31. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Are you Right?

We are busy talking about how our lives affect others. The passage we were looking at is You have heard that it was said to people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And again, anyone who says to his brother, “Raca,” is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:21 and 22). This is the last post on this section.

Galatians 5 says that the carnal nature opposes the Spirit. Paul says in Philippians that we work out the salvation of our souls with fear and trembling because the carnal nature, together with external temptations, does not easily yield to the Spirit.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. (Romans 7:15-22)

Therefore, we fight this battle: we keep on sinning by committing murder with our mouths. Our sinful nature keeps on resisting the Spirit. We (our sinful nature) keep on doing what we (our renewed spirit) do not want to do. What is the solution? The key is in the word “forgiveness.”

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

By confessing these sins of the tongue, we are forgiven and once again in right standing with God, but what about our neighbor? “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift,” (Matthew 5:23, 24). Jesus is saying that since you have called your brother an idiot, don’t come and worship Me until you have sorted things out with him.

Picture the following: Church is about to begin. You and your son just had a good fight, ending with words bordering on “raca” or “you fool.” Or perhaps you and your spouse had words in the past week. “Raca” was probably part of it. Neither of you, however, has yet apologized. Or maybe another Christian differed with you on a certain point and “raca” was either mentioned or implied.

As you are about to bring your sacrifice of praise to the heavenly altar, you remember this murder you have committed. Do you think the one you have slandered with your tongue, whether you were right or wrong, has something against you after what you’ve said? Maybe she is mad, but maybe she is so used to it that she has already forgiven you before you asked. Maybe she has forgotten about it, but inside, it still hurts. Whether she forgave you or not, no one can receive murderous words and not get hurt.

What does Jesus command? It is the same principle as His command in Matthew 6:14, 15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” In this case, you are also the one in need of forgiveness, both from your neighbor and from God. What Jesus said here indirectly is mentioned clearly in 1 John 4:20: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

Jesus says here that if you refuse to make right with your brother, or if you make light of the offense by ignoring it, you actually hate your brother because you don’t care how he feels. In such a case, you actually hate God. Of what worth is your sacrifice of praise then?

We may think that bringing a sacrifice to God means asking forgiveness of sins. However, according to our passage, we cannot expect forgiveness unless we are reconciled with our brother. God’s standards are much higher than we think. We think we can keep on sinning, accomplishing our own purposes, leaving wrecked souls behind us. We are often so ambitious, valuing only people who can help us to reach our goals, that we leave hurting people behind. We can even be too insensitive to realize they need reconciliation. But God sees this. He knows about it when we bring our sacrifices. When we do not hear His voice or He does not answer our prayers, we complain that our prayers hit the ceiling.

Why did Jesus consider it important to speak to His disciples about anger and insults? He wants us to be different from the world. He wants us to love and forgive like His father does. It’s natural for us to get angry, but the Word says in Psalm 4:4: “In your anger, do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.”

Do you want to be more like Jesus? Then obey the Father like Jesus did.

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.

30, Sermon on the Mount Secrets - How Close are you to the Lord?

We are busy talking about how our lives affect others. The passage we were looking at in the previous two posts was You have heard that it was said to people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And again, anyone who says to his brother, “Raca,” is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:21 and 22).

The writer to the Hebrews said, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord,” (Hebrews 12:14). To be holy means to be separated from everything that is not of God, to be put aside for God, altogether focused on Him. Many want to be Christians and have the privilege of going to heaven one day, but at the same time, they want to have a good life on earth. They want to live comfortably, pleasing the carnal nature. 

If we do not specifically separate ourselves from sin, self, and everything carnal, living a holy life in peace with our neighbours, we will not see God. We will not have close fellowship with Him, receiving revelation from Him in the present life; neither do I believe will such a person see Him physically one day. One might go to heaven through his faith in Jesus, but he would probably not see God.

For what it’s worth, I would like to explain a revelation. I don’t make a doctrine of it, although it does make sense and answer some questions. I once said to the Lord that I don’t think it is fair that all Christians go to the same heaven. Some live only a mediocre Christian life, being more concerned about their comfort than Kingdom issues, while others sacrifice their whole lives for the sake of the Kingdom, keeping nothing for themselves. The Lord then showed me three passages in the Bible.

1.      If you confess with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). This passage and many similar ones in the New Testament indicate that to be saved, we need only to believe in Jesus.

2.       “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit,’” (John 3:5). This passage indicates that the only way to see or enter the Kingdom of God is by being born again, in other words the miraculous renewal of the spirit when one accepts Jesus as his Saviour.

3.       Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

In light of these passages, I believe I received a picture of Israel as an illustration of heaven. Farms and villages surrounded the city of Jerusalem. The king’s palace was inside the city with its buildings and gardens. In the center of the palace were the king’s courts and throne room.

God revealed to me that some will simply believe, but will not show much interest in knowing the King. These will live in the villages or in the country. They will not see the King. Those who are born again will see and enter the palace, but only those who pursued holiness will live in the courts of the King and see Him face to face.

The degree of intimacy you have with God on earth will determine how close you will be to Him in heaven. Only when we are born again and living in holy harmony with the Lord will we be free from the carnal nature and all that go with it. Then we will be fruitful (Galatians 5:16-24). Only through renewal and holiness (Romans 12:1-2)will we see more miracles, more salvation of souls, less sin, and freedom from the sins of the tongue.

Please take note; we are not talking about living a sinless life. We all sin daily. We also know that all our sins are forgiven and forgotten the moment we confess them. We are talking about attitude. We are talking about the choice between satisfying our carnal desire for comfort as well as our carnal freedom of speech and the restriction of the commands in God’s Word. We must choose between the narrow path and wide road. Matthew 7:13, 14 tells us to “enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

So what are we to do? Paul’s letter to the Philippians has an answer:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12, 13)

What salvation is he talking about here? We cannot save ourselves from eternal damnation through our works, can we? We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8, 9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast”). Jesus did it all on the cross at Calvary, but our souls still need transformation. This change doesn’t take place in an instant. It is under our control and subject to our decision. It is God who works this change in us with our cooperation and permission. We choose to be saved from being critical. We choose to be saved from filthy language. We choose to live according to the Spirit and in the process be saved from the results of sin caused by the carnal nature. It is our choice to be set aside for God. It is our responsibility to bring the soul in line with the Spirit. This is called sanctification or holiness. In Matthew 19:16-25 we read about the occasion when the rich young man approached Jesus. From this passage and a number of others, it is clear that the Lord wants our undivided attention. Time and energy spent on distractions such as material things could have been spent on time with the Lord, winning souls, teaching the Word, doing good works, or exercising any other gift to the glory of God. To be continued.

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.

29. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - How you Affect Others - A Must Read

We are busy discussing the following passage: You have heard that it was said to people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And again, anyone who says to his brother, “Raca,” is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:21 and 22).

Why would Jesus have compared anger, insults, and criticism with murder? Isn't it a little radical? Let's look at what happens if you kill someone physically. You take away someone who brought value to the world and to other people, even if they did not appear valuable in the eyes of some. 

But we know that people don't really fall dead under an anger attack, so what do you kill when you act in anger? Before we can answer this question, we first need to look at what happens when one acts in anger. You would have experienced it a few times yourself - violent actions, accusations, insults, humiliation, sarcasm, silent stupors, ignoring others, criticism, etc. All of us have been on the giving side, haven't we? 

But we have been on the receiving side as well. How does that feel? We have feelings of rejection, anxiety, distrust, fear, heartache and sadness, despondency, and the like, don't we? What happens when this kind of anger is vented on you for a prolonged period? Certain things inside you die. When you are constantly criticised or not trusted your confidence dies, leaving you feeling insecure. Violent actions kill your feelings of security, and fear and anxiety is the result. Sarcasm, humiliation, accusations, and insults are verbal forms of violence, which cause the same death in you than the abovementioned does.

Slowly your confidence, creativity, and initiative die and you become as a living dead, having lost most of the value the Lord intended for you to have to a world around you for His name's sake.

When you are on the giving side of anger outbursts, insults, and criticism, I have just described your victim. You have killed a valuable instrument in God's hands and will answer to the Lord for doing it.

The Lord instructed us to build one another up in love (1 Thessalonians 5:11) and in our anger not to sin (Ephesians 4:26). In other words, we should use the self-control the Holy Spirit makes available to us (Galatians 5:22-23) to control our feelings of anger. When anger stirs up in you, why don't you excuse yourself and ask the Lord to make His power perfect in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and to give you a way out of that temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

If you're hotheaded, prone to anger, insults, or being critical in any way, why not start your day preparing prayerfully to have self-control during the day? This you do by calling on the abovementioned promises of the Lord ahead of time, so when the attack comes, you'll be ready. 

Naturally, there is no reviving power like apologising immediately and making right lovingly. 

Furthermore, victims should be careful of assisting the murder to their souls by sulking and pondering about it, giving Satan occasion to play havoc with their thoughts and emotions and worsening the whole situation. God is your helper and people are God's instruments in the process. There is no need for you to stay dead, in other words down in the dumps, willingly. The Lord invited you: "Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me," (Psalm 50:15). Proclaim God's Word and get out of it! Jesus does raise people from the 'dead' all the time. 

When the person who vented the anger (the killer) repented and attempted to make right what s/he has caused through angry behaviour, you should especially receive the apology and forgive. However, I know it's often a repeated offence because the culprit actually struggles with controlling anger. As long as s/he is upright in the attempt to change, being graceful and forgiving to them and praying for them will help them along their way to having peace and towards change. Remember you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13) and you are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)!

Then there is the issue of calling curses. How often do we call people stupid, or a fool, or sometimes even something less appropriate, especially towards other races and in traffic? When we proclaim anything over a person, we either bless them or curse them depending on whether it's uplifting or degrading. When we proclaim something positive, i.e. a blessing, God has the mandate to activate the blessing and when we proclaim something negative, i.e. a curse, we give Satan the mandate to activate the curse over them, i.e. make it happen or increase. 

Many people do this daily in their cars, during social gatherings, and in their homes, and then we ask why there is such an increase in inappropriate behaviour in for example certain drivers in traffic and in violence. Every time we call the curses, i.e. tell the spirit world how bad we would like these people to be, Satan uses the opportunity to instigate them to worse behaviour.  To be frank I believe these curses from the supposedly good people contribute to the increase in wickedness (Matthew 24:12). We have more power than we think and need to learn to manage it in a godly way. This is why James was so adamant about the control we should exercise over the tongue (James 3:1-12) and why Jesus addressed the issue so sternly here.

Dear friends, let's be careful in controlling anger and watching the tongue. It has lots of power. If all Christians decide to only proclaim blessings and to never curse, we will see a different world. 

Let's pray like David did in Psalm 141:3: "Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." To be continued.

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28. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Do you Kill? Part 1

You have heard that it was said to people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. (Matthew 5:21,22a)

The words “but I tell you” indicate Jesus’ renewal or fulfillment of the old law. In fact, He made it even stricter. We judge murderers and look down on them as being criminals—the filth of society. Jesus knew of this tendency. Remember that He was not speaking to Pharisees here. He was speaking to the disciples, His chosen ones.

What does he say? “You who look down on thieves and murderers, judging them for their deeds, hear what I have to say: when you get angry with your brother (fellow man or countryman, including other races) without a cause, you will be subject to the same judgment as these thieves and murderers.” Many Bible translations add the words “without a cause.” Anger is a natural, built-in emotion. Ephesians 4:26, 27 tells us to be angry but not to sin while we are angry or stay angry. Anger can be a way to stir oneself to action. Sometimes we need to experience more holy anger toward injustices. Anger has a function, but we must not stay angry just because we are too proud to repent and restore relationships. This could lead to sin and judgment. 

Momentary anger won’t make us subject to judgment unless our pride and selfishness lead to bitterness and unforgiveness. Godly anger can bring feelings to the surface so we can deal with them and improve our relationships. If we are saved and Spirit-filled, we have the fruit of the Spirit, which according to Galatians 5:22, 23 is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Therefore, we do not need violent venting of anger. We have within us the ability to handle anger with the help of the Holy Spirit. However, if we choose to ignore Him and allow anger to control us, our outbursts will damage our relationships, and we will be subject to judgment.  

***

Again, anyone who says to his brother, “Raca,” is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:22b)

“Raca” was a term of reproach used by the Jews in the time of Christ. It means a senseless, empty-headed man. How often have you called someone an idiot or a fool? Don’t we often do it while driving, or when criticizing a colleague, pastor, or politician? What did Jesus say would be the fate of such a “murderer?” Read the above passage again. Was Jesus serious about this?

This is a serious sin, and we all are guilty. It hinders our walk with God, just like any other sin.  “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things,” (Isaiah 59:1-3).

Are we guilty of having blood on our hands? Can we murder without getting blood on our hands? Even in this Old Testament passage, Isaiah mentions murder and sins of the tongue in the same breath. Then we ask ourselves why we don’t prosper, why don’t we see God moving as he has moved in the times of the Bible. Why is there so much evil in the world? God is moving mightily everywhere, and many souls are being saved, but if everyone who called himself a Christian had a closer relationship with God, would the moves of God not have been even more powerful? Would there not have been more miracles, more salvation of souls, less sin? To be continued...

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.