"I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
If you really knew Me,
you would know My Father as well.
From now on, you know Him and have seen Him."
John  14: 6-7
The Way Of The Lord Ministries
Reverend Noreen T. Kevern
520-237-0329
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Searching in The Sermon On The Mount, Part II

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20

It seems to many people that God’s laws have no meaning or relevance anymore. Some people take Paul’s word: “a man justified through faith apart from the
law” (Romans 3:28) as meaning that the law has no merit. Jesus was quite clear in this part of the Sermon on the Mount that the law is still in effect until such
time as heaven and earth disappear. “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any
means disappear form the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). Jesus tells us that we must not only have faith but that we must still obey God.
Now some people tend to ignore this. Some feel that since Paul said we are free from the law because we are justified by faith. Paul said ‘apart’ meaning that
when we have God’s law written on our hearts we don’t outwardly need to observe the law because we have died to sin. It’s obvious that heaven and earth
have not disappeared, and so accordingly by Christ’s word, the law stands intact.

Jesus further goes on, making the law even more rigid. “You will have heard it said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be
subject to judgment. But I tell you that someone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment…But anyone who says ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of
the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:21-22). How many times do we get angry at someone and call them a fool? Jesus calls us to place ourselves in a position of love
when dealing with everyone. He wants us to forgive one another before we come before God. “First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come offer your
gift” (Matthew 5:24). That gift, that offering that we are to make to God is our lives, our self, so that God’s will can be done through us.

Jesus further goes on and tells us that to even look at another with lust has already committed adultery. Jesus said that adultery occurs with just a glance, and:
“if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29). Jesus doesn’t mean literally take your eye out, but to put on blinders, the
eye devise that they put on horses so that they can only see what’s in front of them. God wants us to put blinders on and focus on Him in front of us so that we
can be protected from the evil one.

In no uncertain terms, God does not like divorce. “But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for martial unfaithfulness, cause her to become an
adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:32). That seems quite harsh considering today’s society. With the
divorce rate at 50%, how do we reconcile our lives with God? Does this mean that if a spouse abuses their spouse, they can’t remarry? Or if you have not
control over your spouse leaving, that God does not want you to ever remarry and be happy? Today many people have married too young or on a whim and
have realized that they have made a mistake in getting married. What about them? Let’s look at the Prophet Hosea for a moment. Hosea is commanded by God
to take an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness. A child, Lo Ruhamah, is born and the Lord says: “For I will no longer show love to the house of Israel,
that I should at all forgive them (Hosea 1:6). “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife and I am not her husband” (Hosea 2:2). God here
divorces Israel for its sins. That is what sin does, separates us from God, no matter what the sin. But God wants us to come back to Him. In Hosea God woes
His beloved Israel back to Him, betrothing Israel forever to God in love and compassion. We need to seriously take the time to decide that the person we want
to marry is the person that God wants us to marry. We should not rush into things and hope for the best. Marriage is a serious relationship and should not be
entered into lightly. Most importantly invite God to the wedding and keep Him first in your marriage and your whole life.

What we must do is hear the Word of God speaking and let His law be upon your heart. God forgives you when you come to Him and ask Him to forgive you
and change what you are doing so that you do not keep on sinning.

God doesn’t want us to make promises we can’t keep. When we are in the midst of a crisis, He doesn’t want us to promise that we will do something if He gets
us out of the situation that we are in. Jesus says: “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No, ‘No,’ anything beyond that comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:
37). The evil one will entice you to make promises you can’t keep. He entices you to lie to God in situations that you get into and can’t seem to get out of. The
evil one invites you to make up stories to cover yourself.

But God wants you to be truthful in all situations in your life. He wants you to trust in Him and believe in Him. Simply put, God wants you to follow His way,
because He really does know what is best for you.

The Sermon on the Mount is about a personal relationship with God and living a life that shows to other, your belief in God. God tells us: “Do not resist an evil
person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). Jesus did no less, He offered Himself up, each whip that struck
Him, each thorn that pierced His head, each nail that was driven into His Body, was done for you. The Creator coming down to earth personally to be one of His
creations, taking the punishment He had decreed for us, feeling our pain, showing us, teaching us the way to live our lives so that we by our example are
examples to others so that they will want to have a relationship with the Lord.

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44). It’s a hard thing to
love people you hate. God wants you to love and never hate. But that doesn’t mean that you have to like them. Love is a feeling, a way of life, just as for some
hate is. Love is God and hate is the devil. God wants us to be above the evil, to live a life that is of love, even when someone is hurting you. God calls us to
forgive, to go the extra mile, even in the midst of evil. The evil people will get what they deserve. But God calls us to be an example of His love on earth and not
the horrible warning that evil is. He allows the sun to shine on both good people and evil people. God calls us to become perfect as He is. And we can only do
that by surrendering our life to Him and have a personal relationship with Him.

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His son to rise on the evil
and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors
doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the pagans do that?    Be perfect, therefore, as your
heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:44-48