The New Expectation.
Applying the Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Reading:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Introduction:
We will be diving into Jesus’ parables in the coming weeks.
The parables can be found in the synoptic gospels.
Matthew; Mark; Luke; and John.
Parables are told by Jesus and delivered to mankind.
What was or is the purpose of the parables?
“Jesus explained that for those who have ears to hear, the parable provides a deeper understanding of Jesus’ teaching. But for those who don’t have ears to hear, the parable is actually an instrument of concealment. The parable was not given simply to make everything clear to people; it was also given to obscure meaning to those who are outside, who are not given understanding. That sounds somewhat harsh. Jesus came not only to instruct and to help people understand the kingdom of God, He came also as a judgment on those who don’t want to hear the truth.” - R.C. Sproul
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that
“ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ”
Jesus told us: parables served a purpose to reveal the truth to those who had an ear to hear the spiritual truth through a story.
Jesus could speak in parables to the crowds and while doing this He was:
Teaching the disciples.
Prevent understanding by others.
The parables typically revealed the kingdom of heaven to those who understood them.
Why would Jesus not want everyone to understand?
Wouldn’t that have been more compelling for people to believe in God’s existence?
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Many people believe in God; but what they lack for their salvation is faith in Him!
Jesus wanted people to have faith in Him.
That would be revealed through receiving the truth of the gospel and believing the parable!
What is a person supposed to do with a parable?
I think that first we would do well to remind ourselves of what is expected of a disciple.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Is the knowing what the parables teach the most important thing?
No!
What is the most important part of the parables?
Allowing each and every kingdom truth to change us!
How you think.
How you view the world from God’s point of view.
What decisions you make based on faith trusting what the parable is teaching.
Point:
Many times in our churches and in our lives we know the parable; but we haven’t let them transform us!
Transition:
The parable of salt and light and Christ’s fulfillment of the law is the kingdom truth of who we are to be in light of our adoption into God’s family.
The parables are for us to grow in our faith and they should change our character!
Matthew 5:13 we are called:
Salt (13)
Salt (13)
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
There is one part: The salt.
We believe that we are called out from darkness into light.
This brings the thought that we are to ostracize ourselves from the world.
There were many who did just this.
They set up monasteries and segmented themselves from the world entirely.
Why would they do this?
To make sure that they were separate from the world and it couldn’t impact them any longer.
?Question:
How can those who are lost receive salvation if we are away from them?
Why use salt as a illustration for how we are to impact those around us?
What does salt do to food?
Salt when spread on food, meat specifically, infuses itself into the meat.
Bringing out the best flavors.
Connection:
Every believer is to permeate every aspect of society as agents of redemption.
Salt had many functional uses; to which we can connect ourselves to the same uses for the kingdom of heaven.
Salt is a preservative.
Jesus was calling us to prevent peoples moral decay.
We are to be those agents of prevention!
The passage doesn’t stop there when describing our correlation to salt and it’s uses.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
The passage mentions a danger:
“You are salt of the earth; but if salt has lost it’s taste,...”
What do they mean by salt loosing it’s taste?
The phrase “lost it’s taste” as one commentator noted literally translates: “is defiled”.
Salt could be mixed with other things; which would bring down it’s effectiveness.
Note also how the passage reveals it is the earth that needs the salt, not heaven.
If the earth didn’t need you as salt, you would’ve been translated into heaven at the moment of salvation.
If you are alive and know the Lord: God wants to use you here!
How could you be the salt that makes a difference in a persons life?
Bring out the flavor of God to someone.
How?
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Connection:
The more like Jesus we choose to be, the more He will be seen through us to people.
How we respond will be different than the normal response.
How we view each scenario and person will be from a Kingdom perspective instead of judging them by their circumstances.
As a disciple we cannot allow ourselves to be defiled and mixed with impure substances.
We don’t want to become ineffective at preserving souls and preventing moral decay.
The next part of this passage speaks of what that kind of disciple looks like.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
Ilustration: from Craig Keener’s commentary
Matthew Worthless Disciples (5:13–16)
Until my conversion in 1975 I professed to be an atheist in part because I looked at the roughly 85 percent of my fellow U.S. citizens who claimed to be Christians and could not see that their faith genuinely affected their lives. I reasoned that if even Christians did not believe in Jesus’ teachings, why should I? My excuse for unbelief—and the excuse of many other secularists I knew—continued until God’s Spirit confronted me with the reality that the truth of Christ does not rise or fall on the claims of his professed followers, but on Jesus himself. The faith of nominal Christians may appeal to non-Christians who can use it to justify their own unbelief, but such “Christians” will have no part in God’s kingdom. Instead they will be thrown out and trampled (5:13).
“Just as tasteless salt lacks value to the person who uses it, so does a professed disciple without genuine commitment prove valueless for the work of the kingdom.” - Craig S. Keener, New Testament Commentary
? Do you want to be an ineffective witness like this to people you come in contact with or those who know you?
Do you know why it is difficult to witness to those who are in your family, friends, or those who are familiar?
They know and see our failures, or our hypocrisy.
Shouldn’t they see with our failures our tender hearts to the Lord and an repentant attitude?
I know that we have all seen those disciples who are “trampled under people’s feet.”
Their proclamation to know Christ is rebuffed by people.
Their words fall on deaf ears because of their lives not matching their speech.
Transition:
A worthless disciple can be restored through the grace of Christ; but it will be a long and difficult road.
I believe the phrase goes something like this:
It takes a lifetime to build a testimony; but only seconds to loose it.
As a disciple Jesus is calling us to preserve people from the decay that takes place because of sin; people need to see our faith in Christ.
We are expected to shine His:
Light (14-16)
Light (14-16)
We are called to reflect Him, not be Him!
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Jesus specifically states that any person who is a disciple is the light of the world.
This passage should really give us a perspective to where we live:
This is a dark world!
What is darkness that Jesus is talking about here?
Obviously the suggested is that the world is dark because of sins presence.
It isn’t a contained area, It’s systemic darkness.
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
The darkness here is the same as the suggested in Matthew 5.
Darkness is that of death, absence of life.
That describes our fallen world pretty well.
The gospel or brings hope to a world full of dead people.
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Jesus brought an opportunity to receive grace so we could gain revival from death to life!
That opportunity we are given as a result of salvation.
How?
He places His light inside of us which changes us from death to life!
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Salvation changes us entirely.
He saved us out from the darkness and brought us into the light.
As we live out our faith in devotion to Him, that light cannot be hidden.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Illustration:
Mountain climbing and repelling at night!
The smallest light could be seen from a long way.
Connection:
Your light will be seen!
The text uses a fallacy to make the case for verse 16.
Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
What is the fallacy?
No one would light a lamp and put it under a basket!
That would be ridiculous!
What would the lamp do to the basket?
It would burn the basket...
Where is the lunacy?
It’s 2 fold. Burning the basket, and
The light would be hidden which would completely negate the point and purpose of a lamp.
What would you do with a lamp after you light it?
You would put it up high for the light to reach the parts of the room to see.
Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
You can bring light to a whole house!
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Your good works are the evidence of your faith.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
What people see is what provides the evidence of our faith in Jesus.
A real faith that brings peace and joy to those who receive it!
Transition:
None of us can live up to being the salt and light under our own strength.
We are given a standard of righteousness to uphold as those who are Jesus’ disciples and ambassadors.
We must rely on Jesus to help us be the salt to preserve souls from moral decay.
We must reflect Jesus to the world. He is to be seen through us; our attitudes and overall behavior.
Because of Christ we will be held to a higher standard and in the next verses
We are told:
Our purpose (17-20)
Our purpose (17-20)
There was a misconception about Jesus and His arrival.
What were the Jews expecting?
They were expecting a leader who would be a revolutionary to set up his kingdom to be the ruler the Jews hoped for.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
The Jews began to catch on that Jesus wasn’t fitting their expectation!
The Jews thought that He was there to undermine the authority of the law.
Jesus addresses this misconception.
In verse :18 Jesus addressed the Jewish leaders like a sledgehammer.
For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Christ is relaying the facts and proclaiming them in the same sentence:
He fulfilled all of the law in coming to the world.
Jesus’ proclamation relays to the Jews that He is the messiah and His arrival brought into fruition the culmination of it all.
Point:
Jesus proclaims His authority to the Jews; but reassures everyone that even the smallest details of the law would be accomplished.
His fulfillment is still being questioned, even His existence is trying to be disproven.
Transition:
Jesus then brings the conversation back to disciples.
Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Each disciple is to follow the Lord’s teachings, and those whom have faith and obey His teachings will follow in the call to make a disciples.
When people have a desire to honor the Lord those desires are shown through their choices.
When someone can explain and express them as a teacher they truly understand them.
Jesus almost sounds a little sarcastic here in verse :20.
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The scribes and Pharisees’ faith wasn’t in Jesus, it was in themselves and their ritualistic works to earn favor with God.
What does Jesus mean by peoples righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees?
You would need to recognize what righteousness the scribes and Pharisees possessed.
We hear Jesus for that answer.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
Self-righteousness oozes from them, they were better than everyone else.
? What righteousness can we possess?
None of our own that would be worthy of His recognition.
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
How could we attain the righteousness Jesus speaks about?
God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Short answer:
We can’t.
That is why He gives us His righteousness.
The main picture is that of a robe that is put around us.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Transition:
What is the message Jesus is portraying?
He is portraying some attitudes and a testimony that should typify His disciples.
Conclusion:
We are to be those who preserve souls and permeate society as agents of redemption.
We are to be those who reflect Jesus to all in our areas.
We are to conduct ourselves in a spirit of humility knowing it is His righteousness, not ours that grants us forgiveness and salvation.
We are to be New creatures with new expectations to live up to.
Receive the teachings of the parables as we sift through them, and let them change you!
It won’t be immediate; but that is why Paul relates the spiritual life to a running a marathon.
