Founders Baptist

Introduction: 
The harvest is plentiful. 
The laborers are few. 
Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 
Our Lord spoke those words to a large company of disciples. Sometimes when we think about the Lord’s disciples, we think immediately of the twelve. But we should remember that our Lord had many disciples in addition to the twelve. Some of those disciples, followed Him, but didn’t know Him. And one of those is included in the twelve. 
The twelve are given special attention, training, and they have a special purpose. 
He exhorted all His disciples to pray for laborers. 
Pray because the Lord makes laborers (by saving them). 
Pray because the Lord equips those laborers. 
Pray because the Lord locates those laborers. 
Pray because the Lord empowers and uses those laborers. 
Now in the 10th chapter we see our Lord taking action that accords with His command. 
As we said last Sunday evening, what we have here instructs the ministry of the church until Jesus returns. Yes, this tells us what Jesus DID, but it also instructs us about what Jesus DOES. 
Our Savior now moves to commission the men who will serve as the foundation for His church. 
Ephesians 2:18–22 (ESV) 
18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 
What we see is the work of the Master disciple-maker. 
He is the Master-teacher, the Master-trainer, of those whom He saves and makes use of. Today we see four elements of Christ’s commissioning of the apostles, and therefore, four elements of FAITHFUL DISCIPLE-MAKING. 
 
 • THE ACTION THAT ACCOMPANIES PRAYER (vs.1a) 
The first thing we see is that our Lord did more than simply call for prayer. He took action that accorded with that call for prayer. 
 • THE LORD CALLED THE DISCIPLES TO PRAYER 
The disciples were called to pray. Our Lord trained His disciples to see their dependency on God. 
NOTE: One GREAT problem on display in approaches to discipleship in our day is a lack of emphasis in this very area. There is great stress placed on systems and disciplines and reading materials and other such things. Some of those are good, some are not. But what is certainly NECESSARY is that anyone who is properly taught must learn their utter dependence on God. 
Pray EARNESTLY for the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. 
THAT WORD EARNESTLY SPEAKS: 
Of the urgency of the need. 
Of the utter dependence of the seekers. 
Of the desire that is present in our beseeching. 
Of the diligence and work that is necessary for faithful prayer. 
Of the absolute necessity of this prayer-work. 
Prayer must be never underestimated. 
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a man greatly used by God, and perhaps the reason most underestimated was his devotion to prayer. 
“If God be near a church, it must pray. And if he be not there, one of the first tokens of his absence will be a slothfulness in prayer.”― Charles H. Spurgeon 
“We cannot all argue, but we can all pray; we cannot all be leaders, but we can all be pleaders; we cannot all be mighty in rhetoric, but we can all be prevalent in prayer.”― Charles H. Spurgeon 
 
 
John Piper — “On one of his visits to the Continent, Charles Spurgeon (pastor of the large Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, 1853-1892) met an American minister who said, “I have long wished to see you, Mr. Spurgeon, and to put one or two simple questions to you. In our country there are many opinions as to the secret of your great influence. Would you be good enough to give me your own point of view?” After a pause Spurgeon said, “My people pray for me.” 
 • THE LORD GAVE HIMSELF TO PRAYER 
Of all the ways that our Lord emphasized this, none was greater than His own example. 
Here is the Lord of glory. 
Here is the perfect man. 
Here is perfect wisdom embodied. 
Here is perfect holiness in motion. 
YET HE PRAYED, AND HE PRAYED EARNESTLY. 
Luke’s account of this commissioning tells us what preceded this meeting. 
Luke 6:12–16 (ESV) 
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 
NOTE: OUR LORD TOOK ACTION ON HIS OWN EXHORTATION.

Introduction:
The harvest is plentiful.
The laborers are few.
Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
Our Lord spoke those words to a large company of disciples. Sometimes when we think about the Lord’s disciples, we think immediately of the twelve. But we should remember that our Lord had many disciples in addition to the twelve. Some of those disciples, followed Him, but didn’t know Him. And one of those is included in the twelve.
The twelve are given special attention, training, and they have a special purpose.
He exhorted all His disciples to pray for laborers.
Pray because the Lord makes laborers (by saving them).
Pray because the Lord equips those laborers.
Pray because the Lord locates those laborers.
Pray because the Lord empowers and uses those laborers.
Now in the 10th chapter we see our Lord taking action that accords with His command.
As we said last Sunday evening, what we have here instructs the ministry of the church until Jesus r

Lessons In Discipleship Part 1 | Matthew 10:1-5a

This sermon is from the series on the book of John from 2007 at Founders Baptist Church.

Fellowship With Christ | John 13:8-11

Introduction: 
In chapter 4:23-25 Matthew gave a summary of Christ’s ministry in Galilee. That summary told us that Jesus preached and performed signs. Matthew also told us of the hordes of people who came to Jesus for these things. 
In chapters 5-7 he gave us an example of our Lord’s preaching — the sermon on the mount. 
In chapters 8-9 we have examples of the signs that He performed — those signs pointing us to the biblical promises (the signposts) preparing for the Messiah. 
As we come to the end of this, Matthew returns to a closing summary, but now there is something additional. 
Along with a description of Christ’s ministry in Galilee, there is instruction about the future. 
THE CROSS IS NO ACCIDENT. 
THE CHURCH AGE IS NOT PLAN B. 
Even as our Lord prepares to offer Himself in our stead, He is preparing the church for the future advancement of the application of what He would accomplish. 
Indeed, in the next chapter we see the commissioning of the 12 apostles. 
So that Matthew takes us from what Jesus is doing, to what His men will be doing. 
He takes us from what Jesus is doing, to what Jesus is preparing His followers to do after He is gone (Matthew 10:17-42 deals with things to occur largely after Christ’s ascension). 
In our verses tonight we will see three elements on display about our Master’s plan for the future. 
 • THE MASTER’S MODELING OF MINISTRY (vs.35) 
Our Lord’s own ministry is again summarized. This is not divorced from what follows. 
This is how our Lord trained His apostles. 
The training of the apostles consisted of being with Jesus. 
They heard Him teach. 
They watched His life. 
They witnessed His dealings with people. 
They experienced His personal questions and corrections and affirmations. 
They beheld the power of God at work and the clear demonstration of the sufficiency of the gospel of God. 
The Master’s plan for the men who would lead the first generation of the church was that they would be prepared by 3 years of constant discipleship at His feet — constant time in His presence. 
What did they see in our Lord’s ministry? 
 • DEVOTION TO THE NEED 
The first thing we see in His example, and one of the most instructive, is the tireless and selfless way that He gave Himself to the spiritual needs of people. 
Matthew tells us that He was traveling all over that area and intentionally devoting Himself to the spiritual and physical needs of a tremendous population. 
Some have suggested that this represents a second circuit throughout Galilee, but there is no way to be certain of that. It could just as easily simply represent a restatement as a way of bracketing the section that began at the end of chapter 4. 
In fact, as others have pointed out, there is really a chiastic structure on display. Christ calls disciples in 4:18-22, then a description of his ministry that follows, then a detailed description of each aspect of that ministry, then a summary that follows, then the calling of disciples. 
What we do know is that these cities and villages likely represented MILLIONS of people. Some sources estimate around 3 million. 
Josephus makes mention of 240 cities and villages. 
JESUS PUTS FORTH EFFORT TO TEACH AND PREACH AND PERFORM SIGNS ALL OVER THAT REGION. 
And as we have already seen, He no sooner leaves one scene of ministry that He meets with another. 
APPLICATION: 
If you give yourself to ministry rightly, this will be a battle that you face. IT CAN BE TIRING. 
It can be emotionally tiring. 
It can be physically tiring. 
It can be mentally tiring. 
The New Testament describes ministry in terms that indicate working to exhaustion. 
1 Timothy 4:10 (ESV) 
10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Introduction:
In chapter 4:23-25 Matthew gave a summary of Christ’s ministry in Galilee. That summary told us that Jesus preached and performed signs. Matthew also told us of the hordes of people who came to Jesus for these things.
In chapters 5-7 he gave us an example of our Lord’s preaching — the sermon on the mount.
In chapters 8-9 we have examples of the signs that He performed — those signs pointing us to the biblical promises (the signposts) preparing for the Messiah.
As we come to the end of this, Matthew returns to a closing summary, but now there is something additional.
Along with a description of Christ’s ministry in Galilee, there is instruction about the future.
THE CROSS IS NO ACCIDENT.
THE CHURCH AGE IS NOT PLAN B.
Even as our Lord prepares to offer Himself in our stead, He is preparing the church for the future advancement of the application of what He would accomplish.
Indeed, in the next chapter we see the commissioning of the 12 apostles.
So that Matthew takes us fro

The Master’s Plan For The Future | Matthew 9:35-38

Introduction: 
If anyone looks at Jesus HONESTLY — if they look at Jesus without the WILLFUL BLINDNESS that sin produces — His identity as the Son of David, the Son of God, is unmistakable. 
He has done astounding things during the time that Matthew has presented to us so far. 
He has given sight to the blind. 
He has given the ability to walk to the lame. 
He has given life to the dead. 
And now we see that He gives speech to the mute —freedom to the demonized. 
Our Lord demonstrates that He is the deliverer of sinners from the domain of darkness. 
When the Lord of Glory was walking on the earth the kingdom of the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2) was meeting with the kingdom of God and the Author of life (Acts 3:14-15). There is a COSMIC CONFLICT on display. 
And the ULTIMATE defeat of the prince of darkness was being put on display by IMMEDIATE deliverances. 
As Jesus made His journey toward the cross, He made clear that Satan’s defeat was soon to be sealed. 
ESV John 12:27 "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 
On display in the earthly ministry of the Messiah, was not only the power of God, but the reality that no less power could deliver the tormented prisoners — the sons of Adam. Men and women must be set free by the power of God — by the Son of God. Helpless people are in need of a deliverer. 
The fall of Adam resulted in the imprisonment and the condemnation of all humanity. 
AND AS JESUS WAS HELPING THESE PEOPLE, RELEASING THESE PEOPLE, WHAT HE DID WAS THE FULFILLMENT OF SCRIPTURE. 
ESV Isaiah 35:4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 
The result of all of this, was that anyone HEARING the Word of God should be RECOGNIZING the Son of God. 
Once again, Matthew presents our Lord to us in a way that we marvel at God’s grace to us in Him, and that we have confidence that our faith is safely invested in Him as the Messiah and the Savior of God’s people. 
We look at this sign under three main headings. 
I. COMPASSION FOR A MAN IN NEED (vs.32) 
Once again we see our Lord’s compassion for sinners. 
NAS Psalm 103:8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 
There is a man in need. But this world is FULL of people in need. 
A. OVERWHELMING NEED IN A FALLEN WORLD 
This is the life of our Lord during His ministry on earth. He helps one person, only to immediately meet with the need of another person. 
Indeed, He’s meeting with needs ON HIS WAY to meeting needs — as we saw with Jairus’ daughter, and the woman with the hemorrhage. 
THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF NEED IN THIS FALLEN WORLD. 
DO WE CARE ABOUT PEOPLE AS OUR LORD CARES FOR PEOPLE? 
We recognize that we live in a world in rebellion against God. 
Do we recognize that we also live in a world MISERABLE in its rebellion against God? 
Miserable due to its own sin. 
Miserable, even though it sometimes refuses to admit to its misery. 
 BUT MISERABLE WITHOUT A DOUBT. 
Without satisfaction. 
Without truth. 
Without answers. 
Hurting people. Depressed people. Bankrupt people. Hateful people. Miserable people. 
Willful ignorance but not blissful ignorance.

Introduction:
If anyone looks at Jesus HONESTLY — if they look at Jesus without the WILLFUL BLINDNESS that sin produces — His identity as the Son of David, the Son of God, is unmistakable.
He has done astounding things during the time that Matthew has presented to us so far.
He has given sight to the blind.
He has given the ability to walk to the lame.
He has given life to the dead.
And now we see that He gives speech to the mute —freedom to the demonized.
Our Lord demonstrates that He is the deliverer of sinners from the domain of darkness. 
When the Lord of Glory was walking on the earth the kingdom of the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2) was meeting with the kingdom of God and the Author of life (Acts 3:14-15). There is a COSMIC CONFLICT on display.
And the ULTIMATE defeat of the prince of darkness was being put on display by IMMEDIATE deliverances.
As Jesus made His journey toward the cross, He made clear that Satan’s defeat was soon to be sealed.
ESV John 12:27 "Now is my 

The Mute Sing For Joy | Matthew 9:32-34

ntroduction: 
The miracles of Jesus pointed to something greater than the miracles. 
We must continue to remember that the miracles Jesus performed during His earthly ministry were PURPOSEFUL. 
They were purposeful with respect to the individuals who received the mercies. Don’t ever think that each of those miracles were not designated for the individuals who received them, from the foundation of the earth. 
God cares about the people. They are not pawns who simply display something about Jesus. Each of those miracles were the love of God in action. 
But, at the same time, they were purposeful with respect to Jesus Himself. 
They were SIGNS. 
They pointed to Jesus’ work as Savior. 
They pointed to Jesus identity as the promised Messiah. 
They spoke of Jesus as the Son of David, the Son of God. 
They fulfilled Scripture. 
Each one of these miracles pointed to something greater than the miracle. 
So that, when John the Baptist was in prison, and the darkness (that hardship often brings) began to creep in upon his mind. When the one who testified to the light began to fear that perhaps he was confused. Jesus sent word for his encouragement. And the word sent described the signs performed. 
ESV Luke 7:18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?'" 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me." 
Why would Jesus send word of signs and preaching? 
Because this is exactly what the Word of God had promised. 
 
Jesus made that very point in a synagogue service in Nazareth. He read from Isaiah 61. 
ESV Luke 4:17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 
And there are many other examples of this throughout the Old Testament. Let me give one other. 
ESV Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2 it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 
What is interesting is that these truths not only point US to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. They pointed his contemporaries to the same unavoidable conclusion. 
TO PUT IT SIMPLY — EVERYONE WHO KNEW WHAT THE OLD TESTAMENT TAUGHT ABOUT THE MESSIAH WAS WITHOUT EXCUSE NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY SAW WHEN JESUS PERFORMED MIRACLES, AND WHAT THEY HEARD WHEN JESUS PREACHED THE GOOD NEWS OF HIMSELF, BUT BECAUSE WHAT THEY WERE SEEING AND HEARING MATCHED WHAT SCRIPTURE PREDICTED. 
They should have recognized Him. 
They should have known Him. 
And, in a way that is profoundly emblematic, the proof of their accountability is that even blind men could see. 
Men who never witnessed a miracle of Jesus until they RECEIVED A MIRACLE FROM JESUS, could see with their spiritual eyes, WHO JESUS WAS BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY KNEW AND BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY WERE HEARING. 
Tonight, we see an encounter with the Light of the World, that results in the enlightenment of two blind men, and in light dispersed throughout a district.

ntroduction:
The miracles of Jesus pointed to something greater than the miracles.
We must continue to remember that the miracles Jesus performed during His earthly ministry were PURPOSEFUL. 
They were purposeful with respect to the individuals who received the mercies. Don’t ever think that each of those miracles were not designated for the individuals who received them, from the foundation of the earth.
God cares about the people. They are not pawns who simply display something about Jesus. Each of those miracles were the love of God in action.
But, at the same time, they were purposeful with respect to Jesus Himself.
They were SIGNS.
They pointed to Jesus’ work as Savior.
They pointed to Jesus identity as the promised Messiah. 
They spoke of Jesus as the Son of David, the Son of God.
They fulfilled Scripture.
Each one of these miracles pointed to something greater than the miracle. 
So that, when John the Baptist was in prison, and the darkness (that hardship often brings) began to 

Light Dispersed | Matthew 9:27-31

Introduction: 
THE LIFE OF DISCERNMENT IS A LIFE OF SOUNDNESS AND SAFETY. 
DISCERNMENT IS ABOUT JUDGMENT. 
DISCERNMENT IS ABOUT ASSESSING ALL OF LIFE, AND ALL OUR DECISIONS, THROUGH THE LENS OF SCRIPTURE. 
DISCERNMENT IS ABOUT ALIGNING ONESELF WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS., 
Sin, ON THE OTHER HAND, is perversion. 
It is perversion that exists not just in behaviors — it exists FIRST in perspectives and desires. In fact, its behaviors simply manifest its mind. 
Sin stands in disagreement with God. 
That means that sin stands in in disagreement with TRUTH. 
That means sin stands in disagreement with what is REAL. 
SIN IS DECEPTION. Sin exists in blindness. Sin exists in the approval of what has been distorted. 
Which means that sin results in a worldview that stands in opposition to the man himself. As mankind lives in sin he lives in lies — and those lies produce a life worthy of judgment. The lies destroy the man. 
They destroy him progressively before they destroy him finally. 
THE CHAOS IN SIN, THEN, IS NOT JUST MANIFESTED OUTSIDE HUMAN BEINGS. 
THE CHAOS IN SIN EXISTS WITHIN HUMAN BEINGS. 
There is confusion in the man himself. 
There is no real cohesion in the way he thinks, he values, he chooses, he lives. 
Which is one reason why there is an EXPLOSION of mental and emotional problems in our culture. 
Man living at odds with SELF-EVIDENT TRUTH is sure to produce chaos in his own mind and emotions. 
YOU SEE AN EXAMPLE OF THIS LACK OF COHESION IN HOW MEN AND WOMEN CONSUME PUBLIC THEOLOGY. 
John MacArthur in a sermon from 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22, in October of 2019, said this: “People read a lot of things, listen to a lot of Christian radio and Christian television, download a lot of things on the Internet; and without discernment they are really susceptible to mental chaos, which leads to spiritual chaos. I think aiding and abetting that inability to discern everything coming at people today, the church seems to have boundless credulity, eager to believe anything and everything. I think it is this lack of discernment that has caused evangelical Christianity to be fighting for it’s life. It seems to me that if any one problem outstrips all other in the church it is the lack of spiritual discrimination that characterizes Christianity. Bad decisions based on faulty reasoning, superficial understanding, shallow knowledge, widespread ignorance, doctrinal confusion, biblical infidelity – all of these things have done more damage to the church through history than persecution. Persecution has a way actually of refining the church. Persecution has taken a toll, but a far greater toll has been taken on the church by the chaos and confusion over doctrine that has left severe scars. We could almost wish for some ramped up persecution so we could get people serious about real Christianity.” 
So, yesterday we talked about what discernment is. As MacArthur said, “Discernment is the ability to think biblically about everything.” As we said yesterday, discernment is about good judgment. It is the ability to distinguish between what is right in the sight of God, and what should be rejected. 
And we see the teacher of Proverbs 2, passionate about that. In the language of a father to a son, in the language of a teacher to a beloved student, there is a call for giving heed to the wisdom of God to know the protection of a discerning life. 
We talked about: 
 • THE DESIRE FOR DISCERNMENT (vs.1-5) 
 • A CONCERN OF ALL WHO LOVE 
 • A CONCERN OF ALL WHO HEED THAT LOVE 
 
 • THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DISCERNMENT (vs.1-5) 
 • A RECEPTIVE HEART 
 • A PERCEPTIVE HEART 
 • A HUMBLE HEART 
 • A BELIEVING HEART 
Now, today we begin with a third truth necessary for a discerning life. 
 
 
 • THE SOURCE FOR DISCERNMENT (vs.5-8) 
What is the outcome, what is the result, of the sincere desires expressed in the first 4 verses? 
“THEN” – you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 
Why, if you seek this way, will you find understanding and knowledge? 
Precisely because YOU WENT TO THE RIGHT SOURCE for understanding and knowledge. 
 • YAHWEH GIVES WISDOM (vs.6a) 
And we need to be clear that He gives wisdom in more than one sense. He gives wisdom OBJECTIVELY. His WORD is wisdom. But it is also God who gives the ability to grasp what He has given. 
ESV Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Introduction:
THE LIFE OF DISCERNMENT IS A LIFE OF SOUNDNESS AND SAFETY.
DISCERNMENT IS ABOUT JUDGMENT.
DISCERNMENT IS ABOUT ASSESSING ALL OF LIFE, AND ALL OUR DECISIONS, THROUGH THE LENS OF SCRIPTURE.
DISCERNMENT IS ABOUT ALIGNING ONESELF WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS.,
Sin, ON THE OTHER HAND, is perversion.
It is perversion that exists not just in behaviors — it exists FIRST in perspectives and desires. In fact, its behaviors simply manifest its mind.
Sin stands in disagreement with God.
That means that sin stands in in disagreement with TRUTH. 
That means sin stands in disagreement with what is REAL.
SIN IS DECEPTION. Sin exists in blindness. Sin exists in the approval of what has been distorted.
Which means that sin results in a worldview that stands in opposition to the man himself. As mankind lives in sin he lives in lies — and those lies produce a life worthy of judgment. The lies destroy the man.
They destroy him progressively before they destroy him finally.
THE CHAOS IN SIN, THEN, IS NO

Discernment For Chaotic Times Part 2 | Proverbs 2:1-22

Introduction: 
We live in a chaotic and confused world. 
This is not new, of course. This is mankind’s existence since the fall. 
But there are seasons in the history of the world, or the history of a civilization, when darkness seems especially strong. 
The Bible acknowledges variation in the seasons of human existence. 
ESV 2 Timothy 3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 
ESV 1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 
Our prayers are informed by the knowledge of these variations. 
We pray for the salvation of earthly leaders with one desired outcome being for the church to know seasons of relative peacefulness. 
ESV 1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 
SO, FROM THE STANDPOINT OF TEMPORAL CIRCUMSTANCES, FROM THE STANDPOINT OF COMMON GRACE ORDER IN SOCIETY AND ITS INSTITUTIONS, THERE ARE SEASONS OF PEACE FOR PEOPLE, AND THERE ARE SEASONS OF CHAOS FOR PEOPLE. 
I BELIEVE WE ARE IN ONE OF THOSE DARK SEASONS. 
IN SOME WAYS, I BELIEVE WE ARE LIVING IN ONE OF THE DARKER TIMES OF HUMAN HISTORY. Unprecedented in many ways — IF IN NO OTHER WAY — the global connectivity of it all. 
The current darkness in our culture demonstrates the devastating effects of the suppression of truth, of the rejection of God, of the abandonment of the collective conscience to sin. 
As God has given our culture over to the darkness of its own sinfulness, MORAL INSANITY IS INCREASINGLY NORMALIZED WHILE WHAT IS SANE AND NORMAL IS INCREASINGLY MARGINALIZED. 
Insanity —twisted thinking when measured by Scripture — about everything in life, is celebrated: sexuality, gender, marriage, raising children, personal responsibility, economics, stewardship of the environment, globalism versus nationalism, education, justice, ethnicity, what it means to LOVE PEOPLE, the murder of babies in the womb — all of it twisted. Upside down. Right is left, left is right, down is up, up is down. Righteousness is sin, sin is righteousness. 
Topic after topic where the majority perspective is not just in conflict with Scripture, it conflicts with NATURAL REVELATION — with self-evident truth. WE HAVE SUPREME COURT JUDGES THAT CANNOT TELL US WHAT A WOMAN IS! 
And wherever insanity is normalized there is an outbreak of chaos (just as Scripture predicts). There is disorder, violence, heartlessness, and hatefulness. 
And despite the undeniable chaos that is on display, at the moment, in every realm of our society, there is the CONSTANT pressure to conform. I mean, you would think that the chaos might cause men to abandon their course! But know, they demand that we join their course! 
DESPITE WHAT SINNERS CLAIM IT IS NEVER LIVE AND LET LIVE — CONFORMITY IS DEMANDED. 
SIN ALWAYS LONGS TO BE JUSTIFIED. 
SINFUL PEOPLE DON’T JUST WANT THEIR STANDARDS TOLERATED; THEY WANT THEIR MORAL JUDGMENTS TO BE CELEBRATED. 
So, as much as we might like to retreat from it all, to avoid it all, as the people of God, we cannot because the celebration the culture demands requires disloyalty to our God. We can’t opt out from a conflict is looking for us. 
JUST THINK ABOUT THE SEISMIC SHIFT IN CULTURE THAT WE HAVE SEEN IN OUR LIFETIMES. 
We have seen a redefinition of marriage — something (to my knowledge) unprecedented in the history of the world. 
We have seen the normalization of homosexuality. Homosexuality is not just presented as tolerable, but good. PRIDE PARADES, PRIDE MONTHS OF PROMOTION AND CELEBRATION. (Example: The signs on your way into an airplane) 
We have seen the normalization of Gender dysphoria. All of society must now change (even down to the pronouns we use) to accommodate people who insist that their gender is something separate from their biological sexual reality. 
And in a culture that loves itself and its sin more than its children in the womb, it is demanded that we normalize the indoctrination of its children outside the womb in the perverted sexual perspectives it has embraced. 
So intentional is this indoctrination that the White House takes an official position that transition drugs and surgeries need to be made available for children.

Introduction:
We live in a chaotic and confused world.
This is not new, of course. This is mankind’s existence since the fall.
But there are seasons in the history of the world, or the history of a civilization, when darkness seems especially strong.
The Bible acknowledges variation in the seasons of human existence.
ESV 2 Timothy 3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
ESV 1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
Our prayers are informed 

Discernment For Chaotic Times Part 1 | Proverbs 2:1-22

Good evening, Church – joy to be with you tonight. 
If you have a Bible open up to 1 John 4 – focusing on verse 16 tonight… 
 • A few weeks ago in our ABF class we covered a chapter on the Love of God by JI Packer… by the way… young adults that aren’t involved in a class or looking for a class here’s a shameless plug to come join us on Sunday mornings… 
 • But since going through that chapter, there have been things heavy on my heart and mind about the love of God – so that’s part of background to coming to this text tonight… I’ll quote Packer a few times from that chapter… 
 • But the aim is to see what Scripture says about this often misunderstood, misapplied topic… 
 • And to see this topic, as laid out in Scripture… should lead believers to rejoice… 
I John 4 – focus on 16 but we’ll read the surrounding verses to hear the broader context… 
READ 1 John 4:7-21 and PRAY… 
INTRO: 
 • God is love. That phrase is stated twice in the passage we just read. 
 • What is your response when you hear the phrase… “God is love”… or the phrase – “God loves you”? 
 • I asked that same question to the young adults and one of them said… “… hesitant”… “cautious… a bit on edge”… 
 • Not exactly what you’d expect from a believer.… but I actually think that reaction is represented by many faithful believers today… and with good reason. 
 • He wasn’t saying he was hesitant to believe God is love.. 
 • That wasn’t the issue… 
 • That was his reaction… because the doctrine of God’s love is so… ABUSED in our culture.. that when he hears someone say “God is love”… there’s a pause… a question… 
 • Where is this coming from and where is it leading… 
 • Favorite verse about God from those who refuse to accept God’s standards.. 
 • Pastor had said in the past two weeks, and at our high school graduation as well… 
 • Lost world doesn’t really want you to love them, they want you to agree with them… 
 • Not just that they don’t want to love them… that’s how they define love.. as acceptance… permission… agreement. 
 • And there is a good impulse in that response… 
 • The Abuse of doctrine… the abuse of truth.. is something we MUST be on guard against.. 
 • That is true… where doctrine is abused we need to recognize it… 
 • But sometimes we can so preoccupied with the abuse of a doctrine that we fail to rejoice in the truth of a doctrine. 
 • When is the last time you’ve seen something in rainbow colors and your first reaction was rejoicing in remembering God’s gracious covenant to Noah.. 
 • And the reason is… the vast majority of the time, the use of that symbol represents rebellion against God… 
 • Or when was the last time you heard someone say “Judge not, lest you be judged” – and your FIRST though was… 
 • I really do need to evaluate my heart for hypocrisy.. 
 • That same reaction can happen when we talk about the love of God… 
 • 
 • We hear… God LOVES you… 
 • Can almost want to hit the pause button.. 
 • And again.. with good reason… 
 • We need hit pause… make sure everything is faithful, Biblical, accurate…. 
 • But then we gotta hit play button and rejoice in this truth… 
Our passage tonight gives us three realities about the love of God that are true for every believer.. 
Every believer – knows God’s love… believes God’s love… and Reflects God’s love… 
First… every believer KNOWS the love of God 
 • KNOWS the Love of God

Good evening, Church – joy to be with you tonight.  
If you have a Bible open up to 1 John 4 – focusing on verse 16 tonight… 
 • A few weeks ago in our ABF class we covered a chapter on the Love of God by JI Packer… by the way… young adults that aren’t involved in a class or looking for a class here’s a shameless plug to come join us on Sunday mornings… 
 • But since going through that chapter, there have been things heavy on my heart and mind about the love of God – so that’s part of background to coming to this text tonight… I’ll quote Packer a few times from that chapter… 
 • But the aim is to see what Scripture says about this often misunderstood, misapplied topic…
 • And to see this topic, as laid out in Scripture… should lead believers to rejoice…  
I John 4 – focus on 16 but we’ll read the surrounding verses to hear the broader context…
READ 1 John 4:7-21 and PRAY…
INTRO:
 • God is love.   That phrase is stated twice in the passage we just read.  
 • What is your response when y

Scott Admire | The Love of God | 1 John 4:16

This is an older video from a sermon preached in 2012. The recording quality is not great, but it is good, and we pray that it is informative and helpful.

Marks of a Faithful Preacher | Luke 3: 19-20

Introduction: 
When Matthew begins to detail the ministry of Jesus in Galilee (a ministry that he describes in 4:23-25), he begins with the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5). 
That sermon was full of contrasts. 
Contrasts between what the people had heard from their religious leaders versus what the Word of God and the Son of God said. 
Contrasts between hypocrites and true disciples. 
Contrasts between the false shepherds and the true shepherd. 
Contrasts between empty religion and true religion. 
He then takes us beyond the sermon, and he shows us Jesus among the people (Matthew 8). 
The sermon that sounded with authority is confirmed with authority — we see signs. 
SO THAT, BOTH BY PREACHING AND BY PRACTICE, THERE IS SOMETHING ON DISPLAY IN JESUS THAT IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THE PEOPLE HAD KNOWN. 
The longer that contrast is on display, and the more apparent that contrast becomes, the greater the opposition to Jesus becomes. 
When Jesus pronounces a paralytic forgiven — they accuse Him of blasphemy. 
When Jesus, the great physician, feasted with the sick, the religious leaders of the Jews imply that He is a friend of sinners in a way that is unseemly. 
THEY FOUND CHRIST’S EXAMPLE TROUBLING — BECAUSE IT WAS UNLIKE THEM. 
THEY FOUND HIS RESPONSE TO THEIR GRUMBLING EVEN MORE TROUBLING — BECAUSE IT REBUKED THEM. 
His holy love was a rebuke to their unholy indifference. 
What is wrong with them was expressed in Hosea 6:6. They know religious formality, but they are strangers to a true heart for God. 
That indictment is now joined to the next challenge. The challenge we see in the next scene has to do with a religious formality. It has to do with fasting. 
WHY DOESN’T JESUS TEACH HIS DISCIPLES TO OBSERVE THE CUSTOMARY FAST DAYS? WHY ARE YOU FEASTING WHEN WE ARE FASTING? 
Jesus explains it with the truth that what is known in Him cannot be joined to what they have already known. 
We look at this encounter under three headings. 
 • A QUESTION ABOUT CHRIST’S WAYS (vs.14) 
“Then,” τότε that is, “at that time.” 
It doesn’t require that it was during the feast, but it at the very least it was near to the time of the feast. 
“The disciples of John,” we are told, came to speak to Jesus. 
This is interesting because John had publicly and unmistakably turned his disciples over to Jesus. 
ESV John 3:22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison). 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness-- look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him." 27 John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease." 
If anyone should be expected to HEAR JESUS and to give HEED TO JESUS, it should have been John’s disciples. 
But these disciples had not yet shifted their allegiance. 
There will be others who evidence that they had made no movement away from John, when the gospel eventually reaches them in saving power (Acts 19). 
In fact, it appears that these disciples agree with the Pharisees, at least when it comes to the question of fasting. 
Fasting could sometimes involve abstaining from eating (normal fast), sometimes from eating and drinking (total fast), sometimes from CERTAIN foods (partial fast). Fasting could express mourning, it could express spiritual desire, it could express consecration and spiritual examination, BUT FOR THESE PEOPLE, it was a mark OF TRUE PIETY. 
We know from one of Christ’s parables that the Pharisees were known to fast twice a week. 
NAU Luke 18:12 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' 
 
 
The Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), an early Christian church manual, probably written in the late 1st century, maybe the early 2nd century, said this: 
“And let not your fastings be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and the fifth day of the week.” (Monday and Thursday) 
One commentary summarizes the fasting of the Jews in this way: 
Wessel and Strauss – “The law required fasting only on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29, 31; 23:27–32; Nu 29:7), but after the exile the Jews observed four other annual fasts (Zec 7:5; 8:19). A fifth fast was added in association with the festival of Purim (Est 9:31). In NT times the stricter Pharisees fasted twice a week (Monday and Thursday; cf. Lk 18:12; Did. 8:1; b. Taʿan. 12a).” 
They also add:

Introduction:
When Matthew begins to detail the ministry of Jesus in Galilee (a ministry that he describes in 4:23-25), he begins with the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5).
That sermon was full of contrasts. 
Contrasts between what the people had heard from their religious leaders versus what the Word of God and the Son of God said.
Contrasts between hypocrites and true disciples.
Contrasts between the false shepherds and the true shepherd.
Contrasts between empty religion and true religion.
He then takes us beyond the sermon, and he shows us Jesus among the people (Matthew 8). 
The sermon that sounded with authority is confirmed with authority — we see signs.
SO THAT, BOTH BY PREACHING AND BY PRACTICE, THERE IS SOMETHING ON DISPLAY IN JESUS THAT IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THE PEOPLE HAD KNOWN.
The longer that contrast is on display, and the more apparent that contrast becomes, the greater the opposition to Jesus becomes.
When Jesus pronounces a paralytic forgiven — they accuse Him of 

Why The Difference? | Matthew 9:14-17

This is a sermon from a series of sermons on 1 Corinthians 13. The video is from 2010 and the quality is good but not great. We pray that despite this, you will find the message beneficial and helpful.

Qualities of Love  - Trusting | 1 Corinthians 13:7

Introduction: 
Jesus has authority unlike anything people have ever seen. 
When He teaches — no one speaks like this man — they are struck by the authority of His teaching. 
When He meets with physical suffering, He has the authority to heal every kind of disease and relieve every kind of physical ailment. 
When He meets with a storm and the potential sinking of a ship, He has authority over the elements — over creation. 
When He meets with the domain of darkness, He has authority over the demons — and He sets men free. 
Matthew has presented 5 miracles so far. Each one demonstrates the authority of Christ. Each one speaks of the identity of Jesus, and the mission of Jesus. 
BUT DOES HE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SINS? 
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION, BECAUSE THIS IS MAN’S GREATEST NEED 
Do you realize that? 
If I asked you today what your greatest need was as you made your entrance into this world? 
If I asked you what any man or woman’s greatest need is? 
Do you know that our greatest need is FORGIVENESS? 
Our greatest need has to do with our guilt before God. 
Our greatest has to do with our estrangement from God. 
EVERYTHING ELSE THAT GOD IS WILLING TO DO IN MERCY AND GRACE FOR THE SINNER, REQUIRES THE FORGIVENESS OF THE SINNER. IT REQUIRED JUSTICE. IT REQUIRED AN ATONEMENT FOR SINS. 
ESV Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. 
CAN JESUS DELIVER FROM THE GUILT OF OUR SINS? 
 
 
The demons have proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God. 
We come today to a miracle that confirms what the demons have said. Jesus heals a paralytic in a way that makes His identity crystal clear. 
ONLY GOD HAS THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SINS 
DOES JESUS HAVE THAT AUTHORITY? 
IS JESUS GOD-INCARNATE? 
IS JESUS OF NAZARETH TRULY GOD’S SON? 
This morning we consider four aspects of a scene that declares the glory of God in the person of Jesus. 
 • A SCENE OF TENDER MERCY (vs.1-2) 
Matthew’s account of this is the briefest when compared with the other two evangelists who describe it (Mark and Luke). 
Jesus is asked to leave the region of the Gadarenes. He gets back into the boat, crosses the lake, and returns to what is now His own city (Capernaum). 
What a privilege Capernaum was given! The Son of God made you His own city. This was now homebase for His ministry in Galilee. 
Here we have the “BEHOLD” that Matthew gives us when he describes something in vivid terms. 
Some people bring a paralyzed man to Jesus. 
The man cannot walk, he is lying on a bed (a pallet), and he has some people who care about him — who know that Jesus can make him well — and they bring the paralytic to Jesus. 
 • IT IS A SCENE THE DISPLAYS HUMAN MERCY. 
These friends care about this man, and they care about him enough to bring him to Jesus. 
We do not love people if we do not care about what happens to people. 
We do not care about people if we aren’t concerned about their life — as a whole — body and soul. 
We do not care about people if we are not willing to expend ourselves to bring them to the one who can meet their greatest need. 
THIS IS SOMETHING WE WILL BE TESTED ABOUT AGAIN AND AGAIN IN THIS SINFUL WORLD OF OURS. 
DO WE LOVE GOD MORE THAN WE LOVE OURSELVES? Because loving God will often mean trouble for ourselves in this life. 
DO WE TRULY LOVE OTHER PEOPLE AS OURSELVES? Because loving people will often mean trouble for ourselves in this life. 
DO WE RECOGNIZE THAT THE GREATEST NEED OF ANYONE WE LOVE IS TO KNOW THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? 
You will have many opportunities to make people happy by NOT LOVING THEM. 
Will you love yourself and keep them happy with you, or will you truly love them, and point them to their need for Christ and perhaps make them UNHAPPY with you? 
What is interesting is that Matthew leaves out something extremely unique. 
We know from Mark and Luke that Jesus has been home a few days. 
We know that He is teaching in a house. 
We know that that house is so crowded they cannot get this man or anybody else in the door. 
We know that these four friends climb up on the roof and dig their way through and lower this man into Christ’s presence. 
ESV Mark 2:1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 
WHY WOULD THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THROUGH MATTHEW, LEAVE OUT THOSE DETAILS? 
I think the reason is because Matthew is homed in like a laser on ONE PARTICULAR POINT.

Introduction:
Jesus has authority unlike anything people have ever seen.
When He teaches — no one speaks like this man — they are struck by the authority of His teaching.
When He meets with physical suffering, He has the authority to heal every kind of disease and relieve every kind of physical ailment.
When He meets with a storm and the potential sinking of a ship, He has authority over the elements — over creation.
When He meets with the domain of darkness, He has authority over the demons — and He sets men free.
Matthew has presented 5 miracles so far. Each one demonstrates the authority of Christ. Each one speaks of the identity of Jesus, and the mission of Jesus.
BUT DOES HE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SINS?
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION, BECAUSE THIS IS MAN’S GREATEST NEED
Do you realize that?
If I asked you today what your greatest need was as you made your entrance into this world?
If I asked you what any man or woman’s greatest need is?
Do you know that our greatest ne

The Authority To Forgive Sins | Matthew 9:1-8

Introduction: 
When Jesus calmed the winds and the sea with a command, His disciples marveled with a question. “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?” 
The next scene in Matthew’s account provides the answer in the clearest terms yet. 
But the answer comes from an unlikely source. 
We hear it from the domain of darkness. 
 For the first time Jesus is positively identified as the Son of God (Satan alludes to it, but in a doubtful tone in Matthew 4) but it isn’t from anyone who loves Him. 
His disciples have not yet said it. 
Those who have been healed by Him or delivered by Him have not said it. 
BUT NOW, OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF TWO DEMONIZED MEN COMES THE TRUTH THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD. 
Isn’t it interesting that the first time Jesus is identified as the Son of God in the gospel of Matthew, it comes from the realm of Satan? 
It is also interesting that after Jesus delivers in a way that makes His identity unmistakable to men, the people who see it want Jesus to leave. 
Tonight, we think about what demons proclaim and men resist. Or to say it another, what demons must admit, but lost humanity refuses to admit. 
We examine this encounter under four headings. 
 • THE DEMONIC MANIFESTATION (vs.28) 
Why does our Lord go to the location that He does? To the country of the Gadarenes? That must certainly be a regional reference. If you look at a map, the city of Gadara wouldn’t allow for the events that are described here. So, this is just a way to identify the general area where Jesus stepped on to the land. 
 
 
 
 
 
D.A. Carson does a good job of summarizing the location. 
The locale seems to have been in the district controlled by the town of Gadara, near the village of Gerasa (see Notes), which lay about midpoint on the lake’s eastern shore. On the adjacent hillside are ancient tombs. Probably small antechambers or caves provided some protection from the weather, and a graveyard would, apparently, prove a congenial environment for demons and render the man ceremonially defiled. This region lay in the predominantly Gentile territory of the Decapolis (see comments at 4:25). The presence of the pigs (v. 30), inconceivable in a Jewish milieu, points to its Gentile background. 
James Montgomery Boice — “The Gospels have different names at this point, and the manuscripts of even a single Gospel vary. The best reading in Matthew is Gadarenes, Gadara being a town about six miles from the lake. The best reading in both Mark and Luke is Gerasenes, Gerasa being a town about thirty miles southeast of the lake. Gergesenes, which crept into the Greek manuscripts later, seems to be due to the influence of Origen, who was sure that neither Gadara nor Gerasa satisfied the requirements of the story. The explanation of these variants is probably, as Josephus reports, that Gadara was the regional capital and that it had smaller villages related to it on the border of the lake, one of which would have been Gerasa. Coins of Gadara sometimes display a ship.” 
Now, think about this: 
This is the King of the Jews. 
This is the promised one of Israel. 
This is the one who tells His own disciples that their starting place in ministry is to the Jewish people. 
Yet Jesus leaves Capernaum and makes his way to an area on the sea of Galilee that was predominately Gentile. 
WHY DOES JESUS GO THERE? 
Perhaps people are right who say that He is looking for some rest, but what happens here makes plain that He was there on assignment. 
HE GOES THERE BECAUSE HE HAS AN APPOINTMENT. 
JESUS GOES WHERE GOD HAS DETERMINED TO SHOW MERCY. 
JESUS GOES WHERE GOD HAS DETERMINED TO REVEAL HIS GLORY. 
Our Lord was always about His Father’s business. 
He MUST make His way through Samaria. 
ESV John 4:4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 
That was not a geographical necessity. That was a ministry necessity. 
He MUST also make His way to these two men. 
These men are on His sovereign calendar. 
You and I were on Christ’s calendar also. 
I want you to think about your own story. 
I want you to think about how your own conversion took place. 
Realize that your salvation is the result of sovereign DETERMINATION — CHOICE. 
God planned our salvation from all eternity, and He brought it about in the very way that He designed. 
He designed how we would be prepared for the gospel. 
He designed how we would receive the gospel. 
He chose the time 
He chose the messengers 
He chose the models 
He chose the circumstances 
He chose the means 
AND, ON THIS OCCASION, JESUS HAD A MERCIFUL APPOINTMENT WITH TWO TORMENTED MEN. 
BEFORE WE LOOK AT THESE TWO MEN, LET ME DECLARE GOOD NEWS. 
ANYONE HEARING ME WHO IS TORMENTED. 
ANYONE HEARING ME WHO LOVES SOMEONE WHO IS TORMENTED. 
JESUS IS ABLE TO SAVE. 
JESUS IS ABLE TO DELIVER. 
Jesus can take someone who is out of his or her mind — who is past helping from the standpoint of the people who know about them — and put those people in their right mind. 
That will be the outcome of this encounter.

Introduction:
When Jesus calmed the winds and the sea with a command, His disciples marveled with a question. “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?”
The next scene in Matthew’s account provides the answer in the clearest terms yet.
But the answer comes from an unlikely source.
We hear it from the domain of darkness.
 For the first time Jesus is positively identified as the Son of God (Satan alludes to it, but in a doubtful tone in Matthew 4) but it isn’t from anyone who loves Him.
His disciples have not yet said it.
Those who have been healed by Him or delivered by Him have not said it.
BUT NOW, OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF TWO DEMONIZED MEN COMES THE TRUTH THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.
Isn’t it interesting that the first time Jesus is identified as the Son of God in the gospel of Matthew, it comes from the realm of Satan?
It is also interesting that after Jesus delivers in a way that makes His identity unmistakable to men, the people who see it want Jesus to leave.
Toni

What Demons Proclaim & Men Resist | Matthew 8:28-34

Introduction: 
Which one of us cannot identify with the sadness, the concern, of having a loved one who names the name of Christ but evidences a serious misunderstanding of the Christian life? 
It might be a parent, or a child, or a sibling. 
It might be a friend, or a co-worker. 
It might be the person to whom you are married. 
BUT THEIR PROFESSION OF FAITH IN JESUS IS NOT MATCHED BY A LIFE OF GENUINE DISCIPLESHIP. 
The world is full of people who proclaim their loyalty to Christ. Full of people who proclaim themselves Christians. But give serious reasons to be concerned about their true spiritual condition. 
It’s important to remember that disciples were first called Christians by the world. 
NAU Acts 11:25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. 
It was a label set on them by others because they were so clearly associated with Christ. They were not like their world. They were not like other people. 
IT WASN’T A PECULIARITY (STRANGENESS) BASED ON A SELF-STYLED SUBCULTURE. 
Sadly, in our day this is what characterizes many professing Christians, our uniqueness in the world is the product of temporal preferences. Then, those popular preferences come to characterize us. 
Known for our skepticism regarding modern approaches to medicine. 
Known for our willingness to get bogged down in conspiracy theories (which sometimes prove to be true!) 
Known for our own version of what is on the cultural cutting edge, in food, or homespun remedies. 
THAT ISN’T CHRISTIAN UNIQUENESS. THAT’S A SUBCULTURE EXPLAINED BY HUMAN NATURE. 
What made the disciples different from their world was their belief in Christ and their devotion to doing His will. 
What made them different was their fidelity to the truths that were known in Him and being revealed through the apostles. 
What made them different was their love for each other and their zeal to make Christ known and that their loyalties and practices had changed. 
We have arrived at a place where there are multitudes of people who designate themselves Christians, that apart from that self-designation, are virtually indistinguishable from their world — if we measure that difference by TRUE BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN DISTINCTIVES. 
What characterizes many professing Christians are worldly pleasures, worldly philosophies, worldly priorities, worldly companions, worldly moral values — WITH JESUS ADDED. 
What has contributed to this is that our approach to people wanting to join the company of disciples is often different than what we see in Jesus Himself. 
WE ARE ANXIOUS TO ADD PEOPLE — HE WAS NOT. 
WE ARE SOMETIMES UNWILLING TO PRESS ON THEIR CLAIMS — HE WAS NOT. 
WE ARE SOMETIMES SATISFIED BY LARGER NUMBERS OF FOLLOWERS — HE WAS NOT. 
CHRIST’S LOVE FOR PEOPLE WAS NEVER SUPERICIAL, THEREFORE THE EVALUATION OF PEOPLE WAS NEVER SUPERFICIAL. 
NOTE: We must distinguish our ability to evaluate people from that of Jesus. But, at the same time, we must learn something from the way that HE DID EVALUATE PEOPLE. 
Christ’s authority is now seen over the people themselves. He had authority over disease. He had authority over demons. And now we see that He has authority over disciples. 
Jesus has the right to call people to follow Him. 
Jesus has the right to evaluate the people who claim to want to follow Him. 
Jesus demands that His followers come on His terms, not their own. 
TWO MAIN POINTS TONIGHT. 
GENUINE DISCIPLESHIP EMBRACES TRUE TREASURE (vs.19-20) 
Jesus gives orders to go to the other side of the sea of Galilee. But, before He could leave (vs.23), there were two men who proclaimed a desire to go with Him. 
In each case there was something defective in what they wanted to do. And in both cases, Jesus identified what was defective. 
The first was a scribe. He is a Jewish teacher of the law. And what is plain is that he was full of enthusiasm. 
Hearing the teaching of Jesus, hearing about and witnessing the miracles of Jesus, this man wanted TO BE WITH JESUS. He wanted to be with Jesus in a full-time capacity.

Introduction:
Which one of us cannot identify with the sadness, the concern, of having a loved one who names the name of Christ but evidences a serious misunderstanding of the Christian life?
It might be a parent, or a child, or a sibling.
It might be a friend, or a co-worker.
It might be the person to whom you are married.
BUT THEIR PROFESSION OF FAITH IN JESUS IS NOT MATCHED BY A LIFE OF GENUINE DISCIPLESHIP.
The world is full of people who proclaim their loyalty to Christ. Full of people who proclaim themselves Christians. But give serious reasons to be concerned about their true spiritual condition.
It’s important to remember that disciples were first called Christians by the world.
NAU Acts 11:25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
It was a label set on them by others because they w

Discouraging Superficial Discipleship | Matthew 8:18-22

Introduction: 
Of the many errors made by the modern-day charismatic movement, one of the greatest is the misunderstanding of the healing ministry of Jesus. 
Not only is there a misunderstanding of the uniqueness of what Jesus did — that healing miracles are not normative throughout the history of the church — there is a misunderstanding of the purpose of those miracles when Jesus WAS walking the earth. 
WHY DID JESUS HEAL? WHY DID HE CAST OUT DEMONS? 
Wherever Jesus went, during His three years of ministry, disease was basically banished — BUT WHY? 
What was the message being conveyed? 
Are we to conclude that sickness is to be banished TODAY from the lives of those who follow Him? To put it in the words that are often used, did Jesus come to break the curse of sickness, and poverty so that if believers have enough faith they will be physically well and materially wealthy? 
There are some who say so. But they are wrong. 
Every healing miracle that Jesus performed, every time He cast out demons, every miracle He performed in nature, every person He raised from the dead — all of it was meant to TESTIFY to something greater than the act itself. 
In fact, during His earthly ministry, Jesus performed these works that the Father gave Him to accomplished (He’s about His Father’s business), and He did so in the power of the Holy Spirit. 
The miracles of Jesus were DIVINE TESTIMONY to HIS IDENTITY and to HIS MISSION. 
His mission was a salvation mission. 
ESV Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." 
John 3:17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 
Luke 5:32 "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." 
1Timothy 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 
 
 
His identity is the Son of God, the deliverer promised from the very beginning, and the King promised to Israel and for the world. 
The miracles that Jesus performed were SIGNS. They were supernatural testimonies, and SCRIPTURAL testimonies (signs that fulfilled Scripture), given so that people would see and believe. 
ESV John 3:2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." 
John 2:11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. 
Act 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know 
ESV Matthew 27:54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" 
That is what we have in our verses. 
Out of all the miracles that Jesus performed, Matthew records three in this section because he is presenting Jesus to us as the Son of God, the promised King, and the Savior of sinners. 
In our verses today we see FOUR ASPECTS OF THE IDENTITY AND MISSION OF JESUS. 
 • JESUS THE SERVANT (vs.14) 
FROM ONE SCENE OF HELPING A DESPERATE PERSON, TO ANOTHER SCENE OF HELPING DESPERATE PEOPLE. 
To understand what the Spirit of God means for us to see in all these miracles, including the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, we must hear Matthew when he tells us what he wants us to recognize. HE TELLS US IN VERSE 17. 
He wants us to see the fulfillment of Scripture. 
In this case, he associates — not only the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, but all these healings (the leper, the centurion’s servant, and all those who came to Jesus in the evening) — with Isaiah 53:4. 
Isa 53:4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 
It is important that we recognize that when a writer like Matthew quoted a brief portion of something like Isaiah 53, he knew his Old Testament. 
He quotes that statement with the context in view. 
We are going to talk more about the quote itself before we are done, but the first thing I want you to understand is that Matthew is telling us that Jesus is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. And what Matthew sees in these healings is what the Scriptures said would be true of the Messiah. 
THE MESSIAH IS YAHWEH’S SERVANT, WHO IS ALSO THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD. 
ESV Isaiah 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 
THIS IS A SAVING SERVANT. THIS IS ALSO A SOVEREIGN SERVANT. 
He is a servant and a King. 
Remember what Matthew tells us later that Jesus said to His disciples.

Introduction: Of the many errors made by the modern-day charismatic movement, one of the greatest is the misunderstanding of ...

Our Deliverer | Matthew 8:14-17

Introduction: 
Confidence does not equal competence. 
You can be very confident and be wrong. 
You can be very confident and be awful at something. 
I think about this sometimes when a person is loudly declaring, “I’m not afraid of him!” in some setting where physical violence is being threatened. I think, “you don’t have to be afraid to get beat up.” Just because you’re not afraid of him doesn’t mean that you can match him! 
In my short lifetime of 58 years, I have never seen a more confident, yet incompetent, nation than we have the moment. 
We are now seeing the fruit of a godless approach to education, discipline, sports, the false religion of self-worth. All of it satanically well-orchestrated to produce a generation that is high-minded but low achieving. 
In 2014 a study was done of 15-year-old students, all over the world. It was the “Program for International Student Assessment.” 
In math testing, ranking first in PERFORMANCE was Korea. On a scale of 0-600, the Korean students scored 554. Ranking 23rd, and finishing 13 points below the average, were United States students, coming in at 481. 
What was interesting is that the testing also asked questions about attitude. 
In every question, United States students tested more confident than Korean students. 
“Confident that you can calculate the petrol-consumption rate of a car? US 69%; Korea 31% 
“Confident you can calculate how many square meters of tile you need to cover a floor? US 73%, Korea 55%. 
And on it went, on every question. The less confident finished 1st. The supremely confident (because US students were more confident than the average of all the nations), 23rd. 
CONFIDENCE DOESN’T EQUAL COMPETENCE. 
What was true in that test now characterizes an entire culture. 
We are witnessing a generation characterized by confident pronouncements — about just about everything — that only amount to an announcement of its ignorance. 
 
 
 
WHERE YOU FIND SUCH PRIDE, you will also find AN UNWILLINGNESS TO LEARN. 
Hand in hand with this hubris will come disrespect for people who older. Utter disrespect for people who are more experienced. No real appreciation for something that didn’t come from you, or doesn’t contribute to you. No genuine appreciation for what came before you. 
IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU. IT’S ALL ABOUT NOW. 
And we see this all over our world. 
IT IS THE FRUIT OF SIN. 
GOD FORBID, THAT THIS SHOULD BE SEEN IN THE LIVES OF HIS PEOPLE. 
God forbid that the insanity of OVERESTIMATION should characterize His church. 
As Paul moved from 11 chapters of some of the most glorious doctrine found anywhere in Scripture, to the 12th chapter where he calls for an appropriate response to that doctrine — and where he especially emphasizes the corporate nature of that response (THE CHURCH IS IN VIEW when you get to verse 4), HE WARNS US ABOUT THE INSANITY OF AN INFLATED SELF-PERSPECTIVE. 
So, with our time this morning I want us to think about a sober self-assessment. Or you could say a sane self-perspective. He says in verse 3 that we are to think in a way “so as to have sound thinking.” 
We will examine that statement under four headings. Let’s call it “Four Elements Necessary for Believers to Keep a Sound Mind.” 
 • THE FOUNDATION FOR SOBER SELF-ASSESSMENT (vs.1-2) 
I’m not going to spend much time on it, but it is obvious that the exhortation of the 3rd verse flows from the truth found in verses 1-2. 
What do you find there? 
You find the foundation necessary for the kind of thinking that Paul is calling for in the 3rd verse in verses 1-2. 
 • YOU MUST BE A BROTHER (vs.1a) 
 • YOU MUST HAVE MET WITH THE MERCIES OF GOD 
 • YOU MUST BE DEVOTED (YOUR ENTIRE PERSON) TO WORSHIP AND SERVE THE GOD WHO HAS HAD MERCY UPON YOU. 
 • YOU MUST RECOGNIZE THAT NOTHING ELSE IS FITTING 
 • YOU MUST HAVE PLEASING GOD AS YOUR AMBITION 
What does all of this add up to you? You have been humbled by God. You have been broken by God. You have been rescued from an insanity that belongs to the unregenerate state of a human life. 
ESV Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 
ESV Colossians 2:18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 
This is what God saved us from, when He saved us out of the domain of darkness. 
You have seen the truth about your wretched life, AND about the glorious Savior. You have been rescued to live your life from an entirely new vantagepoint.

Introduction:
Confidence does not equal competence. 
You can be very confident and be wrong.
You can be very confident and be awful at something.
I think about this sometimes when a person is loudly declaring, “I’m not afraid of him!” in some setting where physical violence is being threatened. I think, “you don’t have to be afraid to get beat up.” Just because you’re not afraid of him doesn’t mean that you can match him!
In my short lifetime of 58 years, I have never seen a more confident, yet incompetent, nation than we have the moment.
We are now seeing the fruit of a godless approach to education, discipline, sports, the false religion of self-worth. All of it satanically well-orchestrated to produce a generation that is high-minded but low achieving.
In 2014 a study was done of 15-year-old students, all over the world. It was the “Program for International Student Assessment.” 
In math testing, ranking first in PERFORMANCE was Korea. On a scale of 0-600, the Korean students scored

A Christian Self-Assessment | Romans 12:3

Biblical Manhood & Womanhood: Finding Our Way Forward From The Past | Genesis 1:24-31; 2:5-25

Introduction: 
Genuine faith always has a proper object. The faith that is the gift of God, the faith that can obey God, the faith that is the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in a human heart, is a faith that trusts IN GOD, and in His Word. 
Faith, PROPERLY FOCUSED, is never faith in faith. 
It is not faith in intuitions. 
It is not faith in something suggested to us mystically, or emotionally. 
GODLY FAITH IS TRUST ANCHORED IN WHAT GOD HAS REVEALED. 
IT IS FAITH IN GOD’S PERSON, AND IT IS FAITH IN GOD’S PRONOUNCEMENTS, and as a result, it is never disappointed, because it is impossible for God to lie. 
Genuine faith is a testimony to God. 
It honors God. 
It displays God. 
It displays God because it is a means that God uses to put His own faithfulness on display. He tells us what is true and calls us to believe it and to live on the basis of it, and then He demonstrates that we are wise to trust Him. 
ESV Malachi 3:10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 
ESV Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? 
That is why there is no conflict of interest in an account of a miracle that magnifies the authority of Jesus and the astounding faith of a Gentile centurion. 
THE AUTHORITY ON DISPLAY IN JESUS GLORIFIES GOD. 
THE FAITH ON DISPLAY IN THE CENTURION GLORIFIES JESUS AND GLORIFIES GOD. 
 
 
 
 
 • AN UNLIKELY APPEAL (vs.5-6) 
Jesus is making His way into the city of Capernaum. Located northwest of the sea of Galilee, it became a place where the ministry Jesus came to be based. It was a military outpost, which is why you have a centurion there, a battle tested, veteran soldier, who commanded at least 100 men. It located on a travel route that made it a strategic taxing location as well. 
Of all the people one might expect to seek out the Lord Jesus Christ — and to address Him as Lord while asking Him for help — the unlikeliest might have been a Roman centurion. 
But this was a man whom the Lord has already been working in. 
Luke tells us that this was man very friendly and kind to the Jewish people. 
In fact, everything that Matthew presents as having taken place between this centurion and the Lord Jesus, DID TAKE PLACE BETWEEN THEM — but through Jewish mediators. 
ESV Luke 7:3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue." 
So, the centurion makes his way to Jesus but does not address Jesus directly. 
 • A GENTILE MAN – In addition, the men who were installed into the kind of leadership role were often natives of that area. This means, he was not only seen as an occupier, but a traitor by some of the people. 
 • AN ACCOMPLISHED MAN (He is the leader of the military garrison in that city — someone who served under Herod Antipas) 
 • A GENEROUS MAN (Built the people a synagogue) 
 • A CARING MAN 
The word servant is παῖς. It is a word used for a young person, usually below the teenage years. It was also a word that could be used of a son. It would not be a stretch to understand this to mean, “my boy.” 
It also be used of a slave who was your personal attendant. 
What we know from Luke, is that this slave was especially dear to this man. 
ESV Luke 7:2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 
HIS DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVANT DEMONSTRATES HIS COMPASSION. 
 • THE SERVANT’S PHYSICAL CONDITION IS NOTED 
 • THE SERVANT’S PAIN IS NOTED 
 
 
 
NOTHING ABOUT THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPECTED. 
This is not the kind of man who would normally be associated with compassion. 
Not the kind of man who would normally be associated with love of the Jews. 
Not the kind of man who would normally be looking for help from a Jewish religious leader, nor have the kind of spiritual sensitivity to build a synagogue. 
 • A RESPECTFUL MAN 
He does not just refer to Jesus as “sir.” The “appeal” is just that, it is an ASK. The man is appealing for HELP. 
You do not come to Jesus asking for help with a life-threatening illness if you believe he is an ordinary man. 
 • A RESPECTED MAN 
He is so highly respected that as he is interceding for his servant, the Jews are interceding for him. 
ESV Luke 7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, 
 • AN UNAMBIGUOUS ANSWER (vs.7)

Introduction:
Genuine faith always has a proper object. The faith that is the gift of God, the faith that can obey God, the faith that is the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in a human heart, is a faith that trusts IN GOD, and in His Word. 
Faith, PROPERLY FOCUSED, is never faith in faith.
It is not faith in intuitions.
It is not faith in something suggested to us mystically, or emotionally.
GODLY FAITH IS TRUST ANCHORED IN WHAT GOD HAS REVEALED.
IT IS FAITH IN GOD’S PERSON, AND IT IS FAITH IN GOD’S PRONOUNCEMENTS, and as a result, it is never disappointed, because it is impossible for God to lie. 
Genuine faith is a testimony to God.
It honors God.
It displays God.
It displays God because it is a means that God uses to put His own faithfulness on display. He tells us what is true and calls us to believe it and to live on the basis of it, and then He demonstrates that we are wise to trust Him.
ESV Malachi 3:10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my hous

Authority & Faith | Matthew 8:5-13

Introduction: 
When Matthew tells us that Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, he describes that ministry as a fulfillment of Old Testament promise, and as the dawning of the sun. 
The light was now shining. 
ESV Matthew 4:13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 
Earlier, Zechariah had prophesied concerning his son John, and the role he was to play in the ministry of Jesus. That prophecy described the coming of Jesus in the same terms. 
ESV Luke 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 
How was the light shining? It was shining in both word and in wonders. 
ESV Matthew 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. 
AFTER YOU HAVE THIS DESCRIPTION IN CHAPTER 4, MATTHEW GIVES US A SERMON, AND HE PRESENTS US WITH SIGNS. 
The light was on display in preaching (the sermon on the mount). 
The light was on display in signs (the signs that Matthew begins to record in this 8th chapter) 
ESV John 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 
The people who encountered Jesus were without excuse, based on what they heard, and based on WHAT THEY SAW. 
In Matthew 8:1-17, Matthew records three specific miracles. Think about it, Matthew tells us that Jesus was healing people in large numbers — there were hundreds if not thousands of miracles — and yet the Spirit of God directs our attention to some of them for a specific accounting. 
The first 3 miracles that Matthew records testify together. We will look at them one at a time — each one has its own story to tell — but together they have much in common. 
In each case, Jesus takes time for those who were least regarded in their world. People who were least regarded by the false religious leaders of the Jews, and as a result, by most of the people in that world. 
The leper. 
The Gentile and his servant. 
And a woman who was sick — Peter’s mother-in-law. 
John MacArthur —"in all three miracles Jesus ministered to the needs of someone who, especially in the eyes of the proud Jewish leaders, was on the lowest plane of human existence. The first person He helped was a leper, the second was a Gentile soldier and his slave, and the third was a woman. We learn from John that Jesus first revealed His messiahship to a despised Samaritan adulteress in Sychar (John 4:25–26), and we learn from Matthew that these three miracles of His early ministry served the humblest members of society. Our Lord showed special compassion toward those for whom society had special disdain.” 
This morning we consider our Lord’s healing of a man who had leprosy. 
 • THE AMAZING ATTRACTION TO JESUS (vs.1) 
Before we get to the man with leprosy, however, Matthew directs our attention to the attention that JESUS was receiving when He came down from the mountain. 
Not just CROWDS, following Jesus, but MANY crowds, GREAT crowds, LARGE crowds. 
Why? What are they seeking? What do they see as their need? 
MATTHEW HAS ALREADY EXPLAINED THE SIZE OF THE CROWDS, AND WHERE THEY WERE COMING FROM. 
ESV Matthew 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. 
Jesus is teaching. 
Jesus is healing.

Introduction:
When Matthew tells us that Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, he describes that ministry as a fulfillment of Old Testament promise, and as the dawning of the sun. 
The light was now shining.
ESV Matthew 4:13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Earlier, Zechariah had prophesied concerning his son John, and the role he was to play in the ministry of Jesus. That prophecy described the coming of Jesus in the same terms.
ESV Luke 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Mo

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