09/25/2017
Are you working hard to do all of those things that Jesus spoke of during His Sermon on the Mount? If so, how is that working out for you? Are you going at it alone, or are you leaning on Jesus for your success? Sometimes we get tripped up by His simplest sounding instruction, but most certainly we will fail if we struggle by ourselves.
“And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
Matthew 5:41 ESV
Under Roman rule a soldier could legally ask a local person to carry their possessions a distance of one mile. This was common knowledge at the time which Jesus spoke these words, and as you can imagine, the people didn't like it much. But, Jesus was telling them not to be bitter and to willingly carry the burden two miles without complaint.
Some say this is a form of passive resistance, while others say it was an example of loving your neighbor... either way it would have been hard to do, and a demonstration of how Jesus would have us behave. The teaching of Jesus on the Mount was filled with hard things to do; some physically like our example today, but there were others which were behaviorally, or spiritually, demanding like this one:
“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Matthew 5:22 ESV
Our first example was difficult, but could be done if you are physically able, however the second can be even more difficult. When was the last time anger surfaced in you? Before you say "I don't get angry" think about the last time you were in rush hour traffic... did someone cause you to mumble under your breath or speak something in anger like "what in the world is wrong with you!"? Anger is such a part of us that we don't even realize the many times we feel it.
Oswald Chambers wrote that conforming to all that Jesus taught during His Sermon on the Mount would be impossible without our becoming a new person; by our conforming to the image of Christ...
"The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal, it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like His own. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount." - Oswald Chambers
Sure, you can work really hard and do some of the things He taught, but even so you wouldn't be doing them consistently, and certainly not with the heart that Jesus asks of us. Jesus tells us first that we will suffer and as He details out these ways He says we will be blessed (The Beatitudes); then He says we are the salt and light of the world, that He came to fulfill the law not go destroy it, about controlling our anger, and so many other things... each of them a challenge to perform, and impossible for us to do alone.
You might read these teachings and become discouraged, but remember that you have been chosen and that Jesus will not abandon you to your own ability. You may have been acting and thinking like you have been seeking Jesus, but in fact He is calling you.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”
John 15:16 ESV
You may think you are working your way to a stronger faith and salvation, but achieving that is impossible in and of ourselves. We must first be changed and then filled with the very essence of Jesus Christ.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:13 ESV
In this way we are saved; not by our works, but by grace through our faith. You see, we don't do those things to gain salvation, we do those things and works rightly by having been changed and filled with the spirit of Christ... not for salvation, but because we have been saved.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
So don't become discouraged. Lean on our Savior and pray to God for strength and perseverance in faith. Realize the presence of Jesus within you, and dwell in Him; even as He dwells in you. Find your strength as you dwell in the Father even as He dwells in you.
“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."”
John 14:20-21 ESV
The hard things of which Jesus taught are all possible as we realize that we do not do them alone, and that we are perfected in, and through, God and Jesus Christ. This is what we should expect to receive... not to earn through struggling; in this joint venture of faith we can achieve what for us alone is impossible. It is God's desire that we be perfect...
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48 ESV
Let's go to our knees this morning and thank God for His presence in our lives; let's thank Him not only for providing a means by which we can be saved, but for dwelling within us to make it possible. He desires us to be perfect and is actively working to perfect us.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your presence in my life and in my person. I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; all He has taught, and in His active role in remaking me in His image, even as He is in yours. Perfect me Father and never let be lose sight of the fact that it is by your grace alone that my perfection is possible. Never let me become disillusioned, or discouraged as I look at the difficulty of the road ahead of me; because in you all things are possible, and it is your desire that I succeed in joining you... perfected. Holy Father I praise your name and strive daily to allow you free reign in my life. You are my Help, my protection, my provider, my counselor, and my God. In you I find the strength for the hard things in my life, and in you I become more than my most desirous dreams. You are my perfecter and the artist of my life. You write the story of my salvation and the adventure of my faith. In you I am perfect; a completed work.
Rich Forbes