Matthew 2024

My name is Pete Woodcock, and I'm 1 of the workers here at the church.

We're, looking at this this, wonderful gospel. Of Matthew. And we're in this section, and I sort of introduced this section last week. It it's about greatness. What is great?

Who is great? What does it mean to be great? How does god think about, greatness? And, we're still on that whole subject, and we will be actually next week as well. We're gonna come up next week, and I just wanna give a warning here.

We're gonna come up next week to divorce, the whole subject of divorce. And it seems to me that that chapter, if you take it out of the context of this whole stuff about who's little, who's small, what is a little 1 I think you can get some pretty, wrong thinking. I I actually think the whole divorce thing fits into this whole subject. So if you wanna know about divorce, then come next week. If you are divorced, you are very welcome to come, please come and hear what what the scriptures say about about divorce.

But, as an introduction to this subject, which is, for for tonight, which is thinking about these little ones again and don't despise them. I wanna show you a really, really, really old sketch. And see what you think about this. Have a look at this. I was down here because I am on the top.

I have my hope. I have got to make it, but I can't put up to him as much as I would have to give for you. I have already included, not draw any money. Sometimes I will talk to him. Are still a half a gig because of a lot of that money, I'm both Well, I'm not a problem.

But while I'm poor, I'm industrious, honest recovery, and I'll be taking on to look down them. Hi. Your opinion will be cleared on. Yeah. I've heard of that.

Hi, ERC will be cleared out if you can get it. The premium is key. I'm gonna pay in the back of my neck. Okay. That's a really old sketch.

And, it really sort of introduces what I what what I wanna to see here in in Matthew 18. Ronnie Colbert, who's the really tiny little 1. He is still alive. Ronnie Barker isn't alive and the other 1 is alive. The whole point of that sketchy is because he's a little person.

It's very hard for him to to look down on anyone because he's little. Now, of course, he can do in his attitude, but physically, he can't he just can't. He just can't look or down on people. And I think that does introduce the whole sort of theme here of Matthew Matthew 18. That actually, when you know you're a little person, you know your place, and you don't need to look down on anyone.

You don't need to. So we're still in this block of teaching about greatness. What is it to be great? And particularly what it is it to be great in the kingdom of god? Look at verse 1.

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Now in order to answer that as we were seeing last week, Jesus calls a child to himself, amongst the crowd. I I'm I was, last week contesting that it was probably a female child for, for the reasons that you would have to go and hear that to talk, for. And, the whole picture is that that the great person in the kingdom of heaven is someone that has no rights, someone who is a child, someone that, isn't this glorious, great person. But is just someone that is needy and someone that has no rights.

So the mark of of even entering the kingdom of heaven is that you have to become a child. Look at verse 2. He called a child to him and place the child among them, and he said truly, I tell you unless you change and become like little children, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. That's what he's describing.

A follower of Jesus Christ. What's a real follower of Jesus Christ? What's a real Christian? What's a real Christian? Well, it's a little 1.

It's a little 1. And if you're truly a little 1, you won't be looking down on others because you're a little 1. You have a humble attitude. You're not despising others, and you're certainly not despising little ones. So all talk of sort of self promotion in the kingdom of god only shows that you'd really know nothing because all talk of self promotion in the kingdom of heaven is repulsive.

To Jesus. Verse 10, see that you do not despise 1 of these little ones. So that's what we're thinking about. Here's my first point. Don't look down.

Don't despise a little 1. Don't look down. Don't despise a little 1. Jesus doesn't want his followers to take that attitude of, I look down on him because. That's out of order.

First 10, see to it that you do not despise 1 of these little ones for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my father in heaven. Don't look down In fact, look up. Look up at the incredible high position of the little ones. Look up and see that the eye of god is on them on the little ones. In Hebrews, another book in the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14, we're told what angels do.

We're told that they're ministering spirits to those who are saved to the to those who are are the little ones. That they serve, they minister to the little ones. That's what angels do. So it's not so much that, you know, people talk about we have a guardian angel. It's not so much that we have 1 guardian angel.

But we have a guard of angels that are there to minister and to serve to, Christians to to these to these, little ones. Now what is interesting here is In Isaiah chapter 6, which is 1 of the most sort of big famous things about angels in the bible, you've got these angels. We we come into the throne of god. Isaiah is taken into the throne of god. And we have these angels, and they're covering their faces with their wings.

They they're not even, able to look at the holy, holy, holy 1 that they're crying. To and singing to. They cover their face. But here, these angels are looking at the very face of god. Now I I I don't know how you sort of reconcile those 2 things.

I don't know whether these angels are sort of more powerful or more significant angels, because they're able to look at the face of the father. And these are the angels that are serving us. It's an amazing thing, isn't it? You encounter people face to face. That's how you sort of get to know people.

That's why the faces are very, very important thing. That's why the the the the the burqa and stuff like that isn't just not, it's just not human. It's not good. We need face to face contact if we're going to know people. But these angels, they live in the very presence of god, and it seems that they're incredibly attentive to his commands.

Their their eyes, we're told are on his face. They're they're looking at him. It's as if these ministering angels are are waiting for a wink from god or, a slight concern that he has over his little ones. And off they go, these guardian angels. This god of angels.

See what Jesus is saying here? God who constantly sustains the universe. The god who holds together a hundred million galaxies or however many there are. Moment by moment holding everything together. That god is looking at the little ones, is concerned for the little ones.

He's not a distant god. He's a father looking at his children. Looking at his little ones. The little ones look up to him, and the loving father looked down to them. I looked down on him or her, because he or she is my little 1, and I'm their loving father.

I know my place. I look up to him as a loving father, caring for me a little 1. That's how it goes. So look up. See the high position of little ones of Christians.

See the culture we live in is it just bangs on all the time, doesn't it? About celebrities and cool people and influencers. You know, that's the big thing, isn't it? You're an influencer. You know?

Yeah. Well, what are you influencing people with? You know, how many thousands have you got as an influencer? The beautiful people. Well, we've we fill our eyes with the rich, the famous, the powerful, You know, when the news comes on, you know, I I call news now just Trumpville.

You know, there's not a news item, isn't there without Trump being mentioned, you know? You know, it it's It's it's just, you know, it's always the powerful, the powerful. The big ones, the rich, the famous. Very little news, is there about Christians. About the naught 0.2 percent Christians in Iraq.

You never hear that, do you? You'll hear about the big bomb going to Iran, but you won't hear about how the Christians suffer. The little ones, but god sees them. God sees them. His holy angels are there looking at the father.

They're the warriors. You know, Only 1 angel has to turn up and thousands of people are dead. This guardian angels are gazing at the father. The angels of the little ones are get you want us to go, and they're the mighty warriors and they'll be going. If the father wants that to happen.

So first point, don't despise little ones. Don't despise Christians. Don't do that. That's the first thing. Here's my second point.

Don't look down. Don't despise 1. Don't despise 1. Look at verse 10 again. See that you do not despise 1.

Of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my father in heaven. And then Jesus tells this story, about, you know, a shepherd that has a hundred sheep. And, 1 single sheep goes wandering off. And he leaves the 99 in search of the 1.

Don't despise the 1 because it's only 1. First 10, see that you do not despise 1 of these little ones. First 12, what do you think If a man owns a hundred sheep and 1 of them wanders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hillside and go and look for the 1 that has wandered off? Let's let's be careful that are sort of wanting to see, you know, a change society, or, you know, save the environment or something. Or feed the masses of people.

Let's be careful with all of that talk if we're Christians that we don't miss the 1. The 1 lost sheep. It's it's very easy, isn't it, to miss the 1 in the crowds? It's very easy to sort of pretend to have compassion for the millions and walk past the 1, isn't it? It's very, very easy to do that.

It makes us look very compassionate, but we don't care about the 1. So be let's be careful of that. It's very easy to be impressed with big, popular, powerful things, you know, big rallies and stuff like that. I'm not against them, but it's very easy to miss just the 1 and not be impressed with the slow, humdrum work of bringing 1 individual to Christ. And then another 1 to Christ.

We want bulk, you know? So often, we want wholesale. Don't we? You know, we want 3 for 1. You know what I mean?

You know, we wanna convert 1, but hopefully the whole family will be converted. Now, of course, we want that, but let's be careful. Spurgeon says this. To attempt national regeneration without personal regeneration. In other words, being converted coming to Christ, to attempt national regeneration without personal regeneration.

Is to dream of erecting a house without separate bricks. You have to have a brick, brick upon brick. And as we save the 1, we start the building. And we can't do better than obey the example here. And the example is this great and good shepherd goes after the 1 that's gone astray.

And and that's our work. See that you don't despise the that despise 1 of these little ones. You mean, what what are we to do? Well, let's go after 1. Sometimes it the the the the work seems so great that we get confused and complicated and anxious and depressed, and we don't do anything.

But 1. Couldn't you talk to 1? You could talk to 1. Couldn't you? Isn't there 1 person in your life?

That you could pray for perhaps. Isn't there 1 person? I mean, like, like, the shepherd goes after 1. Think about that. If we this year, each 1 of us in this room, prayed and led 1 to Christ, we doubled.

It's just simple as that. Double in number immediately. So it's only 1 So don't despise the 1. There's an an article in, evangelicals now, which is a a Christian paper. So we get it free.

Thanks to you. I don't know why we get it free, but I I read it. You know, now. I I used to buy it and not read it, but now I get it free. I read it.

I don't know why. And, yesterday, I had all day, and I read the whole thing. But it there's an article in there. And in the article, it's quoting this quiet revival that that people are sort of quietly talking about is that young young men are are coming back to church. And and in in the article, it's it it said it was a very it's a very good article.

It's worth reading, because it's really about your age group, actually. But it said, 34 percent, of 18 to 14 year old blokes. 34 percent would come to church if you were invited them. So over a third, of your friends will come to church if you invited them. How they work a statistic out like that?

I've got no idea. And I'm sure you could argue with it. But nevertheless, there's this quiet revival. There are young men They're just fed up with being put down constantly and the wokeness of this world and the liberalism that they're beginning to come back to church. It says that 29 percent, again, a third, of 25 to 30 year old blokes, would attend church if they were invited by a friend.

What invite 1 then? Invite 1. See what happens? Or Vite 3, which is almost going against my what I'm saying, and then you'll get 1. Yeah?

Roger Carswell is an evangelist. He's been evangelist for years. 1 of the most amazing things about Roger, whatever you think of him, is is that every day of his life, He makes sure he's talked to 1 person about Christ or given a leaflet to 1 person about Christ every day, every single day even when he's seriously ill. He tells a story, a very strong story, and he tells to tell this publicly. So I I could say it that he was he gets depression.

He was, had planned his own suicide. And he had planned it so it really genuinely looked like an accident so no 1 could get blamed and no 1 would feel guilty. And he meticulously planned this. And, he he absolutely knew if he went ahead with this, it would be seen as an accident, and his life would be over. And as he was driving to go to do this, he stopped off at the petrol station, and, late at night, very late at night, in the middle of the night, got some fuel, and thought, oh, wait.

I need to talk to someone about Christ. Took a leaflet out. And gave it to the the bloke who was collecting money at the petrol station through the glass. And that struck him. I can't commit suicide.

I need to talk to the 1 about Christ. Changed his whole thinking. It's very powerful, very powerful story, isn't it? But, you know, every day is a challenge, isn't it? Every day looking at least looking for an opportunity to say something about the lord Jesus Christ.

We we as a family were at my my, my brother's, son's, wedding. It it was completely pagan. It was a totally pagan wedding. The the word god was not even mentioned. I can't even re remember it as a swear word even.

It was such a pagan wedding. And I sat there thinking, how do I do this? How do I I mean, I've we've talked to my brother and, you know, how do I how do I How how do we get these people? This this hundred people at this wedding to hear about cross? Where do you start?

Where do you where do you start? And I was thinking that through, and I was praying as I heard all this nonsense about paganism going on. And 1 bloke came, Chinese bloke, and asked me what I did. And we had an opportunity, didn't we? For a long time to explain the whole gospel to him?

And I suddenly thought, well, and I he's the he's the father-in-law. And wow. And I'm gonna see him at another wedding, in in in August. You know, just the 1, that 1 person, we should be thinking like the 1. Don't despise the 1.

Don't despise the 1. When I first, became an evangelist, there was 1 who was sort of a few years ahead of me, and he used to speak at conferences and stuff, and I knew him. And, he got a bit more famous than I did, and then he got to the point where he would only go to speak if there were a certain amount of people. He wouldn't speak to less than a few hundred people. And I was doing evangelism, like, there's no 1 turned up.

And, he then actually then started to say, not only do I I'm not speaking to less than, you know, 2 or 300 people. I'm not speaking for less than a certain amount of money. That man is a total fraud now. He he he he was he writes books against the gospel now because he despise the 1. He despise the 1.

I look down on him because I only talked to thousands, and I have an influential book out. I look up to him because he talks to thousands and has an influential book out. But I look down on him because he's only a sunday school teacher, and I'm a pastor of a medium sized church. I know my place. Jesus said, will he not leave the 99 on the hillside and go and look for the 1?

That wandered off. That's the church's job. 99. They're not complaining. I hope because that's what happens to churches when people are going out to reach the 1, This church is all about evangelism.

There's no pastoring here. This church is always talking about reaching the lost. What about us? You can hear the sheep. We need to say to our senior pastor.

Don't worry about us bleeding. You go after the 1. You go after the 1. Make sure we're a church that goes after the 1. That's my second point.

Here's my third point. Don't look down on the wanderer. Don't look down on the wanderer. 1 of the most amazing sayings of Jesus is that the son of man, which is a title of greatness, The son of the man came to seek and to save the lost. It's an extraordinary thing.

We hear this every week at the church because we should never get bored of it and constantly remind ourselves of the wonder of that and the miracle of that that the royal king of the universe, the creator of the universe would come and stuff himself in a womb for 9 months that would inherit a week the weakness of human flesh would pursue us by going to the cross and dying on a cross and rising again. It's an extraordinary story. The son of man came to seek and to save the loss, and we see it here in this wonderful little story Jesus tells verse 12. What do you think if a man owns a hundred sheep and 1 of the wonders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hills and go to look for the 1 that wonder wandered off? And if he finds it, truly, I tell you.

He is happier about the 1 sheep than about the 99 that did not wander off. In the same way your father in heaven is not willing. That any 1 of these little ones should perish. John's gospel, we're told Jesus is the good shepherd, and here he is. Look at him.

We're lost, and Christ comes to save us. It's a wonderful thing. We're ruined. And Christ comes to save us. The shepherd seeks the straying wandering 1.

You know, he goes looking for it. The savior seeks that 1 that's now sitting. That's deliberately left the fold. The picture is is absolutely beautiful. We should never lose this.

So the danger of this wandering sheep. This sheep is in massive danger, isn't it? See, Jesus uses the word at the end of that. There's no, the word perish in verse 14. It's a very strong word will be destroyed.

So the sheep has has become so lost It's impossible for it to be found again by itself or even the other 99 bleating saying where where are you? It's wandered off. It's it's in dangerous territory, but the good shepherd goes to the dangerous territory. And despite the danger to himself, there's the sheep, near the Wolf Sten, wandered off thinking it's free, wandered off saying I don't like the good shepherd. Turning its back on the good shepherd, sinning against the good shepherd again, but the good shepherd goes.

To bring that 1 back. He sees the strange sheep and he presses the red alarm button. We must go. We must go. Angel.

Up the ready. Come on. Let's go. Heaven notices the details of a person that wanders off. And when he brings it back, there's happiness.

There's emotion. God's emotional about it. He's happy. He's a happy god when that happens. God's a happy god when that happens.

Now if god values people because this is what Jesus is teaching us that much, then how much should we value people? And how much should we have compassion on those that wander off and stumble away? Do you notice when someone isn't around? Who are the ignoreables in your life? It's hard to say because you ignore them.

Who are the people that you forget? Well, it's hard to say because you've forgotten them. Have a look around. So gonna be someone here next not here next week because they've they're wandering away from our savior. They're on the way to destruction.

There's wolves ready to get them. Do you feel that? See, as a church, we we we it it it hurts. It should hurt when someone leaves. Just just go over quickly to Galatians chapter 6.

Not gonna be very long. So Galatians chapter 6 and verse 6. You get this a number of times in the new testament, but Paul's writing this letter to Christians in Galatia, and, he says right at the end, brothers and sisters, verse 6 of chapter 6. Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the spirit, so if you're a spiritual person should restore that person gently, you're being kind You're gently restoring them. But watch yourself, so, you also may be tempted, carry each other's burdens.

And in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks that they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. If you're not prepared to carry someone else's burden to rescue them, if you're not prepared to go out for a little 1 who's caught in sin, If you just judge them, if you don't care about the wanderer, then you're not Christlike. You're not fulfilling the law of Christ. Too easy.

It's I look down on him because I have a good Christian breeding. I look up to him because he has good Christian breeding, but I look down on him because he still has some bad habits. I know my place. I will neither be as good as him, never be as good as him because he has innate breathing, and I'll never be as good as him because he has good Christian habits. I look down on him because I only commit socially acceptable sins.

I look up to him because he only commits socially acceptable sins, but I look down on him because he's the worst type of sinner. I know my place. I'm a sinner. We all know our place, but what do we get out of it? I get a feeling of superiority over them.

I get a feeling of inferiority from him but a feeling of superiority over him. I get a pain in the neck. And a disheartening spirit. That should never be our attitude. We don't look down on people.

We don't look up to people because they have socially acceptable sins. So the wanderer, the backslider, the person who's missing, don't despise, feel it, seek them. Fourth point. Don't look down on the 1 who sinned against you. Don't look down on the 1 that sinned against you.

In fact, seek to restore them. Seek to restore them. Look at verse 15. If your brother or sister sins and if you see the little c there in in the NIV version that you've got on on the tables, it goes down sins against you. Some manuscripts say, the older version says sins against you.

If your brother or sister sins or sins against you, go and point out their fault just between the 2 of you. If they listen to you, you've won them over. That's what it's all about. So don't look down on them. You wanna win them over.

First 16, but if they will not listen, take 1 or 2 others along. So that every matter may be established by the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church. And if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would, a pagan, or a tax collector. 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 again. I truly I I truly again, truly I tell you that if 2 of you on earth agree about anything, they ask for it'll be done for them. By my father in heaven. For where 2 or 3 gather in my name, there I am with them. It's a very interesting little thing, but it's all about restoring someone that's either sinned in the church or sinned against you.

We're talking about serious sin here. We're talking about something that will have really affect you. A way to take sin seriously. Because the interesting thing is Even though these people might be in the church, they actually have wandered off. Does that make sense?

So maybe hard to get that concept. But someone who sinned has wandered away from god, even if they're physically near, They've wandered away. So we take sin very seriously. Right? We we don't just ignore it because sin is wandering away from the shepherd.

And so we deal with it how kindly and properly. There's no passive aggression here. Is there? You know, that's a terrible thing. That ruins, communities, passive aggression.

Stay clear of them attitude. You know? They've wronged me in my life. I'm I'm I'm gonna just stay well clear of them. I'm not giving them the satisfaction that they know I care.

They should know you care. There's no passive aggression there. And there's no revenge. Right. I've been reading, some stuff about, that history of France gothic is a violent country, isn't it?

Are there in French? It's just violent people, the French. Any French here? You know it. If you're listening, you know.

I was reading a biography of Pascal and everybody's so violent. You know, anyway, King Louis, the the the twelfth of France said nothing smells so sweet. As the dead body of your enemy. Right. That's something in it.

No. Oh, what a what a sweet smell of a dead body of my enemy. We're not into that. Yeah. So this is the practical outworking of someone that's wandered off, but might still be in the community, if that makes sense.

The the this is this is practical Christianity within the local church. And I think it is limited to the local fold here. 1 of the sheep has sinned against you. How do we live in the local community? Well, we've already seen a number of things.

We we only enter the the flock, the family by becoming like a little 1. We're not to look down on little ones. We've just seen that. We're not to be a stumbling block to little ones. We saw that last week.

We're to go out of our way to help wandering little ones come back. But now in this little thing here section here 15 to 20, Jesus is showing us that that we don't ignore a brother or a sister that sins against us. We don't ignore it. We try to help to restore them. It's 1 of the ways of trying to bring them back properly into the fold.

If verse 15, if your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out their fault just between you 2, you know, don't have to make it big. Just try to settle this quickly. If they listen to you, you've won them over. How wonderful is that? But if they don't listen to you, then you need to go through stages to bring the wandering person back.

So this is treating sin properly. Love covers a multitude of sins in the church. Most of the time, you know, we ignore some of the stuff that's been saying about us or we hear or love covers a multitude of sins, but when it's a particular sin that is going to do harm to the flock it needs to be dealt with. And when it isn't, it will do great harm, the disease. Will carry or the bad apple will cause the barrel to go sour.

And it's a very, very simple order, isn't it? It's so beautiful. Jesus is so practical about caring for the 1. This is how we care for the 1 to bring them back. So verse, verse 15.

Let me just read it. Sorry. If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault just between you 2 so you do that. Between the 2 of you. Hi.

Listen. You know what's going on here? How can we resolve this? Let's, bring you back. If he doesn't listen, then you go, to, 1 or 2 witnesses Yep.

You bring them in and say, hey, come on, look. Let's try and sort this out. Yeah. And if he doesn't listen to that, then the next stage, you go to public and say, look, this rather this sister's just carrying on, Sydney. And then then you make sure that they're treated like a pagan.

In other words, you'll say you're not in the flock. And the reason for saying you're not in the flock is to show them that they're not in the flock. That they're now out of the flock, that they're the wandering 1. They're the 1 in danger. They're the 1 near the wolf.

The point of putting them out and saying no, you you have to go out of membership. It's not so that we are better and self righteous, but it's to say, no, no, no, you wanna see how dangerous you're in. And hopefully, they'll see where they are, and the lord Jesus, the shepherd will bring them back in. Then the last thing and then unfinished is this parable. Now we're not dealing with parables in our way through Matthew, because we dealt with parables in Matthew, then we decided to do Matthew without the parables, which is the weirdest thing I've ever heard of in my life.

But there we are. We have a senior pastor that knows what he's doing. And although it was done before that, I think. But, the parable is all about forgiving that we are to be a forgiving people. And it's all about how you've been forgiven.

So the way you forgive is to know that you've been forgiven much. That's what that parable is about. Look at the cross. See the debt that Christ the savior came and paid for you. See how the loving savior came out of his way.

For you, the lost sheep and pulled you into the flock, then then forgive. Forgive. Forgive. That's all about being great in the kingdom. We're great when the little ones are big in our mind and hearts.

Where are we? Let's have, a minute chatting about that on the tables, and we'll have a few minutes of question time. So why don't you chat about what you've heard? And then just for a few minutes, we'll finish at 8. So don't worry.