Welcome to Season 3 of Love & Context. This season,
we're exploring the life of Jesus step -by -step
and uncovering what His story teaches us about
loving God and others. Here on Love & Context,
we're all about having real conversations about
how to live out that love in practical, everyday
ways, and understanding the Bible in its full
context. We're so glad you're here. Let's dive
into Season 3 of Love & Context. Right. Welcome
back to The Love and Context. It's a podcast.
Podcast. We're going to talk about things today.
We're going to talk about items. Items. Ideas.
Items. Places. Well, somewhat places. This is
actually Sermon on the Mount Part 3. Let's go.
So I think we were looking and we thought it
was going to be two. Yeah. We were wrong. We
were. There's so much going on in there and so
much discussed. I mean, we could probably do
a whole season just on the Sermon on the Mount.
Well, yeah. I mean, it's this whole pronouncement
of what does the kingdom actually even look like.
So it's difficult trying to trim it down to two
episodes. Yeah. Just difficult. Yeah. Difficult.
So last couple of weeks, we kind of entered in.
Jesus starts this Sermon on the Mount. He says,
you know, what is? Yeah. this kingdom that I'm
inviting you into, you know, what does it actually
look like? Who is it for? Uh, it turns out not
for the powerful, you know, not for the, not
for the rich. It's not that they can't be there.
Yeah. Well, that's, it's for the poor in spirit,
the people who thirst for righteousness, you
know, these kinds of people. And if you go in
and you're part of this kingdom, you're going
to put God on display and people are probably
going to come after you. Yeah. Um, but that's
okay. You're going to be blessed in the middle
of it. And then there's a bunch of things. He
says, I didn't come to abolish Torah, but I came
to fulfill it. So last week we talked about a
lot of these things, you know, murder wasn't
always supposed to be about murder, but it's
about, actually treating people well and not
sabotaging each other's character. Sexual ethics
is about keeping purity and faithfulness and
fidelity. And like all the way through, uh, to
the, the last thing we were talking about was,
um, yes, stand up for justice, but even in your
justice, you're supposed to love your enemies.
Yeah. Which by the way, this would have been
so wildly unpopular with like, it's, it's wildly
unpopular today. Yeah. Thousands of years of
people living out Jesus' principles, and it's
still unpopular to talk about loving your enemies.
Yeah. In their day, very much so. Yeah. And so
that's where we left off yesterday. So we're
going to pick up in chapter 6 and jump in right
in here. And I'm going to loop a few of these
in together. So I'm going to read a section because
it's three different things that really apply
to the same thing. So it starts off here. Be
careful not to practice your righteousness in
front of others to be seen by them. If you do,
you will not have your reward from your Father
in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do
not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and on the streets. Yeah.
And when you pray, go into your room, close the
door, and pray to your father, not for your father.
Yeah. Who is unseen. Then your father who sees
what is done in secret will reward you. And when
you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,
for they think that they will be heard because
of their many words. Do not be like them, for
your father knows what you need before you ask
him. This then is how you should pray. Our father
in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom
come, your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive
us our sins. And we have forgiven our debtors,
sorry, our debts as we've forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from the evil one. By the way, that's what
happens when you've... memorize a certain translation,
and then you read a different one. For if you
forgive others when they sin against you, your
Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if
you do not forgive their sins, your Father will
not forgive you. When you fast, do not look somber
as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their
faces to show others they are fasting. Truly,
I tell you, they receive their reward in full.
But I tell you, fast, put oil on your head, and
wash your face, so that you will not be obvious
to them that you are fasting, but only to your
Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees
what is done in secret. We'll reward you. All
right, pause right there. Three different things.
Giving, prayer, fasting, right? I think the misconception
that sometimes comes up here, and I'm going to
go work backwards. So we're going to talk about
prayer in a future episode because we actually
want to tackle this idea of spending time with
God and communion in general. The first thing
I want to tackle going backwards is this idea
of fasting. Fasting, whatever that looks like,
whether it's fasting from electronics, fasting
from food, specifically here they're talking
about the practice of fasting from food. It's
meant to... It was kind of hard to fast from
electronics back then. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Thank
you. You got to fast from that lamplight. Yeah,
yeah. So the idea of fasting is that you take
something out of your life and you replace it
with focus on God. So whenever your stomach would,
like, grumble, you think about focusing on God,
and actually you're usually praying into something.
And fasting is not supposed to be a forever thing.
It's a temporary measure, right? Usually you're
looking for breakthrough or connection or something
with God that you feel is lacking, and fasting
is meant to bring you closer to God. That's not
really what's going on in this practice during
that time. And especially like, so what they're
doing in this time is that they're play acting
it up. One of the words we use is hypocrites.
We talk about that in our episode where we're
talking about hypocrites. It's a play acting
word. It means you're playing for the applause
of people. Right? You ever run into somebody
who's like, I am dieting. And I have changed
everything about my diet to get healthy. And
you're like, oh, really? How long have you been
doing that? They're like. One day, you know?
And they're like, but listen, I've been drinking
green juice. I've got the energy. I went for
a run today. You know, all those different things.
And then the next day, they're really miserable.
Yeah. Right? By the way, if that's you, I'm sorry.
I'm playing that up just a little bit. But you're
kind of putting the cart before the horse at
that point. Right. Yeah. And I can hear the keyboards
typing right now of like, okay, but there's also
passages in scripture where it talks about where
we're supposed to model these things. Yes. Right?
Yep. Which is the other side of it. Yep. So you
were supposed to model it, but you're also supposed
to model it in humility. Yeah. You're not supposed
to model it as like, look at how much money I
gave to the church. Yeah. Look at how well I
pray. But the reality is, I had someone once
tell me is like, if you want a definition of
integrity, it's what you do behind closed doors.
Right. And it's how you live your life behind
closed doors. Right. And that is how you can
know how much integrity you actually have as
a person. And so when we're talking about these
things, yes, we want to be doing these things.
We actually do want people to see us living this
lifestyle out because that's what's going to
cause them to ask questions. But we don't want
to be like the Pharisees of the day where they
actually went. so far the other direction where
they're like, look at all the good we're doing.
Yeah. Well, and so it's not actually prideful
about it. In that case, it's not actually about
the action. It's about getting accolades for
the action, like doing the right thing for the
wrong reason. Sure. The good stuff still gets
done, but it's still not the right reason, especially
with something like when you're talking about
fasting, it's meant to bring you and God into
communion. And if it's really about you, you're
not really focusing on God. Jesus is a rabbi,
so he's going to have his disciples who follow
him and do everything that he does. So it's not
like you can't, you've got to teach them with
your life. Like, discipleship with them, it's
like you put it on display. So to your point,
it's not you don't fast or that you don't tell
people about fasting. But it's not from the perspective
of, oh, look how great I am. It's about, hey,
when we fast, like, one of the things we're doing
is we're really focusing in on our relationship
with God. And, you know, the reason you prepare
your beard and all those things is because you
don't want people focusing on you. That's not
the point of the fast. No, I mean, it's the difference
between doing it for show and doing it in community,
right? Like, you can do these things in community.
Jesus isn't talking, he is saying, he is using
the words like you as like an individual, like
when you do this, when you do this, right? But
he's using it in a context of the group that
he's talking to. With you as a church. And like,
how are you doing it? So like, going back to
this thing of prayer, we're obviously going to
talk about prayer in a future episode, but he
says, are you going and actually talking to God
in your prayer closet, or are you going and standing
did you grab a soapbox take it out to the corner
and you said dear heavenly father of whom i am
blessed you know you know i mean like i mean
is it a show or is it a relationship yeah and
i was like that doesn't mean that you shouldn't
like in this case where he's he's talking about
like in fact we're going to talk about next week
the disciples asked jesus to teach them how to
pray yeah so the only way to teach them how to
pray is to pray with them right to model it for
them and uh which he does But it's this condition
of the heart again. It's like, where's your heart
in all of these? And all three of these, giving
to other people, I think we talked about this
in the hypocrite episode, but one of the practices
is they have these massive things that collect
the money for the poor. And when they're giving
in, you could sling a bunch of coins in there
to make a bunch of noise. It was really loud
and obnoxious because no technology, so nothing
soaking up that sound. remembered um the uh so
like there's no nothing soaking up that sound
and so you're doing this and you're you're like
yeah i'm giving to the poor and like ultimately
the poor being given to like so that is a positive
but uh you're not doing it because you care about
the poor You're doing it for the attention. And
there are altruistic people in your life who
I'm sure that you know that give to good causes
and you're like, that's great. And they get tons
of publicity for it and they seek the publicity
for it. Still good things are done. They're not
near as compelling as the people who just behind
the scenes. give and take care of and administer
needs, right? So what are these three portions?
They're really talking about when you do these
things, when you give, when you pray, when you
fast, these spiritual disciplines. Are they about
you or are they actually about your relationship?
Yeah. Right? Like which of these two things are
you focusing on? Yeah. And I think if we're honest,
a lot of times we're self -focused on these.
And maybe we're not to the point where we're
slinging money and doing all these things. But
there's definitely been times in my life where
I do something and I was like, I need the accolades.
I need the pat on the back. I need the good job,
right? And Jesus is like, that's not what it's
about. In fact, that's not even like when you're
coming into the kingdom, it's just not about
the accolades. It's not about receiving glory.
It's actually about putting God's kingdom on
display. Well, it's about who you're receiving
the praise from. Yeah. Right? Like, if you're
doing these things to get praise from the world,
okay, that's going to fade. That's going to fail.
Right? If you're doing these things so that Heavenly
Father can notice you because you're in relationship
with Him, you know, like, let's not pretend like
God is not going to say, hey, what? good job,
well done, good and faithful servant. When you
are doing these things in quiet, you are going
to get that. Should that be your sole motivation?
Absolutely not. Your motivation should be, how
am I bringing the kingdom to this world? But
you will get that praise from the Father when
He's like, hey, you're doing everything that
I've called you to do. And that does feel good
when you do get that. So once again, remember,
this is all one conversation. So because it continues
in verse 19, do not store up for yourself treasures
on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. But store up
for yourself treasures in heaven, where moths
and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves
do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also. If you only
care about and you seek the approval of man,
that's all you're going to get. Are you actually
seeking a relationship with the Father? Are you
seeking to be part of the kingdom of God? Because
if you are, that's what you're going to get.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness. They're
not people who are just like, I'm going to do
righteousness to... get kudos. These are people
who are like, I see the things that are wrong
and I want to put them right. The eye is the
lamp of the body. By the way, the eye has to
do with your generosity. If your eye is full
of light, you're a generous person. If it's full
of dark, you're a stingy person. With that in
mind, the eye is the lamp of the body. If your
eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full
of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your
whole body will be full of darkness. If then
the light within you is darkness, how great is
that darkness? No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other,
or you will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
What kind of person are you going to be? Are
you going to be a person that's consumed with
generosity and love and compassion? By the way,
this does not preclude you from having money.
Money cannot be your God. No. It actually is,
the place I work, one of the quotes from one
of the founders that I love, because it's an
organization that works with a lot of money.
He says, money has never been my God. And I just
like that as part of the founding statements.
Like money can't be your God. It can do a lot
of good things. It's a tool for a lot of good
uses. God is your God. And it flows through generosity
there. Right? Agreed. Yeah. And if you, this
is the case, and if you actually trust, and if
you're seeking the kingdom of God, God is your
God and money is not your God, then it leads
into verse 25. Therefore, I tell you. Do not
worry about your life, what you'll eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear, or is
not life more than food and the body more than
clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They do
not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
much more valuable than they? Can any one of
you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?
Continuing on in verse 30. Mm -hmm. I agree with
that. 100%. Each day has enough trouble of its
own. Yeah, it does. Oh, man. Especially when
you have kids. Right? Oh, yeah. Every day you
think you've got to figure it out, and then there's
something new. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I
was just going to say this idea of worry. It's
really easy to get caught up in that too, right?
Of being like, okay, here's all the things that
we need to worry about. Paycheck to paychecks.
There's people living that way, worried about
where their next meal is coming from, whether
they can make rent. There's people worried about
different health issues that they have and so
on and so forth. And that's always going to be
there. We don't want to what we don't want to
do is we don't want to downplay people who do
have like serious anxiety Issues and stuff like
that because that can be a serious problem for
people But what we do want to say is that when
you are following Jesus Over time, you're going
to learn to kind of let these things go. Be like,
okay, I don't need to step into that place of
worry tomorrow. I have enough things going on
today. And oftentimes what happens when you step
into that place of tomorrow worry is you miss
the conversations you need to have today. You
miss the moments that are right in front of you.
You miss the opportunities to be an awesome parent
to your kid. I mean, how many times do you hear
people talking about, they're like, I'm trying
to provide a good life for my kid, and yet they
spend no time with them. Right? I was like, you
know, one of the most valuable things your kid
needs is you. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Like, 20 years
from now, your kid is not going to be able to
tell whether they ate all organic food or the
stuff that you got on discount. You know what
they will remember is whether or not you were
home for dinner. Whether or not you were able
to go play one more game. Yeah. You know? And
let's be real. This world is getting more and
more expensive to live in, right? Yeah. Especially
in the US. And I'm sure it's true for other countries,
too. So finding how to get that quality time
in with your family can be harder and harder.
But the question then comes is, well, what's
your priority? Yeah. Maybe it's going to be more
beneficial for you to find a few things to cut
back on in your life so you can have more quality
time with your family. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Versus,
versus living up to that quote unquote status
quo that you think you should be at. I think
there's a tendency to look at what other people
have, by the way, this is covered elsewhere,
but like talking about coveting, seeing the things
that other people have not being satisfied with
what you have. Yeah. Well, it goes, well, I mean,
talk about the other way too. Like what's the
opposite of like worry and envy. Yeah. It's contentment.
Yeah. Right. Are you content with what you got?
Yeah. It was, uh, I got this phone call from
this person who was trying to recruit me to another
job. And they said, well, I want to talk to you
about life -changing money. And I asked him a
question because I was feeling a little snarky.
I said, what if there's not an amount of money
that would change my life? And it was very quiet
on the other end because I don't think anybody's
ever asked him that before. I was like, what
if there's not an amount of money that could
change my life? And he's like. Well, it's still
substantially more, and I was like, okay, but
you said life -changing. I was like, I would
hope, and obviously, there is some capacity to,
there is some things that would change in your
life if you received a certain amount. If your
life changes because of a certain amount of money,
man, I'm not sure that you're content. Yep. I'm
not talking about maybe have a nicer house, nicer
car, any of those things. But if now you'll have
time for your family, now you'll have time for
your kids, I'm not sure that that... I don't
know. I just don't know. I think a lot of times
we're looking for things in the temporary that
don't fulfill for things that are actually eternal.
Relationships. Kingdom of God. fellowship you
know yeah like those things that actually matter
yeah and yeah and i mean you have to you have
to like when you're reading stuff like this you
have to decide like okay if i'm going to live
into the kingdom um does like what matters and
what doesn't matter I am, I'm 38 now, which,
you know, there are plenty of people who are
listening that would be like, oh, what a child.
But I just celebrated my 20 year reunion in high
school. And there was a guy that was at a reunion
and he was talking about, he was like, oh, you
know, the best days of my life, you know. And
I was trying to think, I was like, man, I can't
even remember most of what I did in high school.
Yeah. But you know what I do? I remember relationships.
I remember events. I remember breakthroughs in
people's lives. I remember spiritual things that
happened. There was a portion where the Holy
Spirit hit me really heavy in high school and
radically changed my life. I was like, I just
like all the good stuff just hasn't lasted 20
years. It's been the stuff that people aren't
pursuing. Could you imagine if we as a Christian
church pursued God the same way we would pursue
money? Yeah. Mm -hmm. It'd be crazy. Yeah. Right?
Where we're like, 50 hours a week because I just
need a little more God. Mm -hmm. I need a little
bit more relationship. Yeah. You know? I mean,
that's obviously commoditizing. And please, theological
knights, I understand. God is not a commodity.
Yeah. But what if our passion for God was like
the passion we have for money? And this whole
idea of you can't serve both God and money, I
think often we do, though. Put God, money, God,
house, God, career, whatever it is. Exactly.
All right. Each day has a trouble enough of its
own. We're coming into the end of the Sermon
on the Mountain. Are you ready for here? This
is the fun part because this is... Whew! All
right. So do not judge or you too will be judged.
For in the same way you judge others, you will
be judged. With the measure you use, it will
be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck
of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention
to the plank in your own eye? How can you say
to your brother, let me take that speck out of
your eye when all the time to take the speck...
Oh, sorry. When all the time there is a plank
in your own eye, you hypocrite first take the
plank out of your own eye, and then you will
see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's
eye. Do not give to dogs what is sacred. Do not
throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they will
trample them and ask under their feet and turn
and tear you to pieces. Once again, this is connecting
back to the previous idea. These are things that
you should do, like judging and coming in connection
and correcting people when they have brokenness
in them is not a bad thing, but you do it with
connection. But you know what you shouldn't do
it? I should not talk to you about how you treat
your wife if I treat my wife poorly. First, I
should address my relationship. Then I can actually
see clearly to talk to you about how to engage
with yours. Yeah. Right? That's probably not
the best example, but it is an example. You know?
Probably not the best wording. Yeah. No, no.
It's the best wording that's ever, ever taken
place. Yeah. But, I mean, it just comes back
to that act. And there's a reason Jesus is saying
this, right? And it applies so much today because
we are so quick to be like, okay, I see the crap
that's going on in that person's life and I need
to call them out on it. And when in reality Jesus
is like, okay, I see that too. Also, can we talk
about your life a little bit? Like, I know you
want to call this person out on this, but let's
examine what's going on over here in your life
first. Yeah. Right? And I think the other misinterpretation
with this is we often interpret it like, okay,
we have to have our life completely, perfectly
put together before we can correct somebody else.
Yeah. And no, that's actually not what this is
talking about. Jesus is actually referencing
like issues, right? So you referenced marriage,
right? Yeah. So it would be the same thing if
you were horrible with money, had millions of
dollars in debt, and were bleeding money every
month, and then you went to somebody and said,
hey, you know what? You really shouldn't buy
that $5 Starbucks every day. Or $7 Starbucks
or whatever it costs now, right? Yeah. I was
like, where are you getting Starbucks that is
$5? It's called an Americano. Not a sponsor.
It's called an Americano, man. I don't get those
floofy drinks. But right, it's talking about
like issues for the most part is what Jesus is
referencing here. And so while there's application
the other way, it's really talking about that
where it's like, hey, if you are doing really
poorly in one area of your life and you're trying
to correct somebody else who's doing probably
better than you, that's what you need to look
at. Yeah, yeah. Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. I agree
with your agreed. I agree with your agreement.
All right. Sounds good. All right. So don't give
the dogs that sacred. Don't throw your pearls
to pigs. If they do, they may trample them under
their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. And
this is, by the way, the whole idea with dogs
and pigs is don't give things to people who aren't
going to appreciate them. When somebody is not
ready to hear something, no amount of talking
is going to make a difference. Yeah. They have
to be ready to hear. He's going to talk about
this elsewhere when he commissions them to go
out. He's like, if you bring the word and they
don't accept it, just shake the dust and move
on. Don't give up on them, but just shake the
dust and move on. Stop throwing pearls before
swine. They don't appreciate it. Right? Well,
and the swine comment's interesting from Jewish
culture, right? Yeah. Yeah, because of pigs.
Yeah, they don't eat pigs. So it's like pigs
are not a thing they'd really deal with in their
culture. And so to be like, hey, he's like, hey,
make sure they're ready to receive it. So ask
and it will be given to you. Seek and you will
find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.
For anyone who asks receives, the one who seeks
find, and the one who knocks, the door will be
opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread,
will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish,
will give him a snake? If you then, though you
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father in heaven
give good gifts to those who ask him? So in everything,
do to others what you would have them do to you.
For this sums up the law and the prophets. Right?
I'm actually going to keep going here. Enter
through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate,
and broad is the road that leads to destruction,
and many enter through it. But small is the gate,
and narrow is the road that leads to life, and
only a few find it. Okay. So, and then we'll
do one more part here before we end up. This,
coming on the end of, he says, don't judge, lest
you be judged. But if you do recognize you have
something, ask. Seek God. Knock on the door.
He's going to give you good gifts. He's going
to clean you up. He's going to take you back
home. One of the best things you can figure out
about God is he's your father and he wants you
home. Yeah. Right? And by the way, if I ask any
of you for bread and you give me a snake, we
are, oh, let me tell you, you know, I don't like
snakes at all. Well, here's a fun snake story.
It's a little tangent. Yeah. I worked in an office
for a little while and my cubicle. mate uh she
like one day brought in like a full -on pet snake
in a cage yeah and i was like well this i was
like okay this first off this probably should
not be happening but and so i just looked at
her i was i was like i'm just gonna be really
honest with you like if that snake makes it over
to my desk you're gonna need you're gonna have
to get a new snake and she's like i don't understand
what you're saying and i was like i was like
i said what i need to say just i don't want it
over in my area and she's like but i'm gonna
have to get a new snake i don't get it and like
i was like i was like i'm just I was like, I'm
not going to go any further than that. She's
like, but what are you actually saying? And then
someone from the other cubicle over says, Spencer's
going to kill it if it gets to his desk. And
she's like, you're going to do what? I was like,
just keep it off my desk and we won't have a
problem. I mean, I feel like that's reasonable.
As a person who doesn't like snakes, I am 100
% in your corner on this one. And then within
a week, our supervisor was like, that's got to
go home. Sorry, that's not staying here. I just,
it's just like such a weird, uh, office pet to
bring in. Right. Yeah. Um, so this idea of the,
of the narrow and the, and the wide way, right.
Why is the road that leads to destruction? Um,
there is, there is conversation. I think sometimes
in Christendom, we've made everything a salvation
thing. where Jesus is inviting you to a kind
of life. And it's not necessarily talking about
eternity. It's talking about a qualitative life
that starts now. And I think that there are eternal
implications, but sometimes we've made it so
specific that we've made things about salvation
that he didn't make about salvation. He made
about being part of the kingdom of God. Because
he's talking to the Jewish people that are following
him. right? The people who want to be a part
of the kingdom of God. So the other thing is,
this actually ties into what the sermon on the
mount is saying earlier, where like, let your
yes be yes and your no be no. Right. Right. Like
you said, it's that lifestyle choice. Yeah. You
say yes to too many things. Yeah. Guess what?
You're going to be on this really wide road.
Yeah. And you're going to have too many things
coming your way. Yeah. Right. How many have driven
on an interstate, right? Some people are like,
don't you live in Alaska? Yes, we do. We have
a road. We have a road. We do. We do, okay? But
whenever we fly down to the lower 48 and you
have to drive on that big, wide interstate and
you get stuck in traffic. When you get to Seattle
and you get on a rental car and you immediately
pull off onto the 405 or the I -5 or somewhere
in there and you're like, life is much different
here. Yes, right? And so you're on this wide
road. There's a lot of things that can take you.
your attention that can distract you there's
a lot more risk there's a lot more vulnerability
what jesus is saying is he's saying no say yes
to what you need to say yes to say no to what
you need to say no to right and then that way
you're on this narrow road to where you are focused
on this life with christ And I think what you're
doing here is really important because we tend
to read these things in isolation. And it's not
that I don't think we can talk about them in
isolation because I think there are good implications,
but they're not exclusively meant to be understood
in isolation. It's meant to be understood under
the context of what he's been talking about.
Yeah. Right? He says, he's like, I'm describing
to you like a way of life, and it is a narrow
way. And most people aren't going to find it.
By the way, if most people aren't going to find
it, guess what you can do? can do you could illuminate
the world makes a lot easier to find a narrow
path yep there's a there's another story in scripture
that talks about this distractions on the wide
road and it's a really interesting story it's
actually a story of mary and joseph losing jesus
like coming back from passover yeah like they're
leaving jerusalem and then they're like oh he's
probably with somebody else and they're like
crap we lost the son of god right like Yeah,
when you get yourself in that spot where you've
said yes to too many things, you get overwhelmed,
you get distracted. Ironically enough, it creeps
the idea of something we just talked about. Worry
creeps in, right? And so, again, let your yes
be yes, no be no, and live a focused life. So
why do we know and why are we talking about this?
Because the next verse comes. So this idea of
wide and narrow, what are you saying yes to?
Are you actually saying yes to the kingdom of
God? Are you saying yes to everything else in
the world? Watch out for false prophets. It's
right in line with this. What are you saying
yes to? What are you listening to? Who are you
letting influence your life? They come to you
in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious
wolves. But by their fruit you will recognize
them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes?
I don't know. I'm assuming not. I'm not a vineyard
person. person vinter what's the person who works
a vineyard there's a whole longer discussion
or figs from thistles i don't know i've never
i'm assuming figs come from trees i'm guessing
because i read later in scripture yeah figs come
from trees grapes come from vines now uh there's
a whole conversation of how much have grapes
and figs been modified from what they were back
in the day across bread but blah blah that's
a whole nother conversation Ben is ignorant,
and Spencer has too much information. This is
not a Homesteading podcast. Likewise, every good
tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad
fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and
a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you
will recognize them. Pause here, because I'm
going to say not everyone who says to me, Lord,
Lord. This is... We need to be really careful
with this because this has been used a lot of
times. Remember we were talking about murder,
impugning people's honor, and tearing each other
down? This is used a lot in the church where
they talk about false prophets. You're going
to know them by their fruit. Okay, well, what
is the fruit? Sure, you can jump to Paul where
he's talking about the fruit of the Spirit. I
think that's a great thing. Love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self -control. 100%. I'm on board with you there.
But specifically, what has he been talking about
in this story? You're going to be a kind of person
who doesn't talk badly about people. You're going
to be the kind of person who practices fidelity.
You're going to be the kind of person who fasts
but doesn't make it a spectacle, who prays but
doesn't make it a spectacle, who gives but doesn't
make it a spectacle, who serves God and not money,
who doesn't worry, who doesn't stand in judgment
of others, and when they are self -respective,
they seek the guidance of God. These are the
kinds of things. You're going to be the kind
of person who seeks the narrow life, the kind
of person who puts righteousness on display.
Side note, all the things that are listed here,
so fasting, prayer, selflessness, focus on religion,
stuff like that, that's all stuff that actually
the scientific community has been like, hey,
people who do this are healthier and live a better
life. Yeah. It's like Jesus knows what he's talking
about. Anyways, I'm just leaving that at that.
I actually read, so I read in the fourth gospel.
that Jesus was there at the beginning, and Jesus
is God. Wait, what? I know, I know, it's a crazy
concept, so he may know a thing or two about
how the world works. Yeah, right. So this idea
of looking for false prophets is like, when you're
talking about people that are leading you astray,
they're going to be people who cause you to not
focus on the things Jesus is talking about you
to focus on. If there are things that are causing,
if you run into a teaching that causes you to
be angry or vehement towards other people, it's
false prophet, guys. Like, that is not the way
of Jesus. Yeah. Right? If it causes you to hate
your enemy, it's not Jesus. Like, that's not
Jesus. If you find yourself angry with, and I'm
not talking about righteous anger, I'm not talking
about, man, I really want somebody to be better,
I want to stand against injustice, like, 100
% we're on board with that because that's in
the Sermon on the Mount. Yeah. But when that
crosses to, like, they're worth less, nah, man.
That's not what it is. Nope. So if you found
yourself, in my younger days, I found myself
using this to try to distinguish people I disagreed
with. Yeah. It's not what it is. Yeah. It's about
recognizing people who are leading you to not
the path that Jesus is calling you to. Right?
Which, by the way, is going to be context for
this next spot, which I think a lot of Christians
get scared about. Not everyone who says to me,
Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only those who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that
day, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name
and in your name drive out demons and in your
name perform many miracles? Then I will tell
them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me,
you evil doers. Yeah. Right? Excuse me. I think
a lot of people have played this into this concern
about, am I actually going to find myself in
eternity with Jesus? Yeah. If you are buying
into these false prophets who lead you away from
what Jesus calls us to be, then yes. If you're
living a life contrary to the kingdom of God,
yeah, you're probably going to find yourself
not in the kingdom of God. And it shouldn't be
a surprise. Yep. Sorry, I had some tea go down
the wrong pipe. Yeah, he tried to. He tried to
inhale some tea. Apparently, yeah. In fact, Jesus
is going to close the Sermon on the Mount. And
remember, everything that's come before this.
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of
mine and puts them into practice. puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house
on the rock. The rain came down, the streams
rose, and the winds blew and beat against the
house, yet it did not fall because it had foundations
on the rock. But everyone who hears these words
of mine and does not put them into practice is
like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain came down, the streams rose, the wind
blew and beat against that house, and it fell
with a great crash. When Jesus had finished saying
these things, So both of these people hear the
words of Jesus. Yeah. So it can't just be knowing.
No. What do you do with what he's done? Yeah.
Right? What do you do with the words of Jesus,
with the finished work of Jesus on the cross,
the death, burial, and resurrection, right? Yeah.
Filled with the Holy Spirit. Like, it can't just
be doxology. It has to be... Yeah. Right? Yeah.
It can't just be orthodoxy. It has to be orthopraxy.
Mm -hmm. And it's like, what is it? How is it?
James says, you say I have faith and I have deeds.
I will show you my faith by what I do. Mm -hmm.
You're going to know what I believe by the way
I act. Yeah. And so it's not supposed to be this
place of like. fear, but if you have a life that
everything you do doesn't look like Jesus, it
doesn't have patience, doesn't love people, doesn't
stand up against injustice, doesn't love your
enemies, then, yeah, you should probably do some
self -examination. Yeah. Right? That's a really
easily fixable problem. You call on the name
of Jesus, and bam, you're good. Yeah. He's gonna
send the Holy Spirit, and you're gonna live that
life, and it's gonna be way different. Yeah.
Right? Right. Up until that point, though, like...
you have to actually put God into practice. Yeah.
Yeah. This is going to be a really harsh way
of saying this, but somebody said this to me
years ago. They're like, living in the kingdom
looks like church on Sunday, Christ on Monday,
not church on Sunday and porn on Monday. I mean,
it's kind of a harsh way to say it, but that
was what somebody said to me in high school.
And they were like, that's the reality of the
kingdom. If you're just coming to church on Sunday
just to be there so you've checked the box so
you might get into heaven one day, he's like,
the reality is that Jesus is, following Jesus
is your whole life. Right. It's everything that
you're about. Yeah. Right? And it's also a process.
So you may not be completely there yet, but you're
working towards it. Yeah. Like, that's okay.
God has a ton of patience for kids growing. Yeah.
This is the same individual that told me, if
you're ever given a teaching platform at church,
you will speak heresy at some point. I'm like,
okay. Yeah. And he's like, just know that. And
then when you do, apologize and say, hey, I had
that wrong. Yeah. And move on. Yeah. And correct
it and move on. Right? Because that's the reality.
When you do this, when you follow Jesus, you're
not going to do it perfectly. You're going to
fall short. I work with students a lot, and over
the summer, we were meeting for youth ministry,
and we talked about the life of David, and that's
what we're highlighting, of like, hey, David
was a guy who was sold out for God. Right. Right?
But here's some stories of how he felt. Struggled.
How he struggled. How he saw a naked woman on
the neighboring rooftop and was like, I must
have her. And by the way, I'm going to kill her
husband so I can't have her. The reality is we're
going to fall short. We're going to mess up.
That's not even all of David's thing. He repents
from that. God starts to use him again. And on
his deathbed, he tells, he's like, oh, you know,
trust God. Also, Solomon, come here. I got a
list of people for you to kill. Right? David's
final recorded words in the Bible, referring
to one of his, he's talking to Solomon, referring
to one of his advisors. He's like, I trust you
can arrange a bloody death for him. Yeah. Those
are his final words. Like, did he live life perfectly?
No. Yeah. So, like, what we're not talking about
is perfection. We're talking about pursuit, right?
I mean, the whole idea of judge not lest you
be judged, you're going to have a plank in your
eye sometimes. That's why you go to God. That's
why you ask, why you seek, why you knock, why
you live in community, why you live in generosity,
why you live with people who are going to hold
you accountable, why you seek the narrow road,
why you have your yes be yes and your no be no,
right? Why you put on these things to follow
Jesus is because they're going to help guide
you towards... an eventuality, which is life
in the kingdom. Yeah. And, uh, um, I, my kid
is only six. Um, but I know people who, you know,
their kids are grown and obviously I'm a, I'm
a, I'm a son of parents as well. Yeah. I'm still
not done growing as a person. Right. I'm 38 still
growing as a person. Yeah. Right. It's, it's
going to keep happening. You're going to, you
know, continuing to grow in empathy, growing,
growing in compassion, growing in love, growing
in righteousness. Yeah. It's a process. Yeah.
But if you find, I mean, the flip side of that,
and this is just real conversation, like to your
point, you can't say yes, Jesus on Sunday and
porn on Monday, right? If that's your go -to,
like, I mean, I don't think that's actually making
any meaningful difference in your life. You're
not actually putting it into practice. By the
way, that's not to, porn is an addiction, and
so maybe you need help, right? Yeah. Jesus talks
about this in the Sermon on the Mount. Right
after the Lord's Prayer, he's like, hey, forgive
those who've offended. Like, forgive those. Forgive
others, and your Heavenly Father will forgive
you. And then he says a phrase that we often
skip over, where he says, if you do not forgive
those, your Heavenly Father will not forgive
you. Yeah. And we often skip over that because
we don't really want to try to swallow that pill.
Right. Right. But there's, there's this life,
like just as Christ has extended grace and forgiveness
into our lives, we're to extend those to that,
to other people. Well, and it's so interconnected
with everything he's talked up to at this point,
because if you're the kind of person who can
receive forgiveness from the father, but not
extend it to the person around you, you don't
really understand the kingdom. Yeah. Right. You
don't really understand, like you're not actually
allowing the lifeblood of the kingdom of God
to flow through you. Right. Yeah. And I'm not
saying that's easy because people do bad things
to each other often. You can just check out the
news and I'm sure there's at least seven stories
today. Yeah. Like people do bad things to each
other often. But the way Jesus says to put the
world back together is to live in such a way
that you forgive people and you seek justice.
You stand against oppression, but also love your
enemies. Yep. And I'm like, all the times he's
talking, I'm like, okay, so you got to stand
against this and you got to love them. And I'm
like, I can do like part of that, you know? I
can do a part of that. Right? It's almost like
it's not human capable and you need the Holy
Spirit to actually guide you on that. Yep. Yeah.
100%. All right. Well. I think that's where we're
going to wrap the Sermon on the Mount. It only
took us three weeks. Next week, we will come
back and we're going to talk about just this.
The Sermon on the Mount. Part one again. Yeah,
part one again. Part one again. We're going to
just repeat the exact same thing. Talk about
it a little bit differently. We're actually going
to take a breather and we're going to pull a
couple of places where Jesus talks about prayer.
We're just going to talk about what does prayer
look like in the life of Jesus and what does
that mean in how we interact with God in our
daily life. Sounds good. Until next time. Bye.
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