1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Let's pray. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Let's pray. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Let's pray. 4 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,000 Amen. 5 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,000 Amen. 6 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:15,000 Amen. 7 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:57,980 Thank you. 8 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:27,980 Thank you. 9 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:56,580 ...on the way in. There are bulletins. Inside the bulletin is a sermon handout. 10 00:03:56,580 --> 00:04:10,260 Additionally, there are communion elements on that table. As you come in, if you would like to participate as we celebrate the Lord's Supper together, in just a few minutes, those elements are there as well. 11 00:04:10,260 --> 00:04:25,160 In the back, there's coffee, there's some snacks, there's some bottles of water. Just a reminder, it is Soup Sunday. We'd like to invite you to stay after our service for lunch and fellowship. 12 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:38,100 Whether you brought us soup or not, you're welcome to stay and enjoy some time together. There is a significant amount of soup downstairs, for which I am very thankful. 13 00:04:38,100 --> 00:04:46,840 Debbie will tell you, every week we do this, I worry that we're going to have enough, and God always provides. So, I am very thankful for that. 14 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:53,180 And so, we're going to go ahead and go to God in prayer, and then we'll read some Scripture together this morning. 15 00:04:53,180 --> 00:05:19,200 Father in heaven, I thank you for your goodness. As we gather this morning, and we're often coming tired, and with struggles, and with worries, and especially this morning with a lot of heartbreak and suffering among our small church, we just ask for encouragement. 16 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:42,720 That you would pour out your grace, that your spirit would encourage us, that you would strengthen us, that we would be able to walk righteously, that we would love one another well, that you would help us to see your goodness, that like the psalmist writes, we would lift our eyes to the hills, and see where our help comes from. 17 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:49,760 So be with us this morning, encourage us, give us strength. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 18 00:05:49,760 --> 00:06:10,320 So as we prepare this morning to turn to God's Word, during our time together, we're going to be thinking and studying righteousness, not as we often think about it, which is sort of a badge of spiritual achievement, but rather as living in a right relationship with God. 19 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:22,820 Scripture consistently shows us that those who are righteous are not those who trust in themselves, but those who hope in the Lord, who listen to his Word, and who walk in faithful obedience. 20 00:06:22,820 --> 00:06:32,820 And the truth of biblical righteousness that I pray we see and are encouraged by this morning is a truth that both comforts us and calls us. 21 00:06:32,820 --> 00:06:41,320 It comforts us because we find that righteousness is sustained by God's steadfast love and not by our own strength. 22 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:56,320 And it calls us because when we trust God, it reshapes every part of our life. How we live, how we wait, how we obey, how we suffer, how we rejoice, it impacts every part of our lives. 23 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:06,320 And so, with that in mind, let's stand and we're going to read from the 33rd Psalm together, beginning in verse 18. 24 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:22,820 So if you want to read with me: "Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, 25 00:07:22,820 --> 00:07:28,820 that He may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine. 26 00:07:28,820 --> 00:07:40,820 Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. 27 00:07:40,820 --> 00:07:50,820 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you." This is God's Word. 28 00:07:50,820 --> 00:07:58,820 And so as we begin our time of song this morning, I want to invite you as we sing, "Whom Shall I Fear?" 29 00:07:58,820 --> 00:08:05,820 to lift your eyes from circumstances and see the Lord who guards His people. 30 00:08:05,820 --> 00:08:19,820 You hear me when I go, you are my morning soul. Though darkness fills the night, it cannot hide the blood. 31 00:08:19,820 --> 00:08:31,820 You hear me when I go, you are my morning soul. Though darkness fills the night, it cannot hide the blood. 32 00:08:31,820 --> 00:08:57,820 But whom shall I fear? You crush the enemy underneath my feet. You are my sword and shield. Though troubles lay me still. Whom shall I fear? 33 00:08:57,820 --> 00:09:25,820 I know who calls me bold. I know who stands behind. The God of angels on me is always by my side. The One who reigns forever. He is a friend of mine. The God of angels on me is always by my side. 34 00:09:25,820 --> 00:09:53,820 My strength is in Your name. For You alone can sing. You will deliver me. Yours is the victory. Whom shall I live? Whom shall I live? 35 00:09:53,820 --> 00:10:21,820 I know who goes before. I know who stands behind. The God, angel of peace, is always by my side. The One who reigns forever. He is a friend of mine. The God, angel of peace, is always by my side. 36 00:10:21,820 --> 00:10:49,820 Nothing for me shall spare. You hold the world in your hands. I'm holding on to your promises. You are faithful. You are faithful. 37 00:10:49,820 --> 00:11:17,820 Nothing for me shall spare. You hold the world in your hands. I'm holding on to your promises. You are faithful. You are faithful. You are faithful. 38 00:11:17,820 --> 00:11:45,820 I know who brought me home. I know who's going to be mine. The God of Angel on me is always by my side. The one who reigns for now. He is a friend of mine. The God of Angel on me is always by my side. 39 00:11:45,820 --> 00:11:59,820 The God of Angel on me is always by my side. The God of Angel on me is always by my side. 40 00:11:59,820 --> 00:12:13,820 Because God watches over those, and He anchors our confidence with Him, we want to fully set our hope on Jesus. And so we're not going to talk about it, but we're going to sing it. So we're going to sing, "I Set My Hope on Jesus." 41 00:12:13,820 --> 00:12:41,820 When this life of trials test my faith, I set my hope on Jesus. When the questions come and doubts remain, I set my hope on Jesus. 42 00:12:41,820 --> 00:13:09,820 For the deepest wounds the time won't heal. There's a joy that runs still deeper. There's a truth that's more than all I feel. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. 43 00:13:09,820 --> 00:13:24,820 My rock, my only trust. Who set his heart upon me first? I set my hope on Jesus. 44 00:13:32,820 --> 00:13:51,820 Though I falter in this war with sin, I set my hope on Jesus. When I feel the fight and sink within, I set my hope on Jesus. 45 00:13:51,820 --> 00:14:01,820 Though the shame would drown me in its sea, and I dread the wave of justice, 46 00:14:01,820 --> 00:14:30,820 I will cast my life on Calvary. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My God, my only trust. You set His heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. 47 00:14:30,820 --> 00:14:57,820 I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. 48 00:14:59,820 --> 00:15:28,820 And offer all its vain rewards. I set my hope on Jesus. Though this heart of mine is prone to stray. Give me grace enough to finish. Till I worship on that final day. I set my hope on Jesus. 49 00:15:28,820 --> 00:15:57,820 I set my hope on Jesus. My life, my only trust. Who set His heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My life, my only trust. 50 00:15:57,820 --> 00:16:12,820 Who set His heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. 51 00:16:27,820 --> 00:16:29,820 Amen. 52 00:16:57,820 --> 00:16:59,820 Amen. 53 00:17:27,820 --> 00:17:29,820 Amen. 54 00:31:27,820 --> 00:31:46,760 As we continue in worship, and in just a moment, we're going to sing Christ our hope in life and death, 55 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:52,760 and then we are going to move into our time of communion following that song. 56 00:31:53,440 --> 00:32:01,760 Before we sing, however, I want us to take a moment and consider our lives. 57 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:12,040 Paul calls us to examine ourselves in Lamentations chapter 3, and in verse 40, the author of Lamentations says this, 58 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:21,280 "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord." And the call throughout Scripture is that God's people 59 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:28,880 are to be a people who are living in repentance, who are turning away from their sin and turning to God, 60 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:34,400 who are confessing their sin, seeking forgiveness, and putting their hope in God. So I'm going to 61 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:45,760 just take a moment and pray for us, and then I want us to read from together and from the book of Micah. 62 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:57,200 Father in heaven, we come knowing that we are broken, that we are weak, that we have sinned and we have failed, 63 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:05,600 sometimes intentionally, sometimes by omitting those things that we know that we should be doing. 64 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:16,320 And so we come confessing our sin before you, in repentance, knowing that you are the one who forgives. 65 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:23,280 And so we ask this morning that you would forgive us, that you would strengthen us as we seek to walk 66 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:30,000 in righteousness, and that you would restore our spirits and that you would lift our hope. It's in your 67 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:37,360 son's name we pray. Amen. If you would, read with me. We're going to read from Micah, the seventh 68 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:47,680 chapter. If you would, go ahead and read with me. "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing 69 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:57,280 over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever because he 70 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:06,240 delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities 71 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:13,520 underfoot, and you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." This is the word of the Lord. 72 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:24,640 Let's sing Christ our hope in life and death. 73 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:55,120 What is our hope in life and death? Christ alone, Christ alone. What is our only confidence that our souls to Him belong? Who holds our days within His hand? What comes apart from His command? 74 00:34:55,120 --> 00:35:22,960 And what will keep us to the end? The love of Christ in which we stand. Oh, sing hallelujah. Our hope is eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and ever we confess. 75 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:50,800 Christ our open life and life. The truth can cause a troubled soul. God is good. God is good. Where is His grace and goodness known? 76 00:35:50,800 --> 00:36:18,640 In our great Redeemer's blood. Who holds our faith when fields rise. Who stands above the storm of trial. Who sends the waves that bring us now unto the shore of the rock of Christ. Oh, sing hallelujah. 77 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:40,640 Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and then we confess. Christ, I will be right for you. 78 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:46,480 And if you will pray, what will we say? 79 00:36:46,480 --> 00:37:14,320 Christ, He lives. Christ, He lives. And what reward will Heaven bring? Everlasting life within. There we will rise to meet the Lord. Then sin and death will be destroyed. And we will feast in endless joy. 80 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:42,160 In endless joy. When Christ is ours. Forevermore. For evermore. For evermore. For evermore. For evermore. For we sing. Hallelujah. Our hope spreads eternal. For we sing. Hallelujah. Now and ever we can face. 81 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:45,980 Christ, I hope in life and never take. 82 00:37:45,980 --> 00:37:50,540 Oh, sing hallelujah. 83 00:37:50,540 --> 00:37:55,300 Our hope springs eternal. 84 00:37:55,300 --> 00:38:00,020 Oh, sing hallelujah. 85 00:38:00,020 --> 00:38:04,140 Now and ever we confess. 86 00:38:04,140 --> 00:38:07,940 Christ, I hope in life and never. 87 00:38:07,940 --> 00:38:12,020 Now and ever we confess. 88 00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:20,160 Christ, I hope in life and never. 89 00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:30,160 Jesus, as we'll see this morning, calls us to righteousness. 90 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:40,160 And the good news of the gospel is that Jesus does not call us to righteousness without providing for us a way to be righteous. 91 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:54,160 At the cross, we learn this: God does not ignore sin, nor does he lower the standard, but instead he bears it in our place. 92 00:38:54,160 --> 00:39:05,160 Isaiah says this: "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." 93 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:14,160 This bread that we are about to partake of reminds us that Christ's body was given in our place. 94 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:24,160 The cup reminds us of the words of Jesus: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." 95 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:31,160 We must understand this morning that communion is not a reward for the righteous, 96 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:38,160 but rather nourishment for those who know their need. 97 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:42,160 As we've been in the Sermon on the Mount the last several weeks, 98 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:48,160 we've seen that in Jesus' opening words: "For the poor in spirit, 99 00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:59,160 for those who are mourning, for those who are humble, for who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness." 100 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:06,160 In Him, Paul says in Ephesians, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, 101 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:11,160 for the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace." 102 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:20,160 And so we come to this table this morning not trusting in our obedience, but in the obedience of Jesus. 103 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:27,160 We do not come confident in our righteousness, but rather grateful for Christ. 104 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:32,160 And so in a moment, as we take the bread and the cup, I want to remember this promise: 105 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:39,160 There is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let's pray. 106 00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:48,160 Father in heaven, we ask that you bless this bread and this cup, that you would nourish us in the depths of our souls. 107 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:59,160 Without resources, in sorrow for our sin, in sorrow for the brokenness of our world, 108 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:07,160 all creation is crying out and groaning over the brokenness we see and feel and experience. 109 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:14,160 And we come hungry, and we come thirsty, and we just ask that you would satisfy our hearts. 110 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:24,160 That through the riches of your grace, through the wonder of the gospel, and the power of forgiveness, 111 00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:33,160 and the work of the Spirit, may you nourish us. And may you cause us to grow closer to you. 112 00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:41,160 So we thank you for Jesus. We thank you for grace. We thank you for hope. It's in his name we pray. Amen. 113 00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:50,160 If you would, take the bread with me, as remember Jesus giving this bread, saying, "This is my body, which is for you." 114 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:58,160 Let's remember Jesus together. In the same way, Jesus, as we just read, takes the cup, 115 00:41:58,160 --> 00:42:04,160 the new covenant in his blood, and so as often as we do this, let's remember Jesus together. 116 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:13,160 Amen. 117 00:42:41,160 --> 00:43:09,160 We've been moving through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. If you're wondering where we are in terms of the totality of the Sermon on the Mount, I think we're right here on our list of Sermon on the Mount. 118 00:43:09,160 --> 00:43:30,160 So there's a ways to go. I was trying this week as I was preparing to sort of give us a flying overview. Matthew chapter 5 at 30,000 feet. And the wonder of the Word of God is that it is so deep and so wonderful and so powerful. I don't think we could do it. 119 00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:42,160 I mean, we're just going to take a look at verses 17, 18, 19, and 20 this morning. And I told Greg, as we were printing stuff off earlier, that it's good we all brought a lunch. 120 00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:50,160 So we're going to dive into that. We're going to start with a word of prayer first. Let's go ahead and pray. Father in heaven, bless our time together. 121 00:43:50,160 --> 00:44:02,160 May your word be at work in our lives. May your spirit use your word to convict us, to encourage us, to transform us. 122 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:16,160 May we see the righteousness that you have called us to, and may we see that we're just not good enough, we're not strong enough, we're not powerful enough. 123 00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:26,160 But help us to see the good news of the Gospel, that Jesus is, and that in Him we are made righteous. 124 00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:31,160 So encourage us by the Gospel this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 125 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:39,160 So I just want to dive right into it, because I've got a ways to go this morning, and I want to just jump right to verse 20. 126 00:44:39,160 --> 00:44:44,160 And what we're going to do, normally we would read the whole thing, and we would take it sort of section by section, 127 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:53,160 but what I want to do is kind of the opposite. I want to start with this remarkably shocking statement that Jesus makes, 128 00:44:53,160 --> 00:45:00,160 and then I want to sort of work backwards, and as we do, it's going to get a little more shocking, and a little more shocking, 129 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:05,160 and then ultimately we're going to see, I think, the most shocking statement, which is at the very beginning, 130 00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:11,160 but it's also the most hopeful, the most powerful, and the most transformational. 131 00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:21,160 And so Jesus says this, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, 132 00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:28,160 you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." And so we need to define some terms as we get started here this morning. 133 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:34,160 The scribes are experts in the law of Moses, and they became experts in the law of Moses 134 00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:42,160 because their vocation was to copy out the word of God, right? There's no photocopiers. There's no printers. 135 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:49,160 And so if you want a copy of God's word, somebody has to sit and copy through it. 136 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:56,160 And so because the scribes at first were primarily copyists, one of the things that happens when you copy something, 137 00:45:56,160 --> 00:46:02,160 you begin to know it more deeply and more deeply. And so this sort of advances from 138 00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:09,160 simply copying the word of God to becoming an expert in the word of God because you know it so well. 139 00:46:09,160 --> 00:46:19,160 And so the scribes become ultimately this place where they study, transcribe, and ultimately will write commentaries on the law. 140 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:24,160 The scribes, I want us to see, are not casual Bible readers, right? 141 00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:30,160 They're professionally trained Scripture experts. They would begin as children in study of the word of God 142 00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:37,160 as many of the Jewish children did, but they would continue to study and continue to study and continue to study 143 00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:40,160 up until the point they were about 40 years old 144 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:47,160 where they would be sort of ordained into the work of being a scribe and be given the name Rabbi. 145 00:46:47,160 --> 00:46:51,160 So these are not guys that are simply good at Bible trivia. 146 00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:55,160 They're not guys who can sort of quote off a few verses here and there. 147 00:46:55,160 --> 00:47:02,160 These are guys who in many cases have memorized much of the first five books of the Bible. 148 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:07,160 And in some cases, they're almost like Scripture lawyers. They know it so deeply. 149 00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:13,160 They can answer questions, and they are publicly respected. 150 00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:20,160 In towns, they'd be greeted with honor, given seats of prominence, and looked to as authorities of the Word of God. 151 00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:25,160 And so if anybody knows the Bible, the people who knew the Bible the deepest in Jesus' day were the scribes. 152 00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:31,160 And so as Jesus begins with this, he doesn't begin with just some people who are casually interested in the Word of God, 153 00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:39,160 but people who know it so deeply, they are teaching and commentating and memorizing it. 154 00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:48,160 The second group that Jesus memorizes is the Pharisees, and they are part of a movement within Judaism to obey the law of God more deeply. 155 00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:55,160 Right? They sought to obey every command that God gives, not just sort of in a general way, but in great detail. 156 00:47:55,160 --> 00:48:02,160 So in the Law of Moses, there are 600 commands. If you go through and count them all, there are 600 of them. 157 00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:07,160 And the Pharisees said, "We're going to follow all of them, but not just generally, but in great detail." 158 00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:16,160 So when they hear God commands that they give, these guys are going out to the garden, and Jesus talks about this, and they're going to their dill plant. 159 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:25,160 I don't know if they're making pickles or what, but they're going through their dill leaves, and they're going, "Nine for me, one for God. Nine for me, one for God." 160 00:48:25,160 --> 00:48:34,160 And then they show up, and they put their tithe of the leaves of their herbs to support the house of God. 161 00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:45,160 But additionally, they are so devoted to keeping those 600 commands in great detail that they begin to add to them, right? 162 00:48:45,160 --> 00:48:57,160 So, I don't want to break this commandment, and here is the line, and I don't want to be even near the line, so I'll make another commandment that acts as a buffer, and I'll keep that commandment as well. 163 00:48:57,160 --> 00:49:06,160 And so, not only do they keep the commands of God, but they add to those commands so that they can be even more righteous. 164 00:49:06,160 --> 00:49:16,160 Their aim and their goal ultimately was faithfulness and ordinary life, not just at the temple several times a year or in synagogue on a weekly basis. 165 00:49:16,160 --> 00:49:25,160 In the eyes of the people in the first century, the scribes and the Pharisees were the height of spirituality. 166 00:49:25,160 --> 00:49:30,160 If righteousness could be measured, the scribes and Pharisees would be more righteous than anyone. 167 00:49:30,160 --> 00:49:35,160 We'll see this more deeply when we get into chapter 6 of the Sermon on the Mount. 168 00:49:35,160 --> 00:49:40,160 And then Jesus makes this shocking declaration. 169 00:49:40,160 --> 00:49:50,160 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, the most righteous people that you have ever met, 170 00:49:50,160 --> 00:49:57,160 unless it exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 171 00:49:57,160 --> 00:50:03,160 Notice that Jesus, when he talks about righteousness, he doesn't hold them up as an example. 172 00:50:03,160 --> 00:50:09,160 He's not saying, "Be as righteous as the scribes. Be as righteous as the Pharisees." 173 00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:16,160 He says, "You've got to be more righteous." And that word that he uses for "exceeds" means to overflow. 174 00:50:16,160 --> 00:50:21,160 In fact, one of the places Jesus is using it, the feeding of the 5,000. 175 00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:28,160 And he's fed all of these people with a few loaves and a few fish, and the disciples go out and pick up leftovers. 176 00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:37,160 And they end up with 12 baskets of leftovers, and we're not just talking barely to the top, but these baskets are overflowing. 177 00:50:37,160 --> 00:50:45,160 And these guys are walking, and there's pieces of bread and pieces of fish falling out of their baskets because there is so much. 178 00:50:45,160 --> 00:50:52,160 The picture here of righteousness, and what's so shocking is Jesus says, "Take the most righteous people you know." 179 00:50:52,160 --> 00:51:03,160 The ones that know the Word of God, who have sought to obey it in every aspect of their life, and you've got to be bigger and more righteous than that. 180 00:51:03,160 --> 00:51:14,160 I don't want you to just hear Jesus' words, but feel the weight of this just a little bit as Jesus says this, or as we sort of think through this. 181 00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:24,160 Kingdom righteousness doesn't just match the best obedience that you've ever seen. It overflows beyond it. 182 00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:31,160 And for Jesus' people, listening to this, this would have been absolutely stunning. 183 00:51:31,160 --> 00:51:38,160 How can I be more righteous than a scribe? How can I be more righteous than a Pharisee? 184 00:51:38,160 --> 00:51:48,160 Now we also react to that. I don't think we all react the same, but we all struggle with these words of Jesus. 185 00:51:48,160 --> 00:51:57,160 That you must be more righteous than a scribe or a Pharisee. And so in some cases, what happens is we begin to minimize the righteousness that Jesus is calling for. 186 00:51:57,160 --> 00:52:05,160 Right? We'll look at the scribes and Pharisees and go, "Well, they don't look all that righteous to me." Right? How can these guys be righteous? 187 00:52:05,160 --> 00:52:14,160 Right? In a few chapters, they're going to conspire and be instrumental in the plot that kills Jesus. How can they be righteous? 188 00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:20,160 I would just say this, just starting with where we're at right now. They knew Scripture far better than any of us. 189 00:52:20,160 --> 00:52:27,160 I would say they practiced daily obedience, probably far more consistently than most of us. 190 00:52:27,160 --> 00:52:38,160 Jesus critiques, but not by saying that their righteousness is small, but by saying it needs to be bigger. 191 00:52:38,160 --> 00:52:42,160 And we have a tendency to try to minimize the words of Jesus. 192 00:52:42,160 --> 00:52:47,160 Right? We explain it away. We redefine righteousness. We lower the standard. 193 00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:54,160 In fact, you'll see it in the next six examples Jesus uses in Matthew chapter 5. 194 00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:59,160 Almost every person who comes to these tries to soften them and make them smaller. 195 00:52:59,160 --> 00:53:09,160 That's not what Jesus is doing. He's making us see that this righteousness must be great than anything you have ever seen or can imagine. 196 00:53:09,160 --> 00:53:15,160 And so I want to say to you this morning, don't minimize the force of Jesus' statement to try to make ourselves feel better. 197 00:53:15,160 --> 00:53:20,160 The second thing that happens, maybe we try to minimize this and say it's not as righteous as it looks. 198 00:53:20,160 --> 00:53:27,160 The other thing that happens is sometimes we run in fear. Our fear looks at this righteousness and says, "I can't measure up. It's impossible." 199 00:53:27,160 --> 00:53:35,160 And we become discouraged, and we shrink back in despair. "I can't, so I won't, so this is not for me." 200 00:53:35,160 --> 00:53:46,160 Or maybe this, we rebel. If fear tells us that we can't, rebellion tells me that I don't want to. We shouldn't have to. 201 00:53:46,160 --> 00:53:53,160 And we tend to bristle at demands and resist the idea that Jesus gets to tell us what to do. 202 00:53:53,160 --> 00:54:00,160 Like little kids going, "Well, you're not in charge of me." Or sometimes we seek to do the bare minimum. 203 00:54:00,160 --> 00:54:08,160 Almost every paper that was assigned in school for me, somebody in the class would ask, "How many pages does it need to be? 204 00:54:08,160 --> 00:54:15,160 How many words does it need to be?" And I remember when Microsoft Word first came out with a word counter. 205 00:54:15,160 --> 00:54:23,160 And I'd be sitting there, and I'd be typing, I'm like, "999 words." I'll add my middle name, "1,000." Boom! 206 00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:30,160 A lot of us, when we look at a standard, our thought is, "How little can we do?" 207 00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:39,160 So we minimize, we become discouraged, we rebel, and then also we try to say, "How little can I do?" 208 00:54:39,160 --> 00:54:44,160 Laziness seeks the bare minimum. What can I do and still get mine? 209 00:54:44,160 --> 00:54:50,160 So we have different reactions, but the same problem. No matter where we start, fearful, resistant, 210 00:54:50,160 --> 00:54:57,160 and apathetic, there is a heart-level struggle to engage with Jesus' words about righteousness. 211 00:54:57,160 --> 00:55:04,160 You see, Jesus' words don't just expose what we do, but how we relate to God Himself. 212 00:55:04,160 --> 00:55:13,160 We don't naturally move toward this kind of righteousness that searches us, reshapes us, and demands more than surface obedience. 213 00:55:13,160 --> 00:55:17,160 And so the question is, why would Jesus say something so shocking? 214 00:55:17,160 --> 00:55:25,160 This verse doesn't come out of nowhere. Jesus has just not done blessing the poor and the meek and the hungry, 215 00:55:25,160 --> 00:55:31,160 saying, "These are my kingdom people." And then He continues in the Beatitudes saying, "Look at how kingdom people grow, 216 00:55:31,160 --> 00:55:37,160 and how they impact the world, that you are salt and you are light." 217 00:55:37,160 --> 00:55:43,160 And He doesn't hide the cost that life will be opposed, faithfulness will be difficult. 218 00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:52,160 And in a place where we struggle to concentrate all this on is righteousness. 219 00:55:52,160 --> 00:56:00,160 And so Jesus comes and He says this shocking statement, "You've got to be more righteous." 220 00:56:00,160 --> 00:56:05,160 Jesus has already turned so many things upside down. 221 00:56:05,160 --> 00:56:11,160 And the righteousness that we're going to see is not just a rule-keeping checkbox, 222 00:56:11,160 --> 00:56:15,160 but a rightness before God, shaped by His Word, reflective of His character. 223 00:56:15,160 --> 00:56:22,160 And this goes deeper than just our actions. It doesn't impact our actions, but it goes deeper and impacts our heart. 224 00:56:22,160 --> 00:56:29,160 So I want to start with this shocking statement that your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. 225 00:56:29,160 --> 00:56:34,160 And I want us to sort of work backwards into this. 226 00:56:34,160 --> 00:56:40,160 And what Jesus says right before this is that God's Word is meant to be obeyed. 227 00:56:40,160 --> 00:56:43,160 Look at what He says in verse 19. 228 00:56:43,160 --> 00:56:51,160 "Therefore, whoever relaxes the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same, he will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. 229 00:56:51,160 --> 00:56:56,160 But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." 230 00:56:56,160 --> 00:57:03,160 Jesus very simply and very clearly says there are no small commands in the Word of God. 231 00:57:03,160 --> 00:57:08,160 Think about how we react to commands and rules, right? Probably all of us react a little bit differently. 232 00:57:08,160 --> 00:57:14,160 Some of you, by nature, are rule followers, right? You have a list of rules, and you like to follow us. 233 00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:22,160 Some of us, however, are a little bit different, right? We've never met a rule we couldn't justify not following. 234 00:57:22,160 --> 00:57:32,160 And so Jesus speaks to us about the commands of God. I want you to think about how often we respond to commands we don't like. 235 00:57:32,160 --> 00:57:37,160 So sometimes when we encounter a command we don't like, we just say it's not that big a deal. 236 00:57:37,160 --> 00:57:47,160 I was driving with the kids this week, and we were heading down the road at a rate of speed, and the kids go, "Dad, how fast are you going?" 237 00:57:47,160 --> 00:57:51,160 And without thinking, I just told them. And they go, "Dad, what's the speed limit?" 238 00:57:51,160 --> 00:57:57,160 And I go, "Well, it's not that bad. It's not that big of a deal," right? And just kept doing my thing. 239 00:57:57,160 --> 00:58:02,160 But isn't that how so often we react to the commands of God? It's not that big of a deal, right? 240 00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:09,160 It's just a small thing. Or sometimes, right, that no longer applies to me. 241 00:58:09,160 --> 00:58:14,160 It's outdated. It's served its purpose. We've all heard about laws that are so ridiculous. 242 00:58:14,160 --> 00:58:20,160 So in Culpeper, Virginia, there is a law that you cannot wash your mule on the sidewalk, right? 243 00:58:20,160 --> 00:58:24,160 Not something we struggle with today. We go, "Look, I don't have to worry about washing mules. 244 00:58:24,160 --> 00:58:32,160 I don't even have a mule. In fact, I don't even know--I know people with horses, but I don't know anybody who even has a mule." 245 00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:38,160 And we look at that law, and we go, "Well, that's outdated. It can be disposable." 246 00:58:38,160 --> 00:58:47,160 And what's interesting is that even in my lifetime, things that were once viewed as the standards by which we were to live are now considered out of date. 247 00:58:47,160 --> 00:58:53,160 And so sometimes we say it's not that big a deal. Sometimes we say, "Well, that's not the way things are anymore." 248 00:58:53,160 --> 00:59:00,160 And then third, sometimes we come in and we sort of treat the laws of God as if they are open to negotiation. 249 00:59:00,160 --> 00:59:07,160 Right? I won't do that, but I also won't do this. I won't do that, but I will do this. 250 00:59:07,160 --> 00:59:16,160 You see, Jesus here, in these words, does not allow us to shrink God's Word to a manageable size. 251 00:59:16,160 --> 00:59:22,160 He says this, "Therefore, whoever relaxes 252 00:59:22,160 --> 00:59:29,160 the least of these commandments." The translation here could be like untying. 253 00:59:29,160 --> 00:59:33,160 Untying a horse. Untying a knot in your shoes. 254 00:59:33,160 --> 00:59:37,160 That there is a tendency that inhabits the human heart to hear what God has to say 255 00:59:37,160 --> 00:59:42,160 and seek to untie that commandment so it doesn't apply to us. 256 00:59:42,160 --> 00:59:48,160 And you find ourselves doing backflicks to say, "This is not what Jesus really means." 257 00:59:48,160 --> 00:59:52,160 Jesus very clearly and simply says, "The commands of God matter." 258 00:59:52,160 --> 00:59:59,160 And secondly, he says this, that this is more than just an intellectual exercise. 259 00:59:59,160 --> 01:00:05,160 He'll say this, "Whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of God." 260 01:00:05,160 --> 01:00:07,160 So there's two things that are happening here. 261 01:00:07,160 --> 01:00:13,160 It's very easy for us to treat the Bible and the Word of God as simply an academic exercise, right? 262 01:00:13,160 --> 01:00:19,160 We'll analyze, we'll define, we'll debate, we'll admire how wonderfully Scripture is put together. 263 01:00:19,160 --> 01:00:23,160 But our interaction with the Word of God is not intended to stop at just that level of thought. 264 01:00:23,160 --> 01:00:28,160 We can fall into this trap where we will learn and we will learn, but we will never apply. 265 01:00:28,160 --> 01:00:36,160 And notice what Jesus says, "Whoever does them and then teaches them," right? 266 01:00:36,160 --> 01:00:40,160 We have a saying, right, "Those who can do and those who can't teach," right? 267 01:00:40,160 --> 01:00:45,160 Jesus says you're supposed to do both. He's not talking to preachers or leaders. 268 01:00:45,160 --> 01:00:51,160 He's saying to those who are listening, the disciples who are around Him, and the crowds that surround all of them, 269 01:00:51,160 --> 01:01:03,160 is that the Word of God matters, and you're to do it and to share with others how to do it. 270 01:01:03,160 --> 01:01:17,160 And so here we find this picture. To loosen God's commands, to treat obedience lightly, is to miss the kind of righteousness that Jesus is teaching. 271 01:01:17,160 --> 01:01:23,160 I want you to see that Jesus' command for righteousness is not detached from Scripture, but it's connected to it. 272 01:01:23,160 --> 01:01:34,160 It's not invented by us, negotiated with God, or selectively applied. It flows from God's Word, and it is serious enough to obey it. 273 01:01:34,160 --> 01:01:46,160 If you notice what Jesus said, there's this righteousness that is a high standard. It comes from obedience to the Word of God, and then He will say this: 274 01:01:46,160 --> 01:01:54,160 This Word is unshakable, and it is enduring. He says this in verse 18: 275 01:01:54,160 --> 01:02:02,160 "Truly I say to you, unless heaven and earth pass away, not an iota or a dot will pass away from the law until all is accomplished." 276 01:02:02,160 --> 01:02:12,160 And what Jesus does first is He challenges our view of the unshakable, and He does so by directing us to things we generally think don't move: 277 01:02:12,160 --> 01:02:19,160 the heavens and the earth, right? Though the weather is bound to change like the hills will still remain, right? 278 01:02:19,160 --> 01:02:25,160 This picture that the hills just keep going no matter what happens around us. 279 01:02:25,160 --> 01:02:30,160 And Jesus in doing this, interestingly, is going back to Genesis chapter 1, 280 01:02:30,160 --> 01:02:37,160 where all of creation is preceded by the Word of God. That God speaks and creation happens. 281 01:02:37,160 --> 01:02:45,160 And Jesus, the Word made flesh, who is before creation and after creation, challenges our view of what endures. 282 01:02:45,160 --> 01:02:48,160 We tend to think of mountains as being enduring. 283 01:02:48,160 --> 01:02:52,160 If you were ever collecting the state quarters back in the day, 284 01:02:52,160 --> 01:02:56,160 it sounds strange to think of something that, you know, for me is recent memory. 285 01:02:56,160 --> 01:03:00,160 My kids happened years before they were born. 286 01:03:00,160 --> 01:03:04,160 The New Hampshire state quarter on the back has a mountain, the old man in the mountain. 287 01:03:04,160 --> 01:03:08,160 Unfortunately, before that quarter was even minted, 288 01:03:08,160 --> 01:03:12,160 the man in the mountain fell off the mountain, and all the rocks fell down, right? 289 01:03:12,160 --> 01:03:15,160 So the mountain is still there, but it's changed. 290 01:03:15,160 --> 01:03:21,160 And we're used to that, right? Rivers change course, mountains change shape. 291 01:03:21,160 --> 01:03:24,160 They generally endure, but they still change a little bit. 292 01:03:24,160 --> 01:03:27,160 And we bring that idea to the Word of God. 293 01:03:27,160 --> 01:03:29,160 Notice what Jesus says. 294 01:03:29,160 --> 01:03:33,160 "Not one iota nor a dot," the King James says, "a jot or a tittle," 295 01:03:33,160 --> 01:03:38,160 think about the dots on an "i" or the cross on a "t." 296 01:03:38,160 --> 01:03:44,160 This specifically refers to one of the smallest parts of the Hebrew alphabet. 297 01:03:44,160 --> 01:03:50,160 Jesus says, "Even the smallest part outlasts creation." 298 01:03:50,160 --> 01:03:53,160 Right? God's Word is not like a construction zone. 299 01:03:53,160 --> 01:03:55,160 When we drive through it one week and speed is reduced, 300 01:03:55,160 --> 01:03:58,160 we drive through it the next week, the construction is finished, 301 01:03:58,160 --> 01:04:02,160 and everything's back to normal, the Word of God does not change. 302 01:04:02,160 --> 01:04:13,160 So here we have a standard for righteousness based upon obedience to the Word of God that does not move or disappear 303 01:04:13,160 --> 01:04:16,160 until it's all accomplished. 304 01:04:16,160 --> 01:04:19,160 Here's the good news. 305 01:04:19,160 --> 01:04:23,160 God's Word is fulfilled in Jesus. 306 01:04:23,160 --> 01:04:26,160 Listen to what he says. 307 01:04:26,160 --> 01:04:29,160 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. 308 01:04:29,160 --> 01:04:32,160 Not come to abolish them, but fulfill them." 309 01:04:32,160 --> 01:04:35,160 And you may say, "Why does this matter?" 310 01:04:35,160 --> 01:04:42,160 There's a righteousness I can't meet. It's meant to be obeyed and enduring, and I am done for. 311 01:04:42,160 --> 01:04:46,160 And nothing in these words of Jesus comfort me in my affliction. 312 01:04:46,160 --> 01:04:48,160 They don't help me in my sorrow. 313 01:04:48,160 --> 01:04:51,160 They just make it a standard that makes me feel worse about myself. 314 01:04:51,160 --> 01:04:54,160 How is this helpful? 315 01:04:54,160 --> 01:04:58,160 And to that, I want you to hear the Word of Jesus. 316 01:04:58,160 --> 01:05:03,160 I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 317 01:05:03,160 --> 01:05:05,160 I came to fulfill the law. 318 01:05:05,160 --> 01:05:11,160 And when we're thinking about the law and the prophets that Jesus is speaking about here, we're talking about the Old Testament. 319 01:05:11,160 --> 01:05:17,160 God's law for Israel, it detailed righteous moral behavior. 320 01:05:17,160 --> 01:05:21,160 Right? Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't covet. 321 01:05:21,160 --> 01:05:29,160 It detailed religious, righteous religious practice. 322 01:05:29,160 --> 01:05:45,160 Sacrifices, cleanliness, ritual washings, and the law of God showed the people what a righteous people different from the nations around them would look, right? 323 01:05:45,160 --> 01:05:53,160 Don't steal. Worship in cleanliness, with sacrifices, dealing with sin, and you're going to be different from the nations around you. 324 01:05:53,160 --> 01:06:00,160 You're going to live righteously. You're going to cut your hair differently, cut your beard differently, eat and dress differently. 325 01:06:00,160 --> 01:06:08,160 And there are two things that Jesus says about himself, "I did not come to abolish, to tear down or destroy, but there is something I did come to do. 326 01:06:08,160 --> 01:06:32,160 I came to fulfill, make complete." And so the question here for us, looking at a standard we can't meet, with commands that we struggle to obey, in a word that does not change, Jesus says this, "I came to fulfill the law." 327 01:06:32,160 --> 01:06:56,160 John begins his Gospel like this: "The Word became flesh," that's Jesus, "and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." And so in one sense, Jesus fulfills the law by being the Word made flesh. 328 01:06:56,160 --> 01:07:07,160 Another way that He fulfills His law is in Luke chapter 24, beginning with Moses and all the prophets. On the road to Emmaus, He interpreted all the things in Scripture concerning Himself. 329 01:07:07,160 --> 01:07:19,160 And what you find is if you start in the beginning of Genesis with Adam, the one man through whom sin enters the world, there comes another man, a new Adam, whose name is Jesus, 330 01:07:19,160 --> 01:07:30,160 through whom righteousness and forgiveness is made possible and we are restored. And you can move through the entirety of the Old Testament, 331 01:07:30,160 --> 01:07:44,160 through the prophets, through the law of God, that He's the better Passover lamb, that He's the rock in the wilderness that gives us water, He's the manna from heaven that nourishes our soul. 332 01:07:44,160 --> 01:07:55,160 He's the true prophet. He's the true priest. He is the true king. And in a sense, every word of the Old Testament directs us to Jesus. 333 01:07:55,160 --> 01:08:05,160 But it goes deeper than all of that. You see, in Jesus, the moral righteousness of the law is fulfilled. 334 01:08:05,160 --> 01:08:14,160 Hebrews says this, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, 335 01:08:14,160 --> 01:08:18,160 but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin." 336 01:08:18,160 --> 01:08:23,160 Those moral rules of the law, "Do not steal, do not covet, do not commit adultery." 337 01:08:23,160 --> 01:08:34,160 All 600 of them, Jesus keeps. And He doesn't just keep the rules, but He also does what is right in every situation. 338 01:08:34,160 --> 01:08:42,160 He doesn't just avoid the bad, but He does what is righteous. And in doing so, He fulfills the law. 339 01:08:42,160 --> 01:08:47,160 And in righteous religious practice, Jesus fulfills the law. 340 01:08:47,160 --> 01:08:50,160 Listen to these words from the book of Hebrews. 341 01:08:50,160 --> 01:08:54,160 "But when Christ appeared as the high priest for the good things are to come, 342 01:08:54,160 --> 01:08:59,160 that through the greater and more perfect tent or tabernacle not made with hands, 343 01:08:59,160 --> 01:09:04,160 He entered once for all into the holy places, not by the means of a blood of goats and calves, 344 01:09:04,160 --> 01:09:10,160 but by the means of His own blood securing an eternal redemption." 345 01:09:10,160 --> 01:09:17,160 Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, 346 01:09:17,160 --> 01:09:22,160 which can never take away sins, but when Christ had offered up for all time 347 01:09:22,160 --> 01:09:28,160 a single sacrifice for sin, He sat down at the right hand of God. 348 01:09:28,160 --> 01:09:33,160 So not only does Jesus fully keep the moral law, He fully keeps the religious law, 349 01:09:33,160 --> 01:09:39,160 the ultimate sacrifice for sin, and He ultimately creates a righteous people. 350 01:09:39,160 --> 01:09:43,160 Paul will say, "Those of you who are far off have now been brought near by the blood of Christ, 351 01:09:43,160 --> 01:09:50,160 for Jesus Himself is our peace, who has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility 352 01:09:50,160 --> 01:09:58,160 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of two. 353 01:09:58,160 --> 01:10:06,160 And making peace, He might reconcile both of us to God in one body through the cross, killing the hostility." 354 01:10:06,160 --> 01:10:14,160 So you might say for a minute you started with this incredibly high expectation of righteousness that exceeds, 355 01:10:14,160 --> 01:10:21,160 that is found in the Word of God that endures, and now you're telling me Jesus has fulfilled it. 356 01:10:21,160 --> 01:10:28,160 What does that mean? How does this help me? How does this change anything? 357 01:10:28,160 --> 01:10:34,160 You see, you and I are met by an impossible moral standard. 358 01:10:34,160 --> 01:10:44,160 Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, that moral standard is meant to be obeyed. 359 01:10:44,160 --> 01:10:49,160 Therefore, one who relaxes the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 360 01:10:49,160 --> 01:10:59,160 will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. The standard is enduring and outlasts all things. 361 01:10:59,160 --> 01:11:05,160 Unless heaven and earth pass away, not an iota or dot will pass away from the law until it is accomplished. 362 01:11:05,160 --> 01:11:14,160 But here's the good news. I have not come to abolish the law or prophets, but I have come to fulfill them. 363 01:11:14,160 --> 01:11:20,160 And if you look at this standard and you say, "There's no way my righteousness can exceed this. 364 01:11:20,160 --> 01:11:28,160 There's no way that I struggle to follow the law of God." I know it endures, but I don't. 365 01:11:28,160 --> 01:11:38,160 Let me tell you this: Jesus did. And in doing so, He gives us the gift of His righteousness. 366 01:11:38,160 --> 01:11:50,160 One of my favorite verses in the New Testament: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 367 01:11:50,160 --> 01:11:57,160 Do you hear the good news? That in our brokenness, in our unrighteousness, in our sin, and in our rebellion, 368 01:11:57,160 --> 01:12:09,160 Jesus takes that at the cross. And in Him, we become righteous. That Jesus gives us His righteousness, and that changes everything. 369 01:12:09,160 --> 01:12:17,160 You see, Jesus comes with an answer for your righteousness problem. He comes for an answer for your obedience problem. 370 01:12:17,160 --> 01:12:26,160 And He doesn't do it by minimizing righteousness. He does so by changing our hearts. Do you know what the difference is between obligation 371 01:12:26,160 --> 01:12:37,160 and desire? I remember the first time I ever had to pay taxes. I was like 15 or 16. And we filled out like 1040 easy. 372 01:12:37,160 --> 01:12:43,160 And I was like, "What? Not only did they take money out of my paycheck every week, now I've got to give them more money?" 373 01:12:43,160 --> 01:12:50,160 And I was mad. And I didn't really have a choice because my dad was helping me, and I couldn't be like, "Well, I'm just going to evade taxes for the rest of my life." 374 01:12:50,160 --> 01:12:58,160 But I was not happy. Like I'm like looking up a tri-corner hat, like I'm throwing tea in the harbor. Like I did not want to pay those taxes. 375 01:12:58,160 --> 01:13:17,160 And it was not a lot of money. I was like 15 or 16. I was grumpy. Fast forward like 15 years. And I'm in like a little store, looking at a little shiny rock with a sparkly gold band, 376 01:13:17,160 --> 01:13:24,160 about to spend maybe more money in one moment than I had in a lot of my life before that. 377 01:13:24,160 --> 01:13:32,160 I mean it wasn't really expensive in big picture terms, but for me it was. And I didn't even hesitate, right? 378 01:13:32,160 --> 01:13:42,160 Because one was an obligation. Another was desire. And I was so excited. I was gonna wait for like two months. As soon as I bought the ring, 379 01:13:42,160 --> 01:13:49,160 it was like next day, I'm like, "Yeah, let's put this to use." Like, so excited. You see, there's a difference in our hearts 380 01:13:49,160 --> 01:13:56,160 between obligation, and many of you have been looking at the law of God in Christianity as this obligation. 381 01:13:56,160 --> 01:14:03,160 I better do it, or I'm gonna be in trouble. And Jesus comes along, and He changes your heart, and it goes from obligation 382 01:14:03,160 --> 01:14:11,160 to desire. And that discouragement, and that avoidance, and that pride, and that rebellion is removed from your life 383 01:14:11,160 --> 01:14:19,160 by the righteousness of Jesus. And now you chase that righteousness with joy. You see, Jesus isn't minimizing 384 01:14:19,160 --> 01:14:26,160 or diminishing righteousness. When He says, "I've fulfilled it," He's making it possible for us by changing our hearts. 385 01:14:26,160 --> 01:14:34,160 And when you begin to see that, it turns this text around. Jesus is the fulfillment of the righteousness. 386 01:14:34,160 --> 01:14:42,160 The righteousness that endures and lasts. The righteousness that is important, even in the smallest detail. 387 01:14:42,160 --> 01:14:54,160 And it's a righteousness that will make you more righteous, not in pride, but in reality more than all of the righteousness that you have seen before. 388 01:14:54,160 --> 01:15:00,160 And it's not that we still don't struggle. There's good news, but we still sometimes struggle. 389 01:15:00,160 --> 01:15:05,160 We'll see that a little bit next week as we move through six examples of righteousness, but I want you to understand this. 390 01:15:05,160 --> 01:15:16,160 Jesus has been righteous on your behalf. The righteousness that Jesus calls us to goes deeper than external actions. It goes to your heart. 391 01:15:16,160 --> 01:15:25,160 And Jesus comes to you with an answer for your righteousness problem. I remember in college, it was between my junior and senior year. 392 01:15:25,160 --> 01:15:33,160 I got in an accident and broke my foot. Went to the worst emergency room in the world, and they said, "You're fine. Here's a bunch of pain medicine. 393 01:15:33,160 --> 01:15:39,160 Just take pain medicine until it doesn't hurt anymore." Right? You know what happened? I was miserable. 394 01:15:39,160 --> 01:15:46,160 So I made an appointment at an orthopedic doctor. Walked into his office while I kind of hobbled in on crutches, dragging my foot. 395 01:15:46,160 --> 01:15:53,160 He looks at my x-rays right there in the waiting room and goes, "Oh, everything in the left half of your foot is shattered." Right? 396 01:15:53,160 --> 01:16:05,160 So one doctor comes and says, "Here, let's cover up the pain." Another doctor comes and says, "Let's get down into the root of the problem, and let's truly fix it." 397 01:16:05,160 --> 01:16:12,160 You see, Jesus doesn't come and simply say, "Hey, let's see if we can figure out a way to cover this up, to hide the symptoms, to hide your pain." 398 01:16:12,160 --> 01:16:19,160 He goes down deep into your heart, and sometimes that's more painful than the band-aid. And he goes down deep into your heart, but you know what he does? 399 01:16:19,160 --> 01:16:33,160 He fixes you and transforms you and calls you to righteousness. As the Old Testament promises, the commands of God are no longer on tablets of stone, but they are written into your heart by the work of the Holy Spirit. 400 01:16:33,160 --> 01:16:45,160 And so if you come this morning, and you are tired, and you are despairing, and it feels like everything is falling apart in your life and in righteousness, Jesus says, "I have fulfilled it." 401 01:16:45,160 --> 01:16:52,160 Not only am I your righteousness, but I'm your hope. I'm your strength. I'm everything that you need. 402 01:16:52,160 --> 01:16:59,160 In fact, he ends this sermon by saying, "Those who take these words and put them into practice are like a wise man who builds his house on the rock." 403 01:16:59,160 --> 01:17:06,160 And when the storms of life come and the winds blow, that stands firm. 404 01:17:06,160 --> 01:17:10,160 If Jesus is not your righteousness, you're building in the sand. 405 01:17:10,160 --> 01:17:15,160 Jesus is not your hope. You're building where everything is going to fall down. 406 01:17:15,160 --> 01:17:25,160 The call in this text is yes, to see the impossibly high standard of righteousness, and to know that Jesus transforms us. 407 01:17:25,160 --> 01:17:32,160 Because it took him who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Let's pray. 408 01:17:32,160 --> 01:17:37,160 Father in heaven, thank you for Jesus and for grace. Thank you for your word. 409 01:17:37,160 --> 01:17:49,160 Thank you for your people. May you encourage our broken hearts. May you lift up our struggling and weak legs. 410 01:17:49,160 --> 01:18:01,160 May you energize us. May you change and transform us. May you encourage us deeply. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 411 01:18:01,160 --> 01:18:11,160 We're going to stand, and we are going to sing Build My Life. 412 01:18:29,160 --> 01:18:49,160 Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for You. 413 01:18:57,160 --> 01:19:20,160 Jesus the name above every other name. Jesus the only one who could ever sing. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for You. Oh, we live for You. 414 01:19:20,160 --> 01:19:47,160 Holy, there is no one like You. There is none beside You. Open up my eyes and wonder, and show me who You are. Help me with Your heart and hate me. It will let You lose around me. 415 01:19:47,160 --> 01:20:14,160 I will build my life upon Your heart. It is a firm foundation. I will put my heart in Your heart. And I will not be shaken. 416 01:20:14,160 --> 01:20:41,160 Holy, there is no one like You. There is none beside You. Both of my eyes and wonder. Show me who You are. Help me with Your heart. Give me in love to those of You. 417 01:20:41,160 --> 01:20:53,160 I'm very thankful that you are here with us this morning. We're getting ready to have Soup Sunday in a few minutes. We'd love to have you stay with us and join us for lunch. 418 01:20:53,160 --> 01:21:06,160 If not, I think we do have to-go containers, so you're welcome to do that as well. Next Sunday is Children's Church Sunday, so the second and the fourth Sunday of every month. 419 01:21:06,160 --> 01:21:18,160 We'll be here Wednesday night, 7 p.m., or 6 p.m., without Linda to remind me about me getting my times wrong. 6 p.m., we're going to go a little deeper into this text from this morning. 420 01:21:18,160 --> 01:21:24,160 So let's go ahead. I'm going to have a word of prayer, read some Scripture, and then we'll be dismissed. 421 01:21:24,160 --> 01:21:33,160 Father in heaven, we thank you for all that you have given to us and all that you have done for us. We thank you for your people and for your word, for your church. 422 01:21:33,160 --> 01:21:40,160 We thank you for this meal that we are about to eat. May you bless this time of fellowship and this time of nourishment, 423 01:21:40,160 --> 01:21:47,160 that we would not just be physically strengthened, but that you would spiritually strengthen us and encourage us through this time we're spending together. 424 01:21:47,160 --> 01:21:53,160 We thank you for the food that you have given us. Thank you most of all for Jesus, the bread of life, 425 01:21:53,160 --> 01:21:59,160 who satisfies all the desires of our heart. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 426 01:21:59,160 --> 01:22:07,160 John chapter 3 says this, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are. 427 01:22:07,160 --> 01:22:17,160 The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children, and what we will be has not yet appeared. 428 01:22:17,160 --> 01:22:28,160 But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is, and everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure." 429 01:22:28,160 --> 01:22:39,160 As we go, remember that the righteousness Jesus calls us to is not something that we achieve on our own, but something that He works in our lives by His grace. 430 01:22:39,160 --> 01:22:53,160 And so may the God who has called you, the one who has called you to be His children, give you hearts that long for what is right, lives that are shaped by His word, and fix your hope firmly on Christ. 431 01:22:53,160 --> 01:23:02,160 And as you wait for His appearing, may your faith bear fruit in obedience and love and holiness until the day that we see Him as He is. 432 01:23:02,160 --> 01:23:06,160 We want to go in peace and live for His glory. 433 01:23:14,160 --> 01:23:36,160 Praise God, from Him all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above the Heavenly Host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 434 01:23:44,160 --> 01:23:46,160 Thank you. 435 01:24:14,160 --> 01:24:16,160 Thank you. 436 01:24:44,160 --> 01:24:46,160 Thank you. 437 01:25:44,160 --> 01:25:46,160 Amen. 438 01:26:14,160 --> 01:26:20,160 Amen. 439 01:26:44,160 --> 01:26:46,160 Amen.