Sermon Tone Analysis

Dad Jokes

If you are at an apple store and you see a robbery, does that make you an iWitness?

Don’t trust people who do acupuncture, they are a bunch of backstabbers

What did the duck say when he bought chapstick?

Put it on my bill

When I found out my toaster wasn't waterproof, I was shocked

What happens when you touch Dwane Johnson’s butt?

You hit rock bottom...

Fathers Day

It’s father’s day and my father is one of the greatest influences in my life.

And that is impotrant dads that you hear that…

Not just that my dad was one of the greatest influences on my life but for better or worse, you will be an influence on your kids.

You are one of the biggest influences in their lives...

If your absent…You will be an influence

If your present…you will be an influence

If your harsh you will be an influence

if your gentle, you will be an influence

Your influence doesn't guarantee your kids will turn out as great adults or following the Lord even....But for better or worse it makes a huge impact

Well the story I want to tell about my dad is about how my dad gave me the best gift he could have ever given me…It was his work ethic...

I work hard today, because my dad made me work hard…

Because Trust me.

I was a lazy kid…I worked harder at getting out of doing work than I did actually working

But my dad made me work and not a day goes by that I am not thankful that...

My dad worked a corporate job in downtown LA, so many days, the first time I saw him was at dinner time…He was already long gone by the time I woke up most mornings...

But on the weekends, that was yard work time, that was carwash time…that was sprinkler fixing and window washing day...

and here was the deal…On the weekends, all I wanted to do was sleep in…But my dad would say...”If I am working, that means your working”

and OHHHHH I Hated every second of it...

I would hide in the bathroom…you know…pretending to have huge stomach issues…But it turns out…My dad was wise to this

I remember one day in particular where I was hiding out in the bathroom and then I heard all of the lawn equipment turn off…and I remember thinking…Oh good there done…I’ll just waltz out there and go…oh shoot you guys did all the work

My dad at it turns out was smarter than a 10 year old...

He had just finished trimming all of the shrubs and he had left all of the picking up for me...

So I remember this moment like it was yesterday and it is so key to my life that my dad did this…

We had dodger tickets for later that night and my dad calmly told me:

You can sit in the bathroom the entire time we are all working, but I will always leave you work to do, and its your choice, you can pick up every last leaf or you can stay here tonight while everyone who worked gets to go to the dodger game...

My dad sat there and watched me pick up every last leaf

Now from my perspective as a dad now, this is a very logical and smart move

But my 10 year old self thought that the world was cruel and unusual punishment

I complained…I was angry...

I said things like, I can’t believe you wouldn't take me to the Dodger game...

And he would say, no son, its your choice to go to the game or not…Every last leaf...

But it was in picking up all of those leaves that it that day in that moment…And its something that I didn’t realize was happening until it happened...

In that time of working and the time it took to pick up all the leaves.....I fully submitted to my dad’s authority...

Now, My dad was just trying to get me to pull my own weight around the house and he was trying to shape me into a person who worked hard...

But what actually happened that day is that we were two people at a standstill and it became a question of who is in charge?

Who has the authority here?

I have a very strong work ethic today because my dad didn't want me to be lazy and he loved me enough to take me through what I thought was hell....

And he took me though an experience of making me work but what really happened in picking up all of those leaves is that I fully submitted to the authority of my father

I think my dad knew that ten year olds, living under my own authority is a disastrous idea

But if I submitted to his authority then he could actually shape me and mold me.

Why?

In learning to joyfully submit to my father, it became easy and natural to submit to my heavenly father later on

So not only did my dad teach me about how to have a great work ethic, It was only when I fully submitted to his authority that that I was freed up to just be a kid and play…

I knew what was expected of me

I knew he was in charge

I knew that he wanted what was best for me

The biggest gift my dad ever gave me was not only his work ethic but making me to come under his authority.....

And at the time it wasn’t fun…But it was absolutely the best thing for me

Because now I know how to surrender to God’s authority

Parents, if your kids don’t know how to submit to your authority you have to teach them or else you are setting them up for failure…

You are setting them up for never being able to submit to the authority of the Lord

So we have been in the sermon on the mount and what is Jesus’s main invitation?

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God...

It is literally that you come under the authority of God

See, how will our kids ever joyfully surrender their own authority to God if they never come under your authority first?

As a kid I had no idea I was doing it, but by hiding out in the bathroom I was giving out the message that I am in charge, I’ll do what I want to do, I am in control...

I am my own authority...

And at the time I would have never been able to articulate that I was attempting to live under my own authority…This is just the default way of life…the wide road that many walk down without understanding what they are doing

I guarantee that if your kids truly believe that they are in charge at home, they wont be able to articulate it…in fact if you asked them, they would say their parents are in charge…I would have when I was 10...

By my actions said..I am in charge

And what Jesus addresses today in the Sermon on the mount is this default way of life where we ultimately end up believing that we are in charge of all things...

So let’s look at our text today…Because I think this is what Jesus is saying right up front..

He is almost saying…You’ve heard my sermon, now submit to my authority

I mean the last lines of the sermon on the mount are Matthew’s editorial note that everyone was amazed at the authority that Jesus taught with

Lets read

This entire section is about obedience....In fact next week is our last week in the Sermon on the mount and it is all about putting Jesus’ teaching into practice…

Jesus is not offering anything new for the sermon on the mount in these last two weeks....But he is saying…You’ve heard what the ethics of my kingdom are…now enter the narrow Gate.

walk into my kingdom

And if we are going to be the type of people who obey, we must first surrender our authority to his...

So Jesus starts this section by talking about the two paths that we can go down…either good or evil...

and Our world wants us to believe that there are so many more than 2 roads to go down…that there is really no such thing as good or evil…

In fact, the deception of our world is to say, whatever road you go down is great because you are just going down it…and we need to celebrate that road…Even if it is the worst thing for you.

This is simply the way that our culture thinks

But when God took on flesh he came to say, watch which road you walk down.

It matters because there are only two roads…regardless of whatever you might believe....

Father’s, what road are you walking down?

Jesus, for the last part of the sermon on the mount is essentially asking if we are going to obey him?

Which road will we go down?

So let’s break this down a little

Father’s need to choose to walk down the narrow road.

Now salvation is something that God does for us…He died on the cross, we simply have to accept God’s free gift of salvation

But every day after that there is a choice...

There is a choice that can derail your life or a choice that can take you deeper in following Jesus

Entering the narrow gate is a choice...

See the wide gate is something we do by default…without ever thinking to much about it

David the Psalmist reminds us of this...

Jesus is simply reminding us of what his greatest relative said...

David lays out these same series of choices...

There is a narrow road of the righteous and the wide road of the wicked

and Fathers you have to see that in everything you do, you pave the path for your kids

Grandfathers…The story you are writing right now will be apart of the identity of your grandchildren