Sunday will mark the conclusion of two months on this section of Matthew 6 where Jesus teaches about spiritual devotion through the giving of alms, prayer and fasting. This week we narrow in on fasting. How do we fast? How do we not fast? Why does fasting matter to the Gospel? When you reduce the point of this part of chapter six, we find that Jesus is addressing the hypocrisy of the “righteous,” and teaching about the regenerate heart of a disciple.
When we talk of fasting, fear strikes the heart of many Christians whose minds move immediately toward the hunger pangs of mid-day and trying to occupy the time that they otherwise would spend eating. The problem with this all too common understanding of fasting is that it is without mention or concern for the heart of the disciple. Of all the spiritual disciplines covered in this chapter of Matthew (alms-giving, praying and fasting), fasting is probably the most misunderstood because the cultural mores of today neglect the heart. We fast out of spiritual obligation not at all concerned with Jesus or His will or His work or His purposes. Therefore we find a culture that fasts nominally but not without a feast of excess either before (i.e. Mardi Gras in the Catholic religion) or after (i.e. Ramadan in the Islamic religion). However, in Christianity, we find Jesus teaching disciples that fasting in and of itself is not spiritual but the heart’s retalitory response to Jesus’ drawing sinners to Himself. Christians should fast because they want to know God and His Word better. When a contrite heart seeks after the Lord in this way, we are assured that the Lord is faithful to notice the genuine “faster” and to reward him with the presence of God and a greater understanding of His magnificent will.
We have slowed to a crawl during our study of the sermon on the mount in order to study the disciples’ prayer more closely. Prayer is a central part of what we do as believers; it should be natural to our very lives. After all we are creatures created by the Creator for a purposeful and worshipful relationship. All of us stand to gain something from carefully studying our Lord’s instruction. In the past few weeks, we have taken this part of scripture a verse at a time trying to discern that which God desires to speak to His people. During this time we began in Matthew 6:9-10 finding the priority in prayer. Last week we studied the provision in prayer and this week we will see the pardon in prayer.
We turn our attention to the final part of Jesus’ model prayer. Here we see Jesus re-introduce forgiveness. This idea of forgiveness is not new. A careful look at the Old Testament will reveal a God who continually demonstrates His forgiveness and mercy toward His chosen people. Over and over God is pictured as a God of second and third and fourth chances when it comes to the people on whom His affection rests. In Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6, we find an imperative that asks God to forgive as we forgive others.
The reality of God’s forgiveness is the result of the Gospel. We see forgiveness afforded to us as sinners when Christ became our substitute on the cross and when we repent and trust Him. He extends to us forgiveness, and we as His disciples are to mimic His example. As believers we are called to extend forgiveness as many times as the transgressor repents (Luke 17:3-4).
A closer look at the Disciple’s Prayer in the Matthew 6 will reveal several important things for believers to consider. As we have discussed the last three weeks, we see how God is the priority in prayer. In Jesus’ model prayer, He saves the first things for that which belongs to the heavenly Father. It is only after the items related to God’s will and His kingdom and sovereignty that he switches gears toward something more mortal. We must come to know God as the One who longs to make provision for us so we must include this in our prayer. Of the many things this particular text tells us, verse 11 communicates three imperatives: a) Dependence ON God, b) Trust IN God and c) Satisfaction WITH God. This week we are looking at verse 11 where Jesus teaches us to ask, “give us this day our daily bread.” When we think about this verse our mind will automatically rush toward food (well, mine does anyway), but I challenge you to ask yourself this question: Why should I pray for that which I should probably consume less of? How does our western culture influence how we view this part of Scripture? We will answer these questions and more Sunday at 11am at Cash Creek Baptist Church. To connect church and home, check out www.cashcreekbaptist.org/preaching for a weekly family worship guide to go along with the sermon. See you Sunday!
We live in a day where we do not have to look far to see what is happening around the world. We no longer have to search out news or information – somehow, it finds us. Because of the reality of this shrinking world we are bombarded in our culture by images, headlines and sound-bytes that bring us some wonderful things that happen but mostly a picture of depravity across the world. We hear of every erupting volcano, every earth tremble, every military deployment, every suspicion that comes from the nations’ governments and everything that characterizes our world as a place that we increasingly do not recognize.
But what about the preacher in Ecclesiastes? He said, “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, ‘See this, it is new?’ Already it has existed for ages which were before us.” Could he be right? That indeed, there is nothing new under the sun. But what do we make of world events? What is God’s plan through these events? Is the world really getting that much more depressing? I’m not so sure. Paul wrote in Romans 8 that all creation groans. Are the groans that much louder today than they were one hundred years ago? Maybe, but we live in a world of mass communication and instant news information so within mere moments what happens on the Indian subcontinent can appear on my personal computer screen.
Some like to feed their conspiracy theorist minds with the predictions of end times gathered from nothing more than a headline. Minds turn toward the details of tribulation and suffering and the meaning of it instead of turning to the one sure source of answers – the Bible. This Sunday night we are going to begin a five week study on understanding the big picture of the end times according to God’s Word. We are going to put to rest the temptation to dwell on the inappropriate matters of the end times and turn our focus on the point of the end times – Jesus Christ. In this study we will be concentrating on four views of Jesus’ millennial reign. This will be not only informative but also surprising as we look to four popular views throughout Christendom on matters pertaining to Revelation.
Come join us beginning this Sunday night at 6PM as we journey through this series on the millennium. You will not want to miss this opportunity!
As we continue through the Sermon on the Mount, we find ourselves in a familiar and often misunderstood passage of Scripture. Prayer is an important discipline of the Christian life and for millennia now we have seen Christians engage in prayer. The Bible gives many examples of prayers and people praying. But what about this strange practice? What would an unconverted person think of someone bowing their heads uttering words to what seems like merely ‘thin air?’ Unfortunately many believers are doing just that – stringing together words to the Lord that have nothing to do with the Lord’s purpose in prayer. In prayer, we often find ourselves airing our laundry list of requests that we think are appropriate to ask of our Creator. We have such a high estimation of ourselves that we fail to remember who we are and to Whom we are praying.
Jesus gives us instruction on prayer in Matthew 6 that we should heed. In looking toward the entire “Lord’s Prayer,” we see not a rigid memorized prayer, but a model for His disciples. Luke 11 records a parallel teaching but without the exact wording. If this prayer was meant to be just recited, I think the evangelists (Matthew and Luke) would have taken more painstaking efforts in copying down Jesus’ exact words. However, Jesus says to His disciples to pray “in this way;” not pray just like this.
So what is important about (what I shall refer to as) the Disciple’s Prayer? The important thing about what Jesus models is that prayer need not be totally about us. Rather, the first priority should be that of “Our Father, who is in heaven.” Jesus takes the time to teach the disciples that prayer is ultimately not about us and our wants and needs, it is about God’s desires. Prayer is not about the hangnail that I am fighting, it is about the Christ who has defeated sin by His blood, shed on the cross for His church. Prayer is about Jesus and our getting on the same page as God. Our first priority in prayer should be that of adoring our heavenly Father and consecrating His holy name. So many times we find our prayers entirely self-consuming. Let us renew a commitment to prayer that reflects what Scripture says about God.
I do not believe that prayer changes God’s mind, but it will change ours. I believe God knows what He is doing and does not need our help. The purpose of prayer is not about convincing God to do something or not to do something. It is about us (the creation) desiring the will of God (the Creator) to be done so that we are left glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.
After nine months of prayerful planning, engaging discussions and searching the Scriptures, the vision that Christ has for His church is finally being realized. During this time, God has shown Himself in marvelous ways through His Word and time spent fasting and praying that we would be moved to a closer fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Southern Baptists have been leaders in church planting and missionary activity for decades. Missions is a significant part of Baptist life; our unique funding mechanisms allow us to give cooperatively and generously for the sake of seeing the name of Christ highly exalted. Through the counsel of the Scriptures, it is clear that the Great Commission should be central to the church’s focus. Although, we are engaged at some level in cooperative mission work, it is time to stretch our willingness to be obedient to encompass everything that Jesus commands of us. It is time for a Great Commission Reformation.
The chief end of the Great Commission is not to save people; rather, our obedience is an expression of adoration and worship of Christ. Even though we have many resources focused on various missionary efforts, our principal purpose is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and strength. Jesus referred to this as the Great Commandment. If we are to see a Great Commission Reformation, we must first experience a Great Commandment Reformation. This requires us to recapture our first love of Christ and the sovereign grace that He has afforded believers. It is only when we fall more in love with Jesus, will we be compelled to be more obedient to that which He has commanded us.
We must embrace both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as essential to our vision as a church. When we fall in love with Him, we will engage the nations with the same love and fervor as when Christ first sought us.
(GC)²
Great Commandment • Great Commission
REFORMATION
Matthew 5-7 contains 101 verses that we will be examining over the next few months. As we take this portion of Scripture verse-by-verse we will become acquainted with Jesus’ early teaching to His disciples. Within these 101 verses, we find two things: 1) We find teaching that touches on aspects of life that we all struggle with (primarily the effect of sin on families, relationships and our spiritual life). Jesus covers a multitude of things that could not have been easy for his disciples to hear. Thus it goes without saying that within the realm of our post-modern culture, what Jesus has to say is completely out-of-sync with the mainstream. The Sermon on the Mount gives us a glimpse of a holy God and His standard and that the only way we can achieve such a standard is through the life of Jesus Christ. 2) We find Jesus’ teachings come with an authority that no one else was able to project in the temple. The teachings of the scribes and pharisees all fell short to the One God only wise. Jesus brought with Him the authority and command of Scripture that no one else had and that stands to reason since He is the author of Scripture.
In this journey through these 101 verses that will take us close to Easter, we will gain much insight on Jesus’ discipleship process. We will see how it is that Jesus came to fulfill the law and to provide the standard that we fail to achieve. As we consider the idea of vision for Cash Creek Baptist Church, let us hold fast to how Jesus discipled the disciples. Let us mimic our Savior – the true disciple-maker – in how we reach our community and the world for Jesus Christ.
Come join us at Cash Creek every Sunday morning in this four month study of Discipleship 101: 101 verses of disciple-making.
Charlotte Digges Moon will be the object of our study Sunday night, December 19 at 6PM. Anyone who has spent any time at a Southern Baptist church in December, would undoubtedly have at least a “name recognition familiarity” of this lady who died 98 years ago on Christmas Eve. What is so significant about the wedding of Lottie Moon to Southern Baptist culture and more importantly the legacy of worldwide missions? Who was this woman who was reared in the aristocratic South who left all she knew for an uncertain future? This is a story (a biography) of a woman marked by conversion, war, love, disappointment, joy and suffering. She championed the Gospel in a land that had little to no access to the Gospel, solidified missionary methods and advocated a stronger support system for missionaries within the Southern Baptist Convention. Moon is the namesake of the Christmas missions offering that directly finances those who are called out for international missions. Why is this important for us today? Because as you read this, the International Mission Board is in a state of constriction and cannot adequately send the called. The ironic thing is that we have the means to deliver; we just lack the fortitude. Come this Sunday night to learn about Ms. Moon, sample her cookie recipe and pray for our missionaries serving across the globe. Give a gift this year that will make an impact on the world for the Savior! Come for the “rest of the story.”
As we begin the month of December, we will be turning our hearts’ attention to the coming of the long expected King. As we prepare our minds and hearts for worship, please remember that even though we celebrate Jesus’ incarnation at Christmas, it certainly is not limited to December. Jesus’ birth is a significant in God’s redemptive plan, and it must be understood in light of the larger narrative. As we look through the Old Testament, we see God’s providential hand guiding His chosen ones and bringing them to the point of seeing and observing God in flesh.
As a New Testament church, we are tempted to focus solely on New Testament matters, but ignoring the forerunners is ignoring God’s gracious plan. That may be the reason Matthew begins his account (and the New Testament) with a seemingly dull rescitation of the Old Testament’s good guys and bad guys. However, Matthew’s focus is not on boring the readers, it is showing God’s glory throughout the history of His people. Each of these men and women mentioned in the first 17 verses of the New Testament point to how God has guided history to the then advent of Jesus’ birth. Each generation is mentioned to showcase how God has used sinners to bring about His will.
This week we begin in Matthew 1 as we celebrate the Christmas season. I pray that as we journey through Matthew 1 and 2 this month that God will mold our hearts and minds to better understand the significance of the Incarnation apart from the trimmings of the season that so easily captivate our attention every December. Let us rejoice in the coming of the King of all the ages for He does not come alone; He comes with a cross ready to atone for the sins of His people and to point to the glory of the most high God.
The air is distinctly cooler and the sun’s time is increasingly more brief. The autumnal equinox has been reached, and we who experience the changing of seasons take notice of the times. This is a time when we focus our attention on giving thanks for that with which we have been blessed. During November we are looking at a series of Psalms that articulate the thankfulness of the psalmist to the “Most High.” This week we consider Psalm 9 and the call to worship the God who is divinely sovereign over the world and passes judgment on those who would oppress the elect. Psalm 9 reminds us that the God we serve is a righteous and holy God who is our divine protector (v13) and the author of the salvation in which we will rejoice (v14).
This Psalm makes much of the Lord and in so doing, makes little of the nations. Indeed, the Lord is sovereign and nothing escapes His notice. And so when verse 15 says, “The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made; in the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught,” we can conclude that God’s judgment will be carried out according to His purposes even using the folly of the nations including our own. The psalmist ends with a prayer to God asking that the “nations know that they are but men.” In this time of Thanksgiving, let us remember the One called “Most High,” and remember where we fall in relation to His holiness and let us rejoice in the grace that has been afforded us in the cross that bore the Christ who bore our iniquities. Let us give thanks for a sovereign God.
