Sermon On the Net

 

 

SEEK

 

 

Matthew 7: Jesus tells the disciples not to judge because they too will be judged by the same standards they used, verse 1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with measure you use, it will be measured to you.” And do not try to teach people who are obviously not interested in the Good News of salvation. This is more then a judgment, it is plain common sense. He tells them to ask for their needs and they will be granted. The prerequisite here is that we must first seek and then it will be given to us. In everything He wants them to do to others the same as they would want done to themselves.

 

Jesus explains how much easier the road to destruction is as compared to righteousness. This is the reason relatively few find salvation. They must be constantly on the lookout for false teachers. They may look and act the part but they will not be real, verse 15; “Watch out for false prophets. They will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” He explains they will be able to recognize them by their fruit. There will be many who will proclaim a god but it will not be the Lord himself; they will be false prophets or teachers.

 

People who hear the words of the Lord and put them into practice will be strong in faith, whereas those who hear and not listen will be weak and without faith. The people were amazed at the authoritative teaching of Jesus. He didn’t need to rely on or quote the sayings of other teachers or rabbi’s as they would all do.

 

Aside from the rules and practices Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount it is my opinion that the sermon can be summed up in two thoughts; the first is faith in and worship of the Lord; and the second is to treat others as you would want to be treated. The result would be a utopian world or as I would rather phrase it, it would be Heaven on earth.

 

My friends if you do not know Jesus as your Savior; please take a moment and ask Him to come into your heart. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and accept what He did on the cross for you by paying for your sins. He will grant you your wish, believe me; and you will have eternal life. I pray for you all daily for blessings and salvation.

 

Sermon On the Net

 

 

THE LORD KNOWS

 

Matthew 6:1,Jesus instructs His disciples not to do things for people’s approval: “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.”  When they give to the needy they should not announce it to anyone; as the hypocrites do. People who do these things and want everyone to know will receive their ‘reward’ but not from God. The Lord knows all and sees all.

 

When you pray, pray in secret for the Lord knows and that is all that matters: verse 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 men.” Verse 6: “But when you pray go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father.” Many people pray to impress others and babble and babble. Jesus warns against this and gives the disciples a model or concept of prayer. Unfortunately many people today call this concept the Lord’s Prayer and pray those exact words over and over again. The words are wonderful and full of meaning but I believe Jesus told the disciples not to babble with the same words.

 

When you fast Jesus says, do so without making a big deal out of it and not to do it in such a way as to attract the attention of many. He says inverse 16, “When you fast do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.” He also speaks against storing up treasures on this earth as they will rot and rust and be worthless. He encourages doing those things that will count in Heaven.

 

Jesus instructs them not to worry because worry does absolutely nothing. He compares them to the birds of the air and the lilies in the fields to show they are provided for by God and He will provide much more for His people, verse 25 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” Concerns about what one wears or eats or what tomorrow will be like should not be a priority in one’s life.

 

Jesus does such a wonderfully simple exhortation of what the life of a Christian should be by contrasting it with the unsaved people of the world, as to how they think and what motivates them. We could live a very peaceful existence if we followed His advice. Each day is a gift from God and we should live it to the fullest in the way Jesus is telling the disciples about life. John 10:10 says, I have come so they may live life to the full.” I do believe He has a formula for a wonderful life, a life, I believe He meant for us to live as He meant us too when we were created; let’s give it a try. What can it hurt if we do things for our Father in Heaven? This leads me to my final thought on this chapter which deals with the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ and its purpose, which I believe is to be a model for our thoughts in prayer, as I already mentioned, and in secret and with God alone. We must understand that God wants us to talk with Him and to fully appreciate this thought we need go no further than scripture itself. When Jesus prayed to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, what prayer did He recite? Why none of course, He simply spoke to Him. This is our example of prayer, talk to Him. As Jesus so aptly put it, “don’t babble” just talk to Him.

 

 

 

Sermon On the Net

 

 

SERMON ON THE MOUNT

 

 

Matthew 5: The Sermon on the Mount does not present the way of salvation, but the way of righteous living for members of God’s family. It was a message of ‘repent’ for the Jews of that day and also an elaboration of the law. It is a detailed description of the righteousness of God and is applicable to us today.

 

Verses 1-12 express God’s attitude towards truly Godly people, with blessings upon those who are seeking righteousness and are being persecuted for His sake. We are like a light on a hill and should portray a Godly life as best we can, if we don’t our testimony will be worthless. No one covers a light that is to be used to open people’s hearts and minds. We are to glorify God.

 

In verse 17 Jesus says: “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” His point is that every letter of the Old Testament is vital and will be fulfilled. We are not to commit murder. And not be angry with our brother, if we are we should do everything possible for a reconciliation. We are not to commit adultery nor divorce our spouses except in the case of adultery. We are not to make oaths, instead a simple yes or no should suffice. We should strive to be peace makers, in lieu of always retaliating in the same way people might act against us. We should also strive to love everyone, even our enemies and pray for them. Let us remember that God is in control of all things. Lastly we should strive to live our lives as Godly as we can.

 

The Sermon on the Mount should be read and studied by every child of God. Here is where we can learn to live in a manner worthy of being a child of God. Here we can learn what we should be to exemplify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you have yet to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, I pray you would take a moment and ask Jesus to come into your heart. There is only one name under Heaven whereby we can be saved and Jesus is it. Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” God bless you all and your loved ones as well.

 

 

 

 

Sermon On the Net

FOLLOW ME

 

MATTHEW 4: Jesus had just finished 40 days of fasting in the desert and Satan showed up. He tried to tempt Jesus to change the stones into bread and Jesus’ reply inverse 4 was; “it is written that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

 

Then the devil took Him to the highest point of the temple and again tried to tempt Him, telling Him to jump from the temple and not be concerned because it is written that the angels will lift Him up. Jesus’ reply in verse 7 was, “It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Then Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and said he would give Him all that He could see if He would only bow down and worship him. Jesus told Satan to get lost and that He would worship only God, as it is written: verse 10 says, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

 

When Jesus learned of John’s imprisonment He went to Galilee and then on to Capernaum to live, which was a fulfillment of prophecy found in Isaiah 9:1-2. From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near,” verse 17.

 

One day Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew and told them to follow Him: “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they followed Him, ( A demonstration of faith and obedience). As they continued to walk they came across James and John and they, also, followed Jesus.

 

This chapter is the beginning of Jesus’ preaching and the gathering of His disciples. A great lesson to be learned here is the response of the disciples He first recruited. They followed Him immediately without thinking about it; a sure sign of faith. People today need to do the same, ‘drop’ what they’re thinking and turn to Jesus in faith and He will do the rest. The second great lesson to be learned is Jesus’ words to Satan; “…man shall live on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” And these words (God’s words) are found in the Bible, and we should live in accordance to His desire for us. Some people don’t take the Bible literally and that, in my opinion, is a grave mistake. Remember that Jesus said “every word.”

 

Personally I find it very comforting to follow that advice. I try to adhere to the instructions of the Bible and while it is not always possible, being human, it certainly is a goal to which I aspire. I do not try to change the Bible in any way. If you look in the book of Revelation, chapter 22, verses 18-19, you’ll read that God does not want anything added to or taken away from that book. If this advice is not followed the consequences are very severe.

 

Readers, I plead with you, keep it simple, and follow it. If you don’t know the Lord Jesus as Savior, please stop for a moment and pray that He will come into your heart as your personal Savior. This is a faith step, I’ll admit, but if you take it the evidence will follow.