
Jesus
wanted to set forth the doctrine of His future church, but if the
God-man had had a manager, he would have been told it was not
advantageous to tell people what he wanted from them so early on.
The
Jews in Galilee had the same mindset of the Maccabees some 200 years
earlier. They wanted to fight and evict the Romans from their land.
Those in Judea and Jerusalem were heavily involved with politics and
this is how the Sadducees and Pharisees had become wealthy. The
Herodians wanted to restore the kingdom to someone in the Herodian
bloodline, while the Essenes lived apart in enclaves of communal living.
This
new doctrine was diametrically opposed to the desires of all the Jewish
groups and only born again believers in Christ who would be baptized in
the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost could understand the dogma and
want to live by it.
Jesus
told the people that they were the salt of the earth, that in time would
be able to help the heathens to get out of idolatry. Their light would
shine so bright, that people would be attracted to them.
Jesus
warned his followers that the five books of Moses still stood, including
the instructions from the Old Testament prophets. At the same time Jesus
told them that it did not matter how much they prayed, gave to the work
of God and did good works, piety and good works would never grant them
salvation.
Murder
was common and Jesus unequivocally stated that murder was not acceptable
in the Kingdom of God regardless of the circumstances. Murder was never
an option in retaliation.
When
Jesus began to talk about anger, it struck a raw nerve among the Jews.
Man’s sinful nature is full of anger and rage. Anger feels so good when
we do not get our way because it shuts up the people with whom we have a
conflict. The Son of God warned that aside from righteous anger directed
at sin, this powerful emotion is not tolerated in the Kingdom of God.
This
sermon will be a litmus test of your spiritual growth. Open your ears
and listen to what the Messiah stated to see how you measure up. Even if
you fail this test, you can still get a pass by embracing repentance and
being willing to change.
Print out the sermon outline and let's examine the
Scriptures together Sunday morning at 9:00 AM PST.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor John S. Torell












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