SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/18/2020
9:44 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“The Setting”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matthew 5:1
Message of the
verses: “1
And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat
down, His disciples came to Him.”
We move from the importance of the
Sermon on the Mount which we looked at yesterday to a new Main section in John
MacArthur’s commentary. I think that I
will quote this brief introduction to this section from MacArthur’s commentary
and then we will look at the first sub-point under this main point today and
then move on with perhaps two more sub-points in our next SD tomorrow, Lord
willing.
“Jesus was always concerned for ‘the
multitudes,’ for whom He had great compassion—whether they ‘distressed and
downcast’ (Matt. 9:36), sick (14:14; cf. 4:23), hungry (15:32), or in any other
need. Whether the people were physically
ill or healthy, emotionally stable or demon-possessed, financially poor or rich,
politically oppressed or powerful, religiously insignificant or influential,
intellectually ignorant or educated, Jesus had compassion on them. Jesus attracted to all strata of people
because He loved them all.
“Everything Jesus said on this occasion
was spoken publicly, to ‘the multitudes’ (cf. 7:28-29). His intention was to drive them to
recognition of their sin, and thus to the need of a Savior, which He had come
to be. Until they believed in Him, the
demands of the sermon could only show them how terribly far they were from
meeting God’s standards. The masterful
evangelistic sermon is designed to confront men with their desperate condition
of sinfulness.”
We now move onto the first
sub-section “The Preacher” as we move on through this section.
It is no secret that it was Jesus
who was the preacher as He was the One who “saw the multitudes” and then it was
He who “went up to the mountain; and” there He sat down.” This was God’s own Son who delivered the
sermon. Jesus Christ, the greatest
Preacher who ever lived preached the greatest sermon every preached, and after
He had concluded we read “The multitudes were amazed at His teaching; for He
was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (7:28-29). Jesus quoted no sources, not ancient rabbis,
or any reserved tradition. Jesus spoke
what He spoke because of who He was and therefore He did not need to quote from
some Rabbi or other person for He had the authority to do what He did as He
preached this sermon after all it was Jesus who created everything including
man and so just as the people said He spoke with authority.
MacArthur states “The Sermon on the
Mount is the supreme model of good preaching, a homiletical masterpiece. It
beautifully and powerfully flows from the introduction (5:3-12) to the first
point (the citizens of the kingdom, 5:13-16), to the second point (the
righteousness of the kingdom, 5:17-7:12), to the third point (the exhortation to
enter the kingdom, 7:13-27), and to the conclusion (the effect of the sermon on
its hearers, 7:28-29). The transitions
from point to point are clear and unmistakable.”
As we think of the timeline of this
sermon we can compare it with the prophet Ezekiel for at the beginning of his
book he states that the Lord was not going to let him speak to the multitudes
for they were a rebellious house, and then we read in 33:22 the following “Now
the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the refugees
came. And He opened my mouth and at the
time they came to me in the morning; so my mouth was opened, and I was no
longer speechless.” Jesus did not
display His truth, His wisdom, and His power until it was time in God’s
sovereign will for Him to do so.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: Perhaps
that is the case for me as a believer as I must wait for God’s timing to do the
things that He has planned for me to do in eternity past as seen in Ephesians
2:10, and perhaps the beginning of my blog writing days which began on the 3rd
of July of 2010 was God’s timing for me to begin.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the
Lord to give me continued insight on humility, and give me joy in studying His
Word each day.
We will now look at the last quotation
from “The strategy of Satan,” as this
next quotation will complete the chapter I was quoting from.
“The story may
be apocryphal, but it illustrates the point.
A famous Christian businessman was visiting a church and was asked to
give a word of greeting. He got carried
away telling all that God had done for Him.
‘I have a successful business, a large house, a lovely family, a famous
name, and enough money to do the things I want to do and be able to give to
Christian works. I have health and
opportunities unnumbered. There are many
people who would greatly exchange places with me. What more could God give me?’ From the back of the auditorium a voice
called, ‘A good dose of humility!’”
Humble yourselves in the presence of the
Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:10
3/18/2020 10:30
AM
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