God's direction, message, and focus has been the same from the very beginning. He is not a confusing God, and He is very clear in what His will is. God's will is to seek and to save that which is lost. It is not His will that any should perish and God wants all to come to repentance. He is also very clear in what His will is for our lives.
As we approach the Sermon on the Mount that begins in Matthew Chapter 5, we see Jesus preaching the gospel of the kingdom in the synagogues and He is spreading the truth to all that will come. He is also confirming all that is said through miracles of healing and deliverance. The world is encountering truth and power. Jesus continues gathering the attention of all surrounding areas by preaching the gospel and performing mighty works, and multitudes upon multitudes are now following Him. When He sees the crowds, Jesus goes up into a mountain and begins to teach.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 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" (Matt 5:3-11).
These are not merely good attitudes we should strive for. These are commands to all people in order to be have the "kingdom of heaven", to be "comforted", to "inherit the earth", to be "satisfied", to "have mercy", to "see God", to "be called the sons of God", and to have the "kingdom of heaven." The reward of each command is more than what an attitude can accomplish, and together they are only possible through God...and it is through following God in these "commands" that we are blessed.
Jesus then continues preaching by saying, "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:13-16).
It was brought to us Sunday morning by Joel and Kim that salt cannot loose it's saltiness in it's original crystallized form. The only way salt can lose it's saltiness is when it is added to water. In this instance, the chemical is broken down and the saltiness is basically attached to the water molecules. When water is then removed, the crystallized substance left is no longer salty and is worthless. Jesus is reminding us that we have the flavor and taste of life, but we cannot water down the direction He has given us from the beginning ... and yet we did. In addition, Jesus tells His people that we are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. The light's purpose is to be placed in a way that can be seen by all ... showing our good works so that all can glorify God. We are the light of the world that cannot be hidden, and people will follow us. Jesus also tells us that we must be "careful lest the light in you be darkness" (Luke 11:35). So, He is telling us that we will shine a light ... it will either be "light" light or "darkness" light. And so, Jesus is instructing us not to water His word down and not to shine darkness as if it were light ... because it will not give the right direction to this world. Again, this has been the message of God from the beginning.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. The light's purpose is to be placed in a way that can be seen by all ... showing our good works so that all can glorify God. We are the light of the world that cannot be hidden, and people will follow us. Jesus also tells us that we must be "careful lest the light in you be darkness" (Luke 11:35). So, He is telling us that we will shine a light ... it will either be "light" light or "darkness" light. And so, Jesus is instructing us not to water His word down and not to shine darkness as if it were light ... because it will not give the right direction to this world. Again, this has been the message of God from the beginning.
In Genesis, man fell. God made us ALL to have communion and fellowship with Him, while always worshiping His glory and beauty. But we allowed sin to come in between us and our Lord, and the wages of sin is death. We separated ourselves from God, and yet God was redeeming us from the beginning ... and "us" means the "whole world". It was God who made us in His image, the image of Him who was to come. And it was God who made the first sacrifice to cover our sin with the coats and blood of animals. God's redemptive plan continued, and His focus never wavered (and never will). As stated before, God's will is very clear from the beginning - seek and to save that which is lost.
As we read Genesis 12:1-3, we begin to see the very clear will that God has for His Church when He calls Abram. “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
First, get out from among them, be ye separate, and go and do what I will show you. Leave your father, mother, brethren, comforts, all ... hate it all ... by doing so you will really love them because there is no greater love than laying down your life for your friends. Second, by becoming separate and doing what I ask in faith, you will be a great nation, your name will be great and I will bless you. Third, I will make you a great blessed nation so that all of the families of the earth may be blessed. How will the families of the earth be blessed? "I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). God is using Israel and His people to be separate, to be a great and blessed nation SO THAT all of the families of the earth will be blessed ... giving direction of right and wrong, making straight His paths, and preparing the way for our Lord Jesus. The will of God's Church is to proclaim ... "oh taste and see that the Lord is good."
Now back to the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus tells us His mission has never changed ... it's a mission of souls. And, His will for us hasn't changed either. Come out from among them and be ye separate ... be poor in spirit, mourn the separation from God and souls, be meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, be merciful, be pure in heart, be a peacemaker, and be persecuted. In doing so, you will be blessed by God Almighty and be made great in His eyes. We will be blessed SO THAT we will be a light and a blessing to all nations. Don't water down what I've told you from the beginning, and don't give the world the wrong direction from what I've shown you from the beginning.
And Jesus wasn't done with His "reminder" when He tells the people "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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:17-20). We cannot relax His word and we must "do and teach" all His commands. And what are the greatest of His commandments? "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets" (Matt 22:37-40). Love God will all our might, love all others more than ourselves ... how ... by being separate and showing the way, being the salt of the earth and light of the world, being blessed of God so we can show the world who our God really is. And in doing so, our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and pharisees.
These individuals were self righteous religious leaders that were supposed to be guides to the people of God, who were supposed to be guides to the world ... guides to God. God's focus was on souls of sinners, and His mission was to seek and save them. And yet, this was the righteousness of the Pharisees. "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:1-2). The same people that were sent to be guides to the sinners were rejecting the sinners. And so Jesus began to show them how valuable a soul is in heaven and how much rejoicing there is over one sinner through one lost sheep and one lost coin. And then He continues the parable about a father with two sons, both receive an inheritance, one becomes lost, and the other never searches for his brother. In the return of the lost soul, the brother didn't even accept him as a brother and was angry with the father.
God's will from the beginning is to seek and to save all that are lost and He wants not one soul to be lost. And His will for us has never changed. We are to love Him with everything that is in us and laying down our lives for the souls of this world: coming out from among them to be separate and blessed. To be the flavor of the life, and to shine our lights (His light) for all to see. We are not to water down His gospel, nor are we to direct anyone to sin. It must be our will that none should perish and all come to repentance. Our hearts must yearn for souls not be separated from the presence of God. And our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.
"Souls of this world, oh taste and see that the Lord is good."
1 comment:
Awesome, Heath! So much promise, and so much responsibility...all at the same time.
It is a very important task, spreading the Word...no room for error, and no room for watering it down to make it a "more sellable commodity."
We each have a light, which cannot be hidden. Good or bad, we still shine. We must be careful every moment of every day to make sure the light we give is the light that gives life.
As Joel would say, "Simple, but not always easy."
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