Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 53 ... - Church in Manila

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19:21 Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and ... the young ma
Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 53 THE KINGDOM REQUIREMENTS Bible Verses: Matthew 19:8 He said to them, Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. 19:9 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her who has been divorced commits adultery. 19:14 But Jesus said, Allow the little children and do not prevent them from coming to Me, for of such is the kingdom of the heavens. 19:21 Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in the heavens; and come, follow Me. 19:22 But the young man, hearing this word, went away sorrowing, for he had many possessions. In this message we come to 19:1-22, a portion in which Matthew places together certain incidents in Christ’s life to show the requirements of the kingdom. In chapter nineteen we see the matter of divorce and the matter of loving riches. Between these two things we have the matter of receiving the little children (vv. 13-15). Apparently, these three things are not related. But when we get into the depths of the significance of these things, we see that all are related to entering the kingdom of the heavens. Hence, they are the requirements of the kingdom. [DEALING WITH LUST] Matthew 19:3 says, “And the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” Here the opposition of the religionists afforded the Lord the opportunity to expose the seriousness of divorce. The source of divorce is lust. If there were no lust, there would not be any divorce. The Lord’s word in 19:4-6 confirms God’s ordination of marriage, that is, one man and one woman joined and yoked together as one flesh, inseparable by man. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. This is God’s ordination, and it is very serious for anyone to break it. God’s ordination here involves not only physical things, but also spiritual things; for the union of one man and one woman in marriage signifies the oneness of Christ and the church. That this was God’s ordination in creation is clearly recorded in the Word. In verse 7 the Pharisees asked the Lord, “Why then did Moses command to give her a writing of divorce and to put her away?” Instead of arguing with the Pharisees, the Lord said, “Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it has not been so.” We need to go back to the beginning. In the beginning, God ordained one husband and one wife, and there was no divorce. Because of the hardness of the people’s hearts, Moses tolerated divorce and allowed a man to divorce his wife by giving her a writing of divorce. The Lord was asking the Pharisees if they would care for God’s ordination or for the hardness of their heart. Every seeker of God should say, “O Lord, have mercy upon me that I may care for Your original ordination. I do not want to care for the hardness of my heart. I condemn and reject the hardness of my heart and return to Your original ordination.” Lust is a great problem in our life. Because in ourselves we are not able to deal with this “scorpion,” we need to look to the Lord and pray, “Lord, have mercy on me and grant me the grace I need.” By grace it is possible to deal with the subtle, evil “scorpion” of lust that damages our life. Lust damages not only the kingdom life and the church life, but also human life. It ruins marriages and society. We in the church life must deal with lust in a serious way. For this, we must depend on the Lord’s grace.

[DEALING WITH PRIDE] When the disciples rebuked those who were bringing some little children to the Lord, the Lord Jesus said, “Permit the little children and do not prevent them from coming to Me, for of such is the kingdom of the heavens” (19:14). On the surface, 19:13-15 seems to deal with an insignificant matter. Actually, these verses are concerned with pride. The Lord seemed to be saying to His disciples, “You should not reject these little ones. On the contrary, you must become a little one yourself. Pride is hidden within you. You must condemn and reject your pride. If you reject your pride and become as little children, you will be in the kingdom of the heavens.” Matthew placed the dealing with pride between the dealing with lust and money. This arrangement is meaningful. Every fleshly person who is a lover of money is a proud person. Pride is always found between lust and the love of money. [DEALING WITH MONEY] Verse 16 says, “And behold, one came to Him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” The Lord also said to this young man, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Here the Lord speaks about entering into life. To enter into life means to enter into the kingdom of the heavens (v. 23). “If you want to enter into life,” the Lord said to the young man, “keep the commandments.” When the young man told the Lord that he had observed all the commandments, the Lord said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me” (v. 21). Verse 22 says, “But the young man, hearing this word, went away sorrowing, for he had many possessions.” There are two kinds of rich men: those who are rich with many material possessions and those who dream about being rich although they actually are not rich. In the sense of dreaming about riches, everyone is a rich man. The love of money is the greatest hindrance to entering into the kingdom. The Lord dealt with the young man in chapter nineteen in a wise manner. He had come to the Lord to ask Him what he should do in order to have eternal life, that is, to live in the kingdom. In His answer the Lord seemed to be saying, “Even if you have kept all the commandments, you still are not perfect. You may be perfect according to the law of Moses, but not according to the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. To be perfect according to the constitution of the kingdom, you must sell your possessions, give them to the poor, and follow Me.” This was a killing word. When the Lord mentioned six of the commandments, the young man was very encouraged, for he was one who kept the law. But when the Lord told him to uproot his love for money and to follow Him, he went away sorrowful. Do you mean business with the Lord for His kingdom? If so, then what about the love of money? Is there still room in you for the love of money? This is a serious matter. Only by the divine life can we fulfill the requirements of the kingdom. It is easy to fulfill these requirements when we have the grace to do so. By our human life it is impossible, but by the divine life with the divine grace it is easy. In fact, it is a joy. What a joy to lay up treasure in the heavens! We have seen three requirements for entering into the kingdom of the heavens: dealing with lust, dealing with pride, and dealing with the love of riches. The Lord’s sober word regarding the requirements of the kingdom should not merely be doctrine to us. We need to take the Lord’s word in a serious way and open ourselves to the Lord concerning lust, pride, and the hidden love of riches for the sake of the self. May the Lord have mercy upon us to give us a thorough dealing with these matters for the kingdom of the heavens. Read the verses and footnotes online: http://online.recoveryversion.bible/ Read the complete message online: http://www.ministrybooks.org/life-studies.cfm

Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 54 THE KINGDOM REWARD AND THE PARABLE OF THE KINGDOM REWARD Bible Verses: Matthew 19:27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, Behold, we have left all and followed You. What then will there be for us? 19:28 And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you that you who have followed Me, in the restoration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for My name’s sake shall receive a hundred times as much and shall inherit eternal life. 19:30 But many first will be last, and many last first. [ENTERING INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS] In Matthew 19:1-22 we have the requirements of the kingdom, and in 19:23-30, the reward of the kingdom. Verses 23 and 24 say, “And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Verse 25 says, “And when the disciples heard this, they were exceedingly astonished and said, Who then can be saved?” In verse 26 the Lord said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” By our human life it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but it is possible by the divine life, which is Christ Himself imparted into us that we may live the kingdom life. We can fulfill the requirements of the kingdom by Christ, who empowers us to do all things (Phil. 4:13). [THE LORD DEALING WITH PETER’S COMMERCIAL MENTALITY] In verse 27 Peter said to the Lord, “Behold, we have left all and followed You; what then is there for us?” In verse 29 the Lord said, “Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit eternal life.” To receive a hundredfold, houses, lands, and relatives, is to be rewarded in this age (Mark 10:30). In order to understand 19:30 and the parable in 20:1-16, we need to see that Peter had a commercial mentality. His commercial mentality was exposed in 19:27, when he asked, “What then is there for us?” In other words, Peter was saying, “Lord, we have paid the price. Now what will You give us?” At the supermarket we pay a certain price and receive in exchange something with a certain value. We get what we pay for. This was Peter’s concept. He said that they had left everything to follow the Lord, that is, they had paid the full price. Now he wanted to know what he would get in exchange for the price he had paid. The Lord Jesus was fair and answered Peter in a clear way in 19:28 and 29. The Lord seemed to say, “When I sit on the throne of My glory, you will sit on twelve thrones. Peter, this is what you have paid the price for. Everyone who has left houses or relatives for My name’s sake will receive a two-part reward, the first part in this age and the second part in the coming age. In this age you will receive a hundredfold to replace the material things you left. In the coming age you will have the full enjoyment of eternal life.” The Lord’s answer was clear and fair, and I believe Peter was very satisfied with it. The Lord, however, did not let Peter go, for he needed a further lesson. Therefore the Lord said that many (but not all) who are first shall be last, and the last first. This indicates that many, like Peter, who were the first would be the last to receive the reward. The Lord said this in order to revolutionize Peter’s commercial mentality. The Lord seemed to be saying to Peter, “Those who are the first will be last, and those who are the

last will be first. I say this to show you that what I give you is not based upon your commercial sense. Although you must pay in order to receive the reward of the kingdom, receiving the reward is not a commercial matter. Actually, the price you have paid means nothing. [What the Lord gives means a great deal.]” Actually, what we pay is dung (Phil, 3:8). Everything apart from Christ is dung. The Lord seemed to be saying to Peter, “Peter, in the kingdom you will be sitting on the throne ruling over the children of Israel. This is the kingship. Peter, all you have given up to obtain this is dung. Do you think you can buy the kingship with dung? If you attempt to pay Me with dung, I would not accept it. Rather, I would tell you to get rid of those things. Although the price you pay is dung, I shall reward you with the kingship.” NOT A LEGAL MATTER BUT A MATTER OF GRACE We should not have a commercial mind. Salvation is based upon grace. The Lord Jesus has done everything for us, and there is no need for us to work. The kingdom reward, however, is according to our work, according to the price we pay. If we pay the price, then the Lord will give us a reward. It may seem that the reward is purchased by our work. If we think this, then we are like Peter with a commercial mentality. We need to be reeducated to see that even the reward is based upon grace. The way to receive the reward is not to pay the price, but to enjoy grace. To be saved is to receive grace, and to gain the reward is to enjoy the grace we have received. When we believed in the Lord, we received grace and were saved. After receiving grace we must learn to enjoy grace. To leave all things behind and follow the Lord is not to pay a price; it is to enjoy the grace we have received. Do not think that you have sacrificed anything. What you sacrifice is just dung; it is vanity of vanities. Everything under the sun is vanity. Your education, position, and future are all vanity. Dung cannot be considered a price. To leave all things behind is to be unloaded and released. You have been under the heavy load of your position, wealth, and concern for your future. Thus, you need to be unloaded, and the way to be unloaded is to enjoy grace. We all need to give up the commercial mentality. One day, we shall receive the same reward as Peter, and we shall receive it first. Peter’s reward will be a denarius, and ours will be the same. This denarius denotes the full enjoyment of the divine life in glory in the manifestation of the kingdom. This will be our reward. Read the verses and footnotes online: http://online.recoveryversion.bible/ Read the complete message online: http://www.ministrybooks.org/life-studies.cfm