Matthew 20

Characters
{End of Chapter 19 - Leaders, 12 disciples, Jesus}
Only Jesus and 12 Disciples (17)
> Mrs. Zebedee (20)
> Large crowd (29)

Scene
Continuation from Matthew 19 (1)
"About to go..." (17)
Leaving Jericho (29)

Analysis
(1-16) Parable of the Vineyard
Who drives the action? The Landowner
Who makes the assumptions? The first hires
Who earned the most? Depends on how you look at it.
     Totals: Nobody, they earned the same
[Joe noted that all are equal. The saved are saved, there are no levels of salvation.]
     Per hour: The final hires earned more per hour.
Moral = God makes the rules

(17-19) A Death Foretold
Jesus had a clear direction. No doubts.
     He was in control

(20-28) Zebedee
This is a strange exchange.
     1. Mommy speaks for her old kids.
     2. Old kids let her speak on their behalf
     3. Jesus does not rebuke. His answer follows the parable...
There are leaders of the Church.
God makes he decision who will be the leaders...
     ...and the leaders should serve.
     Christian leaders are servants with a greater capacity to serve more, never less.

(29-34) From Jericho
Jesus backs up what He says by having mercy and healing.
     His words reflect His attitude: a servant's attitude.

Matthew 19 - Divorce and Marriage

Find my presentation on this chapter at the following link:
http://bit.ly/iaISIF

Matthew 18

Characters
(1) 12 Disciples and Jesus  <-- Intimacy, but not exclusivity.
> Child (2)
> Peter (21)

Scene
Capernaum (17:24)
   It was a comfortable place.

Analysis
4 Questions
3 Illustrations
1 Suggestion
1 Answer with 2 Sides

(1) Question 1 about the Kingdom of Heaven
(3-11) Illustration 1 - Children
     A child is... helpless, dependent, easily distracted, easily convinced, innocent.
     We are to view ourselves as children...
(12-14) Questions 2 & 3, Illustration 2 - Sheep
     A sheep is... the same as children, plus: selfish, ignorant, unable to care for themselves.
     Again, view yourself as sheep...
(15-20) Jesus gets at the heart of the issue
     The initial question seems to come out of competition and discord.
     Jesus preaches unity from humility.
(21) Question 4, Suggestion 1
     Peter steps out and asks for clarification on forgiveness
     He even suggests a generous, holy number
(22-35) Illustration 3
     The point is not forgiving because it is a duty or keeping track of points.

The Answer and Two sides: You've been forgiven of a lot. You should A) humble yourself and B) forgive.

Calvin Fritchey - Proverbs 16: Changing of the Spirit

Proverbs 16
(1) Strange wording: Preparations of the heart
Where is it from?
Prov. 14:25-27 give us Key Statements
> They stand in contrast.
What we have in our heart God can and will take and use.
   Not just knowledge, it is experience.
   Be slow to speak and quick to listen.
     2 Cor. 3:4-6 Spirit of the Law: It's like taking care of a baby, be more tender. Your spirit changes.

(9) Plans and Direction
The final answer is from the Lord
We move... God directs.

(2) Man's thought about his way
Skewed in our favor
   Men love themselves
   There are two sides, they are half-right.

(3) Commit our works
He sees our emptiness
A person's thought directs their behavior (lifestyle)
   What's in your mind?

(4) Creation: Did God make the wicked? (John 8:34)
God created all, but people choose to be evil.
   God gives people what they ask for.
   He does not make us stay evil - willing to save.
Remember, the end is set for evil ones.

Conclusion
God gives us a chance to set our affections on things above. Will you change your heart today?

Matthew 17

Characters
Jesus, Peter, James and John (1)
   > Moses & Elijah (2)
   {V} from a cloud (5) = God the Father
   [M] John the Baptist (13)
   "They" = The crowd (14)
   > Man (14)
   > Son (15)
   > 12 Disciples (22) "Gathering together"
   > Temple Tax Collector (24)

Scene
(1-13) High Mountain (Mt. Hernon?
(14-20) Upon meeting a crowd
(22) Galilee
(24-27) Capernaum

Analysis   -   Note Mk. 9 & Lu. 9 are parallel passages.
(1-13) Transfiguration
Account begins with in 16:27 with "Son of Man"
Remember, Christ never lost His divinity, he gained humanity.
(1) The number 6 is the number of man. It is in 2 of the 3 synoptics.
Transfigure is not a change of form.
   This is not an apocalyptic vision
What did Jesus, Moses and Elijah talk about?
   Luke 9 says it was Christ's death = the reason He became a man.
Peter reacts -- But the voice comes and emphasizes the SON.
The emphasis of the transfiguration was on Jesus' humanity and earthly mission, not on His divinity, though that was on display.
(7) Jesus' incredible tenderness shines through.
(9) Again, emphasis on the Son of Man.
(12) Mystery of John the Baptist, turns the focus back on the Son of Man

(14-20) Multitudes
Was Jesus reluctant to heal?
To answer, let's list what we know:
   Demon-possessed son's father comes to the right place
   Disciples tried to cast the demon out (19) but lacked faith (20)
   Which disciples? Peter, James and John (22)
   Jesus was upset with someone about their unbelief (17) but heals anyway.
Therefore, Jesus wanted belief.
(1) "And" This lesson on faith follows the Transfiguration directly.
Parallel passage in Mark 9:24 records this man saying I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.
   The man had belief, the disciples did not.
     Jesus is teaching the disciples. "Hear Him" Luke 9:44

(22-23) All the disciples get together
Jesus reiterates His death
   Repeated in all accounts on Transfiguration
Jesus was crystal clear about His mission
12 Disciples will not understand until later. Remember, this message was unheard of for Jews of the day.

(24-27) Temple Tax
I see simple respect in play here.
Jesus did not stir up trouble for fun, even if He was right.
There was no need to stand against the tax collector.
   Perhaps the people who instituted the temple tax...

Matthew 16

Characters
Jesus was already there (1)
   > Pharisees and Saducees (1)
   [R] Jonah (4)
   < Jesus (4)
   < 12 Disciples (5)
     Simon Peter stands out (16)
   > Satan (23) adversary


Scene
1. Still in Magdala (15:39)
2. "Other Side" (16:5)
     Decapolis, which was gentile
3. Ceasarea Philipi (16:3)

Analysis
(1-4) Pharisees and Saducees seek a sign
   Jesus' answer is Be more perceptive!
     Look around you, I've been working!
   Jesus reams them for seeking a sign while ignoring His entire body of work.
   Prophet Jonah - Why use this sign?
     Prophet who went to the Gentiles
     Prophet who does not want to preach
     3 days and nights in the belly of the great fish
          Reference to His death, burial and resurrection

(5-12) On the Other Side
   NOTE: Jesus gives them time to think and meditate on His words.
     Jesus also reams the disciples for not being perceptive.
   Leaven = the obvious effects of hidden sin.
     The (P&S) show leaven in their twisted thinking and doctrine (teachings)

(13-28) Caesarea Philipi
   Matthew 12:10: It finally sinks in for Peter (16-17)
     Peter finally listens to what the Father reveals.
   Rock of the Church
     Peter was influential in the early Church
     Peter was a leader who made tough decisions
     Peter did go to Rome and led the Church there
     His discipe (Clement, mentioned in scripture) became the first well-documented Pope.
     With that said, Jesus is the cornerstone that the Church is built on and we are living stones that make up the Church (as Peter said himself).
   The Keys = What does that do? What do keys do?
      Open new doors - Salvation to all
      Binding - Tough decisions that must be made (as to what was permissible)
            The book of Acts records these decisions and the opening of Salvation to all peoples.
   Short-lived Glory - Peter rebukes Christ
      Peter thinks of earthly throne
      Jesus thinks of Jonah
      Satanic = adverse to God's will. Key word: Mindful.

(24-26) Deny your own way to follow Christ
   Cross = foreshadow
   Lose your life to Christ, it's the best way to get it back.

(27-28) God's glory / Coming
   What is verse 28 saying?
     {some standing there} {will not die} {will see the Son's kingdom}
     Who did not see the "Kingdom come?"
     What is a prerequisite for the kingdom? Christ's triumph over the grave.
     Who didn't see that? Judas.

Dr. Humphreys - Results of Worship: Practical Questions

What is the result of seeing God's glory?

What should worship lead to in life?

Exodus 33:18 Moses sees God's glory

     Hebrews 11:27: Persevere. Because he saw him who is invisible.

     "See" is to experience a revelation of His nature and character. -- Ex. 34:6-7

     It was a life-changing experience--it was not for his own ecstasy or private benefit.

          It is a motivation to respond.

Response 1 - Worship (Exodus 34:8)

First mention of Moses worshipping.

     He prayed, lead the people, ...but no previous mention of worship.

"Worship pours out of a heart that's overwhelmed by a glimpse of God's glory."

Response 2 - Change in countenance (Exodus 34:35)

Moses did not glow after getting the 10 commandments.

The face is the outward expression of the heart

     Isaiah 3:8-9: The look on their faces

     Acts 4:13: Obvious, distinguishing mark -- been with Jesus Christ

          (See 2 Peter 1:16-18)

Moses was with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration

Response 3 - Communal effort to obey His commands

Exodus 35:1 - Commandments and obedience

Exodus 40:33-34 - If God's glory filled the tabernacle, how much more the Church?

     Ephesians 2:22

How can the Church show unity?

4.Demonstrate unity between all believers on Christ - John 17:20-21

     Ignore the walls that divide people.

     Live out our unity as an evangelistic tool

     Unity does not mean uniformity

     Diversity is not disunity

2. Display Christ's love

     Loving Churches are outward looking and not self-centered.

     Easy to look only at our own needs

3. Diligently working

     Exodus 31:1-5 & 35:22--first mention of spirit-filled

     Finishing is very important

          John 17:4-5 - Jesus completed the work

     1 Corinthians 10:31 - It's not what you do, but how you do it. Do it well, be diligent and complete.

     Balance: work and learn

"Church should not be struggling to make things happen. We should be bursting to share with one another."

"The Church is where God has agreed to meet us and show His glory to us."

2 Corinthians 3:7-11 - How we're different than Moses' day

We have the Spirit (Col. 3:4)

Our life, one, we will no longer "see," but "appear."

Closing song: Everlasting Glory

Joseph Jimenez - Matthew 15

Characters

>Jesus (1)
> Scribes (1)
> Pharisees (1)
[M] Disciples
"_" Isaiah (7-9)
> Multitudes (10)
> Disciples (12)
> Woman (22)
[M] Son of David
[M] Daughter
> Multitudes

Scene

Still in Gennesaret
Tye and Sidon (21)
Decapolis (29)
Magdala (end)

Analysis

(1) Pharisees and Saducees came a long way to try and trip Jesus
Confrontation with tradition
     The laws were tweaked (Hadith/commentary)
Do we try to bring honor to ourselves?
Your traditions are not doing what you think they are doing.

(2) Faith and Christ's reply
Jesus waits for a right response
     It is a process, to acknowledge a Savior.
Faith is for all facets of the Christian walk.

Walter Stanley - Growing

Walter thinks of a traffic light when he hears the color green.
     When you come up to a green light, you keep going.
     Growing Green? = KEEP ON GROWING!

John 15:7 - Christ has made provision for us


Abide: It's a key; to serve him obediently.
"In serving the Lord we can be a great minister. We are all ministers with ministries because we have been called to obey. Whatever we do, we do to his honor and glory in the beauty of holiness."

Prayer - A specific ministry that he stressed as important. It's personal. It's private.
     Prayer is like gas in the tank. Can't go on green, can't grow green without a prayer life.

John 15:10, 3 - God's Word is Clean

It will drive us to the place where we are pleasing to God.
"Our lives must be sterilized by the word of God."
     Trials purify us and help us grow.
     Matthew 5:1 - Sermon on the Mount
           Blessedness; happy despite their trials.

John 15:4-5 - Plant Roots

The roots go deep and are unseen
Though Christ is unseen, we truly see his influence in our life.
     A fruit is nothing without the root.


Most important thing in Church

"It's important to come to the meeting. It's very important. But the most important is to delight yourself in the Lord day and night."

Matthew 14

Characters
  [M] All mentions...
     Herod (1)
     Jesus (1)
     Herod's servants (2)
     John the Baptist (2)
     Herodias (3)
     Philip (3)
     Herodias' daughter (6)
     John's disciples (12)
    > Jesus (13)
    > Crowd (13)
    > 12 disciples (15)
    < 12 disciples (22)
    < Crowd (25)
    > 12 disciples (25) - as if Jesus ran into them.
   [M] Peter (28)
    > Men of Gennesaret (35)

Scene
(1-12) John the Baptist/Herod
     Setup in verse 13. Jesus reacts, setting up the rest of the chapter.
     Look into Salome, by Oscar Wilde
     Herod was a man who was not afraid to kill, but had to be forced to kill John the Baptist. (9)
          He was afraid of political ramifications (5)
          He had true grief over the beheading. (9)
(13-21) Feeding the 5,000 in a desert place
(22-33) Walking on the Water he goes from the Mount to the Sea
(34-36) Gennesaret

Analysis
Family and personal experiences as a catalyst
     (13:53-58) Rejection by family
     (14:1-12) Death of family
Jesus is put through the emotional ringer.
He goes by Himself, now the question is, how will he rebound?

(14) He was moved with compassion
It should have been the other way around.
     He meets our needs despite His own.

(22) Constrained His disciples
Morality--They need to learn something
     (23) Goes apart again - He needs to take time for Himself, and so do we.
     (25) Jesus knew the right time to show up to their benefit.
[(26) Andrew was amazed at pagan thoughts regarding spirits.]
          Jesus takes away fear (27)
          Jesus says, be confident in me.


(26) Jesus "saved" the people. That has a specific meaning.
It is Christ's specific job.

Theology of Fear

The following question was posed to me and I found the subsequent
mediation beneficial.
"Can the emotion of fear exist without the evil nature of sin? Did
Adam experience fear before the fall? If the Lord experienced fear,
was it in the garden before sin was placed on his shoulders or on the
cross when God forsook Him?"

My initial response:
Fear is one of those primal motivators ingrained in nature itself. It
is the trigger for the fight/flight reaction. This begs the question,
before the fall was there any need to fight off or run from anything?
We know there was evil in the world--the serpent is a representation
of that fact. But there was no evil in man. In Genesis 3, Eve does not
appear to be afraid of the serpent. She does not even distrust it.
Fear does not show up until after the fall, when God comes looking for
man. Fear, then, is a result of sin. That being said, the result of
sin is not necessarily sinful. Perhaps fear becomes a grace of God (a
tool, if you will) that is deployed for our protection in a sinful
world. As for life in the Garden of Eden (perfect state), we do not
have detailed descriptions. Certainly, an evolved state of fear like
terror would not have been present in perfection.
As for Christ and fear. I cannot imagine that a fully human being who
knows what kind of death he would die--and that death being
crucifixion--would be able to resist the natural urges of fear.
Remember that feeling the affects of sin is not the same as
participation in sin. So when Christ prays that the cup pass from Him,
He is feeling fear. Note that he neither fights nor flies in the face
of this fear but submits to the Father's will. I think here is where
Christ rises above temptation and remains free from sin. The fear was
temptation to deviate from the plan of salvation. And praise God,
Christ did not.
Feel free to leave your comments below.
--
___________
Christopher M. Jimenez
Voicemail : (786) 245-3520

Brower: Sampson in One Night

Judges displays the faithfulness of God.
"God desires obedience from the heart and not faith unfeigned."

Judges 13-16
Sampson's story is structured to show us 3 stories/pictures. It is not necessarily chronological.

Note when the Spirit alights on him:
CH 13 - Miraculous birth, preparation of parents, and oath.
CH 14 - Reason why a bad person can do some good things.
     > The only time: because of the Spirit of God
CH 16 - Answer: what led to his downfall and did he recover?
          Sampson shows the cycle in an individual. What's true of Israel is true of all people.

Why raise up Israel?
     No peace
     Sampson is an object lesson. A picture of Israel.

Chapter 13 - Godly parents
More spiritual = woman
Barrenness = Every good spiritual thing is a holy miracle
Nazarite (Num. 6) = Key to Sampson
       Key words for the vow: Voluntary. Heart. Separate Vow.
       Seek the Lord Jesus, or you'll miss the point of your studies.
       1. Man/Woman - Both can do it
       2. Separate: To the Lord. Never from the Lord (as a mandate).
       3. Wine - Pleasures of the world. Find pleasure in the Lord.
       4. Hair - Submission/shame
       5. Defilement - None of it. The end of sin is death which separates from God. Do not be separated from God.
Sampson's mom lives the Nazarite Vow
     For Sampson, it was only external

Chapters 14 & 15 - Self Seeking, Proud Man
Self love is the opposite of Godly love.
Traditional teaching says he was a womanizer.
14:4 "he"=Sampson? Sampson hates the Philistines. Any occasion was a reason to kill them.
14:5 Kill lion / get honey. Riddle about his own accomplishment. Highlights his selfishness.
15:18 But the Lord has a way of getting us so thirsty that we will come to Him and give Him glory.
16:17 You will only lose the outer symbol, the strength is from the Lord.
     Sampson's head (7 locks = Spirit) is in their (the World / $) lap.

Chapter 16 - Great Loss, Great Repentance
(20) What he lost...
   Power (Spirit) of God
   Sight
   Freedom
   Dignity
   Testimony
(28) Repentance - Call out to the Lord
  Knows where power is from
  Devotion - Go to death for God's glory

Three Principles
CH 13 - We can have a Godly heritage, family, calling and potential but still miss it.
CH 14 & 15 - You can have God's Spirit move and work through you and still miss it.
CH 16 - No matter how low and far you've fallen from your calling, you can still be restored and used of God.