Matthew 7:28-29 – Authority
April 8, 2019
So we come to the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. What a remarkable teaching it was and is! (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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So we come to the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. What a remarkable teaching it was and is! (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Jesus uses soil problems to end His sermon. I’m told that in the Holy Land all the sandy soil becomes hard during the dry months. It thus appears solid. Then the storms come and reveal which soil is really just hardened sand and which is bedrock. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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There are people who think they know Jesus Christ but are in fact still dead in their sins. They call Jesus Lord and can point to amazing supernatural works and wonders. But Jesus never knew them and they will be lost for all eternity. Immediately you wonder, How can that be? How do I know if I’m saved? (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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These men always appear to be Christians. They look like sheep, Jesus said; but they are really wolves hiding among the sheep seeking to devour. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The primary interpretation of these verses is to the Christian regarding personal discipline. They can have application to salvation in terms of eternal destinations; but they are really for saved disciples to gauge their level of personal spiritual discipline. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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These verses follow the Lord’s exhortation that you not be judgmental. Deal with sin in your own life so you can then minister effectively to others who are desperate for the Gospel. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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It’s no accident that this section on judging immediately follows the teaching concerning earthly wealth. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Jesus may have been saying, if therefore you look to be generous. It fits the context because, after all, when we talk about investing in Heaven we’re talking about giving towards the Lord’s work. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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It is profoundly interesting to me that Jesus didn’t say, “Where your heart is, there your treasure will be.” Instead, He said, “Put your treasure in heaven, and your heart will inevitably follow.” (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Fasting has come under attack in recent years. Certain Christian scholars and intellects have decided that fasting is no where commanded as a binding obligation. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Jesus told us to pray, Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. He emphasizes why in these verses. There is a conditional aspect to forgiveness. Your Father forgives you on the condition you forgive others. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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You can live your life as if you are seated in heaven with God. Every spiritual resource in heaven is available to you. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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We can’t help but hear the word prayer and immediately think in terms of a spiritual discipline. It is… and it isn’t. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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In keeping with the general tone of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will be interested more in your inward motives than the activities themselves. It is always your heart-life that is of interest and importance to the Lord. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The essential problem was that the religious teachers saw God’s Law as only law. They did not comprehend it as a Law of love flowing forth from a heart that desired to fellowship with sinful man. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Jesus quotes this passage in His teaching on the true interpretation of the law. He does not say that the eye for eye principle is wrong; rather, He simply condemns the use of it to make it an obligation to exact revenge against someone who has personally offended me. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The Jews had developed a bad habit of swearing such false oaths in every day matters. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The real intent of these verses in the Sermon on the Mount is to return us to a pure and original interpretation and obedience to God’s Law, and to marriage. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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It is likely that the Pharisees had explained this commandment as extending only to the external act; and that they regarded evil thoughts and a wanton imagination as of little consequence, or as not forbidden by the law. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The scribes and Pharisees assumed you would be angry. As long as you did not kill anyone, they felt you were keeping the Law. You could get mad; insult someone; even sue them; and then just go about your business, feeling righteous because you hadn’t committed assault or murder. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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How can we fulfill the Law? By yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work in our lives. The Holy Spirit enables us to experience the righteousness of the law in daily life. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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It’s important to remember that Jesus was not the first-century founder of a new religion. Nor were His disciples after Him. Biblical Christianity began before the foundations of the earth – before creation. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Jesus assumes His hearers understand the world is in a kind of spiritual darkness. Religion; philosophy; even the sciences, to a certain extent, are mankind’s attempts to illuminate the spiritual darkness. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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A person who lives in the world and who lives-out the beatitudes that Jesus taught will affect the world for God and for good. That affect is illustrated: You will be like salt, and you will be like light. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The second century Christian leader Tertullian was once approached by a man who said, “I have come to Christ, but I don’t know what to do. I have a job that I don’t think is consistent with what Scripture teaches. What can I do? I must live.” To which Tertullian replied, “Must you?” (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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If you manifest the previous beatitudes, guess what: You will be persecuted! (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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This was a shocking statement to the Jews. They were subjugated by the Roman Empire. All their thoughts of the coming Messiah were about being set free from Rome. They assumed the Messiah would lead a military revolt. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Christianity ‘works’ at the level of the heart. It works from within; it then works its way out. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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I am merciful, because it is God’s nature and my new nature. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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We are being conformed, day-by-day, into the image of Jesus by the indwelling Holy Spirit. These beatitudes describe what we are like when we are Christ-like. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Even in the Church we don’t always value meekness. There is always a general feeling that we would be stronger, and better equipped to fight our enemies, if Christians were all united. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Who’s dead? Who are we mourning for? I’m going to suggest that it is you, and I, who is dead. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The Sermon on the Mount promises happiness. The word blessed, repeated so often, means something like, O how happy and to be envied. It means to be truly satisfied. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The Sermon on the Mount is often misunderstood and, thus, misapplied. What Jesus said in verse twenty is a key to how we are to understand and apply His words. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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