Lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person, not finding the right person...

This week we are addressing and attacking perhaps the most prominent and powerful myth about relationships. This myth is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood. The myth that I would like to address and attack is the right person myth. Yesterday we discovered that, as far as our culture is concerned, the secret to finding a lasting relationship is to find the right person. In other words, if you would just find the right person everything else would fall into place.

According to the right person myth, the first step to love and lasting relationships according to the right person myth is that you have to find the right person. Then, according to the right person myth, once you find the right person, the second step is to fall in love. Then, according to the right person myth, after you find the right person, after you fall in love, the third step is to fix your hopes and dreams on that person for fulfillment.

However, what happens if the person you are with does not meet all your needs and fulfill all the deep desires of your life? Well, according to the right person myth, then you have not found the right person. So, if the relationship does not work out, then you simply go back to step one and begin to search again for the right person.

Unfortunately, the right person myth is just that, a myth. And the reason why the right person myth is a myth is in the results. Here are some statistics that bear out the utter failure of the right person myth: According to the most current statistics, approximately 46% of marriages end in divorce. In addition, the group entitled “divorced” is the fastest growing segment of the population in the U.S.  Finally, 1/3 of divorced women live below the poverty line.  

Now a natural question that comes to mind is “well Dave, if the right person myth is a myth, then how am I supposed to go about dating so that I can experience a lasting relationship? If the right person myth is wrong, then what is right? Is there an alternative?” If those questions are going through your mind, I have some good news for you.

And that good news is that in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Ephesians, we see a man named Paul provide for us an alternative to the right person myth. So, let’s look at that alternative together, beginning in Ephesians 5:1-2:

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Here we see the Apostle Paul command the members of the church of Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to do two things. First, Paul commands followers of Jesus to be imitators of God. In other words, as followers of Jesus we are to reveal and reflect Christ in our character and conduct. Paul then provides a second command that unpacks specifically how followers of Jesus are to reveal and reflect Christ: and walk in love.

Now when Paul uses the word walk here, this word, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to live out or conduct one’s life. In other words, Paul here is commanding followers of Jesus to live lives that are characterized by a selfless and sacrificial love that places others before ourselves. Just as Jesus placed fallen and broken humanity before Himself and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life, as followers of Jesus we are to live lives that are characterized by a selfless and other centered love.

And it is in Paul’s commands that we discover the alternative to the right person myth when it comes to lasting relationships. First, we see that instead of focusing on trying to find the right person, the letters that make up the Bible calls us to focus on becoming the right person. As followers of Jesus, we are to focus on becoming like Jesus in our character and in how we live out our relationships with God and with others.

Second, as we are focusing on trying to become the right person, instead of trying to fall in love, we are to walk in love. You see, unlike our culture, which views and talks about love as though it were a noun, the letters that make up the Bible talks about love as a verb. Here is a clear and simple definition of love that the Apostle Paul is talking about here: Love is giving someone what they need most when they deserve it the least. Biblical, selfless, sacrificial, other centered love actively gives someone what they need the most when they deserve it the least.

Third, we see that instead of fixing your hopes and dreams on the right person for fulfillment, we are to fix our hope and dreams on Christ for fulfillment. You see, if I were to fix all of my hopes and dreams on my wife Julie to meet all of my needs; if Julie was to fix all her hopes and dreams on me to meet all of her needs, we have set one another up for failure. We have set one another up for failure because both Julie and I are flawed, broken people who will fall short.

There is only one person who can meet your deepest needs and bring fulfillment to your life, and that person is Jesus. To place any other person in a position where they must meet all of your needs is to make them an idol and is to set them up for failure. But what happens if you follow these steps and the relationship does not work out? What if you are focused on becoming the right person, walking in love, and are fixing our hope in Jesus to meet our needs and the relationship does not last?

Well, according to the message and teachings of Jesus, then you have not become the right person. Instead of thinking the right person was really the wrong person, the key question becomes “Am I the right person?” Instead of pointing the finger at someone else, the Bible calls us to point the thumb at the person in the mirror. So, if the relationship does not work out, then you simply go back to step one and begin to the process to become the right person.

And it is here that we see revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to love and lasting relationships. And that timeless truth is this: Lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person, not finding the right person. Unlike the right person myth that is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood, the letters that make up the Bible reveal for us the reality that lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person.

Lasting relationships are not the result of people falling in love. Instead, lasting relationships are the result of people who walking in love by giving those who they are in relationship with what they need most when they deserve it the least.  Andy Stanley conveys this timeless truth this way: “You need to become the person that the person you are looking for is looking for”.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “well Dave, how do I know when I am becoming the right person? How do I know when I am walking in love? How do I know that I am giving someone what they need most when they deserve it the least?”

If those questions are running through your mind, I have some more good news for you. In another letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of our Bibles called the book of 1 Corinthians, we see the Apostle Paul unpack what walking in love practically looks like in our day to day lives.

Friday, we will look at this section of this letter together...

The Right Person Myth...

As a culture, we crave the concept of love. As a culture, we are driven by a desire to experience lasting relationships. This reality is evidenced by the programs that have dominated television in recent years. Whether it is "The Bachelor"; whether it is "The Bachelorette"; whether it is “This is us”, television is dominated by shows surrounding the theme of experiencing love and lasting relationships. The same can be said for movies and music.  

This is the case because there is something within every human being that desires to love and be loved. You see, human beings are relational beings. All of humanity was created for relationships; we were created for a relationship with God vertically and for relationships with other horizontally. That is why the most painful emotion is loneliness. Loneliness is the most painful emotion because when we are lonely we are outside of what God designed us to be. Our hearts are designed to love and be loved. Our hearts were created to experience lasting relationships. And deep in the core of our beings, we crave love and lasting relationships.

Yet, while our culture craves love and lasting relationships, there is an increasing sense in our culture that love and lasting relationships are unattainable. There is an increasing sense of skepticism that one can truly experience a loving relationship that will last a lifetime. This is especially the case amongst those in the gen x or millennial generations, who have looked on as their families were negatively impacted by the increasing rates of divorce. Those who are in their 40’s or younger have seen the devastation of the decline of healthy, lasting marriages.

As a result, many have come to the conclusion that it is better not to marry than go through the pain and strain that comes from the broken marriages that they have witnessed. So, on the one hand, while people try to avoid the commitment that comes with marriage, on the other hand, they desperately desire to experience a committed relationship with another person that is marked by love. However, while avoiding marriage, those who avoid marriage are unable to avoid the hurt and pain that comes from a relationship that do not last.

So, are lasting relationships no longer possible? Are love and lasting relationships attainable anymore in the fast paced, short attention span culture that we live in today? What chance do singles have when it comes to experiencing a lasting relationship?  

To answer these questions, we are going to spend the next four weeks discovering what the letters that make up the Bible have to say about love and lasting relationships. We are going to discover how we can experience love and lasting relationships. We are going to discover how men and women are to treat one another when it comes to love and lasting relationships. We are going to discover the role that sex has in love and lasting relationships. And we are going to discover what we need to know before we make decisions regarding love and lasting relationships.  

And my hope and prayer is that God would move in our heads, our hearts, and our hands, so that we would be able to experience that love and lasting relationships that God has designed us to experience. In addition to what the letters that make up the Bible have to say on the issue of lasting relationships, this series is influenced by the contributions of two individuals to the discussion of dating and relationships.

The first individual is a man named Chip Ingram, who wrote a great book on the issue of dating and relationships called “Sex 180”. The second individual is a pastor named Andy Stanley, who, also influenced by Chip Ingram, preached a sermon series on the issue of dating and lasting relationships. And much of what we will talk about during this series is influenced by their contributions to the discussion of dating and relationships.

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together addressing and attacking perhaps the most prominent and powerful myth about relationships. This myth is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood. The myth that I would like to address and attack is the right person myth. You see, as far as our culture is concerned, the secret to finding a lasting relationship is to find the right person.

In other words, if you would just find the right person everything else would fall into place. And this myth is the central theme to almost every romantic comedy made in Hollywood. So let’s take a minute and expose the myth of the right person. To help us do that, I just want you to take a minute and think of your favorite romantic comedy movie. Guys, if you are like me and are not into chick flicks, think of the last romantic comedy movie that you were forced to watch. Do you have a movie in mind? Now think of the plot of that movie as we look together at the right person myth.

The first step to love and lasting relationships according to the right person myth is that you have to find the right person. You need to be on the lookout; you need to be on the hunt; you need to be scoping out all the potential candidates. You need to be at the right place at the right time to find the right person. You need to be wearing the right clothes, you need to work out and stay in shape, you need to look and act the right way.  

Then, according to the right person myth, once you find the right person, the second step is to fall in love. For the right person to be the right person, there has to be love there; there has to be that ooey, gooey feeling; you heart just beats faster around them; you can’t stop thinking about them; there just has to be that chemistry. There has to chemistry emotionally. And there has to be chemistry physically. You know that chemistry that you just can’t keep your hands off of one another. There is an uncontrollable passion to be together and to “be together”.

Then, according to the right person myth, after you find the right person, after you fall in love, the third step is to fix your hopes and dreams on that person for fulfillment. Because the right person will meet all of your needs. The right person will be that knight in shining armor that will fill that empty space in your life and satisfy the deepest desires in your life.

But what happens if the person you are with does not meet all your needs and fulfill all the deep desires of your life? Well, according to the right person myth, then you have not found the right person. Who you thought was the right person was really the wrong person. According to the right person myth, the key question becomes “Is he/she the right person for me?”.

And if it was not the right person, then according to the right person myth, the relationship “was just for a season”, “guess it was not the right one”, or “he or she’s not coming through for me”. So, if the relationship does not work out, then you simply go back to step one and begin to search again for the right person. Now, let me ask you this question: Have I just described the plot of the romantic comedy that came to your mind? Is that not the plot of almost every movie from Hollywood? You see, this myth is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood.

But unfortunately, the right person myth is just that, a myth. And the reason why the right person myth is a myth is in the results. Here are some statistics that bear out the utter failure of the right person myth: According to the most current statistics, approximately 46% of marriages end in divorce. In addition, the group entitled “divorced” is the fastest growing segment of the population in the U.S.  Finally, 1/3 of divorced women live below the poverty line.  

Now a natural question that comes to mind is “well Dave, if the right person myth is a myth, then how am I supposed to go about dating so that I can experience a lasting relationship? If the right person myth is wrong, then what is right? Is there an alternative?” If those questions are going through your mind, I have some good news for you. And that good news is that in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Ephesians, we see a man named Paul provide for us an alternative to the right person myth.

Tomorrow, we will look at that alternative…

Is what Christians celebrate on Easter just one big April Fool's hoax?

This past Sunday, followers of Jesus around the world gathered together to celebrate the closed handed and non-negotiable center of the Christian faith, which is that Jesus Christ, who is God in an bod, entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life by dying on a Roman cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of God’s transforming activity on that first Easter Sunday.

And regardless of whether or not you buy the whole Bible, Jesus, or church thing; regardless of how often you have attended church in the past; regardless of the fact that you may feel like you do not know and do not feel that you can ever know about whether or not the Bible or church is real or relevant; regardless of all the bad experiences that you may have had with Christians and churches, we all have seen a cross attached to a building or around someone’s neck. We are all at least somewhat familiar with the Easter story. We are at least somewhat familiar with a garden, a courtyard, a hill with three crosses, a tomb guarded by soldiers, an empty tomb found by women.

What was so interesting about this Easter Sunday is that this year Easter fell on April 1^st. And in our culture, April 1^st is not just any day; instead April 1^st is April fool’s day. Culturally, April 1^st is a day where people attempt to play practical jokes and spread hoaxes in hopes of fooling people. On April fool’s day, some newspapers, magazines, and other media will report fake stories, which are usually explained the next day or below the news section in small letters. Those who fall victim to the practical jokes and hoaxes are referred to as “April fools”.

And for some, that is how you feel about what Christians celebrate on Easter. You may feel like Easter is the biggest April fools hoax in history. And if we were to have a conversation out in the courtyard coffeehouse, the conversation might sound something like this: “well Dave how do we know that the resurrection is a historical reality and not just a hoax? How do we know that the resurrection wasn’t just a big lie? How do we know that what we celebrate on Easter isn’t just on big April fools hoax?”

If those questions are running through your mind, I just want to let you know that those are great questions to be asking. And I want to let you know that you are not the first person to be questioning whether or not Eater isn’t just one big April fool’s hoax. As a matter of fact, in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Corinthians, we see a man named Paul, who persecuted early followers of Jesus until he had an encounter with Jesus after He was raised from the dead, address these very questions. So, let’s look at how the Apostle Paul addressed these questions in 1 Corinthians 15:12-14:

Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

The Apostle Paul begins this section of this letter that was addressed to a church that was located in a city named Corinth, Greece, by confronting some of the members of the church who were rejecting the reality of the resurrection of the dead. You see, just like today, there were some members of the church that did not believe that there was a literal resurrection of the dead. There were some members of the church that believed that the resurrection of Jesus was an April fool’s hoax.

Paul responded to this situation by providing four results that would be the natural consequences if the resurrection of Jesus was an April fool’s joke. First, Paul states that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus was not really raised from the dead. And if Jesus has not been raised from the dead, Paul explains that his preaching is vain and their faith also is vain.

In other words, if Jesus was not raised from the dead; if the resurrection of Jesus was just an April fool’s joke, then the message of the gospel and Christianity in general is devoid of value and meaning. I mean, the whole point of Christianity and the gospel is Jesus life, death, and resurrection, isn’t it? Paul then reveals a second result that would be the natural result if the message of a resurrected Jesus and an empty tomb was an April fool’s hoax in verse 15-16:

Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;

Here we see Paul explain that if the message of a resurrected Jesus and an empty tomb was an April fool’s hoax, then they and all the other early church leaders were false witnesses of God. If the tomb was not empty, Paul and other early followers of Jesus would be revealed as liars and twisted manipulators who misrepresented the nature and character of God by saying that He raised Christ from the dead when He really didn’t. They were liars and manipulators because if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus is still dead.

Paul’s point is that you can’t have one without the other; either there is a resurrection of the dead for everyone, or there is no resurrection of the dead for anyone, even Jesus Christ as God-in-a-bod who was 100% God and 100% human. Paul then reveals a third result that would be the natural result if the message of a resurrected Jesus and an empty tomb was an April fool’s hoax in verse 17:

and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

In this single verse, we see Paul reveal for us the reality that if Jesus has not been raised from the dead, then your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Paul’s point here is that if the message of a resurrected Jesus and an empty tomb was an April fool’s hoax, then all of humanity is still separated from God as a result of their selfishness, rebellion, and sin. Now a natural question that could arise here is “But why would that be?”

You see, the resurrection from the dead provides the proof that God accepted Jesus willingness to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that He could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. This morning, the reality is that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then we have not been rescued from our selfishness and sin. For while there have been other people who were brought back to life in the Bible, Jesus is different for two reasons.

First, Jesus is the only person in the letter that make up the Bible who predicted that he would die and be raised from the dead before the event actually happened. The resurrection proves that Jesus was who He said He was as our Lord and Leader. Second, while other people in the letter that make up the Bible were brought back to life, they eventually died again. Jesus, however, was raised from the dead never to die again.

The Christian faith and our forgiveness is centered on the resurrection; without the resurrection Christianity and our faith is devoid of any value to rescue and restore us to relationship with God and one another. Paul then reveals a fourth result that would be the natural result if the message of a resurrected Jesus and an empty tomb was an April fool’s hoax in verse 18-19:

Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Paul explained that that if the message of a resurrected Jesus and an empty tomb was an April fool’s hoax, then those who have believed, trusted, and followed Jesus throughout history and who have died physically will only experience eternal separation from God and an eternal sentence to hell. And because of that reality, Paul explains in verse 19 that if we have placed our confident trust in Jesus without the reality of the resurrection, then we are of all men most to be pitied.

Now the word pitied here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to be deserving of sympathy for one’s pathetic condition. Paul’s point here is that if the message of a resurrected Jesus and an empty tomb was an April fool’s hoax, we are pathetic. We are pathetic because we have leveraged our lives for a lie.

So, Paul has basically argued that if the tomb wasn’t empty; if what we celebrate on Easter is just one big April fool’s hoax, then followers of Jesus are pathetic people who have either been deceived or are knowingly deceiving others. But is that the case? Are followers of Jesus pathetic people who have either fallen for an April fool’s hoax or who willingly perpetuate an April fool’s hoax?

Friday, we will see Paul provide the answer to those questions…

A right relationship with God is revealed by a life that is marked by a growing obedience to God...

At the church where I serve we have been spending our time together looking at perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preached, which is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. During this series, we have seen Jesus reveal to the crowds listening to His sermon, and to us here today, the true nature of what God demands of humanity in order to experience a right relationship with Him and what it truly means to obey the message and teachings of the letters that make up the Bible.

Today, I would like for us to look at the conclusion of this famous sermon, which we know today as the Sermon on the Mount. Now the conclusion of this sermon contains one of the most famous sayings of Jesus. And it is in this famous conclusion that contains this famous saying that we will discover another timeless truth from Jesus uncut. We find the conclusion of this famous sermon in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the gospel of Matthew, beginning in Matthew 7:24:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall,for it had been founded on the rock.

As Matthew continues to give us a front row seat to this famous sermon, we see Jesus begin to conclude His sermon by telling a parable. Now a parable is an earthly story designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth. To fully understand this parable, however, we first need to understand a few things. The first thing we need to understand is what Jesus means when He uses the phase "these words of mine".

These words of mine refer to everything that Jesus has said in this sermon. So, let's take a moment to review what we have discovered during this sermon. We have discovered that we are guilty of murder when what comes from our heart damages another's heart. We have discovered that we are guilty of adultery when we desire sexually what we are not committed to relationally. We have discovered that we misrepresent God's promises when we fail to keep our promises.

We have discovered that a right relationship with God requires a right response when wronged. We have discovered that a right relationship with God requires that we live out our faith with the right motives and rewards in mind. We have discovered that a right relationship with God requires that we handle our treasure in a way that demonstrates that we treasure Jesus as our ultimate treasure. We have discovered that a right relationship with God requires the pursuit of God as the highest priority of life. We have discovered that a right relationship with God requires that we use judgment when making judgments. We discovered that a right relationship with God requires that we accept His invitation to pursue Him in prayer.

We discovered that a right relationship with God requires a right entrance into that relationship. We talked about the reality that to experience a right relationship with God requires that we choose a way of life that places us on that right pathway to eternal life with God as part of the kingdom of Heaven. And that way, that pathway is Jesus. And while everyone is invited to take that way and pathway, that pathway is narrow, that pathway is exclusive. And unfortunately, few choose that pathway. Instead, many choose to behave and engage in life in a way that places them on a pathway that results in entering a gate that leads to eternal punishment after being found guilty of evil and wrongdoing that flows from a selfishness and rebellion against God.

Then, we discovered that a right relationship with God is revealed by the results that are produced. We talked about the reality that it is the fruit, or the results that are produced in our lives, that reveals what is going on internally when it comes to the place that God has in our lives. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that what is in the heart will eventually spill out. And what spills out of our hearts is the fruit, or the results that are produced as a result of our internal heart condition.

So with this phrase, Jesus is reminding the crowds listening of all of these truths and basically saying to the crowds "With these truths in mind, let's talk about two types of people. Jesus then described the first type of person as someone who hears the truths that Jesus had proclaimed in this sermon and acts on them. Now this phrase "to act" literally means to carry out an obligation of a moral or social nature. Throughout this sermon Jesus has revealed the reality that God makes demands on His people. Jesus point here is that there is one type of person who will act on the demands that God makes on His people by putting into practice what has been demanded of them.

Jesus refers to the person who puts into practice what has been demanded of them as a person who builds his house on a rock. Jesus point is that some people will choose to build and live out their lives upon the commands and demands of God that are communicated to us through the letters that make up the Bible. There are some people who will choose to put into practice the commands and demands of God as they live their lives in relationship with God and others. The decisions that they make on how they invest their time, treasure, and talents will be based upon these commands and demands.

And as a result of those decisions, Jesus states that when the rains, floods and winds come and slam against that house, it will not fall. Now the picture that Jesus is painting for the crowds listening is the picture of a monsoon storm very similar to what we experience here in the summer months. Just like here in Arizona, every Jewish person knew that during certain times of the year incredible monsoon storms would turn normally dry washes into raging rivers that would overflow their banks and threaten their homes. It is never a question of if, but when, for these storms.

But what storms is Jesus referring to? These storms could refer to the crisis of life that tests the strength of our spiritual life. And while that could be true, when we look at the context of where this fits in Jesus sermon, it is more likely that He is referring to the final judgment when the nature and quality of our relationship with God will be revealed for what it truly is. Now when Jesus uses the words "to fall" He is literally referring to something that collapses in on itself. We see this word picture in our modem experience when we see a large building demolished through the use of explosives.

So, in essence, Jesus is stating that the person who hears Gods commands and demands as communicated and explained by Jesus and acts by putting them into practice in their lives will not see all that they have built or invested in implode. Jesus then continues His parable by talking about the second type of person in verse 26- 27. Let's look at it together:

"Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."

Jesus then continued His parable by introducing another character into the parable. Jesus explained that, unlike the person who builds and invests their lives upon the commands and demands of God that are communicated to us through the letters that make up the Bible, this person builds their lives on another foundation. It could be the foundation of prideful self­promotion and position; it could be the foundation of money and possession; it could be the foundation of pleasure.

Notice that the houses themselves are identical in nature; the only difference between the houses is the foundations that  they  are  built  on. But, as Jesus communicates in verse 27, the wrong choice of foundation has dramatic and eternal consequences. For those whose lives are built on anything other than the commands and demands of God that are communicated to us through the letters that make up the Bible, when the crisis of life that tests the strength of our spiritual life come, and more importantly, when we stand before God at the final judgment and the quality of our relationship with God is revealed for what it truly is, the collapse of all that has been built and invested in will be of epic proportions and the destruction will be complete.

You see, Jesus told this earthly story to reveal the deeper spiritual truth that for Jesus, it is not what you know; it is what you do that matters. Obedience matters. This evening, we live in a day where we are exposed to the teachings of Jesus in every possible medium. We live in a day when we have more access to more information about the message and teaching of the letters that make up the Bible than at any time in history. Yet, in many cases, many people who profess to have a relationship with Jesus and who attend church look less like Jesus. But why is that? How could that be?

Maybe you are building and investing your lives on the foundation of church attendance. Maybe you are thinking "As long as I attend church, I'm good with God". The problem with that view is that God really does not care about church attendance. Jesus is not in Heaven taking roll. You see, church attendance makes you a Christian about as much as sleeping in the garage makes you a car. As Jesus words in this passage tell us, Jesus is more concerned about obedience that He is about attendance.

Now that does not mean we should never come to church. What it does mean is that we should come to church for the right reasons. We should come to church not because it saves us or because it gets us spiritual brownie points; we should come to church not because we got to go to church, we should come to church because we get to go to church. We should come to church because we love Jesus and want to be with others who love Jesus so that we can worship Jesus in community with other followers of Jesus.

Or maybe you are building and investing your lives on the foundation of what you know about God and His word. Be very careful. There is great danger here. You are in great danger when you can hear the message and teachings of the letters that make up the Bible on the radio, on TV, through a pod cast, or through a sermon and are not be moved to change. There is great danger when you listen to a sermon and say "I've heard that before".

In this passage and throughout His sermon, Jesus makes it clear that obedience is more important than knowledge. Whoever hears these words of mine and acts on them. Not whoever hears these words of mine and memorizes them. For Jesus hearing and acting are inseparable. And it is here that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the true nature of what it means to obey the message and teachings of Jesus and the true nature of a lifestyle that is living a right relationship with Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: A right relationship with God is revealed by a life that is marked by a growing obedience to God.

The timeless reality is that the strength of our relationship with God is based on what it is built on. Jesus told this parable to reveal the deeper spiritual reality that building our lives on anything other than the commands and demands of God that are communicated to us through the letters that make up the Bible will result in destruction during the crisis of life.

Jesus told this parable to reveal the deeper spiritual reality that the only foundation that stands through the crisis of life that tests our spiritual life and that reveals the nature and quality of our relationship with God will be the life that is built upon the commands and demands of God that are communicated to us through the letters that make up the Bible. So how did the crowd respond to Jesus sermon? We see the answer in verses 28-29. Let's look at their response together:

When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Here we see Matthew explain that the crowd responded to Jesus sermon with amazement. Now when it says that the crowds were amazed, their response was not "wow that was a cool sermon". Their response was not "wow, I was really fed today". Their response was not "wow that really ministered to my heart". The word amazed literally means that they were be filled to the point of being overwhelmed with fear.

They were filled to the point of being overwhelmed by fear because they had realized that they had built their lives upon the religious system of the scribes and Pharisees. And that religious system of external compliance that emphasized attendance and head knowledge was a foundation of sand that threatened to collapse like a house of cards.

So, what foundation are you building your life upon?

The fruit of daily obedience over the occasional spectacular...

This week we have been looking at a section of a famous sermon that we know today as the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:15-20, we Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the true nature of what it means to obey the message and teachings of Jesus and the true nature of a lifestyle that is living a right relationship with Jesus in that a right relationship with God is revealed by the results that are produced

The timeless reality is that it is the fruit, or the results that are produced in our lives, that reveals what is going on internally when it comes to the place that God has in our lives.  Once again, we see Jesus move past externals to the issue of the heart. Once again, we see that Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that what is in the heart will eventually spill out. And what spills out of our hearts is the fruit, or the results that are produced as a result of our internal heart condition.

And that fruit cannot be faked for any significant period of time. Sure, you might be able to fool some people for some period of time, but eventually your behavior will betray what you say is going on inside to instead reveal what is truly going on inside. You see, you can only fake it for so long before you become exhausted trying to produce fruit externally that you are unable to produce because of what is present internally. We see Jesus reveal this reality in what He says next in Matthew 7:21-23:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' ²³ "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Now Jesus statement here, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “Not everyone who claims that I am in charge of their lives actually has a right relationship with Me and will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead, it is the one who lives their lives in a way that carries out in obedience the desires of My Father that reveals the reality that they have a right relationship with Me and will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who are false prophets will say to Me on the day when the Kingdom of Heaven arrives in its fullest sense ‘Didn’t you see all the spectacular things that we did for you?’ And I will declare to those false prophets ‘All the spectacular things that you did in My name were done to deceive people so as to destroy people. You were not carrying out the desires of My Father; you were coopting My name to deceive people. And because of that reality, the results that were produced in your life reveal your true lawless nature of rebellion against Me and the reality that you were not interested in knowing, following or obeying Me. And because you do not truly heave a heart relationship with Me that desires to live according to my desires, you can depart from Me.’”

Jesus point is that it is the fruit that is produced in the life of a person that is driven to follow God’s desires for their lives as they strive to live in obedience to Jesus that reveals the reality of a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus. Jesus point is that it is the results of daily obedience, not the occasional, spectacular act of an otherwise disobedient life that reveals the reality of a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus. Jesus point is that a one day a week, 75-minute, check the box on Sunday, Christianity that is betrayed by a lifestyle that goes against the message and teachings of Jesus the rest of the week are the results that are produced in the life of a person externally that does not know Jesus internally. 

You see, at the end of the day, Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that what is in the heart will eventually spill out. And, as Jesus points out in this part of His famous sermon, a right relationship with God is revealed by the results that are produced.

So, with that in mind, here is a question to consider: What does the fruit, or the results that are produced by your life, reveal about your internal heart condition? Are you exhausted from trying to produce fruit externally that you are unable to produce because of what is present in you internally? Are the results that are produced in your life betraying what you say is going on inside to instead reveal what is truly going on inside?

Because, the timeless reality is that it is the fruit, or the results that are produced in our lives, that reveals what is going on internally when it comes to the place that God has in our lives.  That is why Jesus consistently moved past externals to the issue of the heart. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that what is in the heart will eventually spill out. And what spills out of our hearts is the fruit, or the results that are produced as a result of our internal heart condition.

And the reality is that a right relationship with God is revealed by the results that are produced…

A right relationship with God is revealed by the results that are produced...

This week we have been looking at a section of a famous sermon that Jesus preached, called the Sermon on the Mount, which is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. Yesterday, in Matthew 7:15, Jesus commanded those who were listening to His sermon to beware of the false prophets. When the letters that make up the Bible refer to false prophets, this term refers to an individual or group of individuals who falsely claim to be a prophet of God who serves as God’s messenger or spokesman.

Jesus painted a word picture that those listening to His sermon would be very familiar with to reveal the reality that, just like wolves, false prophets would be constantly looking for the opportunity to stalk and to hunt down those who were striving to follow God. And these false prophets, in their stalking and hunting of those who were striving to follow God, would externally give the appearance of being right with God and speaking on behalf of God.

However, the reality was that, underneath their external covering that was used to attempt to deceive those who were striving to follow God, these false prophets were marked by an internal heart condition that was opposed to God and that was driven by a desire to destroy the people of God. And because of that reality, Jesus commanded the crowds listening to be on the alert for shady false prophets.

Now a natural question that could arise here is a question that has arisen throughout history. And that question is this: How are we supposed to be able to distinguish between the sheep and the wolves if externally there appears to be no difference between the sheep and the wolves? How are we supposed to recognize a false spokesman for God if they are able to give the external appearance of being right with God and a true spokesman for God? How do we know the difference between a person who is a true spokesman for God and a person who is a false spokesman for God?

 If that question is running through your mind, I just want to let you know that is a great question to be asking. And fortunately for us, we see Jesus provide the answer to that question in what He says next. So, let’s look at what Jesus says next, which is found in Matthew 7:16-18:

"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

Now to fully wrap our minds around what Jesus is communicating here, I want us to think of a crabapple tree and an apple tree. In the winter you cannot tell the difference between a crabapple tree and an apple tree because in the winter these trees are not producing any fruit. However, while these trees look almost identical externally in the winter, they are very different internally. While these trees look identical externally, they produce very different fruit.

Growing up we had a crabapple tree in our front yard, and I can personally tell you that the fruit of a crabapple tree is extremely tart and nasty. A crabapple is a small hard piece of fruit that is only good for throwing at other people. Crabapples look very different than an apple. It is only when the summer and fall come, when the trees begin to produce fruit, are we really able to tell which tree is a crabapple tree and which tree is an apple tree. It is the fruit, or what is produced by these trees, that enables us to distinguish the difference between a sweet apple and a sour nasty crabapple.

And that is Jesus point. Jesus here is revealing the reality that it is the fruit, or the results that are produced in the life of these prophets that will enable one to distinguish between a person who is a true spokesman for God and a person who is a false spokesman for God. In addition, Jesus also revealed to the crowds listening the reality that a tree cannot produce anything externally that is contrary to their true nature internally.

Just as grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, Jesus explained that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Jesus point is that the fruit, or the results that are produced externally, provides the evidence of what is present internally. Jesus then hammered His point home in what He says next. So, let’s look together at what Jesus says next in Matthew 7:19-20:

"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ "So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Here we see Jesus paint a word picture to reveal how God will respond to the evidence of what is present internally in the life of a person that is revealed by the results that are produced externally by the life of that person. When Jesus talks about being thrown into the fire, this word picture is used in the letters that make up the Bible to describe the fires of judgment.  Jesus uses this word picture to reveal the reality that every person whose life produces the results that reveal the reality that they are worthy of punishment as a result of having a heart that is rebellious against God will experience that punishment.

And because of that reality, Jesus explained that you will be able to recognize false prophets by the results that are produced by their lives. And similarly, a true spokesman for God who is living in a right relationship with God will be able to be recognized as a result of the results that are produced by their lives. And it is here that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the true nature of what it means to obey the message and teachings of Jesus and the true nature of a lifestyle that is living a right relationship with Jesus.

And that timeless truth is that a right relationship with God is revealed by the results that are produced. The timeless reality is that it is the fruit, or the results that are produced in our lives, that reveals what is going on internally when it comes to the place that God has in our lives.  Once again, we see that Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition.

Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that what is in the heart will eventually spill out. And what spills out of our hearts is the fruit, or the results that are produced as a result of our internal heart condition. And that fruit cannot be faked for any significant period of time.

Sure, you might be able to fool some people for some period of time, but eventually your behavior will betray what you say is going on inside to instead reveal what is truly going on inside. You see, you can only fake it for so long before you become exhausted trying to produce fruit externally that you are unable to produce because of what is present internally.

Friday, we will see Jesus reveal this reality in what He says next...

A timeless and timely alert...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Jesus uncut. During this series, we are spending our time together looking at perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preached, which is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. During this series, we are going to see Jesus reveal the true nature of what God demands of humanity in order to experience a right relationship with Him and what it truly means to obey the message and teachings of the letters that make up the Bible. And during this series, as we see Jesus uncut, our hope and prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in a way that enables us to wrap our heads, hearts, and hands around the lifestyle that Jesus calls us to live as one who is living in a right relationship with Him. 

This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this famous sermon that Jesus preached, called the Sermon on the Mount, which is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew, we are going to discover another timeless truth from Jesus uncut. So, let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in Matthew 7:15:

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

As Matthew continues to give us a front row seat to this famous sermon that Jesus preached, we see Jesus command those who were listening to His sermon to beware of the false prophets. Now when Jesus uses the word beware, this word, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to be in a state of alert. Jesus warning to the crowds listening, and to His followers throughout history, is that we need to be on alert.

Jesus then explained that what the crowds listening, and followers of Jesus throughout history, were to be on the alert for were the false prophets. When the letters that make up the Bible refer to false prophets, this term refers to an individual or group of individuals who falsely claim to be a prophet of God who serves as God’s messenger or spokesman. After commanding the crowds listening to beware of the false prophets, Jesus then revealed the shady nature of false prophets. Jesus explained that false prophets are those who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. But this morning, what does that even mean? 

Throughout the letters that make up the Bible, followers of God are described as sheep, while those who were the prophets, priests, teachers, or leaders of God’s people are described as shepherds. Now while the Jewish people of Jesus day would have totally connected with this picture, today we do not spend any time around sheep and shepherds. So let’s take a minute to understand a few things about sheep, shepherds, and how they related to one another.

The first thing about sheep and shepherds is that sheep desperately need a shepherd. Now you might be here this morning, and a natural question that could arise here is “Well, why do sheep need a shepherd?” You see, sheep need a shepherd because sheep are needy. And sheep need a shepherd because sheep are stupid. Sheep are some of the dumbest animals on the planet. 

And because of that reality, sheep need protection, sheep need guidance. Sheep need direction. Sheep need care. Sheep need feeding. Without a shepherd, a sheep’s needs remain unmet. Without a shepherd, the sheep suffer, and even die. And one of the greatest dangers that sheep face was the threat that came from wolves. Wolves were constantly looking for opportunities to stalk and hunt down sheep, who were very easy targets for the wolves.

Jesus here paints a word picture that those listening to His sermon would be very familiar with to reveal the reality that, just like wolves, false prophets would be constantly looking for the opportunity to stalk and to hunt down those who were striving to follow God. And these false prophets, in their stalking and hunting of those who were striving to follow God, would externally give the appearance of being right with God and speaking on behalf of God.

However, the reality was that, underneath their external covering that was used to attempt to deceive those who were striving to follow God, these false prophets were marked by an internal heart condition that was opposed to God and that was driven by a desire to destroy the people of God. And because of that reality, Jesus commanded the crowds listening to be on the alert for shady false prophets.

Now a natural question that could arise here is a question that has arisen throughout history. And that question is this: How are we supposed to be able to distinguish between the sheep and the wolves if externally there appears to be no difference between the sheep and the wolves? How are we supposed to recognize a false spokesman for God if they are able to give the external appearance of being right with God and a true spokesman for God? How do we know the difference between a person who is a true spokesman for God and a person who is a false spokesman for God?

If that question is running through your mind, I just want to let you know that is a great question to be asking. And fortunately for us, we see Jesus provide the answer to that question in what He says next.

Tomorrow we will look at what Jesus says next…