Matthew 19:16-26
Last week we saw an overview of the Sermon on the Mount.
There is no doubt whatsoever as to what Jesus point was in that sermon.

Jesus point was that God requires righteousness.

This is also seen in Jesus parable of the wedding banquet.

After those whom the King intended to attend had denied His invitation,
The King opened his banquet to all who would enter.
Matthew 22:9-10 “Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.”

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He gives a second truth to this parable.
Matthew 22:11-14 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘ Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
He came clothed in his own goodness.

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
The point is that we in ourselves
Are not righteous enough to stand before the presence of Holy God. We in ourselves have no right to enter His wedding banquet.

This was Jesus point to the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

And Jesus went out of His way to point out that
God is not looking for man’s righteousness, but perfect righteousness.

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

So last week we learned the theology of Jesus.
But as we are concluding missions month,
It is only fitting to examine a point
In which Jesus had a witnessing opportunity.

HOW DID JESUS APPLY THE TRUTH OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT WHILE WITNESSING?

This of course does seem like a strange illustration to choose.
WHY CHOOSE A MAN THAT DIDN’T GET SAVED?
BECAUSE HERE WE RE-LEARN A VITAL TRUTH

I have shared my burden with you many times over.
There has become such a numbers push in evangelism,
That today we evaluate success by numbers.

The national campaign of the Southern Baptist Convention is:
“Witness, Win, Baptize” 1 million.

I certainly hope 1 million people truly get saved,
But the point is, you can in no way evaluate success by the number.
A person’s salvation depends upon God, not you.

But because we have become so geared to think that way,
Many times in church life,
We are tempted to lower the standard of salvation
Just so we can get another notch on our Bible.
We reduce the divine standard in order to include more people.

We tolerate sin
We let people claim Christianity while continuing to live in sin.
We let people claim Christianity even though we never see a change.
We let people claim Christianity even though we never see obedience.

We get so consumed with adding a number to our role,
That we completely throw out the standard for salvation.

The Peanuts cartoon illustrated this perfectly a few years ago.
Charlie Brown drawing a circle around his arrow.

Instead of forcing people to hit the mark,
We have been more than willing to move the target
So that we can appear to be winning the lost.

I choose the rich young ruler as an example of Jesus evangelism
Because I want you to see that Jesus never lowered the standard.

Indeed this is what He said.
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

Jesus was passionate about righteousness.
If you were not, you didn’t get saved.

There were people Jesus witnessed to that didn’t get saved,
But that didn’t change His standard.

So this morning we examine how Jesus evangelized a person who was unwilling to submit to the standard of divine righteousness.

4 Key words we can apply to the Rich Young Ruler
#1 INSIGNIFICANT
Matthew 19:16-17

It doesn’t take long to recognize this young man’s problem.
“what good thing shall I do that may obtain eternal life?”

He had heaven down to a science.
It had to be a checklist.

And understand this man was one who had it together.
We already know he was a man who had great wealth.
Luke 18 calls him a ruler (probably a synagogue ruler)
Verse 20 reveals that this all happened at a young age.

So this man is used to success.
Financial success and religious success.

And honestly, in modern day evangelism,
If someone came to us with his credentials asking that question,
We would hand him a church membership card
And start looking for a committee for him to chair.

But Jesus didn’t.
Jesus is only concerned about the standard of righteousness.

Jesus looks at this man’s success and his desire to go to heaven and says, “That is INSIGNIFICANT”.

Verse 17, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Jesus quickly let this man know
That wanting to go to heaven is not all that it takes.

Luke 13:22-27 “And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘ Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘ I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’”

Matthew 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘ Lord, lord, open up for us.’ “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

All of them wanted to go to heaven, but wanting to go to heaven won’t cut it.
IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO BE READY, YOU MUST BE PREPARED!

Here we have a person who is successful, seeking, and desiring eternal life.
We would call that a ready made convert.
Jesus didn’t.

#2 INCOMPLETE
Matthew 19:18-20

Jesus ended His first correction of the young man by saying,
“but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Now it is not strange for Jesus to say this,
And He is not advocating a works righteousness.
The Law of God is perfect righteousness.

Of course this young man is not looking for perfect righteousness,
Because he doesn’t say, “ok”.

“Which ones?”

He isn’t looking for righteousness, he wants the bare minimum

Now at this point Jesus humors him.
(18-19) “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

At this point, Jesus is setting him up.
Jesus is only outlining what this man does well.

And therefore this young man gives a hearty response.
20 “The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”
His greatest hopes had seemingly come true.
HE WAS GOOD ENOUGH!

He had been devoted to religion, for Luke records.
Luke 18:21 “And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
But as Jesus would soon reveal,
His righteousness was still INCOMPLETE
Religious zeal is not enough.

Matthew 23:1-5 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.”

Matthew 23:23-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

You understand the point.
We would be primed and ready to enlist a
Non murdering,
Non adulterating,
Non lying,
Non stealing,
Rich man that loved his momma.
But Jesus wasn’t.

This man was still incomplete, and even he knew it.
“what am I still lacking?”

Wanting to go to heaven is INISGNIFICANT (many in hell)
Religious Zeal is INCOMPLETE (many in hell)
#3 INADEQUATE
Matthew 19:21-24

Here is where Jesus lowers the boom on this rich young man.
“If you wish to be complete”

Now in the Greek that word “complete” is TELEIOS
“having reached it’s end, finished, complete, perfect.”

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

It is a form of the word Jesus used on the cross.
John 19:30 “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

We are talking about one who has attained perfect righteousness.
One who has done all that is required.

So Jesus reveals how to be saved, how to be righteous, how to be perfect.
“go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

WE KNOW THE STORY
“But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”

You see this man had spent a lifetime of gathering up accolades.
He had achieved much in his life.
He had been very dedicated to religious achievement for a very long time.
But all our past achievements are INADEQUATE for gaining righteousness

When you apply for Christ’s righteousness, you don’t come with a list of references and a list of accomplishments. You come poor in spirit.

JESUS IS LOOKING FOR THE ONE WHO COMPLETELY DENIES ALL THAT THEY ARE, AND ALL THEY WILL BE. (SACRIFICE)

Luke 9:57-62 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, ” Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, ” No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 14:25-35 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

You have to notice the word “Therefore”. He is tying the two together.
Well, anyone who has ever eaten food knows this is the case.
Salt is what makes food worth eating.
It was also used as a preservative.
It was also highly valuable (worth his salt)

And on a more spiritual note, salt refers to true disciples.
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

“but if salt becomes tasteless”

Or in other words, if salt refuses to do what it was intended to do.
“it is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out.”

A disciple that won’t sacrifice is like salt that won’t taste.
UESELESS TO JESUS
I don’t care what it has done in the past.

And then Jesus illustrates his point.
(23-24) “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

TOTAL SACRIFICE IS REQUIRED, AND THE MORE YOU HAVE,
THE BIGGER THE SACRIFICE.

Wanting to go to heaven is INSIGNIFICANT
Religious zeal is INCOMPLETE
Partial sacrifice is INADEQUATE
#4 IMPOSSIBLE
Matthew 19:25-26

In verse 23 it says, “And Jesus said to His disciples”.
This is an evangelism training session.

And verse 25 shows us that they were getting the point.
“When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”

You get the feeling that when this fellow approached,
The disciples were already making room for him as one of the twelve.
This guy had it all, but here, he didn’t make the cut.

This guy had everything, except one thing.
GODLY RIGHTEOUSNESS

He wasn’t perfect.
The disciples picked up on this, and basically said,
“Then no one can be saved, because no one can be perfect.”

That brings Jesus answer.
“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jesus used the teaching of the Rich Young Ruler
To remind all of us that salvation is IMPOSSIBLE.

There is no possible way for a man to be saved on his own.
There is no possible way for you to lead a man to salvation.

All attempts to reduce the standard to let more in.
May cause church attendance to rise,
And it may cause your church to look successful,
But it is only handing out false assurance.

Man cannot save himself.
Only God can save a soul.
Only God can impart righteousness.

Ephesians 2:1-5 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved),”

Romans 3:19-24 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

God’s righteousness is only achieved through faith in Jesus Christ.

This man had everything but a relationship with Jesus.
Perhaps now we better understand that penetrating statement of Jesus back in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.”

When we seek to “evangelize” a person, we only do them a severe injustice when we lower the bar of righteousness.
If you or I do anything to make it possible
For a man to be saved apart from
Completely denying self, taking up his cross, and following Jesus,
We have only succeeded in ushering him through the wide gate,
And upon the wide road that leads to destruction.

The Rich Young Ruler is an excellent example
Of the commitment it takes to carry God’s message.

We are not charged with saving anyone. Only God can do that.
We are not charged with attracting anyone. Only God can do that.
We are charged with presenting the truth.

If they come, hallelujah – all of heaven rejoices.
If they don’t, that is between them and God.

Charles Spurgeon had a quote that I love.
“Now observe, brethren, if I, or you, or any of us, or all of us, shall have spent our lives merely amusing men, or educating men, or moralizing men, when we shall come to give our account at the last great day we shall be in a very sorry condition, and we shall have but a very sorry record to render; for of what avail will it be to a man to be educated when he comes to be damned? Of what service will it be to him to have been amused when the trumpet sounds, and heaven and earth are shaking, and the pit opens wide her jaws of fire and swallows up the soul unsaved? Of what avail even to have moralized a man if still he on the left hand of the judge, and if still, “Depart, ye cursed,” shall be his portion?”

The simple point is there is only one way to be saved.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

We must make sure that our salvation
Rests upon Jesus ability to make us righteous,
And we must make sure that our message reveals nothing less.

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

 

 

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Read Matthew 7:24-27

In Acts chapter 19, we are confronted with a very interesting problem.

Acts 19:1-6 “It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.”

1) They were sincere (you don’t catch them lying to Paul)
2) They were repentant (John’s Baptism)
3) But they did not have the Holy Spirit
THEY HAD A WRONG UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRUTH

It is not enough for a person to be sincere
It is not enough for a person to be sorry

“I think if a person is sincere, God will honor that.”
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

God isn’t looking for sincere people,
God is looking for righteous people.

And the Bible teaches there is only one way to be righteous.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Acts 4:11-12 “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

THE NEED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS WAS WHY JESUS CAME
No place do we see this better than in the Sermon on the Mount.
It is the theology of Jesus.

One of the biggest problems the church has in evangelism
We send people out who know how to evangelize,
We just don’t send people out who know what they believe.

THE THEME IS RIGHTEOUSNESS – 4 things
#1 RIGHTEOUSNESS EXAMINED
Matthew 5
READ 5:1-2

He begins by revealing what God’s righteousness really looks like.
You can see this in four ways.

1) PERSONALITY OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS (1-12)
Of course this is what is commonly referred to as the Beatitudes.

EXPLAIN THE BEATITUDES

ACCORDING TO JESUS
The righteous are not those who are able to outline their goodness. The righteous are those who are convinced of their badness
And have run to God.

Adrian Rogers, “The worst form of badness is human goodness.”

2) THE PURPOSE OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS (13-16)
Is found as Jesus reveals
“You are the salt of the earth;” and “You are the light of the world”

God’s righteousness is for the purpose of leading others to righteousness.
God’s righteousness knows nothing of tempting others to sin,
Or allowing others to stay in sin.

No such thing as a person who is righteous that doesn’t lead others.

READ 5:14

Luke 11:33-36 “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. “If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

If you are righteous, you will fulfill this purpose.
Not just because it is commanded,
But because you are passionate about it.

3) PASSION OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS (17-20)

The righteous are so passionate about the truth
That they are not willing to eliminate even one stroke from the Law.

THE JEWS JUST KNEW THE MESSIAH WOULD WIPE OUT THE LAW.
READ 5:17
Then Jesus gives the most mind boggling statement of all
READ 5:20

Self-Righteousness wouldn’t cut it.

Jesus is about to explain what God’s righteousness looks like.
We know it as the famous, “You have heard, but I say” sermons.

4) PICTURE OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

Jesus just begins to contrast how man’s religion
Does not equal God’s righteousness.

MURDER
READ 5:22

ADULTERY
READ 5:28

Divorce, Breaking a Vow, Revenge, Hatred
Jesus is pointing out that man’s standards aren’t good enough.
We will be held accountable by God’s standards.

He closes the chapter with verse 48.
READ 5:48

God’s righteousness is perfect,
Only those who are righteous in this manner get to go to heaven.

#2 RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED
Matthew 6

Jesus here attacks the false righteousness of religion.

PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD THINK THEY ARE A CHRISTIAN BECAUSE THEY ARE RELIGIOUS.

Jesus smacks their hypocrisy right in the face.

Hypocrisy is a real problem.
Luke 12:1-3 “Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.”
So He condemns Hypocritical giving, prayer, and fasting.
All three for the same reasons.

READ 6:2 READ 6:5 READ 6:16
IT WAS ALL FOR THEIR GLORY, NOT GODS

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY WITH A WRONG MOTIVE
IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.
Look at giving.
Mark 12:41-44 “And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Look at praying
Isaiah 1:11-15 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”

Look at fasting
Isaiah 58:3-7 “Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD? “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”

This type of religion can be summed up by Isaiah.
Isaiah 29:13 “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,” (comment)

BUT JESUS STILL TAKES IT A STEP FURTHER

HYPOCRITICAL COMMITMENT.
Men pledge commitment to God, but they serve a different master.
MAMMON (world)
It doesn’t matter if it is expressed through wealth or worry,
It is still the same problem.
If that is your concern, then that is your master.

And this is problem
READ 6:24

WHEN MONEY IS YOUR FOCUS, THEN GOD OBVIOUSLY ISN’T.

They are acting like the ungodly.
READ 6:32

But true righteous people are to have a different mindset.
READ 6:33

You can see the difference between the two forms of righteousness.
God’s is perfect from the heart, man’s is external at best.

#3 RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPELLED
Matthew 7:1-6

EXPELLING SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
And no better way is self-righteousness revealed than in a person who views themselves as superior to others.

That is exactly opposite of the “poor in spirit” attitude we saw earlier.

Jesus is not condemning confrontation of sin.

The word for “judge” here is KRINO
“it primarily denotes to separate, select, choose; hence to determine, and so to judge, pronounce judgment.”

It is the idea of looking at someone as inferior and taking God’s role of passing the sentence on them.

The word for rebuke is ELENCHO – to convict, rebuke, reprove
Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”

2 Timothy 4:2 “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

Jesus is not saying, we shouldn’t confront sin.
He is confronting a self appointed judge who cannot see his own.

READ 7:5
The problem with man’s righteousness is
It leaves him with a false sense of security.

He thinks himself to be acceptable to God when he really isn’t,
And therefore is condemned under his very judgment.

Therefore Jesus expels man’s self-righteousness.
Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

And that leads to the fourth point.
#4 RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPLAINED
Matthew 7:7-19

3 requirements to getting God’s righteousness
1) RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH SEEKING

Which is why Jesus says
READ 7:7

Just as the tax collector was seeking, but the Pharisee was not.
Only one man left with God’s righteousness.

It is the man who is so in tune with God’s righteous standard
That they fall upon their face and seek God’s mercy.
Those who have never reached that point
Are resting upon their own goodness, and are in grave danger.

We must seek God’s forgiveness, and of course if we do, He will give it.
READ 7:8

There must be brokenness causing you to cry out to God for forgiveness.

You must seek.
2) RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH SACRIFICE

This is where Jesus literally said so many would miss the mark.
They may realize they need salvation.
They may realize they need forgiveness.

But the problem is in their quest for God they aren’t willing to sacrifice.
They want nothing of cross bearing, self-denial, righteous living, and martyrdom, so they look for a better option.

So Jesus makes sure His followers understand something.
If there is no sacrifice then there is no salvation.

READ 7:13-14

1 gate: Easy Access, Effortless Travel, Enormous Following, Eternal Destruction
The other: Difficult Entrance, Dedicated Travel, Disliked Path, Worthy Destination

Jesus knew that when MOST people approached God,
They would not want to part with their love of self, and love of sin, and love of the world, and so they would go through the wide gate.

And why not, false prophets tell you it will work.
So Jesus gives a warning about them too.
READ 7:15

They come looking like a shepherd.
Their message will promise you a life of ease, and effortless bliss,
But it will lead you to hell.

Luke 13:22-30 “And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘ Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘ I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. “And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. “And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

You can’t have righteousness without seeking
You can’t have righteousness without sacrifice
3) RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH SUBMISSION

Jesus makes a statement that will cut to your heart.
READ 7:21-23

Millions will be shocked to wake up in hell some day.
The reason of course is because they were religious.
They said “Lord”
They “preached’
They “worked miracles”
They “cast out demons”
But they never submitted to the Lordship of Christ.

They called Him Lord, but they didn’t obey.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

It is not the hearers of the word who are justified, but the doers.

READ 7:21

James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

James 2:14-19 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

It’s not what you hear that makes you a Christian.
It’s not what you say that makes you a Christian.
It is submission to the Lordship of Jesus.

Which is why Jesus ends with this illustration.
READ 7:24-27
Both men heard the warning.
Both men experienced tribulation
But only one survived.

It wasn’t the hearing, it wasn’t the saying, it was the doing.

Our churches are filled with people who say they are Christians.
Our churches are filled with people who have heard the word of God.
BUT THAT DON’T MAKE IT SO!

God is looking for the righteous.
Those who come crawling to Him begging for forgiveness.
Those who come hungering for righteousness.
Those who come bringing obedience.
Those who are committed to Him as their Lord.

That is the message we take to a lost world.
We must confront false righteousness.
Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

And it is very fitting what Matthew recorded after this sermon.
READ 7:28-29

You read that the crowds were amazed.
You do not read that the crowds were broken.

They responded just as many do today.
They are enamored with Jesus, they are amused with Jesus.
They enjoy Jesus, but they do not submit to Jesus.

They call themselves a Christian.
They give, pray, fast, preach, work miracles, and cast out demons.
They look good on the outside, no murders, no adultery, no divorces.
They have on a Christian T-Shirt.
But they are lost.

WHERE DO YOU STAND?

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”

Jesus on Mission
Selected Scriptures
August 4, 2013

This morning we are not yet getting back into our study of the Holy Spirit.

Instead we are going to spend today in a time of thanking God
And honoring Him for all that He has done over the last couple of weeks.

For the past two weeks our church was on mission in Zimbabwe.
Ten actually traveled to Zim, but the entire church was on mission.

Everyone on our team was easily aware that you were praying for us.

I promised the team (who will be sharing return testimonies tonight) that I wouldn’t steal any of their thunder, so let me just say that we had some times where we definitely needed God to intervene, and He did, and we know that your prayers played a special part in that.

SO WE WERE ALL ON MISSION.
And instead of getting right back to the study on the Holy Spirit,
I just wanted to sort of savor that reality a little longer.

And this morning I want us to put our minds back on missions,
And the reality that it is all of our job, every day of the week.

During this trip we had a lot of ministry that kept us occupied until late at night
So we weren’t able to meet and fellowship at night as much as in previous trips.

But on three nights we were able to meet as a group
For times of devotion and worship.

AND DURING THOSE TIMES WE BEGAN TO STUDY WHY JESUS CAME.

We had come to Zimbabwe and were seeking what to do.
It only seemed logical to look at what Jesus did on His mission.

Now we only looked at three passages on our trip, and there are several more than that.

AND THIS MORNING I just want us to spend some time
Sort of scavenging through the word of God and trying to get an idea of
Exactly what Jesus came to do while He was on mission.

Can pretty easily sum it up in four categories
#1 JESUS CAME TO DO THE FATHER’S WILL

Now that is certainly not a surprising statement.
We all realize that ultimately we are not the ones who are on mission,
GOD IS THE ONE WHO IS ON MISSION.

God is the One who is working to reconcile the world back to Himself.
Paul said:
2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Hopefully we all understand that God is the One
Who conceived this concept of reconciling the world.

It is God’s mission.
• It doesn’t start with our passion; it starts with God’s passion.
• It doesn’t start with our love; it starts with God’s love.
• It doesn’t start with our wisdom; it starts with God’s wisdom.

It is God’s mission, and yet in His sovereign power,
He chooses to use us to fulfill it.

That means that in every aspect of the mission we determine
That we are going to do things according to God’s will.

We have to do what we’re told, because it is God’s mission.

And I want you to understand that this was the mindset of Jesus.
He came to do the Father’s will.

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

John 5:19 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

Or who could forget the prayer of Jesus in the garden?
Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

So we understand the priority of Jesus to make sure that He did not speak of move or act on His own initiative, but that He was very careful to do what the Father required.

TURN TO: JOHN 12:9

• In John 11, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, which was obviously no small miracle.

• In John 12 we begin to see the fallout of that miracle.

• What is occurring in John 12 is what I call “The Jesus Phenomenon”
The Jesus Phenomenon is the effect that hits people
Who become enamored with Jesus because they think
He will satisfy a felt need in their lives.

I shared with the team a few instances where you see the Jesus Phenomenon reveal itself.

In John 2 Jesus is working miracles and people become enamored.

John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

Those people were enamored with Jesus, but Jesus knew they weren’t real, as evidenced by the fact that He would not give Himself to them.

We see it again in John 6. There Jesus fed the five thousand and walked on water and the crowds are ready to make Him king.

John 6:15 “So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

But Jesus again would not give Himself to them, and by the end of John 6 this enamored crowd showed their true colors.

John 6:66 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

We see it again in John 8, where Jesus preached a strong sermon and the people are enamored with Him again.

So Jesus says:
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

But this statement irritated this so called believers and by the end of the chapter Jesus reveals that they were actually sons of Satan.

John 8:43-45 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.”

And that is the type of phenomenon we see here in John 12.

It is people who are captivated by Jesus’ power or wisdom and are drawn to Him, not so that they can submit their lives to His authority.
Rather, they are drawn to Him because they think they can use Him to satisfy some craving or need they feel they have.

THE DANGER IS THAT JESUS LOSE FOCUS
It is very easy during times of popularity to assume that it is all about you!

But watch Jesus remember why He came

Now here in John 12 we see that Jesus Phenomenon in full swing.
(VERSES 12-19)
• It is obvious that Jesus is at the pinnacle of His popularity, in fact here the Pharisees even determine to give up. They think it’s over, because the world has gone after Jesus.

And that certainly appears true, especially in light of the next verses.

(VERSES 20-22)
Here you see the disciples acting more like the secret service than followers of Jesus.
They are now managing His publicity.

But Jesus was not about to fall into this trap,
He knew why He came and at the pinnacle of His popularity
He again reiterated His mission.

(VERSES 23-28)
• I’m sure all the disciples agreed with verse 23.
• They definitely thought it was time for glory.

But Jesus knew that glory wasn’t to come through parades,
But through sacrifice.

He reminded the disciples that
He is not headed for popularity, but for death,
And if they are going to follow Him, that is where they are headed as well.

And then Jesus makes the great statement.
(27-28) “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

And there it is.
• Jesus didn’t come to be popular.
• Jesus didn’t come to stroke His own ego.
• Jesus came with a specific purpose and that was to die for sinners.

That was the mission His Father gave Him,
And He came to do the Father’s will.

Let me give you another quick example.
TURN TO MARK 10:32-45

Here Jesus is headed to Jerusalem, where He is about to be crucified.
One can only imagine the torment running through His mind.

And in verse 32 you see again that the crowd is mesmerized by Him.
So Jesus again declares to the disciples what is about to happen.

(VERSES 32-34)
Jesus knew what the mission was.

And yet, the disciples had once again missed the point.
Apparently they heard nothing of what Jesus said about death and sacrifice.

(VERSES 35-41)

They just didn’t get it.
• See, for them the mission was all about how they could get glory.
• The mission was all about what they could get for themselves.
• The mission was all about their own honor.

They wanted it done their way so they could be glorified.
And that is not at all why we are on mission.

And so Jesus reminded them again:
(VERSES 42-45)

He reminded the disciples that He was here to do the Father’s will,
Even if that meant being a servant, submissive to death on a cross.

Jesus did not come to do His own will.
He came to do the Father’s will.

AND THIS IS A GREAT REMINDER FOR YOU AND I.
We are also here to do the Father’s will.
• This life is not about how we can gain comfort
• This life is not about how we can gain power
• This life is not about how we can gain prestige

Those things can even be a temptation
To keep us from doing what God has called us to do.

We are here to do the Father’s will.
He has a mission to reconcile the world to Himself.
He has chosen to use us, and we simply do what He calls us to do.

Jesus fully understood that, that is why He came.

#2 JESUS CAME TO REVEAL THE FATHER’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

Now, at this point we are getting a little more specific
With the task our mission takes.

Obviously we are here to do God’s will, but let’s get more specific.

As we go on mission in this world, rather that is Spur or Africa,
We have to understand what that mission looks like.

And Jesus makes it very clear exactly what He was out to do.

His first priority was to reveal the Father’s righteousness.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 5:17-20

We have studied this before, I hope you remember the point.

• But the Jews had already figured out that the Law of God was too intense.
• There was no possible way that anyone could fulfill all the commands of God.
• We even have the Rich Young Ruler asking Jesus “which ones?” really
mattered.

And so the common thought was that when the Messiah came
He would reveal which commands really matter.

You know, He would sort of grade us on the curve and help us see which commands are really more of the optional nature.

Man is always looking for a way to make salvation self-attainable.

But imagine their surprise when Jesus matter of factly stated
That He wasn’t nullifying any of it.

(VERSES 17-20)
• He didn’t come to lower the standard in the least.
• He didn’t come to make it easier at all.
• He didn’t come to widen the gate one centimeter.

In fact He states explicitly in Matthew 5:48
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Jesus came to hold high the standard of God’s perfect righteousness.

And at this point I suppose it would be good for you and I to ask WHY.
And that reason is easy.

Jesus elevated the righteousness of God
Because He was the only One who effectively lived it.

That is what He means by, “I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

And if He is the only man who possesses God’s righteousness
Then He is the only place you can go to get it.

And this is so important, and yet so overlooked today.
We think we are doing people in the world a favor
When we condone or tolerate sin.

• We think we are showing the love of God when we tell sinners that their sin is no big deal, or that God loves them anyway.

• We think it is to be God-like when we throw open the doors and tell people to come just as they are with no fear of punishment, because our God is an understanding God.

(I’ve certainly been accused of being un-godly for not doing it)

But listen very closely to me here.

• If you start lowering God’s standard of righteousness…
• If you start abolishing God’s commands…
• If you start telling people that God is OK with their sin…

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING?
You are in effect giving people reasons why they don’t need Jesus.

• If righteousness doesn’t matter…
• If the bar is low enough for anyone to get over…
THEN WHY DO YOU NEED JESUS?

The only reason you need Jesus is if God demands perfect righteousness
Jesus has the market cornered on righteousness.

That is why He said, “Come to Me”

They will never get men to run to Jesus, unless they realize that only in Jesus can they get the righteousness that they need.

ON YOUR MISSION you must follow the example of Jesus
And elevate righteousness.

TURN TO: MARK 1:21-39

Now first you will notice that Jesus starts out by preaching,
And yet it quickly turns into displays of miraculous power.

(VERSES 21-37)
The healing ministry is working full force.

But notice what Jesus says next:
(VERSES 38-39)

Jesus knew what the people needed.
They didn’t need healing, they needed the righteous standard of God.

That is not to say that Jesus wasn’t compassionate,
He healed disease, He cast out demons, but He knew why He was there.

He was there to lift high the standard of God’s righteousness
So that the world would be drawn to Him for it.

On our mission we do the same.
We live this life to do the Father’s will, and that includes lifting high the righteous standard of God. Only then will sinners realize their truest need for Jesus.

Jesus Came to Do the Father’s Will
Jesus Came to Reveal the Father’s Righteousness
#3 JESUS CAME TO EXPOSE THE FATHER’S ENEMIES

Now this is a harsh one.

But Jesus was determined to show the world true righteousness

The problem was that they world had seen a great deal
Of what true righteousness was not.

They had seen the scribes and Pharisees who had successfully managed to make righteousness nothing more than a religious show.

And so the people thought being righteous was equal to being religious.
And there are many people in the world who still think that way.

So in order to reveal God’s true righteousness
Jesus also had to expose those enemies of God’s righteousness
Who were deceiving the people.

And did He ever do that!

TURN TO JOHN 9:39-41

This was immediately following Jesus restoring the sight of a blind man.

At the end of the story Jesus reveals Himself to the blind man and the man worships Him, and then Jesus makes this statement.

(VERSES 39-41)

What did Jesus mean by that?
“For judgment I came into this world…”

• We know He came to save the world, not condemn it.
• If He wanted the world condemned, all He had to do was nothing.

So what does He mean?

What Jesus is saying is that I came to SEPARATE, I came to EXPOSE,
I came to REVEAL.

I came to show a man’s true colors.

Remember what Simeon said to Mary about the baby Jesus?
Luke 2:34-35 “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed — and a sword will pierce even your own soul — to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Jesus was the light and He would reveal what a man truly was.

And He revealed that the Pharisees were nothing more than blind men
Who claimed to have sight.

After the parable of the soils Jesus said:
Matthew 13:13-15 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’”

That is what Jesus did.
His preaching, His ministry, it forced man on one side or the other.

Jesus was not about to let the unrighteous think they were righteous.

He came to expose those enemies who perverted the righteous standard of God by replacing it with religious works.

And that is why Jesus speaks so often of division.
Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.”

Luke 12:49-53 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

I’m not coming to make everyone get along.
I’m not coming to try and be popular with everyone.

I’m coming to lift high the righteous standard of God,
And that is going to make a few people angry.

And friends we have to learn that reality about Jesus’ mission
So that we will follow Him.

I don’t know how it happened,
But the American church has become terrified of negative responses to the gospel.

Somewhere along the lines people started to think if they presented the truth of God and people didn’t accept it, that they must have done it wrong.

No, Jesus plainly told us not everyone would receive it.
He told us there would be hard soil and rocky soil and weedy soil.

And the fact is there are some people
Who just don’t like hearing about the righteous standard of God.
But you can’t lower God’s standard just to make them happy.

Jesus didn’t.
Instead Jesus exposed them.

Remember Matthew 23?
8 times Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites.

He wasn’t about to let the world think that their religion was anywhere close to the righteousness God required.

And that is our mission.

• We are here to do the Father’s will and that means that we reveal the Father’s righteousness to the world.

• And in doing this we know that there will be some backlash, for not all the world is interested in God’s righteousness.

• But we do it anyway and thus expose that some men just don’t have it.

That is our mission.
To show sinners the righteousness of God, thus exposing their sin.

He came to do the Father’s will
He came to reveal the Father’s righteousness
He came to expose the Father’s enemies
#4 JESUS CAME TO SAVE THE FATHER’S CHILDREN

See this was the ultimate purpose of His mission.

He came revealing righteousness which would draw the lost to Him.

For He alone would pay their sin debt on the cross
And impute His righteousness to them.

• If He didn’t submit to the Father’s will…
• If He didn’t reveal the Father’s righteousness…
• If He didn’t expose the Father’s enemies…
He could have never saved those He came to save.

All of those previous points were to lead to this end.
JESUS CAME TO SAVE SINNERS.

1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”

John 12:47 “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Matthew 18:11 [“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.”]

Luke 9:56 “for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.”

I mean we get that.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 9:9-13

What a tremendous story.
And incidentally we see all the previous components wrapped up in this story.

• There is Jesus lifting high the standard of righteousness and thus calling
sinners to follow Him as the only answer.
• There are the enemies of God who rebel against what He is saying.
• But Jesus reveals that all of this is necessary to fulfill His mission.

Jesus came to call sinners to salvation and to provide the means for it.

TURN TO: LUKE 19:1-10

There again is a tremendous story of Jesus calling the lost to Himself.
And this really caps the whole story doesn’t it?

Jesus was very focused as to why He came.
• It wasn’t to be comfortable in this life…
• It wasn’t to gain fame or fortune…
• It wasn’t really even to get some sort of “rock icon” following…

 
• Jesus came to do the Father’s will, which included service to the point of death.
• Jesus came to lift high the standard of God’s righteousness, even to the point of offending all those who preached a lesser standard.
• And He did that, because only through revealing the righteousness of God would men turn to Him for that righteousness and be saved.

I hope that helps you understand what your mission is here on earth,
For each of us also on mission.

We are here to do God’s will, which is to elevate His righteousness, exposing false righteousness, and thus pointing men to the only One who can grant the true salvation of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

That is our mission.
That was Jesus’ mission.

Now tonight I invite you to come back tonight
And listen as this mission team shares how they did just that
(I saw them do it)
And how they saw God work in their midst.

In the mean time I want to encourage you to recognize
That you also are on mission and to encourage you
To endeavor to do it like Jesus did.

John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

Pray
Colossians 4:2-4
January 20, 2013

As you can tell this morning we are going to talk about
This very important topic of prayer.

Ever since we started missions month this year,
I’ve had it heavy on my heart that at least one of the messages
Needed to be in regard to prayer, especially as it relates to missions.

We actually talked about prayer a few weeks ago on Wednesday night.
We are studying Amos and we saw what is really one of
The most remarkable instances of effective prayer in all of Scripture.

Amos 7:1-6 “Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, “Lord GOD, please pardon! How can Jacob stand, For he is small?” The LORD changed His mind about this. “It shall not be,” said the LORD. Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, the Lord GOD was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land. Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How can Jacob stand, for he is small?” The LORD changed His mind about this. “This too shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.”

When you think about it, that is really a remarkable occurrence.

Here we have the sovereign, all-knowing, perfectly holy God
Actually bending to the request of mortal man.

And as we talked about then, I’m not sure how or even why prayer works.
I don’t know if God so moves in our hearts to make us pray for His will,
Or if there are certain things that aren’t set.

But one thing that is undeniable in Scripture is what James taught us:
James 5:16b “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

Prayer is indeed a mystery, and yet answered prayer is a promise.
John 14:13-14 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

It really doesn’t get much clearer than that.
God promises to answer prayer.

The other thing we know about prayer is that it is commanded.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing;”

The Christian is called to a life of prayer,
And it is obvious that we
Should take full advantage of this privilege.

Now granted prayer is an extremely broad topic that we could spend a great deal of time on,
But this morning I want to talk to you about prayer
Especially as it relates to missions.

PRAYER IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO MISSIONS

And I want to give you a few reasons why this is so,
Before we get into our text.

I can think of at least 4 reasons why prayer is so vitally essential
in regard to our mission here on earth.
1) THE INFLUENCE OF SATAN

If our struggle was only against man,
Then maybe we could obtain victory through natural means.

But our struggle is not just against man.
We have a supernatural foe.

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Our enemy is not human.
Satan works against us in the spiritual realm.

1 John 5:19 “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Missions is not as simple as just going somewhere
And proclaiming the gospel.

The reality is that this world is encapsulated in darkness,
Deceived by the devil, held in his stronghold.

And the only way for us to get the gospel through
Is if someone first removes the veil that Satan has cast over their hearts.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

God must do this.
And if we have a spiritual foe, then we need a spiritual ally.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Prayers are the believer’s weapons of war. When the battle is too hard for us, we call in our great ally, who, as it were, lies in ambush until faith gives the signal by crying out, “Arise, O Lord.” Although our cause be all but lost, it shall soon be won again if the Almighty doth but bestir himself.”

You are not going to overcome the powers of darkness
By human ingenuity or power.

Prayer is essential to overcome the blinding influence of Satan.

Another reason:
2) THE INFATUATION OF HUMANITY

Often times those who would push us into mission work
Will play upon our emotions by painting a picture for us
Of millions of poor, pitiful, souls, who are sitting by the road
Simply waiting for someone to please come and tell them about Jesus.

How discouraging it is for mission teams to arrive
And find out that this reality does not exist.

When you go on mission, you may occasionally find your Ethiopian Eunuch
Who is waiting in a chariot reading Isaiah 53
Just waiting for someone to explain it to him, but that scene is rare.

WHY?
Because humanity is not sitting around
Wondering how they can be made right with God.

Humanity is chasing sin.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

The world isn’t moving with a hunger for God.
The world is chasing sin and the sensual desires of the flesh.

And if you are going to try and present the gospel simply on terms of
“My way is better” you’d be right, but you’ll never convince them of it.

The world wants sin. The world wants sensuality.
The world wants money, and possessions, and power, and sex, ecstasy,
And things like that.

The gospel is totally unattractive to a natural man
Because it calls for denial of self, and that is what man loves most.
And because this self and sin infatuation is so strong
The only possible way it can be broken
Is if the Spirit of God brings conviction into that life.

Only God can show a sinner his sin and draw him to the gospel.

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

And so obviously we must pray to the only One
Who has the power to change the leopards spots.

The Influence of Satan and the Infatuation of Humanity both require prayer.

3) THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF SALVATION

Humanity cannot produce or achieve salvation on his own.

Namely because humanity can’t pay for his own sin,
Only Christ can do that.
Salvation must be the work of God and God alone.

Remember the rich young ruler walking away sad, having chosen to keep his wealth and lose his soul?

Matthew 19:23-26 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

When faced with the reality of what salvation requires,
Peter accurately understood it.

And that is true, it is impossible with humanity.
Salvation is only possible with God.

And if salvation is only possible with God, how can we expect to lead anyone to salvation without God’s help?

The notion that people can be saved apart from prayer
Is an arrogant and faulty notion.
You can’t have effective missions without faithful prayer.

The Influence of Satan, The Infatuation of Humanity, The Impossibility of Salvation

I’ll give you one more (I’m sure there are others)
4) THE IGNORANCE OF THE MISSIONARY

I know this is not flattering, but it is true none the less.
So God is working on a human soul, somewhere in this world
And has them ripe for the gospel.

Let’s say there is another Ethiopian Eunuch out there. (I’m sure there is)
• Do you know where he is?
• Would Philip have naturally taken that desert road?

God knew that Macedonia (Europe) was ripe for the gospel,
But Paul kept trying to stay in Asia (Turkey).
GOD had to literally block him to get him where he was supposed to go.

Look at a sea of people, can you tell which ones are ready to hear?

Our eyes don’t see the spiritual realm.
• We don’t know where to go.
• We don’t know who to approach.
• We don’t know the pains of their heart.

UNLESS – God guides us there.

We must pray because in our own ability
We are too ignorant to know where to go or who to approach.
We need the guidance of God.

Now those are just a few reasons why prayer is so important to missions.
Satan is too influential
Humanity is too infatuated with sin
Salvation is too impossible
Missionaries are too ignorant

We must cry out to God for Satan to be defeated,
For humanity to be convicted, for salvation to be permitted,
And for insight into how to move forward.

Prayer is essential.

Now that is why, routinely when the International Mission Board
Folks talk about missions you always hear the same three words.

GO, GIVE, PRAY

And let me say this.
To many, of the three things on that list,
Praying looks like the easiest of the bunch.

“I sure don’t want to go…”
“I can’t afford to give…”
“I’ll just commit myself to prayer.”

And many choose this
Because it looks like the least burdensome of the three.
I ASSURE YOU IT IS NOT!

If you would commit to be a prayer warrior you are in for a long battle.
You will face sleepless nights, heavy burdens,
Intense concern, and tested faith.

It is those who go or those who give who get off easy.

Virginia Owens wrote (in Nov. 1976 edition of Christianity Today)
“Christians have always interpreted splitting the temple veil during the crucifixion as symbolic of their liberation from the mediated presence of God. Henceforth they were “free” to approach him directly – which is almost like telling someone he is “free” to stick his head in the lion’s jaws. For once you start praying there is no guarantee that you wind find yourself before Pharaoh, shipwrecked on a desert island, or in a lion’s den.”
This is no cosmic teddy bear we are cuddling up to. As one of the children describes him in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, “he’s not a tame lion.”…
Consider Moses, again and again intervening between the Israelites and God’s wrath; Abraham praying for Sodom; the widow demanding justice of the judge. But in the combat with god…we must be ready to bear the consequences…”Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint, and he went away lame…Whoever wrestles with God in prayer puts his whole life at stake…”
Awful things happen to people who pray. Their plans are frequently disrupted. They end up in strange places, Abraham “went out, not knowing where he was to go”…
How tempting to up the stakes, making prayer merely another consumer product. How embarrassing to have to admit not only that prayer may get you into prison, as it did Jeremiah, but also that while you’re moldering away in a miry pit there, you may have a long list of lamentations and unanswered questions to present to your Lord. How are we going to tell them they may end up lame and vagrant if they grasp hold of this God?”
(sited in MacArthur’s Colossians commentary, pg. 180-181)

When you commit to prayer, you are committing to 24/7 service.
This is especially true in our day where most missionaries serve across the world, in different time zones, and most of their work is being accomplished when we would rather be sleeping.

As a prayer warrior you must hold and wrestle and trust
As the last line of defense when all others have surrendered.

The prayer warrior is the last hope and the final reinforcements.

Acts 12:5 “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

Those who commit to pray cannot drop the ball
Anymore than those who commit to preach can choose to be silent.

The call to pray is not an easy mantle to accept.
Of the 3, “Go, Give, Pray”,
Those who choose to pray had better be up to the task.
This is reality.
Prayer is essential to missions,
But don’t view it as some 2 minute token time
That allows you to quickly run back to your other endeavors.

• If you would commit to go, then go.
• If you would commit to give, then give.
• If you would commit pray, then pray.

If you would commit to none of these things, then see yourself completely uninvolved in missions and disobedient to the Lord.

Now I realize that is quite a lengthy introduction this morning,
But let’s look at our text.

It won’t take us a long time, for the truths revealed here are not difficult to understand, but are vitally important to remember.

So here in this letter to the Colossians, Paul is writing from a prison cell.

2 main points.
#1 THE REQUIREMENT
Colossians 2:2

There is nothing confusing in the statement Paul makes here.
It is so direct all that is really needed is to meditate on it a while
And then to put it into practice.

Obviously the mandate is to pray.

But Paul gives three specific qualities that our prayer life must contain.
1) PRAY WITH COMMITMENT
“Devote yourselves to prayer,”

This is no simple command just to pray in the morning,
Or pray before a meal, or to pray before bedtime.

This is a call to be absolutely devoted to prayer.
Make prayer the weapon you will not give up on.

And this is an important command, because often times
Those who commit to pray can quickly become discouraged.

I’ve told you before, “God doesn’t work a drive through window”.
Often times prayer is not answered immediately.

At times it is, but that is not the norm.
We often see those times of wrestling first.

And in our society of instant gratification,
There are those who would quickly throw prayer aside
Simply because it doesn’t seem to work as quickly as we would like.

That is why Paul said, “Devote yourselves”

Jesus said:
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘ Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

Have faith that God answers prayer,
Even if your faith has to endure a little while.

God has recently burned into my heart:
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

The reality is that God answers prayer.
He moves to the request of His children.
But just because He doesn’t move as fast as you like,
Don’t quit, keep praying.

Pray with Commitment
2) PRAY WITH DISCERNMENT
“keeping alert in it”

In the most literal sense this would be “not sleeping”

And we’ve seen that before.
Matthew 26:40-41 “And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

And we could probably all take a little solemn application here.
One of the biggest hindrances to our prayer life
Is our own human frailty and weakness.

We are too tired, or sleepy, or busy.

Don’t be.
Be “alert” in prayer.

But this doesn’t just speak of not sleeping.

This also indicates being aware of the things
That need to be prayed for.

I understand that we live in a world of much sickness and pain
And hardship and suffering.

And I by no means want to trivialize how hard it is for people
Who are battling physical ailments and diseases.

But does anyone ever notice that in 95% of our prayer meetings or on most of our prayer lists, the list is consumed with prayer for kidneys and livers and hearts and hips and knees and tumors and other ailments?

It is not that those things should not be prayed for,
If I’m sick I want prayer.

But all too often absent from the list are our spiritual struggles.
And again, I’m not saying that people should list the embarrassing struggles of their life for all to see, but these are things the church should be praying for.

And often times that requires those in the church
To be alert to what is going on around them.

We live in our own little bubbles most of the time.
And the reality is, we aren’t always perceptive of other people’s struggles.

The command to pray is not just to work through the prayer list,
But to open your eyes, pay attention, keep alert,
And look for things that need to be prayed for.

Pray with Commitment, Pray with Discernment
3) PRAY WITH GRATITUDE
“with an attitude of thanksgiving”

God honors a broken spirit.
God honors a humble spirit.

But go before God in an ungrateful whining spirit
And see how far that gets you.
James 4:1-4 “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
When you pray, pray with a spirit of gratitude, not a spirit of greed.

At the very least be thankful that God even lets you pray.

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Is that not amazing that God wants to hear your “requests”?
(Not just your bare minimum needs, but also your “requests”)

Be thankful for that.
1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

And there is so much more that we could say here,
But look at the basic requirement.

• Pray.
• Pray with Commitment
• Pray with Discernment
• Pray with Gratitude

Now let’s move on to the next point, and here is where we come back to missions.
#2 THE REQUEST
Colossians 4:3-4

First how to pray, now what to pray for.

1) FOR OPEN DOORS
“praying for the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;”

Now as we already said, we are dependant upon God for open doors
Under normal circumstances.

We can’t save people we are always dependant on God.
But how much more did Paul need help since he was presently “imprisoned”.

It’s not like he could walk down to the synagogue and start preaching.

Every opportunity Paul received had to be a divine initiated opportunity.
(In reality this is always true, but even more apparent now to Paul)

It is also important that Paul did not want the door to his jail cell opened,
He wanted a door “for the word” opened.

He didn’t ask for prayer in regard to his own well-being,
He asked for prayer in regard to opportunities for the gospel.
And this is at the heart of praying for missions.

Missionaries need God to give them a platform.
They are in foreign countries, with foreign cultures, and foreign religions.

They are asking people to go against their traditional religion,
Their traditional culture, and the majority consensus.

This doesn’t happen naturally.
God must open doors.

We don’t just send people on mission and expect them in their own intellect and ability to be able to share the gospel.

We must send them and at the same time pray continually
That God will grant them opportunities for the word.

Pray for open doors
2) FOR CLARITY OF SPEECH

“that I may make it clear I the way I ought to speak.”

In verse 3 Paul called it “the mystery of Christ”

And that gives us all the info we need
To understand why he now asks that we pray for clarity.

What Paul is speaking of is a mystery.
It is not common knowledge.

Men will not naturally understand it.
1 Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

And for that reason we need God to help us make it clear.

One of the biggest fears of people is that
When they try to witness, they won’t know what to say.

• Did you ever think of having someone pray that you will know what to say?
• Did you ever pray for someone else to know exactly what to say?

Paul did not take his preaching for granted.
He did not just trust in his ability to communicate.

He knew the issue he was facing.
• He was preaching spiritual truth to earthly people.
• He was preaching light in darkness.
• He was preaching righteousness to those who love wickedness.
• He was preaching the true God to pagan idolaters.
• He was preaching human foolishness to those who were educated.
• He was preaching denial of self to the selfish.
• He was preaching mysteries to the ignorant.

He needed help to get through to them.
He needed help to make it clear.
And so do missionaries everywhere.

Now those are to pretty easy and clear admonitions about prayer.
PRAY
• Pray with commitment
• Pray with discernment
• Pray with gratitude

PRAY FOR US
• Pray for open doors
• Pray for clarity of speech

Those are the things that Paul commanded in regard to prayer,
And if missions is to be successful then people must commit to pray.

Satan is too influential
People are too infatuated
Salvation is too impossible
We are too ignorant
We need prayer and those who will commit to it.

But rest assured if this is the occupation you choose,
Then get read to be committed,
For if prayer isn’t offered the mission will not succeed.

Those who go must go.
Those who give must give.
Those who pray must pray.
It is just as necessary as the others.

Samuel Chadwick said, “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerles studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”

That is true.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing;”

The Passion of a Missionary
2 Corinthians 5:1-21
January 6, 2013

Well as you know we are presently taking a break from our study in the gospel of Matthew because I felt it necessary to spend a little time here in the month of January to sort of “stoke the missionary fire” in our church.

In Peter’s second letter he wrote:
2 Peter 1:12-13 “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder.”
I guess you could say that is what I am doing.

The reality is that missions is an area
Where we need to have our fire stoked every now and then.

I am convinced that this church has a great missionary heart.
• You’ve given too much money…
• You’ve gone too many places…
• You’ve supported missions in too many ways…
For anybody to doubt your commitment to missions.

But I am also aware that in reality there is probably nothing
That forces us out of our comfort zone like missions does.

And so even though we love missions
We still need to be prodded from time to time
In order to help us overcome our natural human hesitancy.

We started talking about this concept a little last week as we listened to Paul encourage Timothy to not quit on his mission.

And Paul gave Timothy some really good advice
About what he needed to remember in regard to missions.

1) Remember why we suffer
Namely the gospel is worth it. (word of God is not imprisoned)

2) Remember why we endure
And that is for the elect. (endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen)

3) Remember what we trust
In short Paul called Timothy to remember the consequential side of missions.

And that is that Jesus will raise those who die,
He will reward those who endure,
He will deny those who deny,
He will be successful either way.
Well this morning I kind of what to continue on that theme a little more.

Only hear I want to show you how this view of eternity
Was also Paul’s driving passion for missions.

I am a firm believer that everything a Christian does
Should be motivated by a view of eternity.

Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

This is how a Christian lives.
• We don’t store up treasure here, we store it up there.
• We seek first the kingdom of heaven.

And this mindset is true for missions just like it is for everything else.

Now I have to admit that my intention
Was really only to study verses 20-21 of this chapter.

(20-21) “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

But by now you know you cannot just jump into the middle of a text
Without giving a little context.

After all verse 20 uses the word “Therefore”
And you have to know what the “Therefore” is there for.

But verse 17 also says “Therefore”
And verse 16 also says “Therefore”
And verse 11 also says “Therefore”
And verse 9 also says “Therefore”
And verse 6 also says “Therefore”

And so you see why we are now studying this entire chapter.

The positive to that is that we gain a better understanding of context and hopefully do a better job of grasping the overall point.

The down side is that we are not going to be able to get as detailed into all these verses as we might like.

But what I do want to show you is Paul’s driving passion for missions
And why he was so passionate about it.

Now there are 7 passions we can identify here about Paul in this chapter,
But you need to know that they really all hang on the first one.
All of the “Therefore” statements naturally build off of the ones that precede them and that obviously makes the first the one the pivotal one.

A list like that also makes the last one the chief responsibility.

So let’s look at these passions of Paul
And see why a missionary does what a missionary does.
#1 HE WAS CONSCIOUS OF ETERNITY
2 Corinthians 5:1-5

We could very easily even begin our study back up in chapter 4 where Paul talks about not losing heart even though the outer man is decaying.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

And so Paul is focused on the eternal already there.

And it is that thought that pours over here into chapter 5
When he again mentions his focus.

Namely that he is conscious of eternity.
(1) “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Paul likens our present house to a “tent”

We know by definition that tents are temporary things.

Well obviously the “tent” Paul is referring to is our physical body.

This body is a temporary thing.
It was not created to last forever, and it will not last forever.

But we are looking forward to a “building”
(a new body – a better more permanent one)

And what Paul knows right off the bat is that
There is no reason to be overly concerned
About the safety of this body, because it won’t last anyway.

We need to have a focus toward the new permanent body.
(2-4) “For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.”
There Paul actually laments a little of the hardship and struggle
Of living in this tent.

Living in this tent causes us to “groan”

I’ve heard Neta say many times, “You have to be tough to grow old”

You’ll also notice that in comparison to the next house
Paul likened this one to being “naked”.

The idea there being unprotected.
A tent is no kind of security compared to a building.

But the main idea here is that Paul is conscious of the fact that
This body will not last forever, but in eternity he gets one that will.

(5) “Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.”

And here Paul says that God is actually the One who designed it this way.
It is God who first put us in this earthly tent,
And it is God who has purposed us to receive a heavenly building.

And in order to prove this building to us He has given us
“the Spirit as a pledge.”

And we don’t have the time to fully explain this
The way it deserves to be explained, but the idea here is that
The Spirit causes us to know there is more out there than this.

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Now why does Paul consider that?
How does Paul know that what is coming is better than what is here now?

In verses 19-22 he says he knows because creation groans for it.
Creation was here before the fall and knows there is something better.

But that is not the only reason.
Down to verse 23 of that chapter:

Romans 8:23 “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

Paul knew the eternal place was better
Because the Spirit inside him groaned for it.

He is the “pledge”
Now, there is more that could be said, but the main thing I want you to understand here is that Paul is CONSCIOUS OF ETERNITY

Paul realizes that there is more to this whole thing than just this life.
Paul realizes that after this life there will be eternity.

Now, do you realize that?
• Do you believe that there is an afterlife?
• Do you believe that there will be an eternity not only for you but for all humanity?

Good, because that belief is the driving force
Behind missions and your involvement in it.

For let me show you how that belief drove Paul.

Since Paul was conscious of eternity, let me show you his next passion.
#2 HE WAS COURAGEOUS IN HARDSHIP
2 Corinthians 5:6-8

And we get to our first “Therefore”
(that links back to Paul’s belief in eternity)

“Therefore (since we know we will dwell in eternity), being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are home in the body we are absent from the Lord – for we walk by faith, not by sight – we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

There again there is much more that can be theologically discussed here,
But it is important you get the main point.

In verse 6 and 7 Paul throws in some added information.
Namely that he is presently absent from the Lord,
But he is looking forward to the day when he is present with Him.

Now that is added information, but surrounding that statement Paul actually makes the main point twice.

(6) “Therefore, being always of good courage…”
(8) “we are of good courage”

We certainly don’t want to ignore the valuable truth in between,
But you see Paul’s main point.

Since we are conscious of eternity, it affects the way we live.
Our consciousness of eternity causes us to be courageous here.

Since we are convinced that God has a building for us,
Why would we live in fear of the destruction of this earthly tent?

In fact Paul says, losing this tent would actually be a good thing.
WHY?

(8) “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

It’s really hard to intimidate a man with death
When that man sees death as a promotion.

Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Remember when Paul found out that suffering awaited him in Jerusalem?
Acts 21:10-14 “As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'” When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

Paul wasn’t afraid of death, he knew eternity was real.

And that is the point he is making here to the Corinthians.
Since I am conscious of eternity, I am courageous in hardship.

And that is good information for us.
One of the biggest reasons people abstain from missions is fear.
Those are dangerous countries…
Those are dangerous people…
You don’t know what they might do…

Well here you see how one missionary overcomes that fear.

I just asked you if you believed in eternity.
Then let that belief give you courage to face hardship.

He was Conscious of Eternity, He was Courageous in Hardship
#3 HE WAS AMBITIOUS TO PLEASE
2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Now again this is a statement based on previous facts, “Therefore”

Since we know God has something better in store for us in eternity,
And since we are not afraid of death…
“we also have our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

We certainly know that some ambition can be bad.
• James tells us that selfish ambition is demonic.
• We know that those whose ambition is to get rich pierce themselves with many griefs.

But Paul’s ambition was a good one.
His goal for life was right on.

He only wanted “to be pleasing to [Christ]”

Now why did Paul want to please Christ?

Because he will one day stand before Him and be recompensed.

(10) “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

So now you see how Paul’s view of eternity
Affected not only his courage, but also his faithfulness.

He is faithful because he knows that eternity
Will also bring with it judgment of how he lived.

Do you believe that?
• Do you believe that eternity is real?
• Do you believe that even if the enemy kills you God has something better?
• Do you believe you will be judged by Christ for how faithfully you served Him?

Paul did.
He was Conscious of Eternity He was Courageous in Hardship
He was Ambitious to Please
#4 HE WAS IMPERVIOUS TO MOCKERY
2 Corinthians 5:11-15

Again, there is that “Therefore” statement.

And this time Paul says that his view of eternity
And the fact that Christ is the judge
Causes him to only really care what Christ thinks.

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God;”

In other words, we try to persuade men to follow, but we aren’t concerned what they think of us, the one who truly sees us is God.

Now he hopes men think better
“and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.”

If you read 2 Corinthians, you realize that Paul is writing a defense letter because he has come under some pretty intense attack.

The Judaizers have come in and accused Paul of many things,
Not the least of which was being a fool.

And they used several things.
• The Judaizers had an extensive resume, Paul didn’t.
• The Judaizers drew big fees for their services, Paul didn’t.
• The Judaizers were bold and braggadocios, Paul wasn’t.

2 Corinthians 10:10 “For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.”

The Judaizers continually tried to play Paul out as a fool,
In order to draw the Corinthians after themselves.

And Paul is in part answering that accusation here.

Look, one day I will stand before God, not them,
So I could care less what they think of me.

Paul was Impervious to Mockery
(Immune to it – it didn’t bother him)

I’m only concerned about what Christ thinks of me.
(12-13) “We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.”

Paul said, “I’m not trying to brag on myself, I’m just trying to let you know we are the real deal and so that when those people who think appearance is important accuse us, you’ll have an answer.”

And here is that answer.
“if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.”

“beside ourselves” translates EXISTEMI
It literally means “to put out of position, to displace”

In this case it means “out of your mind”
Mark 3:20-21 “And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”

The implication here is that Paul appeared foolish and out of his mind.
And Paul says, “If I looked out of my mind, I did it for God”

I’m only concerned about what he thinks of me, not what men thinks.
WHY?
Because He is the only one who I will answer to someday.

And do you see why else Paul is willing to be considered a fool?
(14-15) “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

Paul says I am willing to look like a fool
Because I am filled with a love for Christ.

He died for me and looked a fool.
Is it too much to ask for me to look like a fool and die for Him?

And again, there is much more in that section,
But namely you see that Paul doesn’t mind looking like a fool.

Now that is good stuff,
Because I can tell you another reason people don’t want to go on mission.

They don’t want to embarrass themselves.
What will people think if I sign up to go? (I know some of you face scorn for it)
What will the lost think when I start offering a different religion?

Paul wasn’t concerned about looking a fool.
He knew eternity was real.
He knew he would be judged.
And so he know only one opinion really mattered.

It’s beginning to become clear why he was such a good missionary.

He was Conscious of Eternity He was Courageous in Hardship
He was Ambitious to Please He was Impervious to Mockery
#5 HE WAS CALLOUSE TO APPEARANCE
2 Corinthians 5:16

Again we get a “Therefore”

Now Paul just said he wasn’t concerned about how he appeared to men.
He wasn’t concerned if people thought he looked out of his mind.
The flip side is
He was also unimpressed with how other people appeared.

“Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.”

Paul didn’t care what you thought of his appearance,
And was not the least bit impressed with how others appeared.

• So what if you have a seminary degree…
• So what if you wear all the latest missionary fashions…
• So what if your passport is full of stamps…

He recognized true Christian people
By the same way he recognized Christ.

HOW WAS THAT?
Well that’s the next point.

#6 HE WAS SERIOUS ABOUT REGENERATION
2 Corinthians 5:17

This is that famous verse, but you can see it builds on the preceding verses.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.”

If Paul wasn’t concerned about outward appearance,
Then what was he concerned about?

He was concerned about whether or not people were a new creation.

Galatians 6:15 “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

I’m not the least bit concerned about the outward appearance,
Not mine, and not anyone else’s.

Now, let’s take inventory here for a second,
Because we are about to get to the point.

Paul had a conscious view of eternity.
• And since he knew God had better things in store in eternity, he was courageous here.

• And since he knew eternity was real and he would be judged, he was ambitious to be pleasing here.
• And since he knew that he would be judged by Christ in eternity, pleasing Him was all that mattered and he was impervious to people’s mockery.

• And since he knew that outward appearance didn’t matter, he was callous to it, not caring what people outwardly looked like.

• And since that outward appearance didn’t matter, he was only concerned about people being a new creation.

Do you see that?
It all links back to Paul’s belief that eternity is real,
And judgment is real, and Christ is the judge,
And pleasing Him is all that matters.

So Paul’s life gets really easy to understand.
He wasn’t concerned about matters of this life, only matters of eternity.

Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

All Paul cared about was whether or not people were made new in Christ,
Because in view of eternity this is really all that mattered.

Now that leads then to his final passion.
#7 HE WAS ZEALOUS FOR RECONCILIATION
2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Now Paul wanted men to be a new creation,
But this was not something that man could do on his own.

Only God can do that.
(18) “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ…”

So men need to be a new creation,
But the only way that can happen is if God does it,
And the only way to get to God is through Christ.

In this life, in view of eternity, that is really all that matters.

What does it matter how much money you make
Or how much prestige you obtain,
Or anything else if at the end you still aren’t pleasing to God?

Matthew 16:26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Coming to God through Christ to be made new is really all that matters.

Now where does Paul fit into this story?

(18b) God “gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
(19) “namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

All that matters is a new creation, and that is only done by Christ,
But Christ has entrusted us with this message.

DO YOU SEE WHY MISSIONS IS SO IMPORTANT TO PAUL?

Eternity is real, and judgment is real, and appearance doesn’t matter,
A new creation is required.

God has made a new creation possible through Christ,
And He has appointed us to make sure everyone knows.

Now that leads to the final “Therefore”

(20) “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Paul was zealous for reconciliation.
That was his job.

He was entrusted with sharing the greatest news humanity ever received.
WHAT WAS THAT?

(21) “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

God placed our sin on Christ, so that we could be made righteous
And thus ready for eternity.

That was the message that God entrusted Paul and us to share.
That is our part in this story.

Christ paid the debt, we tell the world.

 

 

 
Now I know we have covered a lot of ground here this morning,
But let me sort of pull all this back together.

Is eternity real? (Yes)
Does it matter more than this life? (Yes)
Will God give you a building if this tent is torn down? (Yes)

So then why are we afraid to go on mission?

In eternity will Christ judge us for our actions? (Yes)
Does anyone else’s opinion matter there? (No)
Then why are we worried about what other people think,
And not worried about what He thinks?

When Christ judges, will He judge by appearance? (No)
Is anything more important to Him than righteousness? (No)

So why is anything more important to us?

Did Christ make this righteousness possible? (Yes)
Did He ask us to tell this message to the world? (Yes)

Then why would we not make sharing that good news
The chief purpose of our life?

That is called missionary passion.
It all stems from a belief in eternity, and judgment,
And the necessity of righteousness,
And righteousness made available through Christ.

And the fact that someone has to tell the world about this.

That is why Paul did it.
“Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

WHAT A STATEMENT!
It was the passion of a missionary.

If we lack that same passion, there is a reason.

• Either we don’t believe eternity is real…
• Or we don’t believe judgment will occur…
• Or we don’t believe righteousness is the standard of that judgment…
• Or we don’t believe Christ really made righteousness possible…
• Or we just don’t care if men know it or not…

That’s really the only explanation for not being passionate.
This morning I want to challenge you again to open your heart to missions.
It could be this trip back to Africa.
It could be sharing Christ in this town in which we live.

But I want to challenge you to let the fire for missions
Be lit inside your soul and once again to remember
Our truest purpose for being here.

If eternity is true, than really, nothing matters more.

Romans 10:13-15 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”