Jump Start # 2578

Matthew 5:47 “And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”

Our verse today comes from the amazing sermon on the mount. The greatest sermon preached by the greatest preacher. Jesus is stressing that the Gospel ought to bring out the best in us. We ought to be different because we are not following the crowd, but rather God. How we think and how we treat others is expressed specifically in these passages. The Gentiles would greet each other. But the Gentiles wouldn’t greet a Jew and a Jew certainly would never greet a Gentile. So, with the Gospel in you, how are you any different? You have the greatest message and the best example. You need to be like Jesus. The Jesus who went to Samaria. The Jesus who went to the home of a tax collector. The Jesus who was a friend to all. That’s how God expects us to be.

And, layered nicely in this passage is this wonderful statement, “what do you do more than others?” I want to borrow this idea and talk about all the good that is being done in the midst of all the bad. We must keep our social distance, we are told. We worship at home. Things are not normal. We’ve never seen anything like this. But, do you know what else we’ve never seen before? We are seeing all kinds of wonderful ways to encourage by our fellow preachers. Men who I’d never thought would ever do anything, are. There are Monday morning devotional videos. There are so many wonderful sermons to watch. There are all kinds of Bible classes that one can connect to. These tough times have brought an amazing wealth of ability, opportunity and encouragement. There is no reason for anyone to shrivel up and die. Wonderful, wonderful things are being done. I’m so proud of my fellow preachers. You guys are killing it! I know this is hard. I know it’s not the best way to teach. I know it’s awkward looking into a camera, and for old guys like me, it’s where is the camera so I at least appear to be looking face to face with the audience. Many of us have had to get more equipment. I did. My first video was like a red-neck version. I had a ladder with some books on it and my Ipad sitting on the books. I have purchased a tripod and now a better mic. All of this in an attempt to make things better and better for those who watch and listen.

But it won’t be long and this season of storms will pass. We will be able to assemble. We’ll be back into the church building and we’ll be back into our classrooms. That will be so wonderful. Yet, what will happen to these Monday devotionals, or Friday afternoon messages that have been so helpful and encouraging? Will we drop all of these things and simply return to the way things were? Or, are we seeing an upside benefit to all of these ways to teach and encourage? Could it be that we must “do more than others”?

One of the upsides that I have noticed is the large number of people watching worldwide. The number of people watching the things being put out by congregations is much larger than the congregation itself. Folks are listening and watching Bible class lessons that under normal circumstances never would, or could not. But because these things are made available on Facebook and websites, all over the country, and even the world, people are learning, growing and being encouraged. As we think about getting back together, maybe it’s time to evaluate the wonderful good that has been done. And, as difficult as it has been to produce these videos, maybe it would be a good thing to continue. Should this good stop simply because the storm passes? Or, could the new normal now include some of the wonderful things that we are doing?

Without realizing it, many congregations have witnessed the good that they can do is much farther than the zip code of the church building. States away, people are watching, learning and being helped. This storm has opened our eyes to how we can become global and with technology do more and reach more than we ever had before. So, as we preachers write and prepare sermons, the reach is far more than the faces we see each week in the pews. Someone across the country, or even across the world may now be benefited from the good that is being done.

So, here are a few thoughts:

First, shepherds and preachers need to evaluate whether these wonderful means of teaching ought to continue. There is an expense. Good equipment needs to be purchased so the end product is quality. The good you are doing may be to people who never visit your church building, but they are somewhere in the kingdom. Is that worth continuing? Is this something that you want to be a part of?

Here at Charlestown Road, we’ve been doing this long before the Covid-19 storm arose. Podcasts, Jump Starts, livestreaming are within our DNA. We were recording Bible classes in the building already. But with this, comes questions, emails, texts, needing information, wanting further study worldwide. This adds layers of work and again you may never see these faces in your church building, but that’s not the point. We are not trying to make larger congregations, but save people eternally. The nature of your work shifts a bit to fit in all the help from the world. If this is something you want to do, I’d encourage you to recruit help from those within the congregation. We do a lot of mailing. People wanting copies of our class books we write, Jump Start books, and things like this. This can be overwhelming and eat a lot of time. So, get great help.

Second, what a blessing it is to be living in these times when we can do so much to spread messages worldwide. What we preachers are doing is a bit time consuming, but it’s not hard. It’s what we are supposed to be doing. Many are finding that they are teaching more during a week than they have in the past. And, this is just what we are supposed to do, the work of an evangelist. It brings images of the early disciples teaching daily. We are learning through this storm that we can do this without being face to face. Through technology we can teach, even daily.

Third, there is a great friendship and fellowship that I am seeing among preachers. We are sharing ideas. We are watching each other on videos. We are borrowing lessons and devotionals. We understand that we are all in the same boat and we might as well help one another. And, this is being done. Kindred spirits and love for the Lord are bringing out the best. We are telling others about podcasts and videos that we find to be useful. I know of some families that will watch three or four sermons on Sunday mornings. You couldn’t do that before this storm. What a great time this has brought out for us.

The storm will soon pass. Let us see the great good that has been done and let us give some serious thought as to what ought to continue and how we can help folks, even worldwide.

Thank you, my brothers! Keep up this amazing work! It is helping me!

Roger

Jump Start # 1505

Matthew 5:47 “And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”

  Recently, I talked about the sermon on the mount in a class. We were studying the Life of Jesus. The sermon on the mount is a defining declaration of the Lord. It stands as a document that identifies what citizens in the kingdom are like. Jesus was looking for something other than the norm. Average doesn’t impress the Lord. Multiple times in the sermon Jesus would say, “you have heard…but I say to you…” Jesus was raising the standard. Instead of quoting some dead rabbi or referring to some dusty documents, Jesus used Himself. “I say to you…” was revolutionary, radical and caught the attention of those in the audience. Here, a thirty-something, was telling them what to do. When the sermon ended, the reaction was, He speaks as one having authority.

Our verse is taken from that sermon. It is found in the section about treating others. Loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us is from this setting. Again, don’t just do the norm. The standard is God. He sends His rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. The guy that curses God receives blessings from God, whether he realizes it or not. God is good to all. God loves all, even those that do not love Him.

It follows then, that the followers of God, would act like God. They are going to be fair, kind and generous, even to enemies and those who are not among them. Our verse deals with “greeting” one another. That was much more than simply saying, “Hi,” to someone. We do that to strangers all the time and nothing deeper is meant than, hi. The greetings that Jesus had in mind, included care, concern and including others. Throughout this sermon, Jesus often illustrated the negative side of what he was talking about by pointing out what others did. In the next chapter, He would tell His disciples not to pray like the Gentiles did. Here, in our verse, Jesus uses the Gentiles again. They will greet one another. They will shake hands and hug one another. They have a love for one another. This isn’t something that only God’s people do. Many do that. Doing that doesn’t indicate that one is close, right or even following God. What Jesus is interested in is doing more than the Gentiles. The Gentiles would never greet foreigners. They would not greet Jews. In developing this principle, we come across this profound question, “What do you do more than others?”

What do you do more than others? Ouch. That’s painful. That stops us and makes us think. What are we doing more than others. Others go to worship. Others are kind to neighbors. Others read their Bibles. Others support their congregations. What are you doing more than others?

Is my faith and my relationship any different from those that barely know the Lord? Am I consumed with fear, worry and bothered by stress like the world? What do you do more than others? Am I tripped easily by sin over and over again? What do you do more than others? Do I keep my faith to myself? What do you do more than others?

That question tends to shame us. It makes us wish that Jesus hadn’t said that. Most times that question makes us feel guilty and like we are not doing enough. That’s how I have looked at it for years. But there is another side to this. Here it is:

We are trusting the Lord when sailing through storms. Our times are troublesome. Many days, things look dark. But for the people of God, we hold to God’s unchanging hand. We know everything will be fine because God is upon the throne. We do not fear what man can do to us. Our hope is in the Lord.

We are busy worshipping God and raising Godly families. That’s what we are doing. We make sacrifices to put God first. We adjust our schedule to put God first. We are spending time developing character in the hearts of our children. We are seeing them grow up to be truthful, respectful and spiritual. We don’t have time for “children’s church,” nor entertainment driven worship services. We are serious about the Lord. We want to know and we want to grow.

We have set our eyes upon Heaven. We no longer fear death. We can’t wait to get there. We sing about Heaven often. We love to learn more and more about God and His will. Jesus fills our hearts. This isn’t a Sunday religion. Everyday we are found praying to the Lord. His way has become our way.

We are working hard in the kingdom. We are sharing the story with our friends. We are busy teaching, preaching and doing what we can in the kingdom. We support the kingdom generously. We want the kingdom to grow. We love God and His people.

What do you do more than others…don’t beat yourself up. Consider where you are and what you are doing. His disciples are doing more than others. His disciples have a heart like His.

Roger

Jump Start # 372

Matthew 5:47 “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”

  Jesus expected more from His disciples. They were to be citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven. Status quo was gone. They were walking with Jesus. They would do what no other Jews would do. As we saw yesterday in our Jump Start, they would pray for their enemies. With Jesus, they would travel to Samaria. They would seek to do good to all people. So radical was this, that the opponents started complaining. They accused Jesus of being a friend to the sinners. He was.

  Several times in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus makes comparisons. He tells the disciples to do things differently than the hypocrites do. Another contrast Jesus makes, not just in the sermon, but throughout the gospels, is to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were considered the lowest of life in the eyes of Jewish people. Having the choice of rescuing a dog or a Gentile, most Jews would save the dog first. The Gentiles were pagans. They worshipped just about anything, including the sun, moon, rivers, mountains and birds. The Jews had the Law of God. The Gentiles didn’t. The Jews thought the Gentiles were dumb, godless and faithless.

Notice how Jesus contrasts the disciples to the Gentiles:

• And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for them many words. So do not be like them…(Mt 6:7,8a)

• You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you…(Mt 20:25, 26a)

• If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (Mt 18:17)

  Included in this list would be our passage today. In the context, Jesus is discussing the treatment of others. He tells the disciples to love their enemies. Don’t just love those who love you. The tax collectors do that. Then comes our verse. Don’t just greet those who greet you. The Gentiles do the same.

  The Gentiles. Those who pray to a rock. Those who have no law. Those who were not included in Israel. That’s what they do. You, who have God, the Law, the promises, do more. God expects more. Jesus adds this interesting expression, “what are you doing more than others?”

  Those of us that have been saved by the grace of God, what are we doing more than others? The others are kind, decent people. The others are good citizens of the land. Jesus wants more. Jesus expects more.

  The context would lead us to being kind, prayerful and helpful to others, not just our friends, our church family, our circle of relationships. The Gentiles do that. We do more. The context would lead us to being engaged and interacting with others outside our circle. This means doing what others won’t do. This means extending my circle of love, help and availability.

  This isn’t natural nor easy for most of us. The Gentiles seem to have it right. Love those who love you. The rest, ignore and hate. God wants better from us. This is hard. But this is what walking with Jesus means.

  It begins by remembering that God included you. We somehow think that we are so special. Not so. We think we are varsity material for God. Not so. God loved us when we were sinners. God forgave us based upon our faith in Jesus Christ. God included us. Now it’s our turn to do the same toward others.

  What do you do more than others? Great question. It compels us to look within and then get busy without. What are you doing…

Roger