August | 2007 | Rev Bill\'s Sermons

August 26, 2007

Luke 15:1-3,15-32

Filed under: Luke — revbill @ 7:25 pm

“Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Back To God”

August 26, 2007

End of “Walk Like Jesus Taught” series

This summer we’ve been looking at how we can learn to walk like Jesus taught. Jesus has taught us how to walk in His ways – how to be His people – how to follow in His footsteps – and we need to look at His words – His teachings – so we can walk as He taught us how to walk.

We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught.

We’ve been looking at one of the places where Jesus taught us how to walk in His ways — the Sermon On The Mount – Matthew chapters 5-7. As we’ve looked at these chapters we’ve seen how Jesus taught us to walk – and we’ve been learning how to

Walk Like Jesus Taught

We’ve seen 8 steps to learning to walk like Jesus taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk in trust

Walk like you want others to walk

Walk and don’t fall.

Or – really – 8 practical steps to what it means to walking like Jesus walked:

1. Surrender your life to God. (that’s what I’ve called walking in God’s blessings)

2. Strive to be God’s light to the world (that’s what I’ve called walking as Jesus walked)

3. Take drastic steps to eradicate sin from your life. (that’s what I’ve called walking in righteousness)

4. Treat all people with lovingkindness (that’s what I’ve called walking in love)

5. Let your religious acts be for God and not for show (that’s what I’ve called walking in true righteousness)

6. Trust God for your needs and seek His will for your life (that’s what I’ve called walking in trust)

7. Stop judging others (that’s what I’ve called walking like you want others to walk)

8. Strive to do God’s will. (that’s what I’ve called walking and not falling)

There is one more very practical – and very necessary – step I want to address today. This step comes from a passage of scripture that’s not a part of the Sermon On The Mount – in fact it’s in the Gospel of Luke – not Matthew – but this step is really the most vital step of all if we are going to be the people God has called us to be – and if we are going to walk like Jesus taught.

The passage for today is Luke 15:1-3,15-32 – and the step we need to learn is walking back to God.

Listen to God’s word:

Read Scripture

Walk like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk in trust

Walk like you want others to walk

Walk and don’t fall

Walk back to God

2 of the most beautiful words in the English language are:

Welcome home!

Whether you’ve been away a few hours — a day — several days — a week — several weeks — a month — several months — a year — several years — however long you’ve been away — and whatever the circumstances of your being away have been — when you finally get home — there are two words you love to hear —

Welcome home!

Our Gospel lesson for today deals with coming home — and being welcomed home.

Welcome home!

You know the story of the Prodigal — but listen to this story:

Life was not easy for Raul Sample.

He could not remember his mother saying a kind word to him as he grew up. She never showed him love or affection. He grew up angry, and as an angry adult he committed crimes that landed him in prison. The worst punishment in the prison in which he was confined was what they called “The Tomb.” This was a four-by-eight foot basement cell with no windows, two solid steel plates for a door, a solid slab of concrete for a bed, and absolute darkness. In his sixteenth year of imprisonment Raul talked back to a guard. For this, he was confined to “The Tomb”. This was not his first stay in “The Tomb” — but there was something different this time. He became terrified as soon as they shoved him into “The Tomb.” He heard rushing water nearby, and he was certain that it was going to seep in and drown him. He went crazy. He ran around the cell. He rolled on the floor. Eventually he tired himself out and lay on the cold, hard floor, covering his face with both hands and crying out : “Help me, God! Help meee!”

He felt alone.

He felt desperate.

He felt that all hope was gone.

He felt that no one cared.

Now — can’t you imagine that that’s how the son in our Gospel lesson may have felt — when he had spent all his inheritance — which he had been bold enough to ask for before his father died — but had spent it all on riotous living — and now was feeding a Gentiles pigs — the lowest thing a Jew could do? When he finally came to his senses — realized what he had done — he probably felt like Raul in “The Tomb” – alone – desperate — like all hope was gone – like no one cared.

Maybe he cried out like Raul — “Help me, God! Help meee!”

So what does he do?

What can he do?

At that point — and only at that point — he decided to go back to his father — and beg his father to at least take him back as a slave. He knew he couldn’t be treated as a son any more — he’d made too many mistakes – there was just no way his father would accept him back as a son — but maybe — just maybe — he’d have some compassion on him and take him back as a slave.

But then — before he gets to his home — he looks up. Here came his father. He braced himself for the lecture he would probably receive — and most definitely deserved.

But — what happened?

His father totally surprised him! Instead of a gesture of disdain and hate — he got open arms and an embrace. Instead of a lecture and banishment from the family — he got the words:

Welcome home!

It is hard to believe — isn’t it?

This son who did nothing to deserve anything but stiff punishment doesn’t get anything — not even a lecture — but only a hug — a ring that showed he was indeed part of the family – a feast — and the words:

Welcome home!

It is almost too much for us to comprehend!

It is certainly too much for the obedient older brother to comprehend. He has been at home — tending the fields — the livestock — taking care to the family responsibilities all this time — and now this brother who has been away — wasting his inheritance — humiliating himself by working for Gentiles — even lowering himself to feeding pigs — this one who he feels doesn’t even deserve to be treated as a brother — comes home and gets the ring — the feast — and the words:

Welcome home!

No — it makes no sense at all. Speaking from a human standpoint — it truly makes no sense.

If we were in this same situation, not very many of us would behave like the father. No — we may not behave like the father at all. We would probably behave more like the younger son or the older son – either the prodigal or the obedient one — either running wild and doing what we want to do until we get to the end of our rope — or sitting in judgment of those who do.

But — praise God — God is not like us. God is like the father — the father who — in spite of all the younger son has done — loves him — accepts him — lets him know that he loves him — and invites his older son to do the same.

Walk like Jesus taught

Walk like Jesus taught.

This means:

Walking in God’s blessing

Walking like Jesus walked

Walking in righteousness

Walking in love

Walking in true righteousness

Walking in trust

Walking like you want others to walk

Walking and not falling

But – this also means — walking back to God

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

That’s really the first step you must take to walk like Jesus taught – although it’s the last one we’re looking at in this series.

If you really want to walk like Jesus taught, the first step you’re going to have to take is to walk back to God.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

Who are you the most like in this story Jesus told?

Are you more like the younger son?

Is your story one of turning your back on God — wanting to go your way — looking for the things of the world — looking for worldly pleasure?

Or maybe it’s been just not paying much attention to God — not paying much attention to the things of God — not paying much attention to what God wants you to be doing in your life — not making the things of God the most important things of your life. Is that the way it’s been for you?

Or – then again — maybe you feel that you’ve gone too far — that there is no way God could love — forgive — or accept you. Not after what you’ve done.

So — has your life been like that of the younger son?

Well – I’m going to give you some advice –

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

If you’re life has been like that of the prodigal, you may be afraid to turn to God. Maybe you’re afraid that God will punish you. Maybe you’re afraid that God will not accept you. Maybe you’re afraid that God will turn His back on you — and say: “You’ve turned your back on me too many times! Now go away!”

Friends – if you walk like Jesus taught and walk back to God — that’s not what God will say at all! No – – if you walk like Jesus taught and walk back to God — God will say: Welcome home! Welcome home!

Rolling in a Gentiles pig pen was not the end of the story for the son.

And – you know what? Rolling on the floor of “the Tomb” was not the end of the story for Raul Sample. As Raul lay on the floor of “The Tomb” — covering his face with his hands – and crying out “Help me, God! Help meeee!” something he says to be miraculous happened. He said later that he saw “a ray of light between his fingers.” Slowly he uncovered his face, and it was as if the cell was lit — like someone had turned on a light bulb. He was no longer afraid. He felt engulfed by the presence of God. He felt strangely reassured. He began breathing freely. Never before had he felt such peace and well being.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

After his experience in “The Tomb”, Raul knew that God was real. He had experienced God’s grace. His life was forever changed. He was released from prison in 1972, and became the first convict to work in the Governor of Texas’ office, the first convict in Texas to serve as a probation officer, and the first to serve on the staff of the State Bar of Texas as a division head. He finally received a full pardon for his crimes.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been. If you will turn back to God — there’s just one message He’ll give to you:

Welcome!

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

OK — maybe your story is not like that of the younger son in Jesus’ story — maybe you are more like the older son. Maybe you have tried to live in God’s ways all your life — and feel you’ve done a pretty good job. Maybe you’ve been at church every time the doors have opened — or almost every time. Maybe you’ve been very active in the church — and have been a very dependable person.

If that’s how you’ve been – how do you feel when someone who hasn’t been as dependable as you — or someone who has just made a mess out of their lives — finally comes to God — finally come to the church – finally decides to walk like Jesus taught and walks back to God — and decides to change their lives?

Do you welcome them with open arms and say:

“Welcome!”

or — are you somewhat stand-offish – maybe thinking that they are going to have to prove their change of life before you accept them?

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

Are you like the older brother in Jesus’ story?

God isn’t.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

God loves us.

God accepts us.

God doesn’t wait for us to prove ourselves.

God just says:

Welcome home!

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

You know – there is only one thing that God wants us to say to anyone and everyone who may need to hear it – and that is:

Welcome home!

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

Through Jesus Christ, God gives forgiveness to those who walk back to Him. God then wants us — God’s forgiven people — to forgive others. God wants us to walk like Jesus taught – and walk back to God – God wants us to experience His forgiveness — His message of “welcome home” — and share that with others.

You know — we all need God’s forgiveness.

In one way or another, for one thing or for many things, we all need to walk like Jesus taught – and walk back to God. We all need to hear God say:

Welcome home!

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

If you are like the younger brother – if you have turned your back on God or not been interested in the things of God – then you need to come back to God – you need to let God change your life – you need to begin living in the ways of God – and you need to experience God’s love.

You need to:

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

Whatever you might think God might say to you when you turn back to Him — what He will say is:

Welcome home!

And you know what — even if you have been more like the older brother – you need to come back to God. You see — none of us is perfect — all of us have — in some way — turned away from God. We all can stand to have some aspect of our lives changed by God.

We all need to:

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

We all need to walk back to God — and hear God say:

Welcome home!

Then — we all need to be what Paul calls in 2 Corinthians 5 — “ministers of reconciliation” — people who share God’s message of “welcome home!” with all the world.

Whatever your particular story may be — God invites you to turn to Him — and hear Him say:

Welcome home!

Whatever direction you may have gone in your life – whatever direction you may be going now –

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk Back To God

So – walking like Jesus taught means:

Walking in God’s blessing

Walking like Jesus walked

Walking in righteousness

Walking in love

Walking in true righteousness

Walking in trust

Walking like you want others to walk

Walking and not falling

Walking like Jesus taught means walking back to God.

Amen.

Comments (1)

August 21, 2007

Matthew 7:13-29

Filed under: Matthew — revbill @ 7:46 pm

Matthew 7:13-29

“Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk and Don’t Fall”

August 19, 2007

8^th in Sermon On The Mount series

We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught.

Walk Like Jesus Taught

Walk Like Jesus Taught – that’s been our theme for the summer.

We’ve seen how the Sermon On The Mount is an important piece of scripture. It’s the longest segment of scripture with just the teachings of Jesus – and it’s a piece of scripture where Jesus gives the guidelines for how His followers should live. Matthew places it at an important point in Jesus’ ministry. As Matthew records the story of Jesus, Jesus has been born – raised in Nazareth – has been baptized by John – has been tempted by Satan in the wilderness – and has now begun His ministry of teaching and healing. He has begun to attract crowds of people — and has even called some to be disciples.

But – the crowds – and especially the disciples – must have wondered how they were supposed to live – how they were supposed to act – what they were supposed to do. The disciples had given up their old lifestyles to follow Jesus – and they were probably wondering how they were supposed to live now that they were following Jesus.

Well – they were about to find out.

As Jesus climbed that mountainside – He began to teach His disciples how He wanted them to live.

And the disciples began their attempt to walk like Jesus taught.

Walk Like Jesus Taught

We began this series in June looking at the first 12 verses of Matthew 5 – what we call The Beattitudes – and we saw how the first step to walking like Jesus taught is walking in God’s blessings by surrendering yourself to God, giving Him control of your life, and serving others with a heart of compassion.

Walk in God’s blessings.

That’s the first step.

We then looked at Matthew 5: 13-16 – and saw how we can be the light of Christ in the world as we live like Jesus lived – or – as I put it — walk like Jesus walked.

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessings.

Walk Like Jesus Walked

These are the first 2 steeps we must take.

We then looked at Matthew 5:17-32 – and saw how the third step in walking like Jesus taught is walking in righteousness.

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

We then added a fourth step as we looked at Matthew 5:33-43 – and saw that – if we are going to walk like Jesus taught – we are going to have to walk in love.
Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

We then looked at Matthew 6:1-18 and added another step – walking in true righteousness.

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness.

We then added a 6^th step as we looked at Matthew 6:19-34 and saw how we need to walk in trust – trusting God for the things we need.

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk in trust

Last week we began chapter 7 as we looked at Mathew 7:1-12 and added a 7^th step to what it means to wall like Jesus taught – this step being – walk like you want others to walk.

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk in trust

Walk like you want others to walk

Today we’re going to add an 8^th step to walking like Jesus taught as we finish the Sermon On the Mount by looking at Matthew 7:13-29 – we’ll add one more step next week but it will come from another passage of scripture – not the Sermon On The Mount – but today as we look at Matthew 7:13-29 today we’ll see how we can learn to walk – and not fall.

Listen to God’s word:

READ SCRIPTURE

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk in trust

Walk like you want others to walk

Walk and don’t fall.

Most of us try to avoid falls. They can be painful – they can be harmful as we can break bones – they can even be deadly. Of course, they can also be embarrassing.

My nephew had several falls growing up that resulted in broken arms. The first time he fell and broke his arm his dog had “stolen” a squash from their garden. He picked up a stick and began chasing the dog – trying to get the squash. The dog stopped in front of him, but he didn’t realize the dog had stopped and tripped over the dog – breaking his arm. That was painful – and looking back on it – probably

pretty embarrassing. The second time was a few years later when he was jumping

from a swing in mid-air and grabbing a tree branch – then jumping to the ground. He succeeded several times, then missed the branch. He put his arms out to break the fall, but instead of breaking the fall he broke both wrists when he hit the ground. He was not happy for several weeks with casts on both arms from the wrist to the elbow. He also got tired of people laughing when the story of how he broke his writs was told.

Falls can be painful – harmful – even deadly – and embarrassing.

Yea – most of us try to avoid falls.

But – falls are a part of life.

From babies learning to walk all the way adulthood – at one time of another we are going to fall.

But – how do we keep from falling in our spiritual walk with God? How do we keep from falling in our attempt to walk like Jesus taught?

Jesus gives us some advice here in Matthew 7:13-29.

The key point that Jesus gives in his advice on how to walk and not fall is to have a firm foundation for our walk with Him – a firm foundation for our lives – that firm foundation being a life that is built around doing His will. If we can build our lives on the firm foundation of doing His will, we can walk – and not fall.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall

In Matthew 7:13-29, Jesus is telling us how to have a life built on a firm foundation – a life where we walk in His ways and don’t fall. There are 2 main points Jesus makes about how to build our lives on the firm foundation of doing His will – and how to walk – and not fall.

He tells us to live a life that truly contains the things He wants us to have in our lives – and let obeying Christ be the foundation of your life.

First — Jesus says to live a life that truly contains the things He wants us to have in our lives – and does not just look good on the outside.

He says in verses 13-23:

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

It’s one thing to act like you have the things Jesus wants you to have in your life – to look like you are truly following Jesus – truly walking like Jesus taught and giving your life to God, loving and serving others, living a truly righteous life, trusting God, and walking like you want others to walk. It’s one thing to act the part – but many times it is much harder to actually live in the ways you are acting like you are living. And Jesus assures us that God is not impressed with even the best actors or actresses when it comes to living the Christian life.

I remember when I was growing up that there was a family in my home Church that looked like they had everything. They looked to be the perfect family. Beautiful house, charming children. I would see them come to church and sit together as a family. I would see them around town – and admire them. When I thought about them, I would say to myself: “That’s what I want for my family.”

I said this once to his son, who was in my class at school, and his son replied, “You don’t want your family to be like my family.” “Why not?” I asked. He said, “My dad yells all the time. He’s never in a good mood, and nothing is ever good enough for him. You see us coming to church together, but you don’t see how Dad made Mom cry on the way to church.” I couldn’t believe what he was saying about his father, but apparently it was true—eventually their marriage ended in divorce.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall

The first point Jesus makes is to live a life that truly contains the things He wants us to have in our lives – things like giving your life to God, loving and serving others, living a truly righteous life, trusting God, and walking like you want others to walk – and not just look like you have these things in your life.

But – how do we make sure we are truly living a life that contains what Jesus wants us to have in our lives?

First of all, Jesus tells us to look for it.

Look for it.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Jesus says.

Jesus is stating a sad fact here. The sad truth is that not everyone finds the true way to life as God wants it lived.

Why do only a few find the way to life as God wants it lived?

I don’t think the problem is that a lot of people look for the way but never find it – I think the problem is that not many bother to look. The Greek word here that we translate “find” does not imply something that is hidden – but something that can be found if you seek it out. The problem is that not many really seek out the way to live life as God wants it lived.

To live the life that contains what Jesus wants you to have in your life, the first step is to look for it – go to the trouble of seeking – looking for – how Jesus wants you to live.

If you want to live a life that truly includes the things Jesus wants you to have in your life — things like giving your life to God, loving and serving others, living a truly righteous life, trusting God, and walking like you want others to walk – you can live it. All you have to do is look for it – look for ways to be closer to God, to love and serve others, to trust God, to walk in God’s ways. Look to God for help – and he’ll help you.

If you want to build something beyond the surface – the things that look good — you have to look beyond the surface of your life. It takes some effort to develop a life that truly has in it the things Jesus wants us to have — that’s why it’s the harder and less traveled road Jesus talks about – but God will guide you if you make the effort. The easy way in life is to merely pretend to be religious; the hard way is to seek to become spiritual. Most people don’t bother to look for the harder, narrow, more spiritual way, but those who do look for it find it.

To live the life that contains what Jesus wants you to have in your life, the first step is to look for it – go to the trouble of seeking – looking for – how Jesus wants you to live. Look for it – and He’ll show you.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall

Live a life that truly contains the things He wants you to have in your life.

Look for how to do this – and He will show you.

The second step to living a life that truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have in your life is to examine the contents of your life. Look at what is in your life.

Examine the contents of your life.

Jesus said in verses 15-18:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”

Of course, Jesus is speaking in generalities here. A good apple tree may occasionally turn out a bad apple, but that doesn’t mean the tree is worthless. However, if an apple tree turns out a lot of bad apples, it’s an indication that something is wrong with the tree.

Jesus is talking about how we can know false prophets—but I believe He’s also talking about how we can know ourselves.

He gives us the test in verse 20:

“…by their fruit you will recognize them.”

What is the fruit Jesus is referring to here? It’s not religious work, because in the next few verses he uses an example of people who performed amazing works yet never knew him. So, what is it? It is personal holiness. It is Christ-likeness. It is the very same fruits that Paul spelled out in Galatians 5…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

These are the fruits by which Jesus’ followers are known. These are the fruits we must look for in our own lives

A minister once said to me, “I have a graduate degree in divinity and many theology books on the shelves of my office, yet nothing in my personal life indicates the presence of Christ. I have no love, no joy, and no peace.”

Recognizing that, and admitting it, was his first step in developing a life that contains what Jesus wants us to have in our lives. Each one of us needs to take a long, hard look at the fruit our lives are producing. Do you treat others with love? Do you have a sense of joy about life? Do you experience God’s peace? Are you patient when things don’t go your way? Do you treat others with kindness? Do you do good when you have the opportunity? Are you faithful to God, to your friends, to your boss, and to your spouse? When you have to correct someone, do you do it with gentleness? When things don’t go your way, do you practice self-control?

If your examination turns up nothing but rotten fruit, something needs to be fixed. You might need to come to God and say,

“The content of my life isn’t what it should be. Take away the anger and fill my heart with love. Take away the bitterness and fill my heart with joy. Take away the inner turmoil and fill my heart with peace…Take away everything about me that isn’t like Jesus.”

Examining the fruit of your life can be painful, but it’s also rewarding. It’s the only way to ensure you will have in your life what Jesus wants you to have in your life, rather than perfecting your image.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall

Live a life that truly contains the things He wants you to have in your life.

Examine the fruit of your life.

There’s a third step –

3. Get to know Him and do His will.

Jesus said in verse 21:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

Three phrases in this passage jump out at me.

“he who does the will of my father…”

The person who enters the kingdom of heaven is the person who does God’s will. That’s what it comes down to: not doing what you want, but doing what God wants. Surrendering your will to God’s will. Letting God call the shots in your life.

Another phrase that jumps out at me is…

“Away from me, you evildoers.”

Jesus speaks these words to people who have prophesied and cast out demons and performed miracles — all in His name. And yet, he calls them evildoers.

Maybe the problem was that these things they list are all flashy, high-profile aspects of the ministry. Maybe Jesus called them evildoers because every religious thing they did was for show, and it never went beyond that. We see this attitude today. Some people only want to serve in the “glamorous” ministries, such as playing in the band or performing dramas, or teaching a class…but they’re not willing to rake leaves, or clean bathrooms, or change dirty diapers. Jesus is saying that if your spiritual life consists only of what you do in front of others, then you have no spiritual life. It’s not that the things that are noticed are wrong – but doing them just to be noticed is.

A third phrase that jumps out at me…

3. “I never knew you.”

This phrase tells us what Jesus really wants. He wants to be able to say, “Yes, I know you.” It’s a personal relationship that He seeks with us, and that we must seek with Him.

I have a friend who worked for a large manufacturing company, and had hundreds of people working for him—the vast majority he did not know. He left that job and began working for a small company with less than 50 employees. He said, “The thing I like best is that I know each one of my workers personally. We’re like a family here.”

I know a minister who served a large church. It was a high profile job – he was a very important man at a very important church. But – he didn’t really know his members. He left that church and settled in a smaller town – and a smaller church. He is now loving his members – and serving God with joy.

That’s the relationship Jesus wants to have with you. He wants to know you personally, and for you to know him personally. Developing a where you truly have the things Jesus wants you to have in your life means having a relationship with Jesus that extends beyond your public life, into your private life. It’s a personal relationship. So get to know Him. Spend time with Him. Talk to Him. Seek to do His will. Seek to serve Him regardless of how much or how little recognition is involved. That’s the way you make sure you have the things in your life Jesus wants you to have in your life.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall

Live a life that truly contains the things He wants you to have in your life.

Examine the fruit of your life.

Get to know Him and do His will

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall

The first step is — Live a life that truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have in our life.

Live a life that truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have in our life.

But – there’s a second step.

The second step is –

Let obeying Christ be the foundation of your life

Jesus ends the Sermon On The Mount with an illustration:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash.”

These two men had several things in common:

• They heard the same message.

• They built the same house.

• They faced the same storms of life.

The difference was that one of them put into practice the words of Jesus and the other didn’t. The one who did what Jesus said—his house remained strong. The one who heard Jesus but did nothing about it—his house came crashing to the ground.

The difference here is not in the house.

When I was kid I must have gotten this story mixed up with the story of the three little pigs (since, in that story, the wolf couldn’t destroy the house made of brick.) So, when I would think about this parable I would picture the wise man’s house as a huge mansion made of stone, and the foolish man’s house as a little shack made of sticks. But the difference in this story is not in the houses themselves, but in where they were built. One man built on rock, the other built on sand.

Jesus said, “If you put my words into practice, you are building your life on a rock. If you ignore my words, you are building your life on sand.”

He’s saying that your life is built either on obedience or disobedience. The more you obey Jesus, the stronger the foundation of your life becomes, and the more able you become to walk like Jesus taught.

If you have your life founded upon obeying Christ, you can weather the inevitable storms of life – and you can walk like Jesus taught – and not fall.

Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall

Live a life that truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have in our life.

Let obeying Christ be the foundation of your life

You can’t walk like Jesus taught unless your life truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have – and you are obeying Christ.

In the Sermon On The Mount Jesus teaches us how to walk in His ways. He teaches us how to be His people. This is His advice for how to live life on earth in His ways – so we can live life in heaven in His presense.

Basically He’s saying:

1. Surrender your life to God. (that’s what I’ve called walking in God’s blessings)

2. Strive to be God’s light to the world (that’s what I’ve called walking as Jesus walked)

3. Take drastic steps to eradicate sin from your life. (that’s what I’ve called walking in righteousness)

4. Treat all people with lovingkindness (that’s what I’ve called walking in love)

5. Let your religious acts be for God and not for show (that’s what I’ve called walking in true righteousness)

6. Trust God for your needs and seek His will for your life (that’s what I’ve called walking in trust)

7. Stop judging others (that’s what I’ve called walking like you want others to live) .

8. Strive to do God’s will. (that’s what I’ve called walking and not falling)

Let’s all strive to be the people God would have us be.

Let’s have our obedience to Christ as the main goal of our lives.

Let’s strive to live lives that truly have in them what God would have us to have in our lives.

Let’s strive to truly walk like Jesus taught – and with God’s strength – to walk in His ways – and not fall. Amen.

Comments (1)

August 13, 2007

Matthew 7:1-12

Filed under: Matthew — revbill @ 1:48 pm

Matthew 7:1-12

“Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk”

7^th in Sermon On The Mount series

August 12, 2007

This summer we are looking at how we can learn to walk like Jesus taught. Jesus has taught us how to walk in His ways – how to be His people – how to follow in His footsteps – and we need to look at His words – His teachings – so we can walk as He taught us how to walk.

We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught.

We’re looking at one of the places where Jesus taught us how to walk in His ways — the Sermon On The Mount – Matthew chapters 5-7. As we look at these chapters we’re seeing how Jesus taught us to walk – and learning how to

Walk Like Jesus Taught

Walk Like Jesus Taught – that’s our theme for the summer.

We’ve already seen how the Sermon On The Mount is an important piece of scripture. It’s the longest segment of scripture with just the teachings of Jesus – and it’s a piece of scripture where Jesus gives the guidelines for how His followers should live. Matthew places it at an important point in Jesus’ ministry. As Matthew records the story of Jesus, Jesus has been born – raised in Nazareth – has been baptized by John – has been tempted by Satan in the wilderness – and has now begun His ministry of teaching and healing. He has begun to attract crowds of people — and has even called some to be disciples.

Well – they were about to find out.

As Jesus climbed that mountainside – He began to teach His disciples how He wanted them to live.

And the disciples began their attempt to walk like Jesus taught.

Walk Like Jesus Taught

We began in June looking at the first 12 verses of Matthew 5 – what we call The Beattitudes – and we saw how the first step to walking like Jesus taught is walking in God’s blessings by surrendering yourself to God, giving Him control of your life, and serving others with a heart of compassion.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

That’s the first step.

We then looked at Matthew 5: 13-16 – and saw how we can be the light of Christ in the world as we live like Jesus lived – or – as I put it — walk like Jesus walked.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like Jesus Walked

These are the first 2 steeps we must take.

We then looked at Matthew 5:17-32 – and saw how the third step in walking like Jesus taught is walking in righteousness.

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

We then added a fourth step as we looked at Matthew 5:33-43 – and saw that – if we are going to walk like Jesus taught – we are going to have to walk in love.
Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Then we added another step as we looked at Matthew 6:1-18 – and saw what it might mean to walk in true righteousness.

Last week we added a 6^th step as we saw how we need to walk in trust – trusting God for the things we need.

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk in trust

We’re going to begin chapter 7 today as we add a 7^th step to what it means to wall like Jesus taught – this step being – walk like you want others to walk. It’s one thing to talk about being a follower of Jesus, and to judge how well others walk in Jesus’ ways. But – it’s quite another to actually walk as Jesus taught ourselves – isn’t it?

Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-12:

Read Scripture

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk in trust

Walk like you want others to walk

You are probably familiar with Robert Fulghum’s book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. This essay is his personal statement of belief, his credo. The idea came to him one day as he putting gas in his car, and he suddenly realized that life doesn’t have to be complicated. All that’s necessary for a meaningful life is really quite simple. In fact, we learned most of it, he says, in kindergarten. His essay includes things such as play fair, share, and when you go out into the world, hold hands and stick together.

I thought of Robert Fulghum’s essay when I was working on this sermon because today we’re looking at some of Jesus’ most famous saying of all –

Don’t judge, don’t criticize, don’t talk about the speck in someone else’s eye when you have a plank in yours, do to others what you would like for them to do to you –

Some of Jesus’ most famous teachings – and some of the things we need to know to walk like Jesus taught. I’m calling this 7^th step in walking like Jesus taught “Walk Like You Want Others To Walk”.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

If we want to truly be the Christians Jesus wants us to be, we need to live in His ways – and at the same time we need to show others how to live in His ways instead of merely judging or criticizing how others live.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

You probably remember when the Jim Bakker/Jessica Hahn scandal hit the airwaves in 1988. Jimmy Swaggart went on Nightline and said, “The gospel of Jesus Christ has never sunk to such a level.” No other nationally known preacher was as vocal in his condemnation of Jim Bakker as was Jimmy Swaggart. Yet, it wasn’t very long until Jimmy Swaggart was caught in his own sex scandal—not once, but twice. It seems that brother Jimmy might have done well to have tended to his own walk with Christ instead of worrying so much about bother Jim’s!

One of the biggest critics of Bill Clinton when his affair with Monica Lewinsky hit the news was California congressman Gary Condit. Not many years after criticizing Clinton, Condit was embroiled in his own scandal.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

Throughout history people have condemned others for a sin that they were actually committing themselves. Jesus spoke harshly about this kind of hypocrisy. The Apostle Paul in Romans 2:21 – 24 did also:

Well, then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you steal from pagan temples? You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. No wonder the Scriptures say, “The world blasphemes the name of God because of you.” (Romans 2:21-24)

In Matthew 7 Jesus gives a stern warning about hypocritically condemning other people. He begins with one of his most famous sayings…

(v. 1) “Do not judge, or you too will be judged

This is one of Jesus’ most well known sayings; but it’s also of the most misunderstood. Some people think that it means that Christians shouldn’t speak out against sin or make a stand for holiness. That’s not what Jesus is saying at all. What he is saying is that when it comes to looking at the lives of others, we must proceed with caution. We have to make sure we are walking in the ways we want others to walk.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

One of the biggest criticisms non-Christians have against Christians is that they say Christians are too judgmental. I’ve heard people say that Christians think they’re better than everyone else. I’ve heard people say that Christians are always telling everyone that they’re going to hell…and they’re always trying to make people feel guilty. Personally, I don’t buy that. I don’t believe it. It is true that in the over 24 years that I have been in the ministry I have met some sour Christians who do seem to be self-righteously smug. But they are definitely in the minority. The overwhelming majority of the Christians I’ve known are kind, merciful, and forgiving.

Sometimes when people accuse Christians of being judgmental, I think they’re really expressing their own sense of guilt. I heard a story about a guy who was driving down an Arizona highway with his wife, and he kept exceeding the speed limit. Every once in a while she would say, “Honey…you need to slow down. You’ll get a ticket.” He’d slow down for a few minutes, then gradually speed back up. Finally, sure enough, a highway patrolmen pulled him over and gave him a ticket. The man got back in his car and began driving down the highway again. His wife said nothing. They sat in silence for about 15 minutes, and finally the husband said, “Are you going to harp on this forever?!” She hadn’t said anything – his guilty conscience was actually harping on him, but he was blaming her!

People don’t want to be judged. They don’t want to be condemned. For this reason, we have to exercise extreme caution when dealing with others – and we need to make sure we are walking in the ways we are trying to get them to walk – or living in the ways we are trying to get them to live.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

How do we make sure we are walking in the ways we want others to walk – or living in the ways we want others to live?

In Matthew 7:1-12 Jesus teaches us how to make a stand for holiness – how to live as Jesus wants us to live and even be an example to others — without being judgmental. He teaches us how to avoid the sin of hypocrisy, and, at the same time, help others discover the truth. In fact, that’s the main point of this passage—how to help others get the specks out of their eyes — how to help others improve some area of their lives.

The question is: Can you help others live the Christian life – can you help others walk like Jesus taught — without being a busy-body? Can you do it without being holier-than-thou? The answer is: Yes, you can. It’s all in how you look at others, and how you look at yourself. When it comes to dealing with other people faults, when it comes to trying to help people live in Jesus’ ways, Jesus teaches four principles in these 12 verses that we need to keep in mind. The first principle is…

1. If you’re not on the jury, don’t try to reach a verdict.

If you’re not on the jury, don’t try to reach a verdict

What do I mean by that? It’s very simple: if it’s not your judgment to make, don’t make the judgment.

There are a few areas of our lives where we do need to make certain judgments in order to make the right decision or come to the right conclusion—whether or not we will hire someone, whether or not we will marry someone, whether or not we will allow our children to go to a party or social event, whether or not we will allow someone to borrow our car, whether or not we’ll give money to a certain charity, and on and on. That’s why Jesus said in the Gospel of John,

“Stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgment.” (John 7:24)

There are, so to speak, certain juries that we sit on, and it is our responsibility in those situations to make a right judgment. However, in Matthew 7 Jesus is talking about a different kind of judging. He’s talking about making a judgment against someone when you’re not even on the jury. In other words, making a judgment against someone when it’s none of your business.

Sometimes we might hear someone say, “I don’t think so-and-so is really saved.” That may be their opinion, but it’s not their call to make. They’re not on that jury. When I hear someone say that, my response is, “Be sure to let God know so that he won’t accidentally let them into heaven.”

One time I was at a conference with a group of ministers and after the night session we were gathered in a TV lounge looking for a baseball game to watch. As we flipped through the channels, we came across a TV preacher, so naturally we stopped to watch for a few minutes. Almost immediately one of those in the room said: “You can tell that guy’s a phony just by looking at him.” I said, “How in the world can you make that judgment? Because he’s wearing a loud tie?” I didn’t know what else it could possibly be; we’d been watching only a few seconds. Still another person in the room said, “I bet he’s just in it for the money.” I didn’t know if they were right or wrong, I just wondered who put them in charge of making that call.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

If you’re not on the jury, don’t try to reach a verdict

When Jesus said,

(v. 1) “Do not judge, or you too will be judged,”

…He was talking about making judgments that are none of our business. The problem is that when we make these judgments, we often make them without knowing all – or even any — of the facts.

Maybe you remember the TV show Three’s Company. It seemed that on every show there would be a crazy nix – up because someone would overhear a portion of a conversation and jump to the wrong conclusion: Maybe they would conclude that Mr. and Mrs. Roper were getting a divorce, or maybe that Chrissy is going to have a baby, or maybe that Jack had a terminal illness, on and on it would continue, all because someone jumped to a conclusion without knowing all the facts.

Do you think this happens in real life?

You know it does!

I remember one time a friend called me and asked if I knew another friend of ours had been arrested. “No!” I replied – “What for?” He said, “I don’t know, but I saw him being driven through town in the back seat of a police car.” Later, when I asked the friend who had supposedly been arrested about it, he said, “I had a wreck and had to get my car towed, so the cops gave me a ride home.”

Sally’s Dad worked part time for a Funeral Home after retiring from Du Pont. One day he had to drive to North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NC to pick up a body. Since we lived less than an hour away from Winston, he came by to visit us on his way back to Camden. He parked the hearse in the front yard of our house and came in to visit. Well, you have to understand that we lived in a very small community – and before long the word got out that there was a hearse in front of the preacher’s house. Within five minutes of the hearse arriving, people were calling the house. If Sally answered the phone, they would say: “Oh Sally – what are we going to do without Bill?” If I answered the phone, they would say: “Oh Bill – what you going to do without Sally?”

My parents owned a Cadillac. They drove it to see us in North Carolina one weekend – and parked it in the drive. Wouldn’t you know it, before it had been parked there thirty minutes a member of the Church called to say that he knew I was being paid too much – and from the looks of my new car he was right!

I heard about a woman in a Sunday School class who mentioned one Sunday that she and her husband had just celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. A few minutes later she said something about her 12-year-old son. Another member of the class said, “Wait a minute. You’ve been married 10 years and you have a 12-year-old son?” The woman became annoyed and said, “That’s right. Do you have a problem with that?” The other member responded – in a very sanctimonious voice, “Well, it just seemed rather strange.” In fact, it wasn’t strange at all. She and her husband adopted their son when he was 6 years old.

Here’s what I’m saying: Before you pass judgment on anyone, remind yourself that you don’t have all the facts. There just might be a part of the story that you don’t know. And, most likely, it’s not your business to know.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

If you don’t sit on that jury, don’t try to reach a verdict. Let God be the judge.

That’s the first thing you need to remember so you can walk like you want others to walk – and avoid self-righteous hypocrisy. There’s a second step:

2. Look at your own faults before you look at anyone else’s.

Jesus said,

(v. 3-4) Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

The problem is, too often we have a tendency to consider someone’s speck a plank, and consider our plank to be merely a speck.

I heard of a man whose children were, to put it mildly, beyond his control…but he was organized. His life consisted of meticulously dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. His attitude seemed to be: “Teenagers will be teenagers and there’s nothing you can do about it, but if you’re disorganized, that’s a sign that you don’t have your act together.” Well, his brother was as disorganized as the other was organized. His house always looked like a rummage sale, and he was never on time for anything — but he had great kids. The organized brother was constantly criticizing the disorganized one for not having his life together. He’d say things like, “Why don’t you mow your yard? For crying out loud! I’m embarrassed for people to know we’re related!” The fact that his son was in rehab doesn’t seem to bother him as much as the fact that his brother had a messy house. I think one brother had a speck in his eye – he was disorganized. The other, however, may have had a two-by-four in his eye: his children were rebellious and out-of-control. But he was more concerned with his brother’s speck of a problem than he was with his own two-by-four.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

Look at your own faults before you look at anyone else’s.

This is exactly the kind of attitude Jesus warned against. Before you judge others, or condemn others, or criticize others, look at yourself. Fix your own life before you try to fix everyone else. Look at yourself closely and ask, “Am I in a position to offer criticism?” When you ask yourself that question with a sincere heart, 9 times out of 10 you’ll discover that you have a plank in your own eye to deal with first.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

If you’re not on the jury, don’t try to reach a verdict

Look at your own faults before you look at anyone else’s.

The third thing Jesus tells us to do in order to walk like we want others to walk is:

3. Limit your advice to “Do as I do.”

Jesus said,

(v. 5) You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

It’s not that Jesus wants us to abandon the idea of helping someone become a better person, it’s that he wants us to do it with integrity. The person whose attitude is “Do as I say and not as I do” has no credibility with the person he’s trying to help. This is why some parents have no influence over their children. When your children know that you called in sick at work when you’re not really sick…when you tell the ticket clerk at the movie theatre that your son is 11 when he’s really 13…when they witness you telling a white lie to your spouse… when you order the “single trip” plate at the buffet restaurant but go back for more — these things add up. And then you wonder why they laugh at the idea that he shouldn’t lie to you about where he is going when he leaves the house. When you advise or correct someone, if the underlying theme is not “Do as I do,” then you have no right to say what you’re saying. This makes parenting, and any other leadership position, hard work—because it calls us to greater accountability. If you want to give anyone any kind of corrective advice, in order to avoid self-righteous hypocrisy, make sure the underlying theme to your message is “Do as I do.”

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

If you’re not on the jury, don’t try to reach a verdict

Look at your own faults before you look at anyone else’s.

Limit your advice to “Do as I do.”

The last statement Jesus makes in this passage:

12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

— what we call “the Golden Rule” – leads us to the fourth point Jesus makes about walking as we would have others walk.

4. If you want people to be nice to you, you need to be nice to them.

Some look at this statement of Jesus and believe that He’s saying “don’t do anything bad to someone” – or “don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you”. While this is commendable, it’s not exactly what Jesus is teaching here. An example of living by “don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you” would be – if you’re walking down the street, and you see someone who has fallen down, and you say to yourself, “If I had fallen down, I wouldn’t want someone to kick me in the head and laugh at me, so I won’t do that to this person.” and you continue on your way. People who live by this “don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you” rule are pretty decent people. But – are they really living as Jesus taught – walking as Jesus taught?

I don’t think so.

Jesus didn’t say

“Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you”

Jesus said:

do to others what you would have them do to you

In other words, Jesus isn’t saying what we should not do – He’s saying what we should do. Instead of thinking we’ve pleased Jesus by what we did not do, we need to follow Jesus by what we do.

do to others what you would have them do to you

This commandment plays out much differently in life than the “don’t do” idea. If you’re walking down the street and you see a man who has fallen down, you might say to yourself, “If I had fallen down, what would I want someone to do for me? Pick me up, brush me off, say a kind word, make sure I’m ok, help restore my dignity, and on and on.” So, instead of just not kicking the guy when he’s down, you make an effort to pick him up.

Do you see the difference?

Jesus is saying that we need to do what we can to treat others in the way we want to be treated. If we are going to walk like Jesus taught, we need to be sure we are living in ways we want others to live – or walking like we want others to walk.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like You Want Others To Walk

If you’re not on the jury, don’t try to reach a verdict

Look at your own faults before you look at anyone else’s.

Limit your advice to “Do as I do.”

If you want people to be nice to you, you need to be nice to them.

4 things to remember when you are trying to walk like Jesus taught – and trying to show others how to walk like Jesus taught.

So – now we have 7 steps to walking like Jesus taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk in trust

Walk like you want others to walk

If we can live our lives in Jesus’ ways – especially not trying to be the jury in peoples lives, looking at your own faults before you look at anyone else’s, limiting your advice to “do as I do”, and treating others the way we want them to treat us, we will be coming a long way towards being the people God has called us to be – living in the ways Jesus wants us to live – walking in the ways Jesus wants us to walk. Amen.

Comments (1)

August 7, 2007

Matthew 6:19-34

Filed under: Matthew — revbill @ 8:27 pm

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

August 5, 2007

Matthew 6:19-34

6^th in Sermon On The Mount series

We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught.

Walk Like Jesus Taught

Walk Like Jesus Taught – that’s our theme for the summer.

Well – they were about to find out.

As Jesus climbed that mountainside – He began to teach His disciples how He wanted them to live.

And the disciples began their attempt to walk like Jesus taught.

Walk Like Jesus Taught

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

That’s the first step.

We then looked at Matthew 5: 13-16 – and saw how we can be the light of Christ in the world as we live like Jesus lived – or – as I put it — walk like Jesus walked.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like Jesus Walked

These are the first 2 steeps we must take.

We then looked at Matthew 5:17-32 – and saw how the third step in walking like Jesus taught is walking in righteousness.

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

We then added a fourth step as we looked at Matthew 5:33-43 – and saw that – if we are going to walk like Jesus taught – we are going to have to walk in love.
Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Last week we added another step as we looked at Matthew 6:1-18 – and saw what it might mean to walk in true righteousness.

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

5 steps to what it means to walk like Jesus taught.

Today we’re going to add a 6^th step as we look at Matthew 6:19-34 – and learn how we can walk in trust.

Listen to God’s word:

Read Scripture

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

Do you remember the catchy tune from over 20n years ago with the lyrics:

Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry, be happy

It was jazz singer Bobby McFerrin’s huge hit — “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” The song was his only claim to fame – but no doubt you’ve heard it. It has already made him a bundle of money, but if he received a nickel for each time his song was mentioned in a speech or a sermon, he would be richer than Bill Gates! It became popular again several years ago as “The Amazing Singing Fish” that some people had hanging on their walls whistled and sang the tune. It really became a joke in Sally’s family because her Dad had the fish hanging on the wall of his room in the Nursing Home – and he and his friends got a kick out of it.

The song struck a chord with people not just because it has a catchy melody, but also because it touches on a subject we all struggle with – the subject being: worry.

Some of the rest of the lyrics go like this:

In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy

Ain’t got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don’t worry, be happy

The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don’t worry, be happy

The message of the song is obvious – and really somewhat simplistic: Don’t worry. Be happy. Of course, in the real world, it’s not always that simple—or, at least, it doesn’t seem that way. Our worries often consume us. In the Old English language, the word “worry” came from the root of the word “to choke.” That makes sense, doesn’t it? Worry has a “choking” quality to it – does it not? It saps the life out of you and it drains you of your energy. The crazy thing about worry is that, instead of motivating us to take action, it often causes us to withdraw and do nothing about our problems — and they become worse and worse.

Here’s something I’ve learned about worry: I don’t worry about things I’m sure of. You probably don’t either. We don’t worry about the things we’re sure of – we worry about the things we are uncertain about.

When you go to bed at night, do you lie awake and say, “Oh no! What will I do if the sun doesn’t come up tomorrow?” Probably not – because you are certain that it will. Do you lie awake and worry: “What am I going to do if tomorrow I discover that 2 plus 2 no longer equals 4?” Again, you don’t worry about things like that – you are certain that 2 plus 2 will always equal 4, and nothing can change that fact.

We don’t worry about the things we’re sure of, we only worry about the things we’re not sure of. Of course, different people are uncertain or unsure about different things – so different people worry about different things. Some people lay awake at night wondering if their spouse really loves them; others never give it a second thought. Some people lay awake at night wondering if their children are getting into trouble; others never give it a second thought. Some people worry about their health, others don’t. Some people worry about their wealth, others don’t. Some people worry about job security, others don’t. It’s all a question of what things in your life you are sure of and what things in life you are not.

In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus gives us a sixth step to take in our attempt to walk like Jesus taught – walk in trust.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

Jesus gives us some good news — When your mind and your heart are in tune with God, you don’t have to worry about anything.

That may sound impossible. It may sound as unrealistic as some stupid fish gadget hanging on the wall singing: “Don’t worry, Be happy.”

It may sound impossible, but it’s not—according to Jesus.

Jesus says it’s a simple as this: Put God first, and you can say good-bye to your worries forever.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

In Matthew 6:19-34 Jesus talks about our attitude towards money, towards worry, and towards God. In these verses He shows us what we can do to eliminate worry from our vocabulary once and for all.

Here are three things Jesus tells us to do so we can walk in trust – not in worry.

1. Rethink your priorities.

Jesus says:

(v. 19-20) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Many times you hear these verses applied to the subject of giving your money to a church or ministry. I heard a TV preacher say once, “Instead of putting your money in your IRA—your Individual Retirement Account—put it in your ERA—your Eternal Retirement Account.” Of course, this TV preacher was offering to hold your ERA in trust for you until you get to heaven.

Now, of course, we should give generously to God’s work, and we all know that. But when Jesus spoke these words, He wasn’t making a request for donations to his ministry, He was telling his listeners how to live above their problems. It’s as simple as this: If your first priority is money, you will never have peace of mind or for that matter serve God effectively.

Jesus said,

(v. 24) You can’t serve both God and money.

In the Greek there’s an interesting play on words in verse 19 that is worth pointing out. In the NIV verse 19 reads:

(v. 19) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…

The Greek word for “store up” is thesaurizete. The Greek word for treasures is thesaurous . Both words come from the same root: treasure. So — Jesus is literally saying: “Do not treasure your treasures.”

He’s not saying that you can’t have a retirement account. He’s saying “Don’t spend your life compiling wealth that you have no intention of using.” He’s talking about a Scrooge mentality that finds satisfaction in stockpiling money. When you have that mentality, you don’t use your money to help others – and you never have enough money.

It amazes me when I meet wealthy people who don’t think they’re wealthy at all. They have more money than I do, more money than the overwhelming majority of people on the planet, but they don’t think they have enough—and the driving force in their lives is to get more, more, more. You may not consider yourself wealthy, but to many people you may be very wealthy. And if the driving force of your life is to accumulate more wealth, more financial security, you will never have enough to give you peace of mind.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

Does that mean it’s a sin to have a savings account?

No, of course not.

We need to save money for emergencies, for retirement, and so on. But don’t treasure your treasure. Don’t put your trust in it. Don’t derive your happiness from it—or happiness will elude you throughout your entire life.

The first step to being able to walk in trust and not in worry is: Rethink your priorities.

Is money more important to you than anything else? Remind yourself as often as is necessary that there are more important things in life money.

Jesus said,

(v. 25) Therefore, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

If you’re worried about something, it may be because you’ve put it too high on your priority list.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

What do you worry about?

Do you worry about what others think about you? There are things in life more important than the opinions of others.

Do you worry about your job? Your job isn’t the last job on earth; there are other jobs out there.

Are you worried about a promotion? This won’t be the last promotion to come along; there will be other chances. There are more important things in life than a job promotion.

Are you worried about the stock market? This isn’t the first (or the last) downward trend in our nation’s economy, and it certainly won’t last forever. There are more important things in life than the value of your stock portfolio.

As I stated earlier, we worry about the things we’re not sure of, so make the effort to rethink your priorities. Jesus said the most important thing in life is to…

(v. 33) Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…

You can’t serve God and money, Jesus says. If you want your life to work, if you want to experience freedom from worry, make sure that you’re sure of this one thing:

God has first place in your life.

Seek Him.

Serve Him.

Rethink (and, if necessary, redefine) your priorities; put God first.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

Some of you may say, “I’m not worried about money or things. I’m worried about my marriage! I’m worried about my kids! I’m worried about my health! And these aren’t trivial! They really matter!”

This is true. And it brings us to the second key in dealing with worry.

2. Trust in God’s provision.

When we worry, we worry about things that we think are beyond God’s control. We worry about things we are unsure of, and if we’re unsure of God’s willingness and ability to provide, then, friends, we do have a lot to worry about, don’t we? On the other hand, if we trust God to take care of us, our worries will melt away.

Jesus said,

(v. 26) Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

He goes on to say,

(v. 27) And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

Jesus then says,

(v. 31-32) So do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

We worry about things we’re not sure of, but one thing Jesus said you can always be sure of is that God will meet your needs. He will take care of you.

Are you worried about your marriage? He will take care of you. Does that mean you’ll never have marital problems? No, but He will take care of you – even if you have marital problems. He will take care of you through and in the midst of the marital problems you may encounter.

Are you worried about your kids? God will take care of you. He’ll give you the wisdom to be a good parent; he’ll give you the strength to be consistent. Does that mean your kids will be perfect and never make a dumb decision? No, of course not. What it means is that — no matter what happens – God will take care of you if you let Him — and He will take care of them, too, if they let Him. My parents could probably vouch for the fact that God can take a child they may have spent a number of restless nights worrying about and work miracles!

Are you worried about your health? God will take care of you. Does that mean you’ll live to be 150 and never be sick a day in your life? No, of course not. But no matter what happens, God will take care of you.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

I like to compare other Bible translations when studying a text. I really like how verses 32 and 33 reads in the New Living Translation:

(v. 32-33) Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

We worry about things we’re not sure of, but one thing you can always be sure of is that God will provide for you — somehow. It may not be in the way you would choose – but it will be there – if you are willing to look for it.

Don’t worry, just look for God’s provision.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

Rethink your priorities; trust in God’s provision. 2 keys to walking in trust.

A third key is:

3. Live in the present.

A common motto among members of Alcoholics Anonymous is “Live One Day At A Time.” It’s a good prescription for dealing with regrets, and it’s a good prescription for dealing with worry. And it’s exactly what Jesus said to do…

(v. 34) Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I heard about a woman who had some minor thing happen to her – and she said: “I was so afraid this would happen. I have worried and worried and worried about this.” Finally her husband said: “Well, aren’t you glad your worry paid off? Wouldn’t it have been a shame for all your years of worry to go to waste?”

What good does it do to worry and worry and worry about anything? The things we worry about fall into one of two categories: what we can change, and what we can’t. Instead of worrying about what we can change, we should take action to make the changes we can make. And instead of worrying about what we can’t change, we should take action to be as prepared as possible – and trust God.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

The whole problem with worry is that it rarely motivates us to take positive action in our lives. Instead, it nearly always drives us to inaction. We often worry about a problem instead of doing something about the problem. That’s because we have a tendency to live in the future. We can never be sure of the future, so we worry about it, because we worry about things we’re unsure of. But Jesus said, “Don’t even think about the future. Today is much more important. Take care of today’s troubles today.”

Jesus isn’t recommending an irresponsible approach to life. He’s not saying we shouldn’t make plans for tomorrow, or prepare for life’s inevitabilities. He’s saying, “Don’t obsess about tomorrow at the expense of today.” He’s telling us to live in the present. He’s telling us to make each day a day of progress. He’s telling us to improve everything we can improve about our lives today.

If you’re worried about something—and it’s something you can change—then make some progress today toward changing it. If you’re worried about something—and it’s something you can’t change—then make some progress today toward preparing for it.

But – most of all – if you are plagued by worry – maybe you need to rethink your priorities – and make the things of God the most important things to you. Maybe you need to trust in God – and in His love and care and provision for you. Maybe you need to live in the present – and – with God’s strength – do things about the things that concern you that you can do something about.

Yea – maybe the advice of the singing fish – and Bobby McFerrin’s song with the simplistic-sounding advice: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” – sounds shallow. It may sound simplistic to merely say, “Don’t worry,” but it’s not shallow or simplistic at all. It’s good advice. It’s Jesus’ advice. Those are Jesus’ exact words to us. “Do not worry.” He said it like that because worry is a choice—though some people refuse to admit that. They say, “I have no control over it. I can’t help but worry.” But you can. It’s your choice. Worry can be a wake-up call to help us recognize what is lacking in our spiritual lives. When you struggle with worry, you need to ask yourself, “What is it I’m unsure of? Are my priorities straight? Am I trusting God to provide? Am I living in the present?”

Rethinking your priorities, trusting God to provide, and living in the present.

Do you know what these things lead to?

They lead to putting God first in life. This is what Jesus told us to do:

(v. 33) Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

When you put God first in your life, trust in Him to provide for you, and live each day in his presence, a mighty weight will be lifted from your shoulders. You will feel more happy, more optimistic, than you ever thought possible. That’s walking in trust.

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk In True Righteousness

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Trust

6 steps to walking like Jesus taught us to walk – to living as Jesus taught us to live.

Let’s see what happens when we walk like Jesus taught — when we put God first in our lives – trust Him to provide for us, and live each day in His presence

Let’s see what happens when we walk like Jesus taught – and walk in trust.

Amen.

Comments (2)

August 1, 2007

Matthew 6:1-18

Filed under: Matthew — revbill @ 1:15 pm

Matthew 6:1-18

“Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness”

Part 5 of Sermon On The Mount Series

July 29, 2007

This summer we are looking at how we can learn to walk like Jesus taught.

Jesus has taught us how to walk in His ways – how to be His people – how to follow in His footsteps.

We need to look at His words – His teachings – so we can walk as He taught us how to walk.

We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught.

We’re looking this summer at one of the places where Jesus taught us how to walk in His ways. We’re looking at what is called The Sermon On The Mount – Matthew chapters 5-7. As we look at these chapters we’ll see how Jesus taught us to walk – so we can learn how to

Walk Like Jesus Taught

Walk Like Jesus Taught – that’s our theme for the summer.

Well – they were about to find out.

As Jesus climbed that mountainside – He began to teach His disciples how He wanted them to live.

And the disciples began their attempt to walk like Jesus taught.

Walk Like Jesus Taught

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

That’s the first step.

We then looked at Matthew 5: 13-16 – and saw how we can be the light of Christ in the world as we live like Jesus lived – or – as I put it — walk like Jesus walked.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like Jesus Walked

These are the first 2 steeps we must take.

We then looked at Matthew 5:17-32 – and saw how the third step ion walking like Jesus taught is walking in righteousness.

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Then – last week we added a fourth step as we looked at Matthew 5:33-43 – and saw that – if we are going to walk like Jesus taught – we are going to have to walk in love.
Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Today, we are going to add another step as we venture into Matthew 6 – looking at Matthew 6:`1-18 – and see what it might mean to walk in true righteousness.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

Listen to God’s word:

Read Scripture

Walk Like Jesus Taught:

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

When we looked at Matthew 5:13-16 we read:

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

In today’s text, he seems to be telling us to do the opposite:

(v. 4) Give your gifts in secret… (vs. 1-4)

When you pray, go away by yourselves…and pray to your father secretly… (vs. 5-8)

When you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your father, who knows what you do in secret…(vs. 16-18)

So – you may be wondering:

How can we let our shine before men (as we are commanded to in chapter 5) if, at the same time, we’re supposed to be doing all of our good deeds in secret?

How does that work?

Well, Jesus is actually talking about two completely different things here. In Matthew 5, Jesus is referring to works of service that benefit others; but here in Matthew 6 he is talking about spiritual devotion that, when done publicly, may tend to glorify ourselves.

Jesus seems to be saying here that our spirituality – the things we do because we are thankful for what God has done for us – needs to be done quietly, without great fanfare, without drawing undo attention to us but giving the glory to God.

A truly righteous, truly spiritual person – Jesus seems to be saying – is one who does things to give glory to God – not bring credit to themselves.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

So – what makes for a truly righteous person?

How do we walk in true righteousness?

There are 3 things that we can do as Christians – 3 what we call “disciplines” in the Christian life – that Jesus discusses in this passage – 3 things that God wants us to do — but He wants us to observe them quietly, without fanfare and without congratulating ourselves. These disciplines are giving, prayer, and fasting. Let’s closer look at each one so we can have a better understanding of what it means to walk like Jesus taught – to walk in true righteousness.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

First – we have verses 1-4:

1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Here Jesus is talking about giving to the poor and needy.

For the first century Jew, charitable giving and righteousness were one and the same. In fact, the same Hebrew word (tzedakah) was used for both almsgiving and righteousness. To be generous was to be righteous; to be righteous was to be generous. Therefore, it became the habit of some to publicize their giving.

For example: In ancient days in the Eastern world, water was so scarce that it had to be bought. When a man wanted to do good, he would purchase water and tell the water carrier to give a drink to all who were thirsty. The water carrier would cry out, “All who are thirsty, come and drink.” As the poor came to receive water, the man who had purchased the water would stand near by and say, “Bless me, who gave you this drink.” Today, thousands of years later, some people are no less subtle in their generosity. When some of the super-rich decide to let go of some of their fortune, they often announce it with press releases and media interviews. And drawing attention to what we give for others is not limited to the very rich.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

Jesus is telling us that the purpose of giving is not to build up ourselves, but to build up others. Listen gain to His words…

(v. 2) So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Have you ever received public recognition for your generosity? It feels good, there’s no question about it. It feels good to hear someone say, “Without you, this never would have been possible.” There is an emotional reward for conspicuous generosity. But, Jesus says there is an even greater reward for those who give quietly.

(v. 3) When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

It’s a question of who you want to keep the books on your generosity—the world, or God. If you want the world to keep track of your giving, they will reward with a little applause and a little recognition. If you want God to keep track, He will reward you with much, much more.

Here are three principles of giving that we need to keep in mind.

• You’re never too poor to give . If you’re struggling to get by, and you give to God’s work, or you give to someone who is struggling more than you, other people might not notice, but God will—and he will bless your generosity. You may not have much, but you have something to give.

• Giving is to be sacrificial. There’s no set amount that people have to give in order to be spiritual. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote that the safest rule for giving is to give more than we can spare. If our lifestyle is identical to others in our same income level, we are probably giving too little.

Lewis wrote:

“If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”

Another way this rule has been expressed is “Give until it hurts.” The problem, however, is that, when it comes to giving, some people have a very low threshold of pain!

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

The next principle for giving is…

• Giving is to be self-determined .

I read about a woman who told her pastor:

“I think it’s wrong for someone to live in a $200,000 home. A $100,000 should be sufficient, and the rest could be given to the poor.” Her pastor found that to be an interesting observation, because, based on the neighborhood she lived in, he knew that she probably paid $100,000 for her home. In other words, she seemed to be saying, “Every one who lives better than I do should come down to my level and give away the rest.” But then, those who live in $50,000 homes could say the same about her standard of living. And those who can’t afford to buy a home could say the same thing about the others. The point is this: instead of worrying about how much those who are more affluent than you give, you need to focus on how much you yourself give. There will always be people who are richer than you, but give less than you. Don’t worry about them, just worry about yourself. The Apostle Paul said…

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Giving is a private matter. It’s not for others to judge you or reward you – and it’s not up to you to judge or reward others. It’s between you and God. It’s between them and God.

So – the first discipline Jesus addresses is giving – which we are never too poor to do, should be sacrificial, and is a matter between us and God.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

The second spiritual discipline Jesus addresses is prayer.

Jesus said:

(v. 5) And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corner to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Imagine that you were in a crowded room – maybe in a meeting — when, at a set time, someone drops to his knees and begins praying out loud. This is uncommon today, but in the first century, it wasn’t unusual at all. The Jews had a high standard for ritualized for prayer, and they took it very seriously. In the process, however, many of them missed the point of prayer. The purpose of prayer is not to impress others with your own spirituality; the purpose of prayer is to connect with God. Instead of being a private act of worship, prayer became a public demonstration of piety. Prayer became, in many ways, a performance.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

That attitude has spilled over into the church today. Some people feel awkward about praying out loud, because they feel like their prayers should be profound and eloquent – and they feel they can’t pray profoundly enough or eloquently enough. I read about something that happened to a new Christian who went out to eat with some of his Church friends. He was asked to bless the meal, and being a new Christian and new to the group, he thought he needed to impress them with his profound spirituality, so he prayed, and he prayed, and he prayed. He thanked God for the flowers and the trees. He thanked God for the missionaries. He thanked God for Noah. He thanked God for everything…almost. When he finally said, “Amen,” one of his new friends added in “P.S. Lord, bless the food.” He had waxed eloquent about everything except the one thing he was asked to pray about— the meal, and in the process did not impress any of his new friends — but he probably amused them. He was probably not asked to ask the blessing again.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

Jesus said that prayer is not about being eloquent, but it’s about sharing privately with God what is in your heart.

(v. 6) But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus goes on to say…

(v. 7) And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Prayer is a private matter. If the only time you pray is at church, then you’re missing out on the real purpose of prayer. We pray to connect with God.

In verses 9-13 Jesus teaches a “model” prayer (what we refer to as the “Lord’s Prayer.”) The power of this prayer is not in the words themselves, but in the attitude of the heart that it conveys. This is not a complex prayer, because prayer is not a complex matter. I once attended a weekend seminar that featured hours of teaching on the Lord’s Prayer. While there, it occurred to me that Jesus didn’t take an entire weekend to teach this prayer to his followers; He taught it to them in just a few minutes. You don’t have to go to seminary to learn to pray. No matter who you are or where you are in your spiritual life, you can pray to God.

The Lord’s Prayer teaches us how to pray. Here is a five step process Jesus gives us:

• Begin with Praise and Adoration . “Hallowed be thy name.” Jesus prays.

• Pray for God’s will in your life, and throughout the world . Jesus prayed: “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done.”

• Pray for your needs and the needs of others. Jesus prayed: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

• Pray for forgiveness of your sins, and the ability to forgive others. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” Jesus prayed.

• Pray for strength to live a holy life. Jesus prayed: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

Prayer is not a performance. It’s not a public performance – or a private one. You don’t impress God with your lofty words; you impress Him with the attitude of your heart. Prayer is a private matter.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

We’ve seen how Jesus addresses the spiritual disciplines of giving and praying.

The third spiritual discipline Jesus mentions in this passage is to…

3. Fast.

We don’t talk a lot about fasting – do we? We might not — but it is clear that Jesus expected His disciples to do it — and us to do it. He said, “When you fast…” – not “If you fast..” But again, as with prayer and giving, the purpose of fasting is not to draw attention to yourself or to impress others. The purpose of fasting is to bring you closer to God. Jesus said:

(v. 16) When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Jesus goes on to say,

(v. 17-18) But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting has it’s benefits:

• Fasting teaches self-discipline. I don’t think I have to convince you that we have a tendency to indulge ourselves with food. Fasting prevents us from becoming slaves to our appetites. It teaches us that – contrary to what we might think — we are not powerless over pizza – or any other food. Fating can help us remember that there are more important things in life than the next meal.

• Fasting proves that we mean business . In the Old Testament, fasting often accompanied repentance. When David repented of the sin of adultery he had committed with Bethsheba, he demonstrated his repentance through fasting. When Daniel was praying for the forgiveness of the people of Israel, he demonstrated the sincerity of his prayer by fasting. When the people of Ninevah heard Jonah’s preaching, they demonstrated their repentance by fasting. Fasting is an act of sacrifice that says, “Lord, I’m serious about this. I mean business.”

• Fasting helps us straighten out our priorities . When we experience hunger, we become more compassionate toward those who are hungry.

In the Bible, fasting is always linked with prayer. The purpose of fasting is not to hear our stomach growl, it is to give us an opportunity to draw closer to God, to become more holy, more compassionate. It is, like the other disciplines we’ve looked at today, a private matter.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

Three spiritual disciplines Jesus calls us to practice: giving, praying, and fasting. While I can not say that fasting is for everyone, if it is for you – it is for you to do without making a big deal out of it or drawing attention to yourself – just like giving and praying.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

Three times in this passage of Scripture, Jesus says that if you do your spiritual things these things before men, “you have your reward in full.” The purpose of spiritual discipline is not impress the public – or even to impress God. The purpose is to become closer to God. Giving, praying, and yes, even fasting…these things are not to be made a big deal about – they are not to be performances — but they are to be responses to God for all that God has done for you.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

I heard of a man who had a plaque on the wall of his office that said, “When I do something right no one remembers. When I do something wrong, no one forgets.” That is the opposite of how God is. When we do something wrong, if we confess it and ask Him to forgive us He forgives us and forgets about it. When we do something right, he sees us, and he rewards us accordingly. A friend once said to me, “God has your resume on file. He knows what you have done. He knows what you can do.” We don’t have to broadcast every good thing we do. We don’t have to send God our latest press release. When we offer our service to him, without any motive of public recognition, he sees us, and he rewards us.

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

So – we now have 5 steps before us for us to walk like Jesus taught.

Walk in God’s blessing

Walk like Jesus walked

Walk in righteousness

Walk in love

Walk in true righteousness

Let’s all strive to walk like Jesus taught.

Let’s all strive to walk in true righteousness.

Give to those in need.

Pray

If you are called to do it – fast.

But do all these things – and all else you do – in a spirit of gratitude and humility – not trying to draw attention to yourself – but giving all the glory and praise to God.

When we do this – we will be learning to:

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In True Righteousness

Amen.

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Rev Bill\’s Sermons

August 26, 2007

Luke 15:1-3,15-32

August 21, 2007

Matthew 7:13-29

August 13, 2007

Matthew 7:1-12

August 7, 2007

Matthew 6:19-34

August 1, 2007

Matthew 6:1-18