Upside Down Living #21 - Certainty in a Time of Accounting
Message Description
Adult Ministry Director, Josiah Leuenberger, looks at Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus talks about those who thought they were certain in their faith but find out the opposite.
Message Transcript
Hey there. Welcome to worship. It's so good to be together this weekend. My name is Josiah. I serve at Orchard Hill Wexford with our Adult Ministries. A special welcome to you as we gather for worship this weekend. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I know this year it was very different for many of us in terms of what our celebration has looked like in the past. But hey, here at Orchard Hill we have a reason to celebrate in any season because of God's presence and his work in our lives. And we're a community that's all about helping people find and follow Jesus. And if you were a part of worship last weekend, you saw a great video from Josh Thomas sharing about our Let's Say Grace holiday blessing.
This is something worth repeating, 20 life groups from Orchard Hill went out into the community. They purchased groceries that were delivered just this week to 20 different families in our community. These families were identified by some of our local school districts. And what we did was blessed them with these foods for the holiday season, as well as a gift card to purchase Christmas gifts for their family. And so, I just want to say thank you so much. During this season with COVID, so many members of the Orchard Hill community have stepped up in generosity to say, "Hey, what can I do to help?" And this was just a small gesture of our giving nature as a community saying, "What can we do in response to what God has done for us in our own lives through Jesus?" And so, thanks so much for your partnership and ministry. What a cool thing that was for us to be able to do. Also want to share that here in Wexford, coming up just this week is our grand opening THRIVE 2021 event. We are ready to celebrate all that God has done in Wexford in the past, and look forward to all that He has in store for the future of our communities, whether Wexford, Butler County, or the Strip District. What an awesome time that will be. Sign up at orchardhillchurch.com.
All right, well, this weekend we're continuing in our series on the Sermon on the Mount, Upside Down Living. And this is some great teaching, but I want to give you a heads up. Man, if I were planning out a message for Thanksgiving, it would probably be on gratitude, something warm and fuzzy. And this week we are digging into some difficult truths in the gospel of Matthew here. Some difficult words from Jesus. Today's passage that we heard just a moment ago. It's not one that you're going to find embroidered on a hanging in your grandma's house. You probably won't see it printed on a mug in the Hallmark store, but this is a very important teaching for each and every one of us to grapple with.
Because what Jesus says is, "There are some who think they are right with God," but we've actually missed out on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. And so, this is a very difficult topic, but one that is absolutely critical for each and every one of us to look at. And it really does come with a big payoff for any of us who would see Jesus' words, take them to heart, and receive them into our own lives. And so why don't I pray for us as we dig into the word together?
Father, we thank you for this opportunity and for your word. And we know that every time we open it, you have something you want to communicate to us. So, we invite you to be present in our hearts and in our minds, even now as we listen. God, would you get our attention in the ways that we need to hear it? Would you encourage us, lift us up, and challenge us accordingly? And we thank you. We trust that you will do this in Jesus name, amen.
Well, would you agree with me that it can actually be a good thing to receive difficult news when that news is inevitably coming, but we still have time to affect the outcome? It can be a good thing to receive difficult news when it's inevitably coming, but we still have time to affect the outcome. Within the past few weeks, my wife and I have a relative that found out that he has the virus that shall not be named. And when we found out this news, obviously we were very sorry to hear that.
You know, people's symptoms, people's severity, it can vary widely. And we're really grateful his hasn't gotten too bad and he's making a fine recovery. But it all developed when he felt like he had a bad cold and then was eating a granola bar and realized that he didn't have any taste. And I thought maybe he should try eating something else first. I've eaten thousands of granola bars in my life and only probably a quarter of them have any sort of taste, but he did get tested and it came back positive. But like I said, "It can a good thing to receive difficult news when we still have time to impact an outcome moving forward." So as much as I wish he'd never gotten sick, I'm very grateful he realized that before he passed it on to his wife and kids who are doing great, and he's making a fine recovery. So, we're very thankful for that.
But many of us, we have received, we've seen this concept to be true in our own lives at one point or another. Take this example. Have you ever taken your car in for that routine inspection and found out the $100 inspection is actually going to end up being more like a $1,000 repair? I know I found that one out the hard way. Turns out that check engine light is actually on for a reason sometimes. And so for as much as I wasn't thrilled to pay for that new catalytic converter, I'll tell you, I'll gladly pay that $1,000 to avoid finding out something is truly wrong with my engine when I'm away from home late at night a couple of months down the road. And certainly, this concept, many of us have seen to be true when it comes to something like a difficult medical diagnosis.
I mean, the last thing any person wants to hear is that they have a diagnosis of cancer. But the truth is, if that news is inevitably coming, the sooner we can find out and begin treatment, the better. So, do you see the point I'm making? It can actually be a good thing to receive difficult news when that's inevitably coming, but we still have time to impact an outcome. And the reason I share this concept is we see it on display in Jesus' teaching when it comes to the spiritual life here today in a very profound way. Because Jesus, we hear these hard words. We receive a hard word from Jesus that there are some who believe they're his followers who are not truly in right standing with him. But Jesus, He doesn't speak these words to us as a word of condemnation and judgment in a cold way. He speaks them to us out of love so that any one of us who would hear them and realize that we're not in with him as we thought would be able to change course and look to him in a new way in our lives.
And so, as we get into this passage, I hope you'll see these words. They come from God's goodness. Jesus desires that each and every one of us who don't know the truth about how right standing with him can be gained, would come to a new understanding and look to him in a way that will lead us to life that is truly fulfilling, truly rewarding for all of eternity. We're in Matthew chapter seven, this weekend, beginning in verse 21. Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
And so, I want to break this teaching down for us in a series of key statements to really wrap our minds around what Jesus is getting at. And first, we'll look at a few difficult truths in this passage. And the first one is this that Jesus says, "Not all who think they are His followers are truly his followers." Not all who think they're followers of Jesus are true followers. And so this really comes out there in the first part of verse 21, when Jesus says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father."
And so that phrase there, enter the kingdom of heaven. This is a reference to being in right standing with God, a result of what it looks like to receive eternity with him. To receive eternity with God as a result of a relationship with him. And that's certainly not the only benefit of being in right standing with God. There are benefits to living right with God in the here and now. And some of those would include an experience of God's presence in our daily lives. Knowing that God is near to us, as we have drawn near to him. Another benefit would be God's reshaping of our hearts and our values as we follow after him. Through digging into his word, depending on the Holy Spirit to change us. And certainly, another positive impact of being in right standing with God is recognizing that there's a greater purpose to our lives.
And that's through participating in God's mission in the world. That's such a benefit to us. We find real meaning personally, when we route our own lives in part of that grander picture of what God is up to in the world. Now, certainly life and eternity with God, that promise of heaven. It is a monumental gift. It's a blessing of infinite value to live and anticipate that time and God's renewed creation. But what Jesus is pointing out here in this first difficult truth in verse 21, is that it is a dangerous indicator that we are off track in our relationship with God, if our verbal assent to being a follower of Jesus doesn't match up with the rest of our lives. You see, when He says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus, He doesn't follow that up with any specific examples, but those words, they really are an attention getter for us, huh?
For any one of us who would desire to be his follower, He says, "Don't be deceived into thinking that anything short of living according to the will of God will deliver when it comes to our basis for standing before him." And in our context today, certainly some right applications of this is that you and I do well to recognize that our commitment to following Jesus can't be merely superficial or cultural. Jesus is looking for something much deeper for those who would follow after him then a simple signing off on the ideas that God is real, and everything happens for a reason. I mean that is superficial spirituality. And those viewpoints, they fit in with any variety of theistic worldviews. Really even some polytheistic worldviews would say, "Yes, God is real. Everything happens for a reason." Jesus, He came to make the way to God much clearer in his own life and teaching. And he delivers to us exclusive truth claims in his words about what God values and what God requires for those who would follow after him that go far beyond those two categories. Jesus, looking for a commitment from his followers that goes beyond superficial spirituality.
And then the second, we take this as a check to recognize that our commitment to Jesus must go beyond what is simply cultural. And you know, many of Jesus' original listeners to this message. For example, Matthew, the author of this gospel, he would have been a devout Jew in his background and there would have been a temptation for someone from that background to come to their spiritual life with a sense of entitlement. I am from the people who are God's chosen nation. I am in right standing with him by default, by birth, and upbringing. And so, what Jesus is saying to us here is, "Look, that kind of attitude can lead to spiritual apathy in our approach." And all throughout the Sermon on the Mount we see that Jesus, his primary concern for those who would follow him, is really the heart.
Jesus is looking for something much deeper than cultural affiliation. Think about these words of his here. When we look at what Jesus is teaching, it's hard to think fast forward to the day of judgment. Here's this conversation. What's Jesus going to ask? It's hard to imagine him asking now, would you tell me, where did your parents grow up, and how about you now? Do you have any Sunday school in your background and how about youth group? And if you went to church most weeks, did you wear khakis or did some jeans slip in there? It's hard to imagine Jesus asking those kinds of questions or, "Hey, if you heard the song, God bless the USA? On a scale of one to 10, how emotional did you get?"
Jesus, he's looking for something much deeper than superficial spirituality or a cultural affiliation for those who would follow after him. And he says here, "There will be some who think they're in right standing with Him who have neglected to see what it is that God truly desires from his followers. Not all who think they're followers of Jesus are truly his followers." And so next in this passage in verses 22 and 23, those words again, 21 “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?'" What Jesus is drawing out here is that our religious good works aren't the most reliable test for authentic faith, either. So, difficult truth, number two here in today's passage, Jesus teaches that not all who produce good works for him are truly His followers.
Not all who produce good works for Jesus are true followers of Jesus. What He teaches here is that there will be some who perform good works and miraculous deeds under his authority who don't truly know him, who aren't in right standing with him. And this can be really confusing. I think it's natural that you and I, if we were to see someone who is doing things that would be beneficial to others in a way that would bring glory to God for his character and values, that we would assume that person must be on track with God in their own personal life. But Jesus' words here, they would indicate otherwise. He says that we do well not to confuse productivity for God as an indicator that a person is truly a follower of God. Because sometimes God chooses to accomplish his purposes through people who are far off track in the way that they are living.
And surely, we can see examples of this throughout the Bible. Think of Israel's first King Saul. Saul's a man that God used for his purposes. And He even empowered him through the Holy Spirit on occasion to accomplish his purposes for the people of Israel. But by and large, his leadership, it was driven by selfish motivations. And he was far from God, oftentimes in his own personal commitment, we can surely see that in his end. Another prime example of this teaching and the audience that Jesus was speaking to in the original context of this passage, this was his disciples who were gathered around speaking to a crowd as well that was nearby. Judas would have been there. A member of Jesus' inner circle. Someone who participated in good works for Jesus as part of his disciples on a regular basis, but later showed himself not to be an authentic follower of Christ.
And you know, sometimes people will say, "Oh, was Judas misunderstood?" Pardon me, "Was Judas misunderstood? Maybe he really was a follower of Jesus who was right with God, but God just chose to use him to play a larger purpose in this scenario where he made one really bad choice." But I think that scripture would indicate otherwise. In Luke chapter 22, verse three we read, "That Satan entered Judas and led him to betray his master." And I want to say to you, that's not something that happens to a true follower of Jesus, because scripture teaches that when we put our hope in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of us. And from that moment we first believe on, He is present within us.
The apostle Paul says it this way in Ephesians chapter one, "That the Holy Spirit marks us with a seal." That's a guarantee, a deposit of the Spirit's presence inside of us. And so, we can think of ourselves as sort of having this spiritual, no vacancy sign written over our hearts, over our lives. And so, believers in Jesus, we don't need to fear Satan or any other evil spirit coming inside of us because we already have the Holy Spirit inside of us. Judas, he is someone who accomplished good works for Jesus, but he wasn't ultimately a true follower. So again, Jesus, he warns those who would follow him here in this passage out of love. Let's not confuse our productivity for God with being in right relationship with him. And let's remember, these words are for you and me. It can be a temptation for us to look to others and seek to assess where they would be to their deeds in their heart match up.
But really what Jesus' intent is, is for you and me to give ourselves a spiritual self-check. Because at the end of the day, our standing with God, it won't be determined by what we accomplish or what we produce, no matter how helpful or beneficial that is. Our standing with God will depend on whether or not we're living in alignment with what he has shown us about how right standing with him can take place. When we have that, we can live with assurance that we are truly his followers. And we'll dig into that message here in just a moment, how we can find assurance that we're in right standing with God and have a hope for all eternity. But right now, we're taking our medicine. We are eating our vegetables. We may not love the way they taste, but they are good for us and what's coming next is going to be great.
The difficult truth will make it even more something that we can appreciate. And so, one more difficult truth here in today's passage, Jesus describes the end result of living with false assurance that we're in with God when we're really out. And it's this. Difficult truth number three, "Those who are not followers of Jesus share the same destiny, and that is eternal separation from him." That is the penalty for all sins, separation from God. Jesus, here in verse 23, when he talks about the day of judgment he says, "Some will be surprised that their standing with me is not what they thought it would be." For those who would turn to Jesus on the basis of superficial spirituality or cultural affiliation, or even on the basis of our good works, Jesus' response, He says, "It will be, I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers."
And I think this part of the passage, it draws out a very different picture of what God requires for those who would be right with him and granted life in eternity. Looks like in his comment to very many people, you know, Jesus, he says here "A day's coming when God will weigh our hearts." And if we seek before him and say, "Hey, this is my family background. This is where I grew up, or here are the good things I did." Jesus tells us our future will be the same as those who would overtly deny him as the son of God and the savior of the world. And that is eternal separation from God. That's the penalty for sin. We experience it in the here and now, apart from faith in Jesus Christ. And that spiritual reality, it will pervade our existence entirely and continue into eternity if we persist in living our own way.
And so, Jesus, he says here, "Don't be deceived into thinking your future is good if you're out of line with what it is that God requires." And so, my friends, this is a hard passage. It's a hard passage to hear. But again, Jesus, he speaks these words, not out of condemnation, but out of love. You and I need to know there is no part of Jesus that is looking for a gotcha moment on the day of judgment, where we'll have thought that we were in and then we'll find out we're out. Jesus loves us to speak these words of hard truth to us before it is too late. And it is actually a good thing to receive difficult news, hard news, when we still have time to impact the outcome. These words, Jesus gives us the gift of hearing the hard truth while you and I can recognize that we are living off track.
I love the words of John's gospel. He says, "God did not send Jesus. God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." So, what we can know is that Jesus desires that we'd hear this word and be convicted of our need for him. And drawn to go a new way with our lives. And so, this passage, it does tell us, Jesus tells us what God requires for us to be in right standing with him and guaranteed a future in heaven. In the latter part of verse 21 we read these words, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven."
And if you hear that and say, "Man, that's no small task to be in right standing with God I've got to do the will of God." Here's what we can know. Jesus makes it crystal clear throughout the gospels what it is to do the will of God. And I love John chapter six, his disciples ask him verses 28 and 29. "What must we do? What must we do to accomplish the work God requires? And his answer is, 'The work of God is this. To believe in the one he has sent.'" So, what's the will of God for those who would desire to follow him? It's incredibly simple, but even more profound. That is to believe in the one that he has sent. That's what today's teaching boils down to. The difficult truths make us aware of our need to hear the good news and the truth of the gospel is this. Anyone who trusts in Jesus can be certain of our right standing with God and future with him for all of eternity on judgment day.
Jesus, he won't pull up a background check to see where you were raised or what you've done. He won't ask if you believe God is real and everything happens for a reason. He won't hand you a Bible trivia quiz. He won't ask if you genuinely tried hard to be a good person. There will be one question between us and God that will determine our standing with him for all of eternity. Jesus will ask us, "Who do you say I am?" It all boils down to one question, "Who do you say I am?" And if you and I can stand before him and say, "You know all too well, I'm someone who screwed up in a million different ways. And on my best day, I fell so far short of anything you would ever require. There's nothing I could do to merit your favor. But here's the one thing I got, right. I put my hope not in myself, but I put my hope in you. I trust in you as the one God has sent to save me to be the one to forgive my sin, restore me to God. Because I know there's nothing, I could ever do to merit your favor. I'm deeply in need of grace. Jesus, you are my hope. If that will be our answer, God will say to us, "Welcome home my perfectly loved child. You've accomplished my will, enter the kingdom of heaven.”
And so, I want to ask you, as you hear God's word this morning, how's God's speaking to you personally? Maybe you're here this weekend as you're watching you're someone who you'd say, "I'm just exploring truth. I'm asking questions." I want you to know. That's a very important part of the journey of faith. And certainly, the journey of faith is something that God directs. It takes place on his timing.
But I want to encourage you. Don't get so settled into the journey that you confuse it with the destination. This week's passage. Take it as a word of encouragement. It's a hard word to hear but know that it comes from a place of love. Let you and I never become so comfortable that we become complacent. So if you're someone who's here this morning and you're exploring truth for the first time, I want to say to you, don't become so comfortable circling the block in your pursuit of spiritual truth that you miss out on the fulfillment of parking yourself in the drive and coming home to your heavenly father's house. You have a God who loves you, who wants to be in relationship with you personally, now, and forever. Jesus is able to meet your deepest needs, satisfy your heart in a way that lasts. And all that it takes is a simple recognition of your need for a savior and belief in him as the one sent from God who lived a perfect life and gave it up on the cross so that you and I, any one of us who would come to him with our need, could receive new and eternal life. What a hope that we would find in Jesus.
If that is you this weekend, I would just love it if you would reach out to someone on the Host Team online. Or even call the church office, reach out to one of us, you can find our emails on the staff page. We'd love to speak to you about what it looks like to follow Jesus in your own life and make that commitment to be a follower of him personally in your heart. All that it takes is a simple belief in Jesus Christ as the sent one from God to be our savior. It's incredibly simple, but even more profound.
And I want to also recognize that any one of us who is a follower of Jesus, we have a hope in his grace throughout all of life. It's his grace that marks our spiritual lives from beginning to end. And because of that we never need to doubt our future, not even for a second. Listen to these words of Jesus, continuing in John chapter six, where we were just a moment ago. He says, "I'm the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." And this is the part where it just speaks such a word of assurance to us about our future with God and eternity.
Any one of us who had hope in Jesus. He says, "All those who father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never drive away, for I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me that I shall lose none of all those he has given me but raise them up at the last day. For my father's will is that anyone who looks to the son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will raise them up at the last day." And so, if you are a follower of Jesus, you can take those words to heart and know that your hope isn't that you will never screw up. Your hope isn't that you'll never slip into a mistake of boneheaded sin or that you'll let go of God in a moment of doubt.
But our hope is that we have a heavenly father who holds us firmly in his love, and he will never let us go. That's the hope we see in this passage that God finishes what he starts. And so, you and I, we may stray for a season. We may struggle with sin and even bear the consequences of that in our lives. We may have a moment of doubt in our darkest moments. But what we can know is that Jesus, he tells us here, "When God has drawn us into his flock, Jesus, he will never drive us away." That's true for our own lives. And that's true for us. When we think of the people who we love as they're walking through dark moments as well, the one who has begun a good work in us will see it to completion. The Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. It is his job to sustain us for all of eternity and God, we can count on him to do that.
What a gift that is. What an encouragement this passage is to us. Jesus, he doesn't speak difficult words of condemnation to us and then leave us without hope. But He gives us this difficult truth while there's still a time for us to make a change. And so, if you're here this morning, if you hear his words and you feel a sense of conviction, I hope that this morning you will look to Jesus. You will put your hope in him recognizing that God has provided for you a savior from your sin and a better way to live as you follow after him and are sustained in him as his Holy Spirit transforms you to become more like Christ from the inside out. Let me pray for you now.
Father, we thank you for this word and your truth. Out of grace you speak to us these words that can be hard to hear. But we thank you that you not only give us the difficult truth, you give us the truth of the gospel that each and every one of us who would look to you and do the work that you require of putting our hope in your son can be guaranteed, right standing with you. Right relationship with you now and forever. And what a hope that is. God, we pray that each and every one of us, we wouldn't be content to just make this truth for ourselves, but that we would be people who receive your grace and respond to it by being ambassadors of the God who brings life and death in a world that is badly in need of that hope. What a purpose that gives each and every one of us. So, we thank you for the gift of new life through your son in whose name we pray, amen.
All right. Well, it has been great to be together. I hope you have a great week and look forward to seeing you. Hopefully later this week at our THRIVE 2021 grand opening event. Take care, go in peace.
