Pastor Josh Blount continues our series: Kingdom Manifesto. Jesus reveals to us in Matthew 5:21-48 that sins begin in the heart before they are acted out; thus, even if you have not yet acted upon a sin you’ve considered, it is important to not allow that sin to grow in the heart.
Fix Your Flow
Speakers
Josh Blount
Lead Pastor
Notes
Kingdom Manifesto
May 14th & 15th | Week 4
Pastor Josh Blount
Fix Your Flow
Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the body is in its blood.
ANGER
Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
Before murder finds action through someones hands, anger finds accommodation in someone heart.
Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
Matthew 5:23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Lust
Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to [sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Divorce
Matthew 5:31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Manipulation
Matthew 5:33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
“Why do people swear oaths? They do it to impress others with their sincerity and reliability and thus gain acceptance of what they're saying and what they want. It is a method for getting their way. It is simply a device of manipulation, designed to override the judgment and will of the ones they are focusing upon, push them aside, rather than respecting them and leaving their decisions and actions strictly up to them.” - Dallas Willard
Spin Doctor - ____________.
Retaliation
Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
Matthew 5:39 But I tell you not to 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 away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
1 Peter 2:23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Love Your Enemies
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, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;
Matthew 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
The grace of God is not an excuse to dismiss away the transformation God wants to bring in your life.
Perfect = __________.
The only Jesus some people will ever see is the Jesus they see in you
The will of God is always possible
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
It is very hard indeed if you have not been substantially transformed in the depths of your being, in the intricacies of your thoughts, feelings, assurances, and dispositions, in such a way that you are permeated with love. Once that happens, then it is not hard. What would be hard is to act the way you acted before. When Jesus hung on the cross and prayed, “Father, forgive them because they do not understand what they are doing,” that was not hard for him. What would have been hard for him would have been to curse his enemies and spew forth vileness and evil upon everyone. God calls us to Jesus to impart himself to us. He does not call us to do what He did, but to be as he was, permeated with love. Then the doing of what he did and said becomes the natural expression of who we are in him. - Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God