The Two Paths of Life
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Introduction
Introduction
The Psalmist speaks of the two paths of life (Psalm 1). But we find this same throughout the Scriptures. In the book of Proverbs, we are told to choose between wisdom and folly. The lady wisdom, and the woman folly, both call out aloud, beckoning all to hear them, and to choose their way. Jesus made the striking demonstration the two paths of this life by referring to the Jewish people who were trusting in their Jewish heritage as the children of Satan, rather than the children of God.
Throughout the Scriptures, we are shown that we either belong to God’s family, by his grace and through trusting in Him, or we belong to the family of the devil, through a life lived by the sinful nature, a life lived for self. The question that we need to all ask ourselves regularly and thoughtfully is, which path am I on in my own life.
The passage before us this morning marks the starting point of the training of the 12 apostles. We considered last week the call that Jesus placed on the lives of these 12 chosen men. In this week’s passage we have a glimpse into the starting point of the training that the disciples would be under as Christ firstly demonstrates to the disciples the manner of life to which they have been called as His chosen disciples. He will begin to teach His disciples about the manner of life that leads to true blessing.
Notice firstly with me from this passage...
1. Representation of the Servant-Hearted (vv.17-19)
1. Representation of the Servant-Hearted (vv.17-19)
As Christ will begin now to formally show his disciples what the Christian life is all about, what the life looks like that God has called all people to live, which way of life some will reject, and others will obey and follow, he does so by practical illustration / representation. This is not to say that the disciples have never witnessed such actions by Jesus prior to this point, but rather, this is the first occurrence that he will do so with these men as His chosen Apostles.
In verse 17 of our passage, the context is set for this starting point of the training of the disciples…
Comment on the place while reading the verse...
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon,
I won’t delve too much into the details of this at this moment. We’ve already considered the popularity of Jesus - how peole would come to him from all over. This is certainly the case again. People have come from all over the surrounding regions to Jesus. Some would have had to travel a good few days on foot in order to get to where he was.
But we see immediately from this that kingdom work is others-oriented. The work of Christ’s kingdom is not focused on the self, but rather on serving others. Christ did not come to be served, but to serve. And this would always be true of Christ’s Apostles, and it is true of the church today.
To live for Christ means to live with an outward focus on serving others.
For this crowd that had come to Jesus, we find the reason that they came, according to verse 18, was that they “had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases… “
This confirms that they were there to receive from Christ. He was going to give to them. We this as we continue in verses 18 and 19...
“…Those troubled by evil spirits were cured....
19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Christ did not drive the crowds away, instead, he stood in the midst of them, even as they all pushed forward to him in order to touch him. Even just a touch of Christ would bring healing to those in need of it.
And this leads us to consider a second dimension of the ministry of Christ, and that is it is done by the power of God. Power was coming from Christ to heal them all. Everyone simply wanted to touch Jesus, because doing so would result in healing for them.
We know well the account of the woman with a flow of blood that merely touched Jesus clothing, and she was healed (Mat.9:20-21)
In Matthew 14:34-36, we find that many people would push around Jesus in order to touch him. And it says there that “People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.”
What a wonderful picture of the healing power of Christ.
The ministry of Christ was one that was not only others-oriented, but one that was done in power.
And friends, the same must be said is true of kingdom work today.
It is others-oriented, and it is a work done by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And we must not underestimate the power that is at work among us to bring transformation in life. I’m not speaking about physical healing. Rather, the Gospel message, the greater truth towards which the physical healings pointed, was spiritual healing. Raising souls from the dead.
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
We see this in the commissioning of the disciples. We see this in the lives of the Apostles as the church was established. We see this in our own day when hardened and stone-cold hearts are softened and brought to life, awakened to understand the person and character of God.
And we this work in the ongoing sanctification of believers. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would get some sense of this power at work in the church...
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Kingdom work looks to serve others. Kingdom work is done by the power of God as our trust is placed fully in Him.
As Christ begins his formal training of the disciples, a very clear picture is demonstrated for them of Christ’s concern for the needy. His concern is shown for those who are desperate for help. Christ’s ministry looked to serve others. And He showed the disciples the power and authority with which he worked.
And this now serves as a foundation upon which he will continue to teach some very important kingdom principles. And this is where we see the two paths. Who are those that will participate in this kingdom work of serving others, and working by the power of God through His spirit?
We will see that the picture is already being painted by Jesus here. The people coming to Christ for help were those who were weak and needy, and found their need met in Christ. How true this is in terms of spiritual neediness driving us to Christ?!
Our second main point then, which speaks to the first category of people that Jesus addresses, is...
2. Rejoicing for the Self-Abased (vv.20-23)
2. Rejoicing for the Self-Abased (vv.20-23)
When I speak here of the self-abased, I refer to those that are truly humble in their disposition. I speak of people with an humility has come about through a recognition of their own unworthiness and neediness before their Creator God. Notice with me how Jesus begins his message to the disciples in verse 20...
NB! - Comment on who the disciples are that are referred to in v.20a.... See verse 17
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Christ is now beginning to outline to his disciples the nature of the man that is blessed. There is a particular nature and character, a particular disposition about the person that will be blessed in God’s kingdom and economy. And how often we fail to see and to understand what it is, and what character it is, that leads to blessing by God.
If I would ask you today, which of you desires to be blessed by God? I’m certain that every single person would put their hands in the air, and say that this is something that they desire. Certainly any person that believes in the existence of an omnipotent God would seek the blessing of that God upon His life. In fact, this is what drives the hoardes of people that live under prosperity Gospel teachings. They long to receive the blessing of God.
But how far removed people so often are from the path that would lead to that blessing. Far too often, people want God’s blessing on our own terms. We want to get that which pleases us and our sinful desires. We want God’s blessing, while having comforts and pleasures in this world. We want God’s blessing while living a life of ease. We want God’s blessing, but we’re certainly not prepared to make any sacrifices in order to get that blessing.
Dear friends, as we consider now what it means to be blessed by God, and who it is that is blessed by God, I want to urge each and every one of us to humble our hearts before Him, and to truly listen and hear what it is, what it means, to be blessed by Almighty God.
The first thing that Jesus says here is, “Blessed are you who are poor.”
The poor does not refer to financial position in this world (although financial position certainly can have an impact) (cf. Matthew 5:3). Rather, Christ is speaking about a personal recognition of personal, spiritual bankruptcy. A person must see that they are bankrupt before God. They have no worth of their own to bring before God as a means of appeasing His just wrath. They have no worth of their own by which they may plead for an eternal inheritance before God. Men are bankrupt before God.
All of sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
But further to this, people have to see that they have a deep need for that which God so richly provides. So many people walk through life acting as if this is all there is to life - the here and now. Even many professing Christians live their lives functionally as if this life is all that matters. And this is what we live for.
The point that we need to see is that God IS!!!!! God exists in the heavenly realms, and he has created us to worship Him and bring Him glory. We need to have this recognition before we will ever realise that we are poor. Because until we begin to see God in terms of His greatness and His exalted state, His glorious existence in the heavens, we have no realisation just how important the worship and praise of His holy name is.
SLOWLY!!
The question is, have you recognised this personally?
I’m not asking here if you know the truths in this regard. Rather, I’m asking if you’ve been confronted with this grave reality for yourself personally? Has this truth gripped you heart.
Life is not about me.... it’s about the worship of God.
Have you recognised your own need for a Saviour? Have you seen just how grievous and serious your sin is before God, and has this led you to cry out, as the tax collector did from a heart of remorse, God have mercy on me a sinner?!
If you haven’t, then don’t delay. Humble yourself before God.
The promise to such a person as this is that they will receive an inheritance in the kingdom of God. What a glorious truth!!! An inheritance in God’s eternal kingdom.
Christ elaborates further on this recognition of spiritual bankruptcy in verse 21...
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Again, the hunger that is spoken of here is a hunger for God HImself. It is a hunger for the righteousness of God.
We must ask, do we have a deep longing after God?
Christ said in his ministry,
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
For Christ, His life was lived for the honour and glory of His heavenly Father.
We need to long for Christ in our lives. Those who would be truly blessed in an eternal sense need to have this hunger and thirst for God, to know Him, to do His will.
The life that is blessed is not the one that is focused on ourselves and what we want in life. It is not about us coming to do our will, and to achieve all that we set our hearts on achieving, and if I achieve this, then I’ll be happy.
That is an earthly perspective.
The Psalmist wrote...
1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
The person who longs for God with such a longing in their heart, and seeks God out - this is the person that is blessed.
The second part of that verse was, blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
This weeping refers to a weeping over sin. A weeping over the consequences of sin in the world.
Let me add… a weeping over personal sin and the consequences of my own personal sins before God.
The one who is truly blessed is one that recognises that they have no hope apart from God, and so they cry out to God in desperation, recognising their utter need of Him. And he hears their cries and answers them.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
This cry is a cry of utter dependence upon God. There is no self-reliance here. There is no sense that I am capable in my own strength to overcome enemies, to overcome sin, to do well in life… My life is dependent entirely upon God.
And when I see my own sin before this holy God, I must cry out, Lord have mercy on me…
Finally, in terms of the person who is blessed...
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
Very important in this beatitude is the fact that the person so blessed, the person rejected, hated, excluded, insulted… the person blessed through this is the one that has this done to them because of the Son of Man.
In other words, this is not an encouragement to be the worst person that you can be so that people will hate you.
Rather, it is to live a life so submitted to Jesus Christ and the holiness and manner of life to which he calls us, that those who watch your life are filled with hatred for you because they see your good works and are themselves convicted.
This is a call to a life of servanthood to Jesus Christ. Humbling ourselves before Christ.
There is a practical example of how this played out within the ministry years of Christ as he healed that man that was blind from birth (John 9). As Jesus had healed this man there was an enquiry as to who had healed him. And eventually his parents were asked, who was it that healed him, they simply said - ask him - he’s of age, he can answer the question himself. But the reason that they said this was out of fear.
22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
They didn’t want to be excluded from the worship at the synagogue.
The same was true of many religious leaders in Jesus day. They didn’t want to confess Christ, because there would be consequences for them in terms of their high positions…
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;
But Christ would go on to speak to his own Apostles, and he would warn them that their lives would become extremely difficult as they would continue to obey Christ.
2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
This would become the reality of serving Jesus Christ. Blessed are you.... when you are persecuted, mocked, insulted for the sake of Christ’s name.
In fact Christ said to his disciples in Matthew 10:22
22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
We must ask ourselves, where do we stand today in this regard? Are we prepared, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be insulted and mocked for the sake of Christ?
Are we prepared to speak the truth in love, to hold to the ways and teachings of Christ, even if this has dire consequences for us in this world and in this life. We are living in a world that has a growing hostility towards Christ and His ways. The increase in those things that are contrary to the ways of Christ - those hot-button topics of our day - are resulting in increased antagonism towards Christians. Let us be sure, those who stand firm in the ways of Christ will be persecuted...
But Peter wrote to the church...
14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
Back to our text, Christ goes on to teach his disciples about the blessing for his disciples if they are treated in this manner.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
That “leaping for joy” has in mind the picture of calves coming out of the cattle stall, and into the fields, and they’re leaping with pleasure at being out in the field… beautiful picture to see.
In other words, when this kind of treatment comes the way of the disciples, they should be filled with great joy… why?
Because great is your reward in heaven.
This is very important. The perspective of all of these beatitudes is that they look forward to the blessing in future… not fully now, but rather in future.
There is certainly a current dimension....
But ultimately, the blessing is that which will be brought to fulfilment in a future kingdom - Christ’s perfect rule that is yet to come.
These are the blessings dear friends.
There is rejoicing for those who are self-abased....
This is the first path of life - one that leads to rejoicing… but requires our deep humility and submission to God now.
But the second path is then demonstrated by Christ, as he speaks of...
3. Wrath for the Self-Righteous (vv.24-26)
3. Wrath for the Self-Righteous (vv.24-26)
Jesus goes on to speak about those who have got troubles coming...
As we go through this, note that the word “woe” that is used here is one for lamentation. Christ is speaking about the sad and sorry state of such a person. It is tragic that people live in such a manner...
He begins in verse 24...
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
We must contrast this with what we’ve said earlier. This really is a matter of those who believe that they have no need or want of anything in life. They are self-fulfilled. They have their fill now, and are perfectly content in this world without God. They don’t need God.
But one of the key issues that leads to this kind of thinking is having things in this world.
When you have plenty of material possessions, and you have enough wealth, and you have no lack of good things in this world, the risk and danger is all the more for you.
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.
There was a strong warning to those who had wealth. In that context, it was particularly because they were failing to pay the wages due to their workers.
But, in the book of Revelation we read of the warning to the church in Laodicea - their wealth had multiplied, and they didn’t realise how much this accumulation of earthly wealth had blinded them…
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
There is a picture that Luke himself will give as he conveys this truth, and that is the account of the rich man and Lazarus, who was a beggar at the rich man’s gate… And they both died, and the rich man was in hell, in tormenting fire, while Lazarus went to heaven, and was at rest and in peace.
In Luke 16:25 we read...
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
The point is that the rich man rested in his worldly comforts, while the beggar had nothing.
And this is a great danger. The great danger is that we trust in what we have, and slowly lose sight of the fact that apart from God, apart from Jesus Christ, we have nothing.
Where is our trust truly lying?
Christ goes in our text, in verse 25, to says...
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
The point made by Christ is that those who are filled with joy and self-contentment, those who find their fill from the things of this world, will find that they have not been filled with the true life-giving water of Christ. So many are seeking (and think that they are finding) their joy and contentment from earthly, temporary pleasures.
But the point of these people is that they have chosen present gratification over future blessing. They have no regard for spiritual realities, and they have no regard for the fact that they will need to give an account of their lives before God. So often, they live their lives at the expense of others.
What they will find, at the close of time, is that all the things that they have set their hearts on in the world, all the things that they have delighted themselves in in terms of worldly comforts and pleasures, will be of absolutely no value as they stand before God in the final day. No value whatsoever.
Christ then speaks about the woe that will come to those who seek popularity and acceptance from others at the expense of living to the praise and honour of Christ.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Now, we need to be careful not to read into this what is not being said.
It is good for people to speak well of us because of the good and holy life that we live.
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
In speaking of qualifications for Elders, Paul writes...
7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
A good reputation in the right context is a good thing.
The problem comes in when we’re not prepared to stand for the truth of the Gospel, and we’re not prepared to be ambassadors for Christ in this world, but rather want to win the praises of men.
Listen to some of the Scriptures that speak to this...
Jesus says to his disciples...
19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
When Christ prayed for his disciples, he spoke to His father about the worlds hatred towards them...
14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
James warned his readers (and so warns us today) about the dangers of friendship with the world...
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
The fact is, when we fail to proclaim Christ, when we fail to proclaim the Gospel message out of fear for what people will say of us, we are failing to be the ambassadors that Christ has called us to be.
Jesus says, woe to those who live like this…
Why? Because this is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Recall, the false prophets came to Israel proclaiming peace, proclaiming God’s favour. They said that God is pleased with you, and life is going to go well with you.
10 They say to the seers,
“See no more visions!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
31 The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?
Very little is different in our own day.
3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
There is the very sad reality of false teachers that teach people precisely what they want to hear. And the people love them. They look for the praises of man, at the expense of the truth of God.
A church that is loved by the world, is in all likelihood abdicating their responsibility to proclaim the truth. When the truth is sacrificed on the alter of not wanting to offend, on the altar of tolerance, it’s in a dangerous place.
The simple reality is that the Gospel is by it’s very nature opposed to the sinful ways of the world, and when that sin is exposed,
Application / Conclusion
Application / Conclusion
Where is your heart today?
Are you humbled before the Saviour.
Is your greatest delight, is your greatest desire, to live for God, and bring Him glory in all of life?
Are you hungering and thirsting after God, and so pursuing Him?
If not at this time - then turn to him, seek him… do not delay.
If you are delighting in and enjoying the temporal pleasures of this world, without recognising a deep need for God and His grace, then please, humble yourselves under His mighty hand. Seek him.
Then consider - the Gospel mission to which we are called is not one of self-indulgence, and self-centredness, but rather of others orientation, and by the power of God proclaiming Christ!
Consider Psalm 73… Go and read at home…
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Is God your portion? Is he the strength of your heart?