Live as Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Matthew 5:11-16

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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.

Live as Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

She was faithfully doing her work as a mother-to-be. As my wife and I went on our daily walks we could see her in the exact same spot every time: on a little peninsula by a flowing stream, sitting on a nest she had made, protecting the eggs she had laid. She was a Canada goose, and we wondered how long it would be before her goslings would be hatched; we wondered how many there would be.

But one day a couple of weeks ago as we got close to where the mother goose and her nest were, we could hear her calling out in anguish. She was standing next to her nest, very distraught. There were eggs shells in her nest. But there were no goslings. Either a predator had snatched them or they had been swept away by the nearby river that was swollen and flowing quickly because of a rain storm during the night.

In any case, the anguished cries of the mother goose announced to anyone who would listen that the loss of her goslings was a tragedy.

This world is filled with tragedies, every day. And the cause of so many of these tragedies is sinful mankind. The hearts of humans are inclined towards evil all the time. Human beings do what is truly evil, breaking God’s righteous commandments, including the commandment that protects human life: “You shall not murder.” God is the one who creates human life; God reserves the right to end human life. Murder is the intentional or careless taking of human life and includes the killing of a baby in his or her mother’s womb and the so-called “mercy killing” of people who are old or sick or suffering. Who mourns the tragic taking of human life? Who will bring it to the attention of the world that such things are happening? Who will speak to people’s consciences with the word of God, calling people to repentance? Jesus’s followers will. Why? Because they know the Lord, who he has changed their hearts and minds by his word and by his Holy Spirit.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us how to live as his disciples in this sinful world. He encourages us to remember how blessed we are and to serve as salt and light.

“Live as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ!”

Part One: Remembering how blessed you are

The Gospel of Matthew is the continuation of a true story, a story that began in Old Testament times. God promised Adam and Eve that a Savior would rescue fallen mankind from sin, death, and hell. God promised Abraham that the Savior of all people would come from his descendants. God promised King David that the Savior would be an eternal king from his royal line.

The Gospel of Matthew announces that Jesus Christ is that promised Savior of all. God the Father sent him into the world. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He was Immanuel—God with us. When he preached and taught the people, he spoke with the authority of God. He came with the authority to do even more: to lay down his life to save people from their sins and to take up his life again. Jesus is the Risen and Ascended Savior. When he comes again, Jesus will come with the authority to judge all people.

As we ponder these words from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, let’s remember that he speaks these words to us with divine authority.

Many people would deny that authority. They think that Jesus was just a human being, just one philosopher or one preacher among many. They would say that Jesus’s teaching should be taken with a grain of salt or that it is fine to reject what he said, especially if it does not agree with societal values or modern thinking. They pick and choose the parts of Jesus’s teaching they like and pass over the parts that they don’t like.

The way Matthew introduces this sermon is significant: “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.” The scene is similar to what happened in the book of Exodus when God gathered the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. There God spoke to his chosen people—the people he had rescued out of Egypt—and revealed his name to them.

Jesus also speaks as God. The Son of God came to reveal his Father to us—his righteousness and his love. Jesus came to rescue us out of sin, death, and hell and to guide us in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with eight “blessed are” statements called the beatitudes. In the first four, Jesus states how poor and needy his people were by nature. But Jesus has made them heirs of heaven. In the next four, Jesus says what his disciples will do. They will serve and be persecuted.

After those eight statements, Jesus speaks directly and personally to his disciples:

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We should not be surprised when people speak falsely against us and say all kinds of evil against. It is not us that they are rejecting, but God. Jesus tells us that we can rejoice when this happens, because it is evidence that we belong to God and not to this sinful world, which is perishing. We have an inheritance kept in heaven for us—and it will never perish, spoil, or fade (1 Peter 1).

So, dear friends, as we think about our lives in this world, let’s remember how blessed we are. God has changed our hearts so that we love what he loves and hate what he hates. We pray to him and call on him for help. We love him and his word. We honor those God has place over us. We protect life of all human beings. We honor marriage and family as he designed it. We flee from sexual immorality. We receive our daily bread with thankful hearts and use what we have in service to others. We speak well of others; we speak the truth in love. We fight against our own sinful desires, living lives of repentance. We don’t do these things perfectly, but we strive to do them because God richly and daily forgives our sins because of Jesus and because he empowers us by his Holy Spirit to struggle against our own sinful desires, to fight the fight of faith, and to live in a way that honors our Father in heaven.

We are blessed, now and forever. The Holy Spirit convinces us that Jesus is the risen Savior who is with us always, to the very end of the age. As we gather in his name, he is with us. He speaks to us by his word and invites us to a holy meal in which he assures us that our sins are forgiven and that we will be guests at his banquet in heaven.

So, dear friends, live as Jesus’s disciples, remembering how blessed you are.

Part Two: Serving as salt and light

We are blessed to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have many reasons to rejoice and give thanks. But we also have reasons to mourn and groan and cry out in anguish like that Canada goose. Our battle against our own sinful nature is difficult. The consequences of sin, including death, are hard to bear. The sinfulness of this world is difficult to see. We are living in a world that is in rebellion against the Creator.

Life might be easier for Jesus’s disciples, if they remain quiet and hidden in this world. But God has a better plan and purpose for us: we are salt and light. We are here to preserve the world and to shine the light of God’s Word in a dark world—by how we live and by what we say.

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.”

Jesus talks about salt losing its saltiness or a lamp being hidden under a bowl because he understands how difficult it will be for us to live as his disciples and proclaim his word in this sinful world. The people of this world might call us arrogant or narrow-minded, even though we are humbly doing what God has called us to do and we are speaking the words that he gave us to say. We need to pray that God would guide and bless us, that he would help us to speak the truth in love, that all we do would be for our Father’s glory. We pray that God would use our humble proclamation of his word to change hearts, to lead people out of darkness into the light of Christ. We pray that the Lord would make the light of the good news about Jesus to shine in their hearts as well. “For God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2). That is why he makes us to be salt and light in this world.

So, should we go around like that Canada goose, crying out in anguish, telling everyone how sinful they are? The Apostle Peter who heard the Sermon on the Mount and who preached in Jerusalem on Pentecost, was guided by the Holy Spirit Peter to teach believers in the early Christian church how to live in a hostile environment:

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

As you live in one of the most socially liberal developed countries in the world, let your light shine. Walk in God’s ways. Worship and serve the Lord with joy. Be kind and gentle to others. Serve them, especially the lowly and the weak, without expectation of anything in return. Recognize that the dignity of people is not dependent on their abilities or their health, but on the God who created them and redeemed them and wants to dwell with them. Imitate your heavenly Father, who loves the prisoner, the hungry, the blind, the oppressed, those who are bowed down, and all the righteous (Psalm 146).  People may notice your attitude, your faith, your love, and your hope. They may say things like: “How do you do it?” Or “Why don’t you complain more?” Or “What is your secret?” They might say, “I have to hand it to you.” Statements like that give you a chance to tell people about our Father in heaven, about the Savior at his right hand, and about the Holy Spirit who makes our bodies his holy temples. Engage in conversations with people. Be prepared to tell them about the Lord and his plan of salvation.

Live as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and serving as salt and light are not things we can do by our own wisdom or strength or zeal. And we don’t have to. By his word, God gives us the armor we need: a shield of faith, a belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness, a helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Our feet are fitted with gospel readiness, and we pray in the Spirit on all occasions.

Our service as salt and light in this sinful world is temporary. But our blessings and our joy as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ are eternal. Because our Savior lives, we too will live. Amen.

God's Grace Is More Glorious than the Grand Canyon

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the  train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
          the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

God’s Grace Is More Glorious than the Grand Canyon

This may seem like a strange question, but have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? If so, was it worth it? Seth Myers hosts a podcast with his brother called Family Trips where they explore different families’ experiences on holiday together. I think he does this for every guest that comes on the podcast, one of – if not the last question he asks is, “Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon, and if so, was it worth it?”

Seth is a skeptic. He doesn’t believe it’s worth the hype. He’s convinced that a picture would be more than enough to capture the grandeur of the Grand Canyon, which would mean that you wouldn’t have to travel so far out of your way to stand in the exact same place where millions of people have stood before just so that you could see with your own eyes the exact same thing you could see in high definition at home on a screen.

Respectfully, I disagree and so do, I think, the many millions of people who do make the trip every year to see the Grand Canyon with their own eyes. There are some things that a camera just can’t capture. Maybe you’ve had that experience yourself. You’re driving through Del Bonita on the Montana border and you see the Rocky Mountain range rise out of the prairie. You’re blown away by its beauty. You pull the car over. You take your phone out. You snap the picture that you think you’ll print out and hang on your wall at home, but then you look at your screen and it doesn’t look like anything.

There are some views that just defy description. There are some images that are so beautiful you can’t find words to match. There are some sights that can only be seen, and cannot be shared unless you were there.

That’s what we read about in Isaiah’s prophecy this morning. Isaiah says,

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.[1]

Does it strike you as it does me that Isaiah starts by saying, “I saw the Lord,” and then proceeds to describe everything but the Lord? You hear about his robe. You hear about the temple and the throne. You get more description of the seraphim than the Lord. But who cares about the angels? God is right there! So few people have seen him and lived to tell the tale. Tell us what God looks like!

But Isaiah doesn’t. He tells us so much that we need to know about God, but some things are complex beyond understanding. Some things are too beautiful for words to describe. And what Isaiah does tell us is enough to leave us slack-jawed and starry-eyed more than you’d be if you stood at the rim of the Grand Canyon.

The first thing Isaiah draws our attention to is God’s grandeur – high, exalted, on a throne; he is massive in size and importance. There are angels whose sole occupation is to fly around praising his name. In fact, he is even so glorious that these holy angels – who have never committed a sin and have no reason for guilt or shame – cover their faces and their feet as an expression of modesty in his presence.

The first thing Isaiah notices and draws our attention to is God’s grandeur. The second thing Isaiah notices is his significant lack of grandeur or glory.

Have you ever gone to one of those Instagram worthy hotspots and you want your own picture of Peyto Lake or Lake Louise but then you look at the picture you took and it’s not the same as what you saw online? The glory was right there. It’s not that you caught the lake on a bad day. It’s that you’re not as good a photographer – or you don’t have as good a camera or you don’t know how to use it as well as someone else. So, despite having seen this amazing view, you walk away a little disappointed because you didn’t get the keepsake that you wanted and you know that every time you show that picture you’re going to have to say, “It looks even better than this in person.”

When we’re in the presence of glory or greatness, it can be equal parts awe inspiring and guilt inducing at the same time.

Maybe it’s not a landscape. Maybe it’s a person. You have a classmate who is just better than you. You have a coworker or a competitor who just does a better job than you. It can be inspiring. It can make you want to be better. But it can also be deflating and defeating.

Imagine what Isaiah must have been feeling standing in the presence of the holy God. We don’t have to wonder. He tells us:

“Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”[2]

Isaiah had just witnessed what clean lips do. They praise the Lord perfectly and perpetually. The angels were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”[3]

Isaiah’s lips didn’t always do that. Standing before the holy, sinless, perfect Lord God Almighty, Isaiah suddenly remembered all the hasty words he spoke out of pride or anger. He remembered all the lies and the slander that didn’t seem all that important at the time, but now… He remembered all the moments when the right word properly spoken would have made a world of difference, but it never escaped his lips.

Can you relate? I know I can. I haven’t stood in the throne room of God, but my unclean lips and life rob me of sleep at night. It’s a terrifying prospect to stand at the brink of such glorious holiness, and Isaiah was rightly afraid. It was a powerful reminder of how unworthy he really was. There was one thing that didn’t fit in this picture and it was Isaiah. He was the only unholy thing in it.

But as glorious as the sight of God was – beautiful beyond description, complex beyond understanding – what was even more glorious on that occasion than God’s holiness was his graciousness.

Can you imagine what must have been going through Isaiah’s mind after this? A holy, unworldly angel unlike anything you had ever seen or dreamed of comes flying at you holding a burning coal in a set of tongs and rushing toward your face. Isaiah was terrified. I would have been too. But far from being a judgment or a punishment, that angel tenderly (if also painfully) applied that holy coal at the precise place where Isaiah felt his guilt the most.

Isaiah didn’t melt for standing in the Lord’s presence. He wasn’t vaporized by God’s glory. His guilt didn’t disqualify him from being there. His guilt was forgiven, cleansed, cauterized out of him. He need not fear the holy God before him. And although Isaiah doesn’t describe his facial features for us, a little extra Bible study will reveal some details about that holy God that we never could have known or imagined. After quoting Isaiah twice in two sentences, the Apostle John says:

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.[4]

When Isaiah saw the Lord, he was actually looking at Jesus, i.e. the second member of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God, the Saviour of the world. And when we realize this, what the angel did for Isaiah takes on even greater significance.

It was Jesus, our Saviour, who sent a messenger directly, personally to Isaiah with an announcement of forgiveness and salvation. And the means to convey that message is significant too – a coal from the altar. That’s where sacrifices are made to pay for sin. That’s what Jesus did to forgive yours. He sacrificed himself – not on an altar, but on the cross – to take away your guilt and to atone for your sin.

And, Christian, this is so important. We all have guilt. We are all unworthy. We have all done things, said things, that are not only unkind but unchristian. We have all failed to make the most out of every opportunity that God has given us to praise his name in our own lives, let alone proclaim that name to others. We have all fallen short and failed to measure up to the holy standard of our holy God.

But what God does here for Isaiah is so beautiful. He doesn’t say, “It’s OK. Don’t worry about. You did your best. I understand.” In fact he emphasizes the severity of your sin by drawing your attention to the sacrifice your sin necessitated. But then he displays his grace in applying that sacrifice to you personally, individually in the same way he did for Isaiah.

No, there will be no communal cauterization today, but think about what God has given you to touch your lips and take away your guilt. For many of you, that’s his own body and blood given and poured out for the forgiveness of your sins. For most of you, that’s his Holy Spirit whom he poured out on you along with the waters of your baptism. For all of you, that’s his holy Word that enters through your ears and takes residence in your heart, so that you can know that this holy, perfect, sinless, glorious God loves and cares about and forgives a sinner like you.

And not only that – not only does God take away your guilt and assure of his love – he rights the wrong. He gives you strength where you were weak. He gives you purpose and direction where you have faltered and wandered. And he does it in an equally tender, compassionate, gracious way:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”[5]

That’s what God said to Isaiah, who was self-conscious about his sins of speech. Not only did God cleanse his lips, he gave him opportunity to willingly use those lips for God’s glory and for the benefit of other people.

God does that for you too. He takes away your guilt, and gives you opportunity to put your formerly sinful, now forgiven body parts to use for his glory and for the benefit of other people. To speak. To praise his name in your own life and to proclaim that name to others. That’s not an office or occupation that you earn by years of hard work and experience. It’s a gift that gives to each and every one of you, purely out of his grace and forgiveness.

Whom shall God send? And who will go for him?

By his grace and power and by the working of his Holy Spirit in your heart, may your daily answer be: “Here am I. Send me!” Amen.

[1] Isaiah 6:1,2

[2] Isaiah 6:5

[3] Isaiah 6:3

[4] John 12:41

[5] Isaiah 6:8

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