Hi, and welcome to "The
Books of the Book" series
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on "The Gospel of Matthew".
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We're exploring
this gospel picture,
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the portrait of Jesus Christ
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and Matthew
under the inspiration
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of the Holy
Spirit provides for us.
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We're here with
Dr. Ranko Stefanovic
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from Andrews University,
theological seminary,
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professor of New Testament.
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Ranko, it's a joy to
do this program together
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to be studying scripture is
just a wonderful opportunity.
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Yes, Glenn, it's--I'm so
glad to be with you here.
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We've known each
other for long time.
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We taught in the
department of religion
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for significant number of years
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and I know your passion
for Christ and for ministry
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and it's a great
privilege to be here at 3ABN
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and shared this
message of Jesus Christ.
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You know, Ranko,
I think both of us
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would admit as teachers
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that sometimes things aren't
quite the way they should be,
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perhaps in the school,
perhaps in our campuses,
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perhaps even in our classrooms.
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We need prayer,
don't we? Oh, yes.
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We need the
support and encouragement.
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I just want to say a
word to the viewers out there,
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please pray for your
teachers, pray for your pastors,
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pray for the
ministries, pray for 3ABN.
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It's so easy to be
critical and to criticize,
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and to find in the
opportunity to find fault.
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But please pray for
God to speak through
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and for God to bless.
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Each one who is seeking this
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share Christ
with our young people?
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It's a difficult
world these days.
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It's a tough time to
grow up as young person.
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Reach out to the
young people in your church,
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in your home, pray for them.
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It'll make all the
difference in the world.
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Glenn, I would also like to
say something to our viewers.
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You know, I have in my
wallet, I have several cards,
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one of them is to
show my profession
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as a professor
with a doctoral degree.
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But probably the
most important card
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that I have in my wallet is this
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that says,
"Ministerial Credentials".
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I'm the ordained pastor of
Seventh Day Adventist Church
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and I take my
classroom as my church
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that those young people
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they have different
challenges as young people.
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But at the end of the
semester when they come to you,
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they say, in this
class I found Jesus Christ.
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I fell in love with Him.
I want to serve my church.
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I want to serve
Christ the rest of my life.
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Wherever I travel, I
find my former students
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they said, "You
remember I was lazy.
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I did not take my
classes seriously.
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But God used you to make
a difference in my life."
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I know the same
happened with you.
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So please pray for us
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because we are all
on the same mission is
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to bring people to Jesus Christ.
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And as we continue in
our exploration of the gospel
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according to Matthew,
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all we want to be sure
God leads us in our study.
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Let's pray together. Yes.
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Lord, we come.
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We've thoughts and ideas.
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We've training
and we've background.
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But more than anything
else, we need Your spirit.
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We need you to breakthrough
to speak to our hearts,
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to speak to our
minds, to draw us to you.
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May we truly sense
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that Your spirit
is present with us now
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as we study Your word.
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Be with each
viewer, be with each of us
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in Jesus name we
pray, amen. Amen.
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All right, Ranko,
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we have been exploring
this wonderful book of Matthew.
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We've seen that Jesus has now
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set His face towards Jerusalem.
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He is headed to the cross.
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But there are some
things He needs to make sure
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that His disciples
understand before He gets there.
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It's interesting
as Jesus is moving
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with His disciples
towards Jerusalem there,
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He is constantly
taking them aside,
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talking with them,
trying to serve them
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because He does
not have too much time,
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you know, to talk to them.
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And He wants to tell them,
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"I'm going to Jerusalem to die."
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This is what will happen.
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But evidently their
interest was in something else.
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So Glenn, I
would like to ask you,
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if you can take
verses 1 to 6 of Chapter 18.
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We're hearing
Chapter 18 at this moment.
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And we remember the disciples
came with mixed motives--
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Mixed motives etcetera.
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With all kinds
of other objectives.
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They had some sincerity.
Yes, we have to admit that.
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They were sincere people.
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But they also had
some misunderstandings.
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Matthew, Chapter 18, verse 1,
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"At that time the
disciples came to Jesus saying,
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'Who then is greatest
in the kingdom of heaven?'
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Jesus called a
little child to Him,
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set him in the
midst of them, and said,
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'Assuredly, I tell you,
unless you are converted
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and become as little children,
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you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven.
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Therefore
whoever humbles himself
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as this little
child is the greatest
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in the kingdom of heaven.
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Whoever receives one
little child like this
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in My name receives me.
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"Whoever causes one
of these little ones
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who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him
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if a millstone were
hung around his neck
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and he were drowned in
the depth of the sea.'"
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Okay. Let's try to
understand something here.
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When the disciples ask Jesus,
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who is the
greatest in the kingdom?
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Who is the
greatest in the kingdom?
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Obviously God. Who
has the power? Yeah.
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Who is the
greatest in the kingdom
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that person will be
next to Jesus in his kingdom.
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They were fighting
for position there--
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there in the kingdom.
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They thought that
Jesus was to establish
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that earthly kingdom,
but Jesus surprised them.
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They were interested in power,
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but Jesus brings
there in the midst,
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He brings a child.
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Now there is
something different about
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the eastern view about children,
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in biblical times
and children today.
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We're used to when a
child comes into the room,
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our conversation
stops in the center.
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But, in ancient
times the child was what?
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When, when-- adults are talking
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child does not have place there.
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The child is outside.
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It's all outside
because--go, go and play,
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you've nothing
to do with adults.
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So child is an
example of the least.
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Yeah, so Jesus
invites the child and He says
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if you do not humble
yourself to be like this child,
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you'll actually not
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get into the Kingdom of
Heaven. Can you imagine?
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Who is the greatest
in the Kingdom of Heaven?
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Jesus has--if you do
not become like this child,
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you don't--not
that you're not great,
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but you'll not
find yourself there
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in the kingdom of heaven.
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So there is a contrast
that we're seeing here.
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They're asking
about the greatness
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and He's showing the least. Yes.
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And now Jesus is making to move
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from that Kingdom of Heaven,
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He is moving now to the visibly.
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You remember, we talked
about the visible manifestation
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of the Kingdom of Heaven
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and that's
actually what the church is.
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And giving the
practical instructions,
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if you want to be
the great in the kingdom,
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now this is the way
how you should live,
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you should live in the church.
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And one of the great problems
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it's--been in so many
times in our congregation
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is that same old
problem like the disciples
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who is the
greatest in my church,
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in my community of faith,
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and Jesus now gonna
deal with it, all right.
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So now let's go to
what Jesus has done.
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You'll notice how many times
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Jesus uses here the
expression "the little ones"
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in verse 6, "The one
who causes the little ones."
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Then verse 10,
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"See that you do not despise
one of these little ones."
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Let's go verse 14,
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"So it is not the will of
our Father who is in heaven
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that one of these
little one perishes."
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What Jesus tries to
make is that we must be aware
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that in the
church, there is a group,
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the Jesus labels or Jesus
refers to as the "little one."
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Glenn, if the little ones
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then how we should
call another group?
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Well, it's got to be greater.
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The greater ones.
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So there are two
groups in the church.
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And what Jesus tried
to make very clear is,
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if you are the
great one in the church,
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you'll be great
by the way you deal
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and you treat
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those little ones
there in the church.
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So way to find out how faithful
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I'm in following Jesus is
the way I treat the least.
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He's not just talking
about age children here, is He?
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Other synoptics,ther synoptics,
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they has-- actually they contain
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and then they mention some
other instructions of Jesus.
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When Jesus told them, do you see
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the rulers in the world?
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They take the
power. They dictate.
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And they rule other people.
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Keep in mind, they ask who
is great in the king of God?
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Jesus said, "Great in the
king of God is not the person
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who has the power
dictate, dominate other people.
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No, he is the
person who tried to treat
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those little ones in the way
the Jesus Christ treats them.
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All right. He
seems to understand
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human nature very well. Yes.
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And he
understands how even though
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we're like the disciples
of chosen that follow Jesus.
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We're still struggling.
We're still not there yet.
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Now Ranko, there might
be little bit of surprise
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where some people say, well
the church should be perfect.
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There should be no problems.
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Was that the vision Jesus had?
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Was He unrealistic
about his followers?
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Glenn, can we be
reminded, we did not have a time
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to go extensively
to treat that text.
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In Matthew
Chapter 13, Jesus said,
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the Kingdom of
Heaven which is the church,
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okay on the earth,
that Kingdom of Heaven,
00:09:52.39\00:09:57.33
there are not only good seeds
00:09:57.36\00:09:59.93
but there are also tears.
00:09:59.96\00:10:01.80
And Jesus said
00:10:01.83\00:10:03.16
"until the very
Second Coming of Christ,
00:10:03.20\00:10:05.80
the both groups
will be in the church."
00:10:05.83\00:10:07.84
We don't want to do it.
00:10:07.87\00:10:09.37
It's not that God is
happy because of that.
00:10:09.40\00:10:11.71
And Jesus does not
predict that it must be.
00:10:11.74\00:10:15.08
But Jesus said, "This
is the reality whether
00:10:15.11\00:10:17.58
we want to accept it or not."
00:10:17.61\00:10:19.51
But until the very
Second Coming of Christ,
00:10:19.55\00:10:22.48
there will be
two groups together
00:10:22.52\00:10:24.49
and it is only the
Second Coming of Christ
00:10:24.52\00:10:26.72
that we'll make separation
between the two members.
00:10:26.76\00:10:28.69
And the first
thing, we've seen then is
00:10:28.72\00:10:30.29
that one of the things
that has to make a difference
00:10:30.33\00:10:32.79
is that those of us in
the community of faith need
00:10:32.83\00:10:36.13
to treat those on the
fringes, those on the edges,
00:10:36.16\00:10:39.17
those who are
the most likely to be
00:10:39.20\00:10:40.80
outcast or rejected.
00:10:40.84\00:10:42.40
How do we treat them?
00:10:42.44\00:10:43.81
Actually, if you notice here
verses 7 to 10, the Jesus said,
00:10:43.84\00:10:47.54
"that those little
ones, they are sinners."
00:10:47.58\00:10:49.84
There are people
who have a problem,
00:10:49.88\00:10:51.31
they're not spiritually strong.
00:10:51.35\00:10:52.81
But Jesus says,
00:10:52.85\00:10:54.18
"If I'm spiritually
strong and great person,
00:10:54.22\00:10:57.05
and if I'm a stumbling
block to those people,"
00:10:57.09\00:11:00.39
do you know what it
means stumbling block.
00:11:00.42\00:11:02.26
I can offend people, I
can treat them harshly.
00:11:02.29\00:11:05.29
Jesus says, "Is better to me."
00:11:05.33\00:11:08.73
That these are-- Strong lines.
00:11:08.76\00:11:10.77
I'm--I'm afraid
to reading those.
00:11:10.80\00:11:12.37
Jesus says, "Put the
millstone out of your neck
00:11:12.40\00:11:15.30
and throw yourself in the lake.
00:11:15.34\00:11:16.67
It's better for
you to lose this life
00:11:16.71\00:11:18.34
then you one day that you
finish in that, in that hell,"
00:11:18.37\00:11:22.14
eternal fire that
you just mentioned
00:11:22.18\00:11:25.01
at the Second Coming of Christ.
00:11:25.08\00:11:26.41
Fairly that compassion of Jesus
00:11:26.45\00:11:28.62
that we've seen
several times in the gospel
00:11:28.65\00:11:30.75
cares deeply how
we treat each other.
00:11:30.79\00:11:32.72
And Jesus cares
about sinners. Yes.
00:11:32.75\00:11:36.29
By the way, in verse 12,
00:11:36.32\00:11:40.10
Jesus talks
about those little ones
00:11:40.13\00:11:43.40
and he compares
them with the lost sheep.
00:11:43.43\00:11:47.07
If you go to the
gospe of Luke, Chapter 15,
00:11:47.10\00:11:50.04
we have the
parable of the lost sheep.
00:11:50.07\00:11:52.24
But, you know, we've the parable
of the lost sheep in Luke 15.
00:11:52.27\00:11:55.11
We've the lost coin,
and we've the prodigal son.
00:11:55.14\00:11:58.35
Who is the lost
sheep in that context?
00:11:58.38\00:12:00.45
Is somebody who left
the church and is sinner,
00:12:00.48\00:12:03.15
it's outside of the church,
00:12:03.18\00:12:04.52
and the shepherd
goes through them?
00:12:04.55\00:12:05.89
In this context, this
sheep is lost in the church.
00:12:05.92\00:12:10.66
The context and the
metaphor that Jesus is using,
00:12:13.76\00:12:17.33
He is completely differing them
00:12:17.37\00:12:18.90
from the metaphor of Luke 15.
00:12:18.93\00:12:20.90
The people who
are in the church,
00:12:20.94\00:12:22.90
they come, they
smile, they have a tie,
00:12:22.94\00:12:25.17
they, you know,
everything is nice.
00:12:25.21\00:12:26.68
They're all smiling
when they come to a church,
00:12:26.71\00:12:28.71
but those people
are lost in the church.
00:12:28.74\00:12:32.55
They've nominal name Christians,
00:12:32.58\00:12:35.05
but they've
nothing to do Jesus Christ.
00:12:35.08\00:12:37.12
They are so much oppressed
with the problems of this life
00:12:37.15\00:12:40.42
and Jesus says,
00:12:40.46\00:12:41.79
"if you're great
in the king of God
00:12:41.82\00:12:44.79
it is your duty
to go and to seek
00:12:44.83\00:12:48.73
and look for that
sheep, find that sheep,
00:12:48.76\00:12:52.20
and restore her into the
fellowship of the flock."
00:12:52.23\00:12:57.14
I'd like to read verse 14,
00:12:57.17\00:12:58.51
"Even so it is not the will
of your Father who is in heaven,
00:12:58.54\00:13:01.78
that one of these
little ones should perish."
00:13:01.81\00:13:04.78
God's desire is that
no one should perish.
00:13:04.81\00:13:08.82
What a beautiful picture!
It's a beautiful picture.
00:13:08.85\00:13:11.89
As we, as we work
through this process,
00:13:11.92\00:13:14.62
He wants us to
catch the heart of God,
00:13:14.66\00:13:16.99
He wants us to have
the love for the ones
00:13:17.03\00:13:18.79
who would perish
just like the Father does.
00:13:18.83\00:13:20.96
There is something else.
00:13:21.03\00:13:22.36
In verse 13 says,
when that strong one,
00:13:22.40\00:13:25.83
the great one into
church finds that sheep
00:13:25.87\00:13:29.27
that is lost in the
church, "He finds truly,
00:13:29.30\00:13:31.87
I say to you he rejoices
over it more than over 99,
00:13:31.91\00:13:37.31
which have not gone astray."
00:13:37.35\00:13:39.75
There is a joy when a
sinner comes back to God.
00:13:39.78\00:13:43.15
Now there is a question.
00:13:43.18\00:13:44.52
I know that the viewers
are asking the question,
00:13:44.55\00:13:47.86
what does it mean that we
go and seek for the sheep?
00:13:47.89\00:13:51.09
How we are
supposed to seek that sheep?
00:13:51.13\00:13:53.83
I don't, I don't
know, I don't know,
00:13:53.86\00:13:55.30
who is that
little one that is lost?
00:13:55.33\00:13:57.13
Right after, right
after the break Jesus give us
00:13:57.17\00:13:59.60
detailed instructions actually
how to seek for the sheep.
00:13:59.63\00:14:02.44
Ranko, you've
raised the question.
00:14:02.47\00:14:04.01
We're gonna
have to come back for
00:14:04.04\00:14:05.37
the answer
right after the break.
00:14:05.41\00:14:06.74
We'll be right back.
00:14:06.78\00:14:08.11