Here is a rundown of our Welcome Week activities here at CCH for the first week of school. Please check out our Calendar page for more activities heading your way. Unless otherwise noted, all activities take place at the Campus House (see a map here).

• Sunday, Aug. 24th–Welcome BBQ, 6pm
  Gather with hundreds of new and returning students for a free meal. Eat lots and meet lots.
• Monday, Aug. 25th–Sundaes on Monday, 7pm
  Who doesn’t love free ice cream? Come and get some.
• Tuesday, Aug. 26th–TNT, 7pm
  TNT (or Tuesday Nite Thing) is our weekly worship experience. This is your chance to dive right in to all that is CCH! This night is crucial, so don’t you even think about missing it.
• Wednesday, Aug. 27th–Sand Volleyball, 5:30pm (on campus)
  There are several sand volleyball courts on campus. We will meet up, divvy up, and game up.
• Thursday, Aug. 28th–Games on the Grass, 4-6pm (the grassy spot between Colden Pond and the International Plaza.
  Come and blow off some steam by playing on some of our sweet inflatable games.

Come each night…or to as many as you are able. These are great chances to connect with lots of students as well as with CCH. Plus, it’s all a lot of fun. This is how we roll.

Nathan Shaver will be performing an encore concert at the Christian Campus House!

Nathan was in town last November and rocked out worlds. Now he is back in town with a new album entitled “These Words Aren’t Working.”

Here are the details:

Tuesday night, April 15th
7pm
@ the Campus House
FREE!

Come by. Listen to the pretty music. Eat some food afterwards.

God has been doing amazing things at CCH and on the campus of Northwest. And it’s time to celebrate.

On April 26th, we will be hosting our first ever Celebration Banquet. It will be held at Countryside Christian Church. You can find a map here. The evening starts at 6pm and will include a catered meal as well as a presentation by the students and staff of CCH. The cost of the night is free, but donations will be accepted.

This is an opportunity for us to say thank you to our many supporters, our students, and their parents. You may RSVP by emailing Brandon at: northwestcch (at) gmail.com Please include how many will be coming and their names.

Hey gang! Welcome back to Northwest and CCH! We hope your Christmas break was refreshing. We have a few cool things going on the first week of classes. Check it out:

• Monday, January 14 @ 7pm–Sundaes on Monday
  Come to the Campus House and enjoy some free ice cream. Catch up with all the buds you missed during the break…and meet some new friends.
• Tuesday, January 15 @ 7pm–TNT
  This is the first TNT of the semester. Get here and start the semester started right. You won’t want to miss this first TNT, as it lays the foundation for the ENTIRE semester.
• Wednesday, January 16 @ 7pm–Games @ the House
  Come over and bring your favorite board or card games. We will find some food to eat.
• Wednesday, January 16 @ 8pm–Spring Break Mission Trip Informational Meeting
  We will meet for a bit (sorry to interrupt your games!) and talk about the Mission Trip to New Orleans. If you are interested at all in this trip…come to this meeting. We will give out all the information you will need to know. No obligation, just information.

We have been talking about it for weeks. And now it’s almost here.

We are hosting a Spiritual Formation Weekend with Dean Trune.  It takes place at Countryside Christian Church in Maryville, MO (24899 Icon Rd.) on December 1st and 2nd.

Here is the schedule.

Saturday, December 1st:

10am–Developing Spiritual Roots
11am–Journaling for Intimacy with God
2pm–Listening to God
3pm–Learning to Live Counter-Culturally
4pm–Fasting 101
6pm–Spiritual Leadership vs. Ministry Leadership
7pm–Living in Holy Fear

Sunday, December 2nd:

8:30am–Prayer: The Church’s Greatest Need
9:40am–Spiritual Warfare
10:30am–Prayer: The Church’s Greatest Need
12noon–Fellowship Dinner
3pm–Divine Appointments
4pm–Luke 9:23–Deny, Carry, and Obey

Dean Trune is the Director of Impact Ministries International.

Impact Ministries believes:

Success is developing intimacy with God.  An individual who is developing intimacy with God will make an impact in the Kingdom of God. A team of individuals who make an impact in the Kingdom of God will have a fruitful ministry. We do not aim for “making an impact” and we do not aim for “fruitful ministries.” These two situations supernaturally occur when an individual develops intimacy with God. We cannot control “making an impact” and we cannot control “fruitful ministries,” but we have absolute control over developing intimacy with God. It is a matter of the heart. We must not allow “ministry for God” to crowd “intimacy with God” out of our lives. 

Everyone is urged to participate. Child-care will be provided. These sessions are offered at no cost as a gift from the Christian Campus House and Countryside Christian Church.

Call 660-582-8872 or email countryside [at] unitedsky.net for more information.

If you don’t want to remember a long address for our ::abide:: site, just remember this new, easy one:

www.abideinhisword.com 

In the last few weeks, we have been looking at discipleship through the eyes of history. In the first century, disciples were committed to hearing, knowing and memorizing the words of their rabbi.

Jesus echoes this statement in John 8:

“If you abide in my words, you are truly my disciples.”

With this in mind, ::abide:: was created. It’s an online community centered around the discipline of reading the words of Jesus. The goal is to read through the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) once every two weeks. The ::abide:: site will post readings for each day. And then, during the day, contributors who are doing the reading will log on and post thoughts, comments, questions, and ideas. Everyone can log onto the site then and interact with those thoughts, comments, questions and ideas. The goal is that a little community can be created where we encourage and sharpen one another. And this all centers on the words of Christ.

So, go to ::abide:: Bookmark it. Post comments. Jump in and enjoy the journey of discipleship!

Here is the first part of a two part series we are doing on true discipleship.

We have been diving into the Kingdom of God…digging deep into this “new” way of life for so many of us. In the Kingdom, Jesus is the King…and the King has given us His Kingdom Manifesto in the Sermon on the Mount.

Tonight we are going to skip to the end of that Manifesto…and see how Jesus wraps this whole thing up. And what that means for us today…

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Let’s take this apart bit by bit for a second:

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…”

What? That means that there are some who understand who Jesus is…some who understand that he is the Lord…who will not enter the kingdom. The fact that these people are calling Jesus “Lord, Lord” shows that they understand who he is…they even have made a commitment to him, since they call him Lord.

But something is missing: they are not doing the will of the Father. Jesus says that not every single person who calls him Lord will enter the kingdom; but the one who does the will of his Father will enter.

2 parts…calling Jesus “Lord” and doing his will.

We got the first part down pretty well…and we have talked extensively about that…there are many, and maybe many here, who call Jesus “Lord” but don’t want much to do with the second part…doing His will.

BUT…BUT…BUT…they say “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?”

These guys did great things for the Lord…prophesying and casting out demons and other great things…they probably prayed when they should have, and fasted when they were supposed to, and gave the money they were supposed to, and on and on with all the great religious stuff. These were good people…

…in today’s culture, they probably have gone to church their whole life. They probably have tithed and gone to Sunday School and every potluck supper. They probably went to prayer meetings and maybe even on a mission trip.

But, something is missing:

“I never knew you” Jesus says.

I never KNEW you…you did lots of great stuff in my name…but I don’t KNOW you. You were to busy DOING stuff for me to BE my child.

DOING and BEING are two different things…these guys had the DOING down, but they weren’t BEING. Jesus didn’t know them.

Mary and Martha comes to mind…these sisters hosted Jesus at their house. Martha got very busy with the meal and making sure that her guests had everything they needed…she was DOING. Her sister, Mary, though, sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to everything Jesus was saying. She was BEING. Martha got mad and asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her in the kitchen. Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen what was better. BEING is better than DOING.

And we see that here…the DO-ERS are cast away because Jesus never knew them.

And did you notice what Jesus called these people? “Workers of lawlessness.” What is a worker of lawlessness? Well, lawlessness is sin. So, they are workers of sin…the NIV calls them evildoers.

Does this ring a bell? Is this you? Are you too busy DOING Jesus stuff to get to know Jesus? If so, you are a worker of lawlessness…an evildoer…a sinner.

It’s a good time to repent and get to KNOW your Savior. And that is what this passage is: it’s a call to knowing Christ…it’s a call to discipleship. Jesus invites us to know him…

But what is true discipleship? We have thrown that term around a lot…but what does it mean?

Dallas Willard says, “Discipleship is the relationship (KNOWING) I stand into Jesus Christ in order that I might take on his character. As his disciple, I am learning from him how to live my life in the Kingdom as he would if he were I. The natural outcome is that my behavior is transformed. Increasingly, I routinely and easily do the things he said and did.”

Discipleship is the relationship…the KNOWING of Christ. And as a result, the DOING is changed. After all, I am not saying that we should just KNOW Christ and never DO anything. James makes it clear that faith without works is not faith at all.

Disciple-ship is the state of being a disciple of Christ. And in order to understand what being a disciple looks like, let’s take a look at discipleship in Jesus’ day. Here is sweet little history lesson for you.

Jesus was a Rabbi. He lived and taught as 1^st Century Rabbis lived and taught. Being a Rabbi was not being elected into a church office or a degree you earned. Having the title of Rabbi was a title of respect and honor given by the community.

Rabbis purpose was to teach the Torah…the first 5 books of the OT. They were called “Torah Teachers” or “Teachers of the Law.” Most Rabbis did this…and to support themselves, they worked in a trade. Jesus’ trade was carpentry.

Rabbis would memorize the entire Torah. They were master story-tellers. And their job was to teach the accepted interpretations of the Torah. For example…each Rabbi would have been a student at one point…learning interpretation of the Torah from their Rabbi…then they would become a Rabbi and pass that accepted interpretation on.

Some Rabbis, though, achieved special recognition and wisdom…and they taught their own interpretations of the Torah. These Rabbi’s would present their new teachings…and when they did this, they would say something like, “You have heard it said…but I say to you.” Sound familiar?

The set of rules and lists that a Rabbi had was to help people live the Torah properly. And these rules and lists were called a Rabbi’s “yoke.”

There was one Rabbi who said his yoke was easy. Sound familiar?

These special Rabbis would not just have the Torah memorized…they would have the entire OT memorized. Rabbis would spend hours discussing with their students what it meant to live out certain texts of the OT. If a student made a suggestion about what a certain text meant and the Rabbi thought the student was wrong, he would say, “You have abolished the Torah,” which meant the Rabbi didn’t think the student was even kind of close to what God wanted. But if the student got it right, the Rabbi would say, “You have fulfilled the Torah.” Sound familiar?

Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.”

Jesus was one of these master Rabbis. When these super-Rabbis came onto the scene, people would flock from all over to hear him teach. And when they heard him, they would say that this Rabbi had “schmika” which is “authority” in Hebrew.

Look at the last verses of Matthew 7:

Matthew 7:28-29 ESV

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Jesus did what typical Rabbis did:

• Depended upon the hospitality of others.
• Traveled and taught in homes, synagogues, and even the Temple
• Had a group of disciples who followed him around.

The Hebrew word for “disciple” is Talmadin.

The Talmadin would follow and learn from a Rabbi…and usually they started their apprenticeship at a very young age. Around 13 or 14 years old. Many scholars claim that Jesus’ disciples were probably a bit older than this…but still very young. Around 16 or 17 years old.

To become a Talmadin, the prospective-disciples would travel around and listen to various Rabbis teach. They would then choose a Rabbi and approach him and ask, “May I follow you?” This question really is: “Do I have what it takes to be like you?” The Rabbi could accept or reject the prospective students application…if he said yes, the young man would take on that Rabbis yoke. If not, the young man would be rejected and would pursue a laborer’s trade…such as carpentry, farming, or fishing.

As a side note, I want us to notice two things:

1) Jesus found his disciples differently…they didn’t approach him and ask if they could be his disciple. He found them and approached them and asked them to be his disciple.

2) Also, Jesus’ disciples mostly came out of these trades…which meant that, most likely, they had been rejected by Rabbis already and had then pursued a trade. These guys were passed over by the religious community once already…they were the rejects. But look at what they did. Do you think there is hope for us?

And so, a Talmadin would follow his Rabbi everywhere—every hour of every day—often without knowing where they were going or what they were doing. They hung on to everything their Rabbi said and did. They learned everything from their Rabbi; what he did, how he talked, what stories he told, spiritual practices, how to keep the Sabbath, his interpretations of the Torah, etc.

A Talmadin would never leave his Rabbi’s side for fear that he may miss a teachable moment.

History tells us that Talmadin would often follow a Rabbi into the bathroom while he relieved himself…to learn from him. If he prayed in there, they learned what prayers to pray when they went to the bathroom.

Another story I found tells us that disciples would often follow their Rabbi into his bedroom to learn his sexual techniques.

Are you seeing how serious and committed these disciples were? This was the cultural context for Jesus the Rabbi and his disciples.

And there was…and still is…a huge difference between a student and a disciple. A student would want to know what his teacher knows…but a disciple wanted to live like his Rabbi lived. Huge difference…

And today, I think we want to know what Jesus knows…but few of us are willing to live like Jesus lived.

Think about Peter…Peter was a disciple of Christ…he wanted to live like Jesus lived…so you know what he did, he walked on water. That is what Jesus was doing…and as his disciple, that’s what Peter should be doing.

This is discipleship…living like your Rabbi lived. Not just knowing what he knows…but living like he lives. Doing what he did.

And this is where we have failed…we have a lot of Christians who like some of what Jesus did and said, but there are parts they ignore because they don’t like it. Or it’s uncomfortable. Or humbling. Or embarrassing. Or too hard. Those are not disciples.

Disciples strive to BE LIKE THEIR RABBI in every way. True disciples don’t pick and choose the things their Rabbi says or does to do themselves. They follow them completely.

And that is Jesus’ invitation… “come and follow me.”

There were 5 characteristics of discipleship in Jesus’ day:

1)      Disciples decided to follow a teacher.

2)      Disciples memorized their teacher’s words.

3)      Disciples learned their teacher’s way of ministry.

4)      Disciples imitated their teacher’s life and character.

5)      Disciples raised up their own disciples.

We will talk about all 5 of these both this week and next, but let’s start with the middle 3 tonight: disciples memorized their teacher’s words, learned their teacher’s way of ministry, and imitated their teacher’s life and character.

2) If we want to be disciples of Christ…with the commitment we are talking about here…we have to know his words.

In Jesus’ day, every teaching was passed down orally. So the students heard it and committed it to memory. Some disciples had as many as 4 major interpretations of every passage of the Torah memorized.

A word about memorization…I think it’s vital to your life as a disciple. We need to be committing portions of God’s word to our memories. You may not feel like you have a very good memory, but get this: a campus minister from Mizzou who just passed away was named Roy Weece. When Roy first got started in campus ministry, he had a hard time remember names and faces and phone numbers of his students. So one day, he prayed that God would grant him a better memory for memorization.

When I heard Roy speak about 10 years ago, Roy had memorized the ENTIRE NT in about 5 translations.

Now, memorization is important…but maybe we aren’t there. Maybe we just need to start to READ God’s word.

I heard a man named Ray Vander Laan this week talking about a time he heard a Jewish rabbi speak. This rabbi said that Christians call themselves disciples of Christ…and supposedly think that they are. And this rabbi said that if Christians want to truly be disciples of Christ, then they should be reading the 4 gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) all the way through at least once a week. He felt, and I agree, that we cannot truly follow our rabbi Jesus unless we know his words.

But, get this: according to a poll, 65% of the adult population agrees that the Bible “answers all or most of the basic questions of life.” This poll also found that 60% of the general population and 85% of the Christian population agree that “the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches.”

But…53% of those people also believed that the saying “God helps those who help themselves” is a Biblical truth, which it isn’t. So, people say that the Bible is true and accurate, but they don’t know what it says. 61% of Americans believe the Holy Spirit is not living and active but just a symbol. 58% believe that same thing about the devil.

Disciples know the words of their Rabbi. The original disciples hung onto every single word that Jesus spoke…they would talk about it and think about it and live it out as best as they could.

Look at what Jesus says in the SOTM right after he invites us to know him:

Matthew 7:24-27 ESV

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

He who hears these words and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock…rains, floods, troubles come, but that house stands firm because it is on a rock. This sounds a lot like the 1^st Psalm:

Psalm 1:1-3 ESV

1:1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

One of the things that I feel like the Lord has impressed upon me during this fast is this very thing…knowing the words of Christ. And the words of that Rabbi have haunted me…and so, I am committing to reading through the Gospel accounts once every 2 weeks…starting tomorrow.

It doesn’t matter to me where you start…but will you join me in making the commitment to reading Jesus’ words more than what you are now? For some of us, that may mean just one chapter a day. Or maybe it’s reading 3 chapters a day. Whatever your next step is…if you want to be a disciple of Christ, take the step. Know his words.

3) If we want to be a disciple of Jesus, we must do what disciples did…and that is learn Jesus’ way of ministry and do it.

We can start by hearing his words:

Mark 10:45 ESV

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

Ministry (and discipleship) is a call to selflessness. If we read a few verses before this, here is the context:

Mark 10:35-36, 41-45 ESV

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”…41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

If we are going to be disciples of our Rabbi, we must serve as he served.

John 13:14-15 ESV

14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

How did Jesus serve?

**ASK FOR EXAMPLES**

4) Disciples imitated their teacher’s life and character.

Luke 6:40 ESV

40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

The highest calling of a disciple was to imitate their teacher…in Jesus’ culture, as I’ve already shared…disciples would follow their rabbi in every way possible, from going with them into their bathroom to being with them while intimate with their wives.

How can we describe Jesus’ life and character?

**ASK FOR EXAMPLES**

John 13:34 ESV

…just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Love is the word…

Love for sinners…

Tonight, Jesus is calling you to discipleship. He is calling you to not just KNOW about him, but to BE like him. He is calling you not to do a lot of great things in his name, but to have an intimate relationship with him…

Disciples, when called by their teacher, would leave their homes, their schools, their synagogues, their families, their friends…and commit their entire lives to being like their Rabbi.

Jesus is calling you to the same thing today…

After Jesus’ task on this earth was completed…he had gone to the cross and resurrected, and he had trained the 12…he said these words:

Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The work had been completed…the disciples of the Rabbi had grown into fully mature disciples…and when that happens, they then take on the role of Teacher. And Jesus tells them, “Now, you go and make disciples of all nations.” It’s your turn. The baton has been passed onto you.

And we are here because they were faithful to that commandment…

What if we now took that same commandment seriously? What if we dedicated our entire lives to being real disciples of Christ? And not only that, but as we will talk about next week, what if we took the commandment seriously not only to be disciples ourselves, but to make other disciples?

This place would be turned upside-down!!

Scripture gives us a cool insight to what would happen…

Jesus said this to them:

Acts 1:8 ESV

…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

You may have never noticed this before, but Jesus says that his disciples will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Jerusalem was the city where they were stationed for the time being…Judea was the region that Jerusalem was found in…Samaria was the next region north…and on and on it goes until the very ends of the earth.

If we will do this…you will never be the same…this CCH community will never be the same…this campus will never be the same…this town will never be the same…this state will never be the same…this country will never be the same…and this world will never be the same.

Welcome to the Kingdom!

Here is the next message in our REVOLUTION series this semester. There is no part 3 to post, because I used no notes for it. Sorry. And I apologize for the bad formatting…but I do hope you enjoy the content.

Welcome.

I want to start this week the same way we started last week…by asking you to share any glimpses into the Kingdom that you may have had since we last met.

If you remember from last week…we learned Jesus’ thesis in his Kingdom Manifesto…the purpose of his message.

Matthew 5:20 ESV

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

And if you will recall, this statement would be a slap in the face of the religious establishment at the time…the scribes and the Pharisees were the religious superstars of the day. They appeared to be very righteous.

But that was all it was…appearance. They just played the part of the righteous. Last week we said that the scribes and the Pharisees had a righteousness that was EXTERNAL.

And Jesus’ words to his new revolutionaries was that their righteousness was to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. They were to be more righteous…

And what’s more…is that Jesus told his followers that he didn’t come to destroy their beloved, sacred Torah. People thought that he was teaching things that were in complete disagreement with their OT Law…but Jesus said that he didn’t come to abolish that Law, but to fulfill it.

So, two main points from last week…Jesus came to fulfill the OT Law and Jesus desires that our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees.

And our next logical question is…well, how do we do that?

And we saw that Jesus then gave us 6 examples…

• Murder and anger—the external following of the Law would be followed if we just didn’t kill someone else. But Jesus shows us that the fulfilling of the Law, and the surpassing righteousness, would be keeping ourselves from anger. And, if we have been angry or caused anger, we are to go to our brother and seek reconciliation.
• Adultery and lust—the external following of the Law prohibits us from sleeping with another man’s wife. But Jesus shows us that the fulfilling of the Law, and the exceeding righteousness, is keeping ourselves from lust. And, if we struggle with lust (or any sin), to radically amputate it.
• Divorce—the following of the Law would be making sure we give our wives a certificate of divorce if we wanted her out of our house. But Jesus shows us that the fulfilling of the Law, and the exceeding righteousness, is staying with our spouses no matter what (unless they commit adultery).
• Oaths—the following of the Law said we should fulfill any oaths we make. But Jesus shows us the fulfilling of the Law, and the greater righteousness, makes no oaths at all. It makes our yes=yes and our no=no. We don’t need to swear by anything to make our words more truthful. They should just be truthful.
• Retaliation—the Law allowed an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus shows us that the fulfilling of the Law, and the greater righteousness, gets no retaliation and, instead, practices a radical self-denial that refuses to insist on our personal rights over the well-being of others. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, you have 3 options: 1) slap back 2) walk away humiliated or 3) bravely turn him the other cheek. If someone sues you to take your undergarment, you have 3 options: 1) refuse and sue back 2) give it to them in defeat or 3) strip down naked and give him both your undergarment and your outer garment…revealing to them their own selfishness. If someone makes you walk one mile, you have 3 options: 1) refuse to walk and get killed 2) walk it humiliated or 3) walk it, and then serve that person by walking another.
• Love—the Law allowed for us to love our brothers but hate our enemies. Jesus, though, fulfilling the Law and showing us the exceeding righteousness, calls us to not only love our brothers, but also love our enemies.

In those things Jesus is showing us the righteousness that exceeds that external righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. In today’s language, Jesus is calling us to stop “playing church” and start acting like the church. He doesn’t want us to just be righteous on the external…he calls us to something deeper and more meaningful…something in our hearts…something internal.

We all know people who “play church.” We know those people who call on Jesus by name only…but their lives reflect nothing of Christ.

If you were at Countryside Christian Church this last weekend, you heard Vic talk a little about the general differences between a Christian and a disciple. This has been floating around in my head for weeks now…it’s something I’ve been wrestling with. For the sake of simplicity, Christians tend to call on Jesus by name only…and they are just now waiting for heaven to come. To them, being a Christian is basically a fire-insurance policy at the end of this life. It means no hell. It doesn’t change the way they live at all…being a Christian doesn’t change them on the inside.

Do you know how many times the word “Christian” is used in the NT? 3.

Do you know how many times the word “disciple” is used in the NT? 260 or more.

Now, that’s overly-simplistic…but there is a difference between following Christ as a disciple and simply calling on his name so that you don’t go to hell.

And that’s what Jesus is calling us to here…discipleship. This is going to be a theme you hear over and over again in the coming weeks. What does it look like to be a disciple? And how is that different from what we see people looking like around us? Or how is that different from the way we have been living our own lives?

Jesus came to change the way you live…not just the way you die. He came to bring the revolution…and the revolution comes when we live this crazy way: by loving our enemies, and radically amputating sin, and praying for those who hate us, and refusing to retaliate, and speaking truth and refusing to be angry with someone.

So, Jesus shows us how to be exceedingly righteous in our relationships with each other…and tonight, we are going to look at the way he calls us to be exceedingly righteous in our relationship with God. And this is ALL ABOUT discipleship. This is all about the INTERNAL change in us.

Let’s read:

Matthew 6:1-18 ESV

6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name. 
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread, 
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Jesus starts by saying:

Matthew 6:1 ESV

6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

And this is one instance where Jesus does something “normal.” Remember last week how we discovered that Jesus presents his qualifications first…and then his thesis? And how we normally present our thesis and then our qualifications. Well, here Jesus does it more like we are used to. He starts by giving the main point…the summary. We must not practice our righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them…

The Pharisees were notorious for this…as we will see tonight. But, are we this way as well? We love attention…we love for people to see us and validate us…

Two stories come to mind:

1)      I heard someone once tell me about an old man in a church somewhere…and every Sunday, this old man would go to his church wearing the same jacket. And on his jacket he wore a pin for every year that he had had perfect attendance to Sunday School. And it was something like 55 years in a row that he had perfect attendance. So, his jacket was full of these perfect attendance pins and he wore that coat every week. (Now, there obviously is nothing wrong with perfect attendance…but what is the point in wearing the jacket with the pins? So people see you?)

2)      One of my favorite authors and speakers is a guy named Donald Miller. He said once that he went to one of those Christian awards shows…like Emmys or Grammys, but for the Christian music industry. And he said that the first guy got his award, and went to the front, and asked everyone to pray with him. Very spiritual. The second guy to win an award went up there, and not to be outdone by the first guy, asked everybody to stand up and pray with him. The third guy wanted everyone to stand up and hold hands and pray. And each person got more “spiritual” than the last. Miller said that he hoped he would win an award so that he could go up front, tear his clothes, slaughter a lamb, and smear its blood all over his body. He didn’t think anybody could outdo that.

This is an idea of what Jesus is warning us against…practicing our righteousness in front of others so that they see us and say, “oooh, look how spiritual Brandon is.” He and Jesus must be homeboys.

So, Jesus states that we mustn’t practice our righteousness in front of others in order to impress them…he says that if we do this, we will have no reward from our Father.

And then he goes on and gives us 3 examples of spiritual disciplines…giving, praying, and fasting.

Now, I think that these are not the only 3 spiritual disciplines that we are given in the Bible…I think there are many more. Solitude, simplicity, meditation, confession, repentance, worship, service, and fellowship would be other disciplines that I would include. But Jesus gives us a starting point with these three…and for good reason.

I want to say a few things about these spiritual disciplines…

First of all, discipline sounds like a depressing word to call these things…it conjures up images of being punished by a parent…disciplined. But, I want us to notice something: the word discipline has a root…and that root is disciple. A disciple is a learner…and disciplines are tools for learning. The thought doesn’t have to be scary or conjure up negativity…in fact, it should do just the opposite.

There is a place in the life of a disciple for the disciplines.

Secondly, we obviously are not going to talk about all the spiritual disciplines or spiritual practices. But, we should think about this analogy: I am not a runner…but, if needed, I could run a mile. I’m not in the best shape, but I could do it. However, I am not able to run a marathon. Even if somebody was holding a gun to my head, I couldn’t do it. No matter how hard I try, it won’t be done. I’ll cramp up, pass out, vomit all over you…I’ll do a lot of things, and none of them will include running 26.2 miles. It would, as of this point, be impossible.

But, as many people have learned, what’s impossible today doesn’t have to stay impossible forever…if I would begin to follow the practices or disciplines or a marathon runner. I’d start by running short distances every day, and increase those distances over time. I would eat properly and rest well and drink water. And over the course of months, I could increase the distance I run…eventually getting up to 26.2 miles.

These spiritual disciplines are much the same…many of us don’t practice all of them right now. Many of us don’t pray like we want to. Many don’t fast. Many don’t live simple lifestyles. Many don’t serve or confess our sins to others. But…just because we don’t do it today doesn’t mean we can’t practice or discipline ourselves to make those things a part of our everyday lives.

But, we have to start with the right motivation…which we already have heard from Jesus on what our motivation SHOULD NOT be…to be seen by people.

Let’s take a look at these 3 disciplines Jesus brings up and see what we can learn from them.

GIVING

Matthew 6:2-4 ESV

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

In Jesus’ day, giving of charity was seen as more important than all of the other commandments…the only thing that was deemed as more important than giving was meditation on the Torah.

Let’s notice a few things:

“…when you give to the needy…”—Jesus expects us to be giving to the needy. Notice that he does not say “if you give to the needy” but “when you give to the needy.” He assumes that we are already giving to the needy. Not that we are just considering it, but that it already is an important part of our spiritual lives.

When you give to the needy…don’t sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do…and why do they do that? So they may be praised by others.

The word “hypocrite” is a great word here…it’s a Greek word that was used for the actors in the theater. It refers to those who dress up and pretend to be something or somebody they aren’t…Jesus is calling those who give to the needy and draw attention to themselves as hypocrites…something that they aren’t. They look spiritual, but they aren’t. Just like Robin Williams isn’t Mrs. Doubtfire…he is a man. And a really hair man, at that.

And what reward do the hypocrites get? Praise…just like what we give actors on stage…we applaud them. We clap for them…we think they are great…but that’s it.

Jesus says that hypocrites give their money to the needy with loud trumpets, making all kinds of racket and noise, so that people will notice them and applaud them…and he says that’s all they get. “They have received their reward.” That’s it…that’s all they get.

“But when you give to the needy,” Jesus says again, “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give in secret. And your Father will reward you.”

This is a cool illustration that Jesus gives us…our giving is to be such a part of our character that one part of our body doesn’t know that another part of our body is even doing it. Does that make sense? Our giving is to be such a part of us that our left hand doesn’t even know that our right hand is giving money away…not only do we not draw attention from other people, we don’t even draw attention from ourselves when we give.

We give in secret…which is completely opposite of how the hypocrite gives. They give in public, loudly…we give in secret, quietly. And our Father rewards us…which again, is completely different from how the hypocrite is rewarded. He or she receives applause from all those people who watched them throw money into the plate…we receive a reward from our Father. Which do you think is a better reward?

Our Father looks to our hearts…not to our outward appearances of righteousness. Our giving, which is external, needs to be motivated by our hearts, which is internal.

This is how we should be giving…and we should be giving. Even you, poor college students, should be giving to help the needy. I don’t have much money, you might be thinking. I will tell you that the amount doesn’t matter.

I love it when Jesus is sitting in the Temple…and he is watching people throw money into the offering box. He notices someone who has a lot of money throw in a lot of money. And then he watches a widowed lady who has little money throw in a penny, which was all that she had. And Jesus says that this little old lady put in more than everyone else, including the guy before you who threw in a large sum. Why? Because she put in all she had to live on…

You see, it doesn’t matter the amount you give. What matters, I think, is the amount you have left over. We are to be giving…practicing the discipline of giving…but not in order to impress people…but in order to draw closer to the heart of God.

What’s next?

PRAYING

Matthew 6:5-15 ESV

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name. 
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread, 
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Again, Jesus starts by saying, “when you pray…” letting us know that he expects us already to be praying.

And again, he calls us to be praying differently than the hypocritical actors…they love to pray out loud in the church and on the street corners, so people can hear them pray and be impressed by how holy they are. They made a show of their prayers. I see these kind of guys on TV a lot. And again, Jesus says their reward is that the people see them and think they are spiritual…and that’s their reward.

He goes onto say that our prayers are not to consist of words and empty phrases we say over and over again…the pagan cultures around Jesus at this time would repeat the same thing over and over again in their prayers to their gods…in hopes that their repetition would wear their gods down, make them bored and frustrated, and that the gods would then give them what they wanted.

Our prayers are to be different…and Jesus even gives us a model of prayer. I use these words of Jesus to direct my prayers everyday. Let’s take a look at it:

“Our Father”—Jesus starts his prayer, as should we, by acknowledging that we are speaking with our Father. And that is what prayer is at its most basic…conversation with our Father.

“in heaven”—Our Father is in heaven…and we are here on earth. I think to start our prayer with the words “Our Father in heaven” is a way that we put each of us in our place: we put our Father above all, in heaven…and we place ourselves underneath Him, where we belong.

“hallowed by your name”—This literally means “let your name be kept holy” or “let your name be treated with reverence.” To the Jewish people, your name embodied who you were. That’s why, if you read the OT, you see names reflecting the people. When Esau was born, he was given the name Esau, which means “red.” He was given that name because he was born covered in red hair. Jacob, after he wrestled with God, got the new name Israel. Israel means “wrestled with God.” So, this is a statement of praise. To praise God’s name is to praise who He is. It’s at this point in my own prayers that I praise God for who He is…His holiness, purity, love, grace, faithfulness, and so on. Our prayers should start with praise.

“Your kingdom come”—The kingdom has already come, right? We have talked about this at length. But, I think it’s at this point in our prayers where we dedicate ourselves to being citizens of God’s kingdom…and ask that His kingdom come fully in our lives. All this stuff that we have been talking about at TNT over the last weeks—it all is covered in this part of our prayer. Let your kingdom come in me…let me love, serve, turn the other cheek, give, hunger and thirst for righteousness, and on and on.

“Your will be done”—This is like God’s kingdom coming…we are asking that God’s will be done in our lives. We are aligning ourselves with His plan and His purpose.

“on earth as it is in heaven”—the punctuation of this phrase suggests that this phrase should be read with the previous lines. So, it actually would state: “Hallowed by your name on earth as it is in heaven.” “Let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” And “let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

“Give us this day our daily bread”—It’s at this point in my prayers that I present my basic prayer requests before God. Our most basic needs go before Him at this point. I pray for you as individuals, for wisdom, for insight, for healing, for all of those things at this point…because I see them as daily, basic needs; like bread. The phrase “give us this day our daily bread” seems to indicate to me that this prayer should be said at the start of the day. It makes sense, right? To pray for your needs for the day before the day is over? David states “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” (Psalm 5:3).

“forgive us our debts”—It’s at this point where I confess my sins and ask the Lord for His forgiveness. To fail to confess sins and ask for forgiveness is to pray with pride.

“as we also have forgiven our debtors”—Jesus feels the need to clarify this point for us a few verses later, probably because he knew we would have a hard time understanding it. He says this in verses 14 & 15: 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If you have ever heard that forgiveness is unconditional, you are wrong…forgiveness is conditional on your willingness to forgive others. How can you expect to receive forgiveness from Christ and not extend forgiveness to others? That’s self-centered. There must be a connection between the way God has responded to our sins and the way we respond to the sins of others.

“and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”—This is when I pray for guidance and specifically, divine protection from temptation in the day ahead. God does not tempt us…James says that. But, there are things in this world that do…and this is a plea to be protected from those circumstances. I often will ask God for wisdom and guidance at this point in my prayers.

This is the model of prayer Jesus gives us…and he calls us to pray often and secretly. And I think, if we are all honest, we would confess that we want to be able to pray more effectively and honestly and with meaningfully.

We need to remember, as I stated before, that prayer is conversation. There is great freedom in it and it doesn’t have to be hard. Brother Lawrence was a cook in a French monastery, and he wrote a book called Practicing the Presence of God. He talked about how he prayed constantly in that book…praying a short one-breath prayer at the top of every hour. Praying as he worked. Praying with his eyes open…because he was so frustrated that he kept falling asleep during prayer time in the monastery.

Another thing to think about is…if prayer is a conversation, then it must be a two-way conversation, or it isn’t a conversation at all. If I just talk to Keri and never listen, we aren’t having a conversation. I need to shut up and listen…and prayer is the same way. I think God has much to say to us if we would simply shut up and listen.

And thus, Jesus teaches us to pray. If you want to learn how NOT to pray, watch the movie Talladega Nights, the Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

“Dear Lord Baby Jesus…we thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Dominoes, KFC, and the always delicious Taco Bell.” And he keeps praying and referring to Jesus as Tiny Baby Jesus. His red-hot smokin’ wife rebukes him, reminding him Jesus grew up. But he says, “I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you are saying grace, you can say grown-up Jesus or teenage Jesus or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.” (If you want to know how NOT to pray, make Jesus into your own image…) She replies, “You know what I want? I want you to do this grace good, so that God will let us win tomorrow.” (If you want to know how NOT to pray, pray with selfish motivations. Prayer is not twisting God’s arm…it’s not tricking Him into getting what you want…it’s making you into what He wants.) Ricky Bobby’s friend Cal Noughten Jr. jumps in and tells us what kind of Jesus he likes…the king of Jesus with a tuxedo t-shirt on. He wants to be formal, but he likes to party; Cal says he likes to party so he likes his Jesus to party too. Or the kids (Walker and Texas Ranger) like to picture him as a ninja fighting off evil samurai. Or as Jesus singing lead vocals for Lynard Skynard. “We just thank you for 21.2 million dollars…love that money.” And then he endorses PowerAde in his prayers.

This is everything prayer should NOT be.

Jesus wants us to pray in secret…to be formed in His image…not vice-versa.

And finally, right after prayer, comes:

FASTING

Matthew 6:16-18 ESV

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Praying and fasting go hand in hand. And while prayer is practiced often, fasting is not. There were no books written about fasting from about 1850 to 1950. But here again, Jesus assumes that we are going to be fasting. “When you fast…”

And once again (notice the theme?) he states that we are not to fast like the hypocrite actors…who disfigure their faces so that the fact that they are fasting would be seen by others.

The Pharisees fasted twice a week…and when they fasted, they would dump ashes all over themselves and paint their faces white with chalk, so that they would look ghostly. And it would draw attention to themselves. And, get this: they fasted on two days, right? Usually Mondays and Thursdays. Do you know what else happened in Jerusalem on Mondays and Thursdays? The market was open…and so the population of the city flew through the roof because everyone was coming to town to go to the market. So, the Pharisees just happened to fast on the two busiest days in town…to maximize their exposure. “Ooooh, look how spiritual.”

And again, Jesus says that would be the extent of their reward.

But, he says, when you fast…put oil in your hair and wash your face…don’t look ghostly, but fix yourself up like you do everyday. Don’t draw attention to yourself…but again, like with giving and praying, keep your fasting between you and God in secret.

But since we don’t know much about fasting, I want to give us the basics tonight.

In our culture, food is a god. Most of us have never gone without a meal…and our days actually revolve around said meals. Our gods are, as Paul says, our stomachs.

And fasting is to deny ourselves and our gods…and pursue more deeply the one God. Eating is one of our most basic needs…and to abstain from eating for the pursuit of God places God above everything, even our most basic needs.

Remember a few weeks ago where we talked about hungering and thirsting for righteousness? You can see that principle played out in fasting.

Jesus, when he was fasting, said these words:

Matthew 4:2-4 ESV

2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

What sustains us when we fast? Every word that comes from the mouth of God. So, really…fasting is feasting! Not on Taco John’s, but feasting on the words of God.

(GO THROUGH SHEET)

Why do we fast? What are some of the purposes of fasting?

• Repentance (confessing and acknowledging sin)
• Humility
• National Prayer
• Deep Personal Prayer
• Preparation for Missions
• Wisdom
• Before a Great Undertaking
• Revival

And there, of course, are some wrong motives?

• Pride
• To get our way with God (as with all these spiritual disciplines; we don’t do them to get God in line with us, but we do them to get us in line with God.”
• Legalism (legalism says ‘I do this so God will love me’ but grace says, ‘I do this because I love God.’

Benefits:

• Joy and gladness (Zechariah 8:19 ESV 19“Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts.”)
• Deeper intimacy with God.

Andrew Murray says “Fasting helps to express, to deepen, and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything—to sacrifice ourselves—to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.”

The reason I want to go through this with you so thoroughly is because I feel as though God is leading us to fast together as a community…

We have set aside 30 hours…from 11am on October 1^st (Monday) until 5pm on October 2^nd (Tuesday) we will have a community fast. If you feel led to join us in that…please do. It will be an opportunity to be humble before God, to seek His face, to seek His wisdom, to devote significant time to prayer.

I want to have all 30 hours covered in prayer by someone…so, I have a sign-up sheet ready. If you want to volunteer to pray during one (or more) of those 30 hours, sign-up for the ones you will commit to. We hope to have a corner of this room set aside as a prayer closet…with tools and prayer activities to help guide you in your praying. You can come here and pray during your hour if you like…

If you feel confidently led to join us…you can sign-up tonight. I don’t want to know your names so that your EXTERNAL spirituality can be seen…I want to know names so that we can pray during the fast for those participating. I will send out an email tonight or tomorrow…and will have a Facebook group put together…where you can see the available times to pray and enlist to participate.

Here is the TNT message from September 4th. It’s a look at Jesus’ inaugural statements about his kingdom. A look at the upside-downness of the Beatitudes.

Last week I introduced you to the revolution that I feel God has brought to our feet here at CCH and Northwest.

If you weren’t here last week, we talked about what a revolution is…that the word literally means “to turn around” and it’s the process of removing something old and replacing it with something new. For example, the American Revolution was the process by which the forefathers of our country took the old structure of their government…the monarchy of England…and replaced it with something new…their democratic ideas. They took something and turned it…

And we talked about a few different areas that I can see a revolution forming in the lives of Christians…and in our talk, we looked at the old way of thinking about a few things and then the new way of thinking that is possible.

For example, we talked about the old idea that Jesus came only to this earth to make sure we could go to heaven. Basically, this is an idea that the only reason Jesus came was to prepare us to die. But the revolution…the new way of thinking (and it really isn’t new…it’s ancient…we are just re-discovering the idea) is that Jesus came to bring us life. And not just eternal life later…but abundant life now. And think about it…if all Jesus cared about was what happened to us after we died, then why did he spend so much time talking about how we should live life. Why did he talk about hatred and murder and adultery and lust and money? Because…Jesus didn’t come to just prepare us to die; he came to show us how to live. And that’s the revolution.

We also talked about the Kingdom of God…we all have heard that term over and over again and read it a hundred times in the Bible, but so few of us understand what it actually is. All too often, we think that the Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God, the terms are interchangeable) is just when we die or when Jesus comes back. But, both John the Baptist and Jesus said that the Kingdom is here…now. Not just there and later. And therein lies the revolution…living our lives right now in such a way so that people can see we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is here.

And that is what we are going to be talking about all semester.

And we finished last week asking the question…what can we start to do to bring the revolution here to CCH and to Northwest? And do you remember the answer?

Repent.

Jesus’ first sermon:

Mark 1:14-15 ESV

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Repent…and interestingly enough, this word ‘repent’ means the same thing that the word ‘revolution’ means: to turn around.

We have to turn around from what we think we already know…we have to get rid of our assumptions about Jesus and his church and his Kingdom. The reason why so many people missed Jesus the first time was because they had bad assumptions about who and what he should be…and they failed to repent of those assumptions…and because they failed to repent of those assumptions, they missed the revolution.

And I can promise you…you do not want to miss this revolution.

Listen to these words of Paul…

Colossians 1:13 ESV

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…

So, are you ready? Are you ready to begin the revolution with me? Are you ready to move from something old (the domain of darkness) and be transferred to something new (the kingdom of Jesus)?

PRAY

Matthew 5 is where we are going to start out…

To understand the essence of the American Revolution, it makes sense to look at the Declaration of Independence…because it is the revolution manifesto. It tells you exactly what the revolution is all about.

In the book of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7, we have what we call the Sermon on the Mount. And if you want to understand the kingdom revolution, you have to read the Sermon on the Mount…it is the kingdom manifesto. It tells you exactly what the revolution is all about.

Let’s read the manifesto introduction:

Matthew 5:1-12 ESV

5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

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

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Let’s unpack this just a little bit…

There is no doubt that this is King Jesus’ inaugural address…and in it, he is explaining what he expects from the members of his Kingdom.

It’s interesting, in verse 1, that we see Jesus go up on the mountain and begin to teach…the Old Testament law was given on a mountain. Moses went up, heard the law from God, and told the people. Here, Jesus goes up on the mountain and tells the people of a new law. This coincidence and significance would not have been lost of the people who were listening to Jesus…he is beginning the revolution. The old is being replaced by the new.

And he uses this word over and over…blessed.

The original Greek word for blessed is ‘makarios.’ Many people think this word mean ‘happy,’ but happiness is based on our circumstances, and that is obviously not what Jesus is referring to.

In the original language, the word ‘makarios’ was used to describe people who had no cares in this world…and the Greeks could only find 3 types of people who had no cares.

1)   The gods. The gods had achieved a state of life that was beyond all the cares and labors of the rest of us…they were beyond what normal people deal with. And so the Greeks said they were blessed: ‘makarios.’

2)   The dead. The Greeks felt like people who had died were blessed: ‘makarios,’ because they no longer were dealing with the cares of life.<