Living In The Kingdom 10 Series

Living in the Kingdom 10

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37; 23:16-18; Leviticus 19:12; Exodus 20:7

As I have been studying, meditating and preparing these messages based on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, I have been reflecting on conversations that I have had with people about the Bible and its application to life today. In my past, I felt it was my responsibility to convince them that what the Bible says, it means and it is applicable for how we are living now. I cannot tell you the number of times I have walked away from some of those conversations feeling depressed and confused because I was unable to convince someone that how they were interpreting the Bible was not accurate. You see, there is a belief out there that every person should interpret the Bible according to his or her own truth. In other words, if the Bible does not match up with a core value/belief that you have internally, then you do not have to accept a biblical truth that does not match your personal truth. As I have been going through this series, I have come to the realization that, if we go back to Jesus’ sermon and read it and study it for what He said a lot of other things in the Bible will become clear. But first you have to start from the foundation that what Jesus said is exactly what He meant to say. This is why the Spirit is leading me to do this series, for as long as it takes, on these three chapters in Matthew. If you struggle reading the Bible and wondering if your understanding is correct, go back and start with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Keep reading it until it is implanted in your spirit. Then begin to branch out into other books and chapters of the Bible comparing the revelation you receive from them back to what Jesus said in His sermon. You will find that what Jesus covered in this one sermon is the foundation for the other concepts and doctrines captured in the rest of the Bible, even the Old Testament so this one sermon is a great starting place for implanting the Word of God in your life.

Several years ago I watched the movie "Hook" which was a remake of the Peter Pan story. In this movie version of the story, Peter Pan had left Neverland and grown up to have a family of his own, forgetting that he was ever Peter Pan. In one scene he was talking to his son Jack about attending his upcoming baseball game. He promised Jack that he would be there – as he had promised many times before. When his son reminded him of how many times he had promised and didn’t show up, Peter replied, “Jack, my word is my bond!” Jack immediately responded saying, “Yeah, junk bonds!” As I witnessed this interaction on screen I immediately thought about if my word was my bond. Of course my first response was that of course my word is my bond. It must be. I am a minister who teaches the Word of God – my word must be my bond. Well, as I was ready to proudly proclaim that my word was my bond, I was quickly reminded of when it wasn’t. I immediately remembered times when I had broken my word. I remembered times when I said I would do something and didn’t follow through. I remembered times when I said I wouldn’t do something and turned around and did it anyway. I remembered times when I said I would be ready at a certain time and I wasn’t. I remembered times when even though I had given my word, something I deemed more important came up which caused me to not keep my promise. I remembered times when I had forgot to do something and had to be reminded. I remembered times when my wife, my daughters, and others asked me those three dishonorable words “Do You Promise…” when I was telling them that I was going to do something. The only reason they felt compelled to ask me to make a promise was because there had been times when I gave my word and didn’t keep it. And through all of these examples, I never saw my lack of follow through, all the unfulfilled promises, and all the times I just did not do what I said I would do as a big deal. I did not think about them as sin and since I did not view them as sin I did not feel the need to repent after doing them. I never want to hear those three words again when I am give my word that I will do something. If you have had this same experience, I want you to listen closely to what Jesus had to say about this. This morning as I continue my series “Living in the Kingdom” we will be looking at what Jesus said about swearing an oath.