Wednesday friends
November 30, 2020
Chucky does his version of King Crimson’s first album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969).
Happy Birthday, Sir...(December 2)
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Preface
Mr. Jeff Jenkins sent me his fine sermon on holiness with biblical content and professional presentation. He is also known as The Jeff.
Sadly, his audio sermon has not translated to Blogger or You Tube/Blogger as of yet. But, he sent his sermon notes to me.
Sermon notes
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Good morning.
Please take a Bible and turn to Matthew, Chapter 5.
Matthew Chapter 5.
Let's start with verse 20.
Matthew 5:20, from the New American Standard Bible, says, “For I say to you that unless your *righteousness far surpasses* that of the *scribes* and *Pharisees*, you will *not* enter the kingdom of heaven."
In Matthew 5:20, Jesus says that you have to be *more* righteous than the most *holy* and *righteous* people of that day, who were the *scribes* and *Pharisees*.
The scribes and Pharisees were the religious leaders, and they were looked on with respect.
And they considered themselves to be the religious elite.
They just *knew* that if *anyone* would be let into Heaven, *they* would.
But Jesus was about to burst their bubble.
1 Samuel 16:7 says, "Man looketh on the outward appearance."
And that's exactly what the Pharisees were doing.
Their evaluation of *themselves*, and *others*, was based on external appearance.
Most people evaluate and judge according to external appearance.
But *God* looks at the *attitude behind* the act.
As the old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover."
Or, another saying that is somewhat similar, "Beauty is only skin deep."
Now look at Matthew 5:21-22. The next verses.
These verses have to do with the Law of Murder.
Matthew 5:21-22 says,
“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to the supreme court---Literally, the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish High Court; -----and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell."
In the King James, Matthew 5:22 says, "But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, 'Thou fool,' shall be in danger of Hellfire."
The word 'Raca' is an Aramaic expression of contempt, something like saying in English, "You stupid idiot!" Literally, it means "empty," or "empty-headed."
'Raca' is showing contempt for a person's *intellect*----their intelligence; but, saying "Thou fool," or "You fool," is showing contempt for a person's *character*----what kind of person they are.
Such an insult to a fellow Jew---calling them 'Raca'---might cause the person to be charged with slander before the council of the Sanhedrin.
Today, as far as calling somebody a name that might get you into trouble legally, you might compare it to a racist term, or a politically incorrect term, which some people might call a hate crime, and in some cases, there have been legal consequences for such things in recent years.
But, back to Matthew 5, calling someone 'Thou fool' is even a greater insult than calling them 'Raca.' The Greek is the word from which we get our English word, "moron," but in addition, it also implies rebellion.
So, 'you fool' in the Greek, would be sort of like calling a fellow Jew a "rebellious moron."
Now, "Hell," is "gehenna" in the Greek, which is the place of everlasting fire.
The Lake of Fire is mentioned in Revelation 20:15, where it says, "And if anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire."
'Gehenna' is a reference to the valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, where garbage, human waste, and dead carcasses were burned, so that provides a graphic *metaphor* for the place of eternal torment.
"What's a metaphor?"
A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison between two things that aren't alike, but do have something in common.
A metaphor states that one thing is another thing, in order to suggest that they are similar.
Like when someone says, "He's the black sheep of the family."
Comparing two things that are not alike, but *do* have something in common.
Or when you say, Bob is a couch potato.
Or, when Elvis sang, "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all the time."
Like if you said, Hell is an eternal incinerator, or, Hell is a garbage dump.
Where sin will be put away and finally dealt with forever.
Now, someone might say, "I'm a good person. After all, I've never *murdered* anyone."
You've never murdered anyone?? Well, congratulations!
Let me give you the humanitarian award!
Wives, before you met your husband, if the only thing you knew about them was that they never *murdered* anyone, I bet you would have said, "Wow! He sounds like a wonderful person!
He never murdered anybody? Wow, I want to *marry that* guy!"
Obviously I'm being facetious.
I'm being sarcastic.
But Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:21 and 22, even if you hate someone, or insult them, or have anger against them and hold a grudge, that's sin as well. That's murder in your heart. You haven't physically killed them, but in your heart you have had evil, malicious thoughts against them. You have committed sin against another human being, and you have sinned against God, Who commands us to *love* one another. That person was created in God's image, yet you have *hated* them in your heart.
Your *thoughts* are as important as your *actions*.
According to Jesus.
The contrast that Jesus sets up is not between the Old Testament and His *own* teaching. After all, He had just finished establishing that the Old Testament law was still valid, when He said in the previous verses, in Matthew 5, verses 17 and 18, in the NIV, "Do not think that I have come to *abolish* the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until Heaven and Earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished."
Jesus’ purpose was to *establish* the Law, meaning the Torah, which was the first five books of the Old Testament---Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy---and the Prophets, and to fully accomplish all that was written.
Romans 10:4 says that,
“Christ is the *culmination* of the law.”
Jesus came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them.
Hebrews 10:1 says that the ceremonies, sacrifices, and other elements of the Old Covenant were “only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.”
For example, no more were priests required to offer sacrifices and enter the holy place, according to
Hebrews 10:8–14.
Jesus fulfilled the Prophets in that, in His first coming alone, He fulfilled hundreds of prophecies concerning Himself.
So Jesus does not add any *new* laws here. Instead, He shows the strictness and *spiritual* nature of laws which already existed, but which had been abused.
Jesus is interpreting Old Testament law and *correcting* where the scribes and Pharisees had taught the tradition of men. The Jewish teachers made the laws only external, and they ignored the inward lusts.
Their error was in thinking that the Divine law prohibited *only* the sinful *act*, but not the sinful *thought*. The Jewish teachers made it into an evaluation on *external* appearance.
But Jesus cuts through the façade of the Jewish system.
So, Jesus is not *replacing* the Old Testament law with new laws of His own. Instead, He is pointing out the *external* interpretation of the tradition of the Rabbis on the one hand, and Jesus' *correct* interpretation of the law on the other.
People tend to look at the surface.
People commend themselves, and evaluate others, on the basis of outward appearance and what they see. People say, "*I'm* very active. *I'm* very religious. God is *pleased* with what *I'm* doing."
But God looks upon the heart.
.....
Think about, an iceberg. An *iceberg* is a huge piece of fresh water ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf, and is floating freely in open water. The ship called the 'Titanic' supposedly sank after hitting an iceberg.
Most of an iceberg is *below* the surface, which led to the expression, "the tip of the iceberg," to illustrate a small part of a larger unseen issue.
In 1956, an iceberg was sighted, that was 210 miles long, and 60 miles wide.
About *7/8* of an iceberg, is *below* the waterline. So if you're in a boat, all you can see is about *one-eighth,* of the iceberg. Just the tip. The *rest* is *below* the surface.
Using this illustration, it's like the Pharisees were interpreting God's law to only follow 1/8 of the law. Only what was on the surface. Only the tip of the iceberg. Jesus was pointing out the other 7/8 that they were *failing* to follow.
The external religion of the scribes and Pharisees, who were considered the most religious people of the day, could not approach *God's* standard.
The scribes and Pharisees were *not* poor in spirit.
They did *not* mourn over their sins.
They did *not* have an attitude of repentance.
They were *not* meek.
They were proud.
They did *not* hunger and thirst after righteousness.
They were *not* merciful.
They were *not* pure in heart.
All of those are *internal* attitudes. All of those are elements of *character*.
All of it was just *external* as far as the *Pharisees* were concerned.
They had *none* of the real qualities of a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.
People who are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, in contrast, become salt and light.
Jesus is telling them that *God's* standard is *higher* than theirs.
What the scribes and Pharisees took as a righteous standard is *unacceptable* to God.
The scribes and Pharisees decided that, because they had not *murdered* anyone, they were not sinning. They were self-righteous. They thought they were *justified* before God.
Imagine a homeless man who has not eaten in 3 days. As he walks along, he suddenly notices, on the ground, a steak! He is suddenly excited, and he thinks to himself, "Wow! A delicious steak! What luck!"
But when he picks up the steak, he turns it over and looks on the underside, and he sees that it's covered with maggots. He notices that the maggots have even gone inside the steak, and the steak is *filled* with maggots. Suddenly he feels sick to his stomach. He throws it down. That steak no longer seems so appealing.
Just like with that steak, Jesus exposes the *underside* of the tradition of men that the Pharisees had been teaching, in their faulty interpretation of the law.
Jesus said that the Pharisees were like whitewashed sepulchres, or graves. Whitewashed tombstones. They were white and clean on the outside, but on the inside, they were full of dead men's rotting bones.
They were following rules only *externally*, but on the inside, they were wicked. They looked godly on the outside, but their thoughts and attitudes were *un*godly.
The part of God's law the scribes and Pharisees left out, was the internal part. They had restricted the scope of God's Commandments to an earthly court.
The scribes and Pharisees said that murder was sin. But Jesus said that it's not just murder, but unrighteous anger is also sin.
Righteous anger, on the other hand, which is anger against *sin* and *wrongdoing*, is fine. That's being angry about the things that *God* is angry about. *Righteous* anger is getting angry about things that offend *God*. Like when Jesus overturned the tables in the temple.
But *selfish* anger, which is, for example, anger against someone who has offended your ego or pride, is sin, because you want to hurt those that have offended you.
So, selfish anger is getting angry because *your* own pride has been hurt or offended.
The problem is, that we don't understand God's *holiness.*
When the voice from the burning bush tells Moses to take off his shoes in Exodus 3:5, for he is standing on holy ground, Moses hides his face, in verse 6.
Yahweh God is, especially in the book of Isaiah, "the Holy One of Israel."
In Hosea 11:9, he is "God and no mortal, the Holy One in [their] midst."
In Leviticus 11:44, God says, "You shall be holy, for I am Holy."
In the New Testament, in John 6:69, Jesus is called "the Holy One of God."
In Ephesians 1:4, Christians are called to "be holy and blameless before Him."
In Romans 1:7, those who are in Christ are called *saints*.
In Romans 12:1, we are urged to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
Some of God's attributes, such as omnipresence, which means that God is present everywhere;
or God's omniscience, which means that God is all-knowing, that he knows everything;
or God's omnipotence, which means that God is all-powerful; those attributes will never be shared by created beings.
Similarly, God's *holiness* is not something that we possess as a part of our nature. We can *only* become *holy* in relationship to *Christ*. Only in *Christ* do we become the righteousness of God, as 2 Corinthians 5:21 says.
In Isaiah 6, even though *Isaiah* was a *prophet* of *God*, his reaction to the vision of God's *holiness* was to be aware of his own *sinfulness* and to *despair* for his *life*. He said, in verse 5, "*Woe* is me, for I am *ruined*. Because I am a man of *unclean lips*, and I live among a *people* of *unclean lips*."
Even the sinless angels in God's presence, those who were crying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord," covered their faces and feet with their wings, showing reverence and awe, inspired by the immediate presence of God. The angels stood covered, as if concealing themselves as much as possible, in recognition of their unworthiness in the presence of holy, almighty God.
And yet people today will say, like the scribes and Pharisees did, "I've never killed anyone. I've never raped anyone. I'm not a murderer or a rapist. So I'm a good person. So when I die, I'll probably go to heaven."
They don't understand God's *holiness.*
Once again, in Matthew 5:20, Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness *surpasses* that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will *not* enter the kingdom of heaven."
In Matthew 5:48, Jesus said, "Therefore you are to be *perfect*, as your heavenly father is perfect."
The pure and holy angels exhibit such *reverence* in the presence of God, and yet most people today tend to think that they're good enough to go to heaven *just* as they *are*.
We are polluted and sinful creatures on our own.
In the book of Revelation, chapter 4, John's vision of the throne of God was similar to that of Isaiah.
There were living creatures around the throne crying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty," in Revelation 4:8.
They cried this in *reverence* and *awe* of the Holy One. John describes these creatures giving *glory* and *honor* and *reverence* to *God continually* around His throne.
*Continually.*
Because *God alone* deserves all the *glory, honor and praise*, for *all eternity*.
When the angels around the throne cry, "Holy, holy, holy," three times, they are expressing, with *force* and *passion*, the *truth* of the *supreme holiness* of God, that characteristic that expresses God's *awesome and majestic nature*.
Stressing God's *holiness* by repeating it *three* times. Kind of like a kid saying, "I *love, love, LOVE pizza*!" Saying it *three* times for *emphasis*.
It also expresses the *triune* nature of God, the *Trinity*, the *three Persons* of the godhead, *each equal* in *holiness* and *majesty.*
God the Father.
God the Son.
God the Holy Spirit.
God is a trinity.
Three persons.
One *God*.
*No creature* exists in the same way.
God is unique.
God's holiness is eternal.
He does not change.
So when someone says, "I've never killed anyone, and I've never committed adultery," *that* is not even coming *close* to the *moral perfection*---both *outward* and *inward*---that God *demands*.
God is so far *above* us morally, that we don't even *comprehend* what true *holiness* is.
Holiness also means to be *separate*, or to be *set aside* for God's use.
Also because God's Being is utterly *separate* from ours, *He* is utterly *distinct* from us. So *God* is *separate*.
Therefore, *nothing* in creation, even *man* created in the *image* of *God*, compares to *God* in essential *nature*.
He is *incomparable.*
He is *infinite Perfection*.
*That* is why *His Name* is *separate, distinct,* and *holy*.
I don't think we can fully *comprehend* or *fathom* the *true nature* of God's *holiness*.
But a *pastor* by the name of J.D. Greer said, "A god who is small enough to be understood is not big enough to be worshipped."
Exodus 15:11 says, "*Who* is *like* You, *majestic* in *holiness*?"
1 Samuel 2:2 says, "There is no one *holy* like the Lord. There is *no* one beside *You*."
No one exists in God's category of being, except God.
*No* one *else* is like God.
Psalm 111 says, "*Holy* and *awesome* is His Name."
So, for corrupted, sinful creatures to say, "I'm not as bad as the worst criminals in history; I'm a good person; I mind my own business; I try to do what's right."
When you think about it,
that standard fails *miserably* when compared to the standard of God's *awesome holiness*.
Isaiah 64:6 says, "All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment."
The *very best* we can do is *filthy* compared to God's *awesome, pure holiness*. That's why trying to get to Heaven by good deeds or works is such an *insult* to God.
In ourselves, we are unworthy to even be in God's *presence*.
And yet, still, even the *worst* of men dare to try to *justify* themselves.
They do *not understand* the holiness of God; *or* the *depth* and *depravity* of their own *sin*.
Think about *this.*
In the Lord's Prayer, when the disciples asked Jesus, and said, "Jesus, teach us to pray," Jesus says, Okay, I'll teach you how to pray. When you pray, pray like this: "Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name."
Now, think about that "Hallowed be thy Name" part.
Is Jesus saying, "Dear God, You are our Heavenly Father, and Your Name is holy"?
Or, is Jesus saying, "Dear God, You are our Heavenly Father. May Your Name be treated as sacred and holy"?
See, if the "Hallowed be Thy Name" was part of the formal opening address. Jesus would have said, "Our Father, Who dwells in Heaven, Hallowed, or holy, *IS* your Name."
But Jesus didn't say that.
Instead, He said, Hallowed *BE* Thy Name.
"Hallowed be thy Name" in Matthew 6:9 is a prayer that the *holiness* of God would be recognized within all of creation.
He said, when you pray, I want you to pray like this. The first thing I want you to pray for, when you get on your knees, is that the *name* of *God* would be *treated* as *sacred.* As *holy*.
You see, we don't do that today.
We take God's name in vain when we curse, using His Name.
We use the name of God the Son, *Jesus Christ*, as a *curse* word.
We *blaspheme* God's Name.
We have even made up an *acronym* for using God's name in vain, and it has become *extremely popular:* O. M. G.
Which stands for, Oh...My...God.
We use His title as an expression of surprise or disgust. We profane His Name and His title and treat it as common, or as a curse word. We do not give honor to His Name.
We don't treat the *name* of God, the *title* of God, or the name of God's *Son*, as holy. We *blaspheme* His holy Name and *drag* it through the *mud*.
So, no. Maybe we've never *killed* anyone. And maybe you've never *cheated* on your wife. But what about the *words* we say? The *language* we use? What about the things we allow our *eyes* to *lust* after or *desire*? What about our *thoughts*?
*How* is it *possible* for a people to honor and worship and glorify and praise a *King*---the *King* of kings---the *King* and *Ruler* of the *universe*---the *Lord* of *All*---the *Creator*---*Almighty God*---how is it possible to *honor* Him, yet at the *same* time, *desecrate* His Name, and His *Son's* Name?
Do we *love* God?
Then why do we *blaspheme* His *Name*?
*Think* about that.
Why do we *blaspheme* the One we claim to *worship*?
.....
Now let's move *further* and look at Matthew 5:27-28.
Now we come to the P.G. portion of the sermon.
*These* verses talk about *adultery.*
It says:
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;
28 "but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has *already* committed adultery with her in his *heart*."
This is talking about lusting after a woman with your eyes. A woman who is *not* your *wife*.
So we might call this, 'heart-adultery.'
*Adultery* is the final *expression*, or *ultimate outcome,* or *final destination,* of lustful thoughts, born in the imagination, and fed by improper, prohibited staring, studying, thinking about, gazing, concentrating on, daydreaming about, the object of desire.
Like when David was walking on the palace roof, and saw Bathsheba, bathing in her house, and David continued to gaze and lust, like a Peeping Tom, which led to both adultery and murder.
We feed the eye with the sight of the forbidden fruit.
Like in Genesis 3:6, where it says, in part,
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was.......pleasing to the eye, and also desirable..."
The eye can be the inlet of a great deal of wickedness.
Matthew 6:22 says, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light."
The next verse, Matthew 6:23, says,
"but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"
A lamp puts forth light. If you are single-minded, focused only on godly things, then you will be full of light. But if you have *double* vision, if you serve *two* masters, if you look at *impure* things and *dwell* on them, you will have *darkness* in you.
But, God created your eyes and mind,
with the *ability*
to be *trained* and *controlled*.
So it *is* possible to *resist.*
God created men to be stimulated visually, for the purpose of being visually stimulated by their wives. But sin has corrupted this, so that, because of sin, a man's eyes can tend to wander. And men have a battle with this that women may not understand, because women are not wired like this, generally speaking. God did not make women the same way.
A man can look at a woman who is a *complete stranger* and be *visually stimulated* and *aroused*. And, with television, movies, billboards, DVDs, VCRs, Blu-ray, magazines, and especially, the Internet, our society provides tons and tons of *temptations,* which men are *vulnerable* to, because of the way they are *wired.*
Of course, even women today are getting more into this as well, as our society becomes more and more corrupt and perverted.
However, intense viewing of porn can cause E.D. in a man, or Erectile Dysfunction, which can be caused by the destructive result of the brain's rewiring, resulting in a dramatic deterioration in a guy's ability to perform with his wife. This can ravage and degrade a couple's ability to share genuine, interpersonal intimacy.
Such awareness to these problems has come about with advances in brain science in the past couple decades or so.
In general, women are not as visual in this type of stimulation as men are. The wiring in men and women is different. To many women, men seem to be uncontrolled dogs that don't think about anything else. But men are turned on more by sight, and sight creates stimulation, whereas most women are, generally, for the most part, more turned on and stimulated by touch.
Of course, there are always exceptions.
But men have a visual orientation that creates stimulation.
When a man looks at a really attractive woman, a chemical reaction happens in his brain. Neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin are released, giving him an involuntary surge of pleasure.
They did a test, years ago, where they showed men and women photos of various things. The photos that made men's heart rates go up the most was photos of beautiful women.
However, the heart rates of *women* did not go up *nearly* as much when they were shown photos of handsome *men*.
In a recent study, women felt uncomfortable when looking at male nudes.
Many women also did not feel lustful when looking at male nudes.
What made the *women's* heart rates go up the *most* was photos of *babies*.
That makes sense, seeing that women are the ones who give birth, and are the ones who *nurse* their baby.
So it would make sense that God would make women so excited about babies.
But when *men* saw the same photos of those babies, their heart rates *didn't* go *up* very much.
To women, this may seem *shallow*. But really, it's just *different.* It's how God *created* men.
But that visual stimulation was originally intended for marriage---and for attraction to a mate. And for a man to be visually stimulated by his wife in a life-long committed relationship.
But, as a result of the fall, man became *corrupted* by *sin*, and all of Creation on Earth was *cursed* and became *corrupted* and *twisted*. Even things that were originally *good* and *right* became corrupted and tainted.
So that's why Jesus, speaking to men in Matthew 5:28, warns against the abuse of this powerful God-created visual stimulation when He says, "anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has *already* committed adultery in his heart."
Ephesians 5:3 says that, among you there must not be even a *hint*, of sexual immorality. So when someone says, "Oh, I've never committed adultery," they are actually stopping short of holiness. Because, lusting with the eyes, *is* committing adultery in your heart, according to Jesus.
And for a Christian, this can short-circuit your intimacy with God.
Not to mention your wife, if you are married.
Having mental affairs and daydreams are affairs of the eyes and heart.
God does not allow for impurity.
For the born-again Christian whose life has been *radically transformed* by the *power* of the *Holy Spirit,* their sins have been *washed away,* flung away as far as the *east* is from the *west*. But God does not *let*, or *want* us, to *stay* there. The true *Christian*, who has been adopted into the family of *God*, who now has *new* desires, and *hates* the sinful things he once *loved*, and *loves* the *godly* things he once *hated,* is to become *more* and *more* like *Christ Jesus*. *This* process is called *sanctification*.
The *battle* against *sin* will be a *lifelong* battle, but, whereas *before* he got saved, he was just *going along* with the sin, but *now*, after *being* saved, the sin is either entirely *gone*, as when, for example, *heroin* addicts have become saved and suddenly have *no* more desire for heroin at *all*, or else, the sin has become an *enemy* to *fight* against, like with *lust*. But *God's* desire is for us to be *victorious* over that sin.
Now let's take a look at Matthew 5:29-30.
Let's read it.
29 "Now if your right *eye* is causing you to sin, *tear* it *out* and *throw* it *away* from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your *whole* body to be thrown into *hell*.
30 And if your right *hand* is causing you to sin, *cut* it *off* and *throw* it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your *whole* body to go into hell."
In Matthew 5:29-30, Jesus was not teaching that you should *mutilate* yourself.
Because, even if you literally cut out your right eye,
or cut off your right hand,
that would not cure or stop *lust.* Because lust is a problem of the *heart* and of the *mind.*
Jesus was using what is called *hyperbole*, to demonstrate the *seriousness* of the sins of *lust* and evil *desire*. Sin, must be dealt with, *drastically*, because of its deadly effects.
So, you might ask, "What's hyperbole?"
Well, actually.....
I have no idea.
I just found a big word and decided to use it.
Just, so I could sound smart.
Nah, I'm just kidding.
No, actually, Hyperbole is a figure of speech, where exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, like when you say, "I could sleep for a year,"
or,
like someone might say,
"I could eat a horse!"
So, hyperbole is obvious and intentional exaggeration, like when you say,
"Man, I had to wait an eternity for that slow waitress!"
It's a way of describing something for the sake of emphasis. It's where obvious and intentional exaggeration is used as a figure of speech, for emphasis or effect, not intended to be taken literally, but used to make a point.
Like when someone says,
"That guy is so ugly his face could stop a clock!"
So, regarding Matthew 5:29-30, to the man who blames his sin on his eye, Jesus shows the logical procedure to follow.
As we amputate diseased organs to save lives, so an eye, or a hand, which would cause someone to sin needs drastic treatment. But again, Jesus was actually using hyperbole. The real source of sin does not lie in a physical organ, but rather in the heart---not the physical heart, but in the Bible, the heart means the passions, the mind, the seat of desire. Like when someone uses the phrase, "the affairs of the heart," or when someone says, "that guy has a lot of heart."
A man's evil heart must be changed if he wants to escape final ruin in the Lake of Fire. And only Jesus can transform a person's heart.
Imagine, that *you* have *committed* a *horrible, horrible crime*.
A crime, *so* horrific, *so repulsive* and *evil*, that the *punishment* for your crime, is *execution.*
The *death* penalty.
You stand before the *judge*, and he *decrees,* that, what you have *done,* is so *terrible,* that the *death* penalty awaits.
*You,* are to *die*.
*You,* are to be executed.
But then...
Something, *unexpected* happens.
Something, *unbelievable*.
The *judge himself steps down* from the bench, takes off his official robe, and declares that *he* will suffer the death penalty *in your place*.
*He*, the *judge himself*, will be *executed* in *your place*.
You stare at him, wide-eyed, your jaw hanging open.
You can't believe your EARS!
The *judge*, is going to be *executed,* in *my* place??
Are you *serious*?
*That's*...what *Jesus*...did for *you*.
Please join me now in a Prayer.
Let us pray.
Oh, Lord God, You are a holy God. You are a righteous God. You are all-powerful. You are all wise. You are all-knowing. You are the Creator and ruler of all the universe. None is as mighty as You are. None is as powerful as You. None is as holy as You. Your name alone is worthy. The angels in heaven sing Holy, Holy, Holy, as they worship You. You are more pure than any creature in the universe. None is as awesome and awe-inspiring as You. You are God forever. Your reign is without end. You are the Righteous Judge, and every human being will stand before You one day. You are Almighty God, and we are Your creations. Lord God, give us a *sense* of Your *holiness*. Give us an *awe* and an overwhelming *respect* and *humility,* and deep, *deep* appreciation for how *high* and *mighty* and *pure* and *holy* You are. I ask for a strong sense of Your close presence, for *each* of us. May we be *awed* by Your pure *holiness.* Draw us closer to *You*, Lord. Help us to truly *worship* You and *adore* You. To God be all the *glory*, all the *honor*, and all the *praise*. In Jesus' *holy* and *majestic* Name. *Amen.*
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Following is a list of the main verses I used in the message above:
Matthew 5:20-22
Matthew 5:27-30
Matthew 6:9
Matthew 6:22-23
These are the verses I mentioned briefly:
Genesis 3:6
Exodus 15:11
Leviticus 11:44
1 Samuel 2:2
1 Samuel 16:7
Psalm 111
Isaiah 6
Isaiah 64:6
Hosea 11:9
John 6:69
Romans 1:7
Romans 12:1
Romans 10:4
2 Corinthians 5:21
Ephesians 1:4
Ephesians 5:3
Hebrews 10:1
Hebrews 10:8-14
Revelation 4:8
AKN shaves his head to challenge Chucky and others for best dome in show.
"Told you so!' states some fundi...
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Next World of Domes
Zoom meeting 21:30 PST, December 5, 2020
