Josh1Eight

Scripture: Matthew 26:31-32 31 On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” Observations: The day before his execution Jesus tells his disciples that not a single one of them was as committed to Him as they thought they were and that would all deliberately turn away from Him when He needed them most. Not exactly the best way to instill confidence in the twelve guys upon which the future success of your movement is totally dependent. The Bible says that when Jesus told them that they all denied it. I imagine thatafter His words rang true that each of them felt irrepairably disconnected from Jesus. But the one redeeming factor about their failure is that Jesus saw it coming. He wasn't shocked or disappointed. He knew they would fail but He also knew that all of th...

Scripture: Leviticus 4:3, 13 “If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must present to the Lord a young bull with no defects...If the entire Israelite community sins by violating one of the Lord’s commands, but the people don’t realize it, they are still guilty. 14 When they become aware of their sin, the people must bring a young bull as an offering for their sin and present it before the Tabernacle. 15 The elders of the community must then lay their hands on the bull’s head and slaughter it before the Lord." Observations: As God began to teach the Israelites how to worship Him and properly maintain a right relationship with Him one of the first instructions He gave was how to deal with sin. Part of the problem in worshiping a holy God was the understanding that God's presence and sin cannot coexist. For that reason God took the time to spell out in detail right from wrong so that there wou...

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away." Observations: Here Jesus tells a story to illustrate a very important truth about what God expects from those whom He has entrusted with His resources for the sake of His Kingdom. Though the only instruction given to the servants was to "invest" the treasures they had received, no explicit standard was stated. However, the story comes home in the final analysis made in vs. 29 which makes it clear that God expects his people to maximize their investments in His Kingdom by managing their resources and abilities well. The only criticism came as a result of the the failure of the one who decided not to invest what He had been given but rather chose simply to do nothing and then make excuses for it. Needless to say the story did not end well for Him as he was condemned fo...

Scripture: Matthew 24:36-44 36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. 42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come whe...

Scripture: Matthew 23:2-3, 27-28 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach...For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness." Observation: Jesus saved his harshest criticism not for rebellious sinners, prostitutes, drug dealers, homosexuals, or even the godless Roman officials; rather He addressed with the strictest scrutiny the religious leaders (i.e. pastors, evangelists, teachers, etc.) who had been entrusted with representing God to the people and leading them into a relationship with God. It would have been one thing if they didn't know any better but the very fact that they should have known bette...