Commands of Christ-25b

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 Commands of Christ – 25b

A Christian's Commitment

Open:

2. How do you feel when you offer sound advice and it is rejected?

How do you think Jesus felt?

Luke 16:13–15 (NASB95) “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” 14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

John 5:43 (NASB95) “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

John 6:41–42 (NASB95) Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”

John the Baptist said: John 3:31–32 (NASB95) “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.

Matthew 23:37–38 (NASB95) “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

If they rejected Jesus ...

Jesus told His disciples in: Luke 10:16 (NASB95) “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

And just like Jesus, we do the will of the Father based on what HE tells us to do — not based on whether it gets received.

Read: Matthew 7:21-29

Matthew 7:21–29 (NASB95) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” 28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

In particular we are looking at verse 24-29.

5. Why is it often difficult to tell the difference between genuine Christians and counterfeit ones?

They look like they are involved in the same activity — the differences can be subtle.

Too often we judge by what we see:

1 Corinthians 4:5 (NASB95) Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.

1 Corinthians 4:5 (NLT) So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

We are limited in our ability to judge.

So, God sends/allows storms in our lives.

James 1:2–4 (NASB95) Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Hebrews 12:11–13 (NASB95) All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. 12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

6. How did the storms reveal what was previously unseen?

They brought stress that easy times, good times don’t.

7. What kinds of storms might we face as Christians?

List on white Board.

Sickness

Employment/Retirement

Children/empty nest

Why do they often reveal the quality of our lives?

Question 6-7. The real question is not whether we hear Christ's teaching (nor even whether we respect or believe it), but whether we do what we hear. Only a storm will reveal the truth. Sometimes a storm of crisis or calamity betrays what manner of person we are, for "true piety is not fully distinguished from its counterfeit till it comes to the trial" (Bruce, Snoptic Gospel, p. 135). If not, the storm of the Day of Judgment will certainly do so.

8. Why is it difficult to apply God’s truth to our lives?

It is contrary to the flesh.

Galatians 5:16–17 (NASB95) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

9. How does obedience to God bring security to our lives?

It exposes the weak so it can be replaced, rebuilt with that which can stand.

What CAN stand in perilous times?

Only faith that is dependent upon Jesus.

NOT self-confidence.

Andrew Brunson - unwarranted sense of confidence — We CANNOT know until we are going through the storm, whether we will break or stand.

10. The crowds were amazed at Jesus teaching, because he taught as one who had authority (Matthew 7:28-29). In what ways was Jesus' authority demonstrated in his Sermon?

Question 8. Jesus' hearers naturally compared and contrasted him with the many other teachers with whom they were familiar, especially the scribes.

What struck them most was that he taught them "as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."

For the teachers of the law claimed no authority of their own.

They conceived their duty in terms of faithfulness to the tradition they had received.

So they delved into commentaries, searching for precedents, claiming the support of famous names among the rabbis.

Their only authority lay in the authorities they were constantly quoting.

Jesus, on the other hand, had not received a scribal education, scandalized the establishment by sweeping away the traditions of the elders, had no particular reverence for social conventions, and spoke with a freshness of his own which captivated some and infuriated others.

A. B. Bruce summed up the difference by saying that the scribes spoke "by authority," while Jesus spoke "with authority" (Snoptic Gospels, p. 136).

If he did not teach like the teachers of the law, he did not teach like the Old Testament prophets either. The most common formula with which the prophets introduced their oracles, namely,

"Thus says the Lord," is one Jesus never used. Instead, he would begin, "Truly, truly, I say to you," thus daring to speak in his own name and with his own authority, which he knew to be identical with the Father's.

11. Why should Jesus' authority motivate us to obey him?

He speaks into our lives… He gives us commands … that come from above — come from God. We can trust every word that He spoke.

10. How do Matthew 7:21-29 provide a fitting conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount?

It speaks of standing in the authority of the teachings of Jesus — every thing He has revealed in the Sermon..

12. What are some of the "words" of Jesus you have heard in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24)?

13. Think of one teaching from the Sermon that has challenged you most. How can you begin putting it into practice?

14. Ask the Lord to help you submit to his authority, especially in those areas where you feel disobedient or hypocritical.

LifeGuide Topical Bible Studies - Sermon on the Mount. & Adult Questions for LESSONMaker.