Today’s Scripture is from Matthew 16:21-28.
I recently read the true story about a preacher who was
standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. He grabbed one
man by the hand and pulled him aside. The preacher said to him, "You need
to join the Army of the Lord!" The man replied, "I’m already in the
Army of the Lord, Preacher." The preacher questioned, "How come I
don’t see you except for Christmas and Easter?" He whispered back,
"I’m in the secret service." The
Secret Service? …I don’t think so.
I read a story this week about a young man who’d just been
called up to go to Iraq, because our nation had declared war on Saddam
Hussein. The problem for this young man
was – he didn’t want to go. He explained
that he hadn’t joined the army to go to war… he’d joined because of the
benefits: the pay, the college tuition, the insurance, etc. I have got to tell you….there is something’s
wrong with that kind of thinking!! One
of the primary functions of the military is to prepare for war. You’ve got to know that if you sign up! I’m
sure its somewhere in the job description. Armies do NOT exist to pass out
benefits (those are perks). Armies exists to deal with conflicts. To defend
their people. To fight the enemy. And hopefully
to stand against evil. But there are people who actually join up hoping for a
free ride. And that kind of mentality undermines the military of any nation.
That same kind of mentality can also undermine the church. Too
often believers sign up for the benefits. They expect Jesus to “be there” for
them… but they don’t expect to “be there” for Him.
That’s the issue Jesus is addressing here in Matthew 16. He’s
explaining to His disciples that they’re part of His army. He has called them
to war, and there’s a decision to be made. Jesus said to his disciples,
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross
and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25. In other words – it’s not about benefits. It’s
about picking up your cross and going into the trenches. It’s about being
willing (if necessary) to lose your life for Christ. It’s all about being
SERIOUS in our commitment to Jesus.
Jesus has been with His disciples now for at least 2 years.
He’s been training them and teaching them, and exposing them to God’s power.
And they’ve listened as He’s shared his teachings and His parables. They’ve
seen Him heal the deaf, the mute and the lame. They’ve even seen Him raise a
little girl from the dead. In addition they’ve observed Him perform powerful
miracles. They were out on the sea when Jesus came walking on the water. And
again they were on that same sea when He stilled a frightening storm by simply
saying “Peace be still.” And they were
there when 5000 men, along with their wives and children, were fed with 5
barley loaves and two small fish. And again when He fed 4000 men and their
families in a similar way. But now, time
is getting short. Jesus’ arrest and
crucifixion are only weeks away and Jesus has to make it clear to them just how
serious their task is.
So the first thing He does here is: He lays the foundation of their allegiance to Him. In the early part of Matthew 16 He calls
them together and asks: “Who do men say that I am?”
And they reply, "Some say John the Baptist; others say
Elijah and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Then Jesus
asks: “But who do you say that I am” Never a loss for words, Peter steps right
up and says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus
commends Him for that. But then Jesus explains that He has one final battle to
fight and explains to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer
many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests & teachers of law,
and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter
objects. In Matthew 16:22 Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him.
"Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" This isn’t what Peter signed up for. Jesus
HAS TO LIVE… He’s not supposed to die!!! He’s the long expected King and Messiah.
“Not happening on my watch”, Peter says. Jesus rebukes him. But then Jesus gives the
teaching we find here in our text today:
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25
(Jesus is saying) Boys, I’ve called you to war. And in war you face the possibility of
death. That’s what the young soldier was
worried about. He knew that once he went to the trenches he would face
suffering, danger…and he could even die….And He didn’t want to do that! And here Jesus is telling His disciples – and
us – THAT IS what we’ve signed up
for. We’ve been called to go to war. And
we face the possibility of suffering, danger… and maybe even death.
Jesus told us "Blessed are you when people insult you,
persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same
way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus said “All men will hate you because of
me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 10:22 Paul wrote
Timothy and said “…everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will
be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12 And Peter
said to the church of his day: ”Dear friends, do not be surprised at the
painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to
you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you
may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” I Peter 4:12-13
Paul (one of the greatest Christians who ever lived) once
described the things he’d endured: “Five times I received from the Jews the
forty lashes minus one.Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned;
three times I was shipwrecked,I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have
been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from
bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger
in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false
brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have
known hunger and thirst and have often
gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all
the churches.” (II Corinthians 11:24-28)
And eventually, Paul was executed for his faith… as were all the other
Apostles, except John.
Why would he do all that?
Why put up with that suffering and danger, and death? Paul did all that because he was convinced
that Jesus was worth it.
• He was convinced that Jesus WAS the Christ, the Son of the living God Who had come to die for
our sins, and rise from the dead to give us hope.
• He was convinced that there was a war to be fought and
souls to be won.
• He was convinced that the fate of men and women around him
depended on his faithfulness as a soldier of Jesus Christ.
When he was on trial before King Agrippa Paul declared that
Jesus had told him: “I am sending you to (the Gentiles) to open their eyes and
turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that
they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified
by faith in me.” Acts 26:17b-18 Because
Paul believed all that, he was convinced that it was worth it to “deny himself
and take up his cross and follow (Jesus). To face the dangers and difficulties
this world would throw at him.
Now, most of us will never face those kinds of problems. In
our country, we’re not likely to be whipped, or stoned, or beaten with rods because
of what we believe. More than likely, we’ll be faced with the challenge of
realizing that Christianity isn’t a Sunday thing. Our faith calls us to be
faithful to Jesus 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week. Not
just on Sundays!
A couple of years ago, a woman had the opportunity to talk
to her son, who was deployed to Iraq. He had called from there to say hello and
she(being a good Christians woman) asked him if he had to work on Sundays. He paused for a moment and then said, “Mom -
we have to work every day… it’s called a war.”
As Christians we are soldiers of Christ and we are at war with Satan EVERY DAY… not just on Sundays. Now, we are Soldiers, and we have been called
to war. Given those facts, it’s possible
to misunderstand what God expects of us in this conflict. There are Christians
who believe that God calls us to fight like the world does. The world fights by
getting angry. Have you ever gotten angry? The world fights by getting even.
Have you ever wanted to “get even?” The world fights by doing whatever they
have to defeat their enemy (end justifies the means) I have seen Christians use mean and hateful
words to get their way. I have seen
Christians who’ve spread rumors gossip to discredit people they disagreed with.
I have even seen Christians destroy preachers and churches because “they were
in the right” and that church/ preacher had done something that was wrong.
Paul writes to us: The weapons we fight with are not the
weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians
10:4-5) Later, in II Timothy “The Lord’s
servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach,
not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that
God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and
that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who
has taken them captive to do his will.” (II Timothy 2:24-26) We’re not called to deny ourselves and take
up our cross so that we can beat up on people.
We’re called to deny ourselves because OUR way of doing things is different
than God’s. OUR way is often based on getting back at someone because they’ve
offended OUR way of doing things - OUR sensibilities. They’ve trampled on OUR rights. You’ll often hear that
reflected in how people describe those they’re going after. “How dare they do
that!” “They had no RIGHT to do
that!” Let me let you in on a little
secret. When you or I get angry or
vengeful towards someone, it’s a sign that we’ve forgotten to deny OURSELVES,
and we’ve become tempted to pick up our cross to beat someone else over the
head with it. That’s our way of making
war. God’s way of making war is to help us understand: We’re not supposed to be
“out to get them”. We’re not supposed to
be out to “destroy them” Because they’re not the enemy… they are our objective!
Satan is the enemy, and Satan holds these folks captive to do his will.
As Paul said in Ephesians 6:12 “… our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of
evil….” That doesn’t make sense to the people who DON’T belong to Jesus. If you
hurt them, they want to hurt you back… but Jesus says “turn the other cheek” If
you hurt them, they want to do something mean to you… but Jesus says “bless
those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:28 Our enemy
isn’t Al-Quida, or Iran, or the Russians, or the Chinese. It’s not the
homosexuals or the atheists. It’s not
the worker down at the plant that curses like a banshee. It’s not the person
that says mean things about you behind your back. It’s not the guy that pulled out in front of
you when you were driving down the street and then made some rude gesture. The
enemy is Satan! And if we beat him, we
win the battle. And the ONLY way to beat him is for us to take his captives
away from him. It’s when we turn the hearts of those around us and bring them
to our Jesus to be saved.
This is
the challenge for us as soldiers of Christ.
It’s such a big job, it can be overwhelming, and sometimes we
almost believe that we’re too small to make much of a difference. I mean, after
all, it doesn’t seem like anybody else is doing this and we can feel like we’re
all alone doing this. But it is in the faithfulness of each of
us that God wins this battle. How do you feel about going into the trenches
today? Want to join me?
No comments:
Post a Comment