 Matthew 18 is what I call a HITCHING POST passage in God's Holy Word! It is one of those places that we need to return often as believers in God's Church! Jesus teaches how much He loves and cares for his re birthed followers and how much we are to love and care for our brothers and sisters in the family of God. In the passage we find the Lord views us as "CHILDREN" and that we are to be careful how we deal with each other. We are to RECEIVE each other not REJECT each other. We are to HELP each other and not HINDER each other. We are to PROTECT each other from sin and we are to PROJECT each other to holiness. The chapter goes on to reveal that we are to RESTORE each other and not RAVAGE each other. When we have sinned against a brother or sister or have been sinned against we are to go to each other with the goal of restoring and maintaining fellowship. And we are to FORGIVE each other rather than FIGHT each other.
In all these areas that we are to care for each other we find that the LORD Himself cares for us and is our example to do the same. He cares for us as His children passionately, so much that He says if one mistreat one of His adopted children it were better to be drown in a watery grave. Now that is harsh language intended to show how deep His love is for his family. So we are to love and care just as deeply. His great work in our lives is to bring us out of sin and into His holiness. So as Christians we are to be very careful not to offend one of the little children by leading into sin rather we are to cautiously, carefully considerately help to lead them toward righteousness. And if we don't we are to take heed of the corrections in our lives that may result because of such failure. In verses 12- 14 the Lord tells the story of a shepherd and of a flock of sheep. One of the sheep wonders away from the flock and the loving shepherd PURSUES the lost sheep. In the context we understand this sheep was already one of the Lord's sheep like children. And because the Lord loves his children so much he passionately pursues in order to bring the little one back into relationship and assure that this little one will NEVER PERISH! What we find in this is the dedication of the GOOD SHEPHERD to HIS SHEEP. OH, how this moves my heart! Because so many times I have wondered and found myself in sin, failure, and out of fellowship with the ONE who loves me most and the ONE who I really do love but have wondered for a season. The passage does not share why the little sheep has wondered. Perhaps no reason is given because there are countless temptations which lead us to such! Sometimes it happens without us knowing it and at other times we can cop an attitude and stray on purpose. Sometimes it is because of a disappointment that leads to discouragement. The disappointment can be with a fellow believer, a family member, perhaps just a circumstance that no person is attached in any form! But the result is the same, we find ourselves AWAY, AWOL, PRODIGAL, BITTER, BACKSLIDDEN, IN DANGER, GUILTY, MISERABLE, FINDING IT HARD TO GET BACK TO GOD, NOT HEADING TOWARD CHRIST-LIKENESS AND THE FULFILLMENT OF SALVATION. But the wonderful truth is that CHRIST the GOOD SHEPHERD pursues us in those seasons just as he does when we are safe in the flock. John 10 tells us Jesus is the Good Shepherd that loves His sheep. He will never lose one of his little children. He holds them in His hand and He will see to it that they will return to the flock one way or another. He goes after HIS and HE rescues and restores His own. He has begun something in them and HE will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ! His pursuit is personal and in his divine character are limitless means by which He accomplishes such. One such means is OTHER BELIEVERS! He has chosen, enabled and exhorted His LITTLE CHILDREN TO PURSUE OTHER LITTLE CHILDREN who have left the flock, NO really have left the SHEPHERD! He has called us to just like Himself to seek and shepherd the sheep who have for a season to stray from Jesus. We are to be Human shepherds who have ourselves experienced ourselves seasons of AWOL and AWAY-NESS! Times of GUILT, BITTERNESS, DANGER, FINDING IT HARD TO GET BACK, BACKSLIDDEN, Those who know what it was like to be pursued by a HEAVENLY SHEPHERD and a UNDER SHEPHERD as well. Little Sheep who have heard from their loving Lord and their Loving Brother/Sister who have helped them return and be restored in the FAMILY FLOCK! Today you may be aware of someone in the FOREVER FAMILY that needs exhorted, encouraged, reestablished in your friendship. One who needs to be reminded of God's love and yours. Today may be the day to make a few phone calls, send a few notes, invite someone to lunch or dinner. Maybe just a short visit at their door on your way home from work, a text, a message, a prayer sent to heaven on their behalf. We can make a difference. May we follow our Lord's lead, may we care enough to leave our self lives and become selfless for some LOST SHEEP who needs help back to the only safe place on this earth- THE PRESENCE OF JESUS AND THEIR CHURCH FAMILY! Oh may we be more like Christ! " A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench" ISAIAH 42:3 Help each believer to attempt to make His Church a safe and healing place! For more study on this very important area of our Christian lives ! Matthew 18 Galatians 6:1-2 John 10
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 Matthew 18 is what I call a HITCHING POST passage in God's Holy Word! It is one of those places that we need to return often as believers in God's Church! Jesus teaches how much He loves and cares for his re birthed followers and how much we are to love and care for our brothers and sisters in the family of God. In the passage we find the Lord views us as "CHILDREN" and that we are to be careful how we deal with each other. We are to RECEIVE each other not REJECT each other. We are to HELP each other and not HINDER each other. We are to PROTECT each other from sin and we are to PROJECT each other to holiness. The chapter goes on to reveal that we are to RESTORE each other and not RAVAGE each other. When we have sinned against a brother or sister or have been sinned against we are to go to each other with the goal of restoring and maintaining fellowship. And we are to FORGIVE each other rather than FIGHT each other.
In all these areas that we are to care for each other we find that the LORD Himself cares for us and is our example to do the same. He cares for us as His children passionately, so much that He says if one mistreat one of His adopted children it were better to be drown in a watery grave. Now that is harsh language intended to show how deep His love is for his family. So we are to love and care just as deeply. His great work in our lives is to bring us out of sin and into His holiness. So as Christians we are to be very careful not to offend one of the little children by leading into sin rather we are to cautiously, carefully considerately help to lead them toward righteousness. And if we don't we are to take heed of the corrections in our lives that may result because of such failure. In verses 12- 14 the Lord tells the story of a shepherd and of a flock of sheep. One of the sheep wonders away from the flock and the loving shepherd PURSUES the lost sheep. In the context we understand this sheep was already one of the Lord's sheep like children. And because the Lord loves his children so much he passionately pursues in order to bring the little one back into relationship and assure that this little one will NEVER PERISH! What we find in this is the dedication of the GOOD SHEPHERD to HIS SHEEP. OH, how this moves my heart! Because so many times I have wondered and found myself in sin, failure, and out of fellowship with the ONE who loves me most and the ONE who I really do love but have wondered for a season. The passage does not share why the little sheep has wondered. Perhaps no reason is given because there are countless temptations which lead us to such! Sometimes it happens without us knowing it and at other times we can cop an attitude and stray on purpose. Sometimes it is because of a disappointment that leads to discouragement. The disappointment can be with a fellow believer, a family member, perhaps just a circumstance that no person is attached in any form! But the result is the same, we find ourselves AWAY, AWOL, PRODIGAL, BITTER, BACKSLIDDEN, IN DANGER, GUILTY, MISERABLE, FINDING IT HARD TO GET BACK TO GOD, NOT HEADING TOWARD CHRIST-LIKENESS AND THE FULFILLMENT OF SALVATION. But the wonderful truth is that CHRIST the GOOD SHEPHERD pursues us in those seasons just as he does when we are safe in the flock. John 10 tells us Jesus is the Good Shepherd that loves His sheep. He will never lose one of his little children. He holds them in His hand and He will see to it that they will return to the flock one way or another. He goes after HIS and HE rescues and restores His own. He has begun something in them and HE will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ! His pursuit is personal and in his divine character are limitless means by which He accomplishes such. One such means is OTHER BELIEVERS! He has chosen, enabled and exhorted His LITTLE CHILDREN TO PURSUE OTHER LITTLE CHILDREN who have left the flock, NO really have left the SHEPHERD! He has called us to just like Himself to seek and shepherd the sheep who have for a season to stray from Jesus. We are to be Human shepherds who have ourselves experienced ourselves seasons of AWOL and AWAY-NESS! Times of GUILT, BITTERNESS, DANGER, FINDING IT HARD TO GET BACK, BACKSLIDDEN, Those who know what it was like to be pursued by a HEAVENLY SHEPHERD and a UNDER SHEPHERD as well. Little Sheep who have heard from their loving Lord and their Loving Brother/Sister who have helped them return and be restored in the FAMILY FLOCK! Today you may be aware of someone in the FOREVER FAMILY that needs exhorted, encouraged, reestablished in your friendship. One who needs to be reminded of God's love and yours. Today may be the day to make a few phone calls, send a few notes, invite someone to lunch or dinner. Maybe just a short visit at their door on your way home from work, a text, a message, a prayer sent to heaven on their behalf. We can make a difference. May we follow our Lord's lead, may we care enough to leave our self lives and become selfless for some LOST SHEEP who needs help back to the only safe place on this earth- THE PRESENCE OF JESUS AND THEIR CHURCH FAMILY! Oh may we be more like Christ! " A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench" ISAIAH 42:3 Help each believer to attempt to make His Church a safe and healing place! For more study on this very important area of our Christian lives ! Matthew 18 Galatians 6:1-2 John 10  I am so thankful that our nations families, churches and institutions still observe yearly a special day to honor Mothers. . The Bible reminds us of the possibility of a generation and society that does not do that. Proverbs 30:11, “There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.” We each understand that there is no perfect mother because there are no perfect people. Yet we should be thankful and show honor to the one who travailed to give us life. It encourages me to see many who still obey the Lord's commandment to honor their parents and at the same time it grieves me to see some who deal with Mom & Dad with disrespect and dishonor!
Evangelist Billy Sunday preached, “I don’t think there are enough devils in Hell to take a young person from the arms of a godly mother.” The amazing difference the right kind of a mother can make in a home, in a church, and in a nation! A godly women can do her part to model and mold children into the right kind of adults . But the opposite is just as true. God seems to indicate that the last deterrent before a nation slips into total depravity is the righteousness of women and of men. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature and likewise also the men." (Romans 1:26-27). Many a child who grew into a godly adult can say with the Psalmist, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” ( Psalm 16:6) How I thank God for the mother of our own dear children. She never wavered in her faith of God. She never moved from her biblical conviction and dedication to rearing children for the Lord. She consistently displayed a passionate love for Christ, her husband and children. Oh, how she prayed for Beth, Abby, Matt and Rachel. There were times when perhaps they did not deserve such devotion and time spent before God on their behalf, but a mothers love never stopped pleading with God for their lives. And still today I know she prays much for our children who are now adults and parents themselves. I think that each of our children would recognize that much of there success in marriage, parenting, their christian walk and life in general can be linked to their mothers influence and prayers. Now she has added 10 more little grandchildren to her influence and prayer life. Let me take this opportunity to encourage you to make special effort over the next few weeks to go out of your way to honor your mothers. If your mother is no longer on this earth take a little time to meditate and be thankful for all that she meant to you. Honor her and help yourself by remembering! If your mother is still on this earth give her a call, send her a special card, stop by and just spend a time of prayer with her. These and many other things can be done but by all means do something to let mom know you love and appreciate her. “Her children arise up, and call her blessed.” ( Proverbs 31:28 ) If you have the High Calling of Motherhood I pray that you will deeply understand your place of importance. Your impact in our communities and churches is literally "out of this world." It is eternal in scope! Your worth is more than a thousand pastors. We pastors are cheering you on in the battle to rear children for what is right. We encourage you on to lead your children and grandchildren to the Lord's salvation and His perfect will for their lives. There are countless times that a mothers deeds have gone unnoticed or have been failed to be shown appreciation. Take heart that “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10). It is the godly mothers first priority to do all she does for the glory of God! Yes she has lovingly served her children but she has done so out of her first love and service of God. Christian mother, one day you will receive your just and eternal reward—a reward for every prayer, every selfless moment, every sleepless night, every tear, every encouraging word, every instructive principle, , and every expression of love that you have shown. On that day, your earthly gifts and honors will seem so small to the reward of hearing your Lord say to you, WELL DONE THOU GOOD AN FAITHFUL MOTHER! |
AuthorTerry has been the Senior Pastor of Liberty for 30 years. He and his wife, Karen, have 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 1 spoiled dog named Cooper. Archives
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Liberty Baptist Church | 765.384.7004 | office@libertyfamily.org
517 Church St. P.O. Box 289 Sweetser, IN 46987 | United States
© Liberty Baptist Church
517 Church St. P.O. Box 289 Sweetser, IN 46987 | United States
© Liberty Baptist Church