Sermon Notes 7/27/2014

Sermon on the mount

Movement or reveloution??

Lets recap

·      The sermon was Jesus teaching his followers about the law

·      The sermon was Jesus setting the course of His ministry

·      The sermon is as relevant today as ever

o   Some believe its not

o   If your not convinced that the Sermon on the Mount is relevant for us today, you can be sure you will not desire or make an effort to live as Jesus taught.

·      IT takes the help of the holy spirit to do what Jesus is asking us to do

o   Such a righteousness—which includes blessing and loving our enemies—is possible, yes, but only by the Holy Spirit

·      The sermon happened over several days

What is the Sermon on the Mount for??

·      The purpose of the Sermon on the Mount is to demonstrate the kind of teaching—and the kind of living with regard to character and conduct—that should govern the people of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

o   It show us we cant rely on our selves

o   We have to trust and rely on Jesus

o   We need the holy spirit to live in us

o   We need God to live this life like Jesus

§  With out him it is imposible

Read Matthew 6:1-4 and 16-18

Was Jesus contradicting himself??

Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

·      No, The first refers to our duty to let the world clearly see that our lives have been changed by grace—that we are unashamed to be the people of God.

o   Such obedience therefore glorifies our Father in heaven.

·      The teaching that Jesus now introduces in Matthew 6:1 warns us against trying to be religious in order for people to admire us and stand in awe of us.

·      The previous teaching was designed to glorify God, what Jesus now condemns is that which would glorify ourselves—not God—by our “show” of righteousness.

·      When we simply live our lives for Jesus we give Him the glory

·      When we brag about what we can do for him we glorify ourselves

·      If your good with a rope, or run a good pattern you don’t have to brag, everyone knows you put in the work!!

So what is Jesus talking about ??

Matthew 6:1 (ESV)

¹“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

·      He is talking about bragging!!

·      “We are all by nature self-righteous. If you don’t see yourself this way, you have even a more serious problem!

·      An essential part of the Holy Spirit’s convicting us of our sinful nature is for us to see our proneness to self-righteousness.

·      Just like a known a young horse will buck, we should know we want people to admire us.

·      We crave it.

·      Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, said the desire to feel important is the strongest urge in the world.

Jesus said it best!

Luke 16:15 (NIV)

¹⁵He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

·      Jesus is telling us to think about your rewards

·      Do you want them here or in heaven

·      Some of your worry way to much about getting the pat on the back

·      Some of you walk around looking for it here

·      Jesus says its up to you’re here or in heaven

Your reward will come either today or in heaven, I would rather get mine in heaven

·      I get frustrated when people don’t appreciate me

·      We all do

·      But we have to stand fast on the fact God sees everything and like a good dad the pat on t he back is coming!!

Look at it this way, Moral or religious??

·      The moral righteousness is when you reflect the Ten Commandments.

·      A religious righteousness is when you reflect an unsanctified ego.

·      The unsanctified ego wants to make sure people know how much you give, how much you pray and how often you fast.

·      God wants these acts to be done in secret—absolutely privately—so that only He will know.

·      That way, He alone gets the glory.

·      Moral righteousness, however, is to be seen.

o   This brings glory to God.

o   the outward lives of Jesus’ followers will always reflect the outward righteousness of the Law.

o   You and I, therefore, have an opportunity to bring double glory to God: (1) outward morality—for people to see—and (2) inward obedience—for only God to see.

This says it all!!

Matthew 23:2–12 (NLT)

²“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.

³So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.

⁴They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

⁵“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.

⁶And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.

⁷They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

⁸“Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.

⁹And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.

¹⁰And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.

¹¹The greatest among you must be a servant.

¹²But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

·      Jesus is saying this is not about you

·      We are to serve

·      We are to love

·      We are to walk together, lifting each other up

·      Holding each other accountable

·      None of us are worthy to be put on the same throne with God

Who’s well done is more important??

·      Gods or People?

·      People can compliment you just don’t bring it to there attention

Proverbs 27:2 (NLT)

²Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth— a stranger, not your own lips.

·      We have to be better than the religious who seek praise for what they do

·      God wants us to be better than that

·      He wants us all of us, he wants us to give him the glory and he will reward us

John 5:41–44 (NLT)

⁴¹“Your approval means nothing to me,

⁴²because I know you don’t have God’s love within you.

⁴³For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them.

⁴⁴No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.

·      Jesus was never worried about what others thought of him

·      He only worried about what God thought

·      We must follow in his footsteps

·      Stop worrying about others and set your sights on the prize!

Paul did! He followed Jesus instruction!

2 Timothy 4:6–8 (NLT)

⁶As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

⁸And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

It’s a life long process!!

So how do we work on this if its in a our fallen nature to want the glory??

1 Learn to give generously and often!

·      If you give sacrificially and often you tend to not see it as a important

·      It becomes routine

·       It becomes habit

2 Logically impossible

Matthew 6:3 (NLT)

³But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

·      Know there is know way

·      What Jesus means is don’t make it a big deal to begin with

·      Our need start in us and is then spoken outwardly

·      It all starts with you patting yourself on the back so learn to not do it!

3 Honorable motives

·      Do things because it’s the right thing to do

·      Not for the credit

·      Don’t flaunt it

·      Your motives, dictate why you do what you do

·      Do it for Gods Glory not yours

4. Hidden Graciousness

·      We should deliberately try and hide our good deeds

·      Make it a habit to do things for others in secret

·      Start to look for Gods reward in giving

Sermon notes 7/20/2014

Riding For the Brand

Church Membership is a GIFT!

Today:

As we finish this series on church membership we ask you to find being a church member a gift! A gift to be cherished, to be nurtured, a gift to find joy in and that last forever. We are nit a country club where you give a little and expect a lot, we are a church family that’s helps each other, serves the body, and loves folks even when they don’t love themselves! WE ARE A FAMILY! A messed up; dysfunctional family that has different needs but always puts the families needs first! DO YOU LOVE YOUR CHURCH FAMILY!

Country Club Verse Church membership!

What happens when we approach church membership like a country club membership?

·      We are joining the church to see what we can get out of it.

·      The pastor is to feed us through his sermons.

o   We have specified an acceptable range for the length of the sermon.

·      The music is to fit our style exactly. Any deviations are not acceptable.

·      The programs and ministries are for our benefit. We will determine what we like and don’t like.

·      We are members who expect perks, privileges, and service.

So what happens when the country club church member is asked to contribute to the work of the church?

·      What happens if such a member is asked to serve in the nursery for a few weeks?

·      What happens if that member is asked to lead a fifth-grade boys’ Bible study class?

·      The response is predictable.

o   One person may agree to the request out of obligation. they has a legalistic approach to serving. It’s not that they wants to do it. After all, country club church membership is not about working; it’s about being served. But since they have been asked, they begrudgingly accepts and begins the ministry with a bad attitude.

o   They won’t last long.

Other just get mad when they are asked.

·      Some may respond that they did their time in earlier years.

·      They make ministry sound like a prison sentence.

·      Still some refuse to offer a reason why they won’t contribute; they are simply indignant that they were asked.

·      And yet another group gets angry toward the pastors. After all, that’s what we pay them to do. Those pastors are just lazy, trying to get out of work.

But there is another option you could see membership as a gift.

·      It’s the biblical option that sees membership as a gift, something to be treasured.

·      Membership means we have the opportunity to serve and give rather than the legalistic option to have to do so.

·      Our entire attitude is different when we approach membership the biblical way.

The Biblical Perspective of the Gift of Church Membership

Everyone is a sinner, and no one deserves salvation!

Romans 3:23–24 (ESV)

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

·      You see we all are given a huge gift, the gift of eternal life

·      We deserve the cross, but instead Jesus took that penalty for us and gave us the gift of salvation

Jesus paid the price!

2 Corinthians 5:21–6:1 (ESV)

²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

¹Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

·      See Jesus took on sin, and made us righteous in Gods sight

·      Paul tells to not look this gift horse in the mouth!

·      When we view church membership like a country club we are turning our back on the gift god has given us

·      When we look at the church “like what’s in it for me” we are not taking the work on the cross for what it is

Don’t take the cross lightly!

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

·      Throughout the Bible, we see verse after verse that speaks of the gift of salvation, the gift of Christ’s work for us, and the gift that means we cannot earn salvation through our own works.

·      When we receive the gift of salvation, we become part of the body of Christ.

You are given a gift of membership, and with that comes responsibility

1 Corinthians 12:27–28 (ESV)

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

²⁸And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

·      Do you see what’s taking place?

·      You received a gift, the free gift of eternal salvation.

·      That gift includes eternal salvation.

·      It includes forgiveness of sins by Christ’s death on the cross.

·      It includes adoption by God the Father.

·      It includes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

·      And it includes becoming a part of the body of Christ.

That’s right: membership in the body of Christ, the church, is gift from God.

It’s not a legalistic obligation. It’s not country club perks. It’s not a license for entitlements.

It’s a gift, A gift from God, A gift that we should treasure with great joy and anticipation.

Universal Church or Local Church?

I have heard this arguement that the body of Christ refers to the universal church. The universal church means all believers everywhere for all ages.

·      They would be right.

·      But the universal church and the local church are not mutually exclusive.

·      The majority of the New Testament books are written about and to local churches..

·      Look at how many New Testament books were written to specific local churches: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians.

·      Four of Paul’s books were written to individuals in specific church contexts: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

·      Even the book of Revelation has the context of letters to local churches.

The point? It’s a lame and invalid excuse to say you will limit your involvement to the universal church. The Bible is clear that we are to be connected to a specific church in a specific context.

·      You must be connected to a local body

·      You must be involved in a local body

·      For you to become more like Jesus you need people around you to help you grow

·      Iron sharpens Iron

o   That’s means there will be conflict

o   Sin will be pointed out

I heard this this week, Satan doesn’t take down herds, he prays on the individual!

·      You need small groups

·      You need fellowship

·      You need to do life with fellow belivers!

Understand the Gift

·      Church membership is a gift. A gift that must be treasured.

·      It should not be taken for granted or considered lightly.

·      Because it is a gift, we must always be thankful for it. And when we are thankful for something, we have less time and energy to be negative.

When we receive a gift with true appreciation, we naturally want to respond to the Giver.

·      That’s when you see service to God as a natural outflow of the joy of our salvation and the joy of our church membership.

·      That’s when you consider it a privilege to serve the King, so we look for those opportunities at the church where we serve.

When we receive a gift, we respond with appreciation to the Giver’s entire family.

·      Look around you! Everyone here who is a believer is an adopted son or daughter of God just as you are.

·      They are not perfect, just like you aren’t perfect.

·      They are hypocrites, just like you are.

·      But, because of your overwhelming joy of receiving the gift of salvation, you serve other church members with that same joy.

Healthy church membership means you find your joy in being last, instead of seeking your way and being first.

Look at this passage

Matthew 20:26–28 (ESV)

²⁶It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

²⁷and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,

²⁸even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

·      Some of the disciples wanted to be first, to get their own way (sound familiar)?

·      Jesus lets the now that attitude STINKS!

·      He tells them to look at me, follow my example

·      Time and time again we see Jesus putting others first

·      Serving others

·      Loving the unloved

·      Hanging with the sinners and the ones tossed aside

·      Who do you look down your nose at?

·      Who needs you to love them like Jesus??

Get the picture? Church membership is a gift. We respond to gifts with gratitude. And one key way we express our gratitude is to serve like Jesus did and like He told us to do.

My guess is that every church would be a lot healthier if members decided to serve and to be last.

It needs to start with you.