Today on the Verdict with Pastor John Monroe. The psalmist says, "Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act." I'm asking you to do that—to have a living relationship, and a loving relationship, and a lordship relationship with the magnificent Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome to the Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. The only way to receive salvation and know God is through a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. But do you understand what this means?
How do you have a living relationship with Jesus?
Well, today we're addressing this essential truth as we continue our study in Matthew. Here's Pastor John Monroe with part two of a lesson titled "Jesus Silences His Critics." Last time we saw the Sadducees asking a trick question to demonstrate the supposed absurdity of the resurrection. The Pharisees were a powerful, wealthy, and aristocratic group who didn't believe in the supernatural. In particular, they didn't believe in the resurrection, and Jesus demonstrates that they neither understand the word of God nor the power of God. God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.
And through Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, we can not only know God here and now, but have a relationship with Him for all of eternity. Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead? Do you have that relationship with God through Jesus Christ? Let's listen to Jesus as He continues to be questioned by the religious leaders. As we look at this passage, I want to think of this important, this fundamental point: that Christianity is having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
And we're going to think of three aspects of that. A relationship with Jesus Christ is, first of all, a living relationship. My relationship with Jesus Christ is not going to end when I die. My Lord Jesus Christ has promised, "I'll never leave you, John. I'll never desert you." This love, this relationship, is so strong that it never ends.
Question is, do you have this living relationship? A living relationship. Secondly, a loving relationship. Verse thirty-four. Matthew twenty-two, verse thirty-four.
And when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him, teacher. Although he's trying to test Jesus, he asks a brilliant question: Which is the great commandment in the law? And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. A living relationship, yes." But this relationship with Jesus is also a relationship of love—a loving relationship. Love, Jesus is saying, is the fulfillment of the law. And so, in the gospel, first and foremost, we are to receive the love of God through Jesus Christ.
And as we receive this supernatural love, now that I receive God's love, I am able through the power of the Holy Spirit to love God.
So when I sing "worthy," He alone is worthy. It's not just words; it's the expression of our hearts. Why? Because God loves us, and that love is transforming. That love changes us, and we begin, however imperfectly, to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our minds, and our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Love God, everything falls into place. Seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to. That's just another way of saying it. Get this right, and everything falls into place. Augustine said, "Love God and do what you want." You say, "Oh, I like that." Ah, but you see, if you love God, you won't do what you want.
You'll do what He wants. C.S. Lewis said, "I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not just because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." That's it. If you understand the love of God, and as we receive God's love through our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us, all of life is seen through that lens. It's not just that we see God; we see life, creation, our brothers and sisters in Christ differently.
Loving God enables us to see everything else in life clearly, including loving our neighbour. Jesus is saying, "Love the Lord supremely," and Totally, he's quoting, of course, here in verse thirty-seven. He's quoting from Deuteronomy six, verses four and five. Was Deuteronomy six, verses four and five? It's the Shema.
It's the basic confession of faith of Israel. The pious Israelite morning and evening will recite Deuteronomy six. It's called the Shema. First word in Hebrew is here. Shema, the great Shema.
That's it. The Pharisees knew that, and so Jesus, again, as he answers the Sadducees, is quoting from his Bible. You should know this, Pharisees, and the the Word of God that's in the Old Testament. Do you love God? You love the Lord Jesus.
I am to love God not just because I want Him to give good things to me. I'm to love God not just so that well I want life to go smoothly. No, I'm to love the Lord, my God, because who He is in Himself. First Commandment: No other gods.
So I'm to love God supremely, and also I'm to love Him totally. With all of my heart, my soul, my mind, my strength, you really want to come to God and say, "God, you're a great God." I really enjoyed worship this morning as we sang, "You are worthy." And you know, my spirituality is a very important part of my life. Ah, but it's only part, isn't it? And that's our relationship.
Well, I'm I'm working on it. I understand that we're all growing, but Jesus is telling us something which is convicting. But this is transforming. That God is to be the consuming passion of my life. I'm to love God.
Supremely and totally in all circumstances of life, this is a life, a love which will never be satisfied where God is not involved. God is to be central to my life, not just to take up when I feel like it, not just in emergency, not just one of many interests. He is to be the consuming passion of our life. I'm to love Him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is a love which glorifies God.
This is a love which enjoys God. One of the questions I ask couples who are planning to get married is, "Do you enjoy being together?" Because I've sat with couples who are planning to get married and they thought, "Well, a bit," like you know. Problems are going to come, but marriage is to be a joy. Why on earth would you enter into a relationship that you're not going to enjoy? And a relationship with God.
Let me tell you: the more you love God, the greater your joy. You say, "Well, how will I know if I love God totally and supremely?" Well, you'll enjoy worship. You'll enjoy the Word of God. Also, you will love your brothers and sisters. Test of your love for God is do you love others?
Test of my love for God is do I obey His commandments? If you love me, says Jesus, you will keep my commandments. You say, well, people know I'm a Christian. I don't need to do that. Are you wiser than God?
Are you going to argue with God? No, a mark of our love for God is humility, and we seek to please God by loving others, by loving Him, and obeying His commandments. A living relationship, a loving relationship. Third, a lordship relationship. Verse forty-one.
Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question. The tables are turned. They've asked Jesus a lot of questions.
Now he's going to ask them one. What do you think about the Christ, the Messiah? Whose son is he? They said to him, the son of David. He said to them, How is it then that David, in the spirit, calls him Lord?
Saying, He's quoting now from Psalm 110, verse one. Psalm 110 is the most quoted.
Some in the New Testament, the Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." If David calls him Lord, how then is he son? His son. No one was able to answer him a word. Nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. The identity of the Messiah.
Who is the Messiah? They give the correct answer. He's the son of David. Messiah, Hebrew, Christ, Greek, same thing. The anointed one.
The Old Testament prophets prophesied, and the Pharisees agreed with this: that when the Messiah comes, he's going to be a descendant of David. Clearly taught in the Old Testament. And Matthew, as he begins his gospel in Matthew one verse one, says the book of the genealogy of Jesus. Jesus is his personal name. Christ, the title, Messiah.
What does he say then? The son of David. You're right, Pharisees. You got that right. The Messiah is a descendant of David.
He's the son of David. Now, if you believe that, and you do, here's the question: How does that harmonize with? What we call Psalm 110, verse one, where David, writing in the spirit, refers to the Messiah as Lord. I mean, if he's the son of David, how can he be David's Lord? Is the question.
He is the son of David, but why then would David call his son Lord? And they don't want to answer. No, the reality is. That the Messiah not only is the Son of David, he is the Lord of David. Psalm 110:1 in Hebrew refers to the Lord.
The Lord is the Hebrew word Yahweh, God's personal name. I am who I am. The Lord Yahweh said to my Lord, the Hebrew word Adonai, Lord, Master.
So, David, writing in the Spirit, Jesus says, clearly says that the Messiah is his Lord, and will sit at God's right hand until all of his enemies are defeated. Verse forty four: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. In ancient times, the victor placed his feet on the necks. Of the defeated enemies, demonstrating you're defeated, you're humiliated. I'm a conqueror, and David writing in this letter uses that imagery to demonstrate that the Messiah is going to be seated at God's right hand until that day when all of his enemies are defeated.
What's the answer? You should know it. We're singing about it. The Messiah is not only the descendant of David, David's offspring. He's also the root of David, his Lord.
Jesus says in Revelation twenty-two verse sixteen, "I am the root and the descendant of David." The Messiah is before David. He's the eternal Son of God. He is the root of David. But he's also the offspring of David. He is David's son.
He is not only God's perfect man, Jesus, David's son. He's also perfect God. He's David's Lord. They're not going to admit, of course, that Jesus, the Messiah, is the Lord. He's not only the son of David.
He's the son of God. Messiah. It's not only David's Lord; he is the Lord over all. Before the Lord Jesus is born, the angel saying to Mary that the Son you're going to bear is going to have the right to the throne of David and the right to reign in his eternal kingdom. And by virtue of his resurrection, the Messiah is exalted to the Father's right hand.
That's Peter's brilliant message in Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost, as he says, Acts two, verse thirty-two: "This Jesus, God raised up, and of all that we are witnesses." Listen to this. Being therefore exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He's poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David didn't ascend into the heavens, but He Himself says, He's going to quote Psalm 110, verse one, the same verse that Jesus quotes here in Matthew 22, verse 44. The Lord said to my Lord. Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ. This Jesus, whom you crucified, the one you nailed to the tree, is not only the Christ, the Messiah. He is Lord, God incarnate, Lord over all. And no enemy is going to withstand this Lord. He is invincible.
Scripture tells us when He returns, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Today is the day of grace when God calls on you to repent of your sin, to cry out to Christ, the Lord Jesus. He'll save you as you bow before King Jesus. He calls on you to do that voluntarily, but if you refuse, if you put it off, there will come a day when the Lord Jesus Christ will return, and then every knee will bow, every tongue will confess. He'll impose His reign with a rod of iron, King of Kings.
Lord of lords, His Lord over all, and this kingdom will never end. Our Lord Jesus Christ, I remind you, not only died for sins, not only was buried, not only was resurrected, not only ascended to the Father; He is seated at the Father's right hand until that time comes, yet future, when He will return, and I will put says David. In the inspiration of the Spirit, writing about the Messiah, I will put your enemies under your foot. Why not receive him now? Why not love him now?
Why not bow and surrender to him, Lord of all? Today, you can have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, and that relationship. Will never ever be severed. It is a living and eternal relationship.
So place your trust in Christ in this living relationship, and not only to have a living relationship, but a love relationship. That I know that the Son of God loved me. He gave Himself for me.
So relationship of love. I am to love Him and I am to worship Him, and He is to be central and all important in my life. Also, not just a loving relationship and a loving relationship, but a lordship relationship. You say, "What do you mean by that?" Do you are you so foolish as many people are that you think you can be the captain of your own ship? You're the master of your own destiny.
You can navigate yourself through life, yes. You can pay lip service to God, but you're smart. You're well educated. You've done very well for yourself, and you're able to navigate yourself through life. Is that what you think?
That is utter foolishness. You know, when a big tanker comes into port, or a cruise ship comes into port, some of you have seen this. What happens? There's a little boat comes, and it's a pilot boat. And a little man comes out of the pilot boat and comes into this huge tanker or huge cruise ship.
What does he do? He's going to make sure that that ship gets safely to the harbour. There are rocks. There's shallow ground. There may be difficult currents.
And this pilot knows, and he makes sure that this huge ship gets safely into the harbor.
Now I don't know if any of you sung this at Sunday school. I thought I've tried to sing it, Tim, but I tried it at home last night, and it didn't sound good. But listen to it. It's a powerful little message in a song.
Now somewhere in the back of my mind, and I recently thought about it. Sunday school song: "Do you want a pilot? Signal then to Jesus. Do you want a pilot? Bid him come on board, for he will safely guide across the ocean wide until we reach the heavenly harbor." Must have sung that dozens of times as a wee boy.
Didn't quite understand it. I think I understand it better, because even those of us who say we follow Jesus Christ, we like to rule our own life, don't we?
Some of you are thinking of a new relationship, or you are in a relationship, and you've never really referred that to the Lord Jesus, have you?
Some of you are about to make a decision in business, personal matter. And you've never really referred that to Jesus, have you? You say, "Well, I've done this, John, in my business, and I'm going to do this. I'm going to move house. I'm going to do this, and I'm going to go to such such a college, and I think I'll date this person." And yeah, yeah, you're right.
I I need to listen. I need to have good counsel, but all the time, you're the captain of your own boat. Can you stop doing that? It's a tendency for all of us, isn't it? And to realize that if the Lord Jesus Christ is not guiding me, followers of Jesus, we can make disastrous decisions, can't we?
We can get ourselves into a terrible mess. We can find ourselves on the rocks or in shallow ground, and we think, "How on earth did I get here?" I'll tell you how you got there. You didn't ask Jesus to come on board and be your pilot. And to have the confidence that whatever He guides you, and whatever circumstances they are best, because as for God, His way is perfect. The psalmist says, "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." I am asking you to do that—to have a living relationship, and a loving relationship, and a lordship relationship with the magnificent Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. But to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled "Eternal Security: Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World." Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony along with a careful examination of Scripture to offer us clarity on matters of eternity.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Don't you admire the brilliance of Jesus in answering his critics? Do you understand that at the center of your life is to be a living and loving relationship with Jesus, who is Lord over all. When he's central to our lives, everything revolves around him, and this is to live a life of freedom, a life of love, a life which pleases God. Today, bow before the Lord Jesus Christ.
Receive the forgiveness of your sins, and begin to follow Jesus Christ in this exciting adventure of faith. Thanks for joining us today on the Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
