Untitled Sermon

Psalm of the Day 105: 26-45

Scripture Reading: Psalm 17:1-7 (Alan)

Psalm 17:1–7 ESV

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right! You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.

Sermon

Good Morning Church! I was Glad When they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!

We have a whole lot to cover this morning, so lets begin with a word of Prayer today.

PRAY

Almighty God, the ruler of heaven ad earth, the sovereign Lord of All, we thank you for your grace and your mercy, your love and patience, we praise you for your justice and holiness. Thank you for all that you are, and all that you do. We pray today that as we open your words you would see fit to speak to us. Give us understanding to know and understand what you have said. I pray that you would use your word to grow us, shape us, mold us into the very image of your son. We praise you for that precious gift, the gift of your son, by whom we have salvation and healing, through whom we find justification and sanctification, and in whom we rest secure. Be with us this morning, In Jesus name we pray. AMEN

Well this morning is a big morning, it is the morning that we finish looking at the Sermon on the Mount in our journey through the book of Matthew. SO before we dive into this largest portion that we will be looking at in the entire book of Matthew really lets remember what has come before in the sermon. Because in many ways this is Jesus’ “in conclusion” to the sermon on the mount.

We opened with the Beatitudes, Jesus call to live a life different. a life of humility and a right view of self in light of who God is. Ultimately, they were a call to live a different life as “salt and light” bringing flavor and truth to the world around us. Then Jesus discusses the law. and how members of his kingdom should view the law, both in it’s prohibitions (you have heard it said… but I say) and it’s positive affirmations (your father who sees in secret will reward you). then just last week the issue was how does a person who is a member of God’s kingdom have peace? How can we learn to love, serve and trust God like we should.

So how do we end this, how do we bring this home? Well, by looking now at the life of one changed by this teaching. You claim to want to live out the Beatitudes, you claim that you are salt and light, you are endeavoring to follow the law of Christ, you desire to have the very peace of God? OK then live in the kingdom of God. But this life will be very different. this life will be marked by certain things that are NOT how things usually go. As we draw to the close of the Sermon on the mount one thing becomes very clear, “business as usual” will not do. Jesus has been, and is still calling those who would follow him to truly FOLLOW him. this will become even more clear Later in Matthew when (even in the very next chapter, chapter 8) Jesus says: you want to follow me, it will cost you, even so much that you must abandon all other loves and duties and “let the dead bury the dead” (stay tuned for a few week and a sermon all on that). So “in conclusion” to the Sermon on the mount, how will these teachings change you, and we start by seeing how they should change how we view certain things.

Kingdom Living Changes How we View…

If we truly are kingdom citizens we have a particular worldview, a particular way of seeing the world and the things in in. Kingdom living is like a set of rose colored glasses. and so everything that we look at will change in HOW we view it. Even more, I would argue than just being rose colored glasses, this is like the difference between seeing the world without your prescription. I remember the day i realized that I needed Glasses. I was working at domino's Pizza on the make line, the super creative name for the place where we “make” the pizzas. And the way that the make lie works (for a behind the scenes look at dominoes pizza) is that you have on one side the size and crust so it would say LG HT or PAN or TH MD so that would let the “slapper” (the person who stretches out the dough). then you have on the other side all the toppings, either in code so a deluxe which is Pepperoni Onion Green pepper Mushroom and sausage would have the code DLX or you would get each and every topping listed so PMGNB would be Pepperoni Mushroom Green Peppers Pineapple and beef (yes we had a guy that ordered that specific pizza once a week). All that to say each and every pizza was like going to the optometrist and reading a line of letters that really make no sense. Then I realized I had headaches after a long night of work. and I had been squinting A LOT at work. SO I get my eyes checked and the Optometrist says, yeah, its a bit off, but not too bad. so he gives me a prescription. and the moment i put them on I realized, wow, that is what the world is supposed to look like. For me before the haziness wan’t hazy, it was just how I understood the world. The blurriness at night was just a fact of life, not something to write home about. But then, once my vision was corrected, it made a world of difference. and kingdom living is like that. once we understand it, and see things the way we are supposed to, everything changes.

So we start understanding how we see OURSELVES

… OURSELVES

So Kingdom living changes how we view ourselves. The first section in Matthew 7:1-6

Matthew 7:1–6 ESV

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

We start with the most beloved verse of many people. though they have ripped it out of context and done a great disservice to what Jesus is truly saying. Judge not, that you be not judged. But then look at what he dives into. the famous speck and a log sort of parable. and here is the key here. the lesson to take away for us is that correct view is that we have a log. there are two main things going on here. One is humility. It is easy for us to look out and think: I am so much better than this person or that person. to look at the people around us and think: if they were only as righteous as I, if only they were as Good as I am, if they only loved God like I do, then their life would be better. and Jesus is telling us that we have messed up. We need to look more humbly at ourselves. it matters not what the people around me do. what matters is what God has called ME to. the christian life, Kingdom life is not a life of comparing one to another. How Am I doing compared to how you are doing. the Kingdom life is a life of comparing one to God. 1 Peter 1:16

1 Peter 1:16 ESV

since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

which leads me to the second point. A correct view of self notes what it is that the self, what I desire. If we remember back to the Beatitudes, the lynch pin and most central of the Beatitudes is “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” and what Jesus is saying here is to look at yourself and ask: what sort of Righteousness am I hungering for. Is my desire to be “more righteous” than you? then you have some issues, but if you hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God you will have a right view of your sin. You will have a right view of your heart, and the idols and thoughts that it harbors. you will have a right view of the ways that I fall short of the glory of God. and then that becomes the consuming thought. How can I be more righteous, how can I live a holy life, How can I life a life above reproach, how can I, David, look more like my savior.

and here is the speck and log thought in a nutshell, THEN I can be of assistance to others, not in my pride and hubris, but in humility, by saying, hey, this is how I follow Christ, maybe it can work for you. These are steps I have taken to glorify God, i have learned the destruction and pain of certain sins and want to help you. But it starts by viewing Me and my sanctification correctly.

Then kingdom living changes how we view GOD

… GOD

Jesus then talks about asking, seeking, and knocking.

Matthew 7:7–11 ESV

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

of all the portions of this section that I lament not getting their own sermon it is either this one or the last one. because there is much here that asking seeking and knocking mean fir us, how we pursue God and Christ, how we life holy lives, how salvation works on our behalf. there is a ton here, but lets focus on the last thought today. Matthew 7:11

Matthew 7:11 ESV

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

what Jesus is calling the members of his kingdom to do is understand God, who he is, how he operates, how he loves us, and cares for us. and there are two main thoughts worth mentioning. He is our FATHER who gives GOOD GIFTS

So he is our father. this is the most important view that changes for those in the kingdom. He is not far away, and uncaring. Neither is he uninterested or unable. just a few weeks ago we mentioned this in looking at the Lords prayer section. It was riddled with this “father” language that Jesus was particular and careful to use. We have a loving heavenly father. who, and this is the second half....

Gives good gifts. He gives us good and right and perfect gifts. gifts beyond our ability to even fully comprehend the goodness of them. We should start by noting, for this is the heart behind the ask seek knock thoughts, is that he gives us salvation through the work of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. He gives us grace and mercy according to the riches. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He sanctifies us, makes us holy. we live in the imputed Righteousness of Christ. these are all “good gifts” that he gives us.

But then we can dive into the life that he promises us. Life of joy, peace, life of intimate fellowship with our creator. A life where we know that he knows and loves and sees and understands. We look forward to the gift of eternal life glorifying him in heaven. WE know he holds us, keeps us secure. these are all good gifts that our father in heaven gives us, gladly and willingly. praise be to God for that!

then finally Jesus calls us to see a change in how we see OTHERS

… OTHERS

Kingdom Living means we are not deceived by…

… OTHERS

… OURSELVES

Kingdom Living is Living in CHRIST and HIS TEACHING