VIP Ministry Network

Sermon in a nutshell : Matthew 17:22-27

On July 4^th our church went to the Todos Santos Park and served the community with music and love. But why did we decide to go out into the park? Behind every decision, there is a guiding principle. Our guiding principle is the biblical “wisdom,” which is the “fear of God.” In the Bible, “fear of God” means “respect and love” of God. In other words, behind every decision that we make daily, we have this confession that “God is our King!” On the Independence Day, we went out to proclaim that God, not any other country or person, but God is the King of our country!

In the Bible Jesus shows us three ways to proclaim that God is the King in all the decisions that we make daily. First, Jesus had faith in God and he was willing to die for you and me and to forgive those who betrayed him. Jesus said, “The son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands and they will kill him and on the third day he will be raised.” If we believe that God is in control, we can die in the faith that God will raise us up.  We can forgive those who hurt us and betray us believing that God is going to make things right. We can sacrifice our rights with the faith in God’s justice.

We know that the disciples “were greatly distressed.” (Matthew 17:23c). Because we love to control our own situations and want to be our own lords it is stressful to trust God and put things in God’s hands.

Secondly, Jesus acted out of love. Because Jesus was the Son of God, he did not have to pay temple tax at all. However, Jesus paid the tax “so that he did not give offense to the tax collectors.” (Matthew 17:27a). For Jesus, everybody is God’s child. Jesus loved God and loved God’s people. He made the decision to pay temple tax out of love.

Thirdly, Jesus shared his power with others. Jesus commanded Peter to go out and catch a fish. When Peter opened the mouth of the fish he found a coin. Jesus wanted to use the coin to pay tax “for Jesus and for Peter.” (Matthew 17: 27f). He paid the tax for Peter also. In that way, Jesus showed that we should share what we have with others if we want to proclaim that God is the King.  Last Wednesday, our mission committee decided to sponsor our Spanish speaking ministry among us. So we shared our music and love.

We have this vision of the Kingdom of God, a community of love where everybody feels to be loved and respected. For that vision, we should have wisdom, which is expressed through faith, love, and action. I pray that when we make our daily decision, we should remember that God is in control!

1. What are the things or situations that make you doubt God’s love and power for you?
2. What are the means to restore and recover your faith and wisdom daily?
3. What can you share with others with the faith in God ?