PROPERLY APPROACHING PRIVILEGE-VII—Matthew 21:33-46
OR:
A CHRISTIAN APPROACH To (American)PRIVILEGE
Need:
Christians, like many Americans, can center their Privilege & Pride upon illegitimate sources.
Thru this parable, Jesus highlighted/clarified a proper approach to a God-ordained privilege.
There is a Proper(Christian) Approach to Privilege.
What is a Proper/Christian Approach to Privilege?
Or
How should Christians approach their God-ordained privilege?
9 approaches to Christian privilege.
We have previously discovered that we must
Approach our privilege with...
1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT(:33a)
2. RELIABILITY/Trustworthiness(:33b)
3. AVAILABILITY(:34)
4. HUMILITY(:35-39)
5. SENSIBILITY(:40-41)Logic/Reasonableness
6. BUILDING(:42)Edification
7. A PARTICULAR & PERTINENT PRODUCT(:43)
8—Approach your privilege with...
STABILITY(:44)
Explanation:(:44)
:44—“And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
Jesus’ words are applied from Isa. 8:13-15 & Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45...
Isa. 8:13-15—“The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling & a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap & a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall & be broken, Be snared & taken.”
Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45—“You[Nebuchadnezzar] watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron & clay, & broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, & the gold were crushed together, & became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain & filled the whole earth.”.....“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; & the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces & consume all these kingdoms, & it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, & that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, & the gold--the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, & its interpretation is sure.”
a.—Any person who “falls”/trips/stumbles on” the stone of Jesus[directly opposed] will be “broken” to pieces.
This describes an active opposition of Jesus as Messiah. Such people fall/stumble over the stone, i.e., these do not accept Jesus’ being the cornerstone. Something about Jesus is offensive to them & He thus trips them up so that they cannot(will not) see Him as God’s Messiah. These are looking elsewhere for Messiah & stumble, producing a negative result.
Mat. 11:6(Lk. 7:23)—“And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
“Those who have rejected Jesus, for whom the cornerstone has become a stumbling stone, will be broken by Him.”—NAC
You can be on the church roll & in the church house, yet reject Jesus!
?Can this also be a warning to us that our ‘brokenness’ is necessary in order to follow Jesus?
b.—In like manner, the one upon whom the stone falls[indirectly opposed] will be “ground to powder” or scattered like dust[unrecoverable].
“...even if one does not actively oppose Jesus[cf.--a.], anything less than genuine discipleship will lead to judgment—the stone will “fall on” & “crush” such a person.”—NAC
“...to those who have rejected Him[this Cornerstone] is either the stone of stumbling or the stone that crushes, in both cases brings ruin to them.”—WBC
“For those who will not have Jesus as Deliverer, He becomes Destroyer.”.....“God’s enemies are destined to be pulverized into nothingness.”—MNTC
Jn. 9:39-41—“And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, & that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, & said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.”
Mat. 10:28, 32-36—““And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul & body in hell.”.....“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, & a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; “& ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’”
Jn. 3:16-17—“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
“Whoever/He Who”—(o, h, to)—Article—1) This, that, these, etc. Strong—The definite article; The(sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom).
“Falls” & “Fall”2X—piptw—Verb—1) To descend from a higher place to a lower—1a) To fall(either from or upon)—1a1) To be thrust down, 1b) metaph.--To fall under judgment, came under condemnation; 2) To descend from an erect to a prostrate position. Strong—a reduplicated & contracted form of petw; (which occurs only as an alternate in certain tenses); probably akin to petomai through the idea of alighting; To fall(literally or figuratively).
“On/Upon”2X—epi—Preposition—1) Upon, on, at, by, before; 2) of position--On, at, by, over, against; 3) To, over, on, at, across, against. Strong—properly, meaning superimposition(of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution[with the genitive case], i.e. Over, upon, etc.; of rest(with the det.)--At, on, etc.; of direction(with the accusative case)--Towards, upon, etc.
“Stone”(See :42)—liyov—Noun Masc.—1) A stone—1a) Of small stones, 1b) Of building stones, 1c) metaph.--of Christ. Strong—apparently a primary word; A stone(literally or figuratively). RWP—Liyov is a loose stone in the path.
“Broken/Broken to Pieces”—sunylaw—Verb—1) To break to pieces, shatter. Strong—To dash together, i.e. Shatter. Used 2X.
From—sun—1)With. Strong—a primary preposition denoting union; With or together(but much closer than meta or para), i.e. By association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.—&—ylaw(to crush).
“But”(See :35, 37, 38)—de—Conjunction—1) But, moreover, and, etc.. Strong—a primary particle(adversative or continuative); But, and, etc..
“Grind...To Powder/Scatter...Like Dust”—likmaw—Verb—1) To winnow, cleanse away the chaff from the grain by winnowing; 2) To scatter; 3) To crush to pieces, grind to powder. Strong—To winnow, i.e. by analogy--To triturate. Used 2X.
From likmov, the equivalent of liknon(a winnowing fan or basket).
Argumentation:
Rom. 5:1-2—“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Rom. 11:1-22(:20)—“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, “LORD, they have killed Your prophets & torn down Your altars, & I alone am left, & they seek my life”? But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, & the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.” And David says: “Let their table become a snare & a trap, A stumbling block & a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, & bow down their back always.” I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, & their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh & save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; & if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, & you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, & with them became a partaker of the root & fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, & you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness & severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.”
Jn. 10:1-14—““Most 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 & a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, & the sheep hear his voice; & he calls his own sheep by name & leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; & the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves & robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, & will go in & out & find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, & to kill, & to destroy. I have come that they may have life, & that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming & leaves the sheep & flees; & the wolf catches the sheep & scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling & does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; & I know My sheep, & am known by My own.”
Eph. 6:13—“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand.”
Rom. 8:31-39—“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, & furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Rom. 14:1-10—“Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, & let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; & he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; & he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, & gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, & no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; & if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died & rose & lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead & the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
Illustration:
I was driving my girlfriend’s(now the pastor’s wife!) pastel yellow 1971 VW Beetle/Heading north on I-85N just north of Concord, NC/It was a cold day--it had recently snowed/We’re riding along & things were fine & dandy until something caught my eye out the driver’s side window/I look out the window & notice a single wheel & tire assembly passing by us at around 60mph in the passing lane!/Then it dawned on us both that it was from our own car!/The rear driver’s side wheel assembly had somehow broken free of the axle with enough momentum to pass our car!/We were now traveling down the interstate on only three wheels!, Yikes!!/I was terrified that the car would flip over/I gradually eased the VW over to the emergency lane & stopped without tipping over!(The VW obviously did not have independent rear suspension)/STABILITY
My Stihl Weedeater—Model #FS 56 RC-E/I would gladly be an advocate for Stihl weedeaters!/It cuts thru thick & thin, & believe me, it gets a lot more ‘thin’ than ‘thick’ from me!/I do not take care of it as it should be/I rarely clean it or replace the air filter/I have had it professionally inspected & tuned only once in 5+ seasons, put it up filled or unfilled with fuel, & it cranks after 3 pulls most every time!/That weedeater exhibits a rare Robustness/STABILITY
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*Such a product is intended to make your Fuel more STABLE!
?Are you trusting in shadows or reality?
Application:
?YOU Approach Privilege with STABILITY?
?How do YOU Approach your Privilege?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Approach your privilege with...
8. STABILITY(:44)
1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT(:33a)
2. RELIABILITY/Trustworthiness(:33b)
3. AVAILABILITY(:34)
4. HUMILITY(:35-39)
5. SENSIBILITY(:40-41)Logic/Reasonableness
6. BUILDING(:42)Edification
7. A PARTICULAR & PERTINENT PRODUCT(:43)
Pt.#8 only! presented 10/15/2017am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
