What is Our Motivation Towards God?

In 1952, a very brave and strong young lady waded into the Pacific Ocean. Florence Chadwick was determined to break another record. To date, no woman had ever crossed the channel between Catalina Island and the California coast. Long-distance swimming wasn't new to Florence. She was a seasoned long-distance competitor. In fact, she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. But this was a 26-mile stretch. That's a marathon distance. This was a 26-mile stretch, and the conditions that July morning were not optimal. Not only was the water incredibly cold, but a thick blanket of fog had settled in.

To make matters worse, there were sharks who trailed her course and had to be driven off several times. Florence's coach and family followed along in a small boat, cheering her on. Go for it, Florence! You can do it! But it was foggy. Really foggy. Even when she had been swimming for 15 hours, Florence still couldn't see the shoreline. A bit discouraged and very tired, she finally took her last stroke, telling her family she just couldn't go on. She quit.

They all consoled Florence as they pulled her aboard, but she collapsed with exhaustion.

Well, as it turned out, Florence quit much too soon that cold July morning. She swam 25.5 miles, but because she couldn't see the end, couldn't see the coast, Florence fell short of her goal by just a half a mile. Had she only known, only half a mile. But, by the way, Florence didn't give up. She gave it another try just two months after her first attempt. She became the first woman in history to swim the 26-mile channel. She set a new speed record, as well, along the way. That is from the Leadership Journal. In the past two sermons, we have examined the motivation that Christians should have, as described by Jesus in his sermon on the Mount.

Through life, you and I are going to have challenges, to say. I think that's taking that phrase very lightly. We almost daily, definitely monthly and yearly, we battle challenges in our life. We set a course to do something, and something comes in the way, just like the swim reference Chadwick did. But you and I, we don't have the option to quit. We don't have the option to take our eyes off the end goal and to resign to the fact that we just can't go on. Again, the message that we've looked at over the past two weeks from Jesus Christ doesn't have a simple focus of to do this or don't do that. But this message goes much deeper in evaluating the reason and the heart behind the things we do in our daily life. The focus of this message is on that mindset that we are to have towards all things that he talks about in this sermon. It's this mindset that will be in the kingdom of God. We closed out last week's sermon looking at Matthew 5 and verse 48, and I'll just read it here for you. Therefore, you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Of course, complete perfection in this life cannot be achieved because of our physical body and our physical mind. But we are to strive for spiritual maturity in how we handle our lives and in what we allow to motivate our lives on a daily basis.

The sermon given by Jesus beginning in Matthew 5 is all about the heart of the Christian believer, but it's also about the heart of the person who will be in the kingdom of God.

So again, as we have time this morning to dive into God's word, we'll look at the sermon on the Mount and we'll again consider the same question. What is the motivation for our lives? But before we get back to the message that Jesus shared or this recorded in the book of Matthew, let's first be reminded of the promise made by God to give mankind a changed heart because it's this heart that aids the Christian believer in staying true to the Course. Let's open in the Old Testament to Jeremiah 31 verse 31.

The prophet Jeremiah was inspired to capture, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people. We know when God first gave the law the Ten Commandments they were written on tablets of stone and in a symbolic way the hearts of the Israelites became as those same tablets, hard, stony hearts that were unwilling to continue to follow God in the way that he asked them to and that he committed himself to as their husband, as he said. Yet they were not faithful in their following of him and so he said I will change this. I will put my law in their minds and I will write it on their hearts. Let's flip next just briefly to Ezekiel 36 and verse 26 because it gives more insight to what God would do. Flip forward a couple books. Ezekiel 36 verse 26.

This time the prophet Ezekiel was inspired to capture in chapter 36 verse 26, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. Sometimes I wonder if Ezekiel absolutely understood the depth of what God was saying here that he would give his spirit because it was such a foreign concept that a God of any God would be willing to give of his own nature, his own mindset, his own spirit to his creation. I wonder sometimes if Ezekiel completely understood the depth of what God was inspiring here. But this is that promise that we have. This is those lives that have now those sitting here with God's spirit that have been forever changed in a way that would not be possible if it was not for God giving his spirit to his people.

This new heart not only leads us to live better lives with others as we looked at last week, but this new heart also leads the way we approach God individually. This new heart gives us the ability to emulate God and become spiritually mature as we were commanded to become in Matthew 5 and verse 48. But let's go ahead and flip back to the sermon on the Mount this time, picking it up in chapter 6. So Matthew chapter 6.

And we'll start at the beginning here, verse 1.

Matthew chapter 6. And as we again dive into the sermon, let's again consider what is our motivation. Matthew 6 verse 1. This is an amazing passage. Could you imagine you're doing a good deed today and you're carrying around a trumpet so everybody can see you doing your good deed? It's kind of an extreme thought, especially today, that somebody would do this to draw their attention to themselves. But how many times do we see people do almost the exact thing?

We see it on Facebook, we see it in our news media, we see it in our celebrities, we see it in our athletes. And it's not all a bad thing to do something good for your community and to be acknowledged for it. But what's the heart behind some of these things that we do see people do? Christ here is saying that this is the extent of a reward. If you are Christian and this is the motivation you have is to be seen, that to have glory for men, that that's it.

That's where the reward stops. There is no reward in heaven if that's the motivation in our hearts is to be seen by men, to receive the praise, to receive the glory. Christ is saying that that's where your reward stops. It doesn't go any further. And so we must ask our questions. Is our reward to be revered by men or to know that we have pleased God going on in verse 3? But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

I like that imagery there. Don't let your left hand know what the right hand is doing. Don't ponder and focus so much on what you're doing that your mind gets pulled into where you start elevating yourself up, thinking too highly of yourself, or maybe desiring that attention.

So He's saying just kind of do it and be done with it and move on with your life. And He says, and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. Next, Jesus shares another example of public versus private behavior. Matthew 6 and verse 5, And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Again, the extent of their reward to be seen by men. What an empty reward when you really think about, as a reward goes, and the potential we have as a reward of children of God. What an empty reward just to be seen by men. Verse 6, But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as heathens do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like them, for your Father knows the things that you have need before you ask them. There's so much to unpack from here that we don't... just this one passage here we could blow out into a full sermon.

But this whole idea and concept again of that private prayer going to our Father that He doesn't want vain repetition. Imagine a child and parent relationship or an aunt and uncle with nephews and nieces. You don't just want the same conversation every single time, whether it be praise or whether it be asking for things. God desires an intimate relationship with each of us, and so vain repetition, the use of these many words, isn't going to do anything in God's sight.

And because He says even, don't be like them, for your Father knows the things you have need of before you even ask them. That's such a comforting aspect, because sometimes in our prayers, and with so many things going on, and what do I pray for, who do I pray for when they're going through their struggles, sometimes our prayers can become at times feel, at least for me, they can feel overwhelming.

There's so much to cover with God. I've got so many time things that are going on in life I want to praise Him for, because He's helped in so many ways. I have some things I need to talk to Him about as well, because some struggles or some thoughts that I'm dealing with, or praying for how many countless people that are going through challenges.

Sometimes our prayers can feel, at least I can speak for myself, where they feel a little bit overwhelming at times, but God knows before we even ask the needs that we have in our lives, and He knows the intent of our hearts. And this is that kind of that concept of we can be in continual prayer throughout our days. It doesn't have to be just 45 minutes or 30 minutes at the beginning or at the end of the day, or both times.

We can be in a continual praising and thankful mindset with God as we go through our day when these things come in and pop into our minds. And to continue this teaching on prayer, Jesus then gives us the model prayer, as some have referred to.

Again, as we consider this next passage, let's consider our motivation. This time, the motivation of our prayer to God. Verse 9, In this manner therefore pray, O Father in heaven, hallowed, or honored, or holy, be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This prayer begins with a motivation to worship the one true God of the entire universe. And then it continues with an acknowledgement that God has a plan, and His plan will be accomplished both in the physical and spiritual existence. Verse 11, as the prayer goes on, says, Give us this day our daily bread.

And it's a comforting aspect of this praise and prayer to God because God could have just said, You need to just spend your prayer time with me, praising me for how great I am. That sounds like some of the Greek gods that I studied back in school, that everything was about them. Everything was about their majesty, their power, their goodness, their everything, and these feeble, weak human beings. You don't even come to me with your problems. But that's not what we hear with pagan gods. That's what we hear with these made-up gods. But this is not what we see in Scripture. God, in this beautiful prayer, this model prayer says it's okay to come to God with our needs and our requests before Him. Again, similar to a parent or child relationship, or aunts and uncles with nephews and nieces, we love it when they come to us to thank us for the things that we do to help out, make their life easier, take them to school, drop them off. There's a huge part of our heart that feels good when somebody shows appreciation for the time and the sacrifice we make, and God feels no different. But we also feel wonderful when those who we support then thank us and also let us know what they need in their life. As a parent or as a relative of other children, we want to know that they need something different, that they're struggling with this, or that they need support in another area of their life. And so it is just beautiful that God has invited us into a personal relationship to Him where we can praise Him, lift Him on high, of course, and thank Him for everything He does. But also, to have that intimate conversation with the Creator of the universe, He invites us into this relationship with Him, and it's a beautiful, beautiful relationship that He's offered to us. But our prayers, again, can only be motivated by ourselves. It can't be the only thing that we spend time in in our prayers. This would be, of course, a wrong approach.

We see this next in the model prayers. We'll see this later in the chapter. But let's go ahead and continue with Matthew 6 and verse 12. He says, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. We're going to come back to this one in a moment. So we'll continue on. Verse 13. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

So we read last week, temptation does not come from God, but God may allow us to be tested by temptation in our life. This is why we should pray to God for that protection from the tempter, from Satan. And this can also be that quick prayer that we pray in the instance that temptation enters in. There are so many times that we, in this continual mindset of prayer with God, that we can call and ask for Him, I need help right now with this. And it doesn't have to be a formal prayer that we drop down to our knees. It could be driving in the car. It could be standing in line. It could be having a conversation with someone where we just internally pause for a split second and ask for His divine intervention. And that's the beauty of this relationship, that God is always there, always on His throne, always available, that we can quickly reach out and quickly ask for His help in time of need.

Continuing after the prayer, continuing on with the thought, though, Jesus, the next two verses, builds on an aspect of that prayer. Matthew 6 verse 14 says, For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Remember the passage from the prayer, and forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors.

The passage we read last week in Matthew 5 and verse 38 talked about how we're not to seek vengeance or to retaliate against another person. And in fact, we are to love our enemies, and to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who spitefully use us or persecute us.

I shared last week that that's a hard mindset to maintain. I'll be the first one to acknowledge that when we're hurt, when it cuts deep, and then to turn around and follow Scripture as we know we're supposed to, but to actually practice it, of forgiving someone when something like that hurts, but Jesus builds on this thought by saying here in the model prayer that we will be forgiven by God to the measure that we forgive others who cause us hurt or harm. That's an important concept to remember because as humans, we want to treat others who treat us well. We want to treat them well who treat us well. This is what fairness is often about in our lives, but what if God treated us fairly? What is it that you and I deserve for how we have obeyed and loved God?

What if God treated us fairly in our lives? Would we get the compassion, the mercy, the love?

Romans 5 verse 8 is a passage that speaks to this. Romans 5 and verse 8.

The apostle Paul here shines some light on the state that you and I were in when our Lord and Savior gave his life for you and me. Romans 5 and verse 8, he says, but God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Verse 10, for if when we were enemies, that sounds like an exaggeration, doesn't it? That we were enemies of God? But the truth be told, that's exactly what we were before we had the covering of Christ's sacrifice for our sins. Our sins created a separation between God and us. Our sins went against his holy scripture. Maybe it was done out of ignorance, but nonetheless, our sins have always separated us from God. And so, it is not an exaggeration that we were enemies. So, for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. That example, again, as Christ said in this sermon that we looked at last week and throughout this whole Matthew 5, 6, and 7, we must be willing to forgive those who have cut us to the core and have hurt us deeply, because we go to that same God and ask for forgiveness. We ask for his mercy in our own lives. When we don't deserve it, we haven't done anything to bring it in. We haven't lived a stellar life. We don't every day get up and live this perfect life as we live for the 24 hours that he gives us each day. We recognize that we all know that, and God doesn't want us to beat ourselves over the head about it, but he wants us to acknowledge what is the motivation. Is it to hold everybody else to the standard of fairness that we think we deserve, or is it to go much further than that and offer this forgiveness and this mercy to those who do hurt us deeply at times? Why? Because we want God to forgive us as well when we hurt him deeply.

Again, let's go back to Matthew 6, this time in verse 16. Because Jesus pivots here, again, back to the example of the religious leaders, and points to their motivation and the proper motivation that we are to have in this next passage. Matthew 6 and verse 16. Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with the sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head into wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret place, and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. It's a repetition, or this phrase is repeated again by God, this way that we will be rewarded by the Father, whether it's how we serve in the community, whether how we serve others, that our deeds are not elevated and where everybody can see it, or how we pray. We don't stand around in public where people can see, wow, that's a pious person. Look how much they pray. Every day they come out to the street corner and they pray. Nor, when we fast, do we elevate ourselves and let everybody know, because our faces all disfigured, we're walking around in a morning type, I'm so exhausted because I'm fasting today. God doesn't, it's not about, because any reward that we get for mankind, any way that mankind lifts us up, that's the extent, he's saying, of a reward. There is no reward from the Father at that point, because of the heart, the motivation that was behind it. Continuing on verse 19, he says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For there, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. Again, we must pause and consider what is it that we allow to be the focus in our life? Is it material wealth? Is it things that we can acquire?

Or, as verse 22 references, things that we can internalize into our hearts and minds that are earthly, things that our vision should be pointed towards, like power, control. It's not just that I want to have the nice house, the nice sports car, or these things that a large bank account, but often people will go after power. They will go after control.

They'll go after success at any cost. Are these those mindsets that we have to... this is that part of the mindset that we have to consider. Of course, having wealth or being a manager of people is not a sin of itself, but again, what is the motivation behind acquiring those things? The next verse is a warning of the darkness that can enter in with the wrong motivation. Verse 23, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

And if therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon is also translated, or could be translated, treasure, wealth, riches, or again, material things. We can't serve God and also serve the physical. It just doesn't work in that way that we're trying to acquire all these things, so two just don't go hand in hand. So then what is the proper approach and motivation to have in life?

Verse 25, therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on. It's not life more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds in the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more value than they? Reminds me of all the squirrels that I see running around in the yards right now, grabbing the nuts and storing them away.

And they'll never find them. That's part of God's plan, so the trees grow and everything else. But they tear up my whole landscape the next spring, looking for things. And I go out and I tell them, there's nothing there. You didn't put anything here this year. But isn't that such a way, a beautiful way, when we consider that God looks after all the animals, the squirrels, the birds? We could go down the whole list. If you have a garden, He takes care of the groundhogs, the rabbits that come in and eat all your goodies.

There are so many ways that God provides for these animals, and yet they are not made in His image. Not a single animal is made in God's image, just you and me, just His creation. And so if He cares for them, as He says, as Christ says, if He cares for them and makes sure their needs are taken care of, how much greater will He care for you and for me? Verse 27, Which of you, by worrying, can add one cubic to his stature?

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not a raid like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or what shall we wear?

For after all these things, the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Again, like that prayer, without even uttering all the words in the prayer, God already knows what our needs are and where we're at in life. And He reminds us here again, because He knows what our physical needs are. Verse 33, and this is how we open the sermon series two Sabbaths ago, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. I'll be the first to admit that 2020 has been a crazy year of thoughts coming in, times worrisome thoughts. I think we can all acknowledge that we've had concern this year about our lives or about the events going on.

And it's truly been such a strange year that even the most senior among us have all acknowledged to me at different times that they've never seen something like this in their entire life. But you and I, we know that we haven't been affected like everyone else in society around us. You hear about the the the just the news reports. You hear about the just the concern in people's faith of where's this country going to go? What's going to happen to my health?

What's going to happen to my relatives? What's going to happen? Will this disease hang around forever? Will it ever go away? There's all these questions that many people ponder and are literally and honestly bothered by. And yet you and I have not been bothered or affected to the degree because we know our great God is looking after each of us.

And he has a plan that will unfold in his time. Personally, I mean, I think we could all say we have no idea what kind of shape we would be in if it wasn't for having God right now in our lives.

I can't even let my mind go too far down that path because where would we be right now? We'd be just like everything else that we're seeing. We'd be like our neighbors who are distressed, those who are dealing with anxiety and depression simply because of what we've all gone through.

But because God has shown us and called us to understand his word and that we have faith that he's got this, that we can be comforted knowing that it's all going to be okay. In this next passage, Jesus again pivots away from a focus on self to a focus on others. Matthew 7 and verse 1, judge not that you be not judged, for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Again, it's similar to that prayer. If we extend mercy and if we're merciful with others, that we'll receive that mercy from God. He's saying it in a similar way for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Judgment here in this verse means to condemn, saying that we are not to go around condemning others to stand in judgment. It reminds me, it just hit me kind of right now. It's kind of like a sibling. You grew up with siblings, and did any of your siblings ever cast judgment on you, stand next to mom or dad, and wag their finger at you too, or say that you're going to get in trouble, and I'm going to make sure you pay for this one, and they stand there next to mom and dad, just with the big smile, because you're now getting in trouble. This would be like us, if we stood next to Christ and was casting judgment today, while in a physical person, casting judgment on others and condemning them for their bad actions, yet forgetting where we stand before God, which we'll get to in a minute. This issue of condemning and judging others was a major problem with the religious leaders. Let's look at Luke 18 and verse 9. Christ shares a parable in Luke 18, but it's because of those who were listening to him at this time share this, that he wanted to make a point, make sure that they heard what he was, the teaching that was behind this parable. Luke 18 and verse 9, and it says, and he spoke this parable, to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and they despised others. So this was the ones he was speaking to here.

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector, and the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you that I am not like the other men. Or in my example, God, I thank you I'm not like my brother.

Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breath, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Again, this is an important reminder that it's easy for us in life to stand back and to judge another person, to say, I cannot believe this person is struggling so much with fill in the blank. Whatever it is that you feel that you've seen or you've noticed in their life, I can't believe this person is dealing so much with fill in the blank, because can't they just see the problem? Can't they see they're blinded to this? I need to make sure that they can see this. I need to help them understand, and I'm so thankful that I don't have this problem, God. But yet, that same attitude we can forget that if we were standing in their shoes and they were examining our lives, there's some things they could definitely say about us as well. Got them. So thankful I'm not like them because fill in the blank, because the truth of the matter is we all fall short, so short of the standard that God has given us. And when we acknowledge that we fall equally as short as others, then judgment goes out the window, and that's the beauty of it. Judgment leaves. It's because we acknowledge that we are no better than anybody else in this physical world, that we all fall short. We all have our challenges. And then humility enters in. Judgment goes out the window. Humility comes in. And that we can pray for our friend that we see. Maybe it's not that we ignore it. God has given us a spirit of discernment, which we'll look at here in a moment. So we can acknowledge right from wrong, but we can't go to the degree of casting judgment because that belongs to God. Again, this was a major problem with the religious leaders as they possess the high level of self-righteousness. They judged others harshly without seeing themselves clearly. So therefore, we must be different. You put in your notes Romans 12 and verse 3. Paul says, For I say, through the grace given to me, that everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly. Word soberly can mean of sound mind or of right mind. To think of yourself rightly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Again, that's Romans 12 and verse 3.

Continuing on in Matthew 7 and verse 3, he says, And why do you look at the spec in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me remove the spec from your eye, and look, a plank is in your own eye. Hypocrite, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the spec from your brother's eye. Now, while we are not to judge one another to the point of condemnation, God does, though, expect us to use his spirit of discernment to determine right from wrong. But again, what is our motivation? To stand in judgment of others or to identify right from wrong? Let's turn to Philippians 1 and verse 9.

To the church in Philippi, Paul shares this in Philippians 1 verse 9.

And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. So what is the knowledge? The knowledge of, of course, is God's word, but then discerning right from wrong according to God's word, that your love may abound still more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. How do we properly discern? You can put Hebrews 4 verse 12 in your notes. Hebrews 4 verse 12.

So both of these passages, both in Hebrews and Philippians, we see that it's God's word, which is the tool that helps us to discern properly, but that tool needs to be used first and foremost in ourselves. This desire that we have to let God's word live powerfully within us and to evaluate our life. Are we sincere? Are we without offense? Are we living an excellent life?

Because if not, then how are we going to be able to properly discern what other people are doing in their life? Appreciate it, Mr. Hobbes' sermonette today. Considering our role in the future, what will we be doing? We'll be teaching. We'll be serving. We'll be helping. But if we don't know how to discern our own life and our coming and our going, our waking and our sweeping, if we can't even do that today, though, how can we then help others see the errors in their ways, to understand greater God's plan, to see the love and understand the teachings of Jesus Christ and the foundation, as he referred to, that they need to build their lives on? We must be discerning, first and foremost, of our own lives today, using God's Word as his guide.

There are so many scriptures, simply so many scriptures, that speak to discernment, but none of them go to the point of condemning another person, not a single one. That level of judgment, again, rests completely in the hands of God. So again, what should motivate us first and foremost? It should be to judge and discern our own actions and our behaviors in the heart that is behind the things that you and I do. Going on with the verb Matthew, let's turn back to Matthew 7 and verse 6.

Do not give, he says here in verse 6, what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you into pieces. Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Or what man is there among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him? Again, going back to the model prayer, give us this day our daily bread. God wants to know what is going on in our lives, our concerns, even if he already knows 100% what they are. He still wants that relationship with us. But more importantly than requesting physical things that perish in time, we should ask God to open doors of greater spiritual blessings, like more complete knowledge of his wisdom, more patience, more kindness, more love. These are, and so many other things, will not perish, but will stay with us forever as we continue to grow to spiritual maturity.

Again, Matthew 7, verse 11, if you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

God is that perfect Father again, whose love is also perfected and knows exactly what to grant us and what not to bring into our lives at times.

It's kind of, again, you have a child who wants ice cream, driving past the ice cream booth and says, can we have ice cream? There are times, yes, we can pull over and have ice cream. It's a wonderful treat. We're big ice cream fans in our family.

But then when the same child wakes up the next morning and asks for ice cream for breakfast?

No. We can't have ice cream for breakfast. The item itself wasn't bad or wrong. It was the timing. It was what's best for the child. And so God views us the same way. There are times where he answers our prayers. He gives us things, even if it's something as simple as ice cream would be to a child. Yet there are other times where God knows better. As that perfect Father, what our needs are. And there are times that his answer is the answer that we need to find peace with.

Because he is the one who knows our ins and outs. Verse 12, Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them. For this is the law and the prophets. What's beautiful about this is it summarizes the entirety of the Bible recorded during Christ time. The law and the prophets. The first five books of the Bible and then all the prophet writings and the writings of kings and chronicles, all of that. Everything is summarized into this one command by Jesus. Whatever you want men to do to you, do also for them. For this is the law and the prophets. He goes on to say, Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way which leads to life. And there are few who find it. As Christ begins wrapping up his teaching, he begins addressing the responsibility that a person has to choose life. The choice will not be forced on us to choose life. It will be our choice to allow God into our hearts and to submit to his motivation for our lives, and to submit to our, or to submit to our human nature and the motivations that are more of our own nature than of God's spirit. There's a choice that you and I have always known that we've had. And because the gate which leads to life is narrow, it doesn't mean that it's difficult to become a Christian, or that we walk a disadvantaged life.

Narrow is not a bad thing, but rather there is only one way to enter to eternal life. That is through Jesus Christ and his offering for our lives, and that's through living God's way. There's only one avenue, one narrow door, which leads to eternal life. Because we know the broad path, there are many ways that our lives can lead to destruction. I mean, we've lived life long enough to know what they are. We don't need to go through a list of them right now. But all those other avenues, all those other paths, will never bring happiness and joy and contentment the way that God's kingdom will. There's only one narrow gate. There's only one way to eternal life. It's not more difficult that we're disadvantaged or we're set back, or other people are living lives and having fun times right now. It's not that type of difficult. It just shows that to walk this way, we have to choose to walk this way. And the difficult part is then saying, no, to our human nature. No, I'm not going to walk these other paths. That's the difficult path.

Verse 15, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Again, the choice is in our lap. It says, you will know them by their fruits, though. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them. While we must, through this passage, be instructed, and we know we're instructed, we must look out for anyone who teaches God's word incorrectly or work to lead people in an understanding that does not fit with scripture.

There's an internal application to this passage as well. From the Life Application Study Bible, it says, some self-professed athletes can talk a great game, but that tells you nothing about their athletic skills. Jesus exposed those people who sounded righteous but had no personal relationship with him. God is more concerned about our walk than our talk. He wants us to do right, not just to say the right words. Again, it's about a choice to not only know God, but then to choose to follow it fully and completely in our life. In each of these messages over the last three weeks, I've asked us to consider the motivation for our lives. What is your and my motivation? A focus that Jesus shared in the Sermon on the Mount is to picture the Kingdom of God and all that it represents from each of the Beatitudes individually, each one pointing to the Kingdom of God. From each of the you have heard that it was said, each one of those pointing to the Kingdom of God. And from each of the items we looked at again, a character trait, a spiritual level, an understanding that will be in the Kingdom of God. Ultimately, at the end of our lives, some will have prepared themselves for the Kingdom, and the truth is actually that some will not.

God is the one who sits on the Judgment Seat and we will each have to stand before him. This is the reality that Jesus shares at the end of this sermon here in Matthew 7, verse 21.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven. That will being the development of these character attributes that we have looked at in the Sermons over the past three weeks. These character traits mentioned in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. And the fruit of God's Spirit must be growing and be seen in our lives, or we are not living to the potential that God has called us to. Going on verse 22, he says, Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? Haven't we done all these amazing things and gave you the glory and the credit? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Those who do not follow his teachings and his law. He's saying, you who practice lawlessness. We could go through and apply so much of what we've read through here as being God's law. It's something else that stands out apart from in this sermon, as it all points back to God's authority and his law that he has given to us. So if we're not practicing what we have looked at in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, we have to seriously consider where do we go from here to change that motivation that we have. Those who heard this message from Christ, they were astonished at all that they had shared, that all that he had shared with them in this teaching from Christ. We'll see this in just a moment. They were blown away by the fullness of this teaching because it was unlike anything they had ever heard before and it blew off the doors of any previous teaching that they had been given in their life. And with this, Jesus leaves them with a final choice to build a life on him or to build a life on a failed foundation that will not weather the storms of life.

Verse 24 of Matthew 7, Therefore, whoever hears these saints of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these saints of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.

Again, Mr. Hobbes' sermon today spoke about this foundation that we have in Christ.

Actually, I had in my notes 1 Corinthians 3 verse 11, No other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

We all know that there's only one foundation in life. There's only one path to walk. There's only one way to go. Building on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ is a choice we each get to make. No one will force us to build on a solid foundation. People will not come and inspect. They will not come into your life and inspect your foundation.

Unlike building a house and the inspector wants to come and make sure it was done properly, no one's going to come into your life and inspect your foundation. We are each responsible for the foundation in our own life. Looking back at Matthew 7, both builders here in this last instruction from Christ, both builders built homes. Both builders had common goals in their life.

They both wanted a good place to protect themselves and their families.

And from the outside, both homes, they appeared very similar, maybe even identical.

But structurally, both were very much different. Again, what is our motivation? To determine our own better foundation that we want to build our lives on, or are we motivated to build on the only true foundation anyone can build upon? And that is Jesus Christ. Verse 28, And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teachings. For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

And Matthew 8, verse 1, And when he had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And the first message of this series I shared an illustration about the church that President Lincoln attended a few blocks away from the White House when he served as president. The president was known to attend weeknight services from time to time and to listen to the sermon which was shared. An aspect of that illustration was a story attributed to Bruce Larson, which I'll read again. It says, As the pastor finished his message and the people began to leave, the president stood quietly and straightened his coat and took his hat in hand and began to leave. The aide stopped him and said, What did you think of the sermon, Mr. President? He said, I thought the sermon was carefully thought through and eloquently delivered. The aide said, You thought it was a great sermon? He said, No. I thought it had failed. He failed? Well, how? Why? To which the president replied, Because he did not ask of us something great.

In Christ's Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asked all believers of something fantastically great. He asked you and me to do something amazingly great. Jesus asked every believer to consider what is the motivation behind the things we do in our life. Is it to earn salvation through our righteousness? No. Is it to follow a righteousness checklist of do's and don'ts? It's not that either.

The motivation of the Christian has to be to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, which entails living all the aspects that Christ gave us in this powerful sermon.

We must keep the kingdom of God and his righteousness as a vision and as an end goal. This must be the motivation for our lives. And if it truly is, we can look forward to hearing from our Lord and Savior, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world.