♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study of the Word of God.
I'm glad you joined us today
as we continue a series of studies
on the Gospel of Matthew.
Our topic today: The Sermon of Jesus on the Mount.
It's going to be a great blessing,
and we're especially happy
that one of our team, Stephanie,
is going to be teaching today.
Stephanie, we are looking forward to a great study.
And we're glad that each one of you
has joined us for our study today.
It's been a great series, hasn't it?
I notice people ask,
"It's not the same people every time?"
No, but we're all studying,
and this Gospel of Matthew, I think
the biggest challenge is we could take
a whole series of studies
on just one section,
like the Sermon on the Mount,
but we have to look at the big picture
and the message that Jesus is giving us
through His sermon in Matthew.
So, we want to pray that God would bless.
Before I do, though, I want to welcome
our Hope Sabbath School members
around the world.
Thank you for writing to us.
You can write to us at sshope@hopetv.org,
and we're always happy to know
how God is blessing your lives.
Gerard writes from the Cameroon.
He says, "Hi, Hope Sabbath School team.
I'm a church member in the Cameroon.
I like to spend my time studying
with Hope Sabbath School,
and I now have an iPhone, and I'm ready
to get the Hope Sabbath School app."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Well, I think we have the iPhone
Hope Sabbath School app in 137 countries,
and we have the Android app,
which is only more recent;
that's, I think, in 150 countries.
So, we're glad, Gerard, that you're
going to get the Hope Sabbath School app
for your iPhone, and it's great
because you click, and the most
recent program opens up.
He concludes by saying,
"Hope Sabbath School is like a river of blessing for me,"
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "...and I'm learning more about the Word of God.
My dream is to be with you one day live
in this amazing Bible study."
Well, you know if you come over here
when we're filming, Gerard,
we would love to have you on our team,
but you're just as much a part
of Hope Sabbath School right there in the Cameroon.
And I want to invite you and everyone else watching,
think about gathering a group together.
You can download the outline,
the same outline that Stephanie
will be using today in our study,
from our website, hopetv.org/hopess.
You can download the outline,
or you can watch the program with a group of friends;
hold up your iPHone for them, Gerard,
but get a group of people watching.
We can share what we've learned together.
Here's a note from Pavel.
Anybody want to guess where Pavel is from?
(Team) Russia.
(Derek) He's from Russia, that's right.
How did you know?
He says, "Greetings, Hope Sabbath School, from Russia.
We always watch the Sabbath School discussion
and truly enjoy it.
Our younger daughter, Veronica,
Consistently asks me to send you a message,
so, here it is."
Here comes the message from Veronica:
"I was sitting in the kitchen
and enjoying your songs;
I like you.
My name is Veronica, and I'm 5 years old."
Well, it's good to know
we have Hope Sabbath School members
who are 5 years old, right?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Thank you, Veronica,
for your message,
and we hope you will sing with our new
Scripture song, "Praise Him in the Heights."
You can download that from our website, too.
"I'm watching you every week,"
continues Veronica, "with my mom and dad.
Thank you for the songs. I love them and I love all of you."
Well, thank you so much, Veronica! We love you, too.
And your mommy and daddy, thank you
for being part of our Hope Sabbath School there in Russia.
It's amazing what a variety of people
we have watching, isn't it?
Grace writes to us from China,
and she says, "I often translate
Hope Sabbath School for my mother
who teaches a Sabbath School
in a small church in Beijing.
So, this is what we are talking about,
making Hope Sabbath School available
in other languages.
It's already happening by individuals.
Remember a recent email
from someone in Russia.
Her husband was translating for her.
"Please pray for my family so that we
can all love and reverence God."
Wow.
"These days there are many temptations
for people of all ages,
especially young people.
Pray for us so that we can have the wisdom
to follow God.
God bless you."
Well, we'll do that, Grace.
God bless you there in the great country of China.
May God bless your witness to those around you.
Here's one last really encouraging email from Christian.
Now, that name has special significance,
as you'll discover in a minute.
Christian is from Malawi,
and Malawi is right there in the heart of Africa, right?
"Dear Saints,"
that's an encouraging title.
"Dear Saints, I'm happy to God
for using Hope Sabbath School
to bring a change to my life.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) This is wonderful.
"It has really made an impact on my life
since I grew up a Muslim,
and I never found the truth as I found it now.
Now I have decided to follow Jesus and be baptized.
(Team) Amen! Praise God.
(Derek) Wow.
"As I am speaking, I am now
a true believer in Bible truth.
Thank you for the mission you're doing
in cooperating with Jesus Christ
in saving lost sinners like me."
Is that powerful?
(Team) Amen. Praise God.
(Derek) "May the Good Lord bless us all,
and now you understand."
He has another name, but he's been given a new name.
His name is Christian.
Thanks for writing to us, Christian,
from Malawi, and we just want
to praise God for the way He's leading you,
not only for your salvation but to be
a blessing to those around you.
Right now we want to sing our Scripture song.
It's word for word from Psalm 148.
So, it's 3,000 years old, but it's got
a new tune; I hope you'll enjoy it.
"Praise Him in the Heights."
Let's sing it together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) And for those of you who don't know,
in Hebrew "Praise the Lord" is "Hallelujah!"
So, what a beautiful, ancient,
Scripture song with a message for us today.
And, Stephanie, as you lead us
in this important study of the sermon
of Jesus on the Mount, I know in the end
we are going to say, "Praise the Lord!"
because it's really encouraging news.
So, why don't you lead us in prayer as we begin our study.
(Stephanie) Yes. Let's bow our heads.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much
for giving us this opportunity to study Your Word.
We just ask that, as we study Your Word,
You would send Your Holy Spirit
to guide us and to direct us, that,
at the end of the study, Lord,
our lives would be changed, and we
would have something to share
with those around us.
In Jesus' name, amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Stephanie) So, our study today
is on the Sermon on the Mount
according to Matthew,
but we also know
that Luke records this Sermon on the Mount
as well, and there are some differences that we see.
Before we go looking into looking
at some verses, we do see some differences
between the account of Matthew and that of Luke.
What can we learn from the differences
that we see?
Notice that Matthew is how many chapters it spans over?
(Derek) Three whole chapters.
(Stephanie) Three whole chapters,
and that's over 100 verses.
And Luke spans over how many verses?
(Derek) I think there's 30.
(Stephanie) Just around 30.
So, what can we learn from the differences
that we see there, anyone?
(Derek) You know, Stephanie,
it's interesting that even in the 30 verses of Luke
some things are new.
So, that tells me that probably
neither of them has everything.
If Jesus taught all day on the mount,
that the Spirit's guiding them to share some insights.
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Derek) It's not a video.
(Stephanie) That's right.
(Derek) Guided by the Holy Spirit,
which is interesting because then
we ask, "Why did the Holy Spirit
inspire Matthew to include what he did?"
but there's probably much more.
(Stephanie) So, we've learned that
it's thought-inspired right?
It's not exact word-by-word inspired.
Was there...?
(Kyle) It's like the four Gospels are all a little different
because each one has a different perspective.
God uses each personality to bring a new insight,
and He puts it all together for a more complete picture.
(Derek) Stephanie, I just want to catch you
because I understand what you are saying
about thought inspired versus word.
I think Matthew and Luke are writing down the words Jesus said.
So, it's a little different
from the prophet being given a vision
like Daniel, and he writes it
in his own words, rather than being dictated.
I think here Jesus may have said
different things in different ways
during the day, and for some reason,
which maybe we'll discover in our study,
Matthew decides, "I'm going to record some of these."
By the way, he was there, right?
He was an eye witness, Matthew.
(Team) He was.
(Derek) Luke has to talk to eye witnesses,
and so he, guided by the Spirit, too,
gets some other insights,
but I think the Holy Spirit's definitely
given us a reliable account of what Jesus said.
(Stephanie) Amen.
Is there a difference in the audience
that Matthew and Luke are speaking to?
Yes, Olric.
(Olric) Matthew's Gospel, from our research,
is more targeted to a Jewish audience,
so in his Gospel he tends to play up
more Jesus' kingship, and in his rendering
of the Sermon on the Mount it is
a little longer than Luke's version
because we know in those days
a king is the person invested
with the authority to enforce the law,
keep the law in the land like the lawgiver.
So he spends a little more time on that
as opposed to Luke, who was writing more
to Gentiles, but he wanted the Gentiles
to see the law in a way that was
more applicable to them.
So he did not include many of the things
that Matthew was about.
(Stephanie) So, would you say that
in Matthew some of the very detailed
renditions that Matthew shares connects with the Jews?
(Olric) Yes.
(Stephanie) ...in a way that is powerful?
(Olric) Yes, indeed.
(Stephanie) All right.
Let's go ahead and jump into Matthew, chapter 5,
and we'll read verses 17 through 19.
And, Joshua, if you would be willing
to read for us those first three verses
in Matthew, chapter 5, verses 17 through 19.
(Joshua) Absolutely, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version; the Bible says:
(Stephanie) So, what are we talking about here?
We're talking about the Law of God, right?
(Joshua) Yes.
(Stephanie) This is the introduction
to the Law of God that Matthew is talking about.
Let's go and look at a few more verses,
and then we'll consider some questions
as they relate to the verses that we read.
In Matthew, chapter 5:21-22.
Olric, would you read that for us,
Matthew, chapter 5, verses 21 and 22.
And then we'll read verses 27 and 28.
(Olric) Reading from the New Living Translation:
(Stephanie) Wow, that's pretty strong.
Yes, go ahead and continue on.
(Stephanie) So, do you see a pattern?
What is the pattern that you see in these verses?
Go ahead, Tricia Lee.
(Tricia Lee) Well, first if we were wondering, "Well, what law
is he talking about," it's clear as we kept reading
that he's talking about the Ten Commandments
that the people at the time believed, prided themselves
in being able to keep, and you start to understand
more about what Jesus meant when He said,
"I've come to fulfill," to give a clearer understanding
of what it truly means to keep the Law.
And at the time, they were more concerned about the outward physicality of behaviors
that proved that they were observing the laws,
but here Jesus starts to point to what's happening in our hearts,
in our minds, in our thoughts, and kind of showing that
breaking the Law or even sin doesn't just occur in an action,
it kind of starts in our hearts and our minds.
So, again, in fulfilling that Law, He's really kind of peeling back
what they thought was the reality in showing that it's much deeper
than they thought in just a behavior.
There's something that's happening in the heart that only He can come
and help them fix or help them actually be.
(Stephanie) Did you have a comment, Jason; go ahead.
(Jason) Yes, I'm looking at this here,
and it talks about how He didn't come
to destroy but to fulfill,
because Jesus could be accused
of these new teachings as destroying the law,
but what He's saying is,
"Look, I'm not destroying the Law;
I'm showing you what it really means."
So, He's not saying what was said of old is untrue;
He's saying what was said of old, it is true, but also this.
So, you have a very limited picture
of what the Law is, but this is
a greater understanding, a greater fulfillment
of what the Law truly is.
And that is what He is doing here in the sermon.
(Stephanie) He's expounding on that. Yes, Missy.
(Missy) From the fall of humanity,
you know, they had perfection in Eden.
Then came the fall. They fell so far.
Humanity just, fell, fell, fell,
and so, step by step, through Scripture
you see how God is taking them
step by step back to His ideal
until you could see the fulfillment
of the Law in Christ when He came to humanity.
And it was supposed to be a revelation
of who God really was.
You know, opening our minds
to what the Law really meant.
(Stephanie) Yes. Nathan.
(Nathan) Keep in mind that Matthew is writing to Jews...
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Nathan) ...and Moses was the great hero as the lawgiver.
Moses went up on Mount Sinai
to receive the Law from God,
and then he gave it to the people,
and the people did their best to keep the law,
but Moses was the one
who lead them out of slavery and into the Promised Land, right?
So, the "deliverer."
(Stephanie) Right.
(Nathan) Now Matthew is showing
Jesus is the One who went up on the mountain
and now expounds upon the Law.
He's the new Moses, showing them, "Okay, you received the Law
on the mountain from God through Moses."
Now up on this mountain
Jesus is saying, "Let me show you what
this Law really means and how
it applies deeply inwardly,
and then you're going to be free,
not just from Egypt but from the slavery of sin..."
(Team) Wow.
(Nathan) "...when we get to the depths
of what the Law means deep in the heart."
(Stephanie) I want to go to another passage before we leave
the teaching of Jesus about the Law of God.
We'll move to Matthew 5:43-48,
and, Kyle, would you be willing to read that for us?
Matthew 5:43-48.
(Kyle) I'll be reading from the New King James Version.
The Bible says:
(Stephanie) Wow.
There's a lot in that verse.
What do you pull out from those verses?
Go ahead, Joshua.
(Joshua) I will say that it's this aspect
of Christianity that's the most difficult.
You know, if you compare this sort of command from Jesus
to the Ten Commandments,
the Ten Commandments actually look pretty easy.
You know, if you tell me I'm supposed
to love my enemies, do good to those
who are persecuting me,
it's like, "Are you serious?"
But at the same time we have to think
about the fact that people
outside of Christianity judge us
based on this sort of thing,
not simply how many times do you
go to church in a week or how many
Bible verses do you know,
but it's in our character and in the way
that we treat others.
(Stephanie) Wow. Go ahead, Juliana.
(Juliana) Actually this summer I was
traveling around in Europe and happened
to interact with an individual on a train.
And somehow we got to talking about this kind of stuff,
and he told me, "You know,
Christianity is supposed to be so much more radical than it is.
So many people, they focus just
on the Ten Commandments,
but what about the Sermon on the Mount?"
It kind of goes along with what you are saying, like, people
from the outside are looking at us, and, it's like, wow!
This is what Christianity is supposed to be.
And I think that he was completely right,
that we should be looking a lot more
at the Sermon on the Mount for many
of the things of how we should
interact with other people.
(Stephanie) So isn't it interesting.
I think Jesus was trying to move us
away from just a head knowledge
to a heart knowledge, right?
(Team) Yes.
(Stephanie) A heart experience.
(Derek) You know, I think, Stephanie, something Jason said earlier
is really important because some Christians get confused
and say the Ten Commandments doesn't matter; we just need to love,
but that's absurd.
That's like saying, "Don't hate people, but you can kill them."
"Don't lust after someone, but you can commit adultery with him or her."
It's not that.
The Commandments stands,
but, as Tricia Lee was pointing out,
God is calling us to a much higher standard.
In fact, to be honest, it's an impossible standard
if we're going to do it
in our own strength because we know
how feeble we are.
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) It's going to take a miracle...
(Stephanie) Exactly.
(Derek) ...so that, as Joshua pointed out,
people will look, and they'll actually see
Jesus reflected, right?
Instead of us.
(Stephanie) And that happens as a result
of the head knowledge going to our hearts, right?
And that's the next section that we
want to move into, this outward conformity
versus an inward conversion.
And, I'd like us to move to Matthew, chapter 5, verse 20.
Go back to Matthew, chapter 5, verse 20,
and, Missy, would you read that for us?
(Missy) I am reading from the New Living Translation:
(Stephanie) So, I think this is coming back
to what Juliana was saying.
People expect something more
than just a check off, right?
They want something real.
(Olric) But it's not just the realness.
Notice here he says,
"Unless your righteousness
exceeds their righteousness, what was
their righteousness that was not sufficient for God?
Their righteousness...mind you,
righteousness means "right doing."
So, they had the outward expression
of doing right, but at the same time
the inward conversion was not there.
What they were doing was not from a heart
that genuinely loved God and loved people.
So you find that a lot of what was being done
looked right to the folks on the outside,
but God knew that the heart was not transformed.
So, Jesus is saying,"It's not just
to do right on the outside; I want
your heart to be in the right condition also."
That means that your actions
will be inspired and motivated
by the right desires.
(Stephanie) So, it starts in the heart,
it starts in the mind, and then our actions follow.
Go ahead.
(Kyle) I'm just going to add onto what he said
because the Pharisees, they had a scale.
They said, "Okay, this is a sin and this is worse and worse and worse,
and this is a good deed,
and this one's really good, and this one's really, really good."
And they almost would balance and say, "If your good deeds outweighed
your bad deeds, then you earned righteousness in God's sight."
So, it was this whole outward way of building up themselves, basically,
to feel like they were good and accepted by God.
But Jesus comes, and He says, "That's not what it's about.
Every amount of human righteousness is inadequate."
The only thing is the true heart righteousness
that you were talking about, Pastor Derek.
That is only from the Holy Spirit.
And that's a total transformation
of character; true perfection in God's eyes.
(Stephanie) By the way,...
we look at it, and we say,
"Oh, it has to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees."
Well, we know what the righteousness
of the Pharisees looked like,
but for those who were listening,
the Pharisees were on a high level.
(Team) Right.
(Stephanie) So, for them, they were
thinking, "Whoa! For us to exceed that --
we can't even match them!
How do we exceed that?"
So, what is Jesus trying to teach?
Also another question that I would have, too, is that,
have you ever tried to earn the favor of Christ, of God?
I mean, let's be real.
Have you ever been in that situation?
Please be willing to share, I hope,
a time when maybe you've tried to do that.
What was that like? Go ahead, Tricia Lee.
(Tricia Lee) Your first question about how could they exceed
the righteousness of the Pharisees.
The Pharisees, you're right.
They were very good at doing what the law required,
and the different requirements that they made,
but they did not love God, and they did not love other people
other than themselves.
And we find that that was what God
was trying to teach them was that, at the heart of the commandments,
loving the Lord more than anything else
and loving your neighbor as yourself,
and they completely missed all of that.
So, the "checking of the boxes" meant nothing because they didn't love God.
They crucified Him, tried to kill Him at every chance they could.
They did not love their neighbors; they were the ones walking past
the Samaritan on the road and these people.
I think that it's hard because, as humans,
and even as you grew up as a child, you learned that if you study hard
and you get a good grade, or if you do this then you get a reward.
So, it goes against the way even society
runs and functions, that, if you do something
then you get something. An action has an equal reaction.
But here God is showing us that it really doesn't depend upon you
or me or us, it all has to depend upon Christ,
and that's where the faith comes in.
So, it's the faith, it'is the obedience, it's all depending upon Christ.
It's really His righteousness that's working in us.
And I think what happens, at least for me, is that...
and I'm sorry...it's just that once you are honest with yourself,
and when you realize, "I keep trying, and I keep failing,
and that's not good enough," at some point you just have
to get tired of trying and failing, and you realize
it can't depend upon me anymore.
I have to reach out to somebody who I know
was successful in this life, and it was Christ.
(Stephanie) And who has the power to do it.
To get us out of the mess.
And I think we've all been there, haven't we?
(Tricia Lee) Yeah!
(Stephanie) We realize that we need Jesus.
Andrea, you wanted to share?
(Andrea) I only wanted to reflect
a little bit on your question, which was
how would we express if we have been
in a similar situation where we felt
we needed to do something
in order to earn God's favor.
And I recall I was a teenager
and have sat in church many times
listening to baptismal appeals
and calls to give our lives to Jesus.
And as the pastor's daughter,
it was something I would listen to very frequently.
However, I had the feeling or a tendency
of thinking that I have to be
very prepared to make that step.
So for years I have resisted the call,
and I have considered
I'm not ready yet, or I'm not good enough...
(Stephanie) Wow.
(Andrea) ...until I was 17 when I started
to meditate more upon this decision,
and decided I have to make this step
even if I'm not feeling quite ready,
and the Lord will take care of the rest.
(Stephanie) Amen.
(Andrea) I cannot tell you how blessed
I felt afterwards.
It was the best decision of my life.
(Stephanie, Team) Amen.
(Derek) You know what Jesus said,
Stephanie, in the Sermon on the Mount just a little later.
He said, "Seek first the Kingdom
and His righteousness."
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Derek) And really what Tricia Lee
is saying is righteousness is a gift,
back to that miracle of new creation
that we talked about in a previous study.
God is going to change us from the inside
so that we are motivated by love,
even in the keeping of the Commandments.
Love to God and love to those around us.
And that's a miracle of the new creation.
(Stephanie) And I believe John, chapter 14:15
tells us a little bit about that.
John, chapter 14, verse 15.
And, Nathan, would you be willing
to read that for us? John, chapter 14, verse 15.
(Nathan) Right. I'm reading from the New King James Version.
John 14 and verse 15:
(Stephanie) Wow. Very simple, right?
(Team Member) Very plain.
(Stephanie) So, how does your attitude
towards God's law change when you have
this trusting, loving relationship
with Jesus as your Savior and your Lord?
How does that change? Olric.
(Olric) You want to keep it because,
when you have this love relationship with God,
I compare it to a marriage.
You know, for those who are married here on the set.
You know, you have your spouse,
you exchange vows and so forth.
And, you know, some folks,
they may be married for 30 years, 40 years, 50 years,
and sometimes you question and you ask them,
"How did you 'guys' maintain that relationship,
that connection, the obedience to the vows?"
And they just say to me,
"It's very simple: I love the other person.
That's why I do what I do."
So, when you are in that love relationship
with God, you want to do the things
that pleases Him the same way He likes
doing things that blesses you.
So, you are motivated by a love for God,
that is what really propels you to obedience.
(Stephanie, Olric) The heart's been changed.
(Stephanie) Missy and then Nathan.
(Missy) I see Scripture as God
in continual pursuit of humanity,
"Look at me; look at my face;
look at what I've done for you.
Please, keep your attention on me.
Look at what I've said in My Word.
Get to know me."
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Missy) When we are able to hone in on that,
the Law is a natural result of the relationship.
(Stephanie) Powerful. Nathan.
(Nathan) Well, I love this woman.
(Derek) You better tell the people that that's your wife.
(Nathan) This is my wife, and, you know,
if I do something that hurts her, that hurts me.
To see my wife hurting
because of something I've done
would break my heart.
So when we're in love with the Lord,
we realize that when we break His Law we're hurting Him.
He's given us His Law because He wants us to be happy.
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Nathan) And when I wander away
from that Law that He's given,
which is a Law of freedom, a Law of liberty,
and it's a Law that brings joy to my life,
I know that not only am I hurting myself,
but I'm hurting Him.
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Nathan) So my love for Him just propels
me into naturally obeying the Law
because I don't want to break His heart;
I don't want to hurt Him, as well.
(Stephanie) Okay, Joshua, and then
we'll go to Tricia Lee, and then we have to move on.
(Joshua) I believe that we not only serve
a holy God but we serve a practical God.
So, when I look at His Commandments,
I see that even if I weren't a Christian
it would be in my best interest to still keep these Commandments.
(Stephanie) Amen.
(Joshua) So, if you think about what it
would be like to murder someone, and what
you would have to live with after that,
if you know what it feels like
to commit adultery and see the effects
of that trickling after, if you look
at each and every Law, you'll see,
"Wait a minute. He's not telling me
to keep these Laws as hoops to jump through
in order to make it into Heaven,"
but it's for our own good and for our best interest to keep these Laws.
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Tricia Lee) Something that Missy
and Joshua mentioned about getting to know God
and what's in our best interest,
I think that the Devil's deception is that we would think of God as someone
who is out to get us, someone that cannot be trusted.
And if He's a Being that is not to be trusted or, you know,
wants to hurt us, then I don't care about what He's saying,
I don't care about His Laws, what's not good for me.
When we do exactly what Missy is saying,
try to get to know Him, allow Him to enter our lives, and we see who He is,
like, how Jesus came, the best example, a revelation of the Father,
He lived a whole life, when we see the life of Christ,
how could we not want to be more like Him?
How could we not want to see truly who the Father is,
and then everything He's saying starts to make sense as things
for our best interest, as things that will help us
be in a loving relationship with Him.
So even Christ coming and expounding and fulfilling the Law
was us seeing the Father as who He really is, not the deception,
not the lies, the angry God with lightening and thunderbolts.
When we see that, then the Law starts to be something beautiful
for our best interest and something that helps us be in a good, loving,
strong relationship with Him.
(Stephanie) We have full confidence
that He has the best interest in mind.
We need to move on to God's ideal
for His children, which somewhat connects
with what we've already been speaking about.
Matthew, chapter 5, verse 48, and, Nicole,
if you would be willing to read that
for us, and then we'll follow it up
with Luke 6:36, and, Nancy, if you would read that one after Matthew 5:48.
(Nicole) Okay, Matthew 5:48.
I'm reading it from the New International Version, and the Bible says:
(Stephanie) And then Luke 6:36.
We're looking at these two in conjunction with each other.
(Nancy) Okay, and this is from the New King James Version.
(Stephanie) All right, what is Jesus asking us to do?
(Olric) Be like God.
(Stephanie) To be like God.
He's asking us, may I mention it this way:
He's asking us to do the impossible without Him.
It would be impossible without Him.
You understand what I'm saying?
But He's giving us the strength to do it,
so, it's not impossible, but without Him,
if we're trying to do it as only head knowledge,
it is going to be impossible.
(Derek) And, you know, Stephanie,
sometimes people read that like,
"Be perfect," and think that's the way to
make God love us, right?
Never quite good enough.
That's not what it's saying at all.
(Stephanie) Right.
(Derek) That's why Luke's wording
is different is important.
He's saying, "I want you to reflect
the beauty of my Father's character."
And what does it look like?
Jesus said, "If you want to know
what the Father is like, look at Me."
So, He's saying, "I want you to reflect my character to the world,"
and that is not to earn His love.
He already loves us. It's out of that loving relationship.
(Stephanie) Yes. Go ahead, you wanted to say something.
(Andrea) I also wanted to add
to what Elder Morris said,
that this perfection that God is calling us to
is not so much a state of sinlessness
as the spiritual maturity to which we need
to attain, and the Lord can help us to attain that.
And, of course, at each state
of the Christain's experience,
there is a different level of maturity
because what is perfect for a grade one student to add 2 + 2
is not perfect for a grade five student
or a grade eight student.
So this perfection is where we are at;
if we just fulfill what God requires us to do at that stage,
we have attained to God's ideal.
(Stephanie) Amen. All right, Olric.
(Olric) Let me encapsulate what she's saying.
At each stage, God reveals light to us.
He reveals more of Himself to us.
Perfection that is being talked about here
is the progressive state of growth, Christian maturity.
A plant starts out as a seedling,
but then it grows to a big tree and bears fruit.
A baby starts off walking on fours
and mumbling, but eventually they grow, and they walk on legs,
and now they can talk well and do things for themselves.
There is maturing; there is growth.
God's ideal of perfection is that you should continually grow.
Not that you reach a stage here,
where, "Hah! You're perfect. Now you don't need to go any further."
No.
His idea of perfection is progressive Christian maturity.
(Stephanie) Go ahead, go ahead, Kyle.
(Kyle) You know, somebody might be worried,
"Well, I'm not perfect, and I have all these faults,"
and my only thing I think we could all say: "Look to Jesus."
(Stephanie, Team) Yes.
(Kyle) Look to Jesus, because Jesus,
as we look to Him, "If ye love Me,
keep My Commandments," He says.
The only way that we can truly grow
in likeness to Him is to fall in love
with Him, and how do we fall in love with Him?
By looking to Him, spending time with Him.
That is so key because otherwise we're just going to try
to earn our righteousness, and that will never get us anywhere.
So we must look to Jesus.
(Stephanie) Beautiful, beautiful.
So my question, I think we already have
an answer for it, but my question is:
Is this a means of salvation
or an evidence of a living, loving connection with Jesus?
(Olric) Simple.
it's an evidence of a living connection
with Jesus, not a means to salvation.
(Stephanie) All right.
Will you share with us a verse that supports that?
(Olric) Galatians 2...
(Stephanie) Galatians, chapter 2.
So, Olric, you'll go ahead and read
Galatians, chapter 2, I believe, 20 and 21.
(Olric) Galatians, chapter 2, verses 20 and 21?
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Olric) Reading from the New Living Translation,
the Word of God says:
(Stephanie) Wow.
Another verse, another promise that we can share.
Someone out there, as Kyle was saying,
may be wondering, "How do I do this?"
"How is this practical?"
Yes.
(Derek) Let me just say people may not know who wrote the Galatian letter,
but Saul of Tarsus, later called Paul the Apostle,
he had gone down that road of trying to earn righteousness.
(Team): Yes.
(Derek) He said, "I was flawless," you know?
But he was killing people who believe in Jesus.
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Derek) So, he understands the miracle of his changed heart.
And I just want to emphasize,
I know it is one stage and then another,
but it's a miracle at every stage.
(Team): Amen. Yes.
(Derek) For us to be who God's calling us to be, is a miracle.
(Stephanie) It is.
(Derek) And Paul would be the first one
to say that it is a miracle.
That's why he says that if anyone is in Christ,
she or he is a new creation.
(Stephanie) Amen.
(Derek) Because he's seen it himself.
(Stephanie) Amen.
(Olric) It's key that in that verse
is mentioned Christ now lives in me.
He says, "It is no longer I who live, but I died.
I surrender self and the old way,
and I accept Christ in my heart,
and He changes me internally.
Now what I do is motivated by love."
So, it is very important to see the transformation.
(Stephanie) Would you share with us
a time when you experienced
or you saw someone who represented
the character of Christ.
What impact did that have on you?
You saw that someone had the character of Christ.
What was the impact on you, or what was
the impact when someone saw
the character of Christ in you?
What impact did that have on you?
(Derek) Stephanie, I was 7 years old...
(Stephanie) Go ahead.
(Derek) Oh good, if I can just share real briefly.
...and my teacher in Form 2 (this is back in the UK)
was full of the love of Jesus.
I was only privileged to go
to a Christian school for four years,
but that one year with Christine Emmerson
my teacher changed my life...
(Stephanie) Wow.
(Derek) ...because she was full of the love of God.
And when you see that, and I think
that's the ultimate witness, it's not just what we say.
When the love of God fills a heart,
we just say, "I just want to be like that,"
and that person says, "Well, I'm
a follower of Jesus, so follow Him."
(Stephanie) Amen.
Reflecting the light of Jesus. Nancy.
(Nancy) My dad is full of the love of Jesus.
And, you know, what he does is he studies
the Bible in the morning, a chapter
in the morning, and a chapter
in the evening, a chapter in the New, a chapter in the Old.
I like to think about it
as him "marinating" his life in Jesus, you know?
It's a cooking term, when you take
some meat or some tofu, and you put it,
you know, in all of those sauces and things.
Well, that's what he does with his life,
and so everything he does is covered in Jesus.
(Team) Amen.
(Nancy) He's been a great example to me.
(Derek/Stephanie) Amen.
(Team) Praise God.
(Stephanie) I'm guessing that he's been
on his knees praying often,
and I think that's the section that
we want to move into next.
We've talked about the head knowledge,
and that it reaches our hearts,
and, as a result, our hands or our actions
produce what has already happened inside.
Now we are going to talk about how we sustain that,
and that is by spending time with God in prayer.
So, Juliana, if you would read
Matthew, chapter 6, verses 5 through 13.
Matthew chapter 6, verses 5 through 13,
talking about Jesus teaching on prayer.
(Juliana) I'm reading from the New King James Version:
(Stephanie/Team) Amen.
(Stephanie) What important lessons
can we learn about prayer from Jesus' example?
Go ahead, Tricia Lee.
(Tricia Lee) I like that we're counseled not to have vain repetitions,
so, there were practices that heathens had at the time but also was part
of the religious practices to repeat certain things.
"The more I say it, then the more likely God will hear,"
but here this model, in its simplest way, is a conversation.
I think, even in talking to God, we are acknowledging that He's hearing us.
We're not just saying phrases out, and hoping they go somewhere.
We're actually speaking to another Being who can hear and understand
and wants to have a conversation with us.
(Stephanie) So, we have full confidence
in the Person that we love and trust.
(Tricia Lee) Yes.
(Stephanie) Nathan, and then we'll go to Olric.
(Nathan) I can't miss the distinction
Jesus is making between people who pray
to be seen by others, and it's not just
what they say but where they are when they are saying it.
They're out on the street corners,
versus people who are praying in secret.
He says, "Go into your room and pray
to your Father who is also in secret."
So, in other words, what He's showing us here
is this is an intimate time.
I'm sorry if this sounds a little
too far fetched, but just like
a married couple behind closed doors
and the intimacy that they share.
They are having quiet time or conversation, you know.
No one else is there, and this is
the same way, He says, "With your Father
in Heaven, you are behind closed doors, intimate communion."
It's just you and Him.
You're not showing off to the world.
You're not doing this before others.
You're having quiet time.
So, Jesus wants us to be having
intimate communion with our Father quietly.
(Stephanie) Just to think that
He's willing to spend quiet time with us.
(Team) Amen.
(Stephanie) The God of the universe.
I mean, think about that. That's powerful.
(Olric) It's very key that Nathan
points that out because in verse 16 of that same chapter
He uses the word "hypocrite."
He says, "Don't fast as the hypocrites do."
That word is a key word,
because in the Greek it means an "actor,"
you know, someone who puts on a show, a performance.
So, what is Jesus saying about these individuals who pray to be heard
by many people or use many words to look religious and so forth?
He's saying, "You're just acting,"
and my Bible says to me, "If you harbor
iniquity in your heart, God will not hear your prayers."
This was a problem with the religious leaders and those who were doing it
for outward show; the heart wasn't right.
(Stephanie) Right, He was asking
for an inward change.
Go ahead, Nicole.
(Nicole) Just to take it a little differently,
you can also teach someone how to pray,
so when I look at this verse and I look at this text,
I think about children and make sure that we instill within our children
the desire to pray and the need to pray.
We have to teach them how to pray and how to spend that time with God,
so they can then grow to a place when they can spend
that quiet time in their "closets" knowing what they're to say.
So I think that we should really
remember that we all have to teach our children how to pray.
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Derek) You know, I'm thinking, in the light of what Nathan said,
in the little book "Steps to Christ,"
it speaks about prayer as the opening
of the heart to God as to a friend.
That's very personal.
Even the Lord's prayer could become
a vain repetition, if you just repeat it ten times
and think that God will hear you by saying it ten times.
In fact, if you look at the Gospels,
Jesus prays a lot of different prayers.
(Stephanie) He does.
(Derek) He is opening His heart to His Father as to a friend.
And I think what I'm hearing
in this great Sermon on the Mount,
just like with loving obedience,
is when you love God you want to talk to Him.
(Stephanie) Yes.
(Derek) And you want to listen, too.
(Stephanie) You have an open communication.
Juliana, and then we need to move on.
(Juliana) I was just going to say really succinctly
that what this says to me,
and I guess why I choked up trying to read it,
was that it says we have a direct connection.
(Team Member) Amen.
(Juliana) We don't have anything else in the way.
That the God of the universe
wants to talk to me and wants me to talk to Him.
(Derek) Amen.
(Stephanie) Wow, that's powerful.
Let's move on; Matthew, chapter 7.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Matthew, chapter 7, and we'll go to verses 24 to 27,
and, Jason, would you read that for us?
Matthew, chapter 7, and we're moving
into our last section of our study
that is "Living What We Learn."
Go ahead.
(Jason) I'll be reading from the New King James Version,
Matthew, chapter 7, verse 24 through 27.
(Stephanie) What is Jesus' appeal in these verse?
What is Jesus' appeal? Missy.
(Missy) Trust and obey, Just listen
to what He has to say and do them.
It's just simple.
(Stephanie) Yes. Go ahead, Joshua.
(Joshua) I would just say to build
your foundation on Christ.
Essentially, if you look at family structures,
it never made sense to me as to why
atheists get married, you know?
Think about it just for a second.
Just picture that in your mind for a minute.
How is it, if you're not focused
on the love of Christ and the beauty
of His Word and the understanding
of His heart rather than your own,
how is it that you can unite yourself
in a marriage and try to build your family
on a structure that cannot stand,
that's built on worldly principles that are like sand?
They can change at any time.
They are weak. They are futile.
So, when I think about that in my own life,
I say, "Okay, I have to build my foundation on Christ."
(Stephanie) Amen.
(Joshua) Because outside of that,
everything else is just going to be a wreck, you know,
and it's really that simple.
I think it's a lesson to us to just say,
"Okay, let's go about things
in the smartest way possible," and this is it.
(Stephanie) Nathan and then we'll come up to Kyle.
(Nathan) Jesus is comparing two kinds of people here.
Both of them heard His Word. He says,
"Whoever hears these sayings of Mine
and does them," and then He says later,
"Whoever hears these sayings and does not do them."
So it's not about just hearing and knowing,
it's actually about putting it in practice.
He says, "The one who puts into practice
these teachings of Mine, this is
solid rock foundation that you can
build on, and it's trustworthy, so build on this.
But if you hear it and don't do it,
whatever you're building on is like sand."
(Nathan) It's not a solid foundation.
(Stephanie) You won't make it through the storm.
Kyle.
(Kyle) I'll just add to what Nathan said.
Just to think that this whole time
in Matthew 5 we've been looking at, you know,
Jesus' standard of righteousness versus
what our human standard is.
And if we build our lives on our own righteousness,
on our own works, then it's like sand.
We have no real foundation.
The only Rock is the Rock of Christ's righteousness
that can get us through the storm.
So, you know, it all connects;
it's dependence upon Him,
even the prayer thing.
Prayer is all about dependence on God,
and depending on His righteousness,
on His character in our hearts,
will give us the foundation that will
carry us through that storm.
(Stephanie) Amen.
Tricia Lee, did you have a comment...?
(Tricia Lee) I was just reflecting on what Juliana mentioned about the invitation
to connect with the Lord, "our Father."
Even in reading this, I just feel as though personally I would be a fool
not to accept that invitation, that the great God of the universe came,
sent His Son, went to all this length to show me who He really is,
to show me what His Law means, to show me how to love other people,
who wants to love me and wants to accept my love to Him,
and He's just giving me the simple way to Him
that I have to be kind of silly in seeing all of this and then saying,
"No, I'd rather build it my own way."
It just really feels like it's just a heart-felt invitation, and that, wow,
how do I respond to that. I was just thinking about that.
(Stephanie) So I want to move on.
We have one more verse to read,
and that's John, chapter 13, verse 17.
I'll ask Tricia Lee if you would read that for us.
The question is, why does Jesus want
us to live in harmony with His Word?
(Tricia Lee) John, chapter 13, verse 17.
I'm reading from the New King James Version, and it reads:
(Stephanie) Tricia Lee, I think that is
what you were talking about.
(Tricia Lee) It's a blessing.
(Stephanie) God wants us to be happy.
(Team) Amen. Yes.
(Stephanie) It has to go from the head
to the heart, to the hands, and to the "how."
How do I do that?
By spending time with Jesus
and falling in love with my Savior and Lord.
Then what happens?
When you're sharing with others,
doesn't it make you happy?
You're in the will of God.
There's no better peace than that.
Go ahead, Olric.
(Olric) Let me just wrap this study here together.
We see clearly Jesus is saying,
"The law is important, you must keep it,
but I don't want you to keep it
from an unconverted heart because
to do that is to do it with a heart
that is not connected to the love of God,
that is devoid of the right motives and right thoughts."
So, keep the Law but make sure the heart is converted.
Why?
Because when you do that you build your faith.
(Stephanie) Our faith is built upon the Rock.
And our eyes are fixed on Jesus,...
(Team) Amen.
(Stephanie) ...the Author and Finisher of our faith,
and we share that with joy in our hearts.
What a God. What a God we serve.
Thank you so much for this lesson
and for sharing today.
(Derek) Thanks, Stephanie.
You know, the Sermon on the Mount ends
by saying they were astonished
at His teaching because He taught as One
having authority, and really our authority
comes from that living connection with God, doesn't it?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) And I want to challenge you,
as you think about this message,
I have to be honest.
If I look at God's ideal, it's an impossible standard
unless a miracle happens in my heart,
that God's grace not only saves me
but transforms me into that follower
of Jesus that He wants me to be,
to reflect the beauty of His character to others.
That's God's plan for you and for me.
Why don't we pray that that miracle can happen each day,
not only for our blessing but the blessing of those around us.
Let's pray.
Our Father in Heaven, we're astonished
at the teaching of Jesus, to know how much You love us
and how much You want to work in us and through us.
Oh, Lord, forgive us where we have tried
to build our own righteousness,
to build on sand instead of on Jesus the Solid Rock.
Please, accept our lives now
and work in us and through us
as we follow you with love in our hearts,
is our prayer, in Jesus' name, amen.
Thanks for joining us for Hope Sabbath School.
We are learning a lot from the Gospel of Matthew.
Take what you learn and share it with those around you.
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