The Kingdom Manifesto - 23

The Kingdom Manifesto - 23

Build on a Solid Foundation

Matthew 7:24-27

Introduction

Every year, to end the year in a contemplative mood, Oxford Dictionary chooses a ‘word of the year’ to summarize what they call ‘cultural significance’, choosing a word which reflected ‘the ethos, mood or preoccupations of that particular year.’

Let’s look at some of these ‘words of the year’ from the most recent years:

2015 – laughing emoji

2016 – post-truth

2017 – youthquake

2018 – toxic

2019 – climate emergency

As it sounds, a climate emergency is any situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change. Over the course of 2019, the term increased in usage 10,796%. It ought to be a hoot to see what they choose for the word for 2020.

Oxford does this because words can give us a snapshot of the past. To remind us of where we’ve been. For the last 8 months here at Broadway we have been preaching through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5,6,7. Twenty-eight weeks in three chapters…you’re welcome!

Let’s think through what we’ve learned in terms of just a few words…

1. BLESSED

Matthew 5:3-10 - 3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Jesus taught us that the kind of person God blesses, the kind of activity that God blesses is not really what we would think. He blesses…

- spiritual poverty - realizing that we can’t offer God anything good to make him love us more or accept us. His blessings come on those who realize they are not bless-able.

- those who mourn over their own sin and the sins of those around them.

- those who are humble and readily submit to the gracious leadership of the Lord.

- those who crave what is right, based on the unchanging truth of Scripture…right in their life and in their world.

- those who show mercy to others, as they understand mercy is what they have received from God.

- those whose hearts are pure…undefiled…singularly focused on God and his will in their lives.

- those who work for peace with others because God has made peace with them.

- those who are persecuted…those whose faith is so real and evident in their life that those who do not know God respond negatively to them.

God does indeed bless his people, but not for the reasons we may think. Not because we are worth it, wealthy, nice…but because of our total dependence on him.

2. RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matthew 5:20 - 20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

That is a very loaded statement. The Pharisees were the most zealous, legalistic, righteous people in the religious climate of Jesus’ day. Yet, the call is for us to surpass them? This verse begins a long section where Jesus keeps saying, “You have heard it said (or written), but I tell you…” This is Jesus teaching us that his desire for us is to live according to the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law.

Meaning, as Jesus says, anger is the same as murder, lust is like adultery, keep your word to people, not taking revenge means loving your enemy. Incredibly difficult teaching. And the most foolish thing we can do in response to that teaching is to think the answer is to try harder. No.

This is Jesus telling us that without him empowering us, we don’t stand a chance. Our righteousness is dependent upon the work of God in our lives. We don’t have the strength, willpower, or presence of mind to get this done on our own.

Philippians 2:13 - 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

3. PRAY

Matthew 6:9-13 - 9 Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Here in the Lord’s Prayer, we discover that prayer is less about the words we say and more about the heart that speaks those words. We are to approach God, not as some cosmic slot machine, nor as some distant deity who is uncaring toward us. We come to him as children approach their father…in love and trust.

More important even…we learn that God listens. He is interested. He invites us to come to him in prayer. Why would we ever neglect that?

4. SEEK

Matthew 6:33 - 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Jesus ends chapter six with a very lengthy section on money and possessions. And he calls us to some introspection about the nature of our relationship with our stuff. Are we letting it rule us? Are we giving it to high of a place of prominence? Who is coming first for us?

And as God’s kingdom people, we are to seek after his kingdom, and work to expand it…utilizing our resources to enable that to happen.

5. DO

Matthew 7:12 - 12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

We begin to see as Jesus closes out the Sermon in chapter 7, that he gets right up in our face with some incredibly difficult things to say. We are told some things NOT to do…do not judge others. We are in no place to stand in condemnation of anyone because we are sinners just like them. While we are called to hold believers accountable for their actions, we are not in the place of condemning since we cannot see the heart nor understand their motivations.

In place of that we are told to do something very specific…do to them what we want them to do to us. So, if we want to be respected, loved, admired, trusted…then we do that to others. We treat them, not as we want, nor as they may deserve, but how we want to be treated. Again, without the empowerment of Jesus, we are hopeless to live the life he calls us to.

6. NARROW

Matthew 7:13 - 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.

Here, Jesus gives us truth that surprises us in our culture that values tolerance and likes to believe we are all good and going to the same place. In fact, 67% of Americans think they are going to Heaven, and only 0.5% think they might be going to Hell. But Jesus makes it clear…the way to God is narrow, only through Jesus Christ. All other ways simply don’t work.

So, our mission in the world to be his kingdom people and expand his kingdom by telling others of the love and sacrifice for Jesus is even more critical. More than we may think are going to hell. And fewer than we think have actually placed their trust in Jesus and are going to heaven.

TS – This is quite a sermon that Jesus preached! Here at the end of the sermon, in his conclusion, he takes all of these teachings and makes them so much worse.

Matthew 7:24-27 - 24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

So, according to Jesus, it is not enough to comprehend what he teaches. Nor is it enough to merely believe what he teaches. We must obey what he teaches. Jesus calls us to action. Turns out that belief is not the foundation of living the Christian life. Obedience is the foundation of living the Christian life.

James 1:22 - 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

You are only fooling yourself. Into what? Into thinking you are something that you are not…namely, that you are a Christ-follower.

James 2:14,17 - 14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? …17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Faith without works is dead. And can a non-working faith save? No. So much so that James will go on to say that if you are relying on mere belief as your faith foundation, you will find yourself in bad company…even demons believe, he says. Satan has great theological views. Pretty sure they aren’t saved! So, if your beliefs are not revealed in your behavior, then you don’t really believe it. If you say you believe something, but don’t live it out, I would challenge whether or not you actually believe it. So again, obedience is the foundation for living the Christian life.

Jesus will close out his ministry with a similar call. A passage we know well called the Great Commission. A command that is all about expanding God’s kingdom. But there is this little part we seem to miss…

Matthew 28:18-20 - 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

‘Teach them to obey’…So, a disciple of Jesus is an immersed believer in Jesus, who is obeying the teaching of Jesus. Which means this…if you are not an immersed believer in Jesus who is growing in your obedience to Jesus, then you are not a disciple of Jesus.

Matthew 7:24-27 - 24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

When the storms of life come…that has two possible meanings. First, it is referring to the messiness of life. Problems come to us all, those that are following Christ are not exempt from troubles. The difference, Jesus says, is that one stands, and one falls. One has their life built on the solid foundation of obedience to Jesus, the other lacks stability and will crash and burn.

But the second possible meaning of that, and it is most likely both of them, is that the storms refer to the final judgment. So, when we stand before God, we will see the quality of the house called life, that we’ve built. Why? Is it because that you stand before God based on your own good works? No, not at all. But because for those who do not obey Jesus, this was never real for them. Their faith was a shadow that lacked substance. It was empty. And that will be shown at the judgment.

Conclusion

How do we respond to the Sermon on the Mount?

- Some of you need to put your trust in Jesus. Become one of his Kingdom people. Join the ranks. Surrender to the King.

Believe

Repent

Confess

Baptize

Some of you have already done that. Now you must start putting that into action. Getting past what you know about Jesus’ teaching, or your belief in the truth of Jesus’ teaching. You must obey Jesus’ teaching.

- Repent of spiritual pride and acknowledge that on your own, you can’t stand in his presence. He will bless.

- Acknowledge that you cannot be righteous on your own and ask him to begin a new work in you to transform you into who he has designed you to be.

- Pray. Realize the deficiencies of your prayer life and ask God for a heart that wants to hear from him.

- Seek him first. Take a fresh look at how you think about money. Are you using it for him?

- Treat others like you want to be treated. Go on the offensive and initiate good things in the lives of the people around you. Make their lives better because you are in it.

- Go through the narrow gate…Jesus is the only way to salvation. Walk the narrow way…it leads to life.

And here is why we do those things…Jesus has all authority. That is how Jesus began the Great Commission…” I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth…” And look how the Sermon on the Mount ends.

Matthew 7:28-29 - 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

Jesus has all authority. You don’t. You don’t get to decide what you are going to obey and what you are going to dismiss. He bought you at the cost of his life. He owns you. The only right response to that is to surrender to his authority and submit to his leadership. When the storms come, when the ultimate storm of the final judgment comes…you will stand.