Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13:1-9,18-23

Scripture

He told them many things in parables, saying “Listen! A sower went out to sow.”

Observation

Jesus is surrounded by many people, so He goes on to a boat to preach. He tells the crowds the story of a sower who sows seed onto four different types of soil- a path, rocky soil, weedy soil and good soil. These different soils produce different yields.

He then explains to His disciples that the seed represents the word, while the soils represent the hearts of men. While many obstacles might prevent people from taking hold of the gospel, the ones who do run with it yield a huge return for God’s kingdom.

Application

Jesus tells us to Listen! He is still telling us to listen.

There are many people wanting us to listen- musicians, entertainers, advertisers, politicians, activists.

There is much talking past each other, but precious little listening.

To listen means that we value someone, that they are worth the time and that their words and thoughts are important to us.

This morning I spent two hours listening to an inter-state truck driver. He loves the Lord but struggles with anxiety from time to time. This morning he needed to be listened to and encouraged in his dreams and visions for the future.

We also need to listen to Jesus. He is talking to us all the time- directing, encouraging, building up. We need to hear His voice in our daily life.

It is hard to remember to listen to Jesus because He doesn’t always get in our face and shout “Listen to me!” We hear Him in the Scriptures, in the words of others and in the quiet voice in our heart.

Jesus says “Listen!”

Prayer

Lord help me to be still and listen. Speak to me so that I can lean my life on your wisdom. Amen.

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+11.16-30

Scripture

“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Observation

Jesus compares the generation to children complaining that their friends don’t dance to wedding songs or mourn for funeral songs. They rejected John as being demonised because he fasted, but criticise Jesus for being a “glutton.” He then passes judgement on the towns that had rejected Him despite the miracles He performed there.

The Father has entrusted all things to the Son. Only the Father and Son know each other, apart from those to whom the Son reveals them. Jesus then invites all who are burdened to come to Him and enter His rest.

Application

There are people who believe that they can work out salvation on their own terms. Some people think that they can encounter God through nature.

Jesus says that we can’t work it out on our own. Sure, we might be able to figure out who God is and what He is like, but we cannot enter into an intimate relationship with the Father unless we get that revelation from the Son.

He then invites all who are burdened to come to Him. The revelation of the Father being talked about here is not a mystical vision given to a select few. It is the ability and desire to receive Christ’s invitation to fellowship.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only way to the Father. There is no other means of salvation.

All we need is the faith to say “Yes” to Jesus.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank you that you welcome all who say “Yes” to you. Help me to live in an ever deeper fellowship with you and the Father in the grace of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+10.40-42

Scripture

“Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple- truly I tell you none of these will lose their reward.”

Observation

Jesus says that whoever welcomes us welcomes Him and the Father. Likewise anyone who welcomes a prophet or righteous person in His name will receive the reward of that person. Just serving an “insignificant” christian will bring eternal reward.

Application

God delights in blessing His faithful servants far beyond our ability to fathom. Jesus is saying here that if you welcome a prophet in His name, or a righteous person, you get the same reward they get in heaven.

So if I welcome Prophet Bigboots into my home and share with him, I get his reward in heaven. If he is going to get a mansion, I get one too just by being his friend.

Even if I just share a cup of coffee with Brother Unknown or Sister Hasnothing, I get an eternal reward for that act of kindness, which nothing can take away.

We really don’t know who is important in God’s kingdom. Abraham unwittingly served lunch to the Trinity. So this person of poor means in front of me today could be the leader of a revival tomorrow- or maybe not.

When Jesus is saying there is a reward for people who show hospitality or love to other christians He is really saying this: when you share your life with other people, regardless of their status, you are showing that your heart is with me.

This little passage puts meat onto the commandment of Jesus, “A new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you.” It shows us what christian community is about.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to take on board what it means to give a drink to the “little ones.” Show me how to share my abundance with your people. Amen.

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+9.35-10.8

Scripture

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment , give without payment.”

Observation

Jesus goes about teaching and preaching and healing all kinds of sickness. He has compassion on the people of Israel and tells the disciples they need to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the fields.

Jesus gives His twelve disciples authority then sends them out to preach the kingdom, to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons.

Application

Jesus sent out His closest disciples with a fairly broad commission to continue His work by healing people and preaching His message of the Kingdom.

They did this successfully even before Jesus had died and risen, and before they had received the Holy Spirit. We who have the Holy Spirit fail to do these things because we do not trust in the authority that is ours in Christ.

Everything in God’s kingdom is about authority not about power. God has all the power to do as He pleases, but He has chosen to delegate all that to His disciples- that is to you and me.

We have the power to heal the sick and raise the dead- that is the Holy Spirit.

We also have authority from Christ to heal the sick, preach the gospel and raise the dead.

I think that the problem is simply we lack faith. Not lack of faith in God but lack of faith in God’s ability and willingness to use me.

We have the Holy Spirit with us always. We have the authority of Christ to proclaim His reign. Let’s be obedient and trusting to His command.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank you that you have given me all authority. Help me to grasp that authority and see your kingdom revealed as I walk with you each day. Amen.

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+21.1-11

Scripture

When He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking “Who is this man?”

Observation

Jesus and His disciples arrive at Bethphage, near Jerusalem. He sends two of the disciples into the village to collect a donkey and a colt. This was to fulfil the prophecy.

The disciples do as Jesus directed them, and He mounts the donkey to enter Jerusalem. People cut down branches to throw on the road before Him, and everyone shouts “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

His arrival stirs up much turmoil in the city/

Application

Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem stirred up much excitement, interest and discussion in the city. People were asking, “Who is this man?”

The way we answer the question , “Who is Jesus?” is fundamentally important, as our answer determines our life direction and our eternal destiny.

Some people say that He was a good teacher of a good moral example. But He portrayed Himself as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. If this was not true, He was neither a good teacher nor a moral example.

Some say He was a political revolutionary. Yet He failed to deliver any political gains against the establishment. Within a week Jesus would be dead, a public failure. He said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” denying any political objectives.

So we are left with the conclusion that Jesus truly was the Son of God. He alone can save us by forgiving our sins and reconciling us to God.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, people still ask, as they did then, “Who is this man?” I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour, the one who brings freedom, healing and direction to my life. Help me to show others how to follow you. Amen.

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5.38-48

Scripture

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evil-doer”

Observation

Jesus takes the principles of the Law and extend their application to lengths that seem (and actually are) impossible to fulfil.

An eye for an eye becomes do not resist an evil-doer.

If someone sues you, give them more than is their due.

Love you neighbour becomes love your enemy because to be like the Father we have to love those who hate us.

The people of this world can be kind to people they like. It takes the grace of God to love our enemies.

Application

How do I live my daily life in the context of the radical love of God?

Revenge, even in the limited version allowed in the Jewish Law seems appropriate to most people. The Law of Moses allowed that a person who was injured by another person could take a legally sanctioned retribution in which the perpetrator was injured to the same extent as the victim. So then you have two maimed people, and the injuries of the victim are still there.

Jesus says, “Do not resist an evil-doer.” How does this apply when your house is invaded by people who want to harm you and your family?

Many Americans, and I suppose many people from most cultures, whether christians or not, subscribe to the philosophy of “Do unto others before they do unto you.” In other words a loaded gun beside the bed is your best protection.

How does that tie in with “Do not resist evil doers”?

Jesus tells us not to meet violence with violence, but with a defiant form of non-violence. “Turn the other cheek.”

Most of us do not often face extreme violence such as robbery or assault. Our situation is more likely a daily slap in the face- contemptuous put-downs, mischievous harassment. In those situations, Jesus tells us to show kindness to those who show us hatred, to love those who do us wrong. Rather than retaliation we choose a higher path of peace and love.

When our physical safety is threatened the odds are higher. But the principle is the same- remove the threat without harming the person. I can’t imagine what it is like to be a christian in ISIS controlled territory, or to go through a violent home invasion. In those situations we need the grace of Jesus to follow Him even in great suffering or at the point of death.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you sometimes challenge our thinking on what is right and good. The standard “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” is too high for us. Help me to surrender myself to your grace in every situation. Amen.

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/search?%s=Matthew+5.13-20

Scripture

“In the same way , let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Observation

We are salt and light. Salt must keep its saltiness or else it is no good. In the same way a light must shine out to be of any use. Our light must shine as good deeds that people see and then glorify God.

Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfil it. The Law will be present in all its fullness until the time of its completion. Therefore, anyone who teaches people to disobey it will be least in the Kingdom of God.

Application

Jesus tells us to let our light shine before others that in seeing our good deeds they will glorify God.

Don’t hide your light. People need to recognise the light of God’s Spirit in out lives. It is too easy to conform to the values and the deeds of the world in our daily life. We must enable the values of God’s kingdom to flow through every aspect of life. This is not just moral values but the power of the Holy Spirit, the light that has come into the world which darkness cannot overcome, the person of Jesus.

Our good deeds are deeds of love and grace which change the environment around us. When people are puling others down, we build up. When people mock Christ we praise Him. We shine forth the gospel in our love for God and for our neighbours.

The goal is for people to glorify God. Everything I do should draw people closer to a revelation of the living God. A light does not exist to shine for itself; it shines so that people can see something else. My good deeds do not serve to make people like me; they serve to make people like God.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ let your light shine through me that people will glorify our Father. Please show me how to let the light out. Amen.