Sermon
8-17-14 hard sayings – peace or sword mt 10:34-39
34
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to
bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his
father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law—36 a man’s enemies will be the
members of his own household.’[c]
37
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;
anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake
will find it
Series – hard sayings…..this one is
surely a hard one!
One
thing is certain, Jesus did not advocate conflict.
He
was prophecied as the prince of peace
Angels
announced him saying - Peace on earth, goodwill towards men
He
taught His followers to turn the other cheek
No resistance or retaliation when they were
attacked or ill treated
In
the beatitudes he said, “Blessed are the peacemakers”
Scolding
peter at His arrest
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus
and arrested him. 51 With that, one of
Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of
the high priest, cutting off his ear.52 “Put
your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he
will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled
that say it must happen in this way?” mt 26:50-54
Why
a sword? Context – it seems out of character for Jesus
Cut
to the quick – cut to the heart – get to the heart of the matter –
cause
some new thinking.
He is going to disrupt your life
paradigm
Fine. But separate me from my
family?
For many of us, the thought of actively
proclaiming that our love for mother, father, brother, sister, is less than our
love for Christ is a heartbreaking task. Who among us can scoop up a child or
grandchild, and then announce you love Christ more than the child?
Intro - Relational issues. Mine. Issues
with my family Love for my family
How
much do I love my wife and kids
The
bonding that we have with our family. mom, dad, sisters, wife and kids
I’m
reminded of Abraham and when God called him to sacrifice Isaac.
How
hard must that have been.
Isaac
was the sign of the promise
God
didn’t want issac on the throne of Abrahams heart
God
wanted to sit on that throne
By the way, who, what is sitting on the
throne of your heart?
Lets talk about The nature of
patriarchal clans
Dedication
to the leader of the clan
If
we didn’t listen, we would starve to death
Prior
to the reformation there was not all this emphasis on individual decisions
Honor
your father and your mother
Abraham
leaves ur of the chaldees…….he doesn’t take a poll
Philippian
jailer
Constantine
becomes a Christian
Jesus
is saying, love the head of the clan……..thats me/him/Jesus
You
are in a new family now
Another
interesting passage on the family is: Mark 3
20 Then
Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples
were not even able to eat. 21 When his
family[b] heard about this, they went to take charge
of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And
the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by
Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
23 So
Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How
can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a
kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house
cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes
himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house
without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their
sins and every slander they utter, 29 but
whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are
guilty of an eternal sin.”
30 He
said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
31 Then
Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to
call him.
32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they
told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. 34 Then he looked
at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here
are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever
does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Mk 3:20-35
Obedience
to God
If you follow me there may be decisions
that you would have
to make that your family will not understand.
They
wont come home for Christmas
They
might become a missionary and move to Africa
When
I was 25 I became a Methodist. I wanted to be a Methodist pastor.
If your kid becomes a Presbyterian or a catholic or a Baptist, its ok
One
time in my life when my mom went to war against a decision that I was
making.
Book-
where does a mother go to resign?
PICTURE
She
thought she was right. It was my decision. Everyone has to follow
their soul, whether their family agrees or not.
Are kids and our family don’t belong to
us. We are only stewards.
Hannah
Was
childless. Prayed for a child
Samuel
was born. She gave him back to God
Letting
children go . . . let God have them.
IF
God gives her a son she'll give him back. She released him for God purpose.
Another interesting passage is in luke
9
57 As
they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you
wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no
place to lay his head.” 59 He said to
another man, “Follow me.” But he
replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus
said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you
go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still
another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say
goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus
replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks
back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Lk 9:57-62
They were making excuses
Let
me bury my father. You go proclain
Jesus
wasn’t against this, it was an excuse
What are your excuses?
There is a reward for living life in
perspective
Remember
the rich young ruler story -
21
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell
everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad,
because he had great wealth.
23
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to
enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus
said again, “Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is
rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26
The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be
saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not
with God; all things are possible with God.”
28
Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or
sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will
fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers,
sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to
come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last
first.” Mk 10
And so we end with a consideration Self
denial
Whoever
does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me
Find
your life and lose it. lose your life to find it.
We
should not shrink from inconvenience or sacrifice in service of God's kingdom.
We
should give up our definition of the good life with the goal of personal
success to find our true identity and purpose in Christ's service.
If
my life is about my wife an d kids I have nothing left to give to God.
If
my life is about God, I become so much more that I can give to my family.
What
we thought was a passage about not loving has turned into a passage about
loving God
Not
a negative against your family, but a positive for everyone
Love
your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.
Turn
the world on its head.
Yet its not an either or
God’s
love does not operate on the theory that there is only so much love to go
around. Loving Christ more does not diminish the love one already has for
family.
Loving
Christ more instead raises the entire level of love available for all people -
especially those whom we already hold dear.
Lets
pray.
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