Words From The Word Of God
A topical, and expositional study from the Word of God, in order to Glorify and Exalt our Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; that we may reach the world with the Gospel, and grow in the Grace and knowledge of Him.. Grace and Peace to all, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(Isaiah 52:7) "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"(Isaiah 55 10-11) 10) "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:"11) "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."(John 3:16)“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”(John 14:1-7) 1)"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me."2)"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."3)"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."4)And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."5)"Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?"6)"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."7)"If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him."(Romans 10 :9-10;13) 9)"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."10)"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."13)"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
All Done For The Glory Of God and To Exalt Jesus Christ The Lord!!!
Words From The Word Of God
The Heart of the Problem is the Problem of the Heart
The heart of humanity's problem is the problem of the heart. In this powerful examination of Matthew 5:20-48, we journey beyond surface-level righteousness into the transformative heart surgery Jesus performs through His teaching.
Six times Jesus uses the phrase "You have heard it said...but I say to you," systematically dismantling external religiosity to reveal God's true standards that penetrate our deepest thoughts and intentions. From anger to lust, from oaths to retaliation, from limited love to enemy love—Jesus consistently moves from outward compliance to inward transformation.
When Jesus declares that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, He isn't calling for more rigorous rule-following but for a complete heart renovation. He exposes how murder begins with anger, adultery starts with lustful intent, and how our words reflect our internal character. His teachings on reconciliation, purity, truthfulness, and supernatural love reveal that God's concern goes far beyond what others can see.
The culmination comes with His command to "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect"—not a call to flawless moral performance but to completeness in love and mercy that reflects God's character. This standard seems impossible because it is impossible—apart from divine transformation.
Whether you're a faithful believer seeking deeper sanctification, a wayward soul who has drifted, or someone convinced your good works will earn heaven—Jesus speaks not to shame but to restore. His surgical words expose our need for the heart transplant that only He can perform.
Let Jesus do what only He can do: expose your heart, heal your heart, and make it new. The cross was where our hearts were healed, and the empty tomb proves He restores what seems beyond repair.
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
If you haven't received Jesus Christ by Faith, as your personal Lord and Savior; I strongly encourage you to do so before it is eternally too late!!!
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Hello, welcome to this another edition of Words from the Word of God. Today we pick back up our study here in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5. Today we'll try to, as time allows and the Lord leads, we'll try to work our way through the end of the chapter today, verse 48, starting at verse 20. Today, talking a little bit about this issue, the heart of the problem of humanity is the problem of the heart. The heart of the problem of humanity is the problem of the heart. Today we gather not to hear a motivational speech or receive a moral lecture, but to receive a divine diagnosis. The great physician, jesus Christ, is speaking and he is not speaking to examine our hands, the work of our hands, our over acts. He's examining our hearts. Today we must make no mistake in that lesson today, and it is the prayer of my heart that we will see this, that our hearts need to be transformed.
Speaker 1:As we go through the Sermon on the Mount, which covers chapters 5 through chapter 7 of the Gospel of Matthew, we will continue to work our way through as the Lord leads and the Lord provides the messages, and I pray that it will be an encouragement to born-again believers and I pray that the lost sinner would hear something, the wayward believer that's drifted far from home, that you would be drawn back. And I pray that the sinner, the worst lost sinner out there, would come to the saving knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we go through this, read with me, if you will. We'll begin in verse 20, and we'll work our way down through verse 48, and then we'll come back and pick that up. The word of God tells us here, for I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard it said, that it was said by them of old time. You'll hear this six times. He'll say this, this you have heard it said, or it has been said. You have heard that it was said to them of old time thou shalt not kill, notice that. Be in danger of judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother Raka, however it's pronounced, shall be in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire, gehenna, hell itself. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar and notice it before the altar, not upon the altar, before altar, in front of the altar. And go thy way first and be reconciled Very significant word in my heart here Reconciled to thy brother. And then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and thou be cast into prison. Verily truly, I say unto thee thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost for them.
Speaker 1:Ye have heard it said the second time. He says, you have heard it said by them of old time thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman at to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already. Where in his mind? Uh, in his thoughts? No, in his heart. Again, heart, here in scripture, anytime. You see that word heart referred to. It does not refer to the muscle in our that beats in our chest. This refers to the deepest recesses of our soul and spirit with. You have already committed adultery with her in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand, defend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said third time whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. But I say unto thee or you, that whosoever shall put away his wife's saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery. And whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery Again. Ye have heard that. It hath been said by them of old time. But I say unto you swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city. Notice this of the great king, and that certainly is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the letter K. There is in capital capital K-I-N-G. King, the eternal King Jesus Christ, who is speaking to us. Neither shall thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black, but let your communications be yea, yea, nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil, whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Ye have heard it said, hath been said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you that ye resist not evil. But whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain or two, give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not away.
Speaker 1:Ye have heard that it hath been said thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. This is hard for any one of our hearts here. But I say unto you love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them, which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father, which is in heaven, for he maketh his Son to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans or the tax collectors, the most hated men in the nation of Jerusalem at that time, or the city of Jerusalem, the nation of Jerusalem at that time, or the city of Jerusalem, or the Jewish nation. Shall I say the publicans the same. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than that? Others do not, even the publicans.
Speaker 1:So Notice the last verse here, verse 48. Be ye therefore perfect. The last verse here, verse 48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father, which is in heaven, is perfect. Please note these are not just words on a page. If you have a red letter edition bible, of course you know it is referring to the words of Christ and we see the words of Christ as he is on the hillside here in Galilee. If you go all the way back to the first verse, it says seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain and when he was set, his disciples came unto him.
Speaker 1:Jesus Christ, the great physician is speaking, and I said as we began he's not speaking to examine our hands or the over acts that we commit, or the things that we do and don't do. He's examining our hearts. We will see this throughout this sermon, which is known so famously as the Sermon on the Mount. Whether you are a faithful believer seeking deeper sanctification, a wayward soul drifting from the truth, far from home, and you need to come home, or a self-righteous heart convinced that your good works will earn heaven for you, or you are a rejecting sinner bound for hell. Jesus is speaking to all of us today and his words are not soft, they are surgical.
Speaker 1:From the opening chapters of Matthew, we have seen the unfolding of God's redemptive plan for all of mankind, so beautifully displayed and painted out on the pages of scripture. I refer you back to Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21, where the angel declares and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus Christ, the son of God, the eternal son of God. If you will read with me, right quick and I've already got it marked there, if I can get to it, uh, in my other bible here, hold, give me just a second to turn over there. Turn with me, if you will, to hebrews.
Speaker 1:I want to read three verses there in Hebrews, chapter 1. Verse 1, god who, at sundry times and in diverse different manners, spake in times past unto us, unto the fathers, by the prophets, hath, in these last days, spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world, the agents of by of whom the worlds were made, and the universe who verse 3, notice who, being in the brightness of his glory, god's glory and the express image of his God's person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of majesty on high. Turn with you back to John, chapter 14. I want to read a few verses here. Let's pick up in verse 6. Jesus saith unto him.
Speaker 1:This is John, chapter 14, the gospel of John. Jesus saith unto him I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye have known me, ye should have known my Father also, and from henceforth, ye know him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him Lord, show us the Father, lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him. Have I been so long time with you and yet hast thou not known me, philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how sayest thou Show us the Father. Believest thou not that I am in the father and the father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work's sake.
Speaker 1:The point of this is, and the point of this reading is we need to understand that these are more than just words on a page. They are the very eternal words of the eternal Son of God, god himself in the flesh, the outshining of God the Father. If you want to see God the Father, look into the face of the one speaking to you today, and his name is Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, who came to save and transform hearts, not from discomfort, not from just poverty, but from sin, the greatest disease of any heart. In Matthew 4, 23, we read and Jesus went about all Galilee. This is when he began his ministry. If you will look over there there I want to look at verse uh 17. He says from that time jesus began to preach and to say repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the key to a transformed heart is repentance. So he's building us up to that.
Speaker 1:And then you go to verse 23 where he begins. He says and jesus went about all galilee teach galilee teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, the good news of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. That's Matthew, chapter 4, verse 23. And then in Matthew, chapter 5, verse 20, read with me again.
Speaker 1:The word of God says right here, for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Setting the bar of righteousness now, this would have taken the people sitting that have went up on the hillside and wanted to hear his teaching and wanted more from him, more healing, no doubt. But that's the reason many of them followed him. You see that in john, chapter 6, as many as he talked about being the bread from heaven, they departed from him after his testimony there. But they were following him because of the miracles. But no doubt the ones that really wanted to hear his teaching. His disciples went up with him and he began to teach.
Speaker 1:And in that culture of that day it has been said by historians that their culture would say in their culture they would say if two men were going to go to heaven above anybody else, it would be a scribe or a Pharisee. No doubt they had been caught up in the religiosity of that day, which was teaching more about external activities, external religiosity, than it was truly seeking the Lord in righteousness. They had done away pretty much. It was a thing of outward actions and overt actions than it was the actual sacrificial system of that day. But Jesus says and you can imagine the shock that went through the crowd there as they thought the only two that could go to heaven above all else would be a scribe and a Pharisee. He says here, he says for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Speaker 1:This is and this should speak to our hearts, because many times we get so caught up in doing, doing, doing, doing, doing, doing, doing and doing this and not doing that, and we don't want to do that and we want to do this and we want to do more ministry and we want to do this that we get so busy we forget the word of God and then we forget the word of God and then we forget the word of God, we start to move away from God and before we realize it we're caught up in self righteousness, we're caught up in our pride, we want everybody to see us and no doubt, as you read over into Matthew 23, you see that's exactly and we will see some of this exposed in Matthew chapter 6 when he talks about their hypocrisy in giving worship and prayer. But it should speak to our hearts because it's not a call to try harder, it's not a call for more action. It is a true call to die to self, to self-pride, to self-righteousness, self-dependence, and be made alive in him by a transformed heart, because the heart of the problem is the problem of our hearts. In Matthew chapter 5, verse 21 through 48, we have seen truly the heart to begin to be exposed in verse 21 through 26. Read that with me again, if you will.
Speaker 1:In matthew chapter 5 he says you have heard that it was said by them of old time thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall be. Whosoever kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, I love that the the divine authority, and if you read on over there, at the end of chapter 27 they were says they marveled because he spoke with authority and not as the Pharisees and the scribes. But he says, but I say unto you, putting the heavenly divine teaching behind it, that whosoever is angry, notice that who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother Rekha, shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother Rekha, shall be in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar and thou rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way. Be first reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift.
Speaker 1:Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him, lest, at any time, the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and thou be cast into prison. Verily, I say unto you truly, I say unto you thou shalt by no means come out until thou has paid the uttermost for them. May the lord bless the reading of our hearts. But anger, anger and reconciliation revealed here the anger of the heart. He said you have heard it that it was said thou shalt not kill. But I say In verse 22, jesus begins not with the act of murder but with the seed of it.
Speaker 1:And that is anger, anger in the heart, boiling anger, that anger that we keep when somebody does something wrong to us. And he says, without a cause, cause many times we think we have a cause when we don't. Many times we don't want to forgive, even though we've been forgiven many times we don't want to show mercy, even though mercy has been shown to us many times we don't want to extend our, our, uh, that undeserved favor to them when the undeserved favor has been extended to us by the grace of God. So Jesus is beginning to teach them hey, it's not about the overt act of murder, because that's what the law said thou shalt not kill. It says thou shalt not, in the Hebrew, commit any murder. That's basically what the law says in the original hebrew. I'm not going into the all the transliteration there. We're not going to get into that, because the gospel is a simple message and we don't want to try to over talk or be a theologian in our teaching. But jesus teaching that it's not the overt act of murder but the very seed of it, as the anger.
Speaker 1:The Pharisees, in their self-righteousness, in their acts of righteousness, condemned the act. Jesus condemns the attitude. He said whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment, and whosoever shall say to his brother Rekha, shall be in danger of the council. And whosoever shall say to his brother, thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. Rekha means empty-headed. Fool is a word of great contempt. These are not just insults, they are indictments of the heart. We indict somebody to be empty-headed, we indict somebody to be a fool. And, by the way, what is so bad about calling someone a fool? Because the word of God says someone a fool? Because the word of God says the fool has said in his heart there is no God. So we're automatically in our anger, in the seething anger, condemning someone almost to hell because of what we're thinking. We don't realize it's that serious, but that's what Jesus is saying, the very thought, the very anger that simmers inside of us. That very attitude is wrong.
Speaker 1:Jesus then says Therefore, if thou shalt bring thy gift to the altar and there rememberest thy brother, hath ought against thee leave there thy gift before the altar, and first be reconciled. Very significant word to me there, reconciliation is more urgent than any ritual Because think of it this way the only way we can be reconciled to anyone on the horizontal the human relationship zone there is to be first reconciled vertically with the Father, and the only one that can do that is Jesus. So he brings out that word reconcile here a very significant word that we should recognize, because we have been reconciled by the blood of his cross. Reconciliation, as he teaches here, is more urgent than ritual, than actually going through the motions of worship, and that's what you come to the altar to do. You have an altar set up in your home where you read your Bible and you pray, and you might not consider it an altar, but it should be an area which you have set up where you and the Lord get along with the Word and with the Holy Spirit and in in prayer and in his word to teach you and just feeding upon the word.
Speaker 1:As jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that receiveth out of the mouth of god. And if we are going by the word of god, we know that this, this feeling of anger and unforgiven anger and showing mercy, we know that's wrong, because God's word answers us and says and having made peace through the blood of his cross, you know, jesus made peace for us. He paid a debt that he did not owe, for a very deep debt that we could not pay. He paid the price we couldn't pay for a debt he didn't owe. That's Jesus. But in doing so he made peace between the Father and us, no matter where we were at and if you're a born-again believer, you know where you were at when you got saved. You know where you're at when you experience the peace with God, and the peace of God in your heart and in your spirit, as the Holy Spirit indwelt you at the moment of your conversion, at the moment of your salvation.
Speaker 1:And then verse 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 18, says and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. We have been reconciled. That's what word? Reconcile means being at peace, being brought back into a peaceful relationship with God. Jesus made the peace by the blood of his cross, and all we have to do is be reconciled to those that we're angry with, because we've been given that ministry of reconciliation. We must be reconciled on the vertical to have and consider the reconciliation with those on the horizontal, other men and women that we deal with on a daily basis. You know, we're encouraged to love because God is love. And if we don't love and we'll get into that here in a few moments, I believe it's one of our reference verses but how? We're instructed in the word of God to love. When Jesus was asked what's the greatest of the commandments, jesus said love thy Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, mind and soul. And the second is, like unto the first love thy neighbor as thyself. Upon these two hang all the law and prophets. But then we move on from anger and reconciliation, exposed to verse 27 through 30, lust and purity. Let's read that right quick again. I know it seems repetitive, but remember what I said.
Speaker 1:These are not just words on a page. We can't just skim through them like we're just reading any book. This is the true, inspired word of god. It is truth. Jesus said I have sanctified them with your word. Your word is truth, not is the truth. It is truth. Jesus is full of grace and truth, so we know that anything uttered from his mouth is what Truth. It's the inspired word of God and it should speak to our hearts that way, instead of just words on a page that we skim through and lightly take to heart. No, he's calling for a deeper transform of transformation of our hearts, folks. He's calling for us to get it right with the Lord, reconcile with him through anything that we think, not what we do not be concerned with the things so much that we do, but were the things in the intents of our hearts, the thoughts and intents of our hearts lust, impurity. 27 through 30. Let's read it.
Speaker 1:You have heard that it was said by them of old time, and notice that you have heard it said. Not, you have had it taught by them. They didn't go and teach from the word of God, and not only that, but the people of that day did not necessarily understand the Hebrew. Significantly, they spoke other languages. So what they were hearing they had to take with a grain of salt. But they took it seriously because it came from the self-righteous Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes, the religious leaders of that day, that's, who were teaching them. But listen, he didn't say you've been taught from scripture, from Moses. He said you have heard that it was said by them of old time thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thou right, I offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee where it is profitable for thee. The thee that one of your members should perish and not thy whole body should be cast into hell should perish and not thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of your members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Speaker 1:Folks lust and purity. Jesus says verse 27,. You have heard? You have heard Thou shalt not commit adultery. That's in Exodus, chapter 20. That's one of the commandments Thou shalt not covet. When you lust, you covet.
Speaker 1:The apostle Paul would say of the law. When it comes to the law, I'm perfect, but then, when it came to covetousness, the law slew me. When we lust after another, we are wanting something that we do not have and that something is wrong and it's covetousness. And it's covetousness. And Jesus says if we're lusting after the opposite sex, if we are married and we're lusting after another woman that we work with or we are around at different times, that is committing adultery. It's not the actual act of adultery, it is the intent. The lustful intent is adultery Of what the heart. Whosoever looketh on a woman and lusts after her, hath committed adultery with her already and where His heart. This is not about attraction, it's about objectification. Jesus calls for radical purity.
Speaker 1:If thy right eye offend thee, plug it out. Now I say that to say this I don't want to hear of one of you that hears the word of God. Preach through words from the word of God. I don't want to hear that you went and plucked your eye out or that you cut your right hand off because you were feeling something or you lusted in your heart. No, jesus is saying whatever is leading you astray, whatever is you're lusting after, it is so much an offense that you should cut that out of your life. Cut out the temptation, get away from it, leave it behind and pray.
Speaker 1:You say well, I'm having trouble, I think about it without thinking. It just happens, and we do that sometimes. We think about things that come in our mind and hit our heart. And it may come in our mind and we don't lust, we don't act on that lustful intent, but it comes in our minds and we feel guilt from it, because that's the Holy spirit working in our heart telling us to hey, cut it off, get away, turn away, look the other way. You got a neck, you don't have to cut your hand, I'll pull your eye out. You got a neck, you can turn your head.
Speaker 1:So I don't want to hear about any of you, read about any of, or hear it on the news that anybody heard preaching from the words, from the word of god on matthew, chapter 5, verse 21 through 48, and they went and they pulled out their eye or they cut off their hand because they were lusting after the opposite sex. You know, they, they. It was so radical. They made this radical change in their life. No, make it the radical change where God sees it. And God knows the thoughts and intents of our heart. God, the Father. He sees, he knows the intent of the heart, he judges the reins. He knows that our heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it. God knows it. God knows it. He knows what we're thinking, he knows. So it's not about the act, because man can look on us and think we're perfect.
Speaker 1:Oh, how many times you put somebody up on a pedestal in your walk with the Lord and then they fall off. They commit a sin and they fall off that pedestal in your walk with the Lord, and then they fall off. They commit a sin and they fall off that pedestal. How many times has that happened? How many times have you been accused of doing something that you didn't do? Could be that you thought about it but you didn't do it. But anyway, that's another rabbit.
Speaker 1:I don't want to run, but the thing is Jesus says drastically, cut it out of your life. Turn your head If you know this person of the opposite sex is an attraction to you and you have that lustful thought every time you see them and you maybe throw a flirt that way or a flirt this way and he or she may flirt back. You need to cut that out because that is lustful intent and you're feeding into that. Jesus says to cut it off, cut it out, make a drastic change. Don't see them anymore. If you do see them. See them in a crowd, don't talk to them privately. Do something to change the circumstance. Do something to honor your heart and honor God with your every thought, your pure thoughts.
Speaker 1:David, when he was caught in the act of adultery with Bathsheba and had her after he had had her husband murdered by putting him on the front line in the battle, his great prayer in Psalm 51 is a great prayer of repentance. He said create in me a clean heart, o God. Renew a right spirit within me. Create means to create something from nothing. He got caught in the act. Jesus said the very thought is worse than the act. You might as well go ahead and commit the act. If you think about it, it's not what he's encouraging, but he's saying it's just as bad. In the eyes of God, in the eyes of the Father, in the eyes of the Lord, it's just as bad. David would say create in me a clean heart, o God. Hold not my iniquities against me. O God, I have done this in your sight. You and you alone have I sinned against. Create in me a clean heart, something from nothing, lord, that would be pleasing in your sight. Like the psalmist says, may the words of my mouth and the thoughts or the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight.
Speaker 1:The apostle Paul encourages in Galatians, chapter 5, verse 16, walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Walk in the Spirit. How do we walk in the Spirit? Prayerfully, staying in the Word of God, staying faithful to read the Word of God, staying faithful to what the Lord puts upon our hearts, staying close to Jesus Christ, his person and his presence in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit and walking as he leads. That's how we walk by the Spirit and Paul and the word of God, not just Paul, the word of God. This is the inspired word of God. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this. Walk by the Spirit or in the Spirit and ye shall not not you maybe not fulfill the lust of the flesh. No, it says, shall not fulfill, you will not. If you do this, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Let's move on. We stay there. Sorry, I got caught up there.
Speaker 1:The next thing lord jesus deals with is divorce and covenant. Now certain ones, certain people will interpret these different ways, but I'm just giving you what the lord's flesh upon my heart. Read with me verse 31 and 32, if you will. It hath been said whosoever shall put his wife, put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce. But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery. And whosoever shall marry her, that is divorced, committeth adultery. You know Jesus addresses this. I want to bring you back to something, but let's look at what the Lord is teaching us. Whosoever shall put away his wife causes her to commit adultery. Now it leaves it off. But you know, except for the cause of fornication, except for the cause of adultery, caused her to commit adultery.
Speaker 1:Now, at that day, jesus confronts the casual divorce culture of his day. You know, a man could give his wife a divorce if she spoke ill of his parents to someone or if she embarrassed him in public or if she burnt supper. It was very, very minute that you could. Just, it was just a casual, fleeting thing, just as it is today. The divorce rate is astronomical in our country and in our society. You ever been through a divorce? It's painful, it's like having a death in the family, but people treat it so just nonchalant.
Speaker 1:This day and time, what Jesus is saying is we need to get back to the original man and woman, one flesh, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, one in Christ. We are instructed by the word of God Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church Wives. Be circumspect to your husbands, basically. But Jesus says in Matthew 19, 6, what, therefore, god has joined together, let no man put asunder. Do not treat marriage, young people, if you're listening and you're engaged, you don't treat that marriage like it's nothing. You treat them like they're everything in your world. Don't treat that marriage like it's nothing. You treat them like they're everything in your world. And I pray it's by the Lord that you are together.
Speaker 1:The Lord put Teresa and I together going on 21 years ago, over 24 years ago, because we dated about three years before we got married. But I thank God because I had just gotten saved and we met and we started dating and he put a good Christian woman in my life. I was blessed with that and she has greater spiritual discernment many times than I do and I understood by the love of God and the love of Christ in my heart that I could love her and that she loved me and that she was bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. I'm just giving you a personal example. I'm not telling you it's been perfect. It's been a bed of roses. We've gone through many trials and tribulations, ups and downs, with every marriage. You have it Now. I thank God for as many blessings he's put in our family and our life. I thank you for the families that we have, but don't treat it like it's nothing. It's basically what Jesus is saying here.
Speaker 1:Marriage is a covenant, and God honors covenants. A covenant between a man and a woman. Notice. I said that. Man and woman. God created man and woman. The first marriage, adam and Eve, was between man and woman, and God ordained that, I hope. If that offends you, I'm sorry, but that's the truth of God's Word. He doesn't recognize anything else other than an abomination, and that's in scripture. We're not going there tonight, though. Then he goes on to oaths and integrity, verse 33 through 37, read with me Again.
Speaker 1:Ye have heard that it has been said by them of old time thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thy notice. But I say unto you swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black, but let your communications be yay, yay and nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these. Cometh of evil, cometh of evil, cometh out of an evil heart, is what that means. Do you hear that if you're swearing well, I hear people say it all the time Well, I swear, you know, I just swear on this. Let me borrow some money. If you've got somebody borrowing money from you, they say I swear, I swear, I swear, I'm going to pay it back, I'll pay it back next week, I'll pay it back next week. That week comes, and don't let them borrow money anymore. But that's just another rabbit. I'm not going to run. But swear not at all. Is what Jesus is saying. Let your communications be yay, yay, nay, nay.
Speaker 1:Jesus calls for truthfulness without theatrics. The Pharisees of that day created loopholes by swearing on lesser things, by just anything they would swear by. Jesus says be honest, be consistent and be real. Let your yes be yes, your no be no, no. Swearing it is the cometh. What did it say there? What is beyond thiseth? What did it say there? What is beyond this? What does it say there? What whatsoever is more than these. Cometh of evil cometh out and is translate, transliterated out of an evil heart. He's dealing with the things of the heart. See how the action or the intent of the heart is so much worse than the action, or it's like doing the action itself. Either way, it's wrong in God's eye and that's what he's teaching us to be kingdom kids, to be part of the kingdom of God. These are the principles of the kingdom Born again.
Speaker 1:Believers, you know, if you're living loosely and you've got your one road on that Broadway and one excuse me, one leg on that Broadway and one leg on that narrow path, you can't ride the fence. There's no gray area. You need to get right with the Lord. If you're doing these things, you need to say Lord, forgive me. He said repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's closer at hand today than it's ever been because Christ is getting ready to come back. Whether you realize it, whether you want to accept it, it or not, the church is getting ready to be raptured out of here and we need to draw close to the lord. We need to draw close to him in our hearts. We need to be right with him as close as we can be, be ready and watching, be waiting and watching and say as the last prayer of the bible even so, come, lord Jesus. Even so, come. Not only that, but then he moves on to retaliation and grace. Verses 38 through 42, read with me and we'll hurry up here. I'm trying to hurry.
Speaker 1:You have heard that it hath been said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you that ye resist not evil. But whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, give him thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain, give to him that asketh thee. And from him that would borrow, turn of the turn, not away. Turn down, not away. You heard an eye for an eye. But I say unto you whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. If your man will sue you, let him have the cloak also. Go with him two miles. I'd ask you to go one mile and those that want to borrow from you, let them borrow. Don't turn away. If you're able to let them borrow or let them have something they're in need, we're to do that as the children of the kingdom. But we need to understand, you say, and we stop that. Well, if somebody hits me on one cheek and I turn the other and they hit me, am I supposed to hit them back then?
Speaker 1:What he's talking about is grace, unmerited favor and mercy and forgiveness in our hearts. Remember anger. Remember that anger and unforgiveness is a part of the anger. Uh, being being unmerciful is part of anger. Holding a grudge is part of anger. And what did he say? The intent of anger is murder itself. So this kind of goes hand in hand. It's dealing with those on the horizontal. This is not weakness, it's kingdom strength to do this.
Speaker 1:The word of God tells us be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. Overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. And not only that. That's in romans 12 21. But romans 12 14 says be bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not. Bless and curse not. Then we move on to love your enemies, love the unlovable. Does that sound familiar. Hey, when we were sinners, god loved us. Even while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. You have heard it said read with me verses 43 down through verse 48, and we'll try to move quickly through this, but just bear with me and be with me and read with me here we're going to try to close out pretty quick, so hold on.
Speaker 1:You have heard that it hath been said thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them, which, despite will, use you and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father, which is in heaven, for he maketh his Son to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them, which love you? What reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same. And if you salute your brethren, only, what do you more than others? Do not even the public. And so be ye therefore perfect, even as your father, which is in heaven, is perfect. Folks, he said.
Speaker 1:You have heard it said love thy neighbor but hate thy enemy. But he said love them, love them all. This is the pinnacle of heart transformation. It's hard to do, it's very hard to do. I confess that right now it's very hard to do this.
Speaker 1:But we must remember that God loved us when we were unlovable. We were nothing. There was nothing that made us lovable in God's eyes, no matter what good works we did. They were like filthy rags before God, leprous, dirty, bloody rags before God. That's what they were. And like a leaf we were carried away by every sin, every whim of the world, blinded blinded by the God of this world. But God loved us enough to look down through the portals of eternity. And the lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. He loved us before we were ever even thought of, before eternity, before the universe, before the world was created. The lamb was slain.
Speaker 1:So do not tell me God doesn't love you. He sent his only son to die an egregious and harsh death on the cross, and that's that's like to be say the least. I wish that I had time to go through isaiah 53 through 50, through 53, with you tonight, to show you, and then go through the crucifixion over in the latter part of the gospel of Matthew, and you see and show you what he endured for us on the cross. It wasn't the nails that held him there. It wasn't the nails, it was the love that he had in his heart for you and I that he said my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And he died that horrible death on the cross, shed every drop of his precious blood in the ground there, to pay our sin debt in full.
Speaker 1:During that three dark hours on Calvary, he died supernaturally, in a way that we can never understand. When our sins were placed upon him and the father could not look upon his own son, whom he loved, he said this is my beloved son, whom I am well pleased. He could not even look upon him. Jesus said my god, my god, why have you forsaken me during that time? But when he come out of that three hours, he said it's finished, the work of redemption was done, it was complete, the blood paid our price and we were loved before the creation of this world, enough that the lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. And how dare we say we can't love our enemies, we can't forgive, we can't show mercy, we can't show our unmerited favor, our unconditional love toward those that have wronged us. How wrong were we to god. How wrong. Yet he loved us so much that he died on the cross. God commendeth his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, christ died for us.
Speaker 1:Romans 5, 8. 1 John 4, 7. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And then it goes on to say God is love. And then it tells us in verse 48 here, matthew, chapter five, be ye perfect, even as your father, which is heaven, is perfect. This is not talking about his sinless perfection. It's talking about his completeness and love, mercy and grace, the maturity of a true born-again believer who guards against the intents of the heart. We all have heart problems, but Jesus is the cure. The cross was where the heart was healed.
Speaker 1:Every command in this passage is impossible to keep without Christ. But he didn't just preach righteousness, he became our righteousness, for the word of God tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, where he made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. At the cross, jesus took our anger, our lust, our lies, our pride and buried them and praise God. He rose again to give us a new heart. Let him be the one that transformed your heart. Today. To the believer I say, the born again believer, you've been made new, but the journey of transformation will continue to go on and on until we're completely glorified with him, the day we see him face to face. Let this word, these words, the Sermon on the Mount sanctify you more and more. Let his spirit search you now. Don't settle for the surface. Righteousness only the act of righteousness. Let christ shape your heart daily, deeply and eternally.
Speaker 1:Psalm 139, 23 says search me, oh god, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts. To the wayward soul that has drifted from the Lord, gone cold. But Jesus, I want you to understand tonight, has not moved. He is still calling for you, not to shame you, but to restore you To the self-righteous believer. I say the self-righteous believer, I say the self-righteous one that thinks your righteousness is going to get you into heaven. Your morality may impress men, but it cannot cleanse your soul. Your religion, your religiosity may sue your conscience, but it cannot save you.
Speaker 1:The word of God tells Isaiah 64, the word of god tells isaiah 64, 6, our all, our righteousness is as filthy rags before him. And then word of god tells romans 3, 10 there is none righteous no, not one to reject the rejected sinner. And to the self-righteous one that thinks those works are going to get you there. You are blinded, your heart has been blinded. You've resisted, you've mocked, you've dismissed the rejecting sinner. You've mocked, you've dismissed the self-righteous believer, or wanted believer. You've tried to make your works to make it to heaven. Trust in Jesus, because he speaks. Come unto me all you that labor in our heavy land, and I will give you rest.
Speaker 1:The word of God tells us that the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which will not believe the gospel. He says if our gospel has been hid, it has been hid from those that are blinded by the God of this world. Yet the light of this world still shines. And today he calls all of us, calls you by name, no matter where you're, at what category you fall in. He's calling you by name.
Speaker 1:They said get your heart right, let me transform it, let me sanctify you, let me save you before it's eternally too late. Born again, believer, let me sanctify you daily, deeply and eternally, as you're supposed to be more conformed to my image. You may think you're too broken, but the empty tomb, says he restores. You may think you're too blind, but Jesus says a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. That's what the word of God says.
Speaker 1:And then verse 517 of 2 Corinthians says if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. So come, come broken, come bitter, come blinded, come believing, whoever you may be, and let Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior, do what only he can do Expose the heart, heal the heart and make it new. Thank you for joining us. I'm sorry that I went so long tonight, but I believe the Lord has spoken truly through this message. Join us next time as we continue on the study in Matthew the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, as the Lord leads, god bless.
