Beyond the Surface Part I

Text: Matt. 7:24-29 Title: Beyond the Surface Part I - Scripture 2/21/10 Clarksville 1st Sunday of Lent

Ps. 119:4 “You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.” I’m not doing that. Ps. 119:9 “How can those who are young keep their way pure? By living according to your word.” You can’t tell me what to do. Ps. 119:89 “Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” You’re not my boss. Ps. 119:137-8 “You are righteous Lord, and your laws are right. The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy.” I don’t have to listen to you. I can do whatever I want.

This week there was a story in Central Falls, Rhode Island that made national news. Teachers in the high school there were asked to make several concessions and adjustments to address a major problem with student success. Over half of the students were failing and the superintendent came up with a plan to improve this desperate situation. The plan demanded more of the teachers, who according to the news article were making 3x the average income of those in the community. It involved them staying ½ hour later each day, eating lunch with students at least once a week, being available for tutoring, and doing 2 more weeks of training in the summer. In response to the superintendent’s plan the teachers banded together and with one voice said, “I don’t have to.” They never anticipated the “I don’t have to” house would come crashing down. I’m not saying the teachers didn’t have any legitimate complaints about the new plan, but in the end, their “I don’t have to” approach landed them all in the unemployment line.

Imagine a doctor who has been through college, medical school, residency, has logged countless hours of study and seen hundreds of ailment hundreds of times. Lets’ say this doctor is an orthopedic specialist. He is an expert. He examines a patient and after just a couple minutes says “I know exactly what the problem is. This is what you need to do. Take this anti-inflammatory medicine and rest your back for two weeks. Don’t do anything strenuous. Apply some icy-hot at night before you go to bed, and take some ibuprofen for pain. You should be fine but you’re going to have to rest it.” And to that, the patient responds: “Well, thanks for your opinion, but I don’t have to do that. You’re not my boss. I can do whatever I want. I was talking to some guys at the barber shop yesterday and one of them said he had the exact pain I was describing. He said when his back was hurting he got a lot better in one day after he cut a load of wood, split it by hand, and finished the day by jumping on the trampoline with his kids. You say a couple weeks. He said it worked for him in one day so I’m going to do that instead.” If we heard someone talk to a trained expert like that, we would call them an idiot. We’d say “He’s going to take a bad situation and make it even worse” and we would be right. It would be ridiculous to ignore expert advice.

I enjoy being around experts. Dave is one of those people. He’s helping with our sound and lighting needs for the new worship spaces created with the remodel. He spent some time with us Thursday morning and while he was here, we showed him all the sound equipment we have that is not being used in this sanctuary in hopes that we could use some of it and not have to buy all new equipment. It was an experience. The instant he saw what we had scattered throughout the building, he knew if it was good or not. Within the span of a glance he identified the product, determined whether it was in the high-end or cheap-skate category, and if it was worth keeping. “That’s worthless… this is quality equipment… we can definitely use that.” To our delight we will be able to use most of what we had. I wouldn’t have had a clue about what was valuable or worthless but he did because he’s an expert. It made sense to listen to him.

In the scripture we call the “Sermon on the Mount” Jesus makes some pretty bold claims. Basically He says when it comes to building a life, He’s an expert. As Christ-followers, we believe that. We believe if we want to build our lives on a foundation that lasts, we’ll listen up, pay attention to, and apply what Jesus says. We believe life gets messed up pretty quick when people say to Jesus, “I don’t have to do that. You’re not my boss. I can do it my own way.” I’ve seen it happen. You have too. There are always people who think they’ll be the exception. Donna (name has been changed but the story is true) wanted me to preside over her wedding. She was engaged to a guy who was not a Christian and wasn’t interested in becoming one. When she asked me to do the wedding I said no. To say she, her family, and other long-time family friends were upset with me would be a mild statement. I explained that God said it didn’t work too well when believers were unequally yoked with unbelievers and that was no way to start a marriage because even if it lasted, it wouldn’t be the kind of marriage God had in mind. I said I wasn’t going to participate in something destined for failure so they found someone else who would do the ceremony and get their $100 bucks or whatever they were paid to participate in the charade that said “You will be the exception to what God said in His Word about marriage.” A few years later this couple who stood before God at an altar of marriage was standing before a judge in divorce court. You know why? Because they said “I don’t care what you say, You’re not my boss, I can do whatever I want,” to God. They tried to build their marriage on an “I don’t have to” foundation that came crashing down when the storms showed up.

No matter what kind of foundation we choose to build our lives on, here is something that will be true for 100% of people, no exceptions. Are you ready for it? Here it is: Storms will come. Life will get rough. Our houses and hearts will be pounded by driving rain and forceful winds. Rains will come down when we least expect it. Floods will come up at the worst possible time. It happens. When it does, storms have a way of revealing what’s below the surface, showing if the foundation we’ve been building on is any good or not. Read text

Whenever Jesus preached or taught, people found His words powerful, moving, engaging and intriguing. Luke 19:48 says when Jesus taught in the temple, the people hung on his words. Who wouldn’t? He confronted religious cranks, could tell a great story and knew the OT like nobody’s business. He spoke with word-pictures that delighted, and straightforward indictments that disturbed. But the true test wasn’t during the sermon. It was during the storm. It was when the choices that were made about whether or not to do what Jesus said were revealed. Hearing was the easy part. Applying it was something different altogether. Jesus said that had to do with foundational, below-the surface stuff. To hear Him and do nothing was to pick a sand-castle for a foundation. The truth is, we can do that. We can join forces with as many people as we want in an “I’m not doing that” response and all end up in the unemployment line together. We can ignore expert advice and tell the Great Physician “I don’t think I’m going to do that…” while we take our bad situations and make them even worse. We can think we’ll be the exception and see where it takes us in spite of what God has already said but let there be no mistake about it. There are no exceptions. When the storms come (and they will come) there is only one foundation strong enough to withstand them, and that foundation is the life, and Word of Jesus.

God cares about what kind of life we are building now. He’s not just interested in eternal life sometime later on. He wants us to have the kind of life that doesn’t get destroyed when the storms of life beat on us. That’s why this Word is such a gift of His grace. We hear Him speak through it and what He gives us is rock-solid, the kind of stuff that is worth building a life on. So it’s not just “read your Bible because that’s what Christians do and you’ll feel bad if you don’t.” It’s an invitation to learn, know, love and live the written Word (Scripture) that leads us to the Living Word (Jesus). It’s an invitation to build our lives on the only foundation that cannot be shaken.
I don’t really care for the description of the Bible as a “how to” book or instruction manual. I prefer to see it as a love-letter from God to us because I think that gets at the heart of Scripture and why we have it. Besides that, I’ll take a love-letter over an instruction manual any time! You would too unless you are some kind of geek or freak!

If God was only concerned with how we behave and whether or not we follow A, B, and C and avoid X, Y, and Z, a book is all He would have needed to give us. (Assuming we could have lived up to it, which we couldn’t! Rom. 5-7) He could have said “Here are the directions, follow them. These are the rules, keep them. This is how I expect you to behave.” But Christianity is a lot bigger than behavior modification. It’s a relationship with this God who loved us enough not only to give us His Word, but to give us Himself. It’s about a relationship with this God who is for us (Rom. 8) and happens to be an expert on the subject of life because He created it! When He wanted us to have a clue about how to live it, He didn’t just give us a written Word or instruction manual, He gave us the Living Word Jesus so we could see how life was meant to be. Christianity is about a relationship with this God who is concerned about us enough to say “I know how life is supposed to work. I’m an expert at it. So let me show you (i.e. Jesus), let me tell you (the Word) how it works best. Let me live it in you.”

Communion Benediction: Jude 24-25