Skip to content Session 4 - Getting Into the Word Sep 7 · 51 min ...more
316K followers
Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
316K followers
0:00 Thank you, Lord. Church, come. Let's give thanks to the Lord. Hallelujah. We worship you, father. We worship you, Lord. Praise God.0:12 I hope you have been blessed by this conference. What a powerful word Pastor Edmond brought in the third session. And also a shout out to Pastor Bonnie and Sister Jessie, his0:24 lovely wife Jessie, who are here from Singapore, accompanying Pastor Edmond and Pastor Anne in this trip. We love you, pastor Bonnie and Jesse. We are so incredibly thankful0:36 to the Lord for your love for the kingdom of God, for your love for Christ, and your dedication and surrender, that you surrendered your career, you surrendered your life,0:49 and all the sacrifice you have made for the kingdom of God. We want to acknowledge it and we want to give thanks to the Lord for you. Shall we give the Lord a clap offering for testimonies like Pastor Bonnie? Come on.0:58 Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. In this session, session 4, we're going to talk about getting into the Word. This is the exciting session1:09 about how to study the Bible. You know, as a Bible teacher, 1 of the things that I do when I teach is to give people lenses through which they can study the Bible and how1:21 Bible can come alive. Hallelujah. And so in this session, we're gonna ask God's help to do the same. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this time. We ask that you continue to open our1:33 eyes and give us listening ears and a heart that is willing to obey. Give us that grace, Father God, to move from to to wow in the Scriptures. Give us that eyes to see.1:45 Oh, hallelujah. Behold a wonderful truth from Your Word. Holy Spirit be our teacher. In Jesus' precious name. And people of God said, Amen and amen. Hallelujah. Shall we give the Lord a clap
1:57 offering? Praise God. Getting into the Word. As a disciple making pastor, the 1 thing that I'm gripped by is the crisis that
2:09 we see in the church. There are fourfold crises that I want to highlight to you. 1, there is a dilution of truth. Everywhere in the body of Christ,
2:21 people are preaching more exhortational messages, more inspirational messages, rather than grounding people in the Scriptures and rooting them in the Scriptures. As a result, there is a dilution
2:33 of the truth. And this dilution of the truth, over a period of time, as they keep hearing weak theological sermons, it makes them to have declension in the soul.
2:44 That's the second crisis. The inner life is now going through a crisis. Crisis of faith. And people are
2:56 living in apathy, you know, private world. And we're going to explore this in next year's IDMC Conference in detail, how to transform the inner world. In the third crisis
3:08 is the disintegration of the family. You and I know that we are being tested. The family institution is being tested. Everywhere the family is now being redefined.
3:20 And within the church also, marriages are ending up in crisis and we can see that divorce is rampant even within the church. So, is a disintegration of
3:32 family. And that leads to the disengagement of the next generation. Young people need role models. They need inspiration. They don't just need instruction. They need inspiration.
3:44 When they look at their parents' lives and their parents' lives don't match what they say they believe, they disengage from the gospel. They walk away from the church. Now, these 4 crises are real.
3:56 So, 1 of the core things that you and I, we need to pay attention to is, how do we deal with this? What is at the root of all this? If you ask any senior pastor or if you ask any leadership
4:07 team, they will always say the church has problems. But can you examine this question with me? Has the church has problems? What kind of problems are we talking about? Staffing problem,
4:19 mobilization problem, facilities problem, resources problem, volunteers problem. We have so many kinds of problems. But at the root of all this problem there's 1 fundamental problem.
4:31 It is people are not being discipled. That's why I want you to pay attention to these 2 words: Discipleship Deficit. This discipleship deficit in the life of the church is the
4:43 cause of biblical illiteracy in the church. It is the cause of extended spiritual infancy in the church. So, you and I, we need to come back to discipleship. And more importantly,
4:55 discipling people in the Word of God. A Word centered discipleship. And that is the reason why we want to grow deeper in the word. You know, when you talk about the word
5:06 deep, I want you to examine this deep or deeper, which is better? You know, is it deep or deeper? You know, grammatically speaking, deeper is better than
5:18 deep. But we are so shallow in our orientation that sometimes we actually think a little bit of knowledge we are already deeper because we are
5:29 so shallow. A little bit of understanding of the scriptures we already think that person is a deep christian. Not really. You and I, we need to go back to truly building depth in
5:41 our lives and building a word centered discipleship. This morning I want to give you a broad picture of how to study the Bible and how to build depth
5:53 when you're, studying the scriptures for yourself. I want to give you a broad overview. Seeing the big picture. Number 2, seeing a true
6:05 picture. Number 3, seeing the God picture. Now, the big picture deals with the theme. The true picture deals with the text, and the God picture deals with
6:16 theology. Let's look at it 1 by 1. Seeing the big picture. Now, the big picture is engaging the biblical theme. Explore the significance
6:28 of thematic structures in the Scriptures and appreciating overall thematic development of the sacred texts. See, when you whenever you're studying the scripture,
6:41 you and I need to study it so that we can grasp the big picture, the whole picture of what the word of God is about. That's why 1 of the core things that we emphasize in
6:53 a disciple making church is read the whole bible. Read the bible in maybe 7 days. You may not understand a lot of things. You may not you may not, you may not, get the
7:06 nuances of each text and each passage. But you know what? You'll get the big picture. So, the Bible in 7 days, maybe in 30 days, even in 90 days, 6 months, a 12 month period.
7:18 As you keep rereading the Bible, you grasp 1 thing. You grasp the big picture of what God intends for you to see. Let me give you some examples. When you study
7:30 Luke chapter 15, for example, the prodigal son. The prodigal son is not meant to be a singular parable understood by itself. You got to understand the context. In Luke chapter
7:42 15, Jesus actually shares a trilogy of parables. There are 3 parables He talks about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and then the lost son. But when you see
7:53 it holistically, that's when you understand the true significance of what Jesus wants you to capture. See, the lost sheep, it speaks to the men in the society
8:05 because it's an agricultural society and men are farmers there and they are rearing sheep. And if 1 sheep is lost, the shepherd will leave the 99 in the fold and he will go and he'll find that 1 because
8:17 that 1 is vulnerable. And when he finds it, there's great rejoicing the Bible says. The the the lost coin speaks to the woman folks. As the woman folks
8:29 hear that story of how 1 woman she had 10 coins and this 10 coins must have been a Can I have the teleprompter off please? Thank you.
8:47 The lost coin as the women fold hear about, hear the story of the 10 coins and these 10 coins 1 coin is missing. It is not that that she was
8:58 so poor that she had to go and find 1 of the 10 coins. There's something else on my screen right now. Thank you.
9:14 The lost sheep speaks to the men folk. The the the the lost coin speaks to the women. And it is the 10 out of the 10 coins, 1 coin went missing. And so,
9:26 it must have been a coin that is of most sentimental value. Why? Because in those days, a bridegroom will give to his bride as an engagement gift, a string of coins. And this is
9:38 important for her. So she lost it. But when she found that, there was great rejoicing. Hallelujah. But then he talks about the lost son. This is a prodigal son who walked away. He
9:50 asked his father for his inheritance money and he squandered it away in loose living and now he has lost everything. He had even gone to the place where Jews will never go. He was working for a pig farmer
10:02 and he was so hungry he ate the pig's food. As a result, the Bible says he was struggling. At the bottom of his, at the, at the, at the real, at, when
10:14 he was at his lowest point, he cried out to God and he says, you know, I want to go back to my father's house. I want to go back and he came back he realized that his father was waiting for
10:26 him and to embrace him and not only embrace him but restore him as a son put sandals on his feet put a signet ring on his finger to acknowledge him and to give him a robe and to acknowledge
10:38 him as a son. Now listen carefully. When you think about this story of the lost son, it is all about this. The father had so much love for
10:50 the son. The father had incredible love for the son. In fact, the story of the prodigal son is not about the prodigal son. The word prodigal means, when I was growing up
11:02 I thought it was rascal someone who lives loosely but the reality is the word prodigal actually means extravagant. In other words extravagant in a
11:14 bad sense but in a good sense it speaks of generosity that the father showed generous love the father showed generous love for his son he restored him it was about the
11:26 love of the father but you know what When you see the trilogy of parables, the lost sheep that was found and there was much rejoicing. The lost
11:37 coin was found. There was great rejoicing. The lost son was found, but there was someone who was unhappy. You know, when you read the story, there are at least 2 things that are
11:49 unhappy in that passage. 1 is the elder brother, the other 1 is the fattened calf because it was slaughtered. Want you to think about this. In other words, what was the contrast that Christ was placing
12:01 here? The contrast is there was much rejoicing but here when the prodigal son returned there was 1 person that did not have the heart of the father. See Jesus was
12:13 addressing the Pharisees. See when you study the parables, you see the setting, the story and the significance. The setting here is He's speaking to the Pharisees and He's speaking about the self righteous Pharisees
12:25 and He's saying to them, You do not have the heart of the Father. The Father loves the Son so much that no matter how much the Son has messed up, the Father shows Him grace and the
12:36 father restores him. He's waiting for him to come back. So when you see the thematic development, you get the whole picture. In another example,
12:49 let me ask you this question. Biblically, how many ways are there to heaven? See, you and I, we know that there's only 1 way to heaven through Jesus Christ. But when you arrive at an
13:00 answer like that, you have to understand how it is unfolded in the scriptures. You have to see the thematic structure and how it unfolds in the scripture. What is 1 book in the Bible that
13:12 speaks about salvation? It is the book of Romans. So in the book of Romans, Paul addresses how 1 can be saved? How 1 can enter into heaven? See in chapter 2 of the book of Romans and verse 6 and
13:24 verse 7, he says, he will render to each 1 according to his works To those who by patience in doing well seek for glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life.
13:36 In other words, Paul says, if you persevere in doing good, God will give you eternal life. Do you see that? In other words, if you continue to do good,
13:49 then God will give you entrance into heaven. Secondly, in Romans chapter 2 and verse 13, he says, For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God but the doers of the law who will be
14:00 justified. Now the word justified is the same word that is used for us in redemption which is justified by faith. And Paul says, if you keep the law of Moses perfectly,
14:12 God will accept you and God will justify you. In other words, you will get to heaven. So how many ways are there to get to heaven? Biblically speaking, Paul has established there are at least 2
14:23 ways. See, in Paul's mind, there are 2 categories of people who are alive in this world. Jews and non Jews, the Gentiles. The Jews have the law and as long as they keep the
14:35 law perfectly, God will give them entrance into heaven. For the Gentiles who do not have the law as long as they keep doing good and they are perfect in doing good all the time, they will get
14:46 to heaven. But the problem here is revealed in Romans chapter 3 and verse 23. He says, For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. See, you and I
14:58 understand that no 1 can be good all the time. No 1 can keep the law perfectly. Even though it is possible for 1 to
15:10 is meaning it is legally okay for a person to enter into heaven because of good they have done and keeping the law,
15:23 but it's impossible for anyone to do it all the time. The Bible says, For all have sinned and because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, there is no way to heaven by your own
15:34 works. See many times we actually wrestle with this truth, isn't it? We actually say salvation is by grace. Salvation is not by works. Can
15:46 I humbly say this? In the whole of the scriptures salvation is by works but the key question is by whose works? Salvation is by works but by whose works not my work because my
15:58 work is imperfect. I cannot be good at all time. I cannot keep the law perfectly but there was 1 who took my place and he kept the law perfectly. He was good. There was not no sin
16:10 found in him. His name is Jesus. Hallelujah. It is because of his work that I'm saved. Salvation, I received my salvation because of Christ and his finished work on the
16:22 cross. Hallelujah. Praise God. That's why in Romans chapter 4, Paul opens up the new way to heaven. It is Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. That's why you and I, we need to see the
16:33 thematic structure and you need to see how it is progressive in the scriptures. You've got to connect the dots so that you can see the big picture. Hallelujah. You know, when I was
16:45 growing up in India, I love mathematics. I majored in mathematics in university. In school, in a mathematics textbook, the answers for the problems are actually at the back.
16:58 So you can do a cheat way of looking at the answers and write the right answer. So that's why the teachers will never just accept the right answer. They always ask you to show how did you arrive at that
17:09 answer. Show me the process. That's why in enough bible studies, we have to come to a place to say, this is why I have come to the conclusion that I've come to because I see it. I
17:21 see the big picture. Hallelujah. Secondly, in our bible study, we got to see the true picture. True picture is engaging the Biblical text. It is the
17:33 exploring the significance of Biblical words in the Scriptures. It is going beyond a cursory or presumptuous understanding of the words. What's the application? I want you
17:44 to catch this. Don't assume that you know everything. You know, when you're reading the bible, don't just assume you understand what that word meant. What that word meant. In other words, you and
17:56 I, we need to go back and study and understand the deeper meanings of the biblical words. Let me give you an example. In John chapter 3 and verse 16, For God so loved the world. It is
18:08 the most famous scripture, isn't it? A familiar scripture. I want you to think about this. When you hear the word, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should
18:20 not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world. That's how many times we emphasize that word, so loved the world. In other words, that he loved us a lot. But is that what
18:32 that word meant? When you look at that Greek word, it's the word houtos. H o u t o s. Houtos means likewise. Likewise. In the
18:44 same manner. In the same way. In the context in John chapter 3 and verse 14, Jesus says, And Moses was lifted up in the lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the
18:56 son of man be lifted up. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. Now Jesus was talking this to Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee. He's
19:08 the ruler of the Jews. He knows his old testament by heart. He would have immediately picked up that and he said this is Numbers chapter 21 and he knows that Moses lifted up the serpent in
19:19 the wilderness so that Jews will be saved in the wilderness. And Jesus says, so in other words, in the like manner, likewise, the son of man will be lifted
19:31 up. Hallelujah. In other words, you and I need to understand that what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus is, just as Moses lifted up the serpent, the bronze serpent in the
19:43 wilderness, the son of man in the like manner, the son of man will be lifted up. Moses lifted up the serpent to save the Jews, but God will lift
19:55 up his son to save the whole world. I want you to think about this. For God so loved the world. In other words, we the Gentiles are included in this. Hallelujah. You and I need to
20:07 appreciate each and every word that we read. You know, I just quoted as Greek to you. Greek word. But pastor, I'm not a Greek scholar. I don't know how to study Greek or
20:18 Hebrew. It doesn't matter. Let me give you a couple of websites. Bible study tools dot com. When you go to those places, are commentaries, there are lexicons, and
20:30 they even have all the words you can actually study in a deeper manner. Let someone else have already done the hard work. You know, people, God has gifted certain people with gift of teaching.
20:43 Their full time job is to study the word and take the meaning and the various layers of meaning and to share it with us. Partake of those things. You know, when you read the
20:55 Psalms, for example, you should keep a commentary of Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David. That's a book. It's a classic. When you read that, in other
21:06 words, Charles Spurgeon studied all the commentaries in his time and he reflected upon the Psalms himself and wrote the treasury of David. It is rich so you can partake of the fruit
21:18 of their study. This is why I'm saying to you that you got to see go beyond the cursory understanding of the words. Let me give you another example. Don't assume that people know what redemption
21:30 means. You know, in the Bible, the word redemption is critical for us to understand. But when you think about the word redemption, there are at least 3 words to
21:41 describe it in the Greek. 1 is the word agarazo. Agarazo means to buy in the market. It comes from the root word agora. Agora is marketplace. So
21:53 agarazo means agorazo means in to buy in the market. In other words, Jesus came to buy us from the slave market. We were slaves to sin. He came to buy. That's the first 1. The second word
22:05 is ex agorazo. What is Ex Agerazo? You know X E X Agerazo. X is Exodus. That means out of. Isn't it? I want you to think about it. It's out of.
22:16 So, means he not only went to the market to buy in the market. He went to the market to buy us out of the market. What does that mean? To buy out of the market.
22:28 See, in those days, a wealthy man can go to the slave market and say, Oh! I need some slaves to add to my labor force. And he picks certain slaves and he buys
22:40 them and maybe after a week or so he doesn't like those slaves. He can take those slaves and put them back in the market. But what ex agorazo means is you are bought out of the
22:52 market never to be returned back to the market. Hallelujah! I want you to catch that picture that's that's that alone will make you rejoice in the salvation that God has given because he didn't not
23:04 just agorazo you, he actually ex you. Hallelujah! He bought you out of the market. But then there is a deeper shade of meaning in the third word Lutroo. L
23:15 u t r o 0. Lutroo. What does Lutroo means? It means this, to set free, to set loose, to setting loose. In other words, the, they, he not only bought the slave
23:27 out of the market, but he now says, the master now says to the slave, I love you. I wanna set you free. You no longer need to be a slave. You know, in those
23:39 days when the master does that, there are some slaves who will in turn turn back and say, Master, I love you. Thank you for loving me. I'm unlovable, but you love me. I'm unworthy, but
23:51 you love me because you love me. I love you. Because you love me first, I love you. And because I love you, I want to be your slave forever. You know what would master
24:03 do to those slaves? He would take him to the doorpost, the Bible says, and he will puncture their earlobe and forever they will remain a slave in the master's house. Now, you and I need to
24:15 catch this picture. Jesus not only saved us, Jesus redeemed us. He redeemed us out of that market, never to return us back there. But Jesus also gives us
24:26 freedom. He who has the son has set free is free indeed. Hallelujah. You have been set free. But because we have been set free, because we know how much we are
24:38 loved, just like the prodigal son who did not deserve to be accepted. But the father showed him lavished on him that extraordinary, extravagant grace and favor.
24:50 He in turn says, the slave in turn says, I want to serve my master. What rich, what a rich, word redemption is. I pray that you and I can catch this.
25:02 That's why we need to study the Bible by studying the big picture. Seeing the big picture and also seeing the true picture. Let me give you the third lens. Seeing the God picture.
25:14 Now what is the God picture? Engaging the biblical theology. It is not just engaging the theme or engaging the text, but now we are engaging
25:26 the biblical theology. It is to explore the significance of theology in the Scriptures. You grasp the central purpose of the Scriptures. Let me give you an
25:37 example. Why did Jesus come from heaven to earth? You know, when you go to any Christian and ask this question, Why did Jesus come to earth? Immediate
25:49 answer would be, He came to die for my sins. It will be true, but inadequate. Why it is true but inadequate? Because it is from a man
26:01 centered point of view. It is an anthro centric point of view. From my point of view, He came for me. But can I humbly say this? When you
26:13 read the scriptures, we got to see, we got to approach the scriptures with a theocentricity. With a God centeredness to reveal who God is, to understand who He is His
26:24 nature, His character, the way He works in the lives of people. Hallelujah! That's why you and I we need to move away from anthropocentric to theocentricity. And how do we do that? By asking this, why did Jesus come
26:36 to earth? Jesus came to earth because of only 1 thing. He came to earth to glorify the father. Look at this in John chapter 12 and verse 27, the bible says, now is my soul
26:48 troubled. What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose, I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name in verse 28. I want you
27:00 to listen to me. Why did Jesus come to earth? Jesus himself acknowledges, I came to glorify my father. Hallelujah. See, you and I, we need to understand this. That
27:12 even though He came to die for our sins, that is the mission of Christ. His mandate is to glorify the Father. As you always have
27:23 heard in IDMC conferences, the mission needs to be cradled by the mandate. The mission is what Christ came to do. The mission is Christ dying on the
27:35 cross for us but the mandate is for him to please the father and to glorify the father. Hallelujah. You know for us the mission is to take the disciple making message to all over the world and to preach the gospel.
27:47 Preach Christ and him crucified so that we can call people to repentance. Call people to discipleship unto Jesus. That's the mission. The expanding the kingdom is the mission, but it needs to be cradled by the
27:59 mandate. The mandate is abiding in the King. Alignment to the King. I want you to think about this. A lot of people are busy doing God's work, but they are not walking with God. They are working for God,
28:11 but they are not walking with Him. When you walk with Him, that's the mandate. Then you work with Him. That's the mission. Hallelujah. I want you to think about this. Why did Jesus come
28:23 to earth? You know, in another passage of scripture, in Mark chapter 2, it's not in your notes, but I want you to catch this. In Mark chapter 2, Jesus actually healed
28:35 a paralytic man. You know the story. A man was unable to move. His friends, 4 of them picked him up in his bed, and they brought him to a crowded house where Jesus was.
28:47 They must have said to everyone, Please make way. Please make way. We want to see Jesus. But no 1 moved because there was no room for them to move. It was overflowing crowd. So all of a sudden they come up with a
28:58 brilliant idea. Let's climb up the roof. And they climb up the roof and they remove the roof and they lower the man. Now I want you to freeze here and think about this. You know Charles Spurgeon says
29:10 when you read the scriptures use sanctified imagination. I want you to think about what would have happened. Here everyone knows that Jesus has been healing people, healing the disease and healing all kind
29:22 of oppression of the devil. And so people are excitedly waiting and here all of a sudden the roof is being opened and a man is being lowered. What would be people thinking? The people were thinking, wow, we got front row
29:34 seats to see a miracle. Jesus is gonna heal this man. Hallelujah. What were the disciples thinking? Disciples saying, Lord Jesus look at the crowd. Now if you heal this man your publicity will go
29:46 everywhere. You'll be famous. Oh, I want you to think about this. The man whose house it is, he would be thinking, Wow! Jesus you better teach your
29:58 people how to be a good neighbor. They just broke my roof. What would Jesus do? Each 1 is thinking about what would Jesus do? You know what
30:09 Jesus did? When the man was lowered No. If I was the man on the that that is being lowered down, I would be saying, don't drop me. Don't drop me. Don't drop me. But he came down and Jesus goes to him
30:21 and the bible says in verse 5 of Mark chapter 2, And when Jesus saw their faith, said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. Now listen, He came and
30:33 said, Your sins are forgiven. But sins are forgiven. Jesus can't you tell I'm a paralytic, I need healing, I need help, I need to be able to get up and walk. Instead you're saying my
30:45 sins are forgiven. Right at that moment there are Pharisees there, scribes are there. They're questioning in their heart. They're saying in verse 7, why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive
30:56 sins but God alone? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Think about that. You know, you and I, we need to understand this. You know,
31:08 why did Jesus go and say to him, Son, your sins are forgiven? The only reason why Jesus said to him, Son, your sins are forgiven, Jesus himself explains this in verse 9.
31:20 Which is easier to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven? Ought to say, Rise, take up your bed and walk, but that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins? He said to the
31:31 paralytic, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home. Hallelujah! What was Jesus demonstrating here? Yes, the physical need was healing, but the
31:43 real need, the surface problem was healing, but the root problem is sin that needs to be forgiven. His soul needs to be healed. And Jesus says to him, Your son, your sins are forgiven.
31:55 Hallelujah. But the reason why Jesus did that is because He wanted to highlight who He really is. Who is He? He has the authority to forgive
32:06 sins. You know the reason why Jesus has the authority to forgive sins? Because all sin is sin that is done against Him. It is against His name, His honor.
32:19 It is against God. And because Jesus is God, He's the Son of God, He declares to everyone, your sins are forgiven. Showing that it is God
32:31 who forgives. You know, the Pharisees asked the question, who can forgive sin but God? They were not wrong. They were actually right. But they should have asked a better question. The better question is, on
32:43 what basis does God forgive sin? On what basis? Right through the scriptures the basis has always been the blood of the innocent. The right through the scriptures it has always
32:55 been a substitutionary death on behalf of the guilty and Jesus came to die on the cross. So even when he says to the man, your sins are forgiven. Jesus
33:06 did it because later on, further down the chapter in Mark, Jesus is going to take his sin to the cross and pay the penalty. Hallelujah! And He's going to set
33:18 him free. In other words, the central theme I want you to catch, the central theme and theology of the scriptures is Christ and the forgiveness of God in Him. Hallelujah.
33:30 Second example is the temptation of Jesus, turning stones into bread. When you think about Matthew chapter 4 and the temptation that Jesus faced, the common view of teaching
33:42 is that it represents 3 temptations that human beings face. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. But when you take a theological view of what this
33:54 temptation meant for Jesus, turning the stones into bread, it is to, it is a temptation to presume on his sonship. What satan was trying to do is you
34:06 are son of God. Right? You can turn the stones into bread. You can do anything. Why don't you show me that you can do this? Presume on his sonship. He'd take him to a high place and say you know Jesus if you fall from
34:18 here the angels will come and uphold you. They will not let anything you know your feet will not hit the ground. They will carry you. What were they? What was he tempted? He was tempted to
34:30 prove his sonship. He was trying to prove his sonship but Jesus both times he said it is return. Then Satan calls him and Satan says to him
34:41 why don't you worship me and if you bow down to me I'll give you this entire kingdom. See, God gave the earth, the dominion of the earth
34:53 to Adam and Eve and Satan has usurped it and now he says, I can give this to you. In other words, it's a temptation to abandon his sonship. This is the principle. He wanted the
35:05 temptation to have the crown without going to the cross. But can I humbly say this? You got to recognize who Jesus is. He's the Son of God, but He went to
35:17 die on the cross. Why? So that He can redeem us out of the market, out of sin, out of Satan's clutches, so that we can be
35:29 set free in the Son of God. Can you say amen? Hallelujah. So, got to understand the theology. When you read the scriptures, you got to understand who He is. And the
35:40 theology, the grasping the theology makes a big difference. Let me give you another example. Capturing the element of surprise. In Matthew chapter 14 and verse 31, we see that Jesus is walking
35:52 on water. First, the disciples were puzzled. Who is that? Or what is that? They were really scared. Then all of a sudden someone recognized it's Jesus who is walking on water. Immediately Peter
36:04 says, Jesus if it is you bid me to come to you. And Jesus says, Come Peter. And Jesus called Peter to step on water and Peter started to walk on water. And all of a
36:16 sudden he started to drown because he saw the waves and the boisterous wind, he started to sink. Now I want you to freeze here and imagine this. When
36:28 he is sinking, Peter cried out to Jesus and said, Lord, save me. Now, yourself this question. What does he need to be saved from? Is it saved from
36:39 drowning? Can I humbly say this? He's a fisherman. He's a professional fisherman. He can easily swim back to the boat. So, it's not save him from drowning. What is he saving from? He's
36:51 saving him from the lack of faith that is causing him to drown. So Peter cried out and said, Lord, save me. Save me from this lack of faith. And the Bible says in verse 31,
37:03 Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and took hold of him. I want you to think about this. Pause there and think like this. Jesus is the Son
37:15 of God. Jesus is the Almighty Creator. With His Word, He has created everything. With His Word, He upholds everything. He holds everything together. Now listen
37:27 carefully. Jesus could do anything, but Jesus gave him His hand. That's a great theology. Think about this church. Jesus could have
37:39 just said, Lake freeze. As Peter was drowning and Peter says, Lord, save me. Freeze. And the lake freeze. And Peter is stuck there. Or Jesus could have said,
37:52 Peter fly. And Peter might become the next avenger. But I want you to think about this. He didn't say any of that. He could have but he didn't. Why? Because he try. He gives you the
38:03 theology of who Jesus is. He is the God with an outstretched arm. He displays the God with an outstretched arm. See, in the Garden of Eden, you know, in the creation story
38:15 in Genesis, you find this, that God created everything that you see today with His Word. But when he created man, he used his hands. He gathered
38:27 a lump of clay and then breathed into it and the man became a living soul. In other words, God of the outstretched arm, he used his hand to create man. In the same manner you see
38:39 Jesus here reaching out. He could do anything but he reached out his hand and he gives you that outstretched arm. You know where you see this climaxing? The God of the
38:51 outstretched arm is seen on the cross. When Jesus' arms are outstretched in love for you, taking your place, being cursed on your behalf, carrying your sin, paying the penalty
39:04 and consuming the wrath of God for you. I want you to listen to me carefully. When you ask, when you see this, you can never unsee it. When your heart is gripped with this,
39:16 that He loves me. I have a Father who loves me and a Son who redeemed me and a Holy Spirit who empowers me. You cannot live the same tame and lame
39:28 life. Your life will be radically changed and transformed. Why? Because you see not only the big picture, you see the true picture, but you see the GodShow more
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Paul Jeyachandran
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.