Gathering or Scattering
The Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted
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· 66 viewsHave you ever suffered rejection. Most people deal with rejection on some level on a daily basis. Even Jesus suffered rejection from the very people he was trying to help and save. In Matthew 12, we see how Jesus handled that rejection and continued in the mission God had given Him. We too must learn to work through our rejections from others and continue on the path God has for us.
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Introduction: Defining the Pain.
The pain of Rejection
The pain of Rejection
Rejection: The dismissal or refusal of a proposal, idea, or person.
Rejection can come in many different forms.
I remember being rejection on the play ground as a kid.
I remember getting up the courage to ask a girl to be my girlfriend and she said no.
When I started college I was out of work for 3 months and went to interview after interview and was rejected over and over again.
Rejection can come in the form of divorce or separation.
I have been rejected in the ministry more times than I can count.
The truth is rejection is a part of life. Everyone that I know of good and bad has suffered rejection, even Jesus.
The message that Jesus was presenting and the idea of who is was despised and rejected by men.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
The way we deal with rejection will shape the course of your life.
Don’t let the rejection of others define you or the truth.
Rejections are the opinions of others not necessarily the truth from God.
Rejection of thoughts and ideas are not the same as rejection of a person. Don’t take it personally unless it is personal.
Learn from the rejections in your life by receiving any truth that comes from it.
Today we are going to look at a major passage of Scripture that deals with rejection in Matthew 12:22-32.
Doctrine: Defining the Passage.
Jesus understands your pain of rejection.
Jesus understands your pain of rejection.
Matt 12:22-
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
They rejected his position as “The Son of David.” (The coming King.)
They rejected his position as “The Son of David.” (The coming King.)
The Old Testament of keeping the law is passing away.
The Old Testament of keeping the law is passing away.
They rejected his power of the Spirit. (The seal and sign of the new covenant that was promised to Israel).
They rejected his power of the Spirit. (The seal and sign of the new covenant that was promised to Israel).
They blasphemed the work of the Spirit of God.
They blasphemed the work of the Spirit of God.
Jesus is the author of the New Testament of Grace.
Jesus is the author of the New Testament of Grace.
They rejected the New Covenant of the Spirit.
Attributing the work and power of God to Satan.
Attributing the work and power of God to Satan.
Jesus sealed New Testament in his blood.
Jesus sealed New Testament in his blood.
Denying the existence and power of God.
Denying the existence and power of God.
Jesus sealed the New Testament in his Spirit.
so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
Ephesians
Jesus reveals the The Kingdom of God through the power of the Spirit.
Jesus reveals the The Kingdom of God through the power of the Spirit.
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
The kingdom of God is not physical but Spiritual.
The kingdom of God is not physical but Spiritual.
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
Matt 12:
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
The Spirit ushers in the kingdom of God.
The Spirit ushers in the kingdom of God.
The indwelling of the Spirit was not something people were familiar with. The Spirit would come upon a person for certain tasks in the Old Testament, but that was just a foreshadowing of the relationship God desired with this people. God had promised to dwell within his people by placed His Spirit on the inside.
Satan’s kingdom is active on the Earth today.
Satan’s kingdom is active on the Earth today.
Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
Matthew 12:25
The New Covenant is sealed
The New Covenant is sealed
Like it or not we live in a fallen world and a fallen kingdom run by Satan and his army. This dominion of Satan is the reason why bad things happen to good people. We see it and feel it all around us.
When Jesus comes on the scene full of the Holy Spirit, he begins to disrupt the authority of the kingdom of Satan and reveal the kingdom of God.
The Spirit of God infiltrates and binds the kingdom of Satan and sets the captives free.
The Spirit of God infiltrates and binds the kingdom of Satan and sets the captives free.
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Matthew 12:27-28
The coming of the Spirit was the sign that the authority of the kingdom of God has come to earth.
The Spirit is still binding the Satan and plundering his house.
Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.
Matthew 12:
The Spirit is still binding the Satan and plundering his house.
Are you Gathering or Scattering?
Are you Gathering or Scattering?
Matt 12:30
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
To gather with Christ: Infiltrate the kingdom of Satan and rescue the perishing through the power of the Spirit.
To gather with Christ: Infiltrate the kingdom of Satan and rescue the perishing through the power of the Spirit.
You will suffer rejection by others and opposition by the forces of evil.
But take heart, “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Through the gift of the Spirit we have the power to save some from the clutches and snares of Satan.
You have the Holy Spirit power in you to bind the strong man.
God has placed his Spirit in Us.
God has placed his Spirit in Us.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
We are sealed by the indwelling of the Spirit when we receive Christ.
so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
The Spirit in us is still defeating the kingdom of Satan.
The Spirit in us is still defeating the kingdom of Satan.
Jesus was so adamant to teach his disciples that when he went away that he would not leave them but would send the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct us.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
John 16:7-
We have authority through the Spirit to bind the Strong Man and plunder his kingdom.
We have the power of the Spirit to unleash the Kingdom of God in this world.
When we yield to the Spirit and let Him work in us, we gather people to Christ.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
John 16:
To Scatter against Christ: Rejecting the Spirit and kingdom of God.
To Scatter against Christ: Rejecting the Spirit and kingdom of God.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Matthew 12:31-
There is no phrase “unpardonable sin” ever mentioned in scripture. There is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
“Blasphemy is the slanderous speech against God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit that attributes the work of God to the work of Satan.”
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is worshiping Satan for the miraculous power of the Spirit. (Recognizing the power and attributing it to Satan.)
Grieving the Holy Spirit of God.
Grieving the Holy Spirit of God.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Eph 4:29
The word “slander” in this passage is the same greek word used in Matthew: blasphemia
“The Holy Spirit that is in you wants to use you to bind the strong man of this world and set the captives free.”
Three Ways to grieve or quench the Spirit.
Three Ways to grieve or quench the Spirit.
Deny the power of the Spirit by rejecting His movement in your life.
Living under the rule of Satan’s kingdom instead of the kingdom of God. Unwilling to be conformed to the image of the Son.
Walking contrary to the Spirit of God in your sin and disobedience.
Next Steps: Defining the Process.
Enter the Kingdom of God by receiving Jesus as your King and he will seal you with the His Spirit of promise and power.
Enter the Kingdom of God by receiving Jesus as your King and he will seal you with the His Spirit of promise and power.
Yield to the work and power the Spirit wants to do through your life as He rescues those around you.
Yield to the work and power the Spirit wants to do through your life as He rescues those around you.
Don’t deny or quench the Holy Spirit so the light of the Kingdom of God can be shine in this present darkness.
Don’t deny or quench the Holy Spirit so the light of the Kingdom of God can be shine in this present darkness.