King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Saturday, October 09, 2021
Chapters: Luke 6, Matthew 5
Message: Rejoice In That Day
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today it occurred to me why I spent a year and a half in a relationship with a man that basically used me, he was not despiteful, but he did often accuse me of things when he did not get his way. Yes, I sadly allowed this, thankfully God was with me the whole time and intervened until we finally parted our ways. Yesterday, we touched on loving people as Christ, well, Jesus tells us why He wants us to do that.
[Matthew 5:43-48 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.]
Now, to read this passage as well as the “Be” attitudes, which we read from these chapters today, it sounds like Jesus wants us to be pushovers and let everyone walk all over us in order to show them Christ. That really is not the case, we have to look at this the same way that Jesus does, if we only show love and kindness to the ones who are good to us, then no one else will see Him through us and the need for Him in their lives. Yes, it is not always easy to be a Christian, and you often wonder why you do the things you do when it seems you get nothing, but heart ache in return. Well, let me tell you, Christ lives in you, and He is got the same treatment that we all get. And as we continue reading through the Gospels, Luke also gives an account to Jesus healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath and how He responds to the scribes and Pharisees.
[Luke 6:6-11 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. 9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.]
[And looking round about upon them all,] Jesus was actually pretty angry with them, not because they accused Him of breaking the Law, which He did not, He was angry at their hard hearts, [Mark 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.] You see, they did not care about the miracle that just happened nor the person Jesus healed, it was their pride that kept them from accepting Him. And talk about being despitefully used, do you think that Jesus did not know that the majority of the multitude who sought to touch Him did not really believe in Him? Of course, He did, which is why He gave this sermon to the disciples, not all those people.
[Luke 6:18-23 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. 20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.]
[and when they shall separate you] Did you ever feel like you never fit with your peers? Or were the last one to be picked for the team? I remember when I was younger, I was playing baseball with my cousin and his friends. No one wanted to pick me because I looked like I did not play sports, and guess what, they got a shock when I was hitting that ball and catching them. They will separate from us because we are not of them, but let me tell you, true Christians, the ones who shine Christ through them, are much stronger and wiser than we even think we are. So, instead of feeling like you completely failed when you discover that you were used and quite frankly abused, rejoice in the fact that we are blessed by God Himself through this, [Hebrews 13:13-16 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.]
I will tell you that the reason why I stayed in that relationship for so long was because I made a commitment with him and were going to get married. It took me a few heartaches to learn that he had different ideas on what a commitment is, not only to me, but to God as well, and did not care to know how God wants him to live. Well, God was indeed with me the whole time, He may not have agreed with how I handled the whole situation, but He did have a purpose for all this. And let me tell you, he is actually suffering a lot right now while I have actually been blessed the entire time. You see, God protects His faithful, and even though we may face some suffering, He never forgets the commitment we made to Him in being faithful, even with the minor mishaps. Jesus goes on to tell us how important it is to stick to the commitment we make with God.
[Matthew 5:33-37 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.]
[for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.] Do not lie to God and tell Him that you want Him in your life and live like a heathen. Do not lie to God and tell Him that you are going to commit yourself to one of His faithful and not follow through. Jesus said it this way also, [Revelation 3:15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.] Mess with Him and mess with His faithful, and unless you are repentant, you will suffer and die in your sin. Even if you are saved, if you are living the life of a heathen, your life on earth will be your hell, and it will be the death of you, [James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.]
So, why exactly are we to be kind and love them, even when they really do not love us? Well, Jesus explains it this way, [Luke 6:32-36 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.]
[for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.] By our being kind to them we are actually pointing others to Christ. We actually stand out because we are different, we do not retaliate when they hurt us like they do, we be who we are and then God will take care of them. I was sad and hurt that I saw my relationship that I worked so hard at and had such faith and hopes in just fade away. But I will tell you this, the more he rejected God’s ways the more I separated myself from him, my heart just was not into it anymore. And interestingly enough we come to the next passage. Jesus questions why they call Him Lord when they do not obey Him.
[Luke 6:46-49 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.]
[And why call ye me, Lord,] Remember, saved, born again Christians are the light if the world. We are supposed to stand out, to be different, to be rejected by the world. Why? There are actually some lost souls out there who are looking for Jesus and we are the only ones who can light the way to Him. Jesus goes on to tell us this, [Matthew 5:16-20 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.]
[but whosoever shall do and teach them,] Deep down, when I agreed to a relationship with this man, I told him that we were in this for life, but something always told me that he really would not be. He was going to church with me, even his church was the same denomination as mine. So, I was deceived into believing that he lived by the same faith. I was the light that guided him and his family, he has two teenage kids that I come to love very much. When things started to get rough for him, that is when his true colors shone through, and when I believe God told me that it was time to let go and He was not going to hold me on to a commitment that he never intended to keep. What did I learn from the year and a half that we were together? I taught them what God wanted them to know, and that means that my name shall be great, even if it was only for a moment. People will come and go in our lives, especially those who want to be in the light, yet walk in darkness, [1 John 1:6-8 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.]
[That except your righteousness shall exceed] These were the richest, most religious, and influential men in all of Israel, yet they we no more closer to God than the poorest person that did not know Him. Serving God and following a bunch of religious rules has nothing to do with our salvation, we must receive Christ as our Saviour for that. And our labor has nothing to do with keeping our salvation, and everything to do with our thankfulness and gratitude for the sacrifice Jesus made to save us. And that also includes things we may not want to do, like loving those who despitefully use us and forgiving them as well. Jesus tells us why.
[Matthew 5:21-26 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.]
[angry with his brother without a cause] Being angry with someone that you love without just cause is worse than being angry at our enemies. As much as I had hope that my relationship would have worked out, I cannot be angry with him because he really did not know what he was doing. My heart toward him changed in that I could not hold on to empty promises because he had no interest in what God had to say nor following one command, except that he got saved. Besides, God knew that if he could not commit to one thing past his salvation, that he were certainly not commit to me. In fact, Jesus said also, [Matthew 5:38-41 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.]
Let me tell you, some Christians may be living as they please and still see His blessings because God gives rain to the just and unjust, but the true blessings come through our faithfulness. When we stop worrying about what everyone else is doing, pay attention to what we are doing, and just show them Christ by teaching them Christ through our works, that is when God blesses us tremendously, and which I believe is why God has blessed me so graciously, [Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You know my heart, my thoughts, and even my actions before I do them. I know that I am who I am today because I dedicated my life to You. I am not the same creature I was when You picked me up out of the hole I was in, but I am just a sinner saved by Your grace. I know You are not done with me yet, You have much work more for me to do, not that I might keep my salvation, but that You might shine through me. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your strength, wisdom, mercy, and grace, teach me to be more like You. Let me be the disciple You need me to be, to be a witness and testimony for those who need You, and even those who have lost their way. Show me how to love my enemy and do good to those who hate me, for I know that my reward is great. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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