GatewayLife

Writing Blocks

Hello Everyone, 

I am at the end of the semester and have a large paper due on Wednesday night. I will resume posting on the regular schedule this Friday, May 1. Thank you for your patience. 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

The Harvest is Plentiful

Immediately after we see the Jesus' compassion on the crowds, he turns to the disciples and says: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Do we, as believers in Christ, have the same heart for people that he did? I think we would answer honestly, no. But as we grow closer to Jesus Christ, he gives us his heart for the nations. This compassion for the world does not come from within us but from the work of God in us. We begin to pray earnestly for these people and for God to move in their hearts as we see their need for God and feel the compassion of Jesus for them.

That said, do you have compassion on the lost? Do you see a world harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shephard, and desire better for them? Are you praying to God, earnestly, to send people into these places to bring the good news of Christ?

The Holy Spirit gives us compassion and leads us to pray for these people. If you do not have this compassion or do not pray for these people, ask God for his heart for the nations. We are so callused to things going on away from our lives that we miss the incredible work God is doing all over the world.

God has not called everyone to a foreign mission, but he has called everyone to compassion and prayer.

Peace,

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

The Compassion of Jesus

As Matthew 9 draws to a close, Jesus has spent a considerable amount of time healing. Yet, at the end of the miracle of casting out a demon, the Pharisees say: "He casts out demons by the prince of demons." This Jesus has done nothing wrong and has shown tremendous power and grace and he meets opposition. Verses 35-36 tell us something about the character of Christ:

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harrassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

We already see a verse earlier in the text that Jesus meets opposition, yet what is his heart for the people? Compassion. Every single person who Jesus encounters in the gospel has at some point disobeyed God's law and deserves judgment. Yet, Jesus shows compassion. The one person who has the right to not show compassion because he has never sinned shows compassion.

Let's not miss the heart of God for people who are suffering both under spiritual and physical oppression. Jesus comes proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, providing everlasting life and he heals every disease and infirmity brought before him. The only people Jesus says no to are those who have no real need of him. They either feel they are righteous already (the Pharisees) or they are unwilling to give up everything to follow Christ (the rich young ruler).

Those who bring to Jesus a broken and contrite spirit and a broken body, God does not turn away. He has limitless compassion on those who come to him now as much as he did when he walked the earth. What are you bringing to God? Are you still clinging to whatever sliver of righteousness you have, hoping that it is enough to earn God's favor? Stop! God wants you, not your filthy righteousness. Come and receive compassion. Are you still clinging to whatever is keeping you from coming to God wholeheartedly? Stop! Come to Jesus with nothing and receive everything that will not perish. Remember the compassion of Christ for you and for me and come to him.

Peace,

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Blind Faith

In Matthew 9:27-31 Jesus heals two blind men. We can understand some important truths in this passage.

1. The blind men called out: “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” The blind men knew the source of their healing. It was this Jesus who had healed so many before. They proclaim him as the Son of David, the coming king, and they understand that he can cure their blindness. So they cry out, begging for mercy, hoping that Jesus will save them.

2. Jesus asked them: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They replied: “Yes, Lord.” Lest we think that these men are simple pragmatists clinging to whatever worker of miracles coming by, we see this moment of faith that reveals that these men believed Jesus. Their faith was not mere words but true belief in the son of God. I believe there is a way to apply their faith to our lives. Do we speak Jesus without believing him? Is Jesus the cherry on top of our lives so that we can be blessed, or do we truly believe he is who he says he is? If we are only paying lip-

service

, we need to consider Romans 10:9-10.

3. Jesus says: “According to your faith be it done to you.” Jesus operates through faith. He moves us to faith in him which moves us to believe in him more and more the closer we grow to him. I do not mean to sound confusing, but we have to remember that the emphasis on this part of Matthew is the power of Christ in healing the world. We become short-sided when we focus only on the blind men and their faith. That said, God calls us to have faith in him. Do we have the faith of the blind men? Do we trust that Jesus us able to do all things? Do we trust that he wants what is best for us, even when we cannot see why? Jesus calls us to believe.

Do you?

Peace,

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Power over Death and Disease

One of the great aspects of this study of Matthew is a return to simply looking at Christ for who he is and seeing what he tells us to do. We have so much information around us that we can struggle to know the real Jesus and settle for knowing “How to Live the Christian Life.”

In Matthew 9:18-26, we see both the power and compassion of Jesus. First, a ruler whose daughter had died approaches him and Jesus agrees to go and bring her back from the dead. Jesus has power even over death and he begins to travel with this man to raise his daughter.

By the time he reached the house, the funeral music had already begun and the people were mourning. However, just as in the case with Lazarus, Jesus raises the girl from the dead. Who is this man that he can even raise people from the dead? He is the Christ, the Son of God. Do we worship Jesus for all of his power, even those aspects of it that we do not understand? Is there a greater miracle than raising people from the dead? The greatest miracle of all was Jesus’ own resurrection. He truly is the Resurrection and the Life.

On the way to the ruler’s house, a woman suffering a bleeding disease for 12 years approaches Jesus. She touches his garment, believing that mere contact is enough to heal her. He looks at her and says, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well.” Here we see both the power and the compassion of Jesus. He not only heals her disease but encourages her faith as well, showing her that her faith in Jesus to heal her is right and good.

Have we become so familiar with these stories that we have lost the majesty of Jesus? We must continue to see Jesus for who he is and understand that this is no mere man, but God in the flesh and he has power over everything. Understanding this power makes his death on the cross that much more powerful as he controls all things. He chose to die for our sins. Do we worship him with that power in mind?

Peace,

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com 

New Wineskin Approach

In Matthew 9:14-17, John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus with a question about why he and his disciples did not fast. Jesus shows him through a couple of parables that fasting is about him. He is the Lord of the fast.

One of his points applies to all of spiritual life as well as fasting: No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears awat from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.

Jesus’ point is that the old ways of relating to God are done. His sacrifice on the cross tore the veil and we now have an open door of access to a holy God. We are also given the Holy Spirit to guide us into this relationship with God and to help us as we pursue him.

The law that condemned us to death was fulfilled in Jesus, who bore our sins on the cross and paid the penalty of sin, making atonement and allowing us to inherit eternal life. The Lord of the fast became the Lord over death and sin and bought our freedom.

Why then do we continue our “Old Wineskin” approach to Jesus? We constantly force ourselves into legalism, believing that if we can follow the right steps, we will be spiritually fulfilled. Christian books are filled with the new approach to walking with Christ, the 10 step programs for growth. If the law could not save us before, why do we believe it can save us now?

Guidelines are not a bad thing, but we are prone to finding the proper system and implementing it as though it were law. This is legalism in the new wineskin preaching of complete dependence on Christ.

Ultimately, we must bring everything we think and do to Christ and allow him to weed out those things that glorify us or burden us with dangerous rules. He is Lord over all and we must trust him to do the work in us and to burden us in the right direction to make us more like him.

Peace,

Jeff Moody

Jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Questions for Easter Monday

We are so trained to be "Event Christians." Easter is a huge day for churches, where they will fill the pews and see both new people and those they have not seen in a while. We tend to go from Easter to Christmas to Retreat to Disciple Now to Sunday to Wednesday and we struggle to surrender to God every day of the week. (By the way, my finger is squarely pointed right at my chest on this point). 

So as the "Easter Season" dies down, let's consider how to live for God every day. 

1. What does Easter mean for you on Monday? 

2. What will Easter mean for you on Independence Day, Arbor Day, Flag Day, Tuesday, Thursday, three Fridays from now, and on your birthday?

3. How can you seek to understand the death and resurrection of Christ more this year from this Easter on? 

Let's not be "Event Christians" but those who deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow him. 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Jesus Came for Sinners

"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." - Matthew 9:11-13

Did Jesus come for you and me? Yes, and by saying this statement, we confess that we are sinners in need of Jesus. Why do we continually try to bring our filthy righteousness to God as though we will be accepted for it? We need to understand that when we try and tell God how good we are, we are simply telling the Great Physician why we do not need his help. 

Jesus came to save sinners. If you are continually denying your sin and looking to what you have done right, then you do not understand the grace of Christ and ultimately do not understand his sacrifice on the cross. This is Easter weekend. We must come into this celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ with a real understanding of what this sacrifice means. The only way to understand the meaning is to understand: 1. The holiness of God and why payment must be made for sin, and 2. Why Jesus was able to make that payment instead of you and me. 

If at any point in our relationship with God we find ourselves proclaiming our own righteousness, we have effectively become Pharisees. We tell God, "I am well. I have no need for a physician." Our proper response is and always will be: "I am sick, I need you, the Great Physician." Then we can understand the true meaning of Easter. 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

The Power to Forgive AND Heal

For which is easier, to say "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Rise and walk?" But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins - he then said to the paralytic - "Rise, pick up your bed, and go him." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. -- Matthew 9:5-8

We live in an age where we focus often on God's ability to heal to the detriment of his power to forgive. On the other hand, many people are so focused on the forgiveness God brings that they neglect to proclaim his power over natural events. Just as the people in this passage see that Jesus has such authority, so should we see his authority to heal and forgive. 

When we study the person of Jesus, we cannot read into the passages whatever our particular focus may be. The person focused on healing will read about this story and take away God's ability to heal. The person focused on forgiveness and salvation will take away his authority to forgive. Here's the question I want to pose: Why can we not take away both? 

Do we see Jesus as he really is or do we only take away what we are looking for? I believe we are guilty of only seeing what we want to see in scripture. We excuse it in our minds because our application is correct but more than likely not complete. What is the Gospel? The Gospel is not a shortened version of the truth of God's salvation but the whole picture of Christ. Jesus is the Gospel. 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

To See Jesus

As we are going through the life and ministry of Jesus, I thought it might be helpful to remind ourselves why we are studying the Book of Matthew.

Too often, we define Jesus by the current interpretations of him instead of actually seeing who he is. Do we see Jesus as the guy who wants to give us everything we want? Do we see him as our best friend? Do we see him as Lord? Do we see him as judge? Do we see him as the sacrificial lamb? Do we see him only for his blessings?

To again quote Taurus James: "The most important question you will ever ask is who is Jesus Christ to you." This question really is that important. More than anything we do or believe as a Christian, who is Jesus Christ to us?

We can only answer that question one way. We must immerse ourselves in God's word. We must read and study it, hear it preached, and meditate on it. We must understand the whole of Scripture and in doing so we will learn to know who Christ is and what he calls us to do. This pursuit is not just for knowledge, but to KNOW a person, Jesus Christ.

Peace,

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com