Grosey's Messages

Evidences that show the Bible to be the word of God. 1) Claims. 2) Testimony of Christ.

3)Indestructibility. 4) Unity of Bible writers. 5) Archaeology. 6). Prophecy

Isaiah 41 21Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

22 Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are,

that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to

come. 23 Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do

harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.24 Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less

than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you. 25 I stirred up one from the north, and he

has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers

as on mortar, as the potter treads clay. 26 Who declared it from the beginning, that we might

know, and beforehand, that we might say, "He is right"? There was none who declared it, none

who proclaimed, none who heard your words. 27 I was the first to say to Zion, "Behold, here

they are!" and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news. 28 But when I look, there is no one;

among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer. 29 Behold, they are all a

delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.

4 Aspects of genuine Prophecy

anticipation – the outlook is futurist anticipates, expects, forecasts something to occur

specification – the nature should be specific details, order, names, locations, etc.

inspiration – the quality should be divine no contradictions, beyond the prophet's ability to effect the outcome

consummation- the end should be fulfilled/realized

Example: Prophecy of Tyre Ezekiel 26

many nations would come against Tyre (Ezek. 26:3) dust scraped from her (26:4)

become a fishing village (26:5) stones, timber and soil cast
into the sea (26:12) city would never be rebuilt (26:5, 14)

1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2"Son of

man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has

swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,' 3 therefore thus says the

Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the

sea brings up its waves. 4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I

will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. 5 She shall be in the midst of the sea a

place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. And she shall become

plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then

they will know that I am the LORD. 7 "For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring against

Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots,

and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. 8 He will kill with the sword your daughters on

the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and

raise a roof of shields against you. 9 He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your

walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.10 His horses will be so many that their

dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots,

when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. 11 With the hoofs of his

horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty

pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They

will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil

they will cast into the midst of the waters. 13 And I will stop the music of your songs, and the

sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place

for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken, declares

the Lord GOD.

Messianic Prophecies

While in Israel I had some interesting discussion with a man in an elevator.

The discussion began with a comment about our accents. This gentleman dared me to discern his accent; I guessed rightly that he was from Zimbabwe. As we chatted I mentioned that a lady had recently attended our congregation from Zimbabwe. You may be aware that she had lost her husband in the violence associated with forced takeovers of farms in Zimbabwe. Her husband had been shot and killed and she had moved to her daughter's home here in Newcastle. The gentleman looked surprised. He said, "Yes I know her. They were friends of mine! Mrs xxxxxx moved to Newcastle. You may not be aware", he said, "that her mother was just killed in a similar fashion." I was surprised that we had a mutual acquaintance so far away in an elevator in Israel, and dragging my memories related that I did know that, for she had been at church again last Christmas and had told me the news about her mother. She had considered going back for the funeral, but had concerns for her own safety.

Recognising the "God-shapedness" of the moment, the many asked me to pray for him, right there in elevator about a crisis he himself was experiencing similar to that of Mrs. xxxx. He had just been to a meeting that he had convened in that hotel so that several Jewish leaders might pray for his situation.

After we prayed, I asking the Lord to draw this man near to Himself, and to reveal Himself to this man through this crisis, I asked him what he believed about Jesus.

His answer was interesting.

"I believe that Jesus was a very good and very wise man who did many many good things."

"Do you believe he did the miracles that are recorded in the gospels? Did He walk on water? Did He feed the 5000 from a few loaves and fishes? Did he miraculously heal people?"

"Yes I believe He did those things. But I am not sure I would call them miracles. Only God can do miracles."

"Signs perhaps?"

"Yes Signs would fit very well."

"So he did these things, and He is a good man. Would He be a good man if His teaching was bad?"

"Oh no, His teaching was never bad. His teaching was the highest morality known to man"

"So He was a good man?"

"Yes a very good man, the best of men!"

"A good man who did marvellous signs and claimed to be the Son of God? Would He still be a good man if He claimed falsely to be the Son of God?"

There was no answer for a moment. Either Jesus' claim to be the Son of God was true (and His miracles were signs pointing to this truth, which His perfect life and His good teachings brought greater credibility to this claim), or His claim to be the Son of god was false (thus nullifying the statement that He was a good man or that His signs were miracles wrought by God.)

"Didn't His miracles, signs, didn't they demonstrate the truthfulness of His claim to be the Son of God?"

Again my friend stood in silence as he contemplated the implications of this statement.

"You Christians go to God through Jesus Christ."

"Yes that is right."

"We Jews believe we can go straight to God as our Father."

At this point we left our conversation as the elevator doors opened at our floor.

My friendly discussion emphasises one point. The Pharisees and Sadducees were faced with a dilemma. They could not ignore Jesus.

He had done miracles and signs and wonders.

No one else had ever done these things before.

He had taught a standard of morality that put these folks to shame. He was a truly good man. He claimed to be the Son of God.

What were they going to do with Jesus?

Signs = 90 x Deut 13 The False Prophet

1 "If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
2 and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, 'Let us follow other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us worship them,'
3 do not listen to that prophet's words or to that dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.
4 You must follow the Lord your God and • fear Him. You must keep His commands and listen to His voice; you must worship Him and remain faithful to Him.

The Lord Jesus used Signs and Miracles to point to the greatest miracle that had ever occurred.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

There was never a greater sign or wonder than this. And the Lord Jesus' miracles all pointed to this one thing.

Hebrews 2:3  how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. 4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions [of gifts]from the Holy Spirit according to His will.

The miracles of Jesus had an evidential value, they made credible His claims to be the Son of God and the saviour of the world.

An interesting phrase is brought to our attention in John 2: 23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

HCSB 24 Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them, since He knew them all
25 and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.

They believed in Jesus because they had seen the signs He did, but Jesus did not believe in them.

He didn't believe that they had been sincere and developed in their belief.

There were others who saw the same signs.

Matthew 16:1     Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.

HCSB The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and as a test, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

This was not a request that the Lord do something that would confirm their faith. This was about something else all together.

HCSB The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and as a test, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

As a test. This wasn't a stand alone event. A few days or weeks previously they ahd asked the same thing.

Matthew 12: 38 Then some of the  scribes and
Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." 39 But He answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

They then rejected the Lord's miracles claiming they were something done by Beelzebub, Satan and his demons.

Now they call for Him to do a "sign from heaven". The implication was that they wouldn't believe no matter what, because they didn't believe His miracles were signs from heaven anyway. Their requests were not sincere.

They didn't and wouldn't believe in Jesus.

Their Request was a test. A trap. Some way of catching Jesus out and condemning Him.

There was no sense in which they sincerely believed in Jesus or would believe in Him.

The Lord teaches us how to deal with Staunch Sinners

Both groups came "testing Him." "Testing" means to try. The only other usage of this word in the NT is in Heb.11:29, where the writer speaks of the Egyptians "attempting" to cross the Red Sea. Just as the Egyptians tried to overcome Moses and the Hebrews, the "Pharisees and Saducees" tried to overcome Jesus.

Their test for the Lord was to "show them a sign from heaven." They had already witnessed many signs or miraculous deeds. They had seen Him heal the sick, give sight to the blind, make the lame to walk, cast out demons and many other supernatural works.

They did not deny His supernatural power. In fact in 12:24 they attributed His power to Satan. One Jewish superstition was that demons could perform earthly miracles but only God could perform heavenly ones.

They wanted "a sign from heaven" or from the sky. They thought this was beyond His ability. They wanted to publicly discredit His power as not being from God.

What they could not see because of their spiritual blindness is that Jesus Himself was a "sign from heaven." When Simeon saw the 8 day old Messiah in the temple, he prophesied, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against" (Lk.2:34).

Remember Pharaoh and Moses? The more signs Moses gave of God's power, the harder Pharaoh's heart became.

The French atheist Voltaire was of their mindset when he declared, "Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open marketplace before a thousand sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses than to admit a miracle."

A human heart set on darkness will grow darker still. Spiritual eyes that reject the light will hide from the light.

He Rebukes Their Silliness

Matthew 7: 6 Don't give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

2    He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';

3    and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.

They were Experts at the Irrelevant.

He calls them "hypocrites." He says, "You know how to discern the face of the sky but you cannot discern the signs of the times." Let me paraphrase, "You who are supposed to be the leaders of God's people can understand some common warnings by looking at the sky. Yet, you are so blind you cannot see what God is doing all around you!"

Notice how all around us man is increasing in knowledge and understanding. We live in an information age. Technology is sprinting forth at an ever-increasing pace. We know more than any generation that has gone before us but we are oblivious to the things of God.

He Repeats the Scriptures

4    A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.

Jesus understood their motive. He said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign." They wanted a sign because they did not believe. They would not believe even with yet another sign. Mark says Jesus "sighed deeply in His spirit."

The only sign they would receive is "the sign of the prophet Jonah." To understand this, turn back to 12:39-41. It refers to Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. Of course, they would refuse to believe that sign as well. 28:12-14 tells us that they paid off the soldiers to say His resurrected body was stolen.

He Rejects The Sinners

"And He left them and departed."

They are abandoned by God (v.4b).

With that final statement, Jesus "left them and departed." The Greek word behind "left" means to "utterly abandon." It is the same term used to describe Matthew leaving his job at the tax office and of the accusers of the woman caught in adultery. It means to "forsake for good."

Because of their wilful spiritual blindness, because they would not believe, Jesus abandoned them. He would offer them no more grace. Though God is "rich in mercy" He will utterly forsake those who regress into spiritual blindness (Rom.1:24-28). Judgment eventually falls.

Piety Without Reality

5    Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

6    Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."

11    How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? --- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

12    Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Power Without Relationship

A Selfish Life

An Unsatisfying Life.

The Lord teaches us how to deal with Stumbling Saints

To every one else, the disciples seemed like the sinners and the Pharisees like the saints. The Lord saw it the other way around.

Sometimes we feel a little lost in the criticisms of others.

The disciples were probably tired and unthoughtful about the things they said.

5    Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

6    Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."

7    And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."

8    But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?

9    Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?

10    Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?

11    How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? --- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

12    Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?

They Needed To Rely Upon The Lord

They follow after Jesus (v.5).

After Jesus abandoned the "Pharisees and Saducees" in their own spiritual darkness, His disciples followed Him "to the other side" of the Sea of Galilee.

Don't overlook the importance of their dedication. All their lives they had been taught to respect and believe the religious systems represented by the "Pharisees and Saducees." By following Jesus, they were rejecting their own cultural identity. They did so because they had seen the light and wanted greater light still!

Not everyone who had seen Jesus' light was faithful to follow Him. Turn to Jn.6:66-69. You can almost visualize their spiritual sight growing sharper and clearer when Peter asks, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

They listen carefully to Jesus (vv.6-11).

As they rowed across the sea, it dawned on them that they had no food or "bread." It was late in the day and their stomachs began to growl with hunger.

There were few cities on that side of the lake and certainly no McDonald's or convenience stores where they could buy food. They faced an evening without supper. I can almost hear them grumbling hungrily.

Jesus used their discourse and a teachable moment. He said, "Take heed and beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Scribes." The disciples didn't understand. They were more concerned at that point with their hungry bellies than the spiritual truths Jesus had stated to the religious leaders. They said, "It is because we have taken no bread."

How often we are like them. While we may not hunger for bread, we desire other needs for life, a new job, a more reliable automobile, a larger home, etc… Instead of seeing the big picture, the spiritual and eternal truths God wants to teach us, we worry over mundane temporary physical needs.

Jesus was not concerned with them missing a meal. He was very concerned that the truth of the gospel not be polluted by the "leaven" of the religious leaders.

He calls them "you of little faith." They didn't miss the point because they lacked information or because they were not intelligent. They missed the point because they were not exercising "faith."

BUT They Needed To Rely Upon The Lord

Prov 3:5, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths

Do you remember these words?

It is the main thing the Lord cals you to do as a believer.

It's what being a believer is all about.. trusting the Lord.

Your faith life started with trusting the Lord to save you.

It continues as you trust the Lord for His guidance and leading throughout your life.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths

They were relying on themselves rather than trusting Jesus in faith. How often we fall into that trap!

They Needed To Remember The Lord

Jesus reminds them that He had fed "five thousand" with "five loaves" and they had retrieved 12 baskets of leftovers. Only recently He had fed "four thousand" with "seven loaves" and they had "seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left over" (15:37). If Jesus had wanted to, he could have easily created more food than they could ever eat.

How often we need to go back and remember all the way that the Lord has lead us. Those incidents that showed the Lord's hand in our lives. Those coincidents that are too many to number. Those times of the Lord's wonderful blessing. If He has been with us then, will He not be with us now? Remember!

Every true conversion is a miracle of God's saving grace, and in this study we shall consider several aspects of the salvation which has been made available to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. There are three key words in Titus 3:5 – 'he saved us'. This is the testimony of a great company of people to whom Paul is referring. Do you belong to that company? This key verse gives us a word-picture of the content of the Christian gospel, and at the very heart of the verse is the great Bible word 'saved', which occurs very frequently throughout scripture –Isaiah 45:22Turn to Me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth.
For I am God,
and there is no other.

Matthew 1:21She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."
Luke 19:10For the • Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost." John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.

Acts 16:30-31Then he escorted them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Romans 10:13For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Four years after the Titanic went down, a young Scotchman rose in a meeting in Hamilton, Canada, and gave the following testimony:

I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar on that awful night, the tide brought Mr. John Harper, of Glasgow, also on a piece of wreck, near me.

"Man," he said, "are you saved?" "No," I said," I am not." He replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." The waves bore him away; but, strange to say, they brought him back a little nearer, and he said, "Are you saved now?" "No," I said, "I cannot honestly say that I am." He said again, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

Shortly afterwards, he went down, and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper's last convert.

This is what the Bible is all about; it is about being saved. Jesus came in order that we might be saved. But:-

1. WHY DO WE NEED TO BE SAVED?
We need to be saved from sin (Matthew 1:21); from wrath (John 3:36); from self (Romans 6:12); and from Hell (Luke 16:23). But Titus 3:3 answers the question very graphically giving us God's description of the natural, unregenerate man. Notice that the apostle uses the pronoun 'we', not 'you', when he is describing unregenerate human nature.

"Speechless," Steven Curtis Chapman writes: "In the gospel we discover that we are far worse off than we ever thought, and far more loved that we ever dreamed."

Notice also the words 'at one time'. Paul is really saying, 'This is the kind of people we were before we became Christians; here is a group photograph, a family picture of the human race.' Look at this picture of every one of us in our natural state:-

FOOLISH – or, as we should say, ignorant – compare 1 Corinthians 2:14. But the natural man does not welcome what comes from God's Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to know it since it is evaluated spiritually.

DISOBEDIENT – or, refusing the Lord's authority in our lives.

DECEIVED – by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4), Regarding them: the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

ENSLAVED – 'by all kinds of passions and pleasures.'

MALICE AND ENVY – 'We lived in malice and envy' (or jealousy).

BEING HATED – detestable, odious, repulsive.

HATING
ONE
ANOTHER – look up Jeremiah 17:9. The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick—who can understand it?[

Whether we admit it or not, this is God's description of the natural man.

There is a persistent myth that Count Leo Tolstoy was a great Christian, and even a saint.

He may have been a great novelist, but he was not a good Christian. In fact, he was a self-righteous egoist who felt himself to be "God's older brother." Tolstoy once arrogantly penned these words in his diary: "I have not yet met a single man who was morally as good as I. ... I do not remember an instance in my life when I was not attracted to what is good and was not ready to sacrifice anything to it." This statement was repeatedly proved to be a lie by his habitual adultery and neglect of his family. Tolstoy's diary goes on to say that he was baffled by the failure of other men to recognize his qualities: "Why does nobody love me? I am not a fool, not deformed, not a bad man, not an ignoramus. It is incomprehensible."

A drowning boy was struggling in the water. Again and again the drowning boy appealed to his teacher but he made no move. By and by the desperate struggles began to abate. He was losing strength. Presently he arose to the surface, weak and helpless. safety to the shore. "Why did you not save me sooner?"

"I could not save you as long as you struggled. You would have dragged us both to certain death. But when you

ceased to struggle, then it was easy to save you." To struggle to save ourselves, is simply to hinder Christ from saving us. To come to the place of faith, we must pass from the place of effort to the place of accepted helplessness. Our very efforts to save ourselves turn us aside from that attitude of helpless dependence upon Christ which is the one attitude we must take in order that He may save us. It is only when we "cease from our own works" and depend helplessly upon Him that we realize how perfectly able He is to save without any aid from us.

2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SAVED?

We are told here that it means at least three things that God does for those whom He saves by His grace:-

It means to be Born Again. See the end of verse 5. To be born again or regenerated by the Holy Spirit means to receive a new life – compare 2 Corinthians 5:17. When God saves us He does not patch up the old life; He imparts a new nature – look up 2 Peter 1:4By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires. A Christian and a Communist were standing on a street corner...a beggar walked by, unclean, unshaven, and unkempt. "There is capitalism," said the Communist. "If we were in power, we'd put a new suit of clothes on that man." The Christian said, "If Christ were in him, he would put a new man in that suit of clothes." John 3:3,5,7,8. When we are born again we receive 'the hope of eternal life' (verse 7).

It means to be Justified. Verse 7 tells us this. When we are saved we not only receive a new life, but God does something about the old life. He forgives and forgets our sins, and He also justifies us – which means He treats me 'just-as-if-I'd' never sinned at all. He completely removes our sins from us, and then declares us righteous in His sight. Look up Psalm 103:12As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed
our transgressions from us.

Romans 5:17Since by the one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ

It means to be made a Child of God. Verse 7 tells us that when God saves us we 'become heirs…' We are made 'God's children, and if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ' Rom 8:16-17.

Notice the wonderful change that has taken place between verse 3 and verses 5 and 7; the man of verse 3 is transformed into the man of verses 5 and 7. How this magnifies the wondrous grace of God! But:-

3. HOW ARE WE SAVED?

How is the man of verse 3 made the man of verses 5 and 7 – a man who now possesses a new life (born again), a new standing before God (justified), a new relationship with God (a child and an heir)? What an important 'How' this is! In verse 5 it is answered both negatively and positively:-

Negatively. 'Not because of righteous things we had done…' Man's philosophy is to leave out the word 'not'. Ask the average man how to be saved, and he will answer, 'By my good works!' But God's way of salvation is 'not because of righteous things which we had done', for we are not saved by any effort, by trying or by works of our own – look up and compare Ephesians 2:8-10. We are not saved 'because of righteous things which we had done.' How are we saved? Verse 5 (and verse 4) goes on to tell us:-

Positively. 'But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared…because of His mercy He saved us…' The word 'appeared' takes us back to Bethlehem, and the word 'saved' takes us back to Calvary, where the Lord Jesus Christ completed the work of our salvation 2000 years ago.

WE ARE SAVED BY HIS KINDNESS. To be kind means to have "goodness of heart." The King of Heaven is kind toward unholy people. In one Dennis the Menace cartoon, Dennis is shown walking away from the Wilson's house with his friend Joey. Both boys have their hands full of cookies. Joey turns to Dennis and says, "I wonder what we did to deserve this?" Dennis answers with profound insight: "Look Joey, Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies not because we're nice, but because she's nice." The kindness that comes our way from God is not because we're good but because He is.

WE ARE SAVED BY HIS LOVE. This word for love is not agape, but rather the word from which we get philanthropy. MacArthur defines it this way: "pity, compassion, and eagerness to deliver from pain or distress because of strong affection."

WE ARE SAVED BY HIS MERCY. Verse 5 is an excellent verse to remember when someone says that they are trying to get to heaven by their own efforts: "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy."

WE ARE SAVED BY HIS GRACE. Grace is God's unmerited favour that pardons us from our guilt. You and I don't deserve to be forgiven but grace grants forgiveness to us freely. In verse 5, therefore, we have man's way, which is 'do'; and God's way, which is 'done'. Our part in salvation is simply to believe the testimony that God sent His Son to be our Saviour, and to put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the end grace means that no one is too bad to be saved. God specializes in saving really bad people. Do you have some things in your background that you would be ashamed to talk about in public? Fear not. God knows all about it, and His grace is greater than your sin. Grace also means that some people may be too good to be saved. That is, they may have such a high opinion of themselves that they think they don't need God's grace. God's grace cannot help you until you are desperate enough to receive it. Romans 11:6: "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." All this leads us to ask one more question:-

4. WHAT IS THE RESULT OF BEING SAVED?

What is the evidence that we are saved? Verse 8 tells us – 'doing what is good'. There is no contradiction here. We are not saved by working for our salvation, but when we have been saved by God's grace, the evidence of that salvation is seen in our works. It is vain to say we are saved if there are no 'good works' evidenced in our daily living James 2:20Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless?

In concluding this study will you answer these two questions?

Have I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 8), and am I therefore saved (verse 5)?

If so, is my life different? Is it the opposite of verse 3?

In 1967 while taking a class in photography at the University of Cincinnati, I became acquainted with a young man named Charles Murray who also was a student at the school and training for the summer Olympics of 1968 as a high diver. Charles was very patient with me as I would speak to him for hours about Jesus Christ and how He had saved me. Charles was not raised in a home that attended any kind of church, so all that I had to tell him was a fascination to him. He even began to ask questions about forgiveness of sin. Finally the day came that I put a question to him. I asked if he realized his own need of a Redeemer and if he was ready to trust Christ as his own Savior. I saw his countenance fall and the guilt in his face. But his reply was a strong "no." In the days that followed he was quiet and often I felt that he was avoiding me, until I got a phone call and it was Charles. He wanted to know where to look in the New Testament for some verses that I had given him about salvation. I gave him the reference to several passages and asked if I could meet with him. He declined my offer and thanked me for the scripture. I could tell that he was greatly troubled, but I did not know where he was or how to help him. Because he was training for the Olympic games, Charles had special privileges at the University pool facilities. Sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 that evening he decided to go swim and practice a few dives.

It was a clear night in October and the moon was big and bright. The University pool was housed under a ceiling of glass panes so the moon shone bright across the top of the wall in the pool area.

Charles climbed to the highest platform to take his first dive. At that moment the Spirit of God began to convict him of his sins. All the scripture he had read, all the occasions of witnessing to him about Christ flooded his mind. He stood on the platform backwards to make his dive, spread his arms to gather his balance, looked up to the wall and saw his own shadow caused by the light of the moon. It was the shape of a cross. He could bear the burden of his sin no longer. His heart broke and he sat down on the platform and asked God to forgive him and save him. He trusted Jesus Christ twenty some feet in the air.

Suddenly, the lights in the pool area came on. The attendant had come in to check the pool. As Charles looked down from his platform he saw an empty pool which had been drained for repairs. He had almost plummeted to his death, but the cross had stopped him from disaster. (In The Shadow of the Cross by Mark Renicker)

`For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.' (1 Cor. 1:18)

In Warren Wierbe's "Meet Yourself in the Psalms," he tells about a frontier town where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon.

The child who was saved grew up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime. The prisoner recognized the judge as the man who, years before, had saved his life; so he pled for mercy on the basis of that experience. But the words from the bench silenced his plea:

"Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged."

One day Jesus Christ will say to rebellious sinners, "During that long day of grace, I was your savior, and I would have forgiven you. But today I am your judge. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!"

Max Lucado writes: There are snowstorms. There are hailstorms. There are rainstorms. And there are doubtstorms. Every so often a doubtstorm rolls into my life, bringing with it a flurry of questions and gale-force winds of fear. (In the Eye of the Storm, p.125).

In this great passage of Scripture, we find the disciples at the mercy of a storm of the sea and a storm of doubt. However, amidst their fears and doubts, Jesus proves to them, once and for all His divine identity. V. 33 is the pinnacle of the story. After a stormy night, they gain newfound faith and proclaim, "Truly You are the Son of God." That may not seem so unusual to us, but remember, this is the first time the twelve unequivocally declared Jesus to be the Son of God. If you are in the midst of a doubtstorm, if you are at a crisis of faith, I pray that the Spirit of God will teach you from the Word of God to trust in the Son of God.

There are three storms in this passage, 3 pericopes with the same message. The Lord was overwhelmed at the death of John the Baptist. 12 His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus. 13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

Jesus was completely exhausted from His ministry. There is no doubt that He was physically drained from His hectic schedule of preaching and working miracles. He also faced the stress of the growing opposition among His enemies. He was dealing with the personal grief of losing John. On top of all that, He struggled with the continual immaturity among the disciples. He needed a break!

The Lord was overwhelmed with compassion and desired to feed the multitude

14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, "This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." 16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!"

The disciples were overwhelmed with a situation beyond their ability. John's gospel tells us the Lord used this as a teaching opportunity. The disciples were about to learn what to do when they are overwhelmed.

"Then Jesus lifted up His eyes and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" (John 6:5-9).

Think about the ways the disciples "despaired" over the seeming impossibility of what faced them. First, they despaired over what they didn't have. Philip quickly sized up the crowd and said that it couldn't be done financially. It would take more than "two hundred denarii" -- the rough equivalent of eight to nine months wages -- to feed such a crowd. They just didn't have the money to do what Jesus was suggesting. And even if they did; Bethsaida was a tiny little town. There weren't enough stores and markets to buy the goods. They'd have to travel out of town to get the supplies.

Second, in terms of what they did have, they despaired over the humble source. All they had was the lunch that a little boy had brought. The text doesn't say this explicitly, but my suspicion is that this little boy heard what was going on and volunteered to give up his lunch for the cause (and if that's true, then -- like Dr. John Mitchell from Multnomah Bible College once pointed out -- one of the greatest miracles in this story is that a little boy was willing to give up his lunch!). But that's all they had: one little boy's lunch -- enough perhaps to satisfy the hunger of a little boy; but certainly not a multitude of several thousands of people.

Third, they even despaired over the nature of what little they had. It wasn't just five loaves and two fish but, as John tells us, five "barley" loaves and two "small" fish.

Barley loaves was a pretty humble thing to offer to people. Barley was cheap, and was usually reserved only as animal feed. One of the rabbinical laws even suggested that offerings for certain, particularly heinous sins should be made of barley instead of wheat or meat, because if the sinner was going to act like animals, then they should offer the food of animals for their sins (cited in Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1, pp. 681-2). That tells you something of what people thought of barley loaves!

And what's more, the word used to describe the fishes is one that refers to a tiny sort of fish that you eat whole -- bones and all; much like our modern idea of sardines. And all they had were two of such fish! That would have hardly been enough to dress-up one barley loaf -- let alone five!

It might have made things easier for the disciples if they simply didn't have enough of some good quality food. But the food that they didn't have enough of wasn't even that good to begin with!

Finally, they despaired over the enormity of the task of buying food for that many people. All the gospel writers except John has the disciples saying basically the same thing, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food" (Matt. 14:15).

Frankly, the disciples didn't want anything to do with this problem. The events of the day had pushed them to their limit. Have you ever felt like you were pushed to your limit? Jesus now commanded the disciples to get into the ship and go over to the other side. He remained back and dismissed the multitudes, He then spent time alone with the Father. In the meantime the disciples had encountered a storm, and a strong wind was blowing against them, so that though they had been rowing hard all night they were only to the middle of the sea. Sometime after 3:00 in the morning Jesus came walking to them on the water. Initially they were frightened thinking that He was a ghost. He assured them that it was only Him, and Peter said, "Lord, if it is You bid me come to You." Jesus said, "Come"

Again the Lord was teaching them something about the crises and storms of life. You may be going through some deep waters. The storms may seem overwhelming. It may be that the resources seem to be entirely exhausted. This is the time to learn the lesson the Lord teaches.

1. Give The Lord What You've Got

John the Baptist gave the Lord his life

John the Baptist gave the Lord what he had. There wasn't much that he had, all he ahd was his life, but he gave it for whatever purposes the Lord should choose.

The disciples gave what food they had

It was compassion that moved the Lord to seek to feed them, the Lord taught them His compassion for the multitude.

16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!" 17 They *said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." 18 And He said, "Bring them here to Me."

The disciples gave their obedience

22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.

One of the great disasters of history took place in 1271. In 1271 Niccolo and Matteo Polo (the father and uncle of Marco) were visiting the Kubla Khan. Kubla Khan at that time was a world ruler, for he ruled all China, all India, and all of the East. He was attracted to the story of Christianity as Niccolo and Matteo told it to him. And he said to them: "You shall go to your high priest and tell him on my behalf to send me a hundred men skilled in your religion and I shall be baptized, and when I am baptized all my barons and great men will be baptized and their subjects will receive baptism, too, and so there will be more Christians here than there are in your parts." Nothing was done. Nothing was done for about thirty years, and then two or three missionaries were sent. Too few and too late. It baffles the imagination to think what a difference to the world it would have made if in the thirteenth century China had become fully Christian, if in the thirteenth century India had become fully Christian, if in the thirteenth century the East had been given to Christ. In that, we have seen man frustrating God's purpose in history. William Barclay -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 390

The very scope of Jesus' request was overwhelming ... but not impossible! They were looking only at the task ... and as long as we do this we will never succeed for God To see merely the task is to fail, these same disciples had watched Jesus all day heal the sick and yet they could not see Him in such a way as to accomplish the task He asks of them! How many times have we missed God's best because we simply saw the overwhelming task and so did nothing!?

25% of South Korea's 40 million people are Christians. The city of Seoul has over 6,000 churches. 100 years ago it had none. Costa Rica has seen a 100 percent increase in Evangelical churches in the past four years. An estimated six million people in Africa are turning to the Lord each year. Continent wide, 5,000 new churches are started annually. More Iranians were saved in seven years under Khomeini than during the previous 70. One out of every three in the Soviet Union now professes to be born again. -- From Servant Magazine, May/June, 1989

In each of these places people gave what they had. Sometimes all they had, their lives!

2. Trust What The Lord Says

Fear defeats Fear brings illness, both mental and physical illness, hospitals are crowded with the fearful Doctors say that a high percentage of those patients hospitalized are there because of fear.

Fear Destroys your testimony No man can speak winsomely of Christ when he is fearful When he does not have faith in God, then his testimony is weak and meaningless and a lie. No man is at his best when fearful Fear destroys happiness shatters the nerves, weakens the mind Fear defeats'

Fear Dishonours God. Our God has promised to be with us always, every step we take every breath we breathe Listen to this wonderful promise given to Moses "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor hi. afraid of them for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Deut 31 6)

Actually, fear is calling God a liar Why? Because God promises to give us all things to provide for our needs this is written down in Philippians 4 19 'But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus " He has promised to protect us 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb 13) We have the promise of His power "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me

Keep in mind that God cannot lie therefore, when we fail to believe Him, we are dishonouring His name Titus 1 2 says, "In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began."

The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. -- Oswald Chambers in The Highest Good.

In hot tropical rain forests, huge plants and trees grow quickly, sometimes almost overnight. But these trees have soft wood, and they fall prey to insects and diseases and live only a short time. In the rugged mountains of the north, growth is slow. Plants and trees must endure high winds, ice storms, and intense cold, but they grow strong and tough with knotty, hard wood. Hardships have values we don't usually appreciate at the time, but they have a tendency to strengthen us. --

A man confined to bed because of a lingering illness had on his sunlit windowsill a cocoon of a beautiful species of butterfly. As nature took its course, the butterfly began its struggle to emerge from the cocoon. But it was a long, hard battle. As the hours went by, the struggling insect seemed to make almost no progress. Finally, the human observer, thinking that "the powers that be" had erred, took a pair of scissors and snipped the opening larger. The butterfly crawled out, but that's all it ever did--crawl. The pressure of the struggle was intended to push colourful, life-giving juices back into the wings, but the man in his supposed mercy prevented this. The insect never was anything but a stunted abortion, and instead of flying on rainbow wings above the beautiful gardens, it was condemned to spend its brief life crawling in the dust. That gives me the idea that God knows what He is doing. It's a fact that you can depend on Him--even when it seems the struggle is hard and meaningless.

Oh, for a Faith That will Not Shrink

Oh, for a faith that will not shrink,

Though pressed by ev'ry foe,

That will not tremble on the brink

Of any earthly woe!

That will not murmur or complain

Beneath the chastening rod,

But, in the hour of grief or pain,

Will lean upon its God;

A faith that shines more bright and clear

When tempests rage the while;

That seas of trouble cannot drown,

Nor Satan's arts beguile;

Lord, give us such a faith as this,

And then, whate'er may come,

We'll taste, e'en here, the hallowed bliss

Of an eternal Home.

—William H. Bathurst

3. See What the Lord Does

9 Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

A.T. Robertson said of John, "It cost him his head; but it is better to have a head like John the Baptist and lose it than to have an ordinary head and keep it."

Are we willing to stand for truth and fulfill God's will no matter the cost? It is better to die for Jesus than to live for self. Mk. 8:36 says, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Though some may be called to die for Jesus, most are called to live for Him.

Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." 28 Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!"

As the sounds of battle drew closer to Saigon on April 29, 1975, biology teacher Thoa Nguyen gathered his family. South Vietnam would soon fall to the Communists. "We will never surrender our beliefs," said Thoa, a devout Christian. "We must leave our country." But at the airport Thoa, his school-principal wife, Son, and their seven children were turned back. The following morning a band of Communist youths seized Thoa and pushed hm into the street to be executed. "Please, dear God, help!" Son screamed as a pistol touched Thoa's head. Suddenly a woman ran forward. The Nguyens, she said, were popular for their good deeds as teachers. An execution without trial would harm the revolution. God answered Son's prayer as Thoa and his family were released. -- Today In The Word, Moody Bible Institute, August 6, 1991.

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,

He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials he multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
~~ By  Annie J. Flint  (1866-1932) ~~

Matthew 13: 44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,

46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

This parable has sometimes been interpreted as reflecting the Lord's attitude to Israel and the Lord's attitude to the church, rather than the believer's conversion or the believer's attitude to Christ. These interpreters, such as Griffith Thomas, try to maintain the symbolism of the previous parables. "Maintaining harmony with foregoing parables, we may interpret the metaphor of the Field and the Man (1) Field clearly symbolizes world, as in first three parables.

(2) There seems little doubt that, as before, man typifies our Lord engaged this time in seeking instead of sowing.

b. The Treasure This, of course, may be thought of as humanity in general but, since word "treasure" is often used of Israel, we may distinguish between this parable and next hy suggesting that here specifically Jewish Church, or Hebrew Christian group, is primarily in mind (cf. Exod. 19:5, Ps. 135:4, Mal. 3:17); this, indeed, is not usual interpretation, but is here submitted because it seems more natural and consistent than one generally adopted.

(2) Treasure was "hid" — and only Christ knew it was there to be "found"; and His estimate of it is seen throughout Gospels (cf. Luke 15, 19:1-10; John 17:6).

(3) Treasure was hidden again; and, Kingdom having rejected and therefore postponed, we may interpret this as indicating that those in Israel believing on Him at that time, though true members of His Church, would not be revealed until later, perhaps after Pentecost, for they may well be included in three thousand forming first local church (cf Acts 2:41-47, 4:32).

c. The Purchase Meanwhile, man in parable "for joy thereof, goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field"; and surely this joyful sacrifice and purchase form beautiful picture of our Lord's redemptive death (cf. Luke 15:6,9, 23; Acts 20:28; 2 Cor. 8:9; Gal. 2:20; Heb. 12:2; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19). Therefore, Jesus Christ our Lord "sold" all He had, His very life, for man's redemption, so that we are "bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:20); and "mystery" in this case may well include His surprising estimate of value and hidden potentialities of lives "he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28).

However the Lord did say, Luke 14:25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,

26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

I think it is always wise to take a parable at its simplest and most obvious meaning. And in this case, the preciousness of the Kingdom of God is the thing that is missed by the multitude. This is why the Lord was telling these parables. Consistency is actually about the point of the parables. The three poor soils were poor because they did not receive the message of the kingdom is a good heart. 1 Peter 2:7  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious:

'In Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.' —1 Peter 1:8.

I don't know what thoughts of treasure and pearls may evoke in your minds. It always reminds me immediately of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, of Long John Silver, and doubloons and pieces-of-eight, pegleg pirates, and all the exciting things usually associated with the idea of buried treasure. It is intriguing to realize that Scripture deals with this subject as well. It recognizes the allure and the mystery which always gathers around the notion of hidden treasure.

A friend told me how a long lost uncle had not believed in banks for 60 years, and kept all his money at home. When he died, the family searched everywhere but couldn't find his treasure trove. Finally reg noticed a jar sitting out in the middle of a field. He walked over and tried to kick it, but found it was glued to something much bigger - a 44 gallon drum. When they dug up the drum they found it filled with money, right back to the old pounds shillings and pence days.

People in trouble sometimes bury their valuables as disaster approaches. The land of Israel had been fought over by many armies for many years. When armies approached, the people would take their valuables and hide them where they could be reclaimed when the turmoil had passed. Of course, sometimes they were unable to return.

In England they found a treasure that goes back earlier than 11^th century. Wow what a find.

A few years ago, eight Dutch children aged 9 to 11 were digging beneath their club house. A foot and a half down they came across two glass jars. The jars were filled with coins - Maple Leafs, Kugerrands the gold kind. The coins and jewelry were worth more than $215,000. It's all theirs - if not claimed in 30 years.

In Jesus' parable, a man finds a forgotten treasure. It is great enough for the man who finds it to sell all he has to possess it. The man who finds the gold is not the owner of the field. He might have been gleaning in the field or picking grain. But the fact that he dug deeply enough to find a hidden treasure suggests that he was a workman who was employed by the owner, and that he discovers the treasure in the course of his daily labour. Jesus says that this discoverer of the treasure reburies it. The implication was , that if a person discovers a treasure and lifts it out of it's hiding place, it belongs to the owner of the field. So he is careful not to move the treasure until he has bought the field. He goes and sells all he has to buy the field. He gives up something in order to have something greater because he is sure of a great reward.

The Kingdom is Priceless

CH Spurgeon commenced his ministry as a lad of sixteen, "I stood up for the first time in my life to preach the gospel in a cottage to a handful of poor people, who had come together for worship. I felt my own inability to preach, but I ventured to take this text, "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious." I do not think I could have said anything upon any other text, but Christ was precious to my soul and I was in the flush of my youthful love, and I could not be silent when a precious Jesus was the subject. "He is precious." For a thing to be rightly called precious, it should have three qualities: it should be rare, it should have an intrinsic value of its own, and it should possess useful and important properties.

He is absolutely unique. Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid. He is the one sacrifice for sin. Not the infinite God, nor all the wealth of heaven, could supply another like him. As God and man, he alone combines the two natures in one person. "There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." If we can never find another like him, after searching all the ages through, we may well call him precious. It is also most clear that he is intrinsically valuable — who shall estimate his worth? I should darken counsel by words without knowledge if I were to attempt in detail to tell you what he is. Only dwell on the simple fact, that while he is God over all, and has thus the fullness of the Godhead, he is also man, true man of the substance of his mother, and so has all the adaptation of perfect manhood. "Consider how great this man was." Not even heaven itself can be compared with Christ Jesus. He is incomparably, immeasurably, inconceivably precious. As for useful qualities, where else shall we find such a variety of uses in one place? He is eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, feet to the lame, healing to the sick, freedom to the slave, joy to the mourner, and life to the dead. Think of his life, and how it gives life to the believer! Think of his death, and how it redeems from hell all those who trust in him! Think of his resurrection, and how it justifies believers; and of his second coming, and how it delights our hearts! Think of our Lord in all his offices, as Prophet, Priest, and King! Think of him in all his relationships, as husband, brother, friend! Think of him under all the types and figures with which Scripture delights to sot him forth!

Thomas Guthrie's description: "In the blood of Christ to wash out sin's darkest stains, in the grace of God to purify the foulest heart, in peace to calm life's roughest storms, in hopes to cheer guilt's darkest hour, in courage that defies death and descends calmly into the tomb, in that which makes the poorest rich and with which the richest are poor indeed, the gospel 'has treasures greater far than east or west unfold, and its rewards are more precious than all the stores of gold."

The Kingdom is Present but obscured

Note that this man isn't in the field because he is looking for something. But he finds it anyway and he recognizes the value of what he has found.

To one, He didn't know it was there in the field until he accidently stumbled across it. Perhaps he was tilling the soil, and there he found it. It was unexpected. Not what he thought. Perhaps that is your experience. You never knew about the Saviour until you heard about Him recently, and now the decision is yours. What will you do about it?

To another the Saviour was known. Jesus then tells a second parable as a companion to the first. He speaks of a merchant who is seeking fine pearls. He finds one pearl of such great value that he sells all his other pearls in order to have the one.

This parable suggests that there are other pearls -- but only one pearl of great price. That is to say, there are many fine things in this world in which we may find loveliness. We may find it in knowledge, in the wonder of the human mind, in music, in art, in literature. We can find loveliness in human relationships. Each of these are lovely -- but compared to knowing God, they are each of lesser loveliness. This is not to insult these fine things. They are genuine pearls and valuable. But there is only one pearl of great price, which is the acceptance of the reign of God in our lives. This does not mean that we must forego art and literature and human relationships and knowledge. It's just that the one unique pearl of great price must come first. Jesus said. "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and then these other 'pearls' will be added unto you."

Oh Christ was known to be precious, but now He is the more precious, and something must be done. But there had been other precious things, and those other precious things had at one time or another seemed more precious than Christ Himself. And then he hets a better look and he realises that there is nothing more precious than Christ, and He must have Him.

Either way, you must have Him now.

The Kingdom is Pleasant

IT'S WORTH THE QUEST

Note well, that to faith the promises concerning Christ are made By faith, again, the Lord Jesus is appropriated. In possession lies much of preciousness. Is the Koh-i-Noor diamond a precious thing to me? Well, it is precious in itself; but I cannot say that it is precious to me; for I do not even know where it is, nor do I give it more thought than if it were a bit of glass.

When a thing belongs to you, it has a value to you, and you make a full estimate of it. Now, no man possesses Christ except he believes in him.

By faith the Lord Jesus is more and more tasted and proved, and become
more and more precious. In proportion as we test our Lord, he will rise in our esteem. If it so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, he is precious to you; The more afflictions a believer endures, the more does he discover of the sustaining power of Christ, and therefore the more precious Christ becomes to him.

These parables tell us that you have to have something in order to get something. Now you can't buy salvation. But you do need the eyes to see what God is doing and the ears to hear what God is saying to you.

The man who discovers the hidden treasure is apparently not looking for it. His discovery is accidental. But in the case of the merchant, the finding of the pearl is the result of a long and faithful quest. To those outside the field, a cultured pearl is scarcely distinguishable from one created by an oyster in the wild state. And to my untutored eye, a necklace of pearls of the KMart bargain table may be as attractive as the real thing. But the merchant of pearls knows the difference at a glance. Anyone can recognize a pot of gold but only the merchant of pearls knows the pearl of supreme value when he sees it.

Some are not particularly anxious to find Jesus. They aren't very interested in religion. They are going on their way when suddenly an unexpected thing confronted them -- the Gospel. They have not really seen it before. They have not known they were seeking it. But there it is and with the insight granted them by the Holy Spirit, they recognize it as something of far greater value than anything that has come into their lives before. They see themselves in need of a Savior. They recognize that if they have Jesus, they have everything else as well. So they turn to Him and believe. They are an illustration of God's words in Isaiah: "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me." (Isa. 65:1)

Others like the seeker of the pearl are truly fascinated by spiritual things. They seek, they look, and they feel their need. They move up one blind alley after another. Finally they come to Jesus and they see the truth of his words: "I am the gate; whoever enters by me will be saved." (John 10:9). Their seeking is initiated by God. They move because of the calling of His Holy Spirit. When they finally stand face-to-face with Jesus they recognize him as the answer to their long-felt longing and the purpose of their long-experienced lack of ease in spiritual things.

There has always been an attractiveness about pearls.

1) Tiffany's in New York - pearl necklace worth $33,000.

2) Julius Caesar gave a pearl to Brutus' mother worth $45 million.

3) Cleopatra is said to have owned one worth $750 million.

I was conducting an RSL Anzac Day service many years ago. I had arrived early at the place for the service, and awaited those marching there. An elderly gentleman was seated next to me. We got talking. The fellow says: "I am involved with the… Baptist Church that's the church I go to myself." I laughed: "That's strange. I've been preaching there for five years and I don't believe I've ever seen you." The man responds: "Come on now! I didn't say I was a fanatic!"

Well yes, the Lord does want us to be wholeheartedly on board with the gospel of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom Is Precious.

What is it worth? Well you can tell how much it is worth by how much a person values it. How much are they willing to give up to have it?

"What, then," says one, "what am I to give up?"

You must sell off your righteousness. It will not fetch much, but I daresay you think it is a fine thing.

And everything else that you have heretofore thought fit to boast of-come, you must get rid of it. some men that will have to give up a good deal of what
they call pleasure, sinful pleasure. No pleasure which is honest, which is
really beneficial to us, need ever be denied to us.

"Religion never was designed To make our pleasures less."

It makes them vastly more. But any pleasure that savours of sin is to be done away with. Come, can you sell all that off? That mixing in loose company, anything approaching to lewdness, anything that has to do with the gratification of the vile passions of the flesh-come, for Christ's sake, can you give it up? Well, if you cannot, of course you cannot have the pearl. If you must have the world you cannot have Christ;

The give up sin

They give up the pride of life

And, then, sometimes, in some cases, men have to give up a good deal of the honors and the satisfaction of life that arise from the esteem of their fellow-creatures. Has it come to this, "If I become a Christian they will ridicule me."

Christ is precious — they are proving it every day by their patient sufferings, by their laborious efforts, by their constant offerings to the church of Christ. "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious."

We talk lightly of these things, but these were no mean sacrifices. For a man to leave the partner of his bosom, to be despised by her who ought to honor him, to be spit upon by his own children, to be driven out by his countrymen, and have his name mentioned as a hissing, and a reproach, and a byeword; this is no easy matter to bear; and yet the Christians in the first ages took up this cross, and not only carried-it patiently, but carried it joyfully; rejoicing in tribulations, if those tribulations fell upon them for Christ's sake and the gospel.

Look at Polycarp before the lions, when he is brought into the midst of the assembly and it is demanded of him that he will deny his God. Thousands of savage eyes look down upon him, and there he stands, a feeble man, alone in the arena, but he tells them that "he has known his Lord these many years and he never did him a displeasure and he will not deny him at the last." "To the lions!" they cry, "To the lions!" and the lions rush upon him, and he is speedily devoured; but all this he would have borne at the mouths of a thousand lions, if he had a thousand lives, rather than he would have thought anything amiss against the Majesty of Jesus of Nazareth. The whole history of the ancient church of Christ, proves that Jesus has been an object of his peoples' highest veneration; that they set nothing in rivalry with him, but cheerfully and readily, without a murmur, or a thought, gave up all for Jesus Christ, and rejoiced to do so.

The church that is not prepared to suffer, and bleed and die for Christ, is not Christ's church. For what does he say? "He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." — St. Matthew c. x., 5:37 and 38.

Many are the poor people I have discovered, who have denied themselves of this and that, because they would serve Christ's cause. And many there are, too — every now and then we find them out — in the middle ranks of society, who give a hundred times as much to the cause of Christ as many of the rich and wealthy; and if you knew to what little trials they are put, to what shifts they are driven in order to serve Christ, you would say, "The man that can proves clearly that Christ is precious to him."

Is Christ precious to you? My young brother, is Jesus precious to you in your youth? Men and women of middle age is Christ precious to you? Remember that this world is but a dream, and if you have not something more satisfactory than that, you will die dissappointed, even though you succeed beyond your highest wishes.

But if he is not precious, then you are not believers, and you are condemned already because you believe not on the Son of God.

The Kingdom is Personal.

The central truth to both these parables is that the Kingdom of heaven must be personally appropriated. We do not become citizens of the kingdom by virtue of physical birth but by choice.

2. Both men in both parables found something that was more valuable that all that they owned combined. Both men were willing to give up all their possessions in order to own their newfound treasures.

THE BUYING. He had sold all that he had, and then he pays the shekels over-pays them over that he may have the pearl,

and he gets the pearl

You must personally consider the purchase.

You can immediately make the purchase.

You make the purchase by Faith.

Throughout the scriptures the salvation that has been earned for you by the Saviour is given to you for free.

But you must make that purchase. The opportunity to purchase will not always be there.

2 Corinthians 6:  For He says: In an acceptable time, I heard you, and in the day of salvation, I helped you. Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation.

"If he is to be had, let me have him. Oh, if I can know my sins forgiven, let me know it. Oh, if by any means I can have peace with God-if I can become a child of God and an heir of heaven-if my eternal happiness can be secured, oh, let it be secured! "Happy day, happy day, For he has washed my sins away."

It is the beginning of delight to a soul when he can say, "Jesus is mine; I know he is. Grace has enabled me to lay hold upon him." what an enriching purchase it was which the man had made.
When he had once got the pearl instead of his property he thought to himself, "Why, I have got a hundred times more property now than I had.

This was a final purchase. The merchantman, according to the parable, never went buying pearls anymore. "No," said he, "no: I have bought a pearl of great price, and now I will go out of the business." And when a man once finds Christ-ah, then he seeks nothing more. If Jesus Christ be mine, more than all in him I find. "Now rest, my long-divided heart; Fix'd on this blissful center, rest:

Titus 2: 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

Titus 3:1
Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,

² to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.

³ For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,

⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

⁸ This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Recently, I came across an article which revealed the ultimate tool for persuading somebody to your point of view. Do you know what it is? If you want to bring someone around to your way of thinking, make sure they have a cup of coffee in their hand. Researchers in Australia tell us that caffeine improves our ability to process information and agree with a persuasive message. In other words, if you want somebody to say "yes" to your request, make sure they have a cup of coffee.

The truth is... you and I are asked to say "yes" to all kinds of things... some of them good... and some not so good. We're invited to say "yes" to wind power... as the answer for global warming. We're invited to say "yes" to fruits and vegetables... to provide the ingredients of a healthy diet. We're invited to say "yes" to education.

Parents......can't always say "yes" to kids, but they should do it whenever possible. In fact, one study revealed that the more first grade teachers said the words "stop", "no", and "don't," the more frequently students misbehaved.

This study suggests that parents should do everything possible to practice positive language and say "yes" whenever we can.

Of course, I was most impressed with this advertisement to say "yes" to chocolate.

Some of you are saying, "Well, chocolate is not exactly low fat." But wait a minute. What if somebody told you that
chocolate can be good for you?
That's a study I like to hear about. Recent studies have
actually linked the consumption of small amounts of dark
chocolate with lower of blood pressure, lower bad
cholesterol count, increased insulin activity, and improved
blood-vessel function – all which reduce our risk of
cardiovascular disease. Can I get an "Amen?"

You see, we are almost inundated with invitations to say "yes" to a worthy cause, a worthwhile idea, or some advertising campaign. It's no wonder that a couple of

authors wrote a book called...

Don't Say Yes When You Want to Say No. Henry Cloud and John Townsend wrote a wonderful book a few years ago called, "Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No, To Take Control of Your Life.

We are nearly overwhelmed by invitations to say "yes" in life. But, did it ever occur to you that the most important "yes" you could ever say in life is a "yes" to God? And one of those things we are to say yes to is good works.

The Power of Doing Good

Titus 2: 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

(Titus 3:8) "I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."

(Titus 3:1) "Remind the people to be ready to do whatever is good."

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.

(Titus 3:14) "(Christ-followers) must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may not live unproductive lives." And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works for cases of urgent need, so that they will not be unfruitful.

Two Important Questions

1. Why should you do good?

Because the Lord did good to you.

3For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, captives of various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. 4 But when the goodness and love for man appeared from God our Savior, 5 He saved us— not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

"⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

Do you realize the uniqueness in those three words, "He saved us?"

Folks, do you understand we live in a culture where we are taught there is no such thing as a free lunch. Many of us have been raised with a work ethic that says, "You earn every penny you make. You earn your way onto the football team. You earn good
marks at school. You earn it all. There is no free lunch!"

And because I've been conditioned that way, I can spend my entire life trying to impress God with all my good deeds and all my hard work and all my effort. And so can you.

You see the truth about life for most of us is we think we are better than we really are, so we're good at pretending!

Maybe you heard the story on the news Friday night about the zebras in Gaza Zoo? They are actually donkeys with stripes painted on them. They lost the old zebras. Well there was a story about the guy who saw an advertisement for a job at the zoo. When he got there, he was horrified to find the only job available was to play the part of a monkey. A lot of children were coming to the zoo in the next few days, and since the zoo had no monkeys, they needed somebody to impersonate one. Since money was tight, the man decided he'd take the job.

He arrived before sunrise, got into the monkey suit, and slipped into the cage. Finally the day dawned, and the children came. All he had to do was pace the floor, look like he could swing between the trees and eat peanuts and bananas whenever they fed him.

After 8 or 10 hours, he was exhausted. The bananas got the best of him. And as he swung from one tree to another, he slipped and fell right into the lion's den next door. He started screaming, "Help! Help!" About that time the lion leaned over and said, "If you
don't shut up, we'll both lose our jobs."

You see, that's the way it is with many of us. It's easy to pretend we're something we're not. It's easy to pretend we're better than we are. Ravi Zacharias said it like this: "Man attempts to build civilizations not knowing what it
means to be civilized. He tries to be a philosopher when
he does not know the master philosopher. He portrays
his artistic perceptions without knowing the master artist.
He moralizes on life but doesn't know the moral
lawgiver."

Listen again: 3For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, captives of various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.

The famous philosopher G. K. Chesterton was once asked, "What do you think of civilization?" He said, "I think it's a great idea. Why doesn't
somebody start one."

Later on, after seeing a series of articles on "What's Wrong With the World?" Chesterton sent a short letter to the editor. He wrote, "'Dear Sir: Regarding your article 'What's Wrong With the World?' I am.' Yours truly, G. K. Chesterton."

Listen again 3For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, captives of various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.

I want you to know something…I am what's wrong with this world. And you can say the same thing. God has told us for centuries that the fundamental problem with mankind is his heart. Every one of us has a twisted view of things that causes us to be bent toward evil. The Bible calls that sin.

One author said it like this: Dr. John R. W. Stott

"Many of the happenings in civilized society would not exist if it were not for sin. A promise is not enough; we need a contract. Doors are not enough; we have to lock and bolt them. The payment of fares is not enough; we have to be issued tickets, which are punched, inspected and collected. Law and order are not enough; we need the police to enforce them. We cannot trust each other. We need protection from one another. It is a sorry state of affairs."

You see, the Bible says that we're not as good as we think we are. Several years ago, the State of California made a 12-year study of 200 criminals. Not one of them admitted to being evil. They all said they were basically good. We might as well stop trying to impress God. We will never have a relationship with Him because of the good things that we have done.

The older I get, the more I realize it's possible to come up with ways to sin that I never thought of before. I feel like the guy who said, "If you knew me as I know me, you probably wouldn't sit there and listen to me right now.
But before you get up and leave, could I remind you that if I
knew you as you know you, I wouldn't even talk to you right
now."

You see, we do everything we can to make a good impression on others. We've all mastered the art of pretense.

But Paul said: 3For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, captives of various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.

"He saved us because of his mercy!."

⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His creation—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

Because doing good is God's destiny for me.

(Ephesians 2:10) "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

(Titus 3:8) "I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."

(Titus 3:1) "Remind the people to be ready to do whatever is good."

(Titus 3:14) "(Christ-followers) must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may not live unproductive lives."

2. Where should I do good?

Do Good to Whoever you can do good to.

Do you notice that doing good is about people? "In my view, people are never closer to living out the teachings of Christ than when they are adding value to someone else's life. And people who are far from God are rarely more impacted than when they see 21^st-Century Christ-followers behaving as Christ behaved." ~Bill Hybels

Titus 3:1
Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,

² to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.

To ALL PEOPLE… Anyone everywhere!

(Luke 10:25-37) On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Notice verse 14

14 And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works for cases of urgent need, so that they will not be unfruitful.

Cases of necessary need.

Be careful to do good to those who are truly in need.

Paul had listed off a couple of friends.

13 Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they will lack nothing

They were good examples of folks in need, urgent need. Unfortunately much of what proclaims to be need today isn't. There are professional hucksters who see it as the main game to take money out of your pocket and put it into their own.

I was disillusioned with one organisation that has their representatives living in 5 star hotels as they travel to churches to get money for their "charity". And then most of the money they raise actually goes to putting them into 5 star hotels as they raise money for their organisation. What percentage actually gets there? I don't know! And I don't want to know. I just know their executives live sumptuously off the gifts they raise for good works elsewhere.

I don't disparage a good days pay for a good days work. I do disparage those that live sumptuously when they are claiming to raise money for the Lord's work elsewhere.

"For what am I giving my life? How are you spending your life? Have you said, 'Yes, Jesus, I need your forgiveness? I know I have sinned. Would you forgive me and become the director of my life?'"

If you've not said that those words, that's where to start today. And if you've said "yes" and have experienced His mercy, then I want to ask you, "to what are you giving your
life? "

Do you realize that Jesus was all about one thing…and that one thing is people? People who are sick, people who are lonely, people who are wandering, depressed, and hopeless, people who are entangled in suffocating habits and destructive relationships. Jesus came for people. And He has left us here for the same reason. He has left those of us who are Christ followers on this earth to introduce as many people as possible to the God who desperately wants them to experience His mercy and grace.

If you're a Christ follower today, you have to be about people...people who face a Christ-less eternity... people who are ostracized, isolated and hopeless... people who are living for achievements that never satisfy. Above anything else, true followers of Jesus Christ give themselves to pointing people to the Savior. It's the highest and best use of a human life. When you live with that kind of preoccupation, you'll find that whenever Jesus asks you to do something, you'll only have one response…and that is to say, "yes."

In 1991, Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody recorded From Little Things Big Things Grow. You have probably heard the song on the add for Industry Superannuation. That wasn't what the song was about.

Gurindji – along with all Aboriginal groups in this predicament – found their waterholes and soakages fenced off or fouled by cattle, which also ate or trampled fragile desert plant life, such as bush tomato. Dingo hunters regularly shot the people's invaluable hunting dogs, and kangaroo, a staple meat, was also routinely shot since it competed with cattle for water and grazing land. Gurindji suffered lethal "reprisals" for any attempt to eat the cattle – anything from a skirmish to a massacre. The last recorded massacre in the area occurred at Coniston in 1928. There was little choice to stay alive but to move onto the cattle stations, receive rations, adopt a more sedentary life and, where possible, take work as stockmen and domestic help.

There had been complaints from Indigenous employees about conditions over many years. A Northern Territory government inquiry held in the 1930s said of Vesteys: It was obvious that they had been ... quite ruthless in denying their Aboriginal labour proper access to basic human rights.

However, little was done over the decades leading up to the strike. While it was illegal up until 1968 to pay Aboriginal workers more than a specified amount in goods and money, a 1945 inquiry found Vesteys was not even paying Aboriginal workers the 5 shillings a day minimum wage set up for Aborigines under a 1918 Ordinance. Non-Indigenous males were receiving £2/8/- a week in 1945. Gurindji lived in corrugated iron humpies without floors, lighting, sanitation, furniture or cooking facilities.

The words to the first verse are:

Gather round people let me tell you a story
An eight year-long story of power and pride

British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari
Were opposite men on opposite sides

The words to the last verse are:

That was the story of Vincent Lingairri
But this is the story of something much more

How power and privilege can not move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in the law

On 23 August 1966, led by spokesman Vincent Lingiari, the workers and families walked off Wave Hill and began their seven-year strike. Lingiari led Gurindji, as well as Ngarinman, Bilinara, Warlpiri and Mudbara workers to an important sacred site nearby at Wattie Creek (Daguragu). Initially, the action was interpreted as purely a strike against work and living conditions. However, it soon became apparent that it was not just – or even primarily – improved conditions Gurindji were campaigning for. Their primary demand was for return of their land. Novelist Frank Hardy was one of the many non-Indigenous Australians who supported the Gurindji struggle through the strike years.

"This bin [been] Gurindji country long time before them Vestey mob" Vincent Lingiari told Hardy at the time.

While Hardy records Pincher Manguari as saying: We want them Vestey mob all go away from here. Wave Hill Aboriginal people bin called Gurindji. We bin here long time before them Vestey mob. This is our country, all this bin Gurindji country. Wave Hill bin our country. We want this land; we strike for that.

The Aboriginal land rights movement grew out of this.

From Little things Big Things Grow.

That was what the Lord was talking about when He gave us these two parables.

Matthew 13:31 He presented another parable to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It's the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it's taller than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches."33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds of flour until it spread through all of it."

The disciples, like so many others, were looking for the Messiah to establish a physical kingdom in which they would live and enjoy life. Perhaps we too wonder at times just how big of an impact is the Church making today. They must have thought, yes we are on to something Big here.. but, now the followers are dissipating. What is going on?

The Kingdom is like mustard seed - There are two things about mustard seeds. One is that they are small. When Jesus says the Kingdom is like mustard seed, he is saying that the Kingdom is small and insignificant and easy to miss. And the second is it is pungent. And the third is there is pervasive growth. The growth will one day be sorted. There will be a placement.

Compare this with expectations that when God showed up, everything would change. They expected anything but that the Kingdom would be small when God shows up.

But here's the other thing about mustard seed: it may be small, but it grows (32). It's not the size of the mustard seed, it's the presence of the mustard seed.

It is Pungent

It was known to be an irritant, something fiery and biting, stirring up the blood. When Darius, the king of the Persians, invaded Europe with a great army he was met by Alexander the Great. Darius sent Alexander a bag of sesame seed as a kind of taunt, indicating by the number of these small seeds the vast multitude of soldiers he had at his command. When Alexander received it he sent back by the same messenger a bag of mustard seed by way of saying, "You may be many, but we're tough and biting and pungent. We can handle you." And they did.

That is the character of mustard and these people knew that. So our Lord is using a very apt symbol by which he indicates that the message of the kingdom of God is intended to be arousing, irritating, disturbing, among men. Turn it loose, and it will get a whole community excited, stirred up, either negatively or positively, as we see it working so beautifully today.

Some years ago, I saw a church and pastor change in a most remarkable way. We had an evangelistic crusade with this church, but I knew the pastor had not yet ome to know the Lord as his own Saviour. I placed the evangelist, an old tank driver, into his home. After three days the old evangelist came to me and said, "you know David isn't a Christian?" I responded "Well that's the whole reason I have you staying with him! I am not worried whether any of our folk get converted but imagine what the Lord could do with him!" Well nothing happened, but a few months later David and his wife had to go back to Sweden or Finland to see to his dieing father-in-law. On the way home they stopped at Francis Schaeffer's Labri, where David gave his life to the Lord. He rang me from Sydney airport to tell me. Yes he'd figured out why I had the evangelist staying with him those months before! The pastor became a real Christian and he started preaching the gospel. It is most interesting to watch what happened in the congregation. He made a lot of people uncomfortable. They began to squirm and itch -- you can see the mustard was working on them. Others are being healed and rejoicing in it. The pastor is doing a very gracious, loving job of proclaiming this great message, but its quality is obvious -- it is pungent and biting and burning.

It Is Prominent in Its Growth

Our Lord calls particular attention to another property of mustard. It has, he says, the smallest of all seeds. If you have seen a mustard seed you know that it is small but obviously it is not the smallest of all seeds. There are seeds smaller than mustard seeds. There were even in Palestine in our Lord's day. Many have been disturbed by this, as though it means that our Lord did not understand much about agriculture. But here again we must be careful to put ourselves back into those times. We learn that there was a common proverb which used the mustard seed as a symbol of smallness or insignificance. "Small as a mustard seed," they would say. The Rabbis spoke of "a spot or blemish as small as a mustard seed". We do the same today. We say something is "as small as a flea." There are smaller things than fleas that we might use but that is a proverb which expresses smallness. Our Lord employs the mustard seed in this way. Proverbially, it is the smallest of all seeds. Proverbial smallness used in metaphor of faith. Matt 17:20 "Because of your little faith," He told them. "For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

Here he is evidently stressing the apparent insignificance of the gospel. It does not look like much. It does not sound like much. You proclaim, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." That does not sound very impressive to many people. It is so simple that you can teach it to children and to idiots and morons. Even they can understand "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." So the world is not very excited about it, or very much impressed with it. The world does not regard it as a tremendous, earth-shaking philosophy. But just let them really trust Christ and invite him into their life and it is the most transforming, the most revolutionary thing that can occur to them. It is the beginning of a radical change in all their life.

No, mustard is not a tree; it does not grow into a tree. Then why did Jesus say it did? Right there is the heart of the parable. Our Lord obviously intended to teach that this growth is unnatural growth. It is not normal, not what you would expect from mustard seed. It is something different than is to be expected. He is surely teaching that in this age there is to be an unnatural, unusual growth. Instead of the lowly, humble plant you would expect from a mustard seed there would be a huge, abnormal, ungainly growth into a tree.

What is the meaning of the birds?

High tree with birds symbolizes pagan world-power. Assyria Ezekiel 31:3-9

Babylon & Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 4:10-12,20-22

Leaven is a consistent symbol for malice and wickedness. Elsewhere it represents the false teaching of Pharisees. Matt 16:11-12 And Corruption within Church. (Passover) 1 Cor 5:6-8

But the emphasis in these parables is on smallness, not wickedness.

The contrast is between small beginnings producing big results.

God's Kingdom starts small, almost invisible, but it will transform the earth.

God's Kingdom does start out small.

The Jews expected a thundering, triumphant coming of Messiah accompanied by Armageddon and the restoration of Israel as a nation out from under the Roman Empire.

Jesus' followers applied these same expectations to Jesus. John 6:13-15

Many Christians also yearn for a display of supernatural power. (To calm their doubts?)

You notice that it is only since the tree is fully grown and has branched out that this has taken place. It is as we near the end of the age this has occurred. How visibly this has been demonstrated in our day when from the pulpits and the spokesmen of the church has come a flood of stupid, crazy, mixed-up ideas -- evil concepts which have blasted and blighted and ruined the hearts and minds of people, just as our Lord said. It was only a comparatively short time ago that the great denominations of our day, though they represented unnatural and abnormal development, still were basically true to the faith and stood solidly on the authority of the Bible and proclaimed a true gospel. But then along came German rationalization and higher critical theories and socialistic philosophies. The Bible was overthrown and another gospel was substituted and supernatural faith was denied, and the birds of prey moved right into the pulpits in many places. One by one men of true faith were driven out. And it is still happening today. No wonder that when the youth of today look at the part of the church which is like that they say, "It is strictly for the birds!"

But what a comfort it is that our Lord had no delusions about this age! How clearly he foresaw all that has happened. How precisely he unfolds it to us here, that we might not be deluded either.

The Growth will be pervasive.

The Kingdom is also like yeast. When Jesus said this, people would be shocked - yeast was not a good thing. A lump of leaven is only 2% of the weight of dough. 3 measures (lit.) equals 50 pounds. Enough for 100 people.

How is the Kingdom like yeast? It's pervasive. When it's present, it's transformative. It works its way through all the dough and changes everything.

This Growth will be Placed

47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

Dragnet. Remember how they go? dummmm! dumda-Dum- dum!

Just the Facts mam just the facts.

That program, by the way, captured the intent of this parable better than any commentary I have in my library. It was about a police dragnet which swept through the city of Los Angeles and would capture and bring in all kinds of people to be investigated, to have either their badness or goodness in the eyes of the law exposed.

Jesus says that is what is going to happen at the close of the age. Increasingly, inexplicably, there will be divisions into groups, either evil or good. This links closely with the parable of the wheat and the tares. There too Jesus said that the angels would divide men, that clusters of evil men would gather together and the righteous would do the same. Here Jesus says that the angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous and what people actually are will become plain to all.

Notice that our Lord closes with a very solemn word: "The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." {Matt 13:49b-50 RSV}

This day of judgment is a sure reality. But it appears that saved and unsaved man gives little thought anymore to the facing reality of the day of judgment that brings with it the prospect of heaven and hell. Have you thought about heaven lately so as to make preparation for your entrance? Have you thought about the reality of hell and all who will face it?

Weeping speaks of remorse and sorrow. Gnashing of teeth speaks of frustration and hostility and anger. It is all gathered up in the burning phrase "the furnace of fire."

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

Jesus makes clear reference of this parable to the end time judgment . . . "So it will be at the end of the age." The dragnet has been cast out into the sea of mankind and no person will escape it.

Hebrews 2:3a how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation,

"The dragnet of God's judgment moves silently through the sea of mankind and draws all men to the shores of eternity for final separation to their ultimate destiny - believers to eternal life and unbelievers to eternal damnation." -- John MacArthur

Wicked sons of the kingdom cast out into outer darkness ... Matthew 8:12

Asked the scribes and Pharisees how they would escape hell ... Matthew 23:33

Matthew 23:33 "Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?"

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit brings eternal condemnation ... Mark 3:29

Resurrection of the good to eternal life and the evil to the resurrection of condemnation ... John 5:29

The unjust, non-believers, are cast into the furnace of fire. In this furnace of fire we see the judgment of hell is . . . Hell is a constant torment of misery and pain (wailing and gnashing of teeth)

Martin Luther states . . . "The gnashing of teeth is despair, when men see themselves abandoned by God."

Mark 9:43-44 "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched; 44 "where 'Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.' Hell is everlasting . . . no end in eternity! Matthew 25:46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

This day of judgment is a searching reality

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! {Psa 139:23-24 RSV}

Ezekiel 18:23 (NLT) "Do you think, asks the Sovereign LORD, that I like to see wicked people die? Of course not! I only want them to turn from their wicked ways and live." HCSB Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" [This is]the declaration of the Lord God. "Instead, don't I [take pleasure]when he turns from his ways and lives?

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people,
12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age,
13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people, eager to do good works.
15 Say these things, and encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Adorning the gospel of God our Saviour. Do you know someone whose life adorns the gospel. Everything about them breathes "Jesus" I remember talking to a very godly man, Ian North who had arrived abck in Australia after a lifetime overseas as a missionary in India and then in the USA, and he said, "Yesterday we went to church up the road here and I heard the most godly man I have ever heard speak!" I said, "Oh that must be Dudley Foord!" Ian said "I don't know who he is, but he is the most godly man I have ever met!" Ian's wife drew out of her handbag a church bulletin, and sure enough, it was Dudley Foord. A man whose life breathed Jesus!

Grace alone is the motivation for godly living.

So often fear is seen to be a motivator. Fear that God will hurt you if you sin. Its like two boys talking on their way home from school. I remember my mate Malcolm saying to me as we walked home, "Let's steal the money out of the phone box." I said "No Way!" He said, "Aww yo're just scared that your father will hurt you if he finds out!"

I was honestly surprised a that. Did his father hurt him? No I said, "I am scared that I will hurt my father if he finds out!"

Grace and love are the most wonderful of motivators.

Here the apostle Paul reminds us of Two appearances of Grace: the appearance of 'the grace of God that brings salvation'; and parallel with that, though at the same time contrasted with it, 'the glorious appearing of the great God.'

The in breaking and the breaking through.

"It is the grace of God and the glory of God that Paul highlights in Titus 2:11-15. What He discusses concerning these 2 realities can also can be summed up in one word: Jesus. What is it that God wants us to know and embrace when it comes to the "glory of the only begotten Son, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14)?

There is the appearance of God's grace (v. 11) and God's glory (v. 13). Both appearances speak of the same thing: Jesus. The grace that has appeared speaks of His 1st coming. The glory that will appear speaks of His 2nd coming." Danny Akin

The Glory of God! Could you imagine ever seeing the glory of God?

Moses wanted to see it " Show me your glory!" Exodus 33: 18 Then Moses said, "Please, let me see Your glory." 19 He said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name  Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." 20 But He answered, "You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live." 21 The Lord said, "Here is a place near Me. You are to stand on the rock, 22 and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back, but My face will not be seen."

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God.

The 'glory of God,' I believe, in one very important sense, is His 'grace.' The highest glory of God is the exhibition of forgiving and long-suffering love. Nothing can be grander. Nothing can be more majestic. Nothing, in the very profoundest sense of the word, can be more truly divine — more lustrous with all the beams of manifest deity, than the gentle raying forth of His mercy and His goodness.

Micah 7: 18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Moses said, 'I beseech thee show me thy glory.' The answer was 'I will make all my goodness pass before thee.' He could only see a little.

But the grace has appeared, when Divine Love is incarnate among us. The long-suffering gentleness we have seen. And in it we have seen, in a very real sense, the glory, for 'we beheld His glory, full of grace.'

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the • One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 16 Indeed, we have all received grace after grace from His fullness, 17 for although the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son— the One who is at the Father's side— He has revealed Him.

Can we see the grace of God? We can see the love in exercise, cannot we? How? John 14:9 "Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" The appearance of Christ was the making visible, in human form, of the love of God.

But yet there lies a further glory ready to be revealed in the last time, the glory, the lustrous light, the majestic splendour, the flaming fire the Lord Jesus' manifest Divinity. The grace has appeared. The glory is to appear. 'Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go.' Hebrews 9:27  And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment— 28 so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

1. God's Grace Climaxes in Release

11 For the grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people,

Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,

'He gave
Himself,' This is the supreme token of love everywhere the natural expression of love everywhere. There was one Man who willed to be Man, and whose not being 'ashamed to call us brethren,' and taking upon Himself part of the children's flesh and blood, was the supreme instance of condescending self-abandonment and bestowment. It began earlier in the Divine purposes of God when the Son decided that He would forever take human flesh and be the Saviour of a world that rejected Him. And He would do that by finally giving Himself for us at the cross.

'He gave Himself for us.'

But Jesus Christ takes us one by one, and 'He gave Himself for us' because 'He gave Himself for me,' for you and you. For us as individuals.

And He gave Himself for us

He gave Himself for us Jesus came to bring you Release from Condemnation

Redemption is a word for condemned people.

Romans 8:1 Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus

What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin's domain, and as a sin offering,

All people

He gave Himself for us Jesus came to bring you Release from Conviction

Redemption is a word for convicts. For criminals who have broken the Law of God.

Release from

A 12-year-old boy accidentally killed one of his family's geese by throwing a stone. Figuring his parents wouldn't notice that one of the 24 birds was missing, he buried it.. But his sister called him aside and said, "I saw what you did. If you don't offer to do the dishes tonight, I'll tell Mother." The frightened boy felt bound to do the dishes. Later, he surprised his sister by telling her it was her turn. When she quietly reminded him of what she could do, he replied, "I've already told Mother, and she has forgiven me. Now you do the dishes. I'm free again!" Are you burdened down with guilt? Confess it and taste again the delicious freedom of God's grace!

He gave Himself for us Jesus came to bring you Release from Chains

Redemption is a word for slaves. Beneath the term redemption is the image of a slave set free by a ransom.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature's night, Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee

2. God's Grace Culminates in Rescue

God's Grace More Greatly Shall Yet Appear

13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

A Glad Hope

Do YOU eagerly await the coming of Christ? And I don't mean: do you believe in the doctrine? Do you eagerly await him? This is a very crucial test of the genuineness of your faith. Peter said in his first letter (2:7), "To you who believe he is precious." And so the preciousness of Christ is the evidence of your faith. And the anticipation of his coming is the evidence of his preciousness. And therefore you can test the reality of your faith by whether you are eagerly waiting for Christ's coming. I don't mean that you must think about the second coming all the time. Even when you are in love you don't think about your sweetheart all the time. Rather, ask yourself these three questions: 1) Does your mind return frequently to the truth of Christ's appearing? 2) When your mind turns to the truth of his appearing does your heart want it -- is there an eagerness to see him? 3) Do you pray for his coming -- Maranatha, praised the early church! Come, Lord Jesus!

Paul said in Phil.3:20, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Heb.11:10 says of Abraham, "He waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

Peter wrote in 2 Pet 3:12 that he was "looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God."

As Paul wrote in 1 Cor.1:7, we should all be "eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ."

A Glorious Hope

It is "the appearing of THE GLORY of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." Listen to John's attempt to put this into words in Revelation: I saw...one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters; in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (Revelation 1:13-16)

Behold he is coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and he will send our his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. And we shall glorify the Lord and enjoy his greatness for ever and ever.

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award tome on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

3. God's Grace Causes recovery

Titus 2:12 deals a death blow and puts to an end once and for all "any theology that separate salvation from the demands of obedience to the Lordship of Christ." (Mounce, 423).

This wonderful Saviour who gave Himself for us like a key, unlocks the rusty gates of our wills and spirits and sets us free to become something we could never have become by our own natures and wills. Because it is God's Grace that Motivates Us. Here is the lever that moves the world: 'He gave Himself for us.' Paul has been setting forth the appearing of the grace of God as having the great purpose the producing of a holy and godly character and conduct.

I could not work my soul to save, that work my Lord has done,

But I will work like any slave for love of God's dear Son.

Say No to Godlessness

Ungodliness-- is living without reverence toward the Lord. To "deny ungodliness" is to say "NO" to "TURN FROM IT, REJECT IT."

We are to deny acts of ungodliness

We will want to read God's word. We will want to seek the Lord's face. We will want to do the Lord's will because He is precious to us.

Say No to Lusts Lusts are normal, God-given desires that go out of control.

What are "worldly lusts?" Chysostom said that "worldly things… are the things that do not pass over with us into heaven but are dissolved together with this present world" (Barclay, p.256).

Let's examine 1 Jn.2:15-17. Here we see three types of "worldly lusts:" 1) "the lust of the flesh" [fleshly desires - sex, food, drugs, alcohol, etc…], 2) "the lust of the eyes" [material desires – money, homes, cars , etc…], and 3) "the pride of life" [arrogant desires – prestige, power, fame etc…].

When we lust, our desires are out of control. The Holy Spirit is not in control when we lust. In lust we give control of our minds to our flesh. In other words, to lust is to go out of our minds… temporary insanity!

Therefore, we are to deny anything that causes us to lust or temporarily give up control of our minds. Why? Because what you put in your mind continually will come out in your life.

Grace teaches us to live "Soberly." The word "sober" or "soberly" literally translates "with sound mind." To be sober is the opposite of being drunk. It is the antithesis of being controlled by "worldly lusts." It means being in control. Interestingly, this is the fourth time it is mentioned in the letter (cf. 1:8; 2:2; 6).

Because we experience God's grace, we are to control ourselves, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit. Gal.5:16 says, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

Say No to lawlessness

As the Bible tells us, the basic principle behind sin is a rebellion against - or failure to measure up to the standards of - God's holy law. "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness," John tells us; "and sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4). Sin is a matter of behavior that is "lawless" in nature. And in this morning's passage, we see that Jesus died in order to "redeem us from every lawless deed" [that is, from a life-style of disobedience to God's law], "and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works". Can you see how "good works" are presented to us here as the opposite of "lawless deeds"? God's great program of grace through Jesus Christ, then, seeks to transform people from being condemned "law-breakers" to redeemed and purified "law-abiders".

Now remember that our obligation to the law is not as that which makes us righteous before God; because our righteousness before God is already settled - having been imparted to us through Christ alone. But having been made 100% righteous in Christ, the law is to now be our pattern of behavior as those who have been declared "righteous by faith." The law is not what we now obey in order to make ourselves righteous; but is rather the definition of the way we now live having already been declared righteous by faith! If you understand this, you will be equipped to understand the impact the Ten Commandments are now to have in your life.

Say Yes to Being His "and to cleanse for Himself a special people"

Jesus gave Himself to build up "His own special people." The KJV says, "peculiar people." Granted, some of God's people are awfully peculiar, but that's not the idea here! The word "special" means "reserved for." It was used in classic literature to describe the spoils of battle that a conquering king reserved for himself. From eternity past, God has been building us a "special people" for His own glory. If you are born again, you are included in the people that are God's own special possession.

2 Corinthians 6 And what agreement does God's sanctuary have with idols? For we are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said: I will dwell among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.17 Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you.18 I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.

The doctrine of salvation can appropriately be discussed in 3 tenses: past, present and future.

Past: delivered from sin's penalty → justification.

Present: delivered from sin's power → sanctification.

Future: delivered from sin's presence → glorification.

In these verses Paul addresses all 3. Sin's penalty in v.11, 14. Sin's power in v. 12, 14.

And Sin's presence in v. 13.

What security is ours!

- Once we were Satan's, now we are the Son's.

- Once we were sins, now we are the Saviour's.

- Once we were foreigners, now we are family.

* Now I belong to Jesus *

"Jesus my Lord will love me forever, From Him no power of evil can sever.

He gave His life to ransom my soul, Now I belong to Him.

Now I belong to Jesus. Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone, But for eternity.

Wonderful grace of Jesus, Greater than all my sin.

How shall my tongue describe it, Where shall my praise begin?

Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free,

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

- Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching the most defiled.

By its transforming power, making him God's dear child.

Purchasing peace and heaven, For all eternity

And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!

Next week.. what it means to say yes to good works

Say Yes to Good Works

Look over to 3:8. Underline this verse both in your Bible and in your mind, "This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works…" not works to avoid guilt, but because of grace!

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' 29 But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself is it considered a hostage situation?

A question worth asking.. when it rains why don't sheep shrink.

If the police arrest a mime do they tell him he has a right to remain silent.

Why do they report power outages on tv?

What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?

Why is there so much evil in the world? Epicurus schematized it this way:

If a perfectly good god exists, then there is no evil in the world. There is evil in the world.

Therefore, a perfectly good god does not exist.

Another version:

God exists God is omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly good A perfectly good being would want to prevent all evils. An omniscient being knows every way in which evils can come into existence. An omnipotent being who knows every way in which an evil can come into existence has the power to prevent that evil from coming into existence. A being who knows every way in which an evil can come into existence, who is able to prevent that evil from coming into existence, and who wants to do so, would prevent the existence of that evil. If there exists an omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly good being, then no evil exists.

Evil exists (logical contradiction)

However one wants to figure it, the problem of evil , the problem of pain, has been a stumbling block to many. My Aunty angrily and vehemently denied the existence of God after her husbands schizophrenia and her son's terrible death with Leukemia.

"Weeds"--NIV, Phillips. b. "Thistles"--Living Bible. c. "Darnel"--NEB, NASV d. "Tares"--KJV, NASV. "Tares" are weeds that go by the name "Bearded Darnel". In the early stages of its development, it looks exactly like wheat. It is only when the plant has matured and the kernels have form in the head of the genuine wheat plant that the 2 plants can told one from the other. The bottom line is this: The wheat has fruit in its head, while the head of the tares is filled with little black seeds. The seeds of tares are poisonous to humans because of the parasitic growths they contain. They produce vomiting & other types of discomfort.

The interpretation of the parable is made for us by the Lord Himself

The sower is Christ. The good seed is the Gospel of grace. The one who sowed tares is the devil. The wheat are those who are saved. The tares are those who are unsaved, but have the appearance of salvation. The tares are those in the church who look saved, act saved, sound saved, but who are in truth deceived about their salvation. The tares are those who expect to go to heaven when they die, but will, in fact, go to hell! You see, just like tares, lost sinners, even those who act saved, are good for one thing and one thing only, and that is to be burned.

1. The Sowing The Problem of Evil,.. "Where did evil come from?"

"Where did evil come from?" It is a real thing not a fiction. The Lord Jesus makes a clear and direct statement about the source, the origin of evil. Evil is something real. It isn't something to deny as the Buddhists and Brahman of India do. It doesn't vanish into the all of nothingness. It is real.

"Where did evil come from?" There is an enemy: He says clearly that the source of evil in the world is Satan.

Since the Garden of Eden, Satan's plan has been to destroy God's kingdom. God had created and established the perfect world order. There was no sin, no sickness, and no death until the crafty serpent approached Eve and questioned God's authority, sowed seeds of doubt in the minds of God's creature. Thus the beginning of Satan's plan to corrupt, destroy, and terrorize God's creation. The forces of Satan are real. Jesus believed in and taught of a personal being called Devil. He did not teach that he is equal in power to God, there is no sense of dualism here. He was not denying the overall Sovereignty of God over all events and circumstances. He was asserting the reality of evil.

Many people question the reality of an omnipotent God who would allow evil to come into the world. In this parable, Jesus asserts the fact that evil exists. He exerts the fact that behind it is "an enemy". To him the tares are tares. They are not imaginary. They are very real and very poisonous weeds. They war against the harvest of all that is good. And they were put their by a real enemy, Satan. The enemy who sowed them is the devil.

Satan particularly works to destroy the good works that the Lord has done with the gospel.

"Where did evil come from?" There are those who serve the devil's purposes. Yes we may think of Hitler, or Stalin or Mao and the millions who have died under their hands. The Pol Pots and every petty tyrant.

So often its people that cause us the most pain. Yes there is the pain of bad relationships through selfishness envy power and pride. What Jesus has in mind here are largely the teachers of evil under the guise of religion. Those are what he calls "the sons of the evil one." In other words, he thinks of the whole human race as a field, bleak, and lifeless. At the beginning, he scattered in it men committed to him, men and women in whom the truth of the Word had taken root and had come alive. He thrust them out into the field, scattered them here and there, in order that they might reproduce themselves and yield men committed to him. Then Satan came and did the same thing. He deliberately scattered in this field of rather lifeless humanity certain evil teachers who appear to be religious and righteous. Jesus began by scattering men committed to the word of truth in order to produce more like himself. Satan began by scattering men committed to the lie in order to produce more like himself. And so both grow together now until the harvest. See how they grow.

2. The Growing The Problem of Evil, "Why doesn't God Do Something?"

An enemy did this!' he told them. " 'So, do you want us to go and gather them up?' the slaves asked him.
29 " 'No,' he said. 'When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I'll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn. ' "

"Let both grow together until the harvest." "Why doesn't God Do Something?" Ther is a harvest coming at the end of the age.

Notice here, the field is the world. Its not the church. We are to try and keep the church free from false doctrine and attacks by the devil on the gospel. But the field here is the world. Its in the world that both tares and wheat grow up together. 38 The field is the world,

This does not mean that we are not to expose false teaching and to meet them positively with the teaching of the truth. We are. Nor are we to allow those who exhibit clear forms of error to take leadership within the church. Other Scripture helps us here. But what our Lord wants us to understand is that no human effort is going to eliminate error from the world. "Let them both grow together," he said.

Baptists have always stood for freedom of religion. We believe that the gospel prospers most when everyone is free to believe as they will and preach as they will. So we defend even the rights of the heretics to be free.

"Why doesn't God Do Something?" There are yet tares that will become wheat.

We believe that God will honour His Word. We separate ourselves from evil, but we do not take up arms against those who are in error. Instead, patiently gently we exhort them to come to the Lord. 2 timothy 2:24 The Lord's slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance to know the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the Devil's trap, having been captured by him to do his will.

It's not the time for this to get sorted out yet.

More people are yet to be saved. 2 Peter 3: Dear friends, don't let this one thing escape you: with the Lord one day is like 1,000 years, and 1,000 years like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that [day]the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, [it is clear]what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness

The evil works of the ungodly are to become more and more apparent. The reason for their judgement, the sins that have captivated them will become the more and more evident as the tares grow taller and taller.

"Why doesn't God Do Something?" There is some wheat that might get rooted up as well

The servants immediately wanted to remove the tares but the master refused. Why? He knew that to do so would uproot much of the good wheat. You see, it is only at the time of the harvest that the ear is completely formed and the nature of the grain is evident. In our haste to judge we may attack and uproot unwheatly wheat thinking it is a tare. We may offend innocent bystanders causing them great spiritual harm.

I once read the story of a young, devout Catholic girl, Mary, who fell in love with a staunch Baptist boy, a fellow named John. They wanted to get married, but Mary's mother strongly objected to her daughter marrying a Protestant. Mary was heartbroken, but her mother suggested a solution: "Sell John on the Catholic Church," she told Mary. "Tell him all about our traditions, our long history, our beliefs. Tell him about our dedicated martyrs and noble saints. Once you persuade him to become a Catholic, you can marry him." So Mary dried her eyes and went to see John. Later that evening, she returned home and burst through the door, sobbing. "What's the matter?" her mother asked. "Couldn't you persuade him to become a Catholic?" Mary answered, "Persuade him? I told him all the things you said, and now he wants to become a priest!" That is the danger of overreaction. Luke 9:54-56 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 "For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village.

We often become impatient with unbelievers who oppose the truth of God, wanting an outward and final judgment on them now. But Jesus in the parable says we are to leave them alone and they will become manifest, gathered and judged in the end. Our response must be one of patience not judgment. We need to want to see them saved. We want them to not be tares any longer but wheat. "The church is called to preach and teach against sin and all unrighteousness, but, in doing that, its purpose is not to judge but to win souls, not to punish but to convert sons of the evil one into sons of the kingdom." -- John MacArthur

3. The Reaping The Problem of Evil, "Why would God create hell?"

Jesus was asserting something about evil. Yes there is a punishment for sin. There is a punishment for not being in his Kingdom. Nothing shows the evil reality of evil better than the wrath of God against it and the eternal perdition of those who choose evil.. It's judgement and the requirement of expiation for that judgement to be removed, prove to what extent God takes evil seriously." Henri Blocher.

"Why would God create hell?" God takes sin seriously and He is boss. Evil is real and very present in our world, but God is ever guiding us to that great day when He will say to His angels, "Now is the time. Go in and harvest. Separate the wheat and gather them into my house where there will be love and joy. But the tares, those who have never accepted my loving grace, who have never accepted my Son as Lord and Saviour of their lives, take and bind them and cast them into the fire that is never quenched."

"Why would God create hell?" There will come a day when all will know and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, willingly or unwillingly.. Phil 2:8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow— of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

"Why would God create hell?" All creation will vindicate God's Justice: The angels will work with the Lord at the end. They are coming with Him when He returns. 2 Thess. 1:7-9 and [to reward]with rest you who are afflicted, along with us. [This will take place]at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels, 8 taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don't know God and on those who don't obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of everlasting destruction, away from the Lord's presence and from His glorious strength,"

"Why would God create hell?" To warn you of the severity of God's Justice The punishment of the wicked is one of the main points of the parable. "Furnace of fire" - One of Jesus' expressions for the eternal hell fire. "Wailing and gnashing of teeth - Because of the intense pain and suffering. Jesus' teaching should cause us to utterly fear hell. We should do all we can to avoid going there.

"Why would God create hell?" God's Justice will be glorified in the punishment of all evil Rom. 2:6-9 He will repay each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but wrath and indignation to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth, but are obeying unrighteousness; 9 affliction and distress for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek;

Good men are getting better, and more powerful, and more extensive; and evil men are getting worse, and more powerful, and more destructive. The two sowings are growing up to a harvest, side by side. If evil is getting worse, God is matching it with a demonstration of his power and with the increase of good. That is why I think it is logical to expect that, as we near the end of the age, and increasingly see evil amassing itself and breaking out in tremendous authority and power, we will also see the Spirit of God breaking out in authority and power among the same groups of people and an awakening will occur right along with the deepening decline into darkness and evil. That is what is happening in our own day. Jesus says it will go on until the harvest. And when the harvest of earth comes at the end of the age God will begin to reap -- the good to be his, the evil to be destroyed.

Now, where do you stand?

That is the question we leave each one with today.

Is the seed of the Word of God growing in your heart? Are you a son of the kingdom, and therefore an influence for good throughout the earth?

Or are you a son of the evil one, beginning to spread lies, deceptive concepts, and to spread abroad the destructive philosophies that are so widespread in the world today. They are part of the lie of Satan that man can live by himself, that he is self-sufficient, that he is able to carry on his own affairs, that he can run his own life, and, therefore, does not need God. That is the great lie which always marks the philosophy of the devil.

Or are you one of the sons of the kingdom whom God is using in this day to bring this great harvest to fruition and to produce that which will glorify and delight his heart throughout all time?

A few thoughts about the Apologetic method of the Lord Jesus Christ used here.

1. It was a straight out declaration and assertion.
   

The authority for his assertion is that He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

The authority for His assertion is that it accords with Old Testament revelation.

The authority for His assertion is that it accords with human understanding and is a credible account.

The authority for His assertion is made simply, powerfully and memorably.

The authority for His assertion demonstrates His earlier statement that those who understand will understand more fully and those who do not understand will be in the dark. Matthew 13: 12 For whoever has, [more]will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand. 14 Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You will listen and listen, yet never understand; and you will look and look, yet never perceive. 15 For this people's heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn back— and I would cure them. 16 "But your eyes are blessed because they do see, and your ears because they do hear!

The authority for His assertion reminds one of the moral responsibility that there is to hear and understand.

(and also indicates that the lack of hearing and response is a moral fault in the hearer).

The authority for His assertion demands response.

Are you with Him or against Him?

Matthew 13 of follows chapter 12! Novel idea! It says in 13:1  On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 Then He told them many things in parables, saying: "Consider the sower who went out to sow.

Here are seven stories Jesus told in Matthew 13. Verse 1 tells us that Jesus gave these parables on "that same day." What same day? Go back and read Matthew 12 and you'll see that it happened on the same day that the Jewish leaders accused Christ of working miracles by the power of the devil (Matthew 12:22-32). Jesus then pronounced judgment on that wicked and adulterous generation (vv. 33-37).

After the public controversy with the Pharisees in Matthew 12 when they accused Jesus of doing his miracles by the power of the devil, one logical question would be, "If you are who you say you are, why doesn't everyone believe? And why did the religious leaders reject your message?" That question rings across the centuries in many different ways. Why does a wife believe and her husband reject? Why does one brother become a missionary and the other a pornographer? Why do two children raised in the same family end up with completely different values? How is it that the same Word of God produces such differing results in the human heart?

Most messages on this parable discuss it from the standpoint of the four soils. I want to look at it in terms of what it teaches us about sharing the gospel today. We have been through an interesting time. Some have responded to the gospel in recent weeks. How do we understand that one church had 100 responses to the gospel and another only a few?

1) No Matter What the Word of God is our overarching duty

Matthew 13: 19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom

Jesus said the seed is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). It's the only thing that has the power to change the human heart.

Some churches are programme driven. They hope that by putting on enough programmes they can attract people to the gospel. Programmes are not wrong in themselves, but sometimes it's possible to mistake busyness for godliness and activity for spirituality. The only thing that produces lasting growth is the Word of God. Preaching and programs without the Word may produce quick growth but it won't last. We need Word-centred ministry—and that must start from the pulpit on Sunday morning. Preachers who preach about everything under the sun except what God has actually said rob their congregations of the one thing they desperately need.

I've been around long enough to see the trends come and go. Here's a short list:

Sunday School campaigns Sharing services Church growth movement Evangelism Explosion

Charismatic renewal Contemporary worship Seeker-friendly churches

Purpose-Driven churches traditional worship Cell group movement churches The Emerging Church Movement. I have heard of everything that people do to win people to Christ: Jesus All About Life.. etc etc, but when it comes down to it, its only so far as someone actually shares the WORD of God at these functions that anything actually of an eternal nature will ever occur. Does Jesus All About Life actually bring people into contact with the Word of God? That will be the question we must ask ourselves next week as the campaign goes on TV. Never substitute a trend or a fad or the hottest new thing for the simple, systematic teaching of God's Word. Without the Word, our churches may grow but they will not produce fruit that lasts.

2) No Matter What the Word of God produces differing and unpredictable results in the hearers.

This is the central teaching of the parable. Remember that there is nothing wrong with the seed. The same seed that the birds eat is the same seed that produces a good crop. And it's the same seed that produces a plant that withers away or gets choked by the thorns. Good ministry can't be defined solely in terms of its visible results.

Matthew 13:3-8

A Closed Mind.

A Cloudy Mind,

A Cluttered Mind

A Committed Mind.

Stories to help people understand truth. Stories with a point. Stories to conceal truth as well.

If you seek to understand God's Word, it can change your heart.

Matthew 13:9 Anyone who has ears should listen!" there is something to get in the story and not everyone will get it!

The ability to understand the Word of God is not a function of the intellect, it's a function of the will. . 9 Anyone who has ears should listen!" there is something to get in the story and not everyone will get it!

If you choose to understand it, it takes root in your heart, and you are changed .

The story of the Smalls, convicts and the first Methodist church in Australia.

I heard about one man who in his early years did evangelism among one particular tribal group and saw hundreds if not thousands come to Christ. Then he was transferred to a primarily Muslim area of Nigeria where he labored for years with only a handful of converts. What happened? Had he suddenly become ineffective? The answer is no. He still preached the same Good News but the field was much harder because of the hold the Muslim religion had on its followers.

Good ministry is like that. A man may see huge results in one church and then struggle for years in another church. One tribe is open to the gospel; another is resistant. One city welcomes missionaries; another opposes them. And so it goes around the world. And you can't know in advance how your ministry will be received. That's why Jesus told this story. Our job is sow the seed but as we sow, we need to be realistic and not starry-eyed dreamers. Some seed will fall on the hard path, some on the stony ground, some on thorny soil, and some will fall on good soil. But you can't know in advance where all the seeds will fall.

Good ministry of the Word produces differing results. That happens in every church and in every ministry. Jesus told this story so we won't be surprised and we won't be discouraged when things don't go the way we expected.

1 Corinthians 1:30a (HCSB) "But from Him you are in Christ Jesus…"

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see. John Newton

We were lost and God sovereignly "found" us; we were blind, but God made us see!

This wonder of God's sovereign choice to find us and make us see overwhelmed Isaac Watts when he wrote:

While all our hearts and all our songs join to admire the feast,

Each of us cries with thankful tongue, "Lord, why was I a guest?

Why was I made to hear your voice, and enter while there's room?

When thousands make a wretched choice, and rather starve than come?" Isaac Watts (1725-1807)

Jesus speaks to the crowds in parables, but the mysteries are the things He tells those who are His in private. The mysteries were the truths that were hidden and had to be revealed.

2) No Matter What, early success does not necessarily indicate Success For the Word of God.

Often when we enter a new ministry, there is a sudden growth spurt. I remember being told that when a pastor goes to a new church, there is generally a quick rise in attendance followed by a plateau followed by a period of much slower growth. This makes sense because a new pastor brings new excitement, a fresh perspective, new ideas and an infusion of energy. It's not unusual for people to come to church to check out the new guy. So the first few months of a new ministry normally produce a bump in attendance. It's easy for a pastor to be misled by that bump. He can start to think, "Hey, this is easy." The ministry may be many things, but it is not easy.

But that's precisely what Jesus told us to expect. I find it fascinating that the longest portion of Jesus' explanation (vv. 19-21) deals with the seed that fell on stony ground. Remember, it sprang up quickly. Early success! Nothing better than that. We're going to have a bumper crop this year. But that seed sprang up quickly because it had no deep roots. When the sun beat down, the young plants withered and died.

So let us take the warning to heart. Wise farmers know that there is always a long period between planting and harvesting. The "early responders" won't always be around when harvest time comes. Don't be misled by early success. It's not always a guarantee of things to come. Think of it this way. Three of the four soils responded positively at first. But only one produced lasting fruit.

4) No MatterDon't despair because of early difficulty.

Three of the four soils failed to produce good fruit. Is Jesus suggesting that 75% of our efforts will be unproductive? No, but sometimes it can seem that way. Some churches are hard, others are easier. Some missionaries see amazing results. Others struggle for years with little to show for their efforts. Good soil can be hard to find. The flip side is that when you find it, it can produce amazing results. And some people will be thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred-fold in what they produce for the Kingdom. God can do a lot with a little. That's the encouraging news from this parable. A few seeds sown in good soil can ultimately revolutionize a church, a town, a school, a family, a neighbourhood, or when God wills it so, an entire region.

5) No Matter What Your initial judgment of people will often be wrong.

This truth cuts both ways. You can't tell by looking what sort of heart a person has. That is, you can't infallibly know who will respond to the ministry of the Word and produce the good fruit Jesus talked about in this parable. As the seed is sown in many places, it will find its place in many hearts. You simply cannot tell in advance how people will respond over the long haul. Some people you "knew" would make good elders and deacons will fall away or be tripped up by the cares of this world. And sometimes the unlikeliest people will become mature believers. We have to give the Word time to do its work. Eventually the Word reveals the true condition of every heart.

6) No Matter What Sow widely because you don't know where the good soil is.

The farmer in this parable "broadcast" his seed. He carried it in a pouch slung around his neck and threw handfuls in every direction. He knows that a certain amount of the seed will fall on the beaten path where it cannot take root. What the farmer doesn't know—and can't know—is where the stones and thorns are just under the surface. And therefore he also doesn't know where the good soil is that produces lasting fruit. So it is in his own best interests to sow his seed as widely as possible. The same is true in evangelism. The best way to reach more people is to sow the seed of the Word in as many ways possible, using every avenue open to you, reaching out to every age and every interest group you can find.

7) No Matter What When you find good soil responsive to the Word of God, cultivate it.

It's easy to be sidetracked into a thousand things that don't really matter. When you find good soil, cultivate it. That's what Jesus did. Though he spoke to the masses, and though he had time for individuals, he gave the majority of his time to training the twelve. He found them, he called them, he trained them, and he allowed them to come alongside and be with him up close and personal. He poured himself into that small band of men knowing that after his departure they would become the leaders of the movement he had started. They were the good soil that would multiply 30 60 or a hundred-fold. That is the point of the parable. The Jewish leaders were not good soil. The scribes and Pharisees were the quick growers that would be crushed by the worries and cares of this life and the desires for other things.

I don't think we can improve on Jesus' plan for reaching the world.

He preached to the masses. He ministered to individuals. He poured himself into a small group of key followers.

He called an even smaller group to be his apostles. That small group of 12 men (which eventually became eleven after Judas defected) was the real focus of Jesus' earthly ministry. After he returned to heaven, they became the foundation for the church he was building (Ephesians 2:20).

Find a group of key men and women and pour yourself into them. Teach them. Pray with them. Listen to them. Laugh with them. Cry with them. Challenge them. Encourage them. Call them at night. Send them a weekly email. Bring them into your confidence. Let them see your heart. There is only one thing wrong with this plan. It takes a long time and it takes a lot of energy and you have to be really committed to it. This isn't a quick-rewards program.

"I'd like to do that but I just don't have the time. I'm overwhelmed with too many things to do already." It is a sober statement of reality. He really didn't have the time. One of the other men in the room commented, "It must not be very important to you or you'd find the time to do it." He didn't argue and he wasn't offended. When I saw him a few months later, he said, "I want you to meet my men." And he introduced me to a group of 8 men, each one handpicked and prayed over. They were meeting weekly to read theology and pray together. And after some period of time, each man will pray about it and handpick his own men to repeat the process. The best ministry is always life on life. A passion for God is better caught than taught. 2 Timothy 2:2 And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. When you find the good soil, cultivate it! Work with it so that eventually there will be a multiplied harvest for the Lord.

8) No Matter What Without prayer your ministry cannot be effective.

We do the sowing, the seed must do the work, but it needs a receptive heart to bring forth fruit. What does a farmer do with unproductive soil? He plows it up, throws out the rocks, pulls up the weeds, waters the ground, and plants it again. God farms the human heart like that. Jeremiah 4:3 says, "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns." Things don't have to stay the way they are today. Remember what God promised to disobedient Israel in Ezekiel 36:26, "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

A new heart! A spiritual heart transplant!

That goes beyond the parable Jesus told and it takes us into a realm of enormous spiritual promise. The farmer cannot of himself transform rocky soil into good soil. If you've ever seen the hillsides of Galilee, you know that they are more rocks than soil. You could never get rid of all the rocks. But God can!

And this is why the final word belongs to the Lord and not to us. After all, we were all once like the seed sown by the path. But God in his mercy intervened. He removed the heart of stone and gave us a heart of flesh. He did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He gave us a brand-new heart.

We believe God can do things that are far beyond our expectations. He's done it before. He can do it again. And he's doing at this moment all over the world.

This parable teaches us both patience and hope. We need patience because some of the seeds we sow will never produce the fruit we hope for. But others will produce one hundred times more than we expect. And this is why we preach and pray and keep on sowing the Word. There is good soil out there even though it's not always easy to find.

If we keep on sowing the Word, we will reap a harvest in God's time, by his grace, for his glory. Amen.

With Thanks To Ray Pritchard Keep Believing Ministries

Titus 2 Being Godly Men

1. But you must speak what is consistent with sound teaching. 2 Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. 3 In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to much wine. [They are]to teach what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be sensible, pure, good homemakers, and submissive to their husbands, so that God's message will not be slandered. 6 Likewise, encourage the young men to be sensible 7 about everything.

Dr. Thom Rainer went to visit Billy Graham in his home in Montreat, North Carolina just last week . His time with Billy Graham was poignant because he is in his twilight years. He will be ninety-one in November. He wrote to me "I came away realizing that I had been on the mountaintop in more ways than one."

A life pleasing to the Lord is a life of integrity. The name of Billy Graham inevitably reminds us integrity. His is a life that did not compromise morally. It is a life that has been above reproach financially. And his is a life of incredible honesty. Leadership at any level cannot begin to function well unless the leader has integrity.

Our first ministry is to our family. The home of Billy Graham is a home of love. It is the place where Billy and Ruth Graham raised children and welcomed grandchildren. At one point in my visit with Mr. Graham, he pointed to a portrait of his late wife Ruth. With tears in his eyes he said, "I can't wait to see her in heaven." Thank you, sir, for reminding me again of the priority of family.

WOW. Wouldn't you and I like that experience to learn how to make an eternal impact with our lives in the lives of others. Yet we can learn from God's Word, for here in this short passage, the Apostle Paul has given you and I some directions to really make an eternal impact.

Our God is a Consuming Fire (Deut. 4:24 ; Heb. 12:29 ); and He forever dwells in Unapproachable Light (I Tim. 6:16 ), surrounded by His exquisite creations that chant Holy, Holy, Holy—and fall down in worship before Him (Isaiah 6:3; Rev. 4:8 ); and since the Lord God Almighty is Immutable, He is always that way, He will never change —it is we who MUST change.

Grace does not change God, it changes us. Grace has opened a way to God, a safe passage through the fire. Christ's work on the Cross opens the way for us to approach and know, serve and love our Holy God.

Knowing our Holy God

How constantly we need His life-changing grace, to energize us in our struggle against the flesh within, and the sins that so easily beset us. Sin constantly surrounds us, like flood waters; and swirling around, seeks to seep into any crack or unprotected area of our life. Salvation described by Jesus is, "knowing God". Grace made us able to know the Unapproachable, Holy God of the Universe. But our God says that there is a choice about our purity we must make.

Participation in Purity is Demanded by God for all , including the Older
men .. well by comparison to younger men, the younger men were probably in the under 30's category. Any one over 30 was regarded as an older man. What was the life expectancy in New Testament times? Psalm 90: 10 Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years.

There are particular temptations that occur to men as they grow older. These temptations are not dissimilar to those that younger men face. But it is interesting to note how they affect us all.

 Older men are to be self-controlled,

This highlights the issues of anger that men face. The movie Grumpy Old Men and its sequel Grumpier Old Men are comic portrayals of anger in older men. The reality, however, is far from funny. According to the Senior Journal, the stress chemicals that are released during anger episodes can speed the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease, and contribute to a faster-than-normal reduction in lung function due to aging. A seven-year study at Harvard University shows that older men with high anger scores on a personality test have about a three-times-higher risk of heart disease than men with lower anger scores. Anger remained associated with heart disease even after adjusting for smoking, drinking, being overweight, and other factors. Scientists speculate that anger releases stress hormones into the bloodstream, increases oxygen demand by heart muscle cells, and increases stickiness of blood platelets, leading to blood clots that initiate heart attacks.

What Is Irritable Male Syndrome Irritable Male Syndrome is defined by Dr. Diamond as A state of hypersensitivity, anxiety, frustration, and anger that occurs in males and is associated with biochemical changes, hormonal imbalances, stress, and loss of male identity.

Chronic anger and stress can also lead to the beginning of a drug and alcohol problem, or exacerbate substance abuse that was already occurring. Substance abuse can cause erratic behavior, including anger or irritability. With the loss of inhibitions due to drugs and alcohol, this anger can quickly spiral out of control into physical violence or emotional abuse of a spouse or caregiver.

 That the aged men be sober νηφαλους εiναι, σεμνος, σwφρονας,

Key Cause of IMS Biochemical changes

We've all heard about brain neurotransmitters such as serotonin and how they can impact our moods. Having a constant level of serotonin is vital for men if they are to prevent IMS from upsetting the balance of brain chemicals that we need to maintain a positive mood. Siegfried Meryn, M.D., author of Men's Health and the Hormone Revolution, says, "The more serotonin the body produces the happier, more positive and more euphoric we are. It plays an essential role in psychological stability and affects eating behavior, the circadian rhythm, mood, sexual behavior, and the perception of pain. Low serotonin can contribute to a man's irritability and aggression." So how do we keep our serotonin levels up? It's actually quite simple. One of the things we can do is eat the right foods for mood stability. Too much protein suppresses central nervous system (CNS) serotonin levels.

Communication and conflict resolution Conflict is inevitable in relationships, but this doesn't mean that every disagreement needs to lead to an angry fight.

Relaxation Anger can be the result of a build up of unresolved stress, bottling things up or a front for other unexpressed emotions

Changing the beliefs that contribute to anger Some anger problems are related to underlying belief systems about how the world 'should' be. If you have a belief that the world should or must conform to your expectations, when in fact it doesn't, you may experience a lot of frustration and anger. Changing the beliefs that cause anger can take some time and effort.

Older men are to be worthy of respect, grave,

Levity is unbecoming in any, but especially in the aged; they should be composed and stayed, grave in habit, speech, and behaviour; gaudiness in dress, levity and vanity in the behaviour, how unbeseeming in their years!

I don't actually think that the issue Paul raises before them is the use of humour. Rather I think that this is one of the chronic problems of men in mid life crisis that is being described. Men in mid life find that their hormones run wild.

Mid life depression.

Many men reach mid-life and their emotional world begins to come apart. The slide may be triggered by physical illness, the death of a parent, the loss of a job, or the dying of a dream. They begin to feel that their life has no direction. It's as though the rudder of their ship has been damaged and they can't steer a straight course. They feel lost and alone and terrified. However, on the outside they may appear to be on top of the world. They are successful at work and good husbands and fathers at home. However, the rust of despair is eating away at the foundation of their lives. Afraid to confront the wreckage of the past, they go for the quick fix. Their unconscious mind grabs a hold of their psyches and whispers, "Get away, get away. It's your old life and your old wife that is the problem. Create a new life and everything will be fine."

Contrary to literary tales, we must go home again. We can't run away from ourselves. Mid-life is either a time of withdrawal and retreat or a time to go deeper. We either heal the old wounds or they will eat away at our bones.

Hormonal imbalances

When people think of irritability, anger, hormones; they often think of a football player or weight-lifter juiced up on anabolic steroids with everything bulging—hi neck, his biceps, his eyes. Though a small number of males experience IMS because of hormone levels that are too high, the more typical problem is that hormone levels, such as testosterone are too low. Dr. Gerald A. Lincoln is a research scientist at the Centre for Reproductive Biology in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Lincoln and his team were trying to develop a male contraceptive. One of their studies involved lowering the testosterone levels of rams to see if it prevented conception. It didn't. But surprisingly he found that it did make the animals "irritable."

Older men are to be sensible, temperate,

Increasing stress Fifty years ago only bridges were stressed. Humans were irritable, angry, anxious, or worried. Since the 1950s stress has evolved from an engineering term to become the most prevalent cultural construct of our time. It seems that nearly everyone is stressed these days and the interest in stress and how to deal with it increases all the time. Interestingly, in 2003, I Googled "stress" and was given nearly 10 million listings to choose from. Googling stress" today I get 164 million listings. In the study I conducted for the book, 91% of the men I surveyed said they were suffering from stress in their lives. I suspect that number is approaching 100% now.

But what exactly is stress? For most of us, stress is synonymous with worry. If it is something that makes us worry, then it is stressful. However, our bodies have a much broader definition of stress. To our body, stress is synonymous with change. It doesn't matter if it is a "good" change, or a "bad" change, they are both stressful. When you find you find your dream home and get ready to move, that is stress. If you worry that you won't be able to pay for it, that is stress. If you get a divorce or fall in love, that also is stress. Good or bad, if it is a change in your life, it is stress as far as your body is concerned. Stress is part of life and we wouldn't want to eliminate stress, though at times, we'd like it to ease up a bit. We might think of stress that leads to Irritable Male Syndrome at "distress" or "overstress." When we have too much change in too short a time, our system gets overloaded.

Being temperate is knowing how to handle stress.

Becoming prayerful… Phil 4:6 Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1Peter 5: 7 casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you

If we do not handle the stress properly this stress can result in older men doing intemperate things.

The picture of the man in his 50's in the red sports car with his shirt unbuttoned to his navel sporting a gold chain around his neck with the hairs of his chest blown dried and bursting forth in plentiful array.

The picture of the older man sporting a younger woman under his arm, or making himself a fool for a younger woman.

As we come to understand the roots of irritable male syndrome and how it can impact relationships, we see that there is a strong connection to addictions. As men repress the pain and memories of childhood wounds, they often use various forms of escape in an attempt to deal with the pain. Some men overuse alcohol. Others, get hooked on marijuana, cocaine, or other substances. Gambling, over-eating, compulsive work, or sexual acting out, are ways men try to deal with the unresolved issues.

Since we live in a culture where addictions to legal and illegal forms of escape are the norm, we often don't even recognize the degree to which a man may be using one or more of these crutches. However, at mid-life, with stress mounting, the addictions may become more obvious and more serious. Men who have lead exemplary lives all of a sudden become sexually involved with someone at work. Men who have been life-long advocates of sound fiscal management become addicted to some get-rich-quick scheme and steal money from people who trusted them. Men who have been against drugs all their lives are suddenly arrested for the use and sale of large quantities of marijuana.

Older men are to be sound in faith,

Dr. William S. Pollack has spent a great deal of his professional life working with

males. In his book, A New Psychology of Men, co-authored with Dr. Ronald F.

Levant, he says, "Men suffer under a code of masculinity that requires them to be: · Aggressive · Dominant · Achievement oriented Competitive · Rigidly self-sufficient · Willing to take risks · Emotionally restricted."

It's a terrible bind for men. If we don't follow the masculine plan, we are told by society, in no uncertain terms, that we are "wimps," not really men. If we do follow the male dictates, we are told we are "unfeeling brutes" and we feel ashamed. It's no wonder we dream of escape, even through death.

Here in this passage is the solution.

How can you get through the crises that can change a man from changing from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, from Mr. Nice to Mr. Mean to Mr. In-the-Wind.

Be sound in faith. This has a two fold meaning. Sound in faith means being sound in our beliefs. Jude 3  Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write and exhort you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.

Titus 1: 9 holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it. So, rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith 14 and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commandments of men who reject the truth.

2 Peter 1:3 For His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 4 By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.

It also means have a growing trust in God. In these times you may be tempted to find your own solution to your problems. Your anxieties, your desires and lusts! Don't! Trust the Lord to bring you through this crisis time. Trust Him that He has greater purposes to work out. Trust Him and rest on Him! Trust that those promises will work for you too!

Older men are to be sound in love,

Matthew Henry said : "love to God and men, and soundness therein. It must be sincere love, without dissimulation: love of God for himself, and of men for God's sake." Is there a time better suited to discover what it is to truly love people than as we get older? Love is being forbearing over the things that irritate us. Love is finding new reasons to love our spouses in spite of the changes within us that make us anxious and revive some of the old hurts from the past. 1 John 3: 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

Older men are to be sound in endurance, patience

Matthew Henry wrote Aged persons are apt to be peevish, fretful, and passionate; and therefore need to be on their guard against such infirmities and temptations. Faith, love, and patience, are three main Christian graces, and soundness in these is much of gospel perfection. There is enduring patience and waiting patience, both of which must be looked after; to bear evils becomingly, and contentedly to want the good till we are fit for it and it for us, being followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Billy Graham Listen to critics, but don't dwell on them. In my position, I am subject to criticisms more often than I like. Indeed I am pretty thin-skinned, so it is an area in which I constantly struggle. So I asked Mr. Graham how, in a lifetime of international ministry and scrutiny, he dealt with the constant stream of criticisms. He smiled at me and simply said, "I ignored most of them." While he never implied that he was blameless, he knew that dwelling on criticisms would distract and harm his ministry. So he simply moved on.

Humility is one of the greatest virtues of leaders. He has counseled presidents and kings. He has preached to millions. Volumes have been written about his life and ministry. Some have seen him to be the world's most influential person of the second half of the twentieth century. Yet in each of the times I have been with him, I have witnessed one of the most humble men I've ever known. Billy Graham never thinks too highly of himself. What an incredible example he is.

All that really matters is Jesus. Mr. Graham preached about Him for most of his life. The message of the gospel is the heart of his ministry. He understands the brevity of life. And he knows, when it is all said and done, our relationship with Jesus Christ is all that really matters.

The other day I was asked to debate with a fellow about the gospel.. rather I was asked to help another pastor with a difficult fellow who was rude abrasive and arrogant, demanding that all join him in his rejection of Christ. Every time I tried to answer his objections he became more and more abusive and ridiculous in his assertions. How do you work with people who reject the good news of Jesus? What does the Lord tell us about handling rejection?

Matthew 10: 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:

The theme of chapters 11-13 is the rejection of Jesus' message. Even in 10:17-25 Jesus had warned his disciples of future rejection and persecution. In Matthew 11 this warning becomes reality for Jesus himself as Matthew begins to emphasize that there is some opposition to Jesus. Matthew 12 relates events beginning the rejection of Jesus by the Jews. There is a theme.. John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Matthew groups together incidents that are similar. He is not always exactly chronological, and he often takes themes to show us how these truths were worked out. We have the collection of Christ's sayings in the Sermon on the Mount, followed by the collection of doings in chapters 7. and 9., the collected charge to His ambassadors in chapter 10., the collection of instances illustrative of the relations of different classes to the message of the Kingdom and its King in chapter 11., and now in this chapter a series of incidents presents to us the growing bitterness and antagonism expressed against Jesus by the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes, the traditional leaders of the Jewish community..

Why do people reject the Christ?

The Pardon Christ Gives Upsets The Ecclesiastical Applecart.

All the Gospels indicate that the breaking point between Jesus and the Pharisees was the Sabbath controversy (cf. Mark 3:6; Luke 14:11, John 5:9ff., and Matthew 12:14). Through the Sabbath controversy one discovers why the Pharisees particularly opposed Jesus. The way Jesus understood the Law was different to the way that the Pharisees understood the Law.

Plucking of ears of grain (v. 1) was actually not a crime. It wasn't breaking the Sabbath laws. (cf. Deut. 23 :25), But the Pharisees wrongfully regarded it as breaking the Sabbath law, as though it was "harvest work" (v. 2).

Christ quickly reminded them of two passages they ought to have known from their own Scriptures:

(1) 1Samuel 21:1-6 (vs. 3, 4), where David ate "shewbread on the Sabbath (Lev. 24:8); and —

(2) Numbers 28:9, 10 (v. 5), where priests in temple worked on Sabbath in course of their daily duties. So, if all work on the Sabbath was wrongful, as the Pharisees insisted, the priests would have been continually guilty.

In their endeavour to interpret the law, they had a field day with the Sabbath law, because the Sabbath law declared that they were not to bear any burdens on the Sabbath day. And so it was necessary for them to constitute what was bearing a burden. And it was decided that if you had lost your leg and had a wooden leg, that you could not use that on the Sabbath day, because that would indeed be bearing a burden. Well they went further then that. If you had false teeth, you could not wear them on the Sabbath day, because that also would be bearing a burden. As far as I know, false eyelashes weren't in at those times, but I would imagine they would have had to have ruled on that too. Today in Jerusalem in the Sabbath, they have elevators running continually between floors stopping a few minutes at each level so that no one has to do any work by pushing the button on the Sabbath.

(In the first century there were two major currents of thought with respect to what was lawfully permitted on the Sabbath. One is represented by the Dead Sea sect, as illustrated by the Damascus Document. The other is what generally appears in the rabbinic material. The first is more stringent, the second more liberal. For instance, the Damascus Document XI, 16-17 forbids the saving of a life on the Sabbath day, whereas this was permitted by the rabbis (Yoma 8:6,7; Mekilta Exodus 22:2; 31:13). Further, the Dead Sea sect forbade helping an animal out of a pit or ditch (Damascus Document XI, 13); the Pharisees granted that right (Shabbath 15:1ff; bShabbath 128b). Thus, the rabbis, at least in some respects, were more liberal than the Dead Sea community.

However, the Mishan agrees that the practice of medicine where life is not in danger (such as the setting of a broken bone) is forbidden (Shabbath 22:6). From the data it is clear that Jesus' controversy was with the rabbinic understanding and not with the Dead Sea sect. In Matthew 12:11 it is assumed that the Pharisees would permit a man to help his ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath. This indicates that Matthew's audience was more influenced by the rabbis than by the Dead Sea sect.

There were certain activities that were permitted on the Sabbath. One is mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 1:5: the sacrificial activities of the priests. Further, "the school of Hillel allowed visitation of and comfort of a sick man on the sabbath." Thus there was some diversity of thought as to what was permitted and what was not permitted on the Sabbath.)

The Lord Jesus accepts their position, and rather than argue against it, asks them what the scriptures actually do say in these matters. He asks 'Have ye not read? that they could not produce Scripture for their prohibition, as He would do for the liberty which He allowed. He quotes two instances in which ceremonial obligations gave way before higher law. The first, that of David and his followers eating the shew-bread, which was tabooed to all but priests, is perhaps chosen with some reference to the parallel between Himself, the true King, now unrecognised and hunted with His humble followers, and David, the fugitive outlaw with his band. Our Lord thus showed that while Fourth Commandment was binding, there was greater principle of human necessity making lawful certain activities on Sabbath; and, in light of that principle, there was no essential difference between disciples' ears of corn and David's shewbread.

Then Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 as a principle. If the Pharisees had known the meaning of Hosea 6:6, they would have had the theological lens through which to consider the actions of others. If they had known the meaning of Hosea 6:6, they would not have condemned the disciples.

When we evaluate others based on the technicalities of ritual and precision obedience, we miss the heart of God. God is relational, not technical.  God is more interested in mercy than he is ritual.  God is more interested in relationship than he is perfectionistic precision. That's what Hosea 6:6, means. We need it as a principle for living in relationship with others just as they did then.

This does not entail a rationale or an excuse for disobedience, but it should soften our heart with the mercy of God as we relate to others. After all, shouldn't we treat others with the mercy with which God treats us? And I am grateful that God's heart yearns for mercy more than sacrifice, for heart more than ritual, for relationality more than technicality. Can there be some that reject Christ today for these matters?

Salvation by the grace and pardon of God through the sacrificial work of Christ is too easy for some. They must add their extra rules for folks to be saved. And they object strongly to anyone who would indicate that we are saved by the mercy of God in Christ alone. Yes even some here today feel that way.

Now the Lord brings to mind something so revolutionary that it must have startled the Pharisses!

Yet.. One greater than the temple

Could it be that the issue of Jesus as Lord is the issue at heart for some people? Here is One greater than ritual, greater than religion, greater than our puny, weak ways of saving ourselves. And how that destroys our pride. Why He is greater than the Temple itself!

"There was much hard work done in the temple on the Sabbath — sacrifices to be slain, fires and lamps to be kindled, and so on. That was not Sabbath desecration. Why? Because it was done in the temple, and as a part of divine service. The sanctity of the place, and the consequent sanctity of the service, exempted it from the operation of the law. And now here in the fields, here gathering the corn, 'In this place' — here among the growing corn, beneath the free heaven, far away from Jerusalem 'is one greater than the temple.' He is all that the temple symbolised. In Him the Godhead really dwells; He is the meeting-place of God and man, the place of the oracle, the place of sacrifice. Then, where He stands is holy ground, and all work done with reference to Him is worship". Alexander MacLaren.

In this claim, to be greater than temple and Lord of Sabbath, Christ was stating that, as Son of man, He knew what was best for man and, as Messiah, He represented Divine authority; further, He was placing Himself on equality with God and asserting that Jewish people were His people.

Here The Person Christ Is Upsets The Autonomous Individual

"The scene changes to a synagogue, Capernaum. Among the worshippers is a man with 'a withered hand,' who seems to have been brought there by the Pharisees as a bait to try to draw out Christ's compassion. What a curious state of mind that was, — to believe that Christ could work miracles, and to want Him to do one, not for pity's sake, nor for confirmation of faith, but to have material for accusing Him! And how heartlessly careless of the poor sufferer they are, when they manipulate his illness for their benefit." MacLaren.

And again the Lord demonstrates without a Word that He is Lord of the Sabbath.

Matt 12: And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

13 Then He told the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other.

I like how the Lord handled them here. He didn't actually DO anything. He merely instructed the poor guy to hold out his hand. Now what could these Pharisees do? Jesus hadn't actually broken the Sabbath, nor had the man! There was no law against holding out your hand! But He demonstrated by healing in this way that indeed He was Lord, Lord of the Sabbath!!

It was this beyond all else that aroused opposition of Jewish authorities, because they recognized that they would have to recognize Jesus as Messiah As Lord! As THE LORD! John 5:18, Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

10:30-33 and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

It is this that arouses opposition from mankind today. We acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We acknowledge that He is greater than all forms of religion, and He is greater than our lives and has the right to rule over our lives. He has the right to say how we may or may not use the Sabbath day and every other day of our week. Yes Christians worship Jesus as God! (this was the reason given why Christians were odd)

It is this more than anything else that arouses the resentment of our neighbours to the gospel. Why should we talk about One who has the right to limit our fun?

Why should we impose on ourselves some strictness and some disciplines that the world does not want to impose on itself. And when we do bring ourselves under the Lordship of Christ, then the world finds itself held guilty by our submission to His Lordship. His Lordship over our lives challenges their rights to live independently, and autonomously of God.

Here The Power Christ has upsets the Rationalist

Matthew 12 continues with Continuing rejection by the religious leaders.

(22-24) Jesus delivers a man possessed by a demon.

(25-29) Jesus answers the accusation that He operates by Satan's power.

And in (30-32) Jesus reveals the desperate place of those who could be hardened enough to attribute His workings to Satanic power. "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

(43-45) The dangerous consequences of their rejection of Jesus. "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

The Rejection of Jesus. Receive Or Reject.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

If you receive Christ You receive His Claims (vs. 6-8) This was twofold:

a. Christ claimed to be "greater than the temple" (v. 6) and can command His disciples (v. 7), "greater than Jonah" (v. 41); "greater than Solomon" (v. 42); "greater than our father Abraham" (John 8 53ff.) ; "greater than our father Jacob" (John 4 :12ff.) ; "greater ... than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

2. The Response Of Jesus He Forewarns Of His Reception by the Gentiles

16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known,17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: (1) His Position (v. 18) God is the speaker and describes Messiah as His Servant, His Chosen One, His Beloved
18 " Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! (2) His Power (v. 18) I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. 19 His Program (v. 19) He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; 21 And in His name Gentiles will trust."

(4) His Patience (v. 20) The character of the Messiah is then described in relation to Jewish people who, like reeds bruised and flax smoking, are regarded as bowed and smouldering under load of ecclesiastical bondage; He will bear patiently with them, enabling them to stand upright and grow strong towards God; He is sympathetic with all who are in earnest about following Him; and He will lead them gently on until complete victory for His just cause is assured. Therefore, take heart, you are never beyond healing unless you are beyond humbling.

(5) His Promise (v. 21) The final outcome is to be that, notwithstanding the opposition of certain Jews, there will be Gentiles who will accept Christ and Divine blessing will be bestowed; if, therefore, His disciples follow Him in this attribute of a meek and quiet spirit, their influence will resemble His and hearts everywhere will respond instinctively to gentle, Christlike lives.

The People Christ Owns Upsets The Rest You are called to decide who you are with.

Matthew 12: 46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Who will you identify with?