Welcome to our Together on Mission podcast, where we seek to be with and like Jesus, as we begin a conversation with Jesus in the morning, through scripture, prayer, and meditation, and then continue that conversation with him throughout your day. Your host is Travis Twyman, the pastor at the Inland Vineyard Church in Corona, California. In this season of the podcast, we're going to be digging deeper into scripture each and every day, exploring new ways that we can encounter Jesus and build our relationship with him. So grab your pen, Bible, and a cup of coffee, and let's welcome Pastor Travis.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Daily Together on Mission podcast. This is Travis Twyman, and I get the privilege of chatting with all of you this morning as we open up to a passage in the Gospel of Matthew, talk a bit about Jesus, begin a conversation with Jesus, and then, of course, as students, as disciples, as apprentices, we get to continue this conversation with Jesus throughout the rest of the day. And so you can turn to the book of Matthew, chapter 5, right at the beginning of the famous Sermon on the Mount. And the title of the podcast this morning is Relevant?
Question mark. And you kind of got to say it that way because it's got a question mark behind it. Relevant? Question mark.
It seems to me that one of the most detrimental problems in the church and in our Christian lives is that we no longer actually see the teaching of Jesus as relevant. Now, there was a time when the teaching of Jesus was seen as supremely relevant, timely, right, practical, and, of course, brilliant. And we know what relevant means. Relevant is concerning that which is happening right now.
I mean, relevant matters because it's happening right now. Relevant must be attended to and it must be attended to now. Life is happening right now. And the stuff of life is relevant.
And the question that I'd like to pose this morning before I read these two verses that really bookend the greatest teaching that was ever taught in the history of the world, the question I'd like to pose this morning is simply this. Do you truly believe that the teaching of Jesus is relevant to your life? Do you truly believe that the teaching of Jesus is timely, practical, brilliant when it comes to all of the questions, the decisions that are unfolding right now in your life, in every area, financially, relationally, vocationally, spiritually, emotionally? Do you really, truly believe that the teaching of Jesus is relevant?
Now, Matthew chapter 5, verse 1. Now, when Jesus saw the crowd, he went up on a mountainside. He sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them.
And there's all kinds of incredible stuff that follows. And a few chapters later in Matthew chapter 7, verse 28 and 29, when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority and not as the teachers of the law. And, of course, these two verses, they bookend the greatest teaching that has ever been taught in the history of the world. And so Jesus sits down and he begins to teach.
His disciples gather around and he begins to teach about life. A very relevant and practical message about what it looks like to live life in such a way where you actually achieve life. And at the end of the teaching, the students, the disciples, the apprentices of Jesus, the crowds, they are amazed. They can't believe it.
His teaching is so practical. It has authority. It's so different than the teachers of the law that are talking about all kinds of things that no longer seemed relevant or seemed practical or seemed like they had anything to do with real life that is unfolding right here and right now. They were amazed at his teaching because it concerned their real, you know, bursting with difficulties and bursting with possibilities life.
And obviously, we don't have time to talk about all this incredible teaching called the Sermon on the Mount that happens in between these two verses. But the point that I want to make and that I want us to meditate on this morning is that those disciples that sat around and heard the teaching of Jesus, they believed, they trusted that his teaching reached into every aspect of their daily lives. And we no longer believe that. And I think that's the most destructive thing in modern Christianity.
Very few people today, very few Christians today, find Jesus' teaching interesting and relevant to the course of their actual lives. So let me ask this question to you. Do you find Jesus' teaching relevant to the course of your actual life? Many people today believe that Jesus deals with another realm, you know, as opposed to what we must deal with and must deal with now.
I mean, here's another good question we can think about this morning. Do we believe that Jesus brought vital information about life? Do we believe that Jesus brought the best possible answers to the world's and to my most difficult problems? I mean, the truth is that Jesus originally was one who was seen as so brilliant that he was admired and respected as a person of great ability and supreme genius.
Do we see Jesus as brilliant? Someone to admire and respect as a person of great ability and supreme genius. See, the early disciples based their lives on this truth. That's what it meant to trust or to have confidence in Jesus.
His disciples gathered around him. He began to teach them all about life. And at the end of the sermon, the crowds were amazed. His disciples were amazed because he taught as someone who had authority.
His teaching actually spoke into every aspect of their lives and it spoke with authority. And obviously we don't have time to even skim the surface of this incredible Sermon on the Mount. But I do think it's time to give Jesus a fresh hearing. To trust again, because there was a time when people did trust that Jesus' life, that Jesus' words were actually relevant to life.
And they were called disciples. They were called apprentices. They were called students. And they gathered around him and he taught them how to live life in such a way that is actually life.
Jesus of Nazareth was and is the most brilliant and most relevant teacher that has ever walked the face of the earth. And he still wants to walk with disciples. He still wants to walk with students. And his students are those that take seriously putting into practice what he said was best.
But there is a very, very important question that we'll end with. We began with it. We will end with it. And the question is this.
Is Jesus' teaching supremely relevant? Because unless we believe that is so, we will not become people that will put his teaching into practice. Believing that it's relevant is fundamental. That's what it means to have confidence.
That's what it means to trust that Jesus is the prince of life. That Jesus has the best information on all of life's questions and problems in every single area. And so I do with all of my heart. And I would love for us to meditate, ponder that which we talked about this morning.
These two verses that book in the Sermon on the Mount and ask the question, Is it time for Jesus to have a fresh hearing? Is it time for us as students once again to discover that there is no one that has ever walked the face of the earth that is more relevant, more brilliant, and whose teaching is more life-releasing in every aspect of life than Jesus, the man from Nazareth? We'll talk soon. Thanks for listening to the Together on Mission podcast.
We truly hope that you were blessed and encouraged by it today. If you had any questions about the Inland Vineyard Church, our ministries, or our Sunday services, feel free to connect with us on our brand new app, which you can find in the Google Play and the App Store. And check out our social media pages like Facebook and Instagram. Or even check out our website at inlandvineyard.org.
Thank you.