Matthew 17:27 (9/11/24)

Benham Brothers

Studies Download App

Matthew 17:27 (9/11/24)

Solving Your Money Issues

September 11, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Matthew 17:27

* When you take care of God’s thing, He takes care of yours.

* When you put His kingdom first, “all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33).

* EX: Birds don’t worry, they work.

* Backstory - the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus.

* They challenged Him on whether or not He paid the temple tax.

* All Jews paid it to keep the temple in good repair.

* vs 24-26 - “After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him.”

* Kings don’t charge taxes to their kids.

* Jesus didn’t “need” to pay the tax because God was His Father and God was king!

* But look what Jesus did:

* vs 27 - ““But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

* First, it’s good to forfeit certain things for the sake of others.

* We don’t need to draw an offense.

* Second, look how God rewards obedience.

* Peter got his tax paid in full!

* “…Take that and give it to the them for me and for yourself.”

* Pete had to pay his tax, but Jesus covered the bill because Peter put Him first!

* God will do the same with us.

* If we put Him first, our needs will always be met.

* We put Him first by seeking to honor Him in all we do (tithe).

* This includes our work, where we make our money.

* Honor God in your work and you’ll never beg a day in your life.

* That’s a promise you can take to the bank!

* NOTE - this is the only time we see Jesus telling His disciples to fish with a hook and line rather than a net.

* It was when they were looking for money!

* Many times our churches are fishing the wrong way - we're using a hook and bait to lure people in, only for them to bite a fake.

* We lure them in through entertainment which means we have to keep them there that way as well.

* But we have to keep them there because they pay everyone's salary through their tithe.

* We should simply be shining our light and drawing people in through the net of love.

* That's the proper way to fish for people.

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.