The Torch - Sunday, July 6, 2014 - Unruly Tenants - Matthew 21:33-46. * Introduction: There are many things we associate with rejection. Some of these things are minor, and some are severe. God does not like being rejected by His children. Rejecting Him is more serious than just declining a polite invitation. When we reject Gods influence we reject justice, refuse peace, and most important, we decline to know love. In todays lesson, we will see how the Pharisees and religious leaders made a significant mistake by rejecting the message of Christ. * Point # 1: People Reject Christ Because Of Irresponsibility - Matthew 21:33-35. God has given us the responsibility to take care of His Kingdom until Christ returns. We are to show others the ways of God. Will we accept this challenge and reach others, or will we be like the Pharisees and concentrate on our own wealth and well-being instead? The Jews rejected Christ because of irresponsibility. They heard the prophecy of Christ and even saw Him living in the flesh. However, they failed to believe. We are faced with the same choice. The evidence of Christ is all around us. Will we accept Christ and believe in His Word or reject Him out of complete ignorance? * Point # 2: People Reject Christ Because Of Selfishness - Matthew 21:36-39. By describing what happened to the landowners son, Jesus foreshadowed what was going to happen to Him. In their hearts, the religious leaders rejected the authority of God. By turning away from His message, they put themselves in a position to kill His Son. Through His parable, Jesus exposed the true motives of the religious leaders and Pharisees. They were not trying to put a stop to Jesus teachings because they thought they were blasphemous; the Pharisees wanted Him to stop teaching for selfish reasons. The news Christ brought was a message contrary to what they wanted. The Pharisees wanted to make sure they remained in control. They were ruled by their desire for control. In its most basic form, sin is a shift in authority. When Adam sinned, he rejected Gods authority and followed his own. We cannot let our focus be on us. When we allow our focus to shift, even good things can become detrimental to our walk with God. If we concentrate only on receiving a mansion in the sky or receiving a glorified body, we are being selfish. Our goal must be to please Jesus! If we concentrate on Him, we will receive everything we need. If we set our eyes on the things of the world, we will lose everything. * Point # 3: People Reject Christ Because Of Foolishness - Matthew 21:40-46. Many times, people reject Christ because of foolishness. They are not necessarily foolish in an ignorant way, but foolish because they intentionally reject the message of Christ. They enjoy sinning more than following God. The Bible says people rejected the Light because they loved their deeds more. We tread on dangerous waters when we stop trying to please God. At that point, we have switched allegiances. If we desire evil instead of God, evil is what we will receive. * Conclusion: The Pharisees and the Chief Priests understood the Law better than almost anyone. However, their head knowledge did not transfer to their heart. They knew everything that was written about the Messiah yet could not identify Him when He was right in front of them. Rather than believing the claim of Christ, they chose to reject Him and hate Him. However, rejection did not stop Jesus from fulfilling His mission. When we try to share Christs message, we often encounter modern day Pharisees and Chief Priests. Our society is filled with intelligent people who know everything about Jesus, but do not truly know Him. They can list historical facts and might even be familiar with Scripture, but in their hearts they have rejected Him. Sharing the truth of Christs message with the world can be scary. People might mock us, curse at us, or even worse. However, Christ has called us to share His message with the world. Even though the world might reject our message, we are still blessed when we share that message. Rejection does not mean failure. We can only fail if we do not try!
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 00:53:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015