Our paragraph topic is: (Conclusion of the sermon) Part 2.
In this part of the final sermon, Christ tells us what happens in life. He tells us the rain fell, the floods came, the wind blew and beat against the house, but it did not fall.
We have rains that come into our lives today in buckets. When it rains it pours. It pours problems in the home with our children. It pours problems in our relationships with our spouses. It pours problems in our work environment with our co-workers, our supervisor, our managers, the company policies, the company workers that rub us the wrong way. It pours in our churches. It pours in our market places where we notice the increases in prices for the products we need. It pours at the gas pump where we have no control over the cost of gasoline. It pours with problems all around us that causes us to feel out of control.
And then there is the flood. The waters that overwhelms us to the point where we loose control. There is the flood of emotions that causes us to explode at home with our children. Then there is the flood of emotions that comes with the frustration with our spouses that make us seek a way out. There is the flood of emotions that make us feel angry with our jobs because we feel we are under paid and over worked. There is the flood of feelings that comes from looking back upon our lives and seeing that we have not made the progress that we feel we should have made by now in our lives. Instead we seem to be moving backwards. There is the flood of desires that drive us to passions that would have us take pleasure in fun and wild behavior to wipe away all of the frustrations that we experience.
And the winds blow against all that we have, threatening to destroy our lives. The winds of fate blow. The winds of our destiny blow. The winds of destruction blow. The winds of passion blow. The winds of lust blow. The winds of envy blow. The winds of jealousy blow. The winds of anger and frustration blow. The winds of deceit blow. The winds of death blow and seek to destroy all the we have and our homes.
Christ tells us that if we build our house on the rock, all these things will not prevail. He tells us that if we hear his words and act upon them then the winds may blow, and the flood may come, and the rains may fall but none of these things will prevail against his words. His words are truth. His words are justice. His words are everlasting. His words prevail. His words are protection. His words provide, if we just keep them.
Keep them in your hearts. Keep them in your minds. Speak them daily. Speak them to your children. Speak to your spouses. Speak them to your co-workers. Speak them to your friends. Speak them to yourself when you face the winds of evil that we meet everyday. Christ has given us the key, if we would just use it to unlock the door. Father God in heaven I pray that more people will hear your words and come to know them as truth.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
St Matthew, Chapter 7, verse: 24, The Sermon on the Mount.
The sermon ends with paragraph topic: (Conclusion of the sermon) Part 1.
Christ is concluding his Sermon on the Mount. He ends by telling us about the words that he has spoken. He tells us: 24"Everyone therefore who hears these my words and acts upon them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house on rock. First Christ tells us to hear the words of this Sermon on the Mount. He tells us to open our ears and allow his words to come in. He tells us to not just hear but to take in what he is saying to us, to be still, to understand, to know. Secondly, Christ is telling us to act upon what he is saying to us. Do not just hear, but hear and understand. Do not just hear and understand, but act upon what you have heard.
By taking action we will be like wise men. We will have wisdom. We will receive knowledge that comes from on high. We will be solid in the knowledge that we have received and that knowledge is like a rock. That knowledge cannot be disturbed. That knowledge cannot be moved because it is the heavenly knowledge. That knowledge cannot be moved because it comes from the heavenly father. That knowledge cannot be moved no matter what life throws at us. That knowledge tells us that we will be at peace. For the Father of all knowledge tells us that when we act upon what we have heard we will be solid, as a rock.
So build your house upon the knowledge that comes from the rock. Build your life upon the wisdom that is given from on high. Build your relationships upon what you have read, and heard, and understood , and what you will act upon. Keep the knowledge in your mind. Write them down and take them with you wherever you go. Make them a part of your daily routine. Recite them in the morning, afternoon, and evening until they are memorized. Continue the pattern until you become the words that were spoken, they become you and they are implanted in your heart. For the world will work against you.
The world will call you a fool. The world will not like you. The world will scorn you, and mock you, and speak all manner of evil against you. The world will attempt to tear you down. The world will exert all manner of force against you to turn you around. The world will try to move you from the rock of knowledge, but be not deceived. The world is the devil and the devil would turn you off the path of life and onto the path of destruction. Christ did not say that the path to life would be easy. Beware the obstacles to virtue. They are like weeds that grow among the flowers, choking the life from them and draining valuable nutrients of life from the earth that the flowers must use for food.
Christ will be our guide, our nourishment, and our light. Christ will show us the way. Christ will protect us. Christ will provide for us. For God already knows what we need. Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. These are the words that we must eat and sleep and speak and know and keep in our hearts, every second, every minute, every hour of the day. For ours is the rock of salvation and we shall not be moved.
Christ is concluding his Sermon on the Mount. He ends by telling us about the words that he has spoken. He tells us: 24"Everyone therefore who hears these my words and acts upon them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house on rock. First Christ tells us to hear the words of this Sermon on the Mount. He tells us to open our ears and allow his words to come in. He tells us to not just hear but to take in what he is saying to us, to be still, to understand, to know. Secondly, Christ is telling us to act upon what he is saying to us. Do not just hear, but hear and understand. Do not just hear and understand, but act upon what you have heard.
By taking action we will be like wise men. We will have wisdom. We will receive knowledge that comes from on high. We will be solid in the knowledge that we have received and that knowledge is like a rock. That knowledge cannot be disturbed. That knowledge cannot be moved because it is the heavenly knowledge. That knowledge cannot be moved because it comes from the heavenly father. That knowledge cannot be moved no matter what life throws at us. That knowledge tells us that we will be at peace. For the Father of all knowledge tells us that when we act upon what we have heard we will be solid, as a rock.
So build your house upon the knowledge that comes from the rock. Build your life upon the wisdom that is given from on high. Build your relationships upon what you have read, and heard, and understood , and what you will act upon. Keep the knowledge in your mind. Write them down and take them with you wherever you go. Make them a part of your daily routine. Recite them in the morning, afternoon, and evening until they are memorized. Continue the pattern until you become the words that were spoken, they become you and they are implanted in your heart. For the world will work against you.
The world will call you a fool. The world will not like you. The world will scorn you, and mock you, and speak all manner of evil against you. The world will attempt to tear you down. The world will exert all manner of force against you to turn you around. The world will try to move you from the rock of knowledge, but be not deceived. The world is the devil and the devil would turn you off the path of life and onto the path of destruction. Christ did not say that the path to life would be easy. Beware the obstacles to virtue. They are like weeds that grow among the flowers, choking the life from them and draining valuable nutrients of life from the earth that the flowers must use for food.
Christ will be our guide, our nourishment, and our light. Christ will show us the way. Christ will protect us. Christ will provide for us. For God already knows what we need. Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. These are the words that we must eat and sleep and speak and know and keep in our hearts, every second, every minute, every hour of the day. For ours is the rock of salvation and we shall not be moved.
Monday, January 10, 2011
St Matthew, Chapter 7, verses:22-23, Sermon on the Mount.
We finish our paragraph topic: (Obstacles to virtue) Part 5.
Christ continues to warn us about the Obstacles to Virtue with more examples of what we must do. In this final part of his sermon, he tells us that there will be those who will say to him at the judgement: 'Lord, Lord,'. They will also explain how they worked miracles in his name, how they prophesied in his name, and how they cast out devils in his name. Even with this defense Christ will say: I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.
Does Christ know me? How do I make myself acquainted with Christ such that I am sure that he knows me? Can I preach the word thereby getting him to know me? Can I perform miracles in his name and get his attention that way? Do I prophesy to believers thereby showing my wisdom of his truths? Does my ability to cast out devils show that I know him? Through my ability to heal the sick, will that make me known to him? What can I do to know Christ and to get him to know me? So he is giving us a warning of what not to say or do when that day comes. He is telling us, here is the test and here is the key to the test. Now, go out and and do not do these things. Now, go out and do not come to me at the end times with these words. For the final test to the question, will I enter the kingdom of heaven, is: "Does Christ know me or do I know him?"
In previous sermons Christ has given us example after example of what we can do so that our father sees what we do and will reward us. He has told us to not do our good deeds before men that they will see what we do and honor us. We are to do them when men are not looking so that our heavenly father sees and will reward us. He has said that we should pray in secret, that we should give alms so that no one else knows. He has told us to fast in such a way that we do not appear to our fellow man that we are fasting. For if we fast in private then our heavenly father will see and reward us. He has told us to not be anxious about tomorrow and what we should eat or the clothes we will wear. Our heavenly father know what we need and will provide. He has told us to ask, to seek, and to knock and all will be provided to us. We are to build up our treasures in heaven and not on this earth for by doing so our hearts will be in heaven and not on earth. All these things Christ has given us so that we will be noticed by God and he will know us. It is our intentions and our heart through which he will know us and not by what we will do in his name.
The final grade given by Christ will determine if we enter the kingdom of heaven. He will say to us, if he does not know us: "Depart from me, you workers of iniquity!’ For if we work to prophesy, to cast out devil, to work miracles in his name but do not know him, he will not know us. He will curse us as workers of evil. He will cast us out. He will remove us from the kingdom of heaven. For we did works for our own intentions and not through the knowledge of him.
There is power in the name of Christ. Through it many miracles can happen. Through it men and women can have the power to appear great on this earth. We must be aware of what we do. We must recognize that through Christ comes good works. Through Christ comes love, faith, trust, charity, forgiveness, peace. Through man comes, injustice, hatred, anger, lust, envy, doubt, fear, selfishness.
Without Christ our works are hollow. But with him our works take on the true purpose with which they were meant to create. It is only through a knowledge of Christ that we are able to reach a level of works that brings glory to God. It is only through Christ that the works that we do are completed, not for our benefit and edification but for the benefit and glory of God. He is our joy, our hope, our love, our salvation, and our peace. It is through the knowledge of him that we are transformed from death to life and become a new beings. It is through that knowledge and understanding that are hearts are transformed and we become one with him through the Holy Spirit. Then, when that day comes, we will know him as he knows us because our hearts are with him and not in the earth.
Christ continues to warn us about the Obstacles to Virtue with more examples of what we must do. In this final part of his sermon, he tells us that there will be those who will say to him at the judgement: 'Lord, Lord,'. They will also explain how they worked miracles in his name, how they prophesied in his name, and how they cast out devils in his name. Even with this defense Christ will say: I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.
Does Christ know me? How do I make myself acquainted with Christ such that I am sure that he knows me? Can I preach the word thereby getting him to know me? Can I perform miracles in his name and get his attention that way? Do I prophesy to believers thereby showing my wisdom of his truths? Does my ability to cast out devils show that I know him? Through my ability to heal the sick, will that make me known to him? What can I do to know Christ and to get him to know me? So he is giving us a warning of what not to say or do when that day comes. He is telling us, here is the test and here is the key to the test. Now, go out and and do not do these things. Now, go out and do not come to me at the end times with these words. For the final test to the question, will I enter the kingdom of heaven, is: "Does Christ know me or do I know him?"
In previous sermons Christ has given us example after example of what we can do so that our father sees what we do and will reward us. He has told us to not do our good deeds before men that they will see what we do and honor us. We are to do them when men are not looking so that our heavenly father sees and will reward us. He has said that we should pray in secret, that we should give alms so that no one else knows. He has told us to fast in such a way that we do not appear to our fellow man that we are fasting. For if we fast in private then our heavenly father will see and reward us. He has told us to not be anxious about tomorrow and what we should eat or the clothes we will wear. Our heavenly father know what we need and will provide. He has told us to ask, to seek, and to knock and all will be provided to us. We are to build up our treasures in heaven and not on this earth for by doing so our hearts will be in heaven and not on earth. All these things Christ has given us so that we will be noticed by God and he will know us. It is our intentions and our heart through which he will know us and not by what we will do in his name.
The final grade given by Christ will determine if we enter the kingdom of heaven. He will say to us, if he does not know us: "Depart from me, you workers of iniquity!’ For if we work to prophesy, to cast out devil, to work miracles in his name but do not know him, he will not know us. He will curse us as workers of evil. He will cast us out. He will remove us from the kingdom of heaven. For we did works for our own intentions and not through the knowledge of him.
There is power in the name of Christ. Through it many miracles can happen. Through it men and women can have the power to appear great on this earth. We must be aware of what we do. We must recognize that through Christ comes good works. Through Christ comes love, faith, trust, charity, forgiveness, peace. Through man comes, injustice, hatred, anger, lust, envy, doubt, fear, selfishness.
Without Christ our works are hollow. But with him our works take on the true purpose with which they were meant to create. It is only through a knowledge of Christ that we are able to reach a level of works that brings glory to God. It is only through Christ that the works that we do are completed, not for our benefit and edification but for the benefit and glory of God. He is our joy, our hope, our love, our salvation, and our peace. It is through the knowledge of him that we are transformed from death to life and become a new beings. It is through that knowledge and understanding that are hearts are transformed and we become one with him through the Holy Spirit. Then, when that day comes, we will know him as he knows us because our hearts are with him and not in the earth.
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