James Meehan - Why Small Choices Change Who You Become
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Well, how many of you know those people who are different in all of the right ways? Like, they are kind, they are patient, they are confident, they are selfless. Like, how many of you know those kinds of people? When I think about that person in my own life, I think about my wife, Mandy, she is absolutely amazing. I would say that she is the apple of my eye. She is the love of my life and the honey in my tea because she makes everything better, honey. But what about those people that are different in all of the wrong ways? Like, they are hateful, they are deceitful, they are arrogant, they are bitter. What about those people? Can you think of somebody like that in your life?
The person that I think of in my life that most lines up with those qualities is, just kidding. I'm not about to put them on blast in front of all of y'all, but if I had to, I could tell you a name and I'm not like super proud of that. But I think if all of us had to identify that kind of person, we probably could. But what if I told you that both categories of people, the people that we want to be like and the people that we want nothing to do with, became that kind of person the exact same way?
They chose it, like, not all at once in a single moment, but through thousands of tiny decisions made day after day over the course of a lifetime. Because the truth is that the choices you make today actually determine the person you will become tomorrow. The choices that you make today determine the person you become tomorrow.
Now, in this series, the Blessed Life, we are walking through the introduction to the greatest sermon ever preached. It is a sermon preached by Jesus called the Sermon on the Mount, found in chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew's Gospel. And what's interesting is Jesus draws this huge crowd of people after performing miracles, and doing all sorts of amazing things. And then he goes up onto a mountain, he sits down and he begins to teach them what life is like in the kingdom of God, what it looks like for us to become his followers. And in this sermon, Jesus begins with nine blessings.
Last week we looked at the first four blessings that are found in Matthew 5:3, 4, 5, and 6. You can read 'em right up here on the screen where Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled".
Now, it's interesting that Jesus begins his most famous sermon with these four seemingly backwards blessings. But what we learned last week is he did this because he wanted to make it abundantly clear to everybody listening that the kingdom of God is built on a bedrock of blessing, where the least are most, the last are first, and the lost are found. This is what the kingdom of God is like. And we learned that those blessings Jesus talked about become real when we believe in him, because it is through relationship with Jesus that the poor in spirit are invited into the kingdom of God.
It is through closeness with our creator that those who are mourning actually receive comfort. It is through closeness with God that the meek find a place in his family. It is through knowing Jesus up close and personal that those who are desperate for the wrongness of this world to be undone actually see the goodness of God take its place. That's what we looked at last week. This week we're looking at the next three blessings that start in Matthew 5:7 where Jesus goes on to say, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God".
If you're taking notes, the main point for this week's message is this, if you want to live the blessed life, choose to believe in Jesus and become like Jesus. Choose to believe in Jesus and become like Jesus. So what does it actually look like to become like Jesus, who was merciful, who was pure in heart, who was a peacemaker? Like, how do we actually do that? What a wonderful question. Thankfully, somebody else actually asked that very question to Jesus.
And if we jump to Luke's Gospel, in chapter 10, we read about this conversation between Jesus and an expert in the religious law who literally asked, "Jesus, what must we do to inherit the blessed life"? So we're starting in verse 25 of Luke 10, where we read that "On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus". This is kind of like when you watch an interviewer who thinks it is their job to make the other person look bad. Or like when I was in high school, and I thought it was my job to make my teacher look bad. Like, this is the dude's intent, to make Jesus look silly.
But Jesus, after being asked the question, what must I do to inherit eternal life, the blessed life? Responds with a question, he says, "What is written in the law? How do you read it"? And the man answers the question by saying, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your strength, and with all of your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself". Now, this man answers the question by quoting two different Old Testament commands, which tells us one of two things.
Number one, either he really was an expert in the law, like he knew his stuff. Or, number two, he had been listening to Jesus and taking notes, and knew that that was how Jesus would answer the very same question. And so, Jesus replies to him, "You have answered correctly, do this and you will live". If you wanna live the blessed life, then do what you just said. Love God with all you are, and love others the way you want to be loved. But that wasn't enough for the man because he didn't just want to know the answer, he wanted to justify himself.
So he asked Jesus, "And who exactly is my neighbor"? This is where like he springs the trap. He asks this question in an attempt to stump Jesus, but he made a very, very interesting mistake. He assumed that Jesus was dumb, but Jesus is anything but dumb. In fact, Jesus is the smartest person who ever lived. So as soon as this dude asks the question, Jesus sees the trap. And instead of walking into it, he responds by telling a story that cuts to the heart of the question. He goes on to say that there was a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. That's when he was attacked by robbers, and these robbers stripped him of his clothes. They beat him and went away leaving him half dead.
But there's good news, like, a priest happened to be going down the same road. And when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. But then a Levite, these were like the assistants to the priests, he came to the place, he saw the man, and he also passed by on the other side. So Jesus tells a story about this Jewish guy who leaves the capital, Jerusalem. He's on his way home and on his way, he gets jumped by a gang of robbers. They beat him half to death, they steal everything that he owns and then they leave him.
And then a priest and a temple assistant walk up to the guy, but keep an appropriate distance and then just keep walking. This would be kind of like if you were left beaten and bloody in the parking lot of the church, and me, a pastor, sees you in the parking lot and instead of coming over, I just walk right by. But like not just that because the Levite, the temple assistant, like a Switch leader, also sees you bloody and unconscious in the parking lot and they also just walk right by. But then what Jesus does next is fascinating. He goes on to say, "But a Samaritan, but a Samaritan".
Now, we need to pause here for just a moment because we do not fully appreciate, we don't fully realize the hatred that the Jewish people had for Samaritans. Like, at the time Jesus said this, the conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans went back hundreds of years with so much hate and violence at the center of it. So when Jesus says to his audience, a whole bunch of Jewish people, "But a Samaritan," it would've been like saying to a group of freed slaves in the 1800s, "But a plantation owner". Or like a group of Jewish people in 1940s, "But a Nazi".
When Jesus says the words, "But a Samaritan," in the minds of his audience, they would imagine the ultimate villain, the worst of the worst. And so if the Levite and the priest walked on by, then there is no question that the Samaritan isn't gonna walk by. The Samaritan is gonna walk up to the guy, kick him while he is down, see if there is anything left, and finish the jobs the robbers started and end his life entirely. Or at least that's what they would have thought.
But what Jesus actually does next would've been far more unsettling than that, because what Jesus actually goes on to say, he says, "But a Samaritan," a Samaritan, "As he traveled came where this man was. And when he saw him, he took pity on him". He had mercy. "He went to him and he bandaged his wounds. He poured oil and wine on them, then he put the man on his own donkey. He brought him to an inn to take care of him. Then the next day, he took out two denari, gave them to the innkeeper". He says, hey, look after this guy, "And when I come back, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you might have".
This man, this Samaritan, the enemy in the minds of the Jewish audience, sees the man on the side of the road and he doesn't walk by. Instead, he has compassion. He lets the guy get on his own donkey while he walks on his feet. He takes him to a place to be taken care of, he pays for his expenses. But then he goes even further and says, hey, I'm gonna come back. And when I do, if what I gave you already doesn't cover it, I will give you even more money.
This would be kind of like you in the parking lot, unconscious, beaten, and bloody. And after myself and the Switch leader walk on by and do nothing, that kid at your school that you are absolutely convinced hates your guts, walks up to you, picks you up off the ground, carries you into the church. Walks with you into the bathroom to clean the blood off of your body, then they walk with you into the auditorium, they sit with you for the entire message. After the message, they walk with you to your Switch group, checking in with your small group leader to make sure that you are good and you have everything you need.
Because what Jesus is doing here is he is taking the person that everybody assumes is the villain, and he's saying, this person is actually the hero, not because of who they are, but because of what they did. Because they were merciful, because they were pure in heart, because they were actually a peacemaker. But Jesus isn't done yet, he turns back to the expert in the law and he asks him this question. He says to him, "Which of these three, the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan, do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? And the expert in the law replied, the one who had mercy on him".
It's almost like he couldn't even bring himself to say, the Samaritan. And so Jesus says, "Go and do likewise". Go and do likewise. Now, what I don't want us to do is to actually forget what started this conversation. So if we go back to Luke 10:25, the question this man asked was, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life," the blessed life? And so, Jesus tells this entire story to illustrate the truth that according to Jesus, the blessed life is for the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. And that's exactly what the Samaritan did, he saw this man and he had mercy on him.
Jesus says, the blessed life is for the pure in heart, for they will see God. The Samaritan's heart was pure enough to see clearly that that man on the side of the road was made in the image of God. And because of that, he went out to him with love. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. People like the Samaritan who didn't see this person and treat him like an enemy, but made peace by loving him like a neighbor.
This is the blessed life. And if you want to live the blessed life, then choose to believe in Jesus and become like Jesus. Choose to believe in Jesus and become like Jesus, because the choices that you make today determine the person you become tomorrow. The choices that you make to show mercy are what allow you to receive mercy. The choices you make to be pure in heart allow you to see God clearly.
When you make peace with others, you experience peace with God. But here's like the really, really good news, is you don't do any of that to earn God's love. Because before Jesus asks you to do any of it, he's already done it for you, because Jesus showed mercy to all of us when 2,000 years ago, he laid his life down for us on the cross offering for forgiveness to anybody who puts their trust in him. Jesus already lived a totally pure life, unstained and unblemished by the messiness and sinfulness of this world. Jesus is the peacemaker who made peace between us and God, by washing away the stain of sin that had separated us from him.
Jesus will never ask you to do something for him that he has not already done for you. So now what? Go and do likewise. Do for others what Jesus has done for you, do for others what Jesus has done for you. When Madeline was in the eighth grade, she started dealing with some pretty significant health issues that led to her losing a bunch of the hair on the top of her head. And as an eighth grade girl, that was really difficult by itself. But to add onto it, a lot of the girls in her grade started to make fun of her and bully her because of it. And, like, Madeline did the best she could to shake it off and not let it get to her, but it got to her.
And so, when she finally like got out of that school, when she went to a different grade, she decided she wasn't gonna have anything to do with those girls again because of all the pain that they had caused her. But not too long after that, she felt like God was asking her to reach out to them. And so, Madeline did. She reached out to them week after week after week after week, inviting them to Switch. And week after week after week after week, she got no response, until one week she did. And three of those girls said, "Hey, we will be there this Wednesday".
And that moment was like really awesome, because it was an answer to prayer, and it was also terrifying because Switch was Madeline's safe space and the people who had caused her so much pain before were about to step into it. But Madeline did the best she could to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be a peacemaker. And what she got to experience that night when they showed up was actually a really great night. But what made it even better was that one of those girls at the end of the service, after hearing about the good news of Jesus, who he is and all that he has done, she decided, I wanna live for him.
She surrendered her life to Christ saying, Jesus, I need your forgiveness because I have not been living for you, and I need a fresh start. And Madeline would be the first to tell you that it is so true that blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart, and blessed are the peacemakers because they will see God, and they will be called children of God. So go and do for others what Jesus has done for you, because the choices you make today determine the person you become tomorrow.
Now, for some of you, this is gonna look like you actually having mercy, choosing to forgive that friend who betrayed your trust. For some of you, this is gonna look like seeing your parents with eyes of grace, recognizing that they may not be perfect, but they're doing the best that they can. And yes, they fall short, but they are still made in the image of God. For some of you, this is going to look like you actually taking the first step to make peace with that person who has been mistreating you, not because they deserve it, but because that is what Jesus has done for you.
So do for others what Jesus has done for you. Because if you wanna live the blessed life, choose to believe in him and become like him. So when we go to our Switch groups in just a minute, I really want you to honestly answer the question, what choice do you need to make to do for others what Jesus has done for you? Because when you do, you will see the truth, that blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure and heart, and blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Lord Jesus, we thank you so much for all that you have done for us. We ask that you would help us to trust and believe that you are who you said you are, and that what you have said about us is true too. That when we come to you, we find forgiveness of sins and newness of life. Jesus, I pray that you would help all of us to choose to love others just as you have loved us, that we would choose to be merciful, to be peacemakers, to be pure in heart, to live the life that you called blessed. We pray all this in your name, amen, amen, and amen.