2004-03-26
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
Once again, I feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to let each of you know how much your willingness to read the words He gives me each week means to me. We can bask together in the knowledge that He loves us so much that He wants to reveal Himself, His plan, His love, and His will to us. I am led to continue writing today about why the lifestyle He gave us, through His Son in the Sermon on the Mount, is for today, tomorrow, and forever. He wants us to understand that we can choose to live according to it, because He has created us with the power to make this choice and freed us to make it by Christ’s blood shed on the cross and our faith in Him.
You’ll remember that I left off last week with a acronym that means a great deal to us. B=Basic; I=Instruction; B=Before; L=Leaving; E=Earth. When reading MT 5-7, it should become apparent that this teaching given by Christ Himself is all about our New Covenant relationship with Him. This is no “touchy-feely” concept meant only for women. It’s meant for each of us, no matter what our gender, to be in active and loving relationship with Christ and with each other. That’s why Christ gave us a new commandment in JN 13: 34-35. A relationship such as the one outlined in the Sermon on the Mount is founded on the idea that SALVATION = FAITH + NOTHING. We can’t perform good deeds, what we Jews call “mitzvehs,” to earn our way into heaven. Through God’s most excellent grace, we are given faith, the ability to repent and turn away from our sin, justification, and salvation. There is no other way to have these things. When we read the Scriptures daily and have an active, dynamic prayer life, we give the Lord an opportunity to reveal Himself, His wonderful deeds, His love, His compassion for us, and His will for us. When we refuse to do these things, we rob God of this opportunity, rob ourselves of the way to go through the narrow gate and walk that hard path [MT 7: 13-14] that leads to eternal life with Him.
One of the authors I’ve read, writing about the Sermon on the Mount, gave us a very useful way to organize the material in this teaching of Christ’s. MT 5: 3-9, the first seven of the beatitudes, show the character of those entering this relationship with the Lord. Those who are poor in spirit [acknowledge their utter need for the Lord], who mourn, who are humble, who desire to do what God requires, who are merciful to others, who are pure in heart, and those who work for peace are included here. MT 5: 10-12, the next two beatitudes, show the conflict believers must endure in living in a world that doesn’t recognize Christ’s lordship. Those who are persecuted because they do what God requires and are insulted because of their faith in Him are in this category.
MT 5: 13-7: 27 reveals God’s will for the conduct of a true believer who belongs to Christ. [Because there is so much teaching in this segment that I hope to discuss in later messages, I won’t attempt to list of it right now]. MT 7: 28-29 is the epilogue and certainly bears repeating here. “When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowd was amazed at the way He taught. He wasn’t like the teachers of the Law; instead, he taught with authority.” Dear Ones, that authority comes straight from the Father.
How can we miss the fact that God, through the Son, lays everything out plainly for us? JN 15: 14-15 really comes alive in this. “And you are My friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from My Father.” Let me go on in this passage from John, because the Lord really reveals His attitude toward us in JN 15: 16-17. “You did not choose Me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in My name. This, then, is what I command you: love one another.” Notice the use of the present tense in this last verse. It is proof positive that we are fitted to live the godly lifestyle today, right now, and forever. The only people who find this impossible are those who reject the Lord. The consequences for doing that are also made very plain in His word. Believe me when I say they are nothing that a true believer wants!
One measure of this infinite power and authority that the Lord has is found in RO 12: 2, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by the renewal of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect.” No other entity can transform your mind to go the opposite way to your fleshly desires than God Himself. He gives authority to carry out this task to His Spirit, Who can enter the spirit of the believer and change his thoughts and actions. Christ is our Teacher, who guides us in the way of God’s will. No other entity, including the devil and his followers, has the supremacy and sovereignty of our righteous, loving, and wise God. Our Lord also offers us encouragement in taking that hard path that leads to eternal life in REV 22: 12-13, "’Listen,’ says Jesus. ‘I am coming soon! I will bring My rewards with Me, to give to each one according to what He has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.’”
PRAYER: O Lord, You have given us a lifestyle to live in the Sermon on the Mount that is definitely for today and within our power to live. We are grateful for that and stand before You as imperfect sinners utterly in need of Your direction and lordship in our lives. We desire to have the relationship with You and with each other that You are commanding us to have. We love You for being patient with us, while we struggle to overcome our natural fleshly appetites. Paul described the conflict between the flesh and the spirit with such clarity in RO 7: 14-24. Then, in RO 7: 25, he leads us to the only way to find eternal relief from the misery the flesh gives us-Your Son, Jesus Christ! The Son has laid out a path for us to follow that reveals Your will for our character, outlines the conflict that we must expect, and gives us specifics on the conduct we should display. At the end, He reminds us of the authority He has been given by You to teach us righteously and accurately about You and Your will for us. That authority to understand Your word and teach it accurately is passed down to true believers by Christ, so that we can help bring others to where the Holy Spirit can bring them life-giving faith in Your Son. We are reminded often that You will never ask us to make any change in our life that You haven’t equipped us to make. We were created in Your very own image [GN 1: 27]. You are a just, always-righteous Deity, the only One with Sovereign authority over all. You command us to conduct ourselves and have the attitudes of a righteous person, because You love us so much that You want as many of us as are willing to make these changes to return to Your side for eternity. In our suffering, loss, and troubles of all kinds, You encourage us with the promise that we will soon be called to a “meeting in the air” with Christ [1 THESS 4 ;13-17 & REV 22: 12]. We love You, Dearest Abba, and offer You our worship, adoration, confession, praise, and thanks in Christ’s holy name. Amen.
Next week, I am led to begin a new segment of this series on True Faith, called A New Perspective. We will first look at why humanity can’t achieve peace on earth by themselves. Then, I’ll go on with a response to those who believe the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle is only for the Kingdom age and how God transforms our hearts to conform to the heart of His Spirit. In the meanwhile, we are left with encouragement in our times of suffering, pain, confusion, and loss which mustn’t be ignored, because God knows we need it so very much. The example of the words in IS 38: 17 of King Hezekiah of Judah at the time of his illness and recovery reveal what God can do for any of us. “My bitterness will turn to peace. You save my life from all danger; You forgive my sins.” David has confidence that any of us can have in speaking his words in PS 16: 8, “I am always aware of the Lord’s presence; He is near and nothing can shake me.” These words reveal the truth about our relationship with the Lord. By the shedding of His Son’s blood for us and our obedient faith in Him, we can ask for anything we want in Christ’s name and it will be given. JN 15: 7, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it.” Further encouragement is found in MT 18: 19-20, "And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, I am there with them.” These are eloquent and compelling reasons for us to live the lifestyle Christ set out for us in the Sermon on the Mount, to trust in His promises, and to be willing to spend daily time in His word and in prayer.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn