We spend a lot of energy thinking about CHANGE. And rightly so. We all know how small changes can net huge benefits. For example, if we started every day with 25 minutes of meditation… if we walked 25 mins. every day… if we invested $25 more every week into a Roth IRA… we know how small changes can net exponential benefits.
There are many ways you could become your own good news in 2018. There is a habit you can break. A goal you can set. A project you could finish. A relationship you could change. Maybe the only thing keeping you from a better life is a little more inspiration, or perhaps a little more perspiration, or maybe little more courage!
The Bible is actually loaded with tons of practical wisdom about change. For example, the Bible teaches us that “we reap what we sow.” We can take that to be a warning or an admonishment. I take it as good news! The late Stephen Covey, author of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was always fond of saying, “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Why wouldn’t we sow the absolute best seeds in our own life, and reap the greatest possible rewards?
The Bible also observes that “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Relationships can sharpen us, or they can diminish us. There are so many diminishers out there, people who discourage, who are always so negative. But in the church, we have this amazing opportunity to encourage one another. Like the Apostle Paul we can invite each other, “Follow my example as I follow Christ.” There is no better feeling that knowing we’ve helped some achieve their fullest potential.
So, not only can we be good news to ourselves, we can be good news to one another! We can “make that change”, or help someone else “make a change.” But here is the deal. There is a reason we’ve chosen to follow Jesus. There are ways in which, no matter how much inspiration or perspiration we exert, we can never be good news to ourselves! There are ways in which we can never be good news to each other! There are things for which we find ourselves entirely dependent upon following Jesus, and relying upon the presence/power of His Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 5:1-2 we read how, “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him, and began to teach them.”
These are the some crowds describes verses earlier in Matthew 4:23-25, “Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 Then the news about him spread throughout Syria. So they brought to him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralytics. And he healed them. 25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.”
I want you to notice that the people following Jesus, were people who had long given up hope on being “their own good news.” They were facing things for which a little more inspiration or perspiration could never be the cure. They were facing things no other teacher has been able to help them resolve. Maybe the thing that has brought you to church this New Year is the realization that there are [personal circumstances, points of failure, matters of injustice] for which only Jesus Himself can be good news.
Some people debate whether at the beginning of Matthew 5 Jesus is teaching the crowds, or whether Jesus is just teaching his Twelve disciples. But the answer is that Jesus is that Jesus is both teaching his disciples and the crowds. Because at the end of Jesus’ three chapter long sermon, spanning Matthew 5-6-7, we read how in Matthew 7:28-29, “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.”
The crowds heard Jesus saying things to them no one had ever said before. And Jesus wasn’t mincing words. He was speaking unequivocally and authoritatively about everyday matters. Jesus’ teaching was as refreshing as it was terrifying… because Jesus was calling the crowd to things for which they’d need great faith… things for which they’d need the presence/power of God’s Holy Spirit… things for which they could never do themselves nor even for each other.
In Matthew 5, Jesus addresses the crowd with a series of nine “beatitudes.” Each of the nine beatitudes can stand alone, and speak to the various attitudes or mindsets any one of us could find ourselves with at any given time. The mindsets can be grouped into three sets of three.
The first three beatitudes speak to those in a place of defeat.
Jesus addresses those who are as, “the poor in spirit… sorrowful… meek.” The “poor in spirit” are those who feel utterly exhausted physically, emotionally, spiritually in their circumstances. The “sorrowful” are those burdened with grief/personal loss. The “meek” are those lacking the power, the wealth, the influence, the social status to climb out of whatever dark pit they’ve fallen into.
Maybe your circumstances have left you feeling completely powerless, feeling defeated, as if you were without hope and without God in a dark world. Maybe you’re weighed down by worry, anxiety, fear. Maybe you’ve been consumed with questions like, “What if? What else? What’s next? Where’s God? Why me? How long, O Lord?”
To the defeated, Jesus invites: “Blessed.” Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. The kingdom of heaven is yours. The comfort of God is upon you. The whole earth is your inheritance. Defeat is not God’s verdict on your life, defeat is not your destiny.
The second three beatitudes speak to those in a place of failure.
Sometimes it's our own failures that consume us. We find ourselves “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” that seems to have otherwise alluded us. We wonder can I truly be forgiven of my sins? Can God break these strongholds in life I’ve been unable to break?
Sometimes it's other people’s failure that consume us. Someone sinned against you, and you can’t stop oozing. You’re hurt. You’re angry. You’re outraged. You can’t stop accusing, judging, labeling, and condemning them. You want justice. You want them punished. You refuse to forgive them, or show them mercy, or be reconciled.
Sometimes it’s institutional failure that consumes us. People in power disillusion us. Men lord their power over us, for selfish gain. They pray, fast, and give to be seen by men. They're filled with every kind of lust, greed, and perversion. Religious leaders. Political leaders. Military leaders. Educators. Entertainers. Civil servants. No man seems exempt. Impurity permeates every sphere of society. We can become so cynical about ourselves, about others, about society.
To the failures and cynics, Jesus invites: “Blessed.” Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. You will be filled. You will be showered with mercy. You will see God. God is powerful to take the most corrupt among us and transform us to be like Christ. He can forgive and sanctify and do for anyone what we can’t do for ourselves, and that’s good news!
The third set of beatitudes speak to those in a place of hostility.
In this world, we encounter real evil. There are people who lie, kill, and destroy. When wronged, our knee-jerk mentality is to take an eye for eye, and tooth for a tooth. When wronged, our knee-jerk mentality is to insist upon our rights and privileges, and cry foul, to sue people in the court of law, to even the score. When wronged, our knee-jerk mentality is to take matters of justice into our own hands, speaking and acting like a bunch of vigilantes, more concerned with our thirst for revenge than God’s desire for redemption. When wronged, we carry on as if everything depends upon us, and absolutely nothing depends upon God… as if our will is the only will that matters, and God’s will matters little at all… we act as if our faith is more in the power of hate than a demonstration of God’s love.
To the hostile, Jesus invites, “Blessed.” Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
For the next few months, were going to be sitting at the feet of Jesus, on the side of that mountain, along with his disciples, and these crowds. Wherever we’re feeling defeated by our circumstances… we’re going to hear Jesus’ call, and trust him to bless us, and lead us to flourish in every good thing. We will not be defined by circumstances, but by faith.
Wherever there is moral failure… whether that in our own character, whether that’s people around us (people no more/less deserving of mercy than us), whether that moral failure resides among the rulers, powers, authorities… we’re going to hear Jesus’ call and trust him to bless us, and lead us to flourish in every good thing. We will not be defined by failure, but by faith.
Wherever there is real hostility… instead of showing mankind our wrath, we’ll endeavor to show them God’s kind of peace, God’s kind of love, God’s kind of power. In the presence of evil, we’re going to hear Jesus call and truth Him to bless us, and lead us to flourish in every good thing. We will not be overcome by evil, we will overcome evil with good, with faith.
C.K. Chesterton once said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”
There is one lesson in life we can only learn by faith. On the surface, many of the things Jesus calls us to do, seem really difficult. In fact, a lot of the things Jesus calls us to do, may even seem outrageous. The temptation is for us to avoid and abandon difficult things. And this is the way it is with Jesus. What he asks seems difficult, even impossible, so we never trust him. We find Jesus’ way difficult, and its left untried.
In reality, what is infinitely more difficult than the way of Jesus, is the way of disobedience. When we don’t trust Jesus defeat begets defeat, failure begets failure, hostility begets hostility. And the defeat, and the failure, and the hate becomes the mentality even of those professing the name of Jesus.
What we want to do is invite Jesus to meet us in our defeat, our failure, and hostility… to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves… and to do for us what no man can do for us. We’re inviting God to call us, to lead us, to bless us, to cause us to flourish. We’re asking God to deepen our faith in Christ Jesus. We’re inviting the presence and power of His Holy Spirit to transform our lives… to change our mentality from defeat/failure/hostility… to one of faith/obedience.