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Lesson 7: Jesus Begins His Ministry (Matthew 4:12-25)

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I. Jesus Begins His Ministry “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (4:12-17).

a.       “Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.”

i.  John the Baptist was arrested:

1.      John had been arrested—this is picked back up in chapter 11.

2.      John had publicly challenged Herod the tetrarch’s adultery and was jailed for it. The atmosphere became increasingly hostile to the message of repentance, and so Jesus moved north to the countryside of Galilee.

ii.                        Application:

1.      John the Baptist is arrested.

2.      His ministry is now basically over.

3.      I’m sure he would have LOVED to be part of the rest of Jesus’ ministry, but God sovereignly brings an end to John’s ministry.

4.      Great little lesson here:  Sometimes we need to acknowledge that our purpose and desire is not the same as God’s purpose and desire.

5.      There are all too many examples of people who hang on to their ministry LONG after there time has come to an end.

6.      Sometimes, like John, we need to recognize God’s sovereign plan and relinquish our desires for what God desires.

b.      (MAP of Jesus Ministry)

i.  Beginning with 4:12, and extending through chapter 18, Jesus’ ministry takes place primarily in the region around the Sea of Galilee.

ii.                        The Great Galilean Ministry (27 AD)

1.      Massive crowds.

a.       Galilee was heavily populated.

b.      It wasn’t like Judea, which was more remote, and backwoods.

c.       Jesus leaves Nazareth and moves to Capernaum by the sea, so that prophecy might be fulfilled.

i.  15-16

1.      Matthew quotes from the OT (Is. 9).

a.       Every Jew who knew their Bibles would have been familiar with this quotation, or at least the context.

b.      This is the same portion of Scripture where the Messiah is said to bring a renewed covenant blessing on Israel; the removal of the oppressor’s yoke; the birth of the promised child, whose name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace”

ii.                        Notice:

1.      Here is Jesus in Galilee and He reaches out to the gentiles.

a.       V. 15 says, “Galilee of the Gentiles.

2.      His purpose is to bring light to those dwelling in darkness.

a.       These people are in total darkness.

b.      This area is filled with poor Jews and Gentiles.

c.       The people are in darkness, and they don’t even know it.

d.      The light has dawned.***

e.       This is foreshadowing the Great Commission going to every tribe and tongue.

iii.                      Jesus is bringing light to the Gentiles…

1.      Jesus is the light of the world.

a.       He exposes sin.

b.      He reveals the truth.

c.       He reveals hidden motives and the human heart.

d.      He is like a giant spotlight moving through Israel exposing spiritual darkness and giving life and truth.

e.       John 8:12, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

2.      The world is in a state of darkness.

a.       John 3:19, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

b.      Eph. 5:8-9, “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

3.      Satan is the prince of darkness.

a.       Eph. 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…but against…this present darkness…”

4.      The greatest need in the world is spiritual light.

a.       John 12:46, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

5.      Christ’s light exposes sin:

a.       The world is in darkness.

b.      We all have a tendency to live in the dark.

c.       But God’s light reveals reality.  It reveals what’s really there.

6.      Billy Graham interview…

a.       TV reporters brought in all kinds of lights as they set up the interview, and Ruth Graham noted how many cobwebs were in the corner.  She was horrified.  She had never noticed them before.

b.      That’s what light does.

iv.                      “from that time {on}” 4:17, 16:21.

1.      In v. 17 we now come to the end of the first major section of this Gospel (1:1–4:16).

a.       Matthew has now painted us an introduction to the life of Jesus.

2.      The next time he says it is in chapter 16, where He heads to Jerusalem.

d.      “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

i.  This statement marks the beginning of Jesus ministry.

ii.                        It was His slogan.  A summary of His message.

iii.                      It was the exact same message that John the Baptist.

iv.                      There were two major points to Jesus’ preaching:

1.      Repentance

2.      The Kingdom of heaven.

e.       Repentance:

i.  What was meant by repent?

1.      To turn around, change orientation.

2.      Change perception.

3.      It’s a change of heart, will, and behavior.

ii.                        There is no such thing as a Christianity with no repentance.  If you have not, and do not repent, you cannot be in this kingdom.

iii.                      Illustration:

1.      On my plane ride back from Hungary last week, on one leg of my flight, I sat next to a lady named Willow, from Santa Cruz CA, who was retired, and a volunteer with the Red Cross and was serving people in NJ who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.

2.      She was very enjoyable to talk to.

3.      We soon began to talk about religion and she told me she was a Yogi, and had travelled to India to study under her guru.  She confessed this wasn’t really working for her and she was left exhausted and searching for something else.

4.      She asked about Christianity and what was the essential message of Christianity is different from Hinduism in that God is separate from creation, not part of creation.  She was very interested.

5.      It was a delightful conversation and she confessed she had never really talked to a Christian before about these things.

6.      I told her the essential message that Jesus preached was that people need to repent, and trust in Christ to be saved.

7.      She said, very kindly, “Oh I don’t really like that.  I don’t think people need to be saved from anything.”

iv.                      The sentiment was no more popular in Jesus day.

1.      Telling people to “repent, of you will perish” wasn’t a crowd-pleaser.

2.      This was the negative aspect of Jesus’ preaching.

3.      You are going the wrong way!

4.      Turn around and go towards God!

5.      Confess sins!

6.      If only this woman could have recognized her spiritual darkness, and turned to Christ who is light!

7.      So many people are sitting in spiritual darkness, but refuse to see the light.

f.        The kingdom of heaven:

i.  Jesus then said, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

1.      Kingdom of heaven is synonymous with the Kingdom of God, I don’t want to go in to detail about that, but we will use these terms interchangeably.

ii.                        What did Jesus mean by this phrase?

1.      First off, there is no indication that Jesus is talking about anything OTHER than what the Old Testament prophets proclaimed.

2.      An earthy, geo-political, kingdom of Heaven on earth, with a Messiah ruling and reigning from Jerusalem who would be a Prince of Peace and yet rule the nations with a rob of iron.

3.      In other words, Jesus is saying that “the book of Daniel will be fulfilled, and I'll do it.  So if you want in, then the very first thing you need to do is repent.”

4.      Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is coming to pass, and I am the fulfillment!

iii.                      What is this kingdom??

1.      Interestingly, Jesus never gave a definition of the kingdom.  So it should be assumed that Jesus understood his audience to have the basic understanding from the OT, even if their ideas are a little off.

2.      Simply put, the kingdom is “God’s reign.”

3.      In his model prayer, Jesus indicated that God’s reign is complete in heaven, but that it is not yet complete on earth.

4.      The prophets foretold a time when everything and everyone on earth would submit to the will of God. To date, this has not happened. This world’s present mess is Satan’s doing.

iv.                      Jesus is not so much the new Moses, but the new Joshua.

1.      Moses never entered the Promised Land, but Joshua does.

2.      John the Baptist proclaims the kingdom and is followed by Jesus who leads people in to it.

g.      The kingdom is “at hand.”

i.  This didn’t mean that the Kingdom had come in all its fullness, as Daniel and the prophets envisioned, but it was being offered in the Person of Jesus, Himself.

ii.                        The Kingdom was near, because Jesus was near.

iii.                      The King and His Kingdom are inextricably linked.

iv.                      Remembering this, helps explain a lot of confusion.

II.                      Jesus Calls and Trains His First Disciples “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (4:18-22).

a.       Jesus calls Peter and Andrew to be his disciples.

i.  I always am reminded by Norman MacLean’s book, and the popular movie “A River Runs Through It.”

ii.                        Where he says of his father, who was a Presbyterian minister and a fly-fisherman says, “"He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume...that all great fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishing and that John, the favorite, was a dry fly fisherman."

iii.                      Unfortunately, it seems revisionist history eludes us, and that Peter and Andrew were not fly-fisherman, alas, they used nets…

iv.                      They were common men.  Laborers.  They worked hard with their hands.

v.                         They weren’t poor people, and they most likely weren’t rich, although they probably had a little means because they apparently owned some boats.

b.      And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

i.  “Follow me”

1.      What a statement!

2.      No one else can say this and mean it.

3.      “Live with me and learn by watching me. Own my values and priorities. Learn to follow me in what I love, what I preach, what I think.”

4.      Become passionate for the things I love.

5.      Follow my example.

6.      Following Jesus requires total allegiance and obedience.

a.       This does not mean we must quite our jobs, it actually goes far beyond that.  It means that we follow Jesus in every single area of our lives.

b.      The call to “Follow Him” still stands today, and Jesus is waiting your response.

c.       Discipleship is not an option, it is a calling, a privilege, a duty.

ii.                        Application:

1.      John 21:21, “When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

a.       The call to follow Jesus is personal.

b.      The call to follow Jesus means we don’t compare.

c.        

d.      We look at other churches, compare, and think something is wrong.

e.       We look at other moms, we compare, and think something is wrong.

f.        We look at other servants, compare, and think something is wrong.

2.      Jesus calls his disciples to follow him, and not worry about what others are doing.

c.       “From now on you will catch men…”

i.  Jesus makes a play on words based on Simon and Andrew’s occupation.

ii.                        Like all analogies, all possible points of comparison must not be pressed. Jesus is not implying that being a “fisher of men” involves anything seductive, deceitful, or harmful. Rather, he is pointing out that just as fishermen try to gather fish from the sea, his disciples too will be trying to gather together other individuals who are willing to follow Jesus in radical obedience.

d.      “Immediately they left their nets and followed him…Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

i.  This almost sounds like a hasty decision, but it actually wasn’t.

1.      These men were already acquainted with Jesus as John points out in his gospel.

2.      They had spent some time with Jesus.  It’s possible that that had even spent a year or more with Jesus.

3.      Jesus’ public ministry was about three years:

a.       A year of obscurity.

b.      A year of popularity.

c.       A year of rejection.

ii.                        These men made informed decisions.

1.      But Matthew skips the details and wants to highlight they literally dropped their nets to follow Jesus.

2.      It was wholehearted and prompt.

3.      It was obedience that proved stronger, even than family ties.  James and John left their father, and their business, to follow Jesus.

4.      Sometimes God calls people to leave their jobs, their parents, their comforts, to serve Christ in the ministry.

5.      NOTE: This is not a call for everyone here to quite their job.  However, it might mean that for some.  And for those, this story is a great lesson.

iii.                      “They immediately follow Jesus.”

1.      Matthew is showing us showing Jesus is the King.  He is sovereign.

2.      When the King calls we drop everything and go.

3.      This doesn’t even make sense, but they leave their nets and they go.

4.      What about Dad?  It’s a family owned business.  He wants to pass it on to his boys. But he releases them to the King’s service.

5.      Maybe God is calling you to serve the Lord?

a.       Abe and Lizzy George.  Retired.  Beietiful home in Lakewood.  Their boys are here.

b.      But they move to India to serve the Lord and fish for men.

c.       They risk their lives, they get death threats, but they serve the Lord.

6.      When Jesus calls a person to discipleship, there is no excuse for delay or disobedience.

III.                   Application: Discipleship means evangelism and training.

a.      Catching people implies evangelism.

i.  When we follow Jesus we catch men…

ii.                        This is called evangelism.

1.      This is part of the Great Commission that Jesus gives us!

2.      We are to be soul-winners!

3.      Part of being a disciple, for ANY Christian is that we share the good news of Jesus.

4.      We bear witness.

a.       This doesn’t mean we give a five-point outline everytime we get the chance.  It might just mean we simply bear witness.  We speak up for the Truth.  We take a stand.

5.      We give a book for someone to read, or a tract.

6.      We think in terms of catching people, and snatching them from hell.

iii.                      International Ministry in our back yard…

1.      ACC

2.      Refugees

3.      We need to catch International student at ACC.

4.      This is a call for some leaders to reach international students in our back door.

b.      Catching people implies training and discipleship.

i.  Jesus is interested in catching and training people.

1.      Jesus is interested in propagating the future.

2.      He isn’t just interested in evangelism, He’s interested in training.

ii.                        Our Lord Jesus Christ was the master trainer of men.

1.      He spent an enormous amount of time training men.

a.       Luke 6:12, (He spent all night praying about these men).

2.      He even calls certain gifted men to call and challenge others!  That’s HIS plan.

a.       Eph. 4:11-12, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

i.  Pastor-elders are to lead and feed call and challenge.

b.      Some of you elders should be equipping others.

i.  1 Tim. 5.

3.      A.B. Bruce in his classic work, The Training of the Twelve writes this (pg. 13), “The great Founder of the faith desires not only to have disciples, but to have about Him men whom He might train to make disciples of others.  Both from His words and His actions we can see that He attached supreme importance to that part of His work, which consisted in training the twelve.  The careful, painstaking education of the disciples secured that the Teachers influence on the world should be permanent.”

iii.                      Jesus was IN to discipleship and training people.

1.      “Follow me.”

2.      The best training is imitating.

3.      My boy does this.

a.       I put my cowboy boots on, Ryle puts his cowboy boots on.

b.      I want to watch football, Ryle wants to watch football.

c.       I change a flat tire.  Ryle wants to change the tire.

d.      I spit. He spits.

e.       I cuss. He cusses.  JK!!

f.        We are natural imitators.

iv.                      Paul was a trainer of men.

1.      Paul says “Imitate me” too.

2.      Paul had his Timothy’s and Titus’s!  He gave them large parts of his life.  He was with them and trusted them with difficult jobs.

3.      Acts 20, “For I did not shrink from declaring to you.”  He taught.  He declared.  He trained.

4.      We still know the names of the people Paul trained.

5.      Timothy did the same thing…

v.                         Spiritual dominos

1.      Richard Stearns, President of World Vision wrote an article a few years ago in World Vision magazine entitled “Spiritual Dominos”

2.      Stearns tells this story of catching and training people…

3.      “In the 1880s, Robert Wilder, a missionary kid from India, was preparing to return to the mission field. During college, he even signed a pledge along with friends to become a missionary. But because he was so physically frail, he never fulfilled that pledge. Instead, he encouraged others to take up the task. One domino fell.

4.      During a preaching tour that took Robert through Chicago, he spoke to an audience that included Samuel Moffett. Samuel also signed Robert's pledge, and within two years he landed in Korea. Another domino fell.

5.      A few years later, Samuel shared the gospel with a man who had become disillusioned with his Taoist practice. Kiel Sun-chu trusted Christ, and quickly another domino fell.

6.      In 1907, Kiel was one of the leaders of the Pyongyang revival. In January of that year, spontaneous prayer and confession broke out during regular church meetings. Thousands of dominoes fell. Those days of fervent prayer are now considered the birth of an independent, self-sustaining Korean church.

7.      When Kiel died in 1935, 5,000 people attended his funeral. The church in Korea now numbers about 15 million, and it sends more foreign missionaries than any other country outside the United States. Millions of dominoes continue to fall.

c.       We need to maintain this focus that Jesus had, of catching people.  Training people.  Making disciples of people.  Teaching them to observe all that Jesus and His apostles taught.

i.  This is our commission and it’s a GREAT!

d.      All of us are called to catch and train people.

i.  This can be formal and informal…

ii.                        2 Tim. 2:2 “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

e.       Here is where many Christians and churches fail.  We have no plan, no philosophy, no forethought given to discipleship.

i.  U.S. News and World Report- family owned businesses and why they fail.

1.      There are tremendous statistics of the economic influence of family owned businesses.  There are thousands of them.

2.      With all of the advantages of the family owned business there are two problems.

a.       #1--The leaders don’t have the time to train their children.  So very few businesses last more than one generation.

b.      #2--They didn’t trust them.

3.      They didn’t train the next generation.

4.      The didn’t trust the next generation.

5.      This applies to the church: we are a family doing gospel business.  We have important things to do—eternal matters.

ii.                        One thing the church family must do is prepare the next generation to perpetuate our beliefs and community.

iii.                      We need to do this with our kids.

IV.                    Jesus ministers to massive crowds with teaching, preaching, and healing (4:23-25).

a.       Here Matthew gives a three-fold summary of Jesus’ ministry.

i.  He went around Teaching, preaching, and healing.

ii.                        This is the best, most concise summary of Christ’s work in the Bible.

b.      Jesus was a teacher.  He taught.

i.  Jesus taught in the synagogues.

1.      The synagogue was a gathering place for the Jews.

2.      Jews came together to study the Law.

ii.                        What did Jesus teach when He was in these synagogues?

1.      We don’t have to guess.  He preached that he was the fulfillment of the coming Son of David.  He would be Isaiah’s Suffering Servant Who is here to reign and rule.

iii.                      In the beginning…God spoke.

1.      The very first thing we learn about God is that He speaks.  He communicates.  And He has a message.  He has a Word.  And all throughout the Old and New Testaments we are called to know and proclaim His Word.

2.      From Moses to the prophets to the Apostles to the church today, we are people with a message.  We have a teaching ministry.

iv.                      Christianity is a religion of revelation.

1.      We are a people who communicate God’s message.

v.                         Quotes:

1.      Dr. James Orr made this profound comment many years ago: “If there is a religion in the world which exalts the office of teaching, it is safe to say that it is the religion of Jesus Christ.”

c.       Jesus was a preacher.  He preached.

i.  Jesus proclaimed (preached) the gospel of the kingdom.

1.      “Preaching is the banner flying atop the castle (seen far and wide), and teaching is the body of bricks and mortar that supports it (sought out by the followers). Teaching fills out the proclamation, explaining both its support and its implications.”

ii.                        What is the gospel?

1.      The good news, or the gospel, is that God sent His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and when we respond to God with faith and repentance we can have peace with God.

iii.                      What is the Gospel of the Kingdom?

1.      The gospel is the kingdom is the bigger picture.  It is the same as the gospel that Paul preaches, but it includes the whole story of Jesus coming, ruling, and reigning.

iv.                      Application:

1.      The primary way Jesus advanced the kingdom was through preaching.

a.       Nothing has changed.

2.      People would rather hear about how to get wealthy, or healthy?  Or how to become successful or become a better You or have your best life NOW.

3.      He preached “Repent!”

4.      The greatest need in the world today is Bible teaching and Bible preaching.

5.      Lloyd Jones reminds us that the great highlights in church history have always revolved around the preaching and teaching of the Word of God:

a.       “Is it not clear, as you take a bird’s-eye view of Church history, that the decadent periods and eras in the history of the Church have always been those periods when preaching had declined?  What is it that always heralds the dawn of a Reformation or of a Revival?  It is renewed preaching....A revival of true preaching has always heralded these great movements in the history of the Church.”

6.      “I constantly maintain that if today’s quest for renewal is not, along with its other concerns, a quest for true preaching, it will prove shallow and barren.” (Packer)

d.      Jesus was a healer.  He healed.

i.  Jesus healed.

1.      These miracles are secondary to the preaching, secondary to the message. 

2.      They authenticated the message.

ii.                        These miracles proved that Jesus was the Promised Messiah.

1.      These are Messianic Miracles!!!****

a.       “Go, show yourself to the priest…”

i.  Ever wonder why He said that?

ii.                        Mat. 11:2-6, “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

b.      Dead are raised.

c.       Down Syndrome are healed.

d.      Clearly identifiable.

i.  Not like, “My leg was elongated” or  “My headache is gone.”

e.       No one is like Jesus!!!

2.      The four types of miracles.

a.       Nature miracles- his power over nature.

i.  Calming the storm (Mat. 8:23-27)

ii.                        Feeding 5000 (Mat. 14:13-21)

iii.                      Walking on water (Mat. 14:22-33)

iv.                      Water into wine (John 2:1-11)

v.                         Miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1-11)

vi.                      Fig tree withered (Mat. 21:18-22)

b.      Healing miracles- his power over sickness and disease.

i.  Healing a leper (Mat. 8:2-4)

ii.                        Healing Blind Bartimaeus (Mat. 20:29-34)

iii.                      Healing deaf and mute man (Mark 7:32-37)

iv.                      Healing ten lepers (Mark 17:11-19)

c.       Exorcism miracles- His power over evil.(These were the most popular miracles.)

i.  The Gerasene man (Mat. 8:28-34)

ii.                        Many demon possessed (Mat. 8:16-17)

d.      Resurrection miracles- His power over death.

i.  The widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17)

ii.                        Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:22-24)

iii.                      Lazarus (John 11:1-44)

iii.                      These miracles showed what the kingdom of heaven would be like.

1.      “…and he healed them…”

a.       what words…

2.      Wholeness.

3.      Wellness.

4.      Restoration.

5.      The curse that caused these things is now being reversed.

6.      These miracles showed that the Kingdom of heaven had truly come to earth.

a.       The kingdom is “at hand”

iv.                      These miracles showed that God is compassionate to the suffering.

e.       What about modern healers?

i.  Does God still heal?

1.      Yes.  God still heals.  We pray for it everyday.  We have seen it happen.

2.      But this is different than people who claim they have the gift of healing or supernatural miracles.

ii.                        All of the indicators of false teachers that Peter gives in 2 Peter 2 apply to these teachers:

        1. Money is another distinguishing mark of their pseudo-ministries.
          1. You can spot them with their large 1800 numbers that you can call and donate to.
          2. They will spend a large part of each service or sermon on tithing and giving until it hurts.
        2. Meanwhile, they will live in luxury, take extravagant vacations, buy $400 shoes, and get air conditioning for their dog-houses.
          1. They will use lines like “God doesn’t want us to be broke.”
        3. You will know them by the love of money.

iii.                      These false-ministries are marked by exploiting people, especially the poorest of the poor.

1.      These people are Charlatans.

a.       They are fakes.  Paul calls them “Peddler’s of the Gospel”

2.      Rather than being like Paul who said He was poor making many rich, these guys are rich making many people poor.  The exploit the weak.

3.      And the helpless, weak, vulnerable people turn on their TV’s and see these guys ask them for money to get God’s blessing.

4.      It’s a ponzi scheme.

iv.                      Let me just tell you that there is nothing of Christ in that!

1.      That has nothing to do with Jesus or His good news to the world.

2.      And yet His Name is used and the Bible is used.

3.      But it’s false and it’s destructive and the weak.

4.      The weak give their life savings to the man who owns two jets.  And I think God hates that!

5.      Health, wealth, prosperity, your best life now is what Satan offers.  It’s what he tempted Jesus with.  The lust of the eyes, the pride of life.  It’s satanic.

6.      Further more, any normal natural person would want these things.  This is what the unregenerate person wants!  That’s why it’s so popular.

v.                         Can people be saved in their ministries?

1.      Sure.  Most of these false ministries use Scripture.  But God’s grace some people get saved.

2.      But this isn’t a validation of their ministry.

3.      One theologian I know was saved in a One-ness Pentecostal church.  They deny the Trinity.  It’s a heretical church.  But he was saved there.

vi.                      We, as elders, have an obligation to warn people about false teachers.

1.      We want to have compassion on the people who are duped and give their life savings away to a fraud.

2.      That should make us weep.

vii.                    I was at a church revival where a speaker came in promised miracles and healing and signs and wonders would be done.  The people were excited.

viii.                  But the only so-called healing that were done were people with headaches.

ix.                      The rows of people in wheelchairs and crutches were in the back.

f.        Jesus ministry was totally different.  That’s the point of this section.***

i.  He actually healed people.  He didn’t just heal headaches and elongate legs.

ii.                        He healed every disease and every sickness.

iii.                      When His kingdom comes in fullness, this is what life will be like…

V.                       The Gospel:

a.        

VI.                    Application: What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? (Boice)

a.      Obedience

i.  Jesus says, “Follow me” 13 different times in the gospels.

ii.                        To follow Jesus means you obey Jesus.

iii.                      The apostle John, close personal friend of Jesus, follower of Jesus, made this crystal clear in his letters.

1.      Anyone who says they know Jesus, but don’t obey Him, is a LIAR.

iv.                      Maybe God is calling you to “Follow Him?” and leave your job

b.      Repentance

i.  Mat. 9:13

ii.                        Repentance isn’t something we did once.

iii.                      Paul says that the knowledge of God’s grace teaches us to renounce ungodliness.

iv.                      We move from hungering and thirsting for sin, to hungering and thirsting for righteousness as we see in a few verses.

c.       Submission

i.  He is the Lord.

ii.                        He put on His yoke.  We learn from Him; not the other way around.

iii.                      He is the Lord, we are the bondservants.  The slaves.  Our lives are no longer our own.

d.      Trust

i.  The reason we don’t submit and obey boils down to trust.

ii.                        If we trusted Him, we would obey to Him and submit to Him.

e.       Perseverance

i.  It’s a lifetime commitment.  A marathon, not a sprint.

ii.                        Many people start out great, but they never finish.

Related Topics: Discipleship, Kingdom, Soteriology (Salvation)

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