Friday, 15 July 2016

God's Righteousness

Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant by

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:20 NKJV

http://bible.com/114/mat.5.20.nkjv

The explanation is in the" Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector"

“Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:”

Luke 18:9 NKJV

http://bible.com/114/luk.18.9.nkjv

The Pharisee in the parable was seeking justification on the basis of his own righteousness: “I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get” (vv. 11 –12). We commonly call such people self-righteous. Have you ever considered why? It is because they assume they have ample righteousness of their own and do not see the need for imputed righteousness.

But the tax-gatherer was under no such delusion. All he could do was repent and plead for mercy. And so perfect righteousness was imputed to his account. Forever thereafter he stood before God fully justified.

That's why Jesus is saying in Sermon on the Mount that "your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,"

This what Paul is saying as :-

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”

Romans 10:3 NKJV

http://bible.com/114/rom.10.3.nkjv

Monday, 8 December 2014

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Notice 4 instances mentioned in the below verse:-
Talk about them
a) when you sit at home (Family Prayer)
b) when you walk along the road, (before journey)
c) when you lie down (before going to sleep)
d) when you get up. (when waking up)

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
New International Version (NIV)

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates.

Friday, 29 August 2014

Biblical Tests of True Faith - Paul Washer

The Company You Keep Determines Your Fate....

Many people take comfort by keeping company with friends who are losers, who are less successful than they are, who are more troubled they are..This is one way of making themselves feel better...They compare themselves with the lowly person and bat themselves on the back saying " Oh, I am not like that fellow, I am better, I am more successful, etc..." It need not happen to the average person..

Interestingly, look at the Bible...Pharisee, who are scholars and considered the bible teachers of that time, loo, how he prays in in The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)):-

Luke 18: 11 (NIV)
11 The Pharisee stood by himself(D) and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast(E) twice a week and give a tenth(F) of all I get.’

But, look what Jesus has to say about them. :-
a) John 8:43-44 New International Version (NIV)
43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies

b) Matthew 5:20 English Standard Version (ESV)
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

c) Luke 11:44English Standard Version (ESV)

44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

d) Matthew 23:27New International Version (NIV)
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

Very strong words. But, the take away is this. They knew the Law..but, instead of doing the right thing they were hypocrite and probably knew about this..but, they took comfort by comparing themselves with others and felt comfortable in their ways...And Jesus calls them all sort of names !!!!!

In the present times we can always see this from people who stagnant, who backslide, who are generally losers and do nothing about it. Basically, they are lazy and laid back..so, to hide that fact from others ( i.e. From their loved ones) and to cheat themselves they constantly keep company with others who are worst off than themselves and feel happy about themselves..

They see someone drunk and rolling on the street and say to themselves " I can hold my drink and don't make a scene".
They see a person who take drugs and say to themselves " I don't do drug".
They see a fellow who is constantly out of work and say to themselves "I have a job/ business " But the real truth will be that they financially worst off..

All this is self-delusion, self-deception, ....

Finally, they end up surrounding themselves with people of that sort and happy that they are better !!! What a shame and what a pity. !!!!!

While the late Jim Rohn, a contemporary motivational speaker, is credited with saying “You are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with,” this concept didn’t originate with him. For years, folk wisdom has taught us to be aware of whom we spend our time with:

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

“You can know a man by the company that he keeps.”

“If you lie down with dogs you’ll wake up with fleas.”

How the People Around You Affect Personal Success

http://lifehacker.com/5926309/how-the-people-around-you-affect-personal-success

The Secret to (High) Self Esteem

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/the-secret-to-high-self-esteem/

Fire Your Friends: Drop The Negative People In Your Life

http://stronginsideout.com/fire-your-friends-drop-the-negative-people-in-your-life/#

Engaging Influencers - A Gateway Series Sermon by Pastor Robert Morris

Engaging Influencers , a gateway series , Robert Morris

Engaging Influencers

Robert MorrisSeptember 1, 200700:28:56

http://gatewaypeople.com/sermons/65418

Matthew 5:13-16(NKJV)

Believers Are Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to allwho are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

1. We are salt.

2. We are light.

Relevant Fishers - A Gateway Series Sermon by Pastor Robert Morris

Relevant Fishers, a gateway series , Robert Morris

Relevant Fishers
Robert MorrisAugust 25, 200700:23:21

http://gatewaypeople.com/sermons/65417

Matthew 4:18-22New King James Version (NKJV)

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples

¹⁸And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰They immediately left theirnets and followed Him.

²¹Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them,²²and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

1. Put bait on your hook.

2. Put your hook in the water.

3. Fish where the fish are.

An Attitude of Rest - A Gateway Series Sermon by Pastor Robert Morris

An Attitude of Rest. a gateway series , Robert Morris

An Attitude of Rest

Robert MorrisAugust 18, 200700:30:13
Robert Morris August 18, 2007 00:30:13
An Attitude of Rest

http://gatewaypeople.com/sermons/65415

An Attitude of Rest

Gen 2:1–3; Ps 95:7-11; Heb 4:1–12

Genesis 2:1-3(NKJV)

2 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ²And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

³Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Psalm 95:7-11(NKJV)

⁷For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you will hear His voice:
⁸“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,^[a]
As in the day of trial^[b] in the wilderness,
⁹When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
¹⁰For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
¹¹So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’”

1. Our attitude toward work

2. Our attitude toward time

3. Our attitude toward God

Because I Love You - A Gateway Series Sermon by Pastor Robert Morris

Because I Love You
Robert MorrisAugust 11, 200700:33:33
http://gatewaypeople.com/sermons/65413

Because I Love You

John 11:1-6 (NKJV)

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

John 11:11-15(NKJV)

11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

1. Why did you create pain?

Matt 18:32–35; 2 Cor 2:10–11

Matthew 18:32-35(NKJV)

32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”[a]

2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NKJV)

10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one[a] for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2. Why did you create suffering?

Prov 18:21; Prov 6:2; Num 30:1–5

Proverbs 18:21(NKJV)

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 6:2(NKJV)

2 You are snared by the words of your mouth;

You are taken by the words of your mouth.

Numbers 30:1-5 (NKJV)

The Law Concerning Vows

30 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her.

3. Why did You suffer?

Matt 16:21; John 11:21; John 11:32

Matthew 16:21 (NKJV)

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

John 11:21 (NKJV)

21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

John 11:32 (NKJV)

32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Have You Believed A Lie? - A Gateway Series Sermon by Pastor Robert Morris

Have You Believed A Lie? a gateway series , Robert Morris

Have You Believed A Lie?
Robert MorrisAugust 4, 200700:34:52

Have You Believed A Lie?

Genesis 3:1-5 (NKJV)
The Temptation and Fall of Man
3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 4:7 (NKJV)
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

Matthew 4:1-3 (NKJV)
Satan Tempts Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

1. The Sins That We Continue

Matthew 18:32-35 (NKJV)

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”[a]

2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NKJV)

10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one[a] for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2. The Words That We Speak

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 6:2 (NKJV)

2 You are snared by the words of your mouth;

You are taken by the words of your mouth.

Numbers 30:1-5 (NKJV)

The Law Concerning Vows

30 (1) Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her.

3. The Thoughts That We Think

Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)

7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

But his heart is not with you.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

John 8:32 (NKJV)

32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Numbers 13:32-33 (NKJV)

32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants[a] (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”