Matthew 7:24-27; 9:37
{Prayer}
Have you ever had good intentions but completely missed the mark? Maybe you had a plan, an expectation, and it just didn’t go as you hoped.
Jessica and I decided to take a trip a couple of years ago to Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate our anniversary. We had heard about all the great restaurants and places to go downtown, so we thought let’s go check it out!
After we got checked into our hotel, I ordered an Uber to take us downtown. Our driver gave us some recommendations and dropped us off a few blocks from a popular spot. As we walked towards Broadway Street, we started to feel uneasy. Did I mention that it was a Friday night in August? There were people EVERYWHERE!!!!! The heat, the crowd, the drinking, and the smoking … it was just overwhelming. We found ourselves ducking into stores just to catch a breath of fresh air.
After about 45 minutes, we called for an Uber to take us back. We were there, but at the same time, we were so far away from what we had envisioned. We had the right intentions, but completely missed out.
As followers of Jesus, we often settle for something less when God offers us something greater. Too often, we miss what God has placed right in front of us. The Israelites had the message but still missed the Messiah. Peter walked with Jesus but completely misunderstood His purpose. The Galatians received God’s gift but somehow missed God’s grace. And today, many Christians have good intentions, but miss the opportunity Jesus gives us to be His disciples and His workers.
In Matthew 9, Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (9:37. There is work to be done, and Jesus invites you and me to be those workers. But before we look at how we are doing, we need to remember something important … Jesus Himself has already done the work that we could never do.
We don’t become His disciples by hitting all the right targets. We become His disciples because He hit the target for us. When we miss the mark, He doesn’t cast us aside and leave us behind. Instead, He calls us back, forgives us, and sends us out again, forgiven and clothed in His righteousness.
And yet, even though we belong to Him, we often settle for something less than what He calls us to. We don’t always live as His disciples should. So … how are we doing? How are we representing Jesus? … If we’re honest, we’re failing miserably. Now that may seem harsh, but let’s see …
When we think of Jesus, some of the first words we think of are grace, love, kindness, joy. But when people think of Christians, their responses are often mixed. The Barna Group’s research shows that many young, unchurched Americans see Christians as judgmental, hypocritical, anti-homosexual, too political, old-fashioned, out of touch, insensitive, and boring. While some of this perception comes from media bias, half of those surveyed based their opinions on personal experiences with other Christians. The reality is that many reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians.
If Jesus is known for grace, and we are known for judgment, we have missed the mark. If Jesus is known for unity and we’re known for division, we’ve missed the mark. If Jesus is known for His good works and we’re known for hypocrisy, we’ve missed the mark.
The Red Letter Challenge was created to help us represent the real Jesus. If we can show the true Jesus, people will be drawn to Him. But if we keep hitting the wrong targets, targets of judgment, division, and hypocrisy … then we are not better than a sharpshooter who hits the bullseye on the wrong target.
In the 2004 Athens Olympics, sharpshooter Matthew Emmons was the best in the world. That year, the question was not who was going to get gold, but who would take home the silver and bronze medals. Everyone know Matthew Emmons was going to take the gold.
Going into his final shot, all he needed was a 7.2 to win gold. Up till then, his lowest score was a 9.3. He aimed, fired, and hit the bullseye. Game over. However, it wasn’t. You see, Emmons hit the wrong target. He cross fired and scored a 0 and finished in 8th place. It didn’t matter how skilled he was … if you aim at the wrong target, you will never hit the right one.
As Christians, we may have the best intentions … but if we aim at the wrong things … we can do more harm than good. Too often, we focus on appearance, comfort, or church programs while neglecting discipleship. If the world sees us as judgmental, hypocritical, and divisive … then we aren’t aiming at the targets set for us by Jesus. So how do we know what to aim for? How do we live as true followers of Jesus?
Pastor Zach Zehnder, the author of The Red Letter Challenge, asked a simple but profound question … What if we actually took the words of Jesus and put them into practice? What if the answers to following Jesus effectively have been right in front of us all along?
Jesus Himself gives us the key in the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount. At the end, Jesus says:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:24–27).
Jesus’ message is clear and simple. It’s a lot like The Three Little Pigs. When the big bad wolf comes, only the houses built on the right foundation remain standing. Jesus calls us to not just listen but to obey. Hear His words and put them into practice. Practice what you preach.
James puts it bluntly: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (1:22).
To change the picture we give of Jesus, we need to take His words, the red letters in the Bible, and live them out. This isn’t a new idea, but a revolutionary one. It will change us as Jesus’ followers, and it will change the world around us.
Jesus calls us to be His disciples. We have the opportunity to represent Him, and that is the greatest privilege of our lives. The stakes are too high for us to simply go through the motions. This is why we’re embarking on the Red Letter Challenge, a very practical 40-day discipleship experience where we will not only read Jesus’ words but put them into action.
Through this journey, we’re going to focus on five key principles that define a Jesus follower
- Being – Before we do anything for Jesus, He calls us into a relationship with Him. Our time with Him shapes our effectiveness in everything else.
- Forgiving – Jesus is about grace. To represent Him well, we must understand and extend His forgiveness, to ourselves and to others.
- Serving – As we grow in our relationship with Jesus and understand His grace, we will be motivated to serve others in love.
- Giving – Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven more than anything else, and money was a close second. Jesus’ followers are generous.
- Going – Jesus’ last command before ascending into heaven was to go and make disciples. We are not only His hands and feet but also His voice in the world.
Being, forgiving, serving, giving, going … these are the five targets. These principles come from the mouth of Jesus Himself. And the best news? He doesn’t just send us out … He goes with us! Christ Himself has already gone before us, preparing the way. The Holy Spirit is at work in us, shaping us to reflect Jesus more fully. Because of His work on the cross, we are already victorious. We don’t have to prove ourselves or earn our place, Jesus has done it all. We live and serve from His finished work.
The next 40 days will be a journey of transformation. We won’t just hear the Word, we’ll live it. And when we do, we will discover the life God created for us.
Are you ready to aim for the right target? Let’s embark on this journey together, trusting that Jesus walks with us. He strengthens us, He molds us, and His grace sustains us. We do not do this alone—He has already gone before us. So together, as His Church, let’s fix our eyes on Him and follow where He leads. Amen.
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