​

For Aug 9
 

Sermon Notes: Who Are We, Really?

Intro” A few years ago there was a forensic CSI TV program that would discover a corpse and have to identify it, and determine the cause of death. The theme song was appropriately, “Who are you?” This morning we’re not going to attempt to identify any corpses, but I would like to ask each of us, “Who are you... really?”

 

I. Self-Evaluations

A. What if I asked each of you to write an honest self-evaluation of who you are?  You’d have to think about it for a while. How would you define yourself?  By your possessions...work...status... character? I’ve had Commanding Officers have subordinates submit self-evaluations before doing their evaluations of us. You knew how you had performed, but probably would stress your successes without revealing any hidden faults. You soon learned how much your self-perception differed from how others saw you. Likewise, it might be interesting to compare how we see ourselves with how God, who knows our heart, sees us. But, on second thought, maybe not.

B. You see the problem would be that our perceptions become our reality which affects how we define ourselves. Our inner thoughts, and what, or who, we use to set our standards of good and bad, lead to how we define ourselves. If we set our standards on a worldly basis, our status or possessions might define us, and how successful we consider ourselves. If we based our standards on works, our deeds might better define us as a person of great integrity. We might then be like the self-righteous Pharisee Jesus criticized who stood in public prayer, thanking God he wasn’t like the sinner he saw nearby, who was bowing his head, confessing his presumably many sins before God. One evaluating himself as righteous, the other, measuring himself by God’s standards, as unrighteous before God. Each one would have seen himself very differently than what the other would have observed. But Jesus had yet a much different perspective. Using that Pharisee’s standards, such persons might be the ones coming to church, gracing others with their presence, displaying their successful living optics, while others come to know God’s grace, and desiring His forgiveness.

C. To illustrate seeing ourselves differently than others do, there’s a story about a stressed woman tailgating a slow driver. As they approached the traffic light turning  yellow, the driver in front of her slowed, then stopped as it turned red, rather than accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman was furious. She hit the horn, screaming and gesturing in frustration that now she’d have to wait at the red light. In the middle of her rant, the woman looked up into the face of a police officer. He ordered her out of the car with her hands up. Then he took her to the police station, where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed and put in a cell. After a couple of hours, a guard opened the jail cell door, and escorted her back to the desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal belongings. He said, “I’m very sorry for the mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing the horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing up a blue streak. I noticed the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ bumper sticker, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday School’ bumper sticker, and the Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.”

D. The woman hadn’t realized her self-perceptions didn’t match other’s perceptions of her. Greek theater actors placed a mask in front of their face to convey the emotion of the character they were portraying. It was the face they wanted the audience to see, not who they were behind the mask. The Greek word for that is hypokrites, in English hypocrite. But as Christians, who we are behind our masks, should also be apparent to others seeing us on the outside. But that’s not something we decide to be one day. It takes a want to, and a commitment, for Jesus to enable us to become such a person.

E. Our Call to Worship was based on Joshua telling Israel to choose who they would serve as their God. The God who had led them in the conquest of the Promised Land, or the gods of this world,  just as we who come to Church sincerely and humbly ought to feel challenged. Our Opening Hym, addressing those who love the Lord, and our Call to Worship summarize why we come here – to hear about His Kingdom standards, what God is like, and how He can transform us to be His disciples, so we can encourage others by what they see in us. How God wants to see us.

​

II. Isaiah 29:13-16

A. Seeing themselves as God saw Israel was the focus of Isaiah’s message from God in our OT reading. They thought they were pleasing God, but their worship was only superficial, their hearts were far from Him. Human laws and traditions, rather than God’s laws, had taken the place of genuine worship. They were going to great depths to hide their plans made in spiritual darkness from God. Thinking no one would see, or know what they were doing, they were relying on human thought and rejecting God’s wisdom. David unsuccessfully used that logic with his affair with Bathsheba, thinking God didn’t see the depths of his coverup of his sins. The more he acted on that erroneous belief, the more his life became a mess, until finally God had the prophet Nathan confront him, and David repented and was forgiven. If only David had taken Isaiah’s words to heart before his attempted deceptions.

B. But Israel didn’t heed Isaiah’s words from the Lord, and soon found themselves in exile for their sinfulness and rejection of God  In Isaiah’s words, the pot had been telling the potter, “You know nothing.” Applying Isaiah’s example of the clay and the potter to our lives, we must recognize and submit to God's ultimate authority in our lives. Once we accept and appreciate God’s wisdom in our lives, and humbly submit to Him, the more genuine our worship becomes, the more pleasing we are to God, and the more fruitful our relationship with Him becomes. Jesus seemed to have had that same type of dialog with the Pharisees during His ministry. They’d become entrenched in religious traditions and their hearts were far from God. Their worship was so based on manmade laws and traditions that they couldn’t recognize the Promised Messiah standing before them. Their focus was so much on their self-perceptions and their appearance of righteousness that they didn’t see themselves as God saw them. John the Baptist called them a brood of vipers.

C. We’ve then established that people can perceive themselves as righteous, and fool themselves that others see them that way. But Jesus, calling us to Himself, says the He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As the Truth, He can see our hearts, and judges us by His standards. So, before we complete our self-evaluations, let’s take an honest look at our inner selves, especially our attitudes.

D.  Jesus told the parable of a man with two sons. He went to the first, asking him to work in the vineyard. The son refused, but later changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son, asking the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but didn’t go. Jesus asks,  “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they correctly answered. The religious leaders recognized He was talking about them, identifying them as the ones who said they would serve God, but weren’t. And yet there were tax collectors and prostitutes, those whose lives showed they weren’t serving God, but would later change their minds and repent. To Jesus’ question, they were the ones who’d then please Him. We should ask ourselves, which of the two are we resembling?

 

III. Matthew 5: 3-13

A. In our Gospel reading from His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provides 8 standards for us to evaluate ourselves. As Cathy noted, a beatitude was a means of knowing God’s blessedness, a state of holy joy. We might even take liberties with the word Beatitudes, making them the Be...Attitudes. Let’s look more closely at them to see how we’re measuring up against them to evaluate how we’re pleasing Him.

B. Jesus begins saying we are blessed if we are poor in spirit. Being "poor in spirit" suggests humility and recognition of our spiritual neediness and dependence on God. This humility is a foundational attitude for entering the kingdom of heaven.

C. Mourning, the second ‘BeAttitude’, is not limited to personal grief but extends to a deep sorrow over sin and the brokenness of the world. This mourning is a recognition of the fallen state of humanity and the need for repentance. In the biblical context, mourning is often associated with repentance, turning back to God. Rather than hiding our sin, asking who will know, who will see them, as expressed in Isaiah, our mourning leads us to confess and repent, and comforted by the assurance of God's intervention and consolation.

D. The "meek", in the third Be-Attitude, are those who exhibit humility and gentleness, rather than weakness. Biblically, meekness is strength under control, a quality exemplified by Jesus Himself. This virtue is highly valued in Scripture, contrasting with the worldly view that often equates strength with aggressiveness. Inheriting the earth would fit the assurance of the Promised Land and the return of Jesus with hope of a new heaven and a new earth, where the meek will fully realize their inheritance. 

E. Next, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness have deep, spiritual longing for righteousness. The Biblical concept of righteousness refers to living by God's will and commands.This longing is more than a desire for personal moral improvement, but a yearning for God's justice and holiness to prevail, satisfying to those who seek the Lord.

F. The fifth Beatitude addresses the merciful, those who show compassion and forgiveness to others, reflecting God's own nature. In the cultural context of Jesus' time, mercy was a valued virtue, but often limited to one's own community or kin. Jesus expands this concept to a universal application. We’re promised a reciprocal relationship between showing mercy and receiving it.

G. Next, the pure in heart signifies those who are sincere, honest, and free from deceit or moral corruption. Purity of heart implies a single-minded devotion to God, free from hypocrisy or ulterior motives. Psalm 24 echoes this sentiment, asking who may ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place, except those with clean hands and a pure heart. This purity is not merely external but internal, reflecting a transformation that aligns with God's holiness.

H. The seventh be-atitude, as a Peacemaker, refers to a state of spiritual well-being and prosperity, often associated with divine favor. Peace (shalom) signifies completeness, wholeness, and harmony with God, others, and oneself. Peacemakers are those who actively seek to reconcile/restore relationships, reflecting God's own nature as the ultimate peacemaker. Being called "sons of God", signifies a special relationship with God, characterized by intimacy and inheritance. Biblically, a son implied sharing in the character and mission of the father.

I. The last BeAttitude, addressing those who are persecuted because of righteousness, says they are blessed, highlighting the paradox of the Christian life, where suffering for doing what is right is considered a blessing. But, this promise assures believers that despite earthly suffering, they have a secure place in God's eternal kingdom, a present spiritual reality and a future hope.

J. Jesus then extends His teachings by saying that we are the salt of the earth. Salt gives food a flavoring as well as acts as a preservative. Spiritually, we bring the flavor of the good news of Jesus to the world. Good news that serves to prevent moral decay, preserving individual souls as well as society. But He asks, if we lose that saltiness, unwilling to serve Him by doing His Will, like the one son in Jesus’ earlier parable, then we have no further value in His kingdom.

 

Conclusion: So, how would you complete your self evaluation?  It might be a little overwhelming to measure ourselves by Jesus’ standards of righteousness. And you would very honest if you felt like you were well short of Him considering us righteous. In fact, Paul even reminds us in Rom 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.”  But praise God, He sent His Son to deliver us from evil, showing us the Way, the Truth, the Life. He sees believers through His righteousness, not our own self evaluations. And we can declare, “Lord, we want to be a Christian, in our heart,”  Amen