(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen. Right, so we're up to Matthew chapter nine in our in our Gospel of Matthew Bible study. In Matthew eight, if you remember, we saw Jesus come down from the mountain. So we'd been through the Sermon on the Mount for three chapters before he came with great multitudes following. And then this leper comes and worships him. And we looked at sort of, you know, the amount of times we see it mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew that he was worshipped. And not once did Jesus Christ prevent them from worshipping him. Not once did he rebuke them. Of course, he accepted that worship because he is God. He heals this guy, doesn't he? Then he heals the centurion's servant with just his word, doesn't he? It was the word of God which healed the centurion's servant. He didn't even go to the centurion's servant because of the faith of the centurion himself, wasn't it? That meant that he healed this guy with just his word. And these healings are, for me, a picture of salvation, a picture of spiritual, but they're a picture, remember. They're a picture of that. They're not salvation itself, but they're a great picture of that. Then he told these Jews that those from far and wide will come into the kingdom of God, but they will be cast out. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, didn't he? And that was very clear, wasn't it, in Matthew chapter eight. And I didn't really dwell on that at the time. We're going to dwell on that, look at that a bit as we go further. We have just done a study of Romans, and I think we kind of put the nail in the coffin of Zionism in that, probably by about the second or third chapter in Romans. But we just carried on just hammering it until there was no even sign of the head of that nail in Romans, because the Book of Romans likes to do that, like a lot of the New Testament does, doesn't it? Because it's pretty clear, isn't it, when you look at it just as you should, just with an open mind. And what does the Bible say? Then you see clearly what the Bible says about that replacement, what we call replacement theology, right? Clear as day. Now, we saw that. We saw Peter's mother-in-law getting healed and then ministering unto them. And we talked a bit about that last week and Jesus casting out devils with his word. OK, so again, it all comes down to his word. We then had the tempest, didn't we, where his disciples panicked, followed by the demoniacs, or demoniacs, really, of the Gergesenes or Gadarenes. And one of these was clearly focused on in the other Gospels. And no, that's not an error. It's just that there was that one that was particularly focused on. As we saw in Matthew's Gospel, there were two of these devils, but the most high profile was focused on. Jesus cast out those devils and then sends them into a herd of swine. And for me, I believe that that picture is being cast out, being basically those devils indwelling what we know of as sodomites. That's what I see that as. But again, that's open to interpretation. That's what I believe I preached out last week and obviously in Matthew chapter seven, I think part one as well. And then we saw that the whole city then besought Jesus that he would depart out of their coast. Yeah. OK, so now we're in Matthew nine and look at look at verse one where it reads, And he entered into a ship and passed over and came into his own city. I'd like to just pray before we continue as well. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for this great chapter of the Bible. Help me to just preach this first half of it clearly and boldly and accurately. And just fill me with your spirit, please, Lord. And just help me to preach it as you'd want it. Preach help those to have attentive ears here. Help them to stay alert and keep the distractions to the minimum, especially those outside right now with the work going on out there. And just help us to to all just focus on what your word's got to say in Jesus name, pray all of this. Amen. OK, so it says he entered into a ship, passed over. So this is when it says he came into his own city. This is likely Capernaum. You have to turn to Matthew four thirteen. It said in leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast and the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim. So it's a seacoast. He goes over there, I believe, here, which is obviously, like I said, it's a coastal city. And look at verse two. And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, laying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. So this is another person with this sort of paralysis type illness and another example here of the faith of those around this man being what healed him. If you see here, it says, and Jesus, seeing their plural faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. And we saw this same in the chapter before with the centurion. And obviously, like I said, this is physical healing, but it's a picture of the spiritual healing, isn't it? And again, it's a faith of those around which results in that person being healed. It's a picture. But the picture for me is saying to us, look, you know, the faith of those around someone is a lot of the time is a difference, isn't it? And when we show great faith, we do the things of God, we're just fixed on the things of God. We're at church, we're out soul winning, we're reading our Bibles, we're growing, we're getting that sin out of our lives. It can make a big difference to those around us, can't it? And those loved ones that we talked about in the prayers that I was praying for, what a difference it makes when we have that strong faith. That's a great shining light, isn't it, to those around us, even if maybe they might reject the gospel first, second time. But maybe with time, they're just going to see that difference, see that change. There might even be couples here, couples in our church where maybe when that husband or wife got saved, it might take a little while for the other of the couple to get saved. But maybe part of that was just seeing that faith, seeing that change, seeing that kind of wanting those things of God, right? Well, Jesus made a point here of saying as well, didn't he? He said, Thy sins be forgiven thee. Well, what's the point here? Well, look, verse three. And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your heart? So first point to make here, they said it within themselves and Jesus knows their thoughts. Jesus knows your thoughts. Jesus knows every single one of our thoughts. That's a pretty scary thought, isn't it, at times? But it is. It's a sobering thought, but it's true, isn't it? Jesus knows our thoughts. He knows what we think in our hearts. He knows actually before you even think it. And that's a crazy thing to think about. It's an amazing thing to think about as well. And look, you're not hiding anything from the Lord Jesus Christ, are you? And that's why, look, even when we have the thought of foolishness and we all have thoughts of foolishness, probably on a daily basis, that is sin, isn't it? But even those things are things that we can bring before the Lord, can't we? And we should be bringing before the Lord and we should be asking for forgiveness for that, right? On a daily basis to make that walk better with the Lord. And look, we all have those bad thoughts sometimes and Jesus knows those thoughts. So it's not something that you can just keep hidden. Look, pray to him, you know, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, right? And that's in our daily walk with the Lord. But he knew their thoughts and he said, wherefore think ye evil in your heart? So he knew what was in their hearts. Then he says in verse five, for whether it's easier to say thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say arise and walk, but that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins. Then saith he to the sick of the pools, ye arise, take up thy bed and go into thine house. So he said, thy sins be forgiven thee, to declare his ability to forgive sins. Yeah, that was the whole point, wasn't it? To show it's just another point. He's just basically confirming who he is and what he is able of doing. He is able to forgive sins because Colossians 1.14 says, in whom, talking about Christ, we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, because it comes through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn't it? That's the only way you're getting your sins eternally forgiven, is through the blood of Jesus Christ. OK, so he makes that point, doesn't he? He makes the point, thy sins be forgiven thee, because he says to them here, he says, well, what's easier to say thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say arise and walk? Well, I'd probably say arise and walk sounds a bit easier, because he then says it afterwards, doesn't he? But he said it so that they know that he has the ability, the power to forgive sins. He then says, arise, take up thy bed and go unto thine house after that. Now, the guy arose and departed to his house. When the multitude saw it, they marvelled and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. So these multitudes here aren't quite getting it yet, are they? They're close, but no cigar. They're going, wow, he's given such power unto men. Well, no, this is the Lord Jesus Christ, this is the Son of God. But, you know, at least they're marvelling and they're not cursing and blaspheming like others were. Now, verse nine says, And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom. And he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. So this is the author of this gospel, the Apostle Matthew. OK, now turn to Luke five, where we see him called by his original name, Levi. Likely changed to Matthew after being called as a disciple, I would say. So you turn to Luke five, where he's just healed the guy sick of the palsy. Look at verse 24 first. So Luke 5, 24, where it says, and we can see it's obviously a parallel passage, but that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins. He said unto the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise and take up thy couch and go into thine house. Couch being his bed here. Now look at verse 27. So we're in the same kind of a parallel passage, but it says, And after these things, he went forth and saw a publican named Levi sitting at the receipt of custom. And he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up and followed him. So clearly who the Gospel of Matthew calls Matthew, right? OK, so the Gospel of Matthew calls him Matthew. And obviously, Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew. What's a publican? Well, we're going to see that in a second. It says, And Levi made him a great feast in his own house, and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. So the feast mentioned in Matthew's Gospel is at his house, and he was a publican. What does that mean? Well, a publican was a tax collector, probably not the most popular of people, right? I mean, nowadays, they're not the most popular people. I mean, you would say that in most societies, wouldn't you? But here it does seem to be even worse. Turn to Luke, chapter three. Because remember that the taxes are for the occupying Roman power, for starters, yeah? So that's who the taxes are going to. Many would have resented this alone, wouldn't they? OK, just the fact that they imagine we had an occupying army here. Imagine, you know, some some world power invaded and we kind of do in a way, if you look at it that way, but we won't go off on that. But say we did. And, you know, your taxes were just going to this occupying power, especially for a nation as nationalistic as the Jews were, being as they, in their eyes, you know, still God's nation and everything else. And that probably pretty, you know, would agrite them a lot, giving money to these people, to what they considered to be these, you know, good for nothing Gentiles, really. Well, let alone that, look, that's the fact they give it to the Romans. It's their people collecting it for the Romans. OK, so these publicans, they're what are considered to be Jews. I mean, this guy's a name Levi. Right. OK. He's, you know, which is of one of the one of the twelve tribes. And he's he's he's he's a tax collector. Now, you'd imagine with a name like Levi, maybe he should have been serving in the temple. Right. But instead, no, he's collecting taxes for the Romans. Yeah. OK, so the other thing, though, is that they were known as being underhand. OK, so we see this quite a bit in the Gospels, the way they're talked about that they're an underhand bunch. Look at Luke Chapter three and from verse 12, where they're asking John the Baptist how they should live going forward. These people have been being saved and baptised. Then came also publicans to be baptised and said unto him, master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, exact no more than that which is appointed you. So, you know, it's a funny thing to say, isn't it? I mean, you know, if someone if I don't know, one of you guys here, brother Jamie, we're just talking about, you know, his his work on the grabber and stuff. And I said, oh, brother Jamie, you know, if he said to me, what do you think I should do this week? Just make sure you're honest at work, brother Jamie. You know, what are you trying to say, you know? Well, it seemed to be common knowledge here that these guys weren't. That's my point, right? OK, it's not the sort of thing that you just come out with. Make sure, you know, that you don't try and steal a bit of money on the side, you know, while you're at work, brother so and so. Yeah, that would be a bit strange. At least saying to them, exact no more than that which has appointed you. Now, it's it's it's so it's not just the job itself, but the way they're obviously known to go about the job. How did they do this then? Well, turn to Luke 19, where Jesus meets Zacchaeus or Zacchaeus. Luke 19. And we see from verse one, Luke 19 one. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. So being some sort of head publican meant that he was rich. So they could obviously make good money doing this as well. And he sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the press because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. So it seems to me that maybe they would falsely accuse people of swerving taxes, maybe falsely accuse them of having more goods that needed taxing or something like that and claim more for them than should have been due or something similar. Right. So now this guy who's a chief one is seems to be very wealthy. It seems that there's a bit quite a lot of dodginess going on, a lot of underhand stuff going on. Now, not just that, so not just these couple of examples we see there and there are a couple of others, but Jesus recognises this sort of subclass opinion of them where he often groups them together with the harlots. OK, harlots being basically prostitutes. In Matthew 18, 17, and you can turn there if you like, so Matthew chapter 18 and verse 17, he talks of cutting fellowship with someone in the church as if they are Republican. So famous passage, Matthew 18 and verse 17, he says this. He says, and if he shall neglect to hear them, let's talk about bringing a matter before the church. He says, tell it unto the church. But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. He's saying as if they're unsaved and a publican. So, you know, this is a pretty dim view of the publicans. Right. OK, this isn't just your regular job. This is a dim view of of what we know as as publicans in the Bible. So go back to Matthew 9 with all of that in mind, because even the lowest of the low in society are capable of, well, not only salvation, because we see a lot of them coming to John's baptism, et cetera, not only discipleship, but being one of Jesus chosen few. Right. So these are people that are just, everyone thinks they're scum, they're dishonest. They've lived pretty wicked lives by the looks of it. Yeah, they're just ripping off their own people to make extra money. It seems that a lot of them are known for falsely accusing people. They're known to be underhand, exacting more money than they should do. They're grouped together with the harlots, the types of people they are. Well, Matthew, who was Levi, ends up writing the first book of the New Testament. Pretty amazing, right? I mean, well, what does the Bible say? The holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Yeah, I mean, that's Matthew, formerly Levi, formerly some scummy publican, by all accounts. Well, pretty amazing, isn't it? And what does that tell us? Well, it tells us it doesn't matter what your past is. Yeah, it doesn't matter what your past is. God can use you. Yeah, God can use you. God wants to use you. God's able to use you. It doesn't matter what you think you've done in your past. Look, God is able to use you. And obviously we're not talking about, because obviously we have in our mind a lot of the time what reprobates. Look, put that away for a second. We're just talking about just regular people. Regular people can do wicked stuff, yeah? Regular people can do some pretty bad stuff. Regular people can live some pretty wayward lives. And look, not only are you capable of salvation, and everyone here, I would hope, is capable of salvation, right? But not only that, but look, God wants to use you, and God can use you in a mighty way. He became one of the 12 disciples, and he ended up writing the Gospel of Matthew. He was completely filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit to write the Gospel of Matthew. And every one of us has that ability, yeah? Doesn't matter what happened in your past, does it? Because, you know, you get a bit leery when you hear of Christians going, well, yeah, but I'm just like, you know, they don't know what I was like, or they don't know what, you know, what my past is like, and I'm just, I'm too preset in this way, or I just, you know, that was the upbringing I had. Well, like, they don't know what parent, whatever, it doesn't matter. God can still use you. God can still change you, can't he? God can still work through you. God can still do amazing things in your life, and make you be a big part of that. And don't we all want that? Yeah, we all want that, but you just have to submit to him. You have to submit to his will. You have to just put all that aside and just go, here I am, use me, you know? Here I am, send me. And every single one of us can be used by the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why 2 Corinthians 5.17, you don't have to turn there, it says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. And it's a famous verse, but what a great verse, isn't it? And a good verse to remind yourselves, because the devil likes to remind you of your past sometimes, doesn't he? The devil likes to, in one way or another, remind you of your past, of your flesh, of things you've done in the past, and sins you've committed, and ways you've behaved, and, you know, shameful times in your life, likes to shame you, likes to try and make you ashamed, but, look, Matthew, Matthew was a publican. Matthew was grouped together with prostitutes. Matthew is, for me, one of the most famous Christians that ever lived, right? Yeah, and we don't hear much more about him afterwards, but we read a lot of what he wrote, right? Well, you've all read a lot, and we'll keep people reading what Matthew wrote for 2,000 years, yeah? And they'll continue reading what Matthew wrote. So, look at verse 10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. Now, this is what's happened. So, Jesus has just called this guy Levi, okay, now known as Matthew. He's now following Jesus. So, does he then just cut off everyone he used to know? Does he just go, no, done with, you know, that's it, I'm just moving on now, guys. You know, I'm just going to hang around with my 11 other disciple buddies now and everything else. Look, and he should be spending the majority of his time with God's people, but, no, he invites them over to meet Jesus, doesn't he? Yeah, that's what he does. So, he's got saved, and he's starting to follow Jesus, but he gets all the publicans round his house, and he tries to preach it in the gospel, I'd imagine. He's basically, for me, that's what that looks like. He's inviting them over to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. And, look, that doesn't mean he's still living his old life, because you can imagine the liberal pastor taking this and going, look, see, you know, carry on, just, you know, get down the pub and be a shining light down there, you know, get down the gambling den, get down, you know, whatever it is in your past life. No, that's not what he's talking about. He invited them over to his house to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, yeah? And we should be inviting people to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, shouldn't we? We should be basically trying to preach the gospel to the people in our lives. That's why we want to keep that fellowship going. But, again, he did invite them over, didn't he? He did invite them over, and it seems that they were eating with the Lord Jesus Christ, with himself, because some people can take this too far, and it's like, right, I'm only going to be on the phone and preaching the gospel to this person week in, week out. And, again, look, you know, there are people that we do need to cut fellowship from. There are people that will just take you down a bad path. There are people that, and obviously with unsaved people, they shouldn't be who you spend the majority of your time with, but there's nothing wrong with now and again trying to get someone from your past, get them round and don't be, you know, obviously if they're boozers or anything else, no, don't accept any of that, make sure you're not in sin, but preaching the gospel, but, you know, maybe do it in a nice way as well. No, just, right, preach you the gospel, I'm not seeing you, you know? There's nothing wrong with that, and we see that the Lord Jesus Christ sits there and eats with publicans and what they call sinners. But there are people, because there aren't there, there are people that in our lives, I would imagine, and by the state of Christianity in this country and the state of soul winning in this country, that probably would only ever get a chance of hearing about Jesus through you guys. There are people in your personal lives, in your private lives, in your work lives, in your exterior family lives, and obviously internal family as well, who would only probably get a chance hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ, their only chance is going to come from you. And there are some that maybe, you know, they just cut people out, et cetera, and maybe that's not always the right thing, you know? Maybe, look, make sure you try to preach your gospel to them at least, and if they want to cut fellowship with you, well, so be it, that happens, isn't it? But look, there are people that might never get that chance, so who else is going out knocking doors? Think someone's going to knock on your family member's door? Someone's going to knock on your old friend's door? More likely to have the Jehovah's Witness knocked on their door. But then COVID stopped that. Praise God for that, eh? They just send stupid letters instead, don't they? Anyone got any of those letters from the Jehovah's Witnesses? It's only us that got a letter from the Jehovah's Witnesses. I didn't get a letter from the Jehovah's Witnesses. I'll have to bring it in sometime and show you. I think we might have been there actually, but wow. So yeah, so they're only sending letters now, but they're more likely to have a false prophet come around the house, aren't they? They're more likely to have a false prophet come around the house on the TV. They're more likely to have a false prophet come around the house on the internet than they are to actually hear the gospel. And sometimes you might be the only chance of that, so we've got to bear that in mind as well. Matthew obviously makes a shot at this, doesn't he? Okay, and when the Pharisees saw it, verse 11, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your master with publicans and sinners? Now what do they mean by sinners? Well, openly sinful people, no attempt at religion, okay? Because obviously we're all sinners, you know? All have sinned to come short of the glory of God. But here they're just talking about people that aren't even attempting for me to just be any part of what was supposed to be, you know, a godly nation and everything else. And obviously they've gone far, far away from how God wanted them. But that's what they're talking about here. These sinners, they're just people that are just openly sinners, right? Openly away from the things of God. Now these publicans are grouped with them, but it seems, funnily enough, that we're the most receptive to the gospel, it seems. If you turn to Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21, he's talking from verse 28 here to the chief priests and elders of the people. Matthew 21 and verse 28, and he says, But what think ye? A certain man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not. But afterward he repented and went. And he came to the second and said, Likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir, and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father. They said unto him, The first, Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not. But the publicans and the harlots believed him. And ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward that ye might believe him. So it seems that a large number of the publicans and harlots believed, didn't it? And, I mean, we're all testimony to that sort of thing, aren't we? I mean, look, you know, we know none of us, it's not a shock to any of us. You go to a lot of the time to these posh houses, you go to posh areas, and it's really hard to get salvation, isn't it? It's hard to get anyone to even talk to you, but you go to places full of this sort of people, publicans and harlot types, and wow, isn't it receptive, right? And that's just kind of a truth in the world, isn't it? And these people believed him. It says here, when John came in the way of righteousness, the publicans and harlots believed him. Now notice here as well what the repentance is and what it results in. And ye, when ye, this is verse 32, and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward that ye might believe him. Okay, the repentance is a change of mind to then put their faith in Jesus Christ. Great verse there, isn't it, just showing what that repentance is that was being called for, that you might believe him. Okay, so you've got the self-righteous religious types who claim to want to do the things of God but reject the gospel. Then you've got the sinful, unreligious types that rejected the things of God but changed their mind and believe in Christ, yeah? That's what that story is about there. So the first one said, you know, that he said, go work today in my vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not, but after it he repented and went. Okay, that's the sinful, unreligious type. That's what he's picturing there, the harlots and the publicans. And then you've got the self-righteous religious types that claim, like for the outward appearance, it seems that they're doing what they're told, but they said, said I go, sir, and went not. And obviously they're not doing the will of God. And like I say, those ones that even at the beginning didn't, they're the most receptive people. Why? Well, Proverbs 18, 12 says, before destruction, the heart of man is haughty and before honor is humility. And that's a big part of it, isn't it? It's just the pride. It's the pride of life. It's the pride in their false religion. It's the pride of their own works, the pride of their own holiness. And it's so hard for them to then put their faith in Jesus Christ. Now, back to Matthew nine here, and we're going to look at this again in a second, but back to Matthew nine, it says from verse 11, and when the Pharisee saw it, they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans and sinners? So they're criticizing, like we said, his being with this type of people. But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn when that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. So in the context that we're looking at, Jesus is saying, I'm not here hanging around with the saved. I've come to call the people that need salvation. That's what he's saying. Now, of course the righteous aren't the Pharisees, because again, some people could misread this, and I'm sure some have probably preached, you know, false prophets have taken hold of this, try to act like they are, well, because they're the people, you know, trying to live for God or something. No, the righteous aren't the Pharisees, and no one's own righteousness is enough, is it? Okay, obviously not. So clearly the righteousness is what? The righteousness is that imputed to us by faith in Jesus Christ, right? Okay, so now I sometimes read this though, and feel like he could also be saying that I came not to call the self-righteous. You ever read that and kind of felt like maybe there's that, you know, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, because obviously these guys are so self-righteous as well, aren't they? Now, we can apply this like that when we're soul winning, and come across the saved, yeah? We can apply that, apply it to that, because look, sometimes it can be tempting to spend too long high-fiving and chatting about churches, and everything else, and there ain't nothing wrong with a short bit of time, try and encourage them. Encourage, but move on, yeah? Because look, we have limited time, right? We have limited time, and same like when we get someone saved, obviously we want to spend a bit of time encouraging them in a church, but we don't then want to kind of spend an hour discipling them, because look, people have done that in the past, probably all of us have done something similar, and how often are they then at church afterwards anyway? And look, I'm not saying you just leave them, and you get like the opposite, where the old, the people that don't do any soul-winning go, oh, you're just leaving them a sheep without a shepherd for daring to go somewhere that's receptive, and preach the gospel, and not be able to send them to a local church. Well, look, they're still getting saved, right? They're still not going to hell, but for me especially, when we're out and we bump, and we do now and again bump into saved people, don't we, and when you do, look, that's not what we're really out for, yeah? Yeah, give them a bit of encouragement, tell them about our church, try and encourage them to church, because the likelihood is they're not going to be at a very good church, if it's a church at all, if they're at church at all, but we then need to move on. But also the self-righteous as well, because when you get to those people, I mean, how many, probably, look, if we're all honest, how many hours and hours of time have you wasted debating the gospel with the self-righteous religious types? All of us have done it, haven't we? Hours of our time. And you kind of, you feel, I'm going to get, and how often do they end up getting saved? Because you kind of know really at the beginning, don't you, whether they actually want to hear you talk or they just want to debate. And so often we can get pulled into a debate, because sometimes the flesh likes that debate, doesn't it? And you're like, I'm going to show them, I'm going to prove them they're wrong. And it doesn't matter. Like I've said to you many times, if someone of Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, or John 3, 16, just wants to row and row. Look, there's some people that, I'm not saying, right, if they can't get saved off one verse, that's it. But what I am saying is you kind of know, don't you, when someone's just wants to row with you, does it matter and we're trying to go, oh, what about this verse? Or what about this one? Or maybe I'll show him my knowledge of like the Old Testament and so on. And look, I've been with people who do that before, you know, they go like long-winded and you're just like, what a waste of time, you know? And we haven't come to call the self-righteous, have we? Because how often do they get saved? Do you just, that was the verse that got them. Look, there are people that sometimes are hung up, don't get me wrong. There are people that have been in bad teaching, there are people that have been in bad churches, there are people that need a bit explaining, but there are those that are just want to row with you. That they don't want to hear what you've got to say, they just want to argue with you. And those, so often, are self-righteous religious types, aren't they? And that religion might be atheism. They might want to argue about, you know, whatever, why they hate God is justified, yeah? But that religion often is some sort of false wicked religion, and it's quite rare to get them here. Look, I mean, you know, okay, that's salvation. Think about discipleship as well. How many people in our church have come from a strong background in a false religion? Hardly any, right? Like who have actually grown up in a fault, as in like week in, week out, a big part of a false church and a false religion for literally like years or decades. Doesn't happen, does it? Well, we're going to look at why with that in a second, but okay, so, okay, so with the self-righteous, we, you know, we want to watch for that. It could be a big time waste, but there's another application obviously to verse 12 that many here have heard too. And really it's the sort of primary on the surface truth here, isn't it? Because Jesus Christ, does Jesus Christ say anything that's false? Anyone think Jesus Christ is anything that's false to make a point? No. So even though the point, the context of this is about, you know, whether you want to call them the self-righteous or you want to call them, you know, the saved, and what his goal was was to basically get people saved and he's out there to get people saved. Well, there's obviously a primary or secondary, whatever you want to call it, there's a truth here though that he's just said, which is that they that are whole or well need not a physician or doctor, but they that are sick. And I mean it, you know, you could skim over that and maybe many here have heard much preachy on that because it's a great verse, isn't it? It is such a great verse because as usual, it's so opposite and so contrary to what our wicked world teaches, to what our medical mafia really, our medical establishment teaches, which is that they that are whole need a lot of intervention from a physician. And it's absolutely, it's maddening sometimes, isn't it? It's maddening, it's very hard. As a parent, obviously all of us as parents have gone through this from before the baby's even born. So you've got, you know, pregnant women from early on, they're trying to inject them with something or other. Are they ill, are they sick? No, they're pregnant. Is it being pregnant, ill or sick? No. And then from the baby being born, from straight away, it's a vitamin K jab, for in some countries, is it the Hep B, isn't it? The BCG or whatever here. It's I think optional depending on apparently where you come from, which, because apparently that depends on whether or not you need that special upgrade from birth or not, yeah. And it's nuts, isn't it? Absolutely crazy. Especially when you just compare it to the Bible, where Jesus said they that are holding got a physician. They that are well need not a doctor in today's parlance. Yeah, and it's strong. And it doesn't just stop at the vitamin K and the optional BCG, it continues and it continues. And I think the last time I counted, it was somewhere between 24 and 30 vaccinations in the first year of life in this country. Although many of those are five and six in one jabs, which is crazy, absolutely crazy. When I was young, when I grew up, that three in one MMR was big news. And even people that were pro-vaccine, that obviously either didn't know or didn't care about this verse, those people were opting for it to be in single doses because they didn't like the idea of having three different injectable poisons put in you at once. Now, five in one, six in one, just line them up one after another. Oh, he hasn't had this one either. Oh, you're a bit behind. We'll just do them all in one day. It's absolutely crazy, isn't it? And it doesn't stop at a year old, by the way. It continues and it continues and it continues. And let's be honest, it's wicked. It's absolutely wicked because it's not just, oh, well, they think that you need this. What on earth are they even pumping these poor kids with? What are they doing to these poor children and doesn't it make you angry? And it's something you have to control, don't you, when you're in a hospital and they're trying to push it on you, you're not going to get anywhere if you have blazing rounds of them, although that can be tempting. What on earth are they pumping into our children? And it's so opposite to this, but do you know what I get even more angry about? When I think about this topic, and it's a big topic, isn't it? It's a massive topic because, wow, I mean, how many, like, just the bizarre sorts of illnesses, the autism rates up through the roof and, oh, how dare you link it to vaccines? Well, can you try and show me what it's to do with them? Because it wasn't like that when I was young. And they didn't have anywhere near the vaccines that they do now when I was young. But do you know what angers me the most about this? It's so-called men of God that don't preach about this. It really winds me up. It really winds me up when you try and talk to pastors when you, before we, you know, before this church, those of us that were at other churches, trying not to have a row, just to ask them their view or talk about it. And they're just like, yeah, what's wrong with it? Yeah, what's wrong with it? I mean, just, like, this is the gospel. This is chapter nine of the gospel of Matthew. This book has probably been read more than any other book in the Bible. And one of the clear points in it is they that are holy, not a physician, but they that are sick. Yet you've got so-called men of God, so-called experts on the Bible who not only don't preach it, but support it and promote it and encourage people to go and get vaccines, to go and get injected by a doctor when there's nothing wrong with them, with something that they don't even know what's in it. It's maddening, isn't it? It's absolutely crazy. And like I said, you can not excuse, but you can understand the world doing it because the world doctors everything's inside out, upside down, complete opposites to everything that God teaches. But the so-called preachers, the so-called men of God, you go to churches and they think you're absolutely nuts that you wouldn't get vaccinated, that you wouldn't jab your poor little child with who knows what. And they act like you're some sort of cuckoo-crazed tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist nutter, don't they? They do, because we've all been treated like that. A lot of us here have been treated like that, haven't we? And what a wicked bunch, what a wicked bunch of so-called Christians. And if they're safe, what a disgrace they are, aren't they? What a disgrace. Before they cast judgment on people, before they cast judgment on people that actually care about their kids enough to look into this, how about they actually bother to, in fact, forget reading anything else, forget the ingredients, forget the toxins, forget all of that, forget looking at the autism rates, and just look at the Bible, and get to chapter nine of Matthew. How about that? How hard is it? Chapter nine of Matthew. Jesus said unto them, they that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick. Well, was your baby born sick? Was he? And if he was, those vaccines are just going to make it worse. Let's be honest, right? It is a wicked, wicked industry, and it makes me sick. But like I said, it's the Christians propping it up, supporting it, that make me even more sick. Because how many of God's people, how many of God's people line up for it and don't even question it because of their pastor? Because of their so-called spiritual leader that's supporting it and promoting it? And I tell you what, they're all wicked. They're all wicked. I haven't been to a church in this country where they've even preached about it. I mean, there are church in this country where they don't support it. Anyway, winds me up. Really winds me up. But the moronic behaviour in the world, you can understand, can't you? But amongst men of God, man, what a disgrace. And if they're saved, to whom much is given, much should be required, right? And they are responsible for, let's be honest, a lot of the time, probably the blood, the blood of so many of these children or as they grow into adults, just wrecking lives, ruining lives, this stuff, because they're not preaching the truth. It's a disgrace. But it's not just the vaccines, is it? Preemptive antibiotics. Anyone had that? Oh, well, it could be an infection. Don't have time to check for that. Better just have the antibiotics. And you're like, what do I do? What do I do? I don't, you know, they're not even saying they're sick. And you're stuck, aren't you? When you're in the hospital, it's such a horrible place to be with a baby, isn't it? Such a horrible place to be. Like I said, more vaccines, more vaccines, more vaccines. Obviously, we've had it with COVID. No one's even ill, just better get a vaccine. And he's moron, he's not even questioned the fact they're all getting ill. They're all like, oh, well, I had the vaccine, so I'm not as ill. What on earth? What sort of vaccine science is that? That's some new science, isn't it? Apparently there's this new vaccine science where apparently a vaccine will stop you getting as ill, but you still get ill. So you're still getting it. You're still passing it around. You're still symptomatic. Not even asymptomatic, you're still symptomatic. You're still passing it around, but you better go and get a vaccine that no one knows what's in it. Or what it's doing. It's just about... You can't make it up. But apparently we're all nuts because we believe in the sky daddy. Because we don't believe that we just came from nothing. Yeah, that's the world for you. What about the health checkups as well? Because they that are whole need not a physician. So we should be able to say, yeah, those are you that are well. If you've been well, yeah, I haven't been to a doctor. But you're like one of those old fashioned guys, aren't you? I don't need a doctor type. You know, like you're some sort of laughing stock because you don't just go down the doctor just for fun, just for an MOT. Because what happens, they just find stuff, don't they? Oh, well, your blood pressure's a bit high. Well, maybe that's for good reason. Maybe my blood pressure's high because my body needs it to be high right now and bringing down my blood pressure and not knowing what it's to do with and why my blood pressure's high. You never know, that might cause me some long-term issues. Fancy that. I mean, you could have, you know, some sort of crazed new age belief there, isn't it? That treating a symptom might not actually get to the bottom. I mean, you know, I remember like when you look into this sort of stuff, there's an old cliche and it's so fitting that a lot of the time, when it comes to disease management, our so-called wise medical approach. And when you look into the background, it's wicked as hell how it all started, how we've got to this point where this is basically a monopoly on healthcare, right? It's like this. You're driving your car, oil light comes on. Whoa, oil light's on. What must I do? I know, I'll get a bit of sticky tape and put it over the oil light, can't see it anymore. That's how it works, isn't it? That's it. And you don't want to go down there when you don't feel unwell because they'll often find something then apparently you need some symptom that you need to treat. It's mad, isn't it? Anyway, on that note though, just be careful refusing checks for babies, okay? Look, you also have to be wise. So we can kind of, you know, and look, don't get me wrong, they're wholly not a physician, yeah? But just be wise, guys, yeah? Because we could go too far and be like, I'm not having a scan, I'm not having anything. And then you have the baby and they go nuts, yeah? And they start acting like you're some sort of crazed, abusive parent because no one knew that you were pregnant or something else. So just bear in mind that we obviously have to be wise as serpents and harmless as dogs as well. Okay, what does Psalm 139, 14 say before we continue? Don't worry, don't have to turn it out. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous all thy works and that my soul knoweth right. Well, so of course there is illness, there is sickness, isn't there? And if you really need to go, then go, yeah? And again, we don't have to go too far on that side, either, look, if you feel like, look, I don't really know, I don't know, I don't really know what to do, look, because it's hard to really get kind of an alternative to what we can know as Western medicine nowadays, isn't it? Because there's a lot of just seems to be pseudoscience out there as well. I don't know if that's on purpose or not. Some might say that the waters are muddied on purpose. I don't really know. What I do know is, look, when you're really ill, yeah, don't be too stubborn about it either, okay? Because they that hold me not a physician, but they, that's it. If you're sick, look, you know, you do need a doctor. It's just a shame that what we call doctors nowadays probably don't really, shouldn't really qualify, but some do, okay? And look, some do at least have some wisdom. They do have people in and out of their surgeries and stuff, so they see a lot more illness than probably we do, but look, you know, be wise about it, but don't be rushing off there when you've got a sniffle, because you're likely going to be in trouble afterwards. Right, let's carry on, verse 14. Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. Now, just quickly, that doesn't sound particularly optional there, does it? Then shall they fast, yeah? Because a lot of people kind of don't really like the fasting side of things in the Bible. And again, it's optional, yeah, it's up to you, but he does say there, then shall they fast, yeah? So, look, I would say that that's probably a good encouragement for the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we should be fasting. But Jesus here is the bridegroom, isn't he? The children are his disciples, and of course, the time is coming when he shall be taken away. Now, he then says, look, at verse 16, No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the new wine runneth out, and the bottles perish, but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. Okay, so what's this parable about here? Well, turn to Luke five. It's also relayed in Mark and Luke's gospels. We're going to look at Luke's account in Luke chapter five. We're going to look from verse 36. Okay, from verse 36 here. Okay, now obviously the first part, before you go there, obviously in the first part, he was talking about, you know, they're saying, so the disciples of John are saying, you know, why are we fasting? Why are the Pharisees fasting? Your disciples aren't. He's saying, look, basically I'm still with them, okay? That's why they're not. That's what he's just said about the children of the bride chamber mourning, as long as the bridegroom is with them, okay? Obviously, he being the bridegroom. Okay, now look from Luke five and verse 36. And he spake also a parable unto them. No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old, if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeeth not with the old. So if you put a strong new patch of material on old clothing, it could make the tear worse, okay? Think about it like that. You know, there's going to be like different sort of flex in the fibre, the older stuff is probably going to get ripped by the strength of the new stuff. Okay, it's also not necessarily going to go well together anyway. Verse 37, and no man put his new wine into old bottles, else the new wine will burst the bottles and be spilled, and a bottle shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles and both are preserved. So wine here being the word for either juice or alcoholic wine, he's obviously likely talking about juice here. Okay, and now verse 39 is unique to Luke's account by the way, and we're going to look at that again in a second. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new, for he sayeth the old is better. Now for me, this is about the New Testament, okay? That's what I believe the difficulty in those living under the old, accepting the new, okay? And in a few different ways here. Why are they fasting oft while the Son of God is amongst them walking the earth? Okay, you could ask at the beginning there. Why are they fasting often? You've got the Son of God there and they're all fasting. Well, that's a bit odd anyway, but you've basically got three categories here. You've got the Pharisees who are the unsaved, prideful, religious folk, yeah? Okay, the self-righteous types, but they're unsaved, okay? And obviously their leaders are wicked. Then second type, you've got the disciples of John. Now they are saved, aren't they? But these ones here, they're fasting off and everything else. You've got Jesus Christ here. It's like they're saved, but they're not really kind of coming to the things of God. They should be following the Lord Jesus Christ by now. I mean, John said, I must decrease and he must increase, or I'm paraphrasing there, but something along those lines. And look, for me, they're like the saved, but maybe they will find the transition maybe from their false religion, their false religious background or something else to their kind of being underneath society's religious leaders in inverted commas to the New Testament sort of, well, you could even say hard preaching, whatever else of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then number three, you've got the true, the disciples there of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the false religious Pharisees for me are the hardest to get saved, like I just said earlier. How hard are these times? I mean, it's like impossible. You find, not impossible, but it's pretty close, isn't it? You find these people that are just so into their false religion, it's difficult, isn't it? And look, and I'm not talking about the actual reprobate false leaders, but just the people that have been in it for years, they don't just go, oh, the gospel? I never heard that. 40 years in the Church of England Church, mowing the lawn and making teas and coffees and hanging around with Vicar, whatever his name is. You know, just, wow, if only someone had said, they don't, do they? They don't even want to hear it most of the time. They get angry, they get hateful, or if they do, they just want to argue with you, they want to rap, and it's the same with all these false religions, isn't it? So they're for me the Pharisee types here, right? Okay, and the gospel there, for me, it seems to make a rent, doesn't it? If you notice, it's like when you try and preach to these people, you kind of walk away going, they're done, they're done. Because sometimes they get so angry, don't they? So it's not like someone who, they don't go away going, oh, yeah, I'll just think about that. Most of the time, you end up in a rath. You end up with someone fuming, you end up with someone angry, you end up with someone slamming the door in your face, you end up, and you're thinking, what on earth? Especially the ones that claim to be a Christian. Knocked on the door, Christian. And you're like, oh, okay, well, we're just trying to show people, and it's just like, sometimes it's just pure anger. If you even get to like, they're kind of thinking, well, what are they going to say? Let's hear them out for a little bit. You get to a bit of the gospel, and it's almost like the rent is made worse. The bottles are perishing, right? It's like they're done. It's like trying to give them that gospel, trying to show them that new way, and they're not having it. And then you've got the disciples of John, and here they make me think of the saved, but like I said, still being heavily influenced by false religion. So, or even just poor churches, and how hard are they to disciple, yeah? And that can be hard, can't it? So people that have been heavily influenced by, and it can be a real church, which is a false church. I think, for example, think how hard these kind of staunch, but seem to be saved, old IFB types are, to just like clear doctrines from the Bible. How hard is it for them to just get their head around replacement theology, for example, with the poster of pre-rathmatch? I mean, it's just clear as day, isn't it? How hard is it for them to get their head around just going out and preaching the gospel, instead of like giving out flyers, or inviting people to walk the sawdust trail? I mean, it seems, but again, they seem really hard to disciple, don't they? And same when you get these people that have been in false churches to some degree, just to get their head around something like this, and someone just preaching the Bible, like the Bible tells us to, right? Okay, it's not that we're just, it's got a weird new way. We're just trying to do what the Bible says. We're just trying to preach like the preacher in the Bible. Preach, right? We're trying to run a church like we believe God wants it run. You know, it's close to what we can see in the New Testament, and based on things from the Old Testament, obviously the way we preach and everything else. Look, and, but how hard do they find that? And look, it's not that they all though, it's not that they all, they all end up, well, at least they don't all end up tared, or the rent made worse, or the bottles perishing, because look at verse 39, where we are. It says, So, I don't think it's too late for those people, but I just think that it's hard for them at the beginning. I think sometimes when you get people saved that are in these sort of being in false churches, in and out, stuff like that, not the ones that have been die hard for 30, 40 years, I think sometimes we can be a bit impatient. We think, oh, well, they haven't come, and maybe they will with time. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new, free, saith the old, is better. It's like the old way. They still kind of want that old way. They, you get them like, I've got someone saved today, and they're talking about going back to the Catholic church, and I'm, you know, trying to make it clear to this guy, look, they didn't preach it. Well, maybe I didn't hear that well. They just don't really want to hear it. Or maybe I wasn't really paying attention. You made it really clear. And it's like, no, look, like, you know, what they would teach you was wrong. And obviously you didn't really know what they were teaching because he wasn't really paying attention. But point being that people find it really hard, don't they, to come away from that. How many people you get saved, and they're going to go back to their Pentecostal church. They're going to go back to their Catholic, maybe even church, and go back to their C of E church, and go back to their Repent of Your Sins church. But with time, I believe that maybe with time, they're going to get out of that and come in. And many here were at bad churches, weren't we? Yeah, many of us here look back and you go, oh, I don't actually know, looking back at that church. Many of us here, maybe we're at churches where, yeah, looking back, that was an unsaved pastor. That was an unsaved, whatever they called it there. Yet we're here now, right? So no man also having drunk old wine straight away desires to be free of the old is better. And a lot of people find this sort of preaching hard at the beginning, don't they? And many of us here, maybe, maybe, and sometimes, no offence, ladies, but sometimes the ladies might have found harder at the beginning, maybe some of that hard preaching on the quiz, right? Maybe they might have found it a little bit kind of harder to take at the beginning because, you know, the emotional angle, usually they go for the ladies in the media a lot more with that, don't they? They find it a bit harder to go, well, you know, do you have to say that? Like, okay, I get it, but does he have to scream it and slam the pulp inside of my head? Yes, he does. Yeah, yes, he does. And sometimes you got to do that, don't you? But that could be hard. It could be a hard transition, can't it, for many. And the longer you've maybe been around false Christianity, the false world version of it, the harder it is, but straight away they might not design you because at the beginning they're like, well, I like the kind of lovey-dovey stuff. You know, I'm saved now. And then with time, the more you grow, the more you start saying, well, actually, yeah, we need some hard preaching, right? Yeah, sodomites need cooling out, don't they? Amen, yeah. Well, well, but then you've got the final type, the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that makes me just think of the unchurched and the new believer. And look, again, just because they're unchurched doesn't mean they're going to turn up at this church and be like three to thrive and everything else. But for me, they're the easiest, aren't they? They're the easiest to disciple. The people that come in as a almost blank canvas are the easiest to disciple, aren't they? Or at least they feel like they're going to be. And we'll get that more with time. I know I remember talking to a pastor about that and he's saying like, when they come in, those people that just got like almost no religious background, they're just so much easier to just, they got no other hangups. They're not like, there's not like this issue between the old and the new. They're just, you just preach to them, right? And they hear it, they soak it up. They, you're not trying to undo all this bad old damage from the poor churches before. So that's what I think that's talking about there. Ultimately, it's talking about that kind of going from the old to new Testament and obviously, you know, things changing and everything else and no longer being that physical nation, that spiritual nation, everything else. But I do think you can apply that as well for us. It's just people going from sort of a previous religious background to then what ultimately is a new religious background, isn't it? And I think for me, that can be very difficult, especially the more set you are, the older the bottle, the older the garment, the harder that is, right? And that's, we're going to stop there. That's Matthew chapter nine and we've done the first, where do we get up to there, verse, verse, I think it was 18, right? And sorry, verse 17. And then we're going to continue from verse 18 next week. But yeah, I think there's some great truths in there and that's a great passage of scripture and we'll be continuing with Matthew chapter nine next week. So on that, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, thank you, thank you for your word. Thank you for, you know, the many truths you give us out of your word, the many just great verses of scripture there that we can just apply in many ways and there's just so many layers and so, like an onion, we just keep peeling away and there's just more layers. But help us to, you know, to go out and want to apply these verses to our life, not just, you know, when it comes to things like the doctors of this world, but you know, when it comes to just being full of faith and helping those around us and not just discarding, you know, those, you know, old lives, but also trying to get them saved, trying to preach the gospel to them. And Lord, help us all to get home safely this evening. Help us all to just keep you at the center of the remaining part of our week and help us to all return here on Sunday for another day in your house. In Jesus' name I pray all of this, amen.