Sermon Notes 11-4-2018

Matthew

Too much too soon, or too little too late! 

Matthew 8:18-22

Matthew 8:18–22 (ESV)

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 

¹⁹ And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 

²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 

²² And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Again, a lot to learn in a few short, obscure verses! We learn a lot here about coming to Jesus, the commitment we must have, and what it takes to follow! We also learn about keeping the mission moving forward and the role of every pastor, everywhere! There is so much to learn here if we just take the time to pray about what Jesus is trying to teach us here! It’s not just about a boat ride and some folks that He called out, it is so much more! 

Once people get it, it’s time to move on and continue reaching others! 

Matthew 8:18 (ESV)

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 

·     This is not about a boat ride.

·     It’s about fulfilling the great commission.

·     The gospel had been preached. 

o   Some accepted it, and some rejected it.

o   But it was time for Jesus to keep moving and keep reaching the lost with the gospel.

·     And that is every Pastor's job, to preach, teach, and equip. 

o   To preach the message for all to hear.

o   To teach and bring up disciples, and to continue the work of reaching more people.

o   And to equip the saints for battle. 

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

It is up to the church to take care of the needs in the church! 

·     A side note, everyone who calls this church home should be tending to the physical and emotional needs of the body!

·     In American culture too much has been laid on the pastors and staff of the church.

o   We have made it too easy to be a “follower” of Christ! 

o   And as we continue, we will see there is nothing easy about it!

Reference: 

Acts 6:1–4 (ESV)

¹ Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 

² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 

³ Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 

⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 

I also think Jesus was doing a little culling of the herd!

·     Who would follow?

·     Who would be inconvenienced and have to follow, walk to where He was?

·     Who would take the extra time? 

·     Who would make the effort?

We are afraid to do that now!

·     To make it hard to be a part of the church.

·     To expect you to serve, to help, to give.

·     To be part of the body, serving the body.

·     We might lose our numbers.

·     Or our salaries, or our jobs.

·     It’s sad really.

And now we get to the meat of the issues, people!

We have here Christ’s managing of two different tempers, one quick and eager, the other dull and heavy; and His instructions are adapted to each of them, and designed for our use. 

A little too much too soon!

Matthew 8:19 (ESV)

¹⁹ And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 

·     First a scribe was not just anyone.

·     He was powerful, and carried weight with him.

1 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)

²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 

·     That would be a good thing to have him follow you, right?

o   Would give you validation.

o   Would bring the big donors.

o   Right??

·     He calls Him teacher

o   Sounds good, right?

o   Translate to teacher, Master.

o   So, he recognizes Him for who He is, right?

·     He seems to be pretty sure of himself

o   Wherever You go.

o   Whenever.

o   No one is asking him to follow. 

o   He is doing the asking. 

o   So, he seems to really want to do this!

And Jesus answer was painful to hear, but so telling of what He expects!

Matthew 8:20 (ESV)

²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

·     Again, you would think that a scribe would have been a valuable asset.

·     That he could have done more by himself than 12 fishermen. 

·     But His answer turns him away

And it paints a picture of what He expects of us all.

·     First that we should count the cost.

o   That we should never take following Jesus lightly.

o   That we should not do it out of haste.

o   That we should do it intelligently, and with careful consideration.

o   That we should know the price we are about to pay.

·     Second, that no one should get rich following Jesus. 

o    The scribe saw the miracles and the people, and saw a way to get rich.

o   And Jesus dispelled that myth.

o   That we will sometimes make less and take less to help others.

o   That the world and all its' money is not important.

§  This blows all those preachers getting rich of others out the water.

o   Jesus could have had it all, and showed us less is more, and that true joy and peace is not found in things, but in Him!!

Too little too late!

Matthew 8:21 (ESV)

²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 

·     The scholars think that this was Phillip, 

o   A disciple of Jesus

o   That made the request

·     And it seems reasonable 

o   It could have been his dad had passed, or was sick and feared to be dying.

·     But who wouldn’t let a man bury his dad?

The answer!

Matthew 8:22 (ESV)

²² And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

·     WOW, leave the dead!

·     Follow Me!

·     Again, we see Jesus telling us the cost of following Him is High!

·     That waiting for the right time, or the family to be in a right place, to follow is not the answer!

o   That right now my life is too complicated to serve You. 

o   That my life plan is not going as planned, so give me a break, I’ll catch the sermon on line.

o   That the bible study is not my thing answer doesn't work!!

·     COUNT THE COST!