Gary Gleans

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Prayer is greatly misunderstood and neglected because, quite frankly, it doesn’t make sense to us and we don’t like what prayer implies about us.  It doesn’t make sense that a sovereign God would somehow benefit from or be affected by our prayers.  Since He is the One who commands prayer; it is our natural assumption that He is the One who is benefited by prayer.  In reality, just the opposite is true.  We are the ones who benefit from prayer.  Prayer does not make God stronger or inform Him about things of which we are unaware.  He is all-powerful and all-knowing and has been for all of eternity.  When we pray, we admit our need for God and we demonstrate our desire to be near to God.  When we fail to pray, we are, in essence, making a declaration of independence and indifference to God.  We may not understand exactly how prayer works and we certainly cannot understand why a perfect and holy God desires to have a rel

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Judging others is something that comes very naturally to all of us.  Being judgmental is a very dangerous game that believers play far too often.  Jesus does not condemn judging others but He gives us severe warnings and practical instructions that we must keep in mind in the area of judging others.  There are times where it is of vital importance that we judge others.  Just like it is of vital importance for surgeons to open up our bodies at times it is of vital importance that we judge others.  However, it is not a task to be taken lightly.  Before we judge others, it is important that we keep these principles in mind.   WE WILL BE JUDGED OURSELVES LIKE WE JUDGE OTHERS: When we judge others, we are opening ourselves up to be judged by others.  It is easy for us to stand in condemnation of others but none of us like to be condemned by others.  God expects us to forgive others because we have been forgiven by Him.

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Stress is the cause of many of the illnesses that inflict our bodies today.  Anxiety has become a normal way of life while peace and tranquility seem to be myths.  Busy schedules are equated with godliness; while a relaxed schedule is associated with laziness.  As I observe my own life and the lives of many around me, I think that we are far too frantic. We rush from here to there with our schedules full of activity and our minds full of anxiety. Life seems too full of hurry and worry. Jesus has a different plan. In this text, He starts out by giving us two reasons why we should not live this way and then He tells us two ways we can stop. WHY NOT WORRY: Obey God's Command. We should not worry because God has commanded us not to worry. He knows that it is a waste of time and energy. Worry saps our strength and keeps us from rejoicing in our relationship with God. It reveals pride and a lack of gratitude in our

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Choices determine much about our lives on earth as well as how we will spend all of eternity.  How, why and for whom we live are all choices we must make that will impact our decisions and determine many things about both our present and future.  Jesus has taught His disciples about the kind of person that will be blessed by God.  He has applied the Law to the lives of His followers in a very practical way.  He has taught about the kind of giving, praying and fasting God will bless.  Now it all comes down to choices.  We can either choose to live our lives according to the truths Jesus has taught or we can go our own way.  We can choose to live in light of eternity or live for the here and now.  Jesus gives us clear instruction as to how we should make choices in three very specific and practical ways. CHOOSE WHERE TO STORE YOUR MONEY: We can either store our money on earth or in heaven.  The accumulation of wealt

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Fasting is the third spiritual discipline Jesus teaches His disciples to practice in a private manner.  Giving and prayer were the other two.  Fasting is the practice of giving up eating in order to be able to dedicate more time on concentrated prayer.  Food is not the only thing that can be given up in a fast but it is the most common.  Paul also mentions couples who choose to refrain from sexual relationships for a defined period of time in order to dedicate themselves to prayer.  The reason that Jesus gives for fasting in private is to qualify for rewards from God.  Eternal rewards should be a constant source of motivation in our lives.  Even though we don’t know a lot about the function and impact of eternal rewards, they ought to motivate us.  Based on what we know about God and the emphasis that Jesus placed on rewards; we should all be very excited by the prospect of being rewarded.  Rewards should encourage us

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Forgiveness is man’s greatest need because sin is man’s greatest problem.  At the end of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples Jesus added a comment explaining the portion of the prayer requesting for forgiveness of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Jesus teaches the same truth from two different perspectives in order to clarify the content of what He just taught them in the prayer.  This adds a great deal of emphasis to this teaching and we must not ignore this truth.  THE FORGIVEN ARE FORGIVING: God forgives us from our sin based on our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  This is a judicial act that takes away our sin and reconciles us to God for all eternity.  This forgiveness is granted to us by God’s grace and mercy because of His unconditional love for us.  It is not something we can earn and it erases a debt that is impossible for us to pay which is why Jesus had to pay

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Prayer is one of the most misunderstood and neglected aspects of the believer’s life.  I think that our biggest problem in prayer is that we simply don’t pray enough or that we lack consistency in prayer.  Our second biggest problem in prayers is that when we do pray, our mind often wanders or we fall asleep or that we lack concentration in prayer.  Our third problem in prayer is that we pray with thoughtless repetitions and for trivial, temporal things or that we lack content in our prayer.  In the passage before us today, God addresses that third problem that we face in prayer.  Unfortunately, His teaching on the content of prayer has been used to accomplish just the opposite of what He taught in the passage.  The pray He taught His disciples has become something that is thoughtlessly repeated in churches and by individuals.  I don’t believe that was His intention especially since He had just finished criticizing va

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Prayer is talking with God.  Since we are talking with Him it only makes sense that we follow His instructions as to how we should go about doing that.  People tend to pray in the way that they want to pray instead of praying the way He wants us to pray.  Jesus gave very clear instructions as to where we should pray, where we shouldn’t pray and how we should and should not pray.  Today we will look at the where and the how not to pray and tomorrow we will look at how we should pray.  Once again Jesus makes it very clear that there are eternal rewards at stake.  I believer correct praying has a double reward.  The first reward is the answers to our prayers here on earth and the second reward is stored up for us in heaven.  Our motives are key to determining both types of reward. PRAYING ON THE ROAD: Jesus said that hypocrites like to go out and pray in the synagogue or on the roadside in a loud voice so everyone ca

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Motives are very important to God.  Performing righteous deeds in order to be seen by men will gain the praise of men but no reward from God.  Pats on the back, complements and looks of admiration from other people can be very appealing to us.  These things fill our hearts with pride and make us feel good about ourselves.  However, that “feeling” is the only reward we will ever receive for that righteous act.  God wants us to be motivated by eternal rewards that will be given in the future because of righteous deeds that are performed out of a genuine love for God and others.  These are acts of worship that seek the glory of God instead of the praise of men.  It is impossible for us to judge the motives of others but it is important for us to constantly examine our own motives.  As enjoyable as a pat on the back might be; it cannot be compared to the eternal rewards God has in store for those who faithfully serve Him

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Love is the essence of all of the laws of God for man.  All the Law can be summarized in the two commands which are to love God and love others.  If we were to summarize the Law in one word it would simply be to love.  Those who are followers of Jesus are called to love at a very high standard.  One of our basic identities as believers is to love.  Jesus teaches His disciples about the love He expects them to demonstrate.  This standard of love is far higher than the Pharisees were teaching.  Their pride and love for self, made it impossible for them to love like God wanted them to.  The first area to be impacted by hypocrisy and pride is that of love for others.  Jesus wants to make sure His followers reject the standard set by the religious leaders of that day and love like He wants us to love. LOVE SHOULD EXTEND TO ENEMIES: The standard that was taught in the Law was to love your neighbor as you love yourself. 

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Violation of our rights will happen in the sinful world in which we live.  People will sin against us just as we will sin against other people.  The question all of us must answer is how will we respond when others sin against us?  The natural response is to retaliate in a way that is even more severe than the attach against us.  This, in turn, usually results in an even more severe reaction and a cycle of hatred and violence escalates.  Jesus teaches His followers a different way to respond when someone violates our rights or sins against us.  Relationships are broken because of sinfulness.  Grudges grow and bitterness infects the hearts of those who practice retaliation.  Jesus promotes a path of peace that grows from humility and forgiveness. REFUSE PERSONAL REVENGE: The law of Moses stated that offenses were to be punished in a way that made the punishment fit the crime.  The law of a tooth for a tooth was par

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Honesty is a basic standard of discipleship and another part of the Law of Moses that had been altered and tampered with through interpretations that religious leaders had used to put a spin on what should have been a very straight forward principle.  We have the same tendency today to try to convince people of our honesty.  Instead of saying: “I’ll do it,” we might say “I promise I’ll do it,” or “I swear I’ll do it,” or even “I swear on my mother’s grave I’ll do it.”  This kind of reputation is not what God wants us to have.  As followers of Jesus we are to have a reputation for being honest.  People ought to be able to trust what we say is true simply because we have said it. VARIOUS VOWS: The Pharisees taught the importance of keeping vows.  However, they made up a series of levels of vows that made the vow more serious.  Making a vow by heaven was more binding than a vow made by earth.  Swearing by the city of

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Marriage is very important to God.  He designed marriage to be a reflection of Himself.  He uses marriage as an illustration of His relationship with the church.  God’s intention is that one man be married to one woman until they are separated by death.  Marriage is to reflect the love of God, the faithfulness of God, the patience of God, the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God as well as many other attributes of God.  In essence, God designed our marriages to bring honor and glory to Himself.  This is one of the reasons that God hates divorce.  God only permits divorce because of the hardness of men’s hearts, but it is never God’s desire that a marriage end in divorce.  However, we live in a sin cursed world with sin cursed people where obedience to God’s will is not always a reality.  Divorce is a sin and just like every other sin it can be forgiven by God.  Jesus died in order that our sins might be forgiven and we

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Sexual immorality is one of the most damaging sins and is also one of the most tempting sins we face.  Murder, adultery and stealing are the three “big sins” in our minds.  They are certainly sins with great consequences.  Jesus begins by quoting the Law prohibiting adultery.  Most of us would feel comfortable saying that we have not committed the sin of adultery.  I was a virgin when I got married and have been faithful to my wife during our 30 years of marriage.  Jesus once again challenges the traditional way of thinking about this issue and calls us to focus on the heart of the issue as opposed to the sexual act itself.  Jesus wants to demonstrate that all of us have been guilty of breaking the law at the heart level.  Immoral acts spring from a lusting heart.  Self-discipline and fear of consequences may allow us to avoid sexual relations outside of marriage but the sin of immorality is a problem of the heart.  G

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Anger is the heart problem that, if left unchecked, can lead to murder.  In fact, from God’s perspective anger is murder.  Men look at behavior and make judgments based on the acts that people commit so we do not concern ourselves with anger too much because it is just a feeling and not an action.  However, God looks at men’s hearts and judges men based on the sins of the heart; not just our actions.  There may be different consequences for murder and anger, but in God’s eyes they are the same sin.  Jesus has just called His disciples to be salt and light in the world and declared that He was here to fulfill the Law.  Now He begins a long series of comparisons between God’s way of judging the Law and man’s way of judging the Law.  Men tend to judge what a man does but God is able to judge who we are.  Jesus teaches us how to avoid anger and keep from being judged as a murderer.   REMOVE CRITICISM: Anger in our hea

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Relativity is the trend of today’s society.  It is not a new trend because in the days of Noah everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes.  Relativism springs from the belief that there is no absolute truth.  When people feel like they can believe whatever they want they will also behave however they want.  When there is not standard for truth, there is no standard for right and wrong.  Jesus was often criticized for and accused of breaking the Law.  He wants to make it perfectly clear that this accusation was false.  The problem was that the religious leaders and interpreters of the Law throughout the years had added so many things to the Law and made so many different regulations about the Law that it was almost unrecognizable.  Jesus was not concerned about man’s rules, regulations and rituals.  He was concerned with the true Law of Scripture.  He tells us three important truths about the Law of God found

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm God calls His disciples to have an impact on the world around them.  If we live the kind of life that Jesus described in the beatitudes; we will impact the world in powerful ways.  The blessings of God always have a threefold purpose.  First, they give us hope for eternal rewards.  Second, they impact others by attracting them to the Lord.  Third, they bring glory to God because He is honored by our obedience and worshiped by those who recognize His power at work in and through our lives.  The way of the world is one of instant gratification, self-centeredness and idolatry.  God’s call on our lives is focused on eternity, the well-being of others and the glory of God.  God wants us to worship Him with joyful hearts and He wants us to share and spread that joy to the world so that all the nations might have the joy of worshiping God.  God’s will for His disciples is that they have a positive impact on the people with w

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Instant gratification is very attractive to most people.  Very few people are interested in suffering now in order to benefit in the future.  Jesus taught that present suffering should be a source of great joy because it will result in eternal rewards.  Those who are more interested in passing comfort on earth will miss out on eternal rewards in heaven.  This stands in stark contrast with to the blessings recorded in the beatitudes.  Luke records four blessings and four woes.  The blessings were about being faithful in the face of suffering.  The woes are about the negative consequences of living for the passing comforts in this world.  None of these woes are evil in and of themselves; but they can easily become idols in our lives and cause us to lose the blessings that are associated with following Jesus.  Though there are four woes, I think they divide naturally into two categories.  The danger of these things is th

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm One of my all-time favorite songs is “Don’t Worry Be Happy.”  Actually, the song itself can be a little irritating but the message is one I find myself repeating to counselees and myself on a regular basis and how can you not like a song with whistling in it.  Too often in our theological circles the idea of happiness gets a bad rap.  The major cause of this is people who use happiness as an excuse for sin.  However, the Bible repeatedly presents happiness, joy and rejoicing as the result of a life spent following Jesus.  We have great reasons for rejoicing: our sins are forgiven, we have hope, God is our Father, our lives have eternal meaning, God loves us, Jesus died for us, the Holy Spirit indwells us, death has been defeated, we have the promise of God’s provision and protection… the list goes on and on.  I love Luke’s wording in this passage where he says: “leap for joy.”  We don’t usually picture Christians as p

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm Pain is something that most of us like to avoid as much as possible.  We don’t like pain and, given the choice, would much prefer comfort every time.  In reality, pain is one of God’s gifts to us and one of His favorite tools to use on us.  Pain lets us know when something is wrong and it is used to produce character in our lives.  We have seen that the humble are happy, the holy are happy and now we will see that the hurting are happy.  The final three beatitudes seem to all center around the conflict and pain that can be associated with following Christ in a sin cursed world.  The call to discipleship is not an easy or comfortable call.  It is a call to follow Jesus and to be imitators of Him.  When we act like Jesus, it is only logical to presume that we will be treated like Jesus was treated.  He was despised and rejected by men so we ought to expect similar treatment.  Jesus makes statements that seem like parado