Disciples at the Crossroad – Ma. 5:1-12
Are most people happy? Dennis Wholey, author of Are You Happy? reports that according to expert opinion, perhaps only 20 percent of Americans are happy.
One morning a deacon was asked to go to the airport and meet the preacher who was coming to his church to conduct a revival. He went but was not sure as to what the preacher looked like. He carefully examined the passengers as they exited the plane. He was anxious to pick up the man he was to entertain but whom he had never met.
Selecting a likely fellow, he asked, “Pardon me, sir, but are you a minister?”
“No, sir!” came the reply. “My indigestion makes me look like this.”
What would you say is your degree of happiness right now?
I want to talk about being happy today. In doing so I want to turn to what have been commonly called the Beatitudes. Now to be honest the word blessed even though it is translated by the word happy in the Living new Testament, is not complete in that translation. The word means more than mere happiness. It really carries with it the idea of being totally fulfilled because I have a relationship with God. But it seems to me we can more easily identify with happiness so I want to know if you are happy?
Last week we began a series entitled Crossroads. We are looking at those times in life, those Crossroads, when we have important decisions to make. We began by looking at Jesus at the Crossroads. As Jesus began his earthly ministry he had to make a choice. He was called to choose to walk the path of suffering and death on a cross to fulfill God’s plan for him and for us or to take a different way, an easier way, a way of self rather than God fulfillment. We know He chose God’s way and because of that we have a hope we would not have had.
Let me take just a minute here for a commercial for our Easter service. Again this year we have some great things planned. It will be a real celebration. It is always exciting. But the bottom line is that those who attend will be asked to make a choice for Christ. Our theme for this Easter is life at the crossroad. Where would you be today if Jesus had not been raised from the dead? I hope you are encouraging everyone you know to accompany you on that morning.
Today we look at Disciples at the Crossroad. As we read there, this 5th chapter of Matthew begins Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him… We pay close attention to three words to begin with; Now, Mountainside, and Sat. Anytime a Bible student, and remember, if we are not students of the word we are already conceding defeat to Satan, reads words at the beginning of a sentence such as therefore, and, or now, they should look back to what preceded it. What just took place? Here we look back at chapter 4. Following Jesus’ choice at the crossroad he emerges from the wilderness and begins his earthly ministry. Both through his preaching repentance and healings, many are following him. It has already become apparent to him that people are thinking if they follow Jesus they will get something in return.
According to Mark’s gospel, some have even asked him to perform special signs to prove he is the Messiah. At any rate they think they have a good thing here and they don’t want to miss out. In addition to this, Jesus has called his circle of 12 who he plans to train and commission to begin his church.
From this setting emerges a crossroad. Jesus’ disciples are from the same background as this crowd. They have some of the same hopes and dreams. But they have to make a choice, will they follow the path the crowd chooses, the life of physical fulfillment, the life of greater ease, or will they accept the way of Christ?
That by the way is our crossroad as well today. That is the question of this hour too. Will we choose to follow Christ or the crowd? Beware! The Bible says there is a way that seems right to man, but it’s end leads to destruction. The crowd will choose the path to destruction nearly every time.
Seeing this opportunity for teaching NOW, Jesus takes the 12 for their first lesson on discipleship. He removes them from the crowd so he can speak only to them. This text then is a lesson to the disciple of Christ. Would you become a follower of Christ, these are traits of a follower. These next words are the rules of the road to become a citizen of His Kingdom. So we see that Jesus by separating his disciples from the crowd makes a distinction between the crowd and the follower.
Is there a difference between you, your attitudes, your heart and that of the crowd? Please consider that as we continue on.
The next word is mountainside. Last week we learned that when the word mountain appears in the Bible in a symbolic way it refers generally to political power and specifically to the laws of this new government.
An example of this would be Moses. Remember where Moses went to receive the 10 commandments? Mt. Sinai.
Make no mistake, Jesus came to establish a Kingdom. By telling us he went up this mountain, Matthew is relating to his readers that Jesus came to become King. This in fact will be his first public statement concerning that Kingdom. We are about to discover what that Kingdom will be about. So pay close attention to these words, Matthew is saying, this is important information. If you choose to follow Christ instead of the crowd here is what you must do. Do we wish to belong to the Kingdom of God? Here then is a description of citizens of that Kingdom.
Finally we look at the word Sat. By sitting down Jesus was taking the position of Rabbi or teacher. He was making a statement that he was someone to be followed and respected. There were few who received greater respect than a rabbi in that culture.
So Jesus says to his disciples, separate yourselves from the common crowd, become a citizen of my Kingdom and listen to what I have to say about life. It gets no plainer than that. Please hear then his call to discipleship. As you stand at the crossroad of the disciple, the follower of Christ, which will you choose - Christ or the crowd?
What do these choices represent? The way of the crowd always involves one thing, self-fulfillment. Satan’s way always puts self first. So Jesus says, choose a different road, a higher road. This is not the easiest but it is the most rewarding.
Are you happy today? I want to challenge you to choose Christ over the crowd even though it may seem more difficult. What is involved in choosing Christ? Jesus teaches three ways to blessing or happiness.
1. if you want to be happy – Get Over Yourself
Author and preacher Robert Schuller shares this story in his book The Be-Happy Attitudes. Schuller attended a tiny High School in Iowa where they didn’t offer Geometry. Later, in college, he took a course where students needed to understand geometry. on the very first day of his first class the professor made a reference to some terms from Geometry as if the students would have no trouble understanding. Schuller said as he looked around the class, the rest of the students nodded their heads in agreement. Obviously they all understood what the professor was talking about. So Schuller nodded his head too. He didn’t want the rest to know that he had absolutely no idea what the professor was talking about. So as the days and weeks went by, he continued nodding like the rest. But when the first test scores came back it was apparent he had no idea of what the professor was teaching. Even when the prof asked him if he was having problems understanding he wouldn’t admit it. Thus he spent a whole semester struggling and suffering needlessly. He realized that that professor would have knocked himself out to help if Schuller would have just parked his pride and asked for it.
Who here today has all the answers for life? If you are present please make yourself known so I can sit down and give you the floor. Who of any of us has any ability to control the events of history? Who of us even knows what will happen in the next moment?
Yet we continue traveling down a path with little understanding, no ability to control, and completely helpless, but arrogantly nodding our heads when we should be asking for help. You see to be poor in spirit, to be in mourning overthe state of this world and to be meek is about getting over ourselves. These are attitudes in which I admit my personal weaknesses, my need for God’s control in my life and my desire to see only His will accomplished in this world.
Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to thy cross I cling
Naked come to thee for dress
Helpless look to thee for grace
Foul I to the fountain fly
Wash me Savior or I die
What bothers you more, what happens to your neighbors or what you perceive to be personal slights? Do we understand that wealth is our biggest enemy not our ally? As we arise each moment do we ask for our marching orders or do we issue them?
Joy, peace, fulfillment, yes happiness are found when we can park our pride at the door. If you would choose Christ over the crowd than get over yourself. Are you frustrated with life at this moment, consider which path you are traveling. Is it the path of Christ or the crowd?
Would you like to get over yourself? Then utter these 3 words – I need Help. Jesus says if you can admit that, that you are not the answer to all or even any of your problems, then you are on your way to finding happiness in life. How about it? Can you admit that you need help? Get over yourself and ask God to help you. Jesus says the whole kingdom of heaven will be made available when you do.
2. If you would be happy then seek to be a blessing not to receive one.
Once we are over ourselves our priorities change. Now instead of looking out for number one we are looking out for our neighbors first. We seek to be a blessing to others. Our desire is for God to bless them through us.
A fascinating study on the principle of the Golden Rule was conducted by Bernard Rimland, director of the Institute for Child Behavior Research. Rimland found that "The happiest people are those who help others." Each person involved in the study was asked to list ten people he knew best and to label them as happy or not happy. Then they were to go through the list again and label each one as selfish or unselfish, using the following definition of selfishness: a stable tendency to devote one’s time and resources to one’s own interests and welfare--an unwillingness to inconvenience one’s self for others."
In categorizing the results, Rimland found that all of the people labeled happy were also labeled unselfish. He wrote that those "whose activities are devoted to bringing themselves happiness...are far less likely to be happy than those whose efforts are devoted to making others happy"
6 weeks before he died, a reporter asked Elvis Presley, "Elvis, when you first started playing music, you said you wanted to be rich, famous and happy. Are you happy?"
"I’m lonely as hell" he replied
Three things happen when I refuse to be used by God to be a blessing:
1. I cannot break selfishness if I refuse to be a blessing
2. I cannot break stinginess if I refuse to be a blessing
3. I cannot mature spiritually if I refuse to be a blessing
This is where the church gets much of its motivation as followers of Christ. We ask, what are we doing to bless the community around us? How are we using what God has given us to bless them?
This is what is meant to hunger and thirst after righteousness, to be merciful, and to be pure in our motives. In these traits there is no more seeking for self. My desire is to see that God changes my heart so His grace can affect this world through me. I desire what is best for others regardless the personal cost.
Hunger - the desperate craving a starving man has for food. He is so famished that he becomes desperate for a meal – willing do anything to eat
Thirst - to painfully feel the need for water. This is more than just needing a sip, it means to be parched and dehydrated to the point of pain and death.
How close are we to these attitudes? Are we desperate to become a source of blessing or does it pain us when we don’t get what we want?
Did you wake up today thinking, if I don’t hurry up and serve someone I’m going to die? Yeah, me neither.
In the show “Oklahoma,” there is a song which goes, -- Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day; I’ve got a wonderful feeling, everything’s going my way.
A lot people today tend to regard happiness in that light. “When everything’s going my way, I will be happy.” But life is like being on a treadmill. We can run all our life but we’ll never reach the point where everything’s going our way. There is no possibility in this life of everything going our way.
Jesus turns that idea upside down by saying the only way to have it your way is to seek to give others their way. This is a revolutionary statement. Get ahead by putting yourself behind. Receiving by giving. Doing what’s best by doing for others. This is the only way to get off the treadmill. This is the only way to lose your frustrations. This is the only way to happiness. Become a blessing and a channel of blessing to others.
3. If you would find happiness get yourself a heart transplant.
The last lesson here is that man looks at the hands but God looks at the heart. We emphasize our actions while God is concerned with our attitudes.
Why do you do what you do? Those who are concerned with hands believe that what others see is all that counts. Thus we usually do what will give us credit in others eyes when our hearts are rarely changed. We continue to hang on to selfish pride and desires.
Do you believe this? Go to any book store and look at the different types of books. By far the great majority of books are about self-help, self-improvement, self-dependance. Very few are about self-lessness, service to others and losing ones self.
Those who are concerned about their hearts care about what God sees. They seek to be changed from the inside. They desire what he desires and they discover true blessing.
The only way this can happen is if we have a heart transplant. The crowd takes the path of self, Christ says get over yourself, become a blessing, get a heart transplant.
How happy are you today? Happy at all? Or are you frustrated, lonely and depressed? You are at this moment standing at the crossroad of discipleship. Which destination are you seeking? Which road will you choose?
Ten rules for happier living:
1. Give something away (no strings attached)
2. Do a kindness (and forget it)
3. Spend a few minutes with the aged (their experience is a priceless guidance)
4. Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel)
5. Laugh often (it’s life’s lubricant)
6. Give thanks (a thousand times a day is not enough)
7. Pray (or you will lose the way)
8. Work (with vim and vigor)
9. Plan as though you’ll live forever (because you will)
10.Live as though you’ll die tomorrow (because you will on some tomorrow)
