Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro
Hi everyone - glad you’re with us
Continuing: God With Us
Bibles: Matthew 9
Our Bible reading today is Matt 9:35-37
(Pray...)
Setting the Stage
Whenever I read a passage of Scripture, I like to ask a lot of questions about it -
Who’s the author of the passage?
What is the genre?
What is the overall context and main point?
Etc
One of the most basic questions I ask: Why is this passage in the Bible?
I may not ever have the full answer to that question - but it helps me to analyze its purpose - and why the Holy Spirit might have included it
I asked this same question about Matt 8 and Matt 9 because they are both similar
Last week, we examined the “Authority of Jesus” - and we did that through six short stories of Jesus interacting with others in his ministry
Today, we are going to take a look at seven short stories in Chapter 9
Why are these stories in the Bible?
I am so happy we have these detailed stories about Jesus ministering to others
But I want us to think critically here for a moment - why are these stories - mostly about healing - why are they in the Bible?
The passage I just read gives us an overall idea of what was happening
It tells us that Jesus went throughout all the cities and proclaimed the Gospel
It says he healed every kind of disease and affliction - and that he had compassion on the crowds because they were like sheep without a shepherd
This passage makes some profound statements - but it’s done in a general sense - other than the statement he made to his disciples at the end - there is no specific story
It reminds me of the general passage in Chapter 4 which tells us:
All the sick, and afflicted, and demon-possessed, were brought to Jesus - and he healed them - and great crowds began to follow him
But then we come to Chapter 8 and Chapter 9, and then it struck me:
These are deeply personal stories
These are not just stories about Jesus healing the multitudes all at the same time
These stories tell how Jesus touched, and healed, and forgave each person on an individual level
We all desire personal touch
You can pay hundreds of dollars for a decent guitar - but a custom, handmade guitar: thousands
A suit will cost hundreds - but one, custom-made from scratch, personally tailored for you will be thousands
A Rolls Royce is so expensive because so many of its components are handmade
Steinway piano
I’m so grateful the Holy Spirit shared these personal stories in the gospels - I think it tells us a lot about Jesus - that he loves us individually - and that he desires a personal relationship with us
God has a specific plan for your life
The title of my sermon: “It’s personal” - we’ll focus on how Jesus interacted with others on a personal level - and what that means for us
Imagine if Jesus didn’t heal and minister to the crowds in a personal way like this
He could have just done all of his healing in front of great crowds - like a TV faith healer
He could have had something like Healing Tuesdays - and wave his hand over the people
He could have just been an itinerant preacher and faith healer
But I think Jesus operated on a much deeper level - for their benefit, and ours
Jesus wasn’t even in Jerusalem at this time - near the supposed important religious leaders - he was in Galilee
What did he say in his opening discourse?
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Blessed are those who mourn - and those who are meek - and those who hunger & thirst for righteousness
And here he is healing, and ministering and loving those people
Do you remember the stories in Chapter 8?
The leper who pushed himself through the crowds and knelt before Jesus
The Centurion whose servant was at home, lying paralyzed - but the Centurion knew the authority Jesus had - and showed Jesus tremendous faith
And Peter’s mother-in-law - and all those demon-possessed people and sick people who were brought to Jesus
And the time when he taught those two disciples the meaning of truly following him
And the time when Jesus and his disciples were caught in a storm in the boat, but Jesus calmed the storm
And when Jesus healed those demon-possessed men and sent the demons into the pigs
These were all very personal stories!
And Chapter 9 has even more stories!
Why are these in the Bible?
Because Jesus wants to personally redeem you and save you and heal you
All of these stories are personal - and all of them have a lesson of faith - and everyone was changed from their personal experience with Jesus
Here’s the lesson: Place your faith in Jesus!
Now!
I know it almost sounds cliche - to have a personal relationship with Jesus - but that is exactly what is going on here
Why does it even matter that we have a personal relationship with the Lord?
Imagine if it wasn’t that way
Imagine if God was an impersonal God - and he didn’t love us
The fact that he loves us, means he’s a personal God
And that he’s a personal God, means he loves us
If he wasn’t personal, it would mean he didn’t love us
Let me put it this way:
God desires us to have faith in him
That means we need to trust him
If I didn’t have a personal relationship with God, there would be no trust
In other words, I obey the Lord because I trust him - because I know he looks after my own best interest - and because he loves me
I want to obey him because of what he did for me - and because of my personal relationship with him
If there was no personal relationship - there would be no love - there would be trusting in God because I wouldn’t know him
And if God wanted me to obey him, but he didn’t love me - I would only obey him because I was scared of what he might do to me
I might even obey him, but I wouldn’t want to - I would only do it because I was scared of him
Do you see why this is so important?
The fact that God loves us, and pursues us, and sent his Son on a mission to rescue us:
This all means that he doesn’t hate us, he loves us
His wrath is aimed at my sin, not me
On the cross, his wrath came against my sin - Jesus became sin - he knew no sin - he never did sin while he was on Earth, but he became sin
The wrath came against Jesus who became sin for me so I could become the righteousness of God 2 Cor 5:21
I gave him my sin - and he gave me his righteousness
Greatest deal in the hx of the universe
The Father wasn’t beating up his Son on the cross because he was so angry at him
The Father’s wrath was against sin - my sin and your sin
He’s giving us the chance to repent of that sin - through his demonstration of love for us
If you’re a sinner, God doesn’t hate you - he’s done all he can to show you how much he loves you
But if you truly reject his love for you - and you hold on to your sin - then his wrath will eventually come against you!
If God’s grace and love for you means nothing - if his own Son dying on the cross means nothing to you - then you bring God’s wrath on yourself
If you’re a sinner and you don’t know God, repent!
Turn to the Lord - cry out to him - stop holding on to your sin
Cling to the Lord - because he loves you and he is worthy of your trust in him
These stories really happened - Jesus is really the Son of God - we’re studying what really happened when God condescended himself to come to Earth for us
This is the real story of “God with us”
It’s not just a bunch of interesting short stories - this is the story of Jesus, the Son of God - on a rescue mission to save us
That’s what the Gospel of Matthew is all about
God required redemption of us all, but then he sent his own Son as our Redeemer
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