5 out of 10 of

them have no oil!

25:5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and

slept.

The bridegroom is delayed. In fact we still are in a period of waiting for the

bridegroom to return. You’ll notice that the wedding party becomes tired and

sleepy. So they sleep.

This is not a negative thing. Jesus is not suggesting that they should not have

gone to sleep. Is just illustrating the point that it takes a will. So true believer or

not we all are going to sleep. Remember the verse that Jesus is really expounding

on is

[Mat 24:44 ESV] 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is

coming at an hour you do not expect.

Jesus is highlighting the “hour you do not expect” part of this principle. The lost

don’t know when he is coming, the saved don’t know when he is coming.

Whenever he comes again, it will be when he is not expected. And what are we to

do to with that information? We are to be ready.

25:6 But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come

out to meet him.'

It is at midnight when he arrives. In the darkest part of the night. When he is least

expected to arrive he shows up. (Think Matthew 24:44)

There is an interesting shift at this point in the parable. The time for preparation

has come to an end. Now is time for the wedding procession. There is no time to

get right, to gather supplies, to get oil that time has passed. It’s at this point where

we start to see some panic set in.

25:7&8 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the

foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps

are going out.'

Because these 5 foolish bridesmaids did not prepare they now realize that they

have a problem. Panic begins to set in.

I think the panic that is depicted here in verse 6 is troubling. It’s that comfort I

described, when I talked about going camping. In our minds we sort of always

think we have the chance to get what we need. But the reality is, there is coming a

day when the store won’t be open any more. The time for preparation will have

passed, and the only thing left for us will be judgement.

This is why Jesus continually reminds us to prepare.

25:9 But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us

and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves..

There is another lesson here. You cannot get your preparation from someone else.

You cannot get your righteousness from your parents, from your pastor, from

your family, you are responsible for yourself.

It’s like when you go to a theme park and the massive crowds of people are all

funneling down to the entrance. And when you get to the entrance they have that

little turnstile that only 1 person can fit in. They look at your ticket, and if it

checks out you enter all by yourself. Jesus says you can’t look to those in your

group to get you into the kingdom.

There is a problem here. The shop is closed. There is no hope at this point. And in

desperation they fill the streets to try to find oil, but they will find none. Such will

be the day for all of us.

25:10 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those

who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was

shut.

Notice the wedding party is not effected. It continues as scheduled. For those who

were prepared a feast is set and the celebration begins. The door is sealed and no

more will be allowed in.

Indeed they return in verse 11, but are not permitted to enter.

25:11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'

12 But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

We here again here echos back to the sermon on the mount. Jesus says, I do not

know you.

Jesus underscores the entire point yet another time at the end of the parable in

verse 13, “Watch”. We are to be watching. We are to be prepared. The day is

coming when we will be expected to go.

How then can we prepare?

1) Step 1 - You must be born again. John 3

[Jhn 3:5-6 ESV] 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is

born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which

is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

There is something supernatural that must occur in our lives. We must be born

spiritually in the same way we were born physically. In this Spiritual birth the

Holy Spirit will convict you of sin, and you must confess the sin, and repent. In

faith trusting that you are saved.

2) Step 2 – Develop Spiritual Discipline

[1Ti 4:7-8 ESV] 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train

yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is

of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the

life to come.

3) Persevere In Trials to the End

[1Pe 1:6-7 ESV] 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if

necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested

genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is

tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the

revelation of Jesus Christ.

4) Live the Great Commission

Lord’s Supper:

Invite musicians and server’s to go ahead and come.

Explain, this is the response part of the service. The covering or wedding garment

that Jesus provided, was not free. His blood was spilled, his body was broken. So

today as we partake in the Lord’s supper we remember that.

You don’t have to be a member here to participate, but you do have to be a

believer in good standing with the Lord. Meaning you have no unconfessed sin or

broken fellowship with others in the congregation.

Perhaps you want to come up here and pray, or pray where you are, that’s all

okay. I’ll be standing right over here if you want to come pray with me.

Guest UserJuly 9, 2023Grace Christian FellowshipMikey Brannon, Grace Christian Fellowship, Ladson, Matthew, ALL, prepare to meet Jesus

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

Guest UserJanuary 22, 2023Grace Christian Fellowshipnon-denominational church, Ladson, SC, Mikey Brannon, Matthew 16, bread, Bible-believing, church

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