Scripture

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in Heaven will enter.

Observation

Jesus warns us of the false prophets who come as wolves disguised as sheep. They can be identified by the fruit they produce. A good tree producers, good fruit, but a bad tree can only produce bad fruit.

Only those who do the will of the Father will get into heaven. Many will say, “We cast our demons in the name of Jesus.” But He will say to them, “Go away. I never knew you.”

Application

The kingdom of Heaven is not about what we do for Jesus, but what we do with Jesus,

It is a mystery to me that people may perform miracles and cast out demons in Jesus’ name, but not actually know him.

There are many people who think they are OK with God, but are not saved. They will go to hell.

These are people like the nominal christians who tick a box on the census and maybe turn up at Christmas. These are the atheists who now describe themselves as cultural Christians, that is, they like what the gospel does for society, but don’t want to submit themselves to the Lordship of Christ. These are the ministers and bishops, the pew warmers, and the church goers who love the church, but have no relationship with Jesus.

What is the will of the Father? This actually comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. To find out how to do the will of the Father, we need to go back to the beginning of the sermon and let it challenge us again.

Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, for inviting me into your kingdom. I acknowledge you as my Lord and I ask you to show me how to do the will of the Father. Amen.

Scripture

“Everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks the door will be opened.”

Observation

Jesus tells us to keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking on the door. Everyone who asks will receive; everyone who seeks will find; and everyone who knocks the door will be opened.

If Earthly parents know how to give good gifts to their children. How much more will our heavenly Father give us what we need.

We can only enter God’s kingdom through the narrow gate. The road to hell is wide, but the road to life is narrow and only a few ever find it.

Application

Jesus is adamant that our Father answers prayer. He iss a good father. He knows how to give good gifts to His children.

Here, the emphasis is on persistence in prayer. We must keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking on the door.

In our instant quick fix culture, we get discouraged when God does not seem to answer our prayers according to our time scale, We get discouraged so easily. The person is not healed after a single prayer. Somebody isn’t saved the instant we pray for them. We then assume that the prayer failed. Maybe we just need more faith.

Jesus tells us to keep on praying. Be persistent and do not give up. This is the kind of prayer, which God answers.

Prayer

Lord, please show me how to pray the kind of prayers you require. Help me to be persistent and to not give up until I see your grace at work. Amen.

Scripture

“Hypocrite! First, get rid of the log in your own eye then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

Observation

We are not to leap to judgement about others because we will reap what we sow. The standard we use in judging others is the standard God will use against us.

We must not worry about the speck in our friend’s eye when we have a log in our own eye. We must get rid of the log in our own eye to help the friend with their speck.

We should not waste holy teaching and wisdom on people who don’t want to receive it. They will trample the teaching and then use it to attack us.

Application

We are under constant temptation to judge other people – our co-workers, family members, celebrities, and politicians.

Jesus tells us to stop doing this. The word judge means to condemn or pass sentence. We find people guilty and condemn them without taking the time to find out why they do things.

We find fault with other people and offer to help them, even when we are guilty of far greater sins or even the same sins.

Jesus doesn’t tell us, we shouldn’t help people become better people or stronger believers. We do have to deal with our own sins first so that we can be genuinely helpful.

This takes a measure of humility in which we acknowledge that we are as guilty as anyone else. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans. 3:23)

To be able to help another person. I must first acknowledge my own weakness. I confess my “logs” to God and ask Him to remove him so that I can be useful to others.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are removing the logs in my eyes. Please keep me free from the sins of self-righteousness and pride. Amen.

Scripture

“No one can serve two masters. You will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Observation

We must not store up treasures here on earth where they can be stolen or they can deteriorate in value. Instead, we must store up treasures in heaven, where nothing can take away from their value.

The eyes are lamp that lights up the body. If you have a good eye, the whole body is filled with light.

We cannot serve two masters. One will be dominant in our affections and devotion.

We cannot serve both God and money.

Application

It is difficult to juggle two jobs. It is possible, if you have defined work hours in both jobs. But if both jobs say, “I need you to work this weekend”, then which one gets the priority?

If we have two gods with different priorities and both demand total dedication, then we cannot meet that demand. To follow Jesus means that we give our total allegiance to Him alone.

Money is not necessarily a god in our lives. It is after all just a tool for commerce. When it becomes the source of our security, then it has become a god in our heart.

The test is this: Where do I turn to when I’m feeling under pressure? Is it the Lord or is it money? Do I feel more secure when I have a thousand dollars in the bank or just ten dollars?

God has promised to supply all that we need. He is the true source of our security.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord.,that I can trust you to provide all that I need. Help me to rely solely on you and not on my own resources. Amen.

Scripture

“When you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and dishevelled so that people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.”

Observation

Jesus gives us the words of the Lord’s Prayer.

Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Give us the things we really need day by day and forgive us as we forgive others.

If we refuse to forgive other people, our Father will not forgive us.

When we fast, we must not make it obvious. If people praise us for fasting then we will receive nothing from the Father. Our fasting must be to the Lord alone, and He will reward us.

Application

It is hard to imagine a society which values outward piety in the way described by Jesus. If you tell someone you’re fasting, you will have to launch into a long explanation of what fasting is and the spiritual benefits of abstaining from food.

This is an example of what we now call “virtue signalling.” We put Ukraine flags on social media and claim that we stand with some group or other.

Usually virtue signalling carries no cost. It is done to gain the approval of friends and acquaintances.

Real virtue is when we go and volunteer at the homeless people’s shelter or we give sacrificially to a charity. Jesus would warn us not to post about this on Facebook.

We live in a performative society. That is, we are judged by our performance on the social stage. Jesus encourages us to get off the stage and focus on being authentic with Him alone.

Prayer

Lord, you call us to seek approval in you alone. Please rescue me from the trap of people pleasing. Amen.

Scripture

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in Heaven.”

Observation

Jesus warns us against doing good in order to be admired by others. If we do this, we lose our Father’s reward.

When we give to someone in need, we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves. Rather, we should do it quietly.

When we pray, we shouldn’t do it to show off how holy we are. Rather, we should pray privately- just me and the Father.

We don’t need to babble on endlessly, like the pagans. Repetitious words and phrases don’t impress God. He knows what we need before we ask him.

Application

In this passage, Jesus warns us against public piety. He talks about charitable giving and prayer as opportunities to try and impress other people rather than simply being faithful to our Lord. There is nothing wrong with giving publicly or in praying publicly. We need to take sure, though, that our focus remains on our heavenly Father and on the people around us.

In the days of Jesus, it was not uncommon for wealthy people to have a trumpet fanfare to announce their arrival to do a good deed such as giving money to the temple. If Jesus was speaking today. He might say something like “When you give to the homeless people or volunteer to clean an old person’s yard, don’t post it on social media.”

The key in all of this is, where is my heart? Why am I doing this?

Prayer

Lord, purify my heart. Please protect me from the dangers of seeking the approval of people for simply being obedient to you. Amen.

Scripture

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbour’ and hate your enemies. I say, love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.”

Observation

Jesus talks about how we treat our enemies.

Even though the law says, we may exact proportional revenge – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth- we are not to resist an evil person. Do not hit back at a person who hits you.

In court, if you lose the case, give more than is demanded of you. Give to those who ask and don’t turn away those who want to borrow.

The law says we must love our neighbours, and some people interpret that to mean that we should hate our enemies. Jesus says that we must love our enemies. In this way, we will be like our heavenly Father. If we only love those who love us back, we are no better than pagans or corrupt tax collectors.

Application

The law of Moses says we must love our neighbour People being what they are, develop the thought that this means you could hate your enemies. Jesus says repeatedly that we must love our enemies. Everybody is our neighbour

This is hard and, really, it can only be done in the grace of God. So, when somebody treats us badly or gossips about us, we do not need to defend ourselves or seek revenge.

Jesus tells us to go on the front foot and pray for those who persecute us. That can be difficult too, but it is achievable. The interesting thing is that when I genuinely pray for my enemy, God changes my heart and makes it possible for me to love them.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you that even when I was opposed to you, you still loved me. Please give me that kind of love for my opponents. Amen.