[0:00] Thank you, Jonathan, thank you, Eric, and the choir for leading us in that time of worship.! Let's continue in worship now, study the Word of God. You turned to Luke earlier, now you can turn to our regularly scheduled programming, the Gospel of Matthew.
[0:19] You're thinking, Joseph, why in the world did you read from Luke then? Well, because what we read earlier is what is known as the Sermon on the Plain, which is very similar to the body of work that we will be studying for the next few weeks, at least, which is known as the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapter 5 through 7.
[0:45] And today, we're going to do something a little bit different. We're going to look at the first two verses that introduce the Sermon on the Mount, and we're going to look at the last two verses that conclude the Sermon on the Mount.
[1:00] And we're going to talk about the authority of Jesus. Matthew 5, 1, and 2 says, I could have left out saying.
[1:19] Go to now to Matthew chapter 7, verses 28 through 29. It says, Authority is a position of power.
[1:39] It's one who's able to command or lead or govern. And I don't think that we have a hard time recognizing what authority is. We all generally know what authority is. We recognize it every single day.
[1:51] We know that the government has authority, right? That's why we follow laws and generally follow the speed limit, you know, because the government has authority. Yeah, it's kind of questionable, right?
[2:02] I confessed to you all one time about a speeding ticket I got, so you know. But we know what authority is. We know that parents have authority. It's why whenever your parents tell you to clean your room, you clean your room or you hide your stuff really well.
[2:17] We know that parents have authority. We also know that, you know, coaches have authority. That's why you're running triangles after baseball practice, even when you're exhausted. Or you're running sprints after football practice, even though you are really, really exhausted.
[2:32] We know that there's employers who have authority. We recognize that. If you're a teacher, then you recognize that the government and your employer are the same. And so you have to submit to the authorities above you, and you can teach what's, you know, you're told to teach and allowed to teach and those types of things.
[2:49] You recognize you're not allowed to say things out of line, all right? We know what authority is. The issue isn't recognizing authority. The challenge that we face is that we don't like to submit to authority, right?
[3:02] We don't like to submit to authority. There was a phrase popularized in the 1960s. It was attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but that can't be proven. But there was a phrase popularized in the 1960s, and maybe you've heard it.
[3:15] Maybe you had a bumper sticker or a T-shirt. It said, question authority. Anybody remember that phrase? That was like a big thing. It was a movement, a hippie movement, really. Question authority.
[3:26] The idea was just because someone's in a position of authority doesn't mean that they get to tell you what to do, right? So question authority. Make sure it's just. Make sure it makes sense. All that kind of stuff.
[3:37] You know, it sounds really great, too. Don't let the man win. Question authority, you know? Question authority. Here's the thing. We don't need a bumper sticker. We don't need T-shirts. We don't need a slogan to question authority because we were born with what is called a sin nature.
[3:53] And in our sin nature, naturally, we like to buck up against authority. We like to reject authority in our sin nature. And I've learned this lesson.
[4:04] I've learned it very well. And if you want to know why I know this lesson well, it's because I'm a dad. I'm a dad of a three-year-old. And if you think that three-year-olds are without sin, I'm just kidding.
[4:15] No. If you think a three-year-old wasn't born with a sin nature, you'd be sorely mistaken. Jack is awesome. We love him so much. I love that kid. He is great.
[4:27] And also, he loves to push the limit. He loves to test authority. He knows he can't climb on tables, and he does it every single day. And then he's like, Dad, look.
[4:38] Like, what do you do? He's just, you know, he's bucking up against authority. We don't like to submit to authority. We're too prideful. The reality that you see in a three-year-old carries on through adulthood for a lot of people.
[4:55] We're too prideful. We're too vain. We don't like it when other people get to tell us what to do or how to live. We don't like to submit to authority. But we're studying the Sermon on the Mount. We're studying the Sermon on the Mount.
[5:09] We're going to be here for quite a while. And why? Well, because this is the most comprehensive, impressive, lengthy example of the preaching ministry of Jesus Christ.
[5:20] This is the teaching of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount, it provides us with something like a guide to the Christian life. It's been called a discourse in discipleship.
[5:33] It's also been called a way to live out a countercultural Christianity. It's even been called Jesus' kingdom manifesto. This is one of the most well-recognized, if not the most well-recognized bodies of work in all of Scripture, but especially the teachings of Jesus.
[5:53] It's also, sadly, one of the worst interpreted and applied passages of Scripture that you'll find. But we're going to spend some time here in the Sermon on the Mount. And there is a richness to the text that we're going to discover together.
[6:07] But there's also, built within, a call to submission. A call to submission. Jesus spoke these words to his disciples.
[6:20] He gave these instructions or this path to life to believers. And so, the message within the Sermon on the Mount still applies to you and me today.
[6:31] This is still the expectation that God has for those who are his. So, if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you must necessarily submit to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[6:49] Or to the Lordship of Christ. Let me show you what I mean. Let me show you. I'll give you a breakdown of the Sermon on the Mount. John Stott, he was a famous pastor, theologian, commentator.
[7:01] He wrote an outline of the Sermon on the Mount. And I think it's really, really helpful. Because he explains to us, in very easy terms for us to understand, what Jesus describes in this Sermon on the Mount, during this time of preaching.
[7:16] He says that Jesus describes the Christian's character. And we find that in the Beatitudes. He says that Jesus describes the Christian's influence. That we are the salt of the earth.
[7:28] The light of the world. That we should have a witness. He describes the Christian's righteousness, which is concerned with not only the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law. He describes the Christian's piety.
[7:42] That's shown in how Jesus teaches on giving and prayer and fasting. He describes the Christian's ambition, which is the pursuit of God instead of temporal things.
[7:55] Seek first the kingdom of heaven and these things will be added to you. He describes the Christian's relationships with one another and with God. And finally, he describes the Christian's commitment, which is to rest in the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[8:09] And in each of these areas, which constitute really one's entire life, the kingdom of God is kept in mind. So if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God.
[8:23] Okay? Paul says in Philippians chapter 1, verse 27, he says that we have a citizenship in heaven. And because we have a citizenship in heaven, we should live worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[8:36] So you and I are kingdom citizens. And while we're kingdom citizens and we recognize that, we also recognize that we're here on earth.
[8:47] Right? This is the already and not yet. Jesus has already won. He's risen from the dead. He's given life. But we don't yet realize it in fullness because we're not in his presence.
[9:00] But make no mistake, you are a kingdom citizen. And as a kingdom citizen, God has certain expectations for how you will carry yourself, how you'll behave, how you'll think, how you'll act, how you'll live.
[9:14] But you also have to recognize something of supreme importance. When we're talking about the Sermon on the Mount, I want you to recognize this. Jesus preached this message because he actually desires that we would live according to this message.
[9:31] He actually wants us to do the crazy, hard, challenging things that he has called his followers to in the Sermon on the Mount. Matter of fact, in Matthew 5, verse 48, Jesus literally says, Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
[9:47] Jesus actually wants us to accomplish these things. The Sermon on the Mount isn't just some beautiful, idealistic, but unattainable set of rules and regulations.
[9:59] It isn't just a picture of the kingdom. It's actually how Jesus wants you and I to live. If you've been born again, then you have to submit to the Lordship of Christ.
[10:11] It's only possible to live out the Sermon on the Mount if you have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ himself. If the Spirit of God is at work within you. And even then, we're humans.
[10:22] We have a sinful flesh and we will fail. But make no mistake, Jesus preached this message because he wants us to live it out. And so today I'm going to do an overview of the Sermon on the Mount.
[10:33] I'm going to gloss over it. I'll give you some commentary on some of the passages as we go through. But we will go in detail. We'll study in depth on each of these things.
[10:45] All right. Let me pray for us and then we'll continue on. Lord Jesus, we come to you right now and we humbly just request that you would fill our hearts with gladness as we study your word.
[10:56] Lord, I pray that you would teach us and that you would mold us into your own likeness. We love you, Jesus. We praise you.
[11:07] We thank you for this sermon that you delivered to us and that it still applies today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. By the way, one other thing about the Sermon on the Mount real quick.
[11:22] There's a lot of question about is this like a compilation of different teachings of Jesus or is this one lengthy sermon that Jesus preached? I'm going to give you Joseph Duggar's thinking on this.
[11:34] Okay. You can take it or leave it. It really doesn't impact the way you read the passages. Okay. But here's what I think. I think that this is generally the message that Jesus taught his disciples. And I think that on various occasions, Jesus preached this exact message.
[11:50] And so I think this is actually a recording of a sermon or a teaching from Jesus. I don't think that it is just pulled out, you know, themes. It's way too unified for that.
[12:01] So anyways, that's totally off the point for where we're going. But I just wanted to share that with you because if you look up the Sermon on the Mount, that might be like one of the top things you see on a Google search about the Sermon on the Mount is, was this one sermon or not?
[12:13] I think it was. Okay. So take that to the bank. All right. Moving right along. Let's talk about the Sermon on the Mount. So again, the passages that we read, Matthew 5, 1 and 2, and 7, 28 and 29, open and close the Sermon on the Mount.
[12:30] But together, they also provide for us some foundational elements that will guide us through the study on the Sermon on the Mount. Okay. And there's two key words that we need to really focus in on.
[12:42] All right. And it's the first word is in Matthew 5, 2. It says, then he began to teach them. Okay. So teach. That's a very important word when we're looking at the Sermon on the Mount.
[12:52] The second word that's very important comes in verse 29 of chapter 7. And it says, he was teaching them like one who had authority and not like their scribes.
[13:03] So we're going to look at the words teach and the word and authority. So teach and authority. The teaching and the authority of Jesus. So first, we're going to talk through the teaching of Jesus.
[13:15] And to do that, I want to ask a couple of questions. First, who did Jesus teach? Because that's really important. When we're studying the Sermon on the Mount, who was Jesus teaching? Because it says in chapter 5, verse 1, when he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain.
[13:28] So there's crowds present. Okay. There's crowds present. But he went up on the mountain. And after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach them. So who is the them? Is it the crowds or is it his disciples only?
[13:41] Here's the deal. On multiple occasions, Jesus is shown in the Gospels as pulling himself away from the public sphere, going up on a mountain, going into the wilderness, those types of things, to be either by himself or alone with a few of his disciples or with all of his disciples.
[13:58] Multiple, multiple times, Jesus separates himself from the crowds, especially to spend time in prayer. And so what it looks like, actually, in this case, is that Jesus noticed the crowds because remember what we talked about last week?
[14:10] His ministry was growing. There were lots of crowds following him. He saw the crowds, and he decided to step away from the crowds. And he was teaching his disciples. Now, if you look at the end of chapter 7, it says that when he finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished.
[14:27] So here's what happened, in my opinion. The crowds saw him and his disciples walking away, going up on a hill, and they followed him. And even though Jesus was teaching his disciples, the crowds heard the message.
[14:41] They were listening. But it's really important to understand that Jesus directed the message not to the crowds, who were not believers, but to his disciples, to believers.
[14:52] Okay? Really, really important. Because that, again, that still means that it still matters for us today. He specifically directed his teaching to those who were kingdom citizens.
[15:02] Okay? Because the message of the Sermon on the Mount and the applications that you draw from the Sermon on the Mount are in no way attainable for someone who is not a follower of Jesus. All right?
[15:13] So I'm going to be very clear on that up front, because as we study the Sermon on the Mount, if you have not professed faith in Jesus, then you're probably going to dislike a lot of what is said.
[15:24] Probably not going to enjoy it very much. If you are a believer of Jesus, you still might not like some of it. But you are called to live the Sermon on the Mount. Make sense? We're on the same page? Okay.
[15:36] Now the next question is, what did Jesus teach? We know who he taught, so what did he teach? He explained what it looks like to be a kingdom citizen. Right? He's speaking to his disciples.
[15:47] He explained to them what it looks like to be a kingdom citizen, what it looks like to live in the reality of the kingdom of heaven. And so he explained that to them in a few ways.
[15:59] First, he taught on the character and witness of kingdom citizens. So in the Beatitudes, some of the most well-known and misunderstood also, passage in all of Scripture is the Beatitudes.
[16:12] Okay? So blessed are the poor in spirit. You guys know the Beatitudes, right? Oh, I forgot to say something. So look, here's what we're going to do. Matthew 5, 6, and 7.
[16:23] I have a challenge for you. Is anybody really competitive in this room? We've got one competitive person? Seriously? Okay, we've got two, three.
[16:35] Okay, we've got a few. Come on. I was going to invite you all to play church league softball, but not anymore. I want to be with winners. You know what I'm saying? Okay, anyways. No, no.
[16:45] Here's the deal. Here's the deal. You ready? Okay. If you can memorize Matthew 5, 6, and 7. The Sermon on the Mount. If you read through it out loud, it only takes about 13 minutes.
[16:57] It's not very long. If you can memorize the Sermon on the Mount, I'll give you a prize. I don't know what. I haven't decided. I didn't think that far in advance. Audrey, we're going to spend some money.
[17:07] Anyways, I'll get you a prize. Okay? I did this with a youth group back in Texas, and man, they loved it. We had a girl who memorized like four chapters of Proverbs. It was awesome. So if she can do that, you guys can certainly memorize the Sermon on the Mount, right?
[17:21] Okay, so work on it, and then you have to say it to me. You have to recite it to me so I can verify that you have memorized it. Okay? Sound good? Now, here's the competition part.
[17:32] If you memorize it first, you win. Okay? I'm not made of money. All right? No, I'm just kidding. But seriously, if anyone memorizes it, we'll get something.
[17:43] That's a special thing. Memorize the Sermon on the Mount. Okay, now back to the sermon. So he taught on the character and the witness of the citizens of the kingdom.
[17:54] So he taught about the Beatitudes, what the character should be like of those first who will be able to enter the kingdom. And if you want to enter the kingdom of God, then you have to be poor in spirit.
[18:05] In other words, you have to recognize the poverty in your spirit. You cannot save yourself. You are sinful. You're separated from God. You're poor in spirit in your ability, or inability, rather, to save yourself.
[18:18] You completely have to rely on God. So you have to be poor in spirit. You have to mourn your sin. It's not just that blessed are those who are really, really sad sometimes.
[18:28] It's blessed are those who mourn their sin, who are grieved over offending a holy and righteous God. This is the character. This is what is required for someone to enter the kingdom.
[18:41] And then there's an expectation of how you'll live in the kingdom. You'll hunger and thirst for righteousness, trusting that you'll be filled. You'll be merciful. You'll be a peacemaker. Right? That's the overflow of when you are a citizen of heaven.
[18:55] That's the character. Jesus taught on the character. He also taught on the witness. If you are a follower of Christ, then you should be a light in a dark world. So the question is, and we'll really hit this whenever we get to Matthew 5, 13 through 16, but here's the deal.
[19:10] If you claim to be a follower of Christ, I want you to just think to yourself in your own seat. Think about this. Answer this question for yourself. What do people who see you at work think about you when you're not around?
[19:24] Do they recognize you as a follower of Jesus? Do they recognize you as someone who is a shining light for Christ? Or do you look the exact same as your lost coworkers?
[19:36] Do you talk the same way? Men, do they know you as the guy who has the funniest, gross, crass jokes?
[19:47] Or do they know you as someone who walks in holiness? Women, do they know you as a woman who points people to Jesus in speech and in conduct? Or do they know you as someone who gets caught up in gossip every time it comes around?
[20:02] What do people see when you're around them? Do they see a witness to Jesus Christ, the true light? It's not just the character that matters, it's the witness.
[20:13] Here's the catch. If you live in the character of a kingdom citizen, you will have the witness that glorifies God. It's an amazing thing how this works. He also thought about righteous living for kingdom citizens.
[20:27] Righteous living for kingdom citizens. So Jesus says, I didn't come to abolish the law, I came to fulfill the law. And then he says, six different times you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, fill in the blank.
[20:40] Right? You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, do not commit murder. But then he says, but I tell you. And then he explains something else. So with murder, for example, it's not just don't commit murder.
[20:53] The physical act alone is not sin. Jesus says, but I tell you, if you're angry with your brother, then you've already committed murder in your heart. And if you say you fool, then you're subject to hellfire.
[21:06] So Jesus extends what righteousness means to a whole new level. An entirely new level. And it wasn't just murder, but that's the only one I have time for.
[21:18] He also, let's see here. He also taught on the faithful worship of kingdom citizens. Faithful worship. Chapter six says, be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.
[21:33] Notice it doesn't say don't practice your righteousness in front of others, period. We should. We should practice our righteousness in front of others. Right? Me preaching God's word is practicing my righteousness. Right?
[21:43] That God has thankfully blessed me with. To be able to preach God's word. That's in front of you. Make no mistake about it. If you sing on stage, you're practicing righteousness. But don't do it to be seen by them.
[21:55] Right? Don't do it so that you get people coming up to you and saying, wow, you're really gifted. Wow, you can really pray. That's not why we practice righteousness.
[22:07] Right? We're not seeking the applause or the celebration of fellow man. But he says not just that. He goes into what exactly that means.
[22:18] He says when you give. There's an implication there that Christians, citizens of heaven, will be generous, will be givers. That's an implication from the text. When you give, don't do it to be seen.
[22:29] When you pray, don't do it to be seen. When you fast. Boy, I tell you what. But fasting, that's one of those things that Baptists have never heard of. Amen? Yeah, I'll fast.
[22:40] But there's a potluck after church. So I don't know. There's not a potluck today. But look, the reality is that there's an expectation that followers of Jesus will spend time in prayer and fasting and will give generously.
[22:53] But it's not so that others will celebrate them. It's so that God is glorified privately. He taught on a holy pursuit of kingdom citizens. We don't seek the things of the world.
[23:05] We don't serve God and money. We serve God alone. We don't worry about today. We don't worry about tomorrow. We let, we trust that God is in control. Right?
[23:15] There's a holy pursuit. He also taught on the service of kingdom citizens. The service of kingdom citizens. First, in the, in the form of a lack of judgment. Right? Because we're, we're judged with the same strictness with which we judge others.
[23:27] But also in our pursuit of God. We ask. We search. We, we, we knock. We look for Him. And then also in the fact that we walk the narrow path. Not the wide path.
[23:38] Right? So, so he taught on all of these things. Now, the, the last question I want to consider is how did Jesus teach? So we know who he taught to, what he taught, but how did he teach?
[23:49] And that's a really important question because how Jesus taught mattered a lot for the hearers. Okay? Three things. One, Jesus taught masterfully. Okay?
[24:00] If you are ever going to look at a master teacher, look at the teachings of Jesus. He was very clear. He was very intentional. He was deliberate. He was very illustrative. He didn't just tell them what he was telling them.
[24:12] He showed them what he was telling them. He brought the disciples in to a point where they could understand. He spoke on their level. Jesus is the master teacher. All right? He also taught graciously.
[24:23] He was kind, warm, and inviting. His message wasn't a message of condemnation. It was an invitation to life. He also taught with authority. And that's the next word that we're going to look at.
[24:34] But it's really important to understand that Jesus taught with authority. He challenged the leaders. He explained new ideas. He revealed an entire new view of holiness and righteousness.
[24:45] One that was completely foreign to his hearers and completely foreign to the religious leaders. He taught with authority. He taught in a new way. To summarize, Jesus taught on the life he expects from kingdom citizens.
[25:01] The Christian life should be distinct from the world. It should be distinct from Gentiles, or in the text it says Gentiles, but the idea is pagans. It should also be distinct from super hyper religious folk.
[25:15] Right? Whatever that looks like. Whatever religion falls into that category. The Christian life is a pursuit. It's a citizenship in heaven. And the authority that Jesus taught with was impressive.
[25:27] And so we're going to talk about that because here's the reality. Since Jesus spoke with authority, his message has to either be accepted or rejected.
[25:40] There is no third option. You don't get to accept some of the teachings of Jesus and reject the others. You don't get to accept the idea of the teachings of Jesus as if he was trying to describe some, you know, utopia or something that is not real or based in fact or reality.
[26:00] You don't get to accept some of the idea of Jesus himself and reject the salvific work of Jesus. Because Jesus spoke and taught with authority, you either accept his word or you reject his word.
[26:15] There is no in between. So let's talk about the authority of Jesus. Jesus had a distinct authority in his teaching. So notice there at the end of chapter 7, it's that they were astonished because he was teaching like one who had authority, but specifically not like their scribes.
[26:32] So the scribes were the religious elite. They were the actually trained theologians of the day. The Pharisees were the lay people who were extremely pious. But the scribes were those who had been to school and had learned how to teach and how to divide the Old Testament and all those things.
[26:50] But the scribes only taught the traditional teaching of the Old Testament. They didn't dare say anything new. And so because of that, their teaching became very, very legalistic.
[27:00] Like, follow the rules, follow the rules, follow the rules. There's no teaching on grace. There's no teaching on mercy. There's no teaching on the love of God. It was teaching about the law and how the people of Israel needed to do a better job of following the law.
[27:13] Very legalistic teaching. Jesus taught in a completely new way. Jesus spoke as if he had an intimate knowledge of the heart of God. Something that was unheard of for these people, right?
[27:25] Unexpected, completely. He spoke as if he had an intimate knowledge of the heart of God. He corrected Old Testament interpretations of do not murder and do not commit adultery.
[27:36] Right? He corrected those things. God was not ever intending his people to see the words do not murder and do not commit adultery and think that the physical act alone was sinful. God's intention was always that the people would recognize that God wanted their entire life to look different than those who murder and those who commit adultery.
[27:56] It's not just the physical act. It's your heart. It's what happens in your heart. So six different times Jesus corrected Old Testament interpretation. It wasn't just that he had a distinct authority.
[28:08] He also had a powerful authority. He spoke, again, as one with special insight. And here's the thing. If you look at the Old Testament, if you look at the teachings of the prophets, the priests, the scribes, all of the people throughout the Old Testament history, every single one of them, what you'll find without fail is that none of them dared to speak as if they were carrying the authority of God.
[28:35] They spoke after the little preamble, thus saith the Lord, to go back to our King James days. You know what I'm saying? Thus saith the Lord, right? They spoke what God told them to speak.
[28:49] The prophets did, okay? Jesus needed no preamble. Jesus spoke powerfully with authority because he was the Lord in the flesh.
[29:00] He didn't need thus saith the Lord because thus saith the Lord. He spoke. Look, Jesus was speaking. He was teaching himself. That is a powerful authority and one that would have been shocking for the people to hear.
[29:12] He also had an invitational authority. An invitational authority. Look, Jesus didn't just preach for the sake of preaching. Sometimes you're like, well, you do. No, look, Jesus didn't preach for the sake of preaching.
[29:26] Jesus preached a message to his disciples so they could know how to live. He invited them to life. He invited them to a better way. He invited them to the fullness of the heart of God.
[29:37] He invited them to walk in his ways. And then, get this. This is the cool thing about Jesus. He modeled it. He lived the Sermon on the Mount. And then the apostles after him, they lived the Sermon on the Mount.
[29:49] Not perfectly, of course. But they were empowered by God to live this Sermon lifestyle. And we should as well. Because Jesus spoke in an invitational way.
[30:00] And I want you to see that in the same way that Jesus invited them to submit to his authority. He invites us to submit to his authority still today. The authority of Jesus was not lost on any of them.
[30:12] They all recognized his power. They all recognized his authority. They all recognized how he spoke when he was teaching. You have to understand that rejecting the authority of Jesus is to deny his love and grace and mercy and kindness.
[30:27] To reject the authority of Jesus, to reject the teaching of Jesus is to reject the person, Jesus Christ. Submitting to his authority is to set aside your flesh.
[30:42] Set aside selfish ambition. Set aside personal autonomy, as it were. And instead, live completely consumed by the word of God and a pursuit of holiness and a pursuit of righteousness.
[30:54] That's what it looks like to submit to the authority of God. The one who recognizes that following Christ is more valuable than rejecting him knows the joys of submission.
[31:06] Submitting to the word of Christ is not difficult when you recognize the beauty of Christ and his love towards you. So, I want you to take a minute today as we wrap up here.
[31:22] I want you to consider some very important questions. Very important questions. So, you can close your eyes and consider this. You can open your Bible and read. The choice is yours. But I want you to think through a few very important questions.
[31:35] First question is, where are you actively submitting to the lordship of the authority of Christ? Where are you actively submitting to the lordship of Christ? Maybe you've given up a sin struggle that you fought and battled against for years.
[31:50] You said, I'm done with that. Jesus is better. Maybe you've broken off a relationship that was causing you to stumble that was not God honoring. Where are you actively submitting to the lordship of Christ?
[32:02] Maybe you've changed the way that you speak. Maybe you were once known for having a potty mouth. And now, by the grace of God, you're known as someone who has beautiful words that come out of your mouth. Where are you actively submitting to the word of Christ?
[32:15] So, consider that. And I want you to do this. Celebrate it. Praise God that there are areas of our lives as followers of Jesus where we are submitting to his teaching. We are submitting to his word.
[32:25] But the next question is a little bit more challenging. It's a bit more pointed. Where are you not submitting to the word of Christ? What things are just too hard to let go of?
[32:37] So, you have this cool thing as a pastor. People like to overshare sometimes. I mean, you're welcome to. But here's the thing. What happens sometimes is people will say, it's pretty common.
[32:51] You've probably heard some of this too. People will say things like, I know I'm not supposed to, Pastor Joe, but I just, you know, I like to gossip, you know. I know it's bad.
[33:02] I know it's bad. But I just can't stand that person. You know what I mean? I know I shouldn't. But here's the thing. Where are you not submitting to the authority of Christ? Just to go through the Sermon on the Mount here, is your attitude, is your character a reflection of a kingdom citizen?
[33:22] Do you have a witness that people see and then from your witness desire to know Christ personally as Lord? Are you not submitting to Christ in those areas?
[33:35] What about in your general acceptance of biblical commands? Like, where are you not submitting to the authority of Christ? Do you really struggle to let go of hate? Are you an angry person?
[33:46] Submit. Submit. Bend the knee to Jesus. Where are you not submitting to the Lordship of Christ? If you're in a physical adulterous relationship, you should confess that sin.
[33:59] But there's a private sin that occurs too, and that's the sin of lust. Jesus says that it's the same as physical adultery. To commit that sin, lusting after someone with your heart, is the same as committing adultery.
[34:14] Where are you not letting go? Do you have a hard time staying off those websites? Do you have a hard time avoiding those searches? Where are you not submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
[34:26] We could go through the list. In your prayer life, do you have a prayer life? Or do you only pray publicly when people hear it? Do you give generously so that God is glorified privately?
[34:37] Or do you give generously and make sure that everybody knows that it was you who gave to that cause? Where are you not submitting to the Lordship of Jesus? Ultimately, the question is, what is the foundation of your life?
[34:51] I'll read Matthew 7, 24 through 27. It says, Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house.
[35:04] Yet it didn't collapse because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn't act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew, and it pounded that house and it collapsed.
[35:20] It collapsed with a great clash. What is the foundation of your life? Is it the word of Jesus?
[35:31] Is it the word of God? Or is it the fear of man? What is the foundation of your life? So look, there's a few responses to this message on the authority of Jesus. First, if you're a believer and you have submitted to Jesus as Savior, I'm going to tell you right now that you have to take the next step and submit to him as the Lord of your life.
[35:50] Which means that Jesus has the final say. He has the authority. So where you disagree with Jesus, Jesus wins. You submit to his authority. So if you're a Christ follower and you have not submitted to the Lordship of Christ in any area of your life, I'm going to invite you to repent of that and commit to following him anew.
[36:10] And if you're not a believer in this room, if you've never submitted to the Lordship of Christ in any way, you've never put your faith in Jesus as Savior.
[36:23] Maybe you were raised in a church that told you that you were saved because you were baptized as an infant, so you've never personally accepted Christ or believed in Jesus. Maybe you haven't been in church very much at all in your life.
[36:34] If you have not yet submitted your life to Christ, then I'm going to invite you today to turn to him. Confess your sin of rejecting him.
[36:45] Confess the sin in your life. Repent of that sin. That means to turn away from it. Don't walk in the way of sin anymore. Walk in the ways of Christ. And live your life for him. Believe in Jesus Christ.
[36:56] Christ, the same Jesus who had the authority to speak the words in the Sermon on the Mount, is the same Jesus who had the authority to take his life back from the dead. He said, I have the authority to lay it down and I have the authority to take it back.
[37:09] Jesus has authority. So submit to Jesus Christ. Repent of your sin and believe in Jesus today. And then just like those followers of Jesus who need to repent and need to commit to following the word of Jesus, the lordship of Jesus, if you believe in Jesus for the first time today, then live your life under the lordship of Christ.
[37:31] Study his word. Know his word. Seek his heart. And live your life according to what he says. Let me pray for us and you come as the spirit of God leads.
[37:42] Let's pray together. Lord Jesus, thank you for who you are. Thank you for your word. Thank you for your love for us. And Jesus, thank you for your authority. And not only did you possess authority, but you've given authority.
[37:57] You, Lord, are the lord of all. We thank you for your salvation. We thank you for the road map to life that you've given us in the Sermon on the Mount. And I pray that you would be glorified now in Jesus' name.
[38:10] Amen.