bibleteacher.org

Preached to Riverview Baptist, 798 Santa Fe Pike, Columbia, TN
on the morning of May 7 2017

Matthew 15:21-28 (KJV)21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Last week we saw Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a storm, and Peter walking with Jesus. Peter asked Jesus if he could come out of the boat and walk on water with Him. Jesus told Peter “Come”. If you’ll remember that story we were told:

Matthew 14:30-31 (KJV) … when Peter saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, LORD, SAVE ME. 31 And IMMEDIATELY Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

We talked about Peter’s prayer, that it was a good prayer. In trouble Peter prayed simply:

“Lord, save me”!

The prayer was a good prayer because the Bible tells us IMMEDIATELY JESUS REACHED OUT and saved Peter. The prayer was simple – only three words. It said all it needed to say:

“LORD” – I am not looking anywhere else. My eyes are fixed on Jesus.

“SAVE” – Only Jesus can save. I am not looking to those in the boat, but to Jesus only.

“ME” – I am sinking, I need Jesus. I don’t care what others think. I need Your touch!

A beautiful three word prayer. A perfect prayer.

Now we come to an interesting account. A woman comes to Jesus. Her daughter is ill. She says:

Matthew 15:22 (KJV) .. Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

Notice how the woman pleads with Jesus. She says “Have MERCY on me”. That’s a good starting place for prayer. Our God is merciful. Our God is full of mercy.

Mercy Is Where We Must Meet God In Prayer

The woman did not demand her rights before God. She did not say, “Lord, You’ve healed many others. Now I want MY daughter to be healed”. Too often we come to God demanding.

It’s not fair.

I deserve this.

God, you OWE me.

God owes none of us anything. The Bible tells us that as creatures it is US who fall short of God. God has been good to us all, but most of us give little of ourselves toward glorifying God. The Scripture tells us:

Romans 3:10-18 (NKJV) As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;

11 There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

12 They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

13 “Their throat is an open tomb;

With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;

“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;

17 And the way of peace they have not known.”

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

God gave us lives, pretty good lives. And God has been merciful to us daily. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 86:15 (ESV) But you, O Lord, are a God MERCIFUL and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

As sinners, we DESERVE God’s justice, not His mercy.

Romans 3:23 (ESV) for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

This woman prayed “Lord, have MERCY on me”. A blind man named BARTIMAEUS prayed this same prayer. We read in …

Mark 10:46-52 (KJV)46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, HAVE MERCY ON ME. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, HAVE MERCY ON ME. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Bartimaeus cried out “Jesus, Thou Son of David, have MERCY on me”. He grabbed hold of the mercy seat. He cried out for mercy, and Christ gave him mercy. Bartimaeus “immediately received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way”. What a beautiful story!

But what of the Canaanite woman? She prayed as Bartimaeus prayed, and the Bible says:

Matthew 15:23 (KJV) But {Jesus} answered her NOT A WORD.

When Peter cried out “Lord, save me!” Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out and saved him. When Bartimaeus cried out “Jesus, have MERCY on me”! But this woman cried out to the Lord and he answered her NOT A WORD. Why?

Why Did Jesus Delay In Answering Her Prayer?

We have all had times when we have prayed for something, and for what ever reason God has delayed in answering our prayer. Why did Jesus delay in answering this woman’s prayer.

Delays In Answered Prayer Displays Genuine Faith

UNBELIEVERS Need To See Genuine Faith

When we started this account we read:

Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of TYRE AND SIDON.

Tyre and Sidon were GENTILE cities north of Israel. Though Jesus initially came to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel it was His intention to eventually reach out to those who were not Israelites. Tyre and Sidon were cities that God pronounced judgment on in the Old Testament. They worshiped idols rather than the God of Heaven. Queen Jezebel was from Sidon, and it was Jezebel who brought the false worship of the Gentile god Baal into Israel. From gotquestions.org:

“Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585–572 BC. Alexander the Great conquered Tyre in 322 BC, completely destroying the city. The Persian king Artaxerxes conquered Sidon. In short, God’s prophesied judgment came to pass. Later, both cities became prosperous provinces of Rome.”

The nature of genuine faith is that it LINGERS. Tyre and Sidon needed to see genuine faith. In the crowds that followed Jesus were Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes that looked good outwardly, but inwardly were ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15). The people who followed Jesus needed to see genuine faith. The people needed to see the difference between the Pharisee who often prayed:

Luke 18:11-14 (NLT) The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’M CERTAINLY NOT LIKE THAT TAX COLLECTOR! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

and the Tax Collector who prayed:

Luke 18:13-14 (NLT) “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, BE MERCIFUL TO ME, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Genuine faith is humble, and PERSISTENT. Though Jesus answered her not a word she would not stop believing.

Believers Need To See Genuine Faith

As this woman cries out to Jesus for mercy how do the disciples respond?

Matthew 15:23 (KJV) But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for SHE CRIETH AFTER US.

The Bible says “HIS Disciples came and besought Him, saying SEND HER AWAY; for she crieth after US”. What a strange statement to make! She is crying AFTER JESUS, but the Disciples, HIS DISCIPLES, are saying “She crieth after US”. She needs to stop this crying, Jesus. It is disturbing to us! How shallow the faith of Christ’s disciples are at times. God has given us unbounding grace. He has blessed us beyond measure. And yet at times our hearts are all about OURSELVES, and not about the Love of God. If we were to do as Christ commands:

John 13:34 (ESV) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

If we loved as Christ has loved us then we would join in the prayers of the hurting rather than standing against them. When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it (1 Corinthians 12:26). How arrogant a Child of God can become when we forget that we are all of mercy, that we deserve nothing.

We Who Believe Need To See Our Faith Tested

Matthew 15:22 (KJV) And, behold, a WOMAN OF CANAAN came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

This is a “Woman of Canaan”. She comes from Canaan. She is a Canaanite. Canaanites are mentioned over 150 times in the Bible. The Canaanites were a people who were idolatrous, a large race of people who often practiced child sacrifice. They lived in a land of milk and honey, a blessed land, but they turned against the God of Heaven who gave them that land. Because of their idolatry and child sacrifice God gave the land of Canaan to His servant Abraham and his descendants (see Genesis 12:7). God warned Israel when she went into the land to chase the Canaanites out. God told Israel:

Deuteronomy 7:1-5 (NET) When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you…you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them…. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. But thus you shall do to them: You shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

The Canaanites were a horrible people who murdered their own children. This woman is of Canaan. But notice that she does not want to murder her child, but that her child might be saved. She plead for her daughter. And when Jesus answered her “not a word” she continued to plead.

Matthew 15:24-25 (KJV) But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me.

When Jesus declared “I am only sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” the woman did not walk away. She kept on praying. She kept on knocking at the Door of Grace. She didn’t stomp off mad. She DREW NEARER TO JESUS.

Then came she – she drew near by faith

and worshiped Him – she humbled herself before Christ

and prayed – “Lord, help me”

Where was her heart in this? Many are the times that we have prayed “Lord, help me”, but we REALLY wanted to do it ourselves. We wanted God to enable us, but we only wanted Him as a HELPER and not as LORD. Where was this woman’s heart? Jesus told her:

Matthew 15:26 (KJV) But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.

“I have come for the Children, not the Canaanites. I can’t take the Children’s bread and cast it to DOGS.” The term “Dog” is used in the Bible to describe the unbeliever. When Jesus was crucified it was prophesied:

Psalms 22:16 (KJV) For DOGS have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

It was DOGS or UNBELIEVERS who crucified Christ. It is DOGS who – as unbelievers – will not be allowed into God’s Heaven:

Revelation 22:14-15 (KJV) Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For WITHOUT ARE DOGS, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Jesus called this woman the worst thing a person could call another. He said “You are a DOG. Shall I take the Children’s bread and feed it to the DOGS?” If anyone should have been angered at this, she should. But she wasn’t. She plead mercy from God. She replied:

Matthew 15:27 (KJV)And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.

She did not argue nore demand, but said “Lord, eventhe dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from the Master’s table”. She humbled herself before Christ.

And she was rewarded.

Matthew 15:28 (KJV)Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

The woman was blessed because she showed genuine faith toward God.

Matthew 15:1-3  Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,  [2]  Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.  [3]  But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

I have been thinking a lot lately about STANDARDS.

When I was in the Air Force we were taught about STANDARDS.

In Basic Training there was a STANDARD.

We were taught that it didn’t matter how we FELT, but there was a certain way our clothes were to be folded. We all had to run – in marching order – a certain distance. We all had to climb and overcome certain obstacles. We didn’t tell the Drill Instructor “We just don’t FEEL like this today” or “I was born this way, so it’s natural”. I entered Basic Training with hair down my back, weighing well over 300 pounds. Eight weeks later I was with short hair, less than 170 pounds soaking wet, and able to run a three mile obstacle course. STANDARDS.

I started my military career in Food Services. Contrary to what you might see on television or in the movies, Food Services had STANDARDS. Food was cooked a certain way, stored a certain way, presented a certain way. Inspectors came in periodically and had us touch gelatin in a Petrie Dish, testing the cleanliness of our hands. If stuff began growing in that Petrie Dish you got a verbal, then a written REPRIMAND. Unclean hands and improperly prepared food could kill people. There were STANDARDS. Some young men and women spent time in CORRECTIONAL CUSTODY because they did not meet the STANDARDS. There was a STANDARD, and you maintained it. You didn’t blame others if you didn’t meet the STANDARD, you got it together or got out of the Service dishonorably. We maintained STANDARDS.

After 8 years in the Air Force they placed me in another career field called Electronic Warfare. We worked with highly classified equipment designed to protect the aircraft from enemy fire. Were there STANDARDS? You bet there were.

There were STANDARDS on how we handled and spoke of classified information.

There were STANDARDS on how we worked on aircraft.

Inspectors would come to the flight line and see if we repaired the aircraft according to the STANDARD. If it was not we not only had to redo the repair, but the person responsible was given a written reprimand that had to be explained to the Commander. Wires had to be ran – and repaired – certain ways. There was no excuses made. You couldn’t tell the Commander “Well, I FELT like” because he would burn your house down.

Illustrate One young man I used to know mishandled classified information. The last I saw of him was when two men in suits came, handcuffed him, and took him away from the workcenter in a black limousine. His last words that I heard were “Well I THOUGHT …”. They didn’t care what he thought. There are STANDARDS.

STANDARDS are everywhere.

There are STANDARDS in the medical field.

There are STANDARDS in law enforcement.

There are STANDARDS in business.

Even Garbage Collection people have STANDARDS.

Stores have STANDARDS.

Mechanics have STANDARDS.

One comedian I know told how he took his truck to Sear’s Automotive to get new tires. He said as he drove away he got about two blocks from the store when his tires fell off. They fell off! The mechanic never put the wheel lugs back on. The comedian is in the process of suing Sears for misconduct. There are STANDARDS.

There are STANDARDS IN GOD’S KINGDOM. God sets STANDARDS for His people.

God’s Standards are always greater than man’s standards.

One day the Pharisees – always seeking to find fault with Jesus – noticed that His disciples were not washing their hands before they ate bread. They asked Jesus:

Matthew 15:2  Why do thy disciples transgress the TRADITION of the ELDERS? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

Their question was an interesting one.

They were not asking Jesus “Why are Your disciples disobeying GOD’S WORD”.

They were asking

“Why are Your disciples disobeying the TRADITION OF THE ELDERS”?

Over time the leaders of Israel had come up with standards that they thought every person should live by. One of those standards was to wash your hands before eating bread.

So why did Jesus allow His disciples to break these man made standards?

Let me be quick to point out that man-made standards are NOT bad.

Jesus never said that man-made standards were bad per se.

Jesus responded Matthew 15:3 …. Why do ye ALSO transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Jesus said “My disciples might be breaking a man made standard, but why do YOU break a STANDARD OF GOD?” The highest STANDARD is the COMMANDMENT OF GOD.

Man made standards are fine and are many times

necessary to maintain a civil society.

Man made standards protect people.

In the Air Forces the SANITATION STANDARDS and FOOD PREPARATION STANDARDS protected the people we served from getting sick. The Air Force could be paralyzed if Food Service Standards were not maintained. On the flight line STANDARDS in equipment repair insured that our Pilots were not killed by our own hands. A loose bolt could become a piece of shrapnel in the fast flying F-16 or F-4 aircraft. A loose canon plug could flop a hole in the side of a Bomber, scrapping the mission. Improper handling of classified materials can and does compromise our ability to protect our citizens. A loose high microwave plug can cause a technician to be poisoned with radiation.

Man made standards are not bad things AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT TRANSGRESS THE HIGHEST STANDARD, the Commandment of God.

The Pharisees transgressed the Highest Standard by their man made standards. Jesus told them:

Matthew 15:4-6   For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.   [5]   But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;   [6]   And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have YE MADE THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD OF NONE EFFECT BY YOUR TRADITION.

What is Jesus talking about here?

He is talking about tithes and offerings.

God has a STANDARD in Giving.

God tells us in Malachi: Malachi 3:8-10 (ESV) Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

If You Have Received God’s Gift
God Expects YOU To Give

God expects His to give of their income, to support His Kingdom on the earth. The lights that are burning, the heating and cooling, the water and electricity are not donated to God’s Church by CWPS (Columbia Water And Power System). From the hymnals to the pews, everything you see, and everything you DON’T see (insurance, alarm systems) cost funds to maintain.

But you ALSO have to obey the WORD OF GOD.

Paying the tithe and offering does not remove from the Christian OBEDIENCE

to the OTHER COMMANDS.

This is what the Pharisees were doing.

The Bible says in the Fifth Commandment that we are to “Honor your Father and Mother” (Exodus 20:12). This means forever! As our parents grow older we are STILL to honor them.

I have mowed the grass of in widow’s yards because their children would not do it.

That is a travesty! Parents are to be honored as long as they live. The Pharisees were supposed to take care of their aging parents. But when it came time to financially support them, the Pharisees refused to do so. Why? They said:

The money we have set aside is a GIFT to God’s Temple.

We can’t TITHE and TAKE CARE of our parents as well.

So they let their parents suffer. The reality is that God has promised to bless those who – keeping the standard – help contribute both time and funds to His Kingdom. But the follower of God also expects His Kingdom People to DO HIS WORD. We are to keep His Commandments, not seek loopholes by which we can avoid His Commandments.

God’s Kingdom has STANDARDS.

STANDARDS in Giving.

STANDARDS in Living.

Those Who Try To Manipulate God’s Standards Are Hypocrites

No part of the Word of God abrogates another part of the Word of God. God’s Standard is LOVE. Love God, love one another. Jesus told the Pharisees:

Matthew 15:7-9   Ye HYPOCRITES, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,   [8]   This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.   [9]   But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

God wants our MOUTH and our HEART to both be dedicated to worshiping and loving Him. When your MOUTH honors God but your HEART dishonors God, this is hypocrisy. Jesus knows those that are HIS, and Jesus knows them that are HYPOCRITES.

The Pharisees are HYPOCRITES. They reject the STANDARD of God in their hearts while looking like they are following the STANDARD OUTWARDLY. Jesus called these Pharisees out before.

They GAVE TITHES To Be Seen Of Men Matthew 6:2   Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

They PRAYED To Be Seen Of Men Matthew 6:5   And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

They FASTED To Be Seen Of Men Matthew 6:16   Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

The hypocrites were not living in God’s Kingdom to please God. They were pretenders. Their hearts were far from God, but outwardly they looked oh so good!

We Are Called To Be HOLY Not HYPOCRITES

Our HEARTS Are To Be God Focused!

Matthew 15:10-11  And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:   [11]   Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Doctors and nutrition specialists all have a number of foods that we can eat that is supposed to be unhealthy for us. At various times we have been told that the following things were bad for you but are now considered good food – if eaten in moderation:

Foods with FAT

Eggs

Butter

Nuts

Bacon

Potatoes

Whole Milk

Coconut Oil

Red Meat

Coffee

Chocolate

Every one of these foods have – at one time in my lifetime – been said to be bad for you. Chocolate with high cocoa content produces probiotics, which helps your digestive system. Coffee boosts metabolism and helps ward off diabetes. Coconut oil lowers your risk of heart disease. Whole milk – according to the European Journal Of Nutrition – wards off cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The World Health Organization (WHO?) said bacon and other processed meats can give you cancer. Now nutritionists say bacon is a great source of protein and heart healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAS).

But what does Jesus say? Jesus says “What goes IN the mouth is not what defiles us, but what comes OUT of the mouth”. His disciples told Jesus:

Don’t You know that You offended the Pharisees?

Do you know what Jesus said? He said “Quick, go invite them back to Church. We don’t want to lose them. Go make a deal with them because we need them!” Did Jesus say that? No! Jesus said:

Matthew 15:13-14 …. Every plant, which MY HEAVENLY FATHER HATH NOT PLANTED, SHALL BE ROOTED UP.   [14]   LET THEM ALONE: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Those who will not stick with the STANDARD of God should not be chased after. People who are ME focused do not need to be pursued.

The Church is God’s Garden

You are God’s Garden, You are God’s Building

(See 1 Corinthians 3:9)

The Pharisees may have been angered. They may have stomped off. DO NOT CHASE THEM. If God did not plant them in His Church, let them go. So often in my ministry people have stomped off, refusing to follow God’s Standard, and well meaning members have gone and out begged them to come back. STOP IT! I love everyone, and try to love everyone equally. But if a person is determined to reject the STANDARD OF GOD as presented in the Scripture then let them go. Neither I nor you are to PLANT anyone into God’s Kingdom. God adds daily to the Church – you and I are just to SOW THE SEED and TRUST GOD!

1 Corinthians 12:18 (NKJV) … GOD HAS SET THE MEMBERS, each one of them, in the body JUST AS HE PLEASED.

If God sets someone in His Garden then that person will stay. If God does NOT set that plant in the Garden of God, then it shall be rooted up. Those Who are God’s maintain GOD’S STANDARDS – period!

Where Is Your Heart?

Declare Unto Us This Parable

Peter was never shy about asking Jesus questions, so he asked Jesus:

Lord, will You explain this parable to us?

Jesus didn’t hesitate: Matthew 15:17-20   Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?   [18]   But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.   [19]   For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:   [20]   These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

The UNCONVERTED HEART is what defiles a person.

The heart that is worldly breaks the heart of God.

The heart filled with …

Evil Thoughts

Murders

Adulteries

Fornications

Thefts

False Witness

Blasphemies

Do you notice something about this list? Every one of the things Jesus mentions except false witness are PLURAL. Sin is PLURAL. There is never just ONE evil thought, but MANY. When sin starts in the heart focused on sin, it produces evil after evil. If your heart is no focused GODWARD it is focused HELLWARD.

Your heart must be dedicated to God.

God’s standard is very simple.

Jesus said: Matthew 22:37-40 (NKJV) … You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

On these two commandments HANG all the Law and the Prophets. This is God’s standard. Jesus Christ came and HUNG on a Tree, dying for our sins, showing us what love is. Love is focusing your heart on pleasing God the Father. To love the Lord My God with ALL my soul, ALL my heart, ALL my mind. If my ALL is focused on pleasing God then those terrible, strange fruit

Evil Thoughts

Murders

Adulteries

Fornications

Thefts

False Witness

Blasphemies

will not be in my life. Every Child of God is part of God’s Garden, and the fruit of our lives is to be LOVE. Love to God. Love to our neighbor. We are to love our neighbor AS OURSELF. The heart dedicated to God applies God’s Standard.

Do you know Jesus?

Are You saved of Him?

If so, you are God’s plant.

Live to produce His fruit,

For His glory and His Kingdom.

May God touch your hearts with His Word!

Matthew 14:22-33 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. [23] And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. [24] But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. [25] And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. [26] And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. [27] But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. [28] And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. [29] And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. [30] But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. [31] And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? [32] And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. [33] Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

The story of Jesus walking on the water is in Matthew, Mark, and John, but the story of Peter walking on the water is found only in Matthew.

Why is that? I really don’t know. There are great truths in the Scripture, and many things that we do not understand. The Bible has many mysteries – but it also has much revealed truth that God wants us to understand. We must always remember when we approach the Bible that it is God breathed, and that God has said:

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

When we read the Word of God we are not reading a newspaper nor a Reader’s Digest. We are reading God’s Word. The story starts with:

Matthew 14:22 And STRAIGHTWAY Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, WHILE HE SENT THE MULTITUDES AWAY.

We read “Straightway” or “right after THIS” Jesus put His disciples in a boat and sent the multitudes away. Who were these “multitudes”. These were the +5000 people that Jesus fed with two small fish and five loaves of bread. After taking a child’s Happy Meal and multiplying it to where it fed +5000 people and had twelve baskets full of leftovers besides Jesus SENT THE MULTITUDES AWAY. Jesus loved the people. He cared for the people. He fed the people. But now He sends the masses away and sends His DISCIPLES out on a boat.

Learning is progression. You don’t start out knowing your ABCs. Someone had to sit with you and show you – over and over again – your ABCs. You had to sing them, say them, write them. The disciples are in the School of Faith. If you don’t understand the Feeding of the Five Thousand then you won’t understand what comes next.

Mark 6:51-52 (NKJV) Then {Jesus} went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For THEY HAD NOT UNDERSTOOD ABOUT THE LOAVES, BECAUSE THEIR HEART WAS HARDENED.

You can harden your hearts. You can sleep through the lesson. You can stay up late the night before and not pay attention and learn nothing. Will your hearts be open to His message?

Jesus Put His Disciples In A Boat

Matthew 14:22-24 … Jesus CONSTRAINED his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. [23] And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. [24] But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 

Jesus CONSTRAINED. This is the Greek ἀναγκάζω anagkazō which means “to compel, to force”. Jesus gave them no choice. Jesus said “You get in the boat – You go on without Me – You go to the other side”. Jesus put His disciples in a boat. He went off by Himself to pray, and put them in a boat without Him.

Jesus Put His Disciples In A Boat HEADED TOWARD TROUBLE.

We all have troubles. We all have trials. We all have things that scare us and hurt us. We should never get into a boat headed toward trouble by ourselves. There are times we get into a BOATLOAD OF TROUBLE because we do the things that God tells us not to do. Sometimes we sin, either doing what God tells us NOT to do, or by NOT DOING what God tells us to do. We make peace with sin. No disciple of Christ is to make peace with sin.

The WAGES of SIN is DEATH!

No disciple should get in a boat with sin. We are told in James 4:4-8 (NKJV) Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

People get in a bad boat when we get in the boat with the world. Christ sent the MULTITUDES away – but the disciples got in the boat of faith. If JESUS puts you in the boat, rest in His love. Trust Him!

God lets storms come to grow our faith. They are not accidents if you are following Jesus! They are not mistakes if you are hearing His voice. Jesus knew the boat would hit a storm, and put them in that boat anyway. Jesus wants us to get our eyes on HIM. If your momma had never released your hand you would never walk. If your daddy had not stopped pushing the bike you would never learn to ride. Our Heavenly Father releases us to the boat so our faith can grow. If Jesus put you in the boat, rest! Learn! Obey!

We are told in: Mark 6:46-48 (NKJV) And when {Jesus} had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the BOAT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA; and He was alone on the land. 48 Then HE SAW THEM straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.

When Jesus Puts You In The Boat, He Watches Over You

Jesus does not abandon His Children. Jesus said:

John 10:10-11 (NKJV) … I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11 I am the GOOD SHEPHERD. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

Jesus Christ came to this earth that we might have abundant life, the life that God designed us to live. He did not come that we might be enslaved to sin and to fear and to death. He came to be our Good Shepherd. Jesus gave His life for you and for me. The Bible declares:

Romans 5:6-8 (NKJV) For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

As Jesus prayed on that mountaintop, He prayed for His people. And as He prayed alone, He still looked out AND SAW HIS DISCIPLES. Jesus makes intercession for those that are His. He prays for us. He never abandons us in the trial, but watches the trial and lets the trial mold us into His image.

Romans 8:34-36, 38-39 (NKJV) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, WHO ALSO MAKES INTERCESSION FOR US. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus was not with them in that boat, but He was not far away. He watched. He saw them straining at the oars. He heard their heart beat rapidly. He saw their fear.

When Jesus Puts You In The Boat, He Will Come To You

Then when the time was right, Jesus went to them. We read:

Matthew 14:24-25 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. [25] And in the FOURTH WATCH OF THE NIGHT JESUS WENT UNTO THEM, walking on the sea.

Jesus went to His disciples. He goes to His Children when we are tried. But I want you to notice that He went at the FOURTH WATCH of the NIGHT. They were in the fourth quarter, the last part of the night, a time between three and six in the morning. Someone once said “it is always darkest before the dawn”. That was when Jesus went to them.

Why did Jesus wait so long?

Why did He watch them struggle so?

Because they had not called on Him.

They saw Jesus feed over 5000 people with five biscuits and two fish, and saw 12 baskets full of leftover after everyone was fed. If Jesus could do that couldn’t He save His people? Of course He could. But they never called out for Jesus. They struggled. They rowed. They strained. They did everything they could do to get to the other side, but they couldn’t get to the other side.

They couldn’t have fed the 5000 plus people if Jesus had not been there!

The Psalmist wrote: Psalm 107:24-29 (NKJV) They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. 25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26 They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. 28 THEN THEY CRY OUT TO THE LORD IN THEIR TROUBLE, And He brings them out of their distresses. 29 He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.

If Christ puts you in the boat, rely on Him when the wind and waves come. Had they cried out to Jesus I do not believe they would have had to wait until the fourth watch of the night. When we try to do it ourselves Christ will often stand back and watch until the fourth watch. The depth of their unbelief is seen in their response to Jesus coming.

What did they say when they saw Jesus come?
Praise God, HERE IS JESUS!
No. Look at their response.

Matthew 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and THEY CRIED OUT FOR FEAR.

When you let fear and the flesh take control, faith goes out the door. Here was Jesus ready to save them, but they are consumed of fear. They did not cry out in FAITH but in FEAR. But Christ had mercy on them. All three Evangelists report Jesus saying:

Matthew 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; BE NOT AFRAID.

Mark 6:50 (NKJV) … immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; DO NOT BE AFRAID.”

John 6:20 (NKJV) … But He said to them, “It is I; DO NOT BE AFRAID.”

Fear and pride are twin snakes that will rob your of joy and peace. Someone once said:

When we WALK with the Lord we FOLLOW
When we DANCE with the Lord HE LEADS

Jesus IMMEDIATELY told His disciples “Be of GOOD CHEER. It is I. Do not be afraid”. Christ put them in THIS boat. They need not fear. He is able. He is Lord. He is in control. As long as Christ is with us we need not fear. The Scripture says:

Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV) 10 Fear not, for I AM WITH YOU; Be not dismayed, for I AM YOUR GOD. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Isaiah 43:2-3 (ESV) When you pass through the waters, I WILL BE WITH YOU; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

When Christ is with us we need not fear. Fear must not control us, but faith. Focus on Christ. Follow Him where ever He leads.

To Be Blessed Of Jesus, Follow Him By Faith

Now we come to the part of the story that is exclusive to Matthew. We read:

Matthew 14:28 And PETER answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

“Lord, if it’s REALLY You, let me come to You on the water”. Peter had a twinge of doubt in his heart – at least that’s how it seems to me. Peter said “IF it’s You”. So Peter had a little doubt. But Jesus didn’t hesitate. Jesus simply said:

Come!

And Peter got out of the boat. Peter walked on water. That’s what God wants us to do. He wants us to walk on water. He wants us to go to Him by faith, to reject all fear, and to follow Him where ever He bids us go.

when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus

Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus. His eyes were focused on the Savior. And as long as His focus was Christ, he was boundless. The laws of nature did not apply to Peter. In this moment he did something only Jesus has ever done.

He walked on the water!

But then we read:

Matthew 14:30 But WHEN HE SAW THE WIND BOISTEROUS, HE WAS AFRAID; and BEGINNING TO SINK…

Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and started to sink. I’ve heard preachers talk about Peter, cutting Peter down because he took his eyes off of Jesus and started to sink. But Beloved, Peter MAY have taken his eyes off of Jesus …

…but at least he got out of the boat!

I’ve never heard a preacher talk about those 11 slugs that stayed in the boat!

Peter got out of the boat.

Peter walked on water.

Those who sat on their behinds did nothing of note.

Jesus said of His Church: John 14:12 (ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Peter walked on water because he trusted Jesus just that much. He got out of the boat. He got up off his backside and followed Jesus. And so must be.

As Peter looked away and started to sink he prayed the PERFECT PRAYER.

Matthew 14:30-33 … beginning to sink, he cried, saying, LORD, SAVE ME. [31] And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him

This is the perfect prayer. I have heard preachers pray long and windy prayers, wandering around the outside of the house but never knocking at God’s door. Peter had no time to be eloquent, yet His prayer was effective. How do I know? Because the text tells us “IMMEDIATELY Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him”. That’s a good prayer that gets an immediate answer from the Savior.

When You’re Drowning, Use Peter’s Prayer

Peter prayed the simplest prayer. This prayer will save a drowning Peter, and convert a Saul to Paul. This is the best prayer ever uttered.

“Lord”. Jesus, You are my Lord. I am not Lord of my life, You are Lord of my life. I’m about to drown, but You can save me. You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I am not looking to others to save me. I am not crying out to those in the boat. I need You alone. “Lord”.

“Save”. Jesus, I’m not asking You to help me, to strengthen my hand. I am unable to save myself. I am drowning in sin. I am lost at sea. Jesus, save me. Grab my hand and pull me up. I need You. I need ALL of You. “Save”

“Me”. Lord, I need You. I am drowning. I am not looking at anyone else now. You deal with those in the boat. I don’t care what they think of me. I’m not worried about what someone thinks if I walk the aisle and kneel at the altar. I don’t care if people see my tears. Jesus, You came for me. “Lord, Save Me”.

The Bible tells us that …

Matthew 14:31-33 … And IMMEDIATELY Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? [32] And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. [33] Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Did you notice that it was not until “THEY (Jesus and Peter) were come into the ship, the wind ceased”? Someone may be watching you right now. They may be watching to see if YOU get out of the boat. They are perhaps watching to see if YOU will come to altar and pray. Maybe a brother, a sister, a friend, a parent, a child is watching. Peter got out of the boat. But when Peter got back in the boat WITH JESUS the storm stopped, and the others were blessed.

Will you follow Jesus? Will you give yourselves to Him?

May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Preached to the Saints at Riverview Baptist Church on April 15, 2017 at
798 Santa Fe Pike, Columbia, TN 38401

Matthew 28:1-8 (KJV)  In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the {Tomb}.  [2]  And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.  [3]  His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:  [4]  And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.   [5]  And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  [6]  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  [7]  And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.  [8]  And they departed quickly from the {Tomb} with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

When Jesus died and was placed in the Tomb, a huge stone was rolled into the doorway, effectively sealing it off. The Pharisees and Priests remembered that Jesus promised to rise from the grave. They went to Pilate and said:

Matthew 27:63-66 … “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

So they went to the Tomb, rolled a huge stone into place, sealed the stone in place with Pilate’s seal, and placed a guard of soldiers in front of that stone to keep it in place.

On This Resurrection Sunday Let The Stone Preach

I want to think about this Stone today on this Resurrection Sunday. I want the Stone to preach to us today. I want the Stone to cry out to us, to shout a message of Hosanna to Christ our King. Jesus said before His crucifixion:

Luke 19:40 (KJV) …. I tell you that, if these {children} should hold their peace, THE STONES WOULD IMMEDIATELY CRY OUT.

I want this stone to witness to us today.

When Israel listened to God and followed Him they defeated their enemies the Philistines. The Bible tells us that after the battle (1 Samuel 7:13-14) that the Prophet Samuel set up a stone called Ebeneezer, a stone of help to remind Israel of the goodness of God.

This Stone – This Tomb Stone if you will – is an Ebeneezer, a stone of witness, and it speaks to us today. There are three great truths we can see in this Stone.

• First, the stone is very heavy, and keeps us from our Lord.

• Second, the stone is sealed by the mark of the Law. Pilate had the stone sealed in place with his mark, and it was a violation of the Law for anyone to break that seal.

• Third, the stone is a doorway between death and life.

Let’s quickly look at each of these points as the Stone preaches to us today.

These precious ladies got up early in the morning on the first day of the week. They had a good deed to do. They were going to the Tomb of Christ to finish preparing His Body for burial.

As Jesus died at the end of the Feast of the Passover, the next day would begin the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a special Sabbath among the Jews. (see Leviticus 23:5-8). Because this was a Sabbath Christ’s body was removed from the Cross and hurriedly prepared for burial (see Luke 23:52-54; John 19:31; John 19:42). This is why we read:

Matthew 28:1 (KJV)  In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the {Tomb}.

The Sabbaths had ended. Mary Magdalene and Mary of Clopas were returning to the Tomb of Christ to finished what they had hurriedly done three days before. They come to do a good work, and “brought sweet spices that they might anoint Him” (Mark 16:1). But there is a problem.

“Who shall roll away the stone from the mouth of the Tomb
FOR IT IS VERY HEAVY” (Mark 16:3-4)?

These women came to do a good work, but something stood in their way.

The Stone stood in their way.

The Stone Is A Barrier God Removed

When the Stone was placed on the mouth of that Tomb, it was placed there because Christ died for our sins. Sin is a barrier that keeps us from God. Isaiah said:

Isaiah 59:2 (ESV) … your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

The Bible teaches that an immovable stone stands between us and God, and that stone is our sin. We are shut into a living tomb. We are born into this world sinful creatures.

1 John 3:4 (ESV)  Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; SIN IS LAWLESSNESS.

We are born into this world sinners who may be moral, sinners who might try to do good works, but sinners none the less. We are “dead in trespasses and in sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Satan led our forefather Adam from Paradise to spiritual death, and we have no ability to roll the stone away from that grave we are in.

This is why Christ died. Christ died not because HE was a sinner, but because WE are sinners. The Bible says:

1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God …

Jesus died for our sins, and rose again to lead us in righteousness. Jesus said that He …

Mark 8:31 … must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

We could not roll the Stone away ourselves, but Christ rolled the stone of sin away by His death. As C.H. Spurgeon said:

“Our sins were the great stone which shut the mouth of the {Tomb}, and held us captives in death, and darkness, and despair. But OUR SINS ARE NOW FOREVER ROLLED AWAY …”

When these precious ladies came to the Tomb they expected to find a Stone that would be impossible to move. What did they find? They found ….

Matthew 28:2 (KJV) And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

The earth moved.

The Angel of the Lord descended.

The Stone was rolled away.

If Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins had not been acceptable to God
then that Stone would still be in place.

Hebrews 10:12-18 …. when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For BY A SINGLE OFFERING HE HAS PERFECTED FOR ALL TIME THOSE WHO ARE BEING SANCTIFIED. 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The Stone Moved Satisfied The Law

When the Angel of the Lord moved that Stone – that Stone we could not move – he broke the seal of the Law that was on that Stone. It was a violation of Law for that Stone to be moved.

All of mankind are lawbreakers.

But Our Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law.

He lay in that Tomb the Lamb of God without Spot or Blemish.

He walked from that Tomb the Satisfactory Payment For Our Sins.

Matthew 5:17-18 (KJV)   Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.   [18]   For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of God. Being perfect and sinless, God in the flesh, He laid down His life for His friends (John 15:13). Mary Magdalene and Mary of Clopas (see John 19:25) stood by the cross of Christ with His mother Mary, watching Jesus die. Just three days before Jesus had been beaten with whips, brutalized by the Roman soldiers, condemned to die by a mob led by the Pharisees. Crucify Him! Crucify Him!

Why was Jesus crucified? What sin had He committed?

When Jesus was brought before Pilate to be judged Pilate said:

Luke 23:4 (ESV) “I find NO GUILT IN THIS MAN.”

Jesus had done nothing to warrant His death. Pilate did as all politicians do – he tried to pass the buck. He sent Jesus to Herod to be judged. But Herod was a good politician, too. He had Jesus beaten, dressed up in a King’s Robe, then sent Jesus back to Pilate.

Crucify Him! Crucify Him!

Pilate tells the Pharisees and Priests:

Luke 23: 14-16 … “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.”

Yet they would not have it. Crucify Him! Crucify Him!

THREE TIMES Pilate sought to free Christ, to release this innocent Man.

Luke 23:22 A THIRD TIME he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I HAVE FOUND IN HIM NO GUILT DESERVING DEATH. I will therefore punish and release him.”

They would not relent. Crucify Him! Crucify Him!

Matthew 27:25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!“

So Christ was nailed to a Cross on Calvary.

On either side of Him hung two thieves who were being justly crucified, murderers, rioters.

But in the middle hung a Man Who had done no evil.

He had not broken either civil nor religious laws.

He hung dying as people mocked Him.

Jesus died as our Passover Lamb, the Lamb without spot or blemish. Jesus came to this earth to be “the Savior of His people” (Luke 2:11). He died at the end of the Passover as our Passover

1 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT) … CHRIST, OUR PASSOVER LAMB, has been sacrificed for us.

When the Angel of the Lord rolled the stone away, He broke the seal of the Law on that tomb. Christ Jesus paid for our sins. Jesus died for me. And those who receive His Promise:

John 3:14-18 (KJV)   And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:   [15]   That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.   [16]   For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.   [17]   For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.   [18]   He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior are no longer locked in a spiritual tomb by an immovable stone. Christ died for us so that we can live for God. The Stone is rolled away. Death had no hold on our Savior, and has no hold on us. Praise God forever more!

On Resurrection Sunday Let The Angel Preach

For anything to be true – according to God’s Law – there must be TWO or MORE WITNESSES. The Stone is one witness – the other is the Angel of the Lord.

Matthew 28:2-4 (KJV)… the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and SAT UPON IT.

I want you to notice the sermon the Angel of the Lord preaches. First, he is The ANGEL OF THE LORD. He comes from the Throne of God, sent by the Lord Himself. God sent this Angel. This Angel …

Rolled back the stone from the door AND SAT UPON IT

The Angel sat down. The work of Calvary was finished. Jesus declared it. When Jesus died He cried out:

Tetelestai – It Is Finished! (John 19:30)

Jesus Christ “finished the work that the Father gave Him to do” (John 17:4). Jesus paid for our sins on Calvary. He came to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus made atonement for those Who believe in Him (Romans 3:23-25). The Angel had one thing to do. His job was to move the stone. Neither the Angel, nor the ladies at the Tomb paid for our sins. The Angel sat down. The Work of Christ was done.

Matthew 28:3-4 (KJV)… His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:  [4]  And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

This Angel came from God’s Throne room. As the Holy Power of God shined through this Angel his countenance (appearance) was like lightening, his clothing white as snow. As this representative of God SAT in front of these mortals …

The unbelieving guard shook, and became like dead men. If Christ is not yours and you are not His one day you will stand not before an Angel, but before GOD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF. On that day you along with all unbelievers will cry out:

Revelation 20:11 (KJV)11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

And run, but there will be no place to hide. The Angel says not a word to these unbelievers. They become like dead men, but there is no comfort for them. They rejected Christ. Death and hell await those who reject Christ. The Angel barely glances at them, but then we read:

Matthew 28:5 (KJV) And the angel answered and said unto the women, FEAR NOT YE: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

“Do not fear” you who seek Jesus. There is no fear for those who are His. Christ knows and loves His sheep, and His sheep know and love Him. We need not fear the Angels. The Angels are our guardians while we love Jesus. The Angels are our protectors. The Angels know we seek Jesus Who was crucified. Jesus killed death and sin the day He died.

Matthew 28:7-8 (KJV) He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  [7]  And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead

Do not fear. Jesus has risen, just as He said. Tell others. Go tell His disciples He is risen from the dead. Go rejoicing. Jesus has defeated death. Jesus has defeated sin. Jesus is alive forevermore. And we who believe in Him will live with Him …

Forevermore!

May God lead you to trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior this very day!

Matthew 13:1-9 (KJV) The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

God must teach us spiritual truths. God the Holy Spirit must be here today opening our minds to the truths of God’s Kingdom. If God is not in our services, we will understand nothing. Christ is all and in all.

I heard a well known Bible teacher tell an audience of preachers that “Jesus spoke in parables to make Biblical truths clearer to His listeners”. That’s not the truth. A Parable is an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning. Jesus’ disciples asked Him:

Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

Jesus replied:

Matthew 13:11-14 …. Because it is given UNTO YOU to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

The “mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven” are given to those who know and love Jesus.

Those who sit and listen to Jesus, believing His Word, receptive to Him as Truth Embodied, those who are His Children by faith will be told great spiritual truths. Those who just follow Jesus for the CIRCUS of it:

Those who chase Him for healing,

Those who follow along so they can be fed fish and bread,

Those who are entertained by a miracle,

These people do not love Jesus.

They love what Jesus GIVES, but do not love Jesus.

The truths of His Kingdom are hidden from the nominal, the casual.

The Prophet Isaiah saw the Messiah coming in spirit and in truth. His words would not be received by the fickle, but by those who loved the Lord. Jesus said:

Matthew 13:9 (KJV) …Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Whosoever may hear Him, if you wish to hear Him. If you are broken and want ease, Christ calls to you. If you will bend your knee and rest at His feet learning of Him, Christ calls to you. If you are under conviction and want to be His Child, Christ calls to you. Boyd Bailey said:

“You cannot live in the presence of the Lord and not be changed. Christ is combustible. His expectation is Lordship over His followers. This is why we submit to Him each time we enter into His presence.”

BEHOLD A Sower!

The Pharisees – the religious leaders of Jesus’ day – had rejected the Messiah. When Jesus began His ministry He went only to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). But now Jesus begins to reach out, and as He reaches out He begins to speak in parables. It is significant that the parable of the Sower is the first parable Jesus speaks. This parable is taught in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. We read:

Matthew 13:2-3 (KJV) And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, BEHOLD, a sower went forth to sow;

Jesus says LOOK! That’s what “Behold” means. STOP. LOOK. TAKE HEED. What did Jesus speak of? What earth changing thing did He commend.

A Sower

Why would a single sower be important?

What can one person do?

If one person goes out and does what he or she has been called to do,

that person can change the world.

A Sower changes the world.

One Sower sowing rightly changes the world.

What does a Sower do? A Sower sows. A Sower takes seed and casts it upon the ground. The Sower does not prepare the ground. He sows the seed. The Bible tells us:

Galatians 6:7-8 (KJV) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

What you sow, you shall reap. If you sow evil, you will reap evil. If you sow iniquity, you will reap iniquity. There are evil sowers, and there are righteous sowers. If you sow Light and Love, you shall reap life and love. The seed that the Sower of Christ’s parable was not evil seed. It was not weeds. But it was Gospel Seed, Kingdom Seed. It was a seed that when it fell …

Matthew 13:8 (KJV) … into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

it brought forth FRUIT. Not weeds. Not Poison Ivy or Sumac.

The Sower Jesus Commended Sowed THE WORD Of God

The Gospel of Mark recorded that the Seed the Sower Sowed was:

Mark 4:14 (KJV) The sower soweth THE WORD.

Jesus was a Sower sowing the Word of God. His people are Sowers who sow the Word of God.

That which changes the world is the Sower.

The Sower sows SEED.

What SEED are you sowing?

Dear friends, for too long God’s Church in America has sown the wrong seed. We have sown:

Compromise

Copouts

Confusion

Commotion

Collusion

Complicity

Conspiracy

Let a disagreement come to the Church and too often a Sower runs home, gets on the phone, and sows that seed to a lost friend. Let a disturbance happen in the fabric of God’s Family and the Church tattler telephones other unbelievers and nominal believers about the problem. Come across a difficult doctrine in the Scripture and a Sower gets in the pulpit or podium and mangles rather than plant the seed. Beloved, Christ commended ONLY the Sower of the Word of God.

• The local Church has often declared what God has NOT said, sowing the wrong seed. God has declared certain actions and behaviors as WRONG, while too many carrying the label of “Christian” have declared it to be right. Jesus chastised the Pharisees who:

Matthew 15:3 …. transgressed the commandment of God by your tradition?

Then declared what Isaiah said,

Matthew 15:8-9 (ESV) This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

9 in vain do they worship me, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.

God is not honored when the Sower sows that which is NOT His Word. The Bible declares that ..

Romans 6:23 (KJV) … the wages of sin is death; BUT the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

How to receive the free gift of life?

WE ARE TO REPENT OF SIN, TO TURN FROM WHAT EVIL SEED THE LORD HAS FORBIDDEN.

If there is NO SIN, then what need to REPENT?

The wrong seed broadcast brings DEATH. God has clearly marked THE WRONG SEED, the SEED that will disrupt and destroy, that will bring forth the wrong fruit. What are some of the wrong seed? The Lord has declared through Paul:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NASB) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? DO NOT BE DECEIVED; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, WILL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

The Sower rejects the wrong seed, but sows the right seed. There must be REPENTANCE of sin, and ACCEPTANCE of the Gospel.

There is only ONE Unpardonable Sin. Repent of your sin. Turn to Christ.

You will be saved!

It is the glorious Gospel of Christ that changes things. The Apostle continues …

1 Corinthians 6:11 (NASB) Such WERE some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

The Sower sows the WORD of God.

What has GOD SAID?

Galatians 5:19-21 (NASB) Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

The wrong seed condemns the soul. The wrong seed sown brings darkness. But the right seed – ah, the right seed – it brings light to the soul. The text goes on to say:

Galatians 5:22-24 (NASB) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now THOSE WHO BELONG TO CHRIST JESUS have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

A Sower that Christ commends SOWS THE WORD OF GOD.

We are not to sow just ANY seed, but HIS WORD.

What’s that? I hear someone say:

• But what does it matter? Does it really matter?This is a common problem today. Does it REALLY matter? Think of this from a farmer’s perspective.

If you wish to take in a crop of CORN, you must sow CORN, not weeds.

If you wish to harvest a crop of WHEAT you must sow WHEAT, not wildflowers.

You can harvest hay from a wild field – you can bush hog that.

But to get a fruiting crop you need to sow the right seed.

We do not plant the wrong seed. The Sower sows the Word of God – not our opinion. The Sower must have the SEED IN HAND to sow it. If the Sower sows the WORD OF GOD you must read and apply the WORD OF GOD. It must touch your hand and your heart. You can only sow what you have in hand. But if you do not sow the Word of God there will be the WRONG TYPE OF CROP.

God’s Word changes things. God’s Word changes the soul. The Scripture declares:

Revelation 22:17 (KJV) And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

We sow the truth that no one stands holy and acceptable before God unless they stand with Christ. We sow the Gospel that Christ died for our sins, and rose again for our jutification. And we sow that it is …

Titus 3:5-7 (KJV) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Christ’s Gospel is the seed which changes the world. When it falls on good ground, on broken ground, then it springs forth into eternal life. A Sower went out on the Day of Pentecost and preached:

Acts 2:38-40 ^(KJV) …. REPENT, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (40) …. Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

and three thousand – that’s 3000 – were added to the Church that day. Why? Because the Sower sowed the seed, and because God prepared the ground.

In America today we see the results of bad sowing and bad seed. An easy believism gospel seed has been broadcast. A DIY sort of gospel seed has been broadcast. A prosperity gospel seed has been broadcast. If every Church in America was filled with good fruit from good sowing America would not be bound by darkness as it is. We as Sowers must sow the good Gospel seed:

Romans 3:23-26 ^(KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

The Sower Sows The Word Of God

God & The Good Ground Grow The Seed Sowed

When the Sower sowed the Word, the Sower did not JUDGE where to put the seed. The Sower sows the good seed. Returning to what Jesus said we read …

Matthew 13:4-8 (KJV) …. WHEN HE SOWED, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground …

The Sower was not concerned as to where the good seed fell. The Sower sowed the right seed. The Sower went out to sow the right seed. The Sower sowed. But the Sower did not judge. He broadcast the Word, trusted the Word, and the seed fell in different places.

Some fell by the wayside, off the path

Some fell on stony places

Some fell in thorns

and Some fell in good ground

What do these four different soils represent? They are different types of people where the Word is broadcast. Jesus explains to us:

Matthew 13:19 (KJV) When any one heareth the Word of the kingdom, and UNDERSTANDETH IT NOT, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

There are some who will hear the Word of the Kingdom but will not understand it. Their hearts will not be open to the Word of the Gospel. Since they will not process that Word, the “Wicked One”, the Devil, will come and remove the Word from their hearts. But even if a person is unreceptive to the Word of God sow it anyway. We are not to be judges, but sowers. Sow His Word.

Matthew 13:20-21 (KJV)   But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;   [21]   Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

There are some who hear the Word of the Kingdom and initially receive the Word. But this person is shallow in themselves.

“But they have no root in themselves”. They are not bound to Jesus. They have not surrendered to Christ. They have made a TRUCE with Heaven, but have not TURNED their lives over to Him. The Savior demands unconditional SURRENDER of His subjects.

They hear the Gospel, may walk the aisle, and even be Baptized. But when trials or persecution for the faith comes this person walks away from Christ. They are like those in Christ’s ministry who heard the hard truths that He spoke and:

John 6:66 (KJV)  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Shallow faith will not save. It is the DEEP soil that the seed of the Gospel produces eternal life in.

Matthew 13:22 (KJV)   He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the Word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

The thorny soil is the person who has not fully repented. He receives the Word, but his heart is still focused on the things of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. This person is unfruitful.

But then there is the good ground. Jesus said:

Matthew 13:23 (KJV)   But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the Word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The good ground is the person who both hears and understands the Word of God. That Seed sown brings forth fruit. The life that is saved is fruitful. This is why we sow the Seed of the Word. We change the world one person at a time. Not all who hear His Word will be changed. In fact, to understand Christ, only one in four that hear will be good ground. Yet A Sower sows the Word.

We sow His Word because we love all, and want all to be saved. May God touch your hearts with His Word!

Preached at Riverview Baptist April 9 2017/ 798 Santa Fe Pike, Columbia, TN

Matthew 12:6-8 (KJV) But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the Temple. 7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Our Lord Jesus often battled with the Pharisees, the keepers of the Law. The Pharisees and Scribes studied the Bible, the Old Testament, the writings and the prophecies. That’s a good thing to do. I wish more professing Christians studied their Bibles. If the Church were to ever get serious about studying and applying God’s Word I believe that we would see light come back to America. “It is time for judgment to begin at the House of God” (1 Peter 4:17).

The problem with the Pharisees was not that they studied the Bible, but that they never understood how to apply that which they studied. I have met people like this all my Christian life. They studied, but never with Christ. They learn great truths, but never applied them. They are fundamentally correct in doctrine but woefully ignorant in application. This is why Jesus often stated:

“But I Say Unto You”

Twelve times in the Book of Matthew alone Jesus states “but I say unto you”. As the Incarnate Word of God (see John 1:1,14), the “Word made flesh Who dwelt amongst us” Jesus understood the proper application of the Scripture. Like the Pharisees and Scribes He had book sense. At the age of 12 he sat in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and answering questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” But Jesus not only had book sense, He had God sense or wisdom. He knew how to apply these Scriptures because He was involved in the writing of them. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13). He is God among us. And as God Christ established the Sabbath.

What Is The SABBATH?

Matthew 12:1-2 (KJV)1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

In this episode of “The Pharisees vs Jesus” we see our Lord passing through a corn field. The disciples plucked ears of corn and began to eat them. Now they didn’t set up a fire, get a pot of water, and boil these ears of corn. They just shucked the ears and ate the raw corn off of the cob. The act of eating from a neighbor’s cornfield was not unlawful. The Scripture says:

Deuteronomy 23:25 (ESV) If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.

God’s people were to show love to one another. This meant that if a person was hungry, that person could take a few ears of corn or a little wheat to fill their bellies. God loves His people, and decreed:

Leviticus 19:9-10 (ESV) When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

God’s people are to love one another. There is nothing wrong with eating some of your neighbor’s crop if you are hungry. The Pharisees were not upset because the disciples were eating, but because they were plucking and shucking corn on the Sabbath.

Now what IS the Sabbath?

The Sabbath was established in the Old Testament at the very beginning of creation. The Bible says:

Genesis 2:1-3 (ESV) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he RESTED on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God RESTED from all his work that he had done in creation.

The Bible says “God RESTED”. The word “RESTED” is the Hebrew שָׁבַת shabath. I want you to notice that the Sabbath or “Day of Rest” is largely symbolic. God does not get tired. The Bible says this:

Isaiah 40:28 (ESV) Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. HE DOES NOT FAINT OR GROW WEARY; his understanding is unsearchable.

God rested not because He was tired, but because the work was finished. God did the work, and there was nothing to add to it or to take away from it. Creation was not an act of evolution, but of Divine Design, and God finished it HIMSELF. So God rested. Many years later when God gave the Law of Moses to Israel He decreed in the Fourth Commandment:

Exodus 20:8-11 (ESV) Remember the SABBATH day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the SEVENTH DAY IS A SABBATH to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore THE LORD BLESSED THE SABBATH DAY AND MADE IT HOLY.

God made the seventh day – Saturday – a Sabbath to His people. They were not to work on the Sabbath. And God was serious about the Sabbath. We read in …

Numbers 15:32-36 (NKJV) Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 34 They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him. 35 Then THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So, as the Lord commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and STONED HIM WITH STONES, AND HE DIED.

The Sabbath was a day of rest, a time to dwell on God and to worship Him for His finished work. In addition to the seventh day Sabbath there were Special Shabbatoth that precede certain Jewish holy days.

A Sabbath Preceded The Feast Of The Passover
A Sabbath Preceded The Feast Of Purim
A Sabbath Preceded The Feast Of Shuvah

There was also a Sabbatical YEAR where the Jew was to let the land rest and not plant, a time to rely on God. Every Sabbath that Israel celebrated was not primarily focused on being idle, but was focused on TRUSTING GOD. A Sabbath meant that you would cease your labor and rest in God’s mercy, loving Him for what He has given us.

God did not want His people to go hungry on the Sabbath. It is God Who made the corn grow, and kept it growing even on the Sabbath. It is God Who gives us oxygen to breath, and lets us absorb His blessing even on the Sabbath. When the Pharisees attacked Jesus for letting His disciples eat raw corn on the Sabbath Jesus told them:

Matthew 12:3-5 (KJV) … Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

The Shewbread (Hebrew: לחם הפנים lechem haPānīm‎‎, literally: “Bread of the Presence”) was twelve loaves baked and placed on display in the Temple on the Sabbath Day, eaten by the priests at the end of the week. When King David was running from his enemies he and his men ate the shewbread that only the priests should eat. God does not want His people to starve.

The priests often had to sacrifice in the Temple on a Sabbath day. God established the animal sacrifices as a foreshadowing of the Messiah. The priests did not violate God’s Law when they sacrificed on the Sabbath. Then Jesus told them this:

Matthew 12:6 (KJV) But I say unto you, That IN THIS PLACE IS ONE GREATER than the Temple.

Jesus is the Messiah to come. He is the One Who gave the Sabbath, and the One that the Sabbath looked toward. Jesus is the Sabbath Rest of His Children. He is our Sabbath. He is our Rest.

Jesus Is The Sabbath Of His People

He is greater than the Temple. Jesus also refers top Himself here as “The Son of Man”:

Matthew 12:8 (KJV) For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Jesus is not say “A Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”. He is saying “THE Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”. We have already read in Scripture how a son of man was gathering sticks on the Sabbath and was stoned to death for it (read again Numbers 15:32-36). No one asked this man why he was gathering sticks. He was secluded, judged of God, and then killed for his insolence. Jesus said “there is Someone GREATER in THIS PLACE than the Temple”. That is Jesus. Jesus said “THE Son of Man is LORD EVEN of the SABBATH”. Our Jesus is the “Son of Man” – a title for the Messiah first found in the prophecies of Daniel:

Daniel 7:13-14 (KJV) I saw in the night visions, and, behold, ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN CAME WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The Son of Man is a prophetic title for the Messiah. Jesus is referred to as “The Son of Man” 88 times in the New Testament. He is THE Messiah, the One Whom God would sin to be our Savior. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Eternal God come to redeem us from our sins. Jesus is fully God. The Father said to Him:

Hebrews 1:8 (KJV) But unto the Son {the Father} saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.

Jesus is not a Rabbi with followers. He is God in the flesh, Christ among us, the Messiah manifest. The Sabbath symbolized the coming Rest that is Christ. God sanctified the Sabbath, and commanded that man rest in it. God sanctified Christ, and commanded that we rest IN HIM. Jesus is THE Lord of the Sabbath. He is the One “Whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world” (John 10:36). Jesus came to heal us of our sin. Jesus came to bring us into communion with God. Jesus is what the Old Testament Sabbath symbolized.

You were commanded to rest in the Sabbath.

You are now commanded to rest in Christ.

The Sabbath forced you into Communion with God.

The Christ brings you into communion with God.

During the Sabbath you rested from your works.

In Christ you rest from your works.

In the Sabbath you were cut off from God if you did not observe it.

In Christ you are cut off from God if you do not believe in Him.

Matthew 11:28 (ESV) Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST.

We rest from our sins in Christ, for He hath made Him to be sin for us Who knew no sin, that we might have the righteousness of God through Him. We have access to God through Christ.

Ephesians 2:18 (ESV) For through {Christ} we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

We stand before God clean because we have received Christ as Lord and Savior. We who believe no longer must keep the ceremonial laws of the Temple. There is no Temple in Jerusalem, but now we who are God’s people are His Temple.

(Colossians 2:13-17) And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. … Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a SABBATH. THESE ARE ONLY A SHADOW OF WHAT IS TO COME; BUT THE SUBSTANCE BELONGS TO CHRIST.

Following the death and resurrection of Christ (Jesus rose from the dead “early in the morning ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK” (see Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1) the early Church began to worship not on the seventh day but on the first day of the week (see Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). Why?

Because the symbol of the Sabbath has come.
Christ is our Sabbath.
Christ is our Rest!
Jesus Now Illustrates That He Is Our Sabbath

Matthew 12:9-10 (KJV) And when he was departed thence, he went into their SYNAGOGUE: 10 And, BEHOLD, there was a man which had his hand withered. ..

Jesus did not run away, but went to the Synagogue, the place where the Jews had their Church services. While in the Synagogue on the Sabbath day a man was there with a withered hand. Now don’t miss this.

It was not a withered EYE.

It was not a withered LEG or FOOT.

He did not have a withered EAR.

He had a withered HAND. A HAND. A HAND.

Do you get that? It was a HAND. With our hands we work. With our hands we try to work our way to God. Yet our hands are withered. Our works are imperfect. God says to us:

Isaiah 64:6-7 (KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

Romans 3:10-12 (ESV) … no one is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.

This man with the withered hand is a good illustration of every person born into this world. Our works are far short of God’s perfection. We are born in sin. The child disrupts because of sin. The toddler disobeys because of sin. This man had his hand withered. We are born in sin, corrupted because of Adam. But Christ is there. Christ is there.

The Pharisees pounce.

Matthew 12:10 (KJV) .. they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

The knew that Jesus was going to heal this man. Now think about this. I don’t have the power to heal anyone. You don’t have the power to heal anyone. The doctors, no matter how well educated, have no ability to heal anyone. Only God can heal a person. We can bandage and medicate and operate and pontificate, but we cannot heal. Only God can heal. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Well, only God can heal, so it MUST be lawful. It is lawful to do good, to bless, to lift up, to encourage, to heal, to help. Jesus did not point out the absurdity of their question, but instead told the Pharisees:

Matthew 12:11-12 (KJV) … What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore IT IS LAWFUL TO DO WELL ON THE SABBATH DAYS.

If a sheep fell in a pit, we would lift it out even if it were the Sabbath. This man – a metaphor of humanity – has fallen into a pit. His hand is withered. He cannot use it. He is in a pit he cannot get out of, and is desperate for the touch of God. He needs the Sabbath rest of God. He needs Christ.

Matthew 12:13 (KJV) Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. …

Jesus said “stretch forth thine hand”. Reach out TO ME. Try and touch ME. Christ is the Messiah Who saves whosoever will. He came to save the sinner, the withered, the heartbroken, the lonely. Jesus came to call a people to Himself so that we can rest in Him. This man had, I’m sure, tried to stretch out his hand many times. I’m sure he had gone to doctor after doctor trying to find relief. His hand was WITHERED, the Greek ξηρός xēros – kind of sounds like ZERO doesn’t it? There was nothing there. His hand was dessicated, without water, shrunken, wasted. There was no blood flow to it.

It was dead.

“Stretch it out toward Me” Jesus said. Did the man say “Lord, I’ve tried to stretch it, and can’t. Why do you think I can stretch it now?” Did the man argue with Christ. Did he debate the Messiah? Did he say “I was sitting here minding my own business when You came in the Synagogue”? No. The man said nothing. He didn’t say a “Sinner’s Prayer” nor hunt for a baptistery.

He reached out to Jesus.

He focused on Christ, not on himself.

And he was healed.

Matthew 12:13 (KJV) … And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

If you wish to be whole, you must come to Christ. You must hear His Voice. You must respond to His Gospel. He is our Sabbath Rest. He is our Savior. And He wants you to love Him as He loves you. May God touch your hearts to reach out in faith to Him this very day!

At Riverview Baptist Saturday March 25 2017, 798 Santa Fe Pike, Columbia, TN