Moving Through Matthew (Matthew 18:3-14)
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
* I told you last week that in Chapter 18 when you see Jesus talk about Children, he is actually talking about a believer.
*He has some strong words for how we as believers lead other believers. (vs 6)
*But in these next verses here this morning, Jesus is concerned about how we lead others, but also how we lead our own lives according to his will. In other words he is concerned about how we affect other believers holiness and even how we remain holy in difficult times.
*Look at verse 7
7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
We can to protect others.
*From what? Temptations.
*they will always be there. As long as the world exists, sin will exist. Temptation will exist.
*With all the temptations in this world, we need to be careful not to allow ourselves as believers to lead another believer into temptation.
(Gossip) (Phone-Video)
Many people think this very points to the Devil. He is the liar, the tempter, but look what it says “Woe tot he one by whom temptation comes.” That is a fellow believer leading another down the path of sin.
Sin is easy to fall into, and if another believer is right there with you, it makes it a-lot easier.
SO Jesus (7-9) talks about how we need to protect others, but then he says that we need to also protect ourselves.
8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
2. We can protect ourselves.
*When we give into temptations, they start in the heart and the mind… but we act on them with our eyes and our hands.
*What is the answer? Cut them off. Cut yoru hands off, cut your eyes out, and you will be a better Christian. Right? IS this what Jesus saying that we should do?
*Jesus is using some strong language here and he is not telling us to do this. He is simply showing us the importance of staying away from sin that draws us away from Him, and even helping us to understand that we don’t need to leaders others there as well. After all, since is a heart problem not a hand or eye problem… it all starts in the heart.
*And when we first begin to concisely battle sin in our own lives, we can help others to battle it in theirs.
3. We can love others
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
*As fellow believers, we are to love on another, just like he loved us. He uses this parable to show the extent he goes to to care for one of his own.
But before he speaks the parable about eh 99 and the 1. He says something here in verse 10: Matthew 18:10
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
Some people look at this and think that every Christian has their own angel that watches over them. It’s true that angels did come to people to help them in the Bible (Peter in prison, Daniel in the Lions Den). It’s a nice thought, but Scripture doesn’t say anything about that anywhere else. But here is what Scripture does say.. Hebrews 1:14
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
This is one of the purposes fro angels: ministering Spirits to help those who are saved.
But here in this parable, there is a wonderful picture of love and care that God has for his children.
He doesn’t want us to “despise them” get them off track, lead them away from God
But just as he wants us to care for them, we see a picture of how he cares for us.
How does he see us? Seeing this parable and his care for the one sheep reminds me that he is the good shepherd.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
This morning we are baptizing....