February 25, 2009

When the Going gets Tough...


The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached Part VIII
Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5-7

(Commentary by Guy Glass and Scott Hescht)

Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Guy: In the upper room, on the last night of His life, Jesus sat with His disciples and gave them His last words. He had instituted the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, so that His disciples would remember His body which was broken and His blood which was shed. He had washed their feet and demonstrated to them how they should serve one another. He also told them, recorded in John 15:20, these sobering words, “Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

He had begun His ministry three years earlier with the same words; those recorded from the Sermon on the Mount as verses ten through twelve of Matthew chapter five. Let’s attempt to stand among those hungry souls on that mountain side in Judea. Remember, it was His disciples, in verse one that came to Him. It was people who were followers of Christ for whom He opened his mouth and taught; to whom He gave such promises.

Let’s stand among them, gazing up at the man who is seated, not on a throne where He belongs, but on a craggy slope. His still small voice we are straining to hear above the whipping wind and shuffling crowds, and whose appearance lacks something to be desired, whose visage seems too average to be a king. We are following this man without the blessing of our religious leaders. We know that they have set themselves against Him. But, He speaks as one having authority. No one has ever spoken like this man.

We have forsaken and sacrificed much in order to follow this man. Some of us have had friends turn their backs on us. Some of us have had our families disown us. We have been expelled from the Temple, the center of our religion, by the Sanhedrin because we have refused to renounce Jesus. We are reviled, persecuted and have had evil lies spread about us, all because we are following this man of sorrows who also is well acquainted with grief being reviled, persecuted and rejected, without so much as a place to lay His head.

He’s telling us that we are blessed. He tells us to be happy about it. He says we should rejoice and be glad. Why should these people be glad about their persecution? How can they rejoice in it? Today, in our current century and culture, as Jesus’ disciples, should we expect persecution also? If so, can we rejoice and be glad in persecution? Paul wrote to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” So, yes, if we are living a Christian life we will definitely suffer persecution.

So many people come to Jesus for the wrong reasons. They have been led to believe that Jesus will give them the desires of their heart if only they will give Him a chance. They are told that their problems will fade away and they will be bubbling with joy and happiness. They can have health, wealth and prosperity if they will invite Him into their heart and when life is over they get to go to heaven. This is biblically inaccurate and it produces false converts.

We should run to Jesus when we discover:

    1. We are in bondage to our sin.
    2. We are enemies of God and we will experience His fierce wrath for eternity because of our sin.
    3. God loved us enough to make a way of escape if we will trust in His Son’s atoning sacrifice for us and ask Him to save us.

The Bible teaches that people love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. So Christ’s disciples will be persecuted as He was because we have become children of light. We, as His sermon will later state, are the light of the world. If we are making the stand for Christ that we are called to make and shine the light that Jesus has commanded us to shine, those who are in love with their own sins will reject that light.

We are reminded in verse twelve that the prophets were persecuted in the same way. We know that our Lord and Savior was persecuted. We are not alone in this. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, of all the precious saints who have lived before us. 1 Peter 4:16 says, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” If you have experienced persecution for loving Jesus, don’t feel ashamed. It is the lot of those who have gone before you. Do what they did, glorify God for it.

In Romans 8:17, Paul reminds of another benefit to persecution. He says, “If we are children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Paul is telling us that our suffering on account of Christ is evidence that we are God’s children and heirs with Jesus. It reassures us that we will be glorified with Him.

If we are going to carry the banner of ‘Christian’ and reign with Him in His everlasting kingdom then we must embrace Philippians 1:29 which states, “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” With believing on Jesus for salvation comes suffering for His sake.

2 Corinthians 1:5 says, “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” Paul tells the Philippian Church of his desire to know the Lord more intimately: to share in the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. There is a certain comfort in knowing that the Lord and Savior, in whom we are being persecuted on account of, became a man and suffered the same persecutions, heartaches, trials and temptations that we suffer; yet without sin.

We can have fellowship with our Friend and Treasure, Jesus, when we are reviled and rejected by unrepentant men. When we are hated (not us but when the Spirit of Jesus within us is hated) we can feel a little of what He felt. We can experience a little of what He experienced when He was walking this earth as we are now 2000 years later.

What joys are found in seeking the approval of God rather than the approval of men. What peace we find in the comforting embrace of our Lord as He hides us in the cleft of the rock and gives us relief from the struggles of this world. This life is but a vapor. Compared to history, our life span barley makes a blip on the radar. Compared to eternity future, so much hangs in the balance of this short life. There is a great reward in heaven awaiting those of us who will just be faithful. The Lord is asking us the same question He did His disciples in Matthew 26:40, “Can you watch with Me for one hour?”

Labels: , , , ,

February 08, 2009

Are You a Peacemaker or a Peacekeeper?


The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached Part VII
Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5-7

(Commentary by Guy Glass and Scott Hescht)


Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”


Scott: Ken Sande, in his book The Peacemaker, suggests that there is a difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking. (By the way, his ministry is an excellent resource for conflict resolution [www.peacemaker.net]). While peacekeeping may consist in overlooking minor sins, which we are called to do, it could also be characterized by avoidance or passivity for fear of conflict. Peacemaking on the other hand, often involves one party approaching the offender or offended in love in order to make peace. The Apostle Paul practiced peacemaking in his letter to Philemon encouraging him to receive his runaway servant Onesimus not only in forgiveness, but also as a brother rather than a slave. This compels us to reflect on God’s brand of forgiveness; that which extends beyond mercy and offers grace to the offending party.

O.S. Hawkins suggested that “in broken relationships our general tendency is to identify ourselves as the offended party each time”… “We have been programmed since childhood to point the finger at someone else.”[1] Why is this so? My sincere belief is that, like so many other sins, it is rooted in nothing more than self absorbed, self righteous pride. The peacemaker though, is not interested in being right, but rather what is right. People are a priority and so the peacemaker seeks to right the wrong for the sake of the other party involved. Paul said, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4).

Jesus says later in this sermon concerning conflict, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5.23-24). There is more to be said about this matter later, however, this is peacemaking in action. Turning the other cheek is overlooking the offense itself, but peacemaking calls us to reconciliation with our brother or sister.

Jesus pronounced blessing upon those whose desire is to live peaceably with all (Romans 12:18). By this they prove that they truly are called sons of God.



[1] O.S. Hawkins, The Art of Connecting (GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, 2004), 114.

February 04, 2009

How Can I Love Him More?

 


How Can I Love Him More?

"We love him because he first loved us."-1 John 4:19

 

God loves us and we need to know it. We love Him and we need to show it. Yet every Christian knows and feels that they could and should love Him more. But, how?

 

Charles Spurgeon left us these words of wise advice:"--we must not try to make ourselves love our Lord, but look to Christ's love first, for his love to us will begat in us love to him. I know that some of you are greatly distressed because you cannot love Christ as much as you would like to do, and you keep fretting because it is so. Now, just forget your own love to him, and think of his great love to you; and then, immediately, your love will come to something more like that which you would desire it to be."

 

He was right. Stop trying to make yourself love Christ more and start meditating on the greatness of His love for you. As you do that you will discover an increase in your love for Him. We must always remember that He is the source, not we ourselves.

 

To Renew your love for Christ Review His love for you!"

 

DAVID STONE
NORTHWAY BAPTIST CHURCH
www.northwaybaptistchurch.org