Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Matthew 16. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Do you need more trouble and difficulty in your life? Do you get up in the morning and decide: “I am going to look for more troubles and trials today, and possibly even risk my life!”?
- We usually do not think much about one of the most common sense assumptions for our daily living: It is much better to avoid trouble, to let sleeping dogs lie, to make life as easy and comfortable as possible.
- So we think about following Jesus. For many of us this is a matter of deciding that the one bit of trouble we want most to avoid is trouble with God. After all, He is God! To be in trouble with Him would be the worst trouble a human being could have!
- But then we become truly acquainted with the conflict. Not everyone sides with God, or comes to the conclusion that we ought to be at peace with God. And not everyone agrees with God; many think that the problem is His, not ours.
- So, we end up having to think practically about the nature of following Jesus, the nature of conflict in the world, and what “kind” of conflict we would prefer to have to endure. Not that we like conflict or are looking for it, but in view of the fact that it is an inevitable aspect of human life and existence in this world.
- Look at the disciples in our text. They had already put much on the line for Jesus. They had chosen the right side, and had lost respect and place in the religious and social community they lived in. They lost good paying jobs to follow Jesus, the ability to support their larger family and be with them. They were a poor and despised group of misfits.
- Now Jesus raises the stakes and speaks about a horrible event – His ignominious arrest, trial, condemnation, and brutal death. And His resurrection – although this was overlooked by Peter, in His objection.
- What would you have done in Peter’s circumstances? What are we to do when “following Jesus” involves difficult conflict – with the people that we see and interact with daily in real time and real life? When it comes to your life as a Christian are you looking for greater conflict, pain, and sacrifice? Or are you pretty much doing everything you can to reduce and avoid more sacrifice for Jesus?
- This is the issue we must confront and contemplate if we are to be “MINDING THE THINGS OF GOD,” something that Jesus encourages Peter and His other disciples to be doing. So, it is clear that the basic principle is that:
I. Christ And His Disciples Live Sacrificially, Not Selfishly
A. He Gives His Life For Us, For Our Forgiveness And Salvation
Text: “Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
B. So Too We Are Called To Follow Jesus In This Regard, And To Give Our Lives To Him By Serving The Church And Our Fellow Men
Text: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Statement: These are the two choices Jesus outlines. And one or the other will be made – as to the basic nature of our life. Either we will be denying self and giving it to Jesus – to His will, His purposes, and His desires for us; OR we will be doing what we can to preserve our autonomy, our freedom, our independence, and the pursuit of what pleases us, what is easiest for us.
It is obvious as to what comes naturally to us, and what makes most sense. Comfort and ease, privilege and prestige, are always preferable – and it is perfectly and imminently reasonable that this is what human beings should do! It is also easy to see the value, the goodness, the nobility, of giving one’s life to a higher good, for the betterment of others and the world, and to serve and please God in the process. So what answer do we give?
Application: Again, we obviously make the “common sense” choice most of the time! And there are even times when Jesus virtually stands right before us urging us to follow Him, to serve Him, and to sacrifice for Him. This occurs each time we have opportunity to help another human being. It also occurs each time we are encouraged to serve the Church, the purposes of Christ’s kingdom, within the life of the congregation – attending church, teaching, administering affairs of the church, doing chores to take care of the property of the church, or when we pay our bills and have opportunity to write our offering check out to the church.
Thankfully, Jesus has already paid for and taken away the guilt of our many failures, our walking away from Him and serving ourselves. That is the principle – and it applies first and foremost to God Himself, that “the greatest of these is love,” giving of oneself, and serving others. This God has already done for us. What lies before us is opportunity to do likewise, to follow Jesus, to truly live in a godly manner.
Transition: This will not be easy, for as we see:
II. Christ And His People Always Suffer Opposition In The World
Jeremiah suffered much to fulfill his God-given calling:
OT Lesson: “Take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your forbearance take me not away; know that for Your sake I bear reproach.”
Paul also suffered for Christ:
2 Cor. 11:24-28 “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”
Statement: So it should not be surprising to us that we also are called upon to suffer and sacrifice in our life of following Christ and living for His sake and for the sake of His kingdom goals and purposes. It has always been this way. Abel suffered being murdered for his faithfulness to God. Moses suffered for his ministry in the Exodus. The prophets suffered and sacrificed. David suffered and sacrificed. And Jesus suffered and sacrificed. And we are called to follow Jesus, as all of His people are called to do.
Application: So if we are to be “MINDING THE THINGS OF GOD” we must understand these dynamics. The easiest and most natural thing to do is to revert to “common sense” and our selfish “auto-pilot.” And so for us to change, to deny ourselves also involves conflict and pain, inner conflict.
But we know, and have constant assurance, of how God has served us in Christ. We know we have God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness – and eternal life. And this continues to power us in our own choices and decisions in life. And to know these things helps us when we are faced with opportunities to serve Christ, perhaps with suffering, and to sacrifice what we have for the sake of Christ and His mission of love to the world.
Transition: And ultimately:
III. We Must Learn Real And Genuine Love From God’s Great Love For Us
A. So That We Have Real And Genuine Love For Our Fellow Believers
Epistle: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, and serve the Lord. . . . Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
B. Even When There Is A Price To Pay
Epistle: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
C. Also, In Genuinely Loving Our Enemies And Persecutors
Epistle: “Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. . . . Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”
D. Knowing Always That Vengeance, Retribution, And Justice Is Coming
Epistle: “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.”
Text: “For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what He has done.”
Statement: The reward for suffering and sacrificing for Christ is in the doing, in being “god-like” in our behavior. But it is comforting to know that the bitter suffering we experience for following Christ will be addressed – especially when we are in the midst of it! It frees us from hatred, anger, and from repaying evil with evil! It frees us to focus and concentrate on doing good, and being good and kind toward others, and especially on “contributing.” We are able to leave our finances, and our financial security and future, in God’s hands. We are free to give, to live selflessly and sacrificially, focusing on greater purposes and the needs of others.
Application: When we fail, and succumb to common sense and our sinful selfishness, God’s gracious love and forgiveness cover our sin. Jesus did suffer, He was killed, and He did rise again. The more we remember this, and the more we live in His love, the more we are resurrected in spirit to “newness of life.” This growth occurs even when we know exactly how this involves suffering and sacrifice.
Conclusion: There are times when we don’t even want to be “MINDFUL OF THE THINGS OF GOD.” This was certainly the case with Peter, on the occasion described in our text. But we also understand the blessings, the beauty, the godliness of following Jesus, and giving our all for His sake.
We know what our calling is, and as we continue living in His love, mindful of His sacrifice for us, we will grow greatly in “MINDING THE THINGS OF GOD” in the conduct of our lives. God grant such blessedness to each of us, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.