On Youtube listen to: Behold our God lyrics
Praise to the Lord, The Almighty, the king of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, brother and sisters draw near; Praise Him in glad adoration.
(Joachim Neander 1650-80)
Praise and thank God for ways in which he has blessed your life.
Last Sunday we started to read the Sermon on the mount (Matthew chapter 5-7) and on Wednesday read about Jesus telling us that we are not only a beacon of light but we should also be like salt, stopping rottenness and bringing out flavour. Throughout this ‘sermon’ Jesus describes God to us and then asks whether when other people look at our lives do they see this description of God?
Today we read just the next few verses Matthew 5: 17-20 I would recommend reading them in ‘The Message’ or another contemporary version
This paragraph is the key to unlocking what Jesus goes on to say about anger, lust, adultery, divorce. Jesus in this key passage raises the topic of the difference between keeping the letter of the law and upholding the intension of the law, and then says we need to behave differently to the Pharisees.
The Pharisees took God’s laws – God’s instructions to enable people to live life in the way he created it to be lived – and turns these statements into many, many detailed laws which made people lose sight of the intension behind God giving them.
Take God’s command to keep the Sabbath day holy. God asks us to give him quality time – to give him a special place in our life. The Pharisees turned it into a day full of regulations, they even tried to accuse Jesus of breaking this command when he healed a man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees had become so focussed on the letter of the law that they missed the intention of the law – to spend quality time with God.
One of the easiest commandment to keep is ‘Do not murder’ I’m sure I am not the only person who can go all day without thinking of murdering someone. That is the letter of the law, now read Jesus explaining the intension of the law Matthew 5: 21-26
For most people it is easy to avoid murdering someone, but Jesus says - how about changing the way you live so that getting angry becomes something which is as unlikely to happen in our life as committing murder! Then Jesus goes on to say that when we do exchange angry words - we are to be the ones who should make the first move towards reconciliation. Jesus doesn’t talk about who is in the right – and who is in the wrong – he simply says ‘You be the one to sort it out - don’t wait until it becomes something that needs to be sorted out in court – make peace before then’
In the rest of Chapter 5 Jesus goes on applying this same principle to the topics of lust, adultery and divorce. These were hot topics in Jesus’ day, just as they cause lots of heated discussion today. It is easy to forget that people 2,000 years ago sat on a hillside listening to Jesus speak had the same human nature we have. They had the same tendency to want to please ourselves above pleasing God. So as Jesus talks about lust, adultery and divorce he is talking to people whose lives have been affected by these issues.
What Jesus says is that we need to recognise that the breaking of the law is a result of our failure to treat other people in the same way God treat us. The intention of God’s law is to help us to live lives which show the nature of God – who is full of love, mercy and grace.
Jesus is saying if we trust Father God to be a perfect parent to us – if we trust him to teach us the best ways to think and behave and speak the result will be that other people will begin to see the goodness of God in our lives. As we allow God to be a perfect parent to us - and we live life according to his rules, it will affect our thoughts and actions - we will become people who are like a city on hill – shining out God’s light and we will be like salt stopping decay and rottenness and bringing out the true flavour of life.
Jesus also wants us to realise how far we have fallen short of God’s standard, how completely we have failed to live up to God’s intentions in giving us the law.
Read Romans 3: 23-24 We all fail – and that is why it is wonderful that God loves us and shows us grace and mercy – so that even ‘a wretch like me’ can be saved by God’s amazing grace.
Listen to YouTube: His mercy is more Lyrics
Use these well-known lyrics to lead you into a time of prayer thanking God for his grace and mercy and the gift of salvation.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found was blind, but now I see
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come;
‘tis grace has brought me safe this far, and grace will lead me home.
(John Newton 1725-1807)
PRAYER CHALLENGE – Thursday 30th July
Chiming clocks used to be very popular – perhaps you or someone in your family still has one. I want us (including you) to become a chiming clock for the Barton family. On the day of Kev’s operation (Thursday 30th) I would like people to commit themselves to a few minutes of prayer - once, twice or even three times during that day. If you are willing to do that I need you to let me know (Text & email are preferred, but you can phone). Tell me how many times during the day you are willing to pray and by next weekend I will let you know what time(s) of day I would like you to pray so that every 15 minutes throughout the day Kevin, Helen, Maggie and Henry know someone is praying for them.
I will write to you again on Wednesday – Stephen Turvesgreenbaptists@gmail.com 07456 826 326