God Bless You
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Welcome
Welcome
Thank you for joining us today. Let’s welcome everyone that is listening to us via our podcast. I hope if you are in the Orlando area, you will stop by and worship with us.
Standards. Another word for standard could be filter. It’s the way we mentally and spiritually sort things out. It’s the rules or boundaries of how we function. Here is how we define standard: an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations. Most of us don’t have a problem with standards. Why? Because where there is no standard, there is confusion. Imagine if we didn’t have traffic standards, we would crash into one another. Imagine if restaurants didn’t have standards on how they handled their food, we would all get sick. Imagine if football didn’t have rules, it would be chaos. However, if you take those same concepts and apply standards to them, you have nourishment, progress, and goals being met. You ever play a game with someone but you looked at the rule differently? Uno games are intense in my house because we all have our own standard on how the game is played.
To understand where we are going, we need to look at the end. Jesus explains at the end of His sermon, it is wise to hear His words and do them. Not because they are ingredients that will allow us to avoid trouble but when trouble comes, our foundation is strong enough to survive. In this series, we will unpack this new standard, this Wild Standard.
It’s when we find ourselves at this place that we start having subjective standards. Another word for standard could be filter. It’s the way we mentally and spiritually sort things out. It’s the rules or boundaries of how we function. Here is how we define standard: an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations. Most of us don’t have a problem with standards. Why? Because where there is no standard, there is confusion. Imagine if we didn’t have traffic standards, we would crash into one another. Imagine if restaurants didn’t have standards on how they handled their food, we would all get sick. Imagine if football didn’t have rules, it would be chaos. However, if you take those same concepts and apply standards to them, you have nourishment, progress, and goals being met. You ever play a game with someone but you looked at the rule differently? Uno games are intense in my house because we all have our own standard on how the game is played.
Scripture(s)
Scripture(s)
(ESV) — 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
To understand where we are going, we need to look at the end. Jesus explains at the end of His sermon, it is wise to hear His words and do them. Not because they are ingredients that will allow us to avoid trouble but when trouble comes, our foundation is strong enough to survive. In this series, we will unpack this new standard, this Wild Standard.
(ESV) — 1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
IntroStration
IntroStration
Standards. Another word for standard could be filter. It’s the way we mentally and spiritually sort things out. It’s the rules or boundaries of how we function. Here is how we define standard: an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations. Most of us don’t have a problem with standards. Why? Because where there is no standard, there is confusion. Imagine if we didn’t have traffic standards, we would crash into one another. Imagine if restaurants didn’t have standards on how they handled their food, we would all get sick. Imagine if football didn’t have rules, it would be chaos. However, if you take those same concepts and apply standards to them, you have nourishment, progress, and goals being met. You ever play a game with someone but you looked at the rule differently? Uno games are intense in my house because we all have our own standard on how the game is played.
Standards provide direction for growth. I recall visiting an amusement park and getting a behind the scenes tour. We went to the nursery and they showed us all the plants. I was blown away to see these structured frames in the shape of characters. It was then layered with other substances so that as the plants grow, they grow in the form of the standard. I thought someone just came through with hedge trimmers and designed it. No, months before it ever comes out in public, it spends time growing according to the standard that was predetermined. God provides his Word as the standard that will ensure we grow.
JESUS IS THE STANDARD. Jesus is the Word of God. Not our opinion or preferences or politics…Jesus is the standard. If you want to know how we should handle poverty, Jesus is the standard. If you want to know how we should handle people that struggle in sin, Jesus is the standard. If we want to know how to handle opposition, Jesus is the standard.
We are all so impressionable. We all have things that influence the way we see things. Have you ever seen a movie that you truly enjoyed but when you listen to critics you find yourself not liking it? Why? Because you adopted their perspective. When I was in middle school, I was highly impressionable, as we all were. That part of the brain the is like wet cement and is constantly looking for validation and affirmation is still being formed. My best friend wore eye glasses. So I decided that I wanted to wear eye glasses. All throughout middle school I was looking through a lens that did not reflect my reality.
When I went to high school, that false lens became my truth. I damaged my view because I was looking through a false lens. It can be dangerous to look at the world through a broken lens.
Transition
Transition
So many of us are not that different. We have spent so much of our lives looking through a false lens until it literally becomes our perspective. When you look at your life through the lens of comparison, you can find yourself damaging the way you see yourself. When you look at your spouse through the lens of your past or through the lens of unhealthy friends, it damages the way you see the relationship, robbing you of hope.
So many of us are not that different. We have spent so much of our lives looking through a false lens until it literally becomes our perspective. When you look at your life through the lens of comparison, you can find yourself damaging the way you see yourself. When you look at your spouse through the lens of your past or through the lens of unhealthy friends, it damages the way you see the relationship, robbing you of hope.
The sad thing is, we can look at church or Christ through a lens of distrust or rejection and it can cause us to view Christ and His church through the lens of our feelings instead of allowing truth to be the standard.
Thoughts/Observations
Thoughts/Observations
Standards
Here is how we define standard: an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations.
It’s when we find ourselves at this place that we start having subjective standards. Another word for standard could be filter. It’s the way we mentally and spiritually sort things out. It’s the rules or boundaries of how we function. Here is how we define standard: an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations. Most of us don’t have a problem with standards. Why? Because where there is no standard, there is confusion. Imagine if we didn’t have traffic standards, we would crash into one another. Imagine if restaurants didn’t have standards on how they handled their food, we would all get sick. Imagine if football didn’t have rules, it would be chaos. However, if you take those same concepts and apply standards to them, you have nourishment, progress, and goals being met. You ever play a game with someone but you looked at the rule differently? Uno games are intense in my house because we all have our own standard on how the game is played.
It’s when we find ourselves at this place that we start having subject standards. Another word for standard could be filter. It’s the way we mentally and spiritually sort things out. It’s the rules or boundaries of how we function. Most of us don’t have a problem with standards. Why? Because where there is no standard, there is confusion. Imagine if we didn’t have traffic standards, we would crash into one another. Imagine if restaurants didn’t have standards on how they handled their food, we would all get sick. Imagine if football didn’t have rules, it would be chaos. However, if you take those same concepts and apply standards to them, you have nourishment, progress, and goals being met. Standards provide direction for growth. I recall visiting an amusement park and getting a behind the scenes tour. We went to the nursery and they showed us all the plants. I was blown away to see these structured frames in the shape of characters. It was then layered with other substances so that as the plants grow, they grow in the form of the standard. I thought someone just came through with hedge trimmers and designed it. No, months before it ever comes out in public, it spends time growing according to the standard that was predetermined. God provides his Word as the standard that will ensure we grow.
JESUS IS THE STANDARD. Jesus is the Word of God. Not our opinion or preferences or politics…Jesus is the standard. If you want to know how we should handle poverty, Jesus is the standard. If you want to know how we should handle people that struggle in sin, Jesus is the standard. If we want to know how to handle opposition, Jesus is the standard.
Empire vs Kingdom
Empire vs Kingdom
Jesus is speaking to a community that has been looking through the wrong lens and it has damaged their perspective. They were looking through the lens of the empire, not the kingdom.
Empire excludes, the kingdom includes
Empire says what can I get, kingdom says what can I give
Empire says what do I have and how can I get more, the kingdom says what can I give
Empire focuses on self, kingdom focuses on others
Empire focuses on self, the kingdom focuses on others
Empire says how can I get revenge, the kingdom says how can I forgive
Empire exalts self, kingdom exalts Christ
Empire exalts self, the kingdom exalts Christ
Jesus was talking to his followers and showing them, the cultural standard is not the empire, it is the Kingdom. That is what the Sermon on the Mount is all about and the first thing He wanted to was take the role of spiritual optometrist and correct our view on what it means to be blessed.
Blessed
Blessed
We have all said and heard this word used in many forms. Someone sneezes. We “bless” our food. We get a promotion and we say I am blessed. Those things are not false but it does begin to form an unhealthy theology that can make us believe we are blessed because of what we have. This means that we are cursed if we don’t have it. Even the Bible has different renderings of blessed through out the Old and New Testament. Joyful, happy, fortunate, prosperous. Scot McKnight says If we add all this together, we get something like this: a “blessed” person is someone who, because of a heart for God, is promised and enjoys God’s favor regardless of that person’s status or countercultural condition. In other words to be blessed ultimately means you are empowered. This was a Wild Standard for a group of people that have been looking through a false lens their entire lives and likely lost sight that God is for them.
If we add all this together, we get something like this: a “blessed” person is someone who, because of a heart for God, is promised and enjoys God’s favor regardless of that person’s status or countercultural condition.
Jesus sits with His followers and outline 9 blessings in areas that cover much of the human condition. He was saying, the presence of problems is not the absence of blessings. When He opens up with blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom…He was bringing clarity and hope that no matter your circumstance, you have access and are welcome in the kingdom. He talks about humility, kindness, purity, and dedication. Jesus says, these people are blessed. However, there is one that I struggle with more than the others. He says, blessed are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. To mourn means to grieve, to have sorrow. I have grieved. I have experienced loss. I have had sorrow and to be honest, I didn’t feel blessed. We have to look deeper to understand what Jesus is saying. Remember Jesus is the standard. What Jesus is showing us is, blessing isn’t a what, it is a who. You are not blessed because of what you have, you are blessed because of who you have. That means, to be blessed will sometimes require vulnerability so that Jesus can step in and reveal a different aspect of His character. The blessing is in His presence.
You are not blessed because of what you have, you are blessed because of who you have
(ESV) — 11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Notice that death and life had a face off. The text says that the woman lost her son and she was mourning like indicates. She’s poor in spirit like indicates. She was in need of mercy (7) and inheritance (5).
In one encounter, Jesus proved that the woman was blessed because He showed up.
We often have to be vulnerable to receive our blessing.
Being blessed isn’t a what, it is a who. You are blessed because you have Jesus
The presence of standards provides direction for growth
God speaks to you before He it deals with it
God speaks to you before He it deals with it
Empire says what can I get, kingdom says what can I give
Empire focuses on self, kingdom focuses on others
Empire exalts self, kingdom exalts Christ
God speaks to you before He it deals with it
If we want kingdom results, we must have kingdom standards
Points
Points
Points
Standards provide direction for growth
Jesus is the standard
The presence of problems is NOT the absence of blessings
You are not blessed because of what you have, you are blessed because of who you have
(ESV) — 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Closing/Alter
Closing/Alter
So as we close, I want you to notice something that we can easily overlook. The text says there was a crowd following Jesus and a crowd following the widowed woman. In other words, there was a crowd following life and there was a crowd following death. Which crowd are you in? Is it possible that the reason why you see death is because you are in a dead crowd? We are all called to the standard of being in a life giving community so that we can receive the blessing that God has for us?