Sermon for CATM – Fall Launch – Reconsidering and Renewing Faith - September 6, 2009
What does it mean to you to be a Christian? If you are a Christian here today at the start of September 2009, what does being a Christian mean to you?
Does it mean that you live in a country founded on Christian principles? Does it mean that you go to church?
Does it mean that you identify with the church in some way? Does it mean that you were baptized as a child and confirmed as a teenager or adult?
What does it mean to you to be a Christian? Does it mean that you believe in God? Does it mean that you try to do good? Does it mean that you think about heaven, that you try to do more good than bad in the hopes of making it to heaven?
What does it mean to you to be a Christian? Does it mean that you believe that Jesus died for your sins? Does it mean that you believe and have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, trusting not in works but solely in the grace of God?
I’m sure there are a number of different answers to this question that I’ve asked three times. Some of the ‘meanings’ I’ve stated probably had you nodding your head or shaking your head. Some of you perhaps jump at some definitions, saying “Yes!” that’s it.
But, you know, I’ve left out the truest meaning of being a Christian. The understanding that the earliest Christians had of the meaning of being a Christian. There was nothing easy about the lives of the first Christians.
They understood that there was a cost associated with identifying themselves as Christians. They understood that they followed a rabbi, Jesus, and that those who follow a rabbi submit themselves to that rabbi.
They discipline their lives to conform to the values and principles and beliefs of their rabbi. They seek to emulate the rabbi. He becomes for them the key life that they seek to imitate.
Those who followed the rabbi Jesus were called, what? Disciples. What does that word mean? [Student]
So a person who follows Jesus is a person who seeks to imitate Jesus, who disciplines themselves so that they mirror their teacher.
But this presents a problem.
You know, there is just a ton of stuff in the New Testament that Jesus says and does. So much so it took four authors to write four gospels to try to convey it. And if that’s not enough, St. John, in the last verse of his gospel says: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written”.
So, if we want to be students of Jesus, if we want to get serious with God, to imitate the life of Jesus, if we want to even begin this fascinating journey of learning His life that we might seek to imitate it, where do we start?
If I want to really listen to Jesus and start applying what Jesus says to my life, what do I do?
There’s one time when Jesus has been teaching His disciples on a mountainside. He had traveled through Galilee teaching formally in various synagogues, doing all kinds of healing among the people.
There was quite a buzz about Jesus because of all this and so more and more people were coming to Jesus who were suffering severe pain, who were possessed in some circumstances, who were paralysed. And of course Jesus healed them.
So he was getting large crowds from all different areas coming to see him, crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the river Jordan. So he’s teaching on this mountainside and after a particularly lengthy teaching, he says:
Matthew 7:24-27 "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 that house, and it fell with a great crash."
That’s the kind of statement that gets your attention, eh? Jesus talks here about living out His words, putting them into practice. To put His words into practice is to build a truly solid foundations for a life, one that’s able to withstand all the storms that may get tossed at it.
To hear Jesus words, on the otherhand, and to NOT do them is to build an unstable life that will NOT be able to cope with the challenges and hardships of life.
You know, for years I focused on this saying of Jesus as kind of an isolated parable, as if it didn’t follow immediately from the previous things He said. As if when Jesus said “these words of mine” He was referring to everything He ever said.
I was mistaken. Deeply mistaken because the whole of Jesus teaching and life is arguably too complex to live out comprehensively. I think John hints at that.
Jesus has just finished His Sermon on the Mount, truly one of the most profound, radical and deeply upside-down speaks He ever gave.
And so, of course, when Jesus says “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man”, He’s talking about the Sermon on the Mount.
OK. What then, is there about the Sermon of the Mount that is so amazing? What is it about chapters 5 through 7 of the Gospel of Matthew that, when paid attention to, when practiced, can lead to you and to me building a life that truly triumphs over adversity, that faces tribulation, that stares down the storms of life and wins the staring match?
I want to take a quick, panoramic journey through just a bit of the Sermon on the Mount. Honestly, the purpose of this sermon is not to cover everything that can be said about this passage. Rather it’s to encourage you and you and you and me to dig deep into the Word of God, to chew and chew and consider and digest and receive nourishment and strength to act on the words of our dear Saviour.
Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Jesus starts this sermon by turning over the tables on conventional thinking. Normally when we think of the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the hungry, we don’t consider them blessed. Jesus does and He says why. It is because of God’s promises.
It’s because of how close God can get to people who don’t have riches and pride and nothing to mourn over. The stuff we work so hard to avoid, the things we fear the most, often have the capacity to humble us to the extent where our world opens to the reality of God, our lives find room for the one true God when all other gods fail us.
Then He calls believers ‘salt’ and ‘light’. When we’re in right relationship to God we stand for preserving the good and bringing out the best flavours of life.
We are bearers of the light of God and we’re called to share that light with everyone, because without that light there is truly only darkness in this world. Without the Saviour, there is nothing to illuminate life as intended by our Creator.
Then He affirms the law of God, the heart of the Old Testament law, by fulfilling it in its entirely. He calls us to live better than the religious leaders who, as paid ‘professionally holy’ men and women can sometimes miss the mark by requiring slavish obedience of the letter of the law while forgetting its heart and soul…loving God and loving our neighbour.
We find Jesus doing the opposite of many people think He was about. The law of the Old Testament is considered by many to be harsh. Referring to the law, Jesus says: “27 "You have heard that it was said, ’Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
So Jesus raises rather than lowers the standards for personal holiness. It goes beyond appearances and actions, to the unspoken activity of the heart and mind, where sin and self-destruction begin.
There are so many other things Jesus addresses in these few chapter in the Sermon on the Mount. The need for honestly and integrity: “Let your yes be yes and your no be no”.
A generosity that gives your coat to one who has wrongfully taken your other clothing. A call to love our enemies. A call to sincerity of heart in our giving so that our generosity is known by God and not displayed in front of others. Chapter 6 of the Gospel of Matthew gives us the Lord’s prayer.
Friends, Jesus has given us an approach to life in these words and a great many others I don’t have time to talk about; He’s given us a way of life that, if we listen and consider and seek to live out with our full hearts, He promises will enable us to live well in the midst of the storms of life.
He’s given us the Holy Spirit to live in us so that it is not us on our own trying to do the things Jesus tells us to do, but rather God who dwells in us by His Spirit is working in us to enable us to follow Him.
Listening to the words of Jesus, it’s so clear that the spiritual life is intended to be lived in the practical, in the here and now. Of course there are miracles.
If I surveyed this room and asked you to mention at least one miracle you’ve experienced, I know that a great many of our hands would go up. Of course there are miracles. Of course there are spiritual, charismatic gifts, there are dreams and visions. There is a profoundly mystical aspect of the Christian faith. Yes.
But Jesus seems to be interested in something much more common and day-to-day. He’s interested to know if you and I will listen to Him. Will we follow Him?
He gave the amazing discourse of the Sermon on the Mount because He knows we need it all together, all the best things, all the hardest things, all the most challenging aspects of living a life fully committed to God here in this one sermon given by, well…God.
You know, Jesus was speaking to not one kind of person but three. His words go out first to His disciples. They appear to have been the closet to Him when He spoke on the mountainside. These were the one who were already deeply committed.
They had left their fishing nets, their government jobs and other interests to follow Jesus. Their lives were bound up in His.
And to these deeply committed Christ-followers, Jesus speaks these words, knowing that in order to truly follow Him, they would need these words to enable them to withstand all that would come against them as the early church, as early church leaders.
So the first people these words of Jesus, this Sermon on the Mount, go out to is the already committed.
The second group Jesus’ words go out to, the second circle of listeners, were the crowd. These were the ones who came because they heard rumours of Jesus. They heard people talk about His wonderful life.
His amazing generosity. His authority. His power to heal. They heard about Jesus and for a thousand different reasons they were there on the mountainside listening to the words of the Master. They may not have known Him, but they sure knew of Him.
The third circle of listeners is the world. There may have been a few hundred, a few thousand people within earshot the first time Jesus spoke these words. But His words have gone out to literally millions upon millions of people, numbering now, depending how you count, well over a billion people who are alive today.
Jesus’ words have transformed countries and peoples. One example. You know the huge political battle raging among our neighbours to the south over universal health care? It’s pretty nasty and bizarre. Some people down there think it’s communism and the end of the world pretty much.
You know why we in Canada have the health care system we have? Have you ever wondered why we have Medicare in Canada?
A former Baptist minister named Tommy Douglas, after being elected to parliament, was so moved by the Bible as a whole and the life and words of Jesus in particular that he pushed long and hard so that in Canada, “being our brothers and sisters keeper” and “loving our neighbour” would translate into not letting anyone, because of financial circumstances, suffer financial loss or ruin due to health concerns.
Jesus life and words, listened to and applied, are why that surgery or that treatment you had cost next to nothing. It’s that’s tangible folks!
I asked as we began, “What does it mean to you to be a Christian?” We considered a number of possible answers. But here’s another question.
Which circle of listeners describes you? When you consider the words of Jesus, the beauty of His life as you know it. When you consider how you actually conduct your life, what is the public you and what is the private you, which circle of listeners best describes you? Only you, of course can answer the question.
You may feel, as I sometimes do, that you are in the inner circle, one of the deeply committed whose whole life belongs to the Master. You may feel, as I sometimes do, like a member of the crowd.
For various reasons Jesus is kind of outside here [stretch arm out with palm flat], not near as intimate as He could be, if only I would let Him get nearer, if only I would unclutter my life from sin so that I could know sweet intimacy with Him.
You may feel, as I sometimes feel, that you are pretty disconnected, but within earshot of a whole lot of good, no, great news that’s transforming the world and transforming others, others with the courage to draw near.
Only you know where you stand with Jesus right now. Only you know where you want to be.
But what if…what if today, as we begin what is for us at the mission a new ministry year and what is for many a fresh kick back into life as normal…school, work, whatever. What if today you and I stand [please stand].
As you stand let your hands hang at your sides. Think of your posture right now as representing your current state of heart and mind, the present state of your spiritual life. [Band comes to the front]
If you are totally satisfied with where you are with God right now, then leave your hands at your side. Good for you.
But if there is something inside you that longs for a closer walk with the King of kings. If there is something in your spirit that yearns for more of God, if there is something in you that is crying out or reaching out to God, wanting a richer relationship with Jesus
If something in you wants to renew your commitment to our precious Saviour, desiring to spend your life as a true disciple, building your life upon His life, upon His words, upon His wisdom, living in sweet communion with our heavenly Father, then I challenge you to move.
I challenge you to turn the palms of your hands up to God, to lift your head up and behold in your spirit the God who forgives you, the God who died and rose again for you. I challenge you to lift your hands in worship and praise. Pour out your heart, your tears, your prayers.
Tell Him that you’re sorry. Tell Him that you want Him. Tell Him that you want to live your life abandoned to His will, a life lived in awe of all that He has done in Christ. As we worship, tell Him. He is here. He is listening. Right here and now.
As so we sing…[Sing The Stand]
