Seeking The Kingdom of Heaven - The Sermon On The Mount
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good morning God bless you welcome if you're new here Among Us my name is Gene I serve here at C3 Church as your pastor and I wonder has anyone here ever fallen asleep in church ever fallen asleep in church so I have not that I can remember maybe when I was a little baby I did but not recently but I've been on the other end of this thing I've been preaching and then someone fell asleep that's actually happened several times one time it was really funny if you've been here for a long time you probably remember it it was like actually snoring during the sermon and it was weird because I'm thinking like why isn't anyone like nudging him it was very strange thinking well on for a while but it doesn't offend me really at all because if you've been here for a while you know that the majority of the sermon are scriptures so if you fall asleep you fell asleep on Jesus that's what you did so it wasn't just on me I don't take offense but I heard a story about a guy who was always fallen asleep in church every week it was one of those like like full head tilt back snoring pastors like me it really didn't bother him too much the main thing with me is I just have to restrain myself from making jokes or making fun of the person I try to be nice be nice the holy spirit's like being nice Jane all right so you know I'm get really tempted to go up to the person after the service and ask him a question right you know just a question so um the sermon yeah what was your favorite part yeah so I restrained myself I try my best to be nice God's still working on me here but this guy he's better than me he doesn't even care but the wife is really embarrassed because everyone's kind of looking at the guy so she nudges him and then he goes right back to sleep one day she's in the grocery store and she's in the cheese section and she passes by some Limburger cheese now if you know anything about this cheese I hope I said it right but it smells like feet light bulb goes off so she waits till Sunday and she puts a little piece of it in a plastic bag and puts it in her purse and waits sure enough Pastor blah blah blah blah so he goes to sleep now everybody's looking instead of nudging she takes the cheese out and everyone's watching even the pastor stops right now is like really it puts a cheese right there on his nose no one's waiting for it he does it and he wakes up and before he realizes where he is he says woman keep your feet on your side of the bed so uh you know what's more embarrassing the snoring or having that said out loud in church now you're all nervous like oh I hope I don't fall asleep don't worry I didn't bring any cheese with me today you should be just fine so we I'm really excited today because indeed we're going to do the sermon on the mountain today I've done this before so this time I learned my lesson I'm going to do a little bit of a preface because there's some things that are not obvious and I found that out in the past right so um we've done this before we're going to do it again hopefully this time it's a little bit better I want to just explain some stuff to you because I want to give you some background right so we're really trying it's kind of sad that we have to do this here in America but we kind of have to rebuild a true biblical worship culture it's it's really weird and so when we start thinking about the way things are now and then you compare them to what the Bible says you're like why do we do that right so I'm going to kind of we're gonna we're gonna read we're going to hear the best sermon ever preached in the world in history ever right so nobody can do anything better than this but I want to give you the backdrop right so what's going on around this sermon so I've explained this before and there's another part of the culture building in the past we're looking at larger sections of text this is really important and I give this analogy like every way you could give it but essentially we don't read the Bible we most of our culture doesn't read the Bible like we read any other book so if you read a book you borrowed it from your friend right imagine that you borrow a book from your friend right how long are you going to have it before you ask for it back right his favorite book all right I don't know a couple months like after a year it's like dude you're gonna read the book or not all right but what if you had it forever you were just like I'm stealing it I'm never giving it back because I'm reading it one line randomly just all over the place that's how I've decided to read this book sound crazy right that's how we read the Bible right one line at a time that an app feeds you so you have no idea what the context is if you're reading it that way you just don't and that's why so many bad teachings are out there there's no context there's you just have no idea what it means just say that so we're trying to look at larger sections of the text and at least give you the context so that's what we're going to do here Matthew chapters five through seven a lot of people don't realize that is The Sermon on the Mount so like in the middle of Jesus a sermon about a third way through it's not like chapter six you know and then he keeps talking right no it doesn't work that way it's just he's going straight through no one interrupts him it doesn't say that anybody interrupts him like they don't stop the Bible study that week and then come back to Jesus a sermon right to be a bad way to listen to my sermon there's an Aaron like now I can't leave either right so now you can leave if you want to so anyway it's just a bad way to read the Bible and we do that so we're going to look at a larger section I've been making charts I want to give you kind of the setup and the backdrop here so let's just look at the chart art so again we're going to go straight through Matthew five through seven we're not going to get up and walk out on Jesus's sermon this morning but here I'm attaching it to last week the circumstance that you have if you read the gospels is that the apostles are chosen so the disciples are chosen then he has all these crowds starting from remember John the Baptist did the handoff right like I must decrease he must he's increasing so a lot of people are following him and now he's going to have these crowds coming at him um so what you're going to notice here is that it's Matthew 5 through 7 and Luke 6 also 11. this is where it gets confusing I want to help you guys a little bit with it there are some possibilities here so the gospels are run in parallel-ish and then they'll kind of like photo montage think of it like that right so they're just deciding to place things in different places so here you have two possibilities in Luke one is Luke 6 is what some call the sermon on the plane right it's not The Sermon on the Mount and so you'll notice in some text that I'm going to read you he comes down from the mountain and then it seems like he may be preaching again like uh basically like second service right so something like that right so he does kind of a short version of the sermon again right you missed all the good parts I'll just give you this could could be happening could be luke just recalling certain parts of the sermon this is the part of the sermon that we're going to do right here these are the parts that Luke is thinking of so they're just possibilities as to why Luke put these things there but essentially they're running in perilish it could be another time that this is happening then all the way in Luke 11 you get a short version of we what we know is The Lord's Prayer and then some other things some clarifications about getting from your father which is interesting so what I did is I put them all in here so we're gonna weave Luke through Matthew I encourage you to follow along but if you are and all of a sudden you're like what's he doing there it's Luke so you got to jump over there I'm just putting Luke in topically so if Jesus is talking about it it's almost The Identical teaching I'm just putting it in there right so here is some setup I just I kind of want to give you some background because it kind of surprises people when they hear it and this is the part of the problem we're trying to kind of correct here it is nothing like sermons of today nothing it's nothing like it at all so it's a lot more scripture a lot more hard-hitting topics Jesus is not worried about stepping on toes and he doesn't apologize you ever hear pastors do that like they'll read the Bible and they go you know I'm sorry when's the last time Jesus needed you to apologize for him he's not right so not apologetic he's not softening up for anyone kind of hear this so it's very very very different there are probably about 19 different points that he fires through and so when I first became a pastor I started preaching like that I'm like well Jesus does that I should do that right and I had people come up to be like that's too many scriptures you know you got to do one big idea right and then maybe one two three verses of scriptures and then you know ramble on about it for 40 minutes that's what we want right tell more jokes and I'm like it doesn't sound right you know it just doesn't sound like the Bible so here's the thing and this is the mindset we have to adopt ready as far as preaching is concerned imagine this Jesus isn't wrong we are we have to remember that if it doesn't sound like the Bible it doesn't sound like Jesus we're wrong Jesus didn't mess up like he's doing it the right way so the other thing and I'm going to kind of give you some visuals there's no setup it's really funny there's no setup and so I've had this said to me I I've heard this that like you know you know what you need Pastor like you can preach yeah but you know what you really and this is actually a meeting this has been said and just again restraint restraint so you know what you need Pastor you need a professional worship team if you had a professional worship band they would set you up so much better you're like you'd be famous and our church would be huge I'd be like okay you have absolutely no idea what we're trying to do here do you right so been there done that don't need that right no no right so you know you got to warm them up a lot of pastors are like you know you got to warm the crowd up for me get ready for to get their hearts prepared for my message like that's not the worship band's job that's holy spirit's job right now so you're getting these things confused so you're going to notice that Jesus doesn't start his sermon by saying like I want to thank the worship team I man so hard not to cry I think aren't they so talented guys that's great so you don't even hear that because there is no worship team Jesus doesn't need to set up anything for him the word of God is enough so pay attention to that right uh also listen for the phrase the kingdom of heaven the Kingdom of Heaven this is your theme the kingdom of heaven what I'm going to do is I'm going to read you the sermon and I'm going to hit the pause button periodically not to interrupt Jesus but just to explain some things there are going to be some things that are not historically obvious if you don't know what's going on religiously culturally obvious so when it's not obvious I'll hit the pause button and just kind of explain it as quickly as I can to get right back to where Jesus is going I've tried to kind of break it up so it doesn't interrupt certain flows for you also this is kind of interesting I want you to experience this kind of the way they did so right they didn't have AC so you guys are all Lucky right so kind of the way they did in the sense that they heard it this is interesting a lot of people don't always catch this there's a lot about hearing the Bible in the Bible it's only from Moses Joshua Ezra you get all the way to the New Testament Jesus is going to say the word here a lot you have heard you're hearing who listens things like that Paul tells Timothy read the scriptures aloud to the church Colossians first Thessalonians Paul is telling them read these letters to the church so they're hearing it a lot Scholars debate but don't don't get lost right on these arguments as to the point what's actually happening they'll say maybe the literacy rate was low the Scrolls you know expensive you said Jesus remember last week went to the synagogue he reads from Isaiah they're hearing it it's a part of the experience I encourage you follow along in your Bible does good accountability for pastors you can do that if you want to follow along we're going to jump around a little bit but that's fine but the words will not be up on the screen as they normally are so you see kind of the setting there also the this is really funny because this this another restraint moment right so sometimes when people hear something they don't like right one sometimes all the time right they take it out on me which is totally cool like that's that's what we get trained for and paid for or they get mad at me like I said sometimes made this up so then what I do is I go okay this time I'm just going to read you the Bible then what do they do think of what version was that right I've gotten that right you know like what they heard what version was that I'm like well you know I went out of my way to pick the version that made the least sense you know what I mean but what are you asking me person like that's crazy so I you know I just like um you know I don't know I'm in my head I'm saying a lot so anyway here's what we're going to do and here's what I do because if you know me I'm a Bible nerd Bible's all over my house which translation do I read all of them every single one of them I love the Bible I love God's word and I like they kind of each one will bring me different insights and things if you know me really well you know I read from the Greek that is the best translation it's the original so I read from that too so I would probably be able to spot some really horrific mistakes I read from an NLT to you guys New Living Translation why because I'm trying not to be a snob I'm trying not to be a snobby scholar guy right so a lot of people get up and they're trying to show you how much they know right it's not my point I'm trying to teach you I want you to know what I know that's the point so an NLT I don't know someone could be like I don't know at a lower reading level third grade leading whatever it is the scholar well you should be understanding you know read your own version and follow along make the corrections or whatever so here's what I'm going to do I'm going to use the NLT it's generally real good uh it just it's like an explanatory translation it just explains more in case you don't understand it that's also the words might be added it's just trying to get you to understand what's going on here it's a good translation where it kind of I want to make a technical Point again I'll pause but I kind of bracket it in for myself you're not going to get the words here the Greek so if I'm saying anything different you're following along in NLT it's a little bit different again it's Luke I jumped or I'm pulling it from the Greek I'm saying we need to get a little more technical there so this is what's going on so here we go we have the backdrop here and I'm going to read you just the first the setup and then we'll get right into it what I want you to see a lot of people don't realize this is that if you know anything about the Bible Moses he goes up the mountain he goes up on Mount Sinai he goes up the mountain to get the law all right and then he's given all these different commands he goes up again thing with Aaron so he goes up the mountain he gets a lot Jesus Matthew wants to make it absolutely clear to you here Jesus goes up on the mountain does something different rabbi's then would sit down and preach but goes up on the mountain so you have this thing and the New Testament explains this for you if you keep reading you have the Mosaic law but then Jesus fulfilling the Mosaic law with the Messianic law this is what you have going this is what is at Play Jesus will say as much in the sermon so just pay attention to that right so it's like kind of like the new Moses if you will right so now you have the Messianic law and the Bible talks about that the law of Christ James the Royal law so he's fulfilled it one day so here's what you have going on as Jesus as he saw the crowds Gathering Jesus went up on the Mountainside and sat down his disciples gathered around him and it literally says in Greek he opened his mouth and began to teach them now in Luke as I said before if I hop over when they came down from the mountain the disciples stood with Jesus on a large level area surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds there were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and as far north as the Seacoast of tire and sidon they had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases and those troubled by evil spirits were healed everyone tried to touch him because healing power went out from him and healed everyone then Jesus turned to his disciples and said God blesses those who are poor or poor in spirit and realize their need for him for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs God blesses those who mourn for they will be comforted God blesses those who are humble for they will inherit the whole earth God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied God blesses those who are merciful for they will be shown Mercy God blesses those whose hearts are pure for they will see God God blesses those who work for peace for they will be called children of God God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right for the kingdom of God is theirs God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you're my followers be happy about it be very glad for a great reward awaits you in heaven and remember the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way what sorrow awaits you who are rich for you have your only happiness now what sorrow awaits you are fat and prosperous now for time of awful hunger awaits you what sorrow Waits you who laugh now for your laughing will turn into mourning and sorrow what sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds for their ancestors also praised false prophets pause how radically different is that greeting from your average Church greeting imagine that how radically different but again Jesus is not wrong we are the reward awaits you in heaven he continues you are the salt of the earth but look at his salt if it has lost its flavor can you make it salty again it'll be thrown out and trampled underfoot is worthless by men you are the light of the world like a city on a Hilltop that cannot be hidden throwing lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket instead a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house in the same way let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly father why pause so that everyone will praise your heavenly father not you we'll get to that Jesus will clarify he continues now this is a disclaimer so if you don't understand what's at play here a lot of people will pluck some verses out of here and you'll if you have you we'll get to this is a disclaimer remember he's preaching to Jewish people and we're going to see what goes on so he continues don't misunderstand why I've come I have not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets no I came to accomplish their purpose to fulfill I tell you the truth until Heaven and Earth disappear not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved so if you ignore or annul the least commandment and teach others to do the same you will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven but anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven but I warn you unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers religious law and the Pharisees you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven now pause you notice the words fulfilled until Jesus fulfills it again Mosaic law Messianic law so if there's any confusion about the law of Moses still being at play keep keep reading acts 15 Romans Galatians Hebrews 8-10 specifically it clarifies it right so we're under a new covenant the Royal law so don't get stuck there and Miss Jesus's Point again it's a Jewish audience and based on what he's about to say next they might think he's dismissing the law of Moses but I want you to listen for something remember I told you about heard he'll say you have heard but I say to you there's going to be six what they call antitheses right so I've been told to make it easier to understand uh opposites right or contrasts to to contrast here this is what Jesus or sorry their contrast Seer six of these contrasts Jesus is going to kind of Blaze through them I'm only going to pause a couple times because you'll need some clarity probably so Jesus continues you have heard that our ancestors were told you must not murder if you commit murder you are subject to judgment or liable to the court but I say if you are even angry with someone you are subject to judgment if you call someone an idiot you are in danger of being brought before the court and if you curse someone or say you fool you're in danger of the fires of hell so if you are presenting a gift at the altar then Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you leave your sacrifice or gift there at the altar go and be reconciled with that person then come offer your offering or sacrifice to God when you're on the way to court with your adversary settle your differences quickly otherwise your accuser May hand you over to the judge we'll hand you over an officer and you'll be thrown into prison if that happens you surely won't be free again until you have paid the last cent or penny you have heard the Commandment that says You must not commit adultery but I say anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart if your eye even your good eye or literally your right eye causes you to lust 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 and if your hand even your stronger hand or your right hand causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away for it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell you have heard the law that says a man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce but I say that a man who divorces his wife unless she's been unfaithful causes her to commit adultery and anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery pause another fancy word hyperbole right hyper volley it's an exact to overthrow in Greek and it's an exaggeration and sometimes a wild one now here's where you have to be reading the whole section I read you that section all the way through on purpose very very intentionally right because here's what happens and I've had this this happen where someone will get legalistic right and they'll get literal so it's literal so they'll take that last part to kind of hammer someone who's been divorced they said well if you've divorced your wife and you remarry you're committing adultery all right legalistic and literal it's literally adultery okay um well let's Jesus kind of in the same breath let's take a look at a couple things here um well if you're angry with someone right so you're curious okay well but then we have uh these different things here like um committing adultery right so if anything causes you to sin what pull your eye out why are you still looking at me you know you know because wait a minute what does Jesus say that is like if you've even looked at a woman with lust you did it you're gonna take that part literally too okay right so okay let's get the spoon let's go let's get rid of that eye all right well we gotta take it literally right it's almost in the same breath right so here's kind of a funny thing now I'm going to say something crazy but think if you want to take that all litter again you should not be able to pick anything up anymore or see anything but again if you want to take maybe your righteousness this is amazing so but let's take it all literally all right what was the reason Jesus said that you could get a divorce adultery unfaithfulness adultery okay how did Jesus say you committed adultery just by looking at a woman with lust Jesus makes getting a divorce pretty easy doesn't he think about it so careful hyperbole you want to be very careful what's the point though the point is is that Jesus is really pay attention this is serious this is important that's the point right so not a big fan of divorce of course not a fan of adultery right so but be very careful about legalism and taking things too literally otherwise okay get rid of it I don't know you go first all right Jesus you have also heard that our ancestors were told you must not break your vows you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord but I say not make any vows do not say by Heaven because heaven is God's Throne do not say by the Earth because the Earth Is His footstool and do not say by Jerusalem for Jerusalem is the city of the great king do not even say by my head for you can't turn one hair white or black just say a simple yes I will or no I won't anything else or Beyond is from the evil one you have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury and I for an eye a tooth for a tooth but I say do not resist an evil person if someone slaps you on the right cheek offer the other cheek also if you are sued in court and you should have taken from you give your coat too if a soldier or one demands that you carry his gear for a mile carry it two miles give to those who are asking don't turn away from those who want to borrow pause a note on Injustice by Not Me by Jesus so the NLT puts soldier in there it just says one because people then would understand what is being talked about what could happen back then so Roman occupation Jewish people they could take you let's say you were one of these people and they could take you from work maybe you're late for an appointment something like that and they could say uh-uh come with me conscripted they can they can kind of drag you along and say this gear is too heavy right now you carry it so you get like maybe 50 pounds of gear that you have to carry for this Roman soldier for a mile that's not nice right is that a violation of your rights so what did Jesus say because of course they're complaining about this what are you going to do what should we do carry it two miles interesting he continues you have heard the law that says love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I say love your enemies pray for those who persecute you in that way you will be acting as true children of your father in Heaven for he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike if you love those only who love you what reward is there for that even corrupt Tax Collectors do that much if you are kind to only your friends or brothers how are you different from anyone else even pagans do that if you love only those who love you why should you get credit for that even Sinners love love those who love them and if you do good only to those who do good to you why should you get credit even Sinners do that much and if you lend money only to those who can repay you why should you get credit even Sinners lend to other Sinners for a full return love your enemies do good to them lend to them without expecting to be repaid then your reward from heaven will be very great they will truly be acting as children of the most high for he's kind to those who are unthankful and wicked it must be compassionate just as your father is compassionate you want to be perfect even as your father in Heaven is perfect watch out don't do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others or men for you will lose the reward from your father in Heaven when you give to someone in need don't do as the Hypocrites do blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of Charity honored by men I tell you the truth they have received all the reward they'll ever get but when you give to someone in need don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing give your gifts in private and your father who sees everything in secret will reward you now if we didn't walk out on Jesus's pause sermon yet we see some clarification on being that light on a hill interesting so in modern terms do your good deeds without the selfies continues on that point when you pray don't be like the Hypocrites who love to pray publicly on the street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them I tell you the truth that is all the reward they will ever get but when you pray go away by yourself shut the door behind you and pray to your father in private then your father who sees everything will reward you mix The Point again how do we pray then When you pray don't Babylon and on as the Gentiles do they think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again don't be like them for your father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him pray like this Our Father who is in heaven holy be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth that is it in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors and do not bring us into temptation but save or rescue us from the evil one for if you forgive those who sin against you your heavenly father will forgive you but if you refuse to forgive others your father will not forgive your sins pause notices that Jesus's endings a little different isn't that convenient that we leave those lines out yeah they're in there that's the real version and when you fast don't make it obvious as the Hypocrites do for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting I tell you the truth that is the only reward they'll ever get but when you fast comb your hair and wash your face then no one will notice that you are fasting except your father who knows what you do in private and your father who sees everything will reward you pause on that Salt and Light three clarifications now ah but that's not the part we like is it not the verse of the day three times again your deeds will be obvious to your father in Heaven who sees everything and he'll figure out when people to see him when people should see him it's not up to you don't broadcast your righteousness continues don't stop Treasures here on Earth where moths eat them and rust destroys them where thieves break it in Still Still store your Treasures in heaven where moss and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal wherever your treasure is there the desires of your heart will also be here I is like a lamp that provides light for your body when your eye is healthy your whole body is filled with light but when your eye is unhealthy your whole body is filled with darkness and if the light you think you have is actually Darkness how deep that darkness is a little explaining pause Jewish culture so a good eye is a generous attitude right so bad eye greedy so he continues no one can serve two masters for you will hate one and love the other you will be devoted to one and despise the other you cannot serve both God and money that is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life whether you have enough food and drink or of clothes to wear isn't life more than food in your body more than clothing look at the birds they don't plant or harvest or store food in barns for your heavenly father feeds them and aren't you far more valuable to him than they are can all your worries out a single moment to your life and why worry about clothing look at the Lilies of the Field and how they grow they don't work or make their clothing yet Solomon and All His glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are and if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow you'll certainly care for you why do you have so little faith pause now this is very interesting Solomon the wealthiest guy that ever was correct what is Jesus saying the birds are better than him the wild flowers are better than him so contrast again he continues so don't worry about these things saying what will we eat what we drink what will we wear these things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers but your heavenly father already knows all your needs seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything you need seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything you need so don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow bring its own worries today's Trouble Is Enough for today don't judge others and you will not be judged don't condemn others or will come back against you forgive others and you'll be forgiven for you will be treated as you treat others the standard you you is in judging is the standard by which you will be judged give and you will receive your gift will return to you in full press down shaken together to make room for more running over and poured into your lap the amount you give will determine the amount you get back can one blind person lead another only both fall into a ditch students are not greater than their teacher but the student who is fully trained will become like their teacher and why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own how can you think of saying friend let me help you get rid of that Speck in your eye when you can't see past the log in your own eye hypocrite first get rid of that log in your own eye then you will see well enough to deal with that spec in your friend's eye don't waste what is Holy on people who are Unholy or sacred things to dogs don't throw your pearls pigs they will trample the pearls and turn and attack you pause so this is a note on holding back advice so it's kind of funny he goes right from like keep your mouth shut hypocrite to like keep your mouth shut even when the people are Unholy too that's his point so pearls are insightful information like gems you ever hear that term we use today oh that was a gem that's what he's saying what is Holy is Jesus's teaching don't waste it on people who are Unholy he's saying he continues keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for keep on seeking and you'll find keep on knocking and the door will be open to you for everyone who asks receives everyone who seeks finds and everyone who knocks the door will be open you parents if your children ask for a loaf of bread do you give them a stone instead or if they ask for a fish do you give them a snake of course not so if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask him pause I've heard people especially like you know the prosperity big churches they stopped there but did you get the whole context let's think about a couple of things remember the context seek what the kingdom of heaven ask is granted there earlier Jesus said what Earthly Treasures rust moths eat them right thieves steal them don't store your Treasures here some people use this for Prosperity they really like they either showed up late for the sermon or they're like leaving early we see that happens right Jesus starts talking people do that so Heavenly things and so I put Luke 11 in there right after the Lord's Prayer so that was in Luke 11 a part of it he says this I'll read you one sentence back but this is the clarification on whether it's Earthly wealth or not therefore although you are evil like you're sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will the father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him there's your clarification if there's any confusion Luke 11 13 read it for yourself so here is the personal application and summary verse due to others whatever you would like them to do to you this is the essence of all that is in the law and Prophets The Greek actually just says this is the law and the prophets you can enter God's kingdom only to the narrow gate the highway to hell is Broad and its gate is wide for many who choose that way but the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult and only a few ever find it beware of false prophets who came disguised as harmless sheep but a really vicious wolves you can identify or judge them by their fruit that is by the way they act can you pick grapes from Thorn bushes or figs from thistles a good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit a good tree can't produce bad fruit and a bad tree can't produce good fruit so every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire yes just as you can identify a tree by its fruit so you can identify people by their actions pause some clarification on that judging huh continue a good person produces things from the treasury of a good heart and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart why you say flows from your heart not everyone who calls out to me Lord Lord when do the kingdom of heaven only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter on Judgment Day many will say to me Lord Lord we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name but I will reply I never knew you get away from me you who practice lawlessness pause bad trees bad fruit again we see it's all about getting into the kingdom of heaven and this is about people who present one way what were they doing casting out demon Miracles Prof they're doing some good stuff but behind closed doors when you're doing other stuff get away from me never knew you so he says why do you keep calling me Lord Lord when you don't do what I say I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me listens to my teaching and then follows it anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise like a person who builds a house on a solid rock though the rain comes and Torrance and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house it won't collapse because it is built on Bedrock but anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey is foolish like a person who builds a house on Sand when the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house it will collapse with a mighty crash then Jesus drops the mic that's it no but no I'm sorry if this offended you when Jesus had finished saying these things the crowd were amazed at his teaching for he taught with real Authority quite unlike their teachers of religious law and quite unlike the false teachers of today interesting when you start just simply saying exactly what Jesus said people don't like it they're very famous Big Church Pastor was being honest with his congregation he said if Jesus opened up a church right across the street from me I'd have more people at my church than he would I think he was right when we build on false teachings or ignore Jesus's teachings when we walk out on Jesus's teachings we build on a foundation of sand you will be met with disappointment talked about this recently right about being the church some people leave the church they don't come back today I want to be a part of it they don't want to hear it anymore I run into those people later and I told you they're never better for it never why are all these bad things happening to me you know and not that Jesus Promised bad things won't happen to us as Christians we'll be persecuted and we're blessed what changes the attitude about them be very glad when people persecute you what how is this possible well think about it when you build on the Bedrock of Christ when you've listened to him you've appropriately set your expectations you know that this is just the world you're waiting on Heavenly things how could anything here be better you have the right expectations you have the right attitude and you're filled with the Holy Spirit he brings love joy peace patience kindness goodness and self-control whereas Paul continued there is no law against these things right Messianic law but I say to you when you put your hope in the world you are always be met a disappointment but when you build your life on the teachings of Christ you built your foundation on the Bedrock of Christ Kingdom of Heaven is yours and it is an unshakable Kingdom so we understand when flood waters rise troubles come our way they're but temporary afflictions were pressed on every side as Paul says but not crushed or perplexed but not driven to despair were persecuted but never abandoned by God we get knocked down but we're not destroyed we have a hope that cannot be taken from us laws can't chew it up rust and water can't erode that hope thieves can't steal it because we've built on that which is eternal the Bedrock of our Lord Jesus Christ and so I'd like to close with the scripture Hebrews 12 25. be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the one who is speaking for if the people of Israel did not Escape when they refused to listen to Moses the Earthly messenger we will certainly not Escape if we reject the one who speaks to us from heaven when God spoke for Mount Sinai his voice shook the Earth but now he makes another promise once again I will shake not only the Earth but the heavens also this means that all of creation will be shaken and removed so that only unshakable things will remain since we are receiving a kingdom that is unshakable let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with his holy fear and all let me pray Lord I Thank you for everyone in the hearing of my voice your words Lord let them penetrate not just our minds but our hearts let them be enough to motivate us to do your will Lord to go out this week maybe vehicles of your grace your mercy your peace Your Love peacemakers I ask these things in Jesus name amen