Matthew 27:65 (9/18/24)

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Matthew 27:65 (9/18/24)

The Power of Testimony

September 18, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Matthew 27:65

* God often orchestrates a mess so you can turn it into a message.

* There is no message apart from a mess.

* The key is to keep your eyes on Jesus.

* He is weaving your story into HIStory.

* Case in point - after Christ died, Pilate made the tomb more secure than normal.

* The Jews feared someone would steal the body.

* vs 62-66 - “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”

* God made the situation much more difficult before He performed a miracle.

* Jesus was going to be raised from the dead, but the situation surrounding it kept getting worse and worse until finally God acted and commanded His Son to get up.

* The same is true with us - before deliverance God often makes things even more destitute.

* But it's precisely at these moments we should cling to our faith because God is simply building things up so that He will get the glory.

* He is going to make it so obvious that it was His doing nobody could mistake it.

* Now that there was an armed guard with ropes and the king's seal on the tomb, if Christ rose from the grave nobody could dispute it without bold face lying.

* God was building His case.

* God is in the testimony-building business.

* The bigger the conflict and deeper the struggle, the better the story - the more powerful the impact!

* Trust God with your story! He’ll come through for you.

Mark 15:21 (10/16/24)

October 16, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Mark 15:21

- As believers, our job is to pick up our cross daily and carry it. - A cross is a place of death. - The Christian life is not easy - it involves suffering. - But strength comes through strain. - Sometimes, our duty is so unbearable that God brings people into our lives to lighten the load. - This is the beauty of the church - a community of people doing life together to help shoulder the load when others cannot carry it alone. - Jesus, as He carried His cross, met someone along the way who was pressed into helping Him. - But notice what Mark says about this man who was pressed into service. - vs 21 - “They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.” - The gospel of Mark was written decades after Christ left the earth. - Mark mentioning Simon’s sons means they were known to the apostles in the church when his gospel was written. - Because of Simon’s faithful service to carry the cross, his sons’ lives were changed forever! - They became well-known Christ followers themselves. - Alex and Rufus certainly never forgot the day their dad carried His cross. - I can imagine years later, when the gospel spread that these two boys had a story nobody else had. - “Our dad carried Christ’s cross - we watched it with our own eyes!” - Soon after, they placed their faith in the man whose cross their dad carried. - As parents, we have a cross to bear. - If we pick it up and carry it, faithfully with a heart to honor God, our kids will see it - and they’ll never forget it. - We don’t know how long after this episode Alex and Rufus placed their faith in Jesus, but it happened. - And I like to think it had much to do with their dad carrying that heavy load for them to see.

Luke 2:20 (10/16/24)

October 16, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Luke 2:20

- God is looking for faithfulness. - He doesn’t care about fame or fortune. - He cares about us being faithful right where He’s placed us. - Case in point - God wanted to announce the birth of Jesus. - Who did He show up to? - A group of blue-collar workers who were faithfully tending sheep. - Faithfulness in your work puts you in the way of God’s divine visits. - So they went and checked out the place where Jesus was born. - Notice what they did next. - vs 20 - “The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” - After they experienced the greatest announcement in the history of mankind and after they visited Jesus they went right back to shepherding. - They went back to the drab drudgery of scooping poop and walking slowly, the mundane routine of everyday life. - After David was anointed king, he did the very same thing - he went back to work tending sheep. - The mountaintop experiences are momentary. - But growth takes place in the valley. - My dad always said that the Christian life is filled with hours and hours of routine punctuated by moments of stark terror. - We can't live for moments of pure bliss—we need to go back to our fields and tend our sheep, whatever that may mean for you. - These shepherds didn’t start a prophetic ministry because they were the ones who received the divine download. - They went right back to blue-collar work. - And we’re still talking about these dudes today.

Mark 10 (10/9/24)

October 9, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Mark 10

* Wiersbe - "As a master Teacher, our Lord used many different approaches in sharing God’s Word: symbols, miracles, types, parables, proverbs, and paradoxes.” * A paradox is a statement that seems to contradict itself and yet expresses a valid truth or principle. * EX: “When I am weak, then am I strong”. * God’s ways are always different than man’s ways. * His ways don’t always make sense. * In Mark 10, Jesus gives us 5 paradoxes that teach 5 lessons. * Two Shall Be One (Mark 10:1–12) * vs 8 - “and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.” * In marriage, two people become one person. * Physical marriage is a sign of spiritual marriage. * But it’s also about the church - we unite with others. * EX: baking ingredients - yield to the baker! * Adults Shall Be as Children (Mark 10:13–16) * vs 15 - “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” * God’s kingdom requires surrender, trust, and humility. * All of these are childlike qualities. * The First Shall Be Last (Mark 10:17–31) * vs 31 - “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.” * Faithfulness is rewarded in heaven over fame and fortune. * They may be last on the earth, but they’ll be first in heaven. * EX: getting on the train at an airport. * Servants Shall Be Rulers (Mark 10:32–45) * vs 43b - “…but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;” * Those who serve Christ now will be rulers with Him in His Millenial Kingdom. * The Poor Become Rich (Mark 10:46–52) * You can experience poverty on the earth but have great riches in Heaven. * You can live in a singlewide trailer on Earth but have a mansion in Heaven.