Exodus 20:8-11 God’s 4th commandment presents us with a very tangible, task oriented way to express our love for Him: spending time together. Loving God implies some sort of relationship, and I think we can all agree; good relationships take time together to develop and grow.  Our Father Creator’s 4th commandment sets apart a specific day of the week, so that we can spend time together, and develop our relationship. It is last of the first four commandments which offer  us guidance on what it means to love God with all our heart, mind, and being. *********************************You can listen to this message on YouTubeThe Fourth Commandment: Face Time With God*********************************Let's review the first four commandments in terms of a relationship:1st commandment - to make this relationship your top priority; compare to a courtship where each party wants to be the other person’s top priority. 2nd commandment - to have a true image of who and what God is; in human relationships we consider it important that the other party “get us”… the understand who we are and what we are all about3rd commandment - to show respect and honor towards God; in healthy human relationships you want the other party to treat you a certain way4th commandment - to spend time together: you want the other party to spend time with youThe Sabbath is Time Set Apart By GodGenesis 2:1-2 the day in question is the 7th day of the weekly cycleLeviticus 23:32 in God's word a "day" is reckoned    from sunset to sunset The Sabbath is actually very simple and straightforward. Yet, it is the most consistently undermined and confused by ridiculous arguments like:.1. All days are equal. The 7th day Sabbath is merely a ceremonial observance. Commonly expressed "we should spend time  with God every day not just on a single day of the week".2. Any day will do. we are adhering to the spirit of the commandment if we set aside one day out of seven. The Sabbath doesn't have to be on Saturday it can be on Sunday, or Wednesday. And its actually better to change the day since we don't want to be confused with the Jews. Imagine yourself in a relationship where you are rich and powerful and the other party has nothing. Everything they have they owe to you, past and present. You love them and you want to spend time together. You say “you can come and see me any time, but I would like you to always come to see me every Saturday”. They reply “I appreciate all you do for me but I think I’d rather be the one to pick when we meet. I’ll let you know what days I’ll come”. What would their words tell you about your relationship with that person?Disinformation and Confusion About The SabbathThe battle over the Sabbath is a war of deception and misinformation. Few people grasp how deeply and fundamentally humanity, society, and culture are indoctrinated by Satan.Revelation 12:9 --> 1 John 5:19 Satan's objective is to undermine, divert, and destroy the development of that relationship between you and the true God who is your Father. The fallen archangel Lucifer's great sin was to declare himself God's equal. It was Lucifer who first said "I will make myself like the most high". Lucifer, want3ed to be equal (or above) YHWH. He wanted to Rule over all the  created beings (stars of God) Isaiah 14:12-14 this Lucifer (Satan, evil one) is insanely jealous, angry, and resentful that God is creating in humanity a new class of spiritual beings who will be of greater importance than angels.Hebrews 1:5-7, 13-14 the angels are beneath the spirit born sons of God. This is not only a subordination of angels to Jesus but a subordination of a angels to the spirit born children of God.Hebrews 2:6-7, 11-13 while we are yet in the flesh we do not rank above angels, but that is our destiny. We are to be raised to spirit life with the full rights of son-ship in God's family. No longer “a little

A couple a months ago we reviewed the Sermon On The Mount which is Matthew’s overview of a typical sermon from Jesus on ethics and behavior. *********************************You can listen to this message on YouTubeThe Healing Ministry of Jesus Christ*********************************Yet there was more to Jesus ministry just words about how we ought to live, or prophecy or judgment. A large part of His ministry involved walking among people like you and me… healing the sick, casting out demons, restoring eyesight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. In chapters 8 & 9 Matthew has grouped together a number of examples of Jesus healing ministry interspersed with short examples of how people reacted and responded to what the saw and experienced. There are a number of different themes running through these examples… such as his compassion, His care for those who were outcast. But I would like to draw to your attention to healings as examples of Jesus authority over body, life, forces of nature, forces of the spirit realm, authority over sin and authority over death… and talk briefly about what that authority means for us today.Matt 8:1-4—Jesus heals a leper The Jews had lots of man-made rules about leprosy that went way beyond scriptural rules of quarantine. The leper was not just exiled from the community… he was hated, he was sin personified, people would throw stones at them not just to keep them away but to show contempt. Just by getting within 6 feet of a leper Jesus was breaking the regulations of the Jews… let alone touching the man. But with the theme of authority in mind notice two features in the record: The leprous man worshipped and addressed Jesus as Kurios – the supreme authority. He knew Jesus had the power to cleanse him if He desired. Which of course Jesus did. After cleansing him Jesus sent him to the priests to be officially recognized as cleansed according to the rites outlined in Lev 13. This healing would go on record as a testimony of the cleansing and of Jesus power and authority to cleanse.Matt 8:5-13—Jesus heals a gentile soldier’s servantThis man had a military background… a Centurian understood authority and he knew it when he saw it. This section is the most obvious recognition of Jesus act of healing as an expression of His authority. However, let’s never consider that Jesus did what He did to show off His power (however this is the effect they have)… these are acts of love… Jesus’ heart went out to these people in their needs… remember the people came to Him beseeching Him for help… after all He had spoken to them of love, care. Compassion… how could He respond other that how He did? Without the healing part of Jesus ministry all we would have would be a rather cold lesson in ethics and proper behavior. Here we see the emotion of our creator in action.Matt 8:14-17—Jesus heals manyNot only does Jesus heal the outcasts and the unclean gentiles… He also heals those within his inner circle of disciples and followers. Plus, here we get the first mention of casting out of demons. But what we want to take some time looking at here is the quotation of Isaiah 53:4 which reminds us that the healing ministry of Christ is a fulfillment of prophecy. But there is more…Isaiah 53:4-5 also introduces a connection between Christ’s sacrifice as being for our sins/transgressions as well as that which makes possible our healing. In case you were thinking that making such a connection is reading too much into a poetic analogy… Here are several NT verses that connect sin and sickness: James 5:14-16 / I Cor 11:24-32 / 1 Peter 2:24Is Our Sickness Caused By Some Sin In Our Lives?These verses lead some to conclude that all illness is caused by sin… and that repentance from that sin is necessary for healing. I think from scripture we can say that illness caused by sin is always a possibility but we cannot say that every (or even most) sickness is caused by personal sin. For example: Paul had an ailment he begged God to

Matt 9:35-38 A Message of Truth & Hope********************************* You can listen to this message on YouTube Jesus Sends Forth The Church ********************************* Jesus heart went out to the people He encountered. Without the truth of God their lives and minds were filled with all sorts of false ideas that gave them little hope and little purpose in their lives… mostly just burdens and fears. Jesus responded emotionally. He wants people to hear the truth, He wants people to have hope, and He wants His disciples to continue His ministry after He is gone and feel about it the way He did. This introduction to Jesus sending forth of His followers to carry on His work tells us about the heart of our Lord plus it contains a practical instruction for our prayer life so we might have that same emotional engagement … Jesus tells us part of ourprayers to the Father should concern the continuation of Jesus ministry through the church, with an emphasis on those who are specifically sent into the field to proclaim the truth.Matt 10:1-7 The Commission And The AuthorityThere are three elements to Jesus’ command to “go forth”: Grants them authority – not a blank check so they can do whatever they want however they want… they cannot draw upon the authority He has given apart from faith and prayer – Matt 17:20, Mark 9:29 Gives them some limitations: go only to Israel conforms to God’s general pattern Rom 1:16 – an expression of God’s unfailing love and commitment to Israel even to the very end when Christ returns Romans 11:26-28 / Zechariah 8:23 the disciples were from a Jewish background – they were ill equipped to deal with the sophisticated and cynical people of the Greek and Roman world… it would take a person like Paul to go toe to toe with the philosophies of the Greeks Tells them what to say: The Kingdom of God [KOG] is near – the word near can refer to either time or proximity and is used both ways interchangeably in NT… they were near Jerusalem, or the time to leave was near… Time – the idea of time is problematic for us today because the KOG clearly has not come. Trying to reconcile the time idea with reality leads some to say that the KOG is a spiritual event that takes place in the hearts of people who accept the H.S. Thus the KOG began in 31 AD when the spirit was poured out. This also leads to the idea that the KOG is the church. Proximity – the KOG is close by in the person of Jesus who is the king of the kingdom… He is also the embodiment of everything the KOG stands for. Note: subsequent scriptures show us that Jesus will leave and later return to bring the rule of God / Kingdom of God to earth at a future time. That is why we (UCG) proclaim the KOG as something coming and not yet here (Jesus makes this understanding very clear in several of His KOG parables) Note: the KOG is referred to as a future event in Acts and the Epistles by the leaders of the church.What Did The Disciples Think The KOG Meant?Acts 1:3-6 – right up until the moment He leaves them the disciples were still thinking of the nearness of the KOG in terms of time.Also, at the time the disciples received these first instructions to go forth and preach the KOG they still considered the Messiah and His kingdom to be a Jewish thing (restore the kingdom to Israel)… they did not know that the Messiah was a universal savior and a universal ruler.Later on they got a much more developed view of what the KOG was all about. For now they had only the most basic understanding of what the KOG meant. Their purpose at that moment was to proclaim the presence of the king among the people. Perhaps it was the healing of sicknesses and driving away of evil spirits would teach the people about the KOG in ways the disciples were no yet prepared to do… providing an objective demonstration of the power of the king and His kingdom and its spirit of mercy and compassion.12 Are SelectedChrist had quite a number of followers but here He selects 12 from among them an

Start off by reading Matt 26:31-35 Setting the Scene:Jesus had just inaugurated the New Covenant with the 12 and gave them the new signs of the Passover (the bread and the wine) as a remembrance of His blood which would be shed and His body which would be broken. The Old Covenant would be finished out within the next 24 hours with the execution of Jesus in Jerusalem. ********************************* You can listen to this message on YouTube How Did Jesus Prepare Himself for the Passover? *********************************After the Passover meal Jesus promised them gifts of peace, joy, contentment, and comfort. He told them about the coming of the Holy Spirit, the very power of God, that would come to each of them to strengthen and guide them along with the word of scripture. He warned them of persecution, but promised their ultimate deliverance from it. He prayed with them for their unity, and for the unity of those who would come later. (John 14-17)Then they sang the traditional hymn and went out from the upper room. It’s here that we picked up the verses we read earlier. Perhaps this is what they discussed walking down the festive streets of Jerusalem, out the gate, across the Kidron brook and then up the Mount of Olives to a private (probably walled) garden called Gethsemene or (The Olive Press).Jesus’ conversation during the Passover meal had been mostly positive, encouraging filled with promise… now, He began to discuss some of the harsh realities of the dark hours that were just ahead. Let’s use this section of scripture to create an outline for personal self examination prior to the Passover this year! -----------------------------------------------------

What is wisdom? Definition:l the quality of having experience [Karen has been with the company 20 years, she has a great deal of wisdom regarding actuary statistics]l soundness of actions or decisions - sometimes this is a natural ability but most often it is gained through experience and applying that experience or knowledge [Karen's decision to use the new actuary tables in the Wilson case was a wise decision]l a body of knowledge written/oral that develops within a community - the advice of those who had wisdom codified for the benefit of others [Karen has written an orientation handbook for newly hired actuaries, its a great way to pass along the wisdom she has gained and help newbies avoid common mistakes] We are going to discuss all three senses of wisdom, but we are not going to talk about actuary statistics:l The body of knowledge is the holy scriptures "able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus"l Soundness of action and decision is godly living through obedience, good works, and following the lead of  the Holy spiritl Experience is your perseverance and endurance unto the endWisdom in the BibleDeuteronomy 4:5-7 God’s word as a body of knowledge codified for your benefit so you can avoid common mistakes. The Hebrew word is khokmawThis khokmaw is the same word used for the wisdom of Solomon. When Solomon was made king. One night as he was praying:God said to Solomon, "ask Me for what I should give you". Solomon said, "I lack experience, please give me an understanding heart [mind] so I can better govern as king and make sound judgments that rightly discerns between good and evil"God said, "Good request, better that wanting riches or long life! I am going to give you a wise and discerning mind like none before you and none who will follow".Did you know you can make the same request of God? Did you know that He says if you ask for it I will certainly grant your request?James 1:5 many of us have probably gotten on our knees to pray and asked for this very thing! We usually ask when we are faced with a tough decision, a course of action we are unsure of, we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place… then we cry out for wisdom. What should I say or do... tell me please... give me wisdomWho is telling me the truth... give me wisdom to discernShould I demand my rights... or should I let it go and forgive?[Jean-Luc Picard example]We all want wisdom and guidance when we are in a tough spot, but we also need wisdom and guidance to answer life's bigger questions.l to understand and discern what is important in lifel to rearrange or balance our priorities with eternal goals in mindGetting this right is the substance of making right choices and character... Godly character... and the only thing that matters in the end is the character you build.God wants you to become wiseScripture tells us that if we ask for something according to God's will we can have every confidence we will receive it. It is within God's will that you have wisdom.Godly wisdom has benefits for eternity... and it has benefits for TODAY.Proverbs 3:1-4 These words are spoken from the viewpoint of a father to his child. Notice that the foundation or base on which wisdom is built are the Father's commands. There are benefits for your physical life... longevity and peace.The word translated peace is shalom. Its a little word with a lot of meaning packed in to it. The general sense of the word is completeness, wholeness, sound in body, prosperous, quietness and tranquility, contentment, fellowship. Well being that is physical, financial, and social.Godly wisdom is meant to bring you all these various blessings. Note: some people don't want these, preferring excitement, intrigue, or domination over others.Godly wisdom is inner integrity, converting who you are from the inside, so Godly perspectives and attitudes be written on the tablets of your heart [which sounds like what's meant

Matthew 22:35-38 when Jesus was asked what is the most important thing in life He answered to “love God”. Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 6:5. In Deuteronomy, the verse comes directly after the second proclamation of the 10 commandments in the 5th chapter. In its original context the verse served the same purpose Jesus used it for... establishing love towards God as your top priority.It is very common for folks to quickly jump to the second greatest command which is “love towards your fellow human beings”. But think about Jesus' answer... He did not place love toward other people as your top priority He said love for fellow man was only your 2nd priority. Ask for a FREE copy of our ebook The Ten Commandments. Its a great way to begin your personal study of all God's commandments. The 10 commandments give us the broad outline of what it means to love God and love other people. Commandments 1 though 4 provide the essentials of love towards God. Commandments 5-10 provide the essentials of acting out love towards our fellow human beings. Notice the prioritization... love toward God is spelled out first... it is the top priority. Then comes showing love towards other people. These first 4 commands address: 1. How do we think about God2. How do we represent God3. How do we talk about God4. How do we come into His presenceThe 1st Commandment Establishes Right PrioritiesEstablishing and maintaining a positive, lasting, satisfying relationship with God is the primary focus of scripture and the primary focus of the commandments. Exodus 20:3 The supreme being who caused these words to be recorded  is our ideal, He is everything we consider worthy, He is what we aspire to be like. We desire to be in His presence and feel His love towards us. Nothing less is enough. The beginning of right thinking about God is to acknowledge Him as creator of all things. That's how the bible begins in Genesis 1. "Hi, I'm the creator of everything you see around you. I made all this. I made you as well". He wants you to know this and acknowledge it, privately and publicly (Sabbath keeping is a public acknowledgement of the act of creation).He wants you to know that as creator He has power and control over all things, He knows all there is to know, and He cares for you and has plans for you. Isaiah 40:26-31 If we have this outlook and understanding we should trust Him and honor Him. Only the creator can promise you an eternal future and ensure that it comes to pass.The only reliable secure future we have is with our Creator... He is living, thinking, creating, feeling... He is real, and He is the only one. Worshiping the Creation Over GodGod made the planet which supplies our needs, He made our bodies. All are good for what they are designed to accomplish IE. survive until our allotted days are complete. This whole thing we call "life" is really nothing more than a classroom. It is a temporary and passing state designed for the purpose of preparing us for real life... which we don't receive until resurrected unto spirit. Your Creator wants us to graduate from this school and take up a place and position within His family.Who wants to stay in school forever! God wants us to learn, grow and become mature, like a child who becomes an adult, and then moves on to a life of their own! Problem: Some people (many?) fall in love with the temporary, with nature, the creation, the planet, the stars, planets... with our own bodily processes like sex or eating. This exaltation of nature has formed the basis of idolatrous religion in ancient times and in our own time. God drew Abraham and later Israel out of cultures which had messed up priorities. Egypt, Sumeria (Babylon), Hittites, Canaanites.... all of these had religions that worshiped elements of the world around them rather than the one who made their physical environment. On some levels such an approach makes sense. Humans see the wonder in the physical world, the intr

The 2nd Commandment: How Do We Perceive God?Exodus 20:4-6lHow do we perceive God? Is it through our senses... eyes, ears, fingertips, etc.?lHow do we explain Him to ourselves and/or to others? We commonly think of the 2nd commandment as a prohibition of strange carvings of Dagon (the fish god), or Molech, or a human figurines with the head of a wolf. But the prohibition of false deities is already covered in the first commandment... "have no other gods besides me". If you obey that first command you wouldn't need this subsequent warning against idolatry. It would be redundant. The second command must therefore also refer to the use of pictures, statues, and other false representations of the true Creator God.

The Third Commandment: Show Some RespectExodus 20:7 The third commandment addresses how we communicate our feelings and thoughts about our Creator to others... and how we communicate those things to Him. It warns about our speech,  behavior, and attitudes regarding the Father of all life... The 3rd commandment says: show some respect! Respect Definition:  to feel admiration for (someone or something) : to regard (someone or something) as being worthy of admiration because of good qualities : to ACT in a way which shows that you are aware of (someone's rights, wishes, etc.) We easily grasp the need for respect when meeting someone important or powerful... like the Don Corleone, you fear his power to hurt you, so you show respect; or your boss... who has the power to give you a raise or get you fired, so you show respect. Yet disrespecting the Creator God. He is patient, slow to anger... but the commandment says "He's taking names". If you've been disrespectful to God, turn around, change your ways, move forward... He is happy to put the past in the past. But the day is coming when the allotted time of His patience comes to an end.Respect is essential for a good relationship. We see this in marriage, business, communities. Expressing respect in ways that others notice and see is necessary. If I say "I respect you" but then ignore you, talk badly about you to others... then you know I don't respect you. Respect is a way we demonstrate our love for God.What Does “In Vain” Mean?The 3rd commandment warns against using the Creator's name in a manner that is rude, frivolous, degrading, expressing an attitude of carelessness... disdain... or antagonism. All this is summed in the word vain: which means deceptive, empty, worthless, meaningless.What Is Covered By The Phrase “My Name”?A name is a set of syllables, pronounced a certain way, used to refer to a person. But a person's name also carries with it the idea of their whole person, their reputation, their character, what they stand for etc.. For example, "that person has slandered my name"... meaning they have attacked your reputation or standing in the community. Our Creator's name represents His character and what He stands for. Which is every good & perfect thing we could ever hope for… it’s the hope and promise of everlasting life  filled with joy, contentment and completeness.Profanity in SpeechExodus 3:13-15Our Creator tells us His name is YHWH, Yahweh, Yehovah. In English that would be, the I AM, the self existing one etc. This name is also a description, a description of a being that is life itself. English bibles tend to follow the Jewish practice of using a substitute word LORD in place of the name YHWH. In our writing we tend to refer to Him as God (capital G)... these are also descriptive but one step removed from YHWH.   The idea is that we avoid using the proper name YHWH so we don't run the risk of profaning it. However for practical purposes, if you say LORD, or God, everyone knows you are referring to YHWH. Using substitute words does not protect you from violating the spirit of the 3rd commandment.Using "God" in a phrase like "Oh My God, that was amazing","Good Lord, that was a great martini","thank God the bus was on time", are examples of using the Creator's name, reputation, and character in a way that is frivolous, careless, or overly casual. I have omitted examples that are abusive, or dirty. You shouldn't say “Oh My God” unless its part of a prayer, or a song of praise. This also applies to euphemisms like gosh, golly, geez. These may seem innocent but unwittingly announce to all who hear that God isn't really special or set apart in your way of thinking. The Importance Of Jesus Christ's NamePhilippians 2:9-11 the character of Jesus and all that He stands for is wrapped up in His named and should not be taken in vain either. It is through Jesus Christ that we know the Father Creator. It’s through Jesus

Lazarus & The Rich ManYou may have gone through all the verses proving humans do not possess an immortal soul. You may have gone through all the scriptures that clearly show that after death humans don't resume conscious life until they are resurrected... either in the resurrection of the just at the return of Christ... or in the resurrection for the rest of the dead who do not come to life until the 1,000 rule of Christ on earth are ended. At the end of all that sound biblical teaching someone says "what about Lazarus and the rich man"? Doesn't the parable of Lazarus and the rich man clearly depict the blessings of heaven or the torments of hell as what lays ahead? Either the scriptures are contradictory, or you are wrong! Today I would like to take an in-depth look at the parable of Lazarus and the rich man and walk through the parable to demonstrate that it is perfectly in-sync with the biblical teaching that death is like a long period of unconscious sleep after which we will be resurrected John 5:28-29.Let's Read The ParableLuke 16:19-31.Who Is Jesus Talking To?Luke 16:1 Jesus is talking to the disciples. Luke 16:9 He teaches them through the parable of the "unjust steward" that we should use our worldly wealth in a way that will build up good favor and reward for our eternal future [dwellings = tabernacle or tent referring to spirit bodies see 2 Peter 1:13-14 for use of tent as metaphor for body].Luke 16:14-15 Jesus is teaching His followers, but He does it in a public setting where what He says can be heard by a larger group of onlookers… including some Pharisees… who laughed at what Jesus taught. They might have said something like "wealth is God's blessing upon the righteous”, or, “My riches are a proof that I am leading a good life and have God's favor". Jesus tells God sees matters differently. To expand upon that point He tells them what we now know as the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.What is the purpose of a parable? A parable is a colorful story used to teach about a spiritual concept. Parables use symbols and metaphors to depict types of people, or situations in an indirect or enigmatic way. They illuminate truth for some and obscure truth for others. Jesus’ parables were most often not meant to be understood unless they were explained by Him. He did not explain them to just anyone. Jesus only explained His parables to those who were sincere, willing to listen, wiling to act on what they learned, and those who actually asked. Matthew 13:34-36. Note:  in verses 9-13 Jesus explained the meaning of the parable of the unjust steward to disciples to whom it was directed. However, He did not offer an explanation of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man the the Pharisees to whom it was directed.Changing Your ParadigmWhat you see is greatly affected by what you expect to see. What you expect to see can be greatly influenced by what you are told to expect.· [slide 1] Here is a silhouette of a fancy wine goblet· [slide 2] Here is a silhouette of two people facing one anotherWhat you see first is affected by what I lead you to expect. So… let me tell you what to expect in the parable: · The rich man is like the Pharisees enjoying their wealth and the praise of others for their righteousness. Lazarus is like the followers of Christ who build character through what they  suffer and are despised. Both of them, rich and poor alike, die in the flesh.· The believer [Lazarus] is gathered together among those who are Christ's at His return and participate in the inheritance promised to the faithful, eternal life in the family of God· The rich man is resurrected to physical life after the 1,000 year rule of Christ. He is very distressed to learn he is now under the judgment of God and could end up in the lake of fire. · Scripture warns you of this in advance and shows you what to do in this life to affect your circumstances after death.That’s the biblical para

Over the past several months we have taken a look at segments of the book of Matthew and today I would like to take a look at another section.The focus of the past 4 sermons from Matthew has been the ministry of Jesus… Jesus ministry of teaching – Matthew 5-7 which we dealt with in 2 parts. Matthew provides us with an example of how Jesus taught about the law of God, standards personal behavior, thoughts & actions, as well as good works.Jesus ministry of healing – Matthew 8-9. Matthew grouped together a number of examples of Jesus healing illustrating His compassion, care for the outcast, His authority over body life forces of spirit realm… and over sin and death.Jesus ministry of proclamation – Matthew 10 Jesus send for the church to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus sermon grants authority, gives some limitations, tells what to say… along with some practical instruction on dealing with rejection and opposition. View this message on YouTube - Jesus Teaches in ParablesThe next section of extended teaching from Jesus is found in Matthew 13… which for those of you who know your bible is the first major section of parables from Jesus. Why did Jesus begin using parables?You’ve probably heard that Jesus was a great story teller… that He used stories to get the attention of His listeners and to drive home a particular spiritual or doctrinal point. Jesus was indeed a good story teller and His parables do drive home particular spiritual and doctrinal understanding… but not to everyone!Jesus frequently spoke quite plainly to the people about who He was and what He was up to. Some couldn’t take it in because they expected the messiah to act a certain way… and Jesus didn’t do and say what they expected the messiah to do and say.the gospel records indicate that what really drew the crowds was the miraculous displays of His power … healing, driving our demons, feeding vast crowds from a few loaves of bread and so forth.Let’s back up and look at the two chapters of Matthew leading up to chapter 13. Chapter 11 shows that even John The Baptist… the one who pointed to Jesus and said “behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”… after seeing how Jesus was operating… teaching… healing… and sending forth the disciples to proclaim the KOG… John was confused and he sent some messenger to ask “are you really the messiah? Or should we keep looking?”… Jesus reminds John of the prophecies that are being fulfilled and coaches him to hang in there.After a brief explanation to the crowd gathered around Him that John is the last of the OT prophets and the Elijah to come… Jesus begins to criticize their fickleness… John comes with a somber message of self denial, spiritual discipline and repentance before God and they say John is possessed by a demon. Jesus comes with a message of mercy, joy and restoration and he’s called a glutton, drunkard and friend of sinners… He also criticizes the cities He had been preaching and teaching in because they had not responded to the plain teaching and instruction they have gotten from both Himself and from John… The words went in one ear and out the other… they have not changed their lives at all!Matt 11:25-27 He talks to the crowd about humility as a prerequisite to receiving God’s truthMatt 11:28-30 He offers them relief from their burdens and oppressionTwo Examples of Burdens to Be RelievedTraditions of Men and false religious beliefs – read this section on the Lord of the Sabbath… and I think you’ll see that here we have an example of Jesus confronting the burdensome traditions of men. Specifically, the traditions regarding Sabbath observance: it’s ok to eat on the Sabbath… it’s ok to lift food to your mouth from a bowl or a plate… but it’s not ok to pluck a head of grain and lift it to your mouth? It’s ok to pull a stranded animal out of a hole on the Sabbath but it’s not ok to heal a suffering person on the Sabbath?Don’t lecture me on what’s allowed I’m the creator of the Sabbat