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Christ in Ministry – Jesus’ Teachings III
I am so glad that you have joined me for this third message on Jesus’ teachings. The three messages on Christ in Ministry are centered on what He taught in His Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Please take time to read them often.
There is a great deal to learn from the eight messages in this series, Christ In Creation, Christ In Prophecy, Christ In Ministry-I, Christ In Ministry–II, Christ In Ministry–III, Christ In Sacrifice, Christ In History, and Christ In Revelation.
Jesus teaches us how to live with each other and in obedience to God our Father. He teaches us about everyday problems and God’s divine solution.
Which one of us has not worried?
Jesus recognized the crowd’s concern for what was happening to them. They struggled to live and provide for themselves and their families in an occupied country. Roman taxes were very demanding and, at times, left little for the people.
The people listening to Jesus are much like you and me. They wanted to provide for their children and knew things could change quickly. So worry was as natural to them as it is for us today.
These same truths need to be planted in our hearts. Worry wastes our time and energy partially because what we usually worry about is the least important part of life.
Jesus tells us in Matt 6:25 NKJV,25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Jesus makes it clear that worry is a waste when He says in Matt 6:27 NKJV, “ 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
Does worry change anything?
No! It is like young people worrying because they are not what they believe they should be. Their bodies don’t match whoever they are idolizing at the time or they worry if they are too big or too little.
As adults, we are just as silly, but what can we change? Will worry help?
Does my boss like me? Will I be able to afford a new house or car? Should I get a new job? How will I pay for these things I should never have purchased?
These are things we all deal with, but Jesus points out that God knows our needs.
Jesus tells us, like the people on the mount, not to worry about all the physical things we need. He says it this way in Matt 6:31-32 NKJV, 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Worry is both not needed and a destructive waste of time.
God knows what we need. We need to trust in Him to provide our real needs and help us grow in His service. God will not give us everything we ask for but He will give us what we need to fulfill our ministry.
Jesus instructs us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” If we seek righteousness first, our physical needs will be met.
Jesus says in Matt 6:33-34 NKJV. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Don’t waste time. Seek God first!
When you walk with Jesus, your trust and peace of mind will grow. You will learn the joy of living with what God gives you. Your faith will grow as you see God provide your daily needs.
Jesus continues from the sin of worry to the sin of judging.
Jesus teaches a very simple lesson on judging. Don’t. Don’t judge others. You are not qualified.
Scripture tells us there is only one Judge who will judge the living and the dead. His judgment is righteous and just.
Our judgment is flawed. We find it easy to see another person’s sins. However, often our eyes are blinded to our own. As the Scripture says, “there is no one righteous, no not one.”
God created us to serve Him and others, not to judge a person or their service.
Are you completely fair? Would you want to be judged the same way you judge?
With my limited knowledge I have judged others, and I am sure that you have also. How often did you judge in error?
Maybe you said that you were not judging them but their sin. Yes, I have done the same, but this is often just an excuse for judging. You and I both know that we often judge people for doing the same things we do or think.
Our judgments are prejudiced by our own guilt. Therefore, if I cannot judge fairly, I certainly do not want to be judged by my standards. Do You?
Note what Jesus says about judging in Matt 7:1-2 NKJV, 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Is this what we want? Do we really want to be judged by the same measure we use? I believe that we can agree that we don’t.
Jesus goes on in Matt 7:3-4 NKJV to tell us how we should treat our brother or sister. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ and look, a plank is in your own eye?
We need to go before the Lord with our problems and get our lives in order so we will be able to help others. It is not so we can criticize them, but so we can help them serve the Lord.
You and I do not want Jesus to call us a hypocrite. In Matt 7:5 NKJV He says, 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Once we can see clearly, we will be able to help those we see in sin. Our first efforts should be to introduce them to our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Then God will fill them with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit will teach them and convict them of sin.
Convicting of sin is not our job!
It is wrong to judge, but Jesus encourages us to ask God for our needs.
While Jesus does not want us to judge others, He does want us to keep seeking a closer walk with Him. God is all about relationships. Asking, seeking, and knocking are the keys to receiving from God.
Jesus says in Matt 7:7-10 NKJV, 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
God’s desire is for you to come to Him, and He wants to bless you, but He wants you to be sincere and diligent in asking.
Please Note: If you don’t ask how will you know when He answers? I can assure you that God always answers. If you ask and don’t receive what you ask for, you need to examine your request. See if your heart is right with God.
Are you asking for His will to be done and not yours? Seeking God’s will is your first step.
Jesus gives us an earthly example of what a father would do for his son to explain how God will respond to us.
He says in the next verse, 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Our Heavenly Father wants to do good for us. I can witness to how God has cared for me and answered my prayers. I am nothing special. God will do the same for you if you trust Him and wait on His timing.
The Law and the Prophets teach us to do good to others.
Jesus continues in Matt 7:12 NKJV, 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
God wants to give you good things and He also wants you to give to others.
While judging individuals is wrong Jesus does instruct us to examine the fruit produced.
He warns about false prophets. His warnings are as valid today as when He taught on the mountain.
Today we have many pretending to be Christian leaders within the church. They teach a watered-down version of the truth but do not hold to what Jesus teaches. Like the Pharisees, they teach a religion instead of God’s way.
Like the kings of Judah, many followed God and did what was right for their people for a while. Then they become filled with pride and turned to evil.
Jesus warns us in Matt 7:15-16 NKJV, 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
There have always been false prophets. Today is no different. You must look at what they are teaching and producing. Are they following what Jesus said and staying true to the Bible?
Jesus says, “if you love Me you will obey my commandments.” Men and women who love Jesus will be bearing kingdom fruit.
If they do not produce good fruit, they are not following God.
Note that Jesus tells us that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit. On the contrary, it will always produce good fruit. Likewise, a bad tree will not bear good fruit, and God has a plan for those who do not bear good fruit.
Jesus states this clearly in Matt 7:17-20 NKJV, 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
In order to judge a false leader’s fruit, you will have to spend time studying God’s Word. If you do not know what God says, you will not recognize false doctrines.
Jesus makes it clear that our works will be judged.
We are saved by our faith in Jesus, His death, burial, and resurrection. However, don’t think that our works are not important.
Jesus makes it clear that works are important in Matt 7:21-22 NKJV He says, 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
He makes it clear that just saying He is your Lord will not get you into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Nevertheless, many will and do claim great things in the name of Jesus without any real evidence of faith in Him.
People may do many wonderful things in Jesus’ name, but if they have not made Him Lord of their life they will be lost. Their works will be of no value.
What was their motive and was their faith in Jesus? Were they seeking to build God’s Kingdom or their own? I may be wrong but I always question millionaire preachers. It is hard for me to believe that a Christian can purchase a three million dollar home while people are homeless.
That is just me. I do not have a Scripture that clearly states that.
Many will claim great works, but their hearts were not committed to Jesus. He tells them as they stand before His judgment seat, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matt 7:23 NKJV
Jesus ends His message on the Mount with this final teaching.
Listen to what Jesus says in Matt 7:24-27 NKJV. 24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
Our Lord wants us to do more than read and study His teachings. As revolutionary as they are, He wants us to follow them.
Jesus’ Word is the rock upon which we must build. We all want to be the wise man in the parable. Jesus and His teachings are the only foundation on which we can stand.
If you build your hopes on anything less than Jesus you are wasting your time.
Jesus makes it very clear when He says, 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
The world is full of foolish men and women. They follow the world’s ideas instead of the sure words of God.
If we build on anything else than God’s Word we will surely fail.
Paul tells us in Acts 4:12 NIV, 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Conclusion:
Jesus continued teaching the fullness of the Law and the Prophets for about three years. As He taught, He worked miracles to prove who He was and that He had the authority to teach.
He was a teacher, a preacher of the gospel, and a healer. Each of these ministries was to convince the nation of Israel that He was the promised Messiah. He taught with authority, healed the sick, cast out demons, and even raised the dead to illustrate that He was empowered by God.
He Conquered Rome
And though He never committed a crime, He was crucified by Rome at the request of the Jewish religious leaders.
After His crucifixion and resurrection, His message spread throughout the Roman Empire. Roman emperors tried to stop the spread by killing those who believed in Him. The more they killed, the more turned to Jesus.
Around 400 years after being crucified by Rome, He won the final victory over Rome when Constantine the First accepted Him as his Lord and Savior and became the first Christian Emperor. After that, the Roman Empire became Christianized and the gospel spread over the whole world.
Note: The following articles will tell you more about Jesus Christ. Just click on the title you are interested in, Christ In Creation, Christ In Prophecy, Christ In Ministry-I, Christ In Ministry-II, Christ In Ministry-III, Christ In Sacrifice, Christ In History, and Christ In Revelation.