City Life Starter

Contributor’s Corner

By Heather Mattingly

There is so much for us to sink our teeth into within these two treasure-filled chapters of Matthew! Please read through the chapters below, and there are some nuggets within for you to find. Enjoy!

Matthew 7

   “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you sue, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

   “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

**Notice Jesus’ repetitive promise in this verse: if you ask, it will be given, if you seek, you will find; if you knock, it will be opened to you. His choice of verb is not only promised, but repetitive. A repeated promise. Wow. Our Father is for you; not against you! And not only that, He also yearns for you to take all of your desires, as raw as they are, directly to Him. Think of a child: a child doesn’t know what he should or shouldn’t ask for….a child just asks!  Heavenly Father, empower us by Your Holy Spirit to do the same.**

“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

**Isn’t it interesting: Why did Jesus say this after talking about getting good things from God? He’s saying that since God our Father looks out for us and takes care of us, we don’t have to worry about “well, what has he/she done for me lately?” Or, “what am I going to get out of doing this particular good deed, if I actually do it?” What you wish others would do for you, or how you wish others would treat you, go ahead and initiate yourself. This shows faith in God. “God, I’m going to do the right thing because You love me, and I love you. Even if no one notices what I’m doing and/or if no one cares. I know that You are watching me and that You care.”**

   “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

   “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

   “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

   “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fail, for it was founded on the rock.

   “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sane: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

   “And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

Matthew 8

   “When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’

**This leper was an outcast: unclean, unwanted, rejected. Forsaken. Does this sound familiar? Have you experienced these feelings at anytime (or even right now)? Pastor Arie Ben-David teaches that anytime you come across a person in the Bible without a name, it is because you are supposed to put yourself into that story. God knows the names of all of His children (Isaiah 43:1 says, “..I have called you by name; you are Mine.”). The reason a name is left out of a story is for us. We are meant to insert ourselves into the story to get a better picture of our Lord. This leper is what each of us was in this world: unloved, unwanted, rejected. But this leper, who was not allowed to be around people according to the law of the day, dared to approach Jesus and dared to ask for healing. Scripture doesn’t say this, but what if this man had been on that mountain listening to Jesus’ teachings? What if He heard our Lord’s words directly from His lips and thus had the courage not only to believe Him, but also to approach Him? And was desperate enough to ask Him directly for what he really wanted? And how does our Lord respond? Jesus immediately healed – saved – this man. Just as He wants to do for us – if we let Him.**

   Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

   And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

   Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

   And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

   The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

   When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

** Isn’t it interesting that Jesus marvels at the great faith of this man (and a gentile Roman centurion, at that). Why? What was it about this man’s faith that made it so great? This man took Jesus at His word. Jesus didn’t have to come in person (even though He offered to come), or have to touch his servant…..basically, Jesus didn’t have to prove Himself through physical senses. This nameless centurion believed Jesus’ word alone. Oh, for this kind of faith! I hope reading this story makes all of us hungry for this kind of faith….a mature faith that doesn’t necessarily need physical proof, but is willing to just believe despite any and all material circumstances.**

“And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

**Note Jesus’ response here, “….as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” This is Jesus’ response to our faith. There are many men and women in the Bible who said to the Lord, “let it be done to me according to Your word.” (Mary – Luke 1:38; Rahab – Josh 2:21; Ruth – Ruth 3:5; David – 2 Sam 7:29…just to name a few). When we are brave enough to say to the Lord, “behold Thy servant! Let it be unto me according to Your word,” (Luke 1:38) and then follow through with our actions; Jesus’ response to us is, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” What an amazing God we serve; Holy Spirit, please give us more faith.**

   Now when Jesus and come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.

   When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”

   And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

   And Jesus said to Him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

   Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

   But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

   Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

   But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”

**This is also interesting: Jesus commended the faith of the nameless Gentile centurion just a few verses ago, and here He is calling out the little faith of His own disciples – the men who walked with Him and knew Him! If you are a follower of Jesus, this should scare you: have you become too familiar with Jesus? Are His works too familiar to you? Have you lost the wonder that the nameless centurion had who was bold enough to believe Jesus’ word alone? It makes me curious: if I had been in either of these stories, what would Jesus say about my faith? Do I have the wonder and the courage to believe and hope in Jesus’ word and say to Him, “let it be unto me according to Your word,” despite what the world’s news and my own circumstances tell me every day? Or do I look at the world around me and say, “Lord, save us! We’re perishing!” Which one will you choose today?**

Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

   When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergasenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”   Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”

   And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.

   Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything , including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

Prayer:

“Father, thank You for Your gifts of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Thank You for saving me, for reconciling me back to Yourself, and for restoring me. Thank You for being my True, Heavenly Dad who not only wants to give me good things but does give me good things when I ask. By faith, I believe You at Your word alone – help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24). By Your grace and by the power of Your Holy Spirit, I will do what You say. Let today and the rest of my life live out this prayer to You: “Behold, Your servant. Let it happen to me according to Your word.” (Luke 1:38).

MATTHEW 7

Do Not Judge

“Judge^[a] not, that you be not judged. ² For with what ^[b]judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.³ And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

⁶ “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! ¹² Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow Way

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ^14 [c]Because narrow is the gate and ^[d]difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

I Never Knew You

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Build on the Rock

²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

²⁸ And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹ for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.