SOM #1 - HOW RIGHTEOUS ARE YOU? (Matthew 5:20 etc.)

(This message may be used as an individual sermon or as part of the series.)

MATTHEW 5:20 ETC.

HOW RIGHTEOUS ARE YOU?

#1 – SERMON ON THE MOUNT

God is righteous! Whatever He does is right! Psalm 116:5, Psalm 129:4, Psalm 145:17, Psalm 119:12

God is righteous! God wants men and women to be righteous. Psalm 7:11, 11:7, 92:12, Proverbs 10:30, 14:32

God is righteous! God wants men and women to be righteous.

SO HOW RIGHTEOUS ARE YOU?

THE PROBLEM WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS

We have no righteousness! We are unrighteous! Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10-12

Matthew 5:20 – For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

That statement would have really shocked Jesus’ hearers.

The scribes and Pharisees were known for being religious and for keeping the letter of the law. The scribes and Pharisees added laws to the law and expected men to keep them as well! Jesus is telling us that the way we live should be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees if we expect to see Heaven! Matthew 5:17-19, Revelation 21:7-8

THE PROVISION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Romans 5:6-9 – For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Christ has provided righteousness for those who have a problem with righteousness. That’s all of us!

Romans 5:1 – Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

When a person comes to Christ, and admits his own unrighteousness and helplessness and unworthiness and turns to Christ in faith as his or her only hope for forgiveness and a place in Heaven, then salvation takes place.

That’s when a person is saved or justified. To be justified is to be “declared righteous”.

What does God expect of you, Christian, once you have been declared righteous and looking forward to Heaven?

HE EXPECTS YOU TO LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY! 1 Peter 1:15-17

THE PRACTICE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

You and I need to have a continual appetite and thirst for righteousness.

It should be a goal of our lives.

So where do we go to satisfy our hunger and thirst for righteousness?

We need to go to the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Jeremiah 15:16

Many of you live on a starvation diet.

You hear the word preached once a week at best.

And you don’t bother to read the Word of God at home.

With Christ’s help we need to follow his admonition found in Luke 11:28

When you hunger and thirst after righteousness you will make every effort to be in Sunday School, Morning Service, Evening Service and Prayer Meeting where the Word of God is taught.

The message is an introduction to a series of messages is on the Sermon on the Mount, which we have quoted a few times.

The Sermon on the Mount shows us how to live more righteously than the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day.

The Sermon on the Mount is a practical presentation of how to live righteously on a daily basis.

It is impossible to obey the Sermon on the Mount perfectly, just as it is impossible to obey the Ten Commandments perfectly.

As we learn what the Sermon on the Mount means and as we trust Christ for the provision of abundant grace and the gift of righteousness to obey, we will see ourselves become more righteous than we are now.

(This message may be used as an individual sermon or as part of the series.)

MATTHEW 9:23-27 – STORMY WEATHER

LIFE OF CHRIST #24

We all face trials and troubles often. It is what Cole Porter called “Stormy Weather” in a song that he wrote.

There were a couple of times when the disciples faced storms on the Sea of Galilee.

As we look at this story about literal storm, we also learn lessons about the figurative storms that cause trials and troubles in our lives. Let’s see what lessons we can learn this morning about stormy weather.

STORMY WEATHER IS BEST FACED WHEN JESUS IS IN THE BOAT

Vs. 23 – Think of the boat as our lives.

Although God is present everywhere, there is a special sense in which God is present in our lives. When He indwells us, He has taken up special residence inside of us. John 14:16-17

God the Holy Spirit dwells inside of the Christian.

He is there to guide us, protect us, keep us, teach us, and comfort us.

And God has promised the Christian that this presence is unending! Hebrews 13:5-6

You have heard people say, and might have said yourself, “I wouldn’t want to face this problem without the Lord!”

How true! If God is willing to take up residence in our lives through his Holy Spirit it would be dumb not to avail ourselves of His presence.

When you trust Christ as your payment for sins, you are what the Bible calls, born again, by the Spirit of God. And God the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your life. Romans 8:9

If you have truly trusted Christ as your Savior, you have God’s presence in your life no matter what the storm may be. Make sure that you have Christ in the boat that is your life!

STORMY WEATHER RESULTS FROM OBEDIENCE

Vs. 23 – The Lord Jesus entered the boat. The disciples followed Him into the boat. It was the Lord Jesus who decided where they were going. Luke 8:22

The disciples ended up in a storm on the Sea of Galilee because they were following Jesus in obedience.

Of course, being obedient to God as a Christian and following Jesus’ leadership in our lives is the right thing to do. Luke 9:23-24

Following Jesus after trusting Him for forgiveness does not mean that it will be an easy life. In fact, we will have storms. 2 Timothy 3:12, James 1:2-4

The storms that Jesus leads through will make us strong and mature. And I’d rather follow Jesus in the middle of a storm than to not follow Jesus. Being in the center of the Lord’s will is always the safest place to be.

But you’ll also face storms if you’re not obedient to God.

Would you rather face storms being in the center of God’s will, or out of God’s will? Which makes the most sense?

STORMY WEATHER IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

Vs. 24 – I don’t have to tell you how dangerous storms can be. Just consider last year’s tsunami and hurricanes Ivan and Rita.

This storm was a very violent storm, and even seasoned fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James, and John were having trouble with it.

The storms of life which we face are also dangerous.

Sometimes we will be in physical danger because of persecution, accidents or illness.

Other times we are in emotional danger with our “storms” threatening to overwhelm us with fear and/or depression.

Other times we are in Spiritual danger, with Satan’s attacks challenging us to give up or to sin.

And this verse alludes to another danger. We might be concerned because in the midst of the storm God appears to be asleep. He does not seem to be responding to our problems during the storm. He seems to be silent.

Our Lord Jesus was able to sleep because He had a human body that got tired. He was also able to sleep because, being sinless, He had a clean conscience. He was also able to sleep, because He quietly allowed Himself to rest in the hands of His loving Heavenly Father.

If you are doing what is right before the Lord, confessing your sins as a Christian, and striving to live for Him, don’t panic when God appears to be asleep. He’ll show Himself to be very much alive at just the right time.

STORMY WEATHER INVOKES FEAR AND PANIC

Vs. 25 – When storms come we tend to fear. And sometimes when storms come we will go into a panic. The situation seems to be absolutely hopeless!

Humans tend to be fearful. If we didn’t tend to be fearful, God would not have put so many verses in the Bible telling us not to be afraid. I’ll just give you two samples, but there are many more “do not fear” verses in the Bible. Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 41:10

We tend to fear and worry about what might happen but hasn’t happened.

We tend to fear and worry about the future.

We tend to fear and worry about the opinions of others.

We tend to fear and worry about our children, our parents, our spouses.

Then comes the times our problems are so real to us that they tend to overwhelm us. We hit the panic mode.

Yes, many fears are justified. But there is a proper way to handle fear.

These seasoned fishermen were literally in over their heads and they knew it, coming to Jesus in panic.

STORMY WEATHER REQUIRES PRAYER AND FAITH

Vs. 25 – The disciples awoke the Lord Jesus.

Their anxious prayer was an indication that they had come to the end of themselves, and that they had at least a little faith that Jesus could help.

I personally think that they waited too long to ask Jesus for help. The moment things got a little stormy, I think they should have come to Him.

We are like that. If things seem to be just a little stormy or troublesome, we’ll just worry over it and try to solve it ourselves, instead of bringing it to God right away.

But when problems get full blown, we come in a panic with a little, but not much faith that God can help. Philippians 4:6, James 1:5-8

Vs. 26 – Note that Jesus did not rebuke the disciples for waking Him up. Like I said, I feel that He would have welcomed being woken up sooner.

Notice our Lord’s calm rebuke in the midst of the storm.

He was not in a panic. He’s totally under control. He can even take the time to rebuke the disciples before He did anything. He is master of the situation.

Let’s remember when we give our stormy problems to God He is not in a panic. He can solve the problem leisurely if He chooses to. There is no reason to get in a dither or bent out of shape.

STORMY WEATHER REVEALS THE GLORY AND POWER OF GOD

Vs. 26 – Jesus said the word and there was perfect calm. It was like there had been no storm. There was no rocking of the waves that normally follow a storm. There was perfect peace.

When Jesus speaks the Word there is perfect peace.

Sometimes the problem totally disappears, but more often than not the place where the greatest miracle has occurred is inside of us.

We are at peace.

God has calmed the ragging in our souls.

Vs. 27 – The disciples were absolutely amazed! The Lord Jesus had done what they had never seen before. A human being told the storm to cease and it did. The winds obeyed Him! The waves obey Him.

They had a new appreciation for the power of Jesus!

They had a new appreciation for the glory of Jesus!

And when Jesus calms our storms, we too, should have a new appreciation for the power and glory of the Lord Jesus.

We should be amazed!

We should be filled with praise and worship.

We should be ready to trust Him when an even bigger storm comes.