Audience of One (3 of 5)
Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Dave Gustavsen
Matthew 6:1-18
Open to Matthew 6.
We're taking six weeks to study the Sermon on the Mount-the first sermon that Jesus ever gave…and maybe the most famous. And we've been saying every week that the worst thing you can do is to view it as a checklist to follow. Because Jesus said that when you focus on surface obedience, you're missing the main point.
And you remember-he used that famous illustration in Matthew chapter 23-he said if you polish the outside of a cup, the cup is still dirty! Right? It looks good from a distance, but it's actually disgusting and unusable. But he said if you clean the inside, the outside takes care of itself. So, if you focus on having the right heart toward God, THEN the Sermon on the Mount becomes this picture of the kind of life that naturally flows from that kind of heart.
So…in chapter 6, he really drills down deep into the heart. And he starts to talk about our motives. Why do you do the things that you do?
For some reason, I remember this night-I guess it was about 9 or 10 years ago. It was a weekday night; I came home from the office. And at that time we just had our first three kids. And my two boys were having dinner at the home of a friend. So it was just my wife and me and our daughter. And as soon as my daughter Sara was done eating, she got up and she said, ''I'm going to go and do some gymnastics in the living room.'' (Just what I love to do right after dinner). She was about 3 years old. And we said, ''Great-you go do that, and we'll be right here at the table.'' And she put her hands on her hips, and she said, ''Dad-you have to come and watch me!'' And I said, ''I'll tell you what. You go and practice gymnastics for a while, and then I'll come and watch you.''
So she went into the living room, and about a minute later, she was back. ''Dad, all done practicing. Time to come watch me.'' I said, ''Maybe you should practice a littl ...
Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Dave Gustavsen
Matthew 6:1-18
Open to Matthew 6.
We're taking six weeks to study the Sermon on the Mount-the first sermon that Jesus ever gave…and maybe the most famous. And we've been saying every week that the worst thing you can do is to view it as a checklist to follow. Because Jesus said that when you focus on surface obedience, you're missing the main point.
And you remember-he used that famous illustration in Matthew chapter 23-he said if you polish the outside of a cup, the cup is still dirty! Right? It looks good from a distance, but it's actually disgusting and unusable. But he said if you clean the inside, the outside takes care of itself. So, if you focus on having the right heart toward God, THEN the Sermon on the Mount becomes this picture of the kind of life that naturally flows from that kind of heart.
So…in chapter 6, he really drills down deep into the heart. And he starts to talk about our motives. Why do you do the things that you do?
For some reason, I remember this night-I guess it was about 9 or 10 years ago. It was a weekday night; I came home from the office. And at that time we just had our first three kids. And my two boys were having dinner at the home of a friend. So it was just my wife and me and our daughter. And as soon as my daughter Sara was done eating, she got up and she said, ''I'm going to go and do some gymnastics in the living room.'' (Just what I love to do right after dinner). She was about 3 years old. And we said, ''Great-you go do that, and we'll be right here at the table.'' And she put her hands on her hips, and she said, ''Dad-you have to come and watch me!'' And I said, ''I'll tell you what. You go and practice gymnastics for a while, and then I'll come and watch you.''
So she went into the living room, and about a minute later, she was back. ''Dad, all done practicing. Time to come watch me.'' I said, ''Maybe you should practice a littl ...
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