Previously:
The Lineage Of The King.
The Baptizer and The Baptism Of The King.
The Attack And Testing Of The King.
The Beginning Of Calling Disciples.
Beatitudes And The Witness Of The Kingdom.
Righteousness And Joy: Beatitudes.
Righteousness And Discipleship: Salt and Light.
Righteousness And The Scriptures: Fulfill the Law.
Righteousness And Morality: Love Your Enemies, etc.
TODAY'S OUTLINE:
JESUS DEFINES RIGHTEOUSNESS IN LIGHT OF THE INWARD PARTICIPATION IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
RIGHTEOUSNESS:
AND PRACTICAL RELIGION 6:1-18.
AND MUNDANE THINGS 6:19-24.
AND HUMAN RELATIONS AND SALVATION 7:1-39.
KEY TAKEAWAY: THE KINGDOM OF GOD CALLS FOR AUTHENTIC FAITH AND NOT EXTERNAL SHOWS.
Righteousness: Is One Of The Primary Themes And Key Words Of The Sermon On The Mount.
External Righteousness Of The Pharisees Is Displayed In External Religious Acts Like Public Prayer And Fasting.
External Righteousness Shows Up In Judging Others Harshly And Not Accurately Judging One’s Self.
THE INWARD PARTICIPATION IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
This Is Done Through Prayer, Faith, Service, And Following Jesus’s Words.
1. RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PRACTICAL RELIGION:
THE KINGDOM LIFE IN THE REAL WORLD:
HAVE YOU EVER DONE THE RIGHT THING
FROM THE WRONG MOTIVE?
IN YOUR GIVING:
HOW NOT TO GIVE AND THE MOTIVES OF GIVING:
This Indicates That God Will See Even The Most Covert Actions.
God Will Ensure They Are Properly Rewarded, Because It's Not Whether One Gives Alms BUT HOW.
This Is From A Jewish Teaching: One Who Gives Charity In Secret Is Greater Than Moses.
IN YOUR PRAYING:
HOW NOT TO PRAY AND HOW DID JESUS TEACH US TO PRAY:
In The Sermon On The Mount Jesus Cautions:
Against Pretentious Prayer.
Offers The Lord’s Prayer As A Pattern For His Disciples.
This Model Prayer, Which Combines Praise And Petition.
In A Simple, Personal, And Spontaneous Form.
Is Itself Rooted In Jewish Teaching.
An Exhortation To Be Persistent In Prayer.
To Pray Without Ceasing. To Be In An Attitude Of Prayer.
Prayer Promises Justice For The Disadvantaged And Oppressed.
The Disciple's Prayer:
(1) Prayer Is To Begin With Worship.
God Is Addressed As Our Father In Heaven.
So, Worship Is The Essence Of All Prayer.
(2) Reverence Is An Element Of Prayer.
For God’s Name Is To Be Revered (Honored).
(3) The Desire For God’s Kingdom To Come.
Based On The Assurance That God Will Fulfill All His Covenant Promises To His People.
(4) Prayer Is To Include The Request That His Will Be Accomplished.
Both Fully And Willingly.
(5) Petition For Personal Needs Such As Daily Food.
(6) Requests Regarding Spiritual Needs, Such As Forgiveness.
It Assumes One Has Already Been Forgiven.
(7) Believers Recognize Their Spiritual Weakness.
Asking Him To Make A Way Of Escape From Temptation.
IN YOUR FASTING:
HOW NOT TO FAST AND WHAT IS TRUE FASTING:
So that you are not seen by men to be fasting but by your Father who is in secret.
Your Heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Fasting is intentionally denying the flesh in order to gain a response from the Holy Spirit.
It means renouncing the natural in order to invoke the supernatural.
Fasting Is Saying No To Yourself And Yes To God.
2. RIGHTEOUSNESS AND MUNDANE THINGS:
THE KINGDOM LIFE IN THE REAL WORLD CONTINUED:
Jesus teaches that Christians must have their minds set on something greater:
Jesus Talks About Money And Anxiety.
The Strategy Of The Evil World System:
To Have You Think The Things Of The World
Can Provide Our Greatest Needs.
MONEY Promises To Buy Whatever We Want:
BUT: YOU CANNOT BUY HEAVEN FROM THE ONE TRUE GOD.
Jesus Talks Specifically About The Enslaving LOVE For Money And Treasure.
Jesus Used A Specific Term Mammon: Personified As A Rival To God For Loyalty Of His Followers. WEALTH MONEY MAMMON.
Jesus Asks Us—Whom Will We Obey—God Or Money?
It Is Impossible To Serve The LOVE OF MONEY
While Serving THE LOVE OF THE ONE TRUE GOD.
Jesus Considers The Love Of Riches As An Idol, Master, Or God Of The Human Heart.
That Is In Direct Conflict With Worship Of The True God.
TREASURES: THE TRUE TREASURE IS TREASURE THAT IS STORED UP IN HEAVEN.
ANXIETY Is Concerned With Fears About Daily Needs Not Being Met.
It Also Could Mean Not Measuring Up In Some Way.
But A Citizen Of The Kingdom, Jesus Tells Us To Turn To God In Faith When Anxiety Arises.
Worry And Its Cure And Its Folly Is A State Of Mind (A Mindset).
It May Range From Genuine Concern To Obsessions From A Distorted Perspective Of Life.
Jesus Did Not Prohibit Genuine Concern About Food Or Shelter.
But He Did Teach That We Should Keep Things In Their Proper Perspective.
We Should Make God’s Kingdom Our First Priority.
Everything Else Will Fall In Line When We Do.
3. RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HUMAN RELATIONS AND SALVATION:
JUDGMENT IS GOD’S BUSINESS:
When WE Judge: It's About Measuring Up In Some External Way.
But Jesus Does Not Require Us To Measure Up To Anything.
The Very Reason Jesus Came To Earth
Was Because Humans Could Not Achieve What The Law Required.
No One Can Measure Up To The Righteous Standard Of God:
Except Jesus Who Was Fully God And Fully Man.
He Came To Live The Perfect Righteous Life,
Yet Take The Place Of Sinners On The Cross So That We Might Be Saved.
Out Of Joy And The Beauty Of What God Has Done: The Requirements Of The Kingdom Become The Desires Of Our Hearts.
We Seek The Kingdom And His Righteousness.
WHY? A Response To The Righteous King Who Died For Us.
WE LIVE BY KNOWING AND FOLLOWING HIS WORD.
WHAT ABOUT HUMAN RELATIONS CONCERNING JUDGMENT ?
The Error Of Judgment.
We Should Judge But Not For The Purpose Of Condemnation.
We Should Judge Those Who Teach To Verify That The Teaching Is True To What Jesus Taught.
We Should Understand When It Is Right To Judge And When It Is Wrong To Judge.
Christians Are To Judge Others Constructively With Humility And Gentleness (Gal. 6:1).
We Are Forbidden To Judge Hypocritically: Intolerance Of Another Person's Sin While Blind To Our Own Sin.
Instructions On Proper Exercise Of Judgment Include:
(1) The Call To Judge Reputed Christians By Their Fruit.
(2) Christians Should Arbitrate Between Fellow Believers Who Have A Dispute NOT Thru Civil Court.
(3) Instructions Regarding Church Cases (1 Cor ).
SALVATION IS GOD'S BUSINESS:
A Warning To Be A Part Of The Kingdom.
To Be A Part Of The Kingdom A Person:
Must Obey The Command To Believe In Jesus.
Cry Out To Him For Salvation.
Reminder: He Saves Us. We Don't Save Ourselves.
The Story Of The Wise And Foolish Builder Is Warning Us To Choose To Build Our Lives On The Truth—On Jesus.
Superficial Discipleship Will Fall Away In Storms But Those Who Follow Christ As Lord Will Be Firm In Him.
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