Matthew 11 - January 11th, 2024

Hey, welcome back this morning to day eleven of our bread devotionals.

So glad that you are joining us this morning.

Um, day eleven, and uh, we're gonna continue journeying through the gospel of Matthew together.

We'll be in Matthew chapter 11 today.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

And if you're new with us this morning, just want to remind you that um we are working through this acronym of bread as kind of our framework for our time together.

Uh, it simply stands for the B, stands for breathe, and then read, encounter, apply, and then lastly, devote.

And so that's the framework for our time together this morning, and just encourage you as we lean in and get ready to hear God uh speak to us, to maybe have a journal or a notebook handy, uh, with a pen and pencil, something that you can begin to write and process how the Lord is uh speaking to you.

And so uh with that being said, we're gonna dive in and get ready to prepare our hearts to read through Matthew chapter 11.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

And as we do, we're gonna begin just like we've done every morning with simply breathing.

So maybe find a quiet space this morning.

Begin to just uh still your your yourself and your mind and your heart, begin to focus your attention on God and just simply breathe.

Breathe in and out, letting go of all the uh to-dos that'll be coming later today, and all the thoughts that are crowding your mind, just begin to push those to the side and focus your attention on breathing in and out.

Inviting the Holy Spirit to begin to speak to you this morning.

Maybe take one last deep breath in and then breathe out.

Now let's turn to our sign passage today and open up Matthew chapter 11.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

And again, just encourage you to be able to have a highlighter or a pen or something handy to where, as God uh maybe brings something to the forefront as we read through this passage.

You can highlight that, jot it down so that we can process that in a few moments.

Matthew chapter 11.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region.

And John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing.

So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?

And Jesus told them, Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen.

The blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life, and the good news is being preached to the poor.

And he added, God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.

As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds.

What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see?

Was he a weak reed swayed by every breath of wind?

Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes?

No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces.

Were you looking for a prophet?

Yes, and he is more than a prophet.

John is the man to whom the scriptures refer when they say, Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.

I tell you the truth of all who have ever bel ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.

Yet even the least person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.

And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.

For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses look forward to this present time.

And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophet said would come.

Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

To what can I compare this generation?

It is like children playing a game in the public square.

They complain to their friends, we played wedding songs and you didn't dance.

So we played funeral songs and you didn't mourn.

For John didn't spend his time eating and drinking, and you say he's possessed by a demon.

The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say he is a glutton and a drunkard and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners.

But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.

Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where he had done so many of his miracles, because they hadn't repented of their sins and turned to God.

What sorrow awaits you, Korazan and Beth Seda?

For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.

I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on Judgment Day than you.

And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven?

No, you will go down to the place of the dead, for if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today.

I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on Judgment Day than you.

And at this time Jesus prayed this prayer.

O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.

My Father has entrusted everything to me.

No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Then Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you.

Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.

This is the word of the Lord.

So now we'll move into the encounter portion of the morning, where we simply just take uh what we feel like God has highlighted for us, maybe a verse that you've written down or highlighted in your Bible, and you begin to process that and consider what is it that God is saying to you.

Maybe just spend a few moments uh thinking through how this makes you feel, what do you think God is saying to you, and maybe write a short reflection on how God might be speaking to you this morning.

Uh of our devotional this morning.

And this is where we begin to turn outward and think through how practically we might live out what God is saying to us, how we might begin to put feet to our faith this morning.

And so maybe over the next few moments you can begin to ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and bring uh some things to mind for how you can apply this to your life today.

And we just close our time by maybe writing a simple prayer in response to God and what he is saying to us and how he is calling us to live.

And uh and maybe write out a prayer and pray that to him uh as we begin to devote ourselves and our lives and the rest of our day to him.

I pray that as you go uh about your day that the Holy Spirit goes with you, he empowers you to live uh in all the ways that he is calling you to live, and I pray that he gives you peace and joy, and you walk in the fullness of his love as you commit your day to him.