"Sermon on the Mount" teachings 15-18

HOMEPAGE O.T. (PSALMS) Psalm Topics Psalms 1 - 6 Psalms 7 - 11 Psalms 12 - 18 Psalms 19 - 24 Psalms 25 - 27 Psalms 28 - 35 Psalms 36 - 41 Psalms 42 - 50 Psalms 51 - 59 Psalms 60 - 68 Psalms 69 - 72 Psalms 73 - 77 Psalms 78 - 79 Psalms 80 - 83 Psalms 84 - 85 Psalms 86 - 88 Psalms 89 - 90 Psalms 91 - 92 Psalms 93 - 94 Psalm 95 Psalms 96 - 98 Psa 99 - 102 Psa 103 - 104 Psa 105 - 106 Psa 107 - 109 Psa 110 - 113 Psa 114 - 116 Psa 117 - 118 Psalm 119A Psalm 119B Psa 120 - 126 Psa 127 - 132 Psa 133 - 134 Psa 135 - 136 Psa 137 - 138 Psa 139 - 140 Psa 141 - 144 Psa 145 - 150 QuotesFromOT 1 QuotesFromOT 2 N.T. (GOSPELS) Feasts/Loc's Late Life John BeforeMinistry Ministry Itin'ry Ministry Chro1 Ministry Chro2 Ministry Chro3 Ministry Chro4 MinChroAltern Min'tryBegins Cana/Nazareth Capernaum1 Capernaum2 SeaOfGal 1 Parable1 Parable2 Parable3 Sermon1 Sermon2 Sermon3 Sermon4 Sermon5 SeaOfGal 2 PerMtMkLk1 PerMtMkLk2 PerMtMkLk3 PerMtMkLk4 *PerMtMkLk5 *PerMtMkLk6 *PerMtMkLk7 *PerMtMkLk8 *PerMtMkLk9 *PerMtMkLk10 *PerMtMkLk11 *PerMtMkLk12 *PerMtMkLk13 *PerMtMkLk14 *PerMtMkLk15 *PerMtMkLk16 *PerMtMkLk17 *PerMtMkLk18 *PerMtMkLk19 *PerMtMkLk20 *PerMtMkLk21 *PerMtMkLk22 *PerMtMkLk23 *PerMtMkLk24 *PerMtMkLk25 *PerMtMkLk26 *PerMtMkLk27 *PerMtMkLk28 *PerJohn1 *PerJohn2 *PerJohn3 *PerJohn4 *PerJohn5 *PerJohn6 *PerJohn7 *PerJohn8 *PerJohn9 N.T. (REST) *Acts 1 & 2 *Acts 3 & 4 *Acts 5 & 6 *Acts 7 *Acts 8 & 9 *Acts 10 & 11 *Acts 12 & 13 *Acts 14 & 15 *Acts 16 & 17 *Acts 18 & 19 *Acts 20 & 21 *Acts 22 & 23 *Acts 24 - 26 *Acts 27 & 28 *Roma 1 - 3 *Roma 4 - 6 *Roma 7 - 9 *Roma 10 - 13 *Roma 14 - 16 *1stCor 1 - 4 *1stCor 5 - 8 *1stCor 9 - 11 *1stCor 12 - 14 *1stCor 15 & 16 *2ndCor 1 - 4 *2ndCor 5 - 8 *2ndCor 9 - 11 *2ndCor 12 - 13 *Gala 1 - 3 *Gala 4 - 6 *Ephe 1 - 3 *Ephe 4 - 6 *Phlp 1 - 4 *Colo 1 - 4 *1stThe 1 - 5 *2ndThe 1 - 3 *1stTim 1 - 6 *2ndTim 1 - 4 *Titu 1 - 3 *Phlm *Hebr 1 - 3 *Hebr 4 - 7 *Hebr 8 - 10 *Hebr 11 - 13 *Jame 1 - 5 *1stPet 1 - 3 *1stPet 4 & 5 *2ndPet 1 - 3 *1stJoh 1 - 5 *2ndJoh *3rdJoh *Jude *Reve 1 - 3 *Reve 4 - 8 *Reve 9 - 13 *Reve 14 - 17 *Reve 18 - 20 *Reve  21 & 22 ++ Greek (Intro.) *VI (Ephe) *XI (1stTim) *XII (2ndTim) *XIII (Titu) *XIV (Phlm) *XV (Hebr) *XVI (Jame) *XVII (1stPet) *XVIII (2ndPet) *PART I, A-C *PART I, D *PART I, E *PART I, F *PART II O.T. (PART I) *FrontCover *BackCover *Preface *PerspectivesA *PerspectivesB *PerspectivesC *CommentsOLD *CommentsNEW LinksScripture Links1ChuMin Links2ChuMin LinksMusCam Links1Green Links2Green LinksJewish LinksOther

A. Sermon teaching #15 Ask... seek... knock Matt 7:7-8 Jesus directly said to His disciples (persistent followers)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), Ask & it will be given to You; seek & You will find; knock & the door will be opened to You Before we see what Jesus said farther here, let's look at some of the ways Jesus spoke about asking, seeking, & knocking (all was said only to His disciples):

  • Ref. asking (a progressive variety of ways)- in Matt 21:22 He said, If You believe (1), You will receive (3) whatever You ask for (2) in prayer; in Mark 11:24 He said, whatever You ask for in prayer, believe that You have already received it, & it will be Yours; in Luke 11:9a,10a,13 He said concerning asking for the Holy Spirit, Ask, & IT will be given to You. For everyone who asks receives. If You then, though You are (might be practicing) evil, know how to give good to Your children, how much more will Your FATHER in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask HIM; in John 14:13; 15:7,16; 16:23 He said, I will from the throne do whatever You ask in MY name, so that the SON may bring glory to the FATHER. If You remain in ME & MY words remain in You, ask whatever You wish, & it will be given You. Go & bear fruit-- fruit that will last. Then MY FATHER will give You who overcame whatever You ask in MY Name. In that day You will no longer ask ME anything. I tell You the truth, MY FATHER will give You whatever You ask in MY Name.
  • Ref. seeking- in Luke 11:9b,10b Jesus said concerning asking for the Holy Spirit, seek & You will find.
  • Ref. knocking- in Luke 11:9c,10c Jesus said concerning asking for the Holy Spirit, to Him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Returning to the original teaching: Matt 7:9-12 Which of You, if His son asks for bread, will give Him a stone? Or if He asks for a fish, will give Him a snake? If You, then, though You are evil (if you are evil-- remember He was speaking to His followers & being heard by the crowd), know how to give good gifts to Your children, how much more will Your FATHER in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask HIM. So in everything, do to others what You would have Them do to You. for this sums up the Law & Prophets.

B. Sermon teaching #16 The gate & road to Heaven Matt 7:13-14 Jesus said directly to His disciples (5:1-2)-- but in the hearing of the crowds (7:28-29): Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate & broad is the road that leads to destruction, & many enter through it. But small is the gate that leads to life, & only a few find it. Luke 13:24 Jesus said directly to someone (13:23)-- but in the hearing of the those in the towns & villages (13:22): Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter & will not be able to. John 10:1-8 Having gone to the Feast of Tabernacles in secret (7:2,10); having returned from  the Mount of Olives, Jesus spoke directly to the people of the Temple courts of Jerusalem (8:1-2)-- then as He went along (9:1): I tell You the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen plainly by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, has a clandistine motive & is a thief & a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him... Per v.6, Jesus had used this figure of speech, but They did not understand what He was telling Them. Therefore Jesus said again-- & take note there is no need for a watchman here to open the gate (as in the figure of speech): I tell You the truth, I am the gate for the prospective sheep. All who ever came before were thieves & robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. Again, I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved (become a sheep). He will come in & go out freely-- not just when led out, & find pasture. Now as we saw, there is no need for a watchman to open the gate-- but that is not to say there is no need for missions, missionaries, pastors, etc. Also, speaking of this 2-way passage-- note that once they are inside & are sheep, they are on the 2-way road-to-Heaven. Elsewhere Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth & the Life!

C. Sermon teaching #17 Good vs. bad fruit Matt 7:15-20 Jesus said directly to His disciples-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), Watch out for false prophets. They come to You in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, & a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut doen & thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit You will recognize them. Matt 12:33 has, Make a tree good & its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad & its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. Luke 6:43-45 Jesus said to His disciples-- but in the hearing of the crowds (6:17), No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in His heart, but the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

D. Sermon teaching #18 Wisdom vs. foolishness Matt 7:21-29 Jesus said directly to His disciples-- but in the hearing of the crowds (see 5:1-2; 7:28-29), Not everyone who says to Me, 'LORD, LORD (Grk., KU-re, KU-re)' will enter the kingdon of Heaven, but only He who does the Will of My FATHER who is in Heaven. Many will say to ME on that day, 'LORD, LORD, did we not prophesy in YOUR Name, in YOUR Name drive out demons & perform many miracles-- not to mention the volume we contributed to charities & the many good deeds we did just because (not in YOUR Name)? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from ME, you evildoers! Wanna know how to avoid that? Therefore everyone who hears these Words of MINE (all these former 10 beatitudes & 18 teachings (including this 1-- assuming they're voiced) & puts them into practice is like a wise man who built His house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, & the winds blew & beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these Words of MINE & does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built His house on sand. The rains came down, the streams rose, & the winds blew & beat against that house, & it fell with a great crash-- noticed by all. When Jesus had finished saying all these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as 1 who had authority, & not as their teachers of the Law. Matt 25:1-13 Later, speaking only to His virgin-disciples about farther wisdom, Jesus said, At that time the kingdom of Heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps & went out to meet the bridegroom. 5 of Them were foolish & 5 were wise. The foolish ones took Their lamps but did not take any oil with Them. the wise, however, took oil in jars with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, & They all became drowsy & fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!' Then all the virgins woke up & trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give Us some of Your oil; Our lamps are going out.' 'No.' They replied, 'there may not be enough for both Us & You. Instead, go to those who sell oil & buy some for yourselves.' But while They were on Their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with Him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' They said. 'Open the door for Us!' But He replied, 'I tekll You the truth, I don't know You.' Therefore keep watch (stay prepared), because You know not the day or the hour. Luke 6:46-49 Jesus directly said to His disciples-- but in the hearing of the crowds (6:17), Why do You call Me, 'Lord, Lord (Grk., KU-re, KU-re),' & do not do what I say? I will show You what he is like who comes to Me & hears My words & puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep & laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not even shake it, because it was well built. But the 1 who hears My words & does not put them into practice (does not practice what he preaches) is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed & its detruction was complete.

Now above (in both Matt & Luke) we saw that the words Lord, Lord are rendered from the Greek words KU-re, KU-re. This was not pointed out to impress you, as some egos require. Rather it was in anticipation of pointing out 1stTi 6:15. There we have Paul speaking of God, comparing Him to Pontius Pilate & calling Him King of kings (King of those that are kings-- Grk., bah-sih-LOOS toen bah-sih-leh-OEN) & Lord of lords (Lord of those that are lords-- Grk., KOO-rih-oes toen koo-rih-oo-OEN-toen). Now this is quite different from the 2 passages in Rev, where there are no kings-being-kings & lords-being-lords, where we have Jesus named LORD of Lords (LORD of those are disciples that are then Lords-- Grk., KOO-rih-oes koo-rih-OEN) & King of kings (King those are disciples that are then Kings-- Grk., bah-sih-LOOS bah-sih-LEH-oen).