So the number one goal of every Christ follower must be producing fruit.
But there are things just waiting to derail you, to ruin your fruit .
Matthew 3:10"The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
You will know them by their fruit,
Imagine working your whole life for the Lord and you end up with rotten fruit and sour grapes . Not everyone who says LOR LORD will enter
Sometimes we need a refresher course on watching out for things that will ruin your work and steal your fruit
Chapter 5 of Matthew is so full of blessings .
In fact that is the title of the Chapter, the beatitudes which means blessings.
I don’t want you to think that blessings are only gifts, because some of the best blessings are those that keep you from danger.
Think of a blessing as if someone pushed you out of the way of a oncoming truck racing right at you. You would get up from the ground dust yourself off and say wow that was God , that was a blessing .
Well today some of you will have to pick yourselves up , dust yourselves off and think wow I did get a blessings .
Matthew 5:21“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22“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, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
So Jesus starts this verse with I say unto you,
In plain English, I need to tell you something and you need to hear this because you are in danger
This is something so important, so overlooked and so deadly that your very souls weigh in the balance , and everyone is guilty of it …Anger .
Jesus places Anger is on the same level as the 6th commandment
thou shall not kill .
This is so exciting , it’s like getting the answers to a test and who would know better what’s on that test more than the teacher and judge of heaven and earth Jesus Christ .
In this passage there are 3 levels of anger that escalate and of course there are three punishments that follow along with them
The first one is harboring anger towards another.
The fact that we don’t act upon our anger, that anger itself is not offensive that we don’t owe anyone, you never thought that anger just itself is sin.
The problem is that anger is an herbicide , in other words it kills the fruit
You won’t produce fruit with anger in your heart .
And there are some of you that are pros at hiding your anger but are blind to its effects.
1John2:11But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Put 22 up again
Matthew 5:22“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, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Raca , we have all heard of this word ,
This is when that quiet inside anger builds and builds and then you say
I just need to vent
The word Raca comes from the root word of spit, spewing and spreading
This is when the anger overwhelms us, and takes control of our mouths.
The word Raca its actually spelled rhaka and it means empty headed , brainless good for nothing.
But what has happened here is that the anger has now spilled out and now you are vocalizing , spewing and spreading anger .
This is both ridiculous and embarrassing at the same time , because the same mouth that praises God could be the same mouth that curses your brother?
James 3:10from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?
Matthew 5:22“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, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
The word fool and what makes this especially hurtful is because it identifies with the corrupt, and Godless.
Psalm 14:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.
But the hell fire that is refred to here is a place called géenna (a transliteration of the Hebrew term, Gêhinnom, "the valley of Hinnom"
Oh It’s a real place , just south west of Jerusalem and it’s a place of sever lamenting because this is where people would be sacrificed and they say you could hear the cries .
And All this trouble and danger stems from your anger
Anger is considered in a class of its own , that even if you have had hidden anger with someone the boiler plate of prayer , offerings and forgiveness doesn’t apply
Matthew 5:23“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
When you get fall into that rash of anger, and then fly off the handle, then, abusive thoughts turn into , name calling and you think I’ll just go back to church and fall into my old routine , praise and worship , give my tithes and we are square all is forgotten .
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
If you notice time and time again Jesus tells us to go work things out, reason with other people, go directly to them don’t spread rumors like a manure spreader spewing hate, whether they have sinned or you have sinned find that common ground.
Now you have some of the answers to the test, you’re pumped up because now you are better prepared.
Are you ready ??
So here is the test
Matthew5: 38“You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ 39“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41“Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.42“Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
So this is a person who doesn’t have the answers to the test, they are acting out in anger, greed and lust just like you used.
They don’t yet understand that they will be judged, prosecuted and condemned because of their behavior.
They are like you once were acting out, and facing the fires of hell,
But You have an advantage , you have the answers to the test and now understand the consequences, and make improvements and modify your emotions and avoid judgment .
You have two choices , you can resist the person and while youre at it throw another log on and stoke the fires of hell for them because you all ready know where they are headed and just wave goodbye
Or you take it , if someone insults you take it , if someone wants of you give it and if someone pushes you go.
Matthew 5:43“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and theunrighteous. 46“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47“If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
