Today at First Love BEING AN ELIJAH / MATTHEW 11:11-15 PASTOR PETE CROPSEY / FIRST LOVE CHURCH 9/8/13 Matthew 11:11-15 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” How could I sum this up into one statement? I would say it like this. It is true that no greater or more holy man ever lived than John the Baptist but get this; You might not think you are all that great but God has called you to great and amazing things, more amazing than you can imagine. Great violence has been done and will be done against the church and even though the entire Old Testament pointed to Jesus being the Messiah very few will believe it. But if you are willing to receive this truth and live in its implications then John is an Elijah pointing the way to repentance and righteous living and you will be too. if your heart is open to receive these truths then take them in and live in them. Let’s go back and break it down verse by verse. Matthew 11:11“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” John emerged from the wilderness full of the Spirit of God. He was full of passion for truth and he was tired of the hypocrisy of religion but even though he was coming into his ministry in Jesus’ time he was more like an Old Testament prophet in that he was killed before he got to see Jesus fulfill his mission. He was killed before Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world and then rose again defeating death. He was killed before Jesus ascended to His throne in heaven and he was killed before the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and the church was born. When Jesus says; Matthew 11:11“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” When Jesus makes this statement he is pointing to the privilege that has been extended to us in that we have all the information at our fingertips through the Word of God and we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to empower our lives to lives of truth and righteousness. He is saying that even though John came with a heart sold our for the kingdom as did all the prophets before him. None of them was able to see the totality of the promise. None of them was able to see the finished work. Because we have seen the finished work the greater blessing has been poured out on us. When I say the greater blessing has been poured out on us I mean we know the whole story. And so we are completely equipped to conquer the forces that come against our own faith and therefore stand against the forces that come against the church. Jesus is saying that the potential for us is unlimited, we have the full quiver, we have all the ammunition. That is if we choose to receive it and use it. Matthew 11:12 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. There has always been strong emotionally charged opposition to the gospel. People have a million reasons for despising the precepts of Christianity. Some people resent the intrusion of authority into their lives. “What gives God the right to tell me what is right and wrong?” Some people see the terrible things that go on in the world and hold God responsible. “What kind of God would allow a Tsunami to kill all those people?” So whether the violence that the church experiences is actually physical or is an emotional or an intellectual opposition violence is directed at the church always. To understand what Jesus is talking about let’s look into the book of Acts at what Stephen told the Jews just before they killed him. Acts 7:51-53 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” In Hebrews we read this regarding the treatment of the prophets; Hebrews 11:35-40 Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. When Jesus likens John to the prophet Elijah He is reminding us that all the prophets before John were ridiculed, persecuted, and held in contempt for speaking the truth. So again we see that we have received the greater blessing in that we have been given all the information, we have seen God’s end game. Matthew 11:13-14 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. All of the prophets spoke of the coming Messiah as they were directed by God but all of them were rejected and persecuted and then came John, the last prophet. He was the last to say, “Repent for He is coming!”, because then He came. So knowing what we know, having the whole story available to us, the entire plan of redemption, the identity of the Savior, the Messiah who all the prophets spoke about and looked for and hoped for, knowing all of this we must count the cost and we must determine if we are willing to receive this magnificent truth. So what is the cost then? Matthew 16:24-26 If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? The reason the prophets were so persecuted was because they spoke out against Satan. Satan was then the master of the false gods, the Baals and the Ashtoreths and these false god’s had false prophets and the people listened to the messages of the false prophets and followed them because they fed into their appetites. Judges 2:11-13 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 12 and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. The Jews wanted to kill Jeremiah because he spoke out against the sins of idolatry and the people wanted to believe the false prophets because they promised things that were in line with the people’s carnal appeteites. Jeremiah 14:14-16 And the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! This was the message of Jeremiah and this was the message of Elijah and John the baptist. Repent, put away the false idols and return to the covenant that God designed for you. This message infuriated the people then and it infuriates the people today. So what does that have to do with us today? Look around at the growing hostility towards Christianity as the people become more and more enamored with the messages of today’s false prophets. What are those messages? There is no such thing as sin. There are no absolute rights and absolute wrongs. There is no heaven or hell, or everyone goes to heaven. Or as Aleister Crowley the father of modern satanism said, “Do what thou wilt.” That is exactly the problem the people were having in the time of the judges that drew them away from God and into pursuing idols. Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. But Solomon writes in Proverbs; Proverbs 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. Matthew 11:13-14 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. So Jesus says, “All the prophets prophesied until John.” He means that all these men spoke the truth but all were rejected and persecuted for speaking the truth but, “If you are willing to receive it, if you are willing to believe and count the cost and then walk it out in your life then John was actually Elijah who is to come.” Elijah represents absolute righteousness and the power of God to overcome the false with the truth. Let;s look quickly at a portrait of Elijah that is found in 1 Kings chapter 18. 1 Kings 18:20-40 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.” 25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. John was said to have come in the spirit of Elijah, in other words zealous for holiness and full of the power of God He was the last prophet the one who ushered in the Messiah and if we are willing to receive the truth of Jesus then all of the prophets and their suffering have fulfilled their calling and we are joined into the family of God with them. Hebrews 11:39-40 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. So in our text Jesus tells us; Matthew 11:13-14 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. And so being willing to receive it brings us back to counting the cost. Matthew 16:24-26 If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? What is important to us? Is it maintaining our position in the world, holding on to the opinions of others so that we don’t kick up dust and cause a scene? Is it important to us that we remain a cool guy, just okay with everything and everybody or is it more important to have a spirit of Elijah, a spirit of John the baptist? Matthew 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Is it more important to just go with the crowd taking the path of least resistance or is it really a bold and dynamic life we want to lead. Matthew 16:24 If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. I want to close with a couple of verses from Romans 8. Romans 8:37-39 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Commentary and invitation and prayer.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 12:59:13 +0000
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