The Golden Rule and the Narrow Gate

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The Golden Rule and the Narrow Gate

Matthew 7:12-14

1. The Golden Rule is unique to Jesus. He is the only one who stated it as a positive: DO GOOD unto others... not “DON’T DO anything bad to others”
1. This “Silver” rule is found in many antiquated moral writings:

• Hindu : do naught to others which if done to thee would cause thee pain.
• Buddhism: Hurt not others with that which pains yourself
• Muslim: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. (note: this was written after the Gospels were widely published)
• Bhai: He should not wish for others that which he doth not wish for himself, nor promise that which he doth not fulfil.
• Jewish: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men.  That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary
• some Greek guy: Do not do unto others what angers you if done to you by others.

2. This sounds to me like Jesus was rephrasing a saying or proverb common to the audience. But as Jesus usually did, he turned it on its head and totally challenged our attempts at self-righteousness! It is not enough to AVOID treating others poorly, I must go and DO UNTO OTHERS... the responsibility of first action is MINE! I should make the first move! This is just the sort of thing Jesus did.
3. “For this sums up the Law and Prophets” So in application: If we keep this Golden Rule, we keep the Law. Right, and if I jump a 100 foot high bar, I will have cleared the 6 foot bar as well... Thank God for his grace!
4. By extension: any interpretation or application of God’s law that does not conform to the Golden Rule is a misapplication.

• When have you lived out the Golden Rule in the last week?
• When have you applied the GR and had someone NOT reply in kind?
• Does the GR apply to our civic life and law as well as our personal behavior?
• Have you ever seen Christians apply God’s law to people in a way that violates the GR?

5. “enter through the narrow gate...”  this phrase describes an event. A decision. A moment in time.
6. narrow gate... narrow road... Leads to life. The gate is the decision of salvation. The road is what follows the gate, it is the Christian life of following Christ. Not an easy path!
7. Wide gate... broad road... leads to death. What statement could stand more in contrast to our post-modern humanist cultural religion? People say “all paths lead to God”, “all religions are equally valid” ... blah blah blah...  Except that Jesus pretty much gave this idea the smackdown here in verse 13. So (as Jesus usually does) he forces us into a philosophical corner: He says we are either on the path to life, or the path to death. No third choices. Furthermore, he says that most people are on the path to death, not life.
8. “in all ages the real disciple of Christ has been looked on as a singular, unfashionable character; and all that have sided with the greater number, have gone on in the broad road to destruction.” Matthew Henry
9. If there were a sign over the narrow gate what would it say? “To Heaven” If there were a sign over the wide gate what would it say? (“To Heaven” because it lies!) So what do the people on the wide path think they are doing? Going to Heaven!
10.  Other verses that talk about gates to life and death:
1. Jeremiah 21:8 "Furthermore, tell the people, 'This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.
2. Deuteronomy 30:19 “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”
3. Jeremiah 6:16 “This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'”

• Who is on the narrow road?
• Who thinks they are on the narrow road, but are in fact on the wide road?
• What lies does our culture tell about the narrow and wide roads? How does Jesus’ statements apply to these beliefs?
• What are the “ancient paths”? Why do you think God calls them ancient, instead of merely good paths?
• What are the opposite of the “ancient paths”? What are the modern paths?

Jesus on Asking, Seeking, Knocking

Jesus on Asking, Seeking, Knocking

Matthew 7:7-12

Have you ever prayed for something and God said No? What is that all about? Can we trust a God who doesn’t give us what we want?

What did Jesus Say?

1. Jesus shifts from speaking about Judging and showing discernment back to a speech on Prayer. Prayer is important enough to earn another look in the Sermon on the Mount.
2. The first section on prayer (“The Lord’s Prayer”) focused on the condition of our heart in prayer and our relationship to God (father) and others (forgiveness). This section describes what such prayer LOOKS like (ask/seek/knock) and helps us see God as a loving provider.
3. Ask... Seek... Knock... What progression/pattern do you see in these three?
4. What is the reward Jesus promises for Asking? Seeking? Knocking?
5. The idea of knocking also implies that we sense resistance. After all, if the door were already open there would be no need to knock. Yet Jesus encouraged us, “Even when you sense that the door is closed and you must knock, then do so and continue to do so, and you will be answered.”
6. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says he stands at the door and knocks. He asks entrance, he notifies us of his willingness to enter our lives. He makes the first move.
7. Ask... How? Persistence, intensity, within the will of God (don’t say “in Jesus Name” unless this is a prayer you could truly write “From Jesus” at the end of.)
8. Why does God want us to ask with persistence? Ask with fervent intensity? Why does he require that? Isn’t it his will to do the thing? Is he reluctant and we must wear him down? Is he busy and forgets?
9. God values persistence and passion in prayer because they show that we share His heart. It shows that we care about the things He cares about. Persistent prayer does not overcome God’s stubborn reluctance; it gives glory to Him, expresses dependence upon Him, and aligns our heart more with His.
10. You WILL receive - you WILL find – it WILL be opened. God’s promise binds him. This is the same God who said “Do not murder”, and this statement binds God as surely as “Do Not Murder” binds man.
11. God will not change his nature and fail to answer your prayer!
12. ...Will you give him a stone... a snake? What a comforting knowledge of God! Of course he is not reluctant to provide; he LOVES to provide for us! How much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him!
13. Note: When we doubt that God answers our prayers we are really saying “I am evil, but I give gifts to my kids. God is worse than evil.” Call it straight: Blasphemy! God is LOVE, not neglect!

So what is the significance?

14. Obviously, God is not a Cosmic Vending Machine: drop in a dime-tithe and turn the prayer-crank a time or two and out pops whatever we ask for. Ridiculous!
15. Some limits:
1. “Your kingdom come, your will be done...” 6:10 it must be within His Will (that might not include prosperity and peace for you and yours!)
2. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James 4:3
3. “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us.” 1 John 3:22-23
16. God is not obligated to answer our prayers the way we want. If we ask for a serpent, he will still give us a fish. When I ask that a loved one turn to Christ (a prayer I KNOW is in his will) and they don’t, my heart can identify with God’s just a little more, because his heart breaks for the lost too. When I ask that I could find my wedding ring, and I can’t, possibly God is telling me to care less about stuff.
17. Look at Job. He prayed for healing and restoration, but when he finally met God, he said “I spoke without knowledge” in effect, I’ll shut up now! When we KNOW God, we doubt him less and less.

Now what should we do?

I have a phrase with L, “Just take your vitamin N.” It works like this: she asks for some “serpent” type thing, and I say no. She asks more and more, and I finally tell her to “take your vitamin N”. Accept the no and move on. trust me, I am looking out for your best interest.  Sometimes, learning to accept God’s “no” can make us a healthier Christian. We need a steady stream of NO in our lives to keep an accurate view of God.

18. How does knowing God help us accept his negative answers?

19. What is Jesus’ advice on prayer?

Jesus on Judging others

Here's a link to the great site "Enduring Word Media" and David Guzik's commentary on Matthew 7
He quotes some pretty profound classic commentaries, and adds some thoughts of his own.

Enduring Word Media, Matthew 7

(Guzik is my favorite background source)

Jesus on Worry

Jesus on Worry

too much worry, or just wrong priorities?

Matthew 6:25-34

1. Therefore... because you can’t serve God and Mammon and you have chosen God...
2. do not worry... pretty much as it sounds. God does not want us to worry. Worry and anxiety come from a clouded view of God and his love and providence for us.
3. Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 34:4, Luke 12:22-26, Matthew 14:22-27 and MANY more
4. What is worry, what is Jesus talking about here?
1. concern/planning/preparing for tomorrow?
2. Worry is based in fear and creates paralysis- concern is based on a belief that we can/should affect the future and it motivates us to action.
5. Look at the birds of the air... God provides for lowly birds, He cares about you a whole lot more. Our worry may be rooted in a feeling of worthlessness before God. NO, God values us greatly!  (Note: birds don’t worry, but they do work!)
6. See how the lilies of the field grow... God is an ABUNDANT provider, supplying beyond the simple needs. We were made for more than mere survival! We are children of the King, and he will provide our needs accordingly. (note: lilies grow where they are planted.)
7. 7 Reasons not to worry:
1. v25: the same God who created life in you can be trusted with the details of your life
2. v26: Worrying about the future hampers your efforts for today
3. v27: worrying is more harmful than helpful
4. v28-30 God does not ignore those who depend on him
5. v31-12: worry shows a lack of faith in, and understanding of God
6. V33: there are real challenges God wants us to pursue, and worrying keeps us from them
7. V34 living one day at a time keeps us from being consumed with worry
8. So... “Rah-Rah-Ree! Don’t you Worry! Rah-Rah-Ranxious! Don’t be anxious!”  but unfortunately anxiety and worry are NOT so simple.  How do you beat Anxiety?

First, we need to expose some of Satan’s lies about worry. Worry is NOT just something you have to live with. It is NOT “just the way you are”. It is NOT how God made you. It is contrary to the instruction of Jesus. It is SIN.

It is NOT merely a physical or psychological problem, there is a SPIRITUAL component to it as well.

1. Treating the physical: doctors either tell you to quit coffee, and stimulants, and drugs, or they tell you to take a pill. Good advice also includes getting enough sleep, exercise, whole foods.
2. Treating the psychological with action: do something fun, talk it out with someone, listen to some soothing music, take some action against your worry, etc.
1. But none of these conventional bits of wisdom is what Jesus focuses on as God’s way to defeat worry. What did Jesus say is the cure for worry?  v33
   

   
   

   “Seek”

   
   
2. How do you do that? Seeking first (before other concerns) his Kingdom... we should make it our primary “worry” that God is king of our life in all areas and in all ways. We should seek that we are drawing closer and closer to Christ’s pattern of righteousness. (remember The Beattitudes: the undivided, “pure heart”; the “hunger and thirst for righteousness”)

Jesus is telling us that if we focus our attention on HIM and on being obedient to the Kingship of God in our lives, our worries will fade out and we can live a life of trust, free from anxiety, the way were created to live! WOW! What a temporal blessing!

Instead of fighting the symptoms of worry, we must strike at it’s root: lack of faith. We get more faith by getting to know God more. We know him more by spending more time with him and DOING what he tells us to do.

We learn a lot about God when we follow Him into a few tight spots. We come out with less worry and more faith.

11. Jesus didn’t just tell them to stop worrying; He told them to replace worry with a concern for the kingdom of God
12. our physical well-being is not a worthy object to devote our lives unto. If you think it is worthy, then your god is mammon, your life is cursed with worry
13. How do I know if I am “seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness”? It is a question of my FIRST priority:
1. How do I spend my time?
2. How do I spend my money?
3. What are my goals/dreams?
4. What is the thing you don’t want God to ask you to give up?

The Promise: “All these things will be given to you as well”

14. God has promised to provide for His own, supplying every need (Philippians 4:19), but His idea of what we need is often different from ours, and His timing will only occasionally meet our expectations.
15. We may see our need as riches or advancement, but perhaps God knows that what truly we need is a time of poverty, loss or solitude.
1. God loved Job and Elijah, but He allowed Satan to absolutely pound Job, and He let that evil woman, Jezebel, break the spirit of His own prophet Elijah (Job 1–2; 1 Kings 18–19). In both cases, God followed these trials with restoration and sustenance.(Michael Houdmann)

I have experienced times of want and have been pretty broke. At the time, I wondered how this verse could be true. God supplies “All these things”? He clothes the lilies, but I am buying second-hand shoes? Looking back, I would not trade that time for anything. God taught me so much about being content, His provision, christian community, being industrious and humility.

He knows what I need, and His goals for my life are not always the ones I would chose.

But when my desires are not aligned with God’s desires, worry is the “Check Engine Light”.

Jesus on Money

Jesus on Money

Matthew 6:19-24

• if we really believe what we say we believe, that we will live with God eternally, then it will shape our relationship with money.
• Our attitudes toward money will reveal where our priorities lie.
  

1. This passage is a warning against covetousness: a sin of discontentment. Among other lessons we will see, Jesus is saying that the heart he desires for us is content and focused on things above, not things here on earth.
2. Don’t lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...
1. for yourselves...  our wealth on earth should be laid up for God’s use, not ours.

To lay up for yourselves treasure on earth is also to doom yourself to a life of frustration and emptiness. Regarding material things, the secret to happiness is not more, it is contentment. In a 1992 survey, people were asked how much money they would have to make to have “the American dream.” Those who earn $25,000 or less a year thought they would need around $54,000. Those in the $100,000 annual income bracket said that they could buy the dream for an average of $192,000 a year. These figures indicate that we typically think we would have to have double our income in order to find the good life. But the Apostle Paul had the right idea in 1 Timothy 6:6: Now godliness with contentment is great gain. (Guizik)

2. Is it wrong to to save money and amass wealth? What does the Bible say?
   Prov 10:22, 13:11, 14:23, 21:20, 23:4-5, Matthew 25:29
3. ...where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal.”  Earthly goods are subject to decay and loss (there’s the curse of entropy again). If our attention is on earthly treasure, we lose peace over the state of our accounts, because they are subject to loss here on earth.
2. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. NEWS FLASH: We can do works here, NOW, in this life, and “bank” them as good deeds in heaven. How Cool is that???
1. what do you think we will do with these riches in heaven? I mean, the streets are paved with gold...?  (See crowns: Rev4:10-11)
2. How do we store up treasure in heaven? What do we do?

1cor 3:11-15

4. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Don’t you just love how Jesus states the problem so clearly and simply? He has a laser-like focus on the real issue: our hearts. Who will see God? the “pure in heart” (James 4:8)
5. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also: Jesus drew the conclusion that you can only have your treasure (and your heart) in one place; we can’t store up treasure on earth and on heaven at the same time. (Guizik)

“It is not so much the disciple’s wealth that Jesus is concerned with as his loyalty. As Matthew 6:24 will make explicit, materialism is in direct conflict with loyalty to God.” (france)

Choice between two visions:

6. V21: Jesus talks about spiritual vision: it is easily clouded and blocked by distractions (self-serving desires, interests, goals, worldly wealth, wrong priorities). Our ability to see life as God wants us to can easily be blocked. Then we become dark.
7. Jesus is making a double-meaning here: he uses a phrase like “Evil eye” which to his listeners implied stinginess, greed, covetousness of a neighbor's goods. Literally “Greedy eye”. Greed in our eyes will block our vision of God.
8. How do these verses connect with the rest of the passage?

Choice between two masters:

10. Jesus states it a a plain, self-evident fact: you can only serve one master. We can start to think of the christian life as a “second job” to our daily life. It is not like having two jobs, it is like having two OWNERS! A slave is OWNED by his master. You can’t be owned by two masters!!!
11. I find it enlightening that Jesus speaks of being owned/mastered by your possessions... my dad used to say “the more you own, the more it owns you.” And I find it interesting that we use the same term for marking cattle ownership (branding) that we use for t-shirts with big logos on them (branding)... hmmmm. Who owns what?
12. What do we call it when we try to serve God and something else? what happens?
13. You can’t serve both God and Mammon (money). What is mammon?
14. Certainly, Jesus is talking about the heart here. Many people would say they love God, but their service of money shows that in fact they do not. How can we tell who or what we are serving? One way is by remembering this principle: you will sacrifice for your God. If you will sacrifice for the sake of money, but will not sacrifice for the sake of Jesus, don’t deceive yourself: money is your God.
15. What do we sacrifice for Mammon?
16. Is money “the root of all evil”?  (hint: did Adam have money?)
17. We must remember that we don’t have to be rich to serve mammon (money and material things); the poor can be just as greedy and covetous as the rich can be
18. Why do you think Jesus spent so much time talking about money? Does the he just want us to give money to church?
19. Our relationship with money is a crux of our relationship with God. Money represents our life-energy, stored for future use. We must each decide if we will be the master of that life-energy, or will God.
20. Fear and Greed: The two biggest problems people have with money. What is the opposite of fear? what is the opposite of greed?