TEN QUESTIONS JESUS IS ASKING CHRISTIANS
WEEK FIVE
Are we ordinary or peculiar people?
Jesus asks:
Question 5. "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?"
Luke 6:46-49
As a young man I worked as a builder. I studied carpentry framing and worked with masons and builders to frame up new homes. And there's more than one or two very important lessons I learned about building a new home in those times. The one critical phenomenon I discovered early on was how important it was to establish a square and "on the level" (plumb) foundation. I learned that being even a fraction out of square, or slightly off the level bubble at the beginning, when setting the foundation footers, would mean that somewhere, exponentially, those imperfections would show up throughout the rest of the struction in many much more profound ways. Jesus uses this analogy about building foundations to instruct the disciples. Following his sermon on the mount in which he laid out what a blessing it is to be "in Christ". And he asks this question of every disciple, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?"
We're all (those of us who follow Christ) banking on our identity as believers. We're "leaning into it" as they say. We're relying upon Jesus to make the way for us to go. We even go so far as to look at our own Christian principles and faith as our core identity. Jesus is telling us that as ordinary disciples we are meant to be anything but ordinary. We are to become peculiar people, a holy nation of people. People who hear what he wants and build upon that word with obedience to it. Not producing the ordinary, but growing extraordinary fruit. Jesus asks why we don't do what he says, and it should be apparent to us that it's very important to him that we do our best to discover what's expected of us.
Jesus fasted for forty days, prayed day and night, selected disciples from all walks of life, and he did so much more, he sacrificed so much. For him, this ministry was serious business. He didn't just come to earth to help mankind fit in to the cosmic scheme of things, and to feel good about themselves. He's in the transformation business. His business is re-creation, not recreation. Believers are “God’s own special people.” They're peculiar in that way. They're a chosen people, set aside, they're meant for something more.
So what does he expect from us?
Jesus' sermon addressed prayer, justice, care for the needy, handling the religious law, divorce, fasting, judging other people, salvation, and much more. In the end, Jesus made it clear that His followers should live in a noticeably different way than other people because His followers should hold to a much higher standard of conduct.
Let's look at what I believe are the top three action items Jesus focused on most:
1. Love God and love others as you love yourself (including your enemies).
2. Deny yourself and put others first (including your enemies).
3. Be disciples who make disciples, preaching the gospel in every nation (yes...even among your enemies).
I pushed in an awful lot of emphasis on "your enemies", and did so for a reason. Mainly because, no matter what you do for the Lord, (if you're doing it in his name then it's for him), then you must keep in mind---Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord.
What's really important in the Christian life is not so much what we “hear”; it's what we do with what we hear. It's important that our foundational faith is a naturally occurring light in this world. That light shines brightly because it's in our nature to do so. And it's a light that salts the earth with it's truth, transforming its surroundings and flavoring the worldly environments in preparation for new growth and revival.
KEEP IN MIND:
Every tree is known by its fruit. But the vile person will speak villany (Isaiah 32:6) In another word, from evil people come evil deeds.
Jesus is looking for the unfiltered truth from us. He expects honest intentions and actions, and a firm principled faithfulness to His commands. The Church suffers from disciples that have lost their savory peculiarities. Christ's message suffers when the Church isn't on the level. When the Church has been compromised by the cultural norms and conformed to the world's ways, it's lost its saltiness. And it's message will no longer bare good fruit, or remain preserved by that salt for the next generation. It's foundationally critical that the Church build upon square and plumb footers to avoid great imperfections that will weaken the structure and ultimately destroy the entire building.
Our hearts should abound in His love, our minds should grow in the knowledge of his word, and our souls should become one with His Spirit. In this way with discernment we will approve the excellent and pure things of this life so as to please God.
EXTRA CREDIT STUDY:
Jesus "went up on a mountainside" (Matthew 5:1) and gathered His core disciples around Him there on the "mount". The rest of the crowds found places along the side of the hill and at the level place near the bottom in order to hear what Jesus taught His closest followers. I think it was very important that Jesus chose this location. Not just because it was ideal for preaching to a large crowd, but because he could point out the mount of rock and the level ground where the people gathered.
The exact location where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount is unknown -- the Gospels don't make it clear. Tradition names the location as a large hill known as Karn Hattin, located near Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee. There is a modern church nearby called the Church of the Beatitudes. The chosen location for the lesson was instrumental for teaching the chosen people. The message must be delivered and received on the level. How and where the Church presents Christ's message isn't so much about production values, as it's about being on the level with the people.
Let us pray along with Jesus for the Church:
Holy Father, protect my Church by the power of your name...that they may be one as we are one...My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one...Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth...As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. And the Church says, YES, LORD! AMEN! (John 17:11-19)
Now go and do as he has commanded.