Love for God is Proven by Love for Neighbor

November 25, 2012

 

Matthew 22:34-40

 

Love for God is proven by love for Neighbor

The question was asked of Jesus because Jesus outed the Sadducees. The Pharisees now come to question and trap Jesus. The wisdom of the many cannot succeed the wisdom of God. They all come together against Jesus and still get beaten.

They come to Jesus having devised a plan to send a lawyer to ask Jesus the question. The Bible doesn’t say they came to get knowledge but to test His knowledge of the law. They ask Him what is the greatest law? Jesus says, (V37) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

To love God with all your mind means opening your mind up to learn all the ways of God and to gain His understanding.  All the laws have been written saying that you must put God first in your life and it is manifested in the way you treat your neighbor.

Jesus then asks them if they love God with everything they have. It’s not about trying to outsmart the next guy. When the truth of God is spoken we either have to examine ourselves and say thank you Lord or ouch.

How much of the humanitarian work that we do is done because we love God, because he commands us to? Do we do it because we want to look good? Because we want cool points with God? We need to be like children who have no motive but want to give, want to help others.

Our love of God should come from what He has done for us that we could not do ourselves. And our love for God should be shown through our love for others.

 

 

 Pastor Pete

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Let us thank God today for His grace, mercy and love that He has bestowed on us today and throughout our lives. Let us thank Him for our family, friends, measure of health and strength and blessings. Rememeber that He is why we give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Pastor Pete

Thanks but No Thanks: Rejecting God’s Blessings

November 18, 2012

 

 

Matthew 8: 28-34

Last week we saw the disciples in the boat and now they are on the other side. They learned a lesson while on the boat and now it is back to reality. It’s time for action.

V28: They reach land and they are greeted by two demon possessed men. These men come to meet Jesus and they are fierce and violent to the point that people were afraid to pass the road these men were on. Everyone is afraid but Jesus. When He got off the boat the demons addressed Him and recognized him as God asking Him not to hurt them.

V29: The demons want to know why Jesus has come to mess with them. Why didn’t He go back to the city and heal those people and leave them alone to terrorize this place. We have to understand that there were demons in these two men not one demon each but many which is why they are so fierce. These many demons asked Jesus for mercy. The Word of God, in James, tells us that demons tremble at the name of Jesus and we see that happening here. Demons don’t just tremble at Jesus but the Jesus in us.

V30 - 31: Do you notice that Jesus does not answer these demons? The demons do all the talking. The demons knew that because Jesus is the Son of God who has come to set us free they knew they could not stay in these two men. The demons knew that Jesus doesn’t want man to be possessed so they asked to be cast into the pigs. We have to open our hearts and open the door to allow the demon in but that is not God’s will. God wants us to be free.

V32: Jesus tells them to go into the pigs. Why would Jesus let them go into the pig? Pigs have no soul. Demons want to be able to roam free. Jude 1:6 – The cast out angels was locked in an abyss. This is their chance to be move free on the earth. They want to roam free but they couldn’t stay in the men so they chose the pigs and destroyed them over a cliff.

V33: There are people who witnessed this. The tenders of the pigs saw all that took place. These individuals would have to tell their employer this story. They went to the town and told them everything; the demons, the pigs and what happened to the demon possessed men who were now free.

V34: The whole city came out to meet Jesus after the story was relayed. When they saw Him they begged Him to leave. They wanted Jesus to go far away. These people focused on drowning pigs and not on the two lives that were now free. The people of this city did not recognize that the man that set these possessed men free could set them free and provide them more pigs. Sometimes we think blessing are supposed to come in pretty wrappings. They don’t always come that way. Blessings can come out of loss and tragedy.

We need to look for God’s hand in every situation. We need to look where there is life. We always say “Oh My God” and never look for the blessing in the tragedy. We always blame God for the wrong when it really is our own sin that has caused it. We always focus on the negative and death. God doesn’t focus on death but on life. Therefore our focus like God’s must be on the living.

God dwells in that which brings life. This story shows us that God is about life. God is cool with us when everything is going right. When things go bad then we cry out “Where is God?” However, when Jesus is in the midst blessings are ALWAYS there.

This Thanksgiving season we need to be thankful that Jesus Christ is in our lives and in our homes. There is no one that blesses like Jesus and as long as He is in our lives WE ARE BLESSED! Let’s make sure that our doors are always open to Jesus. Never look towards the death always look towards the God that brings LIFE!

 

Pastor Pete



Not Just Another Boat Story

November 11, 2012

 

 

Matthew 8:23-27



 

Jesus in this passage is talking to believers only. This message is for us.

In this story men who know how to take care of themselves and are familiar with the seas are scared. Sometimes in life, in what is familiar to you, trouble comes. Trouble comes because we live in a troubled world. Just because we are Christians does not exempt us from trouble.

Trouble and tests shows us how weak we are or how strong we are in our faith. The reason we are given tests is to show how much we know about what we have learned. This is a good thing. Unfortunately, now, in school for instance, we are taught how to take tests instead of how to learn and when trouble comes we are clueless. Everything that is made, boats for example, are put through tests before they are launched. In the same manner God tests us, to show us our strengths and weaknesses. If we go through the test and show we are strong we should not be prideful but thank God they we have passed the test. If we are shown weak we must still thank God because he has shown where we need to gain strength and we need to look to Him for that.

V24: In this passage the boat is in the storm and the disciples are working feverishly to keep it from sinking. Jesus is down in the boat asleep. This is not normal behavior in a sinking boat. The disciples go to wake Him up because they fear that they will perish. Jesus asks them why are they fearful? He probably said this in a soothing tone, calming the disciples. In a situation that was out of control God was in control.

V25: In this passage we see choice at work. The disciples could have rested on their skill. They are trying to save themselves here. They are probably baling water out of the boat and trying to steer it.  But they make the decision to go wake up Jesus. Choice is a beautiful thing. Sometimes when we get in trouble the last person we think about is God, if at all. Here, in the boat, as the storm is raging the disciples go to Jesus and say Lord, save us. We must know that God’s desire is always to save us. We must understand and rest in that truth.

We also see the power of observation. The disciples have had time to observe Jesus sleeping. We must be observing what is happening around us so that we can make a choice. When you have time to observe, you have time to choose. The best choice we can make is to call on the name of the Lord. The disciples had enough time to observe Jesus sleeping and make a choice to wake Him up.

V26: Finally, we see God’s intervention. The disciples woke Jesus and he went into action. When God intervenes we see three things that happen.

1.       There is a pause – Jesus got up

2.       God always stops death – he stops the storm

3.       God introduces life – The lives of the disciples are spared.

When God speaks everyone stops and listens and nature responds. In the course of this day they see Jesus heal the leper, the servant of the centurion, Peter’s mother-in-law, the multitude and Jesus tells them the cost of following Him but they were never in trouble themselves. Now they were in trouble and they needed Jesus and they marveled at what He had done for not just others but more importantly for them. That is what God wants in our lives. He wants us to recognize the things He has done for us and marvel at them so that we know that we must make the choice for him.

This story is a lesson for us that we must look to God. Trouble should not be looked at as being something that is uncontrollable. We need to invite God in. It’s not about the winds and the waves obeying Him but us obeying Him. This story is for us because we need to allow God into our lives in good times and times of trouble. When we allow God to take control He preserves our lives.

Pastor Pete 

Happy Veteran's Day

We thank all the men and women who fight to protect our freedom.

 

Pastor Pete & the Leverich Memorial Church Family

Your Decision Costs

November 4, 2012

Matthew 8:18-22

We, in our study of Matthew, have seen Jesus heal a leper (direct ask), the servant of a Roman believer (mediator), and Peter’s mother in-law (saw the need). This is how God works even now. We can go to Him ourselves, someone can go on our behalf, and God will see and meet our need. God’s mercy endures even today.

In v18, Jesus calls his disciples aside for a little teaching. Jesus was touching the lives of a lot of individuals. The multitude was still following him but he shifted the focus to feeding his disciples. He decides to leave the multitude to go to the other side so that he could explain to the disciples what is going on. Jesus lets us know that we have to know what we have gone through and what we have experienced to fully understand its impact and what it means.  Jesus needed to have a private conversation with his disciples to explain everything they have seen and heard.

v19: As they went, a scribe asked if he could join them. He has written the laws and seen the lives of the Pharisees and now, seeing the life of Jesus he wants to follow Jesus because he has seen the good things Jesus has done. We follow things that look good to us but Jesus wants us not to just see Him but also understand who He is and why He came.

V20: We all want to be followed but instead of Jesus saying come on He gives this scribe a lesson. He lets the scribe know that following Him will not be easy. His decision will cost him. The Christian life can be difficult. It is not always easy. It costs us to follow Jesus.

V21: A disciples then asks to bury his father. The disciple is starting to consider what Jesus is saying and may be looking for an excuse to get out of following Jesus. The price that Jesus laid out was too much for him. Jesus responds by saying that those who are in darkness can take care of those in darkness. But you have experienced the Light and you need to share that Light.

The decisions we make cost not just us but those around us. Who we choose as our elected officials, where we work, how we work, who we marry all have a compound effect on our lives and our world. Our decision to sin cost Jesus His life. But we need to make the decision for Christ. We need to make the choice to follow God. We need to trust in Him to provide for our needs, to take care of us so that we can have peace in our heart knowing that God will provide.

Your decision will always cost. When the rubber meets the road and we are in dire need its Jesus.

Pastor Pete

Communion - November

November 4, 2012

Matthew 26:26-30

Communion is a time of thankfulness and rejoicing. In the passage Jesus was facing death. After this supper Jesus and the disciples were to depart to go to the Garden of Gethsemane and then Jesus would be arrested, tried and crucified. After the supper they sang a hymn and then they left the supper rejoicing, not sorrowful. When we partake of this table it is a time of rejoicing for what God has done.

Taking of the bread should remind us of the punishment that should have been ours. We should remember that the punishment that Jesus received should have been for us. We do suffer today but without Jesus imagine how much more our suffering would be. Jesus came to destroy his body so the destruction would stop. He shed his blood so that others blood might not be shed.

Before Christ came man knew how to kill, how to destroy, how to die. Jesus offers us life. If we receive it He will change our outlook, our in-look, and our whole life. Even in all the destruction we face we can give God thanks because he is still on the throne & he still reigns.

Pastor Pete