Scripture:
Matthew 5:33-37 NKJV
[33] “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ [34] But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; [35] nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. [36] Nor shall you swear by your head, because you can not make one hair white or black. [37] But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Observation:
I seem to come back to the sermon on the mound a lot. These 2 chapters in the bible have so much good information about what it means to be called according to HIS name. Starting this sermon off with an example of what the right type of attitude looks like and covers a wide range of topics in a short amount of time. Including but not limited to the one we are going to cover today, which I believe is an important one to understand. It would appear that even back then, people would say one thing and do another. Jesus addressed the topic by saying, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely but shall perform your oath to the LORD.” You see even back then people would say they would do things and not do them so to gain trust they would make promises or swear by certain things that were supposed to be an indication that they were going to carry out their word. So that people would count on them. The issue that Jesus is addressing here is that people should be able to believe what you say because you said it not because you made some kind of empty promise behind it. The examples that HE gives are things that people used to swear by and honestly still do at times. I have heard it said not too long ago… I swear by heaven and earth, I’m going to take this seriously. What I believe Jesus is really getting down to is the brass tax of all of it. Can people trust what you say? Or, in order to build up some kind of false confidence, do you have to add some empty promises to it? Swearing on the hair of your head, which you did not create, does absolutely nothing. The last verse in the scriptures that was chosen this morning is the one that makes the hard point. I don’t know if you noticed, but there are only 4 verses to cover this topic in this group of scripture. There is honestly not a lot to say about it, and the point is easily made. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.
Application:
I remember when I was a kid, growing up in my home wasn’t easy. The first real broken promise I experienced was when my dad left. It was kind of a big blow and altered my life forever. My mom and he had stood before GOD and made a vow to do life together until the death of one, if not both of them. This was the beginning of a long road of broken promises. That I could go on and on about… but would only bring glory to the wrong side. I eventually grew up, and I believe I got over that devastating blow as a child. Only to find out that I would not be a whole lot different from my dad. I, too, would stand before GOD and make a covenant between HIM and a woman and eventually destroy a family. I say this to bring about a point. What the bible says you can count on it. Because it’s totally true. The sins of the father are the same sins that would be passed down from generation to generation. This is not the direction I was going to go with this SOAP, but I believe my point can still be made. The trust that I had for people slowly faded over the years because no one really kept their word. They would say one thing and do another. Growing up, I started believing that’s how everyone was and honestly. It’s hard to find people who do keep their word. When I was reading this portion of scripture this morning, I was thinking… I want to be that guy… you know the one… the one who says something and does it. But in my life, I have broken a lot of promises as well as had a lot of promises broken that were made to me. Trusting that people will do what they say they will do is just not easy, and I’m sure that’s the same of a lot of us. But let me ask you this what would the world be like if people could count on what you say. What if when you said, “I will be there,” people knew without a doubt that they could stand on that word. You know it’s not too late, right? Today could be the day when others could begin to be able to trust what you say. Just let your yes be yes, and your no be no… do what you say and say what you do. I do my best to learn from the mistakes of my past, and honestly, I don’t want to create any more damage. I have enough garbage to sort through. If people can trust what I say. Then my word is my bound. When I say something, I don’t have to add some kind of empty promise.
Prayer:
Father, you are so good. Whet I want to let my hurt show you say stop. I have a plan. You can trust ME MY word is truth. If I said it, you can count on it. I know what you have said to do. Father, I am doing my best to do so. But I don’t know how. It’s overwhelming, and those who said that they would help just seem to ignore me. So I release this into your hands and ask you to do what only you can do. This book project is yours. Help me to move forward despite the opposition. Take this SOAP this morning and do what only you can do with it. Because it makes no sense to me, however, I know that you have a plan for it. Holly Spirit, do what only you can do. Because I don’t really trust anyone, but you it’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.