“Darkness and Light – Choose One”

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Jesus was all about comparison. By that, I don’t mean relativeness, but rather difference. For him, there was no compromise, no blending, no middle of the road position. In him, it was either right or it was wrong.
And humanity also has so many words to express contrast in this life – issues can be seen as white or black, moral or immoral, good or evil, worthwhile or worthless, day or night – and our list could get much longer. And while these words all imply extremes, humanity never quite seems content with them – we don’t like extremes and absolutes. We prefer “moderate” over radical, “center” over right or left, “gray” over black or white, “maybe” over yes or no, and we are content to “straddle the fence”, even though it can get to be very painful at times.

Jesus, on the other hand, was always about absolutes, and “compromise” would never darken his doorstep. But even though he offered many absolute statements such as “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”, there were still many ways that people can satisfy his truths. In this passage from John 14:6, he doesn’t say how we are to come to and through him, just that we must. Sometimes he allowed options in the means to his absolute to fit the gifts that he has given to us, and other times, there is simply no choice, and we have to do it exactly his way.

Consider the Lord’s thoughts on the things we treasure.

Read Matthew 6:19-21

The earthly versus heavenly treasures that he speaks about are those things that we will look to for comfort and hope in the last days. For many folks, and probably more than a few that each of us know well, their lives seem to be centered on accumulating fiscal security. For them, it’s all about looking to the things of earth in their search for the “meaning of life”. But how quickly it can all disappear.
The stock market crash in 1929, and more recently in 2008, should have been wakeup calls to this world, but the lesson was never learned. People would end their own lives before facing the uncertainties that came with the loss of their “security”. For others, losses have come from identity theft, or unwise investments, or excessive spending, or any number of other missteps. And even if our investments appear to be sound, there is still the question of how much is sufficient. One of my favorite quotations comes from John D. Rockefeller. He was once asked by a reporter “How much is enough?” Rockefeller’s telling answer was “Just a little bit more!” The things of earth will never satisfy our fears and insecurity in life, no matter how hard we work and how much we accumulate. As a matter of fact, they will most certainly be the means to our downfall.

But Jesus says that there is an alternative that will satisfy our every need, and that this is the treasure that will be laid up for us in heaven. Of course, he doesn’t tell us what those treasures are, or how they will be ensured, or how they will benefit us, but he is quite emphatic that they are the only ones that will last.
So what are these treasures? I’m no great scholar, but it seems to me that they would be the things that we do and give to others. Earthly treasure is all about satisfying our self. Heavenly treasure is all about using the gifts that God has given us, to provide for the needs of others. The things we gather for our own pocket are fragile and are always on the verge of being lost. But when we give to another, the act is, for us, final. Nothing can break it, nothing can damage it, nothing can steal it away.
Are there good acts and not so good ones? If the gift that we bring is offered with an honest and loving heart, I believe that it is good. If it is to make the giver look good in the eyes of the recipient, it isn’t.
And when we read John 14:6 again, we discover that these treasures will be stored up in heaven by Jesus. We can do all the good works we want to do, but unless we know the Savior, unless we have a relationship with the one who holds the keys to the treasure store, unless our good works are for the glory of God, they won’t do us much good.

Read Matthew 6:22-24

Note that the passage doesn’t say that the eye is a window that lets the “light of truth” into our lives – it is a lamp that shines our inner light – the light that comes to all in faith - on the world so that we can see all things for what they truly are. If the eye is bad, it can only project darkness from our soul, and the truth that awaits us will be missed.
It is very possible that Jesus offers this as an explanation of his words regarding our treasure. If our inner lamp is weak or extinguished, how will we ever discover the truth about what is important and what is not?

And the last verse in this passage is the icing on the cake. You can’t have it both ways. Unless the “Light of Heaven” shines within us, our vision will be clouded, and one treasure trove will look just as good as any other, and our choices will be just as clouded and our judgment will be unreliable. It is only God’s light that reveals in a truthful and reliable way.

So where does our loyalty, our trust, really lay? Where do we pin our hopes for eternity? If it’s in our own abilities, if we trust the “good things” that the world can bring to our lives, Jesus says that this is all we can hope for. Throughout this Sermon, Jesus tells us over and over that if we seek the rewards that come from this life, if we believe that earthly treasure is important and sufficient, then that is all we will get. But when we turn to the eternal rewards that can only come through faith in him, the blessings will never end.

Read Matthew 6:25-34

Both the previous passage and this one are, basically, about idolatry. The first details our trust in the things of earth, which is the worship of things instead of God. The second passage is about worrying whether God’s providence can ever be sufficient! Isn’t it odd that some folks believe that they can do a better job at caring for their needs than God can! And the wealthy of earth have no exclusive hold on this attitude.
There is no difference whether we are anxious over what we have and how we are going to keep it, or whether we are anxious over what we do not have and how we are going to get by without it! Either way, it shows a general lack of confidence in the Lord and his plan for our lives.

Why are we so reluctant to put it all in the Lord’s hands? We can see the extent that God has gone to to prove his love for us, we can see the power of his Being, we can see the wisdom of his guidance throughout the centuries and the lack of wisdom when we try to take life into our own hands. We constantly get proof that our own decisions, at best, are inadequate, and yet many never change.
But that is exactly what Jesus taught and expected from those who follow him. Change, trust, growth, follow, and give our lives to him so they can be made right.

Pastor Ron Mehl wrote:
Jesus is able to take what I've entrusted to him in the dark and work it all together in the light.
--Ron Mehl

His Light, and our darkness. Those are the choices that are before us. We can live within his perfection, or stumble in our inadequacy; it can be his eternal life, or our narrow and limited one; his immeasurable joy, or our anxiety and fears and hopelessness; his grace and glory, or our condemnation and sin.
Which sounds better to you? Letting Jesus rework us into something that is righteous and holy, or trying, (and failing!), to do it all in our own way? The choice should be obvious, but the people of earth still think that their way is best, and our Lord has called his church to share his message with all who will stand still long enough to listen.

And our opportunity to do that very thing will be coming to us in September at the community tent revival. And once again, we will have a choice to make – will we heartily embrace the effort and be an integral part of the event, or will we decide that there are other things that will be better uses of our time.

Will you choose the Light of Jesus, or the darkness of earth? We must choose carefully!

“Living the Righteous Life”

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-18

In our journey toward Lent, we have seen how God is constantly at work in and through our lives, and how our emotions, in particular anger, lust and revenge, can trip us up in our walk with the Lord. Knowledge of both God’s love and our failure to show him love are vital to our understanding of the way he works in our lives, and today, we take one more look at our relationship with Jesus.
Jesus is still preaching to the crowd during his Sermon on the Mount, and they are still listening intently. And as he moves further into his instruction of what the Father expects of those who would follow him, he comes to our passage for today. In this, he addresses three issues that are important in our expression of love for the Almighty – prayer, forgiveness, and fasting. And as we will discover, scripture has quite a lot to say about each of these.

It’s been said that the things that keep marriages and relationships fresh and alive is the ability to change, to be flexible, to adapt.
- Homiletics OnLine

And since God is unchanging, that means, apparently, that we are the ones who must change. And rightly so. God never moves away from us – it is humanity who has done the side stepping. So without further delay, let’s begin our movement back toward our Lord as we go to his Word.

Read Matthew 6:5-13

The need and power of prayer? Over and over again, prayer plays a dynamic part in the lives of Israel and the early church. 1) Remember the plagues in Egypt? 4 of them - frogs, flies, hail and thunder, and locust – were relieved only by prayer (Exodus 7:14-12:30). 2) Prayer has always been the means of repentance for the people of God. In the Hebrew texts, prayer can seem to be the sole right of Israel, but God was always hearing and responding to the prayers of all people (2 Chronicles 6:32-33). 3) In Jeremiah, we read of several instances when God told the prophet that he shouldn’t pray for the people because they had lost all love for him, and had, instead, turned to other gods (ex. Jeremiah 7:16-20; 11:14-17; 14:11-12). 4) But in Jeremiah 29:11-14, God says that if the people will turn back to him, he will, once again, listen to their prayers. The Lord hears the prayers of the faithful, and is deaf to false prayer.
In the New Testament, Jesus begins to put a whole new spin on prayer. 5) In Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28, he tells us to pray for blessings for our enemies. 6) In many passages, we see the Lord slipping away from his disciples to spend personal time in prayer with the Father – for Jesus, prayer was as much a time for communication and relationship building as it was for petition (Luke 5:16; 6:12). 7) He told the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector who were in the temple praying, and that the humble prayer was received, and the arrogant one was not (Luke 18:9-14). Prayer should serve to glorify God and never ourselves.
And the examples could go on and on. Jesus tells us that hypocritical prayer – that which is done solely to impress others and has little to do with God – will receive no recognition from heaven, for they have received their glory from earth and you can’t have it both ways.

Read Matthew 6:14-15

The Hebrew writings seem to center more on God’s forgiveness than on ours. If a person wanted to offer forgiveness to someone else, many times it would be by asking God to forgive them. The general teachings, though were that you had to forgive another person 3 times, and then they had to depend on the mercy of God. Forgiveness was seen primarily as God’s action, not ours (Zechariah 13:1). And the Pharisees were focused on this teaching when they confronted Jesus in his offering forgiveness to the paralytic (Luke 5:17-26). But in Matthew 18:21-22, we see Peter asking how many times we should forgive each other. He suggests that it might be the “perfect” 7 times, far more than the law required, but Jesus tells him that it is far more – that we must forgive until our forgiveness is complete. As a matter of fact, Jesus tells us that we must forgive completely, or God will be unable to forgive us (Luke 6:37-38). And even on the cross, Jesus seeks forgiveness for those who hate him so much (Luke 23:34), and we are to do the same in our lives.
Forgiveness is a blessing that has been placed in our hands, and we have the power to forgive or not forgive, and whatever our decision is, it will be final (also John 20:19-23). And the implication here is not that we get to choose, but that we are to forgive, regardless. Not 3 times, not 7 times, but as much as is necessary! Quite a responsibility that the Lord has placed on us, isn’t it! And we need to use it wisely.

Read Matthew 6:16-18

Fast, but don’t let anyone know that you are doing it. Sounds strange, but think of it this way - fasting has been called a form of body prayer, and a few verses ago, Jesus told us that the best prayer is when we do it in solitude. Fasting, however, isn’t actually done in solitude, but simply in a personal way. In Isaiah 58, the prophet chastises the people for not letting their days of fasting make a difference in their lives. Perhaps the best way to get a feel for this issue is by comparison. Here are just a few that I recently read:

Fast from criticism, and feast on praise.
Fast from self-pity, and feast on joy.
Fast from ill-temper, and feast on peace.
Fast from resentment, and feast on contentment.
Fast from jealousy, and feast on love.
Fast from pride, and feast on humility.
Fast from selfishness, and feast on service.
Fast from fear, and feast on faith.
-- Source unknown

And there can be many more if we think about them. When we fast, we set the world aside for a period of time, and feast on the things that God would have in our lives. Now normally, fasting includes a time of abstaining from food, but today, there are many who are unable to do this for medical reasons. But the lack of food is only a portion of the purpose of a true fast. It’s about intentionally initiating a new and better way of life.
As we read though Isaiah 58, we discover that it’s the breaking of our normal, everyday routine that is important. He says that we should be sharing the food we didn’t eat with those who are hungry; we are to do something that will break the chains of injustice; to show love to the oppressed; to have some service project that you wouldn’t normally be involved in; to spend time in prayer and study - it’s about making this day a day that is holy in the sight of the Lord.

When I fast, I try to choose a day that has a particular significance to me, and dedicate it to God by doing many of the things that Isaiah suggests. 24 hours is not a long time to go without food, at least it isn’t for me, and at meal times, I try to drink a bottle of water or some clear fruit juice. I even give up coffee for the day, believe it or not (!), and there have been several times that I have broken my fast with communion. And no one knows why or what I do, even those who I may be helping, so that I can give all honor and praise to the Lord.

Jesus teaches us about these things to inspire us to become someone different. A new way to pray, a complete way to forgive, a holy way of fasting – all of it intended to lead us in his righteousness. Remember Nicodemus and his night time visit to Jesus? (John 3:1-21) Jesus told the Pharisee that he had to be born again – he had to become a new creature, he had to begin a new way of life, he had to be created anew in God’s image.
As we continue in our journey toward Lent, I want to encourage you to try some, if not all, of these acts of righteousness on a regular basis. Take time to get off by yourself to spend time in prayer and meditation with God. Place an emphasis on a relationship that has been damaged, and begin to bring healing to it by, first, asking God to forgive your part in the injury, and then to complete the healing by forgiving the other person for their part in the separation. Select a day, and without anyone else ever knowing why, spend some time in personal prayer and in serving the needs of others, and fast during that time, if at all possible. And if you make this a regular weekly focus, and even continue it right through Lent and up to Easter, I expect that you will be richly blessed.

My friends, we have to start breaking our routine of earthly living, and begin fresh by living as Jesus would have us live, and this season is the perfect time to do it. And when you do, the new life that you will soon discover will become your witness to the world.

“The Curse of our Emotions”

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-32; 34-48

Today, we consider the second message from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount by looking at five of his topics – all of which, I think, have a common theme – that of how our emotions can work against us, how they can hold us back, and what we can do about them.

Bob Zuppke was head coach for the University of Illinois football program in the early 20th century (1913-1941). He was renowned for the fire and fervor of his half-time pep talks.
One afternoon, his team hit the locker room [at the half] well behind in both points and enthusiasm. Zuppke began talking to them and the more he talked, the louder and more dramatic his voice became. The momentum built in the players, too. Then the coach pointed to the door at the far end of the locker room and said, “Now go out there and win this game!”
Filled with emotion the players got off the bench, ran toward the door and charged through it. But it was the wrong door, and one by one, [the entire team] fell into the swimming pool!

It is one thing to be all charged up - it is quite another thing to be headed in the right direction.

-As related by David Tyler Scoates, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We are not going to dissect our God-given gift of human emotions, we are not going to put a valve or cap on them, and we aren’t going to start condemning them. Jesus didn’t do any of those things – he simply warns us about how unfettered emotion can cause problems in our relationships, and advises us on how we can live in a better way. He wants us to head in the right emotional, as well as spiritual, direction.

So let’s begin.

Read Matthew 5:21-26

Anger is a tough one, isn’t it? It seems to crop up at the worst possible times, and it very well may be the most difficult emotion to control. But we have to remember that scripture doesn’t tell us that we should never get angry. Proverbs 14:29 reminds us that “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but one who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” Ephesians 4:26 tells us “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger”

In essence, Jesus and Solomon (if, indeed, he is true author of Proverbs) and Paul tell us that we all will become angry from time to time, but that we can never let it control our lives. As a matter of fact, in verse 22 of our Matthew passage, Jesus tells us that we are not to even speak out in anger. The word “Raca”, which Jewish law says is sinful to utter, is an expression of contempt. And to call someone a “fool” is just as bad. Proverbs and Ephesians both call us to temper our anger. Don’t let it leap up in your face at the slightest hint of disagreement. If you are to become angry, let it come slowly so you can deal with it. Paul tells us that we are not to be sinful in our anger, that it isn’t to last. Let it come, and then set it aside.
Now you may be thinking “That’s all well and good, but the doing is not always easy.” True – very true. And I can only suggest that if you believe that you have a problem with anger, if you aren’t living up to the thoughts expressed by Jesus or Solomon or Paul, start by, first, becoming aware of your anger, and second, ask the Lord to forgive you, and finally, ask for forgiveness for your friend’s comment or action. First you, then others. If you practice this every day, your attitude toward life will eventually improve radically.

Read Matthew 5:27-30

Lust in this context is about having sexual thoughts about someone else, and Jesus tells us that lustful looks and thoughts are just as bad as actually committing the act. Now in this regard, I will never pretend to understand, or speak on behalf of, women and their attitudes toward men, but I do know that men’s eyes will almost always be drawn toward a woman who they find attractive. It is part of our makeup, and there isn’t much that we can do about it. A pastor friend of mine put this in perspective many years ago. He said “If you look at a woman, that isn’t lust. But if you look a second time, you’ve just fallen.” Another way to think about this is “Looking at someone isn’t the sin. The sin comes when you begin making plans!”
This is the entire issue with pornography. It’s about emotional imaging in a sexual context. And the sin isn’t only on the one who is receiving the images – it is also on those who exploit others in the production of the material.
Lust is all pervasive, and in our society, sexual practices that go beyond those condoned is scripture have become an everyday occurrence, and have become generally acceptable, even within many churches.
Enough said about Lust.

Read Matthew 5:31-32

A couple quick comments regarding divorce. Most divorces today comes about because of “hasty anger” that continues to fester in a person’s life. Jesus said “Cut it out!” And as for the marital unfaithfulness, many see this only as sexual unfaithfulness, but I think that it may be more than that – that it is unfaithfulness to the marriage covenant, which would include abuse and other violence against a spouse. Anger, lust, and personal self-centeredness – nothing good can ever come from any of these.

Read Matthew 5:38-42

Revenge is anger that retaliates. And Jesus is calling us to a retaliation that is 180 degrees out of sync with what society would suggest. The Lord would have us respond to unreasonable demands by giving far more than is being required. It’s no longer about the law in Leviticus 24:17-22 – it’s now about “turning the other cheek”, regardless of what has been done to you. Again, don’t let your anger rule your life. Give it all over the Jesus!
And we still ask “How many times must I forgive?” In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus tells us forgive as much as is necessary – not as much as you want to, but as much as required to heal the relationship.

Read Matthew 5:43-48

And now we get to the bottom line regarding our emotions. You may have noticed that it is some form of anger that causes nearly all of our problems, and what does Jesus say the solution is? Love.
Trivia quiz – “How many books in the New Testament contain the word love at least one time?”
Answer – 26 out of 27!
Which book in the translations (and I checked through many, not including paraphrases) does not contain the word love?
Answer – Acts!

And the writers isn’t talking about “flower power” love, or mushy, fluffy love, or shallow and insincere love. Scripture is talking about a love that is so radical and so all inclusive that it overpowers every other human emotion that we can imagine. All of the other, more negative emotions, while they should be seen as blessings, are more of a curse on our human lives. They cause us to do things that we know, all too well, that we shouldn’t do in the first place.
Jesus’ kind of love overcomes all of the curses that our emotional outbursts bring down on us, because his kind of love doesn’t just cover over a problem, it resolves it. Love your enemies and pray for good things in their lives. Love those who persecute you. Love those who want to harm you. Love those who want to take every possession that you own away from you. Love those who don’t love you, and who, in all probability, never will.
Extreme negatives call for extreme solutions. Has someone hurt you with an unkind word? Love them back. Has someone stolen from you? Give them a little more, and love them. Are you considering the best way to get even with someone? The best way is to love them.
Romans 12:14-21 Let the Lord take care of the evil. In the meantime, neutralize evil, reduce the effect of the curse in whatever the situation is, and do it with the goodness of the Lord. Love them into submission. Why? Because we are to be one with Christ, and this is exactly what he did over and over again.
I know – it’s easier to say it than it is to do it. But just try it – you have to start somewhere!

“The Works of God”

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-20

From now until Lent begins, we will be taking a look at a few of the messages that come to us from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Of course, 5 weeks is in no way sufficient to cover all of the sermon, so we’ll just have to consider some of the other ones at a later date.
The overall tone of the Lord’s message offers teachings in 3 general areas – discipleship, trust in God, and the moral way for all who would profess a relationship with the Lord.

During his presidency, Abraham Lincoln regularly attended worship services at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. The pastor was Dr. Phineas Gurley. On one particular evening, while walking home from church, an aide asked President Lincoln about Dr. Gurley's sermon. The President replied in fragmented phrases: The content was excellent...he delivered it with eloquence...he had put work into the message...
“Then you thought it was a great sermon?” asked the aide.
“No”, replied the President. “Dr. Gurley forgot the most important ingredient. He forgot to ask us to do something great!”
- From Homiletics Online

Jesus wants us to know greatness. As we journey toward Lent, open your hearts to each of Jesus’ teachings, and consider what great thing he may be asking you to do.

Read Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus calls the church to be three things – salt, a light to the world, and a city that is obvious, strong, and focused. But what do each of these imply for our lives?
Each of them is an attribute that every disciple of Jesus should strive to exhibit. None of these– not salt or light or a great city - exist for their own benefit. They are for the lives that experience them. And we who follow cannot see our life in faith as an “end all” mission to benefit ourselves – we are to be a witness and blessing to the world.

The term “salt” can have any number of meanings. In Leviticus 2:13, we read that Israel was to add salt to all grain offerings, as a sign of the covenant they had with God. As such, Jesus may have been reminding his followers of the importance of loyalty in their relationship with Almighty God. In 2 Kings 2:19-22, Elisha uses salt to make a spring of bad water good to drink, so salt can also be seen as a sign of healing and new life. And we all know that salt is used to season and flavor our food, and that not so long ago, it was used to preserve meat for long periods of time.
In being called to be “The salt of the earth”, we are 1) to remember our covenant with God – that we are to be loyal to the one who has saved us, and to allow him to use these lives as he desires; 2) that we are to be healers in the world – not necessarily in a physical sense, but in relationships that have been damaged between people, and between them and the Lord; 3) to help others to experience the true “flavor” of a life in Christ; and 4) to be intentional in our efforts in preserving the truth and fullness of the Christian faith.

Then there is the “light of the world” – at first glance, this could be seen as a call for us to actually be that light, but I believe that Jesus is calling us to be his light-bearers throughout the world. Light itself is not what is important, the thing that is to be seen. The important issue is whatever is being illuminated by its light. The Light of Christ is that which presents the truth of God, that exposes false faith and other evils, that reveals obstacles in our faith walk that can trip us up. The world is filled with darkness, and while darkness is used to hide things and people, the light reveals those things for all to see.
Again, the light is not for light’s purpose – it is God’s gift to the world, and the displaying of his Light is our mission to the people of the earth.

And the city on a hill – what’s that all about? It is, I believe, a symbol representing the Church. A city on a hill can be seen from a long way off, it is highly defensible, and can be a place of refuge for those who are under attack. The Church must be obvious in a very powerful and Godly way, it must be defended against all who would pervert and attack it, and it must be available and open and supportive to all who are struggling and persecuted and oppressed.

Jesus was, himself, each of these. Jesus is our salt –faithful in his relationship to the Father and to us, he is the one who makes true faith possible, he is the one who preserves us for eternity; Jesus is the light – he illuminates our sins and helps us to reject them, he lights our way through this world and into the next, and he exposes false teaching and false prophets for what they truly are – lies; and Jesus is the city – he is our refuge and our strength. And he calls each and every person who would be his disciple to be the same for others.

Read Matthew 5:17-20

This passage has been a difficult lesson for people throughout the ages. He has come, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. And yet, the Lord was constantly in hot water with the Pharisees because he always seemed to be contradicting the law of the day, and he flat out ignored many of them. He healed people without the benefit of the temple’s priestly order, and there were even a few he healed on the Sabbath; he associated with the wrong kinds of people, such as Samaritans, women, tax collectors, and those other “unclean” people; he forgave sin, when everyone knew that only God could do that (!); and his teachings were, in general, constantly in conflict with those of the Pharisees. a
And in his sermon, he says that he has not come to abolish the law, and will actually be fulfilling it. As a matter of fact, not a single word of it will ever be taken away! Is it any wonder that there is confusion over this matter? The truth is there, though. In the New International Version, the word “Law” is capitalized, and when I checked about 25 other translations and paraphrases, about ½ had the same or similar emphases. The implication is that the Law (capitalized) refers to God’s law, and not the general law that is attributed to Moses. As a matter of fact, only the New Living Translation and Peterson’s The Message actual use the words “God’s Law”.

Remember that Israel placed a very high regard in the ritual of faith – sacrifice, adherence to personal laws, and so on. They believed that failure to do so would incur the wrath of God, and your relationship with him could be irreparably damaged. Jesus turned it all around by deemphasizing the things we do, and rightly placed the emphasis on faith in God and morality with each other. He never eliminated “good works” from our efforts, but they no longer could gain eternal life for us. They would become a response to faith, and not a means to it.

So, Jesus is telling us that God’s Law will never change in any way, shape or form. And not only are we not to break these Laws, we aren’t to teach, or even encourage, others to break the Law. He says that those who do will be called “least” in heaven. I’m not sure what “least” actually means in this context, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't a good thing!

Jesus tells us that our righteousness – our faith – must be greater than that of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Their entire approach to faith was about earning your way into God’s good graces, of condemning anyone who thought differently, of believing that perfection in this life had to be achieved by doing things perfectly. But Jesus would teach us that there is no human way to earn perfection in this life – that salvation can only come through faith in him and trust in his great acts of redemption.

At the beginning of this message, I mentioned that there were three aspects to Jesus sermon – discipleship, trust in God, and living a moral life. We certainly covered the first, at least in part – that a disciple of his must live as he lived – to be faithful in bringing a true and joy filled faith to the world, to carry the light of Christ wherever we go, and to live our faith in an obvious and natural way.
As for “trust in God”, we are to know that his Laws are good and that they can never be changed. As for morality - the way we live with each other within God’s Laws - we will see some specifics later in this series. And later, Jesus will reemphasize this when he says that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God (trust) with all that you are, and that the second is to love your neighbor (live morally) as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40)

So for this week, let’s begin focusing on our discipleship – the way we walk and the way we talk with our Lord. That we don’t do it just on Sunday, or when we are in the presence of other Christians, but all the time – when we are in the checkout line at the grocery store, when we get cut off in traffic, when we become angry over something that happens at home, when we are choosing a show or movie to watch on television, when we decide on an activity for our spare time, and on and on.
And when the Spirit of the Lord speaks to us, let’s not say “later”, or “maybe”, or even “soon”. Let the Lord be our guide every moment, of every hour, of every day. And when we do, we will be on the way to being “called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
And that will be a glorious day indeed!