Refuge Audio Podcast

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses the proper motivations for everyday activities. As He teaches about the right motivations for prayer, He provides a primer on prayer—an elementary introduction to the construction of our communication with God. In what’s commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”, Jesus provides topics of conversation for His disciples as they constantly converse with their Heavenly Father. These conversations aren’t just vain repetitions, but real and honest that further our fellowship with God.

Jesus tells us that our motivation for ministry in everyday activities is important. If we’re motivated by what we get from giving, praying, or fasting, then what we get is all we’ll get. There will be no eternal reward if getting is our motivation. But even more important than the motivation for eternal rewards is fellowship with God. There is nothing greater or more valuable than fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

As we work through the Sermon on the Mount, we discover the attitudes, actions, and attributes we must have to continue to be Jesus’ disciples. These are not unattainable ideals but the basic expectations for the disciples of Jesus. Jesus expects His followers to be honest, to have grit, and to be more than conquerors. 

Not only does Jesus want us to steer clear of adultery, but also of where adultery begins—with one lustful look. Just like contemptuous anger and murder, lust and adultery have serious consequences. We must deal decisively with sin, and yet gouging out our eyes and cutting off our hands isn’t enough. What are we to do? Thankfully Jesus gets to the heart of the issue, which is the issue of the heart. 

Forgiveness and reconciliation are two different things. Forgiveness can happen in a moment. Reconciliation is often a process. Forgiveness releases someone else from your “right” to retaliate. Reconciliation is restoring the relationship to the intimacy that was once present. There is no way to reconcile a relationship without genuine humility and repentance. Jesus clarifies this in the Sermon on the Mount as He addresses contemptuous anger.

Sin starts in the heart before it ever becomes an outward act. We are just as culpable, accountable, and guilty when sin starts within us as if we actually went forward with the outward act. If we are to continue to be Jesus’ disciples, we must understand the necessity of the Holy Spirit in transforming us deep within so that sin doesn’t even have a chance to begin.

The Apostle Peter closed his second letter with a warning (2 Peter 3:17) about the age in which we live. Still, he encouraged us in the next sentence (2 Peter 3:18). It is only when we are active and growing in our faith that we yield evidence that the Lord is at work in our lives. Guest speaker Steve Rhoads encouraged and reminded us that God cares about one thing in us—that we are growing in Him.

Near the end of the Gospel of John, we read the account of the day Jesus rose from the dead. John 20:19-22 records the first interaction between Jesus and His disciples after His resurrection. What would Jesus say to these men who gave up everything to follow Him but fell away at His arrest and crucifixion? As He stood among them, He said to them, “Peace be with you.” Pastor Byron Johnson led our time in John 20:19-22 as we consider how Jesus meets us where we are.

Most people think the way to attain eternal life is by being good. This line of thinking evaluates righteousness as a point system, concluding that someone will get into heaven if their good works outnumber their bad deeds. Jesus confronts this current understanding repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount with this simple statement: “You have heard that it was said to those of old…but I say to you…”  

The people listening to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount weren’t “religious professionals”. They were common, everyday, ordinary people—all of them sinners. And yet, He told them, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Just how were these ordinary people supposed to exceed the righteous “religious professionals” who centered their entire lives around following the law—especially if Jesus wasn’t going to abolish the law? There must be another way!