LESSON 2:
PRAYING THROUGH THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
10. “You are the salt of the earth … ” (Matthew 5:13)
Salt and white sand can look alike, but one has flavour and the other doesn’t! Have we lost our “flavour” and effectiveness? Have we, as Christians, lost our influence on society? If we were “thrown out and trampled under foot” would anyone notice any difference? We are the salt of the earth – we should be noticed; our lives should have a distinctive, desirable “flavour”; we should be an influence for good in society, and like salt, help preserve against decay. If we have lost our flavour, how can it be restored?
Pray that:
· Christians will help to preserve what is good and right in society.
· Our lives, as Christians, will be attractive to non-Christians.
· If we have lost our saltiness, God will restore it, and not cast us out.
11. “You are the light of the world … ” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Yes, Jesus said that we are the light of the world and it is most important that our light is not hidden. It is a waste of time (and worse!) for light to shine but be hidden under something so it can’t be seen! Our light (our lives, our witness, our words, our attitudes, etc) should bring glory to God as people see us, know we are Christians, and realise that it is God’s power within us which enables us to live in a Godly way. Our light should draw others to Jesus and bring glory to God our Father.
Pray that:
· Our lives will shine as lights in the world.
· Other people will know we are Christians, by our love – shown by our words and our actions.
· God will be glorified by His children honouring Him through living in a way which is pleasing to Him.
· Others will be encouraged to become Christians too because they realise this is the right, and best, way to live.
12. The Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17-20)
We often tend to disregard or ignore the “lesser” laws and major on what we consider to be the important ones. But Jesus says we must obey them all – small disobediences are as bad as larger ones, because they are all sin! (Jesus did, of course, fulfil the sacrificial laws, so that they are now all fulfilled in Christ, and their purposes have been accomplished). Jesus also said that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees – the very people who prided themselves on their law-abiding and self-righteous deeds. Impossible? Yes – but for God’s help, our determination, and God’s grace and forgiveness! We need to listen to God’s Word and obey it from the heart. Then, doing what is pleasing to God, we can teach this to others also.
Pray that we:
· Will not become careless about how we regard even the “little” things Jesus says we should do.
· Will not be self-righteous, but will always seek the “holiness, without which no-one can see God”.
· Will not become proud of our goodness and obedience, but will regard it as the normal thing we should do.
· Will read and obey God’s Word from the heart.
13. Anger (Matthew 5:21-26)
One of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. And one of the ways of testing if we are bringing forth this fruit is being put into a situation where anger is the natural reaction! Now we all know about “righteous anger” (being angry at things which are blatantly wrong or sinful) but how do we react at other times? We may not commit murder but do we hate or insult people; do we “lose control” and say things we shouldn’t? It’s not easy, but if we are going to come to God with an offering and realise that we have “unfinished business” with someone, we need to first go and be reconciled with them before we come with our gifts to God and seek to be reconciled with Him. In a sense, God’s reconciliation with us is dependent on us, as far as we possibly can, first being reconciled with other people. It’s like sin – first deal with the sin, then come to God with your offering, your worship and your prayers.
Pray:
· That we will demonstrate self-control, patience, humility, forgiveness and a willingness to put things right with other people (reconciliation).
· That we will learn to control our tongue, our thoughts and our actions.
· That wrong and sinful anger, slander and unwise words will not be part of our lives.
· For God’s grace and wisdom; a loving spirit and yet a directness about speaking out against those things which are wrong.
· For reconciliation in homes, society, the workplace and the Church – wherever there is division for wrong reasons.
14. Lust (Matthew 5:27-30)
Jesus quoted the seventh of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) and then proceeded to state the real meaning behind this commandment – not the letter of the Law but the intentions of the heart. A person may not literally and physically commit adultery but Jesus says that if we allow lust in our hearts, then in our hearts we have already committed adultery. Lust for another person is something which is so common today (and encouraged by so many things we see in the media, advertising, films, etc) that it is almost taken for granted. No wonder there is so much literal fornication, adultery and other forms of sexual immorality! Jesus said that this commandment is so important that it would be better to be blind or maimed than go to hell because of sexual immorality we have not repented of and turned away from.
Pray that:
· God will shield our eyes and hearts so that we truly love people, not lust after them.
· God will keep our hearts, minds and bodies pure, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the power of His Spirit.
· God will show us “a way of escape” out of these strong temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13).
· Christians will not dress or behave in provocative ways which encourage lust in other people.
· We will demonstrate to the world the (very difficult) ability to live in this world but not allow our hearts and minds to be polluted by lust.
· We will rise up against pornography and everything which encourages lust and immorality, and reject it.
15. Marriage and divorce (Matthew 5:31-32)
God’s intention for marriage has always been that a man and a woman commit themselves to each other in a lifelong relationship (at least until one of them dies), for mutual support, help, love, friendship at the most intimate level, security and family. Through thick and thin – as the wedding vows say, “for richer or poorer, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, until death parts us”. This is a relationship which was never to be broken (although it is broken by the sin of adultery). Divorce was never on God’s “agenda”, except for adultery. (Incidentally, in this regard a “de facto” relationship, and a “civil union” between a man and a woman, are the same as a husband and wife living together in a marriage relationship. Changing the name doesn’t change the intention or purpose!) Tragically, God’s intention for the most beautiful relationship between a man and a woman has frequently been destroyed by sin.
Pray:
· That marriage will be held in high honour, especially by Christians.
· For the lowering of the tragically high divorce rate.
· For the victims of adultery and divorce – the couple concerned, their children, family and friends, and even society as a whole.
· That we will successfully resist all those temptations and sins which spoil a pure relationship within marriage.
16. Promises (Matthew 5:33-37)
The type of vow or promise or oath that Jesus is referring to here is one where a person promises or vows to do something “by God”; that is swearing “by Heaven” or “by Jerusalem” or by anything else which is sacred. These things are the guarantee, and are forfeited if the promise is not kept. For example, to swear “by God” means that if I do not keep my promise, then I lose my right to God. “I’ll do it, by God!” means if I don’t keep my vow or oath then my relationship with God is broken. To put it simply, Jesus said “Don’t do this!” Don’t swear by anything. Let your word be so honest, reliable and true that your “Yes” or “No” is all that is necessary. The vows and promises we make are extremely important!
Pray that we will:
· Put a very high value on the promises we make, and do everything possible to keep them.
· Be known for our integrity, our honesty, our keeping of promises and commitments.
· Be trustworthy and reliable in all we say and do.
· Not lightly or carelessly make promises.
17. Retaliation (Matthew 5:38-42)
If someone has done something wrong to us, we don’t do something wrong to them in order to pay them back. “Two wrongs don’t make a right!” “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” was an Old Testament law; Jesus came to show us a better way. Jesus said, “I say to you … turn the other cheek … do more than you are asked to do … go the second mile”. As Christians – followers of Jesus Christ – we are to show forgiveness, self-control, humility, generosity, patience and love. These are some of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. They demonstrate true love, rather than revenge or demanding justice.
Pray that:
· We won’t behave the way the world does, in terms of retaliation.
· We won’t base our actions on Old Testament laws which do not apply today.
· We will follow the teachings and examples of Jesus.
· The fruit of the Spirit will be seen in our lives.
· We will have a positive influence for good on those around us because of our attitudes.
18. Love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-47)
If there is one word which, in its purest sense, summarises Christian living more than any other, it is the word “love” – sincerely desiring the very best possible for another person, and doing all that you can to help bring it about. Faith, hope and love abide forever, and the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Love is the first and foremost of the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son …” (John 3:16). What a shock it might be to hear someone say, as Jesus did, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (or treat you badly)!” But this is what Jesus told us to do, and this is what God does, even for those who hate Him. God sends both the sunshine and the rain to both those who love Him and those who hate Him. If we only love people who love us, we are no better than unbelievers – but God has called us to love everyone: the good and the bad, believers and unbelievers.
Pray that:
· We will truly love other people, even those people who, in the natural, we might find difficult to love.
· We will love our husbands, wives, parents, children, neighbours, friends and even strangers.
· Even though we hate sin and evil behaviour, we will care for and love those who are sinners, and seek to show them the more excellent way – the way of Christ.
· We will show true love to people of other religions, even though we do not believe what they believe.
· We will be known as followers of Jesus because people see the love of God in what we say and do, and the way in which we love one another.
19. Be perfect (Matthew 5:48)
“Be perfect”. How simple! How profound! How difficult! How impossible? Harder still: “Be perfect – as your Heavenly Father is perfect!” How can we be perfect? Only by what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Everyone sins (need I even say it?) But we can be washed from sin and made clean from all unrighteousness, through the Blood of Christ (1 John 1:7, 9). However, our aim, as Christians, ought always to be – perfection. Perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect. We should pray for God’s help; resist temptation; fight against the enemy of our souls; and seek to live Godly lives, even as Jesus did. Let us never lower our standards just because we don’t always achieve them!
Pray that:
· We will not be overcome by temptation and sin, but will be overcomers.
· We will not lower our standards because they are “too high” or “too hard”.
· We will live exemplary lives, consistent with what we believe, proclaim and teach.
· We will support and encourage one another to live as Jesus lived.
· God will help us, strengthen us, give us wisdom and power to be the people of God He wants us to be – perfect, even as He is perfect.
[Continued in Lesson 3]
QUESTIONS
We encourage you to answer these Questions by copying and pasting them into an email, then filling in the answers and emailing them to us at Life Training School for marking and comments. A record will be kept of your marks and a Certificate of Achievement will be sent to you after completing this series of six Lessons.
1. What did Jesus mean when He said: “You are the salt of the earth”?
2. Why is it important that every Christian is part of “the light of the world”?
3. What does it mean to be holy?
4. What is the difference between righteous anger and unrighteous anger?
5. What is lust, and why is it wrong?
6. What is God’s view of divorce?
7. Why are promises so important?
8. How should we act when someone has wronged us?
9. How can we possibly love our enemies?
10. Is it really possible to be perfect? How?