What Is Expected

One of my last topics I had spoken on how the Sermon on the Mount was really a training class for Jesus’ disciples and not sermon for the masses. Jesus had taken time to tell his disciples not just the twelve only, but also all the others were at least more than seventy others. Jesus was informing them what they should expect to go through in life as his followers and how they should behave as followers as well. Jesus was setting a standard for them to go by.

Matthew chapters 5 thru 7 covers what Jesus wanted them to prepare for and how they were to be. Matthew 5:3-12 actually covers a lot of insight of our own spiritual walk that we begin and eventually will end with if we continue on the straight and narrow.

Verse 3 – We are at first poor in spirit for we are not right with The Almighty and we are blessed for we have come to see our spiritual lacking and we want to draw closer to Him.

Verse 4 – When we realize and repent of our sinful ways our spirit mourns for our past transgressions against The Almighty and He comforts them for He sees their hearts and knows their truly repentant.

Verse 5 – We become humble and not prideful (trying to justify our past mistakes) before The Almighty and we turn our lives over to His will.

Verse 6 – As we begin to draw closer to The Almighty our spirit hungers and thirsts for more truth, revelations and anointing from the Almighty.

Verse 7 – As we continue to draw even closer our spirit feels sorrowful and caring for we want others to have what we have and for them to have salvation and eternal life.

Verse 8 – Thru our spiritual walk our hearts become pure for we have no selfish desires. John 1:47 is a good example of this.

Verse 9 – By this time we have become those that then share, preach and teach what we know and have in our relationship with the Almighty and at this time we have now built a strong foundation.

Verses 10-12 – This is the final step for when we have grown so close to Jesus and our Heavenly Father, the world will turn on you with such vengeance that it will try to do all sorts of evil against you to break that bond which you have formed between you, Jesus and his Father. The world will hate you because you have become an enemy to it since you stand for everything that it despises.

This is the path we all walk as we draw closer to Jesus and his Father. It’s amazing how much Jesus was truly sharing and revealing to his disciples at that time. Not everyone reaches the same level of progression since it depends on how hard that individual wants out of their relationship with The Almighty. I pray we all want to go as far as possible.

Now I will try to touch up on some of the other things that he covered with his disciples since there was a lot of information just in those ten verses. Since I have covered the Prayer and Fasting part of this in another sermon, I will skip it this time. Other points Jesus was bring across to them was that nothing was going to change with what his Father had commanded from the very beginning and he states that clearly in Matthew 5:17-20. No one should every try to change or negate any part of the Law or God’s statues.

Jesus even covers how they should avoid lusting and that dwelling on such thoughts was as accountable as doing the act itself as we see in Matthew 5:27-32. While back then and even now people can use all kinds of excuses to get divorced, but Jesus was showing them that when it came to his followers that there was only one cause for divorce.

He then goes on to show to them in Matthew 5:33-48 that revenge was not acceptable for his followers and that when it came to enemies he wanted them to love and pray for them rather than bringing themselves down to their level. We need to recognize that they need to come to the Lord and we need to desire within ourselves that they form a relationship with The Almighty as we have with Him.

Also Jesus warns in Matthew 7:1-12 about judging, not in the idea of we cannot judge, but if we do we need to do it in a way that is loving and understandable since we will be judged by the same standard that we judge others by. That is why we see him bringing up about the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That rule applies even to judging.

Lastly I want to speak on Matthew 7:13-14 and 24-29. First of all in verses 13-14 we see that the road which is straight and narrow that leads off to life is also one that people need to LOOK for since it is hidden and unless you are looking you will not find it. Secondly in verse 24-29 Jesus wanted to emphasize the fact that you will go through hardship in your life and if your foundation is not build on solid ground then when the storms come (not if but when) you will fall if that foundation is built on sand.

We need to know as followers of Christ that it is not a walk in the park nor are true believers weak as the world likes to show. Let us walk the walk and build a strong house upon the Rock, which is Jesus Christ.