Are you Repeating History, or Redeeming it?
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading: Matthew 23:1–9
I began my study for Father’s day with a cheerful search for illustrations of Father’s as it relates to God the Father and His love for us.
I was led instead to a passage that struck me sharply and awakened my senses to my own heart and character as a father, and felt this is the passage the Spirit was leading me to preach today, Father’s Day.
The legacy of Father’s is often celebrated without being challenged.
Christ’s words in Matthew 23 cuts to the heart of hypocrisy and inherited sin which ties directly to the decision each father must make.
Jesus is speaking to the multitudes, his disciples and the religious leaders.
Setting the Stage:
Jesus affirms the authority of the religious leaders
Jesus affirms that their authority is to be recognized
Jesus warns his disciples not to follow their example
Jesus lays out 7 solemn woes and sins of those who proclaim to know God, and trusted their own righteousness, but in fact despised others and led them astray.
How were they leading others astray?
vs. 13 They were preventing others from entering the Kingdom, simply by their denunciation of Jesus.
vs. 15 They were converting people, but putting so many religious traditions on the converts, they became worse than the religious leaders.
vs. 16 They made religious oaths which were not binding. They were blind fools.
example: making your giving more important that the one to whom you give.
4. vs. 23 They tithed and gave generously, but failed to follow their hearts when it came to mercy & faith.
5. vs. 25 They were concerned with the cleanliness of the church, but their hearts were filled with greed and self indulgence.
6. vs. 27 They made the graves of the dead ornate and beautiful; so on the outside, they appeared good and righteous, but on the inside, there was a dead body decaying!
7. vs. 29 They were self righteous. “If we had lived in the time of the prophets and our fathers, we would never have spilled blood!” Yet they had already planned to take Jesus and kill him.
Matthew 23:32 “Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.”
In other words, your sin, your self-righteousness, your traditions, your greed, your denunciation of Jesus, your self indulgence…
Have it all, let it fill your cup to overflowing.
Matthew 7:2 “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
So this is a real bummer on Father’s Day, isn’t it?
Except, it isn’t meant to be.
Instead, I want to draw your attention to the role Father’s play in our lives.
Because, Father’s: you are either repeating history or redeeming it.
Use the following examples as a mental checklist of what you might do differently, or what you are doing well to draw others into a personal relationship with Christ.
Good or Surrendered Father’s vs. Religious (blind) Father’s
Preventing Others from the Kingdom
A Religious or Blind Father discourages faith in his children by neglecting spiritual leadership at home.
A Surrendered Father opens the door to the Kingdom by modeling repentance, humility, and love for Jesus that invites others to know him.
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2. Creating Legalistic Converts
A Religious or Blind Father teaches religion as a burden of rules. A faith built on control and behavior rather than grace and love.
A Surrendered Father disciples his children in relationship with Christ, emphasizing grace over guilt and faith over fear.
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3. Making empty, misguided commitments
A Religious or Blind Father prioritizes religious appearance over genuine relationships. Makes promises to God and family that he has no intention of keeping.
A Surrendered Father lives with integrity, his word means something. His actions match his faith, and he honors God quietly and sincerely.
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4. Neglecting what matters
A Religious or Blind Father shows external obedience such as generosity or tithing, but lacks compassion when it comes to justice and a genuine faith.
A Surrendered Father practices his faith with mercy and justice, showing his children that God’s heart beats for the broken and the lost.
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5. External Cleanliness vs. Internal Corruption
A Religious or Blind Father polishes his image but is drive by greed, lust, or pride behind closed doors.
A Surrendered Father allows Christ to cleanse his heart. Though stumble he will, he confesses, repents, and grows in his faith, an example to his family of how to be transformed from the inside out.
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6. Appearing Righteous, though Spiritually Dead
A Religious or Blind Father; his children see the emptiness behind the mask. Though he may appear godly or good on Sunday or at work, he is emotionally and spiritually absent.
A Surrendered Father; his children see him pray, cry, ask forgiveness, and walk humbly before God. He seeks a living relationship with Christ.
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7. Honoring the Past While Repeating its Sin
A Religious or Blind Father judges his own father’s sin and faults, but repeats them in subtle ways through violence, addiction, apathy or pride.
A Surrendered Father forgives his father and breaks generations of curse. He honors Christ by building a new legacy rooted in grace and truth.
Jesus words are chilling:
Matthew 23:32 “Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.”
The LORD calls them Pharisees. Men unhumbled in their minds. Who never felt the plague of their own heart. Uncircumcised in heart and ears. They never tasted the wormwood and the gall of a fallen state. They never were pricked to the heart under the deep conviction of a fallen state. And not feeling the want of CHRIST; they utterly despised him.
Will you repeat what your father’s did, or rise and do differently?
Because, Father’s: you are either repeating history or redeeming it.
Jesus finishes his discourse with these words:
Matthew 23:39 “For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
in reference to -
Psalm 118:26–29 “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: Bind the sacrifice with cords, Even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: Thou art my God, I will exalt thee.”
Herein is an example of history repeating itself for the Glory of God. The psalmist declares the Lord’s name, sacrifice and glory, and the Lord in the person of Christ, makes the same statement, a prophesy of what was to come.
Not just a message for Father’s, but for everyone.
If you are living out your Christian life through nothing more than religious practices, traditions , self righteousness and self indulgence.
Fill up your cup and let if overflow, for Christ will allow you to walk in your sin and doubt until it consumes you.
But, if you want to walk a life that is surrendered to Him, Jesus Christ, you have the opportunity every day to lift up his name and see others come to a saving knowledge of their savior.
You have an opportunity to Redeem History! Redeem your family! Redeem your friends! Redeem your village!
Redeem yourself, if you’ll utter the words of the Psalmist;
“Thou are my God, and I will praise thee: Thou are my God, I will exalt thee.”
How do you exalt God, proclaim His name loudly.
Tortured for Christ
“To win a soul for Christ became a dramatic thing for us.”
Thousands were arrested, tortured and killed.
Why isn’t it a dramatic thing for us, daily, to step outside of our comfort zone and tell others about Christ?
I’ll tell you why…
Because, we haven’t surrendered ourselves fully and completely to that which we proclaim to believe.
“Consider as sin any minute of life spent on something other than saving souls for eternity from this world doomed to destruction.”
Are you prepared to redeem the people around you?
“A man really believes not what he recites in his creed, his church, his religion…but only the things he is ready to die for.”
