Matthew Series, Week 14 - Narrow Minded

  Several weeks ago I had, what ended up to be, a heated conversation with a man in my office. The reason he came to speak with me, was to get my involvement in a prayer group for the town. Something I was open to, but there was something that was off. The man put forth that he was a Christian and that something I said one week got him thinking that I knew a lot about Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Alon. This led into a conversation about the uniqueness of the biblical God.

Now what I am about to say isn’t a dig at A.A., but rather the reality that the Bible puts forth compared to the teachings of A.A. Steps 3 and 11 of Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12 Steps, read like this, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him…Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out (https://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/smf-121_en.pdf).” 

A.A. teaches that in order to overcome alcoholism, one must seek after and believe in some sort of higher power. This god, is a god of our own understanding. In an article by A.A. entitled, “Many Paths of Spirituality,” there are some excerpts from it that I believe are important. One excerpt reads, “As we became more familiar with A.A., we began to realize the deep significance in the phrasing of A.A.’s Twelve Steps, which emphasize ‘a Power greater than ourselves,’ and ‘God, as we understood Him.’” Later on, in a different section, one can read where it states, “Many of us came to rely on a ‘Higher Power,’ whether it was the collective power of A.A., the A.A. group itself, or some other entity, concept or being that helped us to stay sober.” (https://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/p-84_manypathstospirituality.pdf)

Now I haven’t had a lot of interaction with Alcoholics Anonymous as an organization, but I have known several A.A. participants. One was my boss, who, when I would speak on spiritual matters to share the Gospel with him, would tell me that A.A. didn’t care who or what you believed in, as long as you had belief in something. He had struggled with alcohol for years, and A.A. was how he overcame that addiction, so, he wouldn’t hear anything about the Gospel of Jesus.

This teaching is very different than what is put forth in the Bible. In Isaiah 43:10, God states, “‘You are my witnesses…and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.’” This is why the first command of God in Exodus 20:3 is stated as, “You shall have no other gods before (or beside) me.” And this is why Jesus famously states in the Gospel of John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The God of the Bible is very clear that pursing any other god beside him is not okay. And because of the basis of the conversation, I pressed this gentleman on this particular issue. Is this prayer group going to be praying to the God of the Bible, or is it open to any prayer to any god? 

This is where we came into conflict. I shared with him that the Bible is clear, using the verses I shared with you today, that there is only one God, and that I cannot stand beside someone and act like we’re praying to the same thing, because we’re not, that would be disingenuous for me to do. At the end of the conversation, of which I did get heated and had to call him and apologize for my gruffness, I stated that there is only one Almighty God, and there is none beside him. He called me narrow minded, and that I can’t base everything on the Bible. 

And that’s really the problem. See, we tend to think that the Bible is a suggestion by God, that we can use as we see fit; picking and choosing from it as we so desire. And it’s that very idea that brings us back into our Matthew series, where we will be picking back up in chapter 7, starting in verse 13.

As we open to Matthew 7:13, let’s refresh our memory of where we are in this summer series. Leading up to what is called the Sermon on the Mount, we noticed that the first four chapters all dealt with identifying Jesus. In fact, even in the the description of where Jesus gave his sermon, we saw his identity on display. It was in Jesus’ introduction where we saw his description of what his disciples’ were to looked like. And that the identity of a disciple was wrapped up in his own identity. That means a true disciple of Jesus, must be conformed and transformed by who Jesus is. This isn’t just a religious system to believe, but a living transformational relationship to be lived in.

It was then that we saw how Jesus makes two additional points of a disciple’s identity. One is that we must rely on God’s righteousness and not our own for our salvation. Jesus makes it clear that all of our good deeds cannot make us right with God, therefore we have no other choice but to rely on God’s righteousness. 

From that reliance on God’s righteousness, goodness then flows from his disciples. In other words, we must first receive salvation from God, this is a free gift that we cannot earn, but from that free gift of salvation, God’s right acts come out of his people. These two points give us an understanding of our relationship with God himself. In fact, it’s these two points that lead us into passages such as Mark 12, where we are given the two greatest commands of loving God and loving people.

The second section of Jesus’ sermon, a section that deals with his disciple’s and the world, teach us to trust in God’s control, rather than us trying to control the world. Whether that be through our worry or through our misguided judgments. When we try to control the world, we become reliant on ourselves, which hinders God’s work in our lives. 

It’s here that we come to the close of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, with Jesus’ words on what we are to build our lives on. Let’s read through this closing in Matthew, chapter 7, starting in verse 13.

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”

In his closing, Jesus gives a clear dichotomy for our lives, and he directs our attention to where we need to get our information from. He tells us that there are two paths. The first, is the narrow path that leads to a narrow gate, while the second is the wide path that leads to a wide gate. Jesus tells us that the many people will follow the wide path to the wide gate, whereas his way is the narrow one. Interestingly, in the conversation I had with this gentleman, I was called narrow-minded; something I took as a compliment, because I was studying this very passage at the time. The dichotomy that Jesus presents has to do with the narrowness of his own teaching compared to the wide open teaching of the world. To put this into perspective, in general, the Romans didn’t care what you believed in, as long as you paid some sort of worship to their gods, and eventually to the Emperor. In our own culture today, the idea that all paths lead to God is one that is pushed in all types of media. This belief that all paths are equal, is the exact opposite of Jesus way. Jesus calls us to a narrow way, that follows only his teaching and no other.

It is here that Jesus’ gives us some examples of those who are on the wide path and who are entering through the wide gate. The examples are false Prophets and false Disciples. In speaking about the false prophets, Jesus say that they, “come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” This brings to my mind imagery of a wolf covered in sheep skin. The wolf comes into and befriends the sheep, all the while plotting a way to devour them. Jesus tells us that you can know these wolves, by their actions. Remember when we talked about judging earlier in Jesus’ sermon? When we are judging or distinguishing between two things in a righteous way, then we will be able to receive God’s correction willing, we will be able to give grace to each other generously, and we will be able to see through the deceptions of false prophets. How will we? Because we will see their actions, both their teachings and how they carry themselves. These fruits, as Jesus calls them, will not be in keeping with the Word of God. We can see this in the pastors who seek after wealth, who commit abuses, and do the very things that God rejects.

But’s there’s not just the false prophets, there are false disciples as well. And the way Jesus describes these false disciples is telling. Jesus reveals that at his return, there will be people that will point to what they have done as a sign of their salvation. In fact, look at what Jesus says the false disciples do: they prophesy in Jesus’ name, they drive out demons in Jesus’ name, they do miracles in Jesus’ name. What Jesus is revealing, is that supernatural wonders are not the signs of a true disciple. In fact, in Revelation 13:13, we are told that the second beast, that makes the inhabitants of the world worship the first beast, will be able to perform miraculous signs. In the conversation I was having, it was signs that the man pointed to as evidence for his faith in Christ, claiming to have cast out demons. But Jesus reveals that though they do these things, he “never knew” them. Now I’m not saying this man isn’t a believer; that he is not saved, no, rather what the Word of God is saying, is that miraculous works are not the basis for salvation and we cannot point to the ability to perform them as a way of codifying it. No, instead it's the knowing of Jesus that is the basis for salvation.

And so, how do we “know” Jesus. It’s walking the narrow path. What’s the narrow path? Well, Jesus gives us a mini-parable in the wise and foolish builders. Jesus starts out the parable with, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice…”

This is Old Testament wisdom literature type stuff. Those who walk the narrow path take seriously the words of Jesus and do them. They don’t fix the words when they don’t like them, they don’t choose which words to follow because of social changes, and they don’t reinterpret his words to fit a human understanding. No, they learn and implement them into their lives. They are a wise man building his home on a foundation that is solid rock. 

But those who do change the Word of God to fit their interpretation, to fit social changes, or who pick and choose what they will follow, are like the foolish man who builds on ever shifting sand. And when the real storms of the world come their foundation will be gone. In the opening of the Gospel of John, Jesus is called the Word of God (John 1:1). In Revelation 19 listen to how Jesus is described, “11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations…”

John is describing Jesus here. He is the Word, and all of Scripture comes from him. The sword coming out of Jesus’ mouth is God’s word being spoken. In Hebrew 4:12 the writer has a similar description when they write, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Therefore we must seek out understanding and the application of the whole of God’s Word if we are going to be Jesus’ disciples, if we are going to be the “known” of Jesus.

It’s here that Jesus ends his Sermon on the Mount, and we’re told by Matthew, “28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”

People were astounded at Jesus. Why? Because he didn’t leave any wiggle room. Jesus just wrapped his disciples’ identity into his own. Jesus just called them to the righteousness that he could only give them. He called them to a life that relied on the grace of God, to give out that grace freely to others, and to let loose their control to God. Then Jesus didn’t just call people to God’s Word, but called them to his narrow path where they were to rely solely on Jesus’ Word. In this Jesus is equating following God, with following him, basically calling himself God overall, and the people were amazed by this, because no one spoke with such authority as Jesus did.

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we can see that he doesn’t allow for any god’s beside himself. There are no other paths to God, no other interpretations as to who God is, no other higher powers, or anything else. Jesus gives us no wiggle room here, and if someone claims the opposite of what Jesus is stating clearly, they are a false prophet, or a false disciple. 

I know that sounds harsh, and I’m not saying that things like A.A. have not benefited people all over the world, I believe God uses a lot of different things to bring people to himself. But we must be clear that though something can be beneficial in the short term of this world, if it stands against the clear teaching of Jesus’ Word, then it has no eternal benefit. And as disciples we must see the clear difference that Jesus makes, because, if we don’t, we will be swept away as the foolish man was. 

This doesn’t mean that we can’t love people. This doesn’t mean, we shun the non-believer, that we do not share the Gospel with people. No, in fact it is because of this very teaching, that Jesus is the only way to gain salvation, that should drive us to love people. To reach out to the non-believer, to share the Gospel with people, to do good for our neighbors. Not just with our words, but actions. And not just with our actions, but our words as well. 

So, though the world wants to have gods beside the God of the Bible, he will not allow his disciples to do that. And no matter the amount of miraculous works, whether they be as spectacular as casting out demons or a change in a person’s habits, will change God’s clear Word on the subject. 

This week, I want to challenge all of us to wrestle with the question, do I put other things up against God and his Word? Do I allow for other paths to be just as valid? Do I confuse the God of the Bible, with the gods of other religions? Do I confuse the narrow path of Christ, with the wide range of philosophies of man? 

God is calling us to his narrow path, which means, there is a narrow application of Jesus’ Word. God is calling us to one God, not many higher powers, which means, there is a narrow application of worship. And that means that if we are to be his disciples, those who are known by Jesus, we must reject all other paths that put themselves up against him and his Word.

So this week, wrestle with God asking the question, do I set up anything as a god as equal to the true God of the Bible. And if you do, there needs to be repentance and a change, because, “13 For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Let us walk the path of Jesus’ narrow way, and be a people who, at his return, know the One true Almighty God. Amen.

Living in Light of the Apocalypse

  It was sometime after the war of 1812. A man by the name of William Miller is returning home after serving his country and witnessing the Battle of Plattsburg, where outnumbered American forces overcame the British. Millar was born into a Baptist home right at the end of the Revolutionary War. As he grew up, he studied the Enlightenment philosophers, and eventually turned away from his Baptist upbringing and began to believe that God was not interested in the world, but had left it to run on its own. Miller had become a Deist. Yet in the Battle of Plattsburg, Miller saw the hand of God at work in the, as he said, “hailstorm” of the enemy’s weapons. God had given the outnumbered Americans victory in the battle, and Miller began questioning his deist beliefs. 

After the war, Miller retuned to his family, and reconnected to his Baptist roots. The reality of the shortness life, death, and the afterlife held heavy over his head. Through many hours of study, Miller became a minister of the Gospel, refuting his old Deist beliefs and clinging to the return of Jesus as a soon to be physical event. Through Daniel chapters 8 and 9, Miller became convinced that Jesus’ return was soon, giving the date to be some time “on or before 1843.” Though Miller was hesitant to give a solid date for this return, he shared that it could be between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. 

Fervor swept throughout the U.S., and tens of thousands prepared. A great many sold all their possessions and stood on hillsides waiting for Jesus to come back. But the dates passed without anything happening. Another date of April 18th was given, but that too passed without a return. Then dates in August, then October, but both saw no return of Jesus.

The first date saw tens of thousands of people gathered, the second saw several hundreds, the next a few hundred, and the fourth a few dozen. Each failed prediction was a blow to the morale of the people, and Miller himself gave up the belief that Jesus was even going to return at all.

The end is nigh, is a rallying cry from people as the world descends into chaos and depravity. The anticipation of Jesus’ return is heighten and many people have come forward to make predictions of when that glorious day will arrive. But every one of them has failed, and many dedicated believers have lost faith in Christ, because of the error of man. 

I believe that there will be a day when Jesus will return to this world. As the Scriptures tell us in 1st Thessalonians 4, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever (v. 16-17).”

And I believe that this day is drawing nearer. Yet the question that the Bible seeks us to ask is not, will Jesus return, nor is it, when will Jesus return? Rather the question that the Bible wants us to ask is, what will I be doing at the return of Jesus?

Last week, in our Matthew series we talked a little about worry. We talked about how at the base of worry is the need to be in control. And how God calls us to give up worry, by giving up the illusion that we have control, and instead leave the things that worry us, in the control of God.

I want us to take a step back and apply this where we are right now in our world. In 2008 the housing bubble popped, and hurled us into a recession. And we limped forward slowly for several years. Then, in 2017, the economy came roaring back. Then in late 2019 a series of events hit. Covid-19 began spreading, and by early 2020 it seemed to be rampant, this led to a shortage of goods everywhere. Food, toilet paper, cleaning chemicals all flew off the shelves. Then George Floyd was killed, and riots became the daily news. A spike in gun sales followed, with ammo disappearing. A pandemic coupled by civil unrest, made people grasp at whatever they could to find security and control in the midst of all of it. The religious centers, where people used to go in times of chaos, were closed. True you could still view them online, but the disconnect from human care, made the whole thing feel distant for many. Suicides and drug use spiked. Murders and domestic violence soared. And then at the end of 2020, a chaotic election occurred, throwing the very foundations of U.S. government into question.

And just as the world seemed to be getting back to the way it was, inflation began to spike; jobs, though out there, have few willing to work them. Coupled with that, new lockdowns, and shortages beginning again, and all around us the call for worry is heightened.

But that is just some of what is happening. Critical Race Theory, where the basis of a person’s worth is based on their skin, has formed the basis for a lot of the educational systems from pre-school to graduate studies. Children as young as kindergarten are being exposed to sexual fetishes in library book readings and elementary school assemblies. A confusion of gender types, that goes beyond the debate of roles, to a blending of the sexes is being seen on a scale the defies statistical evidence. 

It seems like there is a bombardment from every facet of society that seeks to destroy the pillars on which a functioning world can stand. And the worry of what will happen can feel insurmountable. With all of it taken together, it seems to point towards a moment of time when all of it will come crashing down, and the world will end. Even those who are not believers see a boiling point coming. Whispers of a civil war ring through both side of the political isle.

And I’ll tell you that if you think, oh no everything’s fine, then you haven’t been paying close enough attention, and haven’t done your do-diligence in both understating history and what is going on in current events.

For believers in Christ, that means the end of all things, and the return of Jesus. And though there is pain in it, there is also hope of what Jesus brings. Yet, for those outside that solid relationship with Jesus, it just seems chaotic and maybe at times hopeless.

But here’s the thing, as we move closer to that end, to the return of Jesus, the Bible tells us that things will get bad. No matter where you land on debates such as pre, mid, or post-rapture. Or debates on pre-mill, post-mill, or a-millenium. The Bible is clear that the world will become darker and more depraved in its sin and rebellion against God. And the natural reaction, even for believers, is to either lash out in fear, or worry and become isolated from others.

I have seen and heard these reactions from believing Christians. The worry and uncertainty of what is happening can easily overtake us, because the world is full of worry and uncertainty right now. 

Yet, I want to give you hope with this one sentence: it has always been like this. The world has always been full of worry, and uncertainty. Since Adam and Eve left the garden, to the food supplies slowing down today, the world has always been a place of worry and uncertainty. That’s why Jesus words in John 16 are so important. In a chapter 16 of John, Jesus tells his disciples that he will soon leave them and that the enemies of God, “…will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God (v.2).”  And Jesus tells them that the reason he told them these things was, “…so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (v.33).”

Trouble is a part of this world, and it’s only going to get worse. And that’s why we must cling to God’s Word ever tighter, because within it, we are pointed back to Christ, the one who has overcome the world. 

People tend to read the book of Daniel chapters 7-12, the Gospel of Matthew 24-26, and the book of Revelation to figure out the details of when, where, and how the end will happen. Miller did just that and fell into error. He’s not the only one, many have done the same, and are still doing it today. Looking at numbers, reinterpreting imagery, all to fit the landscape of today. And failing time and time again. 

Now I’m not saying that we should’t study these books, in fact the opposite, because there is great information that God reveals to us about the last days. But we must take a step back and realize why God gives us this information. Why does God sprinkle throughout the Bible information about the end? Is so we can figure it out? So we can sale all our things and get ready? No, it’s found in Jesus’ words, “so that in me you may have peace.”

Isn’t that odd? Jesus tells us about how the world will get worse, so that we may have peace? Yes! In fact, if we take a step back from each of the “end time” books of the Bible and the many passages that relate to it, we will find that the purpose is to bring peace to our lives, by revealing God’s control. Daniel is given his visions at a time when the people of God are in exiled with no hope of returning to the land God had given them. 

Jesus’ words in Matthew are given on the eve of his arrest and crucifixion. More obscure places like 2 Peter 3, were given on the eve of when the church was about to enter persecution. Even the Apocalyptic book of Revelation was given during a time when persecution of the church was becoming national in the Roman Empire.

We are given information about the last days of this world, so that we, “may have peace,” and so that we “take heart.”

And so, the question needs to be, as a believer, what do I need to be doing as the days of this world seem to be coming to an end? Should I sale all that I have, and go up on a mountainside? Should I horde and live in a cave away from everyone? What should I do?

I want to take us briefly to a passage at the end of the book of Revelation. In Revelation chapter 22, starting in verse 12 we read what Jesus says, “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

These are Jesus’ words that he is coming in judgment. These are Jesus’ words that he is the Almighty God, and he will give his verdict out on the world. And in these words, Jesus revels a dichotomy. On one side are those “who wash their robes,” these “may go through the gates into the city.” On the other side are those outside the city gates and walls. These are, “those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

In every case of apocalyptic writings in the Scriptures, the call for God’s people to trust in his control, to live holy lives, and to the share the Gospel is revealed. There’s no call to sale everything, there’s no call to become fearful, or hermits. The call is always to be out in front, standing firm on God’s promises, living holy lives because God is holy (1 Peter 1:16).

So what must I as a believer do right now? First, be prepared. There will come a day when supply chains will get ever slimmer, are you ready for that day? If there is a pre-rapture, then what you leave behind could help a tribulation saint get through what is to come. If the rapture is after the fact, then God has supplied your needs. He has told us it will come, why not trust in that and prepare? Yet, as we prepare, let us not look to those preparations as idols. They are gifts from God, not gods unto themselves. They will not save, but are from the Savior. As we work our way through Matthew will come to chapter 10, verse 16. There Jesus tells us, "16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” The application of this verse is from the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. We must be wise in how we deal with the world and the resources that God gives us, and innocent in the application of it. In reality they will not sustain us, only God can do that. We must be like his sparrows and flowers, that we talked about last week. Not trying to take control, but being wise about what God has given us. In our day and age, God has given us the ability to store food for decades, how wonderful is that, that as we draw closer to the end, he has given us ways to prepare?

Secondly, we must take seriously the call to live holy lives. We must seek God to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). That the world around us may see God’s people living holy, peaceful, generous, and trusting lives as a worship back to God. As Jesus called us to in Matthew 5, we must live as salt and light in this world. Pointing others back to him with our actions. Every apocalyptic writing in the Scriptures call us to this very act. To live holy as the world falls further from God, is one of the highest callings on the believer’s life. In the opening chapter to Peter’s first letter, a letter written as persecution was beginning in Rome, he quotes from the Old Testament, “16 for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy (v.16).’” This holy living is a calling that will shine greater and greater, as the world plunges further and further into darkness.

Finally, we must be speaking the Gospel. People live moral lives all the time. Atheist can be moral people. Buddhists can be moral people. Muslims, Neo-pagans, Jehovah Witnesses and a host of other groups can live moral lives. It is the Gospel and the proclamation of it, that makes the Christian different. This is why Paul writes in Romans 10:14, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” If we can not speak the life giving message of Jesus being the only way to the Father, even if our death is what comes from it, then are message is no different than those that are outside the salvation of God. We must come to terms with our fate. To live in service of the Gospel is to see Jesus at work, to die in service of the Gospel is gain him in his fulness (Philippians 1:21). Therefore, let the Gospel be ever present on our lips, even if it means that we must suffer for it.

We tend to lose sight of God in the chaos of the world. But he has overcome the world, and wants us to be prepared and at peace in a world of chaos. It’s in the chaos and adversity of this world, that the people of God have always endure. Whether that be Israel in the desert, Israel through the times of the Judges, Israel in the time of the exile, or the Church under persecution. The people of God, who trust in the control of God, will always come through in the power of God.

So my challenge to you this week is to look at these three areas: Preparedness, holy living, and Gospel speaking, which one are you strongest in? Which one do you worry in the most? Which one do you do the least? Are you taking advantage of the resources God has given you? Can it be said that you live a holy life? Do people know why you live the way you do, because you’ve told them? This week take time and seek God in each of these areas. Seeking him to take out any worry, any control, you may have and fill it with confidence in his control. 

Let us be a people, prepared for, living rightly, and speaking God’s life as the world marches towards that glorious day, when its King and Creator returns. Amen.

Matthew Series, Week 13 - “Let It Go”

  Years ago, when we first moved to Quartzsite, the church had a little park model where the office now is. For the first 3 years, Marika and I lived in that house and we constantly had problems with our neighbor. There were a lot of reasons why we had problems. One was that the teens were outside being too loud. Another was that we had a dog named Moose that hated men and would bark at the neighbor when he was outside. Because of these and other reasons, the police made weekly Friday night visits due to noise complaints that the neighbor issued about our teen group. Pastor Jeff at the time tried everything, even offering to pay for the neighbor to go out to eat on those nights.  Well, it got to the point where Pastor Jeff and I had to sit down with the owner of the property, and the town manager to work something out.

In that sit down, the property owner listed the complaints that his tenant had with us. Once those were given, he then attacked me as being a pedophile. Telling the town manager that I kept having a little blonde girl over my house alone. Now, I’ve always had a short temper, but I kept it together up until that point. I interrupted the man, with, “Are you talking about my wife?!”

The owner wasn’t expecting that. This was the first time we had met, and he knew nothing but what was told to him by his tenant. He took his tenant’s word, never once thinking that he could have been told lies. After that wake up call, Jeff and I laid out the case for the church, revealing that his other tenant’s had asked names and ages of our children, which we couldn’t divulge, and the abuse that the neighbor had done, throwing garbage cans at our fence in order to get my dog to bark at him. 

In the end, we agreed to make some changes, one of which was to eventually moving the youth room over to where it is today. A year or so later, we moved out of the house, and eventually our relationship with the neighbor drastically improved. In fact, it became so good that he would sing the church’s praises on Facebook. The neighbor has since passed away, and we hope to continue to have good relationships with our other neighbors around us.

But it’s this idea of judgment that speaks to one our topics today, and brings us back into our Matthew series where we will continue in chapter 6, starting in verse 25. 

As we’ve been making our way through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we have talked about how the identity of a disciple of Jesus is cradled in Jesus’ identity. Therefore the Gospel of Matthew spends the first four chapters giving us a core understanding of who of Jesus: King like David, Prophet like Moses, Unique Son of God.

After the understanding that the identity of Jesus’ disciples are cradled in his own identity, Jesus reveals to us that his disciples are those who recognize their inability to reach the perfection of God. They are the “poor in spirit,” those that recognize that God’s standard of perfection is unattainable, and therefore they are bankrupt and bring nothing to God. It’s in that position of having nothing for God, that God extends his goodness, his righteousness, to those who recognize their sin and accept his free gift of salvation.

Yet within this place of free salvation, Jesus still has expectations from his disciples. He still expects them to give as God leads, to pray worshipful prayers, to seek God in spiritual activities such as fasting. It’s these and others that we covered last week.

That all being said, bringing all of this together we start seeing the portrait of Jesus’ disciples. They are humble because they know they bring nothing to God and they are active, because God’s goodness flows out from them to the world around them. 

Which brings us to Jesus’ next half of his Sermon on the Mount. In the first half we have been primarily focusing on the relationship of Jesus and his disciples, but now we see a switch to how a disciple of Jesus interacts with the world.

Let’s read, starting in chapter 6 verse 25, and we’ll end in chapter 7 verse 12.  

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

“1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

“7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Here Jesus gives us two examples of how we are to engage the world. And it seems like these words could be spoken today. With all the strife and unrest that we see; the corruption, the uncertainty of the future, as if Jesus’ words were meant for times such as ours.

This is because strife and uncertainty isn’t anything new. Riots in the streets are nothing new. Wars across the world are nothing new. Corrupt politician and leaders are nothing new. And those of us alive during such times and wondering how do I follow God through these circumstances are nothing new. 

And so Jesus gives us words to live by in a world of chaos. First Jesus tells us, “do not worry.” This is an easy thing to say, right” It’s easy not to worry when everything is going well, but then there’s a housing bubble that pops. There’s an illness or accident that occurs. There’s mandatory this and coming for your that. It’s easy to says words of don’t worry, but it’s another thing to put them into practice. Jesus knows this. He knows how hard it is for us not to worry. This is why he takes our attention and places it where it should be. 

One of the reasons why we worry is because the world is in our view. It is the physicality of the world that draws our attention, because we can feel it, see it, taste, it, smell it. And it becomes a flood that, at times, can seem overwhelming. And so Jesus draws our attention to the world in a different way. And asks in an Old Testament wisdom kind of way, “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”

In other words, what’s really important when we start stripping everything away? When we take a step back and see why we worry, we realize that worry comes from a place of our inability to control the situation. And because of the need for control, Jesus calls us to see the world of God’s control. “Look at the birds… See how the flowers…” In other words, look at God’s control. Look how he takes care of these things that don’t seem to be very important.

Jesus adds to this, “Are you not much more valuable than they?” If God’s control sustains the birds and the flowers, which are not as valuable to him as his disciples, how much more would his control in our lives sustain us?

So what must we do? Verse 33 reads, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” We must seek the control of God in our lives. Seek that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give up this false idea of control that brings worry, and face the reality that we’re not in control. So instead seek the things of God, do the giving, do the praying, do the fasting that we talked about last week. Do the things that we are responsible for and seek God to control and direct our lives. That’s how we overcome worry. Not by our own control, but by conceding control to God.

It’s here, that Jesus gives us one way to concede control to God, it’s in our judgment of others. Now, Jesus’ words, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged,” have long been used out of context of the whole of his sermon. It has been used against Christians, and I have had it used against me by Christians who don’t understand what Jesus’ means by “Do not judge.”

Usually when someone says, “you’re not suppose to judge,” they say it in the context of, “I want to do what I want, and you can’t tell me otherwise.” But, yes, Christians are to judge, as we will see next week, Jesus’ calls his disciples to judge the actions of people and stay away from certain people. The problem isn’t in the judging, but in how we go about it. 

The word judge is the Greek word krinó (kree’-no) which means to distinguish between two things. In the case that Jesus presents, this is a false distinguishing. A person is seeing the sawdust in his brother’s eye, but cannot distinguish that he has a plank in his own. The sin of the brother is less in quantity to that of the one who is making the judgment. And so he makes an inaccurate and false judgment, a false distinguishing. 

The attitude of the person that Jesus is presenting is a “I’m in control and I make the rules.” This walks hand-in-hand with the need to control that we’ve already talked about. When we make judgments, trying to be in control of the situation, we are blind to our own inadequacies. Jesus uses the sawdust and plank metaphor to show us how we can make false judgments, on the basis of a false sense of being in control. We want to control what someone is doing, so we nitpick the small things in their lives. I want to control you, so I find any fault in you and hold it over you.

Yet, Jesus is calling us to give up control and making correct judgments, this is done by coming before God and having the plank in our own eye dealt with. The question of, how do I give up control, starts by taking a long look at ourselves. It’s seeing the inadequacies here in our own lives. And once that humble introspection occurs, then we can make a judgment into someone else’s life. Jesus says, “first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” It’s not the judgment that Jesus is going after, or else he would not have said something about removing the speck from our brother’s eye. No, Jesus calls us to humble reflection, to godly and correct distinguishing, which overcomes our need to control, and puts us into a place where we can deal lovingly with each other.

This makes Jesus’ words clear in verse 2, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” If we make judgments based in our own control, that brushes over our own sin, then that same standard will be used against us in God’s judgment. Yet if we seek God’s grace in making judgments, first with ourselves, then that grace filled judgment will be extended to us as well.

And it’s here that Jesus gives us the ask, seek, knock command. How do we give up this control? We go after God. This ties back into our worshipful prayers. We ask God for our needs, we seek after his work in our lives and we knock on the door of heaven as we move ever closer to our heavenly Father. It’s here that Jesus draws a comparison for us. Jesus compares earthly fathers and how they give to their children. Earthly fathers don’t tend to cause their children harm, but give as best as they can to supply their children’s needs. Jesus compares imperfect human fathers, with the perfect Father in heaven, who intends the best for our lives.

Jesus does this because it’s easy to lose sight of God’s goodness in midsts of the world’s chaos. The worry and need for control that we experience can easily eclipse God’s subtle work. Yet, Jesus gives us this comparison so that we can see that even though we may not see it, our heavenly Father is seeking the best for us. He will take care of us, but we need to give up our desire for control, taking a humble attitude in both our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. 

God knows we’re in need. God knows the world is chaotic. God knows that we need help. So God calls us to trust him, to give up control, and to seek in him the chaos. 

My challenge for you this week is to take an inventory. Make a list of all the things that are going on in this world. Vaccinations, political corruption, financial downturns. Whatever those things are that could cause you to worry, and this week name them off asking God to help you let go of the control that you want to have. Seek God’s kingdom, his control over your life. And every time you hear a news report, or someone bring up the subject that triggers worry in your life, pray. Seek God to take that worry, so that you can be as free as a sparrow, and as beautiful as a flower; of which you are more precious to God than either.

Let us seek God’s work to break the illusion that we’re in control, and instead be a people who rely on God for all things. From the world around, to the moment-by-moment obstacles in our lives, we need to give up our illusion of control. If we do this we will be drawing closer to the Savior of our souls, and there everything we need will be supplied by our Father who is in heaven. Amen.

Matthew Series, Week 12 - When Not If

  Do you remember the first time you prayed in front of people? I’ve shared that my first time was when I was on my college baseball team. I was asked to pray, never even attempting out loud prayers in my life. I had only been a Christian for about two years, so I still wasn’t very developed in a lot of areas. In my panic, I strung together a series of phrases, “Let us be all we can be…so we can just do it.” Things like that. Being around a bunch of guys, when I was done, they all started to laugh, asking me, do you just use the army slogan? Do you just use the Nike slogan?  It was an embarrassing moment in my life and afterwards I started to look into what God desired from us in prayer, so that I could be a better prayer.

And it’s God’s expectation in prayer and other areas of our spiritual development that brings us to back into our Matthew series, where we are going to return to the same passage we did last week, which was Matthew chapter 6 starting in verse 1. The reason for returning to this passage, is because Jesus makes some assumption about our faith walk and he gives us some practical ways to walk it.

And as we get back into our Matthew series let’s see how the first six and a half chapters have gotten us to where we are now. In the first four chapters, we saw the identity of Jesus being revealed. This was done through proclamations, through challenges, and finally through Jesus’ own self-revealing. Then in chapter 5, we saw the standard of God, which is perfection, and how we are called to meet that standard. But when we realize we cannot meet that standard, we come to a place where we can become Jesus’ disciples. A disciple of Jesus is someone who recognizes their inability to attain the standard of God, and therefore must rely on Jesus as their Savior. 

Then last week we talked about how, though the saving work of Jesus in our lives is freely given, our response is still to do good. I heard a great quote this week from Reformer John Calvin, “Faith alone justifies, but the faith which justifies is not alone.” In other words, Jesus’ work of saving those who realize they can’t save themselves is done without our good deeds, but from that saving work of Jesus, good deeds flow out from us as a result.

It’s with this that we return to Matthew chapter 6. This week we are not going to read through the entire twenty-four verses that we did last week, instead I want us to recognize Jesus’ expectations and his applications. 

In verses 2, 5, and 16, Jesus gives us two words that speak to his expectations about our spiritual lives. Jesus says, “when you.” Those two little words carry with them some pretty big expectations. 

When Jesus says, “when you” he’s pointing to two things. First he’s pointing towards future moments. “When” is the time. When this thing occurs is what Jesus is saying. There will be a time or times in the future when, what Jesus is going to point towards, will happen. The second thing Jesus points to, is us, or more specifically his disciples. The “you” is anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Savior. These our those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are peacekeepers, those who are salt and light. So, Jesus is saying, in the times in which my disciples do “x”, that thing Jesus is going to now say, this is what you are to do. 

And so he gives us three examples. “When you given…when you pray…when you fast…”

These are three activities that Jesus expects his disciples to participate in. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus expects his disciples to do many things. The obvious ones are commands that he gives. In John 13:34 Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Then there are more subtle ones, like when Jesus says in Luke 22:19, concerning taking communion, “…do this in remembrance of me.”

And one that I think gets past over the a lot, because it’s awkward, is Jesus words after washing his disciples’ feet. In John 13:15, Jesus says, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

Jesus has expectations of our spiritual walks, and when we shy away from them, because they are awkward, financially difficult, or we just feel incapable, what we are really doing is saying that I don’t take seriously the expectations of Jesus in my relationship with him. But our awkwardness and inabilities don’t deter Jesus. No, instead we are called to these expectations, and therefore must seek him to work them out in our lives. 

So we must give, we must pray, we must fast, we must commune, we must wash, we must love. Why? Because its within these things that our relationship with God builds and grows as it was always intended to. Fulfilling the expectations of Jesus, by obeying his examples, invigorates our relationship with him.Those thoughts of, I don’t hear God, I don’t feel God, I don’t see God at work, get replaced with a waited anticipation of God’s activity, because we are working out the work he is doing in us. These expectations are not what brings salvation into our lives. That is only done through Jesus free gift of imparting his goodness to us. But what fulfilling these expectations does do, is enliven that salvation work and renews it daily so that we may see what Jesus has done to bring us closer to himself.

And so, in these three expectation examples that Jesus gives, the central one is prayer. This prayer has been called the Lord’s prayer. I myself like to call it the disciples’ prayer. This is because Jesus says in verse 9, “This, then is how you should pray…” This prayer structure is pointed at us. Now we can see this same prayer pattern in Jesus’ and other biblical figures prayers, but here Jesus is saying this is for you, the disciples to know what is expected from you in your prayer life. 

In fact, in Luke’s recognition of a similar prayer, it is the disciples who ask, “Lord teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus responds with, “…When you pray… (Luke 11:1-2)”

This prayer pattern is for us as disciples, and when we recognize what Jesus is expecting from our prayers, praying becomes so much easier. It’s no longer haphazard, like stringing together a bunch of slogans, but has purpose and meaning. So let’s take a brief look at Jesus’ pattern for his disciples’ prayers. The prayer goes,

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 

10  your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

What do you notice about this first part of the prayer? Who is about? It’s directed at God the Father. This speaks of the intimacy of our prayers. This isn’t to a God out there beyond us; a God who we are clamoring to reach. He is our Father, therefore our prayer needs to be based on this familial relationship with him. 

Yet at the same time, God is holy. The name of God is representative of the totality of who God is. By saying, “hallowed be your name,” Jesus is pointing us towards the holiness of who God is. This is something our cultural tends to miss. The biblical God is both close and separate. He is both the Lover of humanity, and its righteous Judge. Both are true. When we lean to either side we develop a skewed view of who God is. If he is just Father, the one who wraps his arms around us to love us, then we skew his love, because we make accommodations for sinful behavior. On the other hand, if we fall on the other extreme of God’s holiness, then the wrath of God has no quenching, and Jesus’ work becomes a task to be achieved and not a gift to receive. So Jesus teaches us both, “Our Father in heaven, hollowed be your name.” Both of these are wrapped up in worship. Worship is recognition of who God is and what he has done, and giving him praise for it. This first sentence of prayer, is a balanced worship of who God is. The Father who is holy.

From there we get our second line, “…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” I don’t know about you, but I tend to be pretty quick in my asking God for things in my prayers. Yet in the second sentence of the prayer, Jesus directs our prayers to seek the will of God in our lives. Everything flows out of God’s will, and if we are his people, then we need to desire his will above all else. I might be struggling with my job and finances, I might be hurting because a loved one is sick, I might be needing some divine intervention right at this moment, but what we need to do is to ask for God’s will to be accomplished in our lives. When we have the accomplishment of God’s will in focus, it does not get ride of our need, but helps us to accept whatever happens in those situations to come. So, we are first to worship and then seek his purpose in our lives.

It is here that we move our attention from the worship of God to our need.

11 Give us today our daily bread. 

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Daily bread, can be interpreted in a number of ways, but at it’s core, it’s our day to day sustenance. The obvious ones are food, water, and those things that we need in our lives to sustain us physically. And at the same time it is the Word of God, Jesus, which is the bread of life (John 6:35). Jesus is calling us to rely; trust in God to supply that which we need for sustaining our lives, its sustenance for both the physical and spiritual needs. This helps us  to leave behind our wants and cares for the world. When we have this kind of reliance, whatever is given to us, we recognize are gifts from God and we should be content with them.

Next, Jesus goes into a little more detail about our spiritual needs that need to be met, the first being, we need forgiveness from God. There are things that we hold onto, even as believers accepted into the family of God by the free gift that Jesus gives. This is a Psalm 139 attitude, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (v.23-24).”

But this spiritual need extends to our relationships. Following this prayer, Jesus explains that there is a connection between God’s forgiveness and our forgiveness of others. If we are called to the life of God, it’s a life of forgiveness that flows from the throne of God, down to the people of God, out to the world around us. And so far, I believe, this is the hardest part of the expectations of Jesus. This goes back to the anger issue in chapter 5 of Matthew, where Jesus said, “…if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift (5:23-24).”

Reconciliation of relationships is key in our relationships with God, and I know it’s hard, but Jesus expects us to extend the forgiveness we have been given to those around us. And when we realize the depth of forgiveness that Jesus has extended to us, “…forgive us our debts…”, we are more open to forgiving others, “…as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

What follows this, is Jesus calling us to another spiritual matter, the spiritual battle. The sentence, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” is a call for God’s strength. His hand in moving us out of those situations that would bring us to encounter evil things. This has a dual function. First it gets our minds on God to be the deliverer, and second it gets us prepared for the coming temptations. This is what Paul talks about in Ephesians 6, about putting on the armor of God. When we are both reliant on God and aware of what is happening around us, the spiritual battle that is inevitable, becomes one where we are prepared for the encounter, rather than becoming a casualty of the conflict. 

Now in our text, this is where it ends. The reason for this is because of textual choices by the translators who are working from manuscripts that are quite old. Yet there are manuscripts that contain the words, “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” This is what you will find in a King James translation of the Bible, but most all translations have this at least as a footnote.

And I want us to include this sentence here, because it seems to finish Jesus’ thought. We started out with a balanced worship of God, and in these final words, we return to that worship. Like the identity of Jesus’ disciples being sandwiched in who Jesus is, a disciples’ prayer must be sandwiched in the worship of God. God is our Father in heaven, his name is holy, we desire his will to be done here as it is done in heaven. Because everything is God’s, it is his kingdom, and it is by his power that all things are accomplished and it is his glory that we should seek for eternity. 

So at the end of our prayers, we are to worship God, directing our eyes on him and not on ourselves. 

Jesus’ expectant prayers from us, recognizes our physical, relational, and spiritual needs. But these needs are couched in the worship of God. He needs to be our focus in our prayers. Both at the beginning and end of them. And when we do this, we place God in his rightful position in our lives. Our identity, our very being needs to be surrounded by God. 

This takes the burden off of us, because now we rely on him, trusting in his work. 

This is the model by which a disciple of Jesus is to pray. I try to pray like this in my prayers, and you might hear some of these elements. A modern application of this prayer might sound like this: Father, you are great and glorious. You are beyond me, yet you’re right here. I ask that your will be done in my life today, so that others may see your living work and praise you. Lord I have a lot of wants, but strip those away so that I can see clearly what I need from you. Let me trust you that those needs will be met. Lord I thank you for your forgiveness in my life, that I was brought out of death and into your life, help me to forgive others. I struggle with forgiving those that hurt me, help me, then, to know how much I hurt you, so that I can see how deep your forgiveness for me is. And I know that there is a battle around me, and there is a struggle to return to my sinful past, Lord strength me by the Holy Spirit, that when temptation comes, I will respond in the power of the Spirit. You have saved me, and are cleansing me, for you are a loving and holy God. I praise your name, so that others may know you as well. Amen.

This model can take on a number of unique characteristics, because God’s people are unique characters. The model is there, for those that struggle with the words, and those who can apply its intention as an outline for effective praying. 

So my challenge for you this week to is work through this prayer each day. Using it as a guide, pray it everyday this week with different words, but the same structure. If you stumble, praise God that it isn’t required for salvation, but work through it. Prayer is one of those expectations that Jesus has, and through it, we may come closer to him in relationship. 

Let us be a praying people. That the glory of God is lifted up, the needs of ourselves and the people around us are brought before him, and that his worship is sounded from the lips of his people. Amen.