“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. – Matthew 5:21-22 ESV
Warrior;
IT IS WRITTEN: There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6). The Prophet Isaiah was informed by Yahweh; “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) All this to show that we are NOT to do things the WORLD’S WAY, we are to do things JESUS WAY! The writer of Proverbs, the prophet Isaiah, Yahweh- who gave the vision to Isaiah and Jesus, God Himself- the SON OF GOD, all say the same thing: THE WAY forward is JESUS’ way, NOT OUR WAY, not the world’s way, not your parents way, NOT EVEN the churches way- but JESUS WAY! Jesus shook the JEWS off of the WAY of the WORLD they were on, even when they thought they were on the right path, the RIGHT WAY. He challenged their self-righteous, off-base, wayward actions: “You have heard it said…but I SAY…!” That statement is more true today than ever. The church wants to be liked by the world and is MARCHING with the WORLD, in the WAYS OF THE WORLD, in the “Social Justice of the world”, and GOD says…” BUT I SAY….”
Leader, the largest distinct section of the Sermon on the Mount is Matthew 5:21-48. This is also called the “six contrasts” because Jesus makes six quotations or paraphrases of commands of Moses in the Bible, and then he says, “But I say” and makes a similar but stronger statement. With six powerful examples in Matthew 5:21–47, Jesus compared the demands of the law of the gospel with the requirements of the Mosaic law. In each, the Master cited an earlier proposition of the law, a thesis, and made an authoritative counterproposition, or antithesis, that called disciples to a higher standard of belief, motivation, and observance. These six antitheses do not nullify nor replace the law, but rather they INTENSIFY the law- RAISE THE BAR- and help the believer better understand it’s intent, allowing for better implementation. They seem to also be connected with both the Beatitudes (5:3–12) and a section that can be called ‘Marks of a Disciple’ (5:13–16), all of which lead to God’s outcome for us, being “perfect”! If you are following the WAYS of the WORLD; thinking like the world, MARCHING like the world, voting like the world, working to be happy- LIKE THE WORLD, then you are on the wrong path! For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:16)
Conduit, Jesus told us there are only 2 WAYS, 2 PATHS. One path, the WORLD IS ON, the other path, HIS TRUE FOLLOWERS ARE ON. One path is easier, the WORLDS, and one path is HARDER, HIS PATH. One WAY has popularity, and one WAY has loneliness. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14) A great example is how God has structured our time, our week versus the ANTITHESIS of the way the WORLD structures our time, our weeks. God says a WEEK is Sunday-Saturday; We start the week worshipping God, focused on God, trusting in God, SEEKING God with our FIRST FRUITS. We are to GIVE GOD the FIRST DAY of our week, to get our FOCUS ON and get us on the RIGHT WAY. The World is always BASS ACKWARDS to God’s will and way- it is perverted. The World says, Monday-Sunday is your week. You have 6 days of work, and personal will, chasing our dreams, creating our kingdom on this planet and THEN, AT THE END- give the LEFTOVERS TO GOD. By the time you get to Sunday, there isn’t much left for God. DECISION TIME IS AT HAND! It is ELECTION DAY and I am not talking about NOVEMBER 3. Today we must decide, Blessing or Curse, Heaven or Hell, the WIDE path or NARROW path, God’s way or the world’s way? Why is God doing this, setting 2 different standards? So that none perish! The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (2 Peter 3:9-10) God is clear on HIS OUTCOME, and HIS WAY- follow HIM, not the world! Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Matthew 5:48, Mark 10:27)
Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional 