Sermon on the Mount - Part 2

Transcript

Well, it's good to see you all this morning. As Raz said earlier, as we've continued this conversation with the First Baptist Church of Casey, they approached us a while back about what it would look like if we merged, if basically our leadership kind of came over there and we became one congregation. And so as we've continued that process, they'll be voting. And sometime this fall, probably, on whether or not they feel like the Lord's leading in that. And so today we are trying to help them kind of understand what we look like and how we go about things. And we wanted to kind of put our best foot forward.

We're going to be preaching over there this morning, and we wanted that to go really well. So I'm here. Grab your Bibles. Go to Matthew chapter 5. We are in the Gospel of Matthew, and we are walking verse by verse through the Gospel of Matthew. And as we have gotten to the Sermon on the Mount, we are approaching this a little bit differently.

We taught through the entire Sermon on the Mount at the beginning of 2017, I believe. All that's online if you want to study any of this in particular. But we're just taking two weeks to kind of get a big overview, try to understand how this fits in this Gospel and what Jesus is communicating. And so Spencer walked us through last week about the weighty version of this, that if we're standing looking toward salvation, and if this is the price of righteousness, this is the standard for righteousness, then none of us make it out alive. I sitting over there last week was just overwhelmed by how sinful I am and how much I fall short when it comes to what Jesus is calling us to.

And then Spencer got there and he said, yes, this bears down on us, but Jesus Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf. And he accomplished this through his work and so that we have hope in him. And so we're going to approach this a little bit differently today. We're going to read back through it from a different vantage point. One of the things that I appreciate about different cultures is how they think about the world, how they approach things differently. There's a lot of different etiquette.

You don't realize where you're from, the home you grow up in, the place you live, your nation of origin does a lot to tell you about how to think about the world. It does a lot to tell you how we're going to approach this. You're just kind of given this culturally. It's trained in you. This is how we think about this. This is how we'll act.

It shows up in small things like etiquette. You take classes where you try to learn like which fork am I supposed to use and how am I supposed to, what do I do to be respectful? So there's some cultures where in order to be respectful, when you show up, you better take your shoes off before you go in their home. It's very disrespectful not to. There are other cultures where they don't think about your shoes at all, but you better take your hat off. There are other cultures where it swaps around depending on how you greet each other.

There's just a lot of different things. I was asking Phoebe Garcia. She's from the Philippines, and she used to not be a Garcia. That kind of gives it away. Her last name used to be Smith. It's a very Filipino name.

She's from the Philippines, and I was asking her what some of the cultural differences were. She said one of them was when an adult entered a room or showed up, everybody had to greet them by kissing them. You'd go kind of kiss cheek to cheek. And so she said she'd be hanging out at her house with 10 or 15 of her friends. Her mom would show up, and there would just be this. Everybody would line up to greet people.

And she said it was real weird when she came over here because she was like, how do we greet adults? She's like, what am I supposed to? I just wave at them and say, hey? That's super offensive. That feels weird. She said she had to just teach herself.

When an adult shows up, do nothing. She had to, like, restrain herself. That kissing cheek to cheek, Ben Johnson, I asked him about some of this. They did that as well in Lebanon where when you greet people, you would kiss them. And he had been over there for about a while, a couple years, working as a missionary. And he came back, and it had been a long flight, and he was exhausted.

And he ran back to his home church in Georgia, and he ran into the guy who worked on facilities there. And he went to say hey to him. So without thinking, he grabbed him and went to kiss him. And the guy shoved him across and was like, hey, hey, what are you doing? Because that's not what we do here. It's different.

He also, one of the things he learned was if someone invites you to their home for dinner, etiquette is you bring dessert. That's the rule. Everybody knows that. Ben didn't. So he was super rude for, like, a year straight.

People would invite him to their home, and he would just walk in. And they just thought Americans are rude. But it's like he didn't know the rule, you guys. But there's just certain things etiquette-wise and culture-wise that are different. I remember my uncle. He's from Africa, Obomashaw area, the Yoruba people group.

And the first time some white missionaries came to his town, he just was blown away. Because this adult comes in with his young son, and his young son climbs up in a tree. And you don't climb up in trees. And he was waiting for his dad to snatch him out of the tree and beat him. And he didn't. He just let him climb up in a tree.

And the reason you don't climb up in a tree in the village he's from is because if you fall out of the tree and hurt yourself, you're just hurt. They don't have a way to fix you. I asked, what would happen if you broke a bone? He said, you'd go to the doctor. He'd get you to bring a chicken. He would take the chicken.

Like, if you broke your leg, he would take the chicken. He would break the chicken's leg, and he would give you the chicken back. And he would say, while the chicken limps, you limp. When the chicken starts putting weight on that leg, you start putting weight on your leg. What if a doctor did that in the U.S.? You're going to need to fill out these forms.

This is your first time as a patient. We're also going to need you to bring a chicken. But the rule was, in his town, if you climbed up in a tree, any adult in the village could come, pull you out of the tree, and spank you. Any adult was allowed to spank any child for doing anything dangerous or unhelpful. And I'm just, just as a cultural study, I'm going to test this out at Walmart later today. I'll let you all know how it goes.

When Raz first moved here from Australia, the way they do rent in Australia is weekly. So he was working out his whole budget. He had some money saved. He raised some support to come here and to go to school. And he found a place over near CIU, and it was in a little trailer park over there. And he was going to rent a trailer for himself, and he thought it was going to be a pretty good deal.

And he could maybe get some roommates. And they told him, I think it was like $500 was the rent. And he was like, oh, that's pretty steep. He's from Sydney. You know, rent could be $300 or $400 a week. But he was like, $500, okay.

So he worked out his whole budget. He's thinking, all right, you know, $2,000, $2,500 a month. And he showed up. And it's not weekly. It's monthly. And Raz was like, I'm rich.

And I told him it was good. It didn't work the other way because I'd have been going to Australia being like, oh, $400. Sweet. And I'd have gotten evicted. Wouldn't have been ready for that. So there are these different things that just happen culturally where culture just defines for you how we view things, how we act, how we walk through life.

And it's little things, simple things like that that you just get used to and you don't realize this isn't how everybody thinks. This isn't how everybody processes things. It's easier to go unnoticed if you're in a culture where you're the majority, where most everybody thinks and Acts like you. It's more noticeable when you're in a culture where you're the minority and you don't understand exactly how to fit into the culture. So you notice this more.

It's called culture shock when you transfer to another culture and you're the minority and you don't understand how to just go along with normal everyday life. It shows up more. But there's a lot that it tells us about how to view money and how to view time and how to view relationships and how to think about the future and the past and family. There's a lot that it goes into. And what we're going to look at today as we look at the Sermon on the Mount is we are not going to stand back looking towards salvation, but we are going to stand from the position of salvation that Jesus Christ, if we have placed our faith in him, has redeemed us, has fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law on our behalf.

And now we are learning how as citizens of heaven, citizens of the kingdom of heaven who belong to Jesus, how are we to view time, money, relationships? Like we're going to begin to see what's our new culture. Because if you belong to Jesus, I don't care your country of origin. I don't care your native tongue. You are a citizen of a kingdom that will last forever. And we, there are certain characteristics that go along with that kingdom that we are meant to exhibit in life.

That's how we're going to view it. As those redeemed by Jesus, how are we to think as people who will live for eternity? How are we to live and act now? How does that change how we view the world? We're going to approach it that way. Let's pray and we'll jump into where he begins in chapter 5.

God, we thank you for your word. We thank you that we can, if we've placed our faith in you, approach this as people who are redeemed. We can approach this as people who have been saved by grace, who have been transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of your beloved son. And that we might learn how we ought to view the world as kingdom citizens, as those who will live forever. We ask for your help as we do this, that your Holy Spirit would empower this. We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen. Matthew chapter 5. Now we're going to jump around a little bit, but we're going to start where he starts. And then I'll try to just pull out some, see how this shows up, some of these ideas. But we're going to start here.

Matthew chapter 5. Seeing the crowds, he, that's Jesus, went up on the mountain. And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now that word blessed means the good life.

They've got everything that is good, everything that is right. They will be blessed. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So the poor in spirit belong to the kingdom. And the rest of these are going to be people who are in the kingdom. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you. And other all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Okay, so he holds up this idea and he says, these people are blessed. Blessed are those who mourn.

Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who are persecuted. Blessed are those who are poor in spirit. Now, if we were walking and we just got to pick, if there was a list of things that you could choose, I want my life to be categorized by. And these were on the list. I don't know how many of us would, oh, mourning, yep.

Okay, let me take some meekness. Yes, I'd like to be poor in spirit. Oh, persecution. Give me some of that. Like, we wouldn't think this is the list of blessings. Like, if you were getting to pick, but he's saying this group, this people, it's going to look backwards here, but they're the ones who get everything.

And then at the end he rolls it. So he says, blessed are those, blessed are those, blessed are those. Blessed are you when you're persecuted for my sake. So now he's rolled it and said, this group of people who are blessed and look backwards in this culture, it's actually you, his disciples, and it's tied directly to himself. He ties it directly when you're persecuted for my sake. So he's saying that you're actually going to be, he's talking from the position of God, that you're persecuted for righteousness, persecuted for my sake.

So he's saying, this is the people who belong to me and they're the people who are in the kingdom. They see God, they receive mercy, they're comforted. This is the kingdom. That's true blessing that we would be comforted, that we would see God, that we would receive mercy. That's the people who have placed their faith in Christ, they're the redeemed. So if you are in the room and you are a Christian, some of this meant this is who you had to be to understand this need for the gospel.

You had to understand that you were poor in spirit. Because if we read through this last week and Spencer said, this is the standard of righteousness, and you sat back and thought, I'm already 80% there. Give me another year or so, I'll get up to a full 100. And then God will gladly have a parade for me and accept me into the halls of greatness. If that was you, you will not believe the gospel. Not until you understand that that is not true for you.

But some of us last week, I was sweating. I knew that Spencer at the end of the sermon was going to tell us that Jesus was good. And I felt terrible. I'm over there thinking about how awful of a sinner I am and how much I fall short. And the reality is I do and I am and I'm now. That's how we get to approach God as poor in spirit.

I have nothing to offer. And he redeems us and we receive mercy. That's you. Now he's going to begin to tell us how we ought to look. So he says, You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a stand. And it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

So he says, This people are distinct from culture. As distinct as salt is from food. If I said, You know what's really good on your steak? Little bits of steak. Just changes the flavor. That's not how that works.

Oh, you know what's really good? If you take a potato. This is for real. If y'all take a potato. A baked potato. And you open it up.

And you stuff it with more baked potato. Oh. Nobody does that. You put something different in it. That's why he's saying about salt. Is that it changes the flavor.

It changes its distinct. And if it's not distinct, it's a waste of time. A light that is hidden is useless. Salt that is not distinct from the food is useless. He's saying be different. And he's going to begin to tell us how.

This culture needs to show up. I have a four-year-old and a one-year-old. My one-year-old can walk now. And is moving well enough for there to now be altercations at my house. Where I will hear screaming, hollering, crying. I'll come in the room.

My one-year-old will have picked up something hard. Hit my four-year-old in the head. My four-year-old will have turned around. And fireman kicked him to the ground. I have to come in and go. I look at my older son.

I say, Archer, stop. You cannot do that. He hit me in the head. He's one. He's one. I made him stand up the other day so he could see the height difference.

I said, that's about me to you. And then I just pushed him to the ground. And I was like, do you see how easy this is? I'm going to write a parenting book at some point. It's going to be great. And sometimes my wife is like, what are you doing?

I'm like, I'm just winging it, hoping for the best. But I look at him and I say, you have to act differently. What I'm expecting from your one-year-old brother is not what I'm expecting from you right now. You should look differently. And this happens all the time where I'll tell my older son, I'll say, that's not how we think about that. That's not how we act.

We're not going to behave like that. He's learning. And in some ways, I think that's what Jesus is looking at us right now and saying, you are going to exist forever. As someone whose sins have been taken away, you are going to have all of your good things kept for you in heaven. Act differently. Look different from the rest of culture.

If you, who will live forever, treat money and time and sin and relationships and good works the same as everybody else, you're confused. We're going to be different. You're going to be different. Sometimes I look at my son and I say, you're four years old. Act like it. And I think Jesus is looking at his disciples and saying, he's looking at us and saying, you're going to live forever.

Act like it. Because so often we run around here stressing out and acting as if we will not exist eternally and we look silly. My one-year-old screams and cries when he wants something because he cannot speak English. My four-year-old, when he does it, I say, stop. You look silly. You can use words.

And there's times where we look silly. Because we're living as if we won't exist for eternity. So the first thing that I think Jesus does, and I'm just going to pull some of this out. We're going to jump around a bit. Citizens of an eternal kingdom worry about their hearts, not just their actions. Citizens of an eternal kingdom worry about their hearts, not just their actions.

Another way of saying that is citizens of an eternal kingdom worry about the eternal consequences of their life. We see this as Jesus begins. He says in verses 17 through 20 that he didn't come to abolish the law. He came to fulfill it. And that none of the law is being taken away, but it's going to be upheld. And then he actually says your righteousness has to be beyond the scribes and the Pharisees.

Well, the scribes and the Pharisees were very good at meeting the letter of the law, of behaving. Of behaving. What do I have to do? And he says, no, it's beyond just your behavior. It's beyond just your actions. Who are you?

What's going on inside? So let's see. He talks about anger, lust, divorce. He says this about anger. You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder. And whoever murders will be liable to judgment.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire. And he goes on to say if you're offering your gift and you realize that you have something against somebody or somebody has something against you, that you would go work it out. He says because they have something against you and they take you, you'll eventually be carried off to court and locked up and you'll have to pay every penny. And that means not just here, but ultimately that you'll pay the price.

Lust. You have heard that it was said, this is verse 27. You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. In both of those he mentions hell. He's saying eternal people consider eternal consequences. Which makes sense. Eternal people consider eternal consequences.

And he begins to point out that it's not just our behavior, but it's who you are. What's going on inside? If the law is to be upheld and we are to behave. And the whole process of being good is that we would behave. That we would follow the rules. Then you just need to know the rules and you need to do them.

And your attitude doesn't really matter. That's how the Pharisees approached it. Just follow the rules. What's going on inside doesn't really matter. Punch the clock. Check off the list.

Present it to God. And you're fine. If salvation is about faith and worship of Christ. If he's upheld the righteous requirement of the law for us. If he is what we read in 2 Corinthians 5.21. That he became sin for us.

That we might become the righteousness of God. If we've been made righteous. Meaning the righteous requirement of the law. The rules have been upheld. Then you know what really matters?

Do we actually love Jesus? Are our hearts drawn to him? What is our attitude? You see that? You see how faith turns that on its head? That if it's moralism.

Then you better behave. And who cares what's going on inside. As long as you can keep yourself in check. But the gospel is. Your behavior has been met by Jesus. Do you love him?

That's why people in the church can look like such a mess. Failing all the time over here. But consistently drawn to Jesus. Who redeems sinners in repentance. Fighting actively against our sin. And trusting that it's what is internal.

That matters. And taking very seriously the consequences of sin. That we understand there are eternal consequences. That eternal people think about the world. In an eternal way. That it's not just our actions.

But our hearts. That matter. This is why when you get with your group. And as you're trying to walk. And follow Jesus together. Are we asking the question.

How's your behavior? Or are we asking the question. How's your heart? Are we loving Jesus? Is that leading us to repentance? Is that leading us to hate our sin?

Or are we just trying to behave good enough to get in? Secondly. Is that leading us to repentance? Is that leading us to repentance? Is that leading us to repentance? Is that leading us to repentance?

Is that leading us to repentance? Secondly. As he pulls this through. I think citizens of an eternal kingdom. Are open-handed. With their temporary possessions.

And positions. Some of the stuff that he says in this. Is so difficult for us to take. So difficult for us to understand. So difficult for us to apply.

Is because it's so difficult for us to consider. Eternity. That eternal citizens. Don't care that much. About their temporary position. And their temporary possessions.

Because we're going to last forever. That eternity is written in our heart. That we belong to a different kingdom. That our treasure is elsewhere. So he says.

Go to retaliation. Verse 38. You have heard that it was said. An eye for an eye. And a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you.

Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek. Turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you. And take your tunic. Let him have your cloak as well.

And if anyone forces you to go one mile. Go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you. And do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. That is one of the most. Heinously.

Un-American passages. In the Bible. Someone slaps you. Do not defend yourself. Nope. I have castle doctrine.

Which means I am a castle wherever I go. And can defend myself however I would like. I do think it does not just mean. Physically assaults attacks. I do think it means slaps. It brings disgrace upon you.

Dishonors you. You ever heard someone say it was such a slap in the face? And you know what we usually follow that up with? I can't believe they would act that way. It was such a slap in the face. I will never.

Ever. Let them. Get myself in that situation again. Be put in that. That was such a slap in the face. I can't.

They will never. And Jesus says. It was such a slap in the face. I primed myself. For the next one that's coming. I'm going to put myself right in the back in the same position.

I'm not defending my position. I'm defending my honor. I'm not trying to display to the world how I will be respected. It says if you're sued. Let them have it. Someone begs from you.

Give it to them. Someone wants to borrow something from you. Hand it over. Who can do that? People who aren't tied to their temporary possessions. Who can be absolutely not tied to their temporary possessions?

People who have greater possessions elsewhere. People who are going to live for eternity. One of the things they tell people who are traveling. They'll tell you to get. You can get a secret belt. That you can hide all your real important stuff in.

Like your passport. Your credit cards. And your money. And then you can have a wallet. It has some money in it. But it's not that important.

And that way. When all the foreign criminals. Rob you. You just hand them your wallet. You're supposed to act. Like it means a lot to you.

Oh no. Not my wallet. And you hand it to them. And you walk away. Unfazed. Because of your utility belt.

The reason you can hand over the wallet. Is that it actually doesn't hold all the things that are good. The reason when someone sues you. And they just take your stuff. Or someone slaps you. And brings shame upon you.

You can just allow it to happen. Is because we're eternal people. And all our good stuff is elsewhere. That there's treasure beyond the horizon. That there's a reality of hope and honor beyond the horizon. And it's held in Christ.

We can only approach this through faith. Faith in what Jesus has accomplished for us. That he's paid for our sins. So our hearts matter more than our behavior. That we might run from sin. Because Jesus hated it so much.

And it was such a big deal that he died for it. And that we might be able to walk. Holding all of our position and our possessions loosely. He keeps going. He talks about giving to the needy. He talks about all these good works.

But I want to jump to. Do not be anxious. This is Matthew 6.25. Therefore I tell you. Do not be anxious about your life. What you will eat.

What you will drink. Nor about your body. What you will put on. Is not life more than food. And the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap. Nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not more value than they? And which of you by being anxious. Can add a single hour to his span of life.

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field. How they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you. Even Solomon in all his glory.

Was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field. Which today is alive. And tomorrow. Is thrown into the oven. Will he not much more clothe you?

Oh you of little faith. Therefore do not be anxious. Saying. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear?

For the Gentiles seek after these things. And your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God. And his righteousness. And all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow.

For tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. The reality of an eternity. Allows the temporary things. That would hold sway in our life. And claim our allegiance.

And our hope. To not have that much. Pressure. And presence. In our lives. That we can trust God.

Who knows us. Who loves us. Who knows we need these things. How many of you need to hear. Worry about today. Sufficient for tomorrow.

Is its own trouble. My wife. When she has something looming over her head. A week out. She will torment herself. For a week.

She's working on it. I don't. I don't remember stuff well enough. I put it on the calendar. And unless my phone reminds me. I'm not going to show up.

I forgot. But worrying about. What's coming up. But. I was reading this. And I don't feel like.

I'm an overly anxious person. But worrying about. What I'm going to eat. Worrying about. What I'm going to wear. Yeah.

Okay. I worry about that. I think about that. That holds sway in my life. I'm not free. There are things that grab.

A hold of my heart. But that we're meant to be. Free. Free. My dad is an entrepreneur. At different times in our life.

We've been doing well financially. He's been doing well financially. Other times. Not so much. Okay. But he's always busy.

Very hectic. He has a business partner. Same way. They were riding through Augusta, Georgia. One day. Stressed out.

Frustrated. Talking about some stuff. Some business stuff. They were trying to work on. That wasn't working out. And they rode up under an overpass.

And there was a guy sitting up. On a hill. Under the overpass. You know. Tucked up in there. And leaned back.

His hands behind his head. In the middle of a work day. I realize what I'm about to say is not true. He was leaned back. But I don't think his hands were behind his head.

Because he had a cigarette and a drink. He had a cigarette and a drink. And he was just hanging out. And they're sitting there at the light. Stressed out. And they looked up at him.

My dad said. He and his business partner were like. Look at that. His business partner said. I haven't been that relaxed in years. He was.

The reality is. That person probably could relax. Because he didn't have much to worry about. And what Jesus is saying is not. Don't have a job. Don't.

Don't have a home. He's not saying that. What he's saying is. Realize. You don't have that much to worry about. You're not that good.

One of the reasons I enjoy golf. Is that I'm not good enough to be frustrated. I also like the woods. I do. I go to my dad's house. And walk around the woods.

Golfing gives me some of that as well. I'm not good enough to be frustrated. That's what Jesus is saying. You're going to live forever. And you can't even. Who by being anxious.

Can add an hour to his life. Rhetorical question. No one. You're not strong enough. You're not good enough. Just hold.

Just. Just trust me. Do you know how freeing that is? In the Harry Potter books. There's a little boy named Harry Potter. And.

There's this giant that shows up. And he's all. You're a wizard Harry. Harry. And he takes Harry. And he tells him he's a wizard.

And he's going to take him to wizard school. And. One of the things that Harry finds out. Is not only is he a wizard. His parents were. And he's rich.

There's a bank. Guarded by goblins. That no one can break into. And Harry has a lot of money there. And that all happened in like a day. And I think there was a lot of.

Joy and freedom. From what I can tell. In the books. For Harry to suddenly find out he was rich. But if someone just showed up.

And was like. Hey guess what. You're rich. And we've kept it safe. And it can never be taken away. The reality is.

Even in that fictitious world. You can break into that bank. And steal things. So it's not even safe there. But for us.

Who have an eternity held fast by Christ. None of it can be taken. There's a song that we sung some. And we play some. And it says. When I met you.

I didn't know you had money. I didn't know you were a king. And then the chorus is. You've adopted us in. And you've made us your own. I love that line.

Because it's just this idea. That when we come to Christ. We don't realize. All the other good things. That come along with it. We get saved from our sin.

But I didn't know. That everything else good. Was thrown in. That's what he says. Seek righteousness. Seek the kingdom.

Trust me. And everything else good. Comes along. And it cannot be taken. So quit worrying.

One of the least loving things. It seems to say. To someone who suffers with anxiety. Is stop being anxious. You're welcome. But that's what Jesus says.

And it's not. That the world is going to crush you. Or that you're big enough. He just says. I'm big enough. Stop being.

What he says. Is stop being anxious. You're too small. You're too small. I look at my four year old all the time. And I say that.

Calm down. I'm here. I'm afraid of monsters. Boy I'll punch a monster in the face. I'm worried this will happen. You don't have to worry.

I'm here. What he doesn't say is. Stop being anxious. You'll be strong enough. I'll give you five tips. To rid yourself of anxiety.

He says. Stop being anxious. It will do you no good. You're going to die at the same time. That's really what he says. What are you worried about?

You will die. When we say. You're welcome. You can't add anything to your life. I'll provide for you. You're okay.

It can't be taken from you. Eternal people. Hold. With an open hand. Temporary possessions. And positions.

Three. Citizens of an eternal kingdom. Pursue eternal reward. Start back up at six. 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. Okay. He says. Don't practice righteousness.

In front of other people. To be seen by them. And he follows that up with. Not. Because that's bad. He says.

Because you will get. No reward. This is interesting. He brings this idea. That we're rewarded. For doing good things.

As long as the purpose behind it. Wasn't. That we would display to everybody. How good we are. And isn't that a real temptation. I want to be good.

But for some reason. I really want other people. To know. That I'm good. I want to do. I want to do.

Random Acts. The Acts of kindness. When nobody's looking. But I really want someone to see. Y'all feel that? That's what he's saying.

There's this real temptation. To do what you're supposed to. But the reason behind it. To be kind. To give to the needy. Is what he talks about.

Praying is one of the things. He talks about. Fasting is one of the things. He talks about. Generosity. This idea that we would do.

All these things. But the purpose behind it. Would be. Hey look at me. And he says. If you do that.

You get your reward. People looked at you. They saw it. They noticed it. They clapped. They put your name on the thing.

They honored you. That's it. That's your reward. He says. No. No.

No. Eternal people. Think about eternal reward. We're supposed to want to be rewarded. For our good deeds. Did you see that?

We have entered in. With this idea. Of that would be wrong. Shouldn't we just do good things. Because they're good. I don't know.

He says. Do it. So that you get a reward. I really. Have thought about this some. The idea.

That we should do good things. Because they're good. So I should just. Be generous. Because generosity is good. What I'm doing.

When I do that. If I say. Generosity is right. And so I'm just going to be generous. There's this internal transaction. That happens.

Where I add. To my self-righteousness. I'm just a good person. I don't need the reward. I'm not doing this. Because.

Isn't it greedy. To pursue reward. I'm not doing this for reward. I'm doing it. Because I'm good. I'm adding to myself.

Righteousness. Y'all know something. I try to do some of these things. On this list. I try to give some money away. You know why?

Not because I'm a good person. I would not give money away. I like it. I want to use it for stuff. But we do.

Because I'm trusting. That what he says here is true. That we'll be rewarded. That he sees. That he sees. I'm walking to him in faith.

Saying I trust you. And people say. Wasn't that greedy? I don't know. If somebody came to you. And said.

I have a good investment opportunity. And you said okay. And you looked into it. And you trusted the people. Who were going to do it. And you said okay.

I'm going to invest $10,000. Would anybody jump up. And go. That's really greedy? I don't know. Doesn't seem like it.

If I'm saying. I trust Jesus. So I'm going to put some money. Towards this. I'm going to put some time. Towards this.

I'm going to put some prayer. Towards this. I'm going to put some fasting. Towards this. Because I trust him. And I actually believe.

At the end of time. I will spend eternity with him. In a place where he promises reward. I think that's faith. Because the only way. You can spend your time.

And money and effort. Doing that. Is if you actually trust. That this is going to work. That you're going to get there. That he's going to pay for your sin.

And that the eternity is real. And there are times. Where we just look silly. If you got a job. Let's say you were offered.

To go work in France. For let's say eight weeks. And they were going to pay you. A hundred thousand dollars. So you said.

I'll put up with French people. For eight weeks. Because you're racist. Nationalistic. You said. I'll go.

I'll do it. I'll put up with it. I'll do the work. I'll figure it out. I'll get over there. I'll be there for eight weeks.

And I'm going to make a hundred thousand dollars. And while you were there. You rented. Got a lease on a little place. A little house. And when the first paycheck came in.

You thought. You know what this house needs? A fireplace. A fireplace. And so you added a fireplace. To the place you were renting.

For eight weeks. And your next paycheck came in. You said. You know what makes fireplaces awesome? Swimming pools. And you put one of those in.

Eventually. If someone cared about you. They would look at you. And say. Hey. Nut.

What are you doing? You're going to be here eight weeks. You don't live here. This is not your house. You're going back. To your other home.

Quit spending all your money here. On things you can't take with you. That's what Jesus is saying. You're going to exist. For eternity. Look at verse 19.

619. Do not lay up for yourselves. Treasures on earth. Where moth and rust destroy. Where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves.

Treasures in heaven. Where neither moth nor moth. Nor rust destroys. Where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is. There your heart will be also.

If you are going to be redeemed by Jesus. And live for eternity. Act like it. If your good things are kept there. Act like it. Eternal people.

Seek eternal reward. This is the main idea. Citizens of an eternal kingdom. Love Jesus. And it shows up. In the everyday stuff of life.

That the everyday stuff of life. Is affected by. An eternal culture. It is affected by. An eternal mindset. We're going to jump to the very end.

Of what Jesus says. And we're going to pull down. Some of the ideas. That he talks about. In chapter 7. But he says this.

Everyone then. This is 724. Everyone then. Who hears these words of mine. And does them. Will be like a wise man.

Who built his house. On the rock. 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. 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. 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. And great. There is an eternity to come.

There is a kingdom of heaven. And there is an eternal hell. And Jesus says. Everything he says. In the sermon on the mount. From the vantage point.

Of someone who knows. About eternity. And has had it written. In his heart. Who knows it. Can't not see it.

He looks. At his disciples. And he says. There is a kingdom. Where true blessedness is. There is a kingdom.

Where hope is. There is a kingdom. Where reward is. There is a kingdom. Where good things are. There is a kingdom.

That belongs to me. Where you see God. Where you receive mercy. There is a kingdom of hope. There is a kingdom of joy. And there is a hell.

Where there is destruction. And where there is pain. And where living a good life here. Living a whole life here. Doesn't matter when you get there. If you don't know me.

Everyone who hears this. And builds their life on it. Banks on it. Is wise. Because that will stand. Every bit of money you have sent towards eternity.

Will stand. Every bit of time that you have sent towards eternity. Every time you have let something go. Because you are an eternal. Citizen of an eternal kingdom. With a better king.

It will stand. It will stand. Everything else will fall. He says. Beware of those who come to you. And proclaim.

Hold themselves up as false prophets. But outwardly. The ravenous wolves. He says. You will know them by their fruit. Then he.

Underneath that says. Not everyone who says to me. Lord. Lord. Will be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven. But those who do the will of my father.

And then he says. That on that day. They will say. Didn't we cast out demons in your name. And do mighty works in your name. And they will say.

Depart from me. I never knew you. If you cast out demons in Jesus name. If you do mighty works in Jesus name. And at the end of it. He can still look at you.

And say. I don't know you. I think that means. There's a lot of really. Seemingly normal. Small stuff.

That shows up in life. In the everyday stuff of life. Where we actually believe. That we're going to last forever. So that.

What our hearts are doing. How we're treating others. Where our anger is. Where our lust is. Not just our behavior. But what's going on.

Where our trust is. Where our hope is. Infinitely matters. Because we have such a good and glorious kingdom. I think. Like Paul.

Who got swept up. And got to see it. And God brought him back down. And I think Paul. Landed back down. And went.

Yep. Everything here is stupid. Except. Everything that will make it there. To live is Christ. To die is gain.

I'll live for him. Everything will be about him. Everything will be for him. And the day they behead me. Because that's what they did to Paul. I'll show up there.

And infinitely gain. Beyond imagine. Beyond imagination. There's a guy named Wang Yi. I want to read a quote. He's a pastor in China.

Facing persecution. In the Chinese church. He wrote this letter. And he said. When I get arrested. If I get arrested.

If I'm in jail for more than 48 hours. I want y'all to publish this. They published this. At the end of last year. He is still in jail. If he is still alive.

He says. For the mission of the church. Is only. To be the church. And not to become a part of any secular institution. He's saying.

This is why I'm not going to fight communism. I'm just going to be. A Christian here. From a negative perspective. The church must separate itself from the world. And keep itself from being institutionalized by the world.

From a positive perspective. All Acts of the church. Are attempts to prove to the world. The real existence. Of another world. The Bible teaches us.

That in all matters. Relating to the gospel. And human conscience. We must obey conscience. We must obey God. And not men.

For this reason. Spiritual disobedience. And bodily suffering. Are both ways. We testify. To another eternal world.

And to another. Glorious king. Spiritual disobedience. Means we're going to keep being the church. Regardless of. If the state says we're allowed to.

And then he says. And bodily harm. Because bodily suffering. Because at some point. They'll round us up. That's what he's saying.

And he's. In his situation. That is accurate. He says. To another eternal world. And to another.

A glorious king. I hope. God. Uses me. By means of first. Losing my personal freedom.

To tell. To tell those. Who have deprived me. Of my personal freedom. That there is an authority. Higher than their authority.

And that there is a freedom. That they cannot restrain. A freedom that fills the church. Of the crucified. And risen. Jesus Christ.

When someone tries. To take our possessions. When someone tries. To take our position. And we open handedly. Let it go.

We look. Distinct. From the world. And we proclaim. A hope. Of an eternity.

That cannot be touched. And when we. Argue. And fight. For our rights. And we argue.

And we work. To show. How righteous we are. So that we might be held. In high standing here. We display.

To the world. That I just want. The same things you want. And my life will end. Around the time. That yours does.

And my hope. Is here. But when our money. And our time. And our effort. And our work.

Testifies. To another world. We put God on display. And we live as if. We believe. The gospel.

That we have an eternal king. And an eternal kingdom. And we've been set free. From everything here. That we have nothing to gain. And nothing to lose.

Other than what Christ will reward us with. On that day. Raz and Christy. You're going to come back up. And we're going to sing. Together.

And we're going to take. Communion. Which is us. Physically. Representing. A spiritual reality.

That when Christ's body. Was broken for us. The power of sin. Was broken over us. The power of sin. Had over us.

Was broken. That when his blood. Was shed. We were washed clean. That when he rose. We rose.

And that we. Have. Eternal. Life. That if you've placed your faith. In Jesus.

The righteous requirement. Of law. Has been fulfilled. And that you will exist. For eternity. And that we're free.

To live like it. So in a moment. I want us to pray. And ask. Lord. Where have I forgotten?

Where am I living. As if I'm just a kingdom. Of here. I just live in this kingdom. I'm just a citizen. Of the U.S.

I'm just a citizen. Of this place. Where am I. Acting as if. This thing matters too much. Set me free.

That I might live. With eternity in mind. And then we're going to take communion. With the hope. That all of this is true. Trusting that Jesus did rise.

And that our sin has been paid for. And that you. And your future. And your eternity. Are secure. Let's pray.

Let's pray. Thank you for coming and getting us. Thank you for coming to redeemed sinners. Who could not save themselves. Thank you. For the grace.

And the eternity that you offer. And Lord. In your grace. We're small. We so easily forget. Help us to love mercy.

Help us to keep our hearts pure. In repentance. As we hate. Sin. And think about the eternal consequences. Help us to be poor in spirit.

That we might come to you. For all the good things. That you might give us. Help us to mourn. Remembering that all our good things. Aren't here.

The purpose of this world. Is not to just be happy. In this moment. Help us to be meek. To not push for our rights. Or defend ourselves.

To trust you to do that. Help us to rejoice when persecuted. Help us to look like citizens of your kingdom. Help us to be so in love with you. That eternity never leaves our gaze. Ride it in our souls.

We might be free. That we might trust and walk with you by faith. And how we interact with one another. And how we work. And how we serve. And how we secretly do good.

That we be free from our reputations. And our possessions. We ask you to bless us by your spirit. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.