The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew): Set Free From Control | Guest Speaker: Sam Rapp

Uh well a little over a month ago I woke up like it was any other Friday.

I slept in a little bit.

I work at a church, so Friday is my Saturday.

So I woke up, uh slept in a little bit, had a little devo time, and then I'm in seminary right now, which means I have to take Greek and Hebrew.

Uh and so I had a Greek quiz at midnight.

So sat down at my kitchen table, started finally getting my stuff organized to take this Greek quiz.

And I am awful at learning languages, like awful at learning languages.

And so I was doing whatever I could all week to get away from this Greek quiz.

And then so finally I sit down, it's like 12 p.m., it's perfect outside, and Sam Rap is studying Greek.

And so um, yeah, doing whatever I could to avoid that until then.

And then I get a call from Matt Hooper.

Uh, and when Matt Hooper calls me, one of two things is happening.

Either one, he's checking in on me, asking how the student ministry is going, asking how I'm doing how he can pray for me, or two, he's asking if I can play golf.

Uh, and I just knew that this call wasn't a checking in on Sam kind of call.

I don't know, I don't know what it was about the way that the phone vibrated on the table or the way that the sun looked outside, but I was like, this is a golf call.

This is this is a golf call.

And I'm I'm sitting at this table at this moment, as my phone's vibrating, and Matt Hooper's name is on my phone, I'm calculating, right?

Because this this quiz is due at midnight, and so when I see this name pop up, I'm calculating.

I'm thinking, man, okay, it's 12.20.

If I play golf, I'll be done at like 5, 5.30.

And then I am a student pastor after all, so I should probably go to the Meredith High School football game tonight.

So that means, you know, seven to ten commitment or so, and then my friend Steven asked if we could hang out that night, so we were gonna hang out after the game.

So I'll get home probably at 11:30, which gives me plenty of time to take the Greek quiz, right?

And here's what I knew.

If I answer this call from Matt Hooper and he asked me to play golf, I'm not saying no.

I know myself.

I know myself.

On a Friday afternoon, y'all know me, I'm playing golf.

So the decision, I looked at my phone like truly five times before I answered it.

Like I literally, like, I said nope, put it down, and I was like, well, yeah, nope.

And like like five times, five or six times I did that, and then so finally, you know, I obviously had no time to play golf that day, so what do I do?

I answer the phone and I'm teeing off 30 minutes later, right?

Because that that's just that's just how Samrap goes.

And now you're you're probably thinking, okay, I hope this isn't a sermon about self-control, because Samrap uh is not gifted in that way uh in certain in certain things, uh, because you know, when it comes to golf, none.

Zero self-control.

Um but I'm at the golf course, it's a perfect day.

Like it's a perfect day.

It's 75, it's sunny.

I'm playing golf, having a good time, talking about Jesus with the boys.

I'm playing well, by the way.

You probably don't care.

I'm one under through six.

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

Um I'm not looking for a clap, it's fine.

We get to hole seven, I hit my drive, uh walking down the fairway, uh, and then all of a sudden I look down at my phone and I see a missed call in two texts from my mom, which typically means I'm in trouble, but this time uh was a little bit different.

And the message basically just said, I need you to come home, it's an emergency.

I was like, Okay, okay, I'm in the middle of the fairway, it's sunny.

So I'm like, okay.

Um I call her back and I hear these words, which are words that I will never forget, that sting in my ear uh to this day.

And she basically said, It's dad, he's gone.

And I'll be honest with y'all, and my sister and I laugh about this.

My first thought was, well, where'd this man go?

And who do I need to fight to get there, right?

Like, who is he with?

What woman is he with?

Like we were we're about to be in a problem.

Uh and that's that's where my that's where my mind went.

I'm sorry.

Um, so I start booking it to the clubhouse.

Like I'm booking it.

I didn't even fully know what had happened at that point.

And by the way, we we walked that day, we didn't ride a golf cart, so I'm in a push cart.

I mean, just booking it back to the clubhouse.

Um and it's not, it's you can't look cool doing that, but I was booking it to the clubhouse.

And then I get in my car, I take a ride out of the the you know, golf course.

I'm doing 80 down Stalsboro.

If you're a cop, I'm sorry.

I'm doing 80 down Stallsboro.

Um, and as I'm driving, like the thought starts to sink in, right?

I'm like, he he's not missing, um, but he is he's gone, gone.

And that's when it started to sink into me.

Now, I don't know much about anatomy.

That's not my business, but what I do know is that if the heart stops beating, the body stops working.

As it turns out, uh my dad had passed away sometime early that morning or overnight because he had a 95% blockage in his heart.

A 95% blockage was enough to shut his body down with no warning signs, no previous symptoms.

He was healthy as can be, no sore chest, shoulders, no shortness of breath, nothing.

And when his heart failed, everything else went down with it.

Now, here's my appeal for us this morning as we spend a few minutes together.

And for my type A's in here, here's my thesis, okay?

So here we go.

A heart that is fully devoted to Jesus Christ will overflow with joy and peace.

And that's what I think Jesus is after in this passage today.

He's after our hearts.

He's not after some external moralistic uh living of life, but he's after the very thing that controls every part of our being, and that's our heart.

I would argue that our hearts are the driving force behind our life.

Whatever our hearts and the things it is devoted to are is what will lead the rest of our life.

We even saw last week in the text that Russ taught on that where our treasure is, there our heart will also be.

We see Jesus in Matthew 15 saying, it's not what goes into the body like food or drink that defiles you, it's actually what comes out of your heart and you speak with your lips.

Because the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Like a tiny rudder to a huge ship, our hearts and the things our hearts are devoted to will direct everything about us.

And Jesus obviously knows this.

He knows that if our hearts are offline, if our hearts are out of step with the Spirit of God, if our hearts are desperately clinging on to control, our lives will be marked by fear and anxiety and a need for control.

And I think the passage that we have this week and the one we had last week are after these two points that affect our hearts so much money and anxiety.

So, let's go.

Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 to 26.

Matthew 6:25–26

Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body what you will put on.

Is not life more than food in the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?

Now I want to hit on something very important here.

Um I have heard sermons and talks related to passages like this that essentially condemn people that struggle with mental illness and explain how mental illness is the result of sin.

I've heard people say that.

And so I want to say very clearly to you this morning that if you are struggling with a mental illness, it is not because of inner sin in your life necessarily.

And I want to be also very clear: if you are seriously struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression, or some other mental health issue, I'm just begging you to talk to somebody about it.

We as a church and I personally are significant proponents of clinical counseling and medication.

Mental health issues are real, and even Charles Spurgeon, my own personal faith hero, the 19th century pastor, said that if antidepressants were a thing in his day, he would be the first to take them.

So the church is not a place to hide these things if you're struggling.

So please, again, talk to one of us if you are suffering.

So when Jesus says do not be anxious, that's not the kind of anxiety he's talking about.

He's not talking about a mental illness, a significant chemical imbalance in the brain, or some sort of significant life crisis.

What Jesus is ultimately getting at here in this passage, in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, is control.

So we see Jesus hit on three of the most basic necessities of life, right?

We see food, water, and clothing.

And few of us, presently and past, have ever really had to worry about those things.

So for us, it's easy to distance ourselves from this, but what I would argue is that Jesus is saying that money, possessions, food, clothing, and water will not bring you the true joy and security and peace that I can.

I think that's what he's arguing this morning.

Because let's be honest with each other.

Just you and me.

Let's have a conversation.

We like control.

Amen?

We like control.

We are people that like things to look a certain way, to feel a certain way, to smell a certain way.

We like things that are safe and comfortable.

We like to be in control.

We like to know what we're gonna eat, what we're gonna wear, we like to have money in the savings account.

It's like, yes, God, I trust you, I believe in you, I have faith in you, but really, like, I want this nest egg here just in case this whole Jesus thing doesn't work out, right?

All right, verse 27.

Jesus gets like super logical here.

He's just right, I mean, this is like mom advice right here, right?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Straight to the point.

Now, if you if you look into the Greek, I just love this.

If you look into the Greek, a better translation would be something kind of like this.

Which of you by being anxious can add a single qubit to his height?

Can add a single qubit to his li to his height.

In other words, you ready?

Jesus is talking a little bit about little man syndrome.

Alright?

Alright, we're gonna be good.

We're good.

A qubit is about the length of your forearm.

It's about 18 inches.

Okay?

So Jesus is saying, which of you, by being anxious, controlling, desperately fearful about every detail, thought, words you say, how you look, how much you weigh, how much money you have, which of you can compensate by being 18 inches taller?

Truly, that is what the Greek reads.

So Jesus is getting at a sort of spiritual little man syndrome here, which I think is I think it's wild.

And Jesus is saying, look at me.

I am the one who can satisfy what you're looking for.

This like desperate need for control that you have, I'm the one that can put it at ease.

Now, I want to be honest with you guys.

This hits home in two very specific places for me.

One of them's funny, one of them's less funny, but yeah.

So, on a less serious note, as probably most of you know, I love shoes.

Uh, it's a problem.

But so Grace and I were in the battery uh about what, two weeks ago, three weeks ago, we were on a date night when we were sitting at this table, like right on the edge, um, like by the big walkway walking up to Truist Park.

And all of a sudden, this dude is walking past us and he's wearing this pair of shoes.

He's wearing a like a$2,000 pair of Jordans.

And if you're wondering why the$2,000, we'll talk after.

Like it's it's fine.

Um, but so I sell shoes on the side, right?

I sell shoes on the side to make a quick extra book.

Uh, and immediately I'm like, I see these shoes, I'm like, shoot, man, like those are the trophy Jordan Room ones.

Like, those those are those are big deal.

Like, they came out last year, like they sold out real quick.

I wanted a pair, I didn't get them, I got the got the loss right there.

But these are a dream, a dream shoe for me, okay?

Let's just be real.

All right, these are a dream shoe for me.

Can't afford it, but they're a dream shoe for me.

So I'm staring at this at these shoes, and then I like I kind of like scroll up with my eyes to his face, and it's Jock Peterson, okay?

Like, it's Jock Peterson, right?

Pearl wearing, right fielder, Atlanta Braves, by the way.

Y'all, come on.

Yeah, amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

I like how I like how Jock Peterson and the Braves get a collapse, but you know, yeah.

Uh but here we go.

So Sunday, Sunday is a work day for me, okay?

Let's just be really real.

With side side note Braves here.

Sunday's a work day for me.

And if you have Sunday as a work day, you have decisions to make on Saturday nights.

Okay?

You have decisions almost every Saturday night from August to December in a normal time.

But so last night, my wife and I were in the living room and we're watching the Braves game, and I've learned over the last two weeks that watching the Braves is not good for Sam Rap to watch all nine innings.

I've watched Atlanta sports for long enough, I know how it goes.

I've seen a 28-3 win uh turned into a loss.

I've I've seen it, I know how it goes.

Um I look at Grace as nervous sweat is pouring out of me, and I say, Grace, this is not good for my soul.

I was like, I'm preaching tomorrow, I gotta go to bed, or else I'm gonna be in a bad spot in the morning.

Uh because it was when Luke Jackson came in.

Yeah, we're fine.

So I'm like, we're all right, let's call it a night, let's call it a night, let's go to bed, let's unplug.

So we get in bed, and I'm laying there, and I I mean, I'm like shaking because I'm like, I have to know.

I have to know.

Like, I I don't want to wake up and realize that we won and I didn't watch it, right?

So I'm laying there and like truly like it's like it felt like it was Christmas when I was like eight again.

I was like, I just couldn't stand it.

Um so I literally I just had to turn the TV back on and I watched the rest of it by myself while Grace was asleep.

Uh and there's been nights like that the last two weeks, I'll confess it.

Um and then you know, I got so hype after we won that it took me like an hour and a half to fall asleep.

So uh dragging a little bit this morning, but we're good, we're killing it.

So here we are, go braves.

All right, back to the story.

So here we are.

Jock Peterson is walking by us, right?

Jock himself, Jock Tober, and then I'm thinking, okay, man, that's cool.

Like, that's Jock Peterson.

But let's talk about the shoes again.

Like, let's let's go back to his shoes.

And so my immediate, my immediate thought is like, okay, those are like 2,000 bucks.

I've got some pairs in my closet.

So I'm I'm I'm calculating as I'm at a date with my wife.

And I'm like, okay, like if I I I've got some equity in these shoes, so I sold these, like I might be able to work them all together and maybe get a pair of these, but like that's not wise.

I'm a pastor.

Like, I don't need shoes like that.

And so I'm I'm at dinner with my wife, daydreaming about shoes.

And I I recognize there's worse things to daydream about, but I'm daydreaming about a pair of shoes while I'm with my wife.

So, long story short, shoes have me whipped.

Uh, shoes have me whipped.

But the second one, this is the one that stings a little bit.

My reputation.

In other words, like people's perception of SAM wrap.

Like, how do people read Sam?

I drive myself crazy with worry and fear and overthinking so often because I'm like, man, like, should I have said that differently?

Was I being too sarcastic with that student?

Probably.

Uh, was I being sweet to grace when we were with all those people at that dinner?

Like, should I have worded that sermon point better?

What if only 10 students come to youth tonight?

Will that mean that everybody's gonna think I'm a failure?

With this little man syndrome that Jesus is hitting on, he's essentially asking this question How will money, the comforts of the world, and being worried about every little single thing bring us peace?

I think that's where he's getting at.

And what I've noticed in my own life is that when we try to just tightly hold on to every single detail, typically the more anxious we feel.

Amen?

As we build our own little kingdoms, we see that we're not very good at being kings and queens.

We're not very good at being God.

But I would argue that Jesus gives us a great remedy.

And the remedy of this anxiety, of this need to control everything, of this need for people to accept and approve us is to seek first the kingdom of God.

So, Matthew 6, 33.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So here's what I believe is true.

Whatever we believe to be ultimately true about us, like ultimately, ultimately, behind everything else about us, whatever we believe to be ultimately true about us, will affect everything about us.

Here's what I mean.

What the scriptures testify to be ultimately true about each one of us in this room is that our reality is based in eternity.

We are eternal beings that have a reality that is far outside of the 40, 50, 60 years, 80 years we have on this earth.

James 4, 14 even says that our life is a mist and it will soon vanish away.

So here's my point.

If we believe that what is ultimately true about us is rooted in something that far exceeds anything that we can see, touch, or feel, but is actually existing in a few in a present reality eternally, then I believe that nothing can shake us.

If we believe deep in our gut, like deep in our like in our minds is one thing, but if you believe deep in our guts that we belong in the kingdom of God for eternity, then I believe nothing can shake us.

I I said this last time I preached, but that's why Paul was so frustrating to the Romans.

I don't know if you remember.

But they said to Paul, stop sharing the gospel.

No, okay, we're gonna kill you.

Uh great, to live as Christ, to die as gain.

Okay, we're gonna beat you.

Great.

I don't believe my present sufferings to be worth the future glory that I will inherit.

All right, cool, we're gonna throw you in prison.

Great, I'm gonna sing hymns, cause an earthquake, and then convert your prison guard and escape.

Paul was brutal, right?

Now the reason is because Paul's entire hope was not built on his tent making.

It wasn't built even on his church plants, but it was built on an eternal reality that is the same reality that we have.

But let's talk.

Paul was a he was a man, and because of that, Paul blew it sometimes.

Like we don't see that much in the scriptures, but Paul blew it.

Paul was anxious sometimes.

Paul probably made a bad tent sale, right?

You know how it goes.

But I want you to not look at Paul and see something unattainable for yourself.

Because, oh man, he's an apostle, like he saw the risen Christ.

I'll never be like that.

So I want to give you the freedom to blow it.

Because you're going to.

But what I am pleading for the Lord to believe, and what I've been praying all week, is that those of us in this room who are in Christ have an eternal reality, a home in the kingdom of God forever that nothing in this life can shake.

And if we want to know what the kingdom of God is like, we need only look at Jesus.

These eternally, this eternal reality is especially true right now for me.

It is visceral right now for my family.

A 30-second phone call changed my life and my family's life forever.

And I think the last sermon I preached, I talked about that.

How any one of us in this room could have a 30-second phone call right now that would change our reality forever.

Any one of us.

But the good news is even though the floor was just taken from underneath us, we have something to hold on to.

That doesn't mean that I can't grieve or weep or feel sorrow, but what it does mean is that the deepest parts of my identity are not shaken.

Even in the dark night of the soul.

Now, if you hear nothing else this morning, please hear this.

Jesus, the God man, brought the kingdom of God to earth.

And that is one of the whole messages of his ministry.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

He came down with an invitation to all of us, because all of us were born into this sinful nature.

All of us were born rebelling against this holy and perfect and righteous God, trying to build our little kingdoms with our names on it.

But this Jesus lived the life we couldn't live.

He lived in perfect sinlessness so that we didn't have to, so that our eternity isn't built on our kingdoms that we build for ourselves.

He died on this cross, putting all of the sin forever on his shoulder so that your sin, your present sin and shame, can be put on his shoulder so that you can walk in freedom forever in the cross of Christ.

So that's the invitation for us this morning.

Whatever control we're just gripping onto.

Whatever that looks like, the invitation is to let go.

To let go and receive the kingdom of God to be the kingdom that our identity is built upon.

To receive Jesus not only as our Savior, but as Lord of every single part of our life.

And walk in holiness with Him.

But I want to close with one of my favorite passages of scripture here.

And as I close, as I read, I just want you to picture in your head the kingdom of God.

That this reality that we're going to see in the book of Revelation is the present reality for you if you are in Christ.

So, Revelation 21, 1 through 4.

I know it's Revelation.

You'll be great.

It's not scary.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.

That's good news.

Let's pray together.

Father, we bless your name.

Father, we uh man are so thankful that you brought this far-off kingdom into our present reality.

Lord, we thank you that Jesus has opened this door for those who are in him.

So, Lord, I pray for each of us this morning.

Every person.

Lord, we confess that we are building kingdoms of our own.

We confess that our tendency is not to walk in submission to you.

Our tendency is to grip tighter when things get crazy.

So I pray that we would have the security and peace in our eternal reality and the kingdom of God to let go.

To have the faith to not hold on so tightly to our finances, to our appearance, to certain sin.

But I pray that you would give us freedom in Jesus' name to walk in a better life, a better and more full experience of peace.

I thank you that you have offered this to us freely.

I pray that you bless the rest of our time together for this morning.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.