Kingdom Counterfeits
Notes
Transcript
Good morning!
Life Update
If we haven’t met, my name is Chris...
Good morning, so good to be with you all! It feels like it’s been a long time. A lot has happened.
If you don’t know, Morgan and I welcomed Simon Christopher into the world on June 14th...
Then less than two weeks later we found out Morgan had pancreatitis. So that’s been a whole journey leading up to Morgan having surgery to get her gallbladder removed last week. She’s doing better.
But we’re tired. But God loves us.
Two things I’m reminded of in this last season…
You don’t know what tomorrow brings.
Weston planned 3 sermons…we ended up asking him to do 4…and then I needed two more weeks.
God is faithful.
He was faithful through all of you. Thank you for giving me time to care for my family. Thank you for feeding us and praying for us.
When we went in for Morgan’s gallbladder surgery, we were in the same pre-op room as when we went to the hospital last year when we lost our baby. But this time we were in the same room holding our little Simon. A cool reminder of the consistent care and provision of God even when it seems like things are terrible.
Harmaning Prayer
One of the things we do regularly as a church family is we take time on our Sunday gathering to pray for our extended family and those missionaries we support. This morning we want to update you on Jarrod and Katcha Harmaning who serve in the Czech Republic. We have a short video from them.
Pray for the Harmanings
Scripture
Counterfeit Illustration
Have you ever given someone a $20 and had them hold it up to the light?
Why are they doing that? To check if it’s a counterfeit.
Has anyone had a run-in with a counterfeit bill?
Doing a brief bit of research apparently counterfeit bills go way back and in the American Civil War, both the Union and the Confederates created loads of counterfeit bills to try and cripple their economies. Economic warfare through counterfeits.
A counterfeit isn’t genuine. It may look the part, but by nature it is not the real thing. It can imitate much of what the original is, but in its essence it is not the quality, durability, value, and worth of the true original.
You can have two bills next two each other and they can look very similar. One is the real thing, and the other a fraud. Two paintings. They look very similar. One is worth millions the other can be thrown in the trash. Two houses. One built with solid materials, the other with low cost cheap material that won’t last 10 years. Two hand bags, one you bought at Nordstrom the other you bought on the street in Paris, they both look very similar.
In our passage today, as Jesus concludes his teaching on the kingdom, life under the reign of God, life when God truly calls the shots, life as it is meant to be...he warns his disciples about impending destruction if they do not genuinely follow him.
In other words, Jesus warns against being a kingdom counterfeit.
You can have two people and have their lives evaluated right next to each other…they may say the same words, they may even do some of the same things, they may even have similar enthusiasm, but when held under the light, only one is the real thing.
And for those who do genuinely follow him, he warns of destruction, being thrown into a fire, and having your life destroyed by chaotic waters.
A fun passage to come back to after some time off.
In Matthew 7:13-27, Jesus is warning us today to not be kingdom counterfeits. Jesus warns us by using three images: two gates, two trees, two foundations.
Why does he choose to end his teaching this way? What does it mean to genuinely follow Jesus and not be a kingdom counterfeit?
Prayer
Context
We’re in Matthew in 2023. Matthew wants us to be convinced that Jesus is the promised King from the line of David sent to save the world from sin and he wants us to follow him and obey his teaching and help other people do the same.
And we’ve been in Matthew 5-7 for a while now hearing from Jesus’ first teaching which is how to live the best kind of life, the kind of life where God calls the shots - to use a phrase from NT Wright.
He’s taught us about all aspects of life...
List them...
Jesus is speaking to the crowds, to his disciples as he popularity is growing because he is healing and teaching and people want to come see who is this man with such authority and power?
And this week Jesus concludes his teaching in Matthew 7:13-27.
Two Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Jesus does not conclude his talk in a way I’d expect. Rather, Jesus ends with a warning warns us to not be kingdom counterfeits by talking about two gates. Two ways.
A path or a gate is a common way in the Bible to talk about how you live your life.
We get that imagery.
Rascal Flatts says life is a highway I want to ride it all night long.
In Scripture, Psalm 1 talks about the way of the wicked and the way of the righteous. The way of the righteous endures but the way of the wicked ends in destruction.
Picture a mouse who sees a wide road of cheese laid out beautifully, but doesn’t know at the end of the road of cheese is a cat with it’s mouth open wide.
Why end the SOTM this way?
Turn to Deut 30:15...
Matthew is portraying Jesus as a new Moses. A man sent by God to save his people and bring them into a new land. And Moses also gave a speech to the people of God, and at the end of that speech he says this:
15 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;
16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,
18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.
19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,
20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Moses is talking about two ways: life and death. He’s talking about entering the Promised Land.
Moses warns Israel: genuinely love God. Live life on his terms. And it will go well with you. If you do not, you will die. Remember Adam and Eve? Same sort of thing. It doesn’t go well when you reject God’s word.
Jesus is warning his disciples: genuinely love God. Live life on his terms. And do that by living a life that is not common because it’s the way to life.
Jesus could have followed the wide road, the counterfeit road and not died on the cross. He could have been the counterfeit Messiah, and done what many people wanted him to do. Destroy Rome with physical violence. But Jesus took the road less traveled which led to his death and he calls his followers to do the same.
Moses was warning the people of God: if you do not genuinely love God and obey his teaching, it will not go well for you. And what happens? They don’t love God and obey him and eventually they are destroyed in the exile.
Jesus is warning his disciples: if you do not love God and obey my teaching and be the kind of people who love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, who are generous and helpful and truly love God...it will not go well for you. And what happens less than a generation later? They’re annihilated by Rome.
Jesus is saying don’t follow the crowds, follow me.
So we ask ourselves, what path am I on?
What kind of life am I living? What kind of path are we on as a church? We can look like a church and do church things and be a counterfeit on a pathway to destruction.
Just like Jesus was tempted to either fight back against Rome or just fall in line with them, we are tempted to wage war against culture or just become like our culture.
And the narrow path that leads to life is neither.
Jesus is warning us, don’t be a kingdom counterfeit. He talks about two gates, and two Trees.
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Jesus is the master - and creator - of metaphors.
He creates a word picture of a diseased tree-wolf in a sheep one-sie. So hold that in our mind somehow.
Jesus warns his disciples about false prophets.
False prophets in the OT were counterfeit messengers from God. They were not outsiders but insiders. They claimed to speak for God but didn’t bring his word or represent his character.
Jesus describes them as wolves, which are a terrifying predator in the Bible. They are ravenous, savage, they devour, and destroy helpless sheep.
But these wolves are in disguise.
Jesus is likely warning his disciples about the Pharisees.
As we learned in the Sermon on the Mount, they wear sheep’s clothing. They appear to be the good guys.
Jesus says test their fruit. Test their life. Test their actions.
As a good tree bears good fruit, so someone who is truly of the kingdom will bear true kingdom fruit.
Jesus must have the Garden of Eden in mind.
In the Garden there were two fruit trees. One was the real thing. It’s fruit brought life. The other looked like the real thing. It looked really good. But in the end its fruit brought death. You know who someone is by their fruit.
Jesus continues in verse 21...
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
I don’t know about you but this kinda spooks me.
In his commentary on Matthew, RT France says...
Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary xi. Warnings against Spurious Discipleship (7:13–27)
This Gospel frequently emphasizes the danger of a purely nominal discipleship, and warns that there will be professed disciples who will be rejected at the end (cf. 7:21–23, 24–27; 13:37–43, 49–50; 25:31–46).
Many people - expecting to be embraced by the King of the Universe - will hear, “I never knew you.”
Here we see that entering life with God is not about saying the right words. Lord, Lord!
Entering life with God is not about just performing certain tasks. Miracles, healings, exorcisms...
Notice how Jesus sneakily makes a claim on his divinity…it’s not God who will declare to them on that day of judgment…it’s HIM! Jesus says “I never knew you.” And then he quotes Psalm 6 and the words of David, again making a claim on his status as Messiah, the true king from the line of David.
These people think they are following Jesus. They say the right words, they even do some Jesus things, they’re even enthusiastic…but Jesus says they are kingdom counterfeits. I never knew you.
Jesus is warning his disciples and warning us today: Don’t be a kingdom counterfeit.
I wonder if there are people here who are bummed on faith because they haven’t tasted the real thing: a vibrant personal relationship with Jesus. Or maybe you have that with Jesus and for a while you’ve just been going through the motions, singing the songs, serving at church, but not truly loving Jesus. Don’t miss the real thing.
Jesus warns us: don’t be a kingdom counterfeit. He talks about two gates, two trees, and two foundations.
Two Foundations
24 “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.
25 “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.
26 “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.
27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
Jesus gives us a mini parable.
I’ve been listening to the Bible Project pod a lot lately and it’s changed my thinking on this. I’ve often thought of this passage about how loving God protects you when life is hard. But I don’t think anymore that’s what Jesus is talking about. He’s not talking about ordinary suffering, he’s talking about surviving divine judgment.
The imagery of rain, floods, winds slamming…what does that remind you of? Noah! Why does God send the flood in Gen 6? No one on earth is genuinely following him, but are ruining creation with violence and wickedness. So who’s the only one you survives the flood? Noah! The one who loves God.
Jesus talks about building your house on a rock.
God is often described as a rock in Scripture. Rocks are stable, they provide a solid foundation, and provide security.
Do you know the first time God is called a rock? It’s in Deuteronomy in Moses’ final speech.
3 “For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
Ascribe greatness to our God!
4 “The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.
Moses warns Israel: don’t build your life on anything but my teaching on love for God and following his teaching. It just doesn’t go well for you if you don’t. What happens to Israel? They don’t listen and they’re wiped out in the exile.
Jesus warns his disciples: don’t build your life on anything but my teaching. Why? Because judgment is coming. Again, what happens to Israel in AD 70? Rome destroys the city. And Jesus says, “Repent, change your thinking. Stop trying to fight back and instead change your hearts and love your enemies and survive the coming judgment.” Do they listen? No. Rome comes.
So here Jesus is not just talking about ordinary suffering…he’s talking about divine judgment.
And the only kind of person who will survive the waters of divine judgment is someone like Noah who truly loves God and obeys him.
28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching;
29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
Jesus is the real thing. The scribes are the counterfeit.
In this passage, Jesus concludes his teaching by warning his disciples: don’t settle for a counterfeit life with God. Experience the real thing. Because the danger is if you don’t become a Sermon on the Mount kind of person, there is a day of judgment coming. Don’t be destroyed! Don’t be thrown into the fire! Don’t let your house collapse under the coming flood!
And today, Jesus is saying something similar. There is a coming day of judgment. When God will once and for all deal with every evil action and intention done on this earth. What the flood couldn’t do, fully wipe away evil, God will do on that day to bring about a perfect new heaven and earth.
I sound like a fire and brimstone preacher. Imagine telling that to your neighbors today. “There is a coming judgment.” They might say, “How do you know?”
Because Jesus was a true prophet.
He predicted the coming judgment against Israel. The people of God who never listened to the prophets God sent to save them from destruction. Rome came as Jesus said and wiped them out.
But even more than that, Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection. Jesus knew the ravenous wolves were out to get him, and he predicted he would die and in 3 days be raised and he was proven right because Jesus is no counterfeit prophet.
And Jesus said that he would return. He would be the one to judge the living and the dead and bring the true sheep into his kingdom and those who were not truly his own would be destroyed, thrown into the fire, and experience a great fall.
And so if Jesus is right, how do you become the kind of person who survives that day?
How do we become a genuine church and not a counterfeit one? Be true disciples of who hear, love, and obey Jesus because he is the pathway and the gate back to life.
Jesus was not a counterfeit.
He took the narrow path of obedience to God which lead straight to death but in the end was the true path to life.
He was the true prophet who bore true kingdom fruit bringing about healing, exorcisms, signs and wonders, he was truly kind, cared for women with genuine love, loved his enemies, was truly good inside and out, didn’t try and manipulate people but loved them as he loved his own self.
And he built his life on the love of God and his teachings. God’s judgment came down on Jesus instead of us, but even though the rain, flood, and wind crashed against Jesus and sent him all the way to the grave, Jesus had his life founded on the rock and not even death could stop him.
No one wants to be called a fake. And I’m not calling anyone that here. But between you and Jesus, are you experiencing the real thing?
Not did you pray the prayer. Not are you a member.
Don’t base your faith on stuff you did years ago, but right now are you living a vibrant personal relationship with Jesus?
Build your life on him today. If you’ve never done so, be baptized as a radical symbol of your trust in him.