Antioch Covenant Church

Bringing Light To A Dark World

Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world.” vs. 14a

Welcome One Another

Exercise

1^st – For 30 seconds I want you to greet one another like you barely know one another and like you really don’t want to be bothered with talking to them and that you are really for someone better to talk to.

2^nd – For 30 seconds greet one another like you are meeting your best friend and you haven’t seen them for ages and you are just thrilled to see them.

What was that like for you? What did you happening? What did you hear?

We bring our personality, feelings, emotions, enthusiasm, etc. to our conversations and to the people we connect with. I know I feel that I can hide those things sometimes but really people can feel those things in us and we don’t hide things as well as we think we do.  Today we are continuing our look at The Sermon On The Mount and Jesus words for us to live by.  If you are able, would you please stand as we read God’s Word; Matthew 5:14-16:

Read Passage – Matthew 5:14-16

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The Light Metaphor

Jesus touches on an important theme in Biblical writings: light. It is used many times to compare and contrast. Here are a few examples where the Bible uses this metaphor:

God and evil forces (Satan)

Jesus and Satan

Good and evil

Believers and unbelievers (the world)

Heaven and hell A note: In heaven we don’t need light because God is Light and in him there is no darkness. And hell is said to be eternal darkness; the lack of light (God).

So, since there are so many metaphors about light and it is mentioned so much, it must be important and therefore significant. So, let’s take a closer look at what Jesus is talking about.

What Not To Do With Light

First, we should note that since it is a significant metaphor that God repeats to us many times, what should we avoid or not do with that light. We are warned about his in verse 14b-15a:

“A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.” vs. 14b – 15a

Jesus is using the metaphor of light for the people because it is something they are all familiar with, and actually, we are too.  Look around at where we are right now, all the light that is part of our lives. To put this in more modern terms, Jesus is saying; You don’t turn on a flashlight and them put it under your bed, or You don’t tune on a light and then leave the room (unless you’re a teenager of course and you don’t pay the PG&E bill). J Light is something we all deal with and can all relate to.

In Jesus audience, there lives were different than ours when it comes to light.  They didn’t have electricity to just turn lights on and off.  They were more dependent on natural light and candles. In the example Jesus uses, first he talks about a city that is on a hill and you can’t really hide it. They were living in a place where the Roman lifestyle was always in front of them. One of the more significant things the Romans brought to their cities were the many temples and shrines they built to their gods.  Most of the buildings were made of limestone. People could see the buildings on a hill like the Parthenon or the Temple of Diana. These limestone buildings absorbed the light all day long and it penetrated the stone so that as the sun went down, they appeared to glow. They also reflected the moonlight and you could see these buildings almost all night long.  They got this picture because it was right in front of them everyday.

Also, since they had no electricity, light in the form of candles and torches were important because without them, they would have nothing to light their homes so you might as well go to bed because it was dark.  You wouldn’t waste your candles because they were valuable and important so the idea of lighting one and putting under a bowl was ridiculous, it was a waste.

We don’t really have this as much anymore because we have light on all around us.

Ex. 40 years ago you could go from Brentwood to Antioch to Oakley to Pittsburg, etc, and the towns were distinct because in between the towns it was dark. Now the towns run together and you don’t know when you leave one town and enter another. But think about all the lights we leave on during a night.

The Light In You

So Jesus is using this theme of light because everyone gets it and he takes it a step further by telling them that they are light. That’s how he starts this passage. How is that? I think Jesus helps us get this in another passage we find in John 8:

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12

Remember one of the metaphors we mentioned earlier was that Jesus is light and it’s in contrast to Satan who is the Prince of Darkness. What Jesus is saying is that HE is the light and we have that same light in us if we accept him. We are a living demonstration of the arrival of the kingdom of heaven and of God. Our light is the light that Jesus brings to our lives.

The moon, it doesn‘t have light in and of itself, its light is a reflection of the sun. SO Jesus is the sun/son and we are moon reflecting that light, so to speak.

The Important Properties of Light

For us to really grasp what Jesus is saying here, we take this idea of us having light and reflecting the light of Jesus and then see what I looks like in our lives. We can get this by looking at the important properties of light and how they reflect in our everyday walk.

• Reveals

First, light is something that reveals what is there. In the case of our spiritual lives, it reveals our sin and helps us life in a way that is best for us because God always has our best in mind. In 1 Cor. 4:5 Paul wrote:

“He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.” 1 Cor. 4:5

We have things in us that are not good for us and hinder us from living a joyful fulfilling life. God brings those things to light and helps us see those things that harm and hinder us.  Another word for this is illuminate.

Ex. I was moving a piece of wood this week. I got a splinter.  I knew it was there, I could feel it and it was uncomfortable but it was hard to see. So what I did was go outside where there was more light and it allowed me to see the splinter. I was then able to get it out. As long as that splinter was in there, my hand didn’t feel right and it was uncomfortable working. Once it was out, I was good to go again my hand felt right.

Light is important because it reveals. Job put it well when he was talking with his “friends” in Job 12:22:

“He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.” Job 12:22

God’s light reveals those things in us that need to be removed and that darkness is replace with his light.

• Guides

When those things that don’t need to be there are gone, we are now open for a second property of light to work and that is light that guides us. David wrote in Psalm 119:105:

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105

God’s ways are the best way for us and when we live in his path that his light guides us in, we find the peace and joy that god wants for us and desires us to have. God sets our life up for good. His plan for us is for good, not for harm, to give us a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11). He is faithful to that and will not change.  We change, we disobey, we wander but He is faithful. Psalm 43:3:

“Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me…” Psalm 43:3

His light lives in us to lead us and guide us.

We have a saying that helps us understand this. “Light at the end of the tunnel.” The example would be when you are in a dark place and need something to guide you and give you hope.  The littlest of lights can give you that.  God promises us so much more.  I experienced this at black Diamond mines. We went 1200 feet into a cave and it was pitch black. No light. On the way back out it was a relief and reassuring the minute you could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Light gives you hope and assurance.

• Displaces

And that is where the third property of light comes in, light displaces darkness. John 1:5 says:

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

Light penetrates darkness and it does not  work the other way.  A more true definition of darkness is the absence of light. John tells us that Jesus comes into a dark world and shines and that the darkness cannot overcome it. That light now live s in us and we reflect Jesus light, so get this, darkness cannot overcome you. The light in you is stronger and any darkness in the world. Because we have God’s light that reveals sins and because we have God’s light ath leads us, we can be a light that displaces the darkness in the world.

Ex. The light on the alarm in our hallway and how it illuminates the hallway at night.

Wherever we go, whatever we do, we go as light. Remember that exercise I had you do at the beginning, didn’t you feel better, happier, even more comfortable when you were bringing joy and excitement to the greeting? Sure. You live in choice and you can bring that kind of light to a hurting, frustrated, dark world. In 2 Samuel 22 David sings a song of praise to God and in verse 29 he says:

“You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.” 2 Samuel 22:29

God brings light to our lives and in turn we bring light to our world.

Ex. Bringing a smile to people’s faces

Solar Eclipse

Here is a story I found that I think illustrates the point really well. It’s from a professor who was teaching in Portland Oregon in the 1980’s and 90’s.

On a cold winter morning in 1979, I witnessed an unusual incident. For several weeks the newspaper had been announcing that Portland, Oregon, would be in the direct path of a solar eclipse. Scientists explained that the moon would pass between the earth and the sun, casting the moon’s dark shadow over Portland for approximately three minutes. On February 26th, the day of the eclipse, I went to my office as usual. But just before the solar eclipse I went out to the front porch of the seminary administration building; there on the crest of a small hill I had a marvelous view of the city sloping toward the downtown business district. Suddenly, as expected, the sky began to darken—though much more quickly than at sunset. In a few more moments, the city of Portland became as dark as night. Just as suddenly as the darkness had come, something else happened—something I had not anticipated. Thousands of street lights around the city began to blink on dispelling the darkness of the eclipse. Although the sky was as dark as on any night, everywhere I looked lights were shining.

J. K. Laney, Kindred Spirit, Spring, 1990, p. 8

The opening exercise was meant to challenge you.  What do you bring to your world? Hesus started this passage with:

“You are the light of the world.” vs. 14a

His light should make a difference in our life.  It’s our choice to live in that light or we could be in danger of hiding it under a bowl as Jesus said. What do you want people to feel from you?  You have the choice to bring God’s light to your world; his generous, loving, accepting, giving, and freeing light. You reflect that light of Jesus in you.

The Heart Of A Good Mother
Matthew 15:21-28
“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’”

“I’m Pregnant!
There was a young woman who just found out she was pregnant and she is just thrilled and she really wants to surprise her husband with the news. Mother’s Day is just around the corner so decides that would be a great day to tell him. They wake up that Sunday morning and when he gets to the table there is an envelope waiting for him. It just says “Surprise” on the outside and there is nothing in it. So he asks his wife what this is about. She exclaims, “It’s Mother’s Day and I thought this would be a great time to tell you, “I’m pregnant!” “That’s amazing!” He replies. “Yes, but that is just the half of it” she replies. “What do you mean?” He asks. “Well,” she replies, “I am having twins.” “Twins? How can you know that so early on?” He asks. “Well,” she says, “When I bought the pregnancy test at the store it came in a two pack and I took both tests and they both came back positive!”

There is a story about a mom who really cares about her child and is in need of Jesus help in Matthew 15. I thought it might be a good story to revisit this Mother’s Day and talk about what the heart of a good mother really looks like.

Read Passage – Matthew 15:21-28
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Going Against The Norm
In the story we just read, this woman had a lot of things going against her. It says in verse 22:

“A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him…” vs. 22

In almost every aspect of what is happening here, this woman should not have approached Jesus or even confronted him in any way. It so happened that she had everything going against her. Here are a few of the things that were not working in her favor:
-She was a woman – women were not supposed to approach men in public unless they were accompanied by another man.
-She was a Gentile – Gentiles were considered second class and most Israelites wanted nothing to do with them. It was rare for an Israelite to converse with a Gentile.
-She was a Canaanite – Canaanites were those who inhabited the land that the Israelites eventually took over as the Promised Land. There was a lot of bad blood there.

So, here was a mother who in her need was prepared to cross any obstacle to turn to Jesus for help. In her great need the only answer was to get some help beyond what she could provide.

Confusion
There is also some confusion that occurs in the story; one thing that the story makes mention of that I felt needed clarifying in order to fully understand what is going on. It comes when the disciples respond to her. Jesus does not to respond. They are kind of annoyed with her and they don’t really want to deal with her. She is bothering them so they ask if they should send her away. That was the reaction you would typically expect from a Jewish male in this kind of a situation. Jesus answers with a statement that can be a little confusing: verse 24:

“He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’” vs. 24

This response would make sense to many of the Jewish people, especially the men, who are standing there because the Messiah was suppose to be Israel’s savior. It is also interesting that Jesus doesn’t make it easy for her either. But his response does make us stop and think. It is true that Jesus was sent as the Messiah and that it was to Israel first, but that didn’t exclude others. In fact, Jesus paves the way for all people to come to God. So what does this mean? It means that Jesus was first sent to Israel because they are waiting for the Savior where the rest of the people need the Savior but they are not necessarily waiting for him. He was first sent to Israel and his subsequent work on the cross opens the gospel for all who come to him. He was there to turn Israel to God so that through them the gospel would spread to all people. This could have stopped this mother in her tracks and discouraged her and make her turn and leave; but this doesn’t deter her.

When Answers Don’t Come Right Away
Another obstacle that happened here is one that we may experience in our lives as well, Jesus didn’t answer right away.

“Jesus did not answer a word.” vs. 23

We are not told why Jesus didn’t answer right away; we could guess. Did he want to see how the disciples would react? Or how the woman would react? Maybe he needed time to think about the situation. Who knows? The interesting thing is that it is noted here. Many times when we don’t get an answer right away we assume the worst or that the answer is no.
Ex. Prayers

The Heart of a Good Mother
This unnamed mother, who seemed to have so much going against her and really just wanted her daughter to get well, provides a model for us of what the heart of a good mother looks like and how we can react to difficult situations in our lives.
• Caring
The first thing that jumps out me is how caring this mother is, I believe this comes across in verse 22:

“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” vs. 22

Notice her perspective of the situation, her daughter is hurting terribly. Moms hate to see their children hurting. Most good moms will do anything they can to help their children and even try to prevent harm or hurt from happening. Most good mothers, like this one, care more about their children than they do themselves and their care for their children overrides their own concerns and the obstacles tht get in the way. It’s obvious even though we don’t hear the tone of her voice that she cares a great deal about her daughter. It must have been difficult for her every time that demon reared it’s ugly head and possessed her, maybe throwing her into convulsions, speaking in weird voices, acting in ways that are not normal for a young girl, etc. to watch theis go on and it probably tugged her heart. Even the hardest of moms many times have a soft heart when it comes to their children hurting.

Paul, when writing to the Thessalonians, wants to tell them how much he cares for them and uses this as an analogy in 1 Thess. 2:7:

“…we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her young children…” 1 Thess. 2:7

Most of us would even think about our moms in this way too. Even the hard ones and the tough ones. There are exceptions to the rule but for the most part many of us think of moms in terms of their care.

Kids: If you think your mom is being tough on you or overbearing or difficult, I challenge you to look deeper. I’ll bet she really cares a ton for you and she is only doing all that she is out of love. She cares for you deeply.

• Persistent
A second trait that comes out is her persistence; verse 25:

“The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’” vs. 25

Sometimes we can give up way to easy. Moms can be tenacious. She is desperate. She is willing to go to extreme measures. No matter what is thrown at her, she keeps pushing. Her persistence is driven by her hope; her hope of seeing her daughter healed, whole, in her right mind, and normal. It didn’t matter the barrier, she was going to every measure and pushing through every barrier to help her hurting daughter.

Faith still requires that we make the effort to cross whatever barriers may stand in our way. What barriers, you say? What causes us to be less than persistent and aggressive?
-Time
-Status
-Pride
-Self-Esteem
-Background

We all face barriers and obstacles that can either be blocking our forward progress or appear to be blocking our progress and many times we can only move forward by overcoming those barriers. Another word for this is perseverance. James 5:11 says about perseverance:

“As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered.” James 5:11

A great trait of mothers is their persistence.

• Wisdom and Common Sense
Then comes the third trait, she uses her wisdom; verse 27:

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” vs. 27

She understands what Jesus is saying but she also knows that there is more to the story. It is interesting that she compares herself to a dog. Remember there is bad blood between the Israelites and the Canaanites and she knows how they view her. She is willing to put herself down, to humble herself and to take a lower stance is it means healing for her daughter.

And that brings up the point: she also has the wisdom to know that Jesus is the only one that can help her. Let’s face it, parenting is hard work. It’s humbling. It throws us to our knees; to prayer. Parenting is not for the faint of heart. Ask any parent and they will tell you that they are trying hard, putting it all out there and doing the best they know how. But there are no guarantees. Some things parents can prevent and some things are in out control but many things are out of our control. In this case, it was a physical ailment and there is nothing you can do as a parent to stop or prevent things like that happening.

It reminds me of a verse from that famous passage about a Godly woman found in Proverbs 31:26:

“She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:26

If a mother is turning to God and seeking His wisdom and guidance, that is one wise woman.

Woman, You Have Great Faith
This story has a great ending. I love the words of Jesus in verse 28:

“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’” vs. 28

He says of this woman that she has “great faith.” He is not speaking about the not amount of faith she has as much as the depth of her faith. We are not told her response but can you imagine the joy and elation that she must have had. Her daughter healed. The demons gone. Can’t you just imagine the tears of joy, the hugs, the love that poured out of her and the relief as well. I think it’s becaue she never took her eyes off Jesus. Reminds me of Hebrews 12:1-2:

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2

This was one good mom. You know, I think we have a lot of women like that here today. Women of great faith, women that should be honored and told how much we appreciate them.

Anyone know how Mother’s Day started? Well, the creative geniuses at Hallmark were brainstorming how to make more money…no, just kidding.

It all stated by Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) who first suggested the national observance of an annual day honoring all mothers because she had loved her own mother so dearly. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis gave a carnation (her mother’s favorite flower) to each person who attended. Within the next few years, the idea of a day to honor mothers gained popularity, and Mother’s Day was observed in a number of large cities in the U.S. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. He established the day as a time for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” By then it had become customary to wear white carnations to honor departed mothers and red to honor the living, a custom that continues to this day.

So as a little token of our appreciation, and a way for showing how much we care about you, we have carnations in the back and a little card for each of you.

A Dash of Salt
Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth.”

Imitation
There was once a little boy and his mom who went into a store to purchase a few things. Now this mom was very intent on teaching her son manners and raising him to be a responsible polite young man and she would work on manners every chance she got. Well, as they are in this store they come to the hardware counter. The clerk, trying to be nice to the boy pulls out a lollipop and with a big smile extends his hand to the boy and say, “Would you like a lollipop?” The little boy shakes his head yes and reaches for the lollipop. His mother nudges and says, “Billy, what do you say?” And Billy looks at the clerk and says “Charge it!” Just what he had heard his mother say many times.

Have you ever thought about the impact or influence you have on others? Maybe even an influence you didn’t realize you had? As Jesus wraps up his discourse on the beatitudes, he talks about influence and its role in our life. So let’s read about it in Matthew 5:13. If you are able, please stand as we read God’s Word.

Read Passage – Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

Composition of Salt
Jesus is making a transition here; he is moving from the ideals of the “beatitudes” to the implementation of them in your life. What he does is give us two metaphors to get us thinking about applying those attitudes; salt and light. Today we are going to focus on the first of those two, salt.

Let me give you a quick lesson you might remember from your high school science class; the element number of salt isNaCl because it is made of two elements, sodium and chloride. The interesting thing about that is that each of these two elements by themselves are dangerous, abrasive, explosive and they can kill you. Let me break it down for you.

Sodium – Care is required in handling elemental sodium, as it generates flammable hydrogen and caustic sodium hydroxide upon contact with water; in fact, powdered sodium may spontaneously explode in the presence of oxygen.

Chloride – The presence of chlorides, e.g. in seawater, significantly aggravates the conditions for pitting corrosion of most metals (including stainless steels and high-alloyed materials) by enhancing the formation and growth of the pits through an autocatalytic process. It is very abrasive and very corrosive.

Here is the issue, each element in and of themselves can be lethal and cause great damage not only to humans but to other things as well. But when combined in the right mixture, and when used in the proper way, salt is an essential ingredient in life and to humans. Interestingly Jesus uses this metaphor of salt as the impact that we are to bring to our world.

So you might be thinking, yea, so? Well Jesus uses this metaphor of salt for us to understand how to implement the beatitudes in our life. We are all familiar with salt so Jesus uses something we all have experience with, to help us understand how our influence in the world can work.

Everyone Has Influence
NOTE: It is also interesting to note that Jesus does not say that some of you are salt and some are not. The verse states:

“You are the salt of the earth.” vs. 13a

Jesus words are not only for the 12 disciples but for the larger crowd of believers and for us as well. Jesus takes this ragtag group of men assembled from all different backgrounds and professions and with all different styles and personalities and tells them that they will have influence on those around them. The message is the same today. Everyone has influence.
Ill. Look around at the people sitting near you. We are an eclectic group of people brought together for the same purposes as those disciples; to worship God, love others, and hare our faith.

Now you can make the argument that some have good influence and some have bad influence but regardless, everyone has some type of influence in their world.

So why salt? I think it is because it has a variety of uses and I believe that is why this analogy is used; based on who we are, the gifts, talents, and temperaments that we all have, we can have influence in the world in a variety of ways. So often we think it is only the “important” people, the “successful” people, the “religious” people, or any other qualifier that you want to put in there, are the influencers. No, Jesus is very clear, we all have influence.

Salty Salt
So let’s discover some of the uses for salt and how it directs us to our influence in the world. You should be aware that salt has so many different uses but I have narrowed it down to four that we will look at today.

1. Preservative
First, salt was a preserving element in the ancient world and still is today.

In olden times as well as in some of the lesser refined countries in our world today, salt is used to preserve meat and food from decay. Whatever could not be consumed right away was soaked in a salt solution and then dried in the hot sun so that it could not be eaten and rotted by other animals and things like maggots. It ends up being something like what we call jerky. This is how they could make their food supply last longer. They would also coat their meat with a thick coat of salt that would form a crust on top of it and would keep the bees, flies and maggots out. If things are not protected, bad things can get in and change those things. There is probably not too much worse a thought than some food filled with maggots. We have to be that protective and good influence on others or the bad stuff gets in and corrupts. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 12:2:

“You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.” 1 Cor. 12:2

Paul basically says that if we don’t use our saltiness to influence others, they will get influenced but in a negative way and that will lead them astray. BTW, when salt is applied to the outer layer of meat, it forms a tasty crust on the meat. This was especially true in Jesus time when they didn’t have the modern conveniences of refrigerators or freezers.
Ex. Wedding I did last week and the spare ribs that were cooked. Rubbed in salt, pepper, and garlic powder then put in a smoker for 1 ½ hours. Yummmmm!!!!!

As salt is a preservative used to keep things fresh and protected, we are called to be the preserving agent for God and his ways in our world. Our influence for God can help people and preserve their lives, we need to be passing the good news on to our friends, our children, our families, etc.
Ex. It only takes 1% in a society to make a difference. Our week: 7 days, 168 hours, 10080 minutes. Can you give 1% to make a difference in one child’s life? Opportunity: To participate in Kids Klub starting in Sept.

2. Promotes Thirst
A second use of salt is to promote thirst; you might even say it promotes thirst in a good way.
Ex. When I was a kid I had rabbits. One of the essential things I needed to keep in their cage was a salt lick. A salt lick is a natural mineral deposit where animals in nutrient-poor ecosystems can obtain essential mineral nutrients. In an ecosystem, salt/mineral licks often occur naturally, providing the sodium, calcium, iron, phosphorus and zinc required in the springtime for bone, muscle and other growth in animals and wildlife. Not only does it provide nutrients from them it enhances thirst so they drink more water and process those nutrients.

Tie in: what helps promote your thirst for God so you can be filled with the proper spiritual nutrients? Jesus said in Matt. 5:6:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Matt. 5:6

We live in a hurting world. We live in a world that is thirsty for good news and thirsty for someone to care about them. They are trying to fill that thirst with a lot of things, money, sex, alcohol and drugs, etc. They want health and they want to know someone cares. We as a church need to fill that thirst. We need to give them water that doesn’t make them thirsty again. Living water as Jesus said. God says in Isaiah 55:1:

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1

3. Penetrates
Salt also penetrates. It works its way through something completely and enhances the taste. Jesus uses a similar example in matt. 13:33:

“He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Matt. 13:33

Jesus is using the example salt because a small amount makes a big difference. We can make a big difference in our society but also consider this; a small amount of salt has a huge effect. Jesus is also intimating that a little amount of Him in our life makes a huge difference in us. Consider this, have you let Christ in? Even a small amount. It will make a big difference. A great examp;le of this is sea water. Anybody know the salt content of sweater? Only 3% to 4%. What that means is that sea water has 35 pounds of salt per 1,000 pounds of sea water. I don’t know about you but I have tasted sea water, not on purpose, and it is, well, yuk!

Ex. Here is a better example. The small amount of salt you put into a recipe, for example, like chocolate chip cookies. (list ingredients and note the small amount of salt).
2 ¼ cups of flour
1 teas. Baking soda
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter
¾ granulated sugar
¾ cup of brown sugar
1 teasp. Vanilla
2 cups of chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt

Ex. Pretzels – pass out pretzels to the congregation

4. Purifies
Salt can also be something that purifies things and that is why many medications have salt as an ingredient.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…” Isaiah 61:1

It was recognized from the earliest of times as an excellent sterilizing agent. It was used to prevent infection in wounds, open sores, and abrasions usually with a strong solution of salt water. Let me expand this a bit more. God’s ways bring healing to our lives. Every single law that God gives us is not meant to restrict us but to free us and to bring us life, real life. That’s the kind of salt we are to bring to the world. What are some of the things we are to bring to the world? Love, peace, help for the poor and the homeless and the widows, joy, etc. You can’t bring enough of that tot the world. They want it, they need, it and it’s the church that should be providing it. We should not settle for them finding those things in other places.
Ill. I’m not afraid to say I have been faithful to my wife
I’m not afraid to say that I don’t use bad language
I’m not afraid to say that I love all people, regardless of race, religion, social status
I’m not afraid to say that I love God and God’s ways
You can call me a goody two-shoes, you can call me anything you want, but I know and have a joy and peace that surpasses anything the world can offer me.

In the same way we are called to bring healing to the broken hearted, help for the poor, stand for the downtrodden, and bring healing to a broken world.

Un-Salty Salt
There is one caution with this whole concept; that slat can lose its saltiness; verse 13b:

“But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?” vs. 13b

Here’s the point here: in the most technical sense, slat cannot lose it saltiness but it can lose its taste/flavorful, and potency. Jesus tells us what it is good for; to be thrown out and walked on. Here is what he means by that: when salt had lost its “flavor” or when it was no longer useful; they would take the salt and throw it out on the road or path and it would work it’s power, it would kill everything in the path; the weeds, the plants, everything and it would allow people to walk on those paths. You see, even un-salty salt has potency, potency to kill and destroy. It is a destructive element.

You could even make the argument that it is not doing what it was made for, it is working, but working for unproductive purposes.
Transition: We have a choice. We can be a healing, preserving, purifying and enhancing agent, all for God’s glory, or we can be destructive and killing agent that really is “good for nothing.”

Sticks and Stones
Matthew 5:1-12
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” vs. 11

Nicknames
What is a nickname? (Wait for congregation to respond with answers) The dictionary defines a nickname a: a name that is different from your real name but is what your family, friends, etc., call you when they are talking to you or about you: a usually descriptive name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to a person, place, or thing. Nicknames can sometimes contradict or say the opposite of a character trait: i.e. tall person: Shorty some nicknames you really like and others becomes pretty offensive. I thought this week about some of the nicknames I’ve had in my life. Some of them I can share in church and some I can’t  I’ll share one with you I really liked; Speedy Gonzales, I was called that because I was a fast runner in grade school. Others nicknames I’ve had: bean pole, putter head, Ronald McDonald, Hoover, Pete

Let’s have some fun today, turn to your neighbor a share a nickname you’ve had in your life and why you had it. Have congregation share a few. We are going pick up our study on the beatitudes and see what Jesus said about people calling us names. If you are able, please stand as we read God’s Word from Matthew 5:1-12:

Read Passage – Matthew 5:1-10
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.

A Change in Focus
Many Biblical scholars and theologians consider there to be eight “beatitudes.” They count verses 10-12 as one but I would like to suggest that it might be better to look at verses 11 and 12 separate from verse 10. I say that for one reason, that I believe that verse 11 and 12 have a change in focus. Let’s read verse 11 again and let me point something out to you:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” vs. 11

Notice in verse 11 the word “you.” In fact go ahead and circle it. Also notice the word “your” in verse 12 and circle it too. In the previous 8 beatitudes it says “blessed are” and that is followed by “for they/theirs.” In this last section, it starts the same with the “blessed are” but follows it up with “you.” This is an interesting change in focus. What does this signify? The others seems to be somewhat generic and they apply to us personally but they are also to be characteristics of the church as a whole. I think this one really tries to get us to consider your part and your actions to the way the world views you and treats you. Really they move us to a place and decision of our personal responsibility. Are we really willing to stand for what we believe even it it causes us to be insulted, persecuted, or lied about. It really is decision time when we read these, and the decision is to really consider what we believe.

What To Expect From “The World”
Here is a little warning for you as we delve deeper into this passage: if you choose God’s ways, if you accept salvation through Jesus Christ and choose to live life according to his ways, you can expect the world to treat you in one of three ways. This isn’t a maybe. It is a reality. You will experience these kinds of things. I defined these areas as 3 areas of attacks. That may sound strong, but I believe that they really are attacks.

1. Personal Attacks
The first area of attack is personal attacks. Verse 11 starts with:

“Blessed are you when people insult you…” vs. 11a

Let me start by explaining that insults are personal attacks against you.

An insult is: to do or say something that is offensive to someone: to do or say something that shows a lack of respect for someone.

Notice the strong language in the definition; offensive and of lack of respect. Yes, insults are personal attacks. I will be honest with you here, I don’t like getting insulted. It hurts. It doesn’t make me feel good nor does it really do anything to help me improve who I am. Actually, if anything, it gets me mad and I don’t like that because I want to be bigger than that. And another thing, beware if someone says “I am just doing this for your own good” or “I am just being honest.” Neither one of those help me take an insult any better.
Ex. I had an uncle who was this way. It seemed every time we got together he felt it was his job to point out everything that was wrong with us or out of place. He would note the things in the house that were out of place, off centered, or not dusted. He was brutally honest about how he liked the food. He was also honestly brutal about his “critique” of your clothing. Needless to say, he wasn’t our favorite uncle.

Now think of this when it comes to your faith. You might have people who pick apart everything about Christianity every time they see you. Worse yet, they question how you could believe certain Biblical concepts and ideals. And…they use insults to describe you and our faith. Some we can take with a grain of salt but others just plain hurt. It’s never fun or pleasant to have your faith attacked. It is getting more common for Christians to be insulted for their faith.
Some examples: Bible thumpers, fundamentalists, right wingers, etc.

2. Physical Attacks
A second attack that Jesus warns us about are physical attacks also called persecution. SO the verse continues in 11b:

“…persecute you…” 11b

Persecution is a very real occurrence in our world. We don’t experience much of it here in the United States but around the world is it much more prevalent.
• Open Doors reports the countries of greatest persecution of Christians: North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
• Rueters reported it had no figures for killings in North Korea but said Christians there faced “the highest imaginable pressure” and some 50,000 to 70,000 lived in political prison camps.
• Christianity faces restrictions and hostility in 111 countries around the world compared to 90 for Islam, the world’s second largest religion.
• In Syria in 2013, Rueters reports that there were 2,123 Christians martyred for their faith, more than double from 2012.
• Some 150,000 Christians are killed for their faith each year, according to both the Catholic relief agency Aid to the Church in Need and the evangelical group Open Doors.
• Today, Christians are by far the most persecuted religious group on the planet.

It is important for us to realize that just because we are not feeling the effects of the persecution around the world that it is happening at alarming rates and figures and that there could be a time when it reaches us here.
Ex. Here is an example from this week.
On Thursday, OpenDoorsUSA—a ministry committed to serving persecuted Christians around the world—issued a press release titled “Egypt Is Bleeding!”, in which an unnamed Egyptian Christian leader describes some of the horrific violence and crimes being committed against Christians. In the release, the eyewitness writes that Wednesday was “a day of many tears, pain and agony,” with over 230 deaths and 2,000 injuries.

What is our response? Prayer, lots of it, and supporting those agencies and ministries that give relief and aid to those who are being persecuted.

3. Verbal Attacks
A third attack that occurs against Christians from the world is verbal attacks. Jesus finishes verse 11 with:

“…and falsely say all kinds of evil against you…” vs. 11c

It’s a sobering thought to know that people will lie about you and falsely accuse you of things solely because you are a Christian but that is exactly what Jesus says will happen. No one knew that better than Jesus himself. He was accused of lying, of making false claims, of deceiving his followers, of misleading people, and of all kinds of wrong doings. Almost every thing good he did the religious leaders of his day tried to twist and turn his good deeds stating he was evil and doing evil. Remember he casts out demons and they said he was a demon. He heals and they claim his healings are not real and that he shouldn’t heal at certain times. They accuse him of siding with evil people, tax collectors, prostitutes, and they accuse him of stirring up the people against the Roman government. If they were doing that to him, you can be sure they will do the same to us.
Ex. Stephen in Acts 6. They hired men (vs. 11) to say they heard him blaspheme and in verse 13 they set up false witnesses against him. It cost him his life.

Our Response: Rejoicing And Gladness
I know this isn’t great news or what you want to hear. It’s not popular to bring this kind of treatment to light. You might be thinking, well what can I do? Luckily, Jesus answers that for us too in verse 12:

“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” vs. 12

The response is rejoicing and gladness. A more literal translation would be to “leap for joy.” Now be careful here, it is not being joyful for being persecuted nor is this verse saying that we should pursue persecution. What It is saying is that when we are attacked, we are aligning ourselves with the prophets and those who have gone before us and because it brings glory to God and it is an eternal glory (reward in heaven) not an earthly glory (praise now).

It is important to note that this is not a call for Christians to bring this on ourselves or to put ourselves in positions of being ridiculed, persecuted or mocked. This is the attitude that we are take when these things happen to us.

 NOTE: Remember Who Those Are Really Directed Toward
Why can we have this attitude? Because we note that these insults, these persecutions, and these false accusations are not really directed toward us. Let’s jump back to verse 11 for just a moment:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” vs. 11

Look again at the last three words and circle or underline them; because of me. These attacks are against Jesus but take some of the brunt of them. It really is directed toward God himself but it gets taken out on us. Many of us will never face any real persecution or physical abuse. But… if we are, we remember that Jesus took the death that was ours from our sin. He did and endured more than we ever will.

Living Long-Term
And finally, we remember that this kind of thing is much longer and deeper than we are. These kind of attacks have happened for years and generations before us and will happen long after we are gone. But we embrace living long-term. What I mean by this comes from the words in verse 12:

“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” vs. 12a

Our reward is store for us in heaven. It’s in a place where it can never be discredited, never be taken away, and will allow us to

We are given a great example of this in the Bible. In Luke 16 there is a story about a man named Lazarus who doesn’t have much, not even enough to provide for himself. He begs for food and has a pretty bad physical condition, sores all over his body. In fact, the text tells us that dogs would come and lick his sores. Pretty grow. There is also a rich man who has quite a bit; good clothes, material things, etc. Well, both die. Lazarus goes to Abraham’s side, another way of saying that he went with the righteous people to God’s kingdom while the rich man goes to Hades. The rich man is in agony and torment and he can somehow communicate to Abraham and asks for Lazarus, the one he saw begging everyday and never lifted a finger to help, to dip his finger in water and put it on his tongue for some relief. His answer comes back in verse 25:

“Remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.” Luke 16:25

He is basically told no. He had his chance on this earth and everyday made the choice to think short term, only of the here and now and about himself, and not long term about God and His ways and living for him.

You and I have that same choice. Are we going to live short term and make decisions now that might give us temporary joy and pleasure and want everything our way and for us or are we going to live for God, His way, and think about the long term implications of our actions and attitudes. It may cost you. You might get ridiculed, insulted, made fun of, maybe even hurt physically or accused of wrong doing. This beatitude calls us to personal responsibility and choice.

Jesus Is A Rolling Stone
Matthew 28:1-15
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from
heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

The Weather Stone
The is a picture of something that sits at the head of trail of a California State Park. It’s called the Weather Stone. It claims to be the perfect weather forecaster. The sign next to it reads:
A dry stone means it is not raining
A wet stone means it’s raining
A shadow under the stone means the sun is shining
If the stone is swinging, it means there is a pretty strong wind
If the stone appears to be jumping up and down, it means there is an earthquake
If it is white on top…believe it or not…it’s snowing

I would say that this sign is probably just stating something that is obvious; so obvious that it it’s almost comical in some ways.

Read Passage – Matthew 28:1-15
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” 11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

The Day After
Most of us have experienced some type of deep loss in our life when a loved one has passed away. I think the day after those experiences are really hard. What to do? That’s where we are at when we read Matthew 28, the day after the crucifixion. We read in verse 1:

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” Vs. 1

Mary and Mary are dealing with a difficult loss after the death of Jesus and their way of dealing with it was to go visit the graveside. There are lingering effects from mourning and loss and there is no best way to handle it and all of us deal with it in different ways. Some people get away, some go back to work, some reflect, some visit the grave, etc. It must have been a long walk from their home to that graveside, not long distance but long as they were still reeling from the previous day. They must have had some conversations that were pretty tough. They must have felt the best way to deal with this loss would be to visit the grave, sit there for a while, talk, and just process everything. It could be they were bringing flowers or some type of memorial remembrance.

Anticipating Obstacles
It’s not clear really why they were going, maybe to prepare the body or to just see things again but as they went there must have been some anticipation about the obstacles that would away them if they had hoped to go inside. It says in Matthew 27:59-60:

“Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb and went away.” Matthew 27:59-60

Here are some of the problems the women would have encountered:
• The rock was huge (and they could not count on the soldiers guarding it to help them)
• The rock was sealed by the government/law – really only a government official could unseal it.
• It was guarded

Interestingly enough, these are some of the same obstacles we face when we talk about the death of Jesus to others. It as a huge rock or obstacle in our life
Death is a huge obstacle, it’s unavoidable, we all die, and

The Difference “The Rock” Makes
So today, Easter 2014, I want to work through the idea of this huge rock that is in the story and how it has parallels to Jesus and his work in our life. One of the terms that we associate with Jesus is that he is “The Rock” and more specifically the rock of our salvation.

1. The Rock Has Been Moved
The first perspective that comes to me is that as the women approach the tomb, the rock has already been moved. It says in verse 2:

“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.” vs. 2

The great thing about this point: God has the rock moved. The women didn’t have to worry about how that was going to happen, it was already done for them. We spend a lot of time worrying and trying to figure out how things, sometimes big things that seem impossible to us, are going to get done. God had it handled. He had an angel do it. There is no barrier is too big for God.

Let me draw a parallel for you. We don’t have to worry about how we are going to make up for the things we’ve done wrong or the things that separate us from God. He has taken care of that. Many people spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to get to heaven or how to atone for the things they have done wrong. We don’t need to. That was done for us just like the rock was moved for these women. Wouldn’t you have loved to see their faces when they show up and the rock s rolled over to the side? They must have been astonished.
Ex.

2. The Rock As A Symbol of Victory
A second perspective of the rock is that it is a symbol of victory. This was a custom that God establishes through the Israelites in the Old Testament. There was a commemorative stone that is set up to remember God’s work, i.e. after crossing the Red Sea, a victory in battle, God giving land to Israel. See 1 Samuel 7:12 as an example:

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12

Memories of good things are important. I love having things around that help me remember the good times in my life. Think about how much we love this as people. Everywhere we go there are gift shops for us to by soveigneers of the places we’ve been or places we love.
Ex. Disneyland, Grand Canyon, etc.
In the Old testament one of the names given to this stone of remembers was “Ebenezar.” In a old church hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing on of the verses state “Here I raise my Ebenezar.” Many people get confused by that stanza but it really has some deep meaning to it. The custom God establishes about setting up stones to remember what has been done and to lead people to himself.

The parallel for this point is that Jesus becomes our victory stone, our Ebenezar. We can hold him high as we would a rock to symbolize the victory he had over death and sin. The guilt and regret of sin are gone and we have a free gift of forgiveness, salvation, and victory over the things that Satan throws our way.
Ex.

3. The Rock Becomes the Foundation
A third perspective of the rock that was rolled away is it symbolizes foundation and more specifically, the foundation of our faith. We have a foundation on which our faith can be built and assured. Note Paul’s words from Acts 4:11:

“Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’” Acts 4:11

The rock men put in place does not contain as it should have, the Rock God puts in place will reign forever. But note, people will reject the rock. People rejected Jesus while he was alive on earth and they have the right to reject him as he is alive in heaven now.

People struggle to find a foundation for their lives; some build their foundation on their jobs, a relationship, their money, etc. The thing about building a foundation is that you need to build it on something that is solid and will last. If everything Christ said is true, and if the rock really was rolled away, and if it is true that Christ rose from the dead and that death is not final, then what better thing can you build on than something that will last forever? What are you building your life on? What is the foundation of your life?

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

As the angels sat on the rock and it became a place of rest, the parallel is drawn that Jesus becomes the rock upon which we can rest from all of life’s worries, struggles and hardships. The rock the angels sat on was an outward rest. The rest that Jesus offers is much deeper and much more calming, it is rest for your soul.

4. The Rock Is The Boundary Between Life and Death
And finally, the final perspective is that this huge rock became the boundary between life and det. In our story, the soldiers who were guarding the rock became like dead men when the angel moved it. It says they shook and became like dead men. Fear can paralyze you. Fear can stop you “dead” in your tracks (forgive the pun). These soldiers knew their life was in jeopardy because it was their job to protect this grave and make sure nothing happened. So they were not only seeing a miracle and the very hand of God working, they were unable to do what they were placed there to do and their lives could be taken from them for failing to do what they were charged to do.

On the other hand, the two women, Mary and Mary, we seeking life. The earthquake and rolling of the stone wasn’t bad news or disturbing to them, it was an opportunity for them to seek life, new life, and to see God’s Word come true. They weren’t paralyzed, they were curious and hopeful. I recently wrote a paper on Christian hope and let me share with you something about hope. Hope is not some pie in the sky thinking about something that you wish could come true but it seems impossible or improbably. No real hope is the idea that what you know to be true will happen. We are not told what hese women were thinking but it woudn’t be to far of a stretch to think that they might recall some of the things Jesus had said and promised and think that those things are actually happening right before their eyes.
Ex. Weddings – the anticipation of love that you know to be true but fulfilled at the ceremony.

The parallel here is that Jesus told us tht he was life, real life, eternal life, and by trusting him we too can have that life. That promise comes in John 5:24:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

This is a stumbling block for quite a few people. It seems to easy, to simple. We want something we can say we did or we accomplished when in reality, the real truth comes when we believe Christ’s words and put our trust in Him and in his work, not our own efforts.

The Rock: Our Pulpit
So where does that leave us? Really, right here on Easter morning. The last parallel is that the angels used the rock to proclaim the message, and that message comes in verses 5-6:

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’” vss.5-6

The angel makes the proclamation from on top of the rock. The Christian message is the same one that the angels proclaimed on that rock. Christ is not here, he is risen! It’s the proclamation is that death has no stronghold on us and that Christ isn’t here in person with us now, no, we believe he is risen, ascended to the right hand of God, and that real life, eternal life, is found in him.

Welcoming Jesus
Luke 19:28-44
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” vs. 38

Getting Into Heaven/The Day After
A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates and says, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.”

“Okay,” the man says, “I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never ch…eated on her and loved her deep in my heart.”
“That’s wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s two points.”
Well, I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.”
“Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says.
“Two points!?!! Exasperated, the man cries, “At this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God.”
“Bingo! 100 points! Come on in!”
That’s wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s two points.”
Well, I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.”
“Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says.
“Two points!?!! Exasperated, the man cries, “At this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God.”
“Bingo! 100 points! Come on in!”

Read Passage – Luke 19:
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” 41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Prepare The Way
In Luke 19 we see Jesus about ready to embark on the what is to be the last week of his earthly life. It’s not really explained to us but Jesus knows what is about to happen to him and that there are things in place for everything to happen the way it needs to; notice verses 29-30:

“As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you…” vs.29-30

Jesus is preparing to celebrate the Passover feast with and embark on the last week of his earthly ministry. He sends two disciples ahead to prepare the way for him and to get the donkey he will be riding on. One thing that we see time and time again in the bible is that when has a God plan for something, everything is set in place for that plan to succeed.
Ex. God is going to send rain so he prepares Noah with an ark, Abraham is to make a sacrifice and when the time comes there is a ram caught in a bush neatr by for him to make that sacrifice, God wants Israel to gain land and he throws armies not chaos and there were times they didn’t have to fight, etc.

Ready To Go
And…in our story today the disciples find out that when God’s plan is set in motion, everything is ready to go just as he planned it; verse 32:

“Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.” vs. 32

Everything was ready to go and they just needed to follow his instructions which they did.
Point: I think this is a point that still rings true for us today, when God has something for us, and he does promises us things, the right thing will be in place and ready to go when we need it.
Ex. The right job, the right finances, etc. It’s not coincidence or chance, it’s God’s plan unfolding right before our eyes.

There is something unusual about the story too. Did you catch what Luke said about the donkey’s owners? That’s right, evidently this donkey was owned by more than one owner. Donkeys were expensive. Probably many people in there day might not be able to afford a good donkey. So they pooled their funds & bought this donkey. That is exactly what happens. They found the colt and untied it. And as they did, the owners rushed out to ask them what they are doing. They reply, “The Lord needs it.” Donkeys were prized possessions. They were means of transportation. They were beasts of burden, and they pulled the farmer’s plows. They did so many strenuous things that a man could not do by himself. So this donkey was a very valuable possession. Yet Jesus said, “Tell them ‘the Lord needs it.’” When they heard that, they gave it. And when they gave that donkey they were giving a valuable possession.
Ex.

Those Who Watched
An interesting thing to look at in this story is all those who were there watching this event unfold and what they bring to the story.

 The Disciples
The first group is the disciples. There were the 12 disciples, a larger group of disciples that many theologians estimate would have been about 70 or so, and then other “disciples” that would have just been following Jesus around. It says in verse 37:

“…the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen…” vs. 37

Notice this group is called a crowd. It was definitely more than just the twelve. And they are not just walking with him and waiting with baited breath for the next thing he will share with them, they are joyfully praising him in loud voices. We can surmise that they are the ones that started the cheering and praise that takes place.
Let’s think about who was in this group of disciples who were following him:
Peter – A devoted follower but also one that will deny him. He would have gotten really excited about this; Jesus was making his move to be king. People would be following him. Can you imagine how could this is and how many people would be in the temple on the Sabbath?
Judas – The one who would turn him over to be killed. He was thinking along similar lines and thinking how many people would be at temple on the Sabbath and how much money this could turn into if they all tithed. Then how much more he might get.
John – Describes himself as the one Jesus loved and the one to whom Jesus would turn his mom over to while hanging on the cross

You would have a greater group of disciples who would be participating as well.
Mary and Martha – they bring a sensitivity to the ministry, doing things behind the scenes, watching with awe as people praise Jesus.

Jesus hope for all these followers is that they will go and multiply the ministry. That’s why he words at the end of the book of Matthew are so important, Matt. 28:19:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” Matt. 28:19

His hope is that this isn’t a launch of his earthly ministry but a beginning of his eternal spiritual ministry.

 The Crowd
A second group is the crowd of people in the town at this point. It says in verse 36:

“As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.” vs. 36

It was Passover time and Jews from all over the world were crowding into Jerusalem. News had gone out that Jesus was on His way, just passing by the towns of Bethphage & Bethany. So a crowd of people rushed out to meet Him. Jesus was coming and as the crowds met Him they received Him like a conquering hero.

Of course, some in the crowds were simply curious sightseers. They had heard of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. And they wanted to see something else sensational too. It seems most of the people were greeting Jesus wildly. They were shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna to the son of David!” The word “Hosanna” is the Hebrew for “Save now!” and means almost exactly the same thing as “God save the King!” They were probably hoping that Jesus would heal many of the sick and lame, those who were blind and deaf, they were probably hoping to see some miracle or two as well.

With Jesus as their king, they were convinced that it was only a matter of time until the trumpets rang out and the call to arms sounded and the Jewish nation led to its long delayed victory over Rome & over the world. They would no longer be subjected to the brutality and overbearing ways of the Romans and they would assert their authority and establish their beliefs. Jesus would look at the crowds much differently. He could see beyond their physical needs to their spiritual emptiness. This happened on other occasions as well. Notice one other time in Matt. 9:36:

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

You have to be very careful when following a crowd. It can take you to a good place or it can take you to a dangerous place. Jesus had compassion on the crowds around him because he knew their propensity to get carried away and do things they didn’t realize the ramifications of.
Ex. The crowd at a sporting event that builds to cheer on a team and build momentum
Or…the crowd that becomes unruly and starts looting and destroying property like when a sports team wins a championship or a social atrocity happens and an uprising occurs (

 The Church Leaders
Then, of course, you have the church leaders. The crazy thing about this is that groups that were enemies of each other and couldn’t see eye-to-eye on anything are now coming together to try to somehow suppress this movement that they see building and people actually believing in and trusting in Jesus. It says in verse 39:

“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’” vs. 39

The sight of this tumultuous welcome sent the Jewish authorities into the depths of despair. It seemed that nothing they did would stop the people from following Jesus. They had tried time and time again to trap him and discredit him and nothing worked. It seemed that his popularity was building more and more people were beginning to believe that Jesus just might be the Messiah. You can just sense them standing there with arms crossed, scowling, and muttering to each other in disgust all that was happening. They even appeal to him to try to get this thing to stop. Unfortunately, they were the ones who should have recognized who Jesus was and they really should have been leading the charge. It syas in 1 cor. 4:2:

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” 1 Cor.. 4:2

That means that we need to be aware that we have been given much, we have the truth, we have the privilege of having that close relationship with God and we should take seriously that we tell people about what we celebrate at Easter time. It’s all of our jobs to be inviting people, to tell the truth about what God did for us through Jesus. We can’t fall into the trap of the church leaders of Jesus time and miss the opportunity to share the good news. We can sit back with our arms folded and scowl and mutter and critique the world but that won’t win them over to God. We need to bring them the good news.

Joy Turns To Mourning
It must have been incredible for Jesus to be on that donkey and take all this in. But remember, he could see past the glitz and glamour and shouts of praise to their hearts and their deep need for God’s redeeming work in their lives. We see this in verses 41-42:

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” vss. 41-42

They get caught up in the excitement of it all and it brings tears to his eyes. Their quest for peace, truth, and a Messiah was right in front of them and they were so caught up in the parade and shouting that they were actually missing what this really meant. Some of these same people would get caught up in just a few days in a similar event where they would be yelling “Crucify him!”

Preparing For Easter
This is where we are challenged from this story; how are we preparing for Easter. Are we looking ahead and preparing our hearts or are we getting caught up in the glitz and glamour and excitement of Easter. The great thing is that we have 20/20 hindsight. We know what happened and the events that took place. So who do you identify with as you prepare for Easter next Sunday?

Here’s how a lot of people take the time to get ready; buying the right kind of plastic grass for their kids baskets, the baskets themselves, stuffing eggs, dying eggs, buying chocolate, candy, and make sure you get the right clothes too. P.S. Pastels work great. Get the house ready, the traditional food, and all that goes along with the feasts we prepare.

What if you took a different approach to prepare for Easter and made sure you put in as much time getting your spiritual life and heart as ready as you do everything else? How about inviting a few people to church? How about attending our Good Friday service? How about making sure your heart is ready to remember the price that Christ paid for you and truly take in the whole meaning of what we celebrate. Preparing spiritually makes next Sunday a real celebration.

Persecuted For Doing Good
Matthew 5:1-10
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” vs. 10

“Sorry King, You Can’t Do That”
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, a godly leader in the 4th century church preached so strongly against sin that he offended the empress Eudoxia as well as many church officials. When summoned before Emperor Arcadius, Chrysostom was threatened:
o “I will banishment you if you do not cease his preaching.” He responded, “Sire, you cannot banish me, for the world is my Father’s house.”
o “Then I will slay you.” Arcadius said. “Nay, but you cannot, for my life is hid with Christ in God.”
o “Your treasures will be confiscated” John replied, “Sire, that cannot be either. My treasures are in heaven, where non can break and steal.”
o “Then I will drive you from man and you will have no friends left! “ “That you cannot do, either, for I have a Friend in heaven who has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Chrysostom was banished, first to Armenia and then farther away to Pityus on the Black Sea, to which he never arrived because he died on the way. His last words are said to have been, “δόξα τῷ θεῷ πάντων ἕνεκεν” (Glory be to God for all things). But neither his banishment nor his death disproved or diminished his claims. The things he valued most highly not even an emperor could take away from him.

Could you respond the way John did? Is your faith strong enough to take a stand like that and do it with that kind f conviction? I mean, he is definitely taking the high road and it might be good for us to challenge ourselves that when push comes to shove can we also take the high road? Our continuing study of the beatitudes addresses this in matthew 5:10. If you are able, please stand as we read Matthew 5:1-10.

Read Passage – Matthew 5:1-10
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Paradox
Verse 10, more than any of the others in the beatitudes can be a bit puzzling. I think it is a paradox. Do you know what that is? A paradox is something that is made up of two opposite things and that seems impossible but is actually true or possible.
Ex. “War is peace.” “Freedom is slavery.” “Ignorance is strength.”
So Jesus says in verse 10:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted…” vs. 10a

How can the persecuted be blessed? Can you even imagine someone saying, “I’m so happy people are picking on me and beating me up” and actually mean what they are saying!? No one likes to be picked on or abused and is happy about it. So this beatitude challenges us to consider our view of standing up for what we really believe and the willingness to stand strong in the opposition of our beliefs.

The Two Sides of Persecution
The reality of the situation for the Israelites was they were facing two types of persecution.

-Secular
The Israelites were living in the shadow of the Romans and subject to the Roman law and Roman ways and could and would be persecuted and killed at a moment’s notice. They had no right to retaliate or to fight back. Retaliation usually resulted in death.
Ex. Jesus being tortured by the Roman soldiers before his crucifixion, blindfolded, beaten, the crown of thorns, etc.

-Religious
Sadly the religious leaders were persecuting in the name of their self-righteousness, those who stood for true righteousness. The religious leaders had a certain amount of power and authority and they could kick you out of the temple or even punish you for not following their laws.
Ex. The blind man healed by Jesus and they call his parents in to testify about it. The passage in John 9 tells us they didn’t want to upset the Pharisee’s and affirm who Jesus was and what he had done because they could get kicked out of the temple.

So they were pressured and persecuted by the very people that were supposed to protect them and give them religious guidance.

The Truth About Persecution
So why does Jesus put this one in the beatitudes? What is it that is so important about knowing the truth about being persecuted for righteousness? We will look at three things that help us understand this verse and the truth about persecution.

CAUTION: What The Passage Does Not Say
But first…let look at what the passage does not say:
Blessed are the pushy and the obnoxious
Or…blessed are those who push other peoples buttons, etc.
Or…blessed are those who are inconsiderate and rude
These types of people may be persecuted but it’s a persecution they bring on themselves. They are acting in ways that people will retaliate. They claim to be the victim but they have actually caused the situation to happen.

But let’s first look at what Jesus meant when he said this word “persecution.” The word persecution has several different meanings:
1. Persecution means to pursue as an enemy.
2. Persecution means to oppress because of one’s belief.
3. Persecution also means, to press in on.

• It’s Not Really About You
So here is the truth about being persecuted because of righteousness. First, it’s not really about you. It’s not. It’s is being done to you but it’s not directed at you really. The righteousness that Jesus mentions here is when we are acting in a manner that is promoting or living out the values and ethics of God. It’s not just that you are being a goody two shoes and therefore people are picking on you. No, it’s when you stand up for the values of God and upholding his ways and you are being pursued or oppressed because of that. In John 15 Jesus is talking to his disciples and her tells them this in verse 18:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” John 15:18

This is not just a statement that sounds good and is meant to make you feel good. No, this is promise that the world hates Jesus and if it hated him, it will definitely hate you. This is because you are living like Jesus and the world sees that.

• It’s Done In Ignorance of God
A second reality about being persecuted for righteousness is that it is being done in ignorance of God and who he is and what he really wants for us. Many times people persecute Chrisitans because they hold tightly to Godly values but the ones doing the persecution have never taken the time to understand God and to really understand what He stands for. Jesus also talked about this in John 16:3 where he says:

“They will do such things because they have not known my Father or Me.” John 16:3

And there is the time when Jesus is on the cross and he says in Luke 23:34:

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Ex. An example of this is the idea of love. God loves everyone and he wants us to love everyone. In 1 John 3 and 4 we are told that we should be known for our love. But many people in the world say Christians are haters and uncaring. Usually this comes when they feel they are being told they “can’t” do something. They look at a boundary or law as a restriction and they term that as Christians being intolerant or haters. No, God gives us boundaries and laws for our good.
Ill. Speed limits on a street; it is meant to keep things safe and for things to run smoothly. Because there is a speed limit on Buchanan Rd. doesn’t mean that Antioch hates you. No, it there for your good but people make that same conclusion about God and his ways.

• Your Goodness Can Be Convicting
And finally, a third point about being persecuted for righteousness is that when you are acting in righteousness, it will be convicting to people who don’t live that same way. Let me give you a verse that helps understand this principle; Proverbs 25:21-22:

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”
Prov. 25:21-22

What did Solomon mean by this? What the is saying is that when your enemy is in need and you take the high road, you give him something to eat or drink when he needs it, it convicts him because it wakes him up. Heaping burning coals on his head is that idea that he gets that wake -up call that says he is being selfish, self-centered, and not acting in a bigger picture outside of himself. That can be oppressive and hurtful.

Our Response To Persecution
So, what should our response to persecution be? I see it unfold in three ways.

 Reliance On God
First, it should drive us right back to our reliance on God to sustain us and carry us through any situation even if it doesn’t go the way we want. Relying on him is showing that we trust him and his ways.

 Non-Retaliatory
Second, we are not meant to fight back and take revenge. I am not saying we shouldn’t protect ourselves, that is different than revenge. Revenge is getting back at them or trying to get even. God tells us that revenge is his business not ours. Revenge is mine says the Lord.

 Lots of Prayer
And third, our response needs to be lots of prayer. Not just prayer for ourselves, prayer for all those around the world who are being persecuted for living our God’s Word and God’s ways and living our righteousness.

Temporary Troubles, Long-Term Bliss
A wonderful promise comes to us at the end of verse 10:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Vs. 10

Let me add to that another verse that helps put this promise into perspective. We have the promise of the kingdom of heaven but we still face persecution. The thing is our struggles and persecution are temporary but the kingdom of heaven is long-term; 2 Cor. 4:17:

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Cor. 4:17

The promise to be enjoyed all who endure persecution will be rewarded. It is a promise made only to those who suffer for righteousness’ sake and who are spoken against falsely for Christ’s sake. This is a threefold promise.

A. It is a present promise. Even in the midst of persecution you can enjoy this promise. It is for the here and now. When believers must suffer because of their faith, they have discovered the way to experience the closest possible companionship with God. The promise that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” becomes a reality.

B. It is a future promise.

C. It is a perennial promise. This is a promise of being identified with God’s chosen people, a promise that is realized both in the present and in the future. To suffer persecution is to walk the same road as the prophets and martyrs. To suffer for what is right is to be part of a great succession.

George Bernard Shaw said that the finest compliment the world can pay any author is to burn his books, thus showing that his books are so dynamic and explosive as to be considered intolerable. And the finest compliment that can be paid to Christians is persecution because of righteousness, for then they have been identified with God’s choicest people.

Communion

People Of Peace

Matthew 5:1-9

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.” vs. 8

Imagine

Imagine by John Lennon

Imagine there is no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky

Imagine all the people Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too

Imagine all the people Living life in peace

You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you will join us And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people Sharing all the world

(Repeat Chorus)

That song is pretty catchy. You hum it, sing it, etc. without realizing the implications of the words. Reality is that many people believe these words. They believe this is that picture of ideal peace. But let me summarize what John Lennon is saying: if you can just get to a nothingness state, a place of no boundaries, no rules, no nothing, you find peace. He even claims that if you can get to a place of no religion you can find peace and yet what John Lennon is promoting here is Eastern religion. Jesus teaches us something much different. It’s found in Matt. 5:9. If you are able, please stand as we read God’s word, Matthew 5:1-9:

Read Passage – Matthew 5:1-8

 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them. He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,     for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek,     for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,     for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful,     for they will be shown mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,    for they will see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,    for they will be called children of God.

Ready For War

These words were pretty startling to the Jews. They were expecting their Messiah. Their Messiah was going to be their king. He was going to establish his kingdom and a Jewish empire; this would displace the oppressive ruling Roman empire and finally set all things right by re-establishing Israel’s kingdom and their rule. In their mind this meant war because it would have had to have been something like a hostile takeover. They were expecting war and Jesus talk about being peacemakers.

The Importance of Peace

Since the earliest of times “peace” was a concept built into the Jewish culture. Peace is more than a passive state. Concept of Shalom: peace coming and going. They didn’t have words for hello and goodbye. As people would meet they would be greeted with peace, “shalom.” As people were leaving they were sent out with peace, “Shalom.” It was a concept built into their thinking as young children and something they would give to each other.

People of Peace Have…

So what does real peace look like? To John Lennon, it was the absence of everything, including God. I believe that peace is different than that and I believe the Bible teaches us that peace is much greater and encompassing than nothingness. I also believe it teaches us that we can be people of peace and experience that greater peace. Here’s where I think Lennon got it wrong; he had a view of God that he was some cosmic dictator and his purpose was to control and manipulate us. 2 Thess. 3:16 tells me something much different:

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.”

2 Thess. 3:16

I focus on the words “Lord of peace.” If I believe these words, and I do, then real peace doesn’t come from nothingness but from God himself. I would even throw out that the reason Lennon couldn’t find real peace was he was looking for it outside of God. He cut out the source of peace and then struggled when it wasn’t there.

So I want to look at what our lives can be like with the peace that comes from God and discover how that changes our lives.

1. A New View Of God

   First and foremost, we have a new view of God. He doesn’t look like a dictator or manipulator or a king sitting on a throne with a scepter ready to whack us when we step out of line. Instead, he looks like a loving father that brings stability and joy to our lives. Psalm 85:8 tells us:

   “I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly.” Psalm 85:8

   He promises us peace. What we begin to discover is that when we trust him, follow him, and listen to what he says, he pours out peace. This is reworking our view of God; it is a mental shift from the “dictator” that Lennon believed to the “father” we need.. We understand his ways are ways of love and direction and that the things we go through are meant for our good and are best for us. A father wants the best for his children. A father has to discipline and train a child. A father has the child’s future and best life in mind for them and wants to do everything he can to help his child experience that abundant life. But this takes trust on the part of the child and obedience. Romans 5:1says:

   “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” Romans 5:1

   Our faith and trust in him lead us to experience the peace that only God can bring to life. I think David understood this when he wrote Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, and it is all about delighting in the law of the Lord. A new view of God says he gives us the boundaries and direction we need so that we do experience only a peace he can bring.

   1. The need to discipline yourself to practice to become good at something like a sport, music, art. etc.

   The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be. -Tom Landry

2. A New View Of Yourself

   Second, people of peace have a new view of themselves. Unfortunately, we have bought into the idea that we are “good” people if we have certain things, money, material possessions, power, fame, etc. and that those things will bring us peace. But let me give you a quote from Jesus himself about this very idea, it comes from John 14:27:

   “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

   Notice it says he gives us peace but not as the world gives. What does that mean? It means that in the worlds eyes peace is found in the “things” that we have. Jesus is telling us that in God’s eyes, you are everything he wants, not your things and that your identity is not in what you have but who you are and whose you are. In the world’s eyes we compare ourselves to each other to determine our worth and our value. With God, we can stop comparing and accept the love that he has for each of us and it’s his love that fills our hearts and brings us peace. The things the world tells us that give us peace are temporary, they don’t last long.

   1. March Madness – A team wins and they are on the top of the world, the lose the next game and they are breaking down in tears and defeat.
   2. A peace that God brings is when we are so caught up in him that we experience a deep peace and one that lasts. The deep peace that comes from serving and helping others, i.e. serving food at a soup kitchen, volunteer at a school, volunteer at elderly home, helping someone fix their house, etc.
3. A New View Of Others

   Third, when we understand how much God loves us and that we are all he wants, we come to the realization that it is that way for everyone and that they are everything God wants too and we look at them in a much different way. We may not get along with them, their personality may not mesh with ours, their styles and likes may differ from ours, but we see them differently because God has just as much love for them as he does for us and we in turn choose to love them through God’s view. Col 3:15 says:

   “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” Col. 3:15

   It also says in Romans 12:18:

   “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18

   God’s peace changes our view of others. I believe this is captured in a song by Matthew West called My Own Little World. Here is a portion of that song.

   Ex. Matthew West – My Own Little World

   Father, break my heart for what breaks Yours Give me open hands and open doors Put Your light in my eyes and let me see That my own little world is not about me What if there’s a bigger picture? What if I’m missing out? What if there’s a greater purpose? That I could be living right now I don’t wanna miss what matters I wanna be reaching out Show me the greater purpose So I can start living right now Outside my own little world

4. A New View Of The World

   Fourth, God’s peace gives us a new view of the world. In John Lennon’s song these words were sung: “Imagine there’s no countries, It isn’t hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion, too…” Lennon is actually saying that everything is meaningless and worthless…that includes you and I. God on the other hand says that you are worth dying for. Jesus says that you are worth dying for and he backed that up by living it out. John 3:16

   “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

   This kind of peace is a sacrificial and giving peace. We are called to be like Christ so we follow his example and we serve.

   Peace Identifies Us With God

   Our acts of service, acts of kindness and our acts of peace all lead others to see that we are no just another person but that we are children of God; verse 9:

   “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” vs. 9

   Part of the promise here is that when we point people to God and help them see what real peace is, we then are fulfilling our mission of spreading peace and being peacemakers in the world.

Pure In Heart

Matthew 5:1-8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” vs. 8

A Fender Bender

Two young adults were involved in a fender bender and at first they were angry with one another and accused the other of being at fault, but finally, calmer heads prevailed and they decided to call the police and let the officials settle the matter.  But as they waited for the police to arrive they got involved in a conversation and discovered that both of them were single, and that they had a lot in common, and the chemistry began to flow between the two.  Finally the young woman said, “You know, maybe it was God’s will that we had this accident and we get to meet one another.”  And the young man, who was really attracted to the young woman said, I think you are absolutely right!  And then the young woman said, “It’s silly for us to stand out here in the cold. Let’s get inside my car & sit where it will be a little warmer.” And the young man agreed.  As they sat talking in the car the young woman said, “You know, I just happened to be at the store and I bought a bottle of wine and I have some paper cups. How about if we have a toast to this chance meeting?”  The young man thought that was a good idea.  They made their toast, he gulped down his wine and then noticed she hadn’t toasted…And he said, “Aren’t you going to drink yours?”  She said, “NO, I think I’ll just wait for the police to arrive to assess the damages.”

Read Passage – Matthew 5:1-8

 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them. He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,     for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek,     for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,     for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful,     for they will be shown mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,    for they will see God.

Cleaning Up

We noticed last week that the first four beatitudes deal with our relationship with God and that in verse 7 a shift takes place where we discover God’s perspective in our relationship with others. A large part of our relationships is how others see us. That begs the question: When you are “cleaning yourself us” what do you do first. It seems to me that when we start to clean up our lives we usually start with the outside because that is what people see. In our culture we value the outward appearance and we are bombarded with products to help us do that. It’s good to have a clean outside but it takes more than that. This verse challenges us on that. You might even say that this verse tells us that we’ve got it backwards, in the wrong order. If you are trying to clean yourself up by taking care of the outside, you might be starting in the wrong place It is good to clean up our outside but maybe the order should be that we start on the inside and then work on the outside.

When The Two Don’t Match

There is a disconnect that takes place in some ways. We can clean up the outside but really only two people know what is on the inside. 1 Samuel 16:7 says:

“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 

The two people who know what is in your heart are you and God. And most of us are aware enough of our own thoughts and motives to know that sometimes the heart and our actions don’t match. We can act one way on the outside, like the lady in our opening story, and being thinking and feeling much differently on the inside. This was true in Jesus day and it’s still true today. This verse challenges us to go against our culture and against our natural tendency.

Is Pure Really Necessary?

To me, the natural question I ask myself is; “Do I really need to be pure?” It’s a good question. Isn’t it good just to try hard, to put on a good face, to try to be good and be socially acceptable? Well, I think God not only gives us the answer to that but helps us with it as well. In 1 Corinthians 11:28-29 it says:

“Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.” 1 Cor. 11:28-29

Whenever we take communion, and in our church that is the first Sunday of the month, God calls us to examine ourselves, confess our sins, and really to put it in Christ’s words, to get pure, to clean up. God wants us to be pure. He wants us to have the outside match the inside and he built a way for us to do that; confession and communion. The bigger issue is how can we put some practical steps in our life so that we can always be moving towards purity?

The Refining Process

The analogy that comes to mind is the refining process that we use for precious metals like silver and gold. We can learn a lot from that and we can build practical steps into our everyday life that allow us to inch closer and closer to our inside matching our outside.

1. You Can’t Do-It-Yourself

First, and this is a hard place to start because we don’t really want to hear this, you can’t do-it-yourself. This too is counter culture. We live in a world of Home Depot’s and Lowe’s that tell us and teach us we can do-it-ourselves, at least when it comes to home improvement. But the world tells us that too about how to live our lives. Go to the self-help section of a book store or library or online bookstore and you’ll see a huge section of books on how to improve your life. Probably 15 to 20 years ago that section didn’t even exist; or at least it was pretty small. Not anymore. When it comes to purity, you can’t do-it-yourself. Let me give you two verse to help you with this. First Isaiah 45:22:

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:22

And then Acts 3:19:

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…” Acts 3:19

The real cleansing comes when we turn to God and give him our life. God can clean the parts of us that we can’t; our heart and our inner being. When we make a list of things we can do to clean ourselves up, and remember most of those are on the outside, we fall into the trap of legalism and to the illusion that we can do-it-ourselves.

2. Admitting You Need Cleansing

Understanding we cannot do-it-ourselves and turning to God is a great first step but something else needs to be done as well, we need to admit that we need cleansing. A big trap that we are sold from an early age is that we are good; too much of that leads to the trap of pride. It’s hard to admit we need cleansing if we feel we are good in and of ourselves. The truth is that we all have things we need to work on, things that we do wrong, and to move forward comes when we are willing to admit our weaknesses and our need for God’s cleaning. Here are some verses to help us grasp this concept. First Isaiah 6:5:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5

And then a verse of hope from 1 John 1:9:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

This is a new way of thinking, in fact, it’s really the fact that we need to change our thinking.

Mark Twain put it this way, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby.”

I guarantee you the world will not teach you this. Mostly the world teaches not to admit our weaknesses or mistakes but to put on a good face and to “be strong.” I have found that the more I admit my weaknesses, the more understanding and the more patient people are with me and that I experience real forgiveness and greater patience from others.

Ex. Do you remember the name Terry Anderson? In 1985, he was taken hostage by Shiite Hezbollah militants and held until 1991.He was held hostage in Lebanon for 2,454 days. On March 16, 1985, Anderson had just finished a tennis game when he was abducted from the street in Beirut, placed in the trunk of a car, and taken to a secret location where he was imprisoned. For the next six years and nine months, he was held captive, being moved periodically to new sites. His captors were a group of Hezbollah Shiite Muslims who were supported by Iran in supposed retaliation for Israel‘s use of U.S. weapons and aid in its 1982–83 strikes against Muslim and Druze targets in Lebanon. He was the longest-held of the American hostages captured in an effort to drive U.S. military forces from Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War. Terry Anderson was raised in the Roman Catholic Church, but had not practiced for years. During his captivity, however, he was given a Bible. He said that Bible came to him as a gift from heaven. He read. He pondered his life. He had lots of time to ponder his life – 2,454 days. He looked back and found many things that brought him shame. In his mind, he began composing a litany of confession. As time went by, he gradually learned about other American hostages confined in cells around his own cell. He found out one was a priest – Father Jenco. He asked if he could confess to the priest, and his wish was granted. They were brought together and their blindfolds were removed. Terry Anderson at last began his recitation of all he had done wrong in his life. When he finished, they were both in tears. Father Jenco laid his right hand on Anderson’s head and said, “In the name of a gentle, loving God, you are forgiven.” Anderson’s faith grew deeper and deeper through his long captivity, but his first formal step back was his confession. In the darkness of captivity and abandonment, Terry Anderson turned back and found the grace of God. But wait. It took months of confinement to get Terry Anderson started.

3. Be Malleable (Changing Your Attitude Towards Fire)

The third step is to be malleable, that means workable or “moldable,” capable of being stretched or bent into different shapes or capable of being easily changed or influenced. Are you ready to reconsider the “fires” or tough times in your life and to look at them differently? This point will challenge your attitude towards fire or toward the tough times in life. Listen to Malachi 3:2-3:

“For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” Mal. 3:2-3

Let’s talk about some precious metal things for a few minutes. Gold is extremely malleable – that means it can be worked easily; changed if you will. Gold is so malleable that a single ounce can be beaten out into a thin film (less than 1/282,000th of an inch thick) that it could cover a hundred square feet. And gold is so ductile (able to be stretched) that one ounce can be drawn into a fine wire one hundred kilometers miles long. How does this happen? The gold must be heated with fire so that it is in a liquid form and the impurities will rise to the top. This gets it pure. Then it is heated to be stretched or molded. The other way is that it is beaten with a hammer or metal mallet and formed and beaten to the form or shape that it needs to be. This is not a gentle thing, this is rough.

Here’s the point: we grow though our tough times and we are shaped by the difficult things we go through. Unfortunately, most of us don’t grow too much in good times. We get comfortable and we get stagnant. When things are tough, we get stretched, we get refined, we get beaten into shape. Being malleable means we are willing to go through the tough tims so that we can grow and change and be changed by God so that we look, act, and think like Jesus.

1. Turn to someone and say, “Give me your hand and let me mod it with fire or this hammer.”
2. Claudia the hotel situation she had this week.

4. Allowing the Impurity To Leave

That leads us to the fourth point which is that we have to allow the impurity to leave. 2 Cor. 7:1:

“Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” 2 Cor. 7:1

Purifying is getting rid of the contaminates. The point here is that we need to get rid of them and then keep them out. Many times we can get rid of something and shortly thereafter put it back in our life. No. We don’t want to contaminate our bodies, our heart, again.

God only wants good for us. He won’t give us something or put us through something that would harm us. We put the contaminates in our life. We also have to be willing to work at keeping the contaminates out so that we don’t become contaminated again. This is tough and it takes a lot of work, determination, and continual giving of ourselves to God. Usually we get some type of reward or benefit from keeping the contaminate there and we don’t want to lose that.

Dr. Phil puts it this way; “You are doing this behavior for some payoff.

Most of the time we are unaware of how the “bad” thing is hurting us but it might feel good at the time or it might feel that we are getting something that helps us when in reality we are better off without it.

Ex. Getting drunk may help us feel less pain for a while but it is hurting us internally and hurting those around us.

(Repeat)

This is so much of a continual process that once we have completed it, we have to start over again. This really is an pngoing process in our life.

A New Sight

Now for the great promise that comes in the second half of this verse”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” vs. 8

The stuff we don’t need in our life stops us from fully seeing God and his work in our life. The promise we have here is that the more we get rid of the contaminates and junk, the more we see God. We’ll see him places and ways we would have missed before. We’ll see him in the good times but also in the tough times of fire and testing.

Ways we might see God

In History

In Nature

In the events of our and others lives

We also see him

-We begin to comprehend his ways

-We begin to comprehend his purposes

-We begin to comprehend his truths

The Gift Of Mercy

Matthew 5:1-7

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” vs. 7

The Shoebox

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents.

‘When we were to be married,’ she said, ‘ my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.’

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two Precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two Times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with Happiness.

‘Honey,’ he said, ‘that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?’

‘Oh,’ she said, ‘that’s the money I made from selling the dolls.’

Relationships have there ups and downs but could you imagine if you kept a record of every wrong or every time your spouse got you upset or angry? Especially if you have been married a long time? I would think that somehow that would eventually destroy the relationship. In a sense there would be no grace, no forgiveness, no real reconciliation. So is there a better way? Let’s see what Jesus tells us about relationships in The Sermon on the Mount and in the Beatitudes. If you are able, please stand as we read Matthew 5:1-7.

Read Passage – Matthew 5:1-7

 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them. He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Action Not Reaction

A shift takes place in verse seven of the Beatitudes.  The first 4 Beatitudes (vs.3-6) focus on our relationship with God. In verse 7, Jesus begins to explain and talk about our relationships with other people.

Most of us would define mercy in this way: kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly. So mercy includes compassion, forgiveness, empathy and restoration.

The word Jesus uses for mercy is “eleos,” and it is full of great meaning. It’s used to describe an attribute of God. God is said to be “rich in mercy” (Eph.2:4) and in 1 Peter he describes God’s mercy as “great.” “Eleos,” in it’s root carries the meaning, “to wash over.” In the Greek culture, wherein Jesus lived, it was used in the context of “whitewashing” a wall or “wiping out” an impurity or “canceling” a debt. You see mercy goes beyond sympathy to empathy.

Ex.  Painting or white washing a wall or fence

You see mercy is an action, not a reaction. It’s not a trait that you use when you are offended or when a wrong is done, it’s a trait that you have before that. It’s the choice to make it a lifestyle and character of who you are.

Active Mercy

Based on that understanding of mercy, mercy is active not passive, and as I said earlier, proactive not reactive. As Christians, we are called to be people of mercy. We are not meant to control our Christianity; it’s meant to control us. It’s more about our attitude than our actions. So Jesus says in verse 7:

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” vs. 7

So in this verse, Jesus calls us to be people who are active in mercy. So, from here, we want to try to define what “active mercy” looks like in our life.

1. Mercy Is Spirit Led

First, going under the premise that “We are not meant to control our Christianity; it’s meant to control us,” real mercy is Spirit led. When we give our life to God and accept the free gift of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ, we have the Spirit of God living in us. It says in Titus 3:5:

“He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit…” Titus 3:5

Most of us understand that the Holy Spirit is our comforter, our guide, our strength but another attribute of the Holy Spirit is renewal.  We are constantly being renewed by the Holy Spirit. Part of that renewing comes in the form of mercy.  It’s seeing others through the Spirit that lives in us. So, we are Spirit led. Romans 8:14 says:

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” Romans 8:14

When we allow God’s Spirit to lead us, others see that and they see the God we love and have a relationship with. It’s really yielding our spirit to His Holy Spirit.

2. Mercy Is Attitude Driven

Second, mercy is attitude driven. That may sound vague so let me define attitude for you.  It is: a feeling or way of thinking that affects a person’s behavior.  Here’s is a tough question to answer:

Q: What drives you and what drives your actions.

Obviously there are many answers a person could come up with; money, power, prestige, notoriety, fame, etc. Sometimes we think people don’t see that  but the honest truth is that people do see that in us.  We might hide it for a while but it does come out.  In Matthew 23 Jesus is confronting the Pharisee’s on their attitude and what was driving them, he says in vesre 23:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Matthew 23:23

What was their driving force, their righteousness; but it was a self-made self-driven righteousness, not the righteousness of God. Compare the attitude of Jesus with the attitude of the Pharisee’s:

The Pharisee’s                                     Jesus

To be served                                        To serve

To be honored                                     To give glory to God

To live the law                                    To live God’s way

To judge                                                To free and bring mercy

Ex. Jesus washing the disciples feet.

We are called to imitate and take on the attitude of Jesus. Romans 15:5 says:

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had…” Romans 15:5

When we don’t, there are tow pitfalls that we can fall into.

The Pitfalls: Judgmental & Legalistic

First being judgmental is being critical of others; many times we judge to quickly as well.  Ultimately it usually involves putting yourself above others or making yourself better than others. Of course many people like to put in terms of “I’m telling your this for your own good,” or “I am only telling you this because I care about you.  Ever hear those words and think to yourself, “Oh, I am so glad they are being so critical of me!”

Legalism is the way by which we justify our worth based on our actions. In the spiritual sense it is when we try to claim ourselves righteous through our actions rather than on the work of Christ. More simply put, we are trying to save ourselves through our actions rather than on the free gift of God through the work of Jesus Christ.

3. Mercy Takes Patience

Third, mercy takes patience. It says in 1 Thess. 5:14:

“…encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.” 1 Thess. 5:14

The reason mercy requires patience is we all have our issues, we all have our quirks, and we all make mistakes. We want others to be patient with us and if we expect that of others, we need to be that way as well. Bottom line, a lot of people are hurting, a lot of people are in a lot of pain; and a lot of people make mistakes. Continually. We need to strive to be people of empathy, people of forgiveness, and people of compassion. That takes patience. That takes being a person who is welcoming of people and more accepting of people. Notice I am not saying that you accept their bad behavior or their inappropriate actions.  In Romans 15:7 it says:

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7

Being accepting of people is a reflection of Christ in your life.

Ex. My diabetes.  Most of you know I have type 1 diabetes. I need to eat at certain times and it’s not really an option.  If you have been around me when I miss a meal or don’t have enough sugar in my blood it is not pretty. I am not this wonderful guy you see right here (hahaha). I get moody, I get grouchy, I get uncomfortable to deal with and you know me, I don’t hide my emotions or feelings too well. You usually know how I feel and I know I can have a big personality. I need patience from other, from you. I need people who will love me in spite of who I am.

4. Mercy Is Reciprocal

Fourth, and we have eluded to this throughout this talk, mercy is reciprocal. Let’s look at two passages that affirm this. This first is 1 Peter 2:10:

“Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:10

The real reason we are called to be merciful is that we have received it. Because it has been granted to us, we are expected to extend it to others. Ever been generous with someone and then expect them to show that same generosity to others. There is a story in the Bible about that. It’s found in Matthew 18:21-35: There’s a man who owes the king a lot of money. He can’t pay. He begs for mercy. The king grants him mercy and he walks away debt free.  Just afterward he runs into a man who woes him a couple of bucks.  When the guy can’t pay and begs for mercy, the forgiven man won’t give it to him and has the man throw in jail until he can pay. Hen the king hears about this he is furious, calls the man back in and throws him in jail until he can pay his debt. The point of the story is that mercy is to be reciprocal.

Jesus also teaches this when he teaches the disciples in prayer; the Lord’s Prayer as we call it. It says:

“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.“ Luke 11:14

The great thing about this is that God built in a way for us to experience this mercy. You experience this every month; in our communion service. Where we remember our sins, ask for forgiveness and are forgiven. We are expected to then put that into our life too.

Amazing Grace

Let me end with the story of  a man named John Newton.

John Henry Newton b. July 1725

Mother, a devout Christian, died at 6

Father, a sailor, never home

At 11 went looking for his father, found him and sailed six voyages with him before his dad retired and then really didn’t want much to do with John

At 18, while going to visit some friends was capture by the British and pressed into service in the Royal navy, this was a pretty common occurrence at this time in history. He was treated like a slave and pretty much abused. Only problem, he was a real trouble maker. The navy had difficulty keeping him in line. They finally drop him off  in Africa to a salve owner and this guy gives John to his wife as a servant.  Records show he was abused and mistreated for the time he was there. His father one day decides to look for him and rescues him from this situation. Once rescued and settled he found a job on a slave trading ship, Brownlow. During the first leg of this voyage, while in west Africa (1748–1749), Newton acknowledged the inadequacy of his spiritual life. While he was sick with a fever, he professed his full belief in Christ and asked God to take control of his destiny. He later said that this experience was his true conversion and the turning point in his spiritual life. He claimed it was the first time he felt totally at peace with God.  Within a few years he became a writer and an Anglican priest. Because of his tumultuous life and his “issues” he had with God, he became a writer as well.  It’s from this man that we have the words of one of the most famous hymns ever written; Amazing Grace.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Chorus:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.