Matthew 5
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go.
First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Why would Matthew 5 say verse 2? "Jesus opened His mouth and taught"?
If you'd been Matthew - the high rising, Roman abiding, able to extort expert of money collection - you might be so astounded to be Levy who threw a party for Jesus knowing the people he would invite would be sinners. And given the beauty of The Sermon on the Mount and the following of multitudes - Jesus would know how to be the Life of the party.
Luke 10
23Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
My inclination would be Matthew wanted to record - Matthew heard the voice of Jesus Christ - Savior of Mankind. And not cause sadness for the generations to come.
When you look at the Creator, the Shepherd of our Souls, Jesus would not be afraid of mankind. Seeing further in space, in time, in millenniums, in events, in intuition, with more Love. Many times - if you are pressed or stressed - the Scripture will encompass the major points. Christians are not to Lord over the Gentiles. To walk with Grace and Truth. Jesus did this easily being Lord of All and seeing all one could ever see in each of us. And in not being afraid, we can believe God - lean to our Father - and build up all of us. Faith enables us not to take the short cuts - hurting our selves, our souls and the culture.
Speaking from experience, when we have regular old anxieties, becoming 'the same old event', we tend to become downtrodden. And in this boredom, this frustration, this mounting lack of faith called pain and sadness, we tend to slip slide away.
Matthew. He utterly was born again. Verse 48. Matthew knew to hold on to Faith from being in the fire from the crucifixion. Levy Matthew rose again - because - the Forgiveness of Jesus. Not the Law. The Grace upon Grace of Jesus. The 12 Open Gates of Heaven. The always available to us in Jesus - our prayers - reaching Father God. Learning to be like Paul, we will "see how it goes with me." And lean into the adventure of believing ~
Romans 8:28 ~
We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Now doubts will wriggle in if you do not firmly grasp the Truth of the Grace of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
See, hold, believe every Word of God holds true.
God gives us very important footholds not to let go of in Faith to prevent, ward of doubt and strengthen Faith.
Feeling faint hearted?
1. Work for mankind and faith ~
Look again. Work. Do the work of faith given to mankind. Work. Work. Work. This is not a magical, mysterious carpet ride. Like the Exodus where all things worked immediately out. Minus Moses 40 years in the desert of Midian learning the Shepherd of his soul, in his thoughts. Minus Joshua waiting 40 years for the Children of Israel to attain faith to enter the promised land. 40 years surrounded by doubters who had walked the Red Sea floor. Diligent work.
2. Therefore work all things for good is a ... process.
Just like the Prodigal Son is a Process. Just like the Exodus was a spectacular process. 80 plus years and the land was not fully claimed for the ever important Tribe of Judah until 500 years later David took the City of David - Jerusalem for the first time for the Tribe of Judah. Work. Process. This important difference is the meat of maturity in Christ Jesus.
3. Gasp. What if... what if I have no special significance in God's eyes. Regular Joe.
To be called to work the purpose of God is something spectacular. This is the ... narrow path. Matthew 22:14 14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen." The Bible - assures us, the wide highway is there. The narrow path is available for those who believe and will do the choice of being like Joseph who believed a mere dream. For being Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph who merely believed they were blessed of God and sufficient to pass on His Amazing Blessings. These men lived in tents when others did not. And they lived believing themselves blessed and the reality of Faith proves them correct from Genesis to Hebrews 11 to the last page of the last chapter of the Word of God. The Word of God, the Will of God, assures us Faith is better and more True.
4. Why?
Why is this Work? Why? Because in the Garden of Eden mankind wanted to be God, and decide for themselves what was right and wrong. I'd bet, Father God said, "Show me. Show me your narrow path. Show me what you do with the acreage of eternity called, 'your soul.'" Mankind proves "we" are work even in the Exodus. Ohh. Awe and Wonder of God. And then ~ oh no, God will desert us! I'm hungry ~ therefore we can assume God will desert us this time. I'm thirsty ~ God will desert us this time. Small wonder this occurs in the Desert. No wonder Father God puts the Children of Israel under His Care. When the Desert has a Cloud by Day - eventually there is rain. When the Desert has a Pillar of Fire by Night - then there is comfort and comfort is not a wasteland Desert. Preparing the Children of God to enable them to do the Will of God. By pass Jericho - going the direction of God. He is a Good, Good Father.
5. The Upward Call of Jesus Christ.
David lived giving all of mankind the Grace to show the Upward Call of Jesus Christ. David - the inner secret of David - to Believe in the Compassion of God. Strive Forward. Again. The Reflection of Jesus Christ, Only Son and Savior of Almighty God, our Father.
6. Run the Race to Win.
Every Word, every single Word of God holds True.
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
The key helping Word here is 'only'. Have the Purpose. Know the direction. Stay with the direction for one reason - Love.
Abba, our Father,
Today, may our God of Faith, Hope and Love fill us with all joy and peace as we believe in Jesus Christ Lord God.
Father, in the Power of Jesus' Name, pour out a Blessing. The Holy Spirit overflowing by the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory of Jesus Christ our Savior.
Let us take our Spiritual acreage and convince with our deeds, life and word - showing our all seeing Father God, our words and works are full of Goodness of God. Brimming with His Love and able to fill up our soul to run to bring to our Father.
May the Words of my mouth, the meditations of my heart, be pleasing and acceptable to You, Father God, bringing Jesus and the Holy Spirit's Love to live in me, the ones I love, increasing to the people You have given me. God of Creation, Loving Father, cover all over this world. The Joy of God covers us! We ask in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves †
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment