10.09.2011 How to Live Like Jesus – Conspiracies and Secret Societies.

SermonAudio

Speak to us, Lord. We make ourselves available to You this morning. May Your Spirit fill our hearts, this message, and everything else that takes place here this morning. Thank You that You have blessed us in so many ways – may it continue as we look at Your word. Help us to listen with true and clean and pure and correct hearts. May we yield to You. Thank You for the opportunity to worship You – as You speak through song to us. Continue to speak. We are grateful to be together – to hear Your word, freely. Release Your power into our hearts.

We are continuing our series on how to Live as Jesus Lived.
Jesus – Conspiracies and Secret Societies. I love that movie – Conspiracy Theory – Mel Gibson – great movie – I think – I liked it – it probably has terrible stuff in it – so don’t watch it…
We are looking at each of the Gospels – and Matthew focuses his attention on the Kingdom of Heaven.
When Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of God, He is speaking about the same thing. Out of respect for the Jews who would not SAY the name of God – He would refer to the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew is written primarily to a Jewish audience.
“The Kingdom of heaven is at hand” … The Kingdom of Heaven is upon you… - This is not simply the place we go when we die – this is God’s reign over all things – in heaven, earth, throughout time – in Jesus, that reign of God is breaking into the world – and God is beginning the process of setting up that kingdom in this world in the life of Jesus Christ – there is a change that is about to happen because Christ has entered the world. That change starts with Christ – but will not be finalized until the second time Jesus enters this world. But we also know that kingdom is going on right now and we are part of that. We are disciples – agents – ambassadors – employees (though we don’t get paid much HERE!) – of that Kingdom.
Jesus uses phrases – the kingdom of heaven is like… - and He gives an illustration of what it is like – real life situations that the people He was talking about would understand.
He uses many agricultural illustrations – since about 90% of the Greco Roman culture.
In the middle of this – He talks about the mustard seed – the smallest of all seeds (for them, it was) – but when it grows and sprouts, it becomes the largest plant in the garden.
It is like leaven – a lump of dough big enough to feed your family for a month – the leaven is microscopic, but fills the bread.
He is saying – when it first starts – it starts small, insignificant – hidden. When Jesus was born, there was no fanfare – well, there was, but only a few.
Matt. 13 – Jesus speaks many parables – like a mustard seed, the Kingdom starts small – almost secret – that few know about. Jesus is telling the disciples – you are part of this conspiracy – I speak in parables because I want YOU to be part of this – and the others won’t get it. While a mustard seed starts small and is hidden, it will become pervasive and influential.
When we think of the life of Jesus, we look at it from this side – but from their side – even his ministry starts in obscure little Galilee. Jesus never goes to the largest cities in Galilee – it would be like Him being in NE Ohio – and going to Alliance, and Ashtabula, Medina, but never going to Cleveland or Akron.
Eventually, He does go to Jerusalem, and is crucified – and He is back to having a small band of believers.
But these few followers are like a mustard seed – starting small, but then exploding throughout the region. The seed is Christ. The seed is where the power lies. And there is enough power in that seed- it is pervasive, it has tremendous influence to change things forever.
Matt. 13: 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some [seeds] fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 "And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 "And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 "And others fell on the good soil, and ^yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
He tells a story about a sower sowing seed. Actually, this is a comparison of soils. The seed is the Word of God – Christ is being sown in the world –and it is a comparison and contrast in soils.
When He explains it in 19-22, He explains why several of them fail. These soils can be compared to people. We all know people in each of these categories – some are rock hard and want nothing to do with Christ. We know others who maybe were excited about church for a time, but drift away for whatever reason…
23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
The seed must be received by good soil. The power is all in the seed, but it must connect with soil that is ready to receive it – and something amazing happens – fruit is produced – massive amounts.
He is showing – even though it is tiny, there is so much power that takes place when Christ enters a life and that life begins to experience significant transformation. It must take place in the life that is ready to receive it. Are YOU good soil? Have you had your life transformed by the Word of God? That is the question – where are you in the parable? Where do you fit? Are you bearing fruit? And then, are you continuing to bear fruit?
In the kingdom, the conversions that matter are the ones confirmed by fruitful service to Christ. That is what is expected – people are changed and transformed when they receive the message of the gospel.
Quick caution: We are saved by grace – not by bearing fruit – but by God’s grace – the simple message of the gospel – yes, we are saved by grace, but we are saved TO bear fruit. We are to be transformed to the point of faith, then we are BEING transformed to live out this life. We go through a continual transformation. Paul said, work out your salvation with faith and trembling. James said, I will show you my faith by what I do.
We understand – that transformation starts off small, and it takes time to develop, like a seed in our lives. All disciples of the kingdom will run into their struggles – and sometimes, like Peter, and John and those guys, they are going to blow it, to fall, and then get up again to live in that transforming power. No matter how much we fail, we have the power of the word in our hearts – His Spirit living in us to transform our lives and to produce 100/60/30 fold. In Palestine, at this time, the average tree bore 7 fold – so 30 fold – even the least, is four times greater than average.
The point is – are YOU being transformed by the word? Too often, we look at others, and say – they are not! That is one of the rocky ones!
I saw a documentary on C.S. Lewis – he grew up in a Christian home, but rejected it- he was an atheist – rejecting Christ – but the last chapter was not written in his life –
Have I been transformed – and am I being transformed? There is enormous power – there is power in this seed – in Jesus – to transform lives. Some of us have been able to see and experience that in our own lives.
Mike Maffei – I am going to do a bit of interview with Mike – and I’ll be the male
Last October – I started coming to this church. I was just informed by my wife that she was leaving – and within ten minutes she was gone. I didn’t see it coming – she was gone. Within a short time – I had this amazing – something was calling me that I needed to make a change in my life. I picked up my coat – mid evening – and came down here- reached for the door – it was open – came upstairs
MM: I was in the men’s room – so I didn’t hear him come in – and he scared the daylights out of me!
Mike Maffei – I was broken – lost – and Pastor Mike saw that – I told him what was going on and I needed to make a change – and he helped me come to Christ – and walked me through the steps.
When he did that – I felt – I felt Him pulling on me and wanting me to get to know Him so much – even though I didn’t know how to process what was going on. I didn’t know how to read the Bible – other things had consumed all my time – for me it was cars – not my wife, not my kids. She would ask, and I would say I would get to it later. When my kids were little – knowing she needed help – I could’ve gotten up in the middle of the night and changed a diaper, but I didn’t. All these other things consumed my life –and that was wrong. To make a long story short – our marriage was already on shaky ground – we didn’t have a solid foundation of Christ. I felt bad – I tried to save my marriage – but I didn’t know at the time what my wife had done – but I got answers from outside the home – and when I found out what she had been doing for years – the old me –something bad would have happened, but when I found the Lord – He showed me patience. Knowing how to get me through this. I’m raising kids on my own – things she used to do – taking them to school, helping with homework – when I came to God – I know He only gives as much as I can handle – but He brought a lot at once – taking them to school, helping with homework – and I didn’t know how to ask for help. I was doing all this stuff on my own – so I asked the Lord to show me the way – how to be a good man and a good father. I’ve come a long long way in a year. Many have seen my changes – I’m not bitter, I don’t have hatred in my heart – I let all that go. I was an iron worker for many years – I went to the Trade Centers as a search and rescue iron worker. My career ended – I was cutting a beam in Tower One – and it smashed me in the face and injured my back. Now I am there for my children – my kids knew nothing about the Lord – and now they are picking up the kids’ bible and reading it on their own. Now I put the Lord before everything else. Now people who know me don’t know how to act around me – because I was hard and only thought of myself.
I’m 42 years old – if I could go back 20 years – as who I am now – I’d do it in a second. Pastor Mike has helped me so much. If you are a married couple – even if it is going well – take time to spend with one another and tell each other how much you love each other – You’ve gotta let your spouse know how much they mean – take time for the Lord – ask Him to help you have a stronger marriage.
My kids see the change in me now – and I have so much love in my heart – if I can help one struggling marriage be saved – that would mean so much to me.
To me – at the end of the day – I know that the Lord has forgiven me for everything I have done – and I know I’m going to be okay. If I can give that to my kids and anyone else along the way – I’ll do that. I appreciate you taking the time to listen.
I appreciate Mike sharing his story – but God has changed Mike. I remember when he came to our first men’s group – I think it was that very week. And you read this parable – and think –was that a rocky soil thing? But now, after a year, it is obvious that it is a good soil 30/60/100 thing. Mike helps out here – putting the fence up – and as a dad – he has been really transformed. His oldest son told him this week – “Dad, I am so proud of you – and I love you so much – because of what you’ve become – you never used to play ball with me – and now you do and that means so much to me.” Christ changes lives. When we are good soil – God is able to come in and transform us. This is not about religion. Our lives are changed and the people we know and love see it. We need to believe in the power that is in that seed – the power of Christ – when it is unleashed. There is only one thing that prevents it from being unleashed – and that is the soil. We have to be good soil – to allow it to grow in our hearts. Is the Word of God STILL transforming you? Is it growing and filling everything around you? Let’s pray:
Lord, I thank You for Mike’s testimony – to see how You can change any person – when You enter the heart and life – that life changes at that moment. Thank You for that. That story begins and ends with Christ. That seed is planted in our hearts and explodes with growth and transformation – I ask that it continue – that we live a transformed life everyday – to be transformed into your image – may that be true of us. May we allow that to happen in our souls – may we yield to the power of that seed – Christ in us – the hope of glory.