Matthew 16 - January 16th 2024

Hey, welcome back to day 16 of our bread devotionals.

We're so glad you're here.

Uh, and just believing that God is gonna meet you here in these moments uh as we continue to journey through the gospel according to Matthew.

So we'll be in Matthew chapter 16 today, uh, so you can get your Bible ready and maybe grab a notepad or a uh a journal, a pen and a pencil, a highlighter, just have those handy so that you can jot down things as you feel like the Lord might be uh speaking to you this morning.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

And if you're new with us, we simply frame our time up using the acronym of BRED, B-R-E-A-D.

And so it simply stands for breathe, read, encounter, apply, and devote.

And so that's what we'll be doing this morning as we journey through our time together.

And so, first and foremost, like we've done every morning since we've started, we're gonna simply just pause, slow down, find a quiet space to begin to still our hearts and our minds, and simply breathe this morning.

So maybe just plant your feet firmly on the floor.

I like to posture myself with my hands and palms facing up, open, just ready to receive whatever the Lord has for me.

Also ready to just surrender and give whatever I need to let go of this morning.

Maybe it's your to-do list, the things that you have coming later today, and uh so maybe you just need to let go of all that and just spend a few moments focusing on your breathing, inhaling, and then exhaling.

Just breathe in, and then out.

Just find a regular rhythm of breathing as you focus your heart and your mind and all your attention on the Father this morning.

Maybe take one more big deep breath in and exhale, and as you do, just invite the Holy Spirit to come and begin to speak to you, to open up your heart, your ears, your mind to be able to hear the voice of the Lord this morning as we read our assigned passage for today, which is Matthew chapter 16.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 16.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

He replied, You know the saying, red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow, red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.

You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don't know how to interpret the signs of the times.

Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign.

But the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Then Jesus left them and went away.

Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread.

Watch out, Jesus warned them.

Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn't brought any bread.

Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, You have so little faith.

Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread?

Don't you understand even yet?

Don't you remember the five thousand I fed with the five loaves and the baskets of leftovers you picked up?

Or the four thousand I fed with seven loaves and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up?

Why can't you understand that I'm not talking about bread?

So again I say, Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Then at last they understood that he wasn't speaking about the yeast and bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

Well, they replied, Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.

And then he asked them, But who do you say I am?

And Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

And Jesus replied, You are blessed, Simon, son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.

You did not learn this from any human being, and now I say to you that you are Peter, which means rock.

And upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

And then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

And from then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law.

He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.

Heaven forbid, Lord, he said, this will never happen to you.

And Jesus turned to Peter and said, Get away from me, Satan.

You are a dangerous trap to me.

You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's.

And then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross and follow me.

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul?

Is anything worth more than your soul?

For the Son of Man will come with his angels and the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

This is the word of the Lord.

So now we'll move into the encounter portion of our morning.

And this is simply where we just process what we feel like the Lord is saying to us.

Maybe as you were listening and reading through that passage, you highlighted a verse or jotted something down.

And so now we'll just spend a few moments meditating on that and uh starting to discern what it is that God is saying to us.

And so maybe do that and write out a short reflection on what you think God might be saying to you.

And so over the next few moments as you're processing, maybe begin to ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom for how you can apply this to your life today.

Where we just uh maybe write out a simple prayer in response to God and what he's saying to us and how he's calling us to live.

Uh, and so you maybe just jot down a simple prayer of devotion in response to him this morning and pray that we have a lot of people.

But we just want to say thank you so much for joining us on this journey through the gospel according to Matthew, uh, and encountering God this way.

And so we pray that God has spoken to you and that you are empowered and equipped to live out all that he's calling you to today.

And so uh as you go about your day, may the presence of the Lord go with you, may his peace, his joy, and his love fill you uh as you commit your day to him.