Prepped and Ready to Attend

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19th Sunday after Pentecost

Prepped and Ready to Attend

(Matthew 22:1-14)

 

INTRODUCTION

“When Katie Hosking decided to break up with her fiancé, it was only 12 days before the wedding. Along with her parents, Katie had reserved a country club for the reception. With 150 invited guests, the cost was $6,200. Club policy required 60 days’ notice for any cancellation, meaning the Hosking’s were required to pay the full amount.

 

The family decided to have a party anyway. In place of wedding guests, Katie and her parents invited the residents of the Interfaith Family Shelter to a country club banquet. More than 50 close family friends joined 40 homeless people, and together they danced and feasted on baron of beef, salmon, shrimp cocktail, fettuccine, and fruit. Strawberry shortcake replaced wedding cake. Afterwards they packed up the leftover food and sent it back to the shelter. It was enough to feed the homeless for several more days.

 

When it was over, the almost-bride, Katie, said, ‘We had so much fun!’

 

[Kenneth Peterson, Omak, Washington; source: The Wenatchee World (6-29-05) (AP story)]

 

[http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2005/august/failedreceptionbecomespartyforthehomeless.html].

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Aunt Diane’s wedding

        • May 23, 1981 was my Aunt Diane’s wedding at Prince Street UB Church

        • I was 11 years old and played Little League baseball at the time

        • I was one of the acolytes at her wedding and I had a baseball game that same day

        • In fact, my brother had a baseball game before the wedding and mine was after the wedding – it was a busy day for us

        • So, I wore my baseball uniform under my dress clothes, so I could leave as soon as the wedding was done and make it to my baseball game on time

        • I rode my bike from the church to Norcross Stadium in Shippensburg

        • I was prepped and ready to attend two events

          • I had the correct clothes for a wedding

          • I also had the correct clothes for a baseball game

 

  • WE

    • Have you ever felt underdressed for an occasion?

        • In most of those situations we weren’t underdressed on purpose

        • There is always some explanation

        • Something went wrong and we found ourselves having to wear clothes that we were not planning on wearing

    • Sporting event

        • If you ever played sports, perhaps you or someone you know showed up to the game missing a part of their uniform

        • Perhaps it was a jersey or the right pair of shoes

        • It’s difficult to prepare for the game mentally when you’re not prepared physically

    • Hunting/Fishing

        • Perhaps you’ve gone hunting or fishing and realized when you got there that you didn’t have everything you needed

        • It’s hard to catch fish without a fishing pole or lures

        • It’s impossible to harvest a deer without arrows or bullets

    • We have to be prepped and ready to attend whatever event we’ve been invited to

 

Jesus shares one final parable as He challenges the religious leaders concerning their failure to lead God’s people correctly. ​​ In this third parable He wants the religious leaders and us to wrestle with the concept that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – All are invited, but only some are prepped and ready.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Matthew 22:1-14)

    • Rejected (vv. 1-7)

        • A certain king had prepared a wedding banquet for his son

          • Jesus begins the parable with the words, “the kingdom of heaven is like”

          • Jesus is using a parable to help the religious leaders and the crowd go from something they were familiar with to something that was new for them

          • With this understanding we can assume correctly that the king represents God, the son represents Jesus, the servants represent God’s messengers, the prophets, and the guests represent the religious leaders and humanity as a whole

        • Three invitations

          • It was cultural for two invitations to be sent out in preparation for a banquet

          • 1st Invitation – it’s like our modern day “save the date” cards

          • 2nd Invitation

            • The wedding day had come and the banquet was ready

            • The king sent his servants to those who had been invited to let them know it was time to come

            • The reaction of the guests who had received the 1st invitation was a refusal to come (a more literal translation would be, “they were not willing”)

          • 3rd Invitation

            • The king is not deterred by their refusal

            • Instead he sends more servants and lets them know how great the meal is going to be

              • There was going to be oxtail soup

              • Ox tongue hors d’oeuvres

              • T-bone steaks and filet mignon

              • Ox and beef liver pâté

            • Two responses to the 3rd invitation

              • Some paid no attention to the servants and went off to take care of their farms and businesses

                • A literal translation is “they didn’t care”

                • The ordinary activities of life took priority over loyalty to their king [Blomberg, 327]

                • Matthew’s wording (“his field” and “his business”) lets us know some of the guests put their selfish concerns before their responsibilities to the king (God) ​​ [France, 824]

              • “In Fast Company Richard Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute?, was asked, ‘What stands in the way of people finding their mission?’ Bolles replied:

                Prior agendas. For example, my wife, Carol is a well-known career counselor in her own right. She was meeting with a client who worked in the rubber industry, let’s call him George. George told her in their first session, ‘I’ve got to get out of the rubber industry.’ So she gave him some homework to do before their next session. He came back the next week, and he hadn’t done a lick of the homework. My wife, rich with intuition, asked him, ‘What will happen if you don’t get out of the rubber industry?’ George said, ‘My wife will divorce me.’ Carol said, ‘Do you want your wife to divorce you?’

                He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. She knew then that he would never change his job until it had given him what he wanted: a divorce, with his wife taking the initiative and the guilt. Based on his behavior, my wife named this ‘the doctrine of the prior agenda.’ You can’t help people change or find their mission when they have a conflicting prior agenda.

                People will never change until they truly want to.

                [Daniel H. Pink, "What Happened to Your Parachute?" Fast Company (September 1999)]

                [www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1999/october/12009.html]

              • The rest of the invited guests seized the servants, mistreated them and killed them

            • The kings response

              • When the king heard how the invited guests treated his servants, he was enraged

              • He sent his army and destroyed those who had killed his servants

              • He also burned their city

        • Application

          • 1st Century

            • The application is fairly straight forward for the hearers in the 1st Century

            • God had invited the Israelites to join Him in the kingdom of heaven with Jesus Christ

              • God’s plan was to involve the Jews in leading others to the kingdom of heaven

              • Paul has been called the Apostle to the Gentiles, yet at the beginning of his ministry he would go into the synagogue in a town, first, before preaching to the Gentiles

              • John 4:21-23, Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ​​ You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ​​ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

              • Romans 2:9-10, There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: ​​ first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: ​​ first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

              • God’s plan was to use the Jews to model what a relationship with Him looked like, but they didn’t keep up their end of the covenant

                • In the parable of the two sons, the 2nd son initially agreed, but never followed through

                • In the parable of the wicked tenants, they broke their contract by not providing fruit as rent payment – they weren’t bearing good fruit

                • In this parable they dishonored God by refusing His invitation and being preoccupied with the things of this world

            • They refused to come to the celebration of the establishment of His kingdom through Jesus

            • He sent multiple prophets to let them know that He was ready to establish His kingdom and that they were welcome to join Him

            • The religious leaders and those who followed them were too preoccupied with their own selfish pursuits to be concerned about joining God in His plan of salvation

            • When the prophets shared God’s message with them about how they were leading incorrectly and needed to make some changes, they seized the prophets, mistreated them, and killed some of them

            • God allowed the Israelites to experience exile in foreign lands on multiple occasions, because of their rebellion and treatment of His prophets

            • Most scholars agree that Jesus’ reference to the burning of the guests’ city is an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70

          • Principles for us today

            • PRINCIPLE – God will not force anyone to be part of His kingdom.

              • He invites us to be part of the kingdom of heaven, but He will never force us to join Him

              • We have to come to Him of our own free will

              • “God will not force Himself upon anyone against his will. ​​ It is your part to believe. ​​ It is your part to receive. ​​ Nobody else can do it for you.” ​​ [Billy Graham]

              • John 1:10-13, He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ​​ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ​​ Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

              • We’ll come back to this verse in just a little while

            • PRINCIPLE – God continues to pursue His people to the very end.

              • He continues to give the Jews multiple opportunities to join Him

              • He gives us multiple opportunities to join Him, as well

              • It is never too late, you have not used up all your chances with God

              • The fact that He has not sent Jesus back to earth for the second time, means you still have an opportunity to join Him

              • Don’t squander that opportunity

              • 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. ​​ For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” ​​ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

              • He is patiently waiting for you to believe in Jesus and receive Him

              • His desire is that you are a fully committed follower of Jesus Christ

            • PRINCIPLE – God will punish those who refuse His invitation to be part of the kingdom of heaven.

              • If you squander every opportunity that God has given you to join Him in the kingdom of heaven, then there are consequences for that decision

              • The same spirit that was in the religious leaders of Jesus’ day is still found in “religious” people today

              • “Today this same class will be found among the children of godly parents; dedicated from their birth, prayed for by loving piety, listening to the gospel from their childhood, and yet unsaved. ​​ We look for these to come to Jesus. ​​ We naturally hope that they will feast upon the provisions of grace, and like their parents will rejoice in Christ Jesus; but alas! ​​ How often it is the case they will not come! . . . A preacher may be too rhetorical: ​​ let a plain-speaking person be tried. ​​ He may be too weighty: ​​ let another come with parable and anecdote. ​​ Alas! ​​ With some of you the thing wanted is not a new voice, but a new heart. ​​ You would listen no better to a new messenger than to the old one.” ​​ [Spurgeon cited by Boice, 468]

              • Many of us can get caught up in the things of this world and pay no attention to God’s invitation to join Him in His kingdom

                • We may not see it as an active refusal of His invitation, but it is a refusal none-the-less

                • “Do you fit that pattern? ​​ Are you more interested in your good credit than in Christ? ​​ Do you read the stock quotations more than you read your Bible? ​​ You do not have to murder a prophet to miss out. ​​ You have only to fritter away your time on things that will eventually pass away and thus let your opportunities for repentance and faith pass by.” ​​ [Boice, 468]

                • We started the study on the Not A Fan this past Wednesday evening

                  • Through the video, Kyle Idleman challenged us to “Define the Relationship” that we have with Jesus

                  • Are we really followers of Jesus Christ or just enthusiastic admirers

                  • Read Luke 9:18-25 [#1]

              • All are invited, but only some are prepped and ready.

        • The Jews had been invited to join God in celebrating the establishment of His kingdom, but they were not prepped and ready and consequently refused His invitation

        • We see next in vv. 8-10 what the king did in order to fill his banquet hall

    • Replaced (vv. 8-10)

        • Parable

          • The wedding banquet is ready and the king does not want it to go to waste

          • He instructs his servants to go into the streets and gather all the people they could find

          • The servants obediently went out and gathered everyone they could find – it included both good and bad

          • The wedding hall was now filled with guests

        • Application

          • 1st Century

            • Jesus had made it clear in His explanation of the parable of the wicked tenants that the kingdom of God was being taken away from the religious leaders and given to another nation that would produce good fruit

            • Jesus is again making it clear that the Jews had failed to model for the world what a relationship with God should look like, so God was going to invite others to partner with Him to share His plan of salvation

            • “Whereas those who should have been “good” (Israel, God’s chosen people) had shown themselves to be evil, the king treated all who were evil as though they were good.” ​​ [Weber, 352]

            • The reference to “anyone you find” is perhaps pointing back to what Jesus said in the explanation of the first parable concerning how the tax collectors and prostitutes were entering the kingdom of God ahead of the religious leaders

              • Those from the street corners were both good and bad

              • All are invited to be part of the kingdom of God

              • We saw in Matthew 13:24-30, which is the parable of the weeds, that the wheat and the weeds grew together until harvest time when they were separated (the wheat was saved, while the weeds were burned up)

              • We see the same scenario in the parable of the fishing net in Matthew 13:47-52 that all kinds of fish were caught in the net, the good were saved in baskets while the bad were discarded (the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous and throw the wicked into the fiery furnace)

          • Principle for us today

            • PRINCIPLE – God invites everyone to be part of His kingdom.

            • Factors that don’t matter in order to be invited

              • Good or bad

              • Wealthy or poor

              • Jew or Gentile

              • Slave or Free

              • Male or Female

              • Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Native American, etc.

            • God invites everyone

              • John 3:16, For God so loved the world . . . that whoever believes . . .

              • John 1:12, Yet to all who received him . . .

              • Romans 10:13, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord . . .”

              • 2 Peter 3:9, . . . He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

            • “It was as shocking then as it is now that God accepts the worst sinners unconditionally. ​​ As long as a sinner shows willingness to accept God’s grace by faith, God will transform him or her into a kingdom citizen.” ​​ [Weber, 353]

        • So the king invited everyone from the street corners to come to the wedding banquet and whether they were good or bad they came

        • In the final set of verses in this parable we see that while everyone was invited to come, there was a requirement in order to remain at the banquet and enjoy the feast

        • “Although the invitation was given to all, proper attire was expected.” ​​ [Wilkins, 717]

    • Required (vv. 11-14)

        • Parable

          • The king entered the banquet hall to see the guests that had come

          • One particular guest stood out to him

            • It was a man who was not wearing wedding clothes

            • This would have been unusual for a couple of reasons

              • There is some scriptural evidence (Gen. 45:22; Est. 6:8-9) that the king would have provided festal garments for his guests

                • In the wedding feast of the Lamb it is stated specifically that garments are provided

                • Read Revelation 19:6-8 [#3]

              • Cleanest and best clothes

                • The king certainly could have provided the clothes

                • It could also be referring to the cleanest and best clothes that each person had

                • It was not their everyday work clothes

            • Declined to wear the proper clothes

              • “In either case, since the individual is addressed as ‘friend’ and is left speechless when confronted by the king, the implication is that the guest has proper clothing available but has declined to wear it.” ​​ [Wilkins, 717]

              • This man had determined that he didn’t need to put on his cleanest and best clothing or to wear the wedding clothes that were provided by the king

              • He was coming to the banquet feast on his own terms – no one was going to tell him how to dress, because he was his own man

            • The kings response

              • He asked the guest how he got into the banquet hall without wedding clothes

              • The man has not response

              • The king instructs his attendants to bind the man hand and foot and throw him outside

              • The imagery of darkness and the weeping and gnashing of teeth is representative of hell

          • Jesus concludes his parable triad with these words, “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

            • All humanity is invited to experience God’s grace and mercy through faith in Jesus Christ

            • Not everyone will accept God’s free gift of grace

              • Some will refuse it outward

              • Others will give excuses why they can’t

              • Some will think they can come to God on their own terms

        • Application

          • 1st Century

            • Jesus wanted those in the crowd, who were listening to Him, to not misunderstand what He was saying

            • He was teaching in the court of the Gentiles, so it was possible that there were Gentiles who were listening to His teaching at this point

            • The religious leaders understood clearly that Jesus was saying they had not led the people of God correctly and that they would not be part of the kingdom of heaven unless they repented

            • Jesus had said that the tax collectors and prostitutes were entering the kingdom of God ahead of the religious leaders, but that was not a universal blanket of acceptance

            • The Gentiles were going to be given the opportunity to enter the kingdom of heaven, but they had to be dressed in the correct garments

              • The man in the parable and perhaps the Gentiles in the crowd thought that their best was good enough for God, but that was not true

              • The wedding clothes probably referred to the righteousness of Christ provided by God through Jesus’ death

              • Isaiah 61:10, I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. ​​ For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a ​​ robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

            • The same is true for us today

          • Principle for us today

            • PRINCIPLE – God will only accept those individuals who are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.

            • Personal response

              • Each one of us is accountable for our own response to Jesus’ invitation

              • Donald Grey Barnhouse is the one who started asking the question “Suppose you should die tonight and appear before God in heaven and he should ask you, ‘What right do you have to come into my heaven?’ what would you say?”

              • He learned that there were only three responses a person could give

                • Many would cite their good works, saying, “I’d say I’ve done the best I can, and I’ve never done anything particularly bad.”

                  • Isaiah 64:6, All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

                  • Romans 3:20, Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

                  • We’ve all sinned and fall short of God’s perfection (Rom. 3:23)

                • Others would not have anything to say – they would be speechless

                  • That was what the man who was not prepped and ready did in the parable

                  • He had no response for why he was not wearing the proper wedding clothes

                  • He knew what the requirement was, but refused to comply

                • The third and acceptable answer is this, “None at all, so far as I myself am concerned. ​​ But Jesus died for my sins and has given me the covering of his own righteousness in which alone I dare to stand before you. ​​ I come at your invitation and in that clothing.”

 

  • YOU

    • God invites everyone to be a part of His kingdom and continues to pursue you to the very end, but He will not force you to join Him.

        • He provided Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice, so you could be clothed in His righteousness

        • Read John 1:10-13 [#2]

        • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Accept God’s invitation to be part of His family by clothing myself in Jesus’ righteousness.

    • God will punish those who refuse His invitation to be part of the kingdom of heaven, or try to enter on their own terms.

        • Are you refusing God’s invitation today?

        • Are you more concerned about the things of this world instead of eternal things?

        • Are you trying to get to heaven on your own terms?

        • The result of doing things your own way is eternal separation from God

  • WE

 

CONCLUSION

All are invited, but only some are prepped and ready

 

“So the meaning of this parable is clear. ​​ God has provided the feast of the kingdom. ​​ It is the wedding feast for his Son. ​​ The invitation goes out far and wide. ​​ If you reject it, you miss the party. ​​ If you think you can get in relying on your own fitness, you will be thrown out. ​​ Many are invited, but few show, by their response, that they are chosen (14).” ​​ [Green, 232]

12

 

/by

Second Chances

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18th Sunday after Pentecost

Second Chances

(Matthew 21:33-46)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazy contraption called a "light bulb" and it took a whole team of men 24 straight hours to put just one together. The story goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb, he gave it to a young boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. Step by step he cautiously watched his hands, obviously frightened of dropping such a priceless piece of work. You've probably guessed what happened by now; the poor young fellow dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs. It took the entire team of men twenty-four more hours to make another bulb. Finally, tired and ready for a break, Edison was ready to have his bulb carried up the stairs. He gave it to the same young boy who dropped the first one. That's true forgiveness.”

 

James Newton, Uncommon Friends: Life with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel and Charles Lindbergh, 1989, p.22.

 

[http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/s/second_chance.htm]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Ford Bronco II

        • My father did not react how I thought he would

        • He was very gracious and merciful

    • With my boys

        • Harsh with my boys

        • Had to apologize to them and ask for their forgiveness

 

  • WE

    • Affair – Physical or emotional

        • Some of us have experienced at least an emotional affair with another coworker and especially pornography

        • When our spouse found out about it, we were hoping for grace and mercy and a second chance

        • Some of us have been given third and fourth chances

    • Failure at work

        • Depending on the circumstances of our mistake at work, our boss has given us a second chance

        • They’ve extended grace toward us

    • Failure at school

        • Our teachers or professors will sometimes give us a second chance

        • Maybe we failed a test or didn’t complete a project the way that we were supposed to

        • The teacher or professor can extend grace by allowing us to retake the test or have more time to complete the project the correct way

    • All of us can probably say that we are grateful for second chances

 

Jesus continues to teach the religious leaders in Jerusalem and the crowds about God’s plan. ​​ He exhorts the religious leaders concerning their failure to lead God’s people like they were supposed to. ​​ In this second parable of three He wants the religious leaders and us to understand that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Embracing God’s mercy is important.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Matthew 21:33-46)

    • The Parable (vv. 33-39)

        • Characters involved

          • Landowner = God

          • Tenets = Jewish religious leaders

          • Vineyard = Israelites

          • Servants = Prophets

          • Landowner’s son = Jesus

        • Landowner’s provision (v. 33)

          • The language found in this verse is very close to the language found in Isaiah 5:1-7 (read Isaiah 5:1-7 [#1])

          • We see here that the landowner provided everything that the tenant farmers needed to be successful is producing a harvest

            • Winepress to extract the juice from the grapes to make wine

            • Watchtower for shelter and burglar control

            • Wall to keep out wild pigs and other trespassers

          • God had provided everything for the Jewish religious leaders to be successful in leading the Israelites spiritually

            • He had provided the law and the sacrificial system

            • Unfortunately, they added to the law and disobeyed some of the law

            • Instead of producing good fruit, they were producing bad fruit

            • They continually went their own way

          • God has given us everything we need to be successful in producing good spiritual fruit for Him

            • PRINCIPLE – God equips His people to do His work.

              • Holy Spirit – guides, prompts, convicts, protects, teaches, and gifts us

              • The Bible – we know God’s will for us as followers of Jesus Christ (read Matthew 28:18-20 [#2]); we know His plan of salvation for humanity – the Gospel (Romans road, John 3:16, etc.)

              • The body/church – to encourage and be encouraged; to hold us accountable

              • “Has he not planted us in our lands, whatever they may be? ​​ Has he not fenced us in? ​​ Has he not watered and cared for us? ​​ Has he not built a watchtower for us?” ​​ [Boice, 461]

                • God has placed us in the job where we are to be a witness for Him

                • God protects us as we gather together as the church

                • God feeds us and takes care of us through small group Bible studies and through His messages on Sunday morning

                • He has provided the Holy Spirit to watch over us as we serve Him

            • Sometimes we do just what the religious leaders did in the 1st Century

              • We add to the Bible or take individual verses out of context to justify our beliefs

              • We time and time again go our own way instead of following God’s leading

                • We give God excuses as to why we can’t do what He is asking us to do

                • We explain that we can’t make the sacrifices He is asking us to make to be a true follower

                • We express our fear in sharing the Gospel with our neighbors, coworkers, and family members

            • What kind of fruit are we producing?

              • Since God has equipped us to be successful in producing good spiritual fruit, the question we have to ask ourselves is what kind of fruit are we producing?

              • If we are not being obedient to what God is asking us to do, then we are producing bad fruit

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize that God has equipped me to do His work and to be obedient to what He is calling me to do for Him.

          • The idea behind the landowner going on a journey is that he was not present during the growing and harvesting time

            • God is not present with us on earth in a physical sense

            • He has given us the Holy Spirit that lives within us as another Counselor/Helper, but again not in a physical sense

            • There is a harvest coming and God has expectations for us as His tenets or workers

          • Since the landowner had provided everything for the tenants to be successful, he expected to receive his portion of the fruit

        • Landowner’s expectation (v. 34)

          • While the landowner was not present for the harvest, he was not unaware of when the grapes were supposed to be ready

            • So he sent his servants to the tenets to collect his fruit

              • There were certain servants, in wealthy households, who were highly trusted and put in positions with great responsibility

              • They represented the master or landowner in his absence

              • To mistreat one of these servants was to mistreat the landowner

              • This information will be important when we talk about the tenants actions in vv. 35-39

            • This would have been the rent payment required from the tenets for the vineyard

              • The landowner had put up the capital to plant the vineyard, wall it in, build the watchtower, and dig the winepress

              • The fruit was the return on his investment

          • God’s expectation for the religious leaders that He would receive a good return on His investment in a spiritual sense

            • He was looking for Israelites who were dedicated to Him, because the religious leaders had carefully tended to their spiritual needs and pointed them to God

            • He was looking for Israelites who were obedient to His commands and laws

            • He was looking for Israelites who had a repentant heart and were seeking forgiveness through the sacrificial system

          • God has the same expectations of us as followers of Jesus Christ – He looking for a good return on His investment

            • He is looking for individuals who dedicated to Him, because we have been carefully sharing the Gospel with those in our sphere of influence

            • He is looking for individuals who are growing in their faith, because we are mentoring and discipling those who have repented of their sins

            • He is looking for individuals who are not just fans, but rather followers – who recognize that a relationship with Jesus requires more than just admiring who He is and what He came to do, but are willing to sacrifice everything for Him

          • God has expectations for us as His workers just like the landowner had expectations for the tenants of the vineyard, but we see that the tenants did not live up to those expectations

        • Tenant’s actions (vv. 35-39)

          • The landowner sent three different groups to the tenants in an attempt to collect the return on his investment

            • He sent, what appears to be, three servants

            • Next he sent a larger number of servants

            • Finally, he sent his own son (his son was sent with all the father’s authority)

          • The tenants mistreated all of the landowners representatives

            • They beat some of them

            • They killed some of them

            • They stoned some of them

          • The tenants were not loyal to the landowner

            • Even after the landowner had provided everything they needed to be successful, they were not loyal to him

            • They did not respect him, his son, or his servants

            • They had a false sense of entitlement over the vineyard

            • “On my side of the family there has been a steady arrival of tiny nieces and nephews. When we gather for holidays or other occasions, it is interesting to watch the toddlers handle the toys. My little nephew Bryan is about two years old, and his cousin, Kate, is four. One day Bryan and Kate were playing at my parents' home. Suddenly I heard those adamant words, "mine, mine." They were at both ends of a toy pulling with all their might. "Mine, mine," they would repeat as though no one got the point. After two days I began to understand "toddler property laws:"[1]

 

1.  If I like it, it's mine.

2.  If it's in my hand, it's mine.

3.  If I can take it from you, it's mine.

4.  If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

5. ​​ If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.

6.  If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are ​​ mine.

7.  If it looks just like mine, it is mine.

These rules are easily observed in the lives of children. They seem to continue in force even among us adults.”

 

[The Rev. Dr. Robert G. Moore; https://soundfaith.com/sermons/61694-matthew-21-33-43-(sermoncentral)]

          • Amazingly, the landowner shows incredible grace and mercy to the tenants by giving them more than a second chance to do what is right

            • PRINCIPLE – God is infinitely gracious and merciful toward His people.

            • God gave the religious leaders multiple chances and opportunities to lead His people correctly, to repent of their sins and turn to Him

            • He sent prophets time-and-time again to call them to repentance, yet they mistreated them and even killed some of them

              • Jeremiah 20:1-2, When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and pout in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord’s temple.

              • 1 Kings 18:4, While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in tow caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.

              • 2 Chronicles 24:20-21, Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. ​​ He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ​​ ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? ​​ You will not prosper. ​​ Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” ​​ But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.

            • God gives us multiple chances and opportunities to pursue, grow, and multiply disciples

              • There are family members, coworkers, and neighbors who are looking for the meaning of life

              • God has equipped us to share the Gospel with them

              • He also gives us multiple chances and opportunities to share with those around us

              • Sometimes we are so focused on ourselves that we miss the opportunities that God brings our way

              • There are times we’re simply content with the fact that we are saved and it doesn’t matter about anyone else

              • God may be sending opportunities our way to disciple new believers, but we find excuses not to get involved

            • God gives us multiple chances and opportunities to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ

              • It’s been said that it can take as many as five times of hearing the Gospel for someone to understand the Gospel and make a decision for Jesus

              • God sent Jesus to earth the first time to take our punishment for sin

                • The son in the parable represents Jesus

                • Jesus is alluding to what the religious leaders will do to Him in the not too distant future

              • God is patiently waiting to send Jesus back to earth the second time, because His desire is that no one will perish

              • 2 Peter 3:8-9, But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: ​​ With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ​​ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. ​​ He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

              • Admit – Rom. 3:23; 6:23

              • Believe – 1 Cor. 15:3-4

              • Call – Romans 10:13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Call on the name of the Lord and be saved.

        • Jesus finishes the parable and immediately asks the religious leaders a question concerning the landowner

    • Explanation of Parable (vv. 40-46)

        • Landowner’s actions (vv. 40-41)

          • The question that Jesus asks them would have been easy for the religious leaders to answer

          • “Drawn into the movement of the story by its sheer power, they blurt out, almost against their will, the obvious answer: ​​ they knew what happened to bad tenants on estates – it was not an uncommon situation in those days.” ​​ [Green, 228]

          • The religious leaders are basically pronouncing their own sentence when they tell Jesus what the landowner will do when he comes

            • The religious leaders had been leading God’s people astray and abusing them for personal gain

            • They had killed the Lord’s prophets – the most recent one being John the Baptist

            • They were going to eventually kill the Son of God

          • Their punishment would be complete destruction

            • “A literal translation of the passage would be, ‘The bad ones, he will destroy them badly.’ ​​ Destroy here is an amplified verb meaning ‘to destroy utterly.’” ​​ [Weber, 349]

            • The responsibility for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ was no longer going to be in the religious leaders hands

            • God would use the Apostles, Messianic Jews, and Gentiles to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to a dying world

            • He would use them to produce spiritual fruit that they would return to Him as an offering to Him for His glory

        • Jesus’ self-identification (v. 42)

          • Jesus asks the religious leaders a rhetorical question about Psalm 118:22-23

            • He is questioning whether or not they have every read that Psalm before

            • It’s fairly likely that they had, but they perhaps didn’t understand that it was speaking of Jesus

            • They had misunderstood or misinterpreted other OT scriptures that prophesied about Jesus, so it’s not improbable that they never made the connection in Psalm 118

          • We know that Jesus was rejected by His own hometown as well as the religious leaders and many of His own disciples

            • Luke 4:24, “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.”

            • John 10:30-33, “I and the Father are one.” ​​ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles form the Father. ​​ For which of these do you stone me?” ​​ “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

            • When Jesus started teaching hard things about His death, burial, and resurrection and what would be required of His disciples, we learn from John that many of Jesus’ disciples turned back and no longer followed him (John 6:66)

            • They did not realize Jesus’ importance in God’s plan

              • “Back when the Old West was being settled, pioneers flocked across the country to California and Oregon. In one particular spot on the Eastern slopes of the Rockies there was a large, dirt covered rock protruding in the middle of the trail. Wagon wheels were broken on it and men tripped over it. Finally someone dug up the odd stone and rolled it off trail into a nearby stream. The stream was too wide to jump over, but people used the stone as a step to cross the cold creek. It was used for years, until finally one settler built his cabin near the stream. He moved the odd stone out of the stream and placed it in his cabin to serve as a doorstop.

                As years passed, railroads were built and towns sprang up. The old settler’s grandson went East to study geology. On a visit to his grandfather’s cabin, the grandson happened to examine the old lump of stone and discovered within that lump of dirt and rock was the largest pure gold nugget ever discovered on the Eastern slope of the Rockies. It had been there for three generations, and people never recognized its value. To some it was a stumbling stone to be removed. To others it was a stepping-stone, and to others it was just a heavy rock. But only the grandson saw it for what it really was--a lump of pure gold.

                Jesus is the precious rock God has given us to be both the cornerstone and the capstone of our lives. Will you come to the rock today? Will you build your life upon Him? One day, you will discover Jesus will either be a stepping-stone that gives you access to God, or He will be a rock over which you stumble…so close and yet so far. The choice is yours.”

                [David Dykes; https://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-sermoncentral--stories-jesuschrist-83678?ref=TextIllustrationSerps]

              • Jesus is the foundation stone on which He would build His church

              • Jesus is the capstone that holds the building together

          • The religious leaders did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior of the world – they rejected Him and would suffer the consequences of their rejection

        • Punishment explained (vv. 43-44)

          • The kingdom of God was taken away from them and given to a people who would produce fruit

            • We’re not told who this people group is

            • A better translation of the Greek for “people” is “nation”

            • Jesus is probably referring to the church universal, which encompassed Jews and Gentiles

            • PRINCIPLE – God will accomplish His plans even when His people reject it.

          • Jesus then refers back to the stone imagery again

            • Jesus is the stone in this metaphor and depending on whether or not they reject or accept Him will determine how they see Him as the stone

            • To Israel, Jesus was a stumbling stone

              • Isaiah 8:14-15, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. ​​ And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. ​​ Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.”

            • To the church, Jesus is the foundation stone, the head of the corner

              • Ephesians 2:20-22, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ​​ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ​​ And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

            • At the end of the age, Jesus will come as the smiting stone, destroying Gentile kingdoms

              • Daniel 2:34, While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. ​​ It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

              • Read 1 Peter 2:4-10 [#5]

            • PRINCIPLE – God will punish those who mistreat His messengers and reject His plan.

        • Rejecting God’s mercy (vv. 45-46)

          • The religious leaders knew that Jesus was talking about them

          • Instead of repenting of their spiritual pride and entitlement, they harbored bitterness in their hearts

          • They wanted to arrest Him, but were afraid of the crowd

          • The crowd understood who Jesus was even when the religious leaders refused to accept it

 

  • YOU

    • Embracing God’s mercy is important for the believer

        • He has been infinitely gracious and merciful toward us

        • He has given us many second chances to fulfill His plan through pursuing, growing, and multiplying disciples

        • We need to make sure that we are obediently following what He has asked us to do

    • Embracing God’s mercy is important for the unbeliever

        • He continues to patiently wait to send Jesus back to earth for the second time

        • He loves everyone so much that He is continues to woo us until the very end of time

 

  • WE

 

CONCLUSION

VIDEO – “Mike Foster – Second Chances” ​​ [https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/VideoElement/114091].

11

 

/by

More Than Just Words

,

17th Sunday after Pentecost

More Than Just Words

(Matthew 21:23-32)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Dr. J.B. Gambrel tells an amusing story from General Stonewall Jackson's famous valley campaign. Jackson's army found itself on one side of a river when it needed to be on the other side. After telling his engineers to plan and build a bridge so the army could cross, he called his wagon master in to tell him that it was urgent the wagon train cross the river as soon as possible. The wagon master started gathering all the logs, rocks and fence rails he could find and built a bridge. Long before day light General Jackson was told by his wagon master all the wagons and artillery had crossed the river. General Jackson asked, where are the engineers and what are they doing? The wagon master's only reply was that they were in their tent drawing up plans for a bridge.”

 

[Pulpit Helps, May, 1991 (http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/a/action.htm)].

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Saying “Yes”

        • There have been times when I’ve told someone that I would do something for them, but then did not follow through

        • I didn’t intentionally blow them or their project off

        • For me, if I don’t write it down on my “To Do” list or put the appointment in my calendar, then, odds are, I’ll forget to do it

        • That’s why I try to immediately put the request in my phone, so I won’t forget

    • “I’ll pray for you!”

        • I used to say that more often than I do now

        • I can’t remember where I heard it, but someone used to do the same thing, but would sometimes forget to pray for the individual

        • They began to stop and pray for the individual as soon as they shared the request with them

        • I try to do that more often than not, so I don’t forget to pray for an individual

        • I also try to write down the request and later add it to my prayer list, so I can continue to pray for them

 

  • WE

    • Said “Yes,” but didn’t do it

        • I’m sure you can think of someone who has promised to do something for you, but never followed through on their promise

        • They may have the same problem I do – they didn’t write it down or put it in their calendar and then forgot

        • Every one of us can probably think of a situation where that happened to us

        • When we went back to ask them about it, they were apologetic and explained that they had forgotten, or had some other explanation of why they didn’t keep their promise

    • Said “No,” but did it anyway

        • This scenario is more rare

        • It doesn’t happen very often that someone refuses to help with something and then later goes and does it anyway

        • Perhaps some of us can think of a time when that happen, but most of us probably don’t have a situation like that, that we can remember

 

Jesus has just cleared the Temple of all the commercial vendors and comes back the next day to teach in the Court of the Gentiles. ​​ He is approached by the religious leaders and questioned about His authority. ​​ Jesus uses this confrontation to help the religious leaders, His disciples, and the crowds to understand who He is and where His authority comes from. ​​ Jesus wanted the religious leaders and us to understand that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Actions > Words.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Matthew 21:23-32)

    • Jesus’ Authority Challenged (vv. 23-27)

        • Jesus is teaching in the temple courts

          • It appears as though everything that happens between now and the end of chapter 23 takes place on Tuesday, after Palm Sunday and before the Passover and Christ’s crucifixion

            • There are multiple parables told by Jesus

            • The religious leaders continue to question Jesus concerning paying taxes, the resurrection, and the Greatest Commandment

            • Jesus eventually condemns the religious leaders openly instead of indirectly through parables

          • Everything also happens in the Temple courts from now until chapter 24

            • Most likely, Jesus is teaching under one of the colonnades that surrounded the courtyard in the Court of the Gentiles

            • Show picture of Herod’s Temple

          • While Jesus is teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people come to him

        • Chief priests and elders ask Him two questions

          • Mark, the Gospel writer, also includes the teachers of the law in the group that comes to Jesus while He’s teaching

            • The chief priests and the elders made up the Sanhedrin which had executive, legislative, and judicial power within the Jewish governing system

            • They were the authority figures for the Jews

            • The chief priests worked together with the high priest to provide oversight for all of the temple activities, the treasury, and the priestly orders

            • These religious leaders were perhaps “approving” and “rejecting” anyone who was teaching in the Temple courts

          • Two questions about Jesus authority

            • “By what authority are you doing these things?”

              • When Jesus had cleared the Temple courts of the commercial activity that was taking place, it basically shamed the chief priests and the elders because they had “authorized” these kinds of transactions to take place on the Temple grounds

              • Any time we’re shamed in front of other people, what is our natural desire? ​​ (to get back at that person by shaming ​​ them publicly)

              • That is basically what the religious leaders are doing with Jesus

              • They probably spent the rest of the previous day and part of the evening talking about how to get back at Jesus – how to shame Him publicly

              • Jesus was just a carpenter from Nazareth who had never attended any of the scribal schools and had not received any formal authorization to give spiritual leadership in Israel [Green, 224]

              • They were the authority figures and they had not given Jesus their “seal of approval” to teach in the Temple courts

              • “These things” points back to several activities that had taken place (where did Jesus get the authority to do these things?)

                • Where did He get authority to purge the temple on the previous day and quote God from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11

                • Where did He get the authority to accept the crowds praise as the “Son of God” during His triumphal entry?

                • Where did He get the authority to teach about God in the Temple courts?

                • Where did His authority come from to do miraculous signs and wonders, including healings?

            • “Who gave you this authority?”

              • They wanted to know who had given Him His authority, because it definitely had not come from them

              • The religious leaders were flexing their “spiritual muscles” in an effort to shame Jesus in front of the crowd who was listening to His teachings

          • PRINCIPLE – Jesus’ authority threatens those who claim authority falsely.

            • The religious leaders in the 1st Century were claiming to have God’s authority, but they were not always following God’s Law

            • They had created a complex set of rules and regulations that sometimes set aside even the laws of God [Dubler, 4]

            • When Jesus came with God’s authority and began to challenge their authority, it created problems for them

            • The people began to turn to Jesus for their religious and spiritual instruction

            • The religious leaders were feeling marginalized

            • They didn’t like having their spiritual authority and actions questioned

            • Application

              • Jesus’ authority threatens our false claims to authority

              • It can happen within the modern church today, just like it did in the 1st Century

              • Individuals can have a false sense of authority in leading the church

              • It can be elders, deacons, pastors, board members, other leaders within the church, and even just church members or attenders

              • Isaiah 29:13-14, The Lord says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ​​ Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. ​​ Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.

              • We might be able to fool those around us, but we cannot fool God

              • Our outward appearances can look really good, but inwardly we can be struggling with sin

                • Pride, Bitterness, Hatred

                • Lust, Gossip, Selfishness

                • A desire for wealth and riches

              • When someone confronts us about those sins in our lives or the Holy Spirit convicts us through a sermon, we don’t always cheerfully change

                • We become defensive with others

                • We express our reasons to the Holy Spirit for feeling justified in having ungodly, unbiblical thoughts and feelings and sometimes acting on them

              • Are we just giving God lip-service and claiming authority falsely?

                • The danger becomes speaking for God (as His authority) when He has not said something

                • Or, speaking against God and His plans when He has said something (using our authority and influence to try to stop God’s plans)

                • We need to make sure we are submitting to Jesus’ authority and not our own

                • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Submit to Jesus’ authority and not be threatened by it.

                • Three important things about Jesus authority that we see from Matthew 28:18-20 (read Matt. 28:18-20, #1)

                  • Jesus’ authority is God’s authority (“all authority in heaven”)

                  • Jesus’ authority validates his teaching (the teachers of the law were astounded with His knowledge at 12 years old; others recognized that Jesus’ teaching was different than the teachings they had previously heard)

                  • Jesus has authority to forgive sins (this is our greatest problem, yet Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection proved that He has authority over sin and death)

            • Jesus wants the religious leaders to recognize that they have been claiming authority falsely – they have not been leading the people of God correctly

          • Jesus then uses a common rabbinic debate technique

        • Jesus responds by asking them a question, where did John’s baptism come from – heaven or men (vv. 24-25a)

          • Were they going to submit to Jesus’ authority as the Son of God or not?

          • Jesus could easily have answered their question about where His authority came from (it was from God), but if He had done that, they could have easily accused Him of blasphemy

            • Jesus recognized the trap that the religious leaders were trying to set for Him

            • Instead, Jesus creates an incredibly difficult scenario for the religious leaders to have to work through

          • Jesus will answer their question about where His authority comes from, if they answer His question about where John’s baptism came from – heaven or men

        • Discussion and answer from the religious leaders (v. 25b-27)

          • These religious leaders show great wisdom in not responding immediately, but taking their time to discuss their answer

            • They were trained in the art of oratory and debate

            • They knew better than to simply speak the first thing that comes to mind

            • They are measured and cautious, so they don’t fall victim to a trap

          • From heaven

            • The religious leaders cannot answer that John’s baptism came from heaven, because they had been rejecting his ministry

            • If they say that John’s baptism came from heaven, they would be acknowledging that his authority came from God

            • In turn, if they acknowledged John’s authority came from God, they would also have to acknowledge that Jesus’s authority came from God

            • John and Jesus’ ministries were similar in several ways

              • Neither of them had studied in the rabbinic schools

              • Neither had been endorsed by the Jerusalem authorities

              • Both had been accepted by the people

            • John’s baptism was pointing to Jesus as the Messiah

              • Read Matthew 3:11-17 ​​ [#2]

              • Read Matthew 11:1-6 ​​ [#3]

              • “John’s message, ‘Repent,’ is the precondition for Jesus’ message, ‘Believe’.” ​​ [Green, 225]

            • The religious leaders were unwilling to change their minds about John’s ministry or Jesus’ claims to being the Messiah

            • “It is a basic principle of Christian living that we cannot learn new truth if we disobey what God has already told us.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 77]

            • Acknowledging that John’s baptism came from heaven was not an option for them, because then they would have to explain why they didn’t believe him or accept Jesus’ authority as being from God

          • From men

            • They also could not answer that John’s baptism came from men, because they were in a crowd of people who believed, correctly, that John was a prophet, sent from God

            • They were afraid of the people

              • Several scholars believe that if Jesus had asked them this question privately, that they would have readily said that John’s baptism did not come from God, but rather from men

              • God’s sovereignty is at work in this scenario

              • He will not allow the religious leaders to get off the hook so easily

              • They either have to face the truth that is in front of them or be dishonest

            • It’s amazing that the people were accepting of the truth, while the religious authorities were not

              • Religious pride is a serious issue

              • It’s the idea of not being teachable

              • When we have been taught something for a long time, we hold tightly to those beliefs

              • When we learn something different about a particular passage of scripture that perhaps contradicts what we’ve been taught for years, we tend to condemn it outright

              • Seminary and sermon preparation have been good for me, because through professors and the Holy Spirit, God has refined some of my beliefs about things I was taught while growing up

          • PRINCIPLE – Pride and fear can keep God’s people from speaking the truth and being obedient to the truth.

            • The religious leaders allowed pride and fear to stop them from speaking the truth

            • We’ll see in v. 32 that their pride and fear stopped them from being obedient to the truth

            • The same is true for us today

              • We can allow pride and fear to keep us from speaking the truth and being obedient to the truth

              • We know what scripture teaches and we’ve been shown that our long held belief about a particular scripture was incorrect or taken out of context, but we’re unwilling to accept the truth of God’s Word

                • We continue to hold to our incorrect belief

                • We criticize others, privately and sometimes publicly, who teach the truth of God’s Word correctly and in context

              • We also let the opinions of others determine what we say and do concerning God’s Word

                • Sometimes we agree with someone when we’re in a group setting, but inwardly we don’t believe what they are saying

                • If the conversation would take place privately we would perhaps share out beliefs with them, but sometimes we don’t because we’re afraid they will tell others what we truly believe

                • The fear of man can be very powerful

                • The Apostles were confronted with a situation where they had to determine whether or not they would give in to the fear of man

                • Read Acts 5:27-33

              • We have to determine, just like the Apostles, that we will obey God rather than men

            • Pride and fear can keep us from speaking the truth of God’s Word and from obeying God’s Word

            • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Confess my spiritual pride and fear and ask the Lord to give me strength to speak the truth of His Word and be obedient to His Word.

          • Because of pride and fear the religious leaders tell Jesus that they don’t know where John’s baptism came from

            • In reality they did know, but were not willing to be honest with Jesus

            • They were also not being honest with the crowd that had been listening to Jesus’ teaching

            • They were not leading God’s people correctly

        • Jesus’ response

          • Jesus knows the answer to their question, but He will not answer their questions as long as they are unwilling to be honest with Him

          • Jesus had told His disciples in Matthew 13:10-17 why He was teaching in parables – it had to do with those who have eyes to see and ears to hear

          • The religious leaders did not have eyes to see or ears to hear

          • So, Jesus was placing a hurdle between them and the answer to their question [Weber, 344]

          • He wasn’t going to make it easy on them although He was going to answer their questions through three parables

        • Jesus uses the three parables to explain that the religious leaders have failed to respond to God’s call and what the consequences of that failure have been for the future of His people

          • All three parables contrast two groups of people (those who assume they have a right to their privileged position and those who find themselves unexpectedly promoted

          • All three talk about the radical and unexpected reversal of roles

    • Parable of the Two Sons (v. 28-32)

        • Read Matthew 21:28-30

          • “What do you think?” was a commonly used question to prompt students to use their minds to solve a problem

            • Jesus wants the religious leaders to pay attention to the parable

            • He wants them to basically answer their own questions

          • The parable

            • The parable is simple enough

            • There are two sons who are asked by their father to go work in a vineyard

            • The first son does not hesitate to refuse his father, but later goes into the vineyard and works

            • The second son immediately agrees to work in the vineyard, but never follows through

          • So, Jesus has set the stage for the explanation of this parable, which will address the fact that actions are greater than words

        • Read Matthew 21:31-32

          • Jesus asks the religious leaders which son did what his father wanted

            • They did not hesitate to respond that it was the first son

            • Jesus’ parable was not difficult to understand, but as the religious leaders were about to find out, the explanation of the meaning will be difficult for them to accept

            • Jesus’ question about which son did what his father wanted shows that He was more concerned about what they did instead of what they said they would do

          • The first son represents the marginalized and rejected in the 1st Century culture

            • Tax collectors were despised by the Jews because they had sided with the Romans

            • Prostitutes were also despised because they represented something that was unclean

            • “The son that originally refused but then obeyed is like those in Israel who were disobedient to the law, such as tax collectors and prostitutes. ​​ But when John arrived with the message of true righteousness through the announcement of the arrival of the kingdom of God, they obeyed God’s call through John and were repentant.” ​​ [Wilkins, 696]

          • The second son represents the religious leaders

            • They were all talk and no action

            • They said they were obedient to God, but they rejected His prophets

            • This happened in the Old Testament and was happening in the 1st Century with John and Jesus (God’s representatives to them)

            • Jesus’ claim that tax collectors and prostitutes were entering heaven ahead of the religious authorities in Jerusalem must have come as a shock

            • Their spiritual pride and entitlement, through their heritage, gave them a false confidence that they were already guaranteed heaven (they were externally obedient to the law)

            • Yet they refused the way of righteousness that John and Jesus preached

            • Their pride and fear kept them from being obedient to the truth

              • They had seen the marginalized repent and turn to Jesus for salvation

              • Some of the religious perhaps knew about Mary Magdalene and her sorted past and watched as she was transformed by the power of the Gospel

              • Others were perhaps aware of Matthew’s previous employment as a Jewish tax collector or the transformation that took place in Zacchaeus’ life

              • Yet they were unwilling to let go of their spiritual pride and release their grip on their spiritual authority in order to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus as the Messiah

            • ​​ Actions > Words

              • PRINCIPLE – God values obedient deeds over claims to obedience.

              • “What Jesus denounced is an insincere profession, the profession of one who cries, ‘Lord, Lord . . .’ but who does not do what Jesus says.” ​​ [Boice, 459]

              • Are we in that category?

                • Is our obedience to God simply lip-service?

                • It is if we say that we have joined the church, can recite the Apostles creed from memory, list all the books of the Bible in order, have a reputation as a good Christian, volunteer at the church or in another ministry on a consistent basis, give a tithe and/or offering each week, support a child through sponsorship, or even have a career as a Christian worker or minister

                • We can do all those things and still be disobedient to God, because we reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah, our Savior from sins

              • “In the final analysis, it is the fruit of our lives that proves whether or not we are submissive to God’s message through his messengers.” ​​ [Wilkins, 696]

              • “Like the father sending his sons to work, God commands all people to carry out his will. ​​ Like the son who ultimately disobeyed, some promise but do not perform rightly and so are rejected by God. ​​ Like the son who ultimately obeyed, some rebel but later submit and so are accepted . . . In the kingdom performance takes priority over promise.” ​​ [Blomberg, 322]

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Make sure that my obedience to God’s will is more than just words, but is followed by repenting and believing in Jesus for salvation.

 

  • YOU

    •  

 

  • WE

 

CONCLUSION

Pastor John E. Dubler summarizes this passage with a phrase he once found on the back of an envelope he received. ​​ It said, “Only what you do, do you believe.” ​​ He goes on to say, “Talk is cheap. ​​ In the end, actions matter more than words and are the only reliable standard for obedience. ​​ Saying ‘I will obey You, Lord,’ and actually acting in obedience are two different things.” ​​ 

 

[http://www.johndubler.com/Parables_09_WEB_Two_Sons.pdf]

 

We see this through the story of Rachelle Starr. ​​ Read Rachelle Starr’s story from Not A Fan, pages 186-187.

11

 

/by

First or Last

,

16th Sunday after Pentecost

First or Last

(Matthew 20:1-16)

 

INTRODUCTION

VIDEO – “Last to First.”

 

BODY

  • ME

    • CEF Headquarters

        • Working as State Director for CEF of Ohio, Inc.

        • Asked three times to consider joining the USA Ministries Department at the CEF Headquarters

        • I finally accepted the position of Associate Director of Administration and Finance

        • It wasn’t long after arriving at the headquarters that the first layoff occurred

        • A couple of years later a second layoff happened

    • CEF layoff

        • Another round of layoffs were coming and I was thinking to myself that I am too valuable to the USA Ministries Department for them to lay me off

        • It was the night before the layoff that God spoke to me and let me know that I was one of the people who was going to be laid off

        • I was considering myself to be first, but through that layoff ​​ I understood that I was last

 

  • WE

    • Entitlement

        • We can have those same feelings in many areas of our lives

        • Sports – we may feel like we should be starting, because we’re better than to other person playing that position

        • Work – we may feel like we have a better work ethic or we deserve a raise or promotion over other people

        • Government – we may feel like we are entitled to certain privileges or tax deductions from the federal, state, and/or local governments

        • School – we may feel entitled to a certain grade in school or to special treatment, because we our grades are good

        • Church – we may feel like others should look up to us because we serve on the board or have been a long-time member of the church

        • It’s not in every case, but it does happen sometimes that those who were popular in high school have not really made anything of themselves as adults (perhaps this happened because they didn’t work hard and felt entitled to certain privileges)

        • Again, not in every case, but in many cases, those who were marginalized as “nerds” (band, math, science, etc.) are now the ones who are successful and have done something significant with their lives ​​ 

    • Attitudes

        • In every case above, our attitude determines the outcome

        • Pride and entitlement can cause problems with our relationships

        • Humility and service can also affect our relationships in a positive way

 

As Jesus continues to teach His disciples, He explains, again, what the kingdom of heaven is like. ​​ He uses another parable to help them understand an important truth. ​​ Jesus wanted His disciples and us to know that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Our attitude in service determines our place in line.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Matthew 20:1-16)

    • Background

        • What Jesus teaches us in Matthew 20:1-16 is a result of His conversation with the rich young ruler in 19:16-22, and Peter’s response to Jesus’ statement about how difficult it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God

        • The disciples are astonished and wander who is able to be saved if it’s difficult for the rich to be saved

          • This was part of the cultural belief of the 1st Century that the wealthy were able to achieve whatever they wanted

          • Perhaps we have the same misconception about the wealthy in our culture today

          • It’s not hard to have that opinion when we see some celebrities receiving what looks like an easier sentence for something that would land us in jail

          • In God’s economy, wealth has no standing

        • Peter then makes the statement about how the disciples have left everything to follow Jesus and wants to know what there will be for them?

          • The rich young ruler refused to sacrifice his wealth to follow Jesus

          • The disciples have sacrificed everything to follow Jesus (businesses, family, etc.)

          • Jesus explains that the Twelve Disciples will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel

          • Everyone who sacrifices to follow Jesus will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life

          • Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first (notice that He doesn’t say all)

            • Many who look successful here on earth, may not be the ones who are regarded as successful in heaven

            • Many who look unsuccessful by the world’s standards here on earth, may be the ones who are considered successful in heaven

          • Jesus will repeat this principle in reverse order in 20:16

        • So, Jesus begins His parable the same way He has started other parables, “For the kingdom of heaven is like . . .”

    • Hiring workers (vv. 1-7)

        • Read Matthew 20:1-7

        • The “For” lets us know that what Jesus is about to say points back to the previous information we just talked about in 19:16-30

        • God is the landowner in this parable

        • Believers are the laborers

        • The ancient work day was typically split into three-hour increments

          • The typical work day in the Ancient Near East began at 6:00 am and concluded at 6:00 pm (sunset)

          • The landowner would have gone to the marketplace earlier than 6:00 am to begin hiring day workers

          • The third hour would have been 9:00 am

          • The sixth hour would be 12:00 pm (noon)

          • The ninth hour would be 3:00 pm

          • The eleventh hour would be 5:00 pm

        • Verbal contract

          • It’s interesting to note that the only group of workers who are given a specific amount that they will be paid is the first group

          • Some scholars believe these workers were asking what the pay would be and received a verbal contract from the landowner of one denarius (that was considered a fair wage for one day’s work as a laborer)

          • Families often went day-to-day, earning only enough money for the food for that particular day

          • Notice that the other laborers were told that they would be paid whatever is right

            • Perhaps the laborers who worked three-quarters of the day, half the day, and a quarter of the day were only expecting to receive that portion of a denarius

            • We’ll see in vv. 11-12 that there was obviously an expectation by the laborers who were hired first that there should be a sliding scale or tiered scale for pay based on the number of hours worked

        • Who do the various workers throughout the day represent?

          • This is a fair question

          • In our humanness we want to know if the full-day workers represent those who have been Christians most of their lives, while the other workers represent those who became Christians later on in their lives

          • Trying to figure that out distracts us from the main point of the parable – the distinction of the various workers is not important

          • “God’s way of compensating for righteous working may differ from what we expect. ​​ God’s sense of ‘fairness’ is not the typical self-serving human perspective. ​​ He does not compare us to one another but to our fulfillment of our own stewardship.” ​​ [Weber, 318]

          • God is concerned about how we, as an individual, are accomplishing what He has called us to do for the kingdom of God

            • When we believe in Jesus for salvation, we receive a gift or gifts from the Holy Spirit

            • These gifts are to be used in the body of Christ to encourage and strengthen the body and to lead others to Jesus Christ

            • If we neglect to use our gifts, we run the risk of losing them (Matthew 25:14-30, parable of the talents)

            • We are rewarded for what we do for the kingdom of God based on our own labor

          • Read 1 Corinthians 3:3-9 [#1]

        • The landowner continues to hire more workers throughout the day, which is a picture of God continuing to send believers into His spiritual vineyard (the world), to share the Gospel, until the last possible moment

        • After the work day is done, the landowner tells his foreman to gather all the laborers

    • Paying workers (v. 8-10)

        • Read Matthew 20:8-10

        • Difficult concepts in our human understanding

          • It seems like the landowner is doing things backwards in paying the workers hired at 5:00 pm before the workers hired at 6:00 am

            • Had he done it in the reverse order (first hired to last hired) then those who worked the longest hours wouldn’t have been around when he paid the group who only worked one hour

            • Yet, Jesus is telling the parable in such a way that He can teach spiritual truths to His disciples

            • He wanted them to understand that God’s economy works differently than man’s economy

          • It’s also difficult for us to understand why all of the workers, regardless of how long they worked, were paid the same amount

            • Each of the workers needed to be able to feed their families

            • It took a day’s wage in order to buy all the food they needed

        • Principles

          • PRINCIPLE – God cares for people more than things.

            • In the parable, the laborers who are not hired at 6:00 am, ​​ are not criticized

            • They were willing and eager to work and obviously needed the work

            • “The owner hired them not for what he could get out of them in just a few hours, but because they needed the work, and he paid them the full denarius for the same reason. ​​ The owner was not thinking of his profit. ​​ He was thinking of people, and he was using his ample means to help them.” ​​ [Boice, 420]

            • The same is true of God concerning sharing the Gospel through us

              • He doesn’t need us to share the Gospel, because His invisible qualities are clear through His creation

              • Romans 1:20, For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

              • Luke 19:37-40, When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: ​​ “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” ​​ “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” ​​ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” ​​ “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

              • He uses us to share the Gospel, so we can join Him in His divine plan and experience the joy that comes when someone turns from darkness to light – from death to life – from condemnation to redemption

            • Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:29-30)

              • The older son was angry because the father rejoiced in the return of his younger brother

              • He should have been rejoicing, but instead he was consumed by the fact that his younger brother had wasted his inheritance

              • He was more concerned about the fact that he had been responsible and was not carefree and careless like his younger brother

              • What was the attitude with which he remained faithful to his father?

                • Was it an attitude of love and gratefulness?

                • Or was it with an attitude of duty?

                • Did he really want to do the same thing as his younger brother, but didn’t feel like he could

            • Attitude in service is important

              • Why do we serve God?

              • Is it out of love for Him and a desire to see others come to salvation?

              • Or, is it because of what we can get Him to do for us or because we feel obligated or a sense of duty?

              • We struggle in our humanness for equality and fairness, but we don’t always understand God’s divine equality and fairness

                • We want God to operate in our idea and understanding of equality and fairness

                • If we’ve been a Christian for a long time, that should count for something more, than for those who become Christians later in life or on their death bed

                • We should be compensated for our long Christian life

                • Yet, God is more concerned about our attitude and the quality of our service for Him and not just the length of time

              • Do we have the same attitude as God does concerning people? ​​ (He values them more than things)

              • Our attitude in service determines our place in line.

          • PRINCIPLE – God is infinitely generous and gracious and will always give us better than we deserve.

            • We may struggle with the fact that God treats every believer equally

            • The God of Scripture delights to lavish blessing on His children

            • Read Ephesians 1:3-14

            • We have to understand that none of us deserves salvation, yet God was infinitely generous and gracious towards us

              • He sent Jesus from heaven to earth to die on a cross to pay our sin debt

              • We were so deep in debt, because of our sins, that we could not take care of it on our own

              • We had to have someone help us to remove the debt of sin

              • That’s exactly what Jesus did when He died on the cross, was buried, and came back to life in three days

              • He was the only One who could pay our debt, because He was perfect, without sin

              • 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

              • Jesus took our punishment for sin, so that we could be in a right relationship with God – a restored relationship with Him

              • That relationship was broken when Adam and Eve disobeyed God

              • It remained broken until Jesus Christ came to earth to die

              • God provided a covering for Adam and Eve and a way for the Israelites to cover over their sins (sacrificial system) until Jesus came to restore the relationship between us and God

              • Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

            • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize God’s infinite generosity and grace and accept His gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

        • Jesus addresses the incorrect attitude of the laborers who were hired first

    • Complaint about pay (vv. 11-12)

        • Read Matthew 20:11-12

        • “Little seems more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals!” ​​ [Blomberg, 303]

        • That was the attitude of the laborers hired at 6:00 am

          • We worked a twelve hour day while the last ones hired only worked one hour

          • We worked during the heat of the day and they began to work after the sun was nearing the western horizon, about to set

        • They were upset that because he paid them the same, that it made them equal

        • Application

          • We can fall victim to the danger of comparing ourselves to others and having expectations that are higher than reality

          • We have developed a sense of comparison and entitlement

          • “The blessing of eternal life is the same for all. ​​ Some are not more saved than others.” ​​ [France, 751]

          • The amount of time we’ve been saved does not guarantee a greater salvation than those who have been saved a shorter period of time

          • The only yardstick that we should be comparing ourselves to is Jesus Christ, and when we do that we realize that we fall short – we are to be striving each day to become more like Him

          • “Jesus made the point that heaven’s rewards are based upon: ​​ God’s standards and our faithfulness to our calling in both attitude and action.” ​​ [Weber, 319]

          • 1 Corinthians 4:5, Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. ​​ He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

        • The landowner addresses the complaint of the laborers who were hired first

        • Jesus is addressing the concern that Peter raised concerning what there would be for them as disciples who had sacrificed everything and were with Him from the beginning

        • The attitudes of the laborers and the disciples are revealed at this point

    • Attitudes revealed (vv. 13-16)

        • The landowner explains that he has not been unfair with the workers that were hired first, because he paid them what was agreed upon

        • He explains that he wants to be generous with everyone that he hires and has the right to do that with his own money

        • He challenges the twelve-hour laborers concerning what is going on in their hearts – they are envious of his generosity

        • What is the attitude with which we serve the Lord?

        • PRINCIPLE – God is concerned about our attitude and motives in serving Him.

          • Our attitude should be one of gratitude, because none of us would receive anything aside from Jesus’ intervention in our lives

          • We would be eternally separated from God in our sin without Jesus’ perfect sacrifice

          • “Jesus says we have to stop thinking of our service in terms of debt or obligation. ​​ Instead, we have to serve in the spirit of a son who serves because he loves his father, rather than in the spirit of a hireling who serves only for his wages.” ​​ [Boice, 419]

          • Read illustration from Reuben Torrey in Boice’s commentary, page 419.

          • We may be surprised one day when we get to heaven and realize that “many Christians who have worked hard for God over a long period of time will have a lowly place in the kingdom, because their motives were not purged of the ideas of merit and reward. ​​ Many poor Christians who came to faith only at the end of their life will be high in the kingdom because they knew they had done nothing to boast of, and never gave rewards a thought.” ​​ [Green, 213]

        • We should be careful not to criticize God for His graciousness

          • Blomberg says, “. . . we are fools if we appeal to God for justice rather than grace, for in that case we’d all be damned.”

          • We normally only think about God’s justice when we think we aren’t getting what we deserve

          • Unfortunately we sometimes spend more time thinking about God’s justice for us, instead of God’s grace towards us

          • Grace is not getting what we deserve

        • Jesus returns to the same statement He made in 19:30, but He reverses the order

          • Now He says, “the last will be first, and the first will be last”

          • Our motivation in serving God is so important

          • Our attitude in service determines our place in line

 

  • YOU

    • First

        • If you’re attitude and motivation in serving the Lord is based on merit and reward, or debt and obligation, then the only place you will be first is on earth

        • Others may look at you and say how committed you are and much time or money you sacrifice in serving the Lord

        • Matthew 6:1, 5, “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. ​​ If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven . . . And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. ​​ I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”

    • Last

        • If you’re attitude and motivation in serving the Lord is based on love for Him, then you will rejoice with those who turn from sin and find salvation through Jesus Christ – you’ll be glad for those who are laboring with you even if for a short time

        • It may appear on earth that you are last, but in God’s economy you will be first

    • Where do you want to be when Jesus returns? ​​ (First or last)

        • I would venture to say that most of us want to be first in God’s economy and not the world’s

        • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Be honest about my attitude and motivation in serving the Lord, and determine to serve the Lord out of love for Him and not out of merit and reward or debt and obligation.

  • WE

 

CONCLUSION

“The noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three and asked them this question, ‘What are you doing?’ The first replied, ‘I'm cutting stone for 10 shillings a day.’ ​​ The next answered, ‘I'm putting in 10 hours a day on this job.’ ​​ But the third said, ‘I'm helping Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London's greatest cathedrals.’” ​​ 

 

(Source Unknown) [http://sermonillustrations.com/a-z/a/attitude.htm]

10

 

/by

A Place To Belong

,

15th Sunday after Pentecost (National Back To Church Sunday)

A Place To Belong

(Hebrews 10:19-25)

 

INTRODUCTION

“One of the greatest tragedies of the 21st Century in America is the realism that millions of people who claim to know Jesus Christ rarely attend a local church or participate in the worship services. ​​ In so many of American churches, a lot of people basically attend three times in their entire life. ​​ The first time is when they’re born to be [christened] dedicated. ​​ The second time is when they are married. ​​ The third time is when they are buried. ​​ In other words, when they’re hatched, matched, and dispatched!

 

Yet, in the New Testament, if one consistently and deliberately missed the assembly, the coming together as a church, it was assumed that this person was no longer following Christ. ​​ They assumed that this person had gone back into the world and was no longer a part of the local church. ​​ In this case, New Testament Christians would eventually conclude that a person was no longer a Christ-follower simply because he/she was no longer attending the local assembly. ​​ The saw the worship service not only as a privilege and a priority, but they saw worship as a solemn duty.”

 

(James O. Davis, What Difference Does Church Attendance Make?).

 

[http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/what-difference-does-church-attendance-make-james-o-davis-sermon-on-church-body-of-christ-167997.asp].

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Growing up in a Pastor’s home

        • My father was a pastor from before I was born

        • As I grew up, it was pretty much a requirement that I be at church

        • I went to college in IN and my parents lived in AL (750 miles apart)

          • They would never know if I attended church or not

          • But church was an important part of my life

          • I’m a people-person and an extravert, so I’m energized by being around people

          • So, going to church in college was something that I wanted to do for myself and not because I thought my parents wanted me to do

    • Attending church as adults

        • Judy and I got married between our Junior and Senior year of college

        • After graduation we moved to FL

          • We didn’t have any family nearby

          • We found a great Southern Baptist church

          • The members of that church became our family

          • We attended Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evenings

          • We were part of the choir

          • I served on the Stewardship committee

          • We helped with work days (I got stung by fire ants working outside)

        • In every state that we have lived in, the church members have become our family

          • We’ve lived in OH (UB), MO (Wesleyan), and CA (Calvary Chapel)

          • We were close to Judy’s family in OH, but we didn’t have any family in MO or CA

          • Throughout our married life, Judy and I have found that the churches we’ve attended were places to belong

          • We feel the same way about Idaville Church – it is a place to belong

 

  • WE

    • Idaville Church

        • Many of you have attended Idaville Church for most if not all of your life

        • You’ve found it to be a place to belong

    • Those attending for the first time or returning again

        • If you who are returning to church after being gone for a while or if you’ve never attended church before, we hope that you’ll find Idaville Church to be a place where you can belong

        • We hope that Idaville Church will be a place where you can grow in your walk with the Lord and see your faith develop and blossom

 

The author of Hebrews is writing to Hebrew Christians and all believers in Christ. ​​ They were perhaps struggling in their faith, like we do too, and the author wanted them and us to remember that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Faith requires closeness with God and being in community with other believers.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Hebrews 10:19-25)

    • In this passage of Scripture, the writer of Hebrews uses the same phrase three times to exhort the Hebrew Christians he is writing to

        • The phrase is “Let us”

        • It’s found in vv. 22, 23, and 24

        • These three exhortations are for us today as we consider Idaville Church as a place to belong

    • Draw near (vv. 19-22)

        • Basis for drawing near to God (vv. 19-21)

          • There are two bases for drawing near to God and we see those identified with the word “since”

          • Basis #1

            • The “therefore” points back to what the author said previously

              • At the beginning of chapter 10 there is a reminder of the sacrificial system that had been established in Israel

              • They had to sacrifice the blood of bulls and goats in order to cover over their sins, but those continual, ongoing sacrifices never took away their sins

              • We see then that Jesus’ sacrifice was offered once for all to take away every sin

              • When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, God sees us as perfected through the blood of His Son, Jesus

              • It’s through Jesus’ once-for-all, perfect sacrifice that we can have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place

            • Confidence to enter the Most Holy Place

              • The Most Holy Place is where God’s presence dwelt and every Israelite knew that

              • Prior to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, the High Priest would go into the Most Holy Place once a year with a bowl of blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat (the covering of the ark of the covenant) in order to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel

                • The High Priest may only get this opportunity once in his lifetime

                • This was a solemn and serious duty for the High Priest and required that he be purified before entering

                • There was a ritual purification that took place prior to entering the Most Holy Place (atoning for his own sins and the sins of his family with the sacrifice of a bull)

                • If the High Priest entered without being purified, he would run the risk of dying before the Lord

              • In the OT, the tabernacle had a heavy curtain in front of the Most Holy Place that sealed it from view. ​​ This same heavy curtain was part of the Temple in Jerusalem during NT times, but Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, offered believers a new way of coming into the presence of God

            • New way of coming to God through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection

              • The High Priest would have to lift the edge of the curtain to enter the Most Holy Place

              • But, when Jesus died on the cross, God tore the veil from top to bottom, showing that a new way of coming to Him and being in His presence was now available

                • Matthew 27:50-53, And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ​​ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ​​ The earth shook and the rocks split. ​​ The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ​​ They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

                • The curtain that concealed what the Most Holy Place looked like was removed, by God, when Jesus’ died

              • New and living way of being in God’s presence

                • Everyone now had the opportunity to be in the presence of God, not just the high priest and not just once a year

                • “The Old Covenant high priest visited the holy of holies once a year, but we are invited to dwell in the presence of God every moment of each day.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 315]

                • It was new, because the Israelites no longer needed to use the sacrificial system with the blood of bulls and goats in order to have their sins covered over

                  • It was also new in the fact that Christ did something that no one else had ever done or will ever do again – He died for the sins of the world

                  • The idea of it being something new also carries the meaning of “previously unavailable”

                  • God established the sacrificial system for the Israelites until He sent Jesus to fulfill His plan

                  • God’s plan was set before the creation of the world

                  • 1 Peter 1:18-20, For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ​​ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

                • Being in God’s presence is now also living

                  • Jesus didn’t remain dead

                  • Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was God’s way of saying that He approved of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for sins

                  • Jesus’ resurrection showed that God has power over sin and death

                  • The way for us to be saved from our sins is living in the fact that it is effective and enduring [Lea, 186]

                  • It wasn’t just offered the Israelites, Samaritans, and Gentiles in the 1st Century

                  • It’s offered to everyone in every generation until Jesus Christ returns a second time

            • PRINCIPLE – God provided a way for us to draw near to Him through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

              • Sin (All, Rom. 3:10-12 [#2]; Punishmnt, Rom. 6:23)

              • God’s love (Jeremiah 31:3 [#3])

              • Jesus’ sacrifice (1 Cor. 15:3b-4)

              • John 1:12-13, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

                • God promises, every ​​ person who repents of their sins and believes in Jesus Christ for salvation, that He has a place for them in His family – a place where they can belong

                • Perhaps that’s right where you are today

                • You’ve been trying to find a place to belong, but everywhere you’ve looked has worked out – it’s left you empty and alone

                • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Repent of my sins, believe in Jesus’ name, and become a child of God.

            • This is the first basis or reason why we can draw near to God – a new way of being in His presence

          • Basis #2

            • The second basis for why we can draw near to God is because Jesus is now our high priest and He sits at the right hand of God interceding for us

            • Hebrews 4:14-15, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ​​ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.

            • Romans 8:34, Who is he that condemns? ​​ Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raise to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

          • The bases for drawing near to God is clear, it comes through Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for us and His position at the right hand of God the Father

        • Exhortation (v. 22a)

          • So as followers of Jesus Christ, we can draw near to God

          • But, the writer of Hebrews tells us that there are two manners in which we should draw near to God

        • Manner in which we draw near to God (v. 22b)

          • Sincere heart

            • The Greek word for “sincere” is better translated “true” and has the idea of being “real, genuine, and loyal” [Guthrie, 343]

            • Throughout scripture the heart often refers to the part of us that thinks and feels – the seat of our emotions

            • It involves our thoughts, will, emotions, and character [Guthrie, 343]

            • Proverbs 4:23, Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

            • God knows whether or not we are coming to Him with a sincere, genuine, and loyal heart

            • Jeremiah 17:9-10, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. ​​ Who can understand it? ​​ “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.

            • Illustration – Kyle Idleman, Not A Fan, page 145, first 3 paragraphs under heading “Living in Denial”

            • God knows if we are drawing near to Him with a sincere heart of a follower and not a fan

            • We must also draw near to Him with full assurance of our faith

          • Full assurance of our faith

            • We have to draw near to God knowing that He has provided full access to His presence through Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice

            • We have to claim the promise from God that the author of Hebrews quotes from Deuteronomy 31:6 and Psalm 118:6, 7

            • Hebrews 13:5b-6, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ​​ So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. ​​ What can man do to me?”

          • Drawing near to God with a sincere heart and full assurance of our faith comes from two things

        • Means with which we draw near to God (v. 22c)

          • Hearts sprinkled

            • First, it’s having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience

            • We see here a reference to the ritual cleansing that the OT priests went through on a daily basis

              • They had to wash at the laver before entering the holy place (Ex. 30:18-21)

              • On the Day of Atonement, once a year, they had to go through various washings and the applying of blood also

            • Fortunately, as believers today, we don’t have to go through those ritual sprinklings, but we do have to come to the Lord with a pure heart and a clean conscience

              • PRINCIPLE – Fellowship with God demands purity.

              • We have to continually confess our sins to the Lord

              • As followers of Jesus Christ we’ll still make mistakes, we’ll give in to temptations, but God promises to forgive our sins when we confess them to Him

              • Read 1 John 1:5-2:2 (#1)

            • “The Jewish cleansing with blood related only to that which was external, and could not make the conscience perfect, but the sacrifice offered by the Saviour was designed to give peace to the troubled mind, and to make it pure and holy.” ​​ [Baker, 234]

            • We have to have a pure heart and a clean conscience, but we also have to have bodies washed with pure water

          • Bodies washed

            • Some scholars believe this is a reference to baptism and perhaps it is

            • Pure water

              • A basin of water was available at both heathen temples and religious temples so that worshipers could be cleansed before entering the temple

              • Pure water was drawn from fresh wells or fountains

              • Water form pools and ponds was not consider pure or fresh

              • Sea-water was usually regarded as the best source for pure water, because the salt was supposed to have a cleansing property

              • Igor Fredrick (Ukraine) – laying in the Pacific Ocean for its health benefits

            • Others believe that it is symbolic, just like the sprinkling of our hearts

            • “If it is symbolic, the hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience would picture our salvation, and our bodies washed would symbolize a righteous lifestyle.” ​​ [Lea, 186]

            • 1 Peter 1:13-16, Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ​​ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ​​ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ​​ “Be holy, because I am holy.”

        • The first exhortation is to draw near to God and the author tells us the bases behind why we can do that and the manner and means with which we do it, but he shares a second exhortation to believers who may be struggling in their faith

    • Hold unswervingly (v. 23)

        • The exhortation is for us to maintain spiritual consistency

        • Hold

          • The Greek word is in the present tense, which perhaps emphasizes that we are to continue to do this on an ongoing basis – we should never stop holding on to our faith

          • The Greek word for “hold” means “to hold fast, keep secure, keep firm possession of”

          • We should be keeping a tight grip on our Christian faith

          • We should not let our faith slip through our fingers

          • The truth of the Gospel never changes – it is sure and secure – even when our emotions and feelings change

          • So we can hold on to our faith, but how should we do it?

        • Unswervingly

          • “. . . ‘unswervingly.’ ​​ This rich word literally means ‘that which does not bend’ or ‘that which is straight,’ which communicates the concept of stability or immutability.” ​​ [Guthrie, 344]

          • It also has the idea of an object standing absolutely straight

          • In the 1st Century the hearers of this letter were probably experiencing persecution for their faith

            • These believers were former Jews or rather Messianic Jews (followers of the Messiah, Jesus)

            • They were probably being pressured by the Jews of their day to return to Judaism and abandon Christianity

            • In the midst of that pressure, they were to continue to hold on without bending to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

            • That is what we are called to do as followers of Jesus Christ – we too are to hold on to the Gospel without bending when others around us mock us, make fun of us, and marginalize our hope

          • We need to hold on to our Christian hope, which is rooted in who Jesus is and what He came to earth to do, without allowing the ever changing circumstance of our lives to affect it

        • God is faithful

          • One of God’s attributes is His immutability – that word simply means that God is unchanging

            • That same attribute is found in Jesus Christ

            • 1 Peter 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

            • Since we serve an unchanging God, we can trust His promise of hope through Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection

          • We can become God’s child when we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus

        • The first two exhortations are best accomplished within a community of believers – we can draw near to God through worship and studying God’s Word, and we can hold unswervingly when we do it together with fellow believers

    • Spur one another on (vv. 24-25)

        • This exhortation calls us to be responsible for each other

        • PRINCIPLE – God’s plan for His people is for them to encourage one another by serving one another.

        • Consider

          • This is not just a casual thought about others, but rather taking time to concentrate and pay attention to them

          • It means to “notice, consider, pay attention to, look closely at.” ​​ [Guthrie, 345]

          • Paul helps us understand this in his letter to the Philippians

          • Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ​​ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

          • We are to look closely at how we can spur each other on in our faith

        • Spur

          • The word “spur” has also been translated as “provoke”

          • Its original meaning is “to arouse, to excite, to call into action”

            • When I hear the word spur I think of the apparatus attached to a horse riders boot

            • They use that apparatus to encourage the horse to move more quickly

            • That is the sense of the word here – how can we as fellow believers encourage each other in love and good deeds

            • “It is interesting to note that the emphasis here is not on what a believer gets from the assembly, but rather on what he can contribute to the assembly.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 315]

          • Love and good deeds

            • Love is the motivation behind the good deeds that we do

            • Hebrews 6:10, God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

            • Galatians 5:13-14, You, my brothers, were called to be free. ​​ But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ​​ The entire law is summed up in a single command: ​​ “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

            • Application

              • Are we serving each other in the body of Christ out of love?

              • Are we encouraging/spurring each other on toward love and good deeds or are we content to sit back and wait for others to that?

              • It is encouraging to me and our commission chair people when individuals feel led by God to step up and serve without having to be asked

              • I’ve been reading the book Not A Fan and have been challenged by what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ instead of just a fan

                • One single father was transformed by the Gospel and began to serve in the church, give sacrificially to the church, and witness to his family and friends

                • He was unashamed and all in

                • No one had to ask him to serve, because He was compelled by God, through a close walk with Him

              • Your service here at Idaville Church may encourage other members and attenders to do the same thing

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Commit to serve at Idaville Church and consider how my service may encourage others to serve also.

                • You may be thinking, “I don’t know where I can serve?”

                • That’s fine, we’ll help you to find a place to serve

          • One tangible way to encourage fellow believers is meeting together regularly

        • Meet together regularly

          • Some of the readers of Hebrews were neglecting to meet together for worship

            • It’s hard to be an encouragement to others when we’re not meeting together regularly

            • It’s also hard to be encouraged by others when we’re not attending worship on a consistent basis

            • Statistics

              • 73% of Americans identify as Christian

              • 73% of Americans say religious faith is very important to them

              • When a self-identified Christian attends a religious service at least once a month and says that their faith is very important in their life, Barna considers that person a “practicing Christian.” ​​ After applying this triangulation of affiliation, self-identification, and practice the numbers drop to around on in three U.S. adults (31%) who fall into this classification

              • Barna researchers argue this represents a more accurate picture of Christian faith in America

              • In the past, a regular attender was someone who came almost every Sunday in a year – they rarely missed

              • A regular attender today is someone who comes once every 4-6 weeks

                • Coming once a month (every 4 weeks) means individuals only come 13 times in a year (25% of the time each year)

                • Coming every 6 weeks means individuals only come 9 times in a year (17% of the time each year)

            • It’s hard to be encouraged and to encourage others with those attendance numbers

              • “Encouragement cannot take place in isolation.” ​​ [Guthrie, 345]

              • My desire is that Idaville Church will be a place where you can belong

              • It will be a place of encouragement and growth

              • We need each one of you to come, so you can be encouraged and encourage others

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Make church attendance a priority in my life, so I can encourage others.

          • The need for encouraging one another and being encouraged is so important as Jesus’ return gets closer

        • Jesus return is coming soon

          • As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been commissioned by Him to accomplish the Great Commission

          • Matthew 28:19-20, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. ​​ And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

          • We’ve been commission to Pursue, Grow, and Multiply Disciples

          • Every one of us needs encouragement while we pursue, grow, and multiply disciples

 

BIG IDEA – Faith requires closeness with God and being in community with other believers.

 

  • YOU

    • PRINCIPLE #1 – God provided a way for us to draw near to Him through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

        • Perhaps that’s the step you need to take today

        • Repent, believe in Jesus, become God’s child

    • PRINCIPLE #2 – Fellowship with God demands purity.

        • We’re human and will sometimes give in to sin and temptation

        • God promises to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him

    • PRINCIPLE #3 – God’s plan for His people is for them to encourage one another by serving one another.

        • We need your help to serve here at Idaville Church

        • We need you to attend church to be an encouragement to others

 

  • WE

    •  

 

CONCLUSION

“It is said that the giant redwood trees of the Western United States have a relatively shallow root system. ​​ Their enormous weight is supported, in part, by the interlocking of the tree’s roots with those of the other trees around it. ​​ As Christians we need ‘interlocking roots’ with other believers in the church to withstand the enormous weight of life. ​​ We need others spurring us ‘on toward love and good deeds’ in a world so bent on self-centeredness and self-gratification.” ​​ [Guthrie, 352]

13

 

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Restoration Through Confrontation

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14th Sunday after Pentecost

Restoration Through Confrontation

(Matthew 18:15-20)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Don Shula, coach of the Miami Dolphins, was talking to a reporter about a player's mistake in practice. He said, "We never let an error go unchallenged. Uncorrected errors multiply." Then the reporter said, "Isn't there benefit in overlooking one small flaw?" Shula said, "What is a small flaw?" I think about that all day long. What is a small flaw? I see that with my children. I've let a lot of things slide by because I was too tired. I didn't want another confrontation. But uncorrected errors do multiply. You've got to face them some day. You might as well face them on the spot. If I could do it over again with my children, I'd face the errors on the spot. It's easier on them and on you. That works in relationships with anyone. If there's something under the surface, something you sense, you might as well just bring it right out. Face it right then. Success lies in the details. Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.”

 

(Marabel Morgan in Homemade, February 1987).

 

[http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/c/confrontation.htm].

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Leadership requires confrontation

        • Our culture has marginalized some sins to the point that even Christians are able to justify certain sins

        • These sins don’t keep some Christians awake at night, because it has become culturally acceptable

        • As a pastor, I’m concerned about those sins and many times I need to confront those sins

        • I’m not always certain that I’ve taken a strong enough stand or position on certain sins

        • I question whether or not I have communicated clearly my expectations and God’s standards to those who are actively pursuing sin, because these individuals have continued to pursue that same sin

        • This has happened over the past eight years and even before I became a pastor

        • Confronting sin is not easy, but it’s necessary

 

  • WE

    • Conflict avoidance – sin

        • How many of us would agree today that we try to avoid conflict at all costs?

        • There is no way we’re going to confront someone about something, especially if it’s a sin

        • We may commit to pray for them, but talking to them about it doesn’t cross our mind, and if it does, we get this weird, uncomfortable feeling in the pit of our stomach

        • We are much more comfortable talking to someone else about the sin we’ve seen in other’s live, in hope’s that they will confront them

        • We even go to our superior at work or our pastor, expecting them to deal with the sin

    • Conflict avoidance – in general

        • We try to avoid conflict even when it doesn’t pertain to sin in a person’s life

        • If we don’t like how something is being handled at work or in our family or at the church, we attempt to find someone else to confront the problem for us instead of going directly to the individual that we have a concern with

 

What Jesus is teaching His disciples in Matthew 18:15-20 is concerning a fellow Christian who has sinned against us, but the principle He shares is universal for all kinds of conflict, whether there is active sin or not. ​​ Matthew wants his readers and us to understand that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Confronting sin requires humility and honesty.

 

Real love encompasses both humility and honesty. ​​ Separating those two character qualities creates problems. ​​ “Love without truth is hypocrisy. ​​ But truth without love is brutality.” ​​ [Courson, 145]

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Matthew 18:15-20)

    • Repentance (vv. 15-17)

        • Jesus outlines a progression towards repentance

        • There are three key points that we need to understand from this passage of scripture so that we don’t interpret it incorrectly and take it out of context. ​​ These guidelines were meant for:

          • Christians, not unbelievers

          • Sins committed against you and not others

          • Conflict resolution in the context of the church, not the community at large

          • There are some universal principles from this passage that are applicable to resolving conflict in any situation

          • We’ll look at those in just a little bit, but first we need to focus on the context at hand – a fellow Christian, in my church/community, who has sinned against me personally

        • One-on-one

          • “Against you”

            • Most early manuscripts do not have “against you” in the text – only the later manuscripts have it

            • Most modern translations include “against you”

            • France does an excellent job of handling this in his commentary when he says, “The scenario begins with one disciple aware that another disciple has sinned . . . I understand this verse to refer to sin in general, not injury specifically to the person concerned, so that to speak of ‘grievance’ or of ‘conflict resolution’ here is inappropriate.” ​​ [France, 692]

            • Whether or not the sin was against us or we are the first to become aware of the sin in a fellow believers life, the same first step applies

          • We should go to the person privately and show them their fault

            • PRINCIPLE – Upright conduct matters; sin must be dealt with.

              • The verb, “show,” in the Greek means, “to call to account, show one his fault, demand an explanation.”

              • The verb is in the imperative form, which means that it’s not a gentle verb

              • Calling this individual to account is explicit and robust

              • This means that if we’re the person confronting the fellow believer who has sinned, we had better make sure the “sin” is not simply a matter of personal preference on our part

              • Fortunately if that happens, the following steps will help to flesh that out – with as much privacy as possible

            • Since most people are scared of confrontation they avoid this first step

            • Instead they go and talk with someone else in the church about the sin they found out about in this other person’s life

            • They may go to the pastor, elders, or board members, hoping and sometimes asking them to deal with it, instead of going directly to the individual

            • Many times the Church is guilty of skipping this first step, outlined by Jesus

            • PRINCIPLE – Discipline is to be kept as private as possible, involving as few people as possible.

            • We want to immediately involve other people, but that inevitably creates more conflict and disunity, that could have been avoided, if we had followed Jesus’ steps

            • “How often personal confrontation is the last stage rather than the first in Christian complaints! ​​ It frequently seems as if the whole world knows of someone’s grievances against us before we are personally approached. ​​ Hopefully, following Jesus’ guidelines will win over Christian brothers and sisters before anyone else ever has to know about the problem.” ​​ [Blomberg, 278]

            • Judy attended Dr. Sherilyn Emberton’s (President of Huntington University) workshop at National Conference concerning leadership

              • She shared that she is normally the last person to hear anything

              • I can relate to that here (I feel the same way)

              • When she does finally hear a complaint or concern from one of her staff or faculty, she schedules a meal together with them to discuss the complaint or concern

              • She is proactive in meeting with the individual who has the original concern

              • This is how she has developed a culture of coming to her first

              • That’s the kind of culture I want us to have here at Idaville UB Church and it may require me to have some meals together with some of you when I finally hear your concerns from others

              • That’s not easy, because I don’t like confrontation and conflict either

              • The ideal scenario is for each person to come directly to me, first

            • James 5:19-20, My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: ​​ Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

          • The goal is to restore the fellow believer who has sinned

            • Before we ever confront someone, we should make sure that we have prayed thoroughly for them and for the impending conversation we will have to have with them

            • Our attitude should be to win our brother or sister over and not to win an argument

            • Confronting sin requires humility and honesty.

          • Jesus was not naïve to the human condition of selfishness and sinfulness, and so He provided a second step in the progression towards repentance

        • Small group

          • If we have gone privately to our brother or sister and shown them their sin, but they refuse to listen, then we begin to involve one or two others in the process

          • Jesus quotes the second ​​ half of Deuteronomy 19:15 to describe the purpose for taking one or two others with us, when a straying fellow believer does not repent of their sin during the one-on-one meeting

            • In OT times, it was required to have two or three witnesses in order to convict a person accused of a crime

            • They were ensuring that when the matter came to the judges that it would never be a “he said, she said” ​​ type of argument

            • Having one or two other Christians involved in the process helps in several ways:

              • They can confirm the validity of the concern of the initiator

              • They can provide additional loving persuasion for the straying fellow believer in helping that individual realize the seriousness of their sin

              • They will be a help if the individual still refuses to repent of their sin and has to be brought before the church

          • Jesus knew there would be individuals who would not recognize their sin even if confronted by two or three individuals, so He provides a third step in the progression towards repentance

        • Larger group

          • Again the purpose in bringing the sin before the entire church is not retribution, but restoration

          • In the 1st Century the local churches were small house gatherings where everyone would naturally be aware of what was happening

          • Idaville Church is perhaps larger than the local church of the 1st Century, but we are also a close-knit group like they were (there are many family connections here)

          • Stuart Weber [page 293] gives some insightful guidelines concerning which church members should be included when the church must be involved in discipline:

            • Anyone who is likely to be harmed or misled by not knowing about the sin or by failing to recognize its sinfulness and seriousness (this could potentially include everyone)

            • Anyone who should be warned by the sinning brother’s negative example

            • Anyone who can be instrumental in bringing the straying brother back to righteousness

          • Sin has a way of hardening our hearts toward the things of God, so Jesus provides one final step in the progress toward repentance

        • Treat as a pagan or tax collector

          • If the individual has refused to listen to the counsel of one person, a small group, and the whole church, then the community of believers are to treat them as a pagan or tax collector

          • “Anyone who is not willing to accept such united testimony may then properly be regarded as no longer a fit member of the community.” ​​ [France, 693]

          • It basically means that we don’t allow them to participate in public, corporate fellowship with the church [Blomberg, 279]

          • When we read this final step, we interpret it as alienating the person for good, but that’s not the purpose of this discipline

          • The purpose is to bring the person to repentance so that eventually they can be restored to the fellowship of believers

          • PRINCIPLE – Church discipline is intended for the restoration of the sinner and not for his or her condemnation.

          • Applying this type of church discipline in our culture today is extremely difficult, because church members who are disciplined simply begin attending another church where the members there do ​​ not question them or know anything about them

          • “Only as we create intimate community within the local church and networks of accountability among different churches can we hope to apply these verses effectively.” ​​ [Blomberg, 280]

          • In other countries where there is only one Catholic church and one Protestant church these verse are more easily applied, because individuals either work out their differences and/or repent of their sins or they leave the church completely

        • Jesus continues to address the discipline of fellow believers who are sinning when He talks with the disciples about unity on community discipline and life

    • Unity (vv. 18-20)

        • Unity in discipline – bound and loosed

          • This phrase is nearly identical to the phrase Jesus used concerning Peter’s role in the foundation of the church

          • There is one significant difference between the two phrases

            • In Matthew 16:19 the two “you” statements are singular

            • In Matthew 18:18 the two “you” statements are plural

            • Jesus is now extending the foundational authority, He gave to Peter, to the entire disciple community

          • The NASB again has the better translation of the meaning of the original Greek

            • “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have already been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (NASB)

            • The phrase does not give human beings some authority over what happens in heaven

            • Rather, the decisions of human beings are to be in line with what God has already permitted or prohibited in heaven

          • “. . . the church discipline decisions the church makes – when it follows Jesus’ guidelines carefully and maintains a right attitude – are in keeping with what has already been decided by God in heaven.” ​​ [Weber, 294]

          • When the church becomes aware of a sinning brother or sister, they have the authority to shut the door to the community of faith until repentance is achieved, at which time, they also have the authority to open up the community of faith once again

          • The authority that Jesus is talking about here pertains to the discipline of a straying believer

        • Unity in praying for God’s will in the community

          • Jesus uses the word “again,” which helps us understand that He is restating what He just said in v. 18

            • Reading this verse literally in the English language makes it sound like if two Christians agree in prayer about anything that God will do it for us

            • God is not a genie in a bottle to be called upon at our desire to do for us what we want

          • In context the individuals praying should be praying for repentance and restoration of the straying fellow believer

            • The word “agree” is from sumphoneo, which is where we get our English word “symphony”

            • The literal meaning of sumphoneo is “sound out together”

            • It means to harmonize, which is what a symphony does when they are all playing together

            • “The church must agree in prayer as it seeks to discipline the erring member. ​​ It is through prayer and the Word that we ascertain the will of the Father in the matter.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 66]

            • Jesus gives an incredible promise to the disciples and to us

              • When we seek God’s guidance and wisdom, through prayer, in confronting a straying believer, He will provide that for us and will be with us

              • Whether it’s one person going privately, a small group of two or three, or the entire church

              • God’s desire is for the sinning Christian to repent and follow Him and He uses other Christians to confront the sinner

        • Confronting sin requires humility and honesty

 

  • YOU

    • Confronting sin

        • Most of us are averse to confrontation – it’s something we do not like to do

        • Yet when it comes to confronting a fellow believer, who is sinning, it is necessary and Biblical

        • Perhaps you know of a fellow believer who is currently entrapped by sin

        • It’s your responsibility as a brother or sister in Christ to humbly and honestly confront that individual about their sin

        • It won’t be easy, but it is necessary

        • Maybe you know of someone like that today

        • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Humbly and honestly confront a fellow believer who is entrapped by sin.

          • Pray for God’s wisdom and guidance before you go to meet with them

          • Then meet with them one-on-one

          • Based on their response determine whether or not to move to the next step

    • Praying for repentance and restoration

        • In our humanness we fail to follow the steps that Jesus has outlined for us today

        • Perhaps you’ve been made aware of a situation where a fellow believer is currently living a life of sin

        • You were made aware of this because the first step that Jesus outlined for us was not followed, but others began to share it within the church

        • Your first step is to encourage the individual who told you to privately confront the straying believer

        • Your second step is to pray fervently for repentance and restoration in the situation

        • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Pray for repentance and restoration of a fellow believer who is currently dealing with sin in their lives.

 

  • WE

    • In this passage of scripture, Jesus was dealing specifically with a fellow believer who is trapped in sin and our responsibility as a fellow believer to confront them and hold them accountable

    • The principles learned today are valuable for any situation where there is conflict, disunity, or disagreement

        • If we have an issue with someone else, our first step is to go to them privately, one-on-one and discuss it with them (many hard feelings, misunderstandings, gossip sessions, and factions can be avoided by following this first step)

        • If the issue is not resolved through that first step then invite one or two others to join you for a second conversation with the individual

        • If the issue is still unresolved then it may require the involvement of a larger number of people

        • These steps and principles are valuable in resolving conflict at home, in our family, with our neighbors, at work, and at church

 

CONCLUSION

John Burke – Biblical Conflict Resolution [https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/VideoElement/98544].

9

 

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Total Obedience

,

13th Sunday after Pentecost

Total Obedience

(Matthew 16:21-28)

INTRODUCTION

“I was at the gym last summer on one of the elliptical machines that faces the window. ​​ I was looking out at the parking lot and watching the people come in for a workout before heading home for the day. ​​ After a few minutes a guy pulls up and gets out of his car. ​​ He’s a large guy and it takes some effort for him to get out of his small sedan. ​​ He’s still in his office clothes, but I watch as he reaches in to grab his gym bag. ​​ He puts it over his shoulder and then leans into the car one more time to get something else. ​​ He emerges with a cup that has a red spoon in it. ​​ You get what’s happening? ​​ This man is finishing off his Blizzard from Dairy Queen as he walks into the gym for his workout. ​​ He stands right outside the window in front of me to take his final bites. ​​ I’m pretty sure it was cookie dough. ​​ He throws the empty cup in the trash and walks in for his workout. ​​ He wanted to get in shape, but he didn’t want to make any personal sacrifices.

 

That’s how a fan will try to follow Jesus. ​​ A fan will try and accept the invitation of Christ to follow, but they don’t want to say no to themselves.”

 

[Not A Fan, Kyle Idleman, 143]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Fan

        • I’m a fan of a lot of sports teams

          • Washington Redskins

          • Baltimore Orioles

          • St. Louis Cardinals

          • Los Angeles Angels

          • Penn State Nittany Lions

          • Ohio State Buckeyes

        • I’m also a fan of certain players

          • Cal Ripken, Jr.

          • Albert Pujols

          • TimTebow

        • While I like these teams and players, I don’t really follow football, baseball, or these players that closely (I don’t know their stats or whether or not any of the baseball teams are on track to make it to the World Series)

        • I haven’t made any sacrifices in order to go to any of the games played by these teams

    • Follower

        • We have made some significant sacrifices in order to follow God’s leading in our lives to serve in various ministries

          • We have sacrificed living around family for most of our marriage in order to serve the Lord

          • We have sacrificed purchasing certain things in this world in order to live a more simple life on mission

          • We have willingly given sacrificially to the church, through tithing, and to individual missionaries for their personal support

        • We are constantly being challenged to sacrifice more to be a disciple of Jesus Christ

          • While we’ve sacrificed some things, there is always more that we can and should sacrifice

          • That has been part of our challenge and journey recently as we’ve been trying to determine how to lower our monthly expenses

          • I was personally challenged by a statement Kyle Idleman made in his book Not A Fan – “A few years ago my wife and I sat down with a goal. ​​ We wanted to make sure that the largest check we wrote every month was to the work of God. ​​ We looked at our finances and figured out what changes we needed to make so that our offering to God was more than our house payment. ​​ We wanted to be sure that our finances reflected that nothing was more important to us than following Jesus.” ​​ [Not A Fan, Idleman, 60-61]

        • Our prayer is that others will see that we are followers/disciples of Jesus Christ

 

  • WE

    • Sacrifices for pursuing other things

        • Job

        • Sports

        • Recreational activities

        • Relationships

        • Time for yourself

          • Family

          • God

          • Friends

        • We’ll sacrifice a lot when it comes to many of these things, but do we sacrifice the same way to follow Jesus?

    • Sacrifices for following Jesus

        • What have you sacrificed in order to follow Jesus?

        • What should you be sacrificing in order to follow Jesus more closely?

 

Jesus shares with His disciples what His purpose on earth is, but they are not particularly open to that plan, because it will require Him to sacrifice His life. ​​ Jesus uses this opportunity to teach His disciples what it will cost them to follow Him. ​​ Matthew wants his readers and us to understand that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Following Jesus requires total obedience/sacrifice.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Matthew 16:21-28)

    • Jesus’ purpose (v. 21)

        • Peter has just correctly identified Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God

          • As we learned last week, Jesus was more than a prophet

          • He is the Son of the living God, which proves His deity

          • As the Christ/Messiah, He is the Savior of the world from sin

          • So, in v. 21 we see that Jesus begins to explain to His disciples what’s going to happen to Him in order for Him to fulfill His purpose as the Christ

          • They have grasped, correctly, who He is and now He begins to help them understand what that will cost Him

          • It is something that He repeatedly is doing with them – that was part of His training for them

        • Location and leaders

          • The fulfillment of His purpose on earth would take place in Jerusalem

          • It would involve the spiritual leaders of the Jewish population in Jerusalem (three main politico-religious authorities)

            • Elders – members of the Sanhedrin not associated with some other specific party or profession

            • Chief priests – highest spiritual leaders who oversaw the temple sacrifices and other ceremonies

            • Teachers of the law – Jewish legal experts that studied the Old Testament and all the man-made regulations and traditions of the Jews

          • What was about to happen to Jesus was going to take place in Jerusalem and would involve the ruling spiritual leaders there

        • Three things that would happen in Jerusalem through the leaders

          • Prior to this time, Jesus tried to limit the amount of exposure He had with the religious leaders from Jerusalem, because it was not yet Him time

            • But here we see the verb form “must,” which can be translated “it is necessary”

            • It was now necessary for Jesus to go to Jerusalem and engage the religious leaders there

            • The verb “must” also encompasses His suffering, death, and resurrection

          • Suffering

            • We know much of what Jesus suffered at the hands of the religious leaders

            • He was falsely accused

            • He was struck by one of the temple guards at the court of the high priest

            • He was stripped and beaten

            • His beard was pulled out (Isaiah 50:6)

            • He was spit on, humiliated, and mocked (Isaiah 50:6)

            • A crown of thorns was jammed into His head

            • He was forced to carry His own cross to the place of His crucifixion

            • It was necessary for Him to go through this suffering to fulfill Scripture

            • Read Isaiah 53:3-12 [#1]

          • Death

            • It was also necessary for Jesus to be killed

            • This was God’s plan to take away our sin

              • Jesus went to the cross so we would not die in our sins and be separated from God for all eternity

              • Sin (Rom. 3:10, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. ​​ All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”; 6:23)

              • God’s love (Rom. 5:8)

              • Jesus’ sacrifice (Rom. 6:10, The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.)

              • ​​ “On matters of church government, and the form of worship, men may differ from us, and yet reach heaven in safety. ​​ On the matter of Christ’s atoning death, as the way of peace, truth is only one. ​​ If we are wrong here, we are ruined forever. ​​ Error on many points is only a skin disease; error about Christ’s death is a disease of the heart. ​​ Here let us take our stand. ​​ Let nothing move us from this ground. ​​ The sum of all our hopes must be, that ‘Christ has died for us’ (1 Thess. 5:10). ​​ Give up that doctrine, and we have no solid hope at all!” ​​ [John Ryle cited by Boice, 313]

              • 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ​​ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

            • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Receive God’s salvation by believing in Jesus and His perfect sacrifice for me on the cross.

            • It was necessary for Jesus to die, but it was also necessary for Jesus to be raise to life on the third day

          • Resurrection

            • When God allowed Jesus to rise from the dead, it proved that He had power over death

            • 1 Cor. 15:54-57, When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written ill come true: ​​ “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” ​​ “Where, O death, is your victory? ​​ Where, O death, is your sting?” ​​ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ​​ But thanks be to God! ​​ He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

            • Jesus’ resurrection was a fulfillment of Scripture

            • David foreshadows Jesus’ resurrection in Psalm 16

            • Psalm 16:9-11, Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. ​​ You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

        • Jesus has just explained to His disciples what His purpose on earth is, but they are not exactly in agreement with it, which is why Peter, once again, becomes the spokesperson for the group

    • Rebuke battle (vv. 22-23)

        • Read vv. 22-23

        • Peter’s rebuke of Jesus (v. 22)

          • In the Greek, Peter’s statement is one of the strongest negations possible

          • It’s as though Peter is saying that he will not allow Jesus to suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders

          • A literal translation of the Greek would be, “Merciful to you!” – which was a common phrase

          • To modernize that phrase, we would say, “May God be so merciful as to keep you from this.” ​​ [Weber, 255]

          • To help us understand the force with which Peter is rebuking Jesus, we can look to look to how Jesus used the same Greek word in two other passages in Matthew

            • Matthew 8:26, He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” ​​ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

            • Matthew 17:18, Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

          • Peter’s intentions may have been genuine and true, but they were based on human ideas and not God’s plan

          • This is why Jesus’ rebuke of Peter is just as strong, if not stronger

        • Jesus’ rebuke of Peter (v. 23)

          • We can look at Jesus’ rebuke of Peter and wonder how this could be happening

            • Jesus had just expressed blessing on Peter for correctly identifying His deity and purpose on earth (You are the Christ, the Son of the living God)

            • Now He’s telling Peter to get away from Him and calls him Satan

            • We have to understand that Jesus was not saying that Peter was possessed by Satan, but rather that his remarks were representative of the kind of thinking Satan uses

            • “. . . not realizing that in trying to deflect Jesus from the cross he is actually asking for his own damnation since apart from Jesus’ death neither he, nor any of us, can be saved.” ​​ [Boice, 313]

            • Application

              • We can easily give in to this same temptation with our family and friends

              • It’s the temptation to care more about their comfort than their character

              • We don’t confront sin in a person’s life, because we don’t want to cause any problems

              • Yet, our friend or family member may be waiting for someone to address the sin, so they can face it head on

              • Story of suite mate in CA wanting to have his girlfriend move in to help save money (missed the first opportunity, prayed for a second, challenged him to trust God and do what was right, thanked me for challenging him)

              • Sometimes we miss divine appointments to do the work of God, because we are more concerned about comfort instead of character

            • Jesus recognized that Peter’s concern for His comfort was a stumbling block to Him, because it wasn’t part of God’s plan

          • Only two choices – God’s way or Satan’s way

            • Jesus told Peter that he did not have in mind the things of God, but rather the things of men

            • I’ve mentioned it plenty of times in the past that the Jews were looking for a military leader who would set them free from Roman rule

              • They were not looking for a spiritual leader who would set them free from the power of sin

              • They assumed, incorrectly, that their heritage, as descendants of Abraham, guaranteed them heaven and a right standing before God

            • God’s plan was for Jesus to come from heaven to earth, grow to adulthood, die on a cross for humanity’s sin, be buried, and come alive again in three days

              • That is God’s plan of salvation, which we talked about earlier

              • Believing in who Jesus is and what He did, is the only way to spend eternity with God

              • Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one can come to God the Father, except through Him

            • Many times we try to follow Jesus and/or God on our terms

              • We try to justify doing things our own way by claiming ignorance – “I didn’t know that God meant that?”

              • James 4:17, Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

              • We are obedient only to a certain degree, yet if our obedience is anything less than immediate, unconditional, cheerful, and thorough, it really isn’t obedience at all

                • If we only obey part of the way and not thoroughly, then it’s not obedience

                • If we “obey,” but our attitude stinks, then it’s not really obedience

                • If we “obey,” but put our own conditions on it, it’s not really obedience

                • If we “obey” on our own timeframe instead of immediately, it’s not really obedience

            • BIG IDEA – Following Jesus requires complete obedience/sacrifice.

        • This is what Jesus is about to teach His disciples as He turns His attention away from Peter, exclusively, and back to the group

    • Jesus’ teaching (vv. 24-28)

        • Cost of following Jesus (vv. 24-26)

          • “There is a defect, even a fatal defect, in the life of the church of Christ in the twentieth century: ​​ a lack of true discipleship. ​​ For the genuine Christian, discipleship means forsaking everything to follow Christ. ​​ But for many of today’s supposed Christians – perhaps the majority – it is the case that while there is much talk about Christ and even much furious activity that is supposed to be done in his name, there is actually very little following of Christ himself. ​​ And that means that in some circles at least there is very little genuine Christianity. ​​ Many who fervently call him “Lord, Lord” are not Christians (Matt. 7:21).” ​​ [Boice, 314]

          • Jesus defined a true follower in three ways

            • Self-denial

              • We have to be prepared to let go of anything that competes with Jesus’ kingdom

              • It should be visible through how we handle our finances

              • Others should recognize that we are a disciple of Jesus through our service to Him in the church and the world

              • Self-denial should lead to the rejection of self-centered arrogance and pride

              • Our thoughts should be centered on God’s kingdom first

              • It’s putting loyalty to Jesus Christ before self-preservation – being willing to risk our own lives for the kingdom of God

              • “To deny self does not mean to deny things. ​​ It means to give yourself wholly to Christ and share in His shame and death.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 60]

              • Read Romans 12:1-2 ​​ [#2]

              • Read Philippians 3:7-10 ​​ [#3]

              • Self-denial is saying “No” to ourselves

            • Taking up the cross

              • It’s not uncommon to hear people refer to different ailments as the cross they have to bear, but that’s not what Jesus is talking about here

              • Taking up our cross involves saying, “Yes,” to God after we say, “No,” to ourselves

              • Real crosses involve the will and not inevitable limitations – it is saying yes to something difficult for Jesus’ sake ​​ [Boice, 315]

              • Cross-bearing involves:

                • Prayer and Bible study

                  • We have to set aside time to voluntarily pursue prayer and Bible study instead of other pastimes we might prefer as humans

                  • The temptation is to neglect prayer and Bible study

                  • Just this past week, I was tempted to not spend time in prayer before I started my day, because I had a lot to get done (I found my day went better after I spent time praying)

                  • During the Mission Possible Meeting this morning we shared about the upcoming small groups that will be starting or continuing (now is a great time to say “No” to ourselves and “Yes” to Jesus)

                  • The information and sign-up sheets are in the foyer

                • The items Jesus lists in Matthew 25:31-46 concerning the least of these

                  • Feeding the hungry

                  • Giving drink to the thirsty

                  • Receiving a stranger

                  • Clothing the naked

                  • Caring for the sick

                  • Visiting those in prison

                  • We serve every month at the Upper Adams Food Pantry and the Gettysburg Soup Kitchen – we have a benevolence committee that helps individuals in need

                  • Each one of us can care for someone else who is sick, invite someone to our home for a meal, take someone to a thrift store to buy clothes, or visit someone in prison

                • Witnessing

                  • This is sharing the Gospel with those God puts in our path

                  • We have to be intentional about this, we can’t leave it up to chance

                  • We need to be praying for God to provide divine appointments each day to share the Gospel

                  • It’s part of our mission as a church to Pursue, Grow, and Multiply Disciples

              • Once we say “No” to self and “Yes” to God them we have to continue to follow Jesus

            • Following Jesus

              • “Discipleship is not simply a door to be entered but a path to be followed . . .” ​​ [Boice, 315]

              • Most individuals want discipleship to just a door they have to enter – something that’s once and done

              • Yet it must be a daily submission to Jesus Christ as Lord

              • Read Psalm 119:105-112 ​​ [#4]

          • Saving and losing our soul

            • Pursing a life here on earth instead of following Jesus will result in losing eternal life with God

            • The opposite is also true – following Jesus here on earth and sacrificing the things of this world will result in gaining eternal life with God

            • “Losing one’s life to Jesus means giving over one’s own will to follow him alone in discovering God’s will as the central, driving force for one’s life.” ​​ [Wilkins, 573]

          • The value of a kingdom soul

            • We cannot accumulate enough wealth to buy our way into heaven

            • We don’t have anything of value that we can trade with God in order to obtain eternal life

            • Millionaire Malcom Forbes’ quote is not true: ​​ “He who dies with the most toys wins.”

            • “At the end of this life we are each measured by the health of our souls, not the wealth of our estates.” ​​ [Wilkins, 573]

            • Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 3:7-10 [#3]

          • BIG IDEA – Following Jesus requires complete obedience/sacrifice

          • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Follow Jesus by denying myself, taking up my cross, and continually following Him.

        • Reward for following Jesus (v. 27)

          • Jesus tells His disciples that when He returns the second time there will be an accounting that takes place

          • Each person will either be rewarded for following Jesus or repaid for the wrong they have done

          • Colossians 3:23-25, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. ​​ It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ​​ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is not favoritism.

        • Prophetic word (v. 28)

          • Jesus then ends this section of Scripture with a prophetic pronouncement that some of the disciples will not taste death before they see Him coming in His kingdom

          • There are all kinds of interpretations concerning what Jesus was referring to with this pronouncement

          • Most scholars agree that based on the context and what follows next in the three Synoptic Gospel’s is what Jesus is referring to here – it is His Transfiguration

            • Not all of the disciples experienced the Transfiguration

            • It was only Peter, James, and John who were included in that special revelation of God’s glory through Jesus on the mountain

 

  • YOU

    • Two choices (unbelievers)

        • Embrace God’s plan of salvation through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection

        • Follow Satan’s plan of rejecting Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection

    • Two choices (believers)

        • Follow Jesus according to His terms (deny yourself, take up your cross, and continually follow Him, which means losing your life for Jesus’ sake here on earth and gaining eternal life)

        • Follow Jesus on your own terms (save your life here on earth, but lose it eternally)

  • WE

    • We all have to decide who will ultimately sit in the place of decision making in our lives

 

CONCLUSION

VIDEO – “The Stool”.

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