Mateus 17
F.B. Meyer · Citado em PreceptAustin
Mateus 17
Meyer - Our Daily Walk - THE POWER OF SMALL THINGS "Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed nothing shall be impossible unto you."-- Mt 17:20. THE GRAIN of mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, but Jesus says that it is a fitting emblem of the Kingdom of God, and the unostentatious beginnings of the Christian era. The number and social position of the disciples was insignificant in the extreme. And the first germ of truth sown in the heart of man, woman, or child, is sometimes equally insignificant. It may be just a sentence, a text, a passing remark which results in a mighty harvest (Mark 4:30-32). What is it that enables this tiny seed to make such a prodigious increase? It lies in its receptive power, as it receives into its nature the mighty forces which slumber in the soil, the effect of sunbeams, moisture, and air. So long as a little aperture is kept open, there is no limit to the fertility and usefulness of the plant. You may be but a child, and your life seem weak and ineffective, but if you will open your heart to God by faith, He will pour in His mighty fullness, and the tiny seed become a great tree of strength and usefulness, grace and beauty. Let us not despise the day of small things. Faith may be as a grain of mustard seed, but as it is used it will grow. Your effort to do good may seem so insignificant that it would be hardly missed, if it were discontinued, and yet out of it may emanate some mighty work which will bring help and comfort to thousands. How many orphanages, schools, and philanthropic efforts have owed their origin to the most infinitesimal beginnings. One destitute child cared and ministered to for Christ's sake has led to another, until finally thousands of little ones have received a good start in life. What could be more insignificant than the beginnings of the Gospel message in many a heathen country. Do not be discouraged. Like Gideon, you may be only a cake of barley bread, but by faith you may overturn the tents of Midian. Like the little lad, you may only be able to place five tiny loaves and two small fish in the hands of Jesus, but He will bless them and make them sufficient to feed the multitude. A stone may bring Goliath to the dust; an arrow may pierce through the armour of the mailed warrior. Have faith in God; Reckon on God's faithfulness to you! Small Faith In A Big God Read: Matthew 17:14-21 If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there, and it will move." --Matthew 17:20. Jesus didn't say to His disciples, "Have more faith in God." He simply said, "Have faith in God" (Mk. 11:22). Bible teacher Stuart Briscoe writes, "Faith is only as valid as its object. You could have tremendous faith in very thin ice and drown . . . You could have very little faith in very thick ice and be perfectly secure." Many Christians have faith in faith rather than faith in God. When facing trials, they agonize to attain mountain-size faith. But Jesus taught that faith the size of a mustard seed is sufficient, if planted in the soil of God's greatness. Have faith in God, the sun will shine, Though dark the clouds may be today; His heart has planned your path and mine, Have faith in God, have faith alway. --Agnew Have faith in God-- not faith in faith. Vance Havner - Sand Or Seed Faith as a grain of mustard seed. Matthew 17:20. If you would develop a living faith, not like a grain of sand but like a grain of seed, do not read too many books on faith. One dear brother will tell you that you must agonize and strive to enter, while another would have you "take it by faith." Both are right: you must mean business and be in dead earnest, but beyond that you must, like Hudson Taylor, quit working at your faith and rest in the Faithful One. (ED: NOT "LET GO, LET GOD" BUT "LET'S GO, LET GOD!" AND YOU "REST IN THE FAITHFUL ONE" BY IMMERSING YOURSELF IN HIS FAITHFUL WORD!) Books on faith are colored by the author's temperament, theology, experience, style of expression. You can become more concerned about the quantity and quality of your faith than about its object. You never will get your experience to suit you. You will never pray just as you want to, or feel or preach or live just as you want to. Perfection is found only in Him. Real faith stops studying itself and is occupied with Him. Quit digging in the ashes of your poor heart for satisfaction. Consider Him—not your faith—"lest ye be weary and faint in your minds." The Word does not stress the quality of it (except to say that a little will work wonders, Mt. 17:20) but the object of faith, and since Christ was the object here (Mt 9:18-26), the blessing followed—as it always does. ED COMMENT - THE BEST BOOK TO READ ON FAITH IS THE BOOK! THE BIBLE! Ro 10:17 SHIFTING THE WINDS Topics: Dependence on God; Divine Power; Help from God; Miracles References: Joshua 10:1–14; Matthew 17:20 The prevailing winds in the Persian Gulf area blow from northeast to southwest. So if you attack from the southwest, your enemy can release biological weapons into the air, and the chemicals will blow right into your face. That was a tremendous concern for the military during operation Desert Storm and the subject of many prayers in the Gulf and back home in the United States. On February 21, 1991, American forces attacked from the southwest at 4:00 a.m. Only three hours before, the prevailing winds had shifted from southwest to northeast, exactly 180 degrees from the direction the prevailing winds normally blow. The winds blew in that direction for four days, the duration of the war. Within thirty minutes of the surrender, the winds shifted back. That is the unbelievable power of prayer. —General Charles Krulak, in a message given at the Leadership Prayer Breakfast, Wheaton, Illinois, October 2000 Warren
Mateus 17
Meyer - Our Daily Walk FOR ME AND THEE "Not withstanding, lest we should offend them, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for Me and thee."-- Mat 17:27. PETER HAD been fairly well-to-do. He had his house, and boat, and nets. There was no lack in the fisherman's house. But when Jesus said, "Come after Me," he left all, and there was an immediate cutting off of the former sources of supply, so that when the tax gatherer came, there was nothing to meet his claim. Our Lord maintained that He personally was under no obligation to meet the demand. As a child, to use His own words, He was free; but He immediately identified Himself, as He always does, with His troubled disciple. We can never leave anything for Christ, without His recognition, and His being ready to defray whatever cost may accrue from obedience. The identification was so absolute between the Master and His disciple, that He refrained from providing two coins, which might have indicated some severance of interest. Was it not His intention to put beyond all controversy that He and His are one, and that in every act of His on our behalf, in His willingness to meet the demands made upon us, there is no severance of interests, no mere patronage, but an absolute identification with all that concerns us. There are profound lessons here. Demands are constantly knocking at the door of life, which we find it hard, sometimes impossible, to meet. There are needs of food and clothing, of the rent collector and the tax gatherer. But is not Christ aware? Is He not faithful? Will He let us go under in the struggle? Never! Whatever demand made on the servant is assumed by the Master--That take, He says, and give unto them for Me and thee. As He enters the wilderness of temptation, He reminds us--it is "'for Me and thee." As He hangs upon the Cross, and passes forth from the grave, radiant with triumph, He turns to us and says: "This victory over death and the grave is for Me and thee." Yes, and through all the ages that are yet to be, amid the marvels of unfolding new worlds, nothing shall accrue to Him of which He will not say: "That take, and give, or use, for Me and thee." Only remember, we must take, and give. We must appropriate the unsearchable riches of Christ, we must impart them, or they will not profit us. PRAYER We thank Thee, our Father, for our union with the Risen Christ. May we share more largely in His glorious life, and live as the heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. AMEN. A TIMELY GIFT Topics: Dependence on God; God’s Faithfulness; Needs; Providence; Provision; Trust References: Genesis 22:14; Isaiah 61:1–4; Matthew 8:23–27; 17:27; Mark 4:35–41; Luke 8:22–25 On a recent service trip to the Hurricane Katrina–ravaged coast of Mississippi, we worked at a home that was owned by a retired United Methodist pastor. Rev. Jones said he and his wife had left their home before Katrina struck and gone to a shelter. After the storm passed, they were allowed back into the city to grab a few belongings. When they entered their house, the water was still knee-high, but Jones was determined to see what he could salvage. Jones saw several framed family photos floating in the water. He didn’t see anything else to save, so he grabbed the pictures and left. Back at the shelter, he took the photos out of their frames so they could dry out. When he removed his father’s picture, money fell out of the frame. He was astonished to count out $366. Even more astounding was that his father had died in 1942, when Jones himself was only twelve years old. He had no idea the money was in the frame. The money was precisely what he and his wife needed to go to Atlanta after the storm to live with their daughter. —Douglas Heiman, Evansville, Indiana QUESTION - What is the temple tax? ANSWER - The temple tax was required of Jewish males over age 20, and the money was used for the upkeep and maintenance of the temple. In Exodus 30:13–16, God told Moses to collect this tax at the time of the census taken in the wilderness. In 2 Kings 12:5–17 and Nehemiah 10:32–33, it seems the temple tax was paid annually, not just during a census. This half-shekel tax wasn’t a large sum of money, but roughly equivalent to two days’ wages. According to the tractate Shekalim in the Talmud, the temple tax was collected during one of the these Jewish festivals: Passover, Pentecost, or Tabernacles. The temple tax is also mentioned in the New Testament in Matthew 17:24–27 when Peter was confronted by the religious leaders collecting the tax. The leaders asked Peter, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” The leaders may have been attempting to prove Jesus’ disloyalty to the temple or His violation of the Law. Peter affirmed that Jesus did pay the temple tax. When Peter came into the house where Jesus was, the Lord asked him, “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” Peter replied that kings collect from others because their children are exempt. Jesus’ point was that, since the temple was His Father’s house, Jesus was exempt. Why should the Son of God pay a tax to His own Father? Even though Jesus, as the Son of God, and His disciples were exempt from paying the temple tax, they would pay the tax in order to not offend the Jewish leaders (Matthew 17:27). Jesus then instructs Peter to throw out a fishing line, which would result in a catch. When Peter opened the fish’s mouth, he found a coin that happened to be the correct amount for the temple tax for him and Jesus. Jesus used the question about the temple tax to teach a lesson. Christians are free, but they must sometimes relinquish their rights in order to uphold their witness and not cause others to stumble. True freedom is not serving ourselves but others (see Galatians 5:13).