No Two Ways About It

Greeneville Seventh-day Adventist Church: As a kid, I had the privilege of growing up on what started out as a little dirt road with a dead end. The only house beyond ours at the time was on the next hill. This is where my uncle and his family built their house. Moved there when I was four. Helped dad build the house. He told me at least I was helping. In later years, when more houses were built, that little one mile, actually a little less than a mile road gained quite a connection to the Greenville Seventh-day Adventist Church. And this was in Oudewa, Tennessee. Our neighbors on the other side of, let's see, our neighbors on the other side, At the foot of the hill, just a little ways down, had the last name of Haney, brother of our Larry Haney. He used to take me to elementary school in the morning, along with his own kids, and my mother would pick us up. Across the road in a horse pasture that I used to play in was later built the home of the Ashhimes, brother to our Richard Ashheim. friend of my dad. Further down the road lived the crows. Annette Crow is the daughter of our Ann Gaffney. Annette and her husband liked to walk up the road and they always liked the house I was raised in because it sat on top of the hill while theirs was down in the valley. So when my parents died, they bought it. Across the street from their old house on that road lived a good friend of Jean O'Dell. I didn't know that until the other day. She called me out of the blue. She says, yeah, I was in her wedding. All of this on this little road, so connected. And maybe some of you are going to come up, ⁓ yeah, I grew up on that road. I don't know. But so many connections, so many neighbors to learn about. that are connected here. But the only neighbors I was interested in as a kid was my uncle's family, my three cousins, Karen, Kathy, and Chris, primarily the oldest, Karen, because she was closest in age, a little bit younger. And we would play for hours on end. We loved exploring the woods and the kudzu jungle where I pretended to know how to use my compass to get us through. Maybe that was training for the mission field. Ticks and chiggers were our best friends. They knew us well and intimately. Pokeberries made great war paint to my mother's constant horror as she did my laundry and tried to scrub me up before we'd go to town to visit respectable folks. But in the midst of all the fun, no matter where I was in my mind, in the plains of the American West, or the woods of Daniel Boone, or even in the jungles of Africa, there was one sound that brought all imagination to a halt. the sound of this. I told Ann I was joining the bell choir. She said, I'll pray for you. I have my own instrument right here. That sound would ring over hills and valleys. I didn't have helicopter parents. You could go anywhere you wanted, do anything you wanted, as long as you were within sound of the bell. And I had a choice when the bell rang. And the choice was this, keep doing my own thing in my own way in my own time or miss the meal that my mother had prepared. or give the only answer that was acceptable to her. And I mean only answer. And it was a one word answer and I had to give it and I had to give it so she could hear it. And that was, it was not the word what. Uh-uh. It was coming. And I better be there in a minute. I didn't resent it. Cream corn, mashed potatoes, black eyed peas. A thick slice of fresh tomato straight from the garden and a cast iron skillet full of mom's famous cornbread. She made cornbread many times a week because dad said, it's not a meal unless there's cornbread on the table. So it was worth leaving whatever games Karen and I had unfinished. A question has been much on my mind and much in my prayers. How to be ready when we hear the dinner bell? How to be ready when Jesus calls us home? Because if I'm observing the events of the world correctly, bells ringing. So what should my priorities be? What should my answer be? That's what Jesus is talking about on the Sermon on the Mount. What our priorities should be for His second coming. It's not just about what you believe. It's not just about what you say. It's about what you do in connection with who you really are. How that shines through your life. Through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of Christian character as we saw with Beatitudes, Christian influence as we saw with Salt and Light, Christian righteousness with what means to keep the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law, Christian piety with the way ⁓ a life is lived along with what one believes in, and Christian goals and priorities with how we handle our treasures and fears, how a Christian is supposed to look at his two major relationships. with each other and with God. And we ended that sermon with the golden rule found in Matthew 7, 12, so in everything do to others what you would have them do to you. For this sums up the law and the prophets. Turn with me to Matthew 7 once again. Here Jesus starts the conclusion of his sermon, which contains three illustrations. Each is showing us two things, two gates, two trees, two builders. Let's see what they have in common and how they fit in the context of this sermon. Start with verse 13 in Matthew 7. 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. In that day there were often two gates in the city wall. One was the main gate that, okay, this is where you went through with your cart loaded down with stuff or your animals loaded as a beast of burden. and you went through the big gate. But then there was a narrow one that was just big enough for an individual to come through. When I was a student at Southern, I signed up to go on a European study tour. I had to pack for six and a half weeks, and I wasn't used to this kind of international travel. so what do you do? You go out and you buy the biggest suitcase you can find. Because it's got a whole six and a half weeks worth of stuff. And I bought the biggest suitcase, and I stuffed it. And it was a soft-sided one, so you could stuff it there. And okay, I have enough stuff to last me six and a half weeks. And I hated it. ⁓ I am so tired of trying to get this thing onto a train. I am so tired of trying to drag this up a spiral staircase of an old hotel. And the wheels broke off on the first day. Ten years later, Susan and I decided to take a three-week trip to Europe. On our budget, we'd be sleeping in train stations and youth hostels. But I had learned my lesson. So each of us bought these. Matching luggage. Carry-on size. It can turn into a backpack. And no matter how long we're gone, what we're doing, if it doesn't fit in here, it doesn't go. We don't check luggage unless we go on school mission trip. But no, this is it. I've packed this thing with a suit and snorkeling gear and clothes for a month. It's so much better to be with less baggage. But my dream... is to do away with this. I told Susan my dream is to be able to get on a plane without even a cell phone. That would be nice. I'm tired of carrying that thing around. It gets too heavy for me. I'm an old man now. I don't want to carry that thing. I want to just get on a plane. They'd think I was a terrorist, wouldn't they? ⁓ he didn't bring any baggage, huh? What's he doing here? But no, I don't want to carry anything and I can't wait to the one destination that I have that doesn't even require my passport. Well, actually it does. Passport in the blood of Jesus that gets me through those gates, the straight and narrow gate. That's what this story is about. On the broad path there's room for your baggage. Are you tired of baggage? ⁓ we are so loaded down. Our own opinions, our own ideas, our own ways of doing things, some of us love these things. Our own ideas are so heavily weighted and important to our contentment. If I don't get my way, I'm upset. I'm not happy. In fact, I'm angry. I'm going to make a speech to our new board members. do it every time we get a new board. Bring your opinions and leave them when you go home. We want to hear it, but we want it to impact the whole decision. And if you don't get your way, it's okay. The Holy Spirit's doing that. Our opinions are special and of great value to us if we're not careful. Our ways of doing things become the only way of doing things if we're not careful. And if this is the case, then the wide way is for you, because you'll need it to get all your baggage in. But the narrow way only leaves room for doing things God's way. Leaving self behind, leaving pride behind, allowing God full control, allowing him to work through you while you cast your burden on him. Doesn't he say that? His yoke is easy and his burden is heavy. Did I get that right? His burdens lie. It's lighter than that carry-on bag! The next illustration is similar. at Matthew 7.15. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their what? Root. Okay. 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. Remember the last time in the series we talked about what Jesus says about being judgmental and critical. But we also saw that we are to use the power of discernment. That's what's being talked about here. A wolf in sheep's clothing is a good disguise, but the wolf's disguise has a flaw. He may look like a sheep, but he doesn't act like one. He acts like a wolf and seeks to divide and scatter the flock with how he acts. He often teaches error with a smile on his face, or he may even teach the truth, but doesn't live it. The fruits of his life will give him a way as someone not to trust or to follow. Otherwise, people are easily led astray by their disguise without seeing the fruit of their teaching. Jesus continues in verse 21. Notice that the value of the fruit tree is not determined by how it looks, but by what it does. The fruit that is produced. Verse 21 says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of who? My Father in heaven. Many will say to me that day, and this blows my mind. Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? You would think somebody with a gift of prophecy is going to heaven, right? Wait, wait, wait. Have we not prophesied in your name? Cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name. This is all good stuff. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. depart from me you who practice lawlessness. So even though they do much, they are lawless, are without love. God's law is the law of what? Good. The law of love. Thus God does not have an intimate knowing, not relationship. ⁓ what is that? Okay, remember in the Bible it says an Adam knew Eve his wife and they bore a child. Are you bearing fruit from your knowing? intimate relationship with God. We also see this concept in Paul's writings. We heard it in scripture reading from 1 Corinthians 13, which is called the love chapter. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or clanging cymbal. That makes a lot of noise. I heard today, I'm sorry, I hear things in the hall. Kind of glad the brass isn't here, they drowned out the woodwinds. Because brass is so loud. Can't help it? this is, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I've become very loud. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. You mean you can have all faith? and be nothing without love. And though I bestow my goods and feed the poor, and though I work at the CSC and I give my body to be burned. Give my body to be burned? That means being a martyr. If you do it without love, says it profits me nothing. Wow, I always thought, know, hey, I'm willing to give my life for the Lord. That's ultimate. But you know what? There are people in this world with enough willpower to do just that. I'm stubborn. In fact, it can even be called pride. Look at what I can do for you, It appears amazing, and they can even fool themselves, but it's not the real deal. And as we've seen throughout Jesus' sermon, he is not just concerned with what you say you believe. It has to be lived out in our lives in the right way for the right reasons. With his power to make our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees and out of our love for him, for each other. There are people in this world with less truth that are living more Christ-like lives than those with more truth. These are the kind of people who will look for more ways to be like Jesus until they finally understand, you love me, keep my commandments. Those people are out there. We need to go get them. The third illustration is the one we seem to hear about the most. Matthew 7, 24. Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock." I love that song. No, we're not going to sing that. And the rain descended, the flood came, and the wind blew and beat on the house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended and the flood came and the winds blew and beat on the house and it fell. And great was its fall. Two doers, but only one does the right thing. They're both building a house. It looks the same, but only one has a foundation on the rock. And only one will stand in days of turmoil. Jesus shows two ways of doing things, but there are no two ways about it. There's only one path. There's only one fruit. There's only one rock. There's only one right answer to the dinner bell. I did this just to wake you up. No, I'm not joining. There's only one answer to this. Coming. I am coming home. And I am going to be so ready to eat creamed corn, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, and a thick slice of fresh tomato, and a golden skillet full of golden cornbread at that banqueting table. Don't get too hungry. Sermon's not over yet. The next two verses are easily glossed over. But they actually hold the key to not only the Sermon on the Mount, but to so much more. Verse 28, and so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having what? Authority and not as the who? As the scribe. Okay, one could read this to me. Jesus acted like he knew what he was talking about, right? That's way I looked at it, Jesus, wow, he really knows what he's talking about. That's more than that. As I was studying this passage about a week and a half ago, the word authority kept pestering me. Look deeper. I did. You'd be amazed at what I found. In Jesus' day, there were two kinds of rabbis. The most typical and plentiful were the common rabbis or Torah teachers. The Bible refers to them as scribes. Where did we just hear that word? He knows more than the scribes. So they were called Torah teachers because they knew the Torah forwards and backwards and were very good at teaching it. However, they didn't leave home and take groups of disciples around with them. They had a local ministry at the local synagogue and that's where people knew. Yep, that's our rabbi right there. That's our scribe. And he could teach only accepted doctrine. He couldn't come up with his own interpretation or anything new and different. So rarer was a rabbi called Smika. Okay, there's your Hebrew word. It's also pronounced simi ka. I'll stick with Smika. The Hebrew word for authority. They were given an unusual recognition of status if you had Smika. As someone so gifted at what they did that they had God's stamp of approval on them. Two other rabbis that had Shmika had to confer this title on you and say that you too had God's seal of approval and that your authority came from God himself. This word is so full of meaning. We don't have time to dig it all out today or ever probably. But it's the same word used in Deuteronomy when Moses transferred his authority to Joshua, says, he gave him his Shmuka. So now Joshua is in charge. It's used to also transfer guilt to the head of a lamb before. There's a transfer. Now this lamb has the authority to die in my place. ⁓ wow, you could go deeper and deeper and deeper. It's so exciting. It has strong ordination meanings as well. If you had Shemekah, you could, around the age of 30, when the typical training was completed, then you could travel and take a group of disciples with you. John the Baptizer had Shemekah. Remember, he's traveling around. He has disciples with him. And they're wondering, who is this man with this authority? You also have the right and authority to make new interpretations of the law because of Shmika. For example, Torah teachers would say, these are what the regular rabbis would say, it is written. Or rabbi so and so says. But a rabbi with Shmika would say, you've heard it said, but I say. to you and then give a new and different interpretation of the law of Moses. Have you heard these words before? In Jesus' time, there were very few rabbis with Shmika. Historians believe there were only about a dozen or so in the 100 years before and after Jesus. You've probably heard of Hillel and Shammai, famous rabbis. They had Shmika. These rabbis also had mastered the entire Old Testament scriptures. They received their authority by the laying on of hands from two other rabbis with the same authority, or Shmika. So which kind of rabbi was Jesus? Of course, one was Shemekah. Remember the crowd was amazed at his teachings? Jesus taught as one with authority. Shemekah in the Old Testament, Exocian in the New Testament in Greek. That's the equivalent. And this was a much higher level rabbi than the regular Torah teachers. So Jesus taught. new teachings which was the right of only rabbis with Shemekah. In Matthew 5 Jesus said, have heard it said, but I say to you, he said this several times, he added to the meeting, you have heard, thou shalt not kill. I say, don't even hate. A regular rabbi wouldn't have been able to say that. Only one with authority. Where did he get his Shmika from? Scripture seems to indicate that Jesus received his Shmika from John the Baptist who was given authority from God. The scribes posed this question to Jesus. You say, wait a minute, there's got to be two. We'll get to that. The scribes, they posed this question to Jesus in Mark 11. This is after Jesus has cleared out the temple and Jesus has made all these teachings and verse 27 of Mark 11 says then they came again to Jerusalem and as he was walking in the temple the chief priests and scribes and the elders came to him and they said to him by what authority Are you doing these things and? Who gave you this authority in other words who laid hands on you? Who gave you Shmika or Exaurian? But Jesus answered and said to them, I also will ask you one question and then answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men? Answer me. ⁓ you know what he's getting at? Who gave John Shmika? Who gave him authority to baptize and to change things around a bit in your minds? And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we say from heaven, he will say, then why don't you believe him? But if we say from men, they feared the people, for all counted John do have been a prophet indeed. So they answered and said to Jesus, We do not know. And Jesus answered and said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. course, God his Father gave Jesus authority over heaven and earth. In numerous passages, how wonderful that both God and John the Baptist were the two who laid hands on Jesus to give him the ultimate authority during Jesus' baptism. This is also why Jesus had authority. What did we celebrate here? Just recently? Do you remember what Jesus did? He takes him to the Passover feast. And he says, is my body. This is my blood. Wait, that's not what it meant before. Not only are you free from slavery to Egypt, I enhance this. Now you are free from the slavery of sin. Only a Rabbi with Shmika can do that. And it must be authoritative because we do it to this day. As I was discovering these things about the word authority, I wondered what to do with it as far as today's sermon was concerned. It seemed to me like it was an afterthought at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. The conclusion of the section on the two different things to choose from seemed over. The two gates, the wide and narrow, the two trees, the bad fruit and the good fruit, the two houses, the sand or the rock. Those seemed to be the choices we need to make. So I didn't know what to do with these last two verses of Matthew 7 without distracting from the conclusion of Jesus' sermon. And then I woke up a few nights ago around 3 in the morning with the words Shemekah and Exo-Shein rattling around. That's not a good thing to wake up to. Why am I awake at three? Why am I thinking about this? And basically God just said, it's so easy. I can't believe you didn't see this. I was trying hard to show it to you this week, but you had too much else on your mind. So I'm waking you up now with no distractions. And I saw what he was talking about. It's another set of two things that we must decide between. Who was Jesus talking to on the Sermon on the Mount? It was his chosen people. These were the remnant members of the church in his day. They not only had to choose the straight and narrow way and the bearing of good fruit and the building upon the rock, they had to choose the type of rabbi they would follow. Should they be content with the status quo, something local? Something they were used to? Should they be intent with Laodicean ways of doing things? Should they be content with a routine relationship with God? ⁓ yeah, we do this, we do this, and we do that. We're good. Or should they follow one with Shemekah? Someone who enhances their lives, someone who leads them to new and deeper experiences with the Father, someone who wants followers who are willing to leave everything behind that weighs them down. Followers who will not only avoid bad fruit, but who will bear good fruits of the spirit. Followers who are built on a rock solid foundation that won't fall when the times get tough. Followers who will be made into fishers of men. Remember the gospel commission? Matthew 28? All what has been given to All authority has been given to me. All authority. in heaven and on earth. He's got Shmuka everywhere. Go therefore and make disciples. What, what, what, what? You go and you become a disciple maker like I am. You go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ⁓ by the way, off topic a little bit. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Yeah, lists all three. Don't fall for the wolves in sheep's clothing telling you there's not. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe some of the things that I have commanded you. all things that I have commanded you. Wow, what a job, what a responsibility. Are we going to make the choice to follow a rabbi that's going to guide us to make disciples, or are we going to follow the choice to sit where it's comfortable and listen and be the same old, same old Laodicean in the new year? I was so blessed by Pastor Dawson's sermon last Sabbath. It really made me think about several things. One thing he talked about was us not answering the door when Jesus comes calling due to the fact that there are things in our lives that we don't want him to see or things that we don't want to give up. But then I started thinking, what if we don't answer the door because we don't need to in our own minds? I don't need to answer the door, Jesus. You and me, we're something. Go talk to somebody that needs you. because I am rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing. No need to come in here. You know so-and-so who's down the street. Obviously, they're not as close to you as I am. Maybe you should go see them. Ouch. So the question is, are we content with staying put, or do we want to follow the one who has authority over heaven and earth? There should be no two ways about it. Dinner bell's ringing. I'm joining the bell choir. I've changed my mind. I'm coming in. I brought my own instrument because I want this bell to be ringing in our ears saying, coming. Well, I am coming home. This new year could easily see us into the eternal kingdom in my mind where the golden streets have wonderful neighbors that we can visit. And I hope that we are thrilled to see that our neighbors have a lot of intimate connections with the Greenville SDA Church. Because you know what? If we follow the one with Shmika, if we truly do, every single one of us will be there. ⁓ Father. This past year is gone. All our successes and failures need not become baggage for the new year. especially if we resolve in our hearts that we will follow you exclusively as you lead us into the kingdom. May we faithfully be the ones that are closest to you in Jesus' amen.