“Jesus and Others Did It Anyway” #4
Pastor Mike Barnett
THEME #1 – GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO YOU, BUT YOU WILL BE
TEMPTED TO TAKE GOD FOR GRANTED AND FORGET HIS BLESSINGS TO YOU, BUT CHOOSE TO
BE GRATEFUL TO GOD EVERDAY ANYWAY!
THEME #2 - THE GOOD YOU DO TODAY WILL BE FORGOTTEN
TOMMOROW BY PEOPLE, BUT NOT BY GOD – SO DO GOOD ANYWAY!
THEME # 3 – OVER TIME, THE TENDENCY IS TO BE MORE
CRITICAL AND LESS APPRECIATIVE OF PEOPLE YOU KNOW, CHOOSE TO BE MORE
APPRECIATIVE AND LESS CRITICAL OF OTHER PEOPLE ANYWAY!
·
Going back to the book of Genesis, God created
mankind, but all of humanity rebelled against God and was cut off from God’s
abundant blessings.
·
God sent his son Jesus Christ to be born into the
world to be the atoning sacrifice that would reconcile sinners back to God.
·
When Jesus became an adult, he taught, and healed the
sick, and fed the hungry. He performed miracles and crowds of people followed
him wherever he went.
·
One week before Jesus was crucified on Palm Sunday,
He entered
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The crowd went before him, spreading their garments
and palm branches in his path crying,
"Hosanna[a] to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"[b]
"Hosanna[c] in the highest!" Matthew 21:9
·
But the sermons he preached, the miracles that he had
performed, and the good that he had done, were soon forgotten.
·
A week after his triumphal entrance into
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Let’s pick up the story in Luke 23:32-43, when Jesus
was hanging on the cross.
(pg. 748) Luke 23:32-43 says:
32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with
him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called
the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right,
the other on his left. 34Jesus said, "Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting
lots. 35The people stood watching, and the rulers even
sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is
the Christ of God, the Chosen One." 36The
soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save
yourself." 38There was a written notice above him,
which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39One of the
criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ?
Save yourself and us!" 40But the other criminal
rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under
the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are
getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." 42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom.[b]" 43Jesus
answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in
paradise."
·
A Week earlier Jesus was praised as the coming
Messiah.
·
And now he is hanging between two criminals on a
cross for a crime he did not commit.
·
Jesus did not condemn the crowd for not remembering
how he loved them, ministered to them and blessed them.
·
Instead of lashing out at them for mocking God and
for shunning His grace, He prayed: Father forgive them for they do not know
what they are doing.
·
Even though, they forgot all the good Jesus did for
them, Jesus was still gracious to them in his final moments of life here on
earth.
·
Jesus died for the very sinners that condemned him.
(Pg. 798) Romans 5:6-11 says:
6You see, at
just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though
for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. 9Since we have now been justified by
his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to
him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall
we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but
we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now
received reconciliation.
·
Jesus ultimately knew that his death on the cross was
the final and last sacrifice God would use to save sinners – so he willingly
went to the cross even though he did not deserve it.
·
However, we know from scripture that when Christians
today do not thank God for the sacrifice of his son nor apply the sacrifice to
their lives, they are ultimately going to experience the fullness of God’s
wrath on judgment day.
(Pg. 850) Hebrews
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have
received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging
fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who
rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three
witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man
deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has
treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and
who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him
who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[a] and again, "The Lord will judge his
people."[b]
·
The Bible says that God is a Jealous God and it ___________________(angers)
Him when we take his grace for ___________________(granted) and act as if Jesus
death on the cross has no value to change our lives.
THEME #1 – GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO YOU, BUT YOU WILL BE
TEMPTED TO TAKE GOD FOR GRANTED AND FORGET HIS BLESSINGS TO YOU, BUT CHOOSE TO
BE GRATEFUL TO GOD EVERDAY ANYWAY!
STEPS TO BECOMING A MORE GRATEFUL PERSON:
1) CHOOSE TO BE _______________________(GRATEFUL) TO
GOD FOR THE SALVATION JESUS GRACIOUSLY PURCHASED FOR YOU ON A
________________(DAILY) BASIS!
2) REALIZE THAT GRATEFULNESS IS MORE THAN ________________
__________________(LIP SERVICE) – IT ALWAYS DEMONTRATES ITSELF THROUGH ________________(ACTION)
– LIVE LIKE YOU ARE A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST!
(Pg. 855) James 2:14-26 says:
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have
faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose
a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If
one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well
fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied
by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You
have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will
show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there
is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without
deeds is useless[a]? 21Was not our
ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac
on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions
were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham
believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[b] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not
by faith alone. 25In the same way, was not even Rahab
the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to
the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
·
Just like people forget God’s goodness on a daily
basis, so will they forget your goodness to them as you attempt to follow the
example of Christ and do good to others who do not deserve it.
This truth leads us into our second theme of today’s
message……
THEME #2 - THE GOOD YOU DO TODAY WILL BE _________________________(FORGOTTEN)
TOMMOROW BY PEOPLE, BUT NOT BY _____________(GOD) – SO DO GOOD ANYWAY!
·
Just like God’s goodness is forgotten by some, so
will yours, but that is no reason to stop doing good!
(Pg. 826) Galatians 6:7-10 says:
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps
what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful
nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to
please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let
us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to
the family of believers.
·
We never know whether the good we do will be noticed
by others or not, but it should not matter.
3) DO YOUR GOOD DEEDS TO PLEASE
__________________(GOD), NOT PEOPLE - CHECK YOUR
_______________________(MOTIVES) TO DETERMINE WHY YOU ARE DOING WHAT YOU’RE
DOING.
(Pg. 681) In Matthew
1:1-4, Jesus says:
1"Be
careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them.
If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2"So
when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the
truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But
when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand
is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then
your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
·
Even if the good we do is noticed, it may not be
remembered for long by people.
·
God will remember, but everyone else is likely to
forget.
·
That shouldn’t stop us from doing good.
·
The story of Moses is an amazing example.
·
The good he did one day was forgotten the next, but
he continued to do good anyway.
·
Moses led the Israelites out of
·
God demonstrated his power by causing a series of
plagues to fall upon
THE PLAGUES:
1) The Blood
in the
2) Frogs
3) Gnats
4) Flies
5) The Plague
on livestock
6) Frogs
7) Plague of
boils
8) Hail
9) Locust
10) Darkness
11) Plague on the firstborn
·
While these plagues devastated
·
When Moses led the Israelites out of
·
It is hard to imagine a more dramatic demonstration
of God’s power and His love for the Israelites than these series of miracles.
·
And there was no greater prophet than Moses.
(pg. 151) Deuteronomy 34:10-12 says:
10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like
Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 who did all
those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh
and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For
no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that
Moses did in the sight of all
·
But the Israelites had difficulty remembering what
Moses had done for them.
·
As they camped by the
(pg. 50) Exodus 14:11-12 says:
11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were
no graves in
(pg. 50) Exodus
1 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD
displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust
in him and in Moses his servant. They sang songs of praise to the Lord, exalting
him.
(pg. 51) Exodus 16:3 says:
3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had
died by the LORD's hand in
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Then the Lord rain down from the heavens, bread that
the people called “manna”.
·
They continued to wander in the desert, stopping at
Rephidim. The people were thirsty, and again they complained.
(pg. 52) Exodus 17:3-4 says:
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and
they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of
·
The Lord instructed Moses to strike the rock at Horeb
with his staff, and the water flowed from the rock.
·
Months later, in Sinai, Moses consecrated the people,
and led them out of the camp to meet with God at the foot of the mountain. The
Lord descended on
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The people were fearful and stayed at a distance.
·
When Moses spoke to God, the voice of God answered
him.
·
God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments and
other Laws.
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
1) You shall
not have other gods beside me.
2) You shall
not make yourself an idol.
3) You shall
not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4) Remember to
keep Sabbath day holy.
5) Honor your
father and Mother.
6) You shall
not kill.
7) You shall
not commit adultery.
8) You shall
not steal.
9) You shall
not lie.
10) You shall
not covet your neighbor’s wife or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.
·
The Lord made it clear that the Israelites should not
have no other God’s before the Lord, and they should not make Idols and bow
down to them.
·
The Lord told Moses to go up to the mountain and stay
there, and he would give Moses tablets of stone on which were written the
Lord’s Laws and commands.
·
Moses stayed on the Mountain for forty days and forty
nights. The people grew tired of waiting for him to come back, so they gathered
around and said in Exodus 32:1-6 says:
1
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,
they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods [a] who will go before us. As for this
fellow Moses who brought us up out of
·
Aaron built an altar in front of the calf. They held
a festival with burnt offerings, and then sat down t eat and drink and indulge
in revelry.
·
This made the Lord very angry, and he sent Moses back
down with the stone tablets.
·
When Moses saw the calf and the dancing, he was so
angry that he them down the stone tablets, breaking them into pieces.
·
He burned the calf, and ground it into powder,
scattered it on the water, and made the people drink it. Moses said that
whoever was for the Lord should come to him.
·
Those that did not come to him were slain., and the
Lord struck down the people with a plague in punishment.
·
And so it went. At each step in their deliverance
from
·
But then they soon forgot all that God and Moses did
for them but God continued to be good to the Israelites anyway.
·
Through Moses, God led them to the Promised Land and
kept his covenant with his people but the people turned away from Moses and the
laws of God and began worshipping a golden calf.
·
They broke the first two commandments and thereby
broke all of them.
·
The good that the Lord did was quickly forgotten.
·
The same thing happened to Jesus
·
The crowds forgot the good that Jesus did, but Jesus
continued to do good anyway.
·
He suffered and died for our sins anyway.
·
If people can easily forget the good that God does
for them, why should we be surprised if people forget the good we do?
·
People easily forget, but their forgetfulness
shouldn’t change who we are and how we live.
·
Who we are and how we live are more important than
who remembers what we did.
4) DON’T TAKE
IT ________________________________(PERSONALLY) WHEN YOU FEEL UNDERAPPRECIATED
BY PEOPLE, AS A “CHRIST FOLLOWER”, YOU ARE IN GOOD
______________________________(COMPANY).
·
The simple fact is that it does not matter if the
good we do is ________________________(known) or _________________________(remembered)
by others…What matters is that we are children of God and Disciples of Christ
who seek to do ___________________(good) anyway.
·
What matters is that we do good, not for our own
glory or prestige, but because that is who we are – people who serve God and do
good unto others for the glory of God.
(pg. 683) Matthew 5:13-16 says: 13"You are the
salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made
salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and
trampled by men. 14"You are the light of the world.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people
light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way,
let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise
your Father in heaven.
·
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:10:
10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.