August 1 - Lesson: Matthew 16.1-4

Sermon Title: Red Sun in the Morning

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INTRODUCTION:

Come Inside (1)

"All of us are magicians," said Jacob. "With great skill we shift who we are as if we were peas under walnut shells. Soon, we ourselves have no idea where we are hidden. Soon, pride in our camouflage causes us to become caught in our own sleight of hand."

"Well," said the young man, "at least I'm not old like my grandfather. He sits with his chin resting on his cane, doing nothing for hours. I have my whole life in front of me."

"You do have your life in front of you," said Jacob, "and yet life is an experience not only of breadth but of depth. As you grow older, the game of life goes inside, makes room for memory. This interior life is no less real, and in some ways is more private, more yours."

"But," said the young man, "what do you think my grandfather spends so much time thinking about?"

"Maybe he is thinking about you," said Jacob.

"About me?"

"Yes," said Jacob, "maybe he's worried that his grandson is living only on the surface of life, and he wonders when you'll come inside."

  1. They could tell with some accuracy the weather.

    1. Red sun in the morning sailors take warning.

    2. Red sun at night sailors delight.

  2. They could not read the Signs of the Times.

  3. These two disparate and conflicted groups of leaders had tested Jesus individually, now they join together is a desperate conspiracy to entrap him.

    1. You need to remember that in Matthew 4, Jesus was tested by the best.

      1. Stones into bread.

      2. Throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple, God will save you.

      3. Worship me and I will give you all the kingdoms of the world with all their wealth and power.

    2. He will not be overcome by this attempt to smear his character or his position, or his teachings.

    3. But they would not come inside.

      1. They would not even stick their head in the door.

      2. They would not even glance in at the treasure that lay within the walls of the room.

    4. This was a great disappointment to Jesus.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. How do we know that they would not come inside.

    1. It is not only the test it is the way it is shaped and presented.

    2. They know what he has done.

    3. They have accused him of performing false miracles and healing under the auspices of Beelzebub.

    4. They want a sign from heaven.

      1. Make it thunder and lightening.

      2. Turn back the shadow on the sundial

      3. Make the sun and the moon stand still.

    5. Even if he had done any of these things they would not have believed on him, in him, or with him.

  2. Jesus tells it like it is, gently, firmly, forcible, but truthfully.

    1. They are an evil and adulterous generation.

    2. Their evilness is demonstrated by their political and economic domination.

    3. Their adultery is revealed in their teachings and their actions.

  3. An evil and adulterous generation will receive no sign except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

    1. This is the second time Jesus has had this type of encounter with the Pharisees.

    2. In Matthew 12.38-40 the same ruse is worked on Jesus.

      1. In this instance he also invokes Jonah.

      2. The emphasis is on Jonah's three days and nights in a great fish.

      3. Jesus will spend three days and three nights in the belly of the earth.

    3. In our text for today there is an utter simplicity of thought that grabs our attention.

      1. Jesus in this instance also invokes Jonah.

      2. There is no three days and three nights.

      3. He is not talking about death and resurrection, but about the response of the Ninevites to the preaching of Jonah.

    4. Do you recall the story?

      1. Tell the story!

  4. The lesson for today points out our need for a faithful understanding, appreciation, and reception of the word of Jesus.

    1. We do not ask for signs.

    2. We will get no sign but the sign of the prophet Jonah.

    3. Why, listen to a quotation by the writer Philip Yancey.

Why does God not intervene more directly today and save us (and him) from abuse and hurt? Philip Yancey has an answer: "Some Christians long for a world well-stocked with miracles and spectacular signs of God's presence. I hear wistful sermons on the parting of the Red Sea and the 10 plagues and the daily manna in the wilderness, as if the speakers yearn for God to unleash his power like that today. But the follow-the-dots journey of the Israelites should give us pause. Would a burst of miracles nourish faith? Not the kind of faith God seems interested in, evidently. The Israelites give ample proof that signs may only addict us to signs, not to God." (2)

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CONCLUSION

  1. Lets not stay on the outside.

    1. It can be nerve-wracking.

    2. It can be embarrassing

New Missionary (3)

A new missionary recruit went to Venezuela for the first time. He was struggling with the language and didn't understand a whole lot of what was going on. Intending to visit one of the local churches, he got lost, but eventually got back on track and found the place. Having arrived late, the church was already packed. The only pew left was the one on the front row.

So as not to make a fool of himself, he decided to pick someone out of the crowd to imitate. He chose to follow the man sitting next to him on the front pew. As they sang, the man clapped his hands, so the missionary recruit clapped too. When the man stood up to pray, the missionary recruit stood up too. When the man sat down, he sat down.

When the man held the cup and bread for the Lord's Supper, he held the cup and bread. During the preaching, the recruit didn't understand a thing. He just sat there and tried to look just like that man in the front pew.
Then he perceived that the preacher was giving announcements. People clapped, so he looked to see if the man was clapping. He was, and so the recruit clapped too.

Then the preacher said some words that he didn't understand and he saw the man next to him stand up. So he stood up too. Suddenly a hush fell over the entire congregation. A few people gasped. He looked around and saw that nobody else was standing. So he sat down.

After the service ended, the preacher stood at the door shaking the hands of those who were leaving. When the missionary recruit stretched out his hand to greet the preacher, the preacher said, in English: "I take it you don't speak Spanish."

The missionary recruit replied: "No I don't. It's that obvious?"

"Well yes," said the preacher, "I announced that the Acosta family had a newborn baby boy and would the proud father please stand up."

  1. All Jesus desires is that we come inside.

Amen.

1. Noah benShea, Jacob's Journey (New York: Villard Books, 1991), 70.

2. Philip Yancey, Disappointment With God (Grand Rapids, Mich.:Zondervan, 1988), 48.

3. Pastor Tim [posts@cybersaltlists.org]

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