STEADY IN THE STORM
October 17, 2024
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) never fails to speak to areas of my life that I need to bring into submission to His Lordship.
Sometimes, what He said in that Sermon speaks to my temptation toward faithless independence, at other times to my need for purity of heart and mind, and at other times to my need for courage.
The Greatest Sermon Ever is a masterfully designed collection of TIMELESS truths about what life with Jesus is to look like. In my most recent read through the Sermon, I heard Jesus shouting a TIMELY truth from the conclusion.
At the end, Jesus painted a picture of two houses representing two people. The first house / life was built on the foundation of His words (as found in the Sermon). It was solid and stable. The other house / life, the one NOT built on His words, was like a house built on shifting sand.
The two houses may have been identical in size and shape. On a bright, sunshiny day, we might not notice any difference between the two houses.
But the point of Jesus’ “Parable of the Two Houses” is that all days aren’t bright and sunny. Storms come to every house. And storms (think of hurricanes Helene and Milton) reveal the quality of a house’s foundation.
In the Sermon, from beginning to end, Jesus spoke to those who were following Him. The Sermon was an invitation to listeners who had believed in Him for ETERNAL LIFE to follow Him to experience ABUNDANT LIFE.
His conclusion to the Sermon warns us that storms will strike. His point is that if we build our lives on the solid rock of His teaching about what true blessedness is (the Beatitudes), follow His new way into radical righteousness, and steadfastly trust God, our “house” will stand when the storm hits.
If we don’t – and it is possible that we might not – our lives will collapse under the pressure of life’s storms.
I’m writing because a storm is coming.
As you know, at Northwest we don’t “do” politics. We steer clear of blue and red because to become embroiled in politics would distract us from our God-ordained mission. That mission is to be all about Jesus. Take next steps with Jesus and help others do the same.
We take our marching orders from Jesus, happily address moral and ethical issues that the Bible addresses AND find great comfort in knowing that God belongs to no political party.
On November 5th, our national elections will determine who will be our next president and what will be the makeup of the next Senate and House of Representatives. Down-ballot races will determine the leadership in the state and local realms.
From what I’m reading and hearing, millions of Americans are living in dread fear of what might happen as a result of these elections. This is an equal opportunity fear, affecting left and right, red and blue, activists on all sides, and sideline-sitters. My observations tell me that the vast majority of Americans are terrified of the other side winning.
As followers of Jesus, we have a unique opportunity in this politically stormy season to do two things.
ONE, we can follow Jesus’ words from the Sermon and [MATTHEW 6:33] SEEK FIRST [GOD’S] KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jesus spoke those words while urging His followers to trust God in troubled times. If we do this in this coming storm, the house of our lives will “NOT FALL.” We will be stable and solid.
TWO, we can invite others to find in Jesus the peace and joy that comes when we build our lives on His words and ways.
Some of these “OTHERS” will be your brothers and sisters in Christ who are afraid because they aren’t seeking God’s kingdom first. Invite them back to a place of trust in God.
Other “OTHERS” don’t know Jesus at all. They need to hear His invitation, [JOHN 3:16] FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, SO THAT EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. You can invite these to believe in this Jesus, the One who died and rose again – for them.
In this masterful Sermon, Jesus spoke about food and clothing (symbolic of everything we need in life) and said this: [MATTHEW 6:25] “…DO NOT BE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR LIFE.”
The antidote to Worried Life Syndrome is to build our lives on His timeless truths. Let’s show a watching world the power and beauty of Jesus by living for Him in whatever storms may come.
Yours…His,
Dave