THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT - GOD

1
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT - GODS LAW OF THE HEART
- Keeping aligned with God

• 16th August 2009

2
(No Transcript)
3
Columbus..
4
Flying in from NY.
5
Becoming more like Jesusfollowing his footsteps
6
Jesus and Spiritual Disciplines

• Matthew 61-8 Be careful not to do your acts
  of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.
  If you do, you will have no 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, to be honoured by men. I tell you the
  truth, they have received their reward in full.
  But when you give to the needy, do not let your
  left hand know what your right hand is doing, so
  that your giving may be in secret. Then your
  Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
  reward you.

7

• And when you pray, do not be like the
  hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the
  synagogues and on the street corners to be seen
  by men. I tell you the truth, they have received
  their reward in full. But when you pray, go into
  your room, close the door and pray to your
  Father, 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 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.

8

• Matthew 616-18 When you fast, do not look
  sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure
  their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell
  you the truth, they have received their reward in
  full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and
  wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to
  men that you are fasting, but only to your
  Father, who is unseen and your Father, who sees
  what is done in secret, will reward you.

9
Barriers to spiritual disciplines

• The World
• The Flesh
• The Devil

10
The trap of the Pharisees

• Be careful not to do your acts of
  righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If
  you do, you will have no reward from your Father
  in heaven.
• The world, the flesh and the devil said.
• Risk of diversion!

11
God will protect us!

• Against the world Romans 122 Do not conform
  any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
  transformed by the renewing of your mind.
• Against the flesh Romans 89 You, however, are
  controlled not by the sinful nature (thats the
  flesh) but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God
  lives in you.
• Against the devil James 47-8 Resist the devil,
  and he will flee from you. Come near to God and
  he will come near to you.

12
The discipline of giving

• The biblical imperative WHEN you give
• For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
  that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he
  became poor, so that you through his poverty
  might become rich. (2 Corinthians 89)
• If anyone has material possessions and sees his
  brother in need but has no pity on him, how can
  the love of God be in him? (1 John 317).
• The world, the flesh and the devil say.
• Can we counteract them?

13
The discipline of prayer

• The Biblical imperative WHEN you pray
• Mark 135 very early in the morning, while it
  was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
  went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
• God loves to hear, to guide, helps us forgive
• The world, the flesh and the devil say..
• Can we counteract them?
• Luther "If I fail to spend two hours in prayer
  each morning, the devil gets the victory through
  the day. I have so much business I cannot get on
  without spending three hours daily in prayer."

14
The discipline of fasting

• The Biblical imperative WHEN you fast
• Jesus fasted 40 days
• While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting,
  the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas
  and Saul for the work to which I have called
  them. (Acts 132)
• Battle of Britain fast
• The world, the flesh and the devil say..
• Can we counteract them?
• Food or TV fast? Fasting from people, consumer
  culture?

15
The importance of orientation

• The power of the Holy Spirit can encourage us to
  practice giving, prayer, fasting and other
  spiritual disciplines, orienting ourselves to
  God.
• And help us overcome the barriers to them set by
  the world, the flesh and the devil.
• As we becoming more and more Christlike, bringing
  in his Kingdom on earth our Father in Heaven will
  reward us