The Position of Prayer- Master Teacher-Matthew 6:5-8

 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14

As you approach the stadium, the concert hall, the school auditorium, or even the church parking lot you think about the time and how inconvenient open seating will be. Lines of people are already forming, and you find yourself praying for a parking spot close to the entrance. Then, viola, there it is, an empty spot that seems to have your name on it, as if an angel was standing guard for you. Answered prayer, you think. Then, you’re in dire straits over the bigger matters in life such as health issues, financial needs, family problems, and you think “why doesn’t God answer me? My prayers don’t’ seem to go any further than the ceiling?” Unanswered prayer, you think. Maybe it’s not that God hasn’t answered in both cases, maybe you’re reception of the answer is just off a little.

I heard a person say that God answers prayers in three ways, “yes, no, and not yet.” I think He answers prayer in one way, “I’ll do what’s best for all concerned.” Sometimes we must walk a great distance and we miss the opening act for a reason. We don’t understand, but God does. Sometimes our prayers for healing go unheeded, and suffering happens, and to us it seems unfair, but God is still at work there too. Sometimes the prodigal does return, and our prayers are answered, and we still doubt the repentant person’s motives, and that doubt causes the person to return to the pig sty because we didn’t see the answered prayer as the answer. We didn’t trust in our own answer, and we changed the answer before accepting the test result. We ask for something, yet when we get the answer, we don’t accept it, because of the position we went into it with. Prayer is positional. It’s a heart check.

Our Master Teacher looked out at the multitude gathered on the mount near the sea of Galilee, and like us, they needed a little check on their position when they entered into prayer, and so as He taught on how to pray He gave instruction on the position we ought to assume when we pray. He said,

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matt.6:5-6

I’ve seen these heathen praying before, and they do like to bring attention to themselves when they pray. There are different types of the hypocritical prayer warriors. There are the loud “In the name of… Halleluia,” and by the time they get to what they were praying for they’ve forgotten the need, so they make things up. Then there are the “I claim it for…” prayer warriors, who go about claiming, binding, and loosing all kinds of things, and then walking away leaving a mess in their wake because they don’t bother to look into the lives of why they’re asking to begin with, but they believe it is their anointing to lay hands on people and pray, as long as it’s during the meeting, but you ask them to pray in the parking lot, and they’ve got to go. Then there is the pray the gossip people. We all know them. They’re the ones that when prayer requests are asked they let it be known we ought to be praying for sister so-and-so because her husband is stepping out on her with sister-so-and-so, followed by an uh-huh, and an amen by her equally prayer gossiping friend who has another juicy request. These hypocrites hurry through the healing prayers by shouting over them, “Yes, Lord! Yes, Lord!” They’re not interested in the actual healing, because then what would they pray for?

Sometimes they can be downright intimidating. Just remember that God knows the heart. He knows why they’re asking, and if they’re truly concerned about the people they’re petitioning on behalf of, or if it’s themselves they care about.

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house- justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

Have you ever given much thought to the actual act of prayer? It’s a very humbling activity to do. Prayer requires the person to come to the end of themselves and admit they don’t have the power, strength, or ability to do for themselves or for another person. It’s a complete loss of control. It is complete and utter humility. So how then can prayer be prideful? “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” James 4:3 Some would turn around and say, “But God wants His children to have good things,” and I would agree. God does want His children to have good things, but He is the one who decides what those good things are, not us.

Personally, I do believe that I’ve prayed for things that God has not given me for a great reason, mainly because my Creator knows this creation intimately better than I know myself. He knows I can’t handle what I’m asking for. He knows at what level the temptations will push me over the edge, and yet at what level I need the struggle to grow. See, the thing about growing pains is that they are just that, growing pains. We are growing toward His perfection, daily. I am being created every day, regenerated. As the scripture says, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7 In this we can see that the process is continual, and so then our prayer life should be consistently seeking what is next.

But have you ever been in a situation where someone is just talking too much? Is it possible to say too much to God? The answer is yes, when you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.

“And when you pray, Do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him.” Matt.6:7-8

When we are young we are taught many things by rote memorization. We are taught our alphabet, our multiplication tables, even patriotism through repeating phrases. It’s necessary to learn things in this manner because it sticks in our memory, but does it stick in our hearts? What happens when we get to a point in our development when we can reason beyond that memorization? While it is true our faith should be like a child’s in that we are to believe with wide-eyed wonderment and trust that God, our Father, is caring for us, He also wants us to mature so that we can make choices. “Come now, and let us reason together, Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red as crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 1:18-20 Our willingness is what drives and motivates our spirit to lock into God. It’s our abiding in him, our junction box that allows that connection of spiritual energy to continue or to be cut off. It’s the free will He created in us. Our prayer life hinges on this. It’s not rote memorization, or chanting He desires to hear. He wants us to express our individuality, because that’s how he created us.

Imagine if you go into an art museum and every single painting is exactly the same painting with absolutely no variation at all. In fact, imagine a world of paintings with no variation at all. Imagine that every art class all over the world teaches every student to paint only that painting. It wouldn’t matter how lovely the masterpiece. It would be about as ordinary and unexceptional as it could be. It just wouldn’t be worth looking at, would it?

So it is with those prayers we repeatedly pray without stopping to mean them. Most among them is the “The LORD’s prayer” which we will be looking at in the next few blogs, so hold on to your hats! I promise, you’ll never say it without meaning again. God wants us to mean what we say, especially to Him. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13 If God, our Father, wants us to not use repeating when we come to Him, then why pray? After all, Jesus also told the story of the widow who pestered the judge to give her justice over her adversary. Shouldn’t we continually ask? He said we should ask, right? Yes, we should ask. But then He says that our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask, so why ask? That’s actually a simple answer. Communication is the key to a great relationship. Just because I know something, doesn’t make me party to the relationship unless I’m asked to be a part of it. I can know there’s a wedding, but unless I’m invited to it I’m not a guest. I might know my neighbor is in financial need, but not know how to help unless they ask. God actually knows the need, but He’s not going to bully His way in and override your freewill and step all over your pride. Nope, if you want to do it yourself, He will let you try. And if you get the point where you realize that just maybe this is too big for you, and it’s time to humbly ask for the help, He’ll do what’s best for you.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

James 4:10

  

It's Personal: Master Teacher - Matthew 6:1-4

“Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.”

 1 Cor 10:24

Who are you when no one else is looking? Are you looking for the spot light? Are you seeking the approval of others to validate who you are? Is your identity wrapped up with how close or distant you are to others, and how many likes you get on your last post? How we define our self goes to the core of our spirituality. It was the linchpin of the fall of man. “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Gen. 3:4-5

 Wanting to be god of our own universe has been our downfall since the beginning, and the cause of losing our identity. We lost our identity. We were assured our position, and had dominion over all living things. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen. 1:26-28

The rejection of our identity of who we were created to be goes to the core of every problem we will face in our life. The question is, who are you? When you are alone, really alone, just you and the Creator, are you going to be able to be searchable, or will you be lost without definition because you don’t know who you are in the light of His glory?

The class is called back into session, and the Master Teacher has just told us to pray for our enemies. He’s left us dumbfounded. We are without excuse, with no cards to hold up, but maybe that all too familiar, “But I’m a good person,” that we can fall back on. We can all compare ourselves to someone worse than ourselves. We’ve been doing it since we were kids. Remember the bully who bullied you, and your mother, or some other well-meaning adult, told you to pity him or her because they were probably being picked on too somewhere so they were very insecure. That never helped your own insecurities or freed you from the abuse you suffered, but it did teach you that there is always someone weaker down the chain, or that eventually the bully would meet a bigger bully.  We prayed for our enemy; usually for retribution to be quick in coming. Our Master knows this about us as we think these thoughts. We comfort ourselves by thinking on all the good works we have done, all the accolades we could claim.

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deed before men to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:1  

He just took away our brag-imonie, the testimony we give to say how bad or good we’ve become. Now how are we supposed to get any notoriety? WE aren’t. That’s where the identity comes in. If we read this verse carefully we find the marks of identification in the last four words of the verse: “your Father in heaven.”  These words are powerful words, just as they were for the audience sitting on the mount 2000 years ago.

When God the Father called out in the garden of Eden, “Adam, where are you?” after the fall of man. It wasn’t because God the Father didn’t know. It wasn’t some cosmic game of hide-and-go-seek for the Father. It was so Adam would understand, and his eyes would be opened, and he would know there was a difference, and he had positionally changed himself in relationship with God. Adam had made a choice, and he continued to make choices, bad choices. When God asked him the next questions, Adam continued to let sin into the mix by not taking up his role, and blaming not just Eve, but God Himself for the fall.  The man said, ”The woman whom YOU gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree and I ate.” Gen. 3:12 (emphasis mine).

I have often wondered what would have happened if repentance would have occurred right then. If Adam would have run to God’s arms and said, “I’m sorry! I did it! I ate that nasty fruit! I disobeyed You, Dad!” If he would have wept bitter tears, and Eve, being a woman, would have joined him in one big family hug of sorrowful crying, I wonder what would have happened? Instead there was just the “Yep, this is what happened, so what are you going to do about it?” The insolence of man’s heart remained. While the art work of the Romantic period might show the downcast Adam going out of garden, I feel it was much more sorrowful for heaven than for earth at the time.

“Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” Matt. 6:2 

Would you give to a charity if it wasn’t a tax write off? Would you volunteer your time to an organization if you didn’t get something back from it at work or if it wasn’t a ‘networking’ opportunity? I recently was honored to write the biography of an elderly woman who spent years volunteering for many organizations, and to my knowledge she hasn’t been honored by a single one. She has worked in their thrift stores, sorting clothing, she’s done community gardening projects, worked on renovation projects, and many other unsung hero type events. She’s always been the behind the scenes person, and she has energy to burn. I was so inspired by her. She continues to give of her time in her eighties, using her hands to do the work, as long as she is able. What would we do without such people? We need these people.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

I so appreciate the people who clean the church, the ones who stay after service and lock up, the nursery workers who make sure the toys are sanitized (I’ve done that job). All the hands that make church happen, they make church happen on Sunday morning, regardless of whether or not they get to Cracker Barrel afterward or if they get to sing on the worship team. Sometimes they’re not even in the sanctuary because they’re in the nursery, or watching your empty car in the parking lot, just so you can go in and hear the word of God. I think of these people who are willing to sacrifice their time and energy when I hear Christians who say they don’t go to church because they find that people who go to church are hypocrites. I hear them say that and I want to hand them a mirror, or I want to walk them through a church when a service is going on, and show them the hypocrites doing those jobs. But, then I’d have to put a mirror in my face too, for all the times the church has asked for help in those areas, and I’ve not wanted to give it.

Men seeking the praise of others will always be there. Who doesn’t like a “good job,” or a pat on the back when they’ve worked for something, but the point is that shouldn’t be the reason we do for others. We should do simply because it needs to be done, without considering ourselves first. This is the mark of the Teacher, and this is the mark of the student as well. In the garden, when man fell, God still clothed him, He still saw to man’s needs, prior to setting him out of the garden. God even gave him instruction how he was to eat so that man would not starve. God still loved, and He wants us to love and put that love into action.

“But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” Matt.6:3-4

          It’s the things we do without the concern of recognition that are precious to God. As a parent, I can think on those cute things my children did when it was just our family, and those are the things I treasure most. The snuggling moments, the times when my children wanted to brush my hair, or the feel of my child’s arms going around my leg when we were in a crowd. I had a long braid that my oldest son would hold as we walked places. It was the sign that all the younger children were in place, he had everyone in front of him, like a train conductor swinging a lantern to the engineer, and I can remember the feel of that pressure on the back of my head when he took hold of it; the gentle tug that let me know he was there and literally had my back. Those are the secret things that that Father stores in His heart as well. He sees the things you do for His other children without regard for yourself, because it’s just what you do because you’re part of the family.

          God rewards us openly. He lavishes blessings on us because he knows our hearts. He knows the ways of man. He knows that when someone is prospering, people want to know why. I’m not talking about financial gain. I’m talking about being joyous no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.  “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4   The reward of doing good is the joy of the Lord within our souls, and that is a peace that surpasses all understanding.

          Having a spirit of serving is not an easy thing to develop. It requires tough spiritual conditioning. “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” 1 Cor. 9:24-27  

Practically speaking we are to pour out to others, but in doing so we reap a harvest of plenty. There is so much to be said about investing in others. Think about it. If you spend your time doing for others, just getting things done for them, be it getting to work and doing all you’re asked in the best way you can, or rising above and doing not just your best but encouraging others to do their best as well, doesn’t it make everyone feel better? If someone is having a hard time, doesn’t it make you feel better to go up and say, “What can I help you with?” Sometimes they need more help than we can give, but we can do what we can, even if it’s to ask for the help they can’t ask for. There is the expression that the Church is the hospital, it exists to cure the sick. The Church does more than that, the Church also is where the Physician does His work. Our reward is to send out more live patients than dead bodies. God has wired us to derive a sense of pleasure when we have helped someone. That’s why we smile when we say, “You’re welcome.”

 Let your light shine before men in such a way that may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matt. 5:16

Love your Enemies- Master Teacher- Matthew 5:38-48

 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

In these tumultuous times, we need a little reprieve from the fear and hate that permeates the airwaves. Those talking heads espouse “news” which is nothing more than rhetoric we are expected to believe. Celebrities who are not experts in any field, and who don’t hold degrees, citing men who have degrees from places we wouldn’t respect if we were to visit their campuses, come across like they know more just because they have a microphone. Drop the mic and realize what is going on. Everyone is backtalking, backstabbing, those things that were once held in high esteem. Some think it’s funny, and others think it’s cool to put down and then kick it while it’s down. What happened to common values and decency? Before we go pointing fingers, we need to realize the ones on our own hand pointing back at us. Church, where are you? Why is hatred and fear running rampant and love and compassion has not hedged the wounds on our society? The church is supposed to be a hospital, not a morgue. Our teacher has not left the room. He’s still with us. The lesson is still ongoing.

Is it hard to love those around you? Probably not since most of us surround ourselves with like-minded and likeable people and avoid people we don’t care to be around. Recently, our church held a fast and prayer time where we met every night to corporately pray. We all “Sunday” know each other, but don’t really ‘know’ each other. Yet, over the past few weeks we’ve come to truly find brotherly affection for one another, and to grow in the love of the Lord toward each other as we’ve shared in prayer. It has made us closer to one another, but more importantly, it’s made us want to share that love with more people than just those present in the room. The Master Teacher has been teaching us, practically, that love is contagious. He shared that with the crowd of believers 2000 years ago on the mount when He taught:  

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. And if someone wants to sue you and to take your tunic, give him your coat also. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give the one who asks, and do not reject the one who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:38-42

It is hard to comprehend what it is Jesus is saying here. Is he asking us to allow ourselves to be doormats? Well, yes, in a way he is. He’s asking us to do what is necessary to win someone over to the cause. He is not saying not to fight when it’s necessary to fight for righteousness sake. We must remember this Jesus is the Lamb of God, but he is also the Lion of Judah. Exodus 15:3 says, “The Lord is a man of war, The LORD is His name.” A warrior is not someone who goes picking a fight. A true warrior is one who fights when the battle is called for and rests, when there is no need to fight. That is what the Lord Jesus is teaching here. He is saying, if it’s of the flesh, it’s not worth fighting for, but if it is of the eternal, then yes, we will be called to fight for it.  The expression, “Pick your battle” doesn’t apply here. The Lord picks the battle. It’s found in His word. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “These six things the LORD Hates, Yes, seven are and abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.” In short, pride, murder, strife, maliciousness, contentiousness, envy, and disunity within our members and as we reach out to others.

We are called to fight these things, not only in others, but mostly with in our own nature. We are called to wrestle it down daily in our own body and throw it repeatedly upon that altar of sacrifice. Dying to self is exhausting work! It seems like I get one limb tied down and another breaks free, and I cry out, “Lord, help me! I can’t get this old sinful self to lie still! The knots I tie keep slipping!” Maybe it’s because I keep tying the same flimsy knots instead of allowing God to take the cord. When He says, “Put your finger here and I’ll pull it tot,” it works. It’s just hard for me to look that sacrifice in the face, because it’s my face looking back at me, and I see the agony I’m putting myself through. But when God sees it, He sees his Son’s sacrifice to defeat that sin that is dying on that altar, and He knows the necessity of it. I want to set me free, But He says, “It must be done for without it, I cannot be with you, and this old thing will rise up and beat the life out of you.” God knows how to fight, and I just need to fight His way, with love.

We, as believers, must know who how to fight, and the Teacher gave us instruction on that as well. Ephesians 6:13-18 “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

We should know the truth of God, which can only come through relationship with our Master Teacher, by sitting in that classroom day in and day out, and doing our lessons faithful, and taking the good and the bad, trudging through our training in all that is required of us. We must suck it in for that girding of the truth, because it’s important we are transformed and not conformed. We will be fitted for that breastplate and learn to wear it even when it chaffs our softer materialists spots we want a little more freedom instead of protection over. The shodding of our feet with the preparation shoes, well, they might cause people to wonder why we’re not wearing the latest style instead of spouting those out of date philosophies, so maybe we’ll want to just kick them right off and play the game barefoot instead and take our chances among the thorns and thistles. Our shield can become a little heavy to carry at times too. Sometimes, we just want to lower it just a little because after all, our helmet is on our head, since we prayed a prayer when we were young, right? Isn’t that enough? Isn’t saying, “Here,” when the roll is called enough for being in school?  Then there’s the whole wielding of the sword of the Spirit training. Isn’t a couple of minutes a day, and knowing John 3:16 enough to pass the test? Let’s admit it. We need some serious attention to our Master Teacher. He’s calling us to attention, and we’d better be giving him our full and undivided attention. His lesson continues as he tells who we’re fighting against.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and ‘hate your enemy’. But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? So then be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48

            By now you might be wondering if I’m asking you to fight or to love. I’m asking you to fight with love; or fight to love with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a battle call. The world is not ready, at this time, to be loved. Imagine the child who is in the middle of a tantrum, and the father of that child picks him up and says to him, “Son, I see you. I know you’re angry. I know you’re scared and afraid, but I’m here now, and I see you. I hear you. It doesn’t matter if the child is wrong or right. What matters to the child is that daddy is there to comfort him. That’s what is going on in the world today. There are so many angry, scared, misdirected people throwing tantrums amid a chaotic world, and the real enemy is wanting to keep them there. Church, we should see them as people, not the enemy, but as victims of the enemy of God.

Before we armored up we were told in Ephesians 6:10-12, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We’re not fighting people, we’re fighting against systems and ideologies that enslave people. We, the Church, should be looking at these ideologies that seek to destroy life, that hurt and enslave people, and declare war on those, and send in special teams, like Christian SEAL teams that will come in and do rescue missions to get out as many people as possible. The traps of the enemy are meant to kill, steal, and destroy, and they are vicious. We need to use our weaponry and be well trained and reaching for no less than the Well Done from our Master Teacher.

Let’s be practical. What does life look like for the average believer as we go through life:

1.      Fellowship-We first must be in fellowship. No soldier can go into a fight and expect to make it out alone. We need a family of believers. As “out dated” as I’ve heard people say the local church is it is not outdated. If you don’t like your church it’s probably because you’re not plugged into it. If you have a good idea go talk to your pastor. You might find a man who wants more good ideas, and needs a lot more help. Also, get involved with small home Bible study groups. These are people you really do life with and have accountability with for the long term. You can’t know everyone in your church, but if you know a group of people it makes your spiritual family matter to you.

2.      Read your Bible goes without saying, but seriously, if you want to know God then go get Him. He’s right there, but read it cover to cover, and never stop reading it. You might see something one way one time and then see it another way as God guides you through life. Be a Berean and search Him out. You will always be His student.

3.      Pray! Pray all the time, stay in constant contact with Him. Ask Him for the small things and the big things. Be willing to be told yes, and told no, and be told wait, and be told go. Learn to speak during prayer times, but also be willing to listen too.

4.       Worship- Take time alone to have those intimate times with God, with no one else but the two of you. When you’re there with Him remember who He is, and who you are to Him. Your identity is found not in the world, or in who others say you are, but in who the one who created you finds you to be when you find Him.

5.      Serve others- You can die to self much faster if you put self to good use. Practice your religion. And religion, as defined in the Bible, is found in James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” If you’re so focused on feeding the hungry you don’t think about what color your apron is. You think about feeding the hungry. You might just find you enjoy doing it. Fight the good fight of loving others. Remember what love looks like.

 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

 John 15:13

Master Teacher-Your Eyes Say Yes but Your Mouth Says No. Matt 5:33-37

As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.

Ps. 41:12

Integrity, character, honor- are these traits dwindling in today’s pop culture?  It is harder to find men and women who will do what is right just to do what is right without all the accolades and recognition. In a society in which everyone gets a pat on the back just for showing up to get a job done and doing what is expected, why do we think anyone would want to step up if it doesn’t pay off, much less speak up? What leads people to action is words. If we want to change our world we must say something. Nothing can get done without words. Yet at the same time it’s words that get us into trouble too. Our words can also lead to devastating consequences. Words are powerful because by our words our thoughts are revealed.

In this week’s teaching our Master Teacher gives us a heart lesson about the words that come out of mouths, and how carelessly we tend to use them. It’s a much deeper than just a few words. He’s cutting deep here and dealing with an integrity issue. He is saying to us that we need to walk the talk to maintain our integrity, our character, and to be a person of honor. In a world where the bad boys are rewarded with riches and seem to get ahead, and the good people appear to suffer, it’s hard to decide to live this way. Take courage, Christian, this world is not our home. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.” Ps. 37:7-9

            Jesus directs us back to the commandments. It is important to remember why He does this repeatedly. Jesus said, ”Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Matt. 5:17 He is not giving us anything contrary to what God has said, but further explaining it, since we haven’t gotten it thus far. A good teacher will go back and show the student why they did wrong, and how to make it right. Since we are having trouble with what we say not matching what we do, Jesus is going to help us to have greater understanding so we can make improvements in this area.

            “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord’.” Matt 5:33 The live audience on the mount by the sea of Galilee was very familiar with this text. They had heard it many times coming from the mouths of the Pharisees and the temple tax collectors. “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” Num. 30:2 Can’t you just picture the people sitting on the grass with a roll of their eyes, picturing the temple tax collector reciting it with them while they nod their heads? But it is important that we keep our word when make a pledge to God. If we say we’re going too fast for a day, we don’t give up at the first twinge of hunger. If we say we’re going to pray for someone, don’t walk away and not pray for that person. Learn to stop on the spot and pray right there. If we say we’re going to read our Bible’s every day, but we can’t seem to find the time to sit and read, then turn off the car radio and put it on an app and listen to it, or turn off the television for a half an hour and listen to it. If we say we’re going to meditate on God’s word, and we can’t seem to find the time, take time before a meal and tune out the people around us, take out our verse of the day, and read it over and over. Do lunch with God alone in our cars. We need to find the time to get alone with God. We will sneak away with someone we love for a private moment, but we keep God public, or worse, we keep Him at arm’s length, or act as though we don’t even know Him, when the whole time all He wants is time with us, to hear us.

            The Master Teacher knows the importance of the promises we make to the LORD because it reflects our intention. What we base those intentions upon also says something about us.

“But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; not by earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.” Matt. 5:34.

            “Oh, my heavens… what on earth…what in tarnation…” does that sound familiar? We swear by so many things all the time in our frustration with the simplest of things around us. We need to be more mindful of our words. Jesus explains that all of creation is the Lord God’s, so who are we to condemn it? All that God has made should remind us of how great He is. “He who builds His layers in the sky, and has founded His strata in the earth; Who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the face of the earth—The LORD is His name.” Amos 9:6 A few years ago, while visiting my daughter, we were in Portland, Oregon. We went to a botanical garden and we were walking through a rose display, rather quickly, just reading the signs about what kind of roses were around us. A man watched us for a minute and then shouted at us, “Take the time to smell the roses!” My daughter burst out in laughter at the cliché, but we did slow down and take the time to smell the roses. We discovered that roses do indeed have very different scents. The man, who was not a gardener there, but just another visitor, took a few seconds and pointed out a few of his favorites to us.  In our busy lives we really do forget to take time to smell the roses and in the process, we miss the blessing of the fine aroma God intends for us to enjoy.

            “Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.” Matt. 5:36

             A man’s word is his bond, right? If his word is not worth anything, if his bond is worthless, then what good is it?  To be powerless is a place we all eventually find ourselves in at one time or another regardless of what we think we have control over. It is best to recognize our limitations before we get ourselves into trouble. Over promising what we can’t deliver leads to difficult situations, and for many people the temptation to cover for those limitation leads to lying. Lying is a slippery slope. One lie leads to another, and to another, and to another until finding the truth is almost impossible to do. No matter what we do we cannot make black into white or white into black. As my father always says, “it is what it is, and you can’t make it what it’s not.”  Once something is out of our mouths we cannot take those words back.

            Jesus knows the limits placed on us by our fall from the Master’s plan. He has direction for us to follow to restore us. Until He returns, He gave us grace, and instructions on how to conduct ourselves. When it comes to how to have integrity in our speech He kept it simple:

            “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No”, ‘No.” For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Matt.5:37

            The Teacher is saying to walk the talk, mean what we say, and let our actions match our words. If we say we’re going to do something then we need to do it, and if we’re not sure then we need to say we’re not sure. If we’re not going to do it, then say we’re not going to do it.  It’s not enough to say the right things if we can’t follow through with doing the right things.  “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Cor. 13:1 Being articulate and having an expansive vocabulary means little if what we say doesn’t bring others to salvation, but condemns them by our actions. “Therefore, the Lord said: Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.” Is 29:13 & “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.” Prov. 17:28 We aren’t to keep silent, however. Jesus commanded us to use our words and our actions. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them in the to observe all the things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you to the end of the age.’ Amen.” Matt. 28:19-20

            Since we’ve been given our marching orders, we’ve also been given our message. Jesus has given us not just the what we need to do, but the what to say. “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you should say.” Luke 12:11-12

            We are judged by what we say and the follow through on what we said we were going to do. Our Lord made promises He kept. Since we are expected to reflect Him, and to demonstrate the lessons we have learned, shouldn’t we also be keeping our word?

Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one who is perverse in his lips and is a fool. Prov. 28:6

The Master Teacher- Lust, Marriage, and Divorce-Matt.5:27-32

Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 1 Cor. 7:3        

What is it that you want in a mate? In our minds, we may make a list of physical attributes. Is what a person physically looks like all that important? Or is the character of a person much more vital? Perhaps we make a list of character traits. Is his or her spiritual, intellectual, and cultural similarities more significant than whether or not the person is into the same sports teams or past-times?  If you are like me, you’ve been blessed with a highly successful system of finding a mate. God brought me my husband at just the right time of my life. So, how is it that companies can advertise matching people for marriage based on compatibility algorithms and boast high success rates, and yet almost half of all marriages end in divorce?  

“For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” Mal.2:12 ESV

In our last study, we dealt with the human heart’s hatred of other people. In this study, we move into next ‘you heard it said,’ from which Jesus is teaching on the commandments. He is doing an expositional teaching on the commandments dealing with the relationships man has with each other. These teachings have become very relevant in our day. The verses on lust and divorce are extremely pertinent to what has become the cornerstone of the Judeo-Christian value of marriage. Questions on the definition of marriage loom large in our society, yet Jesus and the Bible make it very clear what marriage is, and how He saw marriage. We’ll explore this controversial topic, and in doing so find it’s not so controversial after all. As with many topics, it’s not God that complicates them; it is the sinful nature of man’s heart that has taken something so simply beautiful, and made it complex and confusing.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matt.5:27-28

Obviously, this is the seventh commandment found in Exodus 20. “You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14 . What is adultery? It is the will by a married person to have sexual relations with someone who is not his wife, or for a woman who is not her husband. It is a sin because of the purpose of the act of intimacy required to become sexually engaged with another person. Secondly, because of the intended result of that intimacy by the Creator, which was procreation, that is children. Come on, people, you got to get naked! That’s embarrassing enough! To be in that situation with someone who doesn’t care about you as a person, or regard you as anything more than a way to meet an appetite is to put yourself on the same level as a cheeseburger or a side of fries. What a way to demean yourself. Yet, God does not see us that way. His word says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Isaiah 31:3b“  His commandment is to protect us from the pain of feeling so rejected, and passing that rejection on to others. Adultery hurts so many people. It is not just the three involved in the immediate relationship, but all those around them as well. Its effects are devastating to the families, to the community, and to society for decades afterward. The fracture of one marriage is like an earthquake. The epicenter might be far underground, but the damage can be felt miles away in the small cracks in the surface.

The second thing that we see in Jesus’ initial statement is His expositional statement and the weight that it holds. He takes the act of adultery even further. He tells the crowd, and the men that when they even look at woman with lust, they’ve already gone there in their hearts. They’ve already broken those vows to the wife. Maybe there were wives in the crowd at that point who were nudging their husbands, and maybe there were husbands who were shaking their fingers at their wives too. It would have been very difficult for the first century people to wrap their heads around the level of lust we live in today. We are inundated with images of ‘sexy beautiful’ people we are supposed to lust after, or be envious of, or want to emulate. We are pressured into having ‘celebrity’ crushes regardless of our marital status, and our spouse is supposed to be okay with it. Yet what if the celebrity crush is nothing like the spouse? How is that going to make a person feel secure in their marriage? Jesus did understand the human heart and the lengths it could go to, regardless of the times we are in. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” Jer. 17:9

The enemy has not been subtle in planting this division. He doesn’t need to pretend that lust isn’t accepted in our society. We practically teach it to both genders by defining what value we place on expressing immoral sexuality without consequence. It’s in our television shows, movies, advertisements, and social media. It is an appetite within us, but just like our appetite for food, we’re not hungry all the time. We can go without for long periods of time. It’s the enemy making us think we cannot live without it. When it’s constantly placed before us, we are tricked into thinking we need it. We begin to desire what is not ours. This is when sin enters in. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James 1:14-15 If we would just realize that we don’t need it, that what we have is better, then we can rest in the knowledge that God has provided what is truly good for us.

The other thing that we can see in this verse is that God did indeed intend for marriage to be between one man and one woman. Some would say that Jesus never said anything against gay marriage. I would differ to these verses and say here we have proof that He did intend that marriage was indeed a hetero-sexual union. It’s clear when he uses the pronouns his and her. We can see that in the following verses as well when he addresses the issue of divorce. Jesus never spoke of marriage except as being between a woman and a man. Therefore, we can safely extrapolate that Jesus was against gay marriage. Now, I know I may get some flack over this from the gay community, because they will say that just because He didn’t say it doesn’t mean He was against it, and I will say that Jesus also didn’t say that we should marry trees or butterflies, or any other created thing, but that would not give me permission to assume that because He didn’t strictly forbid it I should find it permissible. Since Jesus was quoting the law here, I could add that He knew the law as did the crowd, and the reason He took the tone of one man-one woman in marriage was due to Leviticus 18:22 “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” Jesus did say, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Matt. 5:17   Jesus is unchanging. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

However, that does not mean that we as Christians should condemn those who are under the bondage of the lifestyle of homosexuality any more than we should a person who is struggling with any other sexual sin, or any other sin for that matter. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23 All of us can fall into sin in some way. It is only by the goodness and grace of God working through us that we can overcome the sin nature within us. When I read the following verses, we could all put our names in some of the places of the sins committed, at least in our hearts apart from God.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”1 Cor.6:1-10 Thankfully, that’s not all there is to it. Because of Jesus, there is a hope of redemption.  “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Cor. 6:11  

How then do we live? Are we supposed to make our sexual natures convert something we feel to be so unnatural? As Jesus looked out on the crowd that day He must have seen a lot of distraught faces. They’d come to hear a message of hope, and he’d just given them a message that struck them right in the heart. Who among them had not looked at pretty woman and wondered? Yet, there He was calling them out on their thought life. These men had thought they were in the clear because they had not acted upon it, and Jesus just told them they were sinning against their wives, and that wives who wondered about that man were sinning too. I’m sure it was deftly quiet about this time as His voice traveled over the hillside. What were they supposed to do?

“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast if from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matt. 5: 29-30

Some will read those verses and take them literally. God is not about self-mutilation. He is saying that if something in your life is causing us to sin we need to get rid of it. For example, if you find yourself wanting to be around someone who is not your spouse, then stop going there. If you talk to someone who puts down your spouse, stop talking to them. If anyone or anything comes between you and your spouse, then that person or thing needs to be removed from your life. My husband used to be a big sports fan. He would watch game after game of his favorite teams. His obsession was not one I shared. I didn’t dislike sports, but I just didn’t care for them in the way that he did. After many years of watching his mood swings depend upon whether his teams won or lost he surprised me by suddenly just giving it all up. He simply decided that I was much more important to him, and that he was losing precious joyous times with me just because of a team he wasn’t even a member of and had no control over. To say that I appreciated it is an understatement. Now when he watches sports I don’t mind it at all because I know he’s not all that concerned with the results of the teams. His priority is me. The idea that what is in first place in your marriage should be your spouse is ordained by God. This is seen in His other teaching on divorce found in Matthew 19. “And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Matt. 19:4-6 

“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.” Matt. 5:31-32

The law Jesus was quoting on divorce is found in Deuteronomy 24.  I’m putting it in because I feel it demonstrates that Jesus did not change on the law. He simply reiterated it with a stronger line by stating clearly that when divorce takes place it must be due to adultery, because marriage occurring after divorce is adultery.

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.” Deut. 24:1-4

So, what do we do? We either don’t divorce, or we live as though we are widowed if we do divorce. Those are the choices we make. Marriage should be taken extremely seriously when entering in, and once we are in must be cherished, nourished, and worked on as if your life depends on it. My son said something that I feel is the best advice for newlywed couples I have ever heard. He said, “if couples would stop trying to see each other as ‘romantic partners’ or even as each other’s best friend they would last longer. God set marriage up as the foundation for families. My wife is my family. You don’t get rid of family. People just need to see each other as family members and love like they love their family and they can work through anything.” Having been married for 32 years I know that marriage takes work. It takes grace and forgiveness, mostly on God’s part toward us. We are a cord of three strands, not two. God is what holds a marriage together. Without Him, I don’t know how marriages last.

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. Prov. 5:18