I am free as three and three.
We are joyous, thinkable, and full of glory,
full of glory, full of glory.
We are joyous, thinkable, and full of glory,
all that has never been told.
I am found a pleasure, I am free.
We joy and peace remain.
We're wondrous, blessing, I am safe
from the awful cold of the sea.
Here is joy and speakable, and full of glory,
full of glory, full of glory.
Here is joy and speakable, and full of glory,
all that has never been told.
I am found that hope's so bright and clear,
living in the realm of grace.
For the Savior's presence is so great,
I can see His smiling face.
Here is joy and speakable, and full of glory,
full of glory, full of glory.
Here is joy and speakable, and full of glory,
all that has never been told.
I am found that joy no one can tell,
how His ways of glory roll.
Here is life, the greater glory,
bells ringing up within my soul.
Here is joy and speakable, and full of glory,
full of glory, full of glory.
Here is joy and speakable, and full of glory,
all that has never been told.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the soldiers of the cross,
with highest royal banner,
it must not suffer loss.
From victory until victory,
His armies shall be lead,
till every goal is vanquished,
and Christ is Lord indeed.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the trumpet of obey,
born to the mighty God,
with his glorious name,
he had our men now serve him,
against our numbered foes,
with courage, rise with danger,
and strength to strength our foes.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
standing his strength alone,
the arm of last will fail you,
he dare not trust your own,
but of the gospel armor,
and watching unto prayer,
where duty calls for danger,
we never wanting there.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the strength will not be lost,
this day the noise of battle
connects the bitter soul,
to him that overcome,
the crown of life shall be,
he will the King of glory
shall be eternally.
I am thy own.
Stand fast, Baptist Church.
If you could all find your seats, we're going to go ahead and get started.
Once you've found a seat, go ahead and grab a hymnal. We're starting song number 429.
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.
429.
Let's make sure we sing it out nice and loud. It's the only time of year we sing these songs.
We've got to take it seriously, right?
All right. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.
Number 429.
On the first.
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. Glory
to the newborn King.
Peace on earth and mercy
mild, God and sinners
rank and serve.
Joyful all the nations rise,
join the triumph of the skies.
With angelic hosts proclaim,
Christ is born.
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. Glory
to the newborn King.
Christ by eyes and a door.
Christ the everlasting Lord.
Layed inside the ocean
of spring double,
virtual spring.
Veiled in flesh the God had seen
held in car and tea and tea.
Pleased as men with men to dwell.
Jesus our Emmanuel
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. Glory
to the newborn King.
Hail the head of the heavens
of things.
Hail the Son of righteousness.
Amen.
Life to all he brings
healing in his drinks.
May the life's his glory by
born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons
of earth. Born to give
the second birth. Hark, the
Herald Angels Sing. Glory
to the newborn King.
Come, these aerobations
come, fixing us
thy humble home.
Christ when women's
conquering sea, routine us
the serpents men.
Step thine image
in its place. Send an atom
from above. Re-escape
sin by love.
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. Glory
to the newborn King.
Excellent singing everybody. Thank you for carrying me through that.
Let's go ahead and bow our heads for a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you
for this Christmas season. We thank you for steadfast Baptist Church and everyone that's gathered here together.
Lord God, we ask that you fill Pastor Shelley with your Holy Spirit, helping to preach an edifying
sermon so we can leave better Christians when we came in for your honor and glory.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, next up we have song number
434.
A little town of Bethlehem.
Song number 434.
On the first.
Oh little town of Bethlehem.
How sweet we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless
thing, the silent stars
still lie
Yet in thy dark streets
shine the everlasting
night, the hopes and
fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight
For Christ is born of
gathered all above
While mortals sleep
the angels keep their watch
of wandering up
All morning stars together
proclaim the Holy
Birth and praises
the King and means to
men on earth
How silently
the wondrous gift is
given, so God
imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his health
may hear his coming
but in this world of sin
where meek souls will
receive him still
the dead Christ enters in. On the last.
Holy child of Bethlehem
descend to us in
cast out our sin
and insurgent be born
in us today
we hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings dwell
O come to us
by with us our Lord
Amen.
Perfect.
Excellent singing.
Thank you for coming to Steadfast Baptist Church
If you did not already get a bulletin and you would like one of our bulletins
you can lift up your hand nice and high. One of our ushers can come by
and get you guys a bulletin.
Bible memory verse though if you are able to quote it and you're 18 or under
you can get an ice cream immediately following the service. Also on the inside
is our church times, our soul winning times, our stats. Also we have the list
of our expecting ladies so please be in prayer for all those who are expecting.
We also have our prayer list. I'm gonna come right back to this on the
back. We have the note about our turkey ball so we're having a flag
football game on Saturday and we're gonna be meeting there at the
location listed in the bulletin. Brother Marcel's helping lead this and we
got several guys that are gonna come out. Should be a lot of fun so we're meeting
from 9 to about 11 a.m. We're gonna let the kids play and then we're gonna
we're gonna let the men play all right so that the teens and the men are
gonna play and we'll see who can win all right. Also there's a cleaning
volunteer lunch in December 22nd. If you're interested if you've if you've
participated in cleaning some of our volunteers you're you're
welcome to come and then if you want to learn about or participate you can come
we'll probably have a sign-up sheet just to make sure that we are prepared for
that but we'll have a lunch on December 22nd the 25th so Christmas
day we're gonna have both of our services and we're gonna I guess that's
a Wednesday I'm sorry. Isn't that a Wednesday? I'm all I'm like double
yes Wednesday we're not having both services folks okay don't show up in
the morning. We're having our evening service we'll have a candlelight service
and we're having our Christmas cookie bake off and so it's it's a great and
fun event tons of people bring some really amazing cookies so I've never
seen cookies like some of the ones that people have made in some of the
times past especially for the creative part of the competition and so I'm
really excited about that. January 1st is our men's preaching night and
pizza and so if you'd like to participate in that we'd love for any
of the men of the church just wear a button-up shirt and tie and we can let
men in the church that want to preach a sermon can preach probably about a
five-minute sermon approximately. If we go back to the middle of our
announcements and then we also had a handout there was some
congratulations to the Milsteads on the birth of Preston Phillip he was
born on the 3rd 141 p.m. weighing seven pounds four ounces 19 and
three-quarters inches long and then on the back is also a note about the
congratulations to the Smith family on the beat on the birth of Peter Johannes
he was born on the 5th at 4.54 a.m. eight pounds six ounces 20 and a
quarter inches long so congratulations both of them and then our prayer list
we'll go over this quickly and then we'll say a word of prayer as a family
we're continuing to pray for several here sicknesses the names we've been
praying for their grandmother we've been praying for the Carlson's mother we've
been praying for Miss Miller's for her friend's mother for cancer treatments
we've been praying for brother Scott's parents for cancer also for nerve pain
we've been praying for the Garcia's for brother Tony for his health and his
work also been praying for their daughter Krista who's also pregnant
been praying for the Foley's for his fiancee we've been praying for the
brother Caputo for healing for his back we've been praying for brother Alex for
his work we've also been praying for the Warner's brother who's had a serious
knee injury we've been praying for the Hernandez's grandmother who's
recovering from surgery and then also Mrs. Goodwin wanted us to pray for our
friend Sarah who's also having surgery and and having some health issues
would be pray for them and then also brother Nick was asking for prayer
for work as well so several prayer requests there I will just say a quick
word of prayer as a church family thank you Heavenly Father so much for giving
us this opportunity to be gathered here this evening thank you so much for all
the ladies in our church are expecting I pray you just help them during their
pregnancy please help them with their children's birth to have a timely birth
thank you for the new births that we just had I pray that you just bless
those children bless those ladies to recover quickly and just help those
families right now I pray that you'd also just continue to bless our other
church family that needs health that needs maybe a miracle even for their
cancer or for their sickness I pray if possible that you just grant them health
please give them life I pray that you would also comfort them during their
time of tribulation and difficulty those are hurting and struggling I pray
that you would just comfort them and give them as much peace as possible
please bless our church family that needs a job or is looking for work
that you would just help them to find that that they could get that blessing and
favor I pray you'd also help those that need favor when traveling or in their
relationships and I pray that you just help to use our church to continue to
reach people with the gospel and to get more people saved than Jesus' name we
pray amen it's all I have as far as announcements we're gonna sing our
special song of the week we we've been doing in our handouts our third
song so if you have a hand out there in front of you underneath the chair it's
where the spirit blows and so if you can find one of those where the spirit
blows we'll sing it out nice and loud
all right where the spirit blows and on the very end when we will go I want
to hear everybody shout it out we will go all right where the spirit
blows
Jesus told me overland and sea red black and white sweet and his sign where the spirit blows we will go go go go where the spirit blows we will go
yeah we're proud to every town not just the Jews let's go in choose where the spirit blows we will go go go go where the spirit blows we will go
father spirit son these three are one only trinity always with me where the spirit blows we will go go go go where the spirit blows we will go
we bicep fell send Christ to hell but he arose crushing our flows where the spirit blows we will go go go go where the spirit blows we will go
all right on this last one I really want to hear it you gotta shout it out as loud as you can on the end all right ready
he heals the lane call on his name faith alone saves empties the grace where the spirit blows we will go go go go where the spirit blows we will go
all right excellent as the offering plates are being passed around would you please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter number five
Matthew chapter number five
Matthew chapter number five the Bible reads and seeing the multitudes he went up into a mountain and when he was set his disciples came unto him
and he opened his mouth and taught them saying blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled
blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God
blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake
rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you
ye are the salt of the earth but if the salts have lost the saber wherewith shall it be salted it is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under the foot of man
ye are the light of the world a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel but on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that are in the house
let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven
think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfill for verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven
but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees
ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven ye have heard that it was said by them of old time thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment
but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment and whosoever shall say to his brother raka shall be in danger of the council
but whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there are members that thy brother had thought against thee
leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift
agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him
lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and thou be cast into prison
verily on say unto thee thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the utter most farthing
ye have heard that it was said by them of old time thou shalt not commit adultery
but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart
and if thy right eye offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee
for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not thy whole body should be cast into hell
and if thy right hand offend thee cut it off and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish
and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell
it hath been said whosoever shall put away his wife let him give her a writing of divorcement
but I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication
causeth her to commit adultery and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committed adultery
again ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time thou shalt not forswear thyself
but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths
but I say unto you swear not at all
neither by heaven for it is God's throne nor by earth for it is his footstool
neither by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king
neither shalt thou swear by thy head because thou canst not make one hair white or black
but let your communication be ye ye nay nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil
ye have heard that it hath been said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also
and if any man will soothe thee at the law and take away thy coat let him have thy cloak also
and whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain
give to him that asketh thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away
ye have heard that hath been said thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy
but I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you
and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you
that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven
for he maketh his son to rise in the evil and on the good
and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust
for if you love them which love you what reward have ye
do not even the publicans the same and if you salute your brethren only
what do you more than others do not even the publicans so
be ye therefore perfect even as your father which is in heaven is perfect
let us pray. Heavenly Father Lord thank you for this chapter of the Bible
thank you for this church Lord and salvation as we've had
pray that you bless Pastor Shelly filled with your Holy Spirit
let him preach your word unto us and help us to receive it with an open heart
praise in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. So we're going to be going through
Matthew 5 it's a very long chapter a lot of really famous verses
and so I cannot do this chapter justice in one Bible study
so I want to make that clear that I'm not going to be able to necessarily
dive into everything that would be a lot of fun to really dive into
but I do want to try and maintain kind of the attitude of the general
consensus of the chapter and what is kind of the main point
that's being driven and along the way stop and talk about a few
passages that I find interesting to talk about this evening
but one thing I want to do before I kind of go through this chapter
is I want to notice that in verse one it says
and seeing the multitudes he went into a mountain and when he was
said his disciples came unto him I want to show you a verse
and we're not going to, we're going to stay in Matthew 5 mostly tonight
but go to John chapter 6 for just a second if you would
keep your finger here of course coming right back to it
but I want you to understand that when the word disciple is used
it's not always immediately obvious what's being communicated
because I think most of us typically think of the word disciple
as just the 12th and that's like the only thing we typically think of
but that is not how the Bible uses the word disciple
really you kind of have to think of the word disciple I think
as the word follower so just someone that was just following Jesus Christ
it's kind of like what a disciple is and we of course understand
that the 12 were the followers of Jesus Christ ok
but I want to show you this distinction because I think it's helpful
John chapter number 6 look at the end of this chapter
in verse number 66 from that time many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him
then said Jesus unto the 12 will he also go away
so I want you to understand that being a disciple is not only the 12
that it was really all the people that were following Jesus
and this is why I think that's important go back if you would to Matthew 5
and why I want to show you this is because
not every one of the disciples was saved
now when I say that I'm not talking about the 12
because the 11 were of course saved and Judas was not saved
and that's just clear and there would be really no point
and Jesus is trying to get those 12 saved
but when you have multitudes and you have a lot of people
that were his followers it's a mixed multitude
there's a lot of unsaved people mixed in this crowd
and so a lot of Jesus Christ preaching is geared towards
getting people saved and I think you have to understand
that even Matthew chapter number 5 is going to delve into
the concepts of salvation and it's geared towards
trying to get some of these people saved
but Jesus isn't only ever preaching just a salvation message
he kind of has a unique way of being able to teach us wisdom
and give us all kinds of things we can learn from
while also teaching people about salvation itself
so it's kind of like a double way to teach
in this particular chapter
but a large section of Matthew 5
is geared towards trying to get people saved I believe
now if we look at verse number 2 it says this
and he opened his mouth and taught them saying
it's important and some of these details just seem
a little bit I guess just obvious
like you teach people by talking
but I think the Bible just uses this really clear language
just so we don't even get confused
he opened his mouth and taught them
I think that we shouldn't undermine the value
and the importance of verbal instruction
that verbal instruction is important
and that Jesus Christ literally opened his mouth
and taught people
and of course this is how we teach people how to get saved
is we open our mouths boldly
to make known the mystery of the gospel
and there's something about verbal communication
there's something about having a conversation with someone
that can have a really important learning experience
I'm a little bit of a visual learner
I like to see things I like to see the numbers
I like charts and I like pictures
I like all that kind of stuff that really helps me
but some people are just really good at learning
from verbal instruction as well
and I think we need both
but Jesus Christ verbally instructed
and verbally taught his disciples
and we need people that are going to open their mouths
and teach the Bible
we have an epidemic in this world today
where people don't know what the Bible says
they're not very knowledgeable
and we need people to follow in Jesus' footsteps
and open their mouths and teach the Bible
and teach what the Word of God says
now he taught them saying what?
Verse 3, blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
as we go through verses 3 through 11 approximately
this is kind of what we are referring to
as called the B attitudes
I've always heard that terminology
so if someone says the B attitudes
they're going to refer to
specifically like this verse
blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
that's one of them
and they're saying like these next few verses
are called the B attitudes
I don't even know why you can look it up yourself
I always just thought of like
it's attitude
this is the kind of attitudes you're supposed to have
that could be totally off from the etymology of that word
I don't even know, I don't even care
but I've just always called
it's always been called the B attitudes
it doesn't really matter to me
it's just when someone's trying to be fancy
and be like what about the B attitudes
and you're like I don't even know what you're saying
they're just talking about this section of Scripture
just to throw that out there
but this is really important verses
and I think that they're really famous
because they're really powerful
but they're kind of cloaked
in a little bit of mystery here
because it says blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
what does that mean though
what does it mean that the poor
in spirit are blessed
well I think that you have to understand
that a lot of the things
that are being mentioned here have a spiritual
significance and so
he helps us along the way
by saying poor in spirit
he's not necessarily saying being poor
is a blessing
because obviously being poor
is not ideal, it'd be nice to have some things
have a car, have money, have whatever
those are considered blessings
but think about this poor in spirit
it's almost more like an attitude
if you think about it
and again we're talking about the B attitudes
so we want to have the right attitude
meaning we have the right
focus, mentality
view point
when it comes to the world that we live in
what is someone that's poor
in a sense is they're lacking
they're lacking
they don't have something
and I think when you're lacking
it causes you to
take notice of that
to focus in on that
right if you're without
if you're poor you're kind of thinking like
how do I fix the situation
you're concerned with the idea of
needing to improve that particular situation
and so if you're poor
in spirit, I believe
what it's trying to say
is it's trying to say you're kind of focused in
on the spiritual things
not the carnal things
that's what it's ultimately trying to point us to
because if you're
rich in something
the Bible is always pointing this picture of
you feel like you don't need anything
whereas when you're poor you're feeling like you need something
you feel like you're lacking
and I think that what God wants is
he wants us to have this attitude of
feeling like we're poor
spiritually in a sense
that we need more I need something
I need the spirit of God
I need spiritual things
and so you're focused in on
the things of God
you're wanting to remedy that particular situation
when we look at the church
in the book of Revelation
the Laodiceans
or some of these other churches
they're thinking that they're good because they're like
we're rich and we're increased with goods
and so they kind of have this attitude
if they've already arrived they don't need anything
and we'll notice if you go out and you knock
doors and you talk to people today
who is not very interested
in hearing anything you have to say
people that are rich
because they don't feel like they need anything
they feel like they're good
whereas people that don't have much money
and they're maybe without
are lacking they're more receptive
to the things of God why because it's almost like
inherently they know they need something
they're searching for something
they want to remedy their situation
and so for us as God's people
he wants us to always have this
attitude of like we're poor in spirit
in the sense that we feel like we need
God in the sense that we feel
like hey I haven't arrived
it's almost like a humility
in a sense of we're saying
I'm not rich in spirit I'm poor in spirit
I need the things of God
I need more Bible
I need more church
I need to sing more hymns
I need to learn more of the scripture
I need to pray more
you're basically saying I need to do more
you're not I'm good
I have everything I have I'm rich
I've got it all I've got it locked down
but rather you have this poor
in spirit attitude and it says this
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
what is the kingdom of heaven
we explained this in a previous sermon
but it's like the spiritual family of God
you've entered into the spiritual
family of God and it's really in a sense
in this world it's the work of God
the work of God that's being
accomplished in this in this life
and so who's going to accomplish the things
of God it's the people that want to
it's the people that are saying hey
I need church I need God I need
to go out and preach the gospel more
I need to do these things that are
important and you have a spiritual
focus you're not focused
in on the carnal things
because obviously
if you're poor
carnally let's put it let's put it another way
we said poor in flesh
well then
we might be focused in on making
more money we might be focused in on
maybe you're poor in flesh like you're weak
so you're going to build yourself up you're going to work out
you're going to try to remedy that situation
and so oftentimes
necessity drives
you to do things
and in a sense by being poor in spirit
it can bring that necessity
component to you saying I need more of God
I need to rely on him
you know the poor are more
likely to take a handout or recognize
their need for help or a need for a
savior and at the same
time that could be in our situation where
we have to recognize you know
I don't have it all together
I need God's protection I need
God's blessing I need God's help
if I need a job I need God to help me
if I need to be protected
I need God to help me
I need God to help me to be a better husband
I need God to help me to be a good pastor
I need God to help me understand the Bible
I'm having a poor in spirit
attitude of saying I need someone else
I'm relying on someone else
I'm not so rich and arrives
and I've got it all figured out
and so he's saying blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
those are the people that are going to actually do the works of God
are the people that recognize
their need for God because God likes
to use humble people
God likes to use the poor
in this world rich in faith
to exercise his will
so that he gets the honor and the glory
think about it the person that's poor in spirit
after something great's accomplished
who's he going to give the credit to
God because he realizes hey
it wasn't about me I'm poor in spirit anyways
I needed him anyways
he's the one that helped me out
he's the one that took care of me
he's part of the Red Sea for me
he's the one that got me out of Egypt
he's the one that fed me with manna from heaven
he's the one that's basically nursed me
he's the one that caused my sandals not to wear out
he's the one that's allowed me
to enter into promised land
he's the one that's taken care of me all the way through
and so he gets all the honor and the glory
and that's why
they're the ones that are going to have the kingdom of heaven
whereas the people that
kind of are full of themselves
prideful they're taking credit
for things they haven't even done
they're not going to be the ones used greatly by God
and so we must
maintain an attitude
we must maintain a
mentality and a viewpoint of being
poor in spirit recognizing
our need for the Lord
recognizing our dependence upon him
he says blessed are they that mourn
for they shall be comforted
you know who
mourning this doesn't seem
this seems contradictory like all these
seem contradictory to our
flesh and what we think of
we think of mourning as being bad being sad
you know there's things that we need to mourn for
and
the response often
kind of helps us with
these particular situations but what would
be something that we should be mourning for
and who are the people that are blessed that mourn for
it's people who mourn for their sin
the people who mourn for their sin
what is going to happen they're going to probably
end up repenting
getting that right with the Lord
making a change and then God's going to comfort them
you know how about just getting saved
you have to at least at some level
recognize that your sin is going to
take you to hell and have some level
of remorse or some kind of
feeling about that of being
sad and then recognizing
hey I need Jesus Christ
and when you realize that he died on the cross
for all your sins you're going to be comforted
from the guilt and the
shame and the embarrassment of your sin
and you know I was
speaking to a lady this evening
and you know after
preaching the gospel and she understood it
she kind of choked up and was teary-eyed a little bit
and that doesn't always happen
you don't have to cry to be saved
you don't have to mourn to be saved but you know what
I think for some people they just recognize wow I have sin
I have done a lot of bad things
and yet Jesus still loves me
Jesus still is going to give me free salvation
Jesus is still going to take me to heaven
and you know what blessed are they that mourn
not just for salvation but when we sin
we need to repent
we need to ask the Lord to forgive us
so that we don't face consequences on this earth
you can't go to hell after you're saved
but you can still be punished on earth
and so blessed are those that mourn
in the sense they take accountability for their sin
here's another thing that's important
is people that are mourning for the lost
you know he that go forth and weepeth
bearing precious seed shall doubtless come
again with rejoicing
bringing issues with them
so notice they go out
mourning but then they come back
comforted because they recognize
hey there are still people
that want to hear the gospel
hey there are still people that want to get saved
hey there are still people that we can make a difference
in their lives and we need to go out there
and preach the everlasting gospel
and to rescue people from bad churches
and false teaching and false
religion and from the devil
who wants to ensnare everybody's soul
to take them down into hell
the devil wants to take everybody to hell
and he's doing such a good job at it right now
because people won't open their mouths like Jesus
and teach them the gospel
of Jesus Christ
because people aren't mourning over the lost
dying and going to hell
but rather they're watching some idiot on the TV
make a fool of himself
and that's what's wrong with America
that's what's wrong with christianity today
is too many people are just having fun
while the whole world's dying and going to hell
rather than mourning for the lost
mourning for the people that are dying
and on their way to hell
mourning for all the sin and the evil in our society
but you know what blessed are they that mourn
for they shall be comforted
the bible says in verse number
five
blessed are the meek
for they shall inherit the earth
what is meekness
meekness is an idea of being humble
meekness is an idea of not trying to
elevate one's self
your accomplishments
or bragging about who you are
elevating yourself
making yourself get attention
and glory and look at me
and look at what I've done
and look at all these things
that I've accomplished
you know we should really be more concerned
with building others up
helping others
encouraging others
when you're just trying to scream
like give me attention
look at who I am
you know that really is kind of
off-putting and especially to the Lord
and he does not like that
and so he wants us to be meek
and notice for they shall
inherit the earth
the humble will be lifted up
and the humble will be
the people that have the greatest rewards in heaven
and the people that were prideful
the people that were carnal
the people that are constantly bragging about what they've done
they are going to be the least
and the kingdom of heaven
they're not going to be the ones that
have the great things of this world
and you know even from a general perspective
if we look at just the whole world as a populace
who are those that brag
about themselves the most
I mean we look at the major celebrities of today
the major sports athletes
of the day lifting themselves up
they've got posters of themselves
they have jerseys with
their name on it
and contracts that are all about them
and drinks all about them
I think that
wasn't it Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman came out with a new beer
that's got his
jersey number on it
it's called 8
because he was 0-8
so he's got his own beer
it's like it's 8 man
dude you retired a long time ago
you won because of Emmett Smith
you won because of a good offensive line
like and I'm not trying to throw shade
Troy Aikman was decent
but he wasn't like the greatest quarterback
ever or anything like that
and of course when you lift yourself up
then you offer yourself
to people like me to criticize you
and say you weren't that great anyways
whereas if you just stay out of the conversation
and you don't bring yourself up
then maybe you can let another man praise
the in not thine own mouth
a stranger in not thine own lips
and really it's embarrassing
when you see
people bragging about themselves
and talking about themselves
and trying to elevate themselves
and bring up all of their accolades
because it's just not a spiritual thing
we should be meek, we should be humble
we should praise other people
we should lift other people up
that is the attitude
and those are the type of people
that when we get to heaven
God's going to be like hey here's my guy
you don't need to tell us
that you're great
it doesn't matter if you tell us you're great
because every man sings his own praises
you know it's a faithful man who can find
I mean every man will praise himself
basically that's what the Bible says
let's keep reading it says in verse 6
blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness
for they shall be filled
we need to
have an appetite
for serving God
what is
righteousness it's doing right
so if you're hungry and thirsty
you're searching how can I do right better
I want to do more
right and he's saying you're going to be filled
why because there is more
right to do than you can do
essentially the righteousness
buffet has got more food
than you've got appetite
but what God doesn't find very often
in this world are people that have an appetite
to do right to clean up their lives
to get better you know we should
seek to become a better person
not a worse person we should seek
to do more right in our lives
not less right
but so many people they're not interested in the things
of God they're not interested in reading the Bible
they're not interested in following God's commandments
they're not interested in seeing how they can
serve the Lord Jesus Christ
whereas there's a huge buffet ready for those
that are hungry
those that are hungry there is more
soul winning than you could ever do in your
lifetime
there are more doors to knock
there are more soul winning missions trips
there are more people than you could ever
open your mouth and preach the gospel
to than you could ever want
the buffet is open for those that are hungry
hey there's a lot of church
service I mean there's three church services
our church has a week
and if you speak Spanish there's four
you want to you you you're hungry
will fill you up
you want to learn the Bible I preach
really long sermons
I'll fill you up man I'll tell you what
and then if you just like the internet
I mean you could listen to more preaching than the day
exists
if you want it
hey you like the Bible
God's got more Bible than you can read in a day
God's got so much Bible
and look by the time you get
reading all the way through you'll forget almost everything you read
and you just start over again
and you just keep learning new things every single time
I mean the Bible
while some of it can get a little dry
once you've read it a couple dozen times
it's still just so fresh
there's still so much new stuff
and it takes a lifetime to realize
that you still don't know anything
and there's still tons to learn
and there's still tons to study
and so we need people that are hungry
for soul winning and for the Bible
and for serving look there's plenty to do in church
there's plenty of families to love on
there's plenty of poor people to help
there's plenty of expecting ladies
to go drop a meal off for
there's tons of people to pray for
I mean do you see the prayer list
I mean there's more things
to do than you could possibly do
but we need people to have an appetite
for things of God
we need people to have an appetite to say
hey I want to go on church on Wednesday night
hey there's more seats here
someone wants to come on Wednesday night
we got a seat for ya
hey we got more Bibles we got more track stand out
we got more Spanish Bibles
hey we got more opportunities
hey we're gonna have a men's preaching night
you wanna preach but you know
but is anyone ever gonna watch my sermon on YouTube
and I get a bunch of likes and I'm gonna like
no your sermon won't be on YouTube because I'm banned on YouTube
sorry
sorry I ruined it for all you YouTube click baiters
now maybe
you could go afterwards post
edit and go find it and put on your own
YouTube channel or something just make sure you don't
put me in it at all because you'll get banned
alright
but hey there's still nursing homes
there's still your family there's still friends
there's still the prison there's still the county jail
there's still wherever you can go preach
until your heart's content
oh but will anybody be watching me
you know some people only serve God while the camera's
on
and you know what that's not really serving God
blessed are the meek
did you remember that that you're not lifting yourself
up some people only give money to the poor that's
next chapter if they get seen
and recognized and everybody can see that they're
doing it some people seems like
the only time they go soul winning is when the camera's
on and it's like
we don't necessarily need to live
our lives on social media to tell everybody
how great we are now look I'm not
against people filming their soul winning
I'm not against filming soul winning
I'm not against filming all the works that we're
doing because the Bible makes it abundantly clear
in this chapter specifically
that we should do this look at verse 16 let
your light so shine before men that they may see your good
works and glorify your father which is in heaven
hey I want to put a bright spot on soul winning
but we shouldn't be willing
to only soul win if the cameras are on
okay we should be willing to do it
at both times hey if the camera's on
soul winning if the camera's off soul winning
it's raining soul winning if it's not
raining soul winning if it's cold soul winning
if it's hot soul winning you know I'm not this
fair weather when the cameras are on
soul winner you know it's just whenever
this opportunity why because
when you're hungry you just eat
and that's what it's saying
blessed are they which hunger and thirst after
righteousness for they shall be filled
because God's got more work and more
righteousness than you can handle anyways
he just wants someone to get an appetite
we need more people to have an appetite
verse 7 blessed are the merciful for
they shall obtain mercy
you know it's
it's something that God takes seriously
is how you treat other people
if you never extend grace
you're never extending mercy you're never giving people
benefit of the doubt well then God's
saying that's how I'm going to treat you
and I'm just going to tell you I want God to give me as much
benefit of the doubt as possible
I want God to be really gracious with me when I screw up
I want God to kind of
look the other way or to help me out
or let things go and we need to have that
attitude as Christians now obviously
there's sometimes in places where we
have to distance ourselves there's
sometimes when we have to confront difficult issues
and of course there's some people we even have to
separate from in our lives but we should
by default be merciful
and we should extend
as much mercy as we can because
God is going to also then give us
mercy
verse 8 blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God
now this pure I want to go somewhere
here go to Psalm 24 for a moment
go to Psalm 24 I am spending
a little bit of time on these verses just because they're really iconic
and so I'm trying to give you a quick
thought here we're going to kind of speed
up as we go through the rest of this chapter
but Psalm 24 when we talk
about the word pure, pure can have a lot of
different meanings I believe
that pure means
two different things kind of combined
in this number one it's kind
of the idea of cleanliness
so we typically think of purity
and the concept of being clean
pure water, clean water
and so
when we talk about that it has a context
but another way to look at purity
is the idea of sincerity and I think
that the Bible brings both of these into the picture
of not only are you clean but you're also
sincere and I think
that the sincerity is probably
the more important point that's being brought up
because of course no one's perfect
but what we should strive for is
sincerity and the Bible says in
Psalm 24 look at verse 4
he even have clean hands and a pure heart
who have not lifted up his soul
into vanity nor sworn deceitfully
so the Bible kind of uses these two words
as very similar clean and pure
not lifted
his soul into vanity notice
this nor sworn deceitfully
so this is someone that's
sincere because an
insincere person would swear
deceitfully yeah I'm gonna
serve God yeah I'm gonna do the right thing
yeah I love the Lord
but they're not sincere they're swearing
deceitfully and whereas the
person that's pure in heart
when they say I love the Lord
it's because they love the Lord
when they say they want to go to church
it's because they want to go to church
when they give something to someone
they do it because they love the person
but you know there are a lot of people that do things
sincerely they're not actually sincere
in their intention they're not actually sincere
in their words they're not actually sincere
in their heart and their attitude
and their mind and you know what
blessed are the pure in heart
for they shall see God
go if you went to Proverbs chapter 20
go to Proverbs chapter 20
I want to show you this again
Proverbs chapter 20 look at verse
11 so not only is cleanliness
important in getting sin out of your life
it's also important
to be sincere and to sincerely
love the Lord and actually have good intentions
the Bible says in Proverbs chapter
20 verse number 11
even a child is known
by his doings whether his work
be pure notice this
and whether it be right
so notice again when it's talking
about a child his actions
it's saying we can tell if this kids
his actions and work is pure
because it's done right
and it's done with the right attitude
the right heart with sincerity
look at chapter 21 verse 8 it's right there
on the page the way of a forward
I'm sorry the way of a man is forward
and strange but as for the pure
his work is
right and so
we get a little bit deeper meaning here
of purity not only is it cleanliness
but we're talking about sincerity
and doing that sincerity
and uprightness with righteousness
so someone that's pure in heart
they are sincerely
trying to serve God they're trying
to do it with what the Bible
actually says and the Bible says
those are the people that are going to actually see
God because the Bible says that we're
supposed to worship God in sincerity
and in truth and you need
both to truly see God
to truly understand who he
is to really have a grasp on who
he is now think about this
who is God
is this
in the beginning
was the word and the word is with God and the word
was God in a special
unique way the Bible
is God
now obviously this is still
text and we get that
and God is a person but somehow
the word was made manifest
and dwelt among us
and in some way this
is God and think about
this how many Christians
in this world
are not seeing God because they're using
an NIV
because they're using an ESV
because they're not actually pure
in heart they're not actually
trying to figure out who God really
is and they're looking through a
glass darkly and they don't really
see God they don't really understand
God they don't know who
God really is because they're
not sincere they're not
dealing with clean heart with a clean
understanding they're not seeking him
and trying to do things right they're just
like well I don't want to use the
King James Bible I want to just
use this paraphrase or I want to do
you know and so they don't really have
the right intention because the right
intention just be like I just want to
know God I just want to see God
where is he and it's like it's right here
or they're trying to seek God
in a TV show they're trying to seek
God in a book like Harry Potter
there's this stupid book that's called like
seeing Jesus in Harry Potter
or something like that
yeah those people aren't going to see
Jesus Christ in Harry Potter
you're not going to see Jesus Christ in some
cartoon or some fictional story
you're not going to see Jesus Christ at the Catholic
Church you're not going to see Jesus Christ
in these modern perversions
of the Bible you know where you're going to see Jesus Christ
in the King James Bible
just opening it and reading
the verses you will see God
blessed are the pure in heart for they shall
see God
and people today they want to make
this a mystery they want to make it confusing
they want to make it more complicated it's really
simple just open your King James
Bible and you will see God
not only you see God you'll read the stories
about Abraham and Isaac and you'll
see Jesus
you'll open the Bible and you'll read
stories about the different prophets like
Moses and you'll see Jesus you'll see
the Passover lamb and you'll see Jesus
and you'll just constantly see God
on every single one of these pages
whereas those who aren't sincere
and aren't filled with the spirit of God
they won't see anything
it'll just go over their heads how many people
are going to church today and they're just
going to have Stephen Fertick, Kenneth Copeland
whoever yell and scream about some nonsense
today they didn't see God
they'll come down an aisle they'll get
they'll smack them on the forehead
they'll fall on the ground they didn't see anything
they'll be like Isaiah salad bar
or salad bar what are you going to call
that weirdo that freak
and he'll lie to them and say that he saw
Jesus they'll go to some
Pentecostal church and the pastors say like
I went to heaven and I saw Jesus
I mean I've heard this my whole life
because I grew up in those weird
cult like freak show clown
show churches and the pastors get
up there they just lie through their teeth
this one pastor gets up he's just like yeah
I've been I've been to heaven it looks
like a shopping mall and I'm already like
that sounds like hell buddy okay
he's like we're riding on segues
and you know I'm like
what kind of weird effeminate heaven
is this that you're going to I'm like
you're just a liar how about
these kids there's these kids that write
these books saying that they died
and went to heaven and then later like yeah
my dad forced me to lie about
it and we made a bunch of money on the book or whatever
that's not how you see God folks
you see God through
reading the Bible Jesus
Jesus Christ is the Word and you know what God is
an equal opportunity because we all have a King James Bible
and we all have the same opportunity
to see him he doesn't want to hide
himself from people that want
to see him all it takes
is sincerity
all it takes is a
clean hand to say hey I actually
want to know him and you just read the Bible
and you'll get to see him
you will see him now sometimes it takes time
sometimes you know you read the Bible
and it may not make sense immediately
but the more you seek after God
and the more pure you are in heart
the more you will see him
the Bible says here in Matthew chapter 5
verse 9
blessed are the peacemakers
for they should be called the children of God
we need more peacemakers in this world
and the world is very
it's very contentious
it's very divided
and of course sometimes Christ even brings division
that's very clear in the Bible
but we should not be seeking for division
we should be seeking for peace
and especially amongst brethren
it's a really bad sign
when Christians or pastors
it seems like their ministry is dedicated
to not seeking for peace
with other brothers and sisters in Christ
like
it's one thing to fight against the unsaved
to fight against heretics
to fight against false religion
but to just be on a constant
tear of just attacking other Christians
attacking other pastors
attacking other churches
attacking other brothers and sisters in Christ
this is just a bad attitude
it's a bad spirit
blessed are the peacemakers
for they should be called the children of God
and you know what even the unsaved can see like
wow this guy is always
trying to make things right
and fix things and help people
and give people benefit out
that must be a child of God
whereas the guy that's always contentious
and angry and causing problems
to go to Christ
stop being petty and bickering
and fighting and just causing
all kinds of unnecessary strife
we already have enough division
in this world
we already have enough haters in this world
we should be peacemakers
and we should seek for peace
between brethren
no matter how much your brother
is a bad brother like and I'm saying
in the context of saved people
we should still want some peace
and conflict with an option of resolution
not just how can I just
constantly attack you
that doesn't really help anything
we should be seeking for peace
and trying to help people
and those are the people that are going to be the greatest Christians
the Bible says also
blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness's sake
for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven
blessed are you a men shall revile you and persecute you
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely
for my sake rejoice and be exceeding glad
is your reward in heaven for so persecuted day the prophets
which were before you
so you know
all this is like backwards
to what the world thinks
the world thinks like brag about yourself
be rich
don't be humble
don't necessarily cause for peace
don't be the bigger man
let things go always
hold people's feet to the fire
and then like if people are hating on you
that's somehow bad or something
like almost flipping the script and saying
no you kind of got all this wrong
and some people think like
well why is it
that so many people dislike you
well you know
it could be that I'm a bad person
that's an option but it could also be
they don't like me because I like Jesus
it could also be that they don't like me
because I like what the Bible says
it could also be they don't like me because I preach the gospel
and you know what sometimes people are going to hate you
for what
for righteousness sake
there are some people that are persecuted for righteousness sake
doing what is right
like having a church
like being a Baptist
like preaching the gospel
like taking a bold stand on the King James Bible
like calling out sin
by exposing evil
and darkness in this world
those are things that many people will hate you for
but the Bible says blessed are you
when men share a value
now also it says in say all manner of evil against you falsely
this is what's so crazy
if you serve God
if you just go to church
and you keep your head down
you just read your Bible
you just preach the gospel you know weekly or whatever
and you're just causing no harm to anybody
you'll have family members
friends co-workers and all kinds of random people
just lie about you for no reason
and it's like
it's like what in the world
like why they'll just make up all kinds
of crazy weird
accusations that are just
they really just shatter the mind
I've just had this happen countless times
and I think God just helped me
to just recognize like
what it's like so I can empathize for others
because I have other people come to me
and it's the exact same story
I'm not unique in this whatsoever
it's not being a pastor it's being a Christian
it's not being a Baptist
it's being saved and it's trying to do right
if you do this it will happen
and it just blows your mind
it just takes you off guard
and it really makes
it fires me up
I hate being lied about who hates being lied about
oh yeah we all hate we all want to be
we all want to defend ourselves
we all want to set the record
straight and that's the temptation
is when you when you've been lied about
is like no buddy let me tell you what
and sometimes we defend ourselves
and you know I've defended myself
several times but not always
and honestly probably not most of the time
but it eats at you
but what does the Bible say?
blessed are ye
what does the Bible actually say in verse number 12
rejoice and be exceeding glad
and I've done that
and it's hard at first
I don't think that this is not your first emotion
your first emotion should be upset
because they lied about you
your first emotion will be
confusion, shock
you're just you can't
even believe it
you're just like what's going on
but then once you kind of like
recognize this happened
you need to then praise God for it
and say you know thank the Lord
that I've been counted worthy to suffer for the cause of Christ
and it's
many times very clear
sometimes it can be a little confusing
but it's usually pretty clear
I mean it's like if people are going to just falsely accuse you
about your good conversation in Christ
just count it a blessing
and just recognize it's their problem
if you're going to be swayed
if people are going to just
you're at a call
you're just following a man
they don't really have anything else to say
they're just conversation enders
and that's a whole other sermon in them itself
but recognize hey the prophets were persecuted
you'll be persecuted
but you know what you got rewards in heaven
here's another thing that's crazy about it
you really can't force this to happen
like there's nothing you can do
to cause this to happen
and people being kind
merciful, gracious
and pure in heart
and then they randomly lie about you
there's no reason why they did it
so if it happens
you have to just think like wow
praise God that I was counted worthy to suffer
because it wouldn't make any logical sense
why you would help people do good under people
love people be merciful under people
be their friend and then they just stab you in the back
lie about you
take advantage of you
and fight against you and be angry with you
without a cause and you're just like
I don't even get it
but that's just a blessing
because you just got a reward in heaven
that you did nothing to earn
in a sense
because you didn't like go antagonize them
or poke them in the eye and they got mad at you
you were good to them
and by nature you would think
by being good they're not going to do that to you
so it's just completely
backwards from how this world works
you would think like being nice to people kind
doing right they'll only be nice back
but then when you're actually doing it
in Christ's name and you're doing it for the cause of Christ
they'll actually lie and treat you badly
and you're just thinking like what
in the world but this is what you should recognize
praise God that I get to
to get rewards when I didn't even do anything
I was just doing
right and you know
this is what happens and I've seen it happen
in people's lives they start getting persecuted
and lied about
for no reason
and then they think like I want to quit church
they think like I want to stop
they want to give up
they get discouraged
but honestly it should be like
you're on the right side
like you're actually
it's like you just scored a touchdown
like imagine you're playing the football game
you just the guy just scored a touchdown
like a 90 yard touchdown
he's like I want to quit now
and you're like whoa bro you're like on fire
you're playing basketball and the guy just keeps shooting
threes and just swishing every day like I'm done shooting
you're like no no
why would you quit you're on fire
and it's like hey if you're in a church
and you're serving God and all of a sudden people start lying about you
and falsely accusing you
and attacking you you should be like wow
I'm on fire
I need to go to more church
like I'm on the right path
I'm not on the wrong path I'm on the right path
now look
when people are getting mad at you because you
tripped them and poked them in the eye
and stabbed their tire with a knife
okay well now you need to get
right with God okay
but when you're doing nothing and you're just getting
randomly assaulted and persecuted
and lied about and whatever
you just need to just keep going you need to be steadfast
because
you're getting more rewards in heaven
don't give up when that stuff happens
dig in
become more spiritual
appreciate the fact that you're getting rewards
and notice it said great is your word
I mean the Bible says Marvel not my brethren
of the world hates you
when someone hates you don't be like
they hit me can you believe this
yeah because you're a Christian
join the club
that's how it works
it's like oh why do people hate
a Baptist church
well that's what the Bible said would happen
you know this is what should be the
Marvel
how come no one hates your church
how come no one hates your pastor
how come no one hates
the sermons from your church
how come no one hates anybody or church
that should be the Marvel
because the question is like what are you preaching
what are you saying what are you doing
how come nobody dislikes you
like that should be the real red flag
not the one where it's like hey there's
a mixed bag of a feeling here
some people love this church some people hate this church
that sounds like the kind of church you want to go to
not the one that's all
one of the other
now it says in verse 13
year the salt of the earth but the salt of loss of savor
wherewith shall it be salted it sends forth good for nothing
but to be cast out
and to be trodden under foot of men
year the light of the world
a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid
night of the men light a candle and put it under
a bushel but on a candlestick and it gives light
unto all that are in the house let your light
so shine before men that may see your good works
and glorify your father which is
in heaven so here the Bible
tells us unto salt like it says unto light
notice that the salt if it loses
its savor then it's not
worth anything
salt irritates salt preserves
salt has a specific
job and a specific role
and you know what as a Christian as a Baptist
we are to be salty
in the sense that what
sometimes we irritate in the sense that we
tell people that
you know what the Bible says
and the truth sometimes offends people
and preserves them
the truth doesn't hurt people it helps people
but the truth can hurt a little bit
the truth can be a little bit irritating
at times but it's a preservative
the truth preserves
and if the salt stops being salt
well then it's not worth anything
how many churches
are not worth their salt
how many churches no longer
are in irritant
how many churches no longer are preaching the truths
now they preach the truths that are comfortable
but the truths that are comfortable
aren't preserving anything
we need some of those uncomfortable truths
otherwise it becomes meaningless
just like that salt
that's thrown on the sidewalk
if it's not going to soak up any of the moisture
if it's not going to do anything
then it doesn't benefit
if you pour salt on your food
and you bite into it and there's no taste
then there's no benefit
and the reality is there's so many churches today
there's so many pastors today
that have no salt
they're worthless
they don't ever say anything from the Bible
they don't do anything from the Bible
and here's the warning
what does God say about you
you could be good for nothing
there are some Christians
that are good for nothing
and
it seems like today
that many men are measuring
people their family
their life based on things
there's a vanity in the Bible anyways
I mean think about this
what if you said, hey I raised my son
and I'm proud of my son
because
he is not in jail
has a good job
he is educated
he's smart
he talks to me on the phone
he gives me presents
but wait a minute
does that accomplish anything spiritually
but what if this person doesn't go to church
and the preacher in the gospel never does anything
it's good for nothing
and so many people
they brag about things
that really at the end of the day
are kind of vanity in that sense
because what does that accomplish
you know what, we need to make sure
that we're thinking about things that are spiritual
and that have a spiritual benefit
and that that's our focus
not things that don't have much value
because we could be productive members of society
we could have great families
we could have lots of fun
and it be all vanity
it's good for nothing and God says
hey, these people
let's just trot them under foot of men
we need to be salty
and you know what sometimes salt irritates
and some people don't like it
but we're a light, we're supposed to shine in the darkness
we can't hide our light
I've talked to some Christians before
I've gone to Baptist churches
where they weren't doing soul winning
and it's trying to get people to go soul winning with me
I'm more of a lifestyle evangelist
I'm like what do you mean
and then he proceeds to tell me
yeah my brother, he has people just come up to him
all the time just asking how to be saved
and I'm thinking like
first of all I don't believe you
okay, number two
great for him
but that's not you
right, I mean, hey I know a guy
that's a great lifestyle evangelist
sure, but you're not
so why don't you come with me
and we'll knock on people's doors
and we'll ask them how to go to heaven
we'll just start the conversation
because you know what I've noticed
living on this earth for 37 years
I've never had a single time where someone asked me
how to go to heaven
you know all the people that I've told
how to go to heaven are people that I started the conversation
I'm like hey
what do you think it takes to go to heaven
and I've had some pretty receptive people
there was a young guy that came to a bookstore
we're both shopping at the bookstore
looking for Bibles, he didn't know what he was doing
and all I had to do
was basically just say like
hey, you're looking for a Bible
and that just started the conversation
then I'm like do you know if you go to heaven
he's like no will you show me
but if I hadn't said that
he would not have done anything
and there's so many Christians today
they're just walking around
with a bushel over their light
and they're never opening their mouth
and asking people how to be saved
and then there's so many people that are close to them
that aren't even saved and they think they are
there are so many family members
who don't recognize
or realize their family's not saved
and it's sad
why because they just won't even ask them one time
their brother, their sister, their cousin
their mom, their dad, their uncle
you know we need to ask people what they believe
because there's so many people that are lost
in this world and it's so easy
to be saved
and we need to let our light shine
now the Bible says in verse 17
think not that I've come to destroy
the law or the prophets
I have not come to destroy
but to fulfill
so Jesus Christ did not destroy the Old Testament law
he fulfilled the Old Testament law
that's important
and specifically he says in verse 18
for verily
I say in you to heaven and earth pass
one jot or one tittle show
no wise pass from the law to all be fulfilled
so the entire Old Testament
will be intact
until all of it's fulfilled
I love how it's worded here
because although we're reading English
it says jot or tittle
this is not English
this is not
the English language that's being referenced here
it's talking about
grammar and punctuation
of another language
what is that language? Hebrew
why would it bring up jot and tittle here
so that just preserved
in our minds for all of eternity
we would recognize the Old Testament law
was given in Hebrew folks
and we know
that it's Hebrew because it's jot or tittle
not necessarily
only because of an artifact or anything else
I mean this is Christ
confirming and making it clear
that the Old Testament Bible was given in Hebrew
and that not one jot
or tittle would pass
he didn't say anything about the Greek language
he didn't bring up the Septuagint
some other language
he didn't bring up Latin or Syriac
and this isn't translated in a vague way
where it just goes into English
and we lose that
no he's saying the Hebrew
why because God I believe
has preserved the Hebrew Old Testament
and he's also I believe
preserved the Greek New Testament
he's the Alpha and the Omega
he's the beginning and the ending
and then I also believe
that he wanted
an influential language of the modern century
to get an accurate Bible
and that the King James Bible is a perfectly
preserved
translation of the Bible from Hebrew
and Greek and that these
three are one
that the Hebrew says the same thing
as the English and the English says the same thing
as the Hebrew and the English says the same thing
as the Greek and the Greek says the same thing
as the Hebrew and vice versa
and all over the place the Old Testament says the same
as the new and that these are
in unity
these three are one
these three agree in
one and that we have the Word of God
locked in all of eternity
of English
of Hebrew of Greek
that you can't break this
three fold cord
this three fold cord
is not easily broken
because even if you destroyed one language
you still got the two you could resurrect
I mean it's basically impossible at this point
to get rid of the Word of God
even humanly speaking let alone the fact
that God's providence is keeping it
but of course
nothing is going to pass from the law
till it's all fulfilled and of course Jesus Christ
fulfills the law
of course the Old Testament still even
speaks of the future things that are going to happen
as well
and Jesus warns in verse 19
whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments
and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven
but whosoever shall do and teach them
shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven
here's a great verse in explaining
sometimes the people
I don't always use this when I'm preaching the gospel
but sometimes I do
to explain to them how even if you
break the commandments and teach people to break the commandments
you could still go to heaven
because notice this guy is still the least in heaven
but he's the least
and then the guy that's teaching the commandments
and keeping the commandments
he's the greatest in heaven
and notice who's the greatest
in the least commandments
oh why are you fundamental bad
because you're so uptight
you care about even just the one
verse line commandments
in the Old Testament
like it's not good for a man to put on a woman's garment
or something
or for a woman to wear a man's garment
you actually believe that
you actually care about that
well you know what I want to be called great in the kingdom of heaven
sorry about you
sorry about you wanting to be the least
dressed like this godless
weird effeminate
fag loving culture of today
I'm sorry that you just want to side with a sinful
and adulterous generation
and not with God's word
because you know what if you're ashamed of Christ
and of his words he'll be ashamed of you
when he comes in his glory
but I care about the least
commandments I care about when the bible
says that you shouldn't print marks on your body
I care about the fact that the bible says that
a man should not put on a woman's
garment I actually care
about these different things that are mentioned in the scripture
I care about all of them
I care about the fact that the bible literally
says that a stubborn or rebellious son
should be taken out and stoned to death
I like that
I like every aspect of the bible
I like the bible that says you know what
men should have short hair and women should have long hair
I like that women should stay home
I like that women should have kids
I like that women should submit under their husbands
I like that men only should be the pastors
I like all of it
I like the king James bible
you know what we should care about the least
commandments not just the greatest
and you know who's going to be the greatest
in heaven
the one that kept the least commandments
well you know what
you keep going you keep
striving to be the least in the kingdom of heaven
while I keep striving to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven
and you know what none of us will ever arrive
none of us can ever know
but I do know this if I'm breaking the least
it's not going to be me
I can know for sure
I won't be in the good category
if I'm going to do that
I have a chance at least
if I do and teach them
and you know what that's for all of us
the bible says in verse 20
you that accept your righteousness
you shall in no case enter
into the kingdom of heaven
now I'm not going to be able to really
dive into these verses
the way I want to
I'll go through them in more detail
and another sermon
just because there's so much good stuff here
but I think that verse 20 really changes
the context of
Matthew 5 a little bit
because I think that from now on
to the end of this chapter
he's kind of using these examples
in a way to try and help people
get saved because
notice again in verse 20
he's saying accept your righteousness
shall exceed
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees
you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven
so he's talking about entering into the kingdom of heaven
and he's saying that somehow you would have to be
more righteous than these guys
now I think that
obviously they're wicked
and the bible talks negatively about Pharisees
but I think that he's kind of more alluding to the
persona or the ideal
of these people because in people's minds
if they were to say
who do you think is just the most righteous
or who keeps the law the best
of Pharisees and the Sadducees
and I'm not necessarily the Sadducees
the scribes I'm sorry not the Sadducees
the scribes but
it's probably true
and here it is it's definitely
true in some cases
the apostle Paul made it abundantly clear
that concerning the law
he was found blameless
so if we were to say who was probably
the greatest Christian in following the law
at this time it probably was
people like Paul or one of these scribes
or whatever but even them
they fall short
and so he's just basically saying pick the greatest person
that you think in Christianity
whatever that group is
you would have to be better than them
if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven
he's trying to help these people realize you're not good enough
that's the point
the point isn't saying literally
be more righteous than these people
the point is you can't
and then he's going to use all these examples
of showing you how you're
going to fail so that's how you have to kind of
understand what's going to be communicated here
but of course then you get the double meaning
that all these things are good
hey here's some good things to do
and we're just letting you know wink wink not not
you're never going to do it either
okay and what is the whole context
look at the last verse
be there for perfect even as your father
was in heaven's birth Jesus is basically
going to say like this is how to be perfect
okay verse 21
you have heard that have been said
and thus shall not kill and who shall be in danger
of the judgment
but I say to you
that who serve is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment
and who shall say to his brother
shall be in danger of the council
but who shall say thou fool
shall be in danger of hell fire
hey Jesus preached about hell
what is the context do you think
when he's talking about judgment
judgment hell fire
what do you think the context is when he's talking about
he's trying to explain to these people
you wouldn't be saved just because
you didn't kill someone
how many people have you knocked on their door
and you've said hey are you sure you'd go to heaven
they say yeah I've never killed anybody
I mean I've who's heard that
I've heard that but you know Jesus saying
great but have you ever been
mad at your brother
have you ever been angry have you ever called
him a name because you're actually
in danger of hell fire too
not just the murderer
who's even been angry with their brother
now is he saying that being angry
with your brother is the exact same
as murdering him
no
okay he's basically talking about layers
and levels of sin
so murder first degree murder
the worst and then there's
layers right there's manslaughter
and then there's other things
attempted murder then there's like
going all the way down the line
he's going all the way to the other side of the extreme
the sin of
basically hatred or murder
starts in the heart of just already
disliking this person being mad at this person
being angry at this person without a cause
and of course that's clarified in other places
in the Bible but it's not the same
degree it's not the same sin
don't take these sins and say like
this is what people say
oh well if you believe in the death penalty for murder
then have you ever been angry with
your brother
and you're like yeah I have been angry
but that's not a crime
according to the criminal code of God's law
God didn't say
if you have a bad thought put him to death
that's not the same he's saying if you literally kill them
that was the thing that puts you to death
that was the actual crime
that was committed
God's not criminally prosecuting people
for thought crimes but
at the same time hell is on the table
for thought crimes
you could have never committed a actual crime
you could have never committed any crime whatsoever
if you go to hell because you are angry with your brother
because any sin will cause you to deserve
hell that's why salvation
is so great that it covers all of our sins
big and small
but many people thought
only big sins get you into hell
no no no every sin
that's why we need a savior
now it says here in verse number
22
I'm actually
going to verse 23
therefore if they'll bring that gift to the altar
remember that thy brother hath ought against thee
leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way
first be reconciled with thy brother and then come and offer thy gift
agree with thine adversary quickly
while I was learning the way with him
less than any time the adversary delivered thee to the judge
and the judge delivered thee to the officer and thou be cast into prison
verily I say unto thee thou shalt by no means
come out then till thou hast paid the other most farthing
so here's some good advice
agree with people don't allow them
to take you to the
because everybody loses when it comes to this kind of stuff
and again
just always agree
try to
seek peace
he says here in verse 27
you have heard that is said by them of old time
thou shall not commit adultery but I say unto you that who sort of looketh on a woman to lust after
hath committed adultery already
with her in his heart
now I think that this is in here
for a specific reason because it's like
maybe somebody
would be so prideful
and arrogant to say okay
well I've kept all the law
I've never even been angry with my brother
without a cause
because everybody always feels like it was justified
you know what I mean?
everybody always thinks that their sin is justified
so they're always going to be like no I was never mad at my brother
without a cause he always deserved it
he always deserved it
and the person still in their mind thinks that they are like good enough
and then he's like okay
you thinking that you've never committed adultery
how about this
have you ever just thought about it
and then it's just like oh
that's everybody
look this is not one of these things
that's saying like hey
you need to make sure you never do this
this is something that's like
look everybody's going to have done this
now it's not saying do it
it's just saying let's just be realistic
let's just be honest
everybody is a sinner
the thought of foolishness is sin
no one will ever stop sinning
and so I think Jesus is trying to go
let's go to the most extreme
the most obvious and prevalent sin
of man
I mean if you've ever read the Bible
you'll notice a lot of guys had a lot of wives
you don't think that they
did this ever
you don't think they even had a bad thought
it's like look
this is the most common temptation
that a man is ever going to have
and the point is
look you're all guilty
and if you didn't get it after this point
you weren't going to get it
okay
verse 29
he's saying look
hell is so bad
you'd be better off just ripping your eye out
or cutting off your hand than going to hell
so again he's trying to appeal to the people
that think like no no I can
repent of all my sins
okay here gouge out your eye
cut off your hand
because if you are going to try
and not sin ever again
none of us could do it with eyes
you live in
2024 America
as a man and you're going to tell me
you're never going to have a lustful thought
ever again
you're a liar
you could even gouge out your eyes
you probably still fail
you could cut off your hand
I mean you would have to be knocked out
you'd have to be like just put me in a coma
and then you might still fail
the point
is you can't do it
you can't be saved
by repenting of your sins
it's by believing in Jesus Christ
only the most prideful
arrogant selfish
jerk would think that he's saved by repenting of his sins
a liar
would think that
no one can do it
it's like Jesus is making fun of these people
okay cut your eye out then
chop off your hand
but then he's basically calling their bluff
is what he's doing
he's just like oh okay sure
but he's saying also it's that serious
I mean if it was really
hey Jesus is saying
cut off your hand right now or go to hell
it'd be like bam
it's that bad
that's why we should take it seriously
that people are dying and going to hell
it's that bad
it has been said who serve shall put away his wife
let him give her a writing of divorcement
but I say in you that who serve shall put away his wife
saving for the cause of fornication
causeth her to commit adultery
and who serve shall marry her that his divorce committed adultery
I don't have time to
to dive into that but we will in Matthew 19
again you have heard that it has been said by them
of old time thou shall not for swear thyself
but thou shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths
but I say in you swear not at all
neither by heaven, for it is God's throne
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool
neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king
neither shall thou swear by thy head
because thou cannot make
not make one hair white or black
but let your communication be
for what serve is more than these
cometh of evil
so he's saying never divorce
which tons of people get divorced back then and now
he's saying never
say I swear to God
I swear is not talking about cussing
ok
it's talking about making a promise
when Peter was being challenged
about being a disciple of Jesus Christ
he wasn't cussing
to convince them he didn't know Jesus
that's weird anyways
why would that convince somebody
hey do you know Jesus
beep
but do you know Jesus
beep
that doesn't mean anything
and think about it
even if that was what was happening
it didn't even convince them
I've heard a pastor get up and say
oh man you know when people cuss
it proves they're not Christians
because that's what Peter was doing
and I'm like well it didn't even work though
because they were still like no no you're still his disciple
you know but what was he doing
he was saying I swear I don't know the man
I promise I don't know him
and the bible is saying when you do this
it's coming of evil wasn't it coming of evil
when Peter did this
he's a great example to understand
what he was saying
oh I swear to God I don't know the man
why did he say I swear to God
because he's trying to convince people
and persuade them because he knows he's lying
because when someone's not lying
they just say no
they just say yes
when someone's lying
I swear on the bible
you're like why
I swear on my mother's grave
that tells you the person's lying
there's something wrong about their statement
it takes me off guard when someone does this
because you're thinking like especially Christians
you're like you know that
you basically are just saying I'm lying
you might as well just say like
hey did you do this I'm lying
yes
when you say oh I swear to God
I'm like okay
it's like you're obviously just lying now
and we should recognize that
when other people do this kind of stuff
we shouldn't make
these over the top grandiose statements
say yes no
and keep the promises that we make
says in verse 38
you have heard that have been said
but I say in you that you resist not evil
but who's to which I'll smite you on my right cheek
turn to him the other also
so he's saying hey
if someone does you wrong
instead of getting them back
just let it go
please can Christians learn this
let it go
I know it's your favorite Disney song
but can you please put it into practice
let it go
I mean just come on
people just want to just
just stay on something forever
it's just like let it go
turn the other cheek
get over it
I just if I could just press a button
and make all of you do something
that would be it probably
it just pisses me off so much
I know I want you to go more soul-winding
but I'm just saying like people
when they just come to me with this petty garbage
these petty little
strivings and this whatever
so and so I did this four years ago
let it go
pastor you don't know what happened five years ago
let it go
but they said let it go
hey when you come up to me
I'm going to be like
did you talk to them about it
yeah let it go
is it big enough to deal with
nah let it go
hey in marriage let it go
hey even
let me tell you something parents
with your kids let it go
okay your kids are rough
every kid's rough
foolishness is bound
in the heart of the child
okay don't wake up
thinking like my children better be
perfect today
just say like you know what
as soon as you go to bed
you're like I'm going to let it go
I mean think about
even think about the disciples this is so funny
they're like asking how many times to forgive their brother
like seven times
and he's like seven times seventy
there's somebody out there like counting
like four hundred you know
it's like dude let it go
I mean it's a consistent theme in the Bible
and a godly and a Christian attitude
is to let it go and you know what
the merciful blessed are the merciful
for they shall obtain mercy
please start turning the other cheek
he says in verse
40 and if a man will sue the at the
law and take away that coat let him have that
cloak also an Easter should compel you to go
a mile go them twain give them that
ask at thee and from him that would borrow of thee
turn now not away turn not
thou away you have heard that have been said
thou so love thy neighbor and hate
thy enemy but I say and you love your enemies
bless them that curse you do good to them that
hate you and pray for them which
mightfully use you and pursue you
that you may be the children of your father
which is in heaven for make it his son to rise
on the evil and on the good and send it
the rain on the just and on the unjust
for if you love them which love you
what reward have you do not even the public
is the same so when someone lies about you
when someone attacks you when someone takes
advantage of you when someone does
something just pray for them
move on let it go
you don't have to settle the score
not everything's going to be right
just let it go and move on
pray for them where you can
bless them where you can
confront issues when you have to
but move on move on
move on there's some people that are
like a psycho ex-girlfriend and they can't
move on and you know what they're not right with God
and they're not acting like children of God
because children of God are the ones that
let it go are the ones that
love their enemies are the ones
that are not constantly
just attacking in fact
not only is it saying not
to attack people
and just let things go it's saying if someone asks
you for something give them even more
than what they asked for hey someone's
like hey can I can I have five bucks
here's 20
hey
will you will you do me a favor
and do this thing no I'll do it even more
you know it's like it's like you're helping them
even more you're doing more than they even asked
for that's what God is like
and that's what God wants us to be like
and if you salute your brethren
only what do you more than others
do not even the public and so be therefore perfect
even as your father which is heaven is perfect
hey it's not about just the law
it's about being perfect Jesus Christ is showing
you how to be even going beyond the law
what the spirit of the law is
what true righteousness is like what God
is really like and we learn
two lessons number one you're not good
enough to get to heaven and then
number two how we should react
and how we should behave ourselves
and that God expects
perfection
but he grants us grace
and this is how we should live our lives
you know for my children I expect them
to follow my rules
I don't have a rule that I'm thinking like
I gave you this rule but it's optional
no no my rules aren't optional
but then when they break them I realize
that they weren't going to do that and they were going to be perfect and that's where I give them grace
and that's what God does for us
God expects perfection we should
strive for perfection
but grace to make up for the fact that we're going to come short
and not be perfect
and that's how we should operate
that's how we should live our lives
is we should expect perfection from
those in our world
but at the same time we should extend lots of grace
when they don't
when they don't line up
but you know what judge yourself first
expect perfection out of yourself first
so that you aren't going to judge others
more harshly than you judge yourself
let's close in prayer
thank you so much for this great chapter
and all this great wisdom and teaching
that came from Jesus Christ
I pray that we too would open up our mouths boldly
and that we would teach our loved ones
the things of God
I pray that you would help us to have the right attitudes
to be poor in spirit and to be meek
to be a peacemaker
to not be offended
when people hate us and are mad at us
first to have purity in our hearts
so they'll actually see you when we open up the scriptures
I pray that you would give us just
wisdom and understanding when we read our Bibles
I pray that you would give us a hunger
and a thirsting for righteousness
and that we would try to seek you
and we would try to be perfect
understanding we never will be
but we would extend mercy
to others as you extend mercy to us
in Jesus name we pray amen
alright amen
great sermon
next up for our last song we have
427
we three kings of orient are
should be a little more familiar with this one now
sing it a couple weeks ago
427
we three kings of orient are
song 427
true
on the first
we three kings
of orient are
bearing gifts
we traverse
afar
build in
fountain
war in fountain
following yonder
star
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Star of wonder, star of night, star with boy, oh, beauty, right,
Restward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
Born a king on Bethlehem's plain, Gold I bring to crown him again.
King, forever ceasing, Never over us all to reign.
Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright,
Restward leading still, Proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
Frankincense to lover have I, Incense owns a deity night,
Rare in praising, all men raising, Tears of him, God on high.
Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright,
Restward leading still, Proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
Murr is mine, his bitter perfume, Breeds a life of gathering flow,
Starwing sighing, breeding, Dying still in the soul till true.
Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright,
Restward leading still, Proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
Glorious now, behold him arise, King and God in sacrifice,
Hallelujah, hallelujah, Fill to the earth and skies.
Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright,
Restward leading still, Proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
Excellent singing, everybody. You're all dismissed.
Thank you for watching.