Advent: Faith
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Matthew 13:53-58
Matthew 13:53-58
2nd candle of the Advent season
Last week, we talked about Hope.
They lived in a culture immersed in the hope for the coming Messiah
Jesus was the actualization/manifestation of that hope
Jesus brought freedom from the oppression of sin and brought the kingdom of God now
how we live in the things that they only hoped for
We have a hope that He is coming again. How we should have more hope than they did because He did it once, He is trustworthy that He will do it again.
We read about a story in Luke ch. 4 about Jesus reading the prophecy of Himself from Isaiah ch 61 in Nazareth, His hometown, and saying that it was fulfilled in Him.
They did not receive that as truth and they rejected Him and tried to push Him off a cliff.
In Matthew ch 13, we see another trip to Nazareth, His hometown. Where He grew up. To people He knew.
7 times in Matthew ch 13, Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let’s read.
Are you seeing Jesus for who He really is?
Are you seeing Jesus for who He really is?
In this town, they grew up with Him. They remember Him as a child coming back from Egypt. They saw Him play in the streets. They saw Him apprenticing to be a carpenter. They saw Him shop in the market.
They thought that they knew Jesus. They grew up with Him.
There was a disconnect between who they saw Him as and who He was claiming to be.
But what they were seeing now, was that maybe the Jesus they thought they grew up with was not the complete picture of who He really is. Jesus is coming back into their lives and making claims about who He is and they were having a hard time putting their faith in Him really being the Messiah that they were hoping for.
In fact, we see that they reject Him for who He really is. They struggled to put their faith in the Jesus that they grew up with. They weren’t seeing Jesus for who He really was.
I grew up in church all of my life. I am so thankful that I was raised in church. Every time the door was opened, we were there. I’m talking Awanas on Sunday night. Both services on Sunday. and Wednesday night youth group.
I was heavily involved in serving and worship.
I loved it! I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior at the age of 12 at a revival there. I recieved my call into the ministry during my teenage years. So, much of the foundation of my knowledge and what I believe comes from those years in my life.
I am very thankful for those years of my life. However, I do not feel like I understood who Jesus really was during those years. I feel like I knew Him but didn’t really know Him for who He really is.
Kind of like these people in Nazareth. They grew up knowing Him but they didn’t really know who He was.
They were hoping that the Messiah would come but they weren’t seeing Jesus as that Messiah. They were not putting their faith in Him because they didn’t see Him for who He really is.
I feel like there is a hope in all of us about wanting Jesus to be who we hope He is but sometimes there can be a disconnect between our hope and our faith. and for me, it was seeing Him for who He really is not just the version of Jesus that I grew up knowing or who I was told that He was.
Honestly, there are so many aspects and characteristics about Jesus that I am just now learning. The things that I was taught about Him as a child weren’t necessarily incorrect, I’m discovering that they are just incomplete.
For years, I have struggled with inaccurate views of who Jesus is and how He interacts with me. How deep His love truly is for me. How vast and inexhaustible His grace truly is.
It’s honestly not until the past few years that I have started to discover the more complete view of Him. Its been since applying some disciplines in my life and focus in my life that I have been on a journey not towards a person but WITH a person. He is allowing me to see Him personally and intimately in ways that I never saw when i was a kid.
Maybe you’re here today and you can relate to that. Maybe you feel like I did. Maybe you relate to the people of Nazareth. As growing up with Jesus but not really seeing Him for who He really is.
Maybe, the very thing that you hope for, the relationship that you hope for, the fulfillment that you hope for, the purpose that you hope for, is standing right in front of you, like these people in Nazareth. You’re not just seeing Him for who He really is.
They were waiting for freedom from oppression and the kingdom of God and it was standing right in front of them.
Jesus was asking them to put their faith in Him, the substance or actualization of the things that they hoped for.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Jesus is the substance, evidence, assurance, the manifestation of all of the things that the Word says that we hope He is. Now, we need to put our faith into action.
Faith in action
Faith in action
One of the perspectives of Jesus and my relationship with Him, when I was growing up is that once I recieved Christ, or asked Him into my heart, I was pretty much on cruise control from there. Box checked. And because it was a “free gift” which it is because of what Romans 6:23 says, I didn’t have anything that I needed to do now. So, I applied no disciplines to my life. I mean, I knew I should read my bible and pray but I had no idea why.
New pendulum.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
It’s not one of these verses without the other. It’s all three of these verses together.
The gift of salvation is free. and in order to say you put your faith in something or someone, you must put it into action, and how do you have a love centered relationship with someone without obedience and sacrifice?
I was never taught this as a child. We were so afraid of anything that sounded like works based salvation that repentance wasn’t practiced, sacrifice wasn’t called for and keeping God’s commands, other than the golden rule, wasn’t expected of us.
I believe that scripture is clear that to have a relationship, sacrifices must be made. To be more like Christ, I must die to self. To fulfill His purpose for me, I must stop pursuing all of what I desire. We must repent and turn away from our sins.
I prayed to ask Jesus to be the Lord of my life, but never stopped trying to lord over my life myself.
It wasn’t until I started to study God’s Word and applying God’s Word to my life that I started to see that a relationship, I mean a real back and forth relationship with an actual person, was possible. And it looked nothing like I thought it was going to look.
The more I put my faith into action and trust Him with more and more, the more I see Him for who He really is. The more real He is becoming to me. The more I want to obey Him. The more I want to put my faith in Him in all things in my life.
What if we applied disciplines to our lives, obeyed His commands, pursued holiness, not to receive salvation but because of salvation, we get Jesus. And these things can bring you closer to Him. The answer to hope. Standing right in front of us.
The action of faith can be found in Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
Isn’t it interesting, that we as Christians can easily admit and put our faith in the belief that one day, we will stand before a throne and have to give an account for all that we did and said. And we can easily believe that Jesus is going to come in and claim that we are His and He is going to place His righteousness on us. and we are going to be saved from an eternity of hell because of Jesus and this amazing gift.
Isn’t it crazy that we can trust Him with something so huge but struggle to put our faith in Him for our finances, our provision, our purpose, for guidance?
My children go to bed at night not worried about their safety, not worried about weather there will be food on the table tomorrow, not worried about these huge topics, but they struggle to trust me or my wife with the dollar they earn. That we will keep it safe in my wallet or mom’s purse.
From the parent’s perspective, the comparison is silly.
These things that we so tightly cling to or struggle to trust Him with are so minor in comparison to the hugeness of eternity.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
Do you see Him for who He really is? Are you pursuing Jesus, the person? He is wanting to show you the real Him.
Are you on cruise control? Do you need to apply some discipline to your life? Repent? Start keeping His commands in response to the greatest gift ever given?
Are there things that you realize are so small in comparison to that great gift that you need to put your faith into action and trust Him?
Ty in Christmas and Advent to the faith message and light the candle.
Pray