Building a Life

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Well, in honor of the new year, today we begin a brand new sermon series. But before we jump in, I want to take a minute to celebrate some of the great things that are happening around The Chapel.  

First: I could not be more thankful for our Christmas Eve services this year. Did you guys get to go to Christmas Eve? What a beautiful event. Do you realize that, across our seven services—Montclair, Lincoln Park, and our online campus, there were close to 4,000 people who attended? Man, I’m just so proud of our church family, and our musicians, and all the volunteers. I went home after that final service on Tuesday night, and I was exhausted, but my heart was so full. So thanks to all who made that happen. 

Secondly, Bogotá, Colombia. We are partnering with churches in high-risk neighborhoods to help them reach their communities with the gospel. In November we challenged the Chapel family to raise $25,000 so we could invest in five additional projects. So I have a new update for you: as of the end of the year, you guys gave $68,000. Isn’t that amazing? Almost 3 times our goal. So we’re excited to help build more churches, and send more teams in 2020.  

Third thing: the Sunset Ministry Center. Just to remind you, this is the former Grace Bible Church, right down the hill from our Lincoln Park campus. It’s going to be primarily the hub for our thriving Chapel Women ministry, including MOPS. So we’ve been working hard to renovate and decorate it, and it’s going to be just beautiful. Here’s the main auditorium, which is very versatile; here’s the lobby just off the auditorium. Doesn’t that look great? So Chapel Women kicks off on Tuesday, January 14, and we think the new space will be ready. And then later this month, we’ll have an open house so everyone can come check it out. 

Fourth: Night to Shine! For the fourth year in a row, we’re hosting Night to Shine, which is a prom-like event for people with special needs. So it’s on Friday, February 7, and here’s the latest: registration this year filled up in two hours, which is the fastest it’s ever filled up. We have more special needs guests than we’ve ever had—over 100 this year. This year we’re adding something new: for all of the family members and caregivers who come that night, which will probably be around 200, we’ll be serving them dinner over in the Impact Center. And we currently have almost 300 volunteers who have signed up to serve that night. Can we just say “thanks” in advance to our volunteers? So please pray that we’ll represent Jesus really well on February 7. 

Okay. Today we begin a three-month study of the first official sermon that Jesus ever gave. The Sermon on the Mount is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, and it takes up three chapters—5, 6 and 7. It contains some of the most familiar things that Jesus is known for. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Ask and you receive; knock and the door will be opened. Do not judge. Our Father, who art in heaven… So even if you haven’t read the Bible that much, through this series you’re going to hear things and you’re going to say, “I know that!” Because so much in the Sermon on the Mount has become part of our cultural language. So it’s one of the most beloved parts of the Bible.  

But it’s also one of the most challenging parts of the Bible. If somebody strikes you on one cheek, turn the other. If your arm causes you to sin, cut it off. Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her. What do you do with that stuff? 

Philip Yancey wrote about a friend of his who was an English professor at Texas A&M. And she gave her class an assignment where they had to read the Sermon on the Mount, and then write an essay responding to it. And she was surprised by what the students wrote. Listen to a few of these quotes: 

“I did not like the Sermon on the Mount. It was hard to read and made me feel like I had to be perfect and no one is.” 

Here’s another one: “The things asked in this sermon are absurd. To look at a woman is adultery. That is the most extreme, stupid, inhuman statement I have ever heard.” 

If that’s what students from Texas said, can you imagine what kids from New Jersey would say? So here’s the point: the Sermon on the Mount is not a collection of nice, moral sayings. It gets all up in our business, and challenges us to look at life in a radically different way.  

The Bible scholar E. Stanley Jones said, “The Sermon on the Mount seems dangerous. It challenges the whole underlying conception on which modern society is built.” I agree. 

So for the next three months, we’re going to walk through the sermon, and invite the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds. If you really want to get the most out of this series, don’t just show up on Sundays. Take time during the week to let the words of Jesus soak into your heart. If you’re serious about this, we’ve got a great resource for you. Our discipleship team has developed a study guide that walks you through the 13 weeks of this series—so there are places for sermon notes; there are daily devotional guides; small group guides. They really did a great job. So when you leave today, we have these in the lobby—they’re free—please pick one up. 

(Long pause) 

When Mary was told she’d be the mother of the Messiah, the angel said about this child, “His kingdom will never end.” When the Magi came looking for the baby Jesus, remember what they asked? “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews.” So from the very start, Jesus is presented as a king, and the most basic reality about kings is that they rule kingdoms. And then when Jesus officially began his ministry—it’s recorded in Matthew chapter 4, just one chapter before the Sermon on the Mount—the first thing he says is, “Repent, for the…what? Kingdom of heaven is near.” What does that mean—that the kingdom is “near”? Older translations say the kingdom is “at hand.” What does that mean?  

As we sit in this room, right now, a WiFi network is near. It’s at hand. You can’t see it. You can’t smell it or taste it. But I promise you: the kingdom of the Internet is at hand. And you can choose to live completely ignorant of it and disconnected from it. Or, you can choose to connect to it. And when you connect to it, what happens? Now you can watch cute cat videos and play Candy Crush everywhere you go, right? It’s life-changing! But seriously, there’s an entirely new world that opens up to you. Because you’ve connected your life with this unseen reality. It's a very imperfect illustration. But you see the point, right? Jesus was announcing this whole new realm of life that was right there—it was available! It’s called the Kingdom of Heaven, and the only way to be part of it is if you know the King. And when we connect to the kingdom by putting our faith in King Jesus, there’s this entirely new world that opens up to us.  

And the Kingdom of Jesus is different from anything else out there. It’s not just good, basic morals. It’s not everything you need to know in life that you already learned in kindergarten. It’s not “all religions basically teach the same thing.” It’s not the American dream. The Kingdom of God does not fit neatly into the Republican party. Nor the Democratic party. It’s distinctly different from any other kingdom, because Jesus is distinctly different from any other king.  

So in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus paints a picture of what life looks like when we’re connected to his kingdom. And today we’re going to take a high-level view. All the other weeks we’re walk through it in order, but today we’re going to get the big picture by looking at one section near the beginning, and one section at the very end. And we’re going to talk about two things: What God’s Kingdom Does In Us, and What God’s Kingdom Does Through Us. So when we connect with this kingdom, there’s something that happens internally, and there’s something that happens externally. It affects our private life, and it affects our public life. What the kingdom of God does in us and through us. 

So, first: What God’s Kingdom Does In Us. And for that, let’s look at the very end of the Sermon, Matthew 7, verses 24 to 27: 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  

So Jesus talks about two different men. And if you think about it, these two guys have several things in common. They both have the same desire, which is to build a house. Which is really true of all of us, right? We find ourselves in this world, and we might have differences of background or circumstances, but we’re all trying to build something, right? We’re all trying to make something of our lives. Secondly, these guys both experience storms. For both of them, it says “the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.” Which is also true of us, isn’t it? Physical storms, relational storms, mental health storms, financial storms. Like Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” Storms will come. Some of you are in a nasty storm right now.  

So both guys are building a house; both guys have storms; they represent the human condition. But there’s one big difference between them. You see what it is? It’s the foundation they build their house on. And Jesus uses this analogy that would have been very familiar to people who lived around the Jordan River. The sand all around the Jordan got really hard during the summer. Just packed, dry, hard surface. So if you didn’t know any better, you could build a house right on top of it—because it felt secure. But then the rainy season would come, and the river would overflow its banks, and the sand would start to erode. So any decent builder in that region would dig down through the sand till he got to rock. Sometimes you’d have to dig down 8, 10 feet before you reached the rock. And you would build the foundation of the house on that.  

Do you remember what happened in the fall of 2012? Sandy. Incredible damage; thousands of people near the shore left homeless because their houses were destroyed or badly damaged. Tons of insurance claims filed by homeowners after the hurricane. And as the insurance adjusters came in and inspected the damages, we started to hear some disturbing stories about the construction of some of those homes. In some cases, cheap materials had been used, to save money. In other cases you could tell the builders had cut corners, and the construction was just sloppy. But the amazing thing is, those houses had looked beautiful on the outside! I mean, nobody ever knew there was a problem, and probably nobody ever would have known, if it weren’t for Sandy. And they came crashing down. 

So let’s make sure we’re hearing Jesus accurately. What do those two kinds of foundations represent? Here it is: whether or not you choose to hear and live out the teachings of Jesus. That’s what he says, right? “Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice” is like a guy building on rock; and “whoever hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice” is like a guy building on sand. And since he says this at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, he’s referring especially to hearing and obeying what he has just said in that sermon.  

So let’s get specific. Here’s one the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount—Matthew 5, verse 43: 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” So Jesus says if we hear that and put it into practice, we’ll be building a strong house; if we don’t, we’ll be building a weak house. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Some of you are thinking, “I don’t have any enemies.” Sure you do. Broaden your thinking. Sometimes it’s people that just annoy us and get under our skin. Got any of those? Sometimes it’s people that are truly against us, and trying to pull us down. So Jesus is speaking to all of us.  

And I’m going to be honest: there have been times in my life when I have hated my enemies. Because I fixated on what they had done to me. (It usually happens when I’m shaving in the morning—which is probably not good, holding a sharp object). But I’m standing there, and I remember the offense. And I sometimes wallow in self-pity. I fantasize about how I could put this person in their place, and show them how wrong they were. Sometimes I have gone out and gossiped about them to others. Anybody else, or is this just me? See, we’ll talk about this more when we get to this section of the Sermon on the Mount, but “hating your enemy” doesn’t mean you set their house on fire. It just means that in your attitude toward that person, you return evil for evil. And that comes out in all kinds of ways. 

And here’s the point: Jesus says when I do that, it’s like building my house on sand. Because I’m ignoring what Jesus taught. And as I direct my thoughts and my energy against this person—as I hate my enemy—there is a rot and a decay taking place in the foundation of my soul. I am actually weakening myself as a person. And you might not see any signs of that on the surface—just like those beautiful houses in Lavalette or Long Beach Island before Sandy hit—you look at me, and you say, “There’s Pastor Dave—he looks fine to me!” But man, the storms are coming. And when they come—when life gets hard for me—I start to crumble.  

On the other hand—let’s stay with that same example—if I hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice, that means I take a different approach to my enemies. So I’m shaving, and I remember something this person has done to me, and I feel that pang of anger and injustice. (And by the way, if you’re married, and you find yourself arguing with your spouse—not that I know anything about this, but I’ve heard about this from other people—this totally applies. And I’m not saying your spouse is your enemy—of course not!—but sometimes we can act as enemies, right? So maybe this is a marriage thing for you). So I feel that pang of anger and self-pity. But I take Jesus so seriously, because he’s my king. And I’m walking in his kingdom, in the power he gives me through his Holy Spirit. So I intentionally think of his words: love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. And I choose to do that. Right there! With the towel around me and the shaving cream on my face, I pray: “Lord, would you bless this person today? Give him success in his work; give his happiness in his family; protect him from harm; Lord, would you give him good things from your hand today?” In other words, you just take Jesus at his word, and do what he says. 

And Jesus says that when I do that—when I choose the way of Christ’s kingdom over my kingdom or the world’s kingdom—there’s something good happening deep in my soul. It’s like I’m building my house on granite. And when the storms come—when those hard things happen—there is a stability, and a supernatural strength and a ruggedness to my life. When life gets tough, I’ve seen some people fall apart—they get bitter, and angry, and the withdraw and drink too much; and I’ve seen other people—I’m thinking of their faces right now—mentors of mine—with just as many storms, who stay hopeful and steady and engaged in life…because they have built their life on Christ.  

Over these next three months, we have a tremendous opportunity. Because we’re going to be hearing the words of Jesus as we walk through this series. And every time we hear them, each of us will make a decision whether to lean into his words or turn away from them. And that decision has everything to do with the shape our lives take.  

So this is what God’s kingdom does in us. But it doesn’t stop there. Let’s talk about What God’s Kingdom Does Through Us. And for that, I’m going to read a section toward the beginning of the sermon—Matthew 5, verses 13 to 16: 

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 

So Jesus uses two analogies—to describe his followers. He says, “You are the salt of the earth,” and “You are the light of the world.” Think about the last word in each of those phrases. This earth that we live in; this world that’s around us, needs something. Because the world is filled with people that God loves, who are not connected with God’s kingdom. The WiFi signal of God’s kingdom is all around them, but they’re completely disconnected from it, because they don’t know the king. So hear what Jesus is saying: you need to view your role as my followers in terms of how you affect all those kingdom-disconnected people around you.  

The author, N.T. Wright, said it like this:  

Again and again the Sermon on the Mount calls and challenges us to a life of radical discipleship. Note: when Jesus says 'Blessed are the…merciful, peacemakers', and so on, he doesn't just mean that they themselves are blessed. He means that the blessing of God's kingdom works precisely through those people into the wider world. That is how God's kingdom comes.  

So the question is, what does it mean for us to be “the salt of the earth?” Have you ever had tortilla chips or corn on the cob or fries…with no salt? How do they taste? Bland…boring… uninteresting. Right? Very unappealing. Have you ever talked to a religious person who’s bland and boring and uninteresting? They use a lot of clichés, like “Hallelujah.” They think humor is a sin. Or, sometimes we lose our saltiness by always playing it safe. Because we don’t want to offend anyone. We’re just nice people. Blah. 

So what does it mean to be the salt of the earth? It means we aren’t afraid to be different. We say things that are challenging and thought-provoking. We talk about things that are interesting. We tell stories. We use humor. You know who was like that? Jesus! He was always telling stories; he was always getting people to think. Jesus was the most interesting man in the world. It was not the Dos Equis man; it was Jesus. Jesus showed us what it means to be the salt of the earth. 

Okay, so what does it mean for us to be “the light of the world?” It’s actually very similar. It means we’re not afraid to be who we are as followers of Christ. We have a humble boldness. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him.” So as a church family, we are a community of Jesus, and if we’re following him, we won’t try to hide who we are. We’ll be visible in the community where God has placed us.  

Last week there was a fire in Pequannock that destroyed a pizza place, which is sad in itself. But even more sadly, there were five people living in the apartment above the restaurant who now don’t have a home. And I was so proud of our church, because immediately after the fire, I started seeing emails going back and forth between Chapel leaders: hey—how can we help? Let’s find out what their needs are. Let’s help this family get housing. And our Benevolence ministry is helping this family financially in their time of crisis. So in the midst of this world’s darkness, Jesus calls his church to be a light. 

But it’s also true of us as individual followers of Christ. This past summer, I met a guy through my doctoral studies who’s a pastor out in Pennsylvania. And he told me how he came to know Christ. He was in college, and he was invited to a large conference put on by a campus ministry group, right after Christmas. And I loved the way he described it. He said, “I saw hundreds of people with a light on, and I wanted what they had.” And during that week, he gave his life to Christ. 

And I guess that resonated with me because that was my experience. During my first year of college, I was trying to figure out who I was. I was spiritually skeptical; I was restless; I was frequently getting drunk. And during the winter I decided to join some of my friends from the dorm, and participate in fraternity rush—which is when you make your rounds and check out the frats, and hope one of them invites you to join. So we did that for a couple of weeks. And these were typical frats of the 1980s—keg parties and loud music in dark basements of frat houses. And so we checked out five or six different frats. And at one of them I met two guys who were well-respected members of the fraternity…but they were different. Part of it was the fact that they had both decided not to drink—which definitely made them stand out in that context—walking around frat parties with a Coke. But it was more than that. The kind of humor they used; the way they treated their girlfriends; their care for the other guys in the frat. I quickly learned they were Christians, and they had decided to live out their faith right there in the fraternity. 

I am eternally grateful to those two guys…because in a place where it would have been so easy to blend in, they chose to keep their lights on. So I wound up pledging that fraternity; I wound up choosing one of those guys as my big brother; and it took me about a year, but eventually I gave my life to Christ. And that has made all the difference in my life. 

Listen: as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are light! And there is someone out there whose future depends on you living as light. So don’t lose your saltiness; don’t cover up your light; allow God to influence the people around you.  

So when we walk in God’s kingdom, by trusting and following the King, two things happen. Something happens in us: we become stable, durable people. And something happens through us: the people around us are blessed. 

At the very end of the sermon—the last two verses—we read this—this is Matthew 7, verses 28 and 29: 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. See, the people were used to hearing rabbis who quoted other teachers, and expounded different theories. But Jesus was different. Other teachers and prophets would say, “Thus saith the Lord…” but Jesus said, “I tell you.” There was an authority and a power to his teaching that was unlike anything they had ever heard. And 2,000 years later, it’s still true. Jesus is unlike anyone else. And he says his kingdom is near. It’s all around us. But the only way we connect to it is by trusting and following the King.