Relationship with the World (Matthew 6 P14)

In the first half of Matthew 6, Jesus' words revolve around religious practice ... and our motives for religious activity and ritual.  The behaviors in and of themselves are good and Jesus even assumes that they will be done ... the giving, the praying, the fasting.  However, our motives for the behaviors are critical ... they make or break the deal!  So we want to stay aware of and sensitive to our own motives.

The second half of Matthew 6 is about our attitudes toward wealth and stuff.

Read Matthew 6: 19 - 34.  

Most of us are "hoarders" to some degree.  Few of us take it as far as the folks that make the TV show about the syndrome ... but we know the edges of the disease!  Our tendency is to stock up ... to pile up ... to keep the "just in case" things.  Is it wrong to do that?  Is it foolish to buy at the warehouse stores in bulk because it's cheaper?  I don't believe that is the point that Jesus is making.  Yes, simplicity has its place and is actually one of the spiritual disciplines ... but Jesus is talking here about a heart attitude ... a priority issue.  It does not seem to me that "storing up" is the problem ... it seems to me that we "store up" the wrong things in the wrong places.  We "store up" with nothing but worldly eyes.

Jesus steps into our lives to remind us of three great truths ...

1. things of this world can wear out
2. things of this world can erode away
3. things of this world can so easily be stolen

William Barclay said:  "Jesus never said that this world was unimportant; but he said and implied  over and over again that its importance is not in itself, but in that to which it leads.  This world is not the end of life, it is a stage on the way; and therefore we should never lose our hearts to this world and to the things of this world.  Our eyes ought to be forever fixed on the goal beyond."

So Jesus wants all of his hearers to understand that we cannot be devoted to both God and this world with its material stuff.  We CANNOT.  Not "may not" ... "cannot".  That means it is impossible.  Why do we keep trying to serve both?  Do we  not believe that Jesus knew what he was talking about?  Do we really think we will be the exception?  

The second problem with wealth and stuff is that they cause anxiety.  Jesus is not advocating a careless, shiftless, cavalier attitude toward life.  He is forbidding a worried fear which takes the joy out of life.  He is forbidding an anxious fear toward clothes and food that has no place for faith and trust.  

Again, Jesus steps into our lives to remind us of three great truths ...

1. anxiety is futile and useless - not to mention unhealthy
2. anxiety is blind - it completely disregards the lessons from nature itself
3. anxiety is a sign of 'little faith' - it walks without trust in God

In a time of recession and high jobless rates and presidential elections and political posturing and international terrorism and ... and ... and ... we need to hear these words from Jesus loud and clear!  We are one week away from the presidential elections, 2012, in my country.  You and I may need to intentionally choose to believe Jesus when he tells us - 

Therefore I tell you,

do not worry about your life ...

May we be faithful with our day ... today.  May we be faithful with our attitudes today.  May we trust God today.  May we believe in the sovereignty of God's hand over the affairs of men today.  And may we sleep well tonight!  

Motives (Matthew 6 - P 13)

We are in the middle of one of Jesus' teaching sessions.  Matthew 5 - 7, commonly called "The Sermon on the Mount", is the first section of 'teaching' that Matthew records.  It is all about discipleship.  Chapter 5 focused on true righteousness.  Chapters 6 and 7 focus on lifestyle issues for citizens in the kingdom of God.

So, today ... read Matthew 6: 1 - 18.  Then join me back here ...

In the Jewish world of Jesus' day there were 3 great works of the religious life.  Those three were:  giving to the poor (alms giving), prayer, and fasting.  So it is no surprise that Jesus addresses each of these three categories as he continues his discourse on true righteousness.  Did you see the common thread that wove itself throughout Jesus' comments in each of these areas?

The common thread is ... don't do any of it to be seen, to impress others, for theatrical appeal.  The focus is God ... not you.  All three areas of work are important.  None are to be neglected.  However ... the temptation to do good deeds ... to practice religion ... to be seen and praised by other people is strong and subtle.  What I learn in these verses is that my motive is of utmost importance!  And aren't motives tricky things?!

First ... don't do your "giving" to be praised by people.  If that is your motivation ... enjoy the praise because that is all there is.  The fact that a person is doing some "giving" to the needy seems to be a given.  Is it a 'given' in your life?  Are you making sure that you are giving of what God has given you to help those who are marginalized?  Those who are in deep need?  Be sure you are doing that ... and as you do it, don't blow your own horn.  Do it because of God ... do it to honor him ...

Second ... don't pray to impress others.  Prayer is a given for a citizen in the kingdom of God ... not an optional activity.  But always remember what it is ... and what it is not.  It is ... communication with God.  It is ... a channel through which we bend our wills to the will of the Father.  It is not ... theatrical.  It is not ... to focus on the pray-er - how intelligent, or spiritual, or holy he/she is.  It is between you and God.  Listen to Philip Yancey:

I have come to see prayer as a privilege, not a duty.  Like all good things, prayer requires some discipline.  Yet I believe that life with God should seem more like friendship than duty.  Prayer includes moments of ecstasy and also dullness, mindless distraction and acute concentration, flashes of joy and bouts of irritation.  In other words, prayer has features in common with all relationships that matter.
     If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer.  Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes:  why God doesn't act the way we want God to, and why I don't act the way God wants me to.  Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.   (from:  Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference)

Third ... when you fast, when you give something up so that you can better focus on your God ... don't show off to others.  Don't be sure that you work it into conversations so that your friends will be well aware that you are sacrificing.  Don't post it on your facebook page or twitter feed so that your 'people' will be sure and know how spiritual you are.  Keep it quiet ... between you and God.  I am also touched by Jesus' apparent expectation that fasting would be done.  It wasn't "if you fast" but "when you fast".  We can learn something there.

So ... bottom line?  Our motives matter.  In fact, our motives are crucial.  Again, the question is not deciding if you will give to the needy and pray and fast ... you are a citizen of the kingdom of God ... of course you will give to the needy and pray and fast.  The question is how you will do it.

Lord, purify my motives.

  Give me the eyes to see when my motivation is more about me than about you.  

Set alarms off in my mind when I slip into the 'praise of people' arena.  

All glory to you ... all praise to you ... all honor to you.  

Principles of the Kingdom (Matthew 5 - P12)

Matthew presents Jesus as the fulfillment of the "Law".  What law?  The word, "law" can refer to three different things:  it could be the Pentateuch - the first 5 books of scripture penned by Moses, or it could refer to the Ten Commandments, that moral code for the Jews given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai, or it could mean the scribal law, which was the detailed law that had evolved through the centuries by rabbis.  The Jews in Jesus' day would have heard the word ... and thought scribal law.  Jesus teaches that he is the fulfillment of God's law ... but not the scribal law. 

In the verses we are considering today, Jesus points out ways in which the scribal law has actually abused God's law.  If we are to be citizens in the kingdom of God, we must consider the principles of that kingdom ... the laws of that kingdom. 

Read Matthew 5: 17 - 48 ... noticing particularly verse 20.

Jesus selects a few categories to drive home his point.

• There is the issue of murder.  Jesus says, in his kingdom, one must take the behavior all the way down to its root ... and deal with the root.  That heart anger, that simmering fire, must be dealt with ... it matters!
• There is the ever prevalent issue of adultery and divorce.  Jesus says, in his kingdom, one must take those outward behaviors all the down to their root ... and deal with the root.  It is the lust in the heart, the imaginings of the mind that must be dealt with ... it matters! 
• There is the issue of honest speech.  He is not talking about swearing in these verses.  He is addresses our tendency to use manipulative speech ... to be less than honest in our communications.  The root of such speech is dishonesty, and a citizen in his kingdom must be an honest person.  It matters!
• There is the issue of love - how we deal with people.  Jesus takes it past the easy part - how we treat people we like ... all the way to those whom we consider enemies, and perhaps rightfully so.  In the kingdom of God, a citizen loves even THOSE people.  It matters!

And Jesus closes these comments with an amazing conclusion:  "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (verse 48)  What?!  The word translated "perfect" is a Greek word that means complete, mature, something perfectly fitted for its task (like a Phillips screwdriver is perfect for certain screws)  That is the path toward righteousness... the kind of righteousness that surpassed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.  Their form of righteousness was anchored in the meticulous adherence to a list of behaviors.  Righteousness in the kingdom of God is anchored in the person of Jesus and our own hearts.  Where are you?

So - let's do a heart-check today.  Prayerfully consider the following questions.  I will, too!

1. What makes you angry and how do you deal with it?
2. Do you feed your anger or defuse it?
3. How do you guard your heart and mind from sexual impurity?
4. What books do you know you can't read?  What movies do you know to stay away from?
5. Do you try to manipulate people with your speech?  Either to make yourself look better or to get your way? 
6. Is your word dependable?
7. How do you extend yourself for the benefit and the good of others?
8. Are there people in your life that you have trouble caring about?
9. How are you choosing to love them?  What are you doing proactively?

And now ... after such a list of questions ... we are sent to prayer:

          Our Lord, we lay ourselves out before you today, longing to be good citizens of
          your kingdom.  And we confess our tendency to enjoy rule keeping more that
         we enjoy heart transformation.  We confess the pride in that and ask that you
         cleanse us yet again.  Do the work of perfecting our fickle, self-centered hearts
         as we choose to submit ourselves to you ... and to your kingship. 

Beatitudes (Matthew 5 - P11)

Jesus is presented to Matthew's readers in chapters 1 and 2 as Messiah and as King.  In chapters 3 and 4 we listen to both John the Baptist and Jesus preaching "the kingdom of heaven is at hand."   The advent of Jesus opens the door for the kingdom of God to enter earth.  Jesus, himself, is king of this kingdom. 

 In the United States, we value citizenship.  We talk quite often about what it takes to be a good citizen of this country.  We are frustrated when citizens abuse their privileges and rights of citizenship.  We are angered when people misrepresent our country.  If citizenship in a country of this world is that precious to us ... should not citizenship in the kingdom of God matter much more?!  Should we not be even more concerned about what constitutes good citizenship in God's kingdom?  One is eternal and one is not.  What are the expectations for citizens of God's kingdom?  What matters most to our king?   How do we best serve him?  The answers to those questions are found in what we have called, the Sermon on the Mount.

In Matthew 5 - 7, the principles, or laws of Jesus' kingdom are described. Jesus teaches his followers and any others who will listen, about what life in his kingdom looks like ... what citizens of his kingdom are to value ... how they are to behave.  The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of these teachings from Jesus about life in his kingdom.  

Some have called these verses the "beatitudes" or the "blesseds" of the Christian life.  They are all about righteousness.  They are all about the character of Jesus.  They are the antithesis of worldly thinking ... the direct opposite of cultural wisdom.  But the statements come from the mouth of our King ... will you believe him? 

Listen to the words of William Barclay as he describes these verses:

"The beatitudes are not pious hopes of what shall be; they are not glowing, but vague prophecies of some future bliss; they are congratulations on what is.  The blessedness which belongs to Christians is not a blessedness which is postponed to some future world of glory; it is a blessedness which exists here and now.  It is not something into which Christians will enter; it is something into which they have entered. ... The beatitudes say, 'O the bliss of being a Christian!  O the joy of following Christ!  O the sheer happiness of knowing Jesus Christ as Master, Savior and Lord!  The very form of the beatitudes is the statement of the joyous thrill and the radiant gladness of the Christian life.  In the light of the beatitudes, a gloom-encompassed Christianity is unthinkable."

O the bliss!   Notice two things ...

1.  There is nothing wrong with rewards!  You are not more spiritual if you think nothing of reward.  These verses are full of beautiful, thrilling rewards.  Is there even one of these rewards that you don't want?  I want them ... so it's important to notice from whence they come.  God rewards His people!

2.  Notice the way the beatitudes are book-ended ... "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".  These are the characteristics that mark citizens in God's kingdom. 

Now ... read Matthew 5: 1 - 16.  Read slowly.  Don't let familiarity dull the startling words from Jesus.  And pray ...

Lord, we long to look more like you.

  Thank you for this picture of true righteousness.

  Thank you for this description of you and your character.

  And now Lord, transform us into your image ...

give us a heart's desire to have our own lives look more like yours. 

We do want to be faithful citizens of your kingdom. 

 

 

And since we are citizens of the kingdom of God ... two things become evident.

 

First, we are the salt of the earth.  That's important ... that's a high calling ... that matters.  Salt was so important in the world Jesus inhabited.  But it had to be pure salt to be useful.  It couldn't be mixed with any other substance or it was no longer pure.  So do we.  We cannot have a little bit of Jesus and a little bit of the world.  We loose our "saltiness" when we try. 

 

Second, we are light for our world.  That's important ... that's a high calling ... that matters.  Darkness can be frightening.  We stumble over things.  Things look scary in the dark that are ordinary in daylight.  In John 8:12, Jesus said , "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in dakrness, but will have the light of life."  We provide light in our communitites, our worlds, when we reflect His light ... we have none on our own.  We cannot have a little righteousness and a little worldliness.  We shroud our light when we try. 

 

 

So ... my friends ... be salt and light this week!  How?  By readjusting our value systems to match the values Jesus described in the beatitudes.  By finding "bliss" in being the kind of people that belong to the kingdom of God. 

 

Remember ... "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)

So It Begins (Matthew 4 - P10)

Today we will finish Matthew 4.  Read Matthew 4: 12 - 25.

God has entered time-space history.  We have observed his birth and the traumatic details that surrounded it.  We know nearly nothing of his childhood ... so perhaps it was an ordinary life for a young Jewish boy growing up in Galilee at that time.  Perhaps it included synagogue school, growing up in a family with multiple siblings, Sabbath observances, apprentice training under his dad and community living in Nazareth.  We watched as he was anointed for his life-work through baptism and was tested and proved righteous in the wilderness of Judea.  It is time.  He is ready.  And so it begins ...

Jesus grew up in Nazareth.  But we see him move to Capernaum.  So when we think of his home town, it is Capernaum.  It is by the Sea of Galilee in a beautiful region of Galilee.  There are mountains, the lake, trees and greenery.  It is a lovely region today and I assume that it was perhaps even lovelier then.  Do you ever wonder why Messiah did not set up "headquarters" in or around Jerusalem?  Jerusalem is the heart of the prophetic hope ... the epi-center of both religious and political power of the day.  But remember Jesus did not come to redeem systems ... he came to redeem humanity.  He came to establish a new kingdom ... a new order.  Michael Wilkins says: 

"It is in Galilee that the hint of the Old Testament hope for all the nations begins.  The incidents unfolding in Galilee require that the people's expectations of the messianic ministry must be adjusted." 

As you observe the events recorded here, the beginning of his public ministry, let's look at two groups of people who respond to Jesus.

First, consider these four men whom Jesus calls to "follow" him.  Two sets of brothers ... fishermen ... living and working on the Sea of Galilee.  They most likely already knew him ... had had interactions with him in Synagogue as well as community life.  But Jesus calls them out of their routine to become 'disciples' of his ... living with, learning from, sharing work with him.  The descriptors in the NIV of their responses encourage and challenge me.  "At once" ... "immediately" ... they respond ... and they follow. 

There is a time for analysis, for hesitancy, for caution.  And there is a time for immediate response.  Perhaps I am so impressed by these words because I tend to be such an over-analyzer!  I can think something to death ... until the moment is past ... the opportunity is gone.  I love the way Peter, Andrew, James and John said, "yes"!  And I want to be more like them.  I want to be so prayed up that when an opportunity to walk with my Lord arises ... the immediate response is "YES"! 

Jesus calls us, too, you know.  He calls us to walk with him, to learn from him, to work with him.  The church, after all, is to 'embody' Jesus to our world today ... to our communities.  Have you responded?  Or are you still thinking about it and analyzing the pros and cons?   We will make mistakes ... so did they.  We will fail sometimes ... so did they.  We will do well sometimes ... so did they.  But their beautiful response was "yes, Jesus, we will follow."  May that be our response as well!

Second, in verse 24 "news about him spread all over Syria" ... and in verse 25 "large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him."  That's the whole country!  North and south and east (west was the Mediterranean Sea).  Crowds 'followed".  Their following will prove fickle.  Their following was fueled by what he was doing for them.  We can fall into that same category if we are not careful.  We can follow Jesus as long as our lives are going as we choose ... as we prefer ... as we like.  We can follow Jesus as long as he is doing FOR ME what I want him to do.  That's a different kind of following.  That's a following that is born of self interest only.  That's a following that has no eyes to see what his work is all about.  

So the question for you and I becomes ... will I continue to faithfully follow when life is hard ... when the sickness is not healed here on earth ... when financial benefits do not come our way ... when my life does not look like I dreamed it would look? 

Let's be the first type of follower.  Let's be the ones that say, "Yes.  I'm all in!"  And then our names can be added to the list ... Peter, Andrew, James, John, and then Gail, ______ (add your own!)  I want to be in that company. 

FOLLOW ME

 

 

Jesus still calls ... what kind of follower will you be?

 



Temptation (Matthew 4 - P9)

Read Matthew 4: 1 - 11

Did you notice that Jesus was "led by the Spirit" in order to be tempted?  You mean, that was the purpose?  That was the reason?  Did Jesus know about this purpose?  He had just received such beautiful confirmation from God Himself ... and now this?  He was fasting ... he was in a desolate region.  I think the battle with temptation went on the full 40 days and nights.  Jesus was in intense spiritual warfare.  But why was this necessary?

I think we get a clue when we look into the word "tempted".  It is the Greek word peirazo.  To better understand the word in this context, read the full definition according to James Strong: The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:

1 to try whether a thing can be done. 1a to attempt, endeavour. 2 to try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of ascertaining his quantity, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself. 2a in a good sense. 2b in a bad sense, to test one maliciously, craftily to put to the proof his feelings or judgments. 2c to try or test one’s faith, virtue, character, by enticement to sin. 2c1 to solicit to sin, to tempt. 1c1a of the temptations of the devil. 

This was temptation in the 'good' sense of the word ... not enticing to sin ... but proving the purity of a thing - testing to see if there was a flaw, a breaking point, a weakness.  That's why the Spirit led Jesus into the "desert to be tempted" ... it was a time of testing before the actual work of redemption was to begin.  

So, as we read these specific temptations that were hurled against Jesus ... let's look to the core of them so that we can identify ways that the "tempter" seduces us away from God.  

1.  The temptation to turn stones into bread.  I see a temptation to use ones powers selfishly and for their own use.  "There will always be a temptation to use selfishly the gifts which God has given us." (Barclay)   Jesus would not yield to gratify his physical hunger when he knew that it is spiritual hunger for God that truly fills us and satisfies.  No short cuts ... 

2.  The second specific attempt to break Jesus was a vision where the tempter took Jesus to a pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem.  I can see all sorts of ways to rationalize this temptation and turn it into a good thing!  After all, it would prove scripture true, right?  Or ... the wonder of it would impress people and convince them of Jesus' power, right?  However, Jesus, in his wisdom, knew that "wonders" are always short lived.  Sensationalism never lasts.  Barclay says, "God expects us to take risks in order to be true to him, but he does not expect us to take risks to enhance our own prestige."  Can you see the temptation to bring all attention and glory to himself?  And Jesus was never about glory for himself ... 

3.  So the third avenue of attack was the lure of saving the world.  After all, wasn't that his purpose in coming to earth in the first place?  All that was required was one tiny place of compromise and the world would be his ... at his feet.  However, Jesus knew that on the point of sovereignty, on the point of whom to worship ... there could be no compromise.  Besides, he didn't come to save the kingdoms of this world ... he came to save humanity.  

What do we learn for our lives today and tomorrow?  Beware being so consumed with your physical appetites and needs that you bypass the spiritual needs of your soul.  Beware sensationalism.  Don't use it as a manipulative tool ... and be careful, when you see it, to assume that it must be from God because it is big and splashy.  Beware compromising when it involves the person of God.  It is Him we serve ... and Him only.  

So when temptation faces you, when you find yourself in a "desert" of sorts and are hungry and needy, remember as of primary importance the words of James ... and turn them into your prayer ...

Submit yourselves, then to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you ... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will life you up."  (James 4: 7 - 8, 10)

Jesus is Baptized (Matthew 3 - P8)

Our reading today is Matthew 3: 13 - 17.  As you read, don't forget the scene and the activity described in verses 1 - 12 of chapter 3.

In chapters 1 and 2 of Matthew, we see Matthew describing Jesus as the Messiah ... and the King.  Then John begins announcing that the kingdom of heaven (the kingdom of God) is near.  OK ... we have a kingdom ... but where is its king?  "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John."

John didn't want to, did he.  He thought it should be the other way around.  Jesus should baptize him.  But Jesus confirms that this is the right thing to do.  So John relents.  We have learned that John's baptism was one of repentance ... one of preparation.  So why did Jesus ... sinless Son of God ... submit to this baptism?

I want you to hear what William Barclay says on the subject in his commentary on Matthew.  The quotation is lengthy ... but well worth the read:

From the earliest times, thinkers were puzzled by the fact that Jesus submitted to be baptized.  But there were reasons, and good reasons, why he did.

          1.  For thirty years, Jesus had waited in Nazareth, faithfully performing the simple duties of the home and of the carpenter's shop.  All the time, he knew that a world was waiting for him.  All the time, he grew increasingly conscious of his waiting task.  The success of any undertaking is determined by the wisdom with which the moment to embark upon it is chosen.  Jesus must have waited for the hour to strike, for the moment to come, for the summons to sound.  And when John emerged, Jesus knew that the time had arrived.

          2.  Why should that be so?  There was one very simple and very vital reason.  It is the fact that never in all history before this had any Jew submitted to being baptized.  They Jews knew and used baptism, but only for converts who came into Judaism from some other faith.  It was natural that sin-stained, polluted converts should be baptized; but the Jews had never conceived that they, the chosen people, children of Abraham, assured of God's salvation, could ever need baptism.  Baptism was for sinners, and the Jews never conceived of themselves as sinners shut out from God.  Now, for the first time in their national history, they became aware of their own sin and their own urgent need of God.  Never before had there been such a unique national movement of penitence and of search for God.

This was the very moment for which Jesus had been waiting.  Men and women were conscious of their sin and conscious of their need of God as never before.  This was his opportunity, and in his baptism he identified himself with those he came to save, in the hour of their new consciousness of their sin, and of their search for God.

And we see Jesus coming to John and saying in essence, "Baptize me as well ... I am one of you."

And God applauds and opens the heavens!

It is time ... let the work to restore mankind back into fellowship with God begin.  And with this baptism ... that work began.  The kingdom of God is, indeed, very near!