Bible verses to build your life on

Jesus said: “… whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock…” ~ Matthew 7:24

What did Jesus say about how we can tell if we are truly His disciples? Did Jesus say we had to perform some special action or keep a certain list of rules? Was there a certain thing we could say and we would immediately be in His family? Can we know for sure?

This study-list is a compilation of what Jesus actually said

~ a study of Jesus’ own words.

(Verses in NKJV –New King James Version ~

using Libronix Digital Bible Software: http://www.libronix.com)

Thank you for joining me in this study! And I’m sure as you study it, you will see what I saw, Jesus is very clear and

His way makes sense!

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The Book of Matthew

Matthew 5:9 ~ “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”

~ Jesus points out that those who help others find peace with God are

His true children and blessed.

Matthew 5:9-12 ~ “¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for

theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. ¹¹“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹²Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

~ Jesus says that we are blessed when we are persecuted (insulted,

called names, ignored, slandered, etc.) for following Him

Matthew 5:20 ~ “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the

righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the

Kingdom of Heaven.”

~ Jesus says that if we don’t treat getting into Heaven and our

relationship with Him more seriously than the (hypocritical) teachers

of God’s Word, then we won’t enter His Kingdom either.

Matthew 5:29-30 ~ “²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from

you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for

your whole body to be cast into Hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin,

cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your

members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Hell.”

~ Jesus clearly points out that it is better for us to go through life

without a part of our body than for us to continue to walk in sin

and not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 5:43-48 ~ “⁴³You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor

and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who

curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use

you and persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He

makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on

the unjust. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not

even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet your brethren only, what

do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸Therefore

you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”

~ Jesus is pointing out that we compare ourselves to others and

so He reminds us God’s standard and said that if our aim is follow Him,

then we are His children. We must not get comfortable with our standards,

and may we continue to ask Him to teach us to follow Him

more and to learn what He cares about…

Matthew 6:19-21 ~ “¹⁹Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and

rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but lay up for yourselves

treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do

not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

~ Jesus is reminding us that where we put our treasure: time, energy

focus, enthusiasm, affection – shows where our heart already is

Matthew 6:24 ~ “No one can serve two masters [in the Greek, this is literally – ‘No one

can be a slave of 2 masters’; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve [be a slave of] God and mammon.”

~ Jesus is very clear in teaching us–reminding us that we can’t

serve God and something else, either we will be loyal to Him or

love someone or something else. We are serving/following

one of them – who are we following? Who or what is our master?

Matthew 7:13-14 ~ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way

that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴Because narrow is

the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find

it.”

~ Jesus is calling us to enter through the narrow gate – “narrow” that

requires us to let go of something to be able to enter the narrow

gate… Jesus also notes that many will travel down the “broad” way

– naturally, it’s easier for all of us to choose the comfortable over what’s right

Matthew 7:15-20 ~ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but

inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits. Do men

gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Even so, every good tree

bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad

fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit

is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Therefore by their fruits you will know

them.”

~ Jesus points out that we will know leaders by their fruits because their

fruit shows what kind of tree they are, whether good – saved,

follower of Christ; or bad – unsaved and selfish-minded. The

test of observing fruit applies to all followers of Christ,

but Jesus only focuses on leaders’ fruit here

Matthew 7:21-23 ~ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the

Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. ²²Many

will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,

cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And

then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice

lawlessness!’”

~ Jesus is clearly saying that many people who call themselves Christians today

will one day be stunned as they realize they knew all the right words,

but hadn’t embraced the gospel Jesus Christ and will hear: “Depart from Me…”

Matthew 7:24-27 ~ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I

will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵and the rain

descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it

did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. ²⁶“But everyone who hears these

sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his

house on the sand: ²⁷and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew

and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

~ Jesus here talks about two kinds of foundations – save and unsaved,

those who heard and obeyed, and those who heard and went on

their own way. Those who heard Jesus’ words and obeyed = are

building a solid foundation. Those who hear Jesus’ words and

then count them unimportant = building on sand -

one day the foundation of our life will be shown.

Matthew 8:10-12 ~ “¹⁰When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who

followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in

Israel! ¹¹ And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down

with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. ¹²But the sons of the

Kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing

of teeth.”

~ Jesus says here that many will be saved, but the “sons of the Kingdom”,

some of those who looked saved but didn’t follow Christ, will

one day be cast into the Lake of Fire forever: weeping and

gnashing of teeth. Saving faith leads to action (obedience)

Matthew 8:19-20 ~ “¹⁹Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will

follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and

birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

~ A wealthy scribe declares that He will follow Jesus, and Jesus mentions

the cost of following Him – no secure earthly possessions, and we apparently

don’t hear from this scribe again… apparently comfort was too high

on the scribe’s priority list

Matthew 8:21-22 ~ “²¹Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go

and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and let the dead bury

their own dead.’”

~ Jesus called another person who had followed Him around a while to

be a disciple, to make the commitment to follow Him, and the man

wanted to first go, stay home long enough for his dad to die and get

his inheritance then to come and follow Jesus. Jesus left him with

the call to follow Him and to not worry about earthly treasures…

we don’t apparently hear again from this man either…

Matthew 9:9 ~ “⁹As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting

at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed

Him.”

~ Jesus called Matthew (the writer of this book) to follow Him, Matthew left

the profitable job of collecting taxes for the Roman government for

the opportunity to follow Jesus and inherit eternal life

Matthew 9:12-13 ~ “¹²When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well

have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³But go and learn what this

means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous,

but sinners, to repentance.’”

~ Jesus heard the hypocritical religious leaders criticizing Him and asking His

disciples questions about why Jesus was ‘associating’ with certain

people, and Jesus responded that He came to heal the sick (those

who see that they are sinners who need Jesus), not those who think they

are well (those who think they are self-righteous: good enough already)

Matthew 10:16-26 ~ “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore

be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men, for they will

deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. ¹⁸You will be

brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to

the Gentiles. ¹⁹But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what

you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;

²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

²¹“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and

children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²²And you

will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be

saved. ²³When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say

to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man

comes. ²⁴“A disciple is not above his Teacher, nor a servant above his Master. ²⁵It

is enough for a disciple that he be like his Teacher, and a servant like his Master. If

they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub [satan], how much more will they call those of His household! ²⁶Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”

~ Jesus warned if we choose to follow Him, we need to know that we are signing

up for being mistreated, possibly arrested, betrayed by unsaved family

members, hated by all (unsaved). Key words: “But he who endures to the

end shall be saved.” A disciple of Christ is no better than Christ, but we must

learn to be like our Master. ~ vs. 24

Matthew 10:31-33 ~ “³¹Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also

confess before My Father who is in Heaven. ³³But whoever denies Me before

men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in Heaven.”

~ If we confess that we follow Jesus in front of men and really do follow Him – Jesus will confess that He knows us. If we do not confess that we know Him, we are showing

what is truly important to us in life, and Jesus will deny us also.

Matthew 10:34-39 ~ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come

to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a

daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;

³⁶and ‘ a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ³⁷He who loves

father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or

daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸And he who does not take his

cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹He who finds his life will lose it,

and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

~ Jesus didn’t come to make life better, He came to find out who was

going to genuinely follow Him.

Matthew 12:30 ~ “³⁰He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather

with Me scatters abroad.”

~ whose side are we on? Do our actions show it?

Matthew 12:33-37 ~ “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree

bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴Brood of vipers! How can

you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the

mouth speaks. ³⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth

good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶But

I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it

in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your

words you will be condemned.”

~ We are a tree, the question is are we producing good fruit, showing we are

a good tree, or are we producing bad fruit, showing we are a bad tree.

Matthew 12:48-50 ~ “⁴⁸But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is

My mother and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹And He stretched out His hand toward

His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever

does the will of My Father in Heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

~ Those who obey Jesus are His family.

Matthew 13:1-8, 18-23 ~ “¹⁸Therefore hear the parable of the sower: ¹⁹When anyone

hears the Word of the Kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. ²⁰But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles. ²²Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

~ Jesus has sown His truth in our hearts, what type of soil are we?

~3 bad soils, 3 good soils…

Matthew 13:24-43 ~ “²⁴Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The

Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while

men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

²⁶But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also

appeared. ²⁷So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not

sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸He said to them,

“An enemy has done this.” The servants said to him, “Do you want us then to go

and gather them up?” ²⁹But he said, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you

also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and

at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and

bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” ’

³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples

came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’ ³⁷He

answered and said to them: ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of

Man. ³⁸The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the Kingdom, but the

tares are the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹The enemy who sowed them is the devil,

the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰Therefore as the

tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹The

Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all

things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ⁴²and will cast them into

the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the

righteous will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has

ears to hear, let him hear!”

~ 2 kinds of seeds, two families: Jesus and the evil one (satan). ~ Which one are

we are a part of. It will show in our actions who we are really serving.

Matthew 13:33 ~ “³³Another parable He spoke to them: “The Kingdom of Heaven is

like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all

leavened.”

~ those who choose to follow Christ, His influence will affect every area of their life

Matthew 13:44-46 ~ “⁴⁴Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,

which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has

and buys that field. ⁴⁵Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking

beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and

sold all that he had and bought it.”

~ those who are saved treasure Jesus, their relationship with Him, and eternal things

as more important than anything, person, or temporary pleasure in this life

Matthew 13:47-50 ~ “⁴⁷Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast

into the sea and gathered some of every kind, ⁴⁸which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

~ 1 dragnet, 2 types of fish ~ good and bad

Matthew 13:54-58 ~ “⁵⁴When He had come to His own country, He taught them in

their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get

this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His

mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶And His

sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?’ ⁵⁷So

they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without

honor except in his own country and in his own house.’ ⁵⁸Now He did not do

many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

~ right after Jesus preached about the cost of discipleship, He went and

demonstrated what it looks like to follow Him and how to handle the rejection

Matthew 15:3-9 ~ “³He answered and said to them, ‘Why do you also transgress the

commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴For God commanded, saying, “Honor your father and your mother”; and, “He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.” ⁵But you say, “Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God’ — ⁶then he need not honor his father or mother.” Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ⁷Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ⁸ “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. ⁹And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” ’ ”

~ the law shows the state of the heart, which is God’s main objective

- to show where our hearts truly are

Matthew 16:24-27 ~ “²⁴Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after

Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵For whoever

desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find

it. ²⁶For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own

soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man will

come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each

according to his works.”

~ Jesus call of discipleship ~ His offer is incredible! But we must count the cost.

Will we embrace His wonderful offer or choose our idols over Him and

have the form of godliness but denying His power?

Matthew 18:8-9 ~ “⁸If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from

you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two

hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you

to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with

one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into Hell fire.”

~ the seriousness of sin and the value of eternal life

Matthew 19:21 ~ “²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have

and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow

Me.”

~ What value can or do we put on eternal life?

Matthew 19:16-26 ~ “¹⁶Now behold, one came and said to Him, ‘Good Teacher, what

good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?’ ¹⁷So He said to him, ‘Why do

you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter

into life, keep the commandments.’ ¹⁸He said to Him, ‘Which ones?’ Jesus said,

“You shall not murder,” “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not steal,”

“You shall not bear false witness,” ¹⁹”Honor your father and your mother,” and,

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ’ ²⁰The young man said to Him, ‘All

these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?’ ²¹Jesus said to him,

‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you

will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.’ ²²But when the young man

heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³Then

Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to

enter the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁴And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to

go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.’ ²⁵When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can

be saved?’ ²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is

impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”

~ an example of someone who looked at both masters (God and money),

but chose the wrong one: money

Matthew 22:37-40 ~ “³⁷Jesus said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all

your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ³⁸This is the first and great

commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as

yourself.” ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’ ”

~ our life’s focus and desire

Matthew 23:13-28 ~ “¹³But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut

up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. ¹⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte [convert], and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of Hell as yourselves. ¹⁶“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Temple, he is obliged to perform it.’¹⁷Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the Temple that sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁹Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. ²¹He who swears by the Temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. ²²And he who swears by Heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. ²³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! ²⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. ²⁶Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. ²⁷Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

~ difference between a true follower and look-alike –

main difference: one focused on the outside, one on the inside

Matthew 24:9-13 ~ “⁹Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you

will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹²And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

~ one cost of being a disciple of Jesus – persecution

Matthew 24:45-51 ~ “⁴⁵Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made

ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? ⁴⁶Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁷Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ ⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, ⁵¹and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

~ faithful vs. foolish servant

Matthew 25:14-30 ~ “¹⁴For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man traveling to a far

country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one [talent], to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸But he who had received one [talent] went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ ²²He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ ²⁴Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ ²⁶But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ²⁹For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ”

~ saved vs. unsaved: faithful vs. unfaithful servant ~ stewardship

Matthew 25:31-46 ~ “³¹When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy

angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ ³⁷“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ⁴¹Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴²for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

~ the good works done His way show that they are His followers

Matthew 28:18-20 ~ “¹⁸And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has

been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”

~ our primary goal: go, make disciples, teaching them to observe and obey

what Jesus commanded

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The Book of Mark

Mark 1:14,15 ~ “¹⁴Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the

gospel of the Kingdom of God, ¹⁵and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the

Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”

~ repent & believe ~ true repentance shows in our actions

Mark 1:17 ~ “¹⁷Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers

of men.” ¹⁸They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”

~ He calls us to follow Him, and He will teach us to be fishers of men

– this is obviously not an optional teaching course, and His true disciples

will learn how to share their faith with others, like He did

Mark 2:17 ~ “¹⁷When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need

of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’ ”

~ He did not come to call the ‘righteous’ to repentance, but He come

to call did those who knew they were sinners/rebels/enemies to repentance

Mark 2:27,28 ~ “²⁷And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man

for the Sabbath. ²⁸Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

~ people were not made for rules, but God set up the laws to show man’s heart

Mark 3:33-35 ~ “³³But He answered them, saying, ‘Who is My mother, or My brothers?’

³⁴And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! ³⁵For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.’ ”

~ Jesus did not show disrespect for His earthly mother, but Jesus did make it

clear that His family are those who hear and obey

Mark 4:13-20 ~ “¹³And He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How

then will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴The sower sows the Word. ¹⁵And these are the ones by the wayside where the Word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the Word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the Word’s sake, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the Word, ¹⁹and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the Word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

~ The Parable of the 6 soils ~ we are one of them, which one?

Mark 7:6-9, 20-23 ~ “⁶He answered and said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you

hypocrites, as it is written: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. ⁷And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” ⁸For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men— the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.’ ⁹He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.’ ”

…

“²⁰And He said, ‘What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. ²¹For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, ²²thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. ²³All these evil things come from within and defile a man.’ ”

~ The appearance doesn’t impress God, it’s the heart He sees

Mark 8:34-38 ~ “³⁴When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also,

He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ³⁵For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? ³⁷Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’ ”

~ Jesus calls us to follow and explains the cost of being one of His disciples

Mark 9:43-48 ~ “⁴²But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to

stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. ⁴³If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into [eternal] life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to Hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— ⁴⁴where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ ⁴⁵And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter [eternal] life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into Hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— ⁴⁶where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ ⁴⁷And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into Hell fire— ⁴⁸where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ ”

~ this is how serious our rebellion against our Creator is

Mark 9:49, 50 ~ “⁴⁹For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be

seasoned with salt. ⁵⁰Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

~ sacrifice [works], explained further in 1^st Corinthians 3:12-15;

and tasteless seasoning

Mark 10:17-22 ~ “¹⁷Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt

before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ ¹⁸So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. ¹⁹You know the commandments: “Do not commit adultery,’ “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,’ “Do not bear false witness,” “Do not defraud,” “Honor your father and your mother. ” ’ ²⁰And he answered and said to Him, ‘Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.’ ²¹Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’ ²² But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

~ an example of someone who had to choose between masters: God & money;

sadly, he chose to hold onto the wrong one… It’s still interesting to see

Jesus loved him despite the man’s idolatry…

Mark 10:23-27 ~ “³²But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in

Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. ³⁴It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. ³⁵Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— ³⁶lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. ³⁷And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

~ Jesus will come suddenly and surprise some, but He won’t surprise His

true followers because they are watching (1^st Thess. 5:4)… the question is

‘Will His coming surprise me or you?’

Mark 16:15-18 ~ “¹⁵And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to

every creature. ¹⁶He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ ”

~ our most exciting mission! ~ Luke 2:49 –

we must be busy with our Father’s business

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The Book of Luke

Luke 4:8 ~ “⁸And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For it is

written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” ’”

~ we are commanded to serve Him alone, but we can choose

to rebel on this too

Luke 5:31, 32 ~ “³¹Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need

of a physician, but those who are sick. ³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’ ”

~ calling sinners to repentance

Luke 6:20-36 ~ “²⁰Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are

you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. ²¹Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. ²²Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. ²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in Heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

²⁴But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. ²⁵Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. ²⁶Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

²⁷But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. ²⁹To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. ³¹And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. ³²But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. ³⁶Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

~ the actions and heart of a true believer

Luke 6:40 ~ “⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained

will be like his teacher.”

~ our mission: to be like our Master ~ J

Luke 6:46 ~ “But why do you call me Lord, Lord and [do] not do the things I say?”

~ Are we calling Him Master and yet not obeying Him?

Luke 8:4-15 ~ “⁴And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him

from every city, He spoke by a parable: ⁵‘A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.’ When He had said these things He cried, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’ ⁹Then His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘What does this parable mean?’ ¹⁰And He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that “Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” ¹¹Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. ¹²Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the Word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. ¹³But the ones on the rocks are those who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. ¹⁴Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the Word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.’ ”

~ the parable of the good and bad soils ~ the the true and false “hearers”

Luke 8:21 ~ “²¹But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are

these who hear the Word of God and do it.’ ”

~ Jesus’ family are those who hear and study His Word and obey

Luke 9:23-27 ~ “²Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him

deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ²⁶For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ ”

~ Jesus’ call follow Him no matter the cost, and leave the

consequences in His hands

Luke 9:58 ~ “⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’ ”

~ Jesus never had a house of His own

Luke 9:57-62 ~ “⁵⁷Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said

to Him, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.’ ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’ ⁵⁹Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ ⁶⁰Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the Kingdom of God.’ ⁶¹And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ ⁶²But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.’ ”

~ Jesus called 3 to follow Him and they apparently chose distractions

because they aren’t mentioned specifically again. Jesus is calling us

~ What is our answer?

Luke 10:25-37 ~ “²⁵And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying,

‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ ²⁶He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?’ ²⁷So he answered and said, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.” ’ ²⁸And He said to him, ‘You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.’ ²⁹But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ ³⁰Then Jesus answered and said: ‘A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³²Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. ³³But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.” ³⁶So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?’ ³⁷And he said, ‘He

who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ ”

~ faith –> works; and the 2 greatest commandments (Matt. 22:40)

Luke 11:28 ~ “²⁸But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of

God and keep it!’ ”

~ hearing and keeping His Word

Luke 11:33-36 ~ “³³No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a

basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. ³⁴The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. ³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

~ God is light and submitting to Him and His Word brings light
~ it’s our choice

Luke 11:39, 42 ~ “³⁹Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees make the outside of

the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.

…

⁴²But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.’ ”

~ inside dirty/outside clean ~ Jesus is clearly aiming at the heart

as the most important priority to Him

Luke 12:8-9 ~ “⁹But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of

God. ¹⁰And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.”

~ rejecting the true Jesus –> perishing

Luke 12:35-48 ~ “‘³⁵Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; ³⁶and you

yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. ³⁷Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. ³⁸And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. ³⁹But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’ ⁴¹Then Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?’ ⁴²And the Lord said, ‘Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? ⁴³Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. ⁴⁵But if that servant says in his heart, “My master is delaying his coming,” and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, ⁴⁶the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. ⁴⁸But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.’ ”

~ faithful servants who are found watching and ready for their Master

will be very well rewarded

Luke 12:49-53 ~ “⁴⁹I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already

kindled! ⁵⁰But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! ⁵¹Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. ⁵²For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. ⁵³Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

~ those who follow Jesus in truth will be divided from rebellious unbelievers

Luke 13:1-5 ~ “¹There were present at that season some who told Him about the

Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

~ whatever the situation, there are 2 choices: repentance or eternal separation

Luke 13:6-9 ~ “⁶He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his

vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ ⁸But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. ⁹And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”

~ parable warning against those who refuse to repent;

good fruit is evidence of repentance

Luke 13:20 ~ “²⁰And again He said, ‘To what shall I liken the Kingdom of God? ²¹It is like

leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.’ ”

~ the Kingdom of God permeates every area of life

Luke 13:22-30 ~ “²²And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and

journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³Then one said to Him, ‘Lord, are there few who are saved?’ And He said to them, ‘²⁴Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, “Lord, Lord, open for us,” and He will answer and say to you, “I do not know you, where you are from.” ²⁶Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.” ²⁷But He will say, “I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.” ²⁸There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. ²⁹They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the Kingdom of God. ³⁰And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.’ ”

~ narrow gate/wide gate – two choices

Luke 14:15-24 ~ “¹⁵Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these

things, he said to Him, ‘Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God!’ ¹⁶Then He said to him, ‘A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, ¹⁷and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, “Come, for all things are now ready.” ¹⁸But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.” ¹⁹And another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.” ²⁰Still another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” ²¹So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.” ²²And the servant said, “Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.” ²³Then the master said to the servant, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” ’ ”

~ The question is: What’s our excuse? Or will we accept His gracious invitation?

Luke 14:25-33 ~ “²⁵Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to

them, ²⁶‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— ²⁹lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³²Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. ³³So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. ”

~ whoever does not forsake all and follow Him cannot be His disciple

Luke 14:34-35 ~ “³⁴Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be

seasoned? ³⁵It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’”

~ salt-less seasoning (comparable to being lukewarm – Rev. 3:14-22)

Luke 16:13 ~ “¹³No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and

love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

~ 2 masters: God and money ~ we are following/serving one – which one?

Luke 16:15 ~ “¹⁵And He said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men,

but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

~ who are we seeking to please: God or men?

Luke 17:33 ~ “³³Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will

preserve it.”

~ keeping or losing one’s life ~ it’s our choice

Luke 18:9-14 ~ “⁹Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they

were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” ¹³And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to Heaven, but beat his chest, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ ”

~ true and false repentance

Luke 18:18-23 ~ “¹⁸Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I

do to inherit eternal life?’ ¹⁹So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. ²⁰You know the commandments: “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not bear false witness,” “Honor your father and your mother.” ’ ²¹And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’ ²²So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.’ ²³But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.”

~ the rich, young (foolish) ruler sadly chose to hold onto the temporary

earthly treasures. If he didn’t repent, he lost all of it when he died.

Luke 18:24-30 ~ “²⁴And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, ‘How

hard it is for those who have riches to enter the Kingdom of God! ²⁵For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.’ ²⁶And those who heard it said, ‘Who then can be saved?’ ²⁷But He said, ‘The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.’ ”

~ the cost of discipleship

Luke 21:34-36 ~ “³⁴But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with

carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. ³⁵For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

~ the importance of watching and not being weighed down

with the cares of this world

Luke 23:39-43 ~ “³⁹Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him,

saying, ‘If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.’ ⁴⁰But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ ⁴²Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.’ ⁴³And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’ ”

~ an example of true repentance

Luke 24:46-48 ~ “⁴⁶Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary

for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸And you are witnesses of these things.’ ”

~ repentance and turning from sins – preached to all nations;

Also, a witness: one who testifies of what he/she has seen and heard

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The Book of John

John 3:16-21 ~ “¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that

whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

~ the gospel according to Jesus

John 5:14 ~ “¹⁴Afterward Jesus found him [that He had healed] in the Temple, and said

to him, ‘See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.’ ”

~ “Sin no more…”

John 5:24-29 ~ “²⁴Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes in

Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. ²⁵Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. ²⁶For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice ²⁹and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

~ judged by deeds; our actions show who we are following

John 6:27 ~ “²⁷Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which

endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

~ the question is what are we laboring for? Will it last?

John 8:10-11 ~ “¹⁰When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He

said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ ¹¹She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’”

~ no condemnation, but go and sin no more

John 8:12 ~ “¹²Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He

who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’ ”

~ following Him = walking in His light

John 8:31-32 ~ “³¹Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My

Word, you are My disciples indeed. ³²And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”

~ abiding in Him and being one of His disciples leads to freedom

John 8:34-36 ~ “³⁴Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits

sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

~ committing sin = slavery; following the SON = freedom

John 10:1-2 ~ “¹Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by

the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ²But he who enters by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep.”

~ whoever tries to get to Heaven by any other way is a thief and a robber

John 10:4-5 ~ “⁴And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them; and the

sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. ⁵Yet they will by no means follow a

stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

~ Whose voice do we know? Whose voice do we follow?

John 10:27 ~ “²⁷My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

~ His sheep hear His voice and follow

John 12:25-26 ~ “²⁵He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this

world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”

~ a mirage and true life

John 13:14-17 ~ “¹⁴If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also

ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his Master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

~ He will teach His followers to do what He has done (1^st John 2:6)

John 14:15, 21, 23- 24 ~ “¹⁵‘If you love Me, keep My commandments… ²¹He who has

My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him…’ ²³Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.’”

~ loving Him is shown in our keeping His commandments

John 15:4-7 ~ “⁴Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,

unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

~ abiding/dwelling in Him

John 15:10 ~ “¹⁰If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I

have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”

~ abiding/dwelling in His love = obeying

John 15:18-21 ~ “¹⁸If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated

you. ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.’”

~ like Master (or master), like servants

John 16:1-4 ~ “¹These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to

stumble. ²They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. ³And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”

~ those who truly follow Jesus Christ will get kicked out of “synagogues”

John 16:33 ~ “³³These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In

the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

~ in this world, we will have tribulation, but He has overcome

and we can too, by abiding in Him

John 21:15-17, 19-22 ~ “¹⁵So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’ ¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’ ¹⁷He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep.’

…

And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ ²⁰Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His chest at the supper, and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ ²¹Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what about this man?’ ²²Jesus said to him, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.’”

~ a word to under-shepherds and His disciples ~ ‘Follow Me’

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The Book of Acts

Acts 1:8 ~ “⁸But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and

you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

~ those who follow Him – will be witnesses

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The 2^nd Epistle to the Corinthians

2^nd Corinthians 5:17-20 ~ “¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old

things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

~ Those who become disciples of Christ become new creations, and then

God is looking to include them in His ministry, entrusting His children with

the ministry of reconciliation – helping people get right with God

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Book of Revelation ~ The Revelation of Jesus Christ

(Jesus’ epistles [letters] to the 7 churches)

Revelation 2:1-7 ~ “¹To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He

who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: ²I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; ³and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. ⁴Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. ⁶But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.’”

~ The church of Ephesus rightly sorted out false teachers and tried carefully to

do what was right, but Jesus clearly points out they forgot the reason behind

the action, they had the lost the correct motivation. Jesus warned them to

repent and go back to their first Love.

Revelation 2:8-“⁸And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the

First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: ⁹I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.’”

~ The church in Smyrna was tested by tribulation and persecution, but Jesus

encouraged them, and promised them that if they were faithful to Him to the end,

He would give them the crown of life.

Revelation 2:12-17 ~ “¹²And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things

says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: ¹³“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. ¹⁶Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. ¹⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.’”

~ The church in Pergamos had held fast to Jesus, but they had allowed subtle false

teachings into the church, including idolatry and immorality. Jesus admonition was

to repent or He would personally war against this worldly, compromising church.

Revelation 2:18-29 ~ “¹⁸And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things

says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: ¹⁹I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. ²⁰Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ²¹And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. ²²Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. ²³I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. ²⁴Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. ²⁵But hold fast what you have till I come. ²⁶And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— ²⁷‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father; ²⁸and I will give him the morning star. ²⁹He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

~ Jesus commended the church in Thyatira for their faithfulness, but

corrected them about the sexual immorality they allowed. He told them

to hold fast to what their obedience and that He would reward each

according to their deeds.

Revelation 3:1-6 ~ “¹And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He

who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ²Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. ³Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. ⁴You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. ⁶He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

~ Jesus had very little good to say about the church in Sardis, a spiritually dead

church. He challenged the few who were following Him to

be faithful and overcome.

Revelation 3:7-13 ~ “⁷And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things

says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: ⁸I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. ⁹Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. ¹⁰Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. ¹²He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of Heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. ¹³He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

~ Jesus had only good to say about this church – the church in Philadelphia.

Jesus had even opened a door of new opportunities for them and He also

challenged them to continue and be faithful to the end.

Revelation 3:14-22 ~ “¹⁴And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These

things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ¹⁵I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. ¹⁶So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. ¹⁹As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ²²He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

~ Jesus’ final letter is to the church of the people of Laodicea ~ the

church of the Laodiceans, which is the epistle that speaks the most to today’s

apathetic, wayward generation. Jesus wished that these people were either cold

or hot ~ rebellious or obedient. But, since they were lukewarm – “having the form

of godliness but denying it’s power” (2^nd Tim. 3:5) and His control, He was

about to spit them out of His mouth ~ i.e. He was about to have nothing

more to do with them, because of their complacency and hardness

of heart. Jesus’ challenge to them was for them to be

zealous/passionate and repent.

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