Tag: Matthew

How Jesus’ Disciples Will Be Treated By The World? | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

Cross

What can we expect when we take the gospel message to the world as a Disciple of Jesus?

Matthew 10:16-24 tells us what to expect, and it is not your best life now.

(1) We can expect to be hunted by wolves (16)

Wolves are fierce protectors of their territory. If you have ever seen the movie The Grey you know what I mean. A group of men are traveling home from working in a remote Alaskan camp. A few minutes after take off their airplane goes down in the Alaskan wilderness. Instead of waiting for rescue, they set off in search of civilization.

As they do, they realize wolves are after them. One by one each of the surviving members are picked off, until one person is left. Without knowing it, their plane crashed at the edge of a wolf pack’s territory. Every step brought them closer to the wolves’ den.

As we go out to spread the gospel, we are entering wolf territory. Jesus sends us out as sheep. Sheep are natural prey of wolves. Like these men we too are hunted.

So as we go out with the message of the gospel, we are guaranteed to attract the attention of wolves. Wolves that don’t want us in their territory. Wolves that want nothing more than to take us out because we are spreading a message they don’t like.

(2) We can expect to be punished (17-18)

In order to get rid of us, these men, these wolves will deliver us over to courts and synagogues.

Reading through church history, you find most of the disciples were persecuted, even killed at the hands of courts.

Paul, one of the churches greatest missionaries, suffered at the hands of authorities. He was held in Roman jails. Flogged numerous times. Five times he received thirty-nine lashes. Forty would have resulted in death.

The church today experiences persecution.

  • Indonesian churches are being forced to close right now.
  • 900 Christians were murdered in Nigeria for their faith in 2012.
  • 191 Christians have been arrested and detained so far this year in Eritrea.
  • In Germany, a human rights courts recently rejected hearing cases of alleged discrimination against three UK Christians. One demoted for wearing a cross necklace to work. Another disciplined for refusing to conduct a same-sex marriage. The third fired for refusing to provide relational counseling to same-sex couples.

Lest we are naive, persecution is beginning to happen in the United States. We may not be imprisoned or put to death for our beliefs, but we are consistently marginalized as our society marches toward secularism.

  • In Manhattan, churches can no longer use public schools as places of worship.
  • The media continues to blast Christians for their beliefs, especially when it comes to same-sex marriage. We saw that with Tim Tebow and Louie Giglio recently.

We may not face intense persecution in the States, but persecution exists. Disciples of Jesus can expect it to occur.

(3) We can expect our own families to turn against us (21)

Jesus expects families to be divided in their loyalty to Him. Just because a father comes to Christ doesn’t mean his son or daughter will, and vice versa. Just because a sibling proclaims Christ doesn’t mean the others will. So in our families we can expect divided loyalty to Christ.

Divided loyalty may lead to persecution. Jesus speaks of family members handing each other over to be put to death. In some parts of the world this occurs today. Especially, in regions where Christianity is despised. Family members are disowned for professing Christ. In some cases, their life is sought by their own family because they are seen as an enemy.

So as we spread the gospel, we can expect our own family members to turn on us.

(4) We can expect to be hated and criticized (22)

When I lived in Fort Worth, I would talk to this one guy fairly often at the coffee shop. He was an atheist. If our conversation steered clear of Christianity, he was pleasant. As soon as we started talking about Christianity, however, a distinct change took place. Anger and hatred shone through in his tone and facial expressions. He hated Christ and those who followed Him, and it showed.

Hatred for Christ is not just reserved for coffee shop atheists. Listen to certain radio programs or read certain newspapers and you will find a hatred for Christianity exists in the media and larger culture.

It is only natural we be hated and criticized.

In Matthew 10:24-25, Jesus tells us we are not above Him. He is our Master. Our Leader. Our Savior. If people hated Him and criticized Him, they will hate and criticize us. If they rejected and killed Him, they will do the same to us. It has nothing to do with our likableness or personality. Rather, it has everything to do with what we believe.

The gospel is offensive.

It tells us we are all sinners. Corrupt, broken, rebels who need to be fixed. Fixing we can’t do on our own. We can’t remove our own sin. No amount of good works, or sacrifices will do. We can do nothing to reconcile our own relationship with God.

Thankfully, we have Jesus. He is the only one who reconcile our relationship with God. He does so through the cross.

Until we admit we are sinners, repent and turn from that sin, admit Jesus is our Savior, we remain enemies of God. Until we recognize He took the punishment we deserve. Until we admit those things, our relationship with God remains broken. We face His punishment, His Wrath for all eternity.

That message is offensive. Not only are we telling people they are sinners, who are corrupt and broken. We are also claiming Jesus is the only way to a restored relationship with God. Nothing else will do it. No amount of works. Nor any other religious belief. Jesus is the only way to a restored relationship with God and eternal life. Those who don’t believe in Jesus experience eternal punishment in hell.

Because our message is offensive, people hate us, which is what we can expect as Jesus’ Disciples.

Summary

Jesus’ Disciples can expect:

  • (1) To be hunted by wolves
  • (2) To be delivered over for punishment
  • (3) To have their own families turn against them
  • (4) And to be hated and criticized.

After reviewing a list like this, no one can accuse Jesus of sugarcoating what His disciples should expect as they go out with the gospel. He doesn’t attempt to deceive anyone. He shoots us straight. He tells us the cost.

Looking Forward

Who is ready to sign up to be Jesus’ disciple? Who is ready to have wolves hunt them? Who is ready to have their families turn on them? Who is ready to be hated and criticized? Who is ready to be persecuted? Doesn’t seem too appealing. Why would we want to be a Disciple of Jesus? I will answer that question next time.

Resource

Post adapted from my recent sermon: How Jesus’ Disciples Will Be Treated By The World

How Jesus’ Disciples Will Be Treated By The World? | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Cross

Have you ever been sold on something that is too good to be true?

When I was first looking for a job out of college, I interviewed with several sales organizations. Like any new grad exploring a career in sales, the allure of making a lot of money quickly and easily captured me.

One company I interviewed with sold me on their process. They promised to set all my meetings for me with customers who were interested and qualified. All I had to do was show up and close the deal. Sounds good, but there were several red flags. Red flags that should have alerted me to the fact it wasn’t going to be as easy as they made it out to be.

The recruiter wouldn’t tell me much about the position. He just wanted me to attend the interview, which wasn’t an interview. It was their chance to sell me on a commission only position. The sales man did a great job because everyone in attendance was not only offered the job, but we all took it. A new pack of naive sales associates were ready to strike it rich.

Right then and there, I should have realized this job wasn’t as easy as they made it out to be, but I had to learn the hard way. A month later, no sales, a hundred dollars spent on gas, hundreds of miles traveled to worthless meetings with customers who were not interested or pre qualified, I threw in the towel. I realized everything they told me was a half truth. It had to be because no one would take the job. Deception was the trick up their sleeve.

Not so with Jesus. He doesn’t deceive His Disciples. He doesn’t sugar coat their mission. Jesus shoots them straight. He tells them exactly what to expect. He paints a picture of what will happen. The picture Jesus paints is not only reserved for the Twelve but for us as well.

Over the next three posts, we will take a look at Jesus’ painting. I’ll do that by answering three questions:

  • (1) What can we expect when we take the gospel message to the world as a Disciple of Jesus?
  • (2) Why would we want to be a Disciple of Jesus?
  • (3) What do we need to know in order to be an effective witness as a Disciple of Jesus?

Looking Forward

Next time, I answer the first question: What can we expect when we take the gospel message to the world as a Disciple of Jesus?

Resource

Post adapted from my recent sermon: How Jesus’ Disciples Will Be Treated By The World

What Does It Look Like to Follow Jesus?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Thorns

Matthew 9:1-17 answers the question: Why did Jesus come? As you walk through the narrative, you discover Jesus came to:

Call sinners to Himself, forgive their sin, transform them, and institute a new system centered on Himself.

If Jesus calls us to Himself, forgives our sins, transforms us, and institutes a new system, and if He, as God, has the authority to do this, we must follow Him.

The Problem

Living in the Bible Belt, many claim to be followers of Jesus, but it seems they don’t quite understand what it means to follow Him.

Matthew helps to correct the problem. In the same narrative, we get a picture of what it looks like to follow Jesus. Below are five snap shots of what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Those Who Follow Jesus

(1) Live in obedience to Him

Followers of Jesus recognize His authority points to Him being God.

God has the right to demand our obedience because He is our Creator.

So those who follow Him live in obedience to Him. They submit to His will for their lives, allowing Him to call the shots.

(2) Leave their old life behind

Matthew was a Tax Collector, but after he came to Jesus, he was no longer a Tax Collector. Just as Matthew left his old life behind, we must leave our old life behind. We must make a break with the past.

Leaving our old life behind is possible because when we come to Jesus, we are transformed and freed from the bondage of sin, which frees us to live for God.

When we come to Jesus, our lives should look different than before. Our desires should be different. The things that we want to do and like to do should change. Our actions should be different. Our attitude should be different. How we view God should be different. How we view others should be different. Instead of viewing others as a means to an end, like Matthew did before Christ got a hold of him, we should now love and have a desire to serve them.

All this points to the fact that those who have been transformed by Jesus become a new creation.

Since followers of Jesus are a new creation, if our desires, actions, attitudes, how we view others, and how we view God have not changed, we need to reevaluate whether we are following Jesus or not, because Jesus transforms sinners.

(3) Don’t just perform external religious actions

The Pharisees were masters at performing. God, however, doesn’t want our sacrifices. He doesn’t want our religious show. Instead, He wants our heart. He wants us to be sold out for Him.

If we are going to follow Jesus, we can’t just perform, our heart has to be given fully to Him.

How do we know when that happens?

We know our heart is given to God when we, in mercy and love, reach out to those around us.

(4) Have a burden for the lost and broken

Jesus did. His burden led Him to take on the flesh of man. To call sinners to Himself. To eat with Tax Collectors and Sinners. Those who are true followers of Christ, will also have a heart and a burden for the lost and the broken.

True followers of Jesus desire for others to be saved.

They desire for others to experience the same joy they do. Their hearts are burdened for the lost around them. Their burden results in them reaching out getting to know the lost and speak the gospel into their lives. Jesus did, and so do those who follow Him.

(5) Look forward to His return

The Bridge Groom was taken and nailed to the cross for the sins of mankind. Even though He was put to death. He rose on the third day, defeating death. 40 days later, He ascended into Heaven where He sits on His throne. One day, He is going to return. When He does, He will usher in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Followers of Jesus long for and eagerly anticipate His return.

They can’t wait until He brings the New Heavens andNew Earth. They desire to sit under His reign and rule. To live for all eternity with Him as their King.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you live in obedience to Him?
  2. Have you left your old life behind?
  3. Have you given Jesus your heart or are you still performing?
  4. Do you have a burden for the lost?
  5. Do you long for Jesus’ second coming?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon Why did Jesus come?

Count The Cost, But Don’t Count It Too Long

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals3 Comments

Money cash money change coins money

In Matthew 8:18, before Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes, Matthew writes:

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to go over to the other side.

After hearing Jesus’ command, two men approach him.

First, a Scribe promises to follow Jesus wherever He goes.

The Scribe’s promise is noble, but Jesus’ response reveals something more. Jesus says to the man:

Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His head.

Essentially, Jesus tells him He is homeless.

Why did Jesus say that?

Here is a man who says He will follow Him wherever He goes. Seems like Jesus’ remark might dissuade him from following Him. So why say it?

Jesus says it to expose this man’s heart and his lack of thoughtfulness. The Scribe hadn’t considered what it meant to follow Jesus. He hadn’t considered following Jesus meant he had no home to go to at night, no promise of a comfortable bed, or a hot meal. In other words, he hadn’t counted the cost of what it meant to follow Jesus. He heard Jesus say go to the other side, and he came up and said I will follow you wherever you go.

Often times we see that in churches. The preacher tells us that we need to make Jesus our Savior. So people do. They do it, however, without ever considering what it actually means. What it will cost them.

Second, a disciple says he will follow Jesus, but he must first bury his father.

Again, this sounds good. He wants to take care of his family, but Jesus doesn’t see it that way. He tells him:

Let the dead, bury their own dead.

Why did Jesus respond in this way?

It wasn’t to say we can’t ever go to funerals, if we want to be a Christian. He says it to reveal something is hindering him from answering His call. That something is his father. He wants to wait to follow Jesus until after his father is gone.

There could be several reasons. Maybe there is an obligation he must keep, but once his father is gone he is no longer bound to it. Maybe his father doesn’t approve of Jesus and would disown him if he followed him. While we don’t often experience this in the Bible Belt because Christianity is culturally acceptable. It is a reality for some that when they come to Christ they will lose their family or friends.

No matter what this man’s, or our reason for not following Jesus, we learn Jesus expects us to be willing to put Him before all things – our family, our life, our business, or our career. Jesus wants to be supreme in our lives. To truly be His disciple, we must allow Him that supreme position. We should not allow the concerns or rejection of others, including our family to keep us from Jesus. Jesus is not going to say on Judgment Day.

“Oh, following me would have cost your relationship with your family, or your business, or your life. That is ok. I understand. Come on into the kingdom.”

No way, that would never happen. You see, we must be willing to give up everything for Him. To sacrifice it all.

What do we learn?

Our narrative presents both a person who is too quick to promise to follow Jesus without first counting the cost, and a person who waits too long because he has put something else before Him. With that in mind, the idea Matthew is driving home is:

Count the cost, but don’t count it too long.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Have you counted the cost?
  2. Are you counting the cost too long?

Resources

Image

This series is adapted from my recent sermon: Why Should We Follow Jesus?

Why Should We Follow Jesus? | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical12 Comments

Why Should We Follow Jesus Part 2

In my last post in this series, I answered the first of three questions: Why should we follow Jesus? Today, we move on to the last two.

WHAT GETS IN THE WAY OF US FOLLOWING JESUS?

Even though Jesus’ authority points to Him as being God, we are not willing to follow Him. There are several things that get in the way. Things we are not willing to give up. Matthew highlights a few in his narrative.

  • Possessions
  • Family approval
  • Acceptance from friends
  • Our life

These all can keep us from following Jesus, surrendering all to Him, and worshipping Him.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO REMOVE THE HINDRANCE FROM FOLLOWING JESUS?

(1) We have to count the cost.

I believe people put more consideration into buying a house than to coming to Christ. You would never go to the realtors office, ask for a house, and buy the first one they present to you without checking it out.

Instead, you inspect the house yourself. Drive around the neighborhood. Check out the school district. Make sure the price is fair and the inspection checks out. You bring your friends and family over to get their opinion. You do all those things because buying a house is a 15 to 30 year investment. As well as you want to be sure it is going to serve your family well.

Jesus is relaying the same message to us. He is saying, “Don’t be too quick to follow me. Count the cost. Realize for what you are signing up. If you are truly my disciple, there is a hard road ahead of you.”

(2) We can’t trust in something other than Jesus.

In our narrative the disciples trusted in a boat. Some of you may trust in your bank account or intellectual abilities. Whatever it is, we fail to trust in Jesus because we are trusting in something else. As this story proves, however, a boat will only carry us so far. A bank account will only sustain us for so long. Our intellect can only help us as long as our mind remains intact. Inevitably, these things will fail us.

You see, it is foolishness to put our trust in anything but Jesus. He is the only one who can save us.

Like these men in our narrative, once we realize trusting in anything else will fail us, we must turn to the only one who can save, Jesus Christ. After turning to Him, we must worship Him because Jesus isn’t just a life boat to save us when we are drowning. He is the almighty God who deserves our daily worship.

(3) Jesus is God not just another man.

In our narrative, Jesus proves that He is God. Disciples follow Him at His request. He calms a storm. He heals two demon possessed men with just a word. The demons submit to Him and call Him the Son of God. These things point to His authority and the fact that He is God. God deserves our worship, so we must give that to Him.

We don’t, however, just worship Him when we come together on Sunday. We also worship Him by:

  • Recognizing His authority over our lives.
  • Putting Him first
  • Submitting to Him
  • Obeying Him

In other words, we worship Him with our whole lives.

(4) We can’t value anything above Him.

The people of the city valued their possessions over Jesus, allowing their loss to blind them. When we value something more than God, we are in violation of the first of the Ten Commandments. The first commandment tells us not to put any other gods before the One True God. When we do, we have made that thing into an idol – a god.

In order to rid ourselves of these idols, we have to realize they are not going to last. They are man made. They are temporary. Temporary things break down. They fail us. They disappoint us.

So then, we can’t hold our possessions in greater value than God. We have to be willing to give those up for God. We have to see them for what they are. We can’t allow them to blind us.

(5) Our heart has to be pierced by the gospel.

Only a heart that has been regenerated will submit to God and give Him the worship that is due Him. So we must believe in the gospel.

We must believe that we are sinners in need of a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. He is because He lived a perfect life, and died the death we deserved. He went to the cross to pay the price for our sins. He faced the wrath of God that we deserve. When we believe that, we are saved. Our heart is pierced by the gospel.

Our heart must be regenerated before we can follow Jesus, surrender all to Him, and truly worship Him. You can’t do these things without a changed heart. To try to do so is futile.

Conclusion

Once we come to Christ, count the cost, recognize Jesus is God, and realize we can’t trust in and value anything more than Him. Once we have done those things, we will be in a place where we will be able to follow Jesus, surrender all to Him, and worship Him.

Question for Reflection

  1. What do you allow to get in the way of you following Jesus?

Resource

This series is adapted from my recent sermon: Why Should We Follow Jesus?

Why Should We Follow Jesus? | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

Follow Me Part 1

When I was growing up, my dad always told me, “Be a leader, not a follower.” If you think about it, for someone to follow you, they need a reason. My Dad’s advice then meant, I needed to be someone worth following. So when Jesus comes to us and asks us to follow Him. We need a reason to follow Him. The Bible provides us with those reasons.

With that in mind, over the next two posts, I will answer the following questions:

  • Why should we follow Jesus?
  • What gets in the way of following Jesus?
  • What do we need to do to remove the hindrance from follow Jesus?

Let’s start with the first question:

WHY SHOULD WE FOLLOW JESUS?

In Matthew 8, several scenes attest to the power and authority of Jesus.

Jesus Heals Many

In 8:1-15, Jesus heals a Leper, a Centurion’s servant, and Peter’s Mother-in-Law. All three healings take place immediately, and with just a word. As soon as Jesus spoke, the leprosy was gone and the man was clean, the Centurion’s servant was healed before he returned home, and Peter’s Mother-in-Law was able to serve them moments after Jesus healed her.

Not only did Jesus heal these three people, but many more. Matthew continues:

“That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.” (Mt 8:16)

Jesus shows not only His power over sickness, but the spiritual world as well.

The Turbulent Sea

As we continue on in the narrative, Jesus commands His disciples to follow Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Several men pile in a boat, but soon a great storm arises. Fearful for their lives, they wake Jesus, who is sleeping, and the men say,

“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” (Mt 8:25)

Jesus does what only God can do, He calms the sea and rebukes the wind, so that a sea threatening to swallow the boat and the men into a watery grave turns into a sheet of glass, allowing the men safe passage to the other side.

Two Demon Possessed Men

Once they reached the other side, two demon-possessed men who had been tormenting the region come out to meet Him. The men, controlled by demons, say,

“What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Mt 8:29)

The Demons explicitly say what the other scenes had been pointing to – Jesus is the Son of God. Not only did they recognize Him as God, but they also recognized His authority and right to judge and punish them.

What does Matthew 8 reveal?

Matthew reveals Jesus’ authority over all things. Which leads to the idea:

If Jesus has full authority over all things, and His authority points to Him being God, we must Follow Him, Surrender all to Him, and Worship Him.

So the answer to our first question reveals we should follow Jesus because of who He is –  God.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you believe Jesus being God is a reason to follow Him?

Looking Forward

In the next post in this series, we will answer the questions: What gets in the way of us following Jesus? What do we need to do to remove the hindrance from follow Jesus?

Resource

This series is adapted from my recent sermon: Why Should We Follow Jesus?