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If You Want to Be a Real Christian. . .
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 14:34 - Matthew 15:9
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared July 23, 2022)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 14.
The Holy Spirit led Matthew begin this part of his Gospel by reporting on the government-approved murder of John the Baptist.
Verses 13-14 tell us that when Jesus heard about John's death, "He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.
But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick."
*That same evening in vs. 15-21, Jesus fed all of those people, maybe more than 15,000, counting women and children.
And He did that with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish!
Then in vs. 22-33, God's Word tells us about the miracle Jesus worked when He walked on the stormy waves several miles out into the Sea of Galilee.
*At first the disciples screamed in terror because they thought Jesus was a ghost.
But in vs. 27 Jesus tried to calm them and said, "Be of good cheer!
It is I; do not be afraid.''
The Apostle Peter wanted more proof, so in vs. 28 he said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.''
Jesus told him to come, and Peter started walking on the water too.
But Peter quickly began to sink like a rock, because he started to focus on the storm more than His Savior.
*Then in vs. 30-32, Peter cried out, "'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased."
*Jesus is Lord of all!
He can calm any storm, and the Lord wasn't through with miracles that night.
John 6:21 tells us that after the disciples received Jesus into the boat, it was immediately at the land where they were going!
John Phillips called this "moving at the speed of thought," and there are several more examples in God's Word.
But what a miracle!
Jesus is Lord over all of time and space!
(1)
*Today's Scripture shows us what happened next, and these verses help us understand what it means to be a Christian.
Let's get started by reading Matthew 14:34 - Matthew 15:9.
MESSAGE:
*Are you a real Christian?
I remember my mentor pastor, Herman Savoie, saying he wished that when we were saved God put some kind of mark on our forehead, so we would know for sure that we were saved.
Of course, God doesn't do that.
But there are some sure signs of being a Christian, and we can see some of them here in God's Word.
1. FIRST: REAL CHRISTIANS TRUST JESUS TO HELP THEM IN AMAZING WAYS.
*The last verses of Matthew 14 show us even more of the infinite power of Jesus Christ.
In vs. 34-36 God's Word says:
34.
When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.
35.
And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick,
36.
and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.
And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.
*Has God lost His power?
Of course not!
He is still the Almighty God that He always has been.
And as Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 19:26, "with God all things are possible.''
Church: I am quite sure that miracles are happening to God's people every day somewhere in the world.
All things are possible with God, so real Christians trust God to do amazing things in their lives.
*Now when it comes to healing, many times God does bring healing to our bodies.
Most of the time He uses our natural healing process and the dedicated medical professionals He has given to us.
But many times, we have seen God answer prayer, and go far beyond what they can do.
*On December 10th, 2008, I was waiting at St. Francis Hospital while Mrs. Jesse Williams was having back surgery.
Her husband Tom and daughter Sue began to talk about their years in Ruston, where they went to Southside Baptist Church.
*The conversation turned to a terrible wreck involving the pastor and his wife.
A delivery truck had run a stop sign and smashed into the side of the pastor's car.
It killed a friend riding with them, and seriously injured both the preacher and his wife.
Her pelvic area was crushed, but the people of the church began to pray, and God worked a miracle.
In one x-ray the ball of her hip-joint was shattered.
But in the very next x-ray, it had all come together whole.
Wow!
*Of course, God doesn't always heal people.
That's because our mortal bodies weren't designed to live in Heaven.
And if God always healed people in this world, Heaven would be a pretty empty place.
But when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we get the greatest miracle of all!
We get the spiritual healing that lasts forever: forgiveness of our sins and an everlasting home with God in Heaven!
On top of that, God promises to resurrect these earthly bodies that are growing older by the second.
And one day we will have a perfect body like the Lord's resurrected body.
*Christians: This world is not our home.
But God did work a healing miracle for that pastor's wife, and Sue said, "It was the first miracle I had ever seen."
She reminded me that more miracles are on the way, both physical miracles, and infinitely more important spiritual miracles.
Miracles of salvation and lives being changed.
The Lord is still in the miracle working business today, and all good things are possible with Him!
2. SO, IF YOU WANT TO BE A REAL CHRISTIAN, TRUST JESUS TO HELP YOU IN AMAZING WAYS, AND START OBEYING GOD'S COMMANDS.
*The Lord was working all of those wonderful miracles.
But in Matthew 15:1-6, the Pharisees showed up to make their petty complaint:
1.
Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
2. "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?
For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.''
3.
But He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
4. For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'
5.
But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me has been dedicated to the temple''
6. is released from honoring his father or mother.' "Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition."
*In this Scripture Jesus teaches us that Christians should honor God's commands over man's traditions.
And Jesus gave the example of a sneaky, religious tradition that selfish, adult children used to avoid taking care of their elderly parents.
But we should always honor God's commands over man's traditions.
*Yes, on some level all of us struggle against selfishness and sin.
We still struggle against bad habits and bad attitudes.
But real Christians are born again with a new nature from God, so as we grow in Christ, we will be more and more obedient to our Heavenly Father.
Our lives should reflect the goodness of God more every day.
*It's funny how people in families resemble one another.
My brother was taller than me, and he looked more like my dad.
But our voices were so much alike that our mother couldn't tell which son she was talking to on the phone.
*There will always be some kinds of resemblance in families, and I'm not just talking about our physical appearance.
I'm talking about the way we talk, our mannerisms, our quirks, our habits, and our attitudes.
*What's true about our earthly families is also true about God's Heavenly family: There will be a family resemblance, because saved people are literally born again by the Holy Spirit into the family of God.
The Lord explained this to Nicodemus in John 3:3-6, where:
3. Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.''
4. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?''
5. Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
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