It’s time to put our fist down, and put our arms out!
Sometimes my job is to point out the obvious, and the obvious is, it sure does seem to me that everyone is on edge! We are bitty and bitchy, and just overall upset about what’s going on in this world today! I see it in your FB post, I see it in your face on Sunday, you all try and hide it, but I see right through you. So today I will remind you of some things that we all need to be reminded of from time to time!!
· Jesus's commands are timeless and needed today more than ever
· We sometimes forget the love Jesus has for us
· And we forget what He stood for, and stood against
· And today that’s exactly what we are going to talk about
So, what does Jesus want you to know today!
It’s really nothing new; Jesus’s teaching was timeless! He is never changing, but as our world changes around us, I think there are some things He wants us to remember.
· In the last few weeks, we have talked a lot about how God cares about our sin
· He cares about our repentance of that sin
· Last week we talked about how Jesus understands what we are going through
o The rejection
o The temptation
o That He loves us and wants better for us
o And that He wants us to be His light to a dying world
· We talked about how Jesus was not a politician and didn’t care about the politics of the day
· His eyes were set on something much bigger
· His eye was set on His Father’s business
· And we talked about not buying into the next sound bite and not letting the world or Satan manipulate us!
· That we are stronger together!
So today let's talk briefly about what Jesus stood for!
There are a lot of Christian values out there
· Grace
· Hope
· Faith
· Justice
· Joy
· Service
· Peace
· Friendship
· Family
· Forgiveness
· Generosity
· Respect for others
· Humility
· Compassion
· Truth
·
And these are just that, Values, and all these values come from 3 core things that Jesus Stood for! But first, let’s make it clear what Jesus never stood for!
Jesus never stood for Politics
Matthew 22:15–21 (NLT)
15 Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.
16 They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites.
17 Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me?
19 Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin,
20 he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
· Jesus never had time for Politics
· He didn’t want His followers distracted by it either
· Jesus knows our mission is far more critical
· Far more impactful then who the next president is
· Our mission follows into eternity!
Jesus was not about religious conjecture!
Matthew 22:24–33 (NLT)
24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’
25 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow.
26 But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them.
27 Last of all, the woman also died.
28 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
29 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.
30 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
31 “But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,
32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
33 When the crowds heard Him, they were astounded at His teaching.
· Jesus never wanted the word of God to come between His followers
· Or interfere with our mission to reach the lost of this world
· Its light is to guide us
· Not be a dividing line
· It was never intended to be weaponized
· And I see too many folks today using it as a weapon
· And Jesus makes a huge point here “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures”
· Too many times I think in our haste to be right we get it wrong!
So what did Jesus stand for, what was the theme of His teaching, what did He step onto earth for?
Matthew 22:34–40 (NLT)
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.
35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Love, that’s was what Jesus so desperately wanted us to know, how to love.
· love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
o Love, the version used here is agape love, unconditional,
o all in, drink the Koolaid kind of love
o and to love God with everything that we have
o our hearts
o our souls
o our minds
o this kind of love for God fixes a lot of things
o it eliminates most of the sin in your life
o when you’re so consumed with God's and all He has to offer, there is not a lot of time for anything else!
o Then He goes on to say!
· 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
o The word translates to people near you
o Your community
o Your circle of influence
o And again, the word love is unconditional, sacrificial, all-in kind of love
o We are to show Jesus to the world by the way we love them
o Not by how many verses you know
o Not by who you vote for
o Not by the bible you carry
o But by how you treat them
Then He gives us two more things
Love each other
John 13:34–35 (NLT)
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
· The way the body takes care of each other speaks volumes to a world peeking in
· And Jesus said we would PROVE to the world who we are by the way we love
· Not tear down
o Not by having hidden agendas
o Not by gossiping
o Not by being a church consumer
· But by how we love each other
o Take care of each other
o Look out for each other
o love each other
And then He wants us to take that love and grow His church!
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
· If we teach what Jesus commands to new folks walking in the door
· That list we talked about in the beginning
o Grace
o Hope
o Faith
o Justice
o Joy
o Service
o Peace
o Friendship
o Family
o Forgiveness
o Generosity
o Respect for others
o Humility
o Compassion
o Truth
o Repentance
· It will always be done in love
· Always
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