Sermon Outlines . Volume 02 | Issue 12

Questions That Demand Answers

By Michael Catt

This sermon series is by Michael C. Catt. Messages can be found at SherwoodBaptist.net/bookstore.

QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
(Part 1)
CAN’T YOU READ?
Mark 12:18-27

Leon Morris, “What does not agree with Scripture does not come from God.”

This is the 1st and only time we see the Sadducees in Mark’s gospel. We know very little about them. We do know:

  • They did not believe in the resurrection.
  • They believed only the 1st 5 books – Torah.
  • They were the religious blue bloods and looked down on everyone else.

Mark 11 & 12 are filled with stories of religious people trying to trap Jesus.

11:27-33 – Sanhedrin failed to trap Him in their question regarding his authority.
12:13-17 – Pharisees and Herodians failed to trap Him with a political question.
12:18-27 – Sadducees failed to trap him with a hypothetical question.
12:28-34 – Scribe asked a question and after that, “no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.”

  1. THE SADDUCEES DENIED THE RESURRECTION.Here’s the trap:
    1. To assert that any or all of the brothers would be able to claim her for a wife – He would be accused of questioning the law.
    2. If He agreed with them that there was no resurrection, He would be condemned by the Pharisees.
     
  2. THEIR REASONING WAS NOT BASED ON REVELATION.BOILS DOWN TO TWO PROBLEMS:
    1. They were ignorant of scripture.
    2. They underestimated the power of God.
    Jehovah is the God who bridges generations and who promises a future and a hope.
    1. To Abraham – the God of promise.
    2. To Isaac – the God of power.
    3. To Jacob – the God of providence.
     
  3. THE NECESSITY OF REVELATION TO WALK IN TRUTH.
    1. BASIC TRUTHS.
      1. Jesus believed in the sufficiency and reliability of the revelation given to Moses.
      2. Jesus knew that God’s revelation was given over time. God continually revealed Himself from Genesis to Revelation – the revelation is now complete – nothing to be added or taken away.
      3. The final revelation regarding the resurrection was going to be revealed after His own resurrection.
    2. OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THESE TRUTHS.Merrill Tenney, “Ignorance of the Bible is surprising. It has been neglected by the sophisticated, distorted by cultists, misrepresented by the ignorant, and discarded by skeptics. If Jesus was critical of the Sadducees because they had not examined the Scripture more closely when it existed only in scroll form, how much more would He be impatient with a more literate generation who never bother to read it in print?”
      1. Never take a text out of context.
      2. Dig in the text to see what it says.
      3. Apply it and obey it.
      4. The Holy Spirit will guide you into truth.

QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
(Part 2)
WHY ARE YOU AFRAID?
Matthew 8:23-27

  1. THE STORM ON THE SEA.
    “a great storm”
    “a fierce gale of wind” – (Mark 4:37) 
  2. THE STORM IN THEIR HEARTS.
    Mark 4:38; Matt. 8:25 
  3. OUR SECURITY IN THE STORMS OF LIFE.Our faith is not built on feelings but on the Word of God.
    Faith is confidence in the person of Jesus Christ.
    Jesus was with them in the storm.
    Luke 7:9 & Matt. 15:28 – great faithFaith is accepting the sovereignty of God.
    Faith is remembering that God loves us.

QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
(Part 3)
WHO IS THANKFUL?
Luke 17:11-19

  1. LIFE IS FILLED WITH DESPERATE SITUATIONS. vs. 11,12
  2. TAKE YOUR IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS TO JESUS. vs. 13
  3. HIS MERCY SHOULD LEAD TO OBEDIENCE. vs. 14
  4. A BLESSED LIFE DEMANDS A RESPONSE OF PRAISE.

QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
(Part 4)
IS YOUR LIFE PROFITABLE?
Matthew 16:21-28

  1. MAN’S WAYS ARE NOT GOD’S WAY. Matt. 21:16ff 
  2. GOD’S DEMANDS FOR DISCIPLES ARE NOT IN FINE PRINT. vs. 24ffThere are three choices a true disciple will make:
    1. Deny self.
    2. Take up your cross.
    3. Follow me.
     
  3. GOD’S VALUE SYSTEM IS CLEARLY STATED. vs. 26, 27You can lose your life by pursuing worldly goals.
    1. Prestige.
    2. Power.
    3. Possessions.
    4. Pleasure.
    What is the value system of the righteous? Matt. 5:3-12.

QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
(Part 5)
THE ULTIMATE QUESTION
John 21:15-23

  1. THE CONFRONTATION. vs. 15-17 
  2. THE CHARGE. vs. 15-19THREE-FOLD COMMISSION:
    1. ‘Tend my lambs’ –
    2. ‘Shepherd my sheep’ –
    3. ‘Tend my sheep’ –
    Peter’s life actually was a fulfillment of this commission.CommissionMinistry’Tending’ (21:15)Pentecost, Cornelius (Acts 1-10)’Shepherding’ (21:16)Gentile Conversions (Acts 10-15)’Tending’ (21:17)The Epistles (1, 2 Peter) 
  3. THE CALLING. vs. 18-22
    1. The Calling was to a Cross.
    2. The Calling is Singular.
    Every person has two responsibilities.
    1. Answer the question. ‘Do you love Jesus?’
    2. Follow the commands. ‘Feed my sheep’ – ‘follow me.’

QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
(Part 6)
WHAT’S YOUR RESPONSE?
Luke 13:1-5

  1. A TRAGIC STORY.The twofold Truth underlying this text:
    1. Innocent people die when evil men carry out their wicked schemes.
    2. There is tragedy and evil in this world because man is a fallen creature.
     
  2. THE MISTAKEN CONCLUSIONS OF THE CROWD.
    1. They believed if sin always results in suffering that righteousness will always escape suffering.
    2. They believed that if someone suffered it was solely because of his own personal sin.
    3. They erroneously concluded that because they weren’t suffering, they were not guilty of sin.
     
  3. THE LORD ANSWERS HIS OWN QUESTION AND CHALLENGES THEIR THOUGHT PROCESS.Ed Dobson, “Many people believe that over time you accumulate the ‘sin debt’ with God, and when the debt gets large enough God zaps you with His judgement. This thinking was common among the Jews of Jesus’ day. It was the thinking centuries before that was expressed by the friends of Job.”