As I was reading the bible this morning I came across 2 Chronicles 8:11 Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “my wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.” This caught my attention because this immediately follows a heartfelt prayer where Solomon dedicated the temple, a prayer where Solomon had even said that foreigners will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. Then he pleads that God listens and answers those prayers. (1 Kings 8:41-43) But he is married to someone that he knows will not pray to God, and instead of trying to get her closer to God he decides to move her farther away.
Solomon loves God but he was willing to move away from God to keep worldly people near him. Think about that for a minute. Solomon says I can’t get my wife to grow closer to God so I will move farther from Him. How many of us make decisions like this? The world (our spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, coworkers, boss whatever it may be for you) does not want to come to know Jesus so we push Jesus aside to fit in with them.
For example you take your family out to eat and you are sitting down and the waitress brings you your food. You look over and there is someone you work with. You know that atheist that loves to make fun of how silly Jesus freaks are. If you and your family pray here, in this public place, in front of him, you will never here the end of it at work. So you smile at your wife and say “Lets eat.” You think to yourself Jesus understands that I can’t pray right now. I’ll say a prayer tonight and pray for my coworker. But you are forgetting that Jesus said you would be persecuted (Matthew 5:11)
The problem is that when we are willing to hide our beliefs or act differently around non Christians we risk forgetting who our Lord is. Solomon was the wisest man ever, but when Solomon became old the World (his wives) made him forget who his Lord was (1 Kings 11:4).
Be smarter than Solomon and do not let the world shape who you are by moving you away from Jesus. Cling to Jesus and say lets show the world who You are!
MSW
Showing posts with label Matthew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew. Show all posts
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday's Sermons
Here is the link for the morning service I did over the weekend. I also did an evening service on Hebrews 11:35-40 it was a lot different from what I had previously done and some people felt I was a little to graphic.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Who Do You Say I Am?
This is the sermon I will be preaching in the morning.
Update: here is the link for the audio
Mat 16:13-20 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Jesus has been with the disciples for a while now. They have seen Him perform many miracles. They have watched Him walk on water, calm the sea, heal people and cast out demons. They have listened to Him argue with the Pharisees and Sadducees. They have heard Him preach many lessons. They have been offered a chance to leave and they said “where would we go?” So now in chapter 16 of Matthew vs. 13 they are entering Caesarea Philippi.
Ceaseara Philippi is one of two towns in Judea named Caesarea. Caesarea Philippi was named by Herod the Tetrarch in honor of Augustus Caesar and the name Philippi is in owner of Herod's son Phillip the tetrarch who rebuilt and beautified the city. It was located at the southwest base of Mt. Hermon. Originally it was called Paneas for the god Pan. And at one point in its history it was a center for Baal worship.
Jesus and the disciples are standing in an area that has a long history of sin as Peter makes his confession. I think that's important because when Jesus calls us we are standing in an area (our life) that is filled with a history of sin. When we confess Jesus as our savior we are saying I'm here trapped in this sin save me from it.
And Jesus asks " Who do People say that the son of man is" Whom do men say that I the son of man am? Notice he calls Himself Son of Man. Jesus wants them to answer about the human side of Him. Jesus wants Peter to acknowledge what the crowds that follow them are saying about this man Jesus who is walking around preaching and performing amazing miracles. This man who is not afraid to challenge the religous establishment of the day.
Vs. 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Notice everyone they have suggested is someone who is dead or gone as in the case of Elijah. The crowds recognize there is something supernatural about Jesus. They may not realize that this is Immanuel (God with us) but they do know that this is not a regular man. In Mark's Gospel the authority that Jesus speaks with stands out. In Mark 1:22 they were amazed because he taught as one with authority and not as the teachers of the law. The Jews notice that Jesus doesn't speak as someone who has studied the law but as someone who knows God personally.
Some say John the Baptist. John the Baptist! John the Baptist had been beheaded a few months before. Look at what the man that ordered for John's head to be taken said about Jesus. Matthew 14:1-2
1At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2and he said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
Herod believed Jesus was John the Baptist. He believed that somehow John had come back from the dead. Many others in the crowd of followers believed Jesus was John the Baptist.
Others say Elijah, Elijah was a powerful man. He was able to perform miracles and they knew that Malachi 4:5 had prophesied that Elijah would come back before the day of the Lord. So it made sense to many that this must be Elijah. Elijah never died and had went to be with God already. In Matthew 17 Jesus is talking to the disciples and they ask Him about Elijah coming first and Jesus tells them in Vs. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. Then they realize in Vs. 13 that John was the one that came in the spirit of Elijah. Peter actually witnessed Moses and Elijah carrying on a conversation with Jesus.
Still others Jeremiah. Wait! Jeremiah! Why Jeremiah? To truly understand why a Jewish man in Jesus's day would think of Jeremiah we have to read the same thing the Jewish people read. There is a series of books called the apocrypha. Apocrypha comes from a Greek word that means "those that have been hidden away". They are a series of writings that are not considered to belong in the canon of the bible. Martin Luther said the apocrypha was 'Useful historical writings”. He also believed that while these books were not inspired Christians should be familiar with them and at times they should even be read in services. The original King James of 1611 contained these books and so do many Catholic bibles today. In the apocryphical books of Maccabees we have some Jewish history and in those terrible times of the seculid kings we read about a revolt. In 2 Maccabees 2:4-7 we read about Jeremiah taking the ark of the Covenant and hiding it in a cave and 2Ma 2:4 It was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God.
2Ma 2:5 And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.
2Ma 2:6 And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it.
2Ma 2:7 Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy.
The Jewish people having heard this and the stories about it believed that Jesus was Jeremiah coming to bring the ark of God out of the cave.
Or one of the prophets.
Notice Peter didn't say a prophet. He said one of the prophets. In Luke's account of this event he even says "Or one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." (Luke 9:19)
They are now thinking of all the prophets and saying he could be this one or that one, but no one is saying hey maybe he is a new prophet, and definitely no one is suggesting that this is the Son of God
In every case the Jews believed that Jesus was someone that had risen from the dead. They believe that Jesus is someone who has been with God but they do not understand that this is God in Human flesh.
Vs. 15 Jesus looks at Peter "But What about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Who Do you say I am?
That is the most important question you will ever answer. Even if you don't believe in Jesus, on the day of judgement you will stand in front of Jesus and answer that question.
Think about that for a minute! Who do you say I am?
That is an important question for all of us to ask .Who do you say Jesus is? That is the question of a lifetime the answer either brings you eternal life or eternal damnation. Think about that the most important question you will ever answer and you will have to answer it someday is; Who do you say I am?
I have heard people say Jesus is a great teacher, but not God. The problem with this view is Jesus went around telling people that he was the son of God. If a man was walking around today and he appeared to be a genius and everyone was amazed at what a great teacher he was, but then this man started telling you well I'm just telling you this because I'm God. I'm the only way to heaven and oh yeah to get there you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood. If Jesus was not God then he was a stark raving lunatic. Are you going to go to an asylum and expect to see a great teacher? NO! Are you going to call a crazy person a great teacher?
Many people believe he was a prophet, but not the savior. The problem with that is that God gave us through Moses a way to test the prophets. In Deutronomy 18 Moses says to see if a prophet was sent by God is to see if his prophecy comes true if it does God sent him. Jesus’s prophecy of dying and coming back to life was true. He also said that He was the one sent by God.
Who Do you Say I Am?
How many would answer that with, my Lord and Savior. That is how Peter summed it up. In 2 Peter, Peter refers to Jesus as our Lord and Savior 4 times. In that short letter that is how Peter sees Jesus, and that is how we should view Jesus. Our Lord and Savior. I want to take a minute and talk about these two words though. The word Lord is (koo'-ree-os) it means supreme in authority, controller and master. Basically Lord can be summed up King. King Jesus!
A King is ruler the supreme one in authority and a kings subjects would refer to him as Lord. When we say Jesus is our Lord we are saying that he is our King. A king has many responsibilities they are to keep invaders out and protect their subjects. They are to try and grow their Kingdom and maintain control of those that are subject to them. King Jesus does all these things
look at
· 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
o Jesus will not let sin invade us if we resist it.
· John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
o Jesus protects us.
· Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
o Jesus builds His kingdom.
· Hebrews 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
o The Lord Disciplines those that are his
My question is how many of you that claim that Jesus is your Lord; live your life, as if He is your King. When you walked in this sanctuary this morning, Did you walk in with the same reverence you would if you were walking up to the throne of a King? Our King gave us a book that tells us what he expects of us! Did you follow the orders of your King this week. Did you even read the orders that your King gave you?
Maybe you don’t like thinking of Jesus as King. Thinking of Jesus that way bothers you. You like thinking of Jesus as a loving Priest that forgives you of your sins. You say I live under grace and the bible says that is all that is necessary. Grace alone! Grace Alone! Actually the Bible says repent and be saved. Read Mat_11:20-24 It will really rain on your day if you think you can live your life however you want and Jesus is going to say that’s okay you tried. And do you know why; because you didn’t try! It sounds to you like I’m saying works are required. You are going to hate this, if that is what you think. Grace is the Greek word charis (khar'-ece) guess what it means the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life. Did you catch that “and its reflection in the life” part. Yeah people should see that reflection of Jesus in your life. They see they by the way you serve Him.
God has forgiven us through grace and I want to come back to that, but first I want us to read a parable Jesus told in Luke 19. Luke tells us that Jesus told this parable because the disciples believed the Kingdom of God was about to appear. Jesus tells this parable to let them know that it was time for Him to begin His Earthly reign. If everyone one is there I’m going to start in Vs. 12
He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a]'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' 14"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 15"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
18"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
19"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'
20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me."
Jesus is talking about ascending to heaven and returning at his second coming. At Judgement.
Look at Vs. 27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me."
Are you allowing Jesus to reign over you? This passage clearly shows us that we are to serve the Lord as King here on earth. The bible clearly teaches us this. And if you don’t want to accept the fact that you are a servant to King Jesus, you will hate heaven anyways, because the bible also shows us that Jesus will reign in a heavenly Kingdom and an Earthly Kingdom.
Jesus is my Lord and Savior
Now what about Jesus as savior. At night I like to watch old TV shows and one of my favorites is the Andy Griffith Show. A few weeks back the episode where Andy saved Gomer’s life was on. Andy sees that the service station is on fire and he runs in and pulls Gomer out. If you have never seen this episode just about every television show made up until reality shows ruined television had a show with a similar plot. So Andy saves Gomer’s life. Gomer is so thankful that he serves Andy in every way he can. He does so to the point he becomes annoying to Andy. If you truly understood what it means to call Jesus your savior then you should be that thankful. So thankful that your life revolves around trying to do everything you can to serve Jesus.
Think about this for a minute. God created man, man said I don’t need you and your authority. And thereby sentencing man to death. God decides to save man by.. now look at this… God who created man and owes us nothing decided to save us. He did this by coming to Earth as man. He came in the form of the Son of God… JESUS! Then he allowed His creation to beat Him, Spit on Him, Rip His beard out and then after making fun of Him nail him to a cross and leave Him hanging till he died. God who at any time could have called down a whole host of Angels to destroy us. Allowed us, His creation, to Kill Him. And in that death our sins were washed away. Now it gets even better. God, Jesus rises from the grave and ascends to Heaven so that we too can go to be with the father in Heaven. If God didn’t do this for us. If God didn’t save us in this way we would go to Hell. And all we have to do to accept this salvation is believe. That Jesus Christ is the son of God that came and died for our sins and then rose again. That’s it! Just believe and that doesn’t make you want to drop on your knees and cry out, thank you Lord Jesus! I give my life to You. All of me! I Live for you. My life is an offering to you Lord. Are you not that grateful that He saved you. And being saved did not end on that day on the cross. Jesus saved you that day and every day since he has been saving you by that divine influence on the heart, that reflects in ones life that divine influence that refines and makes pure. And we will be saved on that day of Judgment when we stand before God and Jesus says oh that one I paid his fine already.
Saved by grace. If you are saved you will feel that divine influence on your heart, that convicting of sin that helps to purify and give you the righteousness that only comes from Jesus Christ. James said Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. That’s because that divine influence in James reflects.
We are saved by grace, But when you look at what Jesus did for you. What that Grace cost Jesus. If that doesn’t make you want to serve and demonstrate that you serve Jesus, then you don’t truly understand what the one you are calling Lord and savior did for you.
I think I want to go a little deeper here Because I have been emphasizing the deity of Jesus. The fact that He was God. But to truly understand the cost of that forgiveness you have to see that Jesus was also fully man. Let’s look and see how human Jesus was.
Mark 11:12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
John 19:28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."
John 11:35 Jesus wept
Jesus hungered, thirsted, wept, and he was tempted by the devil. He felt sorrow at Gethesamne. Matthew 26:38 When Jesus was in the garden of gethsemane he prayed "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
When Jesus was nailed to that roman cross He felt the pain just as you and I would. When Jesus died for our sins. It was a horrible punishment for Him. He felt the humiliation, the emotional and physical hurts just as we would.
Yet even knowing what he was about to go through Jesus suffered for us. Why?
You are the Christ the son of the living God.
Because Jesus was the christ the son of the living God come to take away the sin of the world. What has become known as Peter's confession is that Jesus is the Christ the on of the living God. What does this mean though. What did it mean to Peter 2000 years ago as he stood next to Jesus saying these words. When Peter said you are the Christ he is acknowledging that Jesus is the annoited or the one sent by God The prophets had told the Jews that God was sending someone to come to them and take over and rule. These prophecies go as far back as Genesis 3. When Peter says the son of the living God Son is Peter saying I realize that you are fully human flesh and blood just like me , but I also realize that you are God the one true living God.
Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven.
If your translation says Bar-Jonah that just means son of Jonah. Jesus called Peter that because He was acknowledging That Peter was born of man but Jesus was born of God. Now I want to look at what Jesus meant by his was not revealed to you by man. Have you ever thought about what Christians believe and how unbelievable it sounds to an unbeliever. This man Jesus who was fully God, but also fully man, was born of a virgin. He brought people back from the dead healed them then he was killed. three days later he rose. Visited a whole bunch of people then kind of floated up to heaven in their sight. He is coming back though with a sword in his mouth to take over. All of this was done so that we could go to heaven you know that place where the streets are made of gold. What we believe is pretty amazing and god has to prepare our hearts for that message. John says that God draws us. then as Peter did we have to confess who Christ is.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it.
In the verse before this one Jesus called Peter Simon. it's not unusual for God to change a mans name when he decides to use them.
Saul became Paul.
Abram became Abraham.
Jacob became Israel
The Greek meaning for Simon is a name. It comes from a old testament Hebrew name Simeon (The son of Jacob) which means hearing. But the meaning of Simon is just a name. Jesus renames Simon Peter here. Peter is a Greek word Petros (pet'-ros) which means a piece of rock, like a stone or boulder. The word rock in this verse is Petra it means a large slab of Rock. It is the same word that is used in look when talking about the wise builder who dug down deep and laid the foundation of his house on Rock (Petra). So I'm going to read this verse now with our new words and let's think about what it means that way. And I tell you that you are Petros, and on this Petra I will build my church. I tell you that you are just a small rock Simon, but on this solid rock I will build my church.
I go through all of that to demonstrate that while some denominations believe that Jesus was telling Peter that he was going to build the church on him that is incorrect. Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. The foundation which as any of the builders here today will tell you is the most important part is the fact that Jesus is the Christ. The one sent to take away the sins of man. Church (ekklēsia -ek-klay-see'-ah) simply means assembly. It's used in Acts to mean a riot. When Jesus says My Church He means a called out assembly of believers. It has nothing to do with a building or a denomination. it also does not mean everyone in the building. The church is the believers of the world and it is built on the fact and belief in that fact that Jesus is the Son of God come into the world to forgive man of sin through His death and resurrection.
And the Gates of Hell will not overcome it.
That is to say that the devil will never stop it. to fully understand this you must look at the persecution of the early church. Acts talks about a little of the persecution; Being thrown in jail, put in stocks, beaten. In 1563 a man named John Foxe printed an English translation of his book Acts and Monuments of These Later and Perilous Days. We know it as Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Foxe took the historical accounts of the early persecution of the church and put them into a book. I'm Just going to tell you about the deaths of the apostles and despite theses horrible deaths the number of Christians grew daily.
Peter, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Jude, Simon the Zealot = Crucified
James, Matthew, Matthias, Paul = Beheaded
Thomas = Speared
James = beaten and thrown from temple roof then had his head busted open with a tool used to beat cloth as he prayed for those who had beaten him.
And John before he was banished to the Isle of Patmos was dipped in a cauldron of boiling oil before being banished. history records he escaped this without injury.
Despite Satan doing his best to hold back the spread of Christianity. It grew to what we have today.
In conclusion I'm going to sum up what we have heard today. We come to our knowledge of Jesus surrounded by our sin. Our sin pulls us toward Hell, but Jesus reveals Himself to us. Then all we have to do is as Romans 10:9 says If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, We will be saved. But by confessing that Jesus is Lord. We are saying that Jesus is King of our lives, that we will serve him in whatever way he calls us to serve him. Our Lives will reflect that Lordship Jesus has over us. Just as a subject of a king would bow down to their King we will bow down to Jesus. We realize that Jesus has no use for us if we don't want Him to reign over us. If we understand what being saved truly means and the extent and the cost of it we will be grateful for that saving grace. People will see that gratefulness we have to the Lord reflected in our lives. By believing in Jesus as the Christ the Son of the living God we become members of the Church and Satan will never take that away from us. If we live our lives as if Jesus is our King we will aid in the growing of that Kingdom Jesus' Church.
Update: here is the link for the audio
Mat 16:13-20 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Jesus has been with the disciples for a while now. They have seen Him perform many miracles. They have watched Him walk on water, calm the sea, heal people and cast out demons. They have listened to Him argue with the Pharisees and Sadducees. They have heard Him preach many lessons. They have been offered a chance to leave and they said “where would we go?” So now in chapter 16 of Matthew vs. 13 they are entering Caesarea Philippi.
Ceaseara Philippi is one of two towns in Judea named Caesarea. Caesarea Philippi was named by Herod the Tetrarch in honor of Augustus Caesar and the name Philippi is in owner of Herod's son Phillip the tetrarch who rebuilt and beautified the city. It was located at the southwest base of Mt. Hermon. Originally it was called Paneas for the god Pan. And at one point in its history it was a center for Baal worship.
Jesus and the disciples are standing in an area that has a long history of sin as Peter makes his confession. I think that's important because when Jesus calls us we are standing in an area (our life) that is filled with a history of sin. When we confess Jesus as our savior we are saying I'm here trapped in this sin save me from it.
And Jesus asks " Who do People say that the son of man is" Whom do men say that I the son of man am? Notice he calls Himself Son of Man. Jesus wants them to answer about the human side of Him. Jesus wants Peter to acknowledge what the crowds that follow them are saying about this man Jesus who is walking around preaching and performing amazing miracles. This man who is not afraid to challenge the religous establishment of the day.
Vs. 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Notice everyone they have suggested is someone who is dead or gone as in the case of Elijah. The crowds recognize there is something supernatural about Jesus. They may not realize that this is Immanuel (God with us) but they do know that this is not a regular man. In Mark's Gospel the authority that Jesus speaks with stands out. In Mark 1:22 they were amazed because he taught as one with authority and not as the teachers of the law. The Jews notice that Jesus doesn't speak as someone who has studied the law but as someone who knows God personally.
Some say John the Baptist. John the Baptist! John the Baptist had been beheaded a few months before. Look at what the man that ordered for John's head to be taken said about Jesus. Matthew 14:1-2
1At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2and he said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
Herod believed Jesus was John the Baptist. He believed that somehow John had come back from the dead. Many others in the crowd of followers believed Jesus was John the Baptist.
Others say Elijah, Elijah was a powerful man. He was able to perform miracles and they knew that Malachi 4:5 had prophesied that Elijah would come back before the day of the Lord. So it made sense to many that this must be Elijah. Elijah never died and had went to be with God already. In Matthew 17 Jesus is talking to the disciples and they ask Him about Elijah coming first and Jesus tells them in Vs. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. Then they realize in Vs. 13 that John was the one that came in the spirit of Elijah. Peter actually witnessed Moses and Elijah carrying on a conversation with Jesus.
Still others Jeremiah. Wait! Jeremiah! Why Jeremiah? To truly understand why a Jewish man in Jesus's day would think of Jeremiah we have to read the same thing the Jewish people read. There is a series of books called the apocrypha. Apocrypha comes from a Greek word that means "those that have been hidden away". They are a series of writings that are not considered to belong in the canon of the bible. Martin Luther said the apocrypha was 'Useful historical writings”. He also believed that while these books were not inspired Christians should be familiar with them and at times they should even be read in services. The original King James of 1611 contained these books and so do many Catholic bibles today. In the apocryphical books of Maccabees we have some Jewish history and in those terrible times of the seculid kings we read about a revolt. In 2 Maccabees 2:4-7 we read about Jeremiah taking the ark of the Covenant and hiding it in a cave and 2Ma 2:4 It was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God.
2Ma 2:5 And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.
2Ma 2:6 And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it.
2Ma 2:7 Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy.
The Jewish people having heard this and the stories about it believed that Jesus was Jeremiah coming to bring the ark of God out of the cave.
Or one of the prophets.
Notice Peter didn't say a prophet. He said one of the prophets. In Luke's account of this event he even says "Or one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." (Luke 9:19)
They are now thinking of all the prophets and saying he could be this one or that one, but no one is saying hey maybe he is a new prophet, and definitely no one is suggesting that this is the Son of God
In every case the Jews believed that Jesus was someone that had risen from the dead. They believe that Jesus is someone who has been with God but they do not understand that this is God in Human flesh.
Vs. 15 Jesus looks at Peter "But What about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Who Do you say I am?
That is the most important question you will ever answer. Even if you don't believe in Jesus, on the day of judgement you will stand in front of Jesus and answer that question.
Think about that for a minute! Who do you say I am?
That is an important question for all of us to ask .Who do you say Jesus is? That is the question of a lifetime the answer either brings you eternal life or eternal damnation. Think about that the most important question you will ever answer and you will have to answer it someday is; Who do you say I am?
I have heard people say Jesus is a great teacher, but not God. The problem with this view is Jesus went around telling people that he was the son of God. If a man was walking around today and he appeared to be a genius and everyone was amazed at what a great teacher he was, but then this man started telling you well I'm just telling you this because I'm God. I'm the only way to heaven and oh yeah to get there you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood. If Jesus was not God then he was a stark raving lunatic. Are you going to go to an asylum and expect to see a great teacher? NO! Are you going to call a crazy person a great teacher?
Many people believe he was a prophet, but not the savior. The problem with that is that God gave us through Moses a way to test the prophets. In Deutronomy 18 Moses says to see if a prophet was sent by God is to see if his prophecy comes true if it does God sent him. Jesus’s prophecy of dying and coming back to life was true. He also said that He was the one sent by God.
Who Do you Say I Am?
How many would answer that with, my Lord and Savior. That is how Peter summed it up. In 2 Peter, Peter refers to Jesus as our Lord and Savior 4 times. In that short letter that is how Peter sees Jesus, and that is how we should view Jesus. Our Lord and Savior. I want to take a minute and talk about these two words though. The word Lord is (koo'-ree-os) it means supreme in authority, controller and master. Basically Lord can be summed up King. King Jesus!
A King is ruler the supreme one in authority and a kings subjects would refer to him as Lord. When we say Jesus is our Lord we are saying that he is our King. A king has many responsibilities they are to keep invaders out and protect their subjects. They are to try and grow their Kingdom and maintain control of those that are subject to them. King Jesus does all these things
look at
· 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
o Jesus will not let sin invade us if we resist it.
· John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
o Jesus protects us.
· Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
o Jesus builds His kingdom.
· Hebrews 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
o The Lord Disciplines those that are his
My question is how many of you that claim that Jesus is your Lord; live your life, as if He is your King. When you walked in this sanctuary this morning, Did you walk in with the same reverence you would if you were walking up to the throne of a King? Our King gave us a book that tells us what he expects of us! Did you follow the orders of your King this week. Did you even read the orders that your King gave you?
Maybe you don’t like thinking of Jesus as King. Thinking of Jesus that way bothers you. You like thinking of Jesus as a loving Priest that forgives you of your sins. You say I live under grace and the bible says that is all that is necessary. Grace alone! Grace Alone! Actually the Bible says repent and be saved. Read Mat_11:20-24 It will really rain on your day if you think you can live your life however you want and Jesus is going to say that’s okay you tried. And do you know why; because you didn’t try! It sounds to you like I’m saying works are required. You are going to hate this, if that is what you think. Grace is the Greek word charis (khar'-ece) guess what it means the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life. Did you catch that “and its reflection in the life” part. Yeah people should see that reflection of Jesus in your life. They see they by the way you serve Him.
God has forgiven us through grace and I want to come back to that, but first I want us to read a parable Jesus told in Luke 19. Luke tells us that Jesus told this parable because the disciples believed the Kingdom of God was about to appear. Jesus tells this parable to let them know that it was time for Him to begin His Earthly reign. If everyone one is there I’m going to start in Vs. 12
He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a]'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' 14"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 15"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
18"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
19"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'
20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me."
Jesus is talking about ascending to heaven and returning at his second coming. At Judgement.
Look at Vs. 27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me."
Are you allowing Jesus to reign over you? This passage clearly shows us that we are to serve the Lord as King here on earth. The bible clearly teaches us this. And if you don’t want to accept the fact that you are a servant to King Jesus, you will hate heaven anyways, because the bible also shows us that Jesus will reign in a heavenly Kingdom and an Earthly Kingdom.
Jesus is my Lord and Savior
Now what about Jesus as savior. At night I like to watch old TV shows and one of my favorites is the Andy Griffith Show. A few weeks back the episode where Andy saved Gomer’s life was on. Andy sees that the service station is on fire and he runs in and pulls Gomer out. If you have never seen this episode just about every television show made up until reality shows ruined television had a show with a similar plot. So Andy saves Gomer’s life. Gomer is so thankful that he serves Andy in every way he can. He does so to the point he becomes annoying to Andy. If you truly understood what it means to call Jesus your savior then you should be that thankful. So thankful that your life revolves around trying to do everything you can to serve Jesus.
Think about this for a minute. God created man, man said I don’t need you and your authority. And thereby sentencing man to death. God decides to save man by.. now look at this… God who created man and owes us nothing decided to save us. He did this by coming to Earth as man. He came in the form of the Son of God… JESUS! Then he allowed His creation to beat Him, Spit on Him, Rip His beard out and then after making fun of Him nail him to a cross and leave Him hanging till he died. God who at any time could have called down a whole host of Angels to destroy us. Allowed us, His creation, to Kill Him. And in that death our sins were washed away. Now it gets even better. God, Jesus rises from the grave and ascends to Heaven so that we too can go to be with the father in Heaven. If God didn’t do this for us. If God didn’t save us in this way we would go to Hell. And all we have to do to accept this salvation is believe. That Jesus Christ is the son of God that came and died for our sins and then rose again. That’s it! Just believe and that doesn’t make you want to drop on your knees and cry out, thank you Lord Jesus! I give my life to You. All of me! I Live for you. My life is an offering to you Lord. Are you not that grateful that He saved you. And being saved did not end on that day on the cross. Jesus saved you that day and every day since he has been saving you by that divine influence on the heart, that reflects in ones life that divine influence that refines and makes pure. And we will be saved on that day of Judgment when we stand before God and Jesus says oh that one I paid his fine already.
Saved by grace. If you are saved you will feel that divine influence on your heart, that convicting of sin that helps to purify and give you the righteousness that only comes from Jesus Christ. James said Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. That’s because that divine influence in James reflects.
We are saved by grace, But when you look at what Jesus did for you. What that Grace cost Jesus. If that doesn’t make you want to serve and demonstrate that you serve Jesus, then you don’t truly understand what the one you are calling Lord and savior did for you.
I think I want to go a little deeper here Because I have been emphasizing the deity of Jesus. The fact that He was God. But to truly understand the cost of that forgiveness you have to see that Jesus was also fully man. Let’s look and see how human Jesus was.
Mark 11:12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
John 19:28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."
John 11:35 Jesus wept
Jesus hungered, thirsted, wept, and he was tempted by the devil. He felt sorrow at Gethesamne. Matthew 26:38 When Jesus was in the garden of gethsemane he prayed "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
When Jesus was nailed to that roman cross He felt the pain just as you and I would. When Jesus died for our sins. It was a horrible punishment for Him. He felt the humiliation, the emotional and physical hurts just as we would.
Yet even knowing what he was about to go through Jesus suffered for us. Why?
You are the Christ the son of the living God.
Because Jesus was the christ the son of the living God come to take away the sin of the world. What has become known as Peter's confession is that Jesus is the Christ the on of the living God. What does this mean though. What did it mean to Peter 2000 years ago as he stood next to Jesus saying these words. When Peter said you are the Christ he is acknowledging that Jesus is the annoited or the one sent by God The prophets had told the Jews that God was sending someone to come to them and take over and rule. These prophecies go as far back as Genesis 3. When Peter says the son of the living God Son is Peter saying I realize that you are fully human flesh and blood just like me , but I also realize that you are God the one true living God.
Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven.
If your translation says Bar-Jonah that just means son of Jonah. Jesus called Peter that because He was acknowledging That Peter was born of man but Jesus was born of God. Now I want to look at what Jesus meant by his was not revealed to you by man. Have you ever thought about what Christians believe and how unbelievable it sounds to an unbeliever. This man Jesus who was fully God, but also fully man, was born of a virgin. He brought people back from the dead healed them then he was killed. three days later he rose. Visited a whole bunch of people then kind of floated up to heaven in their sight. He is coming back though with a sword in his mouth to take over. All of this was done so that we could go to heaven you know that place where the streets are made of gold. What we believe is pretty amazing and god has to prepare our hearts for that message. John says that God draws us. then as Peter did we have to confess who Christ is.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it.
In the verse before this one Jesus called Peter Simon. it's not unusual for God to change a mans name when he decides to use them.
Saul became Paul.
Abram became Abraham.
Jacob became Israel
The Greek meaning for Simon is a name. It comes from a old testament Hebrew name Simeon (The son of Jacob) which means hearing. But the meaning of Simon is just a name. Jesus renames Simon Peter here. Peter is a Greek word Petros (pet'-ros) which means a piece of rock, like a stone or boulder. The word rock in this verse is Petra it means a large slab of Rock. It is the same word that is used in look when talking about the wise builder who dug down deep and laid the foundation of his house on Rock (Petra). So I'm going to read this verse now with our new words and let's think about what it means that way. And I tell you that you are Petros, and on this Petra I will build my church. I tell you that you are just a small rock Simon, but on this solid rock I will build my church.
I go through all of that to demonstrate that while some denominations believe that Jesus was telling Peter that he was going to build the church on him that is incorrect. Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. The foundation which as any of the builders here today will tell you is the most important part is the fact that Jesus is the Christ. The one sent to take away the sins of man. Church (ekklēsia -ek-klay-see'-ah) simply means assembly. It's used in Acts to mean a riot. When Jesus says My Church He means a called out assembly of believers. It has nothing to do with a building or a denomination. it also does not mean everyone in the building. The church is the believers of the world and it is built on the fact and belief in that fact that Jesus is the Son of God come into the world to forgive man of sin through His death and resurrection.
And the Gates of Hell will not overcome it.
That is to say that the devil will never stop it. to fully understand this you must look at the persecution of the early church. Acts talks about a little of the persecution; Being thrown in jail, put in stocks, beaten. In 1563 a man named John Foxe printed an English translation of his book Acts and Monuments of These Later and Perilous Days. We know it as Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Foxe took the historical accounts of the early persecution of the church and put them into a book. I'm Just going to tell you about the deaths of the apostles and despite theses horrible deaths the number of Christians grew daily.
Peter, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Jude, Simon the Zealot = Crucified
James, Matthew, Matthias, Paul = Beheaded
Thomas = Speared
James = beaten and thrown from temple roof then had his head busted open with a tool used to beat cloth as he prayed for those who had beaten him.
And John before he was banished to the Isle of Patmos was dipped in a cauldron of boiling oil before being banished. history records he escaped this without injury.
Despite Satan doing his best to hold back the spread of Christianity. It grew to what we have today.
In conclusion I'm going to sum up what we have heard today. We come to our knowledge of Jesus surrounded by our sin. Our sin pulls us toward Hell, but Jesus reveals Himself to us. Then all we have to do is as Romans 10:9 says If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, We will be saved. But by confessing that Jesus is Lord. We are saying that Jesus is King of our lives, that we will serve him in whatever way he calls us to serve him. Our Lives will reflect that Lordship Jesus has over us. Just as a subject of a king would bow down to their King we will bow down to Jesus. We realize that Jesus has no use for us if we don't want Him to reign over us. If we understand what being saved truly means and the extent and the cost of it we will be grateful for that saving grace. People will see that gratefulness we have to the Lord reflected in our lives. By believing in Jesus as the Christ the Son of the living God we become members of the Church and Satan will never take that away from us. If we live our lives as if Jesus is our King we will aid in the growing of that Kingdom Jesus' Church.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Genealogy of Matthew
I had written a post to put in my church newsletter, I always post them here also, but I Lost the USB drive I had it saved on. Well I finally found it. So here is the post that was supposed to appear on Mother's Day.
The Genealogy of Jesus
Matthew 1:1-16
The Bible is full of Genealogies, Those lists of names that seem to go on forever and appear to serve no purpose but to lull us to sleep. It is amazing how many times I have asked someone have you ever read the Bible and they tell me, “I tried but it got to where everyone was begating somebody and I just couldn‟t read it.”
These genealogies are pretty amazing when we slow down and read them though. God stuck little nuggets in there to see if we were still paying attention. Like the story of a cursed man who simply prayed that God would bless him and God did exactly that (1 Chronicles 4:10) or little tidbits of information such as when the Earth was divided (1 Chronicles 1:19).
Matthews‟s genealogy of Jesus is like that. If we slow down and read it we will notice that in this list of 39 fathers four mothers are mentioned. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba were important to God. He wanted us to see these four mothers that led to Christ. So what makes these four mothers so important?
Tamar prostituted herself to have an incestuous relationship, Rahab was a prostitute herself, Ruth was a pagan, and Bathsheba strolled around nude and had an affair that led to the death of her husband. In some churches these ladies wouldn‟t even be allowed in the door. Yet Matthew, through the divine inspiration of the Holy Ghost, wanted us to see that not only where these ladies allowed in the door, they were seated at the right hand of God. They were placed on a pedestal to be admired. Rahab even made it into the Hebrews Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11:31).
So why is that? First I think we should realize that no matter what we have done in our past God can use us. Just as these ladies lead to Christ, we also can leave our past behind and lead people to Christ. Each of these women, with the exception of Ruth, when we hear their names the bad they did immediately comes to mind. Yet, let‟s look the type of children they raised.
After Genesis 38 it seems Tamar simply disappears until Matthew chooses to bring her up again. But that isn‟t true. Not only is she mentioned, she is in some mighty fine company. In Ruth 4:11-12 the elders of Bethlehem are giving the marriage of Boaz to Ruth their blessing and they say to him, “May your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” Sounds like the elders felt Tamar did a good job raising her boys.
Rahab not only gets mentioned in Hebrews but James also mentioned her in James 2:25. After Jericho was destroyed she was accepted and lived among the Jews. She met a man named Salmon whose father was the leader of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:10). They were married and raised a son together. Again we can see that Rahab made a fine mother and raised a fine gentleman of a son by the name of Boaz.
Ruth, as we see by God allowing her to be the only Gentile with a book of the Bible named after her, was a woman after God‟s own heart. While not a lot is said about her children in the bible, the book of Ruth says tons about her character. Ruth gave up what she thought would be her only chance to marry (Ruth 1:11-13) after becoming a widow so that she could take care of her mother-in-law. (Ruth 1:16-17). She went to a completely different culture to serve God and be faithful to Him and His Laws.
Last but not least we have Bathsheba, who so easily betrayed her marriage bed and allowed the death of her husband. But look at the son she raised. Solomon became the wisest and richest man alive. Yes, God granted this to Solomon but it was because Solomon only asked for a discerning heart so that he could rule God‟s people justly. God told Solomon, “I‟ll give you whatever you want.” Solomon could have asked for anything. Yet all he wanted was to be able to discern between good and evil.
Moms, you are important. God entrusts you with the care, keeping, and teaching of „His children‟. Be diligent in raising them in Christ‟s love.
MSW
Matthew 1:1-16
The Bible is full of Genealogies, Those lists of names that seem to go on forever and appear to serve no purpose but to lull us to sleep. It is amazing how many times I have asked someone have you ever read the Bible and they tell me, “I tried but it got to where everyone was begating somebody and I just couldn‟t read it.”
These genealogies are pretty amazing when we slow down and read them though. God stuck little nuggets in there to see if we were still paying attention. Like the story of a cursed man who simply prayed that God would bless him and God did exactly that (1 Chronicles 4:10) or little tidbits of information such as when the Earth was divided (1 Chronicles 1:19).
Matthews‟s genealogy of Jesus is like that. If we slow down and read it we will notice that in this list of 39 fathers four mothers are mentioned. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba were important to God. He wanted us to see these four mothers that led to Christ. So what makes these four mothers so important?
Tamar prostituted herself to have an incestuous relationship, Rahab was a prostitute herself, Ruth was a pagan, and Bathsheba strolled around nude and had an affair that led to the death of her husband. In some churches these ladies wouldn‟t even be allowed in the door. Yet Matthew, through the divine inspiration of the Holy Ghost, wanted us to see that not only where these ladies allowed in the door, they were seated at the right hand of God. They were placed on a pedestal to be admired. Rahab even made it into the Hebrews Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11:31).
So why is that? First I think we should realize that no matter what we have done in our past God can use us. Just as these ladies lead to Christ, we also can leave our past behind and lead people to Christ. Each of these women, with the exception of Ruth, when we hear their names the bad they did immediately comes to mind. Yet, let‟s look the type of children they raised.
After Genesis 38 it seems Tamar simply disappears until Matthew chooses to bring her up again. But that isn‟t true. Not only is she mentioned, she is in some mighty fine company. In Ruth 4:11-12 the elders of Bethlehem are giving the marriage of Boaz to Ruth their blessing and they say to him, “May your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” Sounds like the elders felt Tamar did a good job raising her boys.
Rahab not only gets mentioned in Hebrews but James also mentioned her in James 2:25. After Jericho was destroyed she was accepted and lived among the Jews. She met a man named Salmon whose father was the leader of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:10). They were married and raised a son together. Again we can see that Rahab made a fine mother and raised a fine gentleman of a son by the name of Boaz.
Ruth, as we see by God allowing her to be the only Gentile with a book of the Bible named after her, was a woman after God‟s own heart. While not a lot is said about her children in the bible, the book of Ruth says tons about her character. Ruth gave up what she thought would be her only chance to marry (Ruth 1:11-13) after becoming a widow so that she could take care of her mother-in-law. (Ruth 1:16-17). She went to a completely different culture to serve God and be faithful to Him and His Laws.
Last but not least we have Bathsheba, who so easily betrayed her marriage bed and allowed the death of her husband. But look at the son she raised. Solomon became the wisest and richest man alive. Yes, God granted this to Solomon but it was because Solomon only asked for a discerning heart so that he could rule God‟s people justly. God told Solomon, “I‟ll give you whatever you want.” Solomon could have asked for anything. Yet all he wanted was to be able to discern between good and evil.
Moms, you are important. God entrusts you with the care, keeping, and teaching of „His children‟. Be diligent in raising them in Christ‟s love.
MSW
Friday, April 17, 2009
Let No Man Separate
The other day I was drug into a conversation about divorce. A friend was trying to convince another friend to divorce his wife after discovering an affair. He told the other friend that the bible said a man could divorce a woman if she had an affair. He looked at me expecting me to confirm what he said. I told him it actually said that if a man divorced his wife and married another woman he would be committing adultery also, even if she had already had an adulterous affair.
After he told me I must have misunderstood what I read, we turned to Mark 10:11 He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her." He stared at me for a minute and asked if it was in another Gospel, so I turned to Matthew 5:32 and read "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." My friend informed me he liked that version better. I told him that he is making the bible say what he wants it to say.
God Created humans man and woman. The woman, as symbolized by the taking of Adams rib, is a part of her husband. Genesis 2:24 tells us that for his wife a man will leave his parents and become united in a Holy marital covenant and the two will become one flesh. Jesus tells us in Mark 10:9, “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” In Malachi 2:10-16 God shows us that he sees our faithfulness in marriage, in direct relationship to our faithfulness to Him.
It is no coincidence that Jesus referred to Himself as the Bridegroom (Matthew 9:15) and the church is his bride. Just as Jesus wants us to be faithful to Him, He wants us to be faithful to our wives. Jesus does not turn His back on us when we sin. Divorce and adultery or awful things that have become common and promoted in our society, but that is not what God wants.
“I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate it when people clothe themselves with injustice,” says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. Malachi 2:16 TNIV
"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.''For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Mark :10:5-9
After he told me I must have misunderstood what I read, we turned to Mark 10:11 He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her." He stared at me for a minute and asked if it was in another Gospel, so I turned to Matthew 5:32 and read "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." My friend informed me he liked that version better. I told him that he is making the bible say what he wants it to say.
God Created humans man and woman. The woman, as symbolized by the taking of Adams rib, is a part of her husband. Genesis 2:24 tells us that for his wife a man will leave his parents and become united in a Holy marital covenant and the two will become one flesh. Jesus tells us in Mark 10:9, “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” In Malachi 2:10-16 God shows us that he sees our faithfulness in marriage, in direct relationship to our faithfulness to Him.
It is no coincidence that Jesus referred to Himself as the Bridegroom (Matthew 9:15) and the church is his bride. Just as Jesus wants us to be faithful to Him, He wants us to be faithful to our wives. Jesus does not turn His back on us when we sin. Divorce and adultery or awful things that have become common and promoted in our society, but that is not what God wants.
“I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate it when people clothe themselves with injustice,” says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. Malachi 2:16 TNIV
"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.''For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Mark :10:5-9
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Least of These
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Matthew 25:44-45
I wanted to share an experience I had right before Christmas. I say this not shame or criticize, but as a reminder for us all as to how we as Christians should act toward our brothers. I also realize my grief was caused by my own actions. Even if you don’t want to listen to me whine about my bad day please read the last three paragraphs because it’s something we as Christians should never forget. I drive or should say drove an older car with a lot of miles on it, and due to my negligence it was a little past due for servicing. It was my last day to work before being off for Christmas. It was a really rough 12 hour day. I probably looked pretty rough from working all day and I know I did not smell all that great from sweating all day. By the way it was a Sunday. My job requires me to work every other Sunday and my bill collectors assure me that it is in my best interest to do that.
So I get off work and at 7:00 pm and it’s 15 degrees outside (for any northern readers that I may have 15 degrees will translate to painfully cold here in the south). I live about 50 minutes away out in the middle of nowhere. My commute this day was along back roads and was going fine until my car overheated, blew a head gasket, and spit water (and defiantly not enough antifreeze) all over my windshield. Knowing that there was a small country church up the road where I could park, I limped my car along for about another half mile. Church was still going on so I sat in my dead car which was extremely cold due to having to drive with the window down to see. Oh and my dumb self left with a sweater but no coat that morning.
After about 30 minutes which felt more like an hour to the then shivering me I managed to get a hold of my wife on my cell phone and ask her to come and get me. She is still about 30 minutes away and had to finish cleaning up the church after a play and dinner before she could come get me. I tell her I’m fine and didn’t have any where else to go to at the moment.
Then I see some hope, church lets out and people are going out to their cars. One couple pulls over and asks me if I need any help. I tell them my car has broken down and I wanted to make sure it was alright to leave it there till morning when I could get someone to come and help me tow it. They tell me the pastor is still in the church and to go and talk to him.
I take off my cap and head in the church. I want to remind everyone I look like a man who has worked for twelve hours in a hot and sweaty factory. There were about ten people in the church and I ask where their pastor is. They point me to an office down a hall, and I go to ask if I can leave my car. I asked the pastor and he said that was fine and then he went back to watching a football game on the TV in his office. I stood there for a second and he did not say anything else so I went back outside. Okay I realize I could have asked if I could wait inside, but in my eyes that would have been rude on my behalf.
As I waited outside the rest of the congregation came out and left, nobody saying a thing to me. When the pastor left he stopped and asked if somebody was coming to get me. I said yes and he said have a good night and drove off. A little while later my wife and father in law showed up and carried me home.
I sat in a car for about 2 hours with no coat and no heat in 15 degree weather. I couldn’t feel my fingers and was shivering uncontrollably when I got into my wife’s heated truck. I realize I should have carried a coat that morning and I should have taken better care of my car. I even realize that I could have asked to stay in the church or sit in someone’s car.
The more I thought about it though, the more I thought about what would have happened if it had happened at my church. If a stranger walked in and needed help would no one stop to see if there was anything they could do to help. Would no one offer to sit there and talk with this person? I started to think, what if that person who broke down in my church parking lot did not know Jesus? Would I not invite them into the church and share the gospel with them. What if that person died that night and I was the last person God chose to share the news of His Sons sacrifice with them? I think it bothered me more than nobody asked if I knew Jesus than the fact that no one would help me with warmth. Comfort is temporary souls are eternal.
We never know when God is going to send us someone who needs us or needs to meet Him. Let’s all keep that in mind and be found faithful.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Matthew 25:34-36
MSW
I want to say again that I’m not judging this church but it caused me to judge myself and how I treat others. Maybe that was the reason it happened is so God could open my eyes a little better.
MSW
I want to say again that I’m not judging this church but it caused me to judge myself and how I treat others. Maybe that was the reason it happened is so God could open my eyes a little better.
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