 Jesus gave His disciples the interpretation of the Parable of the Sower—those who lingered longer to learn from Him. They would also be sowers, sharing the Good News with others. But they needed to know that Gospel ministry was not inherently successful. Sowing the good seed of God’s Word will be difficult, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching—yet worthy work.
But most sowers don’t give up, even though this worthy work can be difficult. Most give up over what Jesus articulates in His next parable in Matthew 13. Watch our study as we consider the Parable of the Weeds and find encouragement to not give up. Have you ever wondered if you truly have eternal life? Many hope, wish, or even strive for it, but still aren't sure. So how can we be certain about eternal life? What are the criteria? How can we know for sure?
God’s word is clear—He extends eternal life to all who believe in the name of Jesus, and wants you to know that you have eternal life. In fact, in the letter of 1 John, there are 8 times that John emphatically tells us, “By this we know…” Watch our study from Sunday as we unfold the amazing, beautiful, and indestructible eternal life we have in Jesus. Holding to cultural superstitions instead of Scripture can lead to some wacky conclusions. That’s why it’s always important to examine a belief to see if it’s following cultural norms or if it’s based in Scripture. When a cultural belief clashes with what the Bible says, it needs to be set aside.
Just as in Christian culture today, some in the Jewish culture during Jesus’ time held certain beliefs about what the devil could do that may not have been rooted in Scripture. So Jesus carefully provided some Scriptural teaching to address these ideas. Consider His wisdom as we look at our study of Luke 11:14-26 from this past Sunday.  Jesus is a gentle man. He calls out to us because He loves us. He corrects us gently and comes alongside us, asking for permission to take His rightful place upon the throne of our hearts.
But Jesus doesn’t do this forcefully. He knocks at the door of our heart, but He will never pound and demand entry. He patiently convicts and convinces until a decision is made—either an invitation to enter, or a dismissal of His offer. And like a gentleman, when the knocks go unanswered, He will eventually stop knocking. This past Sunday, we examined the evangelistic ministry of Jesus through His Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Watch our study of Matthew 12:15-32 as we considered the testimony of God. After countless confrontations, the religious rulers relentlessly questioned Jesus about His violation of traditions. Sensing their intent, Jesus challenged them about their disregard for God’s commandment in favor of their own customs.
This question should have initiated a respectful discussion. Lacking reason, logic, and intellectual integrity, these religious rulers clung to tradition—even when it defied truth. Driven by irrational hatred and senseless malice, they focused solely on destroying Jesus. Watch our study of Matthew 12:1-14 as we carefully considerJesus’ response when He was challenged about the man-made traditions of religion. In Matthew 11, we read of Jesus addressing two vastly different groups. On one side were the arrogant, overfed, unconcerned, and self-righteous religious elites who either opposed Jesus or were indifferent to Him. On the other side were the seventy Jesus had sent out to minister to the surrounding cities. These were the foolish, the forgotten, the unworthy, and unimportant in the eyes of the religious elite.
Jesus rebuked the first group with a warning and received the second group with rejoicing. But some of the self-righteous just needed a clear invitation for salvation. And so Jesus addresses them and invites them to come to Him. Watch our study in Matthew 11:27-30 as we thoughtfully consider Jesus’ invitation to those who are weighed down and burdened by religion to come and enjoy a relationship with Him. As Jesus went to preach and teach in the cities in Judea, He encountered the religious elite who were either indifferent to Him or actively resisted Him. Even after witnessing all that Jesus did, they still did not believe. This prompted Jesus to call out to them with a broken heart, warning the hard-hearted and self-righteous.
But even when the majority of people in cities or countries are indifferent to or resist Jesus, there is always a remnant of individuals that accept His invitation to come to Him and find salvation, forgiveness, and rest for their souls. Watch our study of Matthew 11:25-30 as we consider these individuals—the wise, unlikely ones. Which is worse in terms of someone coming to Christ and finding everlasting life in Him: resistance or indifference? At face value, it seems like a simple question to answer. Those who don’t really seem to care are usually easier to deal with than those who want to argue with you.
The question is not who is the easiest to deal with, but what mentality is less open to the Gospel. Those who are consistently critical are actually closer to surrendering to Jesus than those who couldn’t care less. We encounter this more than we realize. And so did Jesus, as we see in Matthew 11:20-30. Watch our study from Sunday as we consider how resistance and indifference affect our decision to come to Jesus. It’s difficult to appreciate just how good the good news truly is without first working through the bad news. Part of that was the responsibility of John the Baptist. He prepared the way for the good news of Jesus Christ by preaching repentance, which meant bringing to the forefront the bad news of sin.
Some readily received the bad news that they were sinners, which prepared them to receive the good news of complete forgiveness and the gift of righteousness. But some rejected the good news of Jesus Christ because they rejected the reality that they were sinners. In their self-righteousness, they were unable to believe, receive, and respond. Watch our study from Sunday as we continue our study in Matthew, once again examining the parallel passage in Luke and considering what Jesus has to say about self-righteousness. “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” This is the tough question that John the Baptist asked Jesus. But he didn’t ask Jesus directly because he was in prison. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus, Who didn’t even give an answer right away.
Have you ever endured so much pain and uncertainty that you desperately attempt to muster up enough strength and faith to move the hand of God? In those times, does it seem like the Lord is silent towards you but responding to everyone else? It’s enough to question whether God is actually God…or if it’s time to look for another. Watch our study in Matthew 11:1-6 and Luke 7:11-23 as we consider the tougher answer Jesus gives to John's tough question. |
From Pastor Dom...When I first gave my life to Jesus, there were friends in my life who helped me to grow in my understanding of God, through His word, and for those friends Archives
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