Living Like a Contrarian 6.26.22

Counter Cultural Living As a Contrarian June 19, 2022 Good morning and welcome to Lake Erie Church. If you are a guest today, please take the moment to complete a CONNECT card and allow us to bless you with a gift. We are so happy you came to visit and hope you will come back. Next Sunday, we will be outside (stage at the barn)...we have planned food, games, worship, music and fellowship. Invite your neighbors, bring a lawn chair to sit in...it's going to be fun. Our children (40+) are headed off to camp the next two weeks and we want to pray for their safety and spiritual impact. In fact, let's do that right now... PRAYER Today we continue our series on CounterCultural. Last week, Pastor Dustin did such a good job talking about salt and light and our responsibility as "difference makers" I loved that light illustration and I especially loved Pastor Dustin's singing-who knew? Today message is going to be a challenge and it's going to test you to listen and grasp what is being said. This is not your typical Sunday church sermon...so tell your neighbor "hang on this might be bumpy"... We are reading from Matthew 5 (Matthew 5:17-20) Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. What follows are 6 subsets that begin with Jesus saying "you have heard" and then providing a "contrarian" position of the kingdom of heaven. We will read just the last one...beginning in verse 43... (v.43) You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Introduction: Is there anyone in your life that you think is a contrarian? So before you answer, let's define what a contrarian is... A contrarian is a person who opposes or goes against a prevailing belief or ideal. The word describes someone who embodies the opposite of what popular culture projects. For example hating all the movies that most people love and buying stocks when everyone else is selling, is an example of a contrarian. So do you know any contrarians? Are you one? Was Jesus a contrarian? He certainly represented a contrarian view of God and the kingdom to the world. His teaching calls us is not to be blended into the world and it's way of thinking. We are not OF this world! Peter makes this point: (1 Peter 2:9) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; You're not peculiar because you wear orange pants with a green shirt... You're peculiar when you to this world when you choose not to conform to the customs, behaviors of others when it violates your relationship to Jesus Christ! Just So There Is No Confusion... Jesus did not come to do away with God's law but to complete it-the law of the OT was designed to point us to God and Jesus came to earth to make God visible to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Emmanuel-God with us! so he's not doing away with the law, he's embodying it! The question for us this morning is how this new way Jesus brought to earth is lived out in our daily lives-IT'S NOT EASY-we know this because of what Jesus says in v.20 (Matthew 5:20) 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! Key Principle: God wants more than just a "keeping the rules" relationship with you! The remaining passage demonstrates the point that the legalism of the Law is INADEQUATE in the new context of the kingdom of heaven. A higher approach is needed. What Jesus wants is not you beating your head against the wall trying to keep all the old rules-but to surrender your heart to embrace the true will of God for His creation! He makes this point in these six (6) examples contrasting Jesus' teaching with the accepted understanding of OT law. I've combined them into 3 statements... #1- Just Avoiding Sins Like Murder And Adultery Does Not Get To The Problem Of Our Hearts. * Sins like adultery and murder are outward expressions of what is already at work inside of us (hatred and lust)- o So we would say "I would never murder anyone or be unfaithful to my spouse" and Jesus says "but you have the attitudes in your heart that if you just let them play out-you would!" o It's easy to say what you wouldn't do but nobody starts out to be a murderer, no one says I want to be a "cheat" but if we don't deal with our hearts we foster the same spirits that lead to these horrible sins! * It is our hearts that must be fixed (single slide by itself)-the sin we commit is just the result of our sick and sinful hearts. * Watch for the dialogue that centers around "is it right or wrong to..." o Such discussions are often about what we can get away with o This is the essence of the dialogue between Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler...(Matthew 19) * Keeping rules does not correct what it is our heart * He kept the rules but inwardly was consumed by his love for his money * The condition of our heart is what matters to God! (Matthew 15:11-20) It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth...Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart-that's what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you. #2-When We Choose Convenience Over Obedience We Always Miss God's Plan. The issue of divorce is very personal and sensitive and I speak from a heart of true compassion for all parties. * Jesus says Moses sanctioned divorce (in the OT) because of the "hardness" of men's heart but divorce was never aligned to God's original purpose for marriage. * God did not mean for marriage to be a disposable convenience of life. * The world sees marriage as self-focused expression and not God-focused. This is an often misquoted and misapplied passages. * With his words, Jesus set the original intention of the Creator, expressed in Genesis 1, above the provision of Deuteronomy 24, which was an accommodation of their hard hearts. * In the law, divorce regulations were a concession to deal with the results of sin, not an expression of the way God intended things to be. * Divorce might be necessary, but it could never be good. * Such a contrarian concept of how we live, marry and represent Christ in this world. These are very personal issues and it would be wrong to assume that compassion and empathy have no place in life for those who suffer-however, * Remember the focus of Jesus is not on the outcomes of our lives but the inward motivations of our heart that drive what occurs in us outwardly. #3 Our Relationship With Others Is the Best Indicator of What Jesus Means To Us Look at the list... 1. If someone slaps you...let them slap you again! 2. If you get sued...give them more than they are seeking! 3. If you are asked a hard thing to do...go an extra mile! 4. Love your enemies...even when they hate you! 5. Pray for people who want to hurt you... * These are very RADICAL ideas and hard to grasp for people who had been taught differently for so long. * Imagine you have been raised a particular way and now a stranger comes to your town and starts telling you "you are doing it wrong, you are thinking about this the wrong way!" This is why they killed Jesus. And yet, Jesus says when you live this way--you will be acting as true children of Your Father in Heaven! * These teachings of Jesus (verse 38-42) take us to a higher place of relationship with man and God. * The focus is no longer on our self-interests but on the proper attitude of our hearts o Generosity toward others o Serving the needs of others o Gentle spirit (non-violent) Conclusion Someone asked me recently about their decision to choose Jesus and it was asked in this way - can you tell me what I signed up for? I love the question! I've thought a good deal about that and I've continue to engage with the person asking it. One day this verse came to mind because it answers the question better than I can... (Galatians 2:20) My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Who I was is not who I am NOW. I now represent the kingdom of God with my life, my relationships, my living. How I treat my neighbor reflects I don't fight to get my way-I want what God wants for me, my marriage, my future. I don't fight to be right-it's not important that I'm right but only that He's right and I'm right with him. Somehow we've come to believe we have to set people straight, "give them a piece of my mind"-- What happened to praying and letting God take care of the situation? So many times, I've simply said to God-I need you to fix this and He does so I don't have to! Maybe you're here this morning and you've been hurt by someone in the church, claiming to be a Christian and it's damaged your opinion about Jesus Christ (if they are Christians...) Don't put your eyes on people-don't put your confidence in people-choose rather to put your confidence in Jesus-He won't fail you, He won't disappoint you! God I'm a sinner I'm sorry for my sins I believe Jesus died for my sins I believe you will forgive me of my sins I choose Jesus