041031 Sermon on the Mount – Word and Spirit
The Word and Spirit:
2 weeks ago, as part of an East Coast trip and I found myself spending time in airports in places like Boston, New York City, and Charlotte. In the airport, of course, people were using their laptops, their cell phones, many were watching a baseball game or CNN.
Unlike even just 10 years ago, people are “on,” “wired,” “connected” for longer.
People now talk about the fact we live time of “information smog.”
Thomas Friedman the journalist for New York Times talks about how we live in an age of “continual partial attention.”
Many say to keep up in our globalized age, you’ve go to move faster and faster, but perhaps at least in some of area of our lives, we need to learn move slower and slower…
In a time when many are saying, we’ve got to be in taking more and more information, perhaps we need to be more selective in the information we take it.
John Piper has said if you want to make a lasting difference in the world, you don’t need to know a lot of things; you need to know a few great things.
And this ancient, sacred book is contains enduring wisdom, truth for the ages.
This morning we’re going to explore why in a time when the amount of information in the world doubles every two years, the total amount of all printed knowledge doubles every five years, the WWW doubles every 90 days, why this ancient text remains vital to lives and our destiny.
If you have your Bibles please turn to Matthew 5:
Jesus in part of his great Sermon on the Mount says:
The Fulfillment of the Law 17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For 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.
Jesus in this passage clearly demonstrates his commitment to the Scriptures:
How does he do this?
First, he does this by allaying any doubts in people’s minds about his commitment to the Scriptures. Many of Jesus’ hearers would have thought Jesus’ teaching was so radical, so “out there” that he must be going against Scripture.
But Jesus here in this passage in the Sermon on the Mount makes it clear that he is not against the “Law and Prophets,” he’s not against the Scriptures, but he’s for them.
There are times when it seems like Jesus goes against the Scripture…
Six times in this chapter in Matthew you will hear Jesus saying, “You have heard it said, but I tell you… when he uses this formula its sounds like Jesus is going against Scripture, but he is not going against Scripture but rather some of the interpretations of Scripture that people in his audience would have heard from the teachers of the law. If Jesus were challenging the Scriptures themselves and not the interpretation of Scriptures, he would not have said you have heard, but you he would have said, “It is written.”
Jesus, also affirms his commitment to Scripture, when he says I have NOT come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. The Greek word translated fulfill literally means to fill-full.
Jesus, of course, fulfills or “fills full” the Scripture to perfection through his life by perfectly living out Scripture, he fills the Scripture full in the sense that he fulfills some 270 direct or indirect prophecies in Scripture which refer directly or indirectly to his coming; after Jesus rose from the dead he was walking on the Emmaus Road with two people who were talking about how Jesus had been crucified and how his tomb was now strangely empty, but they didn’t know they it was Jesus they were walking with and Jesus explained to them how all of the Law and Prophets, pointed to Jesus Christ. Jesus fills full Scripture by fulfilling prophecy that pointed to the Messiah, to the promised savior.
Jesus fulfills Scripture by perfecting living out Scriptures, by fulfilling the prophecies of Scripture concerning the Messiah, and he also fulfills or fills Scripture by giving us the full, correct interpretation of it.
Jesus also elevates the Scriptures by talking about the fact that if a person breaks one of the least of these commandments he or she will be called least in the Kingdom, but whoever practices and teaches the commands will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.
Jesus in this passage clearly affirms the importance of the Scriptures.
(transition)
But WHY does Jesus affirm the importance of the Scriptures?
Why is it so important to Jesus that he demonstrate to us his passionate commitment to the Scriptures?
Jesus knows that God didn’t produce the Holy Scriptures just because wanted to write a book or just because God wanted to “get published.” Jesus recognizes God didn’t arbitrarily decide to write a book and fill it whatever. Jesus knows that the Scriptures are God’s Word to us.
There are countless people today who think you can’t really trust a book that is so old. I’ve recently been a reading a book on our culture published in the eighties; I’ve thought this is interesting, but it’s a little dated. Most of us don’t want to study with professor who changed her syllabus in 25 years ago and is still assigning the same text books year after year—because we want information that’s current & up to date.
So what’s different about this book? Why does Jesus say, in vs. 18, that this book will last as long as heaven itself?
Part of the reason Jesus says this book will last as long as heaven itself is because it reveals that character God who does not change and who is forever… The Scriptures reveal the character of God, who is forever. Because the Scripture the reveal the God who does not change and who is forever, it is forever relevant, eternally up to date.
(Transition)…
We tend to think of the Ten Commandments as simply prohibitions, but as Darrell Johnson has pointed out, the Ten Commandments reveal to us the very character of God…
The commandment thou shall not lie, tells us that God always keeps his word, thou shalt not commit adultery tell us God always faithful, thou shalt not murders tells us that God always cherishes life…
I remember studying narrative ethics in a philosophy course. In narrative ethics you chose some who is recognized as virtuous, Jesus, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa… and you read off the virtuous qualities about him or her that characterize this person…. Well the 10 commandments of God are like reading the qualities off of the person of God… they tell us something of his character… of his goodness, faithfulness, of his love…
The Scriptures are eternally relevant because they reflect the character the eternal God…
The Scriptures are eternally relevant because they show how God designed us to live.
Many people see God’s commandments as restrictive, but they are commands are organic, that is they consistent with God’s design.
Jesus said John 8:31 If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Psalmist recognized this truth and said
I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart free. Web Psalm 119:32 2X
Some people think of freedom as “boundarylessness,” Is this true for a fish?
If you have a fish and the fish decides this tank is too small it wants to be free and jumps from its bowl onto the sofa is it free? No it’s not free. It’s free when it finds itself in the environment for which it was made. It’s true that fish is limited to water, but in the limitation of water it is free…. Fish are free when they are in the element they were designed for.
As fish was made for water and as so we were made for in ways consistent with God’s design for us and that design is revealed in this book.
When you stand beside a 747 jet on the runway, its massive weight and size makes it seem incapable of breaking the holds of gravity. But when the power of its engines combines with the laws of aerodynamics, the plane is able to lift itself to 35,000 feet and travel at 600 miles per hour. Gravity is still pulling on the plane, but as long as it obeys the laws of aerodynamics, it can break free from the bonds of earth.
If it is true that we follow the teaching that God has laid out in this book we will be free way, why do some many people choose evil?
The reason we choose evil according to Thomas Merton in his highly perceptive book New Seeds of Contemplation is because we think that evil will bring some kind of “good.” But Merton, one of the most insightful writers on the spiritual of the last century, says in choosing evil we may receive momentary pleasure, but forfeit lasting happiness.
He says the person who chooses certain sins for pleasure is like the person who eats the peel of orange, but throws the fruit away, the kind of person who keeps the of gift wrapping paper and throws away the case and the ring and diamond (use the illustration of orange and diamond ring).
If want to be fulfilled and free, we live in way that’s consistent with our design and if we want to live in a way that’s consistent with our design, we spend time in the owners manual.
Jesus affirms the importance of Scripture because he realizes that they reflect the character of the eternal God and it how to live in a way that’s consistent God’s design for us.
Finally, he offers the kicker, Jesus affirms just how important the Word is as he says it becomes a medium for us to enter the very Kingdom of heaven.
Notice what Jesus says in vs. 20:
20For 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.
These are very sobering words. Because the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were very serious about their religion: they had split God’s laws into some 600 rules, 350 commands, 365 prohibitions and over 1500 amendments. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were really micro about keeping the law.
If we read these words at face value. We come to realize that we can’t surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of law. And we driven back to the very first beatitude Matthew 5:4 where Jesus says, “Blessed are poor in Spirit… blessed are those who realize they are spiritually busted, who are realize that abject poverty of spirit… because they will cry to God for help… and God will hear help and the Kingdom will open to such as these…
The only way we can surpass the righteous of the Pharisees and teachers of the law is realize we don’t have it and of ourselves and we ask God to fill us with Spirit of righteousness…
In Ezekiel 36 (PowerPoint)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
God says I will write my laws on your hearts.
The only way we can achieve of righteousness that God requires is by asking him to put it there. We can’t achieve this on our own, we that righteousness placed their by the Spirit of God.
In a moment, I am going invite you come and kneel here at the altar…and pray God would write his laws in your heart and make us become the kind of people who WANT to obey the commands…..
A man named Brian had just preached a sermon on overcoming temptation and someone came to him after the sermon and said, “It won’t work.” The man who said this was older and he had his forefinger in Brian’s face and was saying, it won’t work. Brian had just preached what he thought was a good sermon on overcoming temptation, he had preached on the need to understand what the Word of God says, turn from sin, seek God in repentance, have accountability, use disciplines overcome temptation.
It won’t work!, the man said. Though the man was older, he said his ministry was to work with young businessmen, who face intense temptations, and they have tried every method you have said and they cannot overcome temptation on the road. They have so much they face as men in this culture that Christian discipline and will power and gritted determination will not enable to overcome. I have to tell these men in Christian w/out a supernatural work of God, God must change their hearts, their affections they cannot, do it… man or angel in disguise…
Long term we can only do what we love to do… A gritted discipline can only take us so far… we need to ask God to change our heart, by imprinting his law there… we ask God to give a new affections, by pouring out a new sense of his love on our heart, we need to ask God reawakened, by pouring his Spirit and we’ll be free…
The freest person of all is the one person who can do anything he or she chooses, only desires to what God desires. The freest of all is the person who does what ever she wants, but all she wants is truly good, truly consistent with God’s design for her.
So as we close, if you’re here and you sense you need to your heart to be awakened or reawakened to God, if you sense that God needs to write or rewrite his law on your heart, so that you are moved you by his Spirit to follow his good decrees and laws, I’m going to invite you come and kneels and ask for God to do that:
Humbly come… and kneel, and by coming I really need you, I really need the Spirit to change my heart… help to love what you love.
2 weeks ago, as part of an East Coast trip and I found myself spending time in airports in places like Boston, New York City, and Charlotte. In the airport, of course, people were using their laptops, their cell phones, many were watching a baseball game or CNN.
Unlike even just 10 years ago, people are “on,” “wired,” “connected” for longer.
People now talk about the fact we live time of “information smog.”
Thomas Friedman the journalist for New York Times talks about how we live in an age of “continual partial attention.”
Many say to keep up in our globalized age, you’ve go to move faster and faster, but perhaps at least in some of area of our lives, we need to learn move slower and slower…
In a time when many are saying, we’ve got to be in taking more and more information, perhaps we need to be more selective in the information we take it.
John Piper has said if you want to make a lasting difference in the world, you don’t need to know a lot of things; you need to know a few great things.
And this ancient, sacred book is contains enduring wisdom, truth for the ages.
This morning we’re going to explore why in a time when the amount of information in the world doubles every two years, the total amount of all printed knowledge doubles every five years, the WWW doubles every 90 days, why this ancient text remains vital to lives and our destiny.
If you have your Bibles please turn to Matthew 5:
Jesus in part of his great Sermon on the Mount says:
The Fulfillment of the Law 17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For 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.
Jesus in this passage clearly demonstrates his commitment to the Scriptures:
How does he do this?
First, he does this by allaying any doubts in people’s minds about his commitment to the Scriptures. Many of Jesus’ hearers would have thought Jesus’ teaching was so radical, so “out there” that he must be going against Scripture.
But Jesus here in this passage in the Sermon on the Mount makes it clear that he is not against the “Law and Prophets,” he’s not against the Scriptures, but he’s for them.
There are times when it seems like Jesus goes against the Scripture…
Six times in this chapter in Matthew you will hear Jesus saying, “You have heard it said, but I tell you… when he uses this formula its sounds like Jesus is going against Scripture, but he is not going against Scripture but rather some of the interpretations of Scripture that people in his audience would have heard from the teachers of the law. If Jesus were challenging the Scriptures themselves and not the interpretation of Scriptures, he would not have said you have heard, but you he would have said, “It is written.”
Jesus, also affirms his commitment to Scripture, when he says I have NOT come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. The Greek word translated fulfill literally means to fill-full.
Jesus, of course, fulfills or “fills full” the Scripture to perfection through his life by perfectly living out Scripture, he fills the Scripture full in the sense that he fulfills some 270 direct or indirect prophecies in Scripture which refer directly or indirectly to his coming; after Jesus rose from the dead he was walking on the Emmaus Road with two people who were talking about how Jesus had been crucified and how his tomb was now strangely empty, but they didn’t know they it was Jesus they were walking with and Jesus explained to them how all of the Law and Prophets, pointed to Jesus Christ. Jesus fills full Scripture by fulfilling prophecy that pointed to the Messiah, to the promised savior.
Jesus fulfills Scripture by perfecting living out Scriptures, by fulfilling the prophecies of Scripture concerning the Messiah, and he also fulfills or fills Scripture by giving us the full, correct interpretation of it.
Jesus also elevates the Scriptures by talking about the fact that if a person breaks one of the least of these commandments he or she will be called least in the Kingdom, but whoever practices and teaches the commands will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.
Jesus in this passage clearly affirms the importance of the Scriptures.
(transition)
But WHY does Jesus affirm the importance of the Scriptures?
Why is it so important to Jesus that he demonstrate to us his passionate commitment to the Scriptures?
Jesus knows that God didn’t produce the Holy Scriptures just because wanted to write a book or just because God wanted to “get published.” Jesus recognizes God didn’t arbitrarily decide to write a book and fill it whatever. Jesus knows that the Scriptures are God’s Word to us.
There are countless people today who think you can’t really trust a book that is so old. I’ve recently been a reading a book on our culture published in the eighties; I’ve thought this is interesting, but it’s a little dated. Most of us don’t want to study with professor who changed her syllabus in 25 years ago and is still assigning the same text books year after year—because we want information that’s current & up to date.
So what’s different about this book? Why does Jesus say, in vs. 18, that this book will last as long as heaven itself?
Part of the reason Jesus says this book will last as long as heaven itself is because it reveals that character God who does not change and who is forever… The Scriptures reveal the character of God, who is forever. Because the Scripture the reveal the God who does not change and who is forever, it is forever relevant, eternally up to date.
(Transition)…
We tend to think of the Ten Commandments as simply prohibitions, but as Darrell Johnson has pointed out, the Ten Commandments reveal to us the very character of God…
The commandment thou shall not lie, tells us that God always keeps his word, thou shalt not commit adultery tell us God always faithful, thou shalt not murders tells us that God always cherishes life…
I remember studying narrative ethics in a philosophy course. In narrative ethics you chose some who is recognized as virtuous, Jesus, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa… and you read off the virtuous qualities about him or her that characterize this person…. Well the 10 commandments of God are like reading the qualities off of the person of God… they tell us something of his character… of his goodness, faithfulness, of his love…
The Scriptures are eternally relevant because they reflect the character the eternal God…
The Scriptures are eternally relevant because they show how God designed us to live.
Many people see God’s commandments as restrictive, but they are commands are organic, that is they consistent with God’s design.
Jesus said John 8:31 If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Psalmist recognized this truth and said
I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart free. Web Psalm 119:32 2X
Some people think of freedom as “boundarylessness,” Is this true for a fish?
If you have a fish and the fish decides this tank is too small it wants to be free and jumps from its bowl onto the sofa is it free? No it’s not free. It’s free when it finds itself in the environment for which it was made. It’s true that fish is limited to water, but in the limitation of water it is free…. Fish are free when they are in the element they were designed for.
As fish was made for water and as so we were made for in ways consistent with God’s design for us and that design is revealed in this book.
When you stand beside a 747 jet on the runway, its massive weight and size makes it seem incapable of breaking the holds of gravity. But when the power of its engines combines with the laws of aerodynamics, the plane is able to lift itself to 35,000 feet and travel at 600 miles per hour. Gravity is still pulling on the plane, but as long as it obeys the laws of aerodynamics, it can break free from the bonds of earth.
If it is true that we follow the teaching that God has laid out in this book we will be free way, why do some many people choose evil?
The reason we choose evil according to Thomas Merton in his highly perceptive book New Seeds of Contemplation is because we think that evil will bring some kind of “good.” But Merton, one of the most insightful writers on the spiritual of the last century, says in choosing evil we may receive momentary pleasure, but forfeit lasting happiness.
He says the person who chooses certain sins for pleasure is like the person who eats the peel of orange, but throws the fruit away, the kind of person who keeps the of gift wrapping paper and throws away the case and the ring and diamond (use the illustration of orange and diamond ring).
If want to be fulfilled and free, we live in way that’s consistent with our design and if we want to live in a way that’s consistent with our design, we spend time in the owners manual.
Jesus affirms the importance of Scripture because he realizes that they reflect the character of the eternal God and it how to live in a way that’s consistent God’s design for us.
Finally, he offers the kicker, Jesus affirms just how important the Word is as he says it becomes a medium for us to enter the very Kingdom of heaven.
Notice what Jesus says in vs. 20:
20For 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.
These are very sobering words. Because the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were very serious about their religion: they had split God’s laws into some 600 rules, 350 commands, 365 prohibitions and over 1500 amendments. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were really micro about keeping the law.
If we read these words at face value. We come to realize that we can’t surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of law. And we driven back to the very first beatitude Matthew 5:4 where Jesus says, “Blessed are poor in Spirit… blessed are those who realize they are spiritually busted, who are realize that abject poverty of spirit… because they will cry to God for help… and God will hear help and the Kingdom will open to such as these…
The only way we can surpass the righteous of the Pharisees and teachers of the law is realize we don’t have it and of ourselves and we ask God to fill us with Spirit of righteousness…
In Ezekiel 36 (PowerPoint)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
God says I will write my laws on your hearts.
The only way we can achieve of righteousness that God requires is by asking him to put it there. We can’t achieve this on our own, we that righteousness placed their by the Spirit of God.
In a moment, I am going invite you come and kneel here at the altar…and pray God would write his laws in your heart and make us become the kind of people who WANT to obey the commands…..
A man named Brian had just preached a sermon on overcoming temptation and someone came to him after the sermon and said, “It won’t work.” The man who said this was older and he had his forefinger in Brian’s face and was saying, it won’t work. Brian had just preached what he thought was a good sermon on overcoming temptation, he had preached on the need to understand what the Word of God says, turn from sin, seek God in repentance, have accountability, use disciplines overcome temptation.
It won’t work!, the man said. Though the man was older, he said his ministry was to work with young businessmen, who face intense temptations, and they have tried every method you have said and they cannot overcome temptation on the road. They have so much they face as men in this culture that Christian discipline and will power and gritted determination will not enable to overcome. I have to tell these men in Christian w/out a supernatural work of God, God must change their hearts, their affections they cannot, do it… man or angel in disguise…
Long term we can only do what we love to do… A gritted discipline can only take us so far… we need to ask God to change our heart, by imprinting his law there… we ask God to give a new affections, by pouring out a new sense of his love on our heart, we need to ask God reawakened, by pouring his Spirit and we’ll be free…
The freest person of all is the one person who can do anything he or she chooses, only desires to what God desires. The freest of all is the person who does what ever she wants, but all she wants is truly good, truly consistent with God’s design for her.
So as we close, if you’re here and you sense you need to your heart to be awakened or reawakened to God, if you sense that God needs to write or rewrite his law on your heart, so that you are moved you by his Spirit to follow his good decrees and laws, I’m going to invite you come and kneels and ask for God to do that:
Humbly come… and kneel, and by coming I really need you, I really need the Spirit to change my heart… help to love what you love.
posted by Shigematsu at 9:14 PM
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