Series: The Sermon on the Mount
May 16, 2021 - David Stockton

We’re in Matthew 5 if you want to grab a Bible and turn there. We’ve been trying to understand the way of Jesus. We’ve been trying to get a vision for the righteousness of God. In particular, we’ve been sitting on the side of a hill with Jesus as he give us the Sermon on the Mount, as he is inviting his followers to know and understand what it would look like, what it would feel like, what it would taste like, smell like if they followed his way. So we’ve been trying to learn.

We were doing great until we got to Matthew 5:17 through 20. If you‘ve been with us the last four weeks, you understand why I say that. Because we were just supposed to do one week with Matthew 5:17-20, but this is our fourth week with it. Because it’s such deep waters. I think it’s so important for understanding and unlocking the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.

Basically, he talks about the law here. In some ways Jesus is so much more than a rabbi. He’s so much more than a teacher. But in another way, he really is helping his disciples understand ethics. Ethics is basically when you have a decision to make, which way are you supposed to go, what are you supposed to do.

I had two young guys call me this week for advise. At first I was like, “Yeah, man. I’ve got young guys calling me for advice. Maybe they think I know some things.” Then I realized it’s probably just that I’m older and I know them. And they’re like, “He’s the only old guy I know. Maybe I should call him.”

The first one was calling me because he had an ethical dilemma. His dilemma was that he’s a musician and musicians had a really rough year last year. So he was wanting to gather some of the other musicians he’s known and done tours with, all together for kind of like a retreat or conference where they get together and pray and encourage each other, and listen to the Lord and worship. And they kind of set their sites on what’s forward out of this retreat. He was really inspired by the Lord to do this. So he, of his own volition, was looking for places to do it. He found this one place that he could afford and it seemed to good. He went and visited it and he felt like the Lord was saying this is it, this is so good.

But then, he found out that what the denomination of the place was, and some of their stances on cultural issues today, as well as some of their practices, he was kind of having some questions. It didn’t quite line up with exactly the way he believed. He thought — and it’s not anything horrific or anything — it’s just some little issues.

So he called me to say, “I don’t know what to do. I feel like the Spirit’s saying ‘go,’ but then, when I think about some of the rules and regulations that I know are in the scriptures, and some of what these guys say, we kind of vary. We differ a little bit on some things.”

And I was like, “I’m so glad you called me this week, because, basically, what I’m teaching this Sunday is ‘to the pure all things are pure.’ And ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’” And I said, “I’m excited you called. Because I know you know the word of God and you want to apply the word of God, and you submit to the word of God, and you’re inviting community into your life to help you process all of this. But I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, if the Spirit says, ‘Go’ — go!”

And he was like, “What?” Because he thought for sure I was going to tell him, “Yes, you should be more careful. Yes, this isn’t going to line up perfectly, so you shouldn’t do it.” And he was surprised that I was able to tell him, “No, man. We understand that the Law is good, but there is a higher law that we live by — the Law of the Spirit. And we’ve got to graduate into that if we’re really going to see this world changed.

So another guy called me the next day. He was saying, “I just got invited — I’ve been hanging out with this guy and I’ve been trying to find a way to continue to get to know him and share Christ with him. He just invited me over to his house for Ramadan dinner.” He was like, “I really thought that was great and I feel like this is what I’ve been praying for, an opportunity to go and meet his family. Yet, I’m like, ‘What do I do?’”

“I’m so glad you called me, young man. To the pure, all things are pure. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Yes, I understand. You are right. There are things we need to navigate. There are things we need to understand. Absolutely. And if the Spirit is saying, ‘Don’t do it,’ You shouldn’t do it.

But if you have the Law, and you’ve processed the Law and you’re saying, “Okay, I understand that. That’s good. I’m affirming that. I’m inviting community around me to help me process this so I’m not just doing my own thing. And through all that process, the Spirit is saying, ‘Go,’ go, man! Go! You have the Spirit of God. We’re called to be salt and light. And salt and light needs to get out of the walls of the church and get into society. That’s where it’s the most effective and the most powerful.

And he’s way more prone to legalism, like I am. Like, he loves good legalism. “Give me some rules, man. Yeah. I love it. It feels so good here with all these rules. It’s nice. Yeah. Check them off.” So it was really hard for him to process what I was saying. And because some of you might know the danger of what I’m saying, as well, if people want to abuse the freedom that Christ has given us.

And there are people these days, you know — those are kind of some light and fluffy ethical issues where there isn’t major ramifications. But then we have others. Racism. Sexuality. These are ethical issues that we’re navigating right now. It’s funny, because I’ve been processing a little bit. I don’t know if you know Ibram X. Kendi and some of the anti-racism ideology that he’s putting out there, that is actually making its way not into headlines, but actually making its way into schools around the country, and also Arizona. So it’s something that I’ve been, like, “Okay, I really need to know what’s going on here.”

It’s so interesting, because at first, what Ibram X. Kendi says, is basically it’s not enough to be not a racist, you have to be anti-racist. There are only two camps. You’re either a racist or an anti-racist. Please track with me here. Send me emails if you need clarification. I’m not trying to make some massive point here. I’m trying to help use this as an illustration of why we need the word of God and we need the Spirit of God.

But his idea sounds kind of similar to what Jesus would say, honestly, that “You’ve heard it said that you shouldn’t be a racist. But I say to you you need to be anti-racist. You actually need to be proactive and make sure racism doesn’t happen.” And I think that is kind of actually what Jesus does say in the Sermon on the Mount. “You’ve heard it said, ‘Don’t commit murder. But I say you shouldn’t be angry with your brother.” Jesus kind of takes it to this next place. So you have that. But the sad and scary thing is, the very next step for Ibram X. Kendi, and really the ideology that’s being accepted worldwide goes to this place:

The only remedy to racist discrimination is anti-racist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. And the only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.

Which is absolute crap and horrible evil. It’s the exact opposite of what the entire civil rights movement was trying to put forward. It’s so against the way of Jesus. But you see the subtitles in the ethical issues that we’re dealing with today. And the importance that we know the way of Jesus, that we understand the Law of God, but also we are led by the Spirit.

Again, there’s way more conversation to have over this. I’m happy to have those conversations. I had one last week. I actually love it. I love processing this stuff, because we’ve got a lot to learn these days. But we also have to be able to figure out how to navigate these extremely challenging and difficult ethical issues that we go through, whether they’re in the grand scheme of society and culture or whether they’re inside our own hearts and our own souls, or maybe in our own marriages and families.

So that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to understand the way of Jesus. And what he does in Matthew 5:17, is he says this:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

He’s affirming the Law of God and how good it is. The rules.

Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

So here he’s saying, “I’ve not come to abolish all the rules, regulations, the Law, all of those things.” The covenant God made with Moses. The 613 mitzvot that have been passed down through Judaism. The Judeo-Christian ethic, as we would understand it. Not coming to get rid of those things. Those things are good and helpful and right. Scriptures are good and helpful and right. “I haven’t come to abolish them. I’ve come to fulfill them.”

And what he means by fulfill them, the word fulfill there, means “I’ve come to complete. I’ve come to fulfill it so that next thing can come.” And that’s where we have old covenant and new covenant. We have Old Testament and New Testament. Jesus fulfilled something in order to usher in something new. A new covenant. A new relationship that we have with God.

And that’s what we’ve been trying to do over the last four weeks. And I admit, I haven’t done that great. But honestly, I’m learning this along with you. But I feel like each week we’ve gotten a little more piece of the puzzle, a little more clarity. Like we’re trying to turn a corner. We’ve really been kind of diving into the scriptures and how important they are for us, especially insight of all the craziness around. But we’ve got to turn this corner to not just be relying on the laws of God, but relying on the Spirit of God. Not just living according to the Law, but living according to the Spirit. And that’s what we’re trying to get into.

So to reaffirm what we’ve said. There’s three things we’ve talked about:

1. The Law is good for training us in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16 says:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

That’s how I got that super clever point out of that.

2. The Law is good for showing us we are unrighteous.

Now that doesn’t sound like a good thing, but it is important. You need to know when you’re getting it wrong so that you don’t keep getting it wrong. And this comes from Galatians 3:

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”

So basically the Law is good in helping us know that we are unrighteous. And this is where it’s a little interesting. If I were to murder someone and then say, “You know what I’m going to do? I’m just going to do so many lawful things. I’m going to drive the speed limit. I’m going to pay my traffic picture fine thing. I’m going to pay my taxes.” Whatever. I’m trying to think of more laws.

But the more laws we fulfill, it doesn’t take away the guilt from the law that we did. I can’t go into a courtroom and go, “Yes, I murdered him in cold blood. However, I drove the speed limit my whole life. So that should at least take away what I did here.”

It’s not the way it works. We need the law. We need the guidelines. We need the structure to help us know when we’re in and we’re out. And that’s a thing that God gave us. And it’s a good thing. It doesn’t feel good. It feels horrible when we find ourselves outside. But at least it wakes us up to the reality of where we’re at. So the law is good in that way.

Another way we talked about last week:

3. The Law is good at being a strict tutor holding us until maturity comes.

Galatians 3 in the Message says this:

Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for. But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.

So what he’s saying is that the Law was this tutor that was kind of trying to keep us together. We said the Law was like a mom (on Mother’s Day. You know, you’ve got to use moms there.) So it’s like a mom holding you together. You’ve got all these rules and laws to keep you from sitting on the couch you’re not supposed to sit on. (Again. Last week.) Until the day you have enough maturity, common sense and self-control that the mom can say, “All right. Go.” And you’re good. She trusts you. You’ve got this. And that’s what the Law was doing.

Yet, for some reason, sometimes Christians just want to stay there. It would be like this. You guys have seen those big eagle nests. Bald eagle nests in northern Arizona or somewhere else. Way in the tops of those trees, giant eagle nests with these branches kind of woven together somehow by these eagles. And they actually have sticks that are pointing in at the top to make sure that the eagles don’t fall out.

So the Law is like this eagle’s nest. It’s there to keep us from falling out. It’s there to keep us from going in the wrong way, or from danger, all of these things. But when the eagle grows up and is not a little baby anymore and it’s got these wings, it’s got these talons, it would be so weird, lame and dumb if the eagle was just like, “This is it, man. I’m just staying right here. Yes. Check me out. I’m going to be the best eagle nest person there ever has been.”

It’s honestly what it looks like when Christians try and get really good at church. When all they want to do is be good at church, it’s annoying and weird sometimes. Some of the stuff they come up with, you’re just like, “What are you doing, man?” It’s like a different language or whatever.

But they’re really good at church. They’re really good at the eagle’s nest. That’s what the Pharisees were. They were these puffed up little eagles saying, "Check me out I know all the laws so well. I can go around in circles in this eagle’s nest all day long, going, ‘Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.’”

And Jesus comes and says, “When are you going to learn to fly? When are you going to understand this was an old covenant that was just here until the new covenant could come where the Spirit now is the wind beneath your wings.”

This is what we’re trying to do. This is what you and I have to get to. The eagle’s nest is not bad. It’s actually wonderful. Especially for new believers. Especially if you’re not sure what to do. Especially when times of shaking happen. I think it’s okay. Fly back to the eagle’s nest and sit in there a little bit.

And that’s what we’ve done. The winds have gotten crazy around our society. So we as a church have said, “Hey, let’s get back to the scriptures. Let’s really make sure we’re good on what God wants and requires. Let’s really understand how God has worked in times past. Let’s really understand this.” But that’s only the start.

My prayer has shifted. I don’t want our church to be only good at the Law. I want us to know God’s ways. I want us to know God’s word, definitely. But I want our church to be filled with the Spirit way more, and walking in the Spirit, and learning to live by the Spirit. What the world needs is eagles that fly, not eagles stuck in a nest. So we’ve got to make this shift to living by the Spirit. So that’s what we’re going to try and teach today.

First of all, we’ve got to understand the connection. The Law was good for training us in righteousness, but it was powerless to help us become righteous. But living by the Spirit, when the Spirit comes, he not only leads us in righteousness, but he empowers us to be righteous. It’s a big shift that happens.

2 Corinthians 3:7 says it this way:

Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

What’s better? An eagle in a nest or an eagle flying around. Yeah, flying.

If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

This is Paul understanding there’s something new that’s come. He’s trying to help his readers understand there’s something new that’s come. Living by the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit. It’s the graduation from the Law. It’s what’s going to bring life. It’s what’s going to bring righteousness. It’s what’s going to bring salt and light in the world, which is what we’re trying to do.

Secondly the Law was good for showing us our unrighteousness. But watch what happens here in Romans 8. The Spirit actually accomplishes righteousness in us. Romans 8:1-4, which, by the way, Romans 8 is the most single important understanding of this. Romans 8, you should memorize it. I should memorize it. I don’t have it memorized. I should memorize it and then tell you to memorize. That would be better.

It’s so good. You know they tell you, like, if you could have one book on a desert island and that’s all you could have. I mean, if you could get the Bible, great. If they’re like, “No, it’s too big.” Get Romans. If you can’t get Romans, get Romans 8, okay? That’s basically what I’m trying to say.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

What about when I acted out in my homosexuality before I came to Jesus? Can I be free from condemnation. Yes! In Christ Jesus, you can! No doubt about it.

What about when I really, really hurt those people in that way? What about when I really let my wife down? What about when I left my kids? Whatever it might be. Whatever it might be. Once you’re in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. What that means is God does not have any anger toward you. God is not disappointed in you. God has completely forgotten all about it. Your sins and iniquity he remembers no more. There’s no condemnation. You are justified in Christ Jesus. It’s just as if you’ve never sinned at all.

What about my sexuality and what was done to me or what I did to somebody? No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And he goes on:

because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

And this is where something begins to change when the Spirit comes. All of a sudden he starts to write his will on the table of your heart. Another way to say it is he starts putting desires in your heart that are beautiful. He starts putting desires in your heart that are true righteousness — not the lesser or the counterfeit righteousness, but the greater righteousness. The kind of righteousness that doesn’t just make you righteous, but it actually rights the wrongs in the world, which we’re going to be talking about in the next six weeks.

It’s a fascinating thing that God comes and begins to do that work in us so that now, when we walk in this world, we’re walking in a different way. It’s a different flavor coming out. It’s salty. It’s light-y. It’s righteousness.

Then, the last thing, the Law was good at being a temporary tutor for us, but the Spirit brings something brand new. The Spirit brings freedom forever. Now, 2 Corinthians 3:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

And then, even more risky than that, Titus 1:15 teaches:

To the pure, all things are pure…

Now, this I don’t want my daughters to read. They are not allowed to read this verse until they’re like 80. Because as soon as they get a hold of this verse — they’re not in here, are they? Yeah. Make sure they’re not in here. No, I’m just kidding. As soon as they get a hold of this verse, they could throw this at me no matter what I say. “To the pure all things are pure, Dad. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. What are you talking about? We’re not going back into that legalism.”

This is not safe. But this is the truth. If you ask me this, God made a mistake here by giving people this kind of freedom. But it’s what God wants to do. To the point where Paul had to write this verse in the Bible:

Because of this freedom … because to the pure all things are pure … because we can do whatever we want and we’re forgiven, we’re cleansed, there’s no condemnation no matter what. Why don’t we just go sin, then? We get the pleasures of this world and the forgiveness of God. He literally was like, “I know what I’m saying is leading you to this, but it’s antinomianism.”

It’s this idea where people say, “Okay, if God’s going to do all that, why don’t I just get both?” And Paul’s like, “You can You can. If that’s what you want to do with the gift that God has given you, you can.”

So should we sin that grace may abound? But his next line is, “God forbid.” Why would you do that? Why would you do that with the love of God? Why would you do that with the gift of God?

It’s the same thing that Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, as she says, “Hey, there’s no more accusers. There’s no one here to condemn me.” And Jesus could have said, “Except me.” Right? Like, “I’m the one without sin, and yeah, what you did was wrong. So let’s talk about that.”

He said, “Go your way and sin no more.” Like, “There is no condemnation for you, even from me, who has the right to condemn you. But go your way and be free. Use your freedom to do righteousness. Use your freedom to help others. Use your freedom to honor God. Use your freedom in those ways.”

And Paul has to caution. There’s so much freedom that we have. He says, “Don’t use your freedom to cause your brothers to struggle, or your sisters to stumble, who might be struggling with the very thing you’re saying, ‘Hey, look, I’m free. I can do this.” But if it causes others to stumble, you’re not using your freedom properly.

So Paul has to do some teachings on how to properly use your freedom. Because you’re that free in Christ Jesus.

Another verse:

All things are lawful, but not everything is profitable.

He’s trying to teach people on the other side of their freedom, “to the pure all things are pure,” now, just don’t abuse it though. Because it’s that ridiculous what God has given you. It’s that good of news that Jesus ushered in in this new covenant. Now where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is absolute freedom. And to the pure all things are pure.

Now you know why I don’t want my daughters to know about that. Because I’m the eagle’s nest. I’m like, “Heh, heh. Come on. Get in my nest. Get in the nest here, little eagles.” And then my oldest daughter’s like, “What are those people doing over there?” I’m like, “They’re not doing anything! Why do you have to have these wings? You don’t have wings!”

But that’s a bad dad. That’s a liar. And Jesus is too good to do that to us. He wants us to be free, so free. He wants us to fly. And so we’ve got to learn to walk into living by the Spirit. And there are cautions, for sure. And there’s the importance of the Law of God.

That’s why, when those guys asked me about their ethical dilemmas, I know they know God’s word. And I know they submit to it. That’s why they’re asking me. I know they understand that they need other people to help them process things. That’s why they were asking me. And because of all those things, I was able to say, “Go, be free. Go free and be bold. The gates of hell cannot stand against you.” So we’ve got to learn to live into this. I want to give you a couple of examples about what this looks like.

First of all, the way the Spirit works in our life is kind of like an electric bike. I wrote an email about this this week. I write a weekly email every week. If you want to get it, then just email me and I’ll get you on the list and you’ll get a weekly email from me right in your Inbox all the time. You could just delete it. I don’t care. But I try and write them. Sometimes they’re good. Sometimes they’re less good.

But I was writing about it this time because this is helping me understand this. My wife and I went to Coronado Island on spring break. It was just the two of us. We wanted to go kind of bike around the island. So we went to this place where you could rent electric bikes. They gave us this map. It was kind of like all of these cool places you could see on the island. So it was like, “Oh, that would be great.” But it was pretty far. So we were like, “I don’t know.” And we were only budgeted for an hour of money. So then it was like, “Okay, I don’t know how we’re going to do this. Maybe we should just not do as much.”

But then, when we got on those electric bikes, we had never done it. We didn’t know how awesome those things were. One pedal is worth like a hundred pedals because you’re hooked up to the power. I didn’t figure out that there were different levels. My wife was on high and I was on economy. I was just like working to try to keep up with her. I was like, “What is up with this lady.” But then I switched it and it was not bad.

It’s not the bike doing all the work for you. It’s that there is really a union. Your effort and energy, which is so pitiful and weak and couldn’t get the job done, connected with the full power of that battery. We cruised that entire island. We got back with time to spare and then went over to another place and got lost. (It was weird.) We could have had so little if we just had us. But connected to that it was like we got this much fuller experience.

The Spirit comes into our lives. The new covenant is God dwells inside of us and our five loaves and two fish can now feed five thousand. We can be the little be that just has a little bit to offer and say, “Well, Jesus, I’m putting it in your hands.” He’s like, “Well, stick with me, kid, and watch.” Boom!

And, honestly, that happens every single Sunday morning as I get up here. And all I have is just something real little. And last week I had maybe one loaf of stale bread. And what was so funny is a bunch of people told me that the Lord really spoke to them last week. And I was like, “Heh, heh. Electric bike.”

Or think about the disciples. These guys don’t know what’s going on. They’ve been with Jesus. And now they’re walking by a guy at the temple who can’t walk, that they’ve seen their whole lives maybe. And there’s just this little bit of stirring in their souls. A little of compassion. A little bit of consideration that was different, maybe, than other days. And they guy is saying, “Can you give me some money?” He’s like, ‘Silver and gold have I none, but I’m going to give you what I do have. And it’s small and it’s puny, but it’s connected to the living God.” The next thing you know, that guy is dancing around in the church, causing a whole ruckus.

And it looks like my mom, like I said last week, was on her death bed, cancer was wracking her brain. She knows the end is coming. She knows she’s losing everything. She knows she’s leaving us and that breaks her heart. With all the full weight of all of that, she had perfect peace. She had that peace that passes understanding. It made no sense as I was talking with her. Because the Spirit of God was there. And her little bit of faith, her little bit of courage, her little bit of strength, coupled with the Spirit of God was enough to give her perfect peace in such a challenging situation.

And for me, as a young man, I remember I was reading 1 Samuel 14 about Jonathan and his armor bearer, and how they went and fought against the Philistines. And what happened was, Jonathan was saying to his armor bearer, his buddy, he’s like, “Hey, all the Israelites are hiding in caves because they’re so scared of the Philistines.” But he’s like, “There’s something in me. This is not right. We are the children of God. This is not right.” So he says to him, “Let’s go over to the Philistine camp where they’re all camped out on that cliff. Let’s go show ourselves to them.” Which was like the whole of their plan, which is not a lot.

But then, his next line is, “And we’ll see what the Lord might do.” So they did. And the Lord basically not only helped them to conquer that, but all the noise of that battle caused all of the Israelite arm to come out of the caves and to drive off the Philistines. I just thought, Man, let’s see what the Lord can do!

So I was graduating college and this was kind of stirring in me. The Spirit was just like Boom, boom! I’ve got to see what the Lord can do. What can I do? I’ve got to see what the Lord can do. And I ended up coming up with this idea of going to Ireland. So I talked three friends into going with me. We bought a ticket and we were going to Ireland and we were coming back three months later. The whole plan, except for we wanted to see what the Lord might do.

I have so many stories to tell, but within three days we had a place to live, we had jobs, and we had our names sent out to basically all of the high schools and, kind of like Young Life Ministries, high school ministries of Northern Ireland, literally every two days we would get on a bus and I’d say, “Can you take us to this Bali-whatever, you know, Balihooli, Bali-whatever…” and they would take us to those places and we would share with the high schoolers that were there after school or in school. Sometimes we’d be doing the assembly so there’d be like two thousand high schoolers. And me and my friends would be like, “Hey, we don’t know what we’re doing here.” And we’d share the word with them. Tell them about Jesus.

I just remember at the end of that time, going, “Wow. Man, the Lord can do a lot with a little.” We really got to see what the Lord could do.

And what is fascinating is that that gave me the courage when my wife — I married a crazy lady — and Brittany Stockton, who was in Belize last week — and any time she comes back from Belize, I’m like, “Yes! She didn’t stay!” You know? Like, “She came back to me! All right! It’s awesome.” Because of the way her heart is and all of that.

Yet, she felt like the Lord was saying we should go to Belize for a year. This was a while ago. And I was like, “Why?” And she said, “Let’s just see what the Lord can do.” And I was like, “Oh, don’t say that!” Big time stuff.

So we do. We had a one-year-old daughter and we moved to this tiny little village that didn’t have running water. We just wanted to see what the Lord could do. And part of our idea was we’d get to see someone from Belize who was raised up to oversee the churches. Because, as it was, the only time there was church was when a missionary came to town.

Sure enough, long story short, everybody knows a little something about this, the guy who preached four weeks ago, his name is Kenny Welch, and he’s been leading two churches there for a long time now. We got to see what the Lord could do. Not because we had anything great. Because the Spirit was moving. We were living by the Spirit.Now, don’t think I’m saying living by the Spirit means you’ve got to go to another country. Not at all. That’s not what I’m saying. But you’ve got to go do what the Lord’s asking you to do.

One other time that was helpful for us trying to figure out how to live by the Spirit, we were going back to Dangriga, which is the next town down, next village down in Belize. I was going to be there for two days. We needed to find a place to live and what ministry connection we were going to do, because we didn’t know anyone in the town. And my wife and I got down on our knees and we got a pen and paper out. We were like, “Okay, Lord, we’re just going to sit here and we’re going to write down anything your Spirit brings to mind.”

So we each wrote down a few things. A couple of them in particular, my wife had this picture of this house. There was like a veranda upstairs and there was a young boy kind of staring out like he was looking at the sea. Then I wrote the name down “Raul,” which is funny because we were going to central America. But I was like, it was Raul or something like that.

Lo and behold, I get to Dangriga. I’m there and there were only like a couple of minutes left. We had like a half hour before we had to go back. We hadn’t really found a place to live. And I saw a truck with a ladder in the back. This is how desperate it had gotten. I said, “Let’s go talk to that guy.” I said, “Do you know any places that are available for rent?” Because you can’t just Google that in Dangriga. He gave us the name of this lady.

So we talked to this lady. And we went over there and there was this house. And I didn’t even think of it. But I took a picture of the house and I sent it to Brittany. And she was like, “That is the house that I saw!” And one of the nephews of one of the guys with us was standing upstairs on the veranda and he was looking out at the sea. She was like, “That’s it!” And I was like, “awesome.”

But this is me. That was more expensive than the other house that we were kind of thinking about. And I was like, “I don’t know.” But then, one of the guys we were with had a dream that night that something horrible happened to my family in the other house. And I was like, “All right. Where are we signing up?” But this is how the Spirit needs to work with me. I need extra credit type stuff to get me there.

Then the name Raul was so interesting because we were trying to figure out this ministry connection. We were driving in and we saw all these people broke down and we stopped to help them. They didn’t need help. But I remember this guy was wearing this shirt that said “Kids Connect for Jesus.” I thought That’s a weird shirt.

Then we drive into town. We met with this pastor and he was like, “Man, I think you guys should work with Kids Connect for Jesus. They seem like a ministry you could connect with. I’m like, “Oh, okay.”

Then I had an ear infection. I was like, “Could we just stop at a doctor’s office real quick because I’d love to get some drops or something.” So we go to the place that those guys knew and it was too crowded. The guy’s like, “Hey, we’ve got too many people so we’re not going to see you today. But if you go down the street there’s another guy.” So we go down the street. Little house, podunk thing. But there’s a guy in there, he’s a doctor and he’s actually from India. And his name is Dr. Raul. When I saw Raul, I was like, “Raul? What? No way!”

And as we walked into the office, literally, we almost crashed into this lady as we were walking in. She had a big shirt that said, “Kids Connect for Jesus.” And we ended up connecting with Kids Connect for Jesus and doing ministry with them. It was like, Wow! This is living by the Spirit.

Now, again, that sounds all magical and mystical. But it was very natural. It was very simple. It was stuff that we were dealing with and God was leading us and guiding us. It didn’t mean that we didn’t have the structure and all of the goodness of the Law and the scriptures and all those things. Like I said, the whole “See what the Lord might do,” that came out of the scriptures. The Spirit loves to use the scriptures to guide us. But at the end of the day, we can’t negate or forget about the Spirit and just live out of the scriptures, because in that there is death. But when the Spirit comes, there’s life.

I have so many more stories to tell. And I know many of you have stories of how the Lord has led you and guided you. And it’s my job as the pastor, a teacher, whatever I am in this place, to help us understand and see what Jesus is really trying to do.

Again, it would be so much easier for us to just buckle down into some legalism. Especially me. I love it. But it would be so much less than what God really wants to do. And, ultimately, it wouldn’t create the salt and the light that this world desperately needs. You are free in Christ, in ways that you would never actually believe if you could. Well continue trying to live into this freedom that he has given us and keep trying to learn how to do it.

A couple of guys that are smart — C.S. Lewis writes it this way. He says:

Our faith is not a matter of our hearing what Christ said long ago and “trying to carry it out.” Rather, “The real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as himself. He is beginning, so to speak, to ‘inject’ his kind of life and thought, his zoe [life], into you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin.”

And Dallas Willard says it this way:

“Now, what we can do by our unassisted strength is. try small. What we can do acting with mechanical, electrical, or atomic power is much greater. Often what can be accomplished is so great that it is hard to believe or imagine without some experience of it. But what we can do with these means is still very small compared to what we could do acting in union with God himself, who created and ultimately controls all other forces.”

Let’s pray:

Lord, I pray for each person in this room that is facing an ethical dilemma — whether it be within their own soul or household or in our society — whether it be a friend of their who has just confessed some really heavy things— whether it be a daughter or a son who has decided they are homosexual or identifying in some other way outside of what you prescribe — whether it’s some sort of anger issue or someone has wronged them or offended them and they just want their version of justice — or whether it’s just a decision about what to do and where to go — I thank you that your Spirit has come. And I pray your Spirit would lead them and guide them and empower them to walk in your ways, and they would be able to see what the Lord can do, and they would trust you and they would surrender to you, they would have courage to step out in whatever you do say and speak to them. I pray all this in your name, Jesus. Amen.

Watch

Unless otherwise marked, scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.