The Sermon on The Mount – Part Three

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The Sermon on The Mount – Part Three

If you missed the introduction to The First Sermon on The Mount please tap on this link.

You will reach Part Two here.

Matthew 7:1-28

Tap this link for scriptures.

In this final session, Jesus begins by teaching on the issue of the judgment of others. He warns that in terms of how the Disciples judge others, they themselves will be judged by the same measure. In comparatively harsh words, He explains why they are not in a position to judge others. Rather they should concentrate judgment of themselves.

Changing subjects, Jesus goes on to tell His disciples they should be discerning with whom they share these teachings. Unholy people will mock their words, damming them, and finally, use those words to attack the disciples personally.

Jesus now tells them that there are three things they should always do: Ask, if they are in need; they should seek if they are in doubt, and should they wish to enter Him and follow his example, they only have to knock. He assures them, in asking, they will receive what they ask for, in seeking they will find what they are looking for. Lastly, if they knock to enter Him, he will open the door.

He now compares their giving to that of His Father and states his Father’s giving to be the stronger, this is the way that their giving should be.

Wrapping this point up, Jesus states that they should always do unto others as they would have others do to them. He explains that this is the fulfillment of their law.

Now Jesus talks about the way forward, saying, the entrance to the Kingdom of God on earth is only accessible through a narrow gate. This leads to an equally narrow walk. Because the gate is narrow, few find it. Because the way is so narrow, it is a difficult walk. They will observe though, that the world at large enters their lives via a wide gate, easy to find and easy to walk.

He warns His disciples concerning those that would approach them with differing doctrines. He says that whilst they would appear as mild as lambs on the outside, they will be as ferocious as wolves on the inside. The way they should judge this ilk is to look at the fruit they bear in their lives. They well know that grapes don’t grow on thorn bushes and figs are not found on thistles. Neither do good trees bear bad fruit or bad trees bear good fruit. Those that do not bear good fruit are uprooted and destroyed. In short, don’t entertain these, they will ultimately destroy themselves.

Jesus continues; saying that because there will be those that call Him “…Lord, Lord…” does not necessarily mean they will enter into the Kingdom. Only those who do His Father’s will. Even when these protest that they performed miracles in His name, He will say, “I don’t know you, away from me you thugs!”

Jesus concludes by saying that any person who hears His words and acts on them would be compared to a wise person, who builds their house on firm foundations. When violent storms ravaged the earth, the house stood firm. Those, however, who hear His words and do not act on them are like the foolish person, who built their house on sandy foundations. When the storms raged the house collapsed in a huge heap.

The crowds below observed that Jesus did not teach like the teachers of their day, but as a person who had authority.

My prayer is that this series enlivened the Spirit within you and me, resulting in us thanking God for etching these Kingdom principles into our hearts.

Blessings

Peter.

If you feel this article has value, please send this link to others. Writings are meant for people, not for dormant files in our computers. Often, sharing them results in positive changes in the lives of individuals and communities.

“…time with the Master…”

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God’s Cinderella

 

I really don’t believe God gets any kind of joy at seeing us suffering in our daily lives, as we go about the challenges we face. God certainly is not like a human being. As a genuine Father, He wishes to see us succeed in getting to know Him. Why would He want us to know Him? Simply put, so that we have someone to help and guide us daily – a spiritual Father of great wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Who better to call on during our day than one who is compassionate and caring?

God is not bound by time as we are, and therefore He can see into our future. From the ‘foundation of time’, God saw our whole life span on this earth. This is quite an astonishing thought. As a result, He knows the correct path for us to travel through time, in order to end up firmly in His spiritual kingdom forever.

In a sense we are very similar to Cinderella in the famous fable. As Cinderella’s Step Mother and sisters were jealous of her, treating her badly, so the world is the same with us. Because our world is filled with people soaked in self-centred natures, we are more often than not, in an uphill battle as our lives unfold. Inclusive in the uphill battles are the down sides – the times when we seem to miss the mark with God. Getting angry with Him, blaming Him, not managing to do the things that please Him or just misunderstanding Him.

We look at fellow believers and think that we fall far short of God’s expectations, while others are constantly flying in their walk with the Lord. We seem to use other believers as a measure, comparing ourselves to them. As we dwell on thoughts of failure, we become more demoralised and eventually believe there is no hope for us.

According to the fable, when the fairy Godmother asked Cinderella what she wanted, Cinderella replied that it didn’t matter what she wanted because it would be impossible for her wishes to be granted. The fairy Godmother’s reply to Cinderella was, “Let me be the judge of that!”

How many times have we thought it impossible to achieve God’s expectations…? In a way we are right! In our own strength it is impossible. However, if we allow the Holy Spirit within us to do HIS work – in us and through us – we will begin to find a greater peace flowing throughout our lives.

The truth of the matter is this: For by that one offering, He perfected forever all those whom He is making holy.

God sees us as a finished work. Isn’t that astounding? For those who have received, by grace, God’s gift of salvation, He sent His son to pay the ultimate price so that sin could be removed forever. Not only did Jesus die to remove our sin, but also to put to death our sinful nature which came into the world via Adam’s sin of disobedience. Through the death of Jesus – the scripture in Romans tells us – we are no longer slaves to sin!

As God looks upon us, He sees what we look like ‘in Him’ – our glorified bodies – our future.

If you knew that by tackling a certain difficult task, there was an absolute guarantee of a great reward at the end – you would certainly persevere through that task with excitement. And so it is with the Lord and our lives. For those who have committed their lives to Him, believing by faith that change will come, He sees the finished work and is excited to commit Himself to us on a minute by minute basis. He fully commits to us because He knows His reward is great.

The final product He witnesses is worth everything He has had to put up with from us daily – our every outburst of anger, our every rebellious thought, our every tear shed. As we commit to Him, remember: He no longer sees our weaknesses but through His son, He sees the joy and peace he has longed for us to walk in.

“…And so Cinderella and the handsome Prince were married and lived happily ever after…”

YOU… ARE God’s Cinderella – married to Him – His bride – forever to live happily ever after!

From: “…time with the Master…”

“…time with the Master…” is an on-going series of teachings, about lifestyle in the Church and is published bi-monthly.
If you feel this article has value, please send this link to others, Writings are meant for people, not for dormant files in our computers and very often when we share them, it results in positive changes in the lives of individuals and communities.

Please feel free to send in questions (see ‘Contact’) and comments (hit ‘Comments’
button).

Prayer…Seriously?

Have you ever pondered the scriptures where Jesus says that we should ask for anything in His name and the Father will grant it to us? I did, many times. I wondered why I was asking the Lord for things that I felt I needed but to no avail.

As I began to grow closer to the Lord, I learned that Jesus taught us to pray by saying, “Your will (the Father’s) be done”. So I began to ask Him for things ending off my prayer by saying, “…Lord if it be your will”. That way I started to learn that the things which did come to me, came by His will.

When I learned that ‘Praying in His name’ meant praying in the character of Jesus, it began to put a new light on my prayers. How wonderful that God will use us in our daily circumstances to pray for situations and for those around us. It is relatively simple to pray for solutions according to what we think. However, it takes a bit more time and thought to pray out of Jesus’ character. What does Jesus see in the specific circumstance? How does HE feel about what we are experiencing at that point? What would HIS solution entail?

As we pray, we need to take ourselves ‘out of our shoes’ and put ourselves into Jesus’ shoes to start to understand HIS heart in the situation we are led to pray for. It is also fairly simple for us to pray for situations or people once off and not again – almost lightheartedly. What if the Lord requires us to have a real burden for our prayer topic? A burden that will occupy our minds day and night until it goes away. Are you so close to a situation or person that you are truly burdened to persistently seek God for help?

Jesus shares the parable of the poor widow seeking the Judge for legal protection from her adversary. Being a widow, she had no husband to help or protect her, so her request came from a very sincere and burdened heart. She had a clear need to keep persevering for her request. How deep and serious are the burdens we have for those around us?

Jesus speaks a parable where the Widow is being bothered by her opponent and that the Judge will have the solution to this troublesome situation. It is the same for us today. The Judge is God; the Widow is like us – burdened – and the opponent is the accuser of the brethren, the devil. As the Judge had the solution to the widow’s problem, so God has the solutions to our situations. Like the widow, we need to persevere in our requests. In order to persevere, we need to have a true burden. In order to have a true burden, we need to ask God to give it to us. If we have no desire to ask for the burden, we should ask God to help us with that as well!

In the parable, the Judge admits that he is no respecter of man or God, but that he needed to grant this Widow her request for fear that she will wear him out with her persistent asking. Jesus goes on to say, “… now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly”.

As we go to the Lord daily with our prayer requests, let us ask Him for a burden for the particular topic we are led to pray for. That way we will find ourselves seeking God seriously for the things we ask ‘in His name’ (character). That way also, God will be able to answer us quickly as we cry to Him day and night.

Praying seriously for daily protection and other topics is something we have not deeply thought about. Draw close to the Lord as He draws closer to us. Feel the heart of the Father as we sit at His feet during our private prayer times. Then, as we pray ‘in His name’, the Father will grant what we ask.

From: “time with the Master…”

“…time withe Master…” is an on-going series of teachings, about lifestyle in the Church and is published bi-monthly.
If you feel this article has value, please send this link to others, Writings are meant for people, not for dormant files in our computers and very often when we share them, it results in positive changes in the lives of individuals and communities.

Please feel free to send in questions (see ‘Contact’) and comments (hit ‘Comments’
button).