Introduction/Recap:
Matthew 5:17-21–“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.
*Kingdom Standards-King Jesus sets the context of His teachings, that they belong to the Kingdom of God
–to relax His commandments is to be in rebellion to the King-Ex: to change His standards
-To teach and submit to the Kings standards, you find favor with the King=blessed
(vs20)-(Jesus)true righteousness goes beyond what we know and do, but why we do it-is it by faith and love? Or religious self-promotion, and a need to be recognized or appreciated by others? –This is all the Pharisees and scribes cared about
James 2:17–So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.-we usually think we have to do more church work…
-He is not saying do more works, but to locate your heart-why are you doing what you’re doing?
–they had works, they just had no faith and love for God-their works did not come from a place of love for God and people
*Faith ask three questions that we must answer that keeps us from being religious like the Pharisees
1) Knowing intimately who you believe in?-(Jesus)
2) Knowing what you believe in?-(what are the King’s expectations?)-God has clear expectations for flourishing in the Kingdom-(in His Word)-Ex: It is hard to flourish in any relationship, job, church, without knowing what is expected of you
3) Why you should believe in Jesus?-(Faith says God’s way is better than my own)-He is life-Ex: If you cannot explain why you believe in something, than people assume it is dead tradition…
-Last week (anger), Jesus teaches us not to just live in anger,-but prove our faith in Him by making things right
-At this point, we are challenged by “Who and what we believe in?”-will I do what God says, or will I result back to my old ways…
John 14:6-Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
-“My words are an extension of Me”-Faith and obedience in God’s Word answers Who I believe in (Jesus), and what I believe in (His Word)
Ex: When kids disobey parents we get upset, b/c my words are an extension of me-you disrespect and grieve me when you don’t do what I say=it’s about trust
-The goal is to trust their father-this answers not only who they believe in, but also what I say!-
-So out of love and respect for Who I am they should want to trust my words-Answering the Who & what I believe…
*We must answer “why we should believe” in Jesus (The Living Word)
–why should we listen to Jesus on how to deal with anger?-Why should we believe in His ways?-How well have your own ways of handling anger benefited you?
–If we can’t answer why we should believe in Jesus- than we have yet to trust Him and His Word for true life (in that area)
-Jesus says that if you don’t deal with it before Him, than you become a prisoner of your anger!-lemme see if that’s true…
-But if I have submitted to Jesus, and His Word-I can testify that He has delivered me from some serious issues of anger!
Now I become a witness why someone should believe in Jesus,-because I have experienced Him to be better than my ways
-can you testify about being delivered from anything, if not why should someone believe in what you p
*The importance of feeding a new mind in Christ-1 Corinthians 2:16-“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
What does having a new mind look like?-ex: dealing with one’s anger…
1)-Knowing Who you believe in-is to know by experience that Jesus doesn’t deal with you and I in anger
2)-What you believe in-when Jesus tells us to deal with our anger, do you believe His way is better than yours?
3)-Why you should believe in His ways-How helpful have your ways of dealing with anger been for you, family, friends compared to His ways?
-now if we continually say we are a child of the King, and operate apart from His decrees there is a disconnect-between heart and mouth-=our righteousness has not exceeded the Pharisees!
-You cannot affirm sincere belief in Christ if 1) you don’t strive to do what you say you believe, and 2) you completely disagree with Jesus in what He says- you will never testify about His goodness in any area of your life
-As King, He desires our hearts to trust and believe in what He says, to testify of His goodness, and why people should come to Him…-We are His messengers for that!
-So instead of defending your philosophy against Jesus and His Words, you probably need to be delivered from your ways…
The Kingdom decree on Lust
*Realizing you are under Kingdom rule
Ex: Living in democracies vs. living in nations with true dictating Kings in a Kingdom- Saudi Arabia, etc.
-Jesus in the sermon on the Mount is speaking from the place of Kingdom decrees, under His Kingship
-He is establishing what His rule looks like, and if we walk with Him in it we are blessed!
-Jesus is really dealing with what is our heart towards Him as King=which effects our entire life, one way or the other
John 14:6-Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
*The Kingdom starting point
Matthew 5:27,28-“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.
Example: Think about your fiance proposing, and he measures his love by his words-but you sense his heart is somewhere else…
-At that point you don’t care about the words or action, you want sincerity, genuine love and faithfulness-you want to know that this man loves me from his heart, and is not making a mockery of mine…
-Jesus here is dealing with the starting point, the heart (the seat of our emotions, mind and will)-that if our heart is intimately engaged with anyone other than our spouse we are already in an affair…
-this is why you don’t have to touch anyone to validate an affair-it is always the heart, because once you lose the heart of an individual, you have the lost the person
-If an affair moves into the place of physical contact, the heart has emotionally left the spouse long ago…
So instead of sounding harsh, Jesus is saving us from living a deceptive life, filled with actions and no heart
Ex: No one would say, “you can lust after anyone you want, as long as you don’t touch them”
*The necessity of guarding our heart
Proverbs 4:23-Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
-God means for our hearts to be guarded by Him and His Word-Don’t guard your heart with, insecurity, deception, and it’s wicked desires, pretending to be genuine.
–The Word is a mirror of our hearts-Hebrew 4:12-For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
-Jesus desires genuine relationship, as do you and I…-So when you hear His Word what is your response to His call for love and faith
(regarding the spiritual adultery of Israel, God describes their deceptive heart)
Isaiah 29:13-And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
–This is why Jesus hates flattery, empty praise, and half-hearted worship-because it is evidence of a deceptive heart, a heart that is elsewhere, yet pretending to be with Him…
-This is what makes adultery devastating because, you have to struggle to consider how long were you being deceived-how long has their heart been detached from you?-But Jesus knows our heart and wants us to not lie to ourselves
James 1:22-23-But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Ex: denial
This is why Jesus defines adultery from the heart, because it makes us focus on being genuine, to Him, our spouse and everyone else
The appeal of Jesus (why we should believe in Him)
Matthew 5:29-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.
*If we don’t deal with ourselves at a heart level, it reveals the inevitable…
(He is not saying that if you have committed adultery you are going to hell)
-He is saying that if you never deal with your heart before Him-(in this lifestyle) than you don’t believe in Him or His Word!
-Remember He is the Living Word, we prove our love and faith in Jesus by what He says-affirming that we believe in His testimony!
And if we don’t consider why we should believe in what He says, it is because we don’t believe in the consequences either=(You don’t believe in Him as Lord)
Conclusion: The ultimate love and patience of Jesus
(vs30)-If we don’t deal with what Jesus says…(Encompassing Who He is and why we should believe)
–The love of God is shown in wanting to deal with our hearts, being genuine before Him, not our behavior…
–Ex: “I need to get my life together before I go to church”-God deals with our heart, for us to deal with our behavior
–I look to deal with my kids heart, to protect them from “the fruit” of wicked ways…-I try and be involved, perceptive, and teach what is best for them (truth), not what caters to their ways…
-He is trying to protect us before our behavior gets us in trouble!-But do you believe, and know why you should?
James 1:14-15–But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
-Once we reject from the heart level God’s Word in dealing with sin, it grows into behaviors (lustful eyes to hands)
-God wants to deal with our sin in “seed form” in our hearts-but our unbelief in Who He is, results into the ultimate consequence of hell.
-Jesus in His love wants us not to live in denial and blind deception of our ways, calling them righteous or o.k. -He knows the end result of every sin we don’t deal with in our hearts before Him…
-This righteousness doesn’t exceed the Pharisees because it is not a relationship of faith and love for Christ
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