Founders Baptist

ntroduction: 
ESV Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 
This is what must characterize the people of God. 
This is what disappears when a people are under the abandoning wrath of God. 
This is what the church must resist in the midst of such a culture. 
Looking at this text from a big picture view, we see FIVE PRINCIPLES ABOUT MARRIAGE FROM A TEXT THAT DEALS WITH DIVORCE. 
 • THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP IS A TEST OF TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS 
Godly marriages require salvation. 
Godly marriages require a right relationship to God through Jesus Christ and therefore a right relationship to God’s Word. 
Godly marriages exist for God’s glory. 
Godly marriages require supernatural desires, ambitions, concerns, and selflessness, that can only exist where the new nature exists — where the Holy Spirit abides. 
 • THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP IS ACCOUNTABLE TO THE GOD WHO DESIGNED MARRIAGE 
Sinful violations of the marriage covenant result in sin. They result in adultery. By whose standard? By God’s, of course. 
Violate the marriage covenant and God holds one accountable for that violation. 
That tells us that every married person is accountable to God for the way they conduct themselves in marriage. 
If the OUTCOME of marriage must answer to God, then the CONDUCT in marriage must answer to God. 
ESV 1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. 
 
 
 • THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP IS DESIGNED TO BE LIFELONG (GOD HATES DIVORCE) 
Jesus is REAFFIRMING the PERMANENCE of marriage. 
ESV Matthew 19:3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" 4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." 7 They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" 8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." 10 The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry." 11 But he said to them, "Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it." 
 • THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP ENDED IMPROPERLY RESULTS IN MULTIPLIED SINNING 
This teaching indicates that divorce can dishonor God in multiplied ways. 
 • THE SIN OF DIVORCE 
 • THE SIN OF ADULTERY (SAVE THE DETAILS FOR NEXT WEEK) 
 
 • THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP GLORIFIES GOD BY THE POWER OF GOD NOT BY THE STRENGTH OF THE FLESH

ntroduction:
ESV Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
This is what must characterize the people of God.
This is what disappears when a people are under the abandoning wrath of God.
This is what the church must resist in the midst of such a culture.
Looking at this text from a big picture view, we see FIVE PRINCIPLES ABOUT MARRIAGE FROM A TEXT THAT DEALS WITH DIVORCE.
 • THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP IS A TEST OF TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS 
Godly marriages require salvation.
Godly marriages require a right relationship to God through Jesus Christ and therefore a right relationship to God’s Word.
Godly marriages exist for God’s glory.
Godly marriages require supernatural desires, ambitions, concerns, and selflessness, that can only exist where the new nature exists — where the Holy Spirit abides.
 • THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP IS ACCOUNTABLE TO THE GOD WHO DESIGNED MARRIAGE
Sinful violations

Marriage Principles From A Divorce Text | Matthew 5:31-32

Introduction: 
There is no clearer indicator of God’s abandoning wrath in the life of a nation than when He turns that society over to sexual perversion. 
The abandoning wrath of God is God taking the common grace restraint from the minds and hearts of fallen people and allowing them to run headlong into their own moral insanity. Romans chapter one maps that out for us. IDOLATRY LEADS TO MORAL INSANITY. IDOLATRY LEADS TO A WORTHLESS MIND. 
ESV Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 
Debased - ἀδόκιμος “failing the rest, rejected, worthless” 
ESV Romans 1:32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. 
Our own nation gives evidence of that judgment from God. Our nation has experienced a freefall into the moral abyss in the last fifty years. There has been an explosion of sexual immorality, the implosion of the nuclear family, and most amazingly, a great portion of our culture that just shrugs at it. Or worse yet, celebrates it. 
What is at the root of this IS REBELLION. 
The sexual revolution is not really about sex. It is about rebellion against the Creator and His design. 
In fact, the spiritual aspect of this of this judgment (a giving over to the darkness of Satan) is evidenced by an increasing momentum to “Christianize” all these perversions. 
It is becoming increasingly evident that the lines in the sand regarding things like women pastors, homosexuality being considered a sin, and marriage being considered sacred, ARE MOVING among professing evangelicals. Sometimes the soft line is seen among PROMINENT evangelicals. 
In our country we have seen this slide march on one step at a time. In the last fifty years we have seen the rejection of the Creator’s design for men and women (the women’s movement), that women’s movement produced the current attitude toward abortion. 
This has been followed by a sexual revolution, a homosexual revolution, and now we have arrived at a place no one would have ever imagined. 
We have arrived at the place where many in our nation refuse to acknowledge the self-evident truth that God has made mankind male and female. 
The perversion has reached the place where people are defending the insanity of gender fluidity, not only in the case of adults, but in the case of adults who want to project their perverted views on to children. 
BUT THE POINT THAT I WANT TO MAKE TODAY, THE CONCERN THAT IS ON MY MIND AS WE APPROACH THIS TEXT, IS THIS QUESTION. 
WHAT HAS BEEN THE AFFECT OF THIS ON THE CHURCH? 
What has been the affect of this on genuine believers, genuine churches, when it comes to what God says about sexual faithfulness? 
When you’re living a time where the entire world has lost its moral mind, it is IMPERATIVE that we not be the proverbial frog in the kettle. It is IMPERATIVE that God’s people refuse to be pushed into the world’s mold. 
ESV Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 
It is imperative that God’s people not be lulled into an attitude about marriage, and about sexual faithfulness, that falls far short of the standard of genuine righteousness. 
We must not become desensitized to what GOD HATES. 
We must not be careless about what GOD LOVES. 
We must not think about any issue in a way that falls short of genuine righteousness. 
REMEMBER, THAT CONTINUES TO BE THE ISSUE IN THE EXAMPLES THAT JESUS GIVES IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 
THE CONTRAST IS BETWEEN WHAT PEOPLE WERE FAMILIAR WITH IN THE NAME OF GOD’S LAW, VERSUS THE TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS ON DISPLAY IN GOD’S LAW. 
It is a contrast between a superficial, insufficient, reading and application of God’s law (an unspiritual one), driven by the deception of a works righteousness approach to justification, AND THE TRUTH OF THE LAW AS GIVEN BY THE SON OF GOD, that will drive men to see their need for God’s grace. 
The law, rightly handled, slays the sinner. 
SV Romans 7:9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 
That truth brings the sinner to the place of crying out for the mercy of God, and hungering for the righteousness that must be given as a gift, the righteousness of the Savior Himself. 
ESV Romans 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Introduction:
There is no clearer indicator of God’s abandoning wrath in the life of a nation than when He turns that society over to sexual perversion.
The abandoning wrath of God is God taking the common grace restraint from the minds and hearts of fallen people and allowing them to run headlong into their own moral insanity. Romans chapter one maps that out for us. IDOLATRY LEADS TO MORAL INSANITY. IDOLATRY LEADS TO A WORTHLESS MIND.
ESV Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Debased - ἀδόκιμος “failing the rest, rejected, worthless”
ESV Romans 1:32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Our own nation gives evidence of that judgment from God. Our nation has experienced a freefall into the moral abyss in the last fifty years. There has been an explosion of sexual immorality

The Sin of Adultery | Matthew 5:27-30

Introduction: 
What kind of righteousness characterizes those who will enter heaven? What kind of righteousness characterizes those who know heaven’s King? 
This is the issue being raised throughout the sermon on the mount. 
Who will inherit the kingdom of heaven (vs.3, 10)? 
Who will receive a great reward in heaven (vs.11)? 
Who will be least in the kingdom of heaven and who will be greatest (vs.19)? 
Who will enter the kingdom of heaven (vs.20)? 
Who desires the will of God on earth as it is in heaven and therefore prays for it (6:10)? 
Who lays up treasure in heaven (6:20)? 
Who calls Jesus Lord in truth, is known by the Son of God, and will enter the kingdom of heaven (7:21)? 
From beginning to end the Lord is describing and explaining what characterizes the lives of redeemed people. 
And in that way, this is a sermon that evangelizes. 
It evangelizes because it presents a great contrast. It is a contrast between what the people were familiar with versus what God was the author of. It is a contrast between a people who have heard about God, and talk about God, and do things in the name of God, versus a people who are known by God. 
JESUS WANTS TO BE ABUNDANTLY CLEAR. THE CONTRAST IS NOT WITH THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS. 
Jesus is not annulling, invalidating, the Old Testament Scriptures. 
HE IS EXPOSING, HOWEVER, THE FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS, THE SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, THE DISTORTED, DECEIVING, DAMNING, RIGHTEOUSNESS, OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. 
He is talking about a righteousness that surpasses theirs (vs.20). 
ESV Matthew 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. 
His coming exposes what has been distorted, both in doctrine and by example. 
AND AS JESUS EXPLAINS THIS, SOMETHING IS MADE PLAIN IN THE PROCESS. 
The Messiah’s view of Scripture is made plain. 
Verses 17-20 set the standard by which everything else in the sermon is understood. Jesus has come to FULFILL THE SCRIPTURES. 
The altogether righteous God has given us altogether righteous words. 
The Messiah’s coming is in complete harmony with Scripture. 
His coming represents the telos, the end, the outcome, the necessary fulfillment of what was written in the law and the prophets. 
So that everything else He says in this sermon is a statement about a right understanding of what God had given them in His Word, and therefore, a right understanding OF HIM. 
Last Sunday evening we began considering what Jesus said about the Scriptures. We made the point, and I repeat the point, that you cannot be a disciple of Jesus Christ and have a view of Scripture at odds with His. 
The Son of God come to earth — the author of Scripture — gives us a perfect assessment of Scripture. 
We see four truths from the Son of God about the Word of God. 
 • THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF CHRIST (vs.17) 
We dealt with this Sunday night. We considered the meaning of His statement that He fulfills Scripture. 
Every part of the Old Testament is a revelation of God’s glory, and when you know who Jesus Christ is, you behold God’s glory in Him. 
Apart from the knowledge of Christ the Bible is a closed book. You cannot reject the Son and know the Father. 
Every part of Scripture can be and should be related to the person and the mission of Christ. 
The Divine Nature is seen in Christ 
ESV Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 
The Creation is explained by Christ 
ESV Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things were created through him and for him. 
The Angels are in subjection to Christ 
ESV Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 
God’s self-revelation reaches its high point in Christ 
ESV Hebrews 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 
The salvation of mankind is accomplished in the last Adam — who is Christ

Introduction:
What kind of righteousness characterizes those who will enter heaven? What kind of righteousness characterizes those who know heaven’s King?
This is the issue being raised throughout the sermon on the mount.
Who will inherit the kingdom of heaven (vs.3, 10)?
Who will receive a great reward in heaven (vs.11)?
Who will be least in the kingdom of heaven and who will be greatest (vs.19)?
Who will enter the kingdom of heaven (vs.20)?
Who desires the will of God on earth as it is in heaven and therefore prays for it (6:10)?
Who lays up treasure in heaven (6:20)?
Who calls Jesus Lord in truth, is known by the Son of God, and will enter the kingdom of heaven (7:21)?
From beginning to end the Lord is describing and explaining what characterizes the lives of redeemed people.
And in that way, this is a sermon that evangelizes.
It evangelizes because it presents a great contrast. It is a contrast between what the people were familiar with versus what God was the author of. It is a co

Christ’s View of Scripture | Matthew 5:17-20

A Great Divide - Our Profession vs. Our Living | 2 Timothy 2: 14-19

Instant Immortality | 1 Corinthians 15: 53-57

The Fear Free Life | 1 John 4:18/Romans 8:15/Hebrews 2:15

Introduction: 
“It is easier said than done.” This is a very common saying in our world. What it means is that someone is presenting a task in a way that underestimates its difficulty. 
What is also means, sometimes, is that you are asking me to do something that is far more difficult than you know, THEREFORE, it really isn’t fair. You lack compassion for me. You don’t really care for me. If you did, you wouldn’t be asking me to do what you are asking me to do. 
A companion saying that expresses this kind of perceived unfairness is, “That’s easy for you to say.” “That’s easy for you to say because you are not in my situation.” 
Well, when you come to our verses this morning, and when you declare them, and apply them, to people who are living in the kinds of circumstances being described, you sometimes meet with “that’s easier said than done.” Or “that’s easy for you to say.” 
My prayer for us is that when we finish with these verses today, that kind of response would be mortified in us. 
There will come a day in every believer’s life when we need to be reminded of these words. When that day comes, I pray that we would joyfully receive the reminder. That we would always receive this teaching with faith. 
WHAT OUR LORD SAYS TO US HERE IS THE TRUTH. 
WHAT OUR LORD SAYS TO US HERE SPEAKS OF GOD’S GLORIOUS GRACE TO US. IT ONLY APPLIES TO US BECAUSE OF GOD’S GRACE TO US IN JESUS CHRIST. The truths are ours, and the capacity to live out the instruction is ours, only because of salvation. 
WHAT OUR LORD SAYS IS MEANT TO NOT ONLY BE BELIEVED, BUT IT IS ALSO MEANT TO BE PRACTICED. 
And to be called to that obedience, or to call other believers to that obedience, is not some act of insensitivity, it is, in fact, the most loving thing we could ever do. 
If we exhort each other “all the more” as we see the day approaching, this must certainly belong to the kinds of reminders that we need. 
We consider this final beatitude under four headings. (1) The teaching explained (2) The teaching modeled (3) The teaching believed (4) The teaching practiced. 
 
 
 
 • THE TEACHING EXPLAINED 
These words are not hard to understand, but they are sometimes hard for us to believe. They are completely out of step with natural wisdom. 
 • THE MEANING OF PERSECUTION 
What does it mean to be persecuted? 
It is a form of the word διώκω 
BDAG — “διώκω 
② to harass someone, esp. because of beliefs, persecute (OGI 532, 25) τινά someone (1 Macc 5:22; En 99:14; Jos., Ant. 12, 272; apolog.) Mt 5:11f, 44; 10:23; Lk 11:49; 21:12; J 5:16; 15:20; Ac 7:52; 9:4f; 22:4, 7f; 26:11, 14f; Ro 12:14; 1 Cor 4:12; 15:9; Gal 1:13, 23; 4:29; Phil 3:6; Rv 12:13; AcPl Ha 11:17f; D 1:3; 16:4; B 20:2; Dg 7:5; ἐν θανάτῳ δ. persecute to death B 5:11. Pass. (Lucian, D. Mar. 9, 1) Mt 5:10 (=Pol. 2:3); 2 Cor 4:9; Gal 5:11; 6:12; 2 Ti 3:12; IMg 8:2; ITr 9:1; 1 Cl 4:13; 5:2; 6:2; 45:4; Dg 5:11, 17. Of plots against Joseph 1 Cl 4:9.” 
It is mistreatment that is purposeful. It is someone AIMING to make someone’s life difficult, HOSTILE TOWARD A PERSON, because of what they represent. 
 • THE REASON FOR PERSECUTION 
The reason is this case is RIGHTEOUSNESS. Because you BELIEVE what is right. Because you REPRESENT what is right in the sight of God. Because you PRACTICE what is right. 
But this is not simply suffering for what is right. AS THOUGH THE RIGHT IS SOMETHING STANDS ALONE. 
It is suffering for what is right in the sight of God because you are one of God’s people in Jesus Christ. 
IT IS FOR CHRIST’S SAKE that you are hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and identified with righteousness, and therefore SUFFER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 
People harass you for Christ’s sake (vs.11). 
This is because you LOVE CHRIST. 
This is because you LIVE FOR CHRIST. 
This is because you hold to the STANDARDS OF CHRIST. 
This is because you PROCLAIM CHRIST. 
This is because you REPRESENT CHRIST.

Introduction:
“It is easier said than done.” This is a very common saying in our world. What it means is that someone is presenting a task in a way that underestimates its difficulty.
What is also means, sometimes, is that you are asking me to do something that is far more difficult than you know, THEREFORE, it really isn’t fair. You lack compassion for me. You don’t really care for me. If you did, you wouldn’t be asking me to do what you are asking me to do.
A companion saying that expresses this kind of perceived unfairness is, “That’s easy for you to say.” “That’s easy for you to say because you are not in my situation.”
Well, when you come to our verses this morning, and when you declare them, and apply them, to people who are living in the kinds of circumstances being described, you sometimes meet with “that’s easier said than done.” Or “that’s easy for you to say.”
My prayer for us is that when we finish with these verses today, that kind of response would be mortified in us.
The

The Persecuted | Matthew 5:10-12

The High Cost of True Discipleship | Luke 14: 25-33

A Love Rejected That Conquers | Luke 13:34-35

Introduction: 
No one enters the narrow gate proud. 
No one will ever enter the kingdom of heaven with lofty eyes and a puffed-out chest. 
It is the lowly, it is those who bow down, that receive the yoke of Christ. 
ESV Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 
God produces a brokenness to fit sinners for the yoke of His Son. All that He does to break them is show them the truth — the truth about who He is, and the truth about who they are. 
IT IS AN AWAKENING THAT MAKES THE SINNER DESIRE THE YOKE OF CHRIST. 
The barrier that stands between the sinner and Christ is a lying self-perspective — a lying self-perspective that is inborn. 
It exists in every human being who has not experienced the new birth. 
WE WERE BORN SINNERS, WHICH MEANS WE WERE BORN WITH A SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS THAT PRODUCES PRIDE. 
SINNERS ARE, BY NATURE, PROUD PEOPLE. 
To save us, God must humble us. 
We are responsible to humble ourselves, but without God’s grace, we are powerless to do what we ought. 
YOU CAN’T REPENT OF WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE. 
True humility is a gift OF SIGHT. God grants spiritual sight and with that sight a humbling takes place, and with that humbling a life is entered into in which there will be more humbling. God is at work throughout the rest of our lives, teaching humility to those He has humbled. 
The first beatitude describes such a person and celebrates God’s grace to them. 
Blessed are those whom the Lord has graciously humbled — those whom He has made poor in spirit. 
Today we consider what it means to be poor in spirit. We consider the first beatitude under three headings. (1) The great barrier between man and God (2) The great change that removes the barrier (3) The great future that belongs to the humble. 
 
 
 • THE GREAT BARRIER BETWEEN MAN AND GOD 
THE GREAT BARRIER THAT EXISTS BETWEEN MANKIND AFTER THE FALL AND HOLY GOD IS SIN. 
BUT GOD HAS MADE THE WAY FOR THE BARRIER TO BE REMOVED. 
GOD HAS MADE THE WAY FOR MAN’S SINS TO BE FORGIVEN. GOD HAS MADE THE WAY FOR MAN TO BE RECONCILED TO HIS CREATOR. 
What stands between mankind and the RECEPTION of God’s gracious remedy is MAN’S PRIDE. 
When man SINNED, he fell (that’s a move downward), but in that sin his view of himself went up. 
His view of God fell, and his view of himself rose. 
Satan promised that he would be as God, but instead, he was cursed with a mind that believes he is God. He is cursed with a heart that substitutes for God. 
HE BECAME A GOD HATER. 
HE BECAME A PROUD IDOLATER 
The result of sin is a spiritual blindness in man that produces a devastating and damning view of himself and of his creator. 
HIS VIEW OF GOD IS TOO SMALL 
HIS VIEW OF HIMSELF IS GRANDIOSE 
THAT DECEPTION RUNS THROUGOUT ALL HIS SELF-PERSPECTIVES. 
 • HE FEELS STRONG WHEN IN FACT HE IS FRAGILE 
ESV Psalm 39:5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah 
ESV Psalm 39:11 When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah 
 • HE FEELS INDEPENDENT WHEN IN FACT HE IS NEEDY 
ESV Matthew 5:33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 
The attitude that Christ is addressing is the attitude that says that mankind has control over his own existence.

Introduction:
No one enters the narrow gate proud. 
No one will ever enter the kingdom of heaven with lofty eyes and a puffed-out chest.
It is the lowly, it is those who bow down, that receive the yoke of Christ.
ESV Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
God produces a brokenness to fit sinners for the yoke of His Son. All that He does to break them is show them the truth — the truth about who He is, and the truth about who they are.
IT IS AN AWAKENING THAT MAKES THE SINNER DESIRE THE YOKE OF CHRIST.
The barrier that stands between the sinner and Christ is a lying self-perspective — a lying self-perspective that is inborn.
It exists in every human being who has not experienced the new birth.
WE WERE BORN SINNERS, WHICH MEANS WE WERE BORN WITH A SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS THAT PRODUCES PRIDE.
SINNERS ARE, BY NATURE, PROUD PEOPLE.
To save us, God must humble us.
We are responsible to humble ourselves, b

The Poor In Spirit | Matthew 5:3

Laodicea, The Lukewarm Church - Part 1 | Revelation 3:14-22

Introduction: 
Jesus has selected four of His disciples. He has called them to a full-time apprenticeship. He has told them that He will make them (AND THE REST OF HIS DISCIPLES) fishers of men. 
Following that account, in this section we have a description of where Jesus went, what Jesus did, and who Jesus was influencing. 
Why this brief description of His work? 
What helps us understand that is to see that it forms one half of a bracket. 
This section is basically repeated (not word for word, but the same substance) at the end of the 9th chapter. 
ESV Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." 
The same elements noted in our verses are repeated there. 
JESUS TAUGHT 
JESUS PREACHED 
JESUS PERFORMED MIRACLES 
WE ARE TOLD WHERE JESUS WENT AND HOW THE PEOPLE RESPONDED 
But what is additional in those verses is a description of the heart of Jesus toward the crowds, and the need for laborers in the field — a field ready for harvest. (vs.36-38). 
What is interesting is that between these two brackets you have two extended descriptions of Jesus’ work in each of those areas. 
THE TEACHING AND PREACHING MINISTRY OF JESUS (chapters 5-7) 
THE MIRACLE WORKING POWER OF JESUS (chapters 8-9) 
HE CALLS DISCIPLES, HIS WORK IS SUMMARIZED, HIS WORK IS FURTHER EXPLAINED (expanded upon) OVER TWO CHAPTERS, HIS WORK IS SUMMARIZED AGAIN, THE WORK OF HIS DISCIPLES IS EMPHASIZED. 
 
WHEN YOU GET TO CHAPTER 10, HE SENDS HIS DISCIPLES OUT ON THEIR OWN FOR AN EARLY EXPERIENCE OF THE APOSTOLIC WORK OF MINISTRY. 
This is not only the work of Jesus, but He is preparing them for their future work. 
So, this summary belongs to something larger that Matthew is communicating. 
ONE THING MATTHEW IS COMMUNICATING IS THAT THIS WAS NO ORDINARY WORK OF MINISTRY. 
What is seen in Jesus in these two areas of ministry testified to His unique identity. 
TEACHING — HE TAUGHT UNLIKE ANYONE BEFORE HIM 
ESV Matthew 7:28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. 
ESV John 7:45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring him?" 46 The officers answered, "No one ever spoke like this man!" 47 The Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed." 
MIRACLES — HE DID WHAT DEMANDED FAITH IN HIM AS MESSIAH 
ESV Matthew 11:4 And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 
ESV John 11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." 
We will look at this opening summary in a very simple way — under five headings. (1) Where Jesus went (2) What Jesus said (3) What Jesus did (4) Who Jesus influenced (5) What Matthew wanted us to see. 
 • WHERE JESUS WENT (vs.23a) 
The light dawns in Galilee of the Gentiles. This where the public ministry of Jesus, after the ministry of John the Baptist, will be concentrated. 
The light of the world. 
The light of life. 
The light of salvation. 
Is now shining. 
He has a strategy, it seems. This very same strategy will be employed by the apostles in the earliest time of evangelism. That strategy is to bring the message to the synagogues. 
Galilee was a small district. Approximately 70 miles by 40. 
According to Josephus there were about 200 cities and villages. 
In almost all these cities and villages there would have been a synagogue. 
Most believe that the synagogue came into being during the Babylonian captivity, and never went away. The temple, though still the center for sacrificial worship, was too far away for many Jewish people to attend, so the synagogue became the central location for worship. 
It was the place in Jewish life where religion and community came together. It was the place of public worship on the Sabbath. It was the place of education for young men. It was the place where laws were discussed and adjudicated among the Jews in each of those communities. And it was customary for visiting rabbis to be given the opportunity to instruct.

Introduction:
Jesus has selected four of His disciples. He has called them to a full-time apprenticeship. He has told them that He will make them (AND THE REST OF HIS DISCIPLES) fishers of men.
Following that account, in this section we have a description of where Jesus went, what Jesus did, and who Jesus was influencing.
Why this brief description of His work?
What helps us understand that is to see that it forms one half of a bracket.
This section is basically repeated (not word for word, but the same substance) at the end of the 9th chapter.
ESV Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of t

The King’s Work | Matthew 4:23-25

Introduction: 
Can you remember what it was like in your life just after the Lord saved you? 
Can you remember the new awareness concerning lost people? 
Can you remember the new concern for their souls? 
Can you remember the kind of burden that moved you to put forth an effort to share the gospel with those people in your life that you knew were lost? 
Evangelism is one of the immediate concerns of the evangelized. With new life comes a new love. That new love is a love for God, which fuels a desire to tell others about Him. And that new love is a new love for men, which fuels a desire to tell those men about God, and about His Son, your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
We are taught by God’s grace to care about the spiritual condition of other people. We are taught by God’s grace to care about the everlasting destiny of other people. 
When that goes away we are no longer spiritually healthy. That’s true on an individual level and that is true in the life of a church. 
Evangelism reflects the love of the Father for sinners (John 3:16). 
Evangelism reflects the love of God’s Son for sinners. 
LUKE 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 
Evangelism reflects the love of the Spirit for sinners. 
ESV Acts 8:29 And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth." 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. (Act 8:29 ESV) 
There is something defective, then, when we find ourselves interested in worship meetings but not interested in rescue missions. There is something defective when we say we gather to worship the God who calls for evangelism, and then have no interest in the evangelism that He calls for. 
From the very beginning of our Lord’s earthly ministry, in its official sense, He makes plain what He will do with those whom He calls to Himself. HE WILL MAKE THEM FISHERS OF MEN. He will make them into men who reflect His own heart toward lost sinners, by equipping them and sending them into the world to seek out those lost sinners with the good news of Himself. And what He intended for them, with respect to gospel witness, He intends for us. This is our work as well. We are His witnesses. 
Tonight I want us to think about fishing for men, I want us to think about the privileged work of evangelism, by examining Christ’s calling of the first four men who would belong to a band of disciples who would serve as Christ’s evangelists. 
What we see tonight is basic, but usually the things that we forget and need to be reminded of are very basic. 
There are four things I want to point out about these four fishers of men. 
 • THESE WERE CONVERTED MEN 
This is not the first time that these men have met Jesus. If you read the first four chapters of John’s gospel account, you will read of the earliest meetings of these men with Jesus. These are men who have already believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. These are men who have already followed Him in an initial sense. 
This calling is not the calling to salvation. This is a call, a command, to leave their lives as they have known them and to devote themselves completely to a life of training at His feet. This is a call to be His full-time ministry apprentices. 
And while it is simple, and I would hope quite obvious, I do think it is important to state this fact. 
You will never have a heart for evangelism if you are not yet someone who has been evangelized. Nor are you qualified, nor are you equipped, to do the work of evangelism if you are not saved yourself. 
It is only the saved who understand the value of salvation. 
It is only the pitied, who have pity upon poor sinners. 
It is only the enlightened who understand the darkness that sinners are engulfed in.

Introduction:
Can you remember what it was like in your life just after the Lord saved you?
Can you remember the new awareness concerning lost people?
Can you remember the new concern for their souls?
Can you remember the kind of burden that moved you to put forth an effort to share the gospel with those people in your life that you knew were lost?
Evangelism is one of the immediate concerns of the evangelized. With new life comes a new love. That new love is a love for God, which fuels a desire to tell others about Him. And that new love is a new love for men, which fuels a desire to tell those men about God, and about His Son, your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are taught by God’s grace to care about the spiritual condition of other people. We are taught by God’s grace to care about the everlasting destiny of other people.
When that goes away we are no longer spiritually healthy. That’s true on an individual level and that is true in the life of a church.
Evangelism reflects the 

Fishers of Men | Matthew 4:18-22

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Women In Worship - Part 2| 1 Timothy 2:11-14

Women In Worship - Part 1| 1 Timothy 2:11-14

Introduction: 
Mankind has a massive problem. 
So massive that he can’t fix it. We can’t fix it ourselves and we can’t fix it for each other. 
So massive that only God can open the spiritual eyes to recognize the gravity of it. 
So massive that God’s solution for it is something that neither men nor angels would have ever conceived. 
That massive problem can be described with the word DARKNESS. It is the darkness that belongs to death. It is the darkness that exists in sin. It is the darkness of estrangement from God. 
God’s solution for this massive problem is singular, yet all-encompassing. 
God’s solution addresses everything that has been affected by the problems of sin and death. 
God’s singular solution is His Son. Jesus is mankind’s ONLY hope. Emphasis on the word ONLY. The only answer for mankind’s massive problem is Jesus the Messiah. 
He is the Savior who was promised. 
He is the Savior who came from heaven and was born of a virgin. 
He is the Savior to whom God attested. 
He is the Savior who was proven by triumphing over the devil’s temptations. 
He is the Savior who went on (as we will learn) to triumph at the cross, and rose from the grave, has ascended into Heaven, and is coming again. 
HE is the Savior who ALONE offers hope to sinners. 
That Savior, and all the hope that is found in Him, can be described with the word LIGHT. 
HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 
IN HIM IS THE LIGHT OF LIFE. 
 
ESV John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." 
When I look at this text, the main message is as simple as that. 
What we have in our verses tonight is, in one significant way, the launching of Christ’s public ministry. 
His baptism served as an introduction, and in that sense it was an inauguration. 
Following that baptism there was a time when Jesus and John were both preaching and both baptizing (maybe longer than a year) — so that Jesus was engaged in public ministry even while the forerunner was on the scene. 
But what we have tonight represents a very important transition. John is now off stage, and Jesus takes full stage. 
And what is emphasized, as He takes full stage, is that this world is in darkness, and Jesus is the light, and the light is sufficient for all the world, and the dawning of this light was promised long ago and was now — at that time — dawning. 
We look at our verses tonight under four headings, each one describing what Jesus does. (1) Christ returns to Galilee (vs.12) (2) Christ settles in Capernaum (vs.13) (3) Christ fulfills Scripture (vs.14-16) (4) Christ proclaims His kingdom (vs.17). 
 • CHRIST RETURNS TO GALILEE (vs.12) 
Between verses 11 and 12 there is a time gap. That gap is covered by John’s gospel account. From John 1:19-4:43, we learn that Jesus carried out ministry that overlapped with the Baptizer. James Montgomery Boice summarized it well. 
James Montgomery Boice — “Before returning to Galilee (which John records in 4:43), Jesus met and called the first of his disciples, turned the water to wine at Cana, resided for a short while in Capernaum, returned to Jerusalem for an early Passover, drove the money changers from the temple, talked to Nicodemus, conducted an early teaching ministry in the Judean countryside, and had his encounter with the woman of Samaria on his way north again (see John 1:19–4:42). It is at this point that Matthew seems to pick up the story (Matt. 4:12–25).” 
 
The one element that Boice did not mention, is that during this time gap John the Baptist gave additional witness to Jesus. Following the wilderness temptations, Jesus had some time of ministry that intersected with John’s ministry. 
John told the people that the Messiah was on the scene, that Jesus was confirmed by the Spirit’s descent as the Messiah, and that Jesus was the Lamb of God and was to be followed (John 1:19-37). 
William Hendriksen — “Matthew does not indicate any chronological connection between this verse and the preceding material (the account of the baptism and the temptation). There may well have been a time interval of about a year, during which the events related in John 1:19–4:42 occurred.”

Introduction:
Mankind has a massive problem. 
So massive that he can’t fix it. We can’t fix it ourselves and we can’t fix it for each other.
So massive that only God can open the spiritual eyes to recognize the gravity of it. 
So massive that God’s solution for it is something that neither men nor angels would have ever conceived.
That massive problem can be described with the word DARKNESS. It is the darkness that belongs to death. It is the darkness that exists in sin. It is the darkness of estrangement from God.
God’s solution for this massive problem is singular, yet all-encompassing.
God’s solution addresses everything that has been affected by the problems of sin and death.
God’s singular solution is His Son. Jesus is mankind’s ONLY hope. Emphasis on the word ONLY. The only answer for mankind’s massive problem is Jesus the Messiah.
He is the Savior who was promised. 
He is the Savior who came from heaven and was born of a virgin. 
He is the Savior to whom God attested. 
He is the

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