Change Your Heart, Change the World
Matthew 5:13-16
Matthew 5:13-16
13 " You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Prayer
Introduction
This morning we are going to do something a little bit different. Most weeks we take a short passage of Scripture and attempt to suck it dry, extract its meaning, and then make practical application to our lives today. This morning, however, we are going to look over a broader portion of Scripture and get the gist of what is being said categorically. We have spent the last three weeks on 6 verses of Scripture from the beatitudes at the beginning of the sermon on the mount, so it stands to reason that we could spend the rest of this year, and probably next year, extracting from this important sermon practical advice for living.
In doing that type of detailed study, however, we would miss some of the larger strokes of what Jesus is trying to say to us. As we said before, this sermon is His first recorded and everything else He teaches is really just a working out of this sermon. So this morning we are going to take a few steps back and attempt to get a look at the whole. This might be frustrating for some of you, because we will undoubtedly mention in one or two lines issues that you would like to hear an entire message about or that you feel others need to hear an entire message about. Sometimes, however, it is good to get the big picture in order to see how all the components fit together.
The Beatitudes
The first component in Jesus description of a life lived in pursuit of Him is found in the beatitudes and we have covered it over the last three weeks. This is about our hearts before God. The first steps in our relationship with Him are to realize the poverty of our spirit with out Him, mourn our condition of being lost in sin, meekly submit our strengths to Him – remembering that meekness is not weakness, but instead it is strength in submission, to make doing right a priority in our life on the same level with eating and drinking – hunger and thirst for righteousness, being merciful to others in response to the realize of the great mercy that has been extended to us, submitting the core of who we are, our heart, to the Holy Spirit so that it can be made pure, and setting ourselves toward being active agents of peace in this world even in the face of persecution.
All of these things are challenging, and they are the first step in our becoming who God desires for us to be. It is key to remember that God is passionately concerned about you. He is far more concerned with your happiness and well being than He is with your outward actions. We think God really wants to get something out of us, but the truth is God doesn’t need us to accomplish anything that He desires to accomplish. Our involvement in the work of God is a privilege. The first thing on God’s agenda is to transform your heart so that you won’t be miserable in the core of who you are.
We all know these kind of people who have everything together on the outside, but inside they are a train wreck. God’s concern is that you be whole, before anything else is accomplished, He wants to make sure that you are on the road to wholeness and healing. He is your Father and He love you.
Our Responsibility
As we are on the road to being made whole as children of God, Jesus is quick to point out that being a child of the king has responsibilities. He says that we are supposed to be the salt and the light of this world and that our righteousness should exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees.
Salt has two primary roles: purification and adding flavor. We purify the world through living moral lives. Everything is contagious and if we will hold ourselves to a higher standard, then those around us will see the deficiency in their approach to life – not because we preached at them, but because they know truth and goodness when they see it lived out.
We add flavor through our reliance on God and our positive attitude. When others see the peace that we have in our lives through our trust in God, then they become thirsty for that same kind of hope and peace.
If we, however, live lives with the same moral standards as the rest of the world with the same hopeless and complaining attitudes, then we have lost our saltiness.
Light shines forth into the dark and illuminates a better way. If you believe that you have found a better way in Christ, then we should not be ashamed of it. This doesn’t mean we grab people by the collar and tell them, “Turn or Burn!” But it does mean that we are not ashamed to let others know where our hope lies and why we make the choices that we make.
The Pharisees and Scribes were concerned about the letter of the Law and appearances. We should be concerned with the spirit of the Law and the truth. We should not be looking for every little thing that we can get away with, nor should we be secretly sinning while outwardly playing the role of Jesus follower – after all your Uncle Pete doesn’t want to come to church because it is full of - let me hear it – hypocrites!
Our Inner Attitudes and Outward Actions Toward Others
There are only two major categories left in this overview of the Sermon on the Mount, and one of the major points of this message is that they do not come in order that you might think that would. These two categories are “Our Inner Attitudes and Outward Actions Toward Others” and “Our Inner Attitudes and Outward Actions Toward God.” We think that God is self serving and that His highest priority would be that we get all of our t’s crossed and our i’s dotted with Him. God is not self serving, however, and His primary concern is with how His children relate to others.
Let’s put it this way, if you are jerk to the people around you then God doesn’t care how much you pray, fast, or give in the offering. Let’s look at verses 21-24 of chapter 5:
Matthew 5:21-24
21 " You have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ’Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ’You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
So the primary thrust of this section is twofold: 1) all outward actions begin in the heart so that is what you need to control; and 2) you cannot please God if you neglect other people.
Jesus first example, which we read, is in conflict. Now when Jesus says in this passage, “You have heard it said . . .” this is a technique that the Rabbis of His time would use to address a literal interpretation of the Scripture. So it is like saying, “Well on the surface it means this, but when you really examine it then it means this.” And this is exactly what Jesus was doing, bringing the deeper and intended meaning. Everyone wants to see what they can get by with, we talked about the Pharisees and Scribes earlier, but we are the same way – watching things that come right up to the line, saying things that come right up to the line, doing things that come right up to the line, just trying to get away with as much as we can and still feel like we are good people.
Jesus says stop trying to feel like a good person and actually BE a good person. So what you didn’t kill someone? You want God to applaud you because you didn’t commit murder? Why not try treating other people deference and respect, putting their needs above your own.
Stop looking lustfully at women and thinking, “Well at least I didn’t sleep with her, that makes me a good person right?” You want God to applaud you for not committing adultery? Instead be holy and remove lust from your life!
Stop divorcing one another just because everything is not perfect, and instead realize that you made a lifelong commitment to God that you would stay married.
Stop manipulating everybody through elaborate contracts and double talk, and saying that you didn’t cheat them because of the small print. Instead just tell the truth plainly.
Stop seeking vengeance against those who hurt you, and telling God “he hit me first.”
Stop being greedy and thinking, “I earned this, it is mine,” and instead be willing to share.
Stop seeing enemies and instead see people that are lost in sin and misguided. Pray for them to find their way before they are lost for eternity.
Just stop living these lives that are meeting the lowest expectation on the outside, and on the inside are full of sinful desires and attitudes. That is not pleasing to God, and you are not going to have a life of peace, but instead you will be torn in two pieces between what you would really do if no one was looking and what you feel like you have to do to be accepted.
After you give your heart to God the most important thing to Him is your thoughts toward others, because out of your thoughts your actions will flow and His greatest concern is that we represent our Father well and spread His love for other people on this earth.
Instead of being people that sneak around with our sinful, lustful thoughts, let’s be people that sneak around doing charitable things for one another. Let our secrets be that nobody knows just how many nice things that we have done for others.
Our Inner Attitudes and Outward Actions Toward God (Matthew 6:5-7:27)
It is so telling that this category is the last category that Jesus shares. To hear us talk about what is important to God most people would think that this is the most important thing, maybe the only thing that God really cares about. Don’t get me wrong, this is important, but it is not the sum total of the Christian life. Instead it is the icing on the cake, umm cake.
Prayer (6:5-15)
It begins with prayer, and not fancy prayers with big words and Elizabethan English but instead a simple prayer.
My father whose wisdom, authority and plans are far greater than mine. I long to see things done on this earth according to Your ways with the same freedom that your plans are carried out in heaven. Provide for me today, because you’re my only hope and without you I wouldn’t even have the basic things that I need to survive. Forgive me for my mistakes as I forgive others for the things they have done to me. Protect me from my own desires to do stupid things, and from the enemy who would love to see me fall. Everything is Yours God and I humble myself before you. May songs of Your praise echo throughout the universe forever!
God doesn’t care about fancy words or formulas. He just wants to talk. It is really amazing if you think about it, considering who He is, but it’s true, one of His greatest pleasures is talking with you.
Fasting (6:16-18)
The next way we relate to God is through fasting. This is the act of humbling ourselves before God. In Scripture these two ideas are interchangeable many times – humbling yourself and fasting. When you fast, you should do it in a private way as much as possible, and let it be a sincere time between you and God.
Our Stuff (6:19-34)
Give of your stuff. Don’t worry about getting a lot of stuff here on earth when you won’t be able to enjoy it for very long anyway. Instead worry about heaven where you will be forever. Don’t start looking around at everything that you can have and desire, but instead realize that either your heart will follow God’s lead or else it will follow your desires for more stuff – it is impossible for you to do both.
You might be inclined to worry about yourself because you are giving so much stuff away, but you just worry about following God and God will worry about taking care of you. Besides, worrying about stuff never changes anything.
Knocked Off Track (7:1-27)
Don’t look around at others and worry about what they are doing. Just ask from God what you want, seeking it in Him, and knock on doors until He opens it up. Don’t let crazy teachers knock you off track, but instead just check out their lives to see if they are the real deal before you follow them.
If you do all these things then you will be wise, like the guy who builds his house on a foundation versus a guy who builds his house without one.
Conclusion
It is this progression that Jesus lays out for those who would find the abundant life in Him that He came to bring. First we give our hearts to God. Then we accept the responsibility of knowing the truth and that it means that it would be unjust for us not to share it with others. Next, we makes sure that our hearts and actions toward other human beings are in good order – being a good person instead of just acting like one. Finally, we draw close to God and serve Him through prayer, fasting, giving, and trusting Him with our lives.
Prayer to ask God to help us do these things. Return with song.
