9/1/19 Matthew 16:21-28 “My Good and Faithful Servant”

30 Aug 9/1/19 Matthew 16:21-28 “My Good and Faithful Servant”

9/1/19        Matthew 16:21-28      “My Good and Faithful Servant”

Today’s Scripture should be very familiar to all of us.  Last week we talked of what is meant to be a Christian.  Paul lays all of this out for us in his book to the Romans.  Today we will be looking at what Jesus says on the subject.  I don’t want anyone to hear this and think that they don’t measure up and it is hopeless to try.  This is because there isn’t a person here today that does measure up.  That is the great part of being a Christian.  We cannot measure up to Jesus, but through Him we are able to do our best.  Hopefully, we can look at this passage and find how we are to deny ourselves and bear our crosses while still living a life of this world.  This could be a very tall order.

Rick Gillespie-Mobley tells the story of a man who was constantly complaining about the size of the cross he had to bear.  He was convinced that he had it far more difficult than anyone around him and he made sure that everyone knew about it.  We have probably all known someone like this.  He thought that if he could only talk to God face to face, his problems would be solved.  This went on for some time and finally it got on heaven’s nerves and they sent an angel to the man.  The angel took him to the place in heaven where crosses are assigned.  The angel then said, “All you ever do is complain about the size of your cross.  You can pick any cross in this room to replace the one you have now.”  The man thought that this would be great.

The man walked through the room and found crosses of all sizes.  Some were as big as five story buildings and most were very large.  Finally he came across two crosses that seemed right to him.  One was three feet tall and the other was four feet tall.  He called out to the angel, “This is the one I want.”  He pointed out the four foot cross as he didn’t want to seem immature by picking the smallest one.

The angel said, “Are you sure that is the one you want?”  The man replied, “You don’t know what I have been through.  I’m not carrying one of those big crosses.”  The angel said, “Ok.  But the reason I asked you was because that is the same cross that you had when you came here.”  Maybe and just maybe our lives aren’t as tough as we think.

Before we look at this, let’s start at the beginning of today’s reading where we have Jesus explaining for the first time that He must go back to Jerusalem so that He can be tortured and killed and on the third day rise up again.  This is something new for the disciples.  And of course Peter has to jump up and say, “Never!”  And then Jesus says, “Get behind me Satan.  You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.”

One of the reasons that Peter is so great is that he is just like you and me.  How many times have you told God, “NO!”  I would be willing to guess that it has been quite a few if you are anything like me.  About 15 years ago we decided to become a pastor.  Financially, it was probably not a good thing to do.  But we came because we had said no once before and we knew, without even talking to each other, that this was the right thing to do.  And it has been exactly the right thing to do.  God is good.

I used to get into quite a discussion with my former pastor, Rick, about this very topic.  He would insist that the cost of following Jesus was very high.  And he had all kinds of arguments to back him up.  But I would always insist, and I still do today, that the cost of following Jesus is not nearly as high as the cost of not following Him, because if you don’t follow Him, you will end up in hell.  And I don’t know about you, but that is about as high a price as there can be on anything.

One of the costs that Rick would tell me about is what Jesus says next.  We must deny ourselves.  Jesus had purposely taken the disciples to Caesarea Philippi for a specific reason.  This city was one of the darkest, most sinful cities in the area.  It was totally pagan and they practiced all kinds of horrendous religions that included child sacrifices.  In the passage right before this Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”  Peter answers correctly when he says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Peter is a hero.  He is finally getting it.  Jesus told him that the church would be built on Peter, the Rock.  After all this time with Jesus he is catching on to who Jesus really was.

But wait.  In this passage today he doesn’t realize what Jesus has to do.  He is thinking that Jesus doesn’t have to go to Jerusalem.  “We can avoid the place.  We can go other places where we will be welcome.”  But Jesus cannot deny who he is and what his mission is.  So he rebukes Peter in a most severe fashion.  So Peter has gone from hero to goat in just a few minutes.

Have you ever done this?  I know that I have and I will continue to do dumb things right after I’m feeling a little proud about myself.  We all will.  It is our human nature.  I have done a lot of reading about denying oneself.  Peter had been doing a good job and then he let his guard down a little and Satan came waltzing in.  He had been denying but he couldn’t keep it going just like when he walked on water.

In order to deny yourself is really quite simple to say.  We deny ourselves when we put Jesus Christ in at number one in our lives.  This is such an important concept that it is worth repeating.  You cannot be number one in your life.  Neither can your work or your play.  Your spouse cannot be #1.  Neither can your children or anything about your home life.  In order to have a happy, well rounded life, Jesus Christ has to be #1.  The reason is simple.  When Jesus is number one in your life, then He will in return make your family or spouse or whatever else that is important #1.

This is a terribly hard concept to understand.  We need to remember that we are dealing with God who is outside our realm of understanding.  So you are asking, “How can I have Jesus #1 and my children #1 at the same time.”  This is all part of your faith.  You know that Jesus can do anything and everything.  There is nothing good that Jesus cannot do.  So we should be able to trust Him enough to make Him #1 and see what happens.  I guarantee that you will love the results.

But Pastor Rick was also right about the cost of following Jesus.  It will cost us our lives.  When you come to Jesus, He will make you new.  Your old selves are gone.  Gone is the alcohol problem though it may take a while.  Gone are the lips of gossip though it may take a while.  And gone, again in a while, are the lies and deceptions.  I am not the same person I was in high school.  I am not the same person I was in college.  I am not the same person I was 30 years ago and I praise the Lord for that.  That person died and is gone.  And that is what you all have to do.  You have to shed your old selves and put on the new life in Jesus Christ.

The next thing that Jesus is telling us is to take up our crosses.  Before we get to talking about this I think that we should remember what a cross was in those days.  It wasn’t a symbol in the front of the church.  It wasn’t a piece of jewelry that they would wear with pride.  It was none of the things that we think about today.  It was a symbol of torturous death.  The Romans provided death on the cross for traitors and those who acted in treason towards Rome.  Jesus was hung on the cross by the Romans because He proclaimed himself to be King.  This was treason.  They would also hang these people in very public places so that all could see what would happen if they turned against Rome.

So everyone knew what the cross was and no one talked about it.  Jesus had to carry his own cross to Golgotha.  This is part of what He had to do.  When you take up our cross, it means that you take up a life of sacrifice and suffering.

And often times we misunderstand this.  Many times we think that something in our lives is our cross to bear.  It could be a wayward child, or some disease or your station in life.  These are not your crosses to bear.  These are things of life that you have to take care of.  These are your challenges.  Some of these may come from denying oneself.  But they are not your cross to bear.  These things are just life.

Your cross to bear is something that you must do as a result of following Jesus.  One of my crosses to bear may be some financial things that I might have had if I hadn’t become a minister.  Or it might be all the friends I used to have that have nothing to do with me today.  Or it might be giving up my life in this country to serve in another country.  Or it could even be my life if someone chooses to take it because of my love for Jesus Christ.

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”  If you want to keep on in the sins of this world, then you will lose your eternal life.  This isn’t rocket science folks.  If you are here to pay lip service to Jesus today and then not think of Him again all week, then I would say you have a serious problem.  If you are here because it is just something to do on Sunday morning, then you have a problem.  If, on the other hand, you are here because you are tired and broken from this world, then you are in the right place.  It may be time that you asked Jesus Christ to live inside you and start a great life, a great new life.  Just confess your sins and ask Him to live in your heart.

And for those of you who come here after a long week of serving Jesus, this is the right place to find a little rest.  Hopefully, we can recharge your spiritual batteries as we worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Hopefully what I say will be enough to get you through to next Sunday.  That is the best I can do!

And finally we get to the part that I was trying to tell Pastor Rick.  What good will you do if you serve this world well and lose your soul?  That is the cost that I was referring to earlier.  What good are you doing if you are doing everything great by our world standards?  You are to use Jesus as your example and go into the world giving food to the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, and giving love to all you see in the name of Jesus.  These things and similar things are your crosses to bear.  They are what you need to be doing.

Jesus didn’t come to you so that you could have a nice place to go on Sunday mornings.  He didn’t come to you so you could quote Scripture to each other.  He didn’t come so you could point out the needy.  He came to you to be a servant.  And what a great servant He was!  And you are to be serving also.

In the next few of weeks, let’s see if you can find some needy people in your community.  And then, let’s invite them to church or this service.  And if they are really needy and don’t want to come, then contact me and somehow we will go to them.  You will meet them where ever they are and you will serve them.  If you keep this in mind, you will be denying yourselves and taking up your cross.  This will be a good thing.

I would like to close with a story from Pastor Victor Meyer about a graduating class from seminary.  This was the last time this class would be together as they left for their fields of service.  One graduate in particular stood out as a great, great student.  But Ed was going deep into the heart of Appalachia to a very poor mining town.  His compensation would small.  There were health risks also. The nearest doctor was two hours away and disease and sickness were common.  Plus the people of the area didn’t like strangers.  He would have to take the time to earn their trust and respect.

But Ed had a lot going for him.  He was very skilled and sensitive and could have served a church anywhere.  He could have asked for a nice suburban charge.  He didn’t have to settle for this poverty and the ridicule that he got from his father.  Ed was asked why he had chosen this course for his ministry and life.  “Because,” he said.  “I believe Jesus meant it when he said that when I find real life, I’ll lose many things that I enjoy and take for granted.  But I expect to gain a fuller, richer life anyhow, when I consider what Christ gave up for us and the people in poverty.  Do I have another choice?”

And as Christians, you have no choice either.  In your prayer time this week, ask Jesus to help you in ways to reach out to someone.  We all like to get compliments from time to time and I always try to thank you for them when I get them from you.  But when you get a “well done my good and faithful servant” from Jesus, it is like the most wonderful feeling that there can be.  This is the way to be a Christian.  Jesus loves you so much that He offers you ways to come closer to Him.  Accept this love in a way that is pleasing to Him.  This is why you can thank Jesus for his love and especially for his grace.  And thank you Jesus for first loving us. Let’s pray.