Title: Unless
Place: BLCC
Date: 8/21/16
Text: Matthew 5.20
CT: Unless we surpass the world’s view of righteousness we cannot be a follower of Jesus.
FAS: In 1992, a cargo ship left Hong Kong, bound for the U.S. While in route, the ship hit rough seas, and several shipping containers were washed overboard and lost at sea. One of the lost shipping containers held 28,000 plastic bath toys—rubber ducks, turtles, and frogs. The container broke open, and the toys were set free into the Pacific. From there, they began to travel.
A few lucky ducks landed in Hawaii, some made shore in Alaska, others beached in South America, Australia and the Pacific Northwest. The plastic toys have been found frozen in Arctic ice. Others made their way to Scotland and Newfoundland, in the Atlantic.
There are also some 2,000 plastic toys that still bob around in the North Pacific Gyre—a vortex of currents which stretches between Japan, southeast Alaska, Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands. The churning gyre holds a floating, plastic trash heap about the size of Texas.
Even 20 years later, some of the rubber ducks still break free of the gyre's grasp. It occasionally happens—a 20-year-old rubber duck washes up on the Alaskan shore. But it doesn't just happen and the ducks don't set themselves free. Instead, it takes something external—a shift in the wind, a storm that blows across, marine life that bumps a duck out of the current. If not for an outside influence, the ducks would stay trapped in the floating trash heap.1
1 [Dave Bolin, Gadsden, Alabama; source: Bryan Nelson, "What Can 28,000 Rubber Duckies Lost At Sea Teach Us About Our Oceans?" Mother Nature Network (3-1-11)]
LS: We, too, are in a trap, our human condition, lost and circling in the clutches of sin. Left to ourselves, we are doomed to circle in this state forever …. Unless something—or Someone—intervenes to set us free.
I. I had the privilege of officiating the funeral of Ricky Bretz a couple of weeks ago. Ricky was a special guy in our community. Some would call him handicapped but I say special. His niece, Megan, gave me one word to describe Ricky. She quickly gave me her answer. It was “unless”. She proceeded to tell me she got a small tattoo that said “unless”. First time she had showed it to her grandmother was when we met to talk about the funeral service. But when she told us why she got it, we all got a little teary eyed. She had heard this word in a quote from the Dr. Suess book, The Lorax: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” It reminded her of her uncle Ricky.
Of course as a preacher I thought, Wow, there is a sermon. There is a lesson we all need to get.
Unless. Interesting word. The definition I have in my dictionary says except under certain circumstances. It could mean without or if not. In other words if something doesn’t happen something else will not come to be.
That is how it is used in our quote from Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
The world before Jesus came to be on earth was definitely in bad shape. Good it was not. It was a world lost in darkness with no way to get out. The world was lost to sin. There was no way to God. Without Christmas the light would never begin. That’s why we celebrate Christmas by the way. It’s not just another holiday.
The world was destined to remain in its gyre of sin and despair.
The world was in need of special care. The world needed a savior there.
Unless someone came along to break the world out of the gyre it was in, nothing was going to get better again.
Jesus came. Jesus came with a mission from his father God. He came so that we might believe. But Jesus gave us a reason to believe. He said in John 10.37, Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.
Jesus did not come to make himself great or be a great king. Jesus came only to be a servant. And unless he came to be that servant the world would stay in a terrible lot. It would not get better. It would not.
Jesus showed his disciples how they were to lead. He did it with only a towel, it was all he would need. Jesus said, “ Unless I wash you, you have no part of me”. (Jn.13.8) He was showing the disciples they were to serve not be served.
Jesus went even further with this idea of “unless”. He told them from the side of a large hill what would be the real deal. They were told, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5.20).
In other words if you don’t do more than just keep the traditions and rules you will look like a fool. My father demands more from those who follow Jesus’ school.
We are to surpass the Pharisees. Jesus is calling these disciples to a higher calling. To love more. To give more. To move to a new form of righteousness that proclaims the good news.
Jesus has come to give so we all may live.
Jesus has come into this world that is lame, to change the way we all play the game.
Love one another as yourself.
Jesus didn’t quit there with this “unless’ lore. He told the disciples there was still more. Matthew 18.3, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
They couldn’t believe what Jesus just did. He was basically telling them to be like a little kid. In order to serve and follow Jesus as king, this seemed to them to be such a silly thing.
The next “Unless” was even harder to swallow. It leaves many feeling quite hollow. Jesus said in Matthew 18.35, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.
You see Jesus had just told one of His parables that taught that we are to forgive or God will not forgive us.
To have peace with God we must have peace with two others. That would be our self and our sister or brother.
Lets continue our journey to understand, what is required to enter Jesus’ kingdom land.
The next “unless” is often not liked, it messes with our “its all about me” psyche. Luke 13.3, I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Jesus is not beating around the bush. To make the change do we need a push?
He offers a life so great, why would we follow a life of hate.
To repent means to make a change. We give our self to Him and he will do the “rearrange”.
Jesus’ next “unless” is really weird. It’s far from how our brain is geared.
He tells a teacher of the law, that he must have surely missed his call.
The teacher understood not what it meant, to serve the Father from where Jesus had been sent.
John 3.3, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
This wasn’t what the teacher, Nicodemus expected to hear. He had no clue that God was so near.
It took a while for him to know, but later on his faith would show.
Even after Jesus left to return to his place with God, his followers continued this “Unless” plod.
The message of Jesus coming to save had to be told. It had to be told to both young and old.
The message was given to all of us. It is written in the book of Acts we can trust. Acts 8.31, “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The Eunuch was in need of someone to explain. Someone to save him from the world of pain.
Unless we are willing to speak, there are many more who will stay weak.
Let us encourage one another. Give Gods word to your sister and brother.
We are called to send His light into a world where wrong seems right.
What could be too great a cost, for sharing life with one whose lost.
Romans 10.15, And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
O let us be those beautiful feet to everyone we happen to meet.
One more thing we have to realize. For something to live something must die.
1 Corinthians 15.36, What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
We must realize it is not about me. We deny our self and follow him. We take up our cross to serve our Lord. We die to our self so that a new life can begin.
So, where am I going with all this speech? I’m trying to point out who we are called to reach.
Unless we, as followers of Jesus, do our part, there will be many left without Jesus in their heart.
There is one more “unless” we must look at to really appreciate the position we find ourselves in.
It is found in Matthew 26.42. Jesus is overwhelmed with what the father is asking him to do.
He tries to get his closest friends to stay awake with him, but they are too tired and fall asleep their strength has grown dim.
Jesus knows he is about to die for the sins of the world. He prays to his Father to remove him from this terrible place he has found himself in. He could have called on angels to allow him to escape. But he didn’t give in.
Instead he says, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
Unless Jesus took our place we would still be lost and separated from God.
Unless God had loved us so much and sent His one and only Son so that we would not perish but have everlasting life.
Unless so many people before us had stood their ground and spoke the gospel.
Unless someone had cared enough about you to share the good news of Jesus Christ with you.
Unless. Unless. It goes on and on.
What is your “unless”? What is our “unless” as a church?
Unless we love more than the world. What will happen?
Unless we forgive as God has forgiven us. What will happen?
Unless we change from our desires to do what we want when we want with whom we want/ to what Jesus wants for our life. What will happen?
Unless we are born again, and accept Jesus as our Lord.
Unless we send one another out with the Word we receive.
Unless we die to self and serve only our Lord.
Unless we expand our tent to let others in.
Jesus understood the gravity of his “unless”. His love for us compelled Him to die on a cross for us.
Shouldn’t this compel us to give our hearts to our “unlesses” and do what needs to be done to bring the Light of Jesus Christ to a world lost in darkness? What can hold us back? What could be too great a cost?
Unless we are willing to do whatever it takes to get the love of Jesus Christ to everyone we cannot claim to be followers of Jesus.
Unless we surpass what the world believes about righteousness we cannot truly claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus said this himself.
So. Are we ready to do what God is calling us to do?
Yes, don’t know if this is good or bad, but I have been called an agent of change.
I accept that title very humbly and will continue to be an agent of change that brings change to broken relationships and broken hearts.
That offers the transformation that Jesus can bring to anyone who is struggling and lost in their own gyre of sin and despair.
Are we ready as a church to bring positive change to people’s life?
Are we ready to bring the news of the grace and truth to those who are seeking to hear it?
Are we really ready to expand our tent?
So, are we ready to build a bigger church building to reach our community?
Are we ready to be Jesus Followers who reflect Him in all we do?
Psalm 127, ascribed to have been written by Solomon says,
Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
Unless we look to God a whole awful lot.
Nothing is going to get better. Its not.
Invitation.
