"Sermon on the Mount" teachings 9 - 14

Sermon teaching #9 How to give to the needy In Sermon3 Sermon teaching #7 Rather than retaliation we saw Moses commanding (paraphrasing God), Therefore I command You to be openhanded both toward Your brothers & toward the poor & needy in Your land. Now we how Christians should do this Matt 6:1-5 Jesus said to his disciples (followers)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), Be careful not to do Your 'act of righteousness' before (to the awareness of) men, to be seen by them. If You do, You will have no reward from Your FATHER in Heaven. So when You give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues & also in the streets, to be honored by men. I tell You the truth, They have received Their reward in full. But when You give to the needy, do not let Your left hand know what Your right hand is doing, so that Your giving may be in secret. Then Your FATHER, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward You. The reward will be partially now, with the remainder adding to the treasure laid up in Heaven-- life now & the abundant life to be inherited.

About the attitudes of the religious leaders of the time Matt 23:1-12  Then Jesus said to both the crowds & to His disciples: The teachers of the Law & the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat-- acting as though they had a heart after God as he did. So (Now) You must obey Them & do everything They tell You. But do not do what They do (mimic how they do it), for They do not practice what They preach. E.g., They tie up heavy loads & put them on men's shoulders, but They themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything They do do is done for men to see: Thet make Their phylacteries (boxes containing Scripture, worn on foreheads & arms) wide & the tassels on Their garments long; They love the place of honor at banquets & the most important seats in the synagogues; They love to be greeted in the marketplaces (recognized & honored in public places) & to have men call Them 'Rabbi.' But You are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for You have only 1 MASTER & You are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for You have 1 FATHER, & HE is in Heaven. Nor are You to be called 'teacher,' for You have 1 TEACHER, the CHRIST (MESSIAH). The greatest among You will be Your servant. For whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Mark 12:38-40 As He taught his disciples (followers), Jesus said, Watch out for the teachers of the Law. They like to walk about in flowing robes & be greeted in the marketplaces, & have the most important seats in the synagogues & the places of honor at banquets. They devour widow's houses & for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely. Luke 20:45-47 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to His disciples, Beware of the teachers of the Law. The remainder is identical to the Mark account.

Sermon teaching #10 How to pray (2 methodologies to avoid, 1 to do, 1 more to avoid) Matt 6:5-15 Jesus said to his disciples (followers)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), The Pattern of Prayer, commonly known as "The Lord's Prayer" & often portayed as an Example of Prayer we should repeat/quote, was given in PerspectivesC C.10. In the interest of conserving space, this Pattern of Prayer, which could also be called the Method/Attitude of Prayer we should employ, is not repeated here: Methodology #1 to avoid And when You pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for They love to pray standing in the synagogues & on the street corners to be seen by men. The emphasis here is not on their standing publically or during corporate worship-- not even on their being seen/heard by people, but upon the motive of communicating (being holier-than-thou & worthy of being-bowed-down-to). Indeed, during corporate worship, it is necessary for them to stand & be seen/heard, but the motive should be to create an atmosphere where we too can communicate with God. I tell You the truth, They have received Their reward in full. But when You pray, go into Your room, close the door & pray to Your FATHER who in unseen. Then Your FATHER, who sees what is done in secret, will reward You. Methedology #2 to avoid And when You pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for Your FATHER knows what You need before You ask HIM-- & is patiently waiting for you to exhibit faith by asking. This, then, is how You should pray-- as said, the Pattern of Prayer was given in PerspectivesC (but not there is the note-by-scholars that some late manuscripts tag on this ending: For YOURS is the kingdom & the power & the glory forever. Amen. Methedology #3 to do For if You forgive men when they sin against You, Your Heavenly FATHER will also forgive You. But if You do not forgive men their sins, Your FATHER will not forgive Your sins-- but 1 more to avoid: do not have the hidden-motive, I want my sins forgiven, therefore I forgive theirs. But let's look at that if You do not forgive men their sins, Your FATHER will not forgive Your sins. God will withdraw his forgiveness? Well, he forgave us our old sins, & will not rescind-- but he will withhold forgiveness. He has promised to forgive our sins if-so-be we confess them. But confession must be coupled with repentance while there is yet time. In Matt 18:21-35 Jesus gave a parable to his disiples (not just Peter-- see vv. 1,35) about forgiveness of debt; looking at vv. 32b-35, we find: 'I, a king playing the role of GOD, cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned hom over to the jailors to be tortured, until he should pay back all that he owed. End of parable. This is how My Heavenly FATHER will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart (without the hidden-motive we just saw). Some say this hard-labor will take place during the millennial reign. Mark 11:25 Jesus said to his disciples (followers), And when You stand praying, if You hold anything against anyone, forgive Him, so Your FATHER in Heaven may forgive You Your sins.

Sermon teaching #11 How to fast Matt 6:16-18 Jesus said to his disciples (followers)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrits do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell You the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when You fast, put oil on Your head & wash Your face, so it will not be obvious to men that You are fasting, but only to Your FATHER, who is unseen; & Your FATHER, who sees what is done in secret, will reward You.

Sermon teaching #12 Your lamp exposes your treasure... your heart Psa 119:105 says, YOUR Word is a lamp to My feet & a light to My path. In Sermon1 Sermon teaching #1 Salt & light we saw, You are the light of the world. I.e., in O.T. times the world had no light, because how much his word lit their own personal path depended upon how much they meditated thereon-- the world in general had no light. Jesus being in us means the world can have great light-- still depending upon how much ingestion & digestion occurs. Below we shall see this same light shining inwardly, revealing in particular our treasure-- & thus our own heart, as God sees/knows it (again, if-so-be we meditate much-- said meditation facilitating repentence). Matt 6:19-24 Jesus said to his disciples (followers)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth & rust destroy, & where thieves can break in & steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moth & rust do not destroy, & where thieves do (can) not break in & steal. For where Your treasure is, there will Your heart be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If Your eyes (the right eye knows what the left eye is doing, & thus both) are good, Your whole body will be full of light. But if Your eyes are bad, Your whole body is full of darkness. If then the light within You is darkness, how great is that darkness! No 1 can serve 2 masters. Either he will hate the 1 & love the other, or he will be devoted to the 1 & despise the other. You cannot serve both GOD & the god money.

Sermon teaching #13 Be wise (do not worry)! Matt 6:25-34 Jesus said to his disciples (followers)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), Therefore I tell You, do not worry as the pagans do about Your life, what You will eat or drink; or about Your body, what You will wear-- but do be wise stewards. Is not life more important than food, & the body more important than clothes-- as wise stewards focus on living for him (which requires 1 to be healthy & sufficiently clothed). Look at the birds of the air: they do not either sow or reap or even store away in barns, & yet Your Heavenly FATHER feeds them. Are you not wiser & more valuable than they? Therefore be wise stewards. Which of You by worry can add a single hour to His life (cubit to His height)? And why do You worry about clothes? See how the lilies fo the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell You that not even Solomon in all His slendor was dressed like 1 of these-- just like him, by worrying you still will fall short. If that is how GOD clothes the grass of the field, which is here today & tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will HE not much more clothe You who are wise stewards for him, O You of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'-- 'we' is underlined to emphasize that wise stewardship includes parents providing for children/grandparents/etc.;'we' is also not capitalized to underscoure that the children/grandparents/etc. might not yet be part of the Family of GOD (& GOD is not willing that any should perish). For the pagans run after (worry about & pursue) these things, & Your Heavenly FATHER knows that You need them. But let this be your #1 priority & seek 1st HIS Kingdom & HIS Righteousness, & all these things will be given (acrue) to You as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself-- your being a wise steward for him today eliminates having to worry tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble (preoccupation/struggle with remaining focused on wise stewardship for him) of its own.

Sermon teaching #14 Criticizing (& more about light) Matt 7:1-6 Jesus said to his disciples (followers)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), Do not judge, or You will be judged. For in the same way You judge others, You will be judged, & with the measure You use it will be measured to You.Why do You look at the speck in your brother's eye & pay no attention to the plank in Your own eye? How can You say to Your brother, 'Let Me take the speck out of Your eye', when all the time there is a plank in Your own eye? You hypocrite, 1st take the plank out of Your own eye, & then You will see clearly to remove the speck from Your brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw Your pearls to pigs. If You do, they may trample them under their feet, & then turn & tear You to pieces. Mark 4:10,24-25 I.e. (this is just the last part of what Jesus said to his disciples (the 12 & the others) by way of explaining the "parable of the 4 soils": Consider carefully, removing all specks, what You hear, He continued. With the measure You use, it will be measured to You-- & even more. Before he said that, in Mark 4:21-23 He said to Them, Do You bring in a lamp for the wimpy purpose to put it under a bowl or a bed. Instead don't You put it on its stand-- recall him saying, You are the light of the world? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed (revealed), & whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let Him hear. BTW, this is not a contradiction of the scripture about the hidden times & season (about it not being for us to know them)--rather it is that no 1 should have the self-righteous attitude that they know it all. Luke 6:37-42 Jesus said to his disciples (followers)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 6:17), Do not judge, & You will not be judged. Do not condemn, & You will not be condemned. Forgive, & You will be forgiven. Give, & it will be given to You. As to the "even more" we just saw: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together & running over, will be poured into Your lap. For with the measure You use, it will be measured to You. He also told Them this parable: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but averyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do You look at the speck of sawdust in Your brothers eye & pay no attention to the plank in Your own eye? How can You say to Your brother, 'Brother, let Me take the speck out of your eye', when You yourself fail to see the plank in Your own eye? You hypocrite, 1st take the plank out of Your own eye, & then You will see clearly to remove the speck from Your brother's eye.