10/6/24AM - Relating to the Father

This morning at the end of our service

we will have the opportunity to send out a team

to go to the western part of our state

to assist in helping those folks

who in past times have helped us

but more importantly, to represent this church and Jesus

Until you’ve been to a place where there has been devastation

you don’t realize how grateful you are for what you have

simple things like water, dog food, diapers, toilet paper

I’ve seen the pictures as many of you have of

entire towns washed away

Who would have expected a hurricane to hit the mountains?

I have friends that live in that area

all of them are ok

but all of them have lost something

they came to a place where they realized just what they were missing

and the things they took for granted

This morning I want to take you through the process that God took me

to understand these next verses a little better

Beatitude #1

As of next Sunday we will have officially been a year talking about the Sermon on the Mount

In November of this year, we will have hopefully reached the finish of the Sermon

Today I wanted to remind us about the very first beatitude that was taught a year ago

Matthew 5:2–3 (CSB)

2 Then he began to teach them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

If you were here a year ago when we went through this verse

The bottom line of this verse is this

poor in spirit recognizes that prior to having Jesus as Lord and Savior,

we don’t have a spirit until we receive Jesus Christ

and even after we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior

we don’t have enough of our own spirit in us to do anything

unless we are connected to Jesus

The beatitude helps us to recognize a poverty of spirit

We realize what we don’t have on our own

Blessed are the poor in Spirit

recognizes that we are just that

poor, lacking, in spirit

when we reach that point

we are either lost in need of a Savior

or are saved in need of a Savior

and when we realize that either way we need a Savior and Lord

we are blessed because then we are moldable and usable to our Lord and Savior

That was the beginning of the sermon on the mount

because unless you are willing to accept that, none of the rest of it matters

There is never a time within the Sermon that Jesus preaches

Where He isn’t intentional in His thought or sayings

From the very beginning of his message all the way to the very end

everything is intentionally weaved together to all fit into a single thought

what does it take to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

All of it perfectly balanced and all interwoven like a fine piece of artwork.

We’re coming to the end of the Sermon on the mount

we are currently in Matthew 7 this week beginning in verses 7-12

As I was reading the verses for this week, however,

I was beginning to doubt that this fit anywhere into Jesus message.

Don’t get me wrong, these are great verses all on their own

and many times taken completely out of context

we’ll talk more about that in a moment

but they didn’t seem to fit right where they are

It would seem that Jesus out of nowhere decides to pull these verses out

They don’t relate to judging

and they don’t relate to anxiety

Why on earth are they even in here and in this spot?

That’s when I was reminded about the very beginning of the Sermon

where Jesus says, Matthew 5:3

Matthew 5:3 (CSB)

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Let me walk you a bit further into the rabbit hole to understand

The Rich Young Ruler

As Jesus is in the concluding remarks of His message to the people on the hillside

It would be easy to begin checking things off that we do or do not do

and we would miss the whole of the message that He delivers

It reminds me of the story of the rich young ruler

Matthew 19:16–22 (CSB)

16 Just then someone came up and asked him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” he said to him. “There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” he asked him. Jesus answered: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness;

19 honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.

20 “I have kept all these,” the young man told him. “What do I still lack?”

21 “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

This young man thought he had everything under control

He had done all of the things that Jesus had asked

He was probably lying to himself but that’s a whole different message

The two points being,

first, you cannot possibly follow the commands of God and be perfect

The second is it’s not about checking off a list and be a follower

by checking off a list that makes you in control

It’s about allowing God to move and change us into the people He needs us to be

and go to the places He needs us to go

The people we will send today to go to the Western part of the state are going

because that’s the first part of the Great Commission

and the first part of making disciples

because they felt compelled to go

to give up and sacrifice time

to go help people in need

all standing for the name of Jesus while they are there

It’s not that they get to go, it’s that they have to go

it’s who they are

it’s part of what God called them to do

and we get to pray for them and send them off to represent Riley’s Creek, NC Baptists, and more importantly, Jesus Christ

This isn’t a check list event for them

I can’t imagine that they are going as a bucket list item

If you’ve ever responded to a disaster relief event

this is hard work

and after they get back, we’ll get to hear the stories about how they impacted lives for Jesus

because He sent them.

The verses that Jesus will deliver in this part of the Sermon

clearly recap what is important in that

first, it’s not about us, it’s all about making Jesus our Lord and Master

second, we are unable to do any of this on our own.

The Sower and the Seed

Jesus shares another parable in Matthew 13

I want to share the whole parable and Jesus’ interpretation of it

Matthew 13:1–23 (CSB)

1 On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.

2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying, “Consider the sower who went out to sow.

4 As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep.

6 But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it.

8 Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown.

9 Let anyone who has ears listen.”

10 Then the disciples came up and asked him, “Why are you speaking to them in parables?”

11 He answered, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.

12 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

13 That is why I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand.

14 Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You will listen and listen, but never understand; you will look and look, but never perceive.

15 For this people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back— and I would heal them.

16 “Blessed are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.

17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see but didn’t see them, to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.

18 “So listen to the parable of the sower:

19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.

20 And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

21 But he has no root and is short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

22 Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”

The point related to what we are going to get to today is this

There are folks that hear the word and don’t get it and they are like the people we talked about last week

don’t throw your valuable pearls to the pigs

the seed sown among the path

Then there are the folks that I want to focus on this morning, the ones that are in the rocky ground

These are the folks that hear the Word of God and get really excited about it

so excited that they forget where it came from

They attempt to go out into the world and do what God has asked them to do

Then Monday comes and life happens

and because there is no root or attachment to the vine of Jesus

the excitement and the joy of their salvation is short-lived

and then distress and persecution set in

and suddenly they begin to fall away

was it God’s fault?

no, it was because we tried to do Christianity without God and on our own power

we forgot we are poor in Spirit

There is a principle I’ve been taught about relating and communicating with God

It’s simple but true

God communicates to us through His Word

and we communicate to Him through prayer

but when we seek to make public prayer all about us we run into issues

Problems with Public Prayer

Matthew 6:5–13 (CSB)

5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

6 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.

8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.

9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.

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

11 Give us today our daily bread.

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

13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Jesus taught these verses to share two principles

The first begins as don’t pray to get your rewards

that your righteousness comes from God but only if you focus on Him alone

It would be easy for those that are in the Western part of our state

to take all the glory for what’s being done

I believe we ought to show gratitude

but all the glory goes to God for those that are serving

The second is that prayer begins and ends with acknowledging who we are talking to

It would be better to go into a private space and talk to God

It’s about having the right attitude about prayer

because we are poor in spirit and need Him

we can’t do this without Him

When Jesus gets to Matthew 7 beginning in verse 7

This is a reminder of where we get our power and authority from

it’s a reminder that we can’t do Christianity on our own

nor should we attempt to

its a reminder that we chose to make Him both our Savior and our Lord and our Master

and that He wants to hear from us

It’s also a reminder that those that are attached to the vine

those that are truly open with good soil in their hearts

those that understand their poverty in spirit

can go to the Father and ask, seek, and knock

because our Heavenly Father wants what is best for us

as long as we are truly seeking Him for what’s best for His kingdom and for His glory

There is power in proper prayer to the Father

Power of Proper Prayer

Matthew 7:7–8 (CSB)

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, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Does this mean that we get whatever we want?

Yes and no

If we are asking for ourselves and for our own selfish purposes then no

If we are asking to give us the glory than also no

We can ask for whatever we want

but if what we want is a brand new Ferrari, then God may have some qualifications for that

like how is that going to help further My Kingdom?

can you handle the pressure of having such an automobile and still represent me well?

Are you going to hoard your vehicle and not let it be used for the kingdom

are you able to not take any glory for this automobile?

Is it wise stewardship for your own finances to own this car?

Are you faithful in your giving to God first?

That’s kind of low hanging fruit

what if you are asking about being healed from something

and God chooses to say no

because on this side of heaven, God has big plans for you

but you have to get to the other side of letting your fears and doubts go

before you’ll ever see what His plans for you in His Kingdom really are

are you asking to be healed because you are tired of whatever ails you?

or are you asking to be healed because you don’t feel normal?

Have you leveraged your situation to share what great things God has done in your life instead?

maybe that’s exactly why God has you where He has you

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (CSB)

26 Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.

27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,

29 so that no one may boast in his presence.

30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption

31 —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

We doubt because sometimes we don’t have faith

So Jesus follows all this asking, seeking, and knocking with an illustration

to prove the certainty of God’s response

and the proof that God is doing things for the greater good

Certainty of God’s Response

Matthew 7:9–11 (CSB)

9 Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.

If we are a bunch of sinful hearted human beings

know how to give good things to our kids

to help them grow

How much more with the eternal creator of all that is

that loved us so much to give us His Son Jesus

to send Him here to die for our evilness and sin

How much more does God have the not just ability

but the desire to give us good things in this life

The problem is sometimes we compare the Heavenly Father

to what we’ve experienced in life

Let me remind you

He is not like us!

The Old Testament in a Nutshell

Jesus then sums up the entire Sermon on the Mount and the Old Testament in sentence

Matthew 7:12 (CSB)

12 Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus actually shares this in another place

Matthew 22:35–40 (CSB)

35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him:

36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”

37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

38 This is the greatest and most important command.

39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

This is what it takes to be a follower of Jesus Christ

Love the Lord first

Love other people next

Love yourself last

It can also look like this

Jesus. Others. then You.

If you can do this, and then ask, seek, and knock

God can do incredible things through you

Here’s the bottom line

Jesus expects us to have a poverty in spirit

so that He has the ability to work through our humility and our weaknesses

When we get to the place where we recognize our survival as a Christian is based on our attachment to the vine of Jesus

than we can ask, seek, knock

and we will ask, seek, and knock for the glory of God

and He will answer to glorify Himself and further His kingdom.