Brian Hopkins – Page 13 – Mt Freedom Baptist Church

Jesus taught two more parables concerning stewardship – one about a landowner who left his land in care of others until the time of harvest and anther about a man who had two sons, one of whom said he would obey his father but did not while the other said he would not obey, but in the end actually did his father’s will. Clearly the men in these parables symbolize God while the other characters in the stories represent the priests and scribes to whom God had entrusted the care of His people Israel.

Jesus said we are to thirst and to hunger for His righteousness. That means we are to desire an authentic Christian lifestyle. The fourth beatitude says those who are filled are not those who have their hunger and thirst met, but those who are continually hungering and thirsting. Don’t settle for the bits and pieces either. Go for all of it. If you want to be like Christ and live like Christ, then you must hunger and thirst for the full righteousness of Christ.

After Jesus cleansed the temple of the merchants and money changers who had defiled it, the Jewish leaders challenged Him asking by what authority He performed the works He had done and taught the things He had taught. By this, they hoped to catch Him in what they and the people would deem as blasphemy. But Jesus turned the tables on them asking whether they believed John the Baptist had been a true prophet. When they refused to answer Him, He refused to answer them.

The gospel is the best and most important news ever given to the world. It’s good news because it comes directly from the Creator. It’s good news because it tells us what Jesus Christ has done for us. It’s good news because it transforms those who put their trust in it. The gospel is the central message of the Bible.

The story of Jesus “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem at the beginning of the final week of His earthly ministry is very familiar. It is tragic to consider that many of those who shouted “Hosanna – blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD” would be the same ones who called vehemently for His crucifixion before the week was out. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple upon His arrival greatly displeased the Jewish leaders whose positions of power and wealth He had challenged by it.

Both Old and New Testaments speak frequently about how people were designed and created to live in community. This foundational truth, found throughout Scripture, challenges us as followers of Christ to commit ourselves to living together for the purposes of providing support to one another, nurturing one another, and assisting one another as we grow and thrive spiritually.

In this chapter, we read Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers who were displeased when they compared their wages with those of other workers who had come to work later. Afterward, Jesus rebuked John and James when they asked Him that they might sit at his right and left in His coming Kingdom.

A committed servant of Jesus must be available, humble, obedient, faithful, and enduring. The truth is, no matter our capacity, or our talents, or our giftedness, when it comes to the service opportunities appointed to us through Jesus, complete faithfulness is required.

Jesus encountered a rich young man who seemed to be genuinely seeking the way to eternal life. Yet when Jesus called upon him to forsake his earthly riches, he was unable to let go of them in order to follow Jesus and thereby gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. We must follow Jesus wholeheartedly seeking the eternal rewards He had promised for those who faithfully follow Him rather than the temporary blessings of this earthly life.

This is the first message in a series designed to challenge us as we consider whether or not we are truly “committed” to Jesus Christ. In a similar manner to Joshua’s challenge for his people, we too must decide whether we will follow the gods of our past, the gods of our present, or will we choose to follow God, our creator, the one who has done so much for us.

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