IBCD Sermon Weekly International Baptist Church Düsseldorf

When we think about faith, we usually think of Hebrews 11:1-2 which says: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  2 This is what the ancients were commended for. When we read this from our perspective in 2021, we are and have been for a couple of thousand years on the side of the Cross where Jesus is understood by Christians as the Messiah who has already made open the way of forgiveness and eternal hope. But how did people, specifically the Jewish people, understand faith before the Cross? Today we are going to walk through Isaiah chapter 40, which has within it several verses which are well known either because they are referred to again in the Gospels, particularly around the birth and life of Jesus, as well as many verses which are well known within their context of Isaiah. From this chapter, we can learn a bit more about what faith is supposed to be.

Why do people generally like rules in our religion? Because if we keep the rules we feel like we are validated in our faith. We feel like we are one the side of right. People will sacrifice a lot – be it money, or time, or even safety to go on a pilgrimage in order to feel like they are validated in their faith. It is the trust they put in the rules which gives them the feeling a validation. If the rules did not mean anything, then keeping them would not mean anything. For many people, placing trust in the effectiveness of the rules and meaning of the rules is what faith is to them.



Matthew 19:24-25
Again I tell you, 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." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"

As we continue through the Gospel of Matthew we come to a section today which has been the cause of a lot of confusion over the years. Like many passages in the Bible, it has often been broken up into pieces and we are more familiar with understanding the pieces than we are with the whole. There are very deep and good lessons in the pieces, but the problem is when we look only at the pieces or teach only on the pieces it obscures the whole. The pieces, each essential, make up a larger whole. That whole today we are looking at is the coming Kingdom of God.



Matthew 16:28 
I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

God's love is unconditional - he loved us even while we were still sinners. But there are 3 areas where are told that we get only as much as we give - judgment, mercy and forgiveness. However, we sometimes act as if these conditions do not apply to us, giving one thing while expecting another in return. Today we examine what the Bible has to say about judgment, both in view of God's judgment toward us and our judgment of others.




Matthew 7:1 
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. This is a celebration of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem (sometimes called "The Triumphant Entry") the week before he was crucified. One would hope that by this time his followers would understand the importance of the upcoming week and the trials Jesus would face, but they did not. Instead they were more focused on themselves. Sound familiar?




The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"
- Matthew 21:9

“Reward” is not based on title or role. Those who support the prophet are given the prophet’s reward. Those who support the righteous man are given the righteous man’s reward. In other words, those who are supporting the one out in front are worthy of the same reward. They are a team, and they succeed or fail as a team.



The Apostle Paul seemed to understand this, and so he understood the church as a body, each part important and supporting the whole. Some parts are more prominent than others, but none is more important than the other.



Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.
-Mathew 10:41