OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 20

Mathew chapter 7 verses 13 - 14 continues with the elucidation of the characteristics of citizenship in the kingdom of God and in this passage,  the Lord Jesus decribes what access to the kingdom of God entails.

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 

14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

The Lord Jesus provides a key for when we want to migrate into the kingdom of God by letting us know that we will encounter two gates. One gate will wide and the roadway through it will be broad and easy to traverse. The other gate will be narrow and the roadway through it will be difficult to travel on.

The secret that the Lord is presenting here is that as we navigate our way towards the kingdom of God, there will be options that we will run across along the way and that we should select the difficult and hazardous way rather than the easy and straightforward route.

If, for example, we arrive at a scenario where someone needs our help and to do so would put us into a bind because we would be delayed or our resources would be tapped out while alternatively, we could refer that person to other people and move on unencumbered by the inconvenience, the Lord's counsel is that those who are seeking to enter the kingdom of God should pick the option that is challenging and hazardous over the easier way because the kingdom of God has a screen that selects for those who are inclined to undertake the difficult options rather than gravitate towards shortcuts.

This screening process results in only a few finding the entry point to the kingdom of God and it is the remnant that stumbles into the kingdom of God that discover the abundant life that the salvation of the Lord acquired for them.

As John chapter 10 verse 10 says, 

10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE MERCY ENDURES FOREVER

From Psalm 118

I shall not die, but by the Lord I shall live

And declare with praise the works of the Lord

His mercy shall ever endure 

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

The stone which the builders turned away

Has now become the chief cornerstone

God is the Lord and He gave us His light

This is truly the day that the Lord has made

We rejoice and are glad in it

Psalm 118 

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

2 Let Israel now say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

3 Let the house of Aaron now say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

4 Let those who fear the Lord now say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

5 I called on the Lord in distress;

The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

6 The Lord is on my side;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

7 The Lord is for me among those who help me;

Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.

8 It is better to trust in the Lord

Than to put confidence in man.

9 It is better to trust in the Lord

Than to put confidence in princes.

10 All nations surrounded me,

But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

11 They surrounded me,

Yes, they surrounded me;

But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

12 They surrounded me like bees;

They were quenched like a fire of thorns;

For in the name of the Lord I will [a]destroy them.

13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall,

But the Lord helped me.

14 The Lord is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation.

___________________________

15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation

Is in the tents of the righteous;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

17 I shall not die, but live,

And declare the works of the Lord.

18 The Lord has chastened[b] me severely,

But He has not given me over to death.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I will go through them,

And I will praise the Lord.

20 This is the gate of the Lord,

Through which the righteous shall enter.

21 I will praise You,

For You have answered me,

And have become my salvation.

22 The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

23 [c]This was the Lord’s doing;

It is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Save now, I pray, O Lord;

O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

27 God is the Lord,

And He has given us light;

Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise You;

You are my God, I will exalt You.

29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 20

Mathew chapter 7 verses 7 - 12 continues with the Lord Jesus explaining the mechanics of accessing the  kingdom God;

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 

12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

After having faith that leads to salvation, the new believer needs to progress towards gaining citizenship in the kingdom of God for which our salvation qualifies us for.

In this passage, the Lord Jesus explains the principles of asking, seeking and knocking. The kingdom of God is only made accessible to those who want it enough that they repeatedly ask for access, look for access and knock on the door to be let in.

The Lord assures us that those who press for access to the kingdom of God will be granted access and for comparison, He asks us if any of us on earth, though fallen in nature, when pressed by our children for a piece of bread, would instead give them a stone? He then lets us know that God in heaven is all the more willing to grant the good things of His kingdom to His children who persistently pressure Him.

This line of thought ends with the Lord telling those of us who would seek the kingdom of God that the elementals of how to decide what conduct to cultivate are found within us. 

If we consider our own matrix of preferences on how we want to be treated, this is the acceptable standard on how we are to treat others. 

It is this baseline of our patterns of conduct that, when we have them established in our lives, we are prepared for access to the kingdom of God.

When we persistently ask and seek and knock, we will find ourselves being transformed in such a way that we begin to behave as we would have others behave towards us and this makes us ready to be admitted into the spiritual kingdom of God.

(Retroactively written after commenting on verse 13 - 14)

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 19

Mathew chapter 7 verse 6 carries two injunctions from the Lord Jesus along with three consequences for failing to uphold the injuctions.

6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

The two injuctions are;

• Do not give holy things to the dogs
• Do not present pearls (precious items) to pigs

The consequences for doing so are;

• The holy and precious things are trampled
• The pigs and dogs turn against you
• The pigs and dogs tear you apart

This teaching reveals a dynamic that exists when people in the kingdom of God are interacting with those who are not.

The holy and precious things are articles that are revealed to those who frequent the corridors of the kingdom of God.

Holy things are spiritual impliments and instruments that spiritual people employ to facilitate transactions betweeen the realms of the spirit and the realms of the temporal.

Pearls represent valuable spiritual treasures that can be traded for by sacrifice and labour in the natural realm. Revealed spiritual mysteries and spiritial knowledge are examples of pearls.

Dogs represent those people who are in the household of God but have not  ascended beyond the life of the flesh and have returned to their vomit.

Pigs represent those who are dominated by demonic spirits and operate as functionaries of the kingdom of darkness.

When walking in the spirit as is the requirement of citizenship in the kingdom of God, disernment must be utilized when interacting with people to distinquish between those to whom holy and precious things can be given lest the holy things be defiled and the precious things be devalued.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 19

The Lord, continuing in Mathew chapter 7 verses 3 - 4, teaches His followers the principles of self-awareness and self-alignment.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

The tendency for us to look askance upon those around who have issues in their lives while ignoring our own shortcomings is a very real phenomenon that stems from our familiarity with our own moral ecosystem that makes us blind to our own proclivities.

The Lord calls this hypocricy and advises us to examine our own lives objectively and endeavor to extricate harmful behaviour patterns enmeshed in us before we start looking into the lives of others to correct their foibles.

Living in the spirit requires clarity in perception to be able to assist others and thus it is imperitive that we remove obstacles and contaminants in our lives that muddy our ability to correctly perceive the issues our brothers are entangled in.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO LOVES US

From Psalm 117

How great is our God's love for us

His faithfulness never comes to an end

Extol Him who saved us and called us His friends

All you nations and peoples, let's all Praise His Name

All you nations and peoples, Let's all praise His Name

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations;

    extol him, all you peoples.

2 For great is his love toward us,

    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 18

Mathew chapter 7 verses 1 - 2 record the Lord's teaching on passing judgement on other people.

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Jesus' counsel to us on this subject is to avoid judging other people altogether because of the hazards that accompany undertaking judgement over other people.

First, if we step up to judge others, we qualifyl ourselves to be judged as well.

Second, when we judge others, our own methodology of judgement will be used to judge us. If, for instance, we discriminate on how we pass judgement based on people's social standing, this bias will be used against us.

Third, the same harshness or severity that we mette out against other people when we sit in judgement over them will be used against us.

The gold standard is not to judge other people but if judgement is forced upon us, we must be as carefull and impartial as possible when examining cases we are adjudicating and we must also be as merciful as we can be.

In the kingdom of God, adherance to the guidance of the Spirit of God on matters of judgement will exempt us from being judges ourselves.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 17

Mathew chapter 6 verses 28 - 34 continues the lessons of prioritization of the things of the kingdom of God over concerns for temporal things. The Lord Jesus tells His followers that they are far more precious than flowers of the field that God clothes in splendor.

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 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? 

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The Lord assures His people that worrying about the things like food, clothes and shelter would be fruitless. Instead of worrying, we should instead seek God's kingdom and His righteousness and those things that are needed will be provided along with the things of God's kingdom and righteousness. 

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 16

The Lord Jesus, in Mathew chapter 6 verses 25 - 27, continued teaching His followers about how to live as citizens of His kingdom and expounds on the previous lesson that touched on the impossibility of serving both God and mammon (money) at the same time.

He adjures His people not to expend energy worrying about how they would survive in the world. If they were to primarily concern themselves with the things of the kingdom of God, all the things they require will be provided to them by their Father in heaven;

25 “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? 

26 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? 

27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

This passage has tones of the verse that Jesus used to reject the temptation to turn the stones to bread in the wilderness in Mathew chapter 4 verse 4;

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

This refutation alludes to the fact that life is more than bread and the fulfilment of physical needs but is, in fact, rooted in the spiritual provision that comes from the utterances of God.

Jesus tells His followers that in the same way that our Father provides food for the birds of the air, we, who are of much greater concern to the Father, would be provided for. 

If we attend to the things of the kingdom of God, we do not need to server mammon and we need not worry about how we will nourish and clothe ourselves because our Father will take responsibility to provide the things we have need of.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 15

The Lord Jesus, in this verse, establishes the axiom of the hazards of split loyalty.

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Have two masters brings about the conflict of love and devotion versus hate and resentment.

In trying to serve two masters, inevitably, situations will arise that will result in the servant having to chose between the fulfillment of service to one master over the other.

One master will rebuke the servant even though the failure to please one master  was impossible to mitigate. Hate and resentment against that master begins to fester making life unbearable.

In the verse, the Lord gives an example of two masters who some people would try to serve concurrently but would fail at doing so: God and money.

Those who would serve God have requirements on their time and resources. Those who would serve money must render time and resources to acquire and manage it.

To try to serve both at the same time would degrade into a hopeless miasma of contrary interests and ultimately, a believer, pressured by the practicalities of survival like food and clothing, would have to decide between one or the other.

The Lord, in Mathew chapter 6 verses 31 - 33, gives us the way out of this connundrum with theses counterintuitive words; 

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 14

The Lord Jesus gave an anatomy lesson in Mathew chapter 6 verses 22 - 23;

Vew International Version

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 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!

English Standard Version

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

In this teaching, I believe that the Lord is speaking strictly of the spirtual eye and the bible versions e.g. ESV that refer to the eye as singular are the correct ones.

The physical body, having no perception sensors with which to detect things of the spirit, must rely on the proper functiong of the spiritual eye to know the things of the spirit.

If our spiritual eye is in good condition, our physical body is infused with light of the spiritual realm and spiritual entities that would try to inhabit our physical body are displaced by the light and we can live free of demonic influence over our bodies.

If our eye is bad, our bodies remain in darkness and it is in this condition that demonic entities  can thrive in our bodies.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IS SOVEREIGN

From Psalm 115

Our God in heaven

Ever worthy of our praise

We will extol You

All our days

Our God in heaven

Sovereign are Your ways  

Glory and honor To Your name

Sovereign are Your ways  

Glory and honor to Your name

Psalm 115

1 Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

2 Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?"

3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.

5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.

6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.

7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

9 All you Israelites, trust in the Lord' he is their help and shield.

10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord' he is their help and shield.

11 You who fear him, trust in the Lord' he is their help and shield.

12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,

13 he will bless those who fear the Lord' small and great alike.

14 May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children.

15 May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.

17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence;

18 it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore.

Praise the Lord.

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 13

The Lord Jesus,  teaching His followers how to optimize their lives in His spiritual kiwangdom, cautions them against accumulating material wealth in the temporal realm. Mathew chapter 6 verses 19 - 21 reads this way;

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Whereas valuables on earth would be subject to degradation, corrosion, corruption and theft, the accumulating spiritual valuables in heaven is guaranteed not to depreciate because they are not subject to destruction and burglary.

If we fixate our minds to the accumulation of earthly wealth, our hearts will be entangled in the things of the earth and remain lodged in the things of the flesh. 

Conversely, if we set about deliberately doing the things that accumulate spiritual value in heaven, beyong a certain threshhold, our hearts will be elevated into heaven and will increasingly operate in the spiritual realm.

Let us heed our Lord's counsel and turn our eyes upon the things of His kingdom.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 12

Continuing on the theme of living a discreet spiritual life, the Lord Jesus teaches His followers to takes steps  to ensure that other people do not know that they are fasting.

Whereas the hypocrites make sure that their fasting is overt noticable to incurr admiration from others, Jesus advised His people to erase traces of fasting from their appearance so that only our Father in heaven knows about it.

Mathew chapter 6 verses 16 - 18 says this;

16 “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. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 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.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 11

The Lord Jesus, in Mathew chapter 6 verses 14 - 15, expands on a concept that was introduced in the prayer He had just taught His followers.

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

This corresponds to Mathew chapter 6 verse 12 that says;

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

What the Lord was emphasizing here was that for forgiveness to be granted when requested, we who are requesting forgiveness will first have to forgive other people who had sinned against us.

The conditional nature of this provision places us in the same role as the Lord in that we can release other people from their debt towards us in the same way we are requesting to be released from our own debt.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 10

7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

The Lord Jesus, still teaching His followers the concept of living discreetly, paused on the subject of the secret prayer life to clarify some aspects of prayer itself.

The pagan practice of repeating words and phrases over and over again based on the belief that uttering many words would facilitate their prayers to be heard is advised against by the Lord Jesus because our Father in heaven knows what we need before we ask Him and certainly hears what we are asking for and so to repeat words over and over again is redundant.

The Lord then goes on to teach His followers the most well known prayer on earth as a model for how those who follow Him should pray to God.

This is a synopsis of the prayer model;

• As His children, address God as Father
• Honor His name as one honors a father
• Acknowledge fealty to God's kingdom
• Request spiritual supply for physical needs
• Confirm that all debts owed are forgiven
• Request forgiveness for debts incurred  
• Request exemption from tests with reasons
• Request exclusion from the grip of Satan

This chartered prayer model gives a guide to being succinct in prayer and it provides a checklist of the articles of spiritual practice that believers in Jesus need to incorporate into their lives in order to establish a robust interface with the kingdom of God.

Amen

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 9

Continuing to the second of the three spiritual practices that are to be pursued privately, the Lord Jesus urges His followers to undertake their prayer lives in secret.

Mathew chapter 6 verses 5 - 6 records the Lord's counsel on this matter.

5 “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. 6 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.

Describing the two ends of the exposure spectrum, Jesus starts with the side that seeks acclamation for the activity of prayer.

Labeled hypocrites, the people who publicize their pious prayers place themselves in strategic locations to maximize visibility.  Jesus said that the admiration they gain from other people for these practices is the extent of their reward.

At the other end of the spectrum is the practice of hiding away out of sight behind closed doors and praying to God in secret.  

In this secretive mode, we make contact with our Father who is Himself unseen and operates in secret and it is this intimate and sincere spiritual interaction for which the Father rewards His people.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 8

Moving to Mathew chapter 6, the Lord Jesus introduces to his followers the concept of living ones' spiritial life in secret. Three examples are given of spiritual practices that are nullified by displaying them before others to gain acclaim from other people: righteouseness, praying and fasting. 

Today we will look at the first of the three in Mathew chapter 6 verses 1 - 4;

1 “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.

2 “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. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Part of living righteously in the spirit involves generously helping other people with what they are lacking  to live and the principle of secrecy guides us to offer such assistance as discreetly as possibly.

If we seek to aggrandize ourselves by announcing our actions when we render help to others, we short-circuit our generosity because the resulting honor we receive from men becomes the full extent of our reward.

The prescription the Lord gives us is to be so discreet that when giving to others, our left hand doesn't even know that our right hand gave anything such that we do not even acknowledge it to ourselves.

When we are acting as a conduit through which the Lord is providing help to people around us in need, we should be careful to remove any trace of our involvement so that the glory of provision goes strictly to God.

It is only when we are hidden parties to these transactions that our Father in heaven rewards us.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 7

The Lord Jesus, continuing with the discourse on the mountainside, taught His followers that even though they had heard it said that they should love their neighbours and hate their enemies, He had a different standard for them to follow.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 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. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing The Community Rule begins by saying that members of the community should be taught to seek God and obey Moses and the Prophets so that "they may love all the sons of light, each according to his lot in God's design, and hate all the sons of darkness, each according to his guilt in God's vengeance." than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father's is perfect.

There is a biblical injunction that instructs us to love our neighbours but there is no injunction to hate our enemies and in this case, Jesus was referencing a cultural truism that had been hidden and only came to light after the Dead Sea scrolls were published and specifically, a document named "The Community Rule"

Douglas Ward, Ph.D., writting at www.JCstudies.com, points out the standard for loving ones' neighbours and hating ones' enemies that was recorded by a Jewish sect at Qumran.

The Community Rule begins by saying that members of the community should be taught to seek God and obey Moses and the Prophets so that "they may love all the sons of light, each according to his lot in God's design, and hate all the sons of darkness, each according to his guilt in God's vengeance."

The appearance of this document confirmed that there was an understanding in circulation during the time of Jesus that promoted hating ones' enemies.

The Lord, against this cultural backdrop, instructed His people to love their enemies instead of hating them as per such cultural prescriptions.

Being spiritual, praying for those who persecute us makes us children of our Father in heaven where we surrender our protection into His hands when we pray for our enemies and we endevour to love all people as our Father does..

To only love those who love us is easily done by even those who have no allegiance to God.

The standard that Jesus sets for us is that we are to be perfect even as our father is perfect pertaining to a universal and impartial love and goodwill to all people whether friend or foe. 

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 6

Mathew chapter 5 verses 38 - 42 continues with the Lord Jesus discussing the standard that was set for retribution for injuries done to His people;

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 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. 

40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.u

The Lord, in this passage, references the book of Leviticus chapter 24 verses 19 - 20 which stipulates that for any violence that is done to another person that results in bodily harm, the same bodily harm would be done to them.

19 If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.

However, those who would be part of the kingdom of God are held to a higher spiritual standard. The understanding being revealed in this passage is that the material or corporeal realm is temporal and the things of this world are not worth trading for anything in the spirit.

Whereas people living temporal lives may seek retribution for injuries done to their mortal bodies, Jesus counsels His people living in the spirit to forfeight any claims that they may have a right to under the law.

The realm of the spirit is eternal and its rewards are vast and as such, it is counter-productive to entangle ourselves in litigating matters pertaining to the temporal realm.

If there are situations in the physical realm that are injurious to us, even though we could potentially press for our rights, we should instead take steps to short-cirquit our involvement by absorbing any loss or enduring any humiliation or pain because the spiritual advantage gained by doing so will by great measure, outstrip any temporal satisfaction.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 5

The Lord Jesus, continuing with the clarification of the Law of Moses to His disciples, referencing the matter of taking oaths that is mentioned in the book of Numbers chapter 30, addresses the expectation of His kingdom pertaining to the swearing oaths.

In Mathew chapter 5 verses 33 - 37, the Lord takes the injunction to fulfill all oaths that are made and escalates the standard to a spiritual elevation.

33 “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.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

The practice of swearing oaths is a mechanism by which one person could assure another that a promise would be fulfilled.

The Lord Jesus establishes that His followers should avoid swearing oaths altogether.

Swearing oaths was usually done on a higher authority than the person and ostensibly, this higher authority could be invoked to enforce the oath if the terms were not fulfilled so that the name of the higher authority was not besmirched by the failure to fulfill the oath.

The Lord Jesus specified why these mechanisms of swearing on heaven or on the  earth or even on the city of Jerusalem were inappropriate. He explained that because they belonged to God and to the great king, obligating these places and engendering the risk of sullying their reputations by a failure to fulfill the oath was wrong.

To even swear on one's own head was wrong because one's own head was not under the authority of its owner to the degree that he could not even alter the color of a single hair. The person's head was still under the perview of God and thus wrong to swear upon.

The standard set by Jesus was that no oaths were to be sworn. In the life of the spirit that He was authoring for those who believed in Him, everything we say is under oath anyway. None of our utterances are exempt from obligation and everything we say we will do, we must fulfill. 

To fail to fulfill a promise is, as Jesus said, an artifact of the influence of the evil one.

Mathew chapter 12 verses 36 - 37 says;

36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 4

As the Lord Jesus continued to teach His followers, the subject of divorce and remarriage came to the forefront and Jesus, referencing the protocols written of in Deutronomy chapter 24 verses 1 - 4, tightens down what the allowances for divorce are.

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 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.

In Deutronomy chapter 24, if a husband did not like somethimg about his wife, he could write out a certificate of divorce and she was free to remarry. The only restriction was that if she married another man and that man divorced her or left her widowed, her first husband was not permitted to re-marry her.

The Lord Jesus barred divorce for His followers except in the cases of sexual immorality and barred re-marriage if divorced.

This escalation of the standards takes into consideration that those who followed the Lord Jesus would be living spiritually and because marriage is a joining of two people into one flesh, unentanglement cannot occur on the basis of a certificate written by a person whose life is in the spirit as Mark 10 verses 7 - 9 says, 7 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 

In a believer's marriage, the two persons involved retain separate born-again spirits but their flesh (which is not a reference to their physical bodies but rather to their earth-bound human nature that was corrupted by the fall), is joined and that is why non-believers can be married in exactly the same way believers can be married.

However, whereas a non-regenerated person can (in the flesh) write a certificate of divorce and it would apply to the matters of the flesh, among believers, any proceedings, such as the writing of of a certificate of divorce, would be occuring by the hand of their spirits and so would not be applicable to the matters flesh and thus they would remain joined in the flesh and not free to remarry.

This implies that divorces that occur among non-believers do in fact result in the separation of the flesh while those that occur among believers do not.

As Jesus said in John chapter 3 verse 6; That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 3

Continuing with Mathew chapter 5, let's look at verses 27 - 30 which escalates the sin of adultery from a physical infraction to a spiritual infraction. The Lord Jesus instructs us that the precursors to adultery that begin with the lust of the eye and then forments in the heart, are themselves adultery.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 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. 30 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.

The counsel of the Lord is to be ruthless in putting to death the works of the flesh that can dissuade us from taking the path of the spirit.

If the desires of the flesh cause us to reject the offer of salvation and the pathway to righteousness, we should discard the inclinations of the flesh so that our whole body does not get discarded for its corruptive influence.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH Part 2

In Mathew chapter 5 verses 25 - 26, the Lord Jesus introduces a new concept into the code of expected behaviour among His people.

When one has an outstanding debt, obligation or liability, the Lord tells us to expedite the resolution of the matter with a view to settling it out of court before it is turned over into the hands of the court. 

25 “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. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

What the Lord is describing here applies to both the corporeal and spiritual realms.

In court systems of men and in the court systems of the spirit world, the legalistic mechanisms process cases through like machines and once we get fed into one end as a defendant, we are subject to the nature of the judge's view of our case and we may be found guilty or liable and we may then be handed over to the enforcers who may use imprisonment to extricate from use what is due.

The councel of the Lord is do everything in our power to bring swift resolution to any issue that is being held against us.

In spiritual matters, this means that we must offer resolutions for offences that we have caused as soon as we can and to transact in spiritual terms to atone for or restitute what is required.

If we let cases linger, they can be brought forward for litigation at the most importune times. An example of where the adversary pressed a case at a time that caused maximal damage is when a devastating drought descended on the land Israel while David was king.

Decades before, David's predecessor, king Saul, broke a vow that Israel had with the Gibeonites. 

Even though the vow was centuries old and the infraction the Saul commited against the terms of the vow was decades old, the adversary of Israel pressed the case against Israel by the imposition of a severe drought.

To bring a resolution to the matter during David's time, it cost the lives of seven people from the family of Saul because the Gibeonites demanded the killing of Saul's descedants in order to release Israel from their infraction.

The drought was the prison that Israel was put into and they were not released from the prison until they had paid the last penny.

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OUR FATHER SENT HIS SON TO DO AND TO TEACH part 1

In Mathew chapter verses 21 - 24, the Lord Jesus escalates the subject of righteouness to illustrate that sin and evil stems from inside us and the attitudes we foster.

21 “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.’ 22 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.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Jesus, in this passage, speaking of the law against murder and the judgement of death that comes from it, tells us that harbouring anger against a brother or sister is subject to judgement. 

Whereas the traditional law held that actual murder was subject to penalty and did not hold anyone to account for their thoughts and words against those around them, the higher standards of Jesus's kingdom holds that cultivating angry thoughts and speaking derogatory words towards one's brothers and sisters can make one subject to judgement in the court of heaven and could, if left to fester indefinitely, potentially lead to  hell.

The life of the kingdom of heaven, which is a spiritual kingdom, enforces a high standard of righteous behaviour that includes the behaviour of the soul and spirit and not just the acts done physically in the body.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS SON THE SCEPTER OF ZION

From Psalm 110;

Your mighty scepter will rule from Zion

By Your great power judge the nations

Arrayed for battle in Holy splendor

Your troops go forth at Your command and conquer   

Your mighty scepter will rule from Zion

By Your great army conquer nations

Arrayed for battle in Holy splendor

Melchizedek(Lord Jesus), You are a priest forever

Psalm 110

1 The Lord says to my lord

Sit at my right hand

    until I make your foes

    a footstool for your feet.

2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,

   "Rule in the midst of your enemies!"

3 Your troops will be willing

    on your day of battle.

Arrayed in holy splendor,

    your young men will come to you

    like dew from the morning's womb. (c. A surprise out of thin air)

4 The Lord has sworn

    and will not change his mind:

"You are a priest forever,

    in the order of Melchizedek."

5 The Lord is at your right hand;

    he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.

6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead

    and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.

7 He will drink from a brook along the way,

    and so he will lift his head high. 

(c. Having drank from the cup of death for the sins of all men,

 He can confidently assert authority over the whole earth)

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO FULLFIL THE LAW

Proceeding along with the requirements of entering the kingdom of heaven recorded in the book of Mathew chapter 5 verses 17 - 20,  the Lord Jesus taught His followers that the gravity of the Law of Moses intensified with the onset of His  ministry.

Whereas some may have interpreted the ministry of the Christ to be the abolition of the law, Jesus declared that it was, in fact, the oposite. In the way Jesus lived His life, He fulfilled the law at the highest possible standard that exceeded the standards of the pharisees. 

He accomplished each and every nuance of the law with His perfect righteousness and it was with this perfection that He went to the cross to die for the sins of mankind.

Because our own righteouness does not reach that high standard, our only hope of entering the kingdom of heaven is to have the righteousness of Christ accrued to us which in fact it is when we believe in Jesus and are justified and deemed to be perfect as Romans 5 verse 1 says; "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we a have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..." We therefore depend on Jesus' fulfillment of the perfect standard of the law to enter the kingdom of heaven. The scriptures says it this way;

17 Don't think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

In qualifying to enter the kingdom of heaven, we are able to claim that our righteousness exceeds that of the pharisees because, by the mechanism of believing in Jesus, we appropriate His righteousness and are justified.

Once justified, we are privileged to enter the kingdom of heaven and it is while we are ensconced in the kingdom that we get to learn to live in the power of His resurection and find that, while still in the body, we are increasingly able to live righteously and to ultimately attain a degee of righteousness that exceeds that of the pharisees.

It is for this reason that Jesus, in verse 19 of our passage, underscores the neccesity of upholding every point of the law.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS GLORIFIED BY THE GOOD WORKS OF HIS CHILDREN

Mathew chapter 4 verses 13 - 16 says this;

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

This passage elucidates the effect that believers are expected to have in the world by comparing us to salt and to light.

Salt, with its distinct flavour, is used as a metaphor for the distinction of righteousness that believers should be exhibiting in their lives before non-believers.

If that distinction is lost, believers will become irrelevant in the world and they will be trampled underfoot by men. 

The problem highlighted by the Lord Jesus is that if believers lose their distinct flavor of righteouness, there is no other substance that can be introduced to re-season them with the flavor of righteousness. The lives of believers need to be perpetually seen as a desirable standard to which unbelievers can compare their own lives and seek the remedy of salvation.

With righteousness enmeshed in their lives, Jesus charges believers to be the light of the world and to let the righteouness of God be seen in their lives the way that a light placed on a lampstand illuminates a house.

The good works like hospitality, generosity, gentleness, forgiveness, mercy and faithfulness are ways that God is glorified because people observe how believers take the responsibility to alleviate the difficulties in other people's lives while restoring and sustaining the dignity and intrinsic worth of those around them.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT A SAVIOUR TO TEACH US PART 4

The Lord Jesus, continuing to teach His disciples in Mathew chapter 4 verses 9 - 12 about the categories of people who would be admitted and set into His kingdom now that it had drawn near, mentioned the peacemakers who would gain the title or position of 'sons of God'.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children ( KJV:  sons ) of God.

Peacemakers are those who seek reconciliation between themselves and other parties or endeavour to establish reconciliation between other parties.

Reconciliation is ending of hostilities and the mending of broken communication lines and finally the re-establishment of normal relations. 

In this verse, the Lord Jesus tells His followers that those who preoccupy themselves with reconciling themselves and others to God will be named sons of God. This means that they would be adopted into the family of God and would no longer be slaves or orphans but rather sons who belong to the household of God and if sons, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

So whereas people could believe in the message of the salvation through Christ and be saved, there is  a process of reconciliation with God that must be pursued and those who do so, will be granted the Spirit of Adoption.

In the next verse, the Lord Jesus, speaks of those who are persecuted because of their stand for righteousness.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Here, to those who suffer persecution, gain the kingdom of heaven that is also conferred upon those mentioned in the first beatitude (those who are poor in spirit). Additionally, there is another group of people who would gain the kingdom of heaven mentioned separately in Mathew chapter 19 verse 14 which says; but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

So the poor in spirit and those persecuted for righteousness and little children are automatically qualified to be part of the kingdom of heaven.

Having explained to His disciples about the conduits through which other people would be drawn into and placed in His kingdom, the Lord redirected His focus on them directly and said to them that they would be blessed when they undertook their roles in process setting up the kingdom of God because they would suffer greatly from denigration, slander, social and political accusation and harassment. Mathew chapter 4 verses 11 - 12 put it this way;

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Lord encourages his followers to be happy when they are deemed worthy to suffer for His sake because they are assured a great reward in heaven because the suffering they  would endured would be same as the suffering of the historic prophets of God who suffered greatly at the hands of the enemies of God.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT A SAVIOUR TO TEACH US PART 3

We now look at the next set of beatitudes from the fifth to the sixth one.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

This is a principle of reciprocation related to the conduct shown to other people. It is mirrored in the words of the Lord Jesus in Mathew chapter 6 verse 15 which says; But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. In the inverse sense, the showing mercy to others allows for mercy to be shown to us. This conditional axiom adjures believers to follow the Lord's example of being merciful to others. 

Mathew chapter 18 verse 18 says; “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 

For believers, to be merciful towards someone is to loose  them in the spirit and vice versa. Because these types of obligations cross into the spirit realm, to bind someone with fetters into that realm will cause the retention of any fetters that one may themselves be linked to. Similarly, to sever obligations held over other people will generally sever any obligations or debts against ones' own self.

The next beatitude is fearsome because it suggests that there are ways that a believer can behave that would prevent them from seeing God.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

The pure in heart are those who are sincere in their disposition towards the Lord. They harbour no concealed agendas and do not present false impressions of themselves to appear pious before men. An example of people who are not pure in heart is mentioned in Mathew 6 verse 6 which says; 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.

Here, the praying is done in public to enhance their reputations and enhanced reputions will be the full reward for this behaviour while the sincere behaviour is to pray in secret.

The sincerity of private prayer results in intimacy with God and one is brought into the inner circle of the Lord and they will see God.

To try to do spritual practices with motives apart from the pure-hearted love of God will exclude one from direct contact with Him.

Amen.

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