The Good Life

This is the manuscript of the sixth sermon in the "Listening To Heaven's Infallible Teacher" series from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5-7.

Too often we feel that the adversity of today or the problems that we fear tomorrow will be with us forever. In our effort to live one day at a time, we must never borrow trouble from tomorrow. Insurance companies have gotten wealthy by insuring people against fear of future disasters that never happen.

In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us how we can live "the good life".

For an audio recording of the sermon click the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript.

To see a video of the entire service, click this link https://youtu.be/3nA6W3yBRtE

 Scripture

Matthew 6:25‭-‬34 NIV “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Text: 

Matthew 6:33 NIV But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Introduction

Many years ago, in an effort to boost circulation, the St. Petersburg, Florida, Times ran clues to a treasure of two hundred dollars that had been buried somewhere in the greater St. Petersburg area. Two thousand people gathered in front of the newspaper building on the day the final clue was printed. During the next thirty minutes, several unusual things happened. A half dozen people were injured in automobile wrecks. A number of women passed out in the crowd gathered in front of the Times office building. Four people had to be rescued from waist-deep mud. And the stakes on a building site were torn up by a crowd in its mad search for the hidden treasure. In retrospect the newspaper stunt was a big success; circulation had increased 5 percent.

In a very real sense, the lure of gold can become a mania. A popular American pastime is the effort to get something for nothing. The search for the good life is often an all-controlling interest. Frequently it leads to all sorts of unusual behavior, some of which is pathetic, humorous, or tragic.

Since Jesus knew this to be so, he dedicated much of his time to the human search for the good life. Christ saw men and women losing their souls in their effort to discover things that would make them happy. In the Sermon on the Mount, he dealt with this subject in a direct manner. He said that the good life is a life of wise investments, unwavering loyalty, and simple trust.

  

I. The good life is a life of wise investments (Matt. 6:19–23).

Matthew 6:19‭-‬23 NIV “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Why is the good life a life of wise investments? Because the things we live for determine the direction of our lives. The great philosopher Spinoza said that the three things people want most are honor, riches, and satisfaction of lust.

A. Treasure on earth. 

The truth is that most of us are not piling up treasures on earth. We hardly have enough to pay our bills, our taxes,  and fulfill our financial obligations to family and community. 

In this passage that I just read however, Jesus was not so much concerned with the amount of money we have as he was with the direction of our lives and the quality of our daily existence. Jesus realized that our attitude toward things, regardless of the amount we might have, determines the direction of our souls and the destiny of our lives.

The point is that whenever we depend on money alone for security, life has a way of eliminating any level of security. Jesus contends that these are unwise investments.

In Jesus' day, rugs and garments and tapestries were some of the goods persons hoarded and relied on for financial security. All of these things could easily deteriorate or be stolen. 

There is the true story of a homeless man who had died in abject poverty and was buried in a pauper’s grave in New York. Several days after his burial, the city officials discovered a fortune of more than $500,000 belonging to the old man in a Brooklyn warehouse vault. His life and death is reminder of the futility of placing our trust in things.

B. Jesus said that we should make investments in heavenly things.  We should seek treasures in heaven. 

But how can we lay up treasures in heaven? How can we make wise investments? We make these wise investments when we invest in acts of forgiveness, understanding, and love. We increase in our richness toward God when we turn away from deeds that are shoddy and cheap and wrong. Deposits are made in the bank of heaven in our name when we live with courage, love, faith, and hope. Whenever we live this kind of life, we accumulate wealth that will last forever.

Jesus made a statement in verse 21 that most of us fail to understand: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

It is important that we realize that he did not say where your heart is, there will your treasure be.  He said that where your heart is there.  He was simply saying that where we make our greatest investment is where we have our most interest. Your heart and interest may not be in a particular project or program, but when you invest heavily in it, you become vitally concerned with its outcome. 

A good life is a life of wise investments. So "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

II. The good life is a life of unwavering loyalty (Matt. 6:24).

Matthew 6:24 NIV “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with wealth. What is wrong is putting wealth before God or, more than that, making wealth our god. 

In this passage Jesus is not advocating poverty but priority. 

Matthew 6:33 NIV But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

This is no prohibition against wealth, but it is an admonition to get our priorities in order.

Divided loyalties make for disturbed minds and confused goals. Divided loyalties cause all kinds of physical and mental illnesses. Study of modern medicine and psychiatry underscore in a striking way the truth of these words of Jesus that “no man can serve two masters.” When we attempt to serve multiple masters we are caught in the middle every time.

How can we develop a life of unwavering loyalty? How can we be careful not to attempt to serve two masters? 

Here’s the answer

The answer is in Paul’s statement in Philippians

Philippians 3:13 NIV Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

In one of my favorite scenes from the movie "City Slickers," Curly, the hard-core cowboy, and Mitch, the greenhorn city slicker (played respectively by actors Jack Palance and Billy Crystal), are riding along a trail engaged in an interesting conversation about love, life choices and other existential issues.

At some point Curly turns to Mitch and says, “Do you know what the secret of life is?” Mitch replies, “No, what?” Curly holds up his index finger and says, “This!”  One thing.

When we focus our attention and power on a single object, we discover strength that we never knew we had. But when we cannot decide on our goals and priorities, our life becomes weak and we can become paralyzed in any effort to move forward.

Jesus said in Luke 17:32, “Remember Lot’s wife.” 

Lot's wife was a good example of divided loyalty. 

The Bible says that Lot was a righteous man.

2 Peter 2:7‭-‬8 NIV and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—

So his wife would have known of or actually known God, but she apparently had also fallen in love with the things of Sodom. She had to make a decision.  She knew or knew of God, but she also wanted Sodom. Finally, the day of decision came.

Genesis 19:17‭, ‬26 NIV As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Her divided loyalty brought misery and ultimately destruction.

We must settle once and for all who is the master of our lives and where our loyalties are. Once that decision has been made, we can experience the good life that comes through a life of unwavering loyalty.

John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 

III. The good life is also a life of simple trust (Matt. 6:25–34).

The opposite of trust is fear and worry. We may worry about what we will eat or what we will drink or what we will wear or what will happen tomorrow. Jesus’ solution was simple trust in God. In

a)  Jesus used God's care for creation to make His point. 

Matthew 6:25‭-‬31 NIV “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

He reminded his listeners that the birds of the air are cared for, the flowers of the field are clothed, and even the grass is not forgotten. Jesus' point was that Since God cares for these, he surely cares for those who are made in his image.

A little poem sums this up beautifully:

Said the sparrow to the robin,

“I should really like to know

Why these anxious human beings

Rush around and worry so.”

Said the robin to the sparrow,

“Friend, I think that it must be

That they have no heavenly Father

Such as cares for you and me.”

—Elizabeth Cheney

b) We are reassured in our trust because God knows our needs. (vv. 32–33). 

Matthew 6:32‭-‬33 NIV For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Jesus was not arguing in this passage against planning, saving, or working. He does not want us to neglect our responsibilities, and he was not advocating idleness. 

Certainly we must consider what we will eat or what we will wear or our state of health or our future. But we must never allow these things to become an obsession. If we do, they will become a burden to us, and we will find ourselves continually anxious and fearful.  How can we avoid being anxious and fearful? The answer is simple yet profound. We can be assured that God both knows our needs and will supply them, so we can be reassured by the knowledge that God is aware of all our needs.

c) Simple trust lives one day at a time (v. 34). 

The Living Bible translates 6:34, “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.”

This is not an admonition to avoid facing life seriously. Rather, we are being told that troubles can best be met by dealing with them one at a time. We are assured that God will grant the strength required for the troubles of tomorrow when they come just as he provides that strength for today.

Much of our anxiety about tomorrow will subside when we realize that many of today’s difficulties are not permanent. An elderly minister was once asked to quote his favorite Scripture verse. His reply came without hesitation, “And it came to pass.” Then he explained that through his many years he had come to realize that difficulties and wars and debts and burdens to humankind do “come to pass.”

Too often we feel that the adversity of today or the problems that we fear tomorrow will be with us forever. In our effort to live one day at a time, we must never borrow trouble from tomorrow. Our worries are always about the future aren't they? We worry about surgery we may never have, a child who goes wrong but in time turns out well, or enemies who eventually become our friends. Insurance companies have gotten wealthy by insuring people against fear of future disasters that never happen.

Conclusion

Cecil B. DeMille told how, many years earlier in his life, he was commissioned to write a play that later became The Return of Peter Grimm. The story concerned the continuation of life after death.

DeMille went on to share how he drew inspiration for that story from a water beetle on a lake where he was canoeing. He was reading and resting and searching for an idea. As DeMille looked down at the water, he saw a small water beetle that crawled up on the little boat, stuck its talons into the woodwork, and died. DeMille said he simply left it alone and returned to his reading. The sun was hot, and about three hours later he looked up from what he was doing to see the little beetle parched, with its back cracking open. He watched, and out of the back of the dead beetle he saw a new form with wings emerging. DeMille said it was a most beautiful dragonfly, reflecting the many colors of the rainbow. Then the dragonfly began to move its wings and lift itself from the boat. It flew farther in one second than the water beetle had crawled in hours. For a moment it hovered over the lake just a few inches from the water with the beetles below. They were totally unaware of its presence.

DeMille flipped the shriveled remains of the old water beetle’s husk from the canoe into the lake. It quickly sank into the mud-covered bottom. Other beetles crawled awkwardly to see what it was. Then they backed away from it. DeMille asked, “If God does that for a water beetle, don’t you believe he will do it for you and me?”

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Sermon Audio

When Your Halo Is Too Tight

This is the manuscript of the fifth sermon in the "Listening To Heaven's Infallible Teacher" series from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5-7.

When we think that certain individuals have their religion on parade, we say they are wearing their halos too tight. When your halo is too tight, all kinds of complications set in. When your hat is too tight, you get a headache. But when your halo is too tight, you give other people a headache. You turn them off and make Christianity distasteful and Christ unattractive.

Your halo is too tight: when you do good deeds to attract attention, when you pray to impress others, and when you fast to appear spiritual.

For an audio recording of the sermon click the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript.

To see a video of the entire service, click this link https://youtu.be/64yl8dBgT1o

Scripture

Matthew 6:1‭-‬8‭, ‬16‭-‬18 NIV ““Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Text: Matthew 6:16 NIV “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

Introduction

When we think that certain individuals have their religion on parade, we say they are wearing their halos too tight. When your halo is too tight, all kinds of complications set in. When your hat is too tight, you get a headache. But when your halo is too tight, you give other people a headache. You turn them off and make Christianity distasteful and Christ unattractive.

An old slogan of the advertising industry is “Running a business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you’re doing, but she doesn’t.” The slogan is true. It pays to advertise. Advertisements stimulate sales and increase profits!

There are some things, however, that advertising kills. 

Advertising kills humility. Advertise it, and it becomes pride. 

Another is altruism. Advertise it, and it becomes egotism. 

Advertise spirituality, and it becomes hypocrisy.

Jesus spoke out against wearing our halos too tight. He warned of three areas where we must avoid any pretentious demonstration of superior spirituality. To advertise our spirituality is to destroy it! 

Your halo is to tight:

when you do good deeds to attract attention 
when you pray to impress others
when you fast to appear spiritual

I. Your halo is too tight when you do good deeds to attract attention (Matt. 6:1–4).

Matthew 6:1‭-‬4 NIV “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus does want us to work for His kingdom, He doesn’t want us to be idle or lazy, so He wasn’t advocating that we keep our discipleship secret. However, He was warning us against wrong motives, against doing our good deeds to attract attention to ourselves. T. S. Eliot, in his book Murder in the Cathedral, said, “The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

Now on the surface it might appear that this teaching conflicts with Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:16 that we should do our work and live in such a way as to let our light shine before others.  You remember we talked about that a few weeks ago.

Matthew 5:16 NIV In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

But there is really no conflict here.   When Jesus admonished us to let our light shine, it was for the purpose of glorifying God and leading others to become his followers. Here He's dealing with the practice of people putting their reverence and religion on parade. The end result of such religion is to glorify self and not God. 

In Matthew 6:2 when Jesus said that they “will have received their reward in full,” he used a word from the business world. This word signifies the settlement of an account. Jesus was saying that when we do our deeds before others and receive their applause, our transaction has resulted in our good deeds being paid for by the attention from others. For instance, the generous giver is called generous, and so his or her account is paid in full and closed. Those who do good deeds for the praise of others have received their reward by being applauded as being “truly spiritual people.” They have received what they really wanted and all that they will ever get.

When we do good deeds not to call attention to ourselves but as an expression of our love for God, we are following the guidance of Christ. To do good deeds for any other reason is to destroy the blessing and joy of having done them. This happens only when your halo is too tight.

II. Your halo is too tight when you pray to impress others (Matt. 6:5–15).

Something dies within us and within our prayer life whenever we advertise it. To help us in keeping our prayer life alive and vibrant, Jesus issued a plea, offered a pattern, and made a promise.

A. Here’s the plea (vv. 5–8). 

Matthew 6:5‭-‬8 NIV “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Jesus’ plea was that we do not pray like the hypocrites do. Our prayers are to be a sincere matter between ourselves and our God. We are not to get lost in needless verbiage, lots of words. 

Definite times of the day were set aside for prayer by committed Jews. They were expected to pray at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 3:00 p.m. every day. From this practice, which started after their return from exile in Babylon, the prayer life of Israel had become increasingly mechanical and routine. 

Hypocrites were happy if the specified hour of prayer caught them in a public place. In fact, they often took great care to arrange it. Jesus said in verse 5 that they loved to stand in synagogues and on street corners to be seen by others when they prayed.  

Jesus was not condemning public prayer. He often attended the synagogue and engaged in public prayer Himself, and so did His disciples. However, Jesus was asking us to direct our prayer to God instead of to the crowd. If our public prayer is directed to God, it will be as private a prayer as we might offer if we were alone.

Jesus asked that we not think of prayer as the repetition of many, many words. Our heavenly Father knows what we need even before we ask. Like with large reservoir filled with water, our prayers do not put water in the reservoir; they only open the gates and allow the water to flow. Prayer is never overcoming God’s reluctance, but it is grabbing hold to his willingness.  Jesus showed that our halo is too tight when we pray to impress others.

B. That was the plea now here is the pattern to keeping our prayer alive and vibrant (vv. 8–13). 

The best-known prayer in history can be repeated in twenty seconds. It is composed of sixty-six words, fifty of which are one-syllable words.  We repeat it or sing it every week.  This prayer is simple enough to be understood by a child and yet profound enough to express the heart’s desires of the most mature believer. On one hand, the prayer is personal enough to be prayed in private and, on the other hand, public enough to be prayed by entire congregations in worship services.  

Matthew 6:9‭-‬13 NIV “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’

Jesus certainly had no intention of stifling spontaneous prayers when he said, “This, then, is how you should pray" This prayer pattern is not designed as a straitjacket but as a stimulant to meaningful prayer.

Jesus used his favorite term for God when he urged us to call God “our Father.” This expression speaks of the direct access we have to our Father. Heaven had come to identify the majesty of God. So, Jesus, in his prayer, spoke of our Father as one who abides in heaven. Such a beginning opens the way for the requests that follow. It is significant that the first petition of the prayer is an expression of adoration: “Hallowed be thy name.” To hallow God’s name is to hold God’s name in respect and reverence.

The reign of God is expressed in the words “Your kingdom come.” God’s reign has already started, but its consummation is in the future. As believers we are to wait and pray. The kingdom of God is both a future promise and a present reality. It is open for business in the here and now, and people can enter it today. But it is our responsibility to work with God in bringing about the realization of his kingdom, so we are to pray, “Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Jesus directed his attention from the future to the present in the second half of this prayer. He said that we should pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” It is true that a person does not live by bread alone, but it is equally true that without bread, or food,  he or she does not live at all. Jesus is clearly saying that God is vitally interested in our physical needs. 

Our need is also characterized by the requirement for daily forgiveness. So we are to ask that our heavenly Father will “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Or better understood, forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. 

Temptation is an ever-present problem in the Christian’s life too, so Jesus says that we should ask God to help us when temptations come our way. We are to pray that God will spare us those temptations and trials that will severely test our faith. When those trials do come, we pray that he will give us the ability to live through them victoriously.

1 Corinthians 10:12‭-‬13 NIV So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

C. In the model prayer Jesus gave us the plea, the pattern, and now the promise (vv. 6, 14–15). 

Matthew 6:14‭-‬15 NIV For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

After Jesus completed the model prayer, he felt it necessary to go back and give special attention to one of the requests: 

Go back and look at;

Matthew 6:12 NIV And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Refusing to forgive others is detrimental to the person who refuses to grant forgiveness. Unforgiveness can wreck personal health, destroy our sense of well-being, spoil our relation to other people, and build a barrier between us and God.

In the book that we are studying in Bible Study, Christian Atheist, one of the chapters is “When You Believe in God but Won’t Forgive.  In it the author says;

We all know Christians are supposed to forgive. But many of us Christian Atheists think that there are exceptions to this rule. Sure, we should forgive most of the time—maybe even almost all of the time." But there may be some things that are unforgivable. 

     
The person who does not forgive thinks more of grudges than grace and more of halos than holiness. That unforgiveness may turn to bitter hatred.  Here’s what the Bible says;

Hebrews 12:15 NIV See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Ephesians 4:31‭-‬32 NIV Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Forgiving is easier said than done, of course. Only God’s power can bring us to a place of being willing to forgive.

Your halo is too tight when in your prayers to impress others there is no room for forgiving those who have offended you.

III. Your halo is too tight when you fast to appear spiritual (Matt. 6:16–18).

Matthew 6:16‭-‬18 NIV “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Just like advertising the prayers we offer and the good deeds we do, advertising our fasting destroys whatever blessings it might bring. 

It appears that the fasting prevalent in Jesus’ day had three main purposes. First, it was designed to draw attention from God to the individual who fasted. Second, it was an obvious attempt to prove that repentance was genuine. And third, fasting was often vicarious. That is, it was not designed for one’s own personal benefit, but rather to move God to save the nation from its problems.

Jesus admonishes us not to look pitiful like the hypocrites when we fast. Jesus is saying that we are never to put our spirituality on parade.

Let me give you some examples of things being done to show the appearance of goodness or right living or religiosity.

For instance, individuals may arrive at church late so that their attendance will be noticed by everyone. I have known who do this. Or they may contribute to worthy causes with the main intention of being recognized for their generosity.  I have also known some of them. Also beware of those politicians and those seeking public office who go out of their way to announce that they are an “ordained elder” or a deacon, steward, or minister, or born again. .

The question then is, “What is legitimate fasting?” Legitimate fasting centers the mind so much on God that the person does not care for physical food or accolades. In this case, fasting comes from the heart and soul.

Isaiah 58:3‭-‬8 NIV ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

In verses 16–18, of Matthew 6, Jesus explained the great paradox of the Christian’s reward. Those who look for rewards and who assume they are deserving never really receive them. On the other hand, those who diligently work for the kingdom of God and who never think they deserve a reward do in fact receive that reward.

Matthew 6:16‭-‬18 NIV “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Conclusion

Halos are a figment of the imagination created by medieval artists. And in spiritual matters they are doubly a figment of the imagination. Your relation to Christ and to others will become far more meaningful when you not only stop wearing your halo so tight but stop wearing it at all!

In the “land of the free,” we often confuse the true nature of freedom. For many of us, freedom has become synonymous with personal independence — the ability to make our own decisions and choose our own path in life, to do whatever we want, whenever we want.

But this is not the freedom that Jesus promised us. When Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah, He said that He had come to Earth to “proclaim freedom”. And on another occasion, He said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”  

Jesus was not setting us free to do whatever we wanted; He was freeing us to do what we ought to do. He was liberating us to walk in relationship with God and to be the kind of people He created us to be.

How do we find freedom from the penalty and power of sin? That comes through accepting Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross as the payment for our sin. As we submit to Christ, sin loses its power — Christ’s power takes over. As we choose to trust and follow Him, our sinful habits, thoughts and attitudes lose their control. Guilt disappears, and peace of mind dominates. Right habits become the norm. That’s freedom — true freedom!

You can have that freedom today just

Romans 10:8‭-‬10 NIV But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Sermon Audio

Father's Day - A Man’s Place in the World

 

This is the manuscript of the Father's Day sermon June 20, 2021, at Christ Church.

Men in general have become reluctant warriors in a social revolution. Men everywhere are wanting to find their places in the world. Most of us, here today, grew up in a world that was quite different from the world today.

 
At church, our fathers went to the men’s Bible class and debated the Last Days, while our mothers sang in the choir, helped in the nursery, and were the Sunday School teachers for the little kids. In church business meetings, our fathers argued over whether to paint the church, buy new pews, or fire the pastor, and our mothers sat at their sides in dutiful — biblical — silence.

The world and the church are changing. Women are no longer silent. Men no longer make all the decisions. We men see the changes and reluctantly agree but that doesn’t mean we really want to. Most men will move over and admit women’s voices to the important decision-making processes of the church, but that doesn’t mean they really want to.

It makes us men wonder, just what is “a man’s place in the world” nowadays? What is the domain of man in the world? Does he have an exclusive role anymore? If so, what is it?

For an audio recording of the sermon click the image icon at the end of the manuscript.  

For a video of the entire service click this link https://youtu.be/2J6vocNsKpQ


Scripture

Judges 7:15‭-‬21 NIV When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’ ” Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.


Father's Day was inaugurated in the United States in the early 20th century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting.

Father's Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who raised his six children there in Spokane. After hearing a sermon about Mother's Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honoring them.

It did not have much success initially. Americans resisted the holiday for a few decades, perceiving it as just an attempt by merchants to replicate the commercial success of Mother's Day.

In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "[singling] out just one of our two parents".

In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972

I am always amazed at how we treat Father’s Day. On Mother’s Day we often hear sermons exalting the role of the mother in the family. Mothers are encouraged, praised and lifted up as the most important person in the home. And, we should thank the Lord for godly mothers.

Then there’s Father’s Day. Dad comes to church and hears a sermon on how he does not measure up as a father. He is told about some biblical father and the perfect life he lived, and dad leaves feeling like a failure who will never measure up as a dad. Well dad, you are a special person too! You are just as important as mom. Many experts now believe that fathers can be just as nurturing and sensitive with their babies as mothers. As their children grow, fathers take on added roles of guiding their children's intellectual and social development. Even when a father is 'just playing' with his children, he is nurturing their development. 

Today I want to talk about a man’s place in the world.

Men in general have become reluctant warriors in a social revolution. Men everywhere are wanting to find their places in the world. Most of us,here today, grew up in a world that was very different from the world today. 

At church, our fathers went to the men’s Bible class and debated the Last Days, while our mothers sang in the choir, helped in the nursery, and were the Sunday School teachers for the little kids.  In church business meetings, our fathers argued over whether to paint the church or buy new pews or fire the pastor, and our mothers sat at their sides in dutiful — presumably biblical — silence.

Today, middle-class lifestyles require two paychecks, not one. And the working mother — who in more and more cases is bringing home half, and in many cases more than half, of the bacon — is beginning to expect the working father to change half the diapers, wash half the dishes and clothes and run the vacuum half the time.

The church is also changing — much more slowly but just as surely. Women are no longer silent. Men no longer make all the decisions. We men see the changes and reluctantly agree but that doesn’t mean we really want to. Most men will move over and admit women’s voices to the important decision-making processes of the church, but that doesn’t mean they really want to. 

The reason for the reluctance is that so many women sitting in places traditionally reserved for men, and so many men having to sit in places traditionally the domain of women, frankly makes us men uncomfortable. It is threatening. It is challenging. It can be humiliating. And it makes us men wonder, just what is “a man’s place in the world” nowadays? What is the domain of man in the world? Does he have an exclusive role anymore? If so, what is it?  

Well let’s talk about a couple of things today and we are going to use the experience of Gideon and his army.

I. A Man’s Place is to be a Volunteer for the Betterment of Life

In Judges 7:15-21, the scripture that Jean read, every man there was a volunteer. The Midianites were threatening Gideon and the children of God. The people of Israel had done what was evil in the sight of God, and God had placed them under the thumb of Midian. Now Midian was bearing down upon them to wipe them out; and they were camped in the Valley of Jezreel, preparing for the final onslaught. 

When God called upon Gideon to sound the alarm, 32,000 men showed up at Mt. Gilead to answer the threat. Now there’s what it means to be a man, volunteer to fight for your people! Sadly, however, not all of them proved to be real men.  Here’s what I mean;

Judges 7:1‭-‬3 NIV Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

I figured it out.  Of the 32,000 that volunteered only 32.25% stayed, so 67.75% showed no firm conviction, and were permitted to go home, leaving 10,000 men.

Gideon himself knew what it meant not to have strong convictions, because he didn’t volunteer either he had to be drafted into this service by God.

It's in Judges 6:11‭-‬23 we're not going to read it all but I will summarize.

Judges 6:11‭-‬23 NIV The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” “Pardon me, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.” Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

Gideon was drafted but he realized that his army needed to be all-volunteer. A volunteer army, you see, has greater motivation and commitment than an army of draftees. Volunteers believe in their cause and step forward without being coerced.

God wants men to be volunteers, not draftees. Of all of the whining that may be heard today, probably the loudest and longest comes from us men who complain about women taking our places. 

They’re only doing the same work that we’re doing, and they have the gall to expect the same pay! And just because we expect them to know about retail sales and computers and 40-hour work weeks, they think we should learn about baby formulas and even how to load the dishwasher! What ever happened to the days when a man’s home was his castle, and his throne was the recliner in front of the television? Is nothing sacred anymore?

Let me make this perfectly clear: if any woman has occupied any place that God had really intended for any man to have, it has been because that man refused to step forward and volunteer his services.

God’s purposes will not be defeated because men expect to be begged, or because men want special places to be reserved for them. In the home, or in the church, or in the world, if a man won’t do it, then a woman will!

So If we men want to find our places in the world, we must surrender all notions of our great necessity and our profound privilege. We must admit that God in His redemptive way has used the failure of us men to gain for women a bigger piece of the action. This is God’s justice and God’s business. We are not going to turn it around and head it in the other direction. 

Men need to re-enlist in their true places in God’s world. Because women are finding their place in the world, too, it is not likely that we will ever return to the old days, in terms of male-female roles. But men can take places of productive service to the world and to the family and to the church and to our Lord!

II. A Man’s Place is to Remain on Spiritual Alert

Gideon’s army was alert, equipped and ready to go. God insisted that the army be vigilant. God had to trim its ranks far below the 10,000 figure, in order to display His own strength. The test He chose to have Gideon administer was a test designed to determine who among the 10,000 was alert. After all, the Midianites lay encamped only a few miles to the north. A man must remain watchful.

Judges 7:4‭-‬7 NIV But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”

When most lay aside their weapons and put their faces down to the water to drink, Gideon knew they were not God’s men for this task. Only the 300 men who kept their heads up and drank from their cupped hands while they kept the watch were acceptable.

Then Gideon equipped the 300 men strangely. As 9,700 men headed for home, he appropriated their earthenware jars, their torches and their trumpets. He placed a torch inside each jar, and issued a jar and a trumpet to each man. These would be the weapons that the force of 300 would use against their mighty enemy. This tactic seemed unusual and ineffective in the face of such an adversary but it was God's choice.

God wants us to be alert to His voice and prepared for action. The failure of men today is not that we do not have our eyes upon our enemies but that we do not have our eyes upon God. Prayer and meditation are the means by which a man will see God; but these are activities that men, by and large, have surrendered to women. 

Is it any accident that most  prayer chains in our churches are handled by women?  Or that most of the people who sing in any choir beyond an early age are female? Or that the groups that gather to pray for missions are women’s prayer groups? Prayer is no longer a man’s fixation. We men have our eyes upon something besides prayer because we have our eyes upon something besides God.

Gideon’s men must have looked with intense suspicion upon those jars with torches inside them, and upon those trumpets. Wouldn’t these be puny, anemic weapons against a formidable foe like Midian? Christian men today look with intense suspicion upon prayer, upon music and praise, upon missions, study and upon the power of the preaching and the teaching of God’s Word.

Not that we never practice any of it or don’t believe that it should be done — just that all of it appears to be inadequate ammunition for facing the worldly foes that we daily encounter. Better to rely upon our own manly intelligence, our own powers of persuasion, our own willingness to work 60 and 70 hours, our own dogged determination and high blood pressure to get the job done!

Gideon’s 300 men demonstrated the fact that they were real men, and that Gideon and the Lord had not made a mistake in their selection, this little army of big men dutifully shouldered their trumpets and their clay jars, and began the march down the mountain, and into the valley.

III. A Man’s Place is to Set His World according to a Standard of Obedience to God

Judges 7:21 NIV While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.

Every man in Gideon’s army found his place. At the outskirts of the Midian encampment, there was to be no charge, no fuss and fury; there were not even any swords for the overcoming of the adversary! On cue from Gideon all 300 soldiers blew their trumpets, broke their jars and held their lighted torches high. Together they sounded the battle cry, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” This sound-and-light show so shocked, startled and confused the Midianites that they all started running, drew their swords against each other and hacked each other to pieces!

The important thing to notice is that each man in Gideon’s army did exactly as he was instructed. Obedience is the most essential part of faith. To trust is to obey. In the final analysis, a man’s place is the same as anybody’s place: obedience to God’s call and claim upon his life.

“I don’t know my place anymore,” we men say. “I don’t know what’s expected of me. I don’t know where I fit in.”

God’s Word teaches us men our place. God’s Word calls a man to spiritual headship in his home. That doesn’t mean he makes all of the decisions, any more than it frees him from giving baths to babies and reading bedtime stories. It does mean that he sets a standard of obedience to God for his family! If anybody in the family is faithful to God, he is. If anybody wants prayers to be said and scriptures to be read, he does. If anybody insists the family rise up and attend the church that Jesus loves, he insists. If anybody tithes the family income, he tithes.

The Lord created fathers to play a formidable role. He charges them with the hefty responsibility to raise their children in the Lord. Fathering done right transforms boys into servant-hearted gentlemen and girls into confident women who know their worth.

God calls a man to responsible manhood under the headship of Jesus Christ. Children and youth, whether they have a faithful father back home or not, need for Christian men to set the standard of obedience to God. If the young ever learn what it means to relate to God as a father, they will learn it by relating to one of God’s faithful men.  It would make all the difference in the world today if all men would be men of God.

A volunteer, man or woman must be equipped for the work and the Holy Spirit equips us. To get that equipment you must 

Romans 10:9‭-‬10‭, ‬13 NIV If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Sermon Audio

Believe and Behave

This is the manuscript of the fourth sermon in the "Listening To Heaven's Infallible Teacher" series from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5-7.

In last week's sermon, "A Reliable Guide for Successful Living" Jesus had just declared that the law—not the burdensome laws of the scribes, but the law of God based on the two great principles of reverence for God and respect for others—is a reliable guide for successful living.

Now Jesus demonstrates how respect for others affects our behavior. He expects those of us who believe to also behave! Jesus made it quite clear that Christianity is no easy “do-as-you-please” religion. Christianity is not simply a private affair between you and God but is reflected in your relationship to other people.

There are five problems with others that we will not have when we believe and act accordingly.

1. The problem of anger

2. The problem with morality

3. The problem of dishonesty

4. The problem of retaliation

5. The problem of hate

For an audio recording of the sermon click the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript.

To see a video of the entire service, click this link https://youtu.be/siYp_cu3vVI

Sermon Scripture 

Matthew 5:21‭-‬48 NIV “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Text: 

Matthew 5:22 NIV  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Introduction

That is our text today but we are going to be talking about what Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-48.

Perhaps the greatest demands of all the teachings of Jesus are found in this segment of the Sermon on the Mount. In the preceding four verses, Jesus had just declared that the law—not the burdensome laws of the scribes, but the law of God based on the two great principles of reverence for God and respect for others—is a reliable guide for successful living.  We talked about that last week.

Now Jesus demonstrated how respect for others affects our behavior. He expects those of us who believe to also behave! Jesus made it quite clear that Christianity is no easy “do-as-you-please” religion. In love and yet in firmness he said that if we dare bear his name, we are to believe and act in love toward others. 

Christianity is not simply a private affair between you and God but is reflected in your relationship to other people.

Matthew 22:37‭, ‬39‭-‬40 NIV Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

There are five problems with others that we will not have when we believe and act accordingly.

1. The problem of anger

2. The problem with morality 

3. The problem of dishonesty 

4. The problem of retaliation 

5. The problem of hate

  I. First let's deal with the problem of anger (Matt. 5:21–26).

Matthew 5:21‭-‬26 NIV “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Jesus contended that outward conformity to the old law that forbids killing is not sufficient. He taught that we will be judged according to the inward desires of our hearts.

Clearly the ancient law said, “Thou shall not kill.” But Jesus forbids even the attitude of anger against others.

The King James Version says that a man is condemned who is angry with his brother “without a cause”.

Matthew 5:22 KJV but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

This shows that Jesus’ statement is actually a total prohibition against anger in any form. Christianity requires that we not ever have and harbor ill feelings against a brother or sister.

1.  The word danger appears three times in this one verse, obviously underscoring the danger of anger. 

So how do we reconcile this with the time that scripture says that Jesus showed anger.

Mark 3:5 NIV He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

Or the time that Paul said we should be angry but not sin.

Ephesians 4:26‭-‬27 NIV “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

From these two references it is obvious that anger is not always condemned in the Bible. God has given us the ability to feel anger, but he expects us to use it constructively.

We should notice in this passage in Matthew that Jesus was not speaking about anger concerning a situation but about anger directed toward individuals. We can be angry about situations but not at individuals.  

What Jesus was forbidding here is selfish and vindictive anger. 

The word raca in this scripture is hard to translate because it describes a tone of voice more than content or meaning. Jesus forbids the use of this word because it displays a spirit of arrogance and scornful anger. He said that one who is guilty of this is liable to the judgment of God.

Jesus also forbids the use of the word fool. This word was used to cast aspersions on the moral character of another person. Jesus forbids us to destroy another person’s name and reputation. 

B. But, you can defeat anger through reconciliation.

 

Matthew 5:23‭-‬26 NIV “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Jesus painted the picture of a worshiper standing before the altar. There comes to the worshiper's mind the fact that someone is angry at him, or perhaps that he is angry at someone else. Should he complete his act of worship and then go solve his problem, or should he solve the problem first? Jesus says  that we should stop worship, go to our brother or sister, make things right, and then return to a meaningful worship experience.

Jesus was clearly saying that Christians should take the initiative in reconciliation. Such reconciliation will never come by wishful thinking or even by prayer alone. The sooner we take this initiative in asking and granting forgiveness, the better and the easier it is. The longer we wait, the more fixed the attitude of resentment and anger. So, Jesus said, “First go and be reconciled to them” (v. 24).

Also in this passage Jesus was saying that Christian reconciliation is a prerequisite to fellowship with God. Whenever we hold grudges and attitudes of anger toward others, we become alienated from God. The warning is first to be reconciled to our brother or sister and then come and offer our gift to God.

II. The problem of morality (Matt. 27–28).

Matthew 5:27‭-‬28 NIV “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Here’s the point, any act that damages everyone concerned can never lead to a happy or Christlike life. For example in the matter of adultery, everybody involved loses. Never is there a happy ending to an affair, whether that affair be extramarital or premarital, or a relationship with a friend or family member. Therefore Jesus attacked this problem head-on. He asserted that if you believe as you should, you will behave as you should in your personal morals.

A. Just as Jesus did in the case of murder, he distinguished between the deed and the attitude. The law condemns the act of adultery; Jesus condemned the attitude of adultery.

If we take the law of Moses literally, a man on a desert island could never be guilty of adultery. But according to the teachings of Christ, he could if he persisted in his lustful attitude toward women. Thus Jesus dealt with the root of the problem, which is a matter of the heart.

B. So what is Jesus’ remedy for a morality problem (vv. 29–32). 

Matthew 5:29‭-‬30 NIV If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. 

It is true that amputation may hamper the ability to steal, but it does not remove the heart of the thief. The goal Jesus was advocating was not mutilation of the body but purity of morals.

III. Now, let's talk about the problem of dishonesty (Matt. 5:33–37).

A. The problem of dishonesty is compounded by empty oaths 

Matthew 5:33‭-‬36 NIV “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.

The Jews were notorious for dividing oaths into two classes—those that were absolutely binding and those that were not binding. For instance, an oath that contained the name of God was binding, but an oath that omitted the name of God was not binding. Those who were not familiar with this form of trickery could believe a person’s oath when that oath meant absolutely nothing.

In light of this, Jesus did not forbid taking an oath such as one must take in jury service or when being inducted into the armed forces. What he did reject is on-again-off-again truth telling. He was simply saying that we must tell the truth under all circumstances.

B. The problem of dishonesty is solved by Christian character 

Matthew 5:37 NIV All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

A person’s word should be his or her bond. Christians should never need to take an oath to substantiate what they are saying. Their guarantee should be their Christian character.

In the business world you may get a person to sign all kinds of contracts and take all kinds of oaths, but none of these will solve the problem of dishonesty. This problem is solved only by Christian character produced by belief in Jesus Christ that changes the way a person behaves. 

IV. Then there is the problem of retaliation (Matt. 5:38–42).

Retaliation use to be unlimited. The law of the jungle prevailed, and might made right. If a man knocked out another man’s tooth, he could expect to have all of his teeth knocked out. Because of this unrestrained retaliation, God had to deal with it in the law. 

Exodus 21:23‭-‬25 NIV But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

Though it may be hard for us to understand today but, at that time limited retaliation was a real advancement in the area of personal morality. This law in Exodus precisely defines the amount of revenge that was permitted. But Jesus asserted that repaying evil with evil falls short of the Christian concept of believing and behaving.

A. What does retaliation do anyway

Actually, what good does retaliation do? Does it restore a lost eye, or does it replace a broken tooth? Saying something in answer to a remark or accusation, in a sharp, angry, manner and caustic criticism gets us nowhere except in serious trouble. Violence has always bred violence. So Jesus underscored the senselessness of retaliation.

B. Here was Jesus’ alternative.

Matthew 5:39‭-‬42 NIV But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

The ancient law of unlimited retaliation and the later law of limited retaliation was now replaced by Jesus with the law of no retaliation. Here Jesus was speaking about personal wrong done by a personal enemy. He was not delivering a discourse on proper response in the case of war or unprovoked attack.

We should also keep in mind that Jesus was speaking to committed followers. What we are talking about now is difficult for mature Christians and is certainly beyond the ability of immature children of the kingdom of God. The overall implication of Jesus’ teaching in this passage is that if we are slapped in the face, we must neither hit back nor run. Instead, we must stand our ground, take the insult, and demonstrate that, as Christians, we would rather suffer wrong than do wrong.

V. And finally Jesus deals with the problem of hate (Matt. 5:43–48).

This is perhaps the ultimate test of the Christian who wants to believe and behave.

Let’s read;

Matthew 5:46‭-‬47 NIV If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

A. Hate destroys 

In verse 46 Jesus said that hate destroys our rewards. In verse 47 he asserts that it destroys our testimony in that we become no different than the non-Christian, unbelieving people around us. 

Hate will ultimately destroy the person who hates.

Hate has a way of fastening itself on the person who does not deal with it quickly and effectively. Hate warps our judgment, breaks down our personal equilibrium  and peace of mind, creates nervous disorders and high blood pressure, and can actually cause illness and death. These facts are confirmed by leading physicians in clinical studies.

So it is quite obvious why Jesus said we must avoid the destructiveness of hate. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our Christian testimony, we owe it to our church, and we owe it to the Christ we serve.

B. Jesus gives us four steps to take in the destruction of hate.

1. We must love our enemies. This commandment can be obeyed only by those who are Christians. Apart from the grace of God, we can never really love a person who doesn't love us.

2. The second step is to bless our enemies. This means we must speak well of them. Again, obviously those who know nothing of the grace of God can ever bring themselves to bless a person who has been cursing them.

3. The third step is, “Do good to them.” It is not difficult to do good to those who do good to you, but to do good to those who do you harm requires the help of the Holy Spirit in the fullest sense.

4. Jesus offered a fourth and final step. He asked us to pray for our enemies. Someone has said that our natural impulse is to prey on our enemies, not pray for our enemies. Yet this is love’s requirement of those who believe and behave. 

Conclusion

Jesus finishes this section of His sermon with what it says in;

Matthew 5:48 NIV Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

On the surface this is impossible, since no one can be as perfect as God. Yet the word perfect should not be interpreted to mean sinless or flawless. Rather, we should understand it to mean whole—complete and mature. Jesus seemed to be saying, “Stop acting like a child!” He admonishes us to grow up and become mature as our heavenly Father is mature and thus make our love all-inclusive.

When you draw love’s circle big enough to include everyone, you will exclude the problems of anger, immorality, dishonesty, retaliation, and hate. 

I will end with a poem by Edwin Markham

 He drew a circle that shut me out—

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But Love and I had the will to win:

We drew a circle that took him in!

—Edwin Markham

Let's pray,

Dear God, please make is people that love other people with all our hearts. Help us to have a selfless attitude towards others. Let us be a part of people’s solutions and not their source of problems. Please let us be your true ambassadors on earth, and let us serve you well.

Let us express our faith in you by loving other people. Let us be a channel of blessing to people throughout the world, so that your name can be praised.  In Jesus' name.

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