FIX THIS CHURCH
Notes
Transcript
TEXT
TEXT
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!
23 “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. 24 Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?
Introduction
Introduction
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Background
Background
Jesus is preaching to the Disciples and the Crowd during the Passover Festival
He begins to draw sharp contrast between relationship with with the Kingdom and Religious folks.
He encourages us to listen to the but don’t follow them because they had a Head Knowledge but lacked a Heart Connection.
We are called to a life of Holiness but many people have reduced it to an outward expression.
Very Pharisee like
Matthew Religion Should Not Miss the Forest for the Trees (23:23–28)
Religion Should Not Miss the Forest for the Trees (23:23–28) While emphasizing what we believe to be holiness in the details, we can miss more critical issues of holiness; some older churches, for example, condemned wearing earrings yet did so in a spirit of self-righteousness or anger—hardly reflecting the “gentle and quiet spirit“ (1 Pet 3:4 NASB) they wished to promote. Having remarked on the religious leaders’ inconsistency in ritual matters (vv. 16–22), Jesus now turns to their inconsistency in other respects, beginning with tithing.
Big Idea
Big Idea
Many of of our churches never find their ministry because we are lost in the minutia.
Main Point
Main Point
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.
Woe to you
A strong warning
Be careful
You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters
The Pharisees were extremely serious about the things that made them Elite.
They are at the Festival and it is custom to bring your tithe. However things like mint, dill, and cumin were not required.
The Pharisees Major in the Minor
This was apart of their ritualistic nature.
A preacher once told me the reason why some churches still have people walk around for offering is because “Negros love to see themselves give.”
The Pharisees were like this. They were good at going through the motions of the minute but they lacked the heart of ministry.
This practice was a man made extension of the Law.
How many people are being turned off from church because cause of the Law of Church people.
You have to Dress a certain way
You have to Talk a certain way
You have Praise a certain way
All of these man made extensions of God’s word but no focus on living a certain way.
23 “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.
Our churches have become more EGO-CENTERED the Evangelism Focused.
We’re missing the main point of ministry because we are to busy being messy over minor stuff.
Neglected the more important matters
The Pharisees were good at the church stuff.
They struggled however with the heart of God’s Law.
Christianity is in Western culture has struggled a great deal because of similar practice.
Many of our churches have great 90 productions but produce no fruit there after.
In this season we must reject ministry limited to four walls.
8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good
and what it is the Lord requires of you:
to act justly,
to love faithfulness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
We can sing and shout but can we make sure fight for the rights of the marginalized in our communities.
You claim to have an anointing but can you advocate for the least of these!
What have we done to make sure justice is served for Andy Retic, Joshua Cooper and Jaylin Rice
What are we doing to make sure Magistrate Lori K. Morgan is appointed.
What are we doing to make sure our people have a seat at the table of projects like Electric Works and other potential developments that affect our community.
Our children our failing in school. They know more TikTok dances than Times Tables and its our fault!
Why haven’t we supported Joshua’s Works and Joshua’s Hand
Why haven’t we invested in the Credit Union ran by Union Baptist.
We’re fighting to complete Project Next when we should already be on the next Project
but NAH WE WANNA PLAY CHURCH!
These things you should have be done without neglecting the others
New Testament 23:13–28—Woes to the Hypocrites
The principle that virtues like justice, mercy and faith are most important is familiar from Scripture (Deut 10:12–13; Mic 6:8), and the rabbis themselves sometimes summarized the law in terms of general principles like love. Most Pharisees and other Jewish interpreters like Philo agreed that there were heavier and lighter parts of the law. They would have responded to Jesus that they attended to minutiae only because even the smallest detail of the law was important to the pious; they taught that one should devote as much attention to the little details as to the principles. But Jesus was not against the law (see Mt 5:19); his point is that they should have learned justice, mercy and covenant faithfulness first (9:13; 12:7).
Jesus isn’t telling them not to tithe. He’s saying don’t miss the main point of all this.
13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
13 Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”
We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
We’ve Shouted now can we serve.
And Listen if you are waiting on the Pastor’s to do it you’ve missed YOUR CALL!
Have you called who you haven’t seen?
How we gone serve the 6 if you can’t check on 6 people in the current congregation.
Verse 24 gives it to us real
24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!
24 Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?
Blind Guides
How can someone with no vision guide you?
Lord deliver us from church with no vision.