Matthew 23 Pt 5
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Poll 1: Do you feel challenged by the idea of increasing in personal humility? A. Yes, B. No, C. Unsure
Poll 2: How do you think most people in our world view the title “servant”? A. positively, B. negatively, C. neutrally
Poll 3: Trivia Question: What is the primary role of a deacon? A. teaching on an individual and small group level, B. serving those in need, C. overseeing church finances and programs, D. assisting church leadership, E. discipleship and mentoring
Poll 4: Did you know: The Greek word for servant in Matthew 23:11 “the greatest among you shall be your servant” is also translated “minister, ministers, deacons, and attendants” in other Bible passages?
This will be our last week in these 12 verses that open Matthew’s 23rd chapter…
You might remember when we finished Matthew 22… I had said maybe we’ll do Matthew 23 in one night… [pause]
I really said that because I’m really looking forward to Matthew 24…
Well this opening section of Matthew 23… these first 12 verses… it’s Jesus addressing the public about false teaching and false teachers…
It took us 5 studies to get through this… and so…
I say that… to say this…
When you pick up your Bible and read in your personal time… I cannot stress enough the importance of prayer…. [pause]
We can often get into the thinking… that goes something like this… [pause]
When I pray I meet with the Lord…
When I read my Bible… I’m learning about Him… [pause]
But I want to encourage you that every time you open your Bible… it is a time to meet with Him… [pause]
And as you read… I encourage you to ask the Lord to help you… to guide you…
To convict you of the things you need to be convicted of… to encourage you in the things you need encouragement on… [pause]
And to meet with you in those times… [pause]
Reading your Bible is a different activity then prayer alone… but both activities… prayer and Bible reading… should be seen as a meeting time with the Lord… [pause] [pause]
I pray as I do these outlines and ask the Lord to guide this process…
And the thing about the Bible- I’m going to tie two concepts together in a minute…
The thing about the Bible is… when we pray and ask for guidance... [pause] the Holy Spirit… [pause]He will guide us [pause]and He will lead us through it…
We know that to be true… and we have evidence of that in this way…
We read a passage… and it will speak one way to one person… and another to another person…
Now I’m not talking about the truth of the passage… the truth remains the same…
I’m talking about the conviction… the leading… the personal application… the comfort found… [pause]
By this… we have evidence that the Bible is God’s Word… [pause]
God speaks to each us… one on one… through the Bible… [pause]
God is alive… He is a real Being…
He is alive and active… and so
His Word… which speaks to us… [pause]is alive and active as well… [pause]
? what do I mean it’s alive and active? [pause]
Ok… If it was just words on a page… it would only speak one thing…
But because this is the Word of the living God… [pause] and this Word is alive and active… [pause]
It speaks to each of us… on a one on one basis… [pause]
And the Bible has spoken to each person who has read it over thousands of years in vastly different circumstances…
It speaks to the old man in Wyoming reading it… as well as a 12 year old child in New York city…
It speaks individually to me… a 43 year old in Virginia in 2026… it speaks to a 70 year old European in the year 1200… it speaks to a 20 year old in the Middle East in the year 500… it speaks to first century believers in India when Thomas shared with them…
This is evidence [pause]that the Bible is from God- it’s His Word… [pause]
It will guide that each of those people… in vastly different circumstances… in unique ways… [pause]
There is a commonality that the Bible will guide each reader to become more Christ-like and into closer relationship with Jesus… [pause]
At the same time… there is uniqueness in that even in our group it guides each of us uniquely… [pause]
Two weeks ago and three weeks ago… we talked about closeness to God…
As I prepared those outlines- I was super encouraged in my spirit…
I think because I was really encouraged… I felt those were two good nights of study… [pause]
Last week… I did get a lot out of the outline and preparing for it…
At points in preparing… my eyes watered up with emotion… so it was impactful to me… [pause]
But at the end of our study… I felt like it wasn’t a good study… and I thought “man- I don’t think I made the most of it…” [pause]
Now… I did circle back to it after first draft and I asked the Lord to have me say whatever He wanted the group to hear… [pause] and edited a lot…
I wound up deleting a whole bunch… and then it wound up being much longer than I wanted… I was worried about finishing on time…
And we did finish 5 minutes late… [pause]
So feeling like… man- that wasn’t very good… [pause]
The Lord did… what He always does in my life… He encouraged me…
[pause] Usually I might hear from 1 of you guys… maybe 2…
Last Wednesday night and into Thursday I heard from a whole bunch of you guys… and the really amazing thing…
A lot of you guys shared how the study really spoke to you… and every single one of you who shared with me… [pause] it spoke to you in different ways… [pause]
Some ways I wouldn’t have even thought of… [pause]
It was just evidence to me of a well known passage in Hebrews…
Hebrews 4:12
12For the word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [pause]
So again- To close out the introduction tonight… [pause]
When we pick up our Bibles and do our personal studies… I really encourage you to pray…
“Lord… please reveal to me the things You want to teach me right now…
Reveal things I need to improve upon
Reveal things I need to be comforted by…
And most of all Lord… [pause]
Help me to remember this time in Your Word is a meeting with You…
[pause] Help me to be drawn in a closer [pause] and more intimate relationship with You [pause] as I pick up Your Word right now… [pause]
Thank You Lord for Your help… thank You for hearing this prayer… thank You for speaking to Me through Your Bible…” [pause] [pause]
that kind of a prayer as you pick up the Bible… I believe will really help your studies… [pause]
With all of that as introduction…
Let’s jump back into our passage… [pause]
Unlike the last 4 weeks… instead of reading the whole passage and then going back…
We’ll go line by line and do a very quick review of material we went over… and tonight will be the last week we do the review with the 12 verses…
Next week we will move onto the 7 woes… [pause]
But just like in a math class or science or history class…
It’s helpful to do a quick review of last weeks class as we jump into new material… I believe it helps us in the learning process… [pause] [pause] [pause]
23rd chapter of Matthew… [pause]
If you have a Bible… 23rd chapter of Matthew… beginning in verse 1…
It’s also on the screen… [pause]
Matthew 23:1-12
1Then Jesus said to the crowds
and to his disciples, [pause]
in verse 1 we talked about the importance of discipleship… and we also talked about the reason why Jesus addresses the crowds here… [pause]
You guys remember how we talked about Jesus takes this moment to stop and speak directly to the crowds in these first 12 verses… [pause]
And then in verse 13… He will address the Pharisees directly… [pause]
He stops and speaks to the crowds to warn them against the dangers of false religion and false teaching… [pause] [pause] verse 2 goes on…
2“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, [pause]
Remember we talked about Moses’ seat…
We explained how in every Jewish synagogue there was a stone seat… at the front of the synagogue… [pause]
That would be the seat from which the authoritative teacher would sit and teach the word of God [pause] and
because Moses was inspired to write the first five books of the Bible… that’s what we call the Torah [pause]
that seat… was referred to… as Moses's seat [pause]
because the one sitting there is teaching the word of God… in particular… the law of Moses [pause]
so it's called Moses’ seat [pause] and
so Jesus is saying “these authoritative teachers who sit in Moses’ seat”
This is who He’s talking about… [pause] [pause] [pause] verse 3 goes on…
3so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do.
For they preach, but do not practice.
We talked about how fallen and false teachers may still teach partial truth… and that whatever truth they teach… [pause] Which is going to be from the Bible… [pause]
Whatever is from the Bible… we are to follow… [pause]
Any man-made rules or traditions… [pause] while some may be helpful… [pause] you aren’t required to follow man-made rules and traditions… [pause]
But you are to follow the Word of God… [pause]
That’s essentially what Jesus is teaching in verse 3… [pause]
verse 4 goes on…
4They tie up heavy burdens, [pause] hard to bear, [pause] and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. [pause]
We talked about the Greek words used here for tie up heavy burdens and about the Pharisees loading up burdens onto others by their teaching… and how in the Greek…
The words mean to take the freight off of a ship [pause] and to load it onto someone’s back… and
the Greek indicated it was heavy… it was grave… it was putting into chains… it was oppressive… [pause]
we then… went through our identity in Christ [pause]
We did that… you might remember we played a song and went through the lyrics explaining how we are God’s children… [pause] verse 5
5They do all their deeds to be seen by others.
That tells us what they are doing… and then Jesus is going to give us 6 examples of it… [pause]
6 examples of how it’s obvious they are doing things to be seen by others… [pause]
Now in the Bible… the number 6 is often a number that is associated with man… associated with worldly things… [pause]
I believe that Jesus speaks 6 things here… because when you think about doing all your deeds to be seen by other men…[pause]
That’s being wrapped up in the world…
With no thought… [pause] or not much thought about heavenly things and the things of the Lord… [pause]
Ok- the 6 things Jesus tells us that the Pharisees do to be seen by others…
Number one… verse 5… For they make their phylacteries broad
Number two… still in verse 5… and [they make] their fringes long, [pause]
These first two have a commonality… and that is they both are related to a change in appearance…
The Pharisees changed their appearance… more specifically… they changed their clothing for the purpose of drawing attention to themselves. [pause]
Number three.. verse 6… 6and they love the place of honor at feasts [pause]
Number four.. still in verse 6… and the best seats in the synagogues [pause]
3 and 4 have a commonality…
They’re both about receiving honor…
The Pharisees loved the positions of honor, special seats, and places of recognition… [pause]
Number five.. verse 7… 7and greetings in the marketplaces [pause]
Number six.. verse 8… and being called rabbi by others. [pause]
The last two have a commonality
They tells us… that the Pharisees loved the titles that honored and exalted them [pause]
we talked about getting to the root of the issue of the Pharisee…
We talked how the branches and trunk were insecurity and pride and selfishness and some of those things… [pause]
We mentioned that the trunk of this tree…
You know- the 6 things… those are fruits…
That’s what’s being produced… [pause]
We said the trunk of the tree… the thing holding this whole tree up was pride… [pause]
You might remember we also said in the ground… those deep roots… [pause] was a lack of relationship… [pause]
That the Pharisee did not have a close relationship… they maybe had no relationship with God [pause] [pause] [pause]
Ok… so Jesus tells us these 6 things they do which make it obvious the Pharisees want to have all their deeds seen by others… [pause]
Next He is going to tell us… and the crowds… [pause] things not to do…
In both transitions we see that word “but”
But is a conjunction… and that sounds fancy… that word conjunction…
[pause] Now- the concept is pretty simple....
A conjunction joins two concepts together… [pause]
And “but” is a contrastive conjunction… and that means that the second concept is going to contrast the first concept… [pause]
So here… we have the first concept which is Jesus telling us the things the Pharisees do in order to be seen by others…
Then He says “but”
And He gives the contrast… [pause] which is what we are supposed to do…
And Jesus is now going to give us instruction… instruction that is contrasting what they did… [pause]
And what Jesus is doing here in these next 3 verses… He is basically telling us God is great… and nobody else but God is great…
Remember this word Rabbi- in the Hebrew the same pronociation was used for a word that meant “My Great One”
And so they would say Rabbi… which meant teacher meant teacher… but they would also hear “my great one’ as it was pronounced… because the pronciation was the same as that Hebrew word meaning “my great one”… [pause]
Ok… Verse 8… Jesus says…
8But you are not to be called rabbi, [pause]
for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. [pause]
The Pharisees would hear… “Good morning teacher… My great one” [pause]
And they love to hear that… [pause]
Jesus says… don’t love to hear that… don’t be like the Pharisees… [pause]
If you’re going to say “My Great One” that should be reserved for God… and for God alone… [pause]
Don’t say Rabbi which is this transliteration that sounds like “my great one”
[pause] Verse 9 goes on…
9And call no man your father on earth, [pause]
for you have one Father, who is in heaven. [pause]
10Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. [pause]
in 9 and 10… Jesus is explaining that God alone is your Father [pause] and He alone is your instructor… [pause] [pause] [pause]
ok- so let’s pause right there…
this is where we pick up… [pause]
and these next two verses… 11 and 12… [pause]
these are foundational verses for the rest of the chapter… [pause]
Jesus finishes talking to the crowd and He gives them the fix…
He tells them how to not wind up falling into the same error as the Pharisees… [pause]
At the same time…
This is the fix for what He is about to say to the Pharisees… [pause]
If the Pharisees would go back and do verses 11 and 12… then they would no longer be under this condemnation of these 7 woes… [pause]
Now remember [pause] we talked about the number 6 and how that usually represents things of man and things of the earth…
When we see the number 7 in the Bible… [pause] it usually represents or is symbolic for either heavenly things… [pause] or completeness… [pause] or both…
Now it’s interesting how Jesus gives these 7 woes…
Here He is conveying to us that there is a completeness about this…
It is a complete rejection of the ways of the Pharisee… [pause]
It is a complete Woe… [pause]
7 Woes of Judgement against the Scribes and Pharisees:
i. They draw people away from God instead of towards Him (v.13)
ii. They place people under oppressive requirements that are beyond Scripture (v. 15) [pause]
iii. They focus on misguided surface level distinctions and miss the more important principles of the law (v. 16-19) [pause]
iv. They neglect the weightier matters of the law (v. 23) [pause]
v. They focus on external performance rather than internal heart condition (v. 26) [pause]
vi. They were outwardly beautiful, but inwardly full of death and uncleanness (v. 27-28) [pause]
vii. They were following in the footsteps of their fathers who murdered God’s prophets (v. 29-32) [pause] [pause] [pause]
[pause] ? What would bring them out of this? [pause]
Verses 11 and 12… and I’ll read them… we’ll play a short clip…
Then we will unpack these verses… quickly explain the 7 woes and how it all works together [pause]
11The greatest among you shall be your servant. [pause]
12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, [pause]
and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. [pause] [pause] [pause]
Play Cornerstone Sunday 19:05-22:55
Poll Results (Their primary responsibility is addressing needs through spiritual service aimed at specific circumstances.
That comes from Acts 6, where the apostles appointed seven men to oversee the distribution of aid to widows so that they could focus on prayer and preaching…
Now all the things listed are things deacons should be doing…. But primary and first… it is serving those in need) [pause]
11The greatest among you shall be your servant. [pause]
12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, [pause]
and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. [pause]
I want you guys to see this Greek word…
When I looked this up I found this to be really interesting…
Because ? what are the Pharisees? [pause]
Their teachers right…
They teach…
This word for servant… [pause]
It means to serve… it’s used for an attendant… a minister… a deacon… as we just went over in the did you know…
it also carries the idea of teaching… [pause]
So Jesus is still encouraging the crowd to step up and become teachers… but through the Pharisee’s example… He is putting up guard rails… [pause]
President Ronald Reagan has this quote… and I think it’s pretty relevant to all of this
President Reagan said…
“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do… [pause] if you don’t care who gets the credit.” [pause]
The Pharisees were all about getting recognition and credit [pause]
But Jesus is saying… “Just serve… be a servant… [pause]
And if you have the opportunity to teach about Christ in that serving… go for it…
But don’t be concerned about who gets the credit… or what title people will call you… [pause]
11The greatest among you shall be your servant. [pause]
Now… ? does this mean that teaching has to be involved? [pause]
No… no it does not… [pause]
This could simply mean serve… from something little to something big… but that you would have a heart for serving…
? what does this look like practically? [pause]
I think we have a good example in 1 Samuel chapter 16… where Samuel…
Ok- so Samuel has been designated to find the future king for Israel…
He comes to Jesse’s house to see his sons… Samuel was told by the Lord it’s one of Jesse’s sons who will be the next king of Israel…
1 Samuel 16:6-12
6When they came,
he looked on Eliab and thought,
“Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” [pause]
So what’s going on here… Samuel sees Eliab’s stature… he’s tall and he’s handsome…
and he see’s “it’s gotta be this guy…
This is a natural leader…
He looks like a leader” [pause]verse 7
7But the Lord said to Samuel,
“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,
because I have rejected him. [pause]
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks on the heart.” [pause]
pause there for just a second… [pause]
That’s a truth guys… the Lord sees right through to the heart… so you can’t fake it with the Lord…
With others… You can fake it and serve and make it appear like you’re doing it with a good heart… I guess… I guess that’s possible… [pause]
But if you try to do that…
The Lord sees…
If you serve and it’s all about getting the pat on the back…. And “job well done” and “wow- what a great guy he is”
If it’s all about that… [pause]
The Lord knows… He knows… [pause]
And if that’s some of your experiences… that’s ok
Just hand that over to the Lord in repentance and He forgives you… [pause]
I’ve fallen into that before- where I realized I just wanted the [pause] “wow- what a good guy he is” type of a deal… [pause]
Just repent of it…
Tell the Lord you’re sorry about it…
And press on and keep serving… keep helping… [pause]
But ask Him to help your motives to stay pure… humble… and self-less…
He will help you to do that… [pause]
And the next time that creeps back in… because it probably will at some point…
Just hand it over to the Lord again… [pause]
The Lord see’s the heart…
The Pharisees of Matthew 23… they looked wonderful on the outside…
Everyone thought they were the very best people in society… [pause] [pause]
The Lord saw right through to their heart and it was full of decay and death… [pause] ok... verse 8 goes on here…
Again- the greatest among you shall be your servant…
? what’s that look like practically? [pause]
8Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel.
And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by.
And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
10And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel.
And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” [pause] [pause]
11Then Samuel said to Jesse,
“Are all your sons here?” [pause]
Now watch this… this is where we see it… [pause]
This is where we see the practical serving… and the one who humbled himself will be exalted… [pause]
And he said, “There remains yet the youngest,
but behold,
he is keeping the sheep.” [pause]
Ok- so David is out doing the work… he is serving… [pause]
He’s an afterthought in the families eyes…
They don’t even think to call David in…
Samuel has to tell Jesse to call him… [pause]
In the eyes of the world… the one who serves is not the greatest…
The youngest boy… who is out there in the pasture keeping the sheep…
That can’t be the greatest… [pause]
The Lord doesn’t see as the world sees… He doesn’t see as man sees… He sees right through to the heart… verse 11 goes on… [pause]
And Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send and get him,
for we will not sit down till he comes here.” [pause]
12And he sent and brought him in.
Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” [pause]
Let’s go back a few hundred years before David…
Let’s go back to when Moses receives his calling to lead all of God’s people out of Egypt…
? Do you remember where he was and what he was doing? [pause]
Same activity as David
Exodus 3:1
1Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, [pause]
Moses and David… and others too… Joseph is an example of a man who was a Shepherd…
They humbly served and cared for the sheep…
David cared for his father’s sheep…
Moses cared for his father-in-law’s sheep… [pause]
? Are there 2 bigger Old Testament heroes of the faith than Moses and David? [pause] [pause] [pause]
The Pharisees mis-understood ministry…
And this can easily creep in today… not just for Pastors… [pause]
But even for parents… [pause]
For those of us with children or grandchildren… [pause] part of our ministry is those children God has entrusted us with… [pause]
Part of our ministry… for every single one of us… is the friends and co-workers we have… [pause]
The neighbors we have on our street… [pause]
We each have been given a sphere of influence… [pause] and so saying the Pharisee’s misunderstood their ministry is not something to just think
“ok- well whatever mike is about to say- it’s going to be towards the pastor… and people who run things in a church setting… [pause]
No this is for each of us…”
Because remember how Matthew closes his gospel… with the Words of Christ…
Matthew 28:19-20
19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always,
to the end of the age.” pause]
That’s not “hey- you Pastors or you Priests… or you elders… or you small group leaders…”
Jesus is saying you… [pause]
Individual you… go out and minister to this lost and dying world… pause]
Minister to those around you… [pause]
I put specific people in your life…. for a reason… primarily that they would see Christ in you… pause]
The Pharisees misunderstood ministry
They saw it less as an opportunity for service… and more than as an opportunity for management… and an opportunity to gain recognition [pause]
I want to give this third example from the Bible… [pause] because in Moses and David- we see two men who were humble…
Humble in service and God used them both to lead His people in some remarkable ways… [pause]
This third example from the Old Testament…
Old Testament Joseph… [pause]
God used Joseph both to protect His people… but also gave him a position of power in the secular world…
Joseph became the second most powerful person in the most powerful nation on earth at that time… [pause]
At that time… Egypt was the most powerful nation in the history of mankind…
And when Joseph became Pharoah’s right hand man… [pause]
? Where did it start? [pause]
You guessed it… [pause] Shepherding [pause]
Genesis 37:2
2Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. [pause]
Joseph starts out just simply serving…
You guys know the story- he gets sold into slavery…
He has some bad things happen to him… but he did nothing wrong… he did nothing to deserve it… [pause]
He gets taken down to Egypt [pause]
Joseph gets put into Potiphar’s house…
? does Joseph have a right to be bitter? [pause]
Yeah- he has every right to be bitter and upset and angry about this whole situation… [pause]
? Is Joseph bitter? [pause]
No… [pause]
He just simply looks at the situation…
He says “ok- here I am in Egypt…
I’m a servant in Potiphars house…
I’m going to do the best job I can to serve Potiphar and his household and
whatever Potiphar tells me to do… I will do to the best of my ability as long as the task is not sinful… [pause]
And so Genesis 39…
Joseph is serving Potiphar well…
Verse 4…
4So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him,
and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. [pause]
So Joseph receives a secular position… this is outside the church… [pause]
This isn’t “hey- we want you to serve as small group leader…”
This is more like “hey- we want you to be a supervisor at work” [pause]
Potiphar is an Egyptian officer… he is not a Jew… [pause]
I believe there is a really good chance Potiphar winds up coming to the Lord and is in heaven right now…
I think a lot of Egyptians who came across Joseph… I believe a lot of them could have wound up coming to saving faith through Joseph [pause]
Ok… so Joseph takes the lead position under Potiphar…
Now you guys might remember how this plays out…
Potiphar’s wife tries to sleep with Joseph… [pause]
If she had given him a command… and it wasn’t sinful…
“Joseph- can you go into the city and purchase everything we need for tomorrow’s party we’re throwing here”
Joseph would respond “yes mam” [pause]
But when she comes to him and ask him to do something sinful… [pause] Joseph says… verse 9…
How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
And she keep persisting…
10And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. [pause]
Joseph refuses… and at some point later… she entraps him…
Not in sin…
But she makes false accusations against Joseph… who is innocent… and Joseph is wrongly imprisoned in jail… [pause]
Now he winds up in jail… and he has every right to be upset and pout and complain and grumble… [pause]
But that’s the actions of the proud and the self-righteouse… and Joseph is neither…
He is a servant…
A servant of God… [pause]
And so are each of you by the way… I hope you know that… [pause] [pause]
[pause] [pause] ok… Joseph is in prison and he continues to serve God…. And through serving God of course he is serving others…
22And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison.
Joseph gets put in charge here… [pause]
Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.
23The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him.
And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. [pause]
Even in prison and even in tough circumstances… whoever humbles himself will be exalted. [pause]
While he is in prison… Joseph is caring for other people…
See that in Genesis 40 verse 6
6When Joseph came to them in the morning,
he saw that they were troubled.
He saw tells us he was watching them… he cared about them…
He was a thousand miles… and years away… from his Shepherds field… [pause] but he carried the heart of a Shepherd everywhere he went… [pause]
The opposite of the Pharisee right…
Remember in John 9 after Jesus heals the man born blind… the Jews bring the guy in…
They don’t care that he was healed… they don’t celebrate… [pause] they interrogate him… [pause]
The guy basically says… look- you guys have all these questions… you guys figure it out…
One thing I know… I was blind my entire life… never saw a thing… and this man Jesus- He made me to see… [pause]
The Pharisees get angry… cast him out… [pause]
Jesus heard about it… came to the man… and brought him in close…
And John 9 says that blind man came to saving faith in Jesus and worshipped Him… [pause]
The Pharisees didn’t have a heart that cared about the suffering of others…
But Joseph… in this prison…
He could easily have said “you know what…
I really got screwed here…
I didn’t do anything wrong… and my brothers sold me to be a slave…
Then I got sent down here… I did everything I could to serve Potiphar…
And I did nothing wrong…
And now I’m in jail… and I don’t know if I’ll ever get out of this place… [pause]
I did nothing wrong… [pause]
That’s absolutely right… and I’m sure Joseph thought about that… and that’s ok to think about… [pause]
? what’s the response? [pause]
That’s where we will need the Lord’s help… because without His help- we can so easily fall into “woe is me” [pause]
Joseph’s response was not “woe is me” but rather…
“There’s a lot of people here in this prison…
? how can I help them… how can I minister to them? [pause]
And in that… [pause] he sees these two guys who look like they’re having a terrible day… [pause]
He says “ ? what happened to you guys… you look miserable”
And they tell him Genesis 40 verse 8… [pause]
“We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.”
And Joseph said to them,
“Do not interpretations belong to God?
Please tell them to me.” [pause]
Again Humility… [pause]
“I can’t figure this out… but God can…
Tell me the dream and maybe God will tell me the interpretation” [pause]
That’s exactly what happens… [pause]
And one of them gets released and restored to his position… just as the interpretation had said… [pause]
Joseph asked the guy “hey- when you get back to your position… please remember me and have me released from this prison… [pause]
? what happens? [pause]
The guy completely forgets about Joseph… until 2 years later… [pause]
And two years of still sitting in prison… [pause]
Joseph knows the guy got restored… the first couple of weeks he is probably anticipating…
“any moment… this could be the day I get released…” [pause]
Slowly- hope fades… and he realizes…
They aren’t coming for me… [pause]
Its been 3 months… now 6 months…
Now its been a year… now 2 years… [pause]
By that time Joseph would never have thought he was getting out of prison… [pause]
Then one morning someone comes into his cell… says “Joseph- Pharaoh has had a dream, the chief cupbearer remembered you and Pharoah has called for you…
Joseph comes in and hears Pharaoh’s request…
Humbly Joseph responds… Genesis 41 verse 16
“It is not in me;
God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” [pause]
Joseph gives Pharoah the interpretation… [pause]
Verse 39 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,
“Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.
40You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.
Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”
41And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand,
This means Joseph has the authority of Pharoah… [pause]
Think about the fact that he woke up that morning in a prison pit… and now he has the authority of Pharoah [pause]
and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. [pause]
You guys remember the colorful robe that his father gave him… years before…
That got him hated by his brothers… along with the dreams he was having and giving those correct interpretations… [pause]
Now years later…
He correctly interprets Pharoahs dreams…
And he again is clothed … [pause]
This would no doubt… in Joseph’s mind… bring him back to the colorful robe his dad gave him… [pause]
He wakes up that morning in the clothing of a prisoner… and a few hours later is in the clothing of the Pharoah… [pause]
43And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!”
Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. [pause]
Now Joseph is basically the most powerful person on the earth… practically speaking…
Pharoah has the title… but Joseph is the man running things…
? does Joseph allow this to get to his head? [pause]
No-
We still see the heart of a shepherd… [pause]
A great famine breaks out over the whole earth… and… verse 57
all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain,
because the famine was severe over all the earth. [pause]
Joseph provides the means so that the world does not die of hunger…
He is literally feeding the sheep.. feeding the nations… the peoples of the world… [pause]
Then his entire family comes down to Egypt… and Joseph is able to provide for them… [pause] [pause] [pause]
? Remember how Genesis ends?
The last verse of the book of Genesis… Genesis 50 verse 26
26So Joseph died, being 110 years old.
They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. [pause]
Genesis begins and it’s all about God…
It’s all about what God is doing in creation… [pause]
And Genesis ends… and it’s all about God… [pause]
And what God is doing in man’s heart… through what we read about Joseph… [pause]
A couple verses above this…
Joseph’s dad dies… and so the brothers think “now that our dad is gone… Joseph might wipe us out…
He might not have any mercy on us” [pause]
So they come to Joseph and basically beg for mercy… and look at the response of Joseph… [pause]
Verse 19…
19But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?
[pause] Joseph never seeks for that position… or place of authority…
He understand God alone is great… [pause]
And he understands his position in all of this… he’s not seeking to be looked upon as great or held in high esteem… this contrasts the Pharisees… [pause]
And he says this…
And notice as we read on… Joseph doesn’t say “I did this… [pause]
He gives all credit to the Lord” [pause]
20As for you, you meant evil against me,
but God meant it for good,
to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
21So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.”
Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. [pause]
Through it all Joseph kept the heart of a Shepherd…
He cared about others… [pause]
He loved God… and he genuinely cared about others… [pause]
And remember we talked about that word in Matthew 23… servant… and how it carried the idea of teaching…
Even in what we just read about Joseph… [pause]
He’s not a teacher… Pastor… Priests… Rabbi… Instructor…
He’s not in a position of teaching… [pause]
But he takes the opportunity to teach- [pause]even to Pharoah- he teaches Pharoah about God when he says ‘only God can interpret dreams’… [pause]
When Joseph says that to Pharoah and in the prison…
And when he teaches about God to the brothers at the end… [pause]
It’s two sides of the same coin…
Humility… and teaching about God… [pause]
We all can do this… [pause]
You don’t need to break down a passage like we just did tonight to teach about the things of the Lord… [pause]
Just simply pointing to the Lord is teaching about Him…
Loving others… and genuinely caring about others… and pointing them to Christ… [pause]
That’s something of what it is to be a servant of the Lord… which all of you are… [pause]
Matthew 23:11-12
11The greatest among you shall be your servant.
12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. [pause]
I really wanted to take a good amount of time to go through the lyrics of the song “Lord I Need You” but I have run out of time to do that the way I wanted to… but we’re going to quickly look at it… [pause] [pause] [pause]
In my Bible.. I have a note written here…
“? Humbled to who? To God” [pause]
Ok…
? how do we humble ourselves to God? [pause]
Understand that we need God… [pause]
A lot of where the Pharisees went wrong was thinking they didn’t really need God…
They could live an outwardly righteous life and make it to heaven on their own… [pause]
Everything we read about Joseph and David and Moses… [pause]
They understood they needed God… [pause]Joseph knew he had 0 chance to interpret those dreams without God giving him the interpretation…
They understood they desperately needed the Lord… [pause]
We must understand we need God… [pause]
And the more we understand this… the more we will be humbled before the Lord [pause] [pause] [pause]
About 4 mins… 2 min clip and the last 2 minutes of the song…
[pause] As you listen to the lyrics…
I encourage you to receive this in your inner man… in your heart…
Well talk about the lyrics on the other side…
Play Matthew Maher 0:00-1:45
Play Song 1:00-3:28
Lord, I Need You – Matt Maher
Lord I come, I confess
Bowing here, I find my rest [pause]
Not just go to the Lord in our valley and dark place…
but that you would be hit so hard by the love of God… [pause]
that you would lean on God in times of joy and celebration…. [pause]
Without You, I fall apart
You're the one that guides my heart [pause]
? where are we getting our guidance? [pause]
Is it from extra-Biblical rules like the Pharisees… [pause]
Or is it from the Bible and from the Holy Spirit [pause]
And allowing Him to come in and convict us of sin as we read our Bibles and
Allowing Him to lead our paths as we read our Bibles… [pause]
This is really what we talked about last week…
Romans 12:2
2Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, [pause]
as we realize we need to be led by the Lord…
? where does that put us? [pause]
At the place of our hearts singing [pause]
Lord, I need You, oh, I need You [pause]
Every hour, [pause] I need You [pause]
There isn’t one moment you can do this on your own…
The moment you think to yourself “I got this…
I can run this race without God” [pause]
That’s your first step off the path…
That’s your beginning step of falling out of the race… [pause]
And anytime we see that… we need to then seek the Lord…
“I took a wrong step… Lord would you put me back in the race”
[pause] And He will…
And He will help you run this race… the Christian life [pause]
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, [pause] how I need You [pause]
It is Christ and Christ alone…
He is your only defense and He is the only One in whom you will find righteousness… [pause]
Without Christ… you are hopeless… wretched… poor… pitiable and about to be spit out of the mouth of God… Revelation 4 I believe… [pause]
With Christ- you are eternally secure… Revelation 21 and 22 [pause]
[pause] [pause] Where sin runs deep, [pause] Your grace is more [pause]
You can not [pause] out sin [pause] His grace and mercy…
Anytime you fall… [pause] you fall into the arms of Jesus… [pause]
You need to know that truth and store it up in the core of your being
Because it will motivate you to fall less… and it will motivate you to live better [pause]
The more you understand grace… [pause]and the more you understand your need for Christ… [pause]
The more you want to live for Him… [pause]
Where grace is found is where You are [pause]
And where You are, [pause] Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me [pause]
We talked about this a lot the last few weeks…
Jesus came to give us freedom… [pause]
There’s bondage in following a legalistic religion like that of the Pharisees…
But There’s no bondage in Christ… [pause]
There is freedom in Christ… [pause]
So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way [pause] [pause]
When you are being tempted… ? what should you do? [pause]
Worship God…
Pray to the Lord…
Seek Him… [pause]
Recite Scripture like James 4 verse 7 and 8…
And then do that very Scripture… [pause]
Draw near to God… [pause]
? why? [pause]
Because He will draw near to you… [pause]
Resist the devil [pause]
? why? [pause]
Because he will flee from you… [pause] [pause] [pause]
? How can we resist such a strong force as the devil and his workers?
when I cannot stand, I'll fall on You
Jesus, You're my hope and stay [pause]
I can’t say it any better than that… [pause]
Fall onto [pause] and into [pause] the arms of Jesus…. [pause] [pause]
I love this song because it’s a reminder to me… that…
Understanding the presence of the Lord [pause]and drawing closer to Him [pause] is where we find victory…
I pray that song… the lyrics… and the brief going through them just now was an encouragement to you… [pause]
That our desperate need for God… is an encouragement… [pause]
to be encouraged to draw near to the Lord… [pause]
Recognizing you need Him… all day and everyday…
James 4:7-10
6But he gives more grace.
Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
7Submit yourselves therefore to God. [pause]
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [pause]
8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. [pause]
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, [pause]
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [pause]
9Be wretched [pause] and mourn [pause] and weep. [pause]
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10Humble yourselves before the Lord, [pause]
and he will exalt you.
Questions, thoughts, comments
