Scripture:
Matthew 5:21-26 NKJV
[21] “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ [22] But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hellfire. [23] Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, [24] leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. [25] Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. [26] Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Observation:
I’m going to be honest I was trying to avoid this SOAP. Probably because it’s something I struggle with at times. I had started a whole different SOAP about letting your yes be yes and your no be no but the Holy Spirit said no I want you to write about this. Most of us know this portion of scripture as part of the sermon on the mound. Jesus saw that HE had a crowd and went up on the side of a hill to teach them what it looks like to follow the LORD. The hill created a natural flow for HIS voice to carry so that all could hear HIM and what HE was saying. As HE taught HE went over several topics. From this type of attitude, we need to have, to allow our word to be held to a high standard so that people can trust what we say, to dealing with the situation in our lives quickly so that bitterness doesn’t spring up in our lives. Which is where we picked up this morning. The approach that Jesus takes comes straight from the Old Testament, and more specifically the Ten Commandments. I would encourage you to go back and read all of Matthew chapters 5 and 6 so you can get a good picture of what Jesus is dealing with in this teaching. It’s all about the position of your heart. Here in verse 21, HE starts by saying, “You have heard it said, to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of judgment.” Now I don’t know about you but judgment sounds a little horrifying if you ask me. The Bible describes it as weeping and gnashing of teeth. Which doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to me. But as you know Jesus doesn’t just leave it to take action HE brings it all the way to the core of the issue… our hearts. As HE continues to teach about anger and the danger of it HE says, “But I say whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of judgment. Honestly, that takes things to a whole new level. It’s dealing with the problem which is not murder although murder is not something we should do at all, but if we deal with our heart position we won’t even be thinking about that kind of thing. What Jesus is dealing with is how we feel about others. The very center of who we are as a person. Our emotions. The word raca means worthless empty-handed fool. So the statement that Jesus makes about saying this about a brother or someone made in the image of GOD actually says a lot. It’s by no means just a statement. In fact, what you are saying is that GOD made this person worthless. In a sense that GOD made some kind of mistake. Just the statement alone puts you in danger of hellfire. But the point of what Jesus is dealing with is right around the corner. HE is teaching you to deal with your emotions properly. His next statement says, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there and go your way first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way otherwise, he will hand you over to judgment and will throw you into prison.
Application:
I don’t know if anyone is like me but I think I’m not alone in this, and if we are completely honest with ourselves. It’s something that needs to be dealt with. Our hearts get out of position. When someone does what we see as wrong we are quick to judge them as guilty but we are not quick to deal with the emotions properly. I have honestly never been good at it. Letting stuff build rather than dealing with it has been the way I went about it in the past, and it’s something I’m trying to get away from. We do not have a right to be offended. In fact, offense is one of the ways the enemy keeps us from people we need to be around. It’s something HE has used in my life and it just can’t be that way. The condition and position of our hearts are the point here. When we let our emotions get the best of us we will find ourselves making wrong decisions. We need to learn how to deal with how we feel properly. Now I’m not saying that I am good at this. It is something I’m honestly working on. The Bible teaches us about our hearts and how they will mislead us. It also talks about being sober-minded and showing others grace. But if we are honest in our hearts sometimes we carry around this backpack full of resentment that just weights us down, slows our walk with GOD, and separates us from those we need. Our emotions can not only get us in trouble but they can hinder our prayers if we don’t deal with them properly. Not to mention they can be somewhat intoxicating. I have a question for you yes you may have stopped doing drugs but are you getting high on anger, do you let depression and anxiety rule over you? It’s time to look at the position of your heart. Please don’t get me wrong dealing with these things properly is so important that it’s mentioned over and over in the Bible. In Genesis GOD has a little conversation with Cain. HE asks him why he is letting his emotions get the best of him. He also makes a statement about how sin is waiting to master him. But he must not let it. Bitterness, envy, selfish ambition, anger, and so on are all things that we have to be rid of. I’m going to say that I know it’s not easy. Especially when we feel justified. Meeting others with the same grace Jesus met us with is probably one of the hardest things to do. But it must be done. Galatians chapter 6 verses 7 and 8 tell us that GOD will not be mocked. What you sow that you will also reap. You are not going to be able to sow anger and reap grace. You can’t be bitter and receive mercy. I don’t know about you but I need all the grace I can get so I had better be graceful to others and well mercy seems to be good to have as well because if I get what I deserve that wouldn’t be good either and forgiveness well that’s the very core of the gospel. It’s what HE did for us and if we are to reflect HIM it’s what we must do for others. My point to all this is we have to process our emotions in a manner that doesn’t damage ourselves or others. Dealing with them in the same manner that Christ dealt with us.
Prayer:
Father we want our hearts to be in the right position to receive all that you have for us. We know that our emotions can be dangerous and we never want them to lead us. Help us to see the world through your eyes. Allowing us to see everyone as someone that we have made and given a specific purpose in this world. We want to be a reflection of you. Showing grace where grace is needed and forgiving those we feel have wronged us. Letting go of our past and looking forward to what you have for us. We want to be led by your word not our hearts. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.