JESUS BEGAN HIS MINISTRY WITH CONTRADICTION
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
For those of us who have been in the church for many years the idea of Jesus being in the middle of a contradiction is not unusual. In the book of Matthew 5: we find that Jesus began his sermon on the mound with words that seem to contradict each other. But God's way of living usually does contradict the world's way of living. If you want to live for God you must be ready to say and do what seems strange to the world. You must be willing to give when others take, to love when others hate and to help when others abuse by giving up your own rights in order to serve others, you will one day receive everything God has in store for you.
It is this basic concept of living that turns our world upside down and that makes it almost impossible for us to continue to live within the standards of the world and in the standards of the kingdom of God at the same time. The sermon found in Matthew 5: is the longest recorded sermon that Jesus ever gave. Jesus began by describing the traits that he was looking for in all of his followers. He called those people who live without those traits blessed because God had something special in store for them. As Jesus spoke each of these Beatitudes they become almost a direct contradiction of societies typical way of life, and in the last beatitude, Jesus even points out that a serious effort to develop these traits is bound to create opposition. The best example of each trade that Jesus is looking for this found in Jesus himself. If our goal is to become white Jesus, the Beatitudes will challenge the way we live each day.
The more we dig and the more we learn about Jesus Christ the more we will find that this life in the intent of God's heart is a place for preparation for life in eternity, and not real life itself. With Jesus announcement that the kingdom was near in Matthew 4:17 people were naturally asking how do I qualified to be in God's kingdom? Jesus said that God's kingdom is organized differently from worldly kingdoms. In the kingdom of heaven wealth and power and authority are unimportant. He said that kingdom people seek different blessings and benefits and they have different attitudes than the world does. We have been discussing now for quite some time this different attitudes and blessings that we seek after in the church. And many times we find that these attitudes that we have are a carbon copy of the worlds selfishness, pride, and lust for power. They should be the exact opposite, they should reflect the humility and self-sacrifice of Jesus your keen and your Lord.
One of the things that Jesus pointed out to us within the church is that we should rejoice when we are persecuted. There are three things to understand about this persecution that can be good. 1. It takes our eyes off of earthly rewards. 2. It strips away superficial beliefs. 3. It strengthens the faith of those who endure, and finally 4. It can serve as an example to others as they try to follow Christ as well. Jesus said that we can be comforted in knowing that God's greatest prophets were persecuted, people like Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel. From the very beginning I believe Jesus was trying to prepare us for things like persecution especially if we dared to show the truth of God's word in our lives. The fact that we are being persecuted proves that we have been faithful, and faithfulness in people would be unnoticed in the future without that persecution. Jesus used many different terms to describe our faith in him. He said that we were like a seasoning. If we had no flavor then we have no value in Christ. If Christians make no effort to affect the world around them, they are of little value to God. If we are too much like the world, we are worthless as Christians because we should never blend in with everyone else to the point that no one can tell we exist. I think of our Christian lives as being more like the coffee bean, who when put in boiling water changes the flavor of the circumstance around it, we should affect others positively, just as seasoning brings out the best in the flavor of food, and coffee changes the boiling water around it into a seasoned beverage. I would like to take some more time to discuss some of what Christ taught us in the sermon this week, so stick with me, and pray with me that the Holy Spirit can open our eyes and teach us the truth. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
For those of us who have been in the church for many years the idea of Jesus being in the middle of a contradiction is not unusual. In the book of Matthew 5: we find that Jesus began his sermon on the mound with words that seem to contradict each other. But God's way of living usually does contradict the world's way of living. If you want to live for God you must be ready to say and do what seems strange to the world. You must be willing to give when others take, to love when others hate and to help when others abuse by giving up your own rights in order to serve others, you will one day receive everything God has in store for you.
It is this basic concept of living that turns our world upside down and that makes it almost impossible for us to continue to live within the standards of the world and in the standards of the kingdom of God at the same time. The sermon found in Matthew 5: is the longest recorded sermon that Jesus ever gave. Jesus began by describing the traits that he was looking for in all of his followers. He called those people who live without those traits blessed because God had something special in store for them. As Jesus spoke each of these Beatitudes they become almost a direct contradiction of societies typical way of life, and in the last beatitude, Jesus even points out that a serious effort to develop these traits is bound to create opposition. The best example of each trade that Jesus is looking for this found in Jesus himself. If our goal is to become white Jesus, the Beatitudes will challenge the way we live each day.
The more we dig and the more we learn about Jesus Christ the more we will find that this life in the intent of God's heart is a place for preparation for life in eternity, and not real life itself. With Jesus announcement that the kingdom was near in Matthew 4:17 people were naturally asking how do I qualified to be in God's kingdom? Jesus said that God's kingdom is organized differently from worldly kingdoms. In the kingdom of heaven wealth and power and authority are unimportant. He said that kingdom people seek different blessings and benefits and they have different attitudes than the world does. We have been discussing now for quite some time this different attitudes and blessings that we seek after in the church. And many times we find that these attitudes that we have are a carbon copy of the worlds selfishness, pride, and lust for power. They should be the exact opposite, they should reflect the humility and self-sacrifice of Jesus your keen and your Lord.
One of the things that Jesus pointed out to us within the church is that we should rejoice when we are persecuted. There are three things to understand about this persecution that can be good. 1. It takes our eyes off of earthly rewards. 2. It strips away superficial beliefs. 3. It strengthens the faith of those who endure, and finally 4. It can serve as an example to others as they try to follow Christ as well. Jesus said that we can be comforted in knowing that God's greatest prophets were persecuted, people like Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel. From the very beginning I believe Jesus was trying to prepare us for things like persecution especially if we dared to show the truth of God's word in our lives. The fact that we are being persecuted proves that we have been faithful, and faithfulness in people would be unnoticed in the future without that persecution. Jesus used many different terms to describe our faith in him. He said that we were like a seasoning. If we had no flavor then we have no value in Christ. If Christians make no effort to affect the world around them, they are of little value to God. If we are too much like the world, we are worthless as Christians because we should never blend in with everyone else to the point that no one can tell we exist. I think of our Christian lives as being more like the coffee bean, who when put in boiling water changes the flavor of the circumstance around it, we should affect others positively, just as seasoning brings out the best in the flavor of food, and coffee changes the boiling water around it into a seasoned beverage. I would like to take some more time to discuss some of what Christ taught us in the sermon this week, so stick with me, and pray with me that the Holy Spirit can open our eyes and teach us the truth. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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