Matthew 18- The Wrath of Christ

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But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Matthew 18:6-7

Satan’s primary target is children, we see this especially in todays society, abortion, LGBTQ movement, pornography, drugs, ect these are all agendas and sin meant to corrupt children. While Satan is out to attack our Children, Jesus wants to protect them, Christ said “Whoever offends one of these little ones , it would be better to have a millstone hanged on their neck and drowned in the ocean” Anyone who targets children will have a greater judgment by Jesus Christ, the King of Kings

Now I know , many will bring up all the pedophiles throughout the “Church”, obviously these people were evil and will experience a great judgment in Hell. We need to be careful of these wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7) Just because an organization calls themselves a “Church” or a person has the title of Pastor or Priest, doesn’t mean they are a true Born Again Christian, they will be known by their fruits (Matthew 7). Satan plants many wicked people throughout the Church to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Matthew 18:8-9

Jesus taught more about Hell than Heaven, here we see one of Christs strongest teachings of Hell. Now of course Jesus is using hyperbole here and not being literal to give greater emphasis on the warnings of Hell. If there is a sin in your life, its better to cut it out of your life now, then to be thrown into Hell Fire for all eternity, this is the core of this teaching

Notice the words of Christ here “cast into everlasting fire” and “cast into Hell Fire” these are strong warnings from Jesus, but how many people still today love their sin more than they love God or eternal life? The message is clear sin will not go unpunished, don’t believe you can live in sin without consequences, the wages of sin is death but eternal life is through Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23)

Anyone who targets children, will receive the wrath of Christ, and anyone who doesn’t repent of their sins and become Born Again, will not see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3, Acts 2:38-39) Amen!

Matthew 18- Become As Little Children

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At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Matthew 18:1-5

Jesus said “If anyone wants to be my disciple, they must deny themselves, carry their cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24) this is such a simple teaching but so difficult for us to follow. At one point, the Apostles were arguing among themselves, who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 9:46) but Christ quickly shut down their debate by pointing to a little child, this is the greatest in the Kingdom of God

Ever since the Apostles, the Church has been wrestling with their flesh, trying to be led by the Holy Spirit and not by the flesh. Even when we are serving The Lord, the temptations of the flesh creep in, the desire for power, the desire for respect, the desire for money and fame. We see this prevalent throughout the Church today, ask yourself what are the biggest priorities of your Church today? Most of you would answer the budget and numbers. This is why the majority of Churches are not effective in the world, they are self centered instead of Christ centered

Jesus said “Unless you be converted and become as a little child, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” Wow, this is a big blow to many egos, think of the great theologian who has a PHD and many theological degrees, unless they become Born Again and humble themselves as a child, they won’t enter the Kingdom of God! It’s all about a New Heart, unless you are converted you are still dead in your sins. Your works will never save you, in fact they are filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6) You must become Born Again (John 3:3)

Many Churches have good intentions but then the flesh overtakes, many Churches are more concerned about pleasing people today than pleasing God. Jesus said “Humble yourself like a little Child” , as the Bible says “Pride comes before Destruction” (Proverbs 16:18) Are you humble like a Child? Are you teachable like a Child? Are you trusting in your Heavenly Father like a Child? Are you accepting like a Child?

We can learn alot from Children, anyone who has raised Children can attest to this, while most Churches hide the Children in a back room and try to silence them, we can learn from them. Jesus said “Whoever receives one such little child in my name, receives Christ” We are more concerned about conducting a perfect service than acknowledging the children. Remember, “Deny yourself, Carry your Cross, and Follow Jesus” this should be our motto, Amen!

Matthew 17-Children of God

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And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. Matthew 17:24-27

Again we see the religious leaders “testing” Jesus to see what he will do, we seen this throughout the gospels, the religious leaders trying to trap Christ in doing something morally wrong. Obviously they misunderstood that Jesus is God in the flesh, they were actually testing God , and so their continual attempts failed time and time again.

They asked Peter “Does your Master (Jesus) pay the two drachmas or tribute” this was a temple tax that all Jews were required to pay to support the temple, suppor the priests and buy sacrifices, ect. The religious leaders were hoping Jesus would refuse to pay, so they could bring charges against him. As Jesus said to Peter “So that we should not offend them” Christ paid the tax

Now a few things were revealed during this moment, first Jesus asked Peter “Do Kings collect money from their own family or from others”? Peter answered from others, so Jesus said “The sons are exempt” but The Lord paid it anyway not to offend anyone. However Jesus was revealing here, that since they are Children of God, they are exempt from the tax. Remember the Temple belongs to God, this was His sacred space before Christ instituted the New Covenant, Jesus was demonstrating they are now Children of God through Christ. 

Another thing we see here is the miracle, Christ and his disciples didn’t have any money at the time, so he advised Peter to go fishing, and Christ said the first fish you catch will have the money you need in it. By faith Peter obeyed Christ and God provided financially for the disciples. We need to remember this, that God is our provider, when there seems to be no way, God will make a way if we are obedient. Finding money in fish sounds like a bad financial plan, but Peter was faithful to Christ and He provided.

Even though Jesus should never pay a tax for The Temple built essentially for him, Christ did it anyway, to not offend or to be “good citizens” As Christians we are to be the Salt and Light (Matthew 5) we are to obey our government as long as it doesn’t contradict the Law of God (Romans 13) As Jesus declared “We are the Children of God” though Christ , Amen

Matthew 17- Passion of The Christ Part 2

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And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. Matthew 17:22-23

Today’s scripture reading is only two scriptures, however it’s the core to the entire Bible. The gospel of Jesus Christ, is the foundation for our faith, it’s the only reason we have any hope in this world, that Christ died, Christ is Risen, and Christ will come again! As the Apostle Paul said “If Christ is not Risen, then our faith is useless” (1 Corinthians 15:14)

Now the amazing thing is Christ foretold about his death and resurrection multiple times to his disciples, however when it happened, they still didn’t understand it. Even today many people still don’t understand the gospel, they don’t understand why Christ had to die on the cross, they don’t understand why Christ rose on the 3rd day, and they forget that Christ is coming back again to establish Gods eternal Kingdom

Notice the response of the disciples “they were exceeding sorry or deeply grieved” why? Because they thought the Kingdom of God was being established at that moment, they believed Jesus Christ would take his Earthly throne in Jerusalem and wipe out the Romans , and they would be ruling with The Messiah. They were not far off, but there timing was wrong. Christ didn’t come first to establish his Earthly Kingdom, but to first save people from their sins

The problem of sin, was overlooked during that day as it’s overlooked this day. We have all fallen short and are sinners (Romans 3:23) God can’t be reconciled with his people until they become Born Again (John 3) we need to be cleansed of our sin and justified before God. This is why Jesus Christ had to die on the cross, and this is why we all need to Repent and be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39)

Now I grieve the death of Christ just as I’m sure all of us do and should, and the disciples were exceedingly sorry or deeply grieved. However because God so loved the world that Christ willingly laid down his life for you to pay the penalty of your sins. Jesus Christ knew his mission was to be the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, this is why he foretold his disciples multiple times that he would be killed. Just as the prophet Isaiah foretold throughout Chapter 53, Christ is the suffering servant, despised and rejected, for our sins. This should make you love The Lord even more, that he loved you enough to lay down his life for yours!

And on the 3rd Day, Christ rose from the dead, defeating sin and death forever. The curse that is upon us all is death from the wages of our sins. But Jesus Christ became our curse to remove the curse from us (Galatians 3:13) The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News for a reason, because Christ paid the penalty for your sins, and defeated sin and death, so that you may inherit eternal life and live with God , Amen!

Matthew 17- Power of Faith

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And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Matthew 17:14-16

Here we see an example, where a man brought his son to the disciples to be healed, and they couldn’t cure him. Now this brings up some questions, why did the disciples fail to heal this boy? Was it due to their lack of faith? Was it due to the boy’s lack of faith? Was it not God’s will for the boy to be healed? Now first we see the demonstration of faith by the Father, as he took his son to Christ and said “Lord , have mercy on my son”

Another thing we need to acknowledge here, is this is not just an illness or medical issue, this was a demonic force that had a grasp on the boy. Meaning , the disciples were not just fighting against flesh and blood here, they were fighting against spiritual demonic forces. Were they prepared spiritually to fight this battle? Are we prepared to fight the spiritual warfare around us? (Ephesians 6)

Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:17-20

Jesus answers all our questions here, first he calls them all a “Faithless and Perverse Generation” doesn’t sound like the cuddly Jesus they teach in Sunday School. Christ rebukes the disciples for having no faith, this is why they couldn’t cast out the demon. This brings up a good point, not only does the person, who needs to be healed needs faith, but the one praying for them needs faith also. Asking for faithless people to pray for you is useless, faith is the foundation of our salvation. Without faith you can’t please God (Hebrews 11:6) and you can’t be saved (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Christ rebuked the demon and cast them out immediately, the disciples’ response was “Why could we not cast them out”? Jesus said “Because of your unbelief” , you need to have true faith in Christ! Most people hope and wish God would do something, this doesn’t impress God, you need faith, total assurance that Christ is able!

Jesus said with faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. All it takes is faith in Christ! Surrender yourself to The Lord, put your faith in Jesus Amen!