Paul
Announcements
Paul
Paul jumped into a “God exists” debate on the Internet.
This thing we do, this faith we wrap ourselves in really matters.
Here I Am To Worship
Your Love Never Fails
Jesus Paid It All
Jon
Making The Invisible Visible
Matthew 6:19-24
Mustard Seed Movement
Highlighting various charities – this week – Mercy’s Village
100×100 virtual plots
Awareness helps
Repent
Teshuva – return to who you really are
the fullness of who you are in God’s very image
The Messiah has arrived
Treasures on earth vs treasure on heaven
Good/single eye vs roving eye
Light vs darkness
God vs money
What is Jesus trying to communicate
Have to put on our 1st century, Jewish spectacles
Good/single eye
Lots of great scholars say this text means utter devotion to God
Passion, discipline, following Him
What does that mean?
How do the images connect?
It’s either a or b, side by side comparisons
When you leave here tonight, fly out the doors and be passionate about God
As soon as real life hits us, we don’t know if we have passion or God
The West loves black and white steps
Trying to pay mortgage, do job, love family
Ebb and flow of passion
Might be great, but right now I’m angry at God or bored reading the Bible
Guess I have an evil eye
Very frustrating way to approach our Christianity
Sin management 101
So much more to it than that…
Scripture loaded with cultural idioms
In 21st century we have cultural idioms
Why do we communicate this way? Emphasizes the point
Without perspective, we might think the Jews actually thought that cats and dogs fell from the sky
Seeing, one’s whole outlook on life, your attitude towards others
Torah, Isaiah, old testament fragments
Jesus was 100% Jewish – launching from the Old Testament
Come up with names to describe aspects of God
Jehovah Jireh – provider
When he doesn’t provide what we think we need, our faith can flicker
Perceived needs vs actual needs
We think God is up there writing out checks, yes, yes, no
Cain and Abel
God will see, not only provider
We make a proclamation of truth – He will provide, He will see, He will respond
God has a good eye
He wants to partner with people
Exodus 3:7-8
Not only provides, sees, responds; He comes down
I will walk with you into the broken parts of the world
There’ so much more than having utter devotion to God
A person with a good/single eye sees the needs around them, then acts on those needs
They need people
Proverbs 22:9 – shares his bread with the poor
Proverbs 23:6
Proverbs 28:22
Active pursuers
Tikun elam – that which has been broken
Our final destination isn’t heaven – bu a new heaven and a new earth
Our home is RIGHT HERE
We are not storing up treasures in an ethereal vault
Song about a man who sprinkles a little Jesus in his life, goes to church, doesn’t curse, goes easy inthe Coors Light
Gets to Heaven and angel day let me show you your house
End of the road, tiny shack
That’s it
That’s all the lumber you sent
What is Jesus communicating
Lots of discovery about the cultural idioms of Jesus’ day
Poor limited in resources and choices
Store up treasures in heaven = give your money to the poor
Enter into the lives of people
People last forever
Luke 4:18
People who are pushed out into the margins
God sees what everybody goes through and He steps down into it
Be a people of action
Every act of justice, every word of truth, every creation of genuine beauty, every act of self-sacrificial love, will be reaffirmed on the last day, in the new world (NT Wright).
Don’t let it be all about you…
Be single eyed, make the invisible visible, make the unseen seen
Restore the relationships around us