Matthew 18:10-20 ~ listens to you

Matthew 18:10-20

10 “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.

For the Son of Man came to save the lost. 12

 What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 

And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14

 So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

15 “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18

 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 

Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Reason out your responsibility.


So. A sheep is not worth as much as a cow. 
And if a cow is lost in the old time stampede to market - well you go and look and after a time - you give up. Because you can't endanger the herd for a few. A few of the herd are not going to make it to market.

We get so caught up in the mercy of God to us - we forget the message.

Jesus did not stand outside the Temple and flap His arms daily because the Sanhedrin Council was unhappy with Him for three years. Jesus didn't rush from His Resurrection to the Temple to stand in front of the Holy of Holies and Yell "TADA."

The Point is. Sort of. David was by himself
as the Shepherd of his family flock 
when the Prophet Samuel showed up and began to look how to do God's will...

David was that sheep out in the field about to be - Overlooked.

David was a young boy, and if he had gone home to his father Jesse and said, "Aww, I saved Baby Lambkins, but soo sorry the herd got eaten by the lions." (Archaeology says existed and David fought.) His Jesse Dad would have said, "Saved Baby Lambkins, that's Terrific, Son!"


No. This passage is about nicey and personal responsibility. Seriously.

If you look at Zechariah 11 - it gets pretty tangled - like Life Really Can Get.

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!
3 The sound of the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is ruined!
The sound of the roar of the lions,
for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!

4 Thus said the Lord my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.”

7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.

17 “Woe to my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”

Let's study something we have yet to "platituded" - really put the algebra equation with our ducks in a row.

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!

(This has happened. The Sequoia forests of Lebanon are gone - for taking liberty with a forest filled for centuries with grace and abundance.)

2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!

(Yep Gone and only existing today because Queen Victoria rushed in to wall around a Lebanese forest she said must exist again.)

3 The sound of the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is ruined!
The sound of the roar of the lions,
for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!

(Zechariah got that right - the fleet of Tarshish - built from this is - done. And the wood from the Temple. David's Palace.)

4 Thus said the Lord my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.”

(How we truly treat people and our responsibility to them 'Be Warm and Go Well'. Even when the game is on. Jesus dealt with very complex people.)

7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor
(tism - who it is happy to serve and there is a reward).

the other I named Union.
(They Will kick up a fuss to get their rights - so I better under punishment.)

And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.


(My Uncle Tate said Hell is a car trip with the ones you love in a small car.) (This was an analogy - he had a small family in the days of large cars!)

9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.”

(That's sometimes called the inevitable and sometimes called "Work harder")

10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord.

12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.”
(This is the twirled version of self-martyrdom, give up and call you the meanie, lack of communication, it's too hard, I never win, and some true - turn the other cheek.)

And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.

(Think upon that. It's very sobering.)

13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.


(Before Democrats and Republicans start to argue about health care, amnesty, whistle blowing and immigration - let's consider - what we do with what we could do and replay play one another, pity me, I'm The One On Top, nourish me - i'm weak and this is our usual routine.)

17 “Woe to my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”

Jesse was not going to thank David if Baby Lambkins survived, while the flock was Lion Dinner.

Subtitles are great for simplification - but not when we let Jesus take the fall for what we need to do TODAY.

The lost need help. Not to the extent that we carry Baby Huey and his feet bleed because he needed to find his feet. Case in point. Jesus did not rush to Caiaphas and plead with him to repent.

I'm on Top.
Case in point. Jesus in the Old Testament - recognized that Pilate and his wife - wanted to help Him.
The quote goes - "I received these blows in the house of my friend." Pilate begged Jesus to have Jesus tell him how to get Jesus out of this mess. Jesus told Pilate - there are other people more to blame. Pilate did still sin. Pilate saw Truth and Claimed Jesus forever as King.

Pilate did not stay on top. That adventure was one of many that said - you are not thinking this out.
This Zechariah 11 says the government gets very muddled when the people cannot sort out what laws they truly will die to follow.

Roman Empire? Hezekiah threw out the Assyrian Empire by saying the Temple of God and Faith Comes First.

Seek the lost?
                    Jesus headed out to the wilderness - People followed.

Jesus
         Is
               The Lamb of GOD.

Bam.

We are so busy begging God to do for us. What are we doing for "when did we see you naked and needing help God?"

What Government did GOD set in place ? God does that - This is His Job.
GOD sets in place the Book of Judges.

What?

God believes in "Self Governance."

What?   Joshua - Balance - Centered on Jesus.
The Cross Jesus bled upon to have us worthy to enter His Salvation.
Centered.
At a Terrible Cost.

We are the herd.  At the Place where the upward portion of the Cross points upward
Where we zigzag right and left.


When the song of the angels is stilled.
When the star in the sky is gone.
When the kinds and princes are home.
When the shepherds are back with their flock.
The work of Christ(mas) begins:

The find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.

Alleluia! Unto us a child is born.


The Lost? Jesus said in the Samaritan Neighbor - is the one who shows you - mercy - IS your neighbor.
Jesus didn't flap with the Saduceen Council.  Begging them.
Jesus said don't put down a flicker of Him. Jesus said feed, clothe, encourage.

Balance. Work hard to be kind and fair - when you simply Can NOT - Cry Out to Jesus.
Just don't stick a clip on tie on it and call it worked.

The broken - don't feed them till they can't feed themselves.
The hungry - what are you really feeding?
The prisoner - are you enjoying 3 square meals and a roof without helping the outside?
The nations - who appointed us to work away from home? How is your own house?

Bring peace among brothers? The Brothers of Jesus fought among themselves to have a true peace. Not polite
nicey 
that falls apart in a storm.

Music in the heart - who are you singing for ultimately?


Subtitles. Hum bug.

Work out your Own Salvation With Fear and Trembling.
And if your Salvation involves griping about someone else in Judgment - Work on Yours - Again.
Confessing the sins of someone else is pointless.

What are we to do?

Salvation is a Work of GOD - like McHammer - we cannot touch that. 

Jesus is GOD and HE is King of Kings. 

GOD saves people. Salvation is God's. God is going to figure out how to reach - HIS - People - HE Loves. God Is Father to the Beloved Children of His.

Approach Him with Gratitude, Honestly, Complain, and Ask for His Mercy.

We need that! In abundance. 

Jesus listens to you - Do what He says. Jesus is the sheep in the wilderness. We have to go out the narrow gate to find us finding Him.

God says Go to Church and Worship Him. He is the ONE feeding us.

Bam.

Lord Father GOD, help us find You. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

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♔Lord Jesus Saves †

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 ~ whenever you pray

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18


6 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

God takes mere sand, grinds, fires it and produces Beauty.

Luke 18
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

 Pray with the Angels, by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.


"Whenever you pray,
        it is as if you were entering into a palace - not a palace on earth,
but far more awesome, a palace in heaven.

 When you enter there, you do so with complete attentiveness and fitting respect. For in the Houses of The King of Kings"

I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

"all turmoil is set aside,

and silence reigns.

Yet here you are being joined by choirs of angels"

 

 

"Yet here you are being joined by choirs of angels."

 
"You are in communion with archangels and singing with the seraphim, who sing with great awe their spiritual hymns and sacred songs to God, the Lord of all."

 
"So when you are praying, mingle with these voices, patterning yourself according to their mystical order.

It is not to human beings that you are praying but to God, who is present everywhere, who hears even before you speak and who knows already the secrets of the heart."

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."

If you pray to this One, you shall receive a great reward."
He will come to Dwell with you.

For your Father who sees in secret shall reward you

Indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Don't be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

♔Lord Jesus Saves †

Psalm 97 ~ Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His Throne.

Psalm 97

1 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
let the many coast lands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.


3 Fire goes before him
and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

In the second century B.C. the Septuagint 70 authors translated (from their scribe memories) the Hebrew Bible and other texts into Koine Greek - They regarded the author of this Psalm as King David.

King David is biblically remembered as 1,000 B.C. So the Psalm is OLD.

Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His Throne.

I wanted to compare the Psalm to the New Testament and sought any Biblical Verse I could put my hands upon. And arrived at Revelation 11 - written by the Apostle John on Patmos about 60 A.D.

 

 
And found...

Revelation 11
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Why would GOD be clothed in darkness?

Well. Don't tell Him,
I told you,
however,
I'm of the opinion...
God enjoys Creation.
And displays of Light.

God's Throne with " flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail." is going to show up far better when God is having His Light overcome darkness of - night - of space - of separating Light from dark. God tells us He wants to save the world in Jesus Christ - therefore - God Is Always overcoming Dark.

John is our disciple writing John's Gospel of Jesus Christ. John 1 tells us of Heaven and John speaks of God's Throne.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.



"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.

And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come.

“Behold, The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”

♔Lord Jesus Saves  †

Psalm 98 ~ break forth into joyous song and sing praises

Thank YOU Father God. For how much You Love Your creation!
 

Psalm 98

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

 2 The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 

3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! 

 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!

8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together  

9 before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

  Red Sea  

Exodus 15:21

Miriam answered them, “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.” 

 

 

(The video photo looks like people running from something, but it is not panic, rather a beautiful 2,000 person dance and a "give them your extra cloak" loving, kindness for Easter 2011!) 

 Over 2,000 people from Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. They called it Dance Your Shoes Off! and each participant left a new pair of shoes on the field for those in need. Song is a Second Baptist Church original. Look at those faces.... look at those shoes left!!! 

This Church, Second Baptist Church of Houston, called all the Christian Church leadership together right after Hurricane Katrina. Houston and the out lying areas were drawn up on a grid. Our Church took two hotels in The Woodlands, Texas. The Churches then provided their areas (and time spent in the Stadium) to feed, clothe and comfort the Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The Stadium evacuees were fed entirely by donations. 

The great majority were Christian Church volunteer and food donations. For the love and sake of Jesus Christ, we fed the families in the hotels for 2 months and then our Church donated household goods, furniture and made sure our evacuees were re-located to safe Houston apartments.

At the end of the two months our evacuees gave our Church a BBQ dinner. They remained in our Church for over a year and all returned to New Orleans to have jobs in construction. One of our hotels was almost entirely one extended, entire family.

Psalm 121 

 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
 

3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 24:3-4  
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.

Psalm 32:1  
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  

Father God, I am blessed. You have saved me, You are the Lord. God. Almighty. You are my shield, my helper. You are my Glorious Sword. You do not sleep, You do not grow weary. You are the lifter of my head. I shall praise You all the days of my life and I will dwell in Your House forever. Blessed are You, Lord my God. My Abba. And Your Son, Jesus Christ. My redeemer. Amen. 

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