Theme:\u00a0 Matthew 5: 13-20<\/p>\n
I am no mechanic.\u00a0 Yet sometimes I try to fix my car.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s about saving some money.\u00a0 Or maybe it\u2019s just a guy thing.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned what my limits are.\u00a0 But there was a time when I would get started fixing something and wished I hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 I\u2019d take something apart and just couldn\u2019t get it back together.\u00a0 Hours went by.\u00a0 The sun goes down.\u00a0 A sweet voice comes from inside.\u00a0 How\u2019re you doing, honey?\u00a0 Got it right yet?\u00a0 So it might not be wise ask your pastor to help fix your car.<\/p>\n
Got it right yet?<\/i>\u00a0 Well somehow I usually managed to get it right.\u00a0 But there is something we can\u2019t get right no matter how hard we try.\u00a0 Our relationship with God.\u00a0 On our own, we\u2019re like me out in the garage.\u00a0 My life, my relationship I can\u2019t seem to get it right.\u00a0 I can\u2019t seem to get it righteous.<\/p>\n
But someone has for us.\u00a0 He comes to us today in our gospel lesson.\u00a0 He helps us to understand where to turn and where not to turn.\u00a0 And he helps us to understand what we are in Him.<\/p>\n
Got It Right Yet?
\n<\/b>I.\u00a0 Dead end righteousness-Mine
\nII.\u00a0 Saving righteousness-Jesus\u2019
\nIII.\u00a0 Bright shining righteousness for others<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019re at the beginning of Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount.\u00a0 Jesus has just shared the beatitudes.\u00a0 Now he begins to paint a detailed picture of God\u2019s will for our lives.\u00a0 Without a doubt Jesus holds the bar very high.\u00a0 He helps us to see the kind of righteousness that God calls for.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just about what I do with my hands.\u00a0 It\u2019s about what goes on in here, my heart.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just about what we shouldn\u2019t do.\u00a0 It\u2019s also about the kind of love we owe to even our enemies.\u00a0 Got it right yet?<\/b><\/p>\n
Of course, someone might think.\u00a0 Well I know I have sinned.\u00a0 Everyone does.\u00a0 But not as bad as some.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m a pretty good person.\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i>Let\u2019s think about that.\u00a0 Imagine I baked up a batch of chocolate chip cookies for you this morning.\u00a0 I used a family recipe that everyone loves.\u00a0 I\u2019m going put those cookies out after church.\u00a0 But oh, by the way, somehow the cookies got some dog poop in them.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not very much.\u00a0 They\u2019re still pretty good.\u00a0 Would you eat my cookies?\u00a0 Would you even take a small bite?<\/p>\n
Pretty good.<\/i>\u00a0 Pretty righteous.\u00a0 We might say that about our lives.\u00a0 We\u2019d be wrong.\u00a0 Still we might be tempted to think it.\u00a0 There\u2019s just a little sin mixed in.\u00a0 But on the whole, I\u2019m alright.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not what Jesus says here:\u00a0 19 <\/sup>Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.<\/span> 20 <\/sup>For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i>Bible teachers disagree about what Jesus means when he says: least in the kingdom of heaven.\u00a0 But there\u2019s no question what Jesus says to us about righteousness.\u00a0 And it must have shocked these people.\u00a0 Unless your righteousness surpasses the Pharisees and teachers of the law?<\/i>\u00a0 They sure looked righteous to these people and yet Jesus says you need to be even more righteous.<\/p>\n Think about that.\u00a0 Think about our lives.\u00a0 You wouldn\u2019t eat my cookies with dog poop.\u00a0 We should not expect the Lord to accept a life with the dog poop of our sin.\u00a0 That\u2019s dead end righteousness- mine.<\/b>\u00a0 Got it right yet?<\/b><\/p>\n Not if we listened to the Pharisees.\u00a0 Not if we listen to this world\u2019s religion.\u00a0 What is that?\u00a0 Be a good person and God will accept you.\u00a0 The problem is, the deadly problem is: there is no good person.\u00a0 There is no one righteous, not even one.<\/span> Got it right yet?<\/b>\u00a0 Let\u2019s get it right now.\u00a0 For our Dead end righteousness<\/b> won\u2019t do.\u00a0 We need something else- Saving righteousness<\/b> which comes from Jesus.<\/p>\n Every now and then your hear about it.\u00a0 Some demanding organization dumbs down their standards to accommodate more people.\u00a0 They change the rules.\u00a0 Over the years I\u2019ve heard about Fire departments doing it.\u00a0 Of late, the US Marines.<\/p>\n There were those who accused Jesus of doing something like that when it came to our life under God. In a way, those religious leaders were right.\u00a0 You see, over the years the Rabbis had taken God\u2019s Word, the Law and added layer after layer of rules and regulations they told the people they had to keep to please God.\u00a0 They got so caught up in their rules that they lost sight of what God intended.\u00a0 Jesus said. Their teachings are but rules taught by men<\/span> (Matthew 14:9)\u00a0 Yet when it came to his Father\u2019s will, the commands of God\u2019s Law, when it came to what God had said in his word: Jesus said this vs 17.\u00a0 17 <\/sup>\u201cDo not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them<\/span>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been waiting for some good news, here it is.\u00a0 Jesus came to fulfill \u2013 to fulfill the Old Testament in a couple of ways.\u00a0 Both very good.\u00a0 Just imagine I set up a big row of empty jars.\u00a0 Each one of them represents a promise that God made about the Messiah, the Christ our Savior.\u00a0 One jar tells us he would be born in Bethlehem.\u00a0 Another jar says that he would be Immanuel, God with us.\u00a0 Another points to his suffering that would bring us peace with God.\u00a0 And still another points to his resurrection and his glory.\u00a0 Imagine I set up all those jars and many more.\u00a0 All the things God promised in his Word about the Messiah.\u00a0 Now picture all those empty jars full.\u00a0 For every promise, every prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus Christ and that is very good news.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s not forget the other way he fulfilled God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 Think about what Paul wrote to the Galatians:\u00a0 When the time had fully come God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.<\/span>\u00a0 (Gal 4:4) When the Son of God came in human flesh, he humbled himself to live under God\u2019s law.\u00a0 And every day of his life he obeyed God\u2019s law.\u00a0 He feared, loved and trusted in his Father above all things.\u00a0 He fulfilled the law in every way.<\/p>\n And why is that so important?\u00a0 He lived that righteous life for you and me.\u00a0 He lived it in our place, for us who have broken God\u2019s commands in more ways than we can ever count.\u00a0 He fulfilled God\u2019s law in his life and then he offered that perfect life on a cross to set us free.\u00a0 To set us free from our guilt and make it possible for us to live as children of God.\u00a0 And that dear friends is saving righteousness- Jesus\u2019<\/b>\u00a0 Saving righteousness that comes to us through faith in Him as a gift of God\u2019s love. \u00a0Got it right yet?<\/b><\/p>\n I pray so.\u00a0 Because if you do, if this saving righteousness of\u00a0 Jesus lives in your heart, then these words of Jesus are for you.\u00a0 You are the salt of the earth.\u00a0 You are the light of the world.<\/span>\u00a0 In Christ, you have and you will be a bright shining righteousness for others.\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>Jesus starts with salt.\u00a0 You are the salt of the earth.<\/span>\u00a0 I realize that some of us have to watch our salt intake but salt is good.\u00a0 Through the years salt has been used to preserve meat from spoiling and making people sick.\u00a0 And of course, salt is used to make our food taste better.\u00a0 I can\u2019t eat eggs without it.\u00a0 Well however we take Jesus\u2019 words, he is saying that you, his people, bring something good to this world. That is God\u2019s intention.\u00a0 And as long as we are his people with faith in our hearts that is going to be the case. That wherever we go our world, our place of work, our family, our town is somehow better off.\u00a0 You are the salt of the earth<\/span>.<\/p>\n You are the light of the world.<\/span>\u00a0 When Jesus says that he is implying something about this world and many of the people around us.\u00a0 They live in darkness.\u00a0 That darkness is pretty evident when you go to a police briefing like I do sometimes.\u00a0 When you hear about the things that people do to each other and to themselves.\u00a0 When you hear about an actor who had so much going for him found dead with a needle stuck in his arm.\u00a0 There is so much darkness in this world, a darkness that clings to hearts and souls and always ends in a hopeless death. A darkness that once claimed you and me but now by the grace of God no more.<\/p>\n You are the light of the world.<\/span>\u00a0 You are a light because you have Jesus in your heart.\u00a0 The apostle John wrote:\u00a0 In Him was life and that life was the light of men<\/span>.\u00a0 (John 1:4) Now that light lives in your heart.\u00a0 This bright shining righteousness that is yours by faith.\u00a0 This bright shining righteousness that makes you more the kind of people God wants us to be.\u00a0 And as Jesus teaches us here, it can\u2019t help but shine in our lives.\u00a0 Just like a city on a hill can\u2019t be hidden.<\/p>\n Let it shine, Jesus says.\u00a0 Let your light so shine. Let it shine in the good things you do for others. Let it shine as you faithfully go about your work.\u00a0 In the quiet acts of kindness for others when so many are all caught up with themselves.\u00a0 Let that light shine as you share the reason for its brightness.\u00a0 You have Jesus in your heart who has given you peace with God and an awesome hope kept in heaven for you.<\/p>\n Got it right yet?\u00a0\u00a0 Got it right yet?\u00a0 Thanks be to God.\u00a0 How blessed we are in Jesus.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Theme:\u00a0 Matthew 5: 13-20 I am no mechanic.\u00a0 Yet sometimes I try to fix my car.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s about saving some money.\u00a0 Or maybe it\u2019s just a guy thing.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned what my limits are.\u00a0 But there was a time when I would get started fixing something and wished I hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 I\u2019d take something apart and just couldn\u2019t get it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":521,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions\/521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}