August 2, 2020 - God's Reasons - Pentecost 9

Theme: The LORD is Always Steadfast

1. When everything in life fades

2. When we forget and forsake Him

Intro: Parent – “Because I said so.” I’m going to venture to guess we’ve all heard that before – probably from one of parents. Many of us, as parents, have probably said it before at some point to our kids. It might be the most common response from a parent to child.

It’s kind of controversial too, isn’t it? Is it right or wrong for a parent to respond to their child in this way? Some say it’s better for a parent to explain the reason to a child. Others say it’s good for the child to learn to accept what the parent says even if the reason is unknown – that it indicates trust.

I don’t have an answer for you. I think there’s a place for both sides. As we think of God as our Heavenly Father, we come to learn today that He responds to us in both ways. Sometimes, God shows us the reason why He does something, or allows something to happen, in our lives. We can also read about other believers in the Bible whom God answered in the same way. But, more often, God doesn’t immediately or directly give us the reason. It’s not that there isn’t a reason, anymore than a parent with a child. When a parent says, “Because I said so,” it’s not that they don’t have a reason, it’s that the child doesn’t need to know it right then. We can talk about the times that God shows us the reason for something, but those times usually aren’t the troublesome area of life. When the path is known and clear, it’s not always a test to travel on it.

Much more difficult for us are the times that God’s reasons are unknown, and that’s why we study this aspect today. The singular thought I want you to commit to your memory is that faith in Jesus is about lessening your desire to have control and building your trust that God is in control. Sometimes, many times, that means God’s response to you in life will be, “Because I said so.”  We do not need to see this response from our Heavenly Father as a burdensome shackle around our freedom, but rather an amazing testament of His love for us. 

Matthew 7:21-27 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. 25 "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. 26 "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. 27 "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall." (NASB)

This is one of those parts of the Bible that flies in the face of our culture. Many people today profess to follow Jesus, or at the very least, believe that He was a good person. But if you also believe that Jesus was a non-judgmental prophet who accepted all people as they were, how do you get around a section of Scripture like this? Well, we see clearly why so many people then reject the Bible as God’s inspired and inerrant Word – it’s about all you can do.

Jesus speaks of people who claim to follow Him but really don’t – in other words – hypocrites. As Jesus describes – hypocrites look good, they say the right things, they may even know the Word of God well – but they don’t believe it – they don’t act upon it. In the illustration, Jesus talks about hearing the Word and doing it. What that really means is to believe – to have faith.

The thing is – in our culture we like to apply these words to the groups we want to villainize – the modern-day Pharisees. Close your eyes for a second and picture in your mind what a hypocrite looks like. … Okay, as you think about the image in your head, does that person look religious, or perhaps are they someone who is connected to the concept of church in some way? I’m sure most of your images fit into that category because it’s popular today – in our culture – to see hypocrites only in the church. It’s not wrong, either, there are many hypocrites in church – what more fitting image could there be to characterize a person who says “Lord” to Jesus but doesn’t believe?

Yet, we must not forget that there are hypocrites in every area of society. Being a hypocrite is not strictly about being a Christian in name only. It can apply to any belief that is not truly accepted by the individual. Indeed, there are many atheists who are hypocrites – they speak and act defiantly toward religion, even Jesus, while at the same time forming their own personal beliefs about spirituality and the meaning of life. A great example of modern-day hypocrisy are so-called social justice warriors who divorce any meaning from justice from God’s holy law. The point is, what Jesus is condemning in these verses is not only directed at Christian hypocrites, but rather anyone who would claim to use truth, justice, and morality outside of God’s written Word – and that’s what makes His message alarming to our culture. Whether or not you are a hypocrite is always determined by your relationship to the Word of God.

This is why Jesus described the wise person (the believer in this image) as the one who “hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them.”

Notice what Jesus didn’t say about the wise person:

·       That they act upon the Word once they feel like it.

·       That they act upon the Word when it becomes socially acceptable to others.

·       That they only act upon the Word once they understand the reason behind what God says. 

In fact, Jesus goes out of His way to strip us of our control in the situation of faith. That’s what the preceding verses do as they set the stage for Jesus’ illustration. Notice how Jesus described the believer’s attitude in v. 21; it’s not quite as striking on the surface as a wise person building on the rock. Jesus says it’s not the person who focuses on what they do in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who focuses on what the Father, who is in heaven, has said. When you think about that connection a bit more, it really strikes you deeper than the more familiar image of the wise builder in the following verses. Jesus wants to shift your focus from what you do to what your heavenly Father has said. That means stripping you of control and you should welcome this kind and loving act from your Savior. In terms of our text, this will mean there are many times when God tells us, “Because I said so.” 

Jesus elaborates on this in the following verses. He doesn’t promise an immediate end to the storms, the winds, and rising waters. Rather, He promises that they will come. You see, the purpose of faith is not to lift you above the fray of life, but to help you press on through it – in the midst of it. We often aren’t told the reasons behind the storms, the winds, and the rising waters. Sometimes we aren’t even aware of their origin. But we don’t need to know the reasons – what good would it do either? Do you see how Jesus builds into faith a method of insulating you from those things which would hold you back from Him? Ask yourself, what would be better for you – to know every reason behind God’s plan or to know that God loves you and is in control no matter what happens? Sometimes those are not mutually exclusive items – most of the time they are. And when God does this, not because the world is too chaotic for His power, but that your faith would be by faith.

Inherent to faith is not having control and not knowing. If it wasn’t, faith would be called sight – or reason – or knowledge. But, faith is faith and there is nothing else like it – especially when that faith is founded on Christ. The next time you are frustrated at God because His plan is hidden to you, or you doubt His Word because you think you know better – step back from those thoughts for a moment and consider what foundation you’re desiring. Do you want to be on the rock or on the sand? The storms, and the winds, and the rising waters will happen regardless of your foundation. But on the Rock, you can get through them. On the sand, you will be broken by them.

Our culture wants to pick and choose who these words apply to, based on what is popular and what isn’t. Our flesh wants to think that they are only talking about other people, and not us. God says it’s not about one group only – it’s about His Word. Whoever does not have a believers’ attitude of trust toward His Word is in danger of playing the hypocrite and falling away.

This is true not only because God’s Word is the law, which exposes and curbs sin and which speaks righteous and holy living. It’s true because God’s Word is also the source of grace in Jesus Christ, which is rock of our faith. God speaks grace and forgiveness in His Word to give us faith, just as He spoke everything in the world into existence at Creation. The Word of God is not just the foundation, it’s the reason why we can believe in Jesus. As Paul said, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God.” Without the Word, faith cannot grow, but it also cannot even be planted.

So when God tells you, “Because I said so,” hear that message with the ears of faith in Jesus. That will lead to greater trust. When God says that, it imparts so much more than just the realization that you are not as wise and powerful as He is. It exposes more than just your sinfulness and limitation in life. When God says, “Because I said so,” it’s pointing you directly to Jesus – the one who saved you from all evil and unholiness and promises so in His Word – Because God said so. And it exposes the blessed reality that no storm, no wind, no rising water can overcome what Jesus has done for you – not because you feel it, not because you know every reason why, and not because you’ve done so much in the Lord’s name – but, because God said so. Amen.