Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A Word For The Wise Is Sufficient

I grew up in the home of a state trooper. There was never any question about the reality of authority. There was never any argument about where it rested. There was never any greater wisdom that I learned than when I heard how the voice of authority told me to live and obeyed. Life was good then. There was never any more miserable state of being when I heard and rejected the authoritative word. It was a fool’s way to live.
Many are living foolishly today in our culture when wisdom is in short supply. Even the church is caught up in this pursuit to insulate us from the insanity that seems to be driving our political leaders. At the very least we are greatly affected by decisions based on man’s best thinking. And man’s best thinking is being revealed as insufficient to the challenges of life today. It is like being caught up and carried along in a parade of fools. I, for one, want to know how to step out of the parade.

Hear now the word of the Lord for us today:

“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. 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. 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. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."
When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment. (Matthew 7:24-8:13)


As we continue in our sermon series about the Cultural Relevance of a Biblical Worldview we consider the following truth: God reveals Himself in His word.
In Knowing God, the theologian J.I. Packer makes the claim that God reveals Himself in His word in four categories beginning in Genesis. His revelation includes command, testimony, promise or prohibition and his premise is that these categories continue to hold firm throughout the Scriptures. In our passage today we can see this revelation displayed for us in more than one way. Christ gives command, He reveals Himself in testimony, and He gives promise and prohibition to the people who hear His word. Central to God’s revelation in His word is the reality of His authority. Whether people recognize this truth does not negate it. His authority is relevant to our reality.

I. WISE PEOPLE RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF GOD REVEALED IN THE WORD OF GOD.

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

The multitudes were amazed at His teaching and here is why: His teaching had the ring of authority to it. Have you ever been exposed to instruction without the teacher helping you see the relevance of it? What was the point of that, you may have asked after sitting through a boring lecture without understanding its application or learning why it matters. So what, you may have said to yourself or even to someone else. Here is the so what of the Sermon on the Mount. It comes down to a story that Jesus told about a wise man and a fool. They both are building houses and they both endure storms. The difference is not in what they build their lives with, although if we remember the three pigs’ story, it does matter what building materials are used in construction. Even a fable can teach a principle. Jesus is not teaching fables. But He is teaching principles. This so-what of the Word of God’s message on the side of a Galilean hill is all about the foundation. It matters what you base your life upon and how you make your decisions based upon that basis. Jesus said that wise people choose to order their lives on a foundational worldview that says God knows the right and wise way to live. It mattered to those people whether they heard the Word of God and did what the word said to do or heard the Word of God and ignored God’s direction. The Living Word of God was teaching as One who was different from the scribes. And listening to the scribes in that day was almost like hearing someone tell you that memorizing the Ten Commandments is all there was to learning how to live out God’s word. Jesus said that it wasn’t enough to know the word of God. A wise person learned how to live out the word of God.

II. WISE PEOPLE SEEK THIS AUTHORITY.

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him… And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him…

People are still clamoring and crowding around people and philosophies that promise the best way for people to live. Sadly some follow the next new fad into ruin. Why don’t we live the way God instructs us to live? Because we want the painless path. We want what we want. It still matters whether or not people do what the Word of God says. Their whole life is affected either way. The Chinese pastor Watchman Nee wrote that the main issue in the entire universe is authority…who has it and who recognizes it. Large crowds followed Him but we are told that two specific people came to Him. Not everyone in the crowd was seeking Jesus. Some were just in the midst of their journey. Along for the ride, or the walk, I might say. There is a difference in blending in with the crowd because that is what is expected of us or sincerely seeking Christ. These two were seeking the authority of God. And they found it. A leper…a person who was the living symbol of death and hopelessness came seeking Jesus. Symbolic in this language is how God came down from this mountain, this high ground, to encounter the need of this leper, one of the low-life of their day. The second person is met when Jesus comes into Capernaum, the center of His ministry with His disciples. We are told in the narrative that a Roman centurion, a military commander used to wielding his authority, was utterly helpless to help someone he cared deeply for. This is the Biblical God intervenes in man’s helpless and hopeless condition with compassionate desire. The brilliance of the Gospel writer demonstrates the mind of God revealed in the Word of God. He doesn’t just give us instruction in chapters 5 through 7; the writer tells how Jesus met men who wisely believed that God was willing and able to do something about their circumstances. God is still in the middle of our desperate and deadly world with a desire to help those who seek His authority. Perhaps you see yourself as a leper that no one can, or will, help. God is telling you today through this word that if you seek Him, if you acknowledge the authority of His word, He will make Himself available to you. Wise people still seek Jesus. And they know there is a way to approach Him.

III. WISE PEOPLE APPROACH THIS AUTHORITY WITH HUMILITY.

And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

How differently people approach God today. People can read a passage of Scripture and interpret a promise out of context and they think that God is obligated to perform on demand and they are entitled to His blessing. It is almost like we have a view of God who is bound to His word for our benefit. He is certainly bound to His word but it is because He has a purpose in it. God told the prophet Jeremiah that He was watching over His word to perform it. God is still watching and doing His word. He invites us to join Him daily in the working out of His word in our lives. The leper bows down and approaches God. He does not demand that Jesus do anything for Him. He does not say you made me this way so you’re responsible to take care of me. He humbly makes a statement of faith about what he believes about God. If Jesus is willing, He can… How much our prayer life will change if we come to this place in our life. If God is willing, He can change our circumstance, He can make us whole. He can make us clean. He is God Almighty. Jesus tells the leper that He is willing and Be clean. This was a HUGE difference in what the leper had to say about himself in public so that others would hear and avoid him. UNCLEAN!!! He was forced to cry out. What powerful and power-filled words when Jesus said, Be cleansed. Show yourself to the priest…you will be a testimony to them!

But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Here is a man who understood that his own authority was insufficient to help his servant’s condition. With all the power of the government and its authority to back him up, the centurion was utterly helpless in this circumstance of life. When someone in authority acknowledges that he is under authority it is a humbling thing. The centurion had authority to put down rebellion and represent the interests of Caesar’s empire but did not have authority to heal his servant. But this pagan had enough wisdom to seek One who did. Perhaps you are in a place where all your resources and power are not enough for the task. Wise people humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. In our culture today, people who humble themselves are often maligned in a climate where there is a mentality where only the strong survive. Humility is not seen as a desirable virtue according to a secular worldview. Assertive people win, we are told, but biblically speaking…

IV. WISE PEOPLE GET GOD’S ATTENTION.

Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel…”

There is a danger attached to growing up “in church” and around church people. Sometimes we tend to know the stories without knowing God as the Storyteller. People of faith can become so used to knowing about God without knowing God deeply. The great cry to God’s people today is for us to become more intimate with God than we ever have. How? Put yourself in a place where Jesus is passing by. He speaks through the word every day; He intervenes in our lives sometimes in miraculous ways. He reveals more of Himself to those who are serious about knowing Him intimately. Jesus tells those who were following Him that here is something they need to pay attention to because it got His attention. What caused God to marvel? This centurion, outcast from the Jewish community is living out faith whereas the sons of the kingdom will be content to think they will enter the kingdom because of the faith of their fathers. They will be the real outcasts. Sometimes we Christians are content to think that just knowing the right things to say and the right places to go will be enough to enter God’s Kingdom. We must know Christ as Christians. The response to the centurion is one that is relevant to us today: “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” What Jesus was saying was that the centurion had believed…or had faith in God…and God had acted upon that act of faith. What are you believing about Christ today? Do you have faith that God has the ability and the willingness to move in our culture? Today’s church as a whole does not operate as though we believe God because in a large measure we simply don’t know Him well enough. We will not trust those whom we do not know well. Do you have a high trust level in God? Do you know Him well enough?

V. WISE PEOPLE KNOW WHEN GOD SAYS SO… IT IS SO.

The centurion’s declaration to Jesus can serve as our so what for today:

…but just say the word…

Our so what is a say so! Just say the word, Lord and it is so. There are far too many people declaring things in the name of Jesus without consulting Jesus. We need more people in God’s kingdom proclaiming the authority of the King. He has decreed for us words of life. We need more people saying “Thus says the Lord” because they know what the Lord has said. What He has said He is still saying. My cry today to the Lord is just say the word.

But just say the word…Lord…and my sin, which is really spiritual leprosy, is suddenly and completely cleansed. But just say the word…Lord and my powerless effort to help someone who is helpless is accomplished under Your authority. But just say the word…Lord and my hopelessness in believing that my marriage can be healed or my health can be restored or my future can be secure or my addictions can be overcome and it is so! Let’s just let the Word of God speak…and believe it…and live it.

The title of today’s message is A WORD FOR THE WISE IS SUFFICIENT. Usually we hear that a word to the wise is sufficient. This is true if one is already wise. A person will only be wise when they have heard God and believed Him. So this is a word for the church today. We cannot be wise if we trust in our own self-made plans and serve a self-centered purpose. We will be wise when we receive what God has given us today. Himself. His word. There is no greater resource available to us. And His word is sufficient. When the church believes this, God will be manifested greatly in our midst and impact our culture for His glory. Wise people do what God says. Be a doer of the word today. It will change your life.

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