THE SERMON OF THE MOUNT Kay-Chong Yeo Page 1

Transcription

1 Page 1 Session Fourteen The Invitation to a Fasted Lifestyle (Matt. 6:1 21) A. Introduction 1. The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus most comprehensive teaching on how to have a vibrant spirit. 2. It is His premier teaching on how to cooperate with God s grace to walk out the Kingdom lifestyle. We do not earn God s grace but we learn to cooperate with God to receive grace to walk out the Kingdom lifestyle. 3. The Sermon-on-the-Mount lifestyle is the pathway to hearts that are free and spirits that are vibrant. 4. In Matthew 5 7, Jesus calls us to respond extravagantly to the Sermon on the Mount teaching. He is not calling us to try it out. Instead, Jesus is saying that the only way to sustain vibrancy in our spirits is to live it out. 5. The Sermon on the Mount is the clearest picture of what it means to be true Kingdom people. It is the litmus test of God that measures the following: a. Spiritual Maturity A life that manifests a certain measure of the eight fruits of the Beatitudes. b. Ministry Impact A ministry that inspires people to walk out the Sermon-onthe-Mount lifestyle. 6. The foundational call of the Sermon on the Mount is to cultivate the eight fruits of the Beatitudes. The eight fruits of the Beatitudes reveal the core reality of true Kingdom people. True Kingdom people would manifest a certain measure of the eight fruits. 7. In Matt. 5:21-48, Jesus strategically outlines six toxins : a. He calls us to resist these six hindrances that will deter us from growing the eight Beatitudes anger, lust, disloyalty to marriage and relationships, dishonoring our words / commitment, a spirit of retaliation and passive love and mercy. b. These are the six negatives and toxins that war against our souls. They are the areas of defilement most common to man that causes our inner-man to become dull. c. Jesus warns us to SHUT the doors of our hearts to these six toxins. We are to close the windows of our souls to them.

2 Page 2 d. Jesus commands us to wage war in these six areas of defilement. We are not to be passive about them or let them fester within our hearts. He exhorts us to be intentional, proactive and aggressive in dealing with these areas that war against our souls (1Pet. 2:11). 8. In Matt. 6:1-18, Jesus describes five positives / Kingdom activities that will position our hearts to receive more grace to grow the Beatitudes: a. Jesus calls us to pursue these five positives. He exhorts us to open the window of our souls to these five positives because it is not enough to only resist the six negatives. We have to pursue the five positives as well. b. Pursuing these five positives or Kingdom activities is God s channel to release grace to us: i. Do charitable deeds through serving (v.1-4) ii. Do charitable deeds through giving (v.1-4) iii. Pray (v.5-13) iv. Forgive and bless (v.14-15) v. Fast (v.16-18) c. When we set our hearts to pursue these five Kingdom activities, God will give us grace to live out the Kingdom lifestyle. However, doing these activities does not earn us His grace. d. There are more than five Kingdom activities, such as fellowship (Heb. 10:24-25). However, Jesus highlighted these five activities as they are central to the Kingdom lifestyle. e. The uniqueness of these five Kingdom activities is that they are simple, straightforward and accessible to everyone. Anyone is able to do them. This means that there are no educational requirements or theological qualifications, or the need of great wealth or great giftedness, before one can do these five Kingdom activities. f. What is remarkable about these five Kingdom activities is that even in their smallness, they matter to God (Heb. 6:10; Mark 12:42-43). 9. The ultimate purpose of these five Kingdom activities is to draw us to interact with God. When we do these five Kingdom activities, we will engage the heart of God. This is the key that changes us and gives us a vibrant spirit. 10. In the process of doing these five Kingdom activities, God tenderizes our heart and releases more grace to us. Our heart changes and grows in the process. 11. Living out these five Kingdom activities is the ultimate statement of humility (Jas. 4:6). It is also called the five spiritual disciplines of Christian living.

3 Page As we set our hearts to do them, our hearts are placed before the bonfire of God s heart. There will be an increase in our capacities to receive and experience more of God. B. The Big Picture of Matt. 6: In Matt. 6:1-18, Jesus makes four main points and gives five invitations. He is giving us four primary exhortations and inviting us into five fasted lifestyle activities. 2. The four primary exhortations consist of one primary warning, one primary truth, one primary promise and one primary call. All these exhortations address the doing of the five Kingdom activities. 3. All five Kingdom activities make up the fasted lifestyle, which entails more than just fasting from food. C. Primary Warning Do not draw attention to self 1. Jesus warns us against the hypocrisy of drawing attention to ourselves in our devotion to God. He warns us eight times (v. 1-3, 5-7; 16-17) not to draw attention to ourselves when we do these five Kingdom activities. Nowhere else in the Bible does Jesus emphasize something continuously eight times to highlight its importance. 2. We all have a natural tendency to blow our own trumpets and draw attention to ourselves, be it to our devotion, passion, diligence, dedication, generosity etc. We often do so very subtly and do not even realize it. 3. Jesus warns us to not draw attention to ourselves. He exhorts us to do the five Kingdom activities before God s eyes, as we will lose our reward if we do not do it before the audience of One (v.1, 2, 5, 16). D. Primary Truth God sees and He responds 1. The major truth and primary message of Matt. 6 is that God sees and He responds. God sees with great interest and is not passive when we do the five Kingdom activities. He is attentive and will respond with extravagance. 2. It is vital for us to have a grasp of this truth and reality that God is watching (in a positive sense), and that He responds. When we lose sight of this truth, we will do less of the five Kingdom activities 3. All the five Kingdom activities are difficult if we are just doing them. We must not be caught up with the doing but engage our hearts with God. When we know and are reminded that He sees, our resolve will be strengthened and we will be able to stay steady.

4 Page 4 4. There are two questions that we should constantly ask ourselves to check our hearts as we do the five Kingdom activities: a. Whose eyes are we living before? b. Whose applause do we seek? 5. It is good and normal to affirm and appreciate one another. In fact we should do that. However, when we begin to demand and crave for affirmation and appreciation, our hearts will be offended, disappointed or disillusioned when we do not get them. 6. In Matt. 6, Jesus calls us to make the shift to living before the Audience of One. We receive power and transformation occurs in our hearts when we make a shift to live before God s eyes. 7. Paul contrasted two ways of living in Eph. 6:6-8 before God or before man. When we serve to gain recognition and the applause of man ( eyeservice v.6), we will serve with more diligence and humility when someone is watching. As a result, we often get offended when we are ignored or criticized after we have served. E. Primary Promise God will openly reward us 1. As we do the five Kingdom activities unto the Lord, before the Audience of One, God promises to reward us in three ways: a. Internal Our hearts become tenderized. We will feel more of His presence and experience transformation in our hearts. b. External There will be a change in circumstances around us. There will be an increase in the effectiveness of our ministry and release of finances, favor etc. c. Eternal We will receive eternal rewards in the Age-to-come. 2. There are about 40 kinds of rewards listed in the Bible e.g. crown, throne, white robe, resurrected body etc. 3. It is not wrong to want or desire a reward. In fact, Jesus wants us to have confidence in going after God s reward, especially the eternal rewards. 4. Seeking eternal rewards does not make our motives impure. Jesus taught about seeking eternal rewards more than anyone in the Bible. 5. Here are 44 verses where Jesus taught about seeking eternal rewards - Matt.5:5; 12, 19; 6;4-6, 18-20; 10:41-42; 16:27; 18:4; 19:21, 28-30; 20:16, 27; 22:14; 23:11; 25:21-23; Mark 9:41; 10:21, 42-43; Luke 6:23, 35; 9:48; 12:21, 33; 14:11; 16:11; 18:14, 22; 19:17-19; 22:26-30; Jn. 12:26; Rev. 2:7; 10-11, 17, 26-28; 3:4-5, 9, 11-12, 18, 21; 11:18; 16:5; 19:7-8; 22:12.

5 Page 5 6. Not desiring eternal rewards does not make us any nobler. In fact it is simply unbiblical and wrong to teach believers not to seek eternal rewards (Matt. 16:27; Rev. 22:17). 7. There are four reasons for rewards: a. They are expressions of how Jesus feels towards our obedience (Matt. 25:21). b. They are expressions of His remembrance and celebration of our deeds (Heb. 6:10). c. They are expressions of Jesus loving nature and the enhancing of our partnership with Him on this earth. d. Jesus takes it personally when we do the five Kingdom activities for Him. When He is moved by our deeds, He rewards us as an expression of His heart towards us. F. Primary Call to embrace voluntary weakness 1. The key to experiencing more of God s power is to embrace voluntary weakness. This principle is also called the Kingdom paradox weakness releases God s power. This is the paradox of Paul s life where he experienced more of God s grace and strength in his weakness (2Cor. 12:9). 2. Walking in weakness does not refer to moral weakness but to embracing voluntary weakness. 3. The fullness of God s grace and the power to live godly lives (Titus 2:11-12) is released when we embrace voluntary weakness. G. The Five Fasted Lifestyle Activities - Matt. 6: Matt. 6:1-18 describes the five fasted-lifestyle activities. The living out of the five Kingdom activities regularly and consistently constitutes a fasted lifestyle. 2. It is wrong to teach that these five fasted-lifestyle activities are optional or just for radical Christians. In Matt. 6:16, Jesus says, Moreover, WHEN you fast... and not IF you fast, showing us that the five Kingdom activities are not optional. 3. There are five things we fast from and five expressions of fasting: a. Five things we fast from We fast from food, time, energy, money and words. b. Five expressions of fasting: i. Giving of money (Matt. 6:1-4) This includes the giving of money to the poor, for works of justice, for the preaching of the gospel, for the advancing of God s kingdom etc.

6 Page 6 It is the investment of our money to serve the will of God and people. The giving of money is a fasted-lifestyle activity because as we give, we become financially weaker. ii. Serving (Matt. 6:1-4) This includes serving the poor, preaching the gospel, doing works of justice etc. It is the investment of our time and energy to serve the will of God and people. Serving is a fasted-lifestyle activity because as we serve, we are fasting from using our time and energy for personal gain or advancement, but instead we use them for the purposes of God. iii. Prayer (Matt. 6: 5-13) This includes praying for ourselves, our Church, ministries, nations, the poor etc. It is the investment of our time and emotions to serve the will of God and people. When we pray, we are fasting from using our time and emotions to seek entertainment for ourselves. The reward of prayer is greater intimacy with God and increased effectiveness in ministry. iv. Forgive and bless (Matt. 6:14-15) Jesus calls us to forgive and bless our adversaries. Forgiving and blessing are connected. Jesus exhorts us to not only refuse retaliation (passive love), but also bless our enemies (active love) (Matt. 5:21-42). We fast our words and reputation when we choose not to answer back or be defensive. In the process, we often suffer a reputational loss. Jesus exhorts us to let Him work things out. When we choose to forgive and bless, our reward is freedom from bitterness in our hearts. Our hearts also grow when we forgive and bless our adversaries. v. Fasting from food (Matt. 6: 16-18) Jesus says Moreover, when we fast This means that fasting is not an option.

7 Page 7 Fasting does not earn us God s grace or favor. It does not motivate God to love us more. Instead, fasting increases our spiritual capacity to receive and feel more of God His presence, power and Word. By fasting from physical food, our physical hunger becomes a spiritual hunger for more of God, and our capacity to receive from Him increases.