Jesus Hates Religion

Philippians 3:9-10.   Difference between acts of righteousness and the gift of righteousness

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is

 Performance

of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith/:::/

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

This verse says being made conformable to His death. The word means that something takes the same morphology or form as something else—to be made like something or someone else. In this case, Paul is saying, “I want to take on the form of His death.” We know that the Apostle died the martyr’s death, but he is speaking of something spiritual here.

He is speaking New covenant truth—faith in Jesus makes me one with Him. I die with Him. I resurrect with Him. I become a new creation in Him with a new source of life. My new life is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the one conforming, fashioning and molding me into the image of Jesus. In this way, I must be conformed to His death. As He died, I die in Him, not physically yet. Once born again, the Matt born in Adam slowly dies as he yields to the work of the cross through the Holy Spirit, as the new creation trusts in the work of the cross, it results in resurrection power. This power brings new life. This power is the miracle working power. It is the wonderful power of the Holy Spirit!

How different Jesus and His cousin look compared to religious tradition and complacency.

John the Baptist

Matthew 3:7-12

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Talking about the root

Jesus is the vine and there are natural branches [Jews] and unnatural branches [Gentiles] that are grafted in, and the purpose of the branches are to bare fruit. The root is the foundation of the plan. The root is eternal life, eternal salvation for the lost creation. That root ultimately produces Jesus, which is the vine/ tree that the branches grow out of. . There are times where God’s work looks dead in a life or on the earth. In Isaiah, the word said:

Isaiah 11:1-2 And there shall come forth a rod (green growth) out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him…

That’s what religion does, it sits dry, dead and idle. It cannot produce life. This prophesy perfectly describes what things looked like when Jesus came to earth. The religious system was a dried stump. Many churches are a dried stump, if we’re not careful, a spirit of religion will try to make us a dry stump.

Jesse is King David’s father. The promise was that a King would be born of David. God stayed true to His promise. And a green sprout shot forth out of what looked like a dead, religious stump.

A green shoot would come forth and the Spirit of the Lord would be upon Him. That is how God works, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).

But religion is the works of man’s hands and man’s plan. The Lord showed me an axe head and it was chopping in a downward motion.

Then this scripture came…the axe is laid to the root. As the days grow darker and God’s light shines brighter, we do not want to be caught under the influence of a religious spirit that prevents the Holy Spirit from having His way. Whether it’s corporately or individually, we want to allow God to have His way in our lives.

The spirit of religion manifests itself in many different ways/

1. It wants to be seen and get its recognition —Matt 23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others/::/— John 12:42-43 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

2. It wants its dignity and respect more than God’s will— Matt 23:6 they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others— /::/Matt 20:20-21 sons of Zebedee

3. It can’t see the value in someone else’s ministry—Matthew 26:8-9 8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

4. It has malice in its heart towards others— 1 cor 13:4-5 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful

5. It is controlling and thinks that it’s the only one that can help you— Luke 9:49-50 49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. 50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us—Numbers 11:27-29  27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. 29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!—Philippians 1:15-18

6. If it feels threatened by you, it will try to make you ineffective, trying to kill you or your ministry—Luke 4:27-29 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff

Matthew 23:1-12

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

So when we are being made conformable to His death and knowing Him and the power of His resurrection, we are not only being set free from the bondages of sin like drugs, alcohol, fornication…, we are also being set free from the bondage of religion and becoming a vessel where His Spirit of truth can flow out of us in love. Rivers of living water bring life.

Jesus exhibited selfless actions long before the cross

Jesus had things heavy on His heart. His cousin just died:

Mark 6:27-29

27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

Mark 6:30-31

30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

Mark 6:33-34

33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. 34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

Mark 6:35-36

35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. Do you ever feel that way, just tired and feel like go get your own bread?

Mark 6:37-38

37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 -- He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

The disciples had to be willing to work even though they were tired

If either one those things breaks down, the miracle does not take place.

In order for this miracle to take place, the disciples had to be willing—they were tired, they were hungry.  The people had to be willing to believe that God could meet their needs and to sit still and wait.

Jesus understood that the disciples were tired and hungry, it was His recommendation that they rest and eat; yet, when he saw the people’s needs, He was moved with compassion.

What happens here if the disciples are just too tired think that Jesus is insensitive and they decide to go home for a week or two?

After all, they were just on an amazing evangelistic crusade, they healed the sick, they casted out devils in the name of Jesus, can’t someone else organize this buffet and pick up the scraps? I’m tired.

He takes what we have

He uses it and

He multiplies it

Commitment vs compromise

Commitment- the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause

Compromise- the acceptance of standards that are lower than desirable

The Soldier

2 Timothy 2:1-6

1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Suffer hardship with me, as a  good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

stratologeō

“No soldier” in active service/KJV warreth

strato—1. encamped); camp-likeness, i.e. an army 2. an army, band of soldiers 3. the hosts of heaven/ troops of angels

logeō—ask, bid, boast, call, describe, give out, name, put forth, say(-ing, on), shew, speak, tell, utter.

An active believer is one that engages the battle. He is like a soldier that is encamped and he speaks forth: speaking forth can entail both:

1. Proclaiming truth

2. Prayer/intercession

Farmer’s share

His share: whether money or food, the farmer’s share drives him to plow, to sow, to harvest…

The farmer’s driven to plow. The athlete’s desire for the prize drives him to compete according to the rules.

And the soldier that desires to please his commanding officer is one who engages the spiritual battle and does not get intertwined with common affairs.

2 Timothy 2:14-17

An Unashamed Workman

14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

Katastrophe- (KJV subverting) demolition, overthrow, destruction-- as in cities.

A while back the Lord gave me a vision of buildings in a city that had been bombarded by the prayers of the saints. The area was war torn and had been stricken by demolition. The prayers of the saints caused the catastrophe to the kingdom of darkness. So if prayers bombard the kingdom of heaven and useless talk results in catastrophe, what are all the buildings and defenses of the kingdom of God looking like in the spirit when we speak curses instead of blessings on others?

There is something interesting happening in this text:

1. Paul warns against useless words. There is a whole category of conversation that we could include in this. We will just trust that as we move closer to the Lord through prayer and study of His word, that our renewed mind will be more sensitive towards useless talk will become more clear to you and that as you engage in it, you will be convicted and then from there you can be aware.

2. V15 Divide-- handle aright, to teach the truth directly and correctly

My job is to make a straight cut and present it that way to you. Your job is to rightly make the cut for yourself. You are not to imagine in your mind: Pastor Matt taught me right, I’m going to be okay. We’re talking about your eternal reward and your eternal soul. You will have to decide whether you’re going to be a soldier or a civilian. A soldier wars, they are in the battle, they divide the word, and they avoid useless, worldly talk and actions that will result in catastrophe.

3. V 16 avoid empty and worldly chatter it spreads like gangrene. I know that we all know what gangrene is, but let me say it out loud, so we can hear what it sounds like. Gangrene is death that has occurred to a particular body part. Gangrene must be stopped by amputation or else it will spread to the rest of the body and cause death to the whole.

2 Timothy 2:19-21

19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from

wickedness.”

20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

The believer who desires to serve the Lord Biblically has some specific responsibilities according to this chapter.

1. Engage spiritual warfare

2. Avoid wrong words

3. A spiritual soldier engages w/ words: prayer and proclamation: he speaks life not death

4. He abstains from wickedness

5. He cleanses himself, making himself a vessel of honor (sanctified)

The main point surrounds the effectiveness of the warrior. If his vessel is sanctified, he is ready for the master’s use. If he is not sanctified and cleansed, then he is a vessel of dishonor.

Let’s be clear in that I do understand that there is both positional and progressive sanctification. But when do we start moving forward in the truth? How long should we wait until we stop addictions? How long should it take before we stop vain babbling or foolish talk? How long until we align our lives with his truth. He is gracious and merciful. How long do we take advantage of his grace and mercy pretending that he’s okay with disobedience when we know from his word that he’s not?

1 Peter 2:4-5

As Living Stones

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Revelation 5:10

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

The Work of God

Matthew 5:3–12

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Poor in spirit— is the opposite of pride. The poor in spirit is powerful in Spirit, because he is poor in spirit. He understands the source and the results of His power. Because he understands the source, he cannot be prideful. If he gets confused and thinks for some reason he was the cream of the crop; therefore, he was selected, he moves towards taking some of God’s glory.

The word pauper is used to describe this poor person. Without Jesus, he knows he has nothing. Do you think that sometimes even though we really love our Lord and are genuinely grateful that He saved us that there could be something in us that wants recognition for what we do?

Do you think it’s possible that when we don’t get recognized like our flesh wants that the enemy could use that as an opportunity to cause strife and division? And if you do believe that is possible, what do you think is causing that confusion? Who should I expect to be the author of confusion?

Meek— humble power/ Jesus told Paul, “for my strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)”

The Lord said, “The Son of man came not to be served but to serve and to lay down His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).” Jesus was full of power but His purpose demanded the greatest humility ever seen. While the power of God knocked the soldiers to the ground in the garden, He also allowed them to bind Him and take Him to the cross. His purpose was to glorify His Father by doing His will. Jesus received His glory in doing the will of the Father. On this side, the will of the Father was that He die as a sacrifice in order to bring many sons to glory

Hebrews 2:10

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

On the other side, He is seated in majesty and glory

Hebrews 8:1 NASB

Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

Philippians 2:8-9

8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

1 John 3:2

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

We will one day receive glory. We will one day be like He is and have a glorified body. It’s His kingdom, not mine. It’s His glory, not mine. It’s His work, not mine. Why would I try to gain glory now, when even then, it won’t be my own? He’s wanting us to practice exalting Him now. It’s time to fill the earth with His glory now if we plan to be part of His glorious kingdom then.

He said, Matt 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake

Sounds bad when you read it, but then he says:

13 You are the salt of the earth 14 You are the light of the world

13 NASB if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men

Salt that loses its flavor, loses its purpose. Many a Bible student has pointed out the preservative purposes of salt. But salt also has an ability that no other seasoning has in that it reveals the presence of other flavors. If believers lose their saltiness, they lose their purpose. Whether the world realizes it or not, they’re depending on believers not losing their purpose. The purpose of believers is to reveal Jesus to the world.

Hidden flavors are revealed when salt is added. Jesus is on the Earth, and He dwells on the inside of his people. However, if the salt of the Earth, which is his people is left in the shaker, Jesus, the one ingredient that contains hope for the lost and the dying is never revealed. So again, if salt isn’t salty, what purpose does it have? If Christians don’t expose Jesus, what purpose do they have?

When we let our light shine before men, They see our works and it glorifies the Father.

First thing that we need to figure out—what is the work of God?

John 6:28 then they said unto him “what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? “ 29Jesus answered and said, unto them, “this is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent“

I’ve heard doctors say “we do God’s work – no you don’t. When people do God’s work, God gets the glory—not man.

He speaks about the Pharisees

Matthew 23:3

therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men

Mark 14:3

While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head.

Mark 14:4

But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted?

Matt 26:11 … You have the poor with you always.

Matt 26:13… She poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.

Matt 26:13… Verily, I say, where, so ever this is Gospel is preached in the whole world. There shall also this, that this woman has done, be told for a memorial of her.

Memorial— a remembrance – somebody gave all they had, she pushed through the embarrassment, pushed through all of the critical spirits and poured all that she had out in pure worship. Paul told the Corinthian church in regards to communion that they weren’t rightly discerning the Lord’s body.

1 Corinthians 11:29

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

She got it. She rightly discerned His body. She was a reminder to a room filled with disciples, that the heart of true worship is all about Him.

Judas complained about the woman’s extravagant worship, and stated that the product could’ve been sold to feed the poor– you don’t want to feed the poor Judas you’ve been stealing the money and the motive of your heart is that it’s about what you want.

And then there’s her and her simple, faith. She believed on the one whom God sent and it changed her. It changed her so much that she pushed through the stares. She pushed through the cares (she was likely saving this for her wedding), scholars believe that the value of this Nard would have been worth a year’s wage, and her act became a memorial in the word of God.