Category: Matthew

Posted in 2Corinthians, John, Matthew, Romans

Hidden Treasure – Part Two

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

Yesterday we saw that the treasure of God’s unconditional love is hidden from our experience when our identity is in our performance. The second treasure the gospel reveals is salvation in Christ, yet this remains hidden from our experience when we cling to unbelief.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of their sin “because men do not believe in Me.” (John 16:9) No one minds believing in the historical existence of Jesus or in the inspirational teaching and example He gave. What people struggle with is that He claims to be the Savior. (The name Jesus means savior)

To believe in Jesus as Savior means I’m not a good person who just needs a little instruction and encouragement. I am a sinner who needs saving. Really believing in Jesus means that I am no longer the hero in my own story which is why the self-righteous often persist in unbelief even when God has given them ample evidence that they are sinners.

Some people struggle with the simplicity of receiving salvation as a gift, yet this is the only way one can experience this treasure. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Think of someone who loves you and has bought you an expensive gift for your birthday. When they give it to you, you don’t try to pay for it, do you? That would be an insult to the giver. You say, “thank you,” and unwrap it and when they see you enjoying the gift they freely gave, it makes the price they paid worth it to them.

God saw our need and paid a very high price (the blood of Jesus) to get us an “indescribable gift” (2Corinthians 9:15) called eternal life. To own it we just have to admit we’re sinners and receive it with the faith of a child. When we begin walking in the relationship that is included in this gift, we bring joy to the One who purchased it for us.

Posted in Luke, Matthew, Romans

Hidden Treasure – Part One

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

You can be in the field of church and seldom see the treasure that’s hidden in it. Without seeing the treasure there will be little joy in your faith and your Christianity will seem more of a burden added to your life, than that which removes every burden and gives you joy. So what is the treasure and what hides it from our hearts?

The first treasure the gospel reveals is God’s unconditional love for us, but it is hidden from those who have their identity in performance. It’s very difficult for humans to grasp God’s love because we are used to conditions. Paul says it would be rare for someone to die for a good man, but at least we can conceive of the possibility because a good person deserves to be loved. He goes on to explain God’s love: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

God doesn’t just love everyone; He loves you. Whether you’ve been good or bad in man’s eyes, He loves you. Whether you feel like a success or a continual failure, He loves you. And nothing you can do or fail to do can change that.

The prodigal son (Luke 15) represented the prostitutes, tax gatherers, and “sinners” who felt God would never want them near because of their bad performance. Even when the prodigal repented he planned on asking to be made a “hired man.” The hired man made the wages of a slave but didn’t live in the house. Yet when he returned he received an unexpected welcome and restoration to his father. The Father sees us, even when we’re far away, and when we take a step toward Him, He runs toward us. Is it hard for you to believe that this is how emotional God is over you every time you try to draw near to Him? Ask Him to heal whatever is keeping you from believing in His love.

The older brother missed the party because he thought his good performance earned him something. He represented the Pharisees and Scribes who were listening and thought they were better than other people. Self-righteousness will keep you busy as a Christian, but it will prevent you from experiencing the Father’s love and out of the party of His joy.

Posted in Ephesians, Matthew

Asking Prayer

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Ask and it will be given to you.” Matthew 7:7

In seeking prayer we seek God for who He is; in knocking prayer we persistently knock for the influence of the Holy Spirit on others; and in asking prayer we ask for our own needs. Jesus said we didn’t need to use many words in asking prayer because “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” If He already knows, why ask? God wants us to get to know His generosity and love through answered prayer, and He strategically uses delays in answers to refine our character.

Believing is especially central to asking prayer. Jesus said, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:22) Believing what? Believing that God will give it exactly when and how you want it? Or do we simply believe God is good; He hears our prayer and He will answer it in His own way and in His own time? Martin Luther believed it was the latter:

“We are to lay our need before God in prayer but not prescribe to God a measure, manner, time, or place. We must leave that to God, for He may wish to give it to us in another, perhaps better, way than we think is best. Frequently we do not know what to pray as St. Paul says in Romans 8, and we know that God’s ways are above all that we can ever understand as He says in Ephesians 3. Therefore, we should have no doubt that our prayer is acceptable and heard, and we must leave to God the measure, manner, time, and place, for God will surely do what is right.” (Devotional Classics; pg 117)

A couple of months ago I was praying about a frustrating situation and instructing God exactly when He needed to have this problem fixed by, and if not, I was going to have to do something drastic. After I was done with my little tirade, I heard a one word whisper in my mind that I believe was the Holy Spirit speaking: “Really?” I was instantly repentant of my attitude. I’m not going to take over; I’m going to wait for God’s timing and allow the process to refine my soul.

Ephesians 3:20 is a verse that gives God a lot of latitude in how He answers prayer: “God is able to do far above all you ask or think…” We don’t have to ask perfectly or even think of how God might do it; our part is to pray with childlike faith and trust that our God will take it from there. Ask and it will be given to you.

Posted in 2Chronicles, Jeremiah, Matthew, Psalms

Seeking Prayer

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Seek, and you will find.” Matthew 7:7

Jesus describes three types of prayer that we will look at over the next three days. The first is seeking prayer which is a description of prayer that seeks after God for who He is. Jeremiah 29:13 gives the essence of this kind of prayer: “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Singing worship songs is considered part of seeking prayer because it is God focused instead of need centered. Jesus gave us an outline for prayer which starts with who God is: “Our Father who lives in heaven; hallowed by Your Name.” Seeking prayer is when we remember it’s not about us or our name (reputation), but about God and His Name.

The best selling book The Purpose Driven Life, starts with the words, “It’s not about you.” In seeking prayer we remember this truth and long to find our satisfaction and identity in God, instead of in ourselves.

“When you said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.’” (Psalm 27:8) God invites us to come after Him and find a deeper faith based more and more on His character and less and less on our momentary feelings about Him.

People often start prayer by asking for God’s hand which is fine, but the real action comes when we prioritize seeking His face. Consider one of the greatest promises in the Bible: “If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2Chronicles 7:14) Isn’t it interesting that this verse never mentions anyone asking God to heal the land? If you seek His face, you will see His hand move on your behalf without even having to ask!

I remember when my kids were young. A lot of their interaction with me was because they needed something, but once in a while they would bring a picture that they made “just for me.” It didn’t matter what was on that paper, it was a masterpiece that was going on the refrigerator because of their loving intent. I think that’s how God feels when we seek His face!

Posted in John, Matthew

The Value of Jesus

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” Matthew 26:13

When Mary of Bethany poured costly oil on Jesus’ head in a spontaneous act of worship, the disciples were “indignant” and said, “Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and then given to the poor.” (Matthew 26:8-9) Yet there was something in this act that captured the whole-hearted response the value of Jesus calls for, so our text says the gospel itself is to now include the retelling of this event.

Earlier Jesus had compared the kingdom of heaven to a “treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44) In this act of devotion, Mary modeled this truth before everyone’s eyes. Mary had found treasure in her relationship with Jesus and could not contain her worship. To the others, even those closest to Him, it was as if the treasure was hidden. “Why this waste?” is what they said in the face of such an extravagant offering.

Today our costly oil is our time. Do you ever just “waste” time worshipping Jesus? Beware of a voice in your head that will speak to you whenever you want to spend time alone with the Lord: “Why this waste? You’ve got things to do, needs to meet, responsibilities to fulfill, calls to make, and items to check off of your list. You don’t have time for this.” Yet when we set a higher value on God than on all the things we have to do, we bring pleasure to Jesus, like Mary did.

“What about all the urgent other things?” you ask. Jesus replied, “you always have the poor with you.” (Matthew 26:11) In other words, the needs will still be there after you take time for devotion. The reality is you and I are much more equipped to handle all of the pressures around us after we have “wasted” time with Jesus because His presence, blessing, and wisdom will then flow more freely. Jesus said that the result of us drinking of Him would be “rivers of living water flowing out of our innermost being.” (John 7:37-39)

Posted in Job, John, Matthew

War Horses

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“I am meek and lowly of heart, take My yoke upon you and learn from Me and you will find rest in your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30

The Greek word “praus” is translated “meek” in our text, but it is difficult to find an exact English word to match what it means. Ancient Greeks used this word to describe a stallion that was broken and could be ridden. One commentator writes: “The horse was perfectly trained and ready, it would obey the master, the rider, no matter what was going on around it, so that it could be trusted in the heat of battle not to do something stupid or foolish; once the rider knew that he could trust the animal, and that it would obey him no matter what, he called it a meek horse even though it could have been a powerful, thoroughbred stallion, capable of killing enemies in battle.”

Jesus is saying that He’s like the war horse. He didn’t fear anything, whatever the Father showed Him, He did (John 5:19). If the Father told Him to go right into hell itself to cast out a demon, He would go there. He walked in perfect rest because He only had to pay attention to His Father and had no fear of anyone or anything else.

Why did God describe a meek horse to Job? (Job 39:19-25)  I think it’s because all that God had allowed in Job’s life was for the purpose of making him meek and fearless, like this horse. Job walked uprightly before God but he still had things that he was afraid of. “What I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.” (Job 3:25) After all of this trial was over, I am convinced, Job was unafraid of anything. The worst had happened and God had brought him through.

What if we face what we face because God is trying to destroy the power of fear in our lives? I believe God wants to make us war horses the Holy Spirit can lead into any battle, at any time, knowing that we won’t go by our emotions, our past experiences, or our opinions, but only by His prompting. The Father doesn’t want us hiding in fear until Jesus rescues us out of this wicked, scary world – He wants to lead us right into the midst of darkness to bring His kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven!

Posted in John, Matthew, Psalms

The Benefits of the Good Shepherd

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” Psalm 23:1

In John 10 Jesus revealed that He was the good shepherd Psalm 23 was written about. There are three tremendous benefits in making the Lord our Shepherd:

  1. Security – Sheep are timid creatures and don’t eat or rest well when they’re afraid. When Jesus is truly our Shepherd we have somewhere to take our fears and can learn how to live our daily lives free from anxiety. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; Your rod and your staff they comfort me.” Through the forgiveness offered in the cross, Jesus takes away the fear of death by giving us eternal life now. Death becomes a promotion instead of an end and getting older no longer means we’re past our prime; we’re only getting closer to coming into it. In Christ, our best days are before us because we were created for eternity and not just time.
  2. Success – When the shepherd is not close by, sheep immediately form a butting order by which each sheep learns its place. Sheep won’t even lie down without the shepherd nearby because they’re afraid they’ll lose their place. The world’s definition of success is often about power, money, and fame, and it requires a lot of energy to protect one’s place. But Jesus redefines success for His people – “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.” We only have to do the right thing in each situation we are in and live to honor His Name.  When we live to please God and make that our priority, “goodness and mercy will follow.” We always get in trouble when we seek God’s blessings instead of letting them follow us. Jesus said it this way: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
  3. Satisfaction – “My cup overflows.” Jesus said, “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) God’s idea was that witnessing would be a very natural outflow of our satisfaction in Him. Is it a burden to tell someone about a movie or book you loved? The witness is spontaneous because you want those who you love to experience the blessing that you enjoyed in watching or reading. George Mueller said, “I consider the first duty of every day is to get my soul happy in God.”  Let’s do the same!
Posted in Mark, Matthew

God or Money?

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24

Perhaps the greatest distraction to pure devotion to Jesus Christ in this day and age is money. Who is ruling all things in our lives? Is it Jesus, before whom “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess,” or is it money? The one who actually rules our lives is not necessarily what our religion states; it’s the one we make our decisions by and find our comfort in.

Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) Unfortunately, we in America are often guilty of seeking first “all these things” and adding a little religion on the side. Our money says, “In God we trust,” but do we really?

Jesus came across a very moral and religious young man who was bound by the power of money. The Scripture tells us that, “Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, `One thing you lack; go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.’ But at these words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property.” (Mark 10:21-22)

God wanted to free this man from money’s subtle power over him. His property wasn’t the real problem, it was his heart. In the very same chapter Jesus promises that those who have left, “houses…and farms,” for Him will receive back a hundred times, “houses…and farms,” in this life. (Mark 10:29-30) Ultimately Jesus didn’t want his money; He wanted his heart.

Matthew 6:21 says, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Does God have your money, or are you holding on tightly to it trying to add a little religion on the side? In these difficult days of shaking it is vital for us to be trusting God in every area of our lives.

Posted in Matthew, Revelation

The Narrow Road

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6

The Christian life truly lived out in the power of the Holy Spirit will discover the truth of Jesus’ words: “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28) It is the wide road which leads to destruction that is the heavy, hard way. The problem with the road to life is not that it’s hard, but that it’s narrow; in other words, easy to get off of.

In our text the Lord gives the two sides of the road to life that Christians can easily fall into. The first is the leaven of the Pharisees which is legalism. It’s easy to fall into this ditch and not realize you’re in it because outwardly you’re still doing all the stuff. I’m going to church, reading my Bible, staying away from known sin, and keeping all the rules; but that’s the problem.   God’s not calling us to rules but to a relationship with Himself. Another reason it’s hard to discern legalism is that there is often a lot of passion involved. Jesus said the Pharisees were willing to travel over land and sea to make one disciple. That’s passion! But legalism’s passion isn’t really for the Lord Himself, but only for it’s version of Christianity.  My church, my group, and my doctrine all become more central than Jesus.

The other side of the road Jesus says is the leaven of the Sadducees. These were religious people who made a compromise with the world’s system. They no longer really went by the Bible and saw nothing wrong with fully embracing the ways of a godless culture. When we listen to the world our passion for the Lord goes out, and it becomes all about us and what we want. Christianity and even the Lord Himself become a means to our personal happiness. Going this way you end up with a form of godliness but lose the power that changes your life.

The good news is that it’s easy to get back on the narrow road when we realize we have drifted off it. Because of what Jesus did on the cross we just need to repent and ask Him to forgive us and fill us again. The church in Ephesus had fallen into legalism and Jesus told them to repent and remember their first love. (Revelation 2:1-6) The church at Laodicea had fallen into license and the Lord told them to be zealous (wage war on compromise) and repent because He was standing at the door knocking wanting to be the center again. (Revelation 3:15-20)

Here’s how I check myself for leaven: legalism produces anxiety before God while license produces apathy before God. The fruit of truly being on the road to life is to be “awake” (spiritually alert with our lamps filled with oil), and “at rest” (confident in Christ’s love and finished work on our behalf).

Posted in Hebrews, Matthew

Working to Rest

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:9-11

Confronted with the demands of ministry, I’ve thought a lot about the importance of rest. The center of Christianity is not our work, but Christ’s finished work on the cross. Our victory comes not from our human efforts but from learning to rest in Him, and allowing His life to overcome through us.

Our text tells us that if we tend to this one relationship, (“Be diligent to enter that rest…”) we will no longer be under the striving of our own works but be in a position where God can work through us. Working without entering that rest will always lead to unbelief and disobedience because only Christ in us can live the Christian life. On our own we can clean up the outside of the cup and even impress a few people, but real cleansing requires our ceasing from what we can do and yielding to the Holy Spirit’s presence in us.

Are you tired? Are you slowly burning out? Has your Christianity become one more burden instead of the lifter of all your other burdens? Jesus has some advice for all of us: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)