PRAY: Ian McCartneyVal’s MRI results

Day of prayer mar 5Women’s conf.metromissions brasil 200806.10 – 06.20CC Philly training

Matthew 16:1-12“Missing the Signs and Messing with the Word”

REVIEW We closed our study of Matthew 15 by considering the Gracious Second Lessons that Jesus gives to His followers.

Specifically in regards to the miraculous feeding of a crowd of 4,000 men… not long after Jesus had multiplied loaves and fishes to feed 5,000 men before the went into the region of Tyre and Sidon (Lebanon).

THE LESSON in both miracles is that ministry is ALWAYS and ONLY about GIVING OUT that which we have RECEIVED from Jesus.

Such an important lesson that Jesus REPEATED it for their instruction and ours.

The Bible teaches us that it is His delight to do that over and over and over.

(Heb 4:16 KJV) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

We also noted that there were distinct difference in the feedings

In the first feeding they gathered the remnants into 12 baskets.

This is a very Jewish word.

Baskets = the word for the small basket like a lunch basket.

The 12 baskets were for the 12 apostles.

We know that the number 12 is also representative in Scripture with Israel – the 12 tribes of Israel.

In the 2nd feeding Jesus is in Gentile territory

After feeding the multitude they gathered 7 baskets of remnants… and it’s a different word for basket.

It’s the large basket that the gentiles would use (large enough for a grown man to fit in… Acts 9:25)

THAT basket could hold 50 loaves.

KEY INSIGHT: Even as the number 12 speaks of Israel, we find the number 7 relative to the Church

Jesus would write to seven churches in the Book of Revelation.

Paul the apostle wrote to seven churches also.

This miracle was instructing them that Jesus would supply the Church Age with that which is necessary.

CHAPTER 161Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’

◙ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.

KEY OBSERVATION: In this context He fires the H-Bomb…. He calls them hypocrites.

1.) It makes you a HYPOCRITE if you make claims of being SPIRITUAL but

You have neither the CARE nor the CAPACITY to DISCERN spiritual things….

Rather you only CARE about, and only have the CAPACITY to DISCERN things NATURAL and TEMPORAL.

You can understand the stock market.. When to buy and sell…

You can understand Real Estate… when to buy and sell

But you can’t SEE or UNDERSTAND the world in light of Eternity or Scripture.

NOTE WELL: The REAL Christian sees the world beyond the material and temporal

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

2.) Jesus is in essence saying - You can discern the natural appearance of the world around you but you have no ability to discern the signs of the times.” say that you are SPIRITUAL but you believe in Jesus…. Believe in the Bible… and yet have no CONCERN for the signs of His Coming

2 Cor 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

ONCE a man or woman is born again they possess

The CAPACITY to see things that are SPIRITUAL and ETERNAL in nature.

A genuine CONCERN for heaven and for eternity.

2.) It makes you a HYPOCRITE if you make claims of being SPIRITUAL but you can not discern the signs of the times.

Jesus is in essence saying –

You are HYPOCRITES….

You CLAIM to be spiritual but you have neither

the CONCERN nor the CAPACITY to understand world events in relationship to Scripture.

LISTEN – The Bible is a LARGELY prophetic book.

The writings of the Hindus, the Koran of Islam, and the other religious writings of the world KNOW NOTHING of the PROPHETIC DESIGN that we have in the Scriptures.

Almost half the Bible is prophetic!Prophecies that point to SPECIFIC things.

Sometimes DATING specific things; giving to us NAMES and places and times BEFORE any of it takes place.

From Genesis 3 forward - the One, True and Living God has been careful to leave prophetic sign posts in the Scriptures so that His people will know where they stand in relationship HIS PLANS for this present world and the world to come!

Jesus rebukes these guys for MISSING the 300 prophetic signs that pointed to FIRST His coming

We find that He also EMPHASIZES the FUTURE coming of His Son to establish His Kingdom on this earth for 1,000 years… and then after that usher in a New Heaven and a New earth

NOT ONLY in the O.T…. But also in the New Testament

Did you know that in the N.T. there are

About 7 references to the new birth.

About 80 references to baptisms (water and Spirit).

BUT – almost 1 out of 10 verses in the NT deal with His Return!

By far the broadest subject in the NT. Let me tell you why that is! THINK OF THIS -

Jesus LOVES His Bride… the Church.

The night before He dies (John 14) He plainly tells your followers that He;s going to leave them in a world

that is HOSTILE towards Him… and as a result towards them

The world in which the enemy of their souls has influence –

But He tells them that He has secured for them in heaven something beyond ANYTHING that they could ever know or experience in this world –

Something so infinitely awesome that there is NOTHING in this world that can compare to it.

It is so reasonable that think that HE WOULD TALK TO THEM A LOT ABOUT THAT.

BECAUSE He loves His bride so much, He makes His coming for her one of the predominant themes that He would speak of in the NT Scriptures.

THAT IS WHY when you read the New Testament you can see the Holy Spirit

DIRECTING the ministry of Paul

And INSPIRING the writings of Paul to EMPHASISE the return of Jesus for His Bride.

Paul would say this to the believers in Philippi

Phil 1:8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

His ministry was an expression of the love of Jesus for His Bride.

In Acts 17 we have the account of Paul preaching the Gospel and establishing a church in Thessalonica

KEY INSIGHT: He ministered in the synagogue for three Sabbaths, and the Lord worked in a radical way.

(Acts 17:4 NKJV) And some of them (Jews) were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

After only three weeks Paul left behind a thriving church.

The remarkable thing is to see what he writes to this group of believers.

It is believed that Paul’s first letter to these believers is one of, if not THE, earliest of his writings – 51 or 52 AD –

That is within 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus

When Paul writes to these new believers he notes that there was such a powerful work of God in their lives that the Word of God spread throughout the whole region through this small and new group of believers.

What is the THEME of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonian?

The coming of the Lord!(1 Th 1:9-10 KJV) For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

(1 Th 2:19 KJV) For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

(1 Th 3:13 KJV) To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.(1 Th 4:17-18 KJV) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. {18} Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

(1 Th 5:23 KJV) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

EVERY CHAPTER of his first letter closes with a reference to the coming of Jesus for His Bride!AMAZINGLY – Paul is there for only THREE WEEKS

A huge number come to Christ…

Within those three weeks one of the things Paul determined to emphasize was the coming of Jesus for His Bride.

So much so that he REMINDS them of what he taught them when he was with them.

Look at these with me!

1 Thes 5:1-10 1But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

They KNOW because Paul had TAUGHT them about the times and the seasons in the three weeks he was with them

3For when they say , “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.

NOTICE: WHEN and THEN

WHEN this happens THEN this is what will happen

THAT is a SIGN4But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

They were to WATCH so that they would not miss the signs

CRUCIAL: Such EXPECTANCY did NOT breed COMPLACENY… RETARD or DETRACT from the Great Commission.

Paul says it should STIR them up to PASSION and INTENSITY and HOLINESS

7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Though THE APOSTLE Paul… moved by the love of Jesus for His Bride… STRESSED that the 1st Century believer should KNOW the signs of the Lord’s coming and WATCH for them…

There are those today who think otherwise!

QUOTE: Rick Warren: In referring to Acts 1 –  

When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched the conversation to evangelism. He wanted them to concentrate on their mission to the world. He said in essence, "The details of my return are none of your business. What is your business is the mission I have given you. Focus on that!" This is nothing less than an agenda-serving DISREGARD of the Olivet Discourse

There on the Mount of Olives Jesus responded to a question asked by His disciples: “And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the age?”

There in Matt. 24 or Luke 21 Jesus does NOT in essence say… or in any way say,

"The details of my return are none of your business. What is your business is the mission I have given you. Focus on that!”

Instead – we find 97 VERSES in RED LETTERS… i.e. words of Jesus… On the subject of the SIGNS of His return!

“Spiritual Deception”“Wars and rumors of wars” “Famines and pestilence”

“Earthquakes”

BY THE WAY –

He makes it clear that none of these…. in and of themselves are signs

These are SIGNS when they occur with INCREASING FREQUENCY and INTENSITY….. AND the Jews back in the land of Israel.

NOTICE how Jesus ends the discourse

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

 

Matt. 24:42-51 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch (a time frame) the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming…..

50The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

INTERESTING – you read these words of Jesus in Matt 24…. And then Jesus calls these men HYPOCRITES

Because though they claimed to be spiritual they were sensitive ONLY to the material world and could not discern THE SIGNS Of the times.

   

They should have recognized the signs of the time that they lived in.

The One who had called Israel the apple of His spoke to them

Over such a long period of time…

In so many ways…..

Through so many prophets…

Giving them sign after sign….

Just so they would recognize the time of His coming to them…

Recognize HIM when He came

But they could NOT discern it…

Luke 19:41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

THEY MISSED the signs of the times… of His FIRST COMING.

Jesus has gone to heaven and is preparing a place for us…. AND He is coming again for us so that where He is, we shall also be with Him.

And because He loves us so much he wants to talk to us constantly about it

He has written most of the New Testament about His return for us….

And How to live for Him until He does.

Phil 3:20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

He does NOT want us to MISS the signs of His Coming

Luke 21:34-35 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Watch therefore, and pray always that you may ◙ be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

LAST NIGHT at prayer meeting… Someone was praying about spiritual warfare… and I thought about how we don’t face the demonic attacks on our lives as do the believers in Sudan and elsewhere around the world.

But the Lord spoke to my heart and reminded me that there is radical warfare being waged against the Church in America…. Just as demonic and destructive…..

Perverting the blessings of God....

Using Comfort and Materialism to make the Church COMPLACENT and LUKE WARM

Many once-on-fire believers have come to the place where they

Only CARE about, and only have the CAPACITY to DISCERN things NATURAL and TEMPORAL.

(IAN’S friend)

Many once-on-fire believers have been brought to the place where they

CLAIM to be spiritual but have neither the CONCERN nor the CAPACITY to understand world events in relationship to Scripture.

They hear economic news… And all they can think of is their stock portfolio

The Euro is crushing the dollar… how do I get out from under that?

Instead of saying ….

The Euro is crushing the dollar …. Of course it will because the Bible says that there will be a one world economy based out of the Old Roman Empire.

Many are being brought to believe that Christianity is ONLY about the here and the now!

I pray that the Lord would REVIVE us….

Help us to see the world in the context of His great plan of redemption…. How it rolling out… how it is coming to a close!