Sunny-Side Up!

"Since David called the Messiah 'My LORD', how can the Messiah be his son?"

- Jesus, Matthew 22:45

"Any one can smile when the sun is shining… but the one who can smile in the storm… they have a secret worth knowing!"

   - A Pastor

Anyone who knows me knows that I like my eggs… like I like my life… Sunny-Side Up!

Now that doesn't mean that I require a problem-free life in order to be happy. Both you and I know that is an impossible dream. No… what I mean is that I want to live my life in the confidence that when trouble does come into my life, I know… you know… that we have a Savior and Lord in Jesus who will be with us to rescue us, to help us, and at the very least, to bring good out of the bad! I want to live on the sunny-side of life.

I have a friend who prefers the opposite. If he saw Jesus walking on water, he'd look at you and say, "He can't swim, can he?" (smile). He lives life expecting the worst… the glass is always half empty. The other day, after listening to him for 45 minutes telling me how terrible his life was, I looked at him and said, "Friend, you have made your problems the god of your life!"

Until you are more in awe of God than your problems… you will have no joy in this life!

No other people group in the New Testament looked like they had been baptized in pickle juice as much as the Pharisees. You talk about a holy group of sourpusses! They were constantly trying to catch God's people in their sin and trying to trap Jesus in some moral mistake. Finally, in Matthew 22, Jesus asks them a question…. A Question that gets to the root of their misery. He asks them:

"What do you think about the Messiah?"

- Matthew 22:42

In ancient biblical writings, the Messiah is described in the Torah as the One anointed by Yahweh (God) and empowered by God's Spirit to deliver God's people, and establish God's Kingdom of righteousness and peace on earth. So… Jesus' question… is a big deal!

I mean… you get this right… You live life Sunny-Side Up! You get this wrong… You live life Down Dooby-Doo Down Down! The Pharisees muttered their answer:

"The Messiah is David's son."

- Matthew 22:42

What? The Messiah is inferior to King David? I mean David was a great King… but… you and I know from Scripture he had his failings. He had his blind spots. He sinned!

So, Jesus looks at them and quotes Psalm 110... I'll paraphrase...

"If David had priority over the Messiah… then why in the world did David say that he heard Yahweh, the God of Heaven and earth, say to 'his LORD'... ‘sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I place your enemies under YOUR feet.’"

- Psalm 110:1 (paraphrased)

Clearly, even David knew that the Messiah was greater than himself.

David read the Scriptures about the Messiah, examined the evidence about the Messiah, listened to his heart… and drew his conclusion: The Messiah is coming! In John 1:41, Andrew knew the Scriptures about the Messiah, he examined the evidence about Jesus, listened to his heart… ran to Peter and exclaimed, "We have found the Messiah!" What about you?

Last week, I was watching my grandson learn how to swim… he still sinks way better than he swims. But because he's so fearless, you really have to keep your eyes on him ‘cause he's always putting himself in situations that are literally over his head. Time and again, he's jumping into water that's way over his head and he will hang there, suspended under water, with his eyes open, his hands reaching up… smiling! I asked his dad, "Tyler, why is Fisher smiling? Even when he's drowning… he's still smiling!" "Why?" Tyler laughed and said, "Because he knows I'm going to rescue him. He knows he's jumped into trouble… but his confidence that someone bigger than him will rescue him keeps him smiling… even when he's drowning!" Ha!

Listen...if it's been awhile since you've been able to smile even in your troubles… take a cue from the Messiah… from Jesus… and live in awe of God, not in awe of your problems.

It'll keep you Sunny-Side Up in Life!

AMEN.

Pastor Harry

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