What Do You Want Me To Do For You?

Matthew 20:29-34

The two blind beggars saw what the scribes and the Pharisees failed to see.

They saw in Jesus the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.

When they addressed the Lord Jesus as the “Son of David”, they were giving Him the title of the Messiah.

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The two blind beggars had never seen Christ’s mighty miracles.

But they had strong faith in His power and His willingness to heal them.

This is the pattern for us when we pray.

We should always come to the Lord, trusting in His power and willingness to answer our prayers.

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The two blind beggars had a persistent faith in Christ.

They did not give up when faced with discouragement.

When warned to be quiet, they cried out all the more.

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Despite all the hustle and bustle of the crowd, the Lord Jesus stood still and called them to Himself.

He asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

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The two blind beggars did not ask for wealth so that they would no longer need to beg.

Their greater need was for sight.

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The Lord Jesus gladly granted them their request.

They were healed immediately.

And they began to follow Him.

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Lessons:

• We must believe in Jesus as the promised Messiah.
• We must have strong faith in His power and willingness to save us.
• We must have a persistent faith in Him too.
• We must remember to bring our greater needs to God in prayer.
  

If God loved us so much that He did not spare His own Son Jesus, but gave Him to die for us, then He will surely grant the prayers of those who love Him and obey Him.

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The Lord Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" He asked.

"Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."

You Do Not Know What You Are Asking

Matthew 20:17-28

The Lord Jesus predicted His death and resurrection for the third time (Matthew 20:17-19).

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James and John and their mother came to the Lord Jesus with a request. They wanted to sit either side of the Lord Jesus in Heaven. They wanted the best and the most exalted place, little wonder that the other disciples were moved with indignation against them.

The Lord Jesus answered them, “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

His cup was one of appalling suffering but James and John insisted that they were able to drink of such a cup.

They did suffer for the Lord Jesus! James was killed by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-2). John, who lived longer than any of the 12 disciples, spent the end of his life in exile (Revelation 1:9).

There is no easy way to blessing and fruitfulness in the Christian life. Those who would know Christ best will also know the fellowship of His suffering.

When James and John made their request to the Lord, He said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking”. We often do the same thing when we pray. We may ask God to give us a position in the church which would be disastrous both for us and for the church. We may ask for things which would only hinder our walk with the Lord.

Our heavenly Father delights to hear our prayers, but we do not always realize the implications of our requests being granted. It is for our good that He doesn’t always say, “Yes,” or answer us in the way we expect.

We must beware of seeking power for ourselves. Selfish ambition and pride have wrecked many a church!

Jesus said that the way to true greatness lies in humble service. If we deny ourselves and take up our cross, selfish ambition will be kept in check in our lives.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

The Lord Jesus is our great example. Let us follow Him.

Don’t I Have The Right To Do What I Want?

Matthew 20:1-16

The Lord Jesus Christ likened the kingdom of Heaven to a landowner who hired laborers for his vineyard.

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The landowner agreed to pay the first group of workers the normal daily rate of a denarius for their 12 hours labor.

Others were taken at 9.00 am, 12.00 midday, 3.00 pm, and 5.00 pm.

They agreed to work for what the landowner considered right.

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Those who did less than 12 hours work were delighted to receive a denarius each.

Those who had worked the full day, after seeing the generosity of the landowner, expected to receive more than the agreed rate.

They murmured against the landowner when they too received a denarius!

They had worked the full hours, and had toiled in the burden and the heat of the day!

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The landowner pointed out that he had done them no wrong for they had agreed to that wage.

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In the kingdom of Heaven, God’s rewards for our service are all of grace.

Like the landowner, God would say, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?”

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There are some lessons for us here:

• We must beware of envying other believers when God appears to bless them more than He blesses us.
• We must remember that reward is an extra incentive for us to serve the Lord.
• We should count it a wonderful privilege to serve God who has graciously saved us from our sins.

God do have a right to do what He wants with His rewards to His people!

With God All Things Are Possible

Matthew 19:23-30

The disciples were exceedingly amazed at the comments of the Lord Jesus Christ as He warned them that riches were a great hindrance to any who wanted to go to Heaven.

The Lord Jesus Christ said that “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” (24).

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The disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?”

The Lord Jesus Christ reassured them with a glorious truth: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (26).

No one is too hard for the Lord to save!

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The Lord Jesus Christ very soon demonstrated this truth to his disciples when he saved Zacchaeus, who was very rich and also a chief tax collector (Luke 19:1-10).

Tax collectors were generally wicked cheats.

As far as many Jews were concerned, they were beyond redemption.

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We must never lose heart when we encounter people who are hardened or indifferent to the message of the gospel.

The Lord Jesus Christ is able to melt the hardest of hearts.

He is able to save the vilest sinner.

He can easily break the chains of sin which enslave people!

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We think, ‘Impossible,” but Scripture says, “with God all things are possible.”

Let us persevere in prayer and in evangelism!

The Lord Jesus Christ has many a surprise for those who wait upon him.

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Peter began to speak about their commitment in following the Lord Jesus Christ.

He asked, “Therefore what shall we have?”

The Lord Jesus pointed out to him that no one is the loser for following him (27-29).

He said, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life.”

And this promise is for everyone!

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Earthly treasures and pleasures may be sacrificed, but what can compare with God’s blessing upon us, with eternal life and treasure in heaven?

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Come to the Lord God today and put our trust in Him.

With God all things are possible!

He Went Away Sorrowful

Matthew 19:16-22

The young man who came to the Lord Jesus Christ was rich.

He was esteemed in religious circles.

He was a ruler, probably an official in charge of the local synagogue (Luke 18:18).

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He asked the Lord Jesus Christ, “What good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

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He might have sincerely felt that he had kept the Ten Commandments.

But he was ignorant of the state of his own heart.

He forgot that he had sinned and broken God’s commandments from a very early age!

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His wealth was a great idol in his life and a proof that he was guilty of breaking the first commandment.

He also failed to understand that salvation is by grace alone and his good works couldn’t save him.

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Had he given away his wealth, it would have been an evidence of his repentance and trust in Christ.

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He was wealthy and religious, but these things did not meet his deepest need.

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He wanted eternal life, but he also wanted to hold on to his possessions.

His wealth was his god.

His riches meant more to him than his religion.

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He went away sorrowful because he was not willing to face up to the cost of following the Lord Jesus Christ.

This involved getting rid of anything that had become a god in his life.

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Some thoughts...

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Becoming a Christian is more than making a decision for Christ.

It means taking up the cross.

The cross is a symbol of self-denial, of shame, of suffering, and of death.

We must die to the old selfish life if we want to be disciples of Jesus.

We must embrace his lordship.

If He is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all!

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Many have turned away from the Christian faith disillusioned because they find the cost of following the Lord Jesus Christ too great.

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There is a price to pay for treasure in Heaven.

But what blessing is enjoyed by all who truly follow Christ!

There is a greater price to pay for refusing to follow Christ.

It is an eternity of separation from God!