Sermon on the Mount: Blessed Be 6

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Intro

Things change when God speaks.

How does God speak into your life???

You must recognize that God is already speaking - His Word is eternal, and it continues since the dawn of the spoken existence of Creation, to now, and off through all eternity, His Word has spoken and is constantly changing the World around us.

You must be listening for His voice.

You must be near the source. His Word - it is alive. It is living. It is LIFE. If you’re not hearing Him speak to you, you’re not in His Word.

Here’s the reality:

God wants to speak into your life.

He wants to tell you His love for you.

He wants to tell you His love for this world.

He wants to tell you what He wants you to do - for you to know your purpose in this world.

He wants to reveal Himself to you - for you to know Holy, Almighty God personally.

He wants to reveal His glory to you - and for you to know how He can call you friend.

Church, He wants you to know the POWER of His Word, that’s able to empower you to be an agent that brings life and change to this fallen world.

God does not desire a bunch of religious people

2 Timothy 3:5 CSB

5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.

He does desire and seek His Church - the Bride of Christ - to be beautiful and radiant with knowledge of His word, operating in the authority of His word, and carrying out the acts of righteousness that changes the world around her.

To sum it up - God is inviting us to cooperate with Him as partners to change this world!

To do this, He must speak - God who is so generous and life-creating with His spoken word - is ready and willing to speak into your life, so that you can change the world!

God’s Heart Regarding Mankind

Genesis 1:26–27 CSB

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

Fast forward to Noah

Genesis 9:5–6 CSB

5 And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood; I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life. 6 Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, for God made humans in his image.

God created mankind - that’s you and me - in the image of Himself. We are created in God’s image - He’s put the stamp of Himself upon us.

God therefore values the life that is created in His image. And God reestablishes this law for mankind repeatedly throughout the scriptures

Exodus 21:12-14; Leviticus 24:17; Numbers 35:33; Matthew 26:52.

God’s law here is reflected in two natures of God

That He is Creator and life-giving

That He values humanity in a unique way that He’s put His own stamp of approval on us.

God values the work He’s done in creating us, and He values you and me enough that what we look like would reflect Him - Holy God and Father.

So when we fast forward to that day Jesus sat down on the hillside with the multitude and begin preaching the Sermon on the Mount - and He establishes what God’s kingdom is all about - and He proclaims that He’s come to fulfill the Law of Moses and the Prophets, and satisfy its judgments,

Jesus switches the focus to the heart of several issues.

And the first heart issue He begins to preach on - is the 6th of the 10 commandments

“Thou shall not murder”.

Matthew 5:21–26 NKJV

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

You have heard that it was said - Jesus reflects on the Law of Moses, given in two Scripture locations:

Exodus 20 : 14. Deut. 5:18.

You have heard that it was said looong ago - its a law from antiquity, its always been around - that “You shall not murder AND whoever does murder will be in danger of the judgment”.

Jesus here is bringing the people back to the Law - the 10 commandments. They all knew it - they all know what is said, and why its said.

They know the consequences of taking someone’s life - and why that consequence was important to God, their Creator.

But Jesus switches it up here and says

BUT I SAY TO YOU,

Church REMEMBER - Jesus here, is fully man and fully God.. The I AM is talking here. The I AM is speaking here. He’s getting ready to speak into someone’s life here:

BUT I SAY TO YOU, whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

BUT I SAY TO YOU, whoever is holding on to a grudge against their brother.

Whoever is holding unforgiveness towards a brother.

Whoever is feeding and maintaining a hatred towards their brother.

Is in danger of the judgment.

There is a judgment that is coming on those who keep holding on to unforgiveness. There is a judgment coming on those who maintain anger and grudges against a brother or sister. Jesus is warning us here to watch out.

But then Jesus doubles down, and says, AND whoever says to his brother, “Raca!” will be in danger of the council.

Raca is an Aramaic word meaning “one who lacks intelligence”, - and idiot or a numbskull. It literally means to place no value in a person.

Jesus goes on to say, But whoever says, “You fool!” shall be in danger of hell fire.

All this translates as placing a fellow human being in the category of worthless and irrelevant in society.

Not only is Jesus going after a murderous heart in this Scripture, He’s also going after the conditions of the heart that leads to a murderous heart - and says they are the same!

There’s no difference through the lens of judgment…because the bottom line is that the one who despises and disparages another human being, is regarding the art work of a Holy Creator God as pointless and worthless. And the life that God breathed into such a human being was literally a waste of breath.

Who does that sound like? Does that sound like a holy man or woman of God? No, it sounds like the Devil.

You’re telling God - in maintaining your hatred and unforgiveness - that you know better than Him and that He was incapable or in error when He made this individual. This individual that was made in His likeness and carries His breath.

You’re telling God - that your judgments are more righteous than His.

You’re telling God - that you don’t need His judgment, and that you can carry on well enough without Him.

It’s no wonder then that Jesus would say you’d be in danger of hell fire.

That word hell, in the Greek is gehenna - and its a Greek version of a Hebrew word that refers to a desecrated, unholy valley where children were sacrificed to the Ammonite god Molek (2 Kings 23:10).

God spoke judgment on this valley in Jeremiah.

But Jesus preaching here - later on in Matthew 23:15 - refers to this valley that in His time was used as a continually burning garbage dump, which often included dead bodies of criminals just discarded there.

Matthew 23:15 CSB

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are!

Jesus refers to ungodly people as “children of hell”.

This word gehenna is a metaphor for hell - as a place eternally set aside for the ungodly.. and Jesus’s use of the word here is saying hell, like heaven, is a place prepared elsewhere.

It will be burdened with the judgment of the ungodly - those who reject Christ and are still enemies of God.

God’s Message of Reconciliation

Jesus continues in verse Matthew 5:23-25

Matthew 5:23–25 CSB

23 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you 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 with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.

What is Jesus saying here?

He’s telling us that care and concern for others is more valuable and more important than any gift of praise or sacrifice or offering that you can bring before God.

If when you come before God to sing His praise - and you’re reminded that someone was offended by you - you should go make it right.

If when you come before God to request His presence - and you’re reminded that you’ve done someone wrong - you need to go make it right.

If when you come before God bringing even your tithes and offerings - and you’re reminded that you challenged someone’s character, or you’ve assassinated someone’s character - you need to go make it right.

You see reconciliation is rooted and anchored in the character of God.

When we accept Christ and repent of our sin - we are reconciled with God…and given the spirit of reconciliation that comes from Christ Jesus.

Reconciliation is the bridgework and the fastener that binds a fractured relationship caused by anger or offense.

As a matter of fact, Jesus said do it quickly. Don’t delay. Don’t let the wound fester. Don’t let your own heart be continuously burdened by judgment on your life.

If you’ve wronged someone, make it right. If someone has done you wrong, make it right.

Don’t let a murderous unforgiving heart come between you and another person - as it may come between you and Almighty God.

God’s penalty for unforgiveness

Jesus said, “assuredly - for sure - I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny”.

This is a reference to the Roman incarceration system. And that last penny refers to Rome’s smallest coin - the quadran - worth less than a penny, actually.

This is the cost of maintaining a murderous, unforgiving heart. It will cost you your life - the life you’re living now.

Where you could be lifted of the burden and weight - Jesus is saying you don’t have to.

Harboring unforgiveness is a spiritual issue - but it also costs you emotionally. It costs you physically. Your mental health, your emotional health, in addition to your spiritual health are what is being spent on maintaining hatred, unforgiveness, anger against another person.

God hasn’t made a mistake. He didn’t make a mistake with the one you’re angry with - as much as He didn’t make a mistake with you.

He wants you and me to reflect the character and nature of our Heavenly Father.

God is still just - He’s a righteous judge. He knows what’s happened to you, and what’s happened to the other person.

He’s telling you this morning, that He’ll take care of the judgment of wrongs. But you, son and daughter, love mercy in the process.

Restitution

Reconciliation

Forgiveness

These must be what are rooted in your hearts.

This issue is so important to God that it was the very first thing He talked about after addressing the need for Reconciliation with God.

Jesus in His opening monologue, described what the kingdom of heaven is all about.

He then brought the focus on Himself - God reestablishes the need of reconciliation between God and man, because man sinned against God. This was the first sin in the Bible. Adam and Eve, doubted God and absconded from their purpose. Jesus says He’s officially taking on that aspect of relationship between God and man - to cover down on the first sin.

Here Jesus is talking about the second most important heart issue in mankind. What do you think the second sin ever in human history was? When Cain murdered his brother Abel. Genesis 4.

Jesus here is saying you’ve got to cover down on that. “You’ve heard it from the days of old…thou shall not murder. But I SAY to you..” Be reconciled to your brother.

CLOSING

What is the greatest commandment - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Jesus said He’s going to help you cover down on that and show you how.

What was the second - Love your neighbor as yourself…Jesus expounds later in John 19, love your neighbor as I have loved you.

When this happens, when this is your lifestyle, you will find blessing and favor from God. Not only that, but you’ll see the Church moving forward like a mighty army. Because dwelling in unity under the fear of God brings God’s favor and presence. A church dwelling in unity is worship before the Lord. And a church dwelling in unity operates in the authority of God - to where more lives are impacted in this world, and more souls are set free from sin and death - and demonic strongholds are broken and torn down.

Watch what God can do with a unified Church body. Watch what God can do with clean hands and pure hearts. Watch how the kingdom of God can advance because we in the church operate and live on the Greatest Commandments.

In prayer:

Don’t hold on to sinful hatred anymore.

Don’t hold on to sinful unforgiveness anymore.

Bring your burden to the altar and leave it there.

We pray - Holy Spirit show us any aspect of a murderous heart in us. I pray right now God that if there is someone that we can be reconciled with - help us make it right as soon as possible.

We pray - Lord help us not hold on to offense, but be generous with outdoing one another in love. Help us honor our brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us make peace with those around us - that all might see the love and joy we have in you, Christ Jesus.