Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

You've Heard It Said Pt.2

[Let's] pick up where we were on Wednesday night as we're looking at the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount. It's the foundational principles for the church. It's the simple truths of how we're to live our lives as those that are full of the Spirit of God and not as the Pharisees. Not people that are bound by religion, that are being driven toward good works, trying to appease God, but people who have really been transformed--hearts changed, old things passing away, all things new.

Now, what do we do with this and how do we practically relate to one another, to the world? It's important for us at this particular time to study these things because as believers right now we're becoming more and more isolated in our society than we've ever known. Now, it's not unique to the church, but it's unique to America. For two thousand years the church and all different types of politics and governments, philosophies--or as the Scripture says, there's no new thing under the sun; it just cycles in history--but for the first time, really, in our country since its founding on the basics of Judeo-Christian ethics, Christians now and our way of living, we're the odd man out, for the first time. Think back. It was only a few years ago, in the fifties, even though it was done under cover (all of the immorality), there was still a basic social morality, a standard being held to.

The Scripture makes it very clear that in the last days they're going to call good evil and evil good, and we're living there. The "evil" guys are those of us who stand for the Word of God, who speak the name of Jesus, and now we're being told we're breaking the law on our jobs by doing that. We're being told that we have to tolerate sin in our society and that we're to embrace broken order, effeminism and homosexuality, rebellion among youth. But there's a small segment who have not bowed their knee. Amen? Now, what do we do? How are we going to fortify ourselves in the faith and in the love of God to stand in this last day? The day that the Scripture says if it wasn't shortened, even the very elect aren't going to make it. Are you sobered by that statement? Do you understand the darts that are being hurled at us out there on a daily basis through television, the Internet, the malls, the movies, the allure of all of the glitter and gold of this smoke and mirrors economy? Where is our foundation today? How stable are we on the Word of God, the promises of God?

So that's what we want to talk about: just being able to build ourselves up in the Word of God and to stand on those more sure promises. So let's look at Matthew where we were and realize that this whole message that Jesus is preaching in Matthew on this sermon--[Chapters] 5, 6 and 7--is about being doers of the Word and not hearers only. We talk about the Sermon on the Mount so often, and people just think about the Beatitudes. And we're not even going to talk about the Beatitudes at this time in our study. But we saw on Wednesday night that as we started the sermon, Jesus started it out by saying, "You've got to understand that everything I'm going to tell you is preparatory so you can fulfill this mandate. You're the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world." Amen? We have a mission here. We have a purpose. So we're asking ourselves then, Are we really out about the Father's business? Are we out accomplishing those things that He has called us to do (fulfilling the whole duty of man)?

You know, society, we realize today that people are just searching for a reason for their existence, to understand. Especially in light today of the secular humanist's perspective and all of the false propaganda of limited science, warring. As science becomes more pure, it's saying we are a creation--this is order; this is by design. And false science [is] saying no, it's an accident; it's by chance--you're no different than the animals (the evolutionary process). And pure science [is] saying no, there's design. And all design requires what? A designer--intelligence! And these two fields, of course, warring against one another, and the one winning out because people don't want to have to deal with a Creator. Man wants to be an entity to himself. We want to answer to no moral laws. Our society is in a place where we don't want black and white. We want relative association; we want to be able to do what seems right to "me" at the moment, and we call it situational ethics. But we're a people that stand today as a light in a dark world, the only hope in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation. Are we standing up clearly on the job, in our neighborhoods, and saying, "This is the way; walk in it. Follow me as I follow Christ"? Are we those epistles that are being read of men and people can see that we're different than everybody else they've encountered, because they've taken note, as the Scripture says, that we've been with Jesus?

So we have that admonition, our call, our purpose: salt, preservative--we're preserving. As we saw on Wednesday night, we are the preservative for society. We are the one that's restraining the man of sin, as Thessalonians says, but when we're taken out of the way then the man of sin will come, and all who have been religious will be turned over to reprobate minds. They'll be made to believe a lie, the Scripture says. But there are still people that can hear today. What are we doing to get out and let them know that the day of justice, the Day of the Lord, is at hand?

So He tells us what our role is, what our responsibility is, and then following that, He starts another topic. And after talking about us being salt and about us being light, then He says, "You've got to understand something. For this message to become effectual, it's going to have to be based upon these eternal truths. There's going to have to be a recognizing not only of My sovereign position but of the authority of My Word." And the Word of God becomes, as much as the person of Jesus, a great stumbling stone to most people that we encounter, doesn't it? "Oh, it's just written by men." "It's just a book like any other book." "It's a book of philosophy." "It's a book of morality." "It's a book of prose and poetry." Yet the Scripture says God and His Word are what? One, praise God. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). These promises are sure to a thousand generations! This Word is a lamp unto my feet. It's this law that I hide in my heart that I don't sin against God. This Word (Hebrews 4:12) is alive and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. It discerns the thoughts and the intentions of every man's heart.

So we want to talk a little bit about Jesus' comment on the Word of God and how we relate to it and how He relates to it, because the problem with most believers today is they don't understand--and we talked about this in the study not too long ago--the proper application of the law in the life of the Christian. See, Christianity is not lawlessness. It's not antinomianism, which means we don't recognize the law working in our lives anymore--"We're living by grace. We're a people that are free from the law." No, we are a people that have been made free to obey the law! Amen? And that's who we are, and that's how we have to relate to it.

So let's take a few minutes and look at that. Jesus speaking here, "Think not that I am come [verse 17] to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to [say it] fulfil." Now, what is this fulfillment? It doesn't just mean that Jesus came and obeyed all of the law, though it does specifically and very, very importantly mean that. Because Jesus coming and obeying the law--the only man that ever lived on this planet without sin--Jesus came and in His obedience, walking in the spirit, not in His divinity but in His humanity, was that spotless Lamb. He was without sin. He was born without sin, conceived by the Holy Ghost, and by that same Spirit, lived in absolute, total obedience to the commandments of God.

Now, think about that for just a moment. It was not impossible, because Jesus did it in His humanity. But no man has ever done it since, and so by faith we live our lives now dependent upon Him having fulfilled and obeyed and satisfied the heart of God and the justice of God. Why? So that He could be all in all. He's the one that we point to. We can't take any merit. There is no self-righteousness. The best job that I do is as what? Filthy rags, praise God! Now, think about that for just a second. Not only does it glorify God, but it diminishes self. It causes us to realize what we are without Him, for without Him we can do nothing. (John 15:5)

See, the law continually reminds us of our weakness and the death that's in our members and of our inability to satisfy God. So there's no delight in self; there's no taking any credit in self. Everything focuses on Jesus, the one that's finished it for us and gave it to us as a free gift. So He's all in all. It creates worship. Thank God when you go to the Word it shows you your weakness, because when we're weak, then what happens? We're strong in Jesus, and it all causes us to be thankful for and to live our lives in relationship. So He said, "I didn't come to destroy the law. I didn't come to bring you a new law." In fact, look over to Matthew 22 for just a second and look what Jesus' answer to a question that they had was. Matthew 22, verse 36, "Master, which is the [greatest] commandment in the law?" Jesus' response was not, "That's not relative; that doesn't matter. I've come to do away with it. I'm bringing you a new law of faith."

Now, the Scripture makes it clear that Jesus did introduce a new law. It's called the law of life in Christ. Amen? The law of spiritual living in Christ which has made me free from the law of sin and death, Romans [Chapter 8, verse 2] tells us. But it wasn't new. It was the continuation of, it was the fulfillment of, the law of God. Now, the law--and we'll talk about this in Galatians in just a moment--but the law was not originally how man related to God. Faith preceded the law, and after sin had come and the law then was introduced to the people of God, the covenant children of God, teaching them how to relate to Him, how to relate to one another, it couldn't make a man righteous, Romans says, Galatians says. But Galatians 3 says it was that schoolmaster, it was that teacher, that led us to Christ so that we could come back to a life of faith and a spiritual relationship with a holy God.

Why was the law introduced? Because men were doing that which was right in their own eyes, the Scripture said, in the day of the judges. Very similar to where we're living today. People want to establish their own standards of righteousness and justice and truth. The law tells us there's only one truth, there's only one God. How do we relate to the law? Do we love it? Do we delight in it? See, a lot of us want to be free in the spirit; we want to make our own value judgments. The Word of God tells us clearly what the priorities are in each of our lives, and they don't vary based upon anything in the natural. We're all required to have the same commitment to the eternal instead of the temporal, to self. All of these commandments point to two principles that Jesus is going to address right here. What's the greatest commandment?

Now, remember why the law was introduced in the first place. It's kind of interesting if you read and you see what the law was comprised of. Many times we think about the law, and the first thing we think about is what? The Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). The Ten Commandments are still intact and in force today. The Ten Commandments have not been done away with; [they are] still the basic standard by which we relate today to the will of God. But as you read the Scriptures, it's interesting. Throughout Leviticus and throughout Deuteronomy we find numerous laws that were introduced. There's the law that relates to morality. The law relates to morality. It tells us how we're to live and conduct ourselves as it relates to a holy God and how we're to relate to society. That's what law is all about. It brings order to society. Law is for the purpose of bringing restraint to men that are dominated by the power of sin. Law is for the purpose of establishing justice.

Now, remember at the time that Israel received the law, remember what was going on in the pagan nations that were around them. It is interesting today in our society to look back at the law. And you know what? People look at the law today and they think it's harsh and it's hard. God's law brought order and restraint on men's maliciousness. Like, for instance, the statement, "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" (Deuteronomy 19:21). But see, we don't want to apply that today. Why? "That's so hard! It's so harsh." Understand why it was first written. The way men related to one another in their fallen nature and in their malicious propensities was, "You knock out my tooth, I'm taking your head off!"--death for tooth! And God said, "No, that's not just"--just recompense: you lose a tooth, they pay with a tooth. There's a lot of pain given in the Scriptures, as you read it. What happens? If you borrow my livestock and you damage it, the Bible tells you exactly how you're to bring about the repentance on your part and how there's to be restoration and justice met toward me having this restored.

Paganism, they didn't understand any of that. "Too bad. You shouldn't have lent it to me." It's all about justice. Now, think. Throughout the Scriptures, it tells us how we dealt with murderers and how we dealt with thieves and how we dealt with prostitutes and how we dealt with incest. I mean, you get into this and sometimes people get very uncomfortable reading parts of these things. Why did God go into such detail about incest and about these laws of restitution? Because He said, "You're going into this land of Canaan where there's idolatry, where there's lascivious living, and it's not only part of their everyday lives, it's part of their worship. But don't forget who you are! You are a holy people!" Amen? "You are separate! Come out from among them and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing" (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Now, I'm saying all of that to cause you to understand where we are today. The pendulum is swinging back to every man doing what's right in his own eyes--the vaunting of the creature instead of the Creator. And we're being told to accept it and to bow our knees. We're being told to be tolerant, and I want to tell you something. Our tolerance cannot go beyond the Word of God. Amen? It can't go beyond the statutes of God. I will not tolerate what God's Word does not tolerate! Well, then we better find out what the Word of God says about these things. We better find out about what the Word of God teaches, truly, about the sabbath. That's one of the commandments; it's still in force. There's nothing that caused more turmoil in the ministry of Jesus than Him breaking the sabbath in the eyes of the Pharisees, and Jesus never once broke the sabbath. He broke the commandments of men and the traditions of men, but His question was this: "Let Me ask you something. Was the sabbath made for man, or man made for the sabbath?" The sabbath was made for man. (Mark 2:27) It's lawful to do good on the sabbath. (Mark 3:4) It's lawful to honor God on the sabbath!

The sabbath is all about not being out wasting your energy and time for yourself, but setting apart a life to bring glory to God. The sabbath is that rest in the spirit that Hebrews says we now have if we remain in the Word of God. If we're fulfilling the commandments of God, we're living perpetually in the spirit of the sabbath, the rest of God, because we're living for God and not for ourselves. "Don't think that I've come to destroy the law," Jesus said. "I've come to fulfill it." "Well, Jesus, what's Your take on the greatest commandment? What is it, really?" And Jesus said, "Here's what it's all about." Verse 36, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."

So when we begin to think about the law of God and the commandments of God, all of the commandments came about to point us toward and to help enable us to fulfill this mandate: love God with all of your heart. How do we relate to the Word of God? Which aspects of the law are we to embrace? Everything that makes us love God with all of our hearts and causes us to deny self-will and to deny self-promotion, to free us from the spirit of selfishness, self-agenda, the kingdom of the earth (the world's system). "This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [Now, look what He says.] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

So Jesus said, "I didn't come to disannul the law. I didn't come to minimize it." In fact, we see, as He goes on in this chapter, not only did He not come to do away with it, He came to say, "You know the law--you've heard it said in the law. That's the letter, that's the natural, but I want you to know it's more than just keeping these commandments. We now have to get into the heart motive. We have to take it beyond the observable and bring it into the motive, the spiritual." "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28). Whoa! We've bumped this thing up now, man! How many of you are for returning back to the law? Yeah, let's go back to the law where it's easier. People think the law is hard. The law isn't hard! The law is a lot easier than the life you and I have been called to live in--this law of life in Christ Jesus which makes us free from the law of sin and death, this law of the spirit, this law that has to now deal with heart motives.

So let me ask you a question this morning. Maybe according to society and maybe even according to the social structure of this fellowship, we're walking pretty good. How's your heart? How are the motives of our hearts? What is it that's truly driving us from the inside? Are we walking in the spirit, or are we walking in step with the momentum of this community? Are we embracing moral principles, or do we hate sin? Are we fulfilling the mandate "for me to live is Christ" and that's the only reason I live? "I've come for this reason: not to speak My words but the words of He that sent Me." Or are we following the traditions of men? Now, there's nothing wrong with keeping the traditions. We'll see that as we go on. A lot of times it's, "Well, that's just the way we do things here in this community." I want you to understand something. As long as we're part of a community, we're bound by the traditions of that community if they're biblically based. We'll talk about that as we go on later--where Paul said, "You've known my manner of living. You've known how I've applied these biblical principles."

But as Jesus is speaking to us here and He's beginning to set the foundation for saying "You've heard it said, but I say unto you," He's letting them know, "I'm not coming to do away with the law. I'm not bringing you a new law. I am the fulfillment of that. I'm showing you that the law existed to bring you into the spirit." And He shares that in a way that is seen a lot clearer as you read on. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). The most minor accent mark in the Hebrew will not be removed. Nothing will be changed of the heart of God until everything is fulfilled. This specific Word that has been revealed to us is accurate to every accent mark. Now, intimately get to know the Word of God. Hear what He's saying to you. As you study the Scriptures, don't just get the principles; find the heart of God! When you read the Word, read the words of the Word. Find what He's saying to us specifically and how it applies in our everyday lives, because that's where we're going to be read as epistles. That's where we're going to glorify God--in our doing, in our application.

That's what He goes on to say here in just a moment, because following this He says, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments [And this is a very important part in verse 19. Look at it.] and shall [What?] teach men . . . " Are there classes, are we having classes, here in our fellowship, Calvary Temple--"OK, we're having a class on how to break the commandments of God. Let's get together for fellowship at my house. I want to teach you how to break the commandments of God. I have an official class on why I don't believe the way the rest of the body believes." None of us do that, but let me ask you a question. How many of us are influencing those around us with our own compromise, with our own carnality, with our own philosophy, with our own traditions, with our own preferences? Be very careful, beloved, that we don't offend the little ones. Amen? It's better for us that a millstone would be hung around our neck than for us to offend the little ones. Your children, your youth, are watching us.

Now, don't let that strike fear into your heart or, in some ways, condemnation if you're walking in the spirit. If you're at peace that you're doing the will of God, that you're doing all you know in the will of God, if you're an individual who's teachable, if you're a person who's seeking the kingdom with all of your heart, then rejoice, praise God, that you're an example, and you can look around and say, "Follow me as I follow Christ." But don't casually blow off this statement of Jesus' either, that we continually look to our hearts and say, Listen, how am I relating to the law of God? How am I representing the heart of God to those that are around me? Am I teaching obedience or self-will by the way I relate to the commandments of God? Which choices am I making? Am I making choices habitually to honor God, to obey the Word of God, to apply the Word of God? When I'm out, are people seeing me as a bold witness? How am I handling the way I conduct my business? Is the testimony of my business that we can be trusted?

I went back to the doctor just the other day to get the results of my physical. It's a good thing for the racing. You have to have a physical when you get over fifty-five. Every two years you have to have a physical, an EKG and all this. That's probably good because I wouldn't go to the doctor if it wasn't required. So we went and they did all the tests. And I come back in there, and he said, "Man! Not only are you in the good category, every number is perfect. All of the tests, your blood, everything--it's perfect. What are you doing?" "Well, I eat at Cheesecake Factory, and I try to eat as much white bread as I can and high carbs and preservatives." He said, "Whatever you're doing, keep it up." I just said all that to say this. I was at the doctor and I told them, I said, "By the way, I wanted to let you know--I just at least wanted to let you know I forged your name on a document." And he said, "You did." "Yeah." I said, "For the last physical we were here, and you guys kind of goofed up and you didn't get it signed properly, so I signed your name." He said, "Well, I better not give you my prescription pad then." He said, "Well, I'm glad you told me, but I can trust you." The way he said it--he didn't say these [exact] words, but he said these words--he said, "There aren't a lot of people in here that I trust, but I can trust you."

I've always shared the gospel with him. I've always been open in every area of our life. You know, he's asked a lot of questions about what we believe. He's a humanist; has no interest in the gospel. But our lives are being watched aren't they? He's watched how we've walked through certain adversities in our life. He's seen how we dealt with the issues that we had to go through with Janet and through other aspects of just daily living in this lousy world. Epistles read of men. Do the people that you associate with--see, I've taken him on with the gospel. He's made his humanistic responses, and I won't just say, "Well, you know, he has his beliefs and I have mine." I'll challenge him with the Word of God every time he says something contrary. Do the people you relate to know you'll tell them the truth? Do they know who you are and your stand for the gospel? Do they know that you look at everything that they hold dear as foolishness? Or do we think we have to, as Christians, go around always apologizing because the world thinks we're fools?

"I'm not ashamed of the gospel; it's the power of God to salvation," Paul said (Romans 1:16). What are we teaching others? Jesus said, very clearly, "Whosoever shall break the least of these and teach men." Now, it's interesting [that] He contrasts the least with what is the greatest commandment. Now, nowhere in the Scripture are we told what the least commandment is. We're told what the great commandment is, but we're not told what the least commandment is. How many commandments do we trivialize? Now, are we going to go back and get under the letter of the law and be so afraid, like the Pharisees, of breaking commandments that we become dysfunctional? The emphasis of Jesus here is not on what the least commandment is but the teaching of others a life of disobedience--because you'll be called least in the kingdom. But those who keep the commandments, those that do the Word of God and teach others, shall be called--say it--great.

OK, let's contrast these two things then. How would you judge yourself this morning? Are you a doer and a teacher to do? What are your children seeing in your life? What's priority in the home? We're living in a day when social, economic advancement is the priority in so many people's lives. More, bigger, better. Now, there's nothing wrong with more and bigger and better if God is the source of it. It's the Lord that gives us power to obtain wealth, and in that we're to establish His covenant, the Scripture says. God gives us richly all things to enjoy in life. There are all of the different principles. Nothing wrong with stuff. But do your children know emphatically, do they understand this totally in the way that you conduct yourself, that God is the source of this, and if it doesn't come from God, we don't want it? The blessings of the Lord make rich--say it--and add no sorrow. (Proverbs 10:22)

See, what are we teaching? To be great in the kingdom we're to be doers and teachers, instructors, of the law of God, the commandments of God. Are we living it? See, if we're not careful, we can get back into some type of a Pharisaical approach or hypocrisy, and we can try to make merit, as it happens so much, in poverty and think that there's something noble about poverty. There's nothing noble about poverty. Poverty stinks unless God is the author of it. Amen? But if God has put us in that place to where we have less than others, to where we're in a position of having, every day, to trust God for our daily bread, the grind of that kind of a life, does it become something that's resented in the life of a true believer? Or what does the Scripture say? It says we're to give thanks. Amen?

What are we teaching then in the midst of this? The sovereignty of God, the lordship of Jesus, the goodness of God. How influenced are you by the secular, by the mundane, by the temporal? As I put these things out, what--do you see what the contrast is? If I don't have anything but the sufficiency of my daily bread, then I pray this prayer in faith, "Give us this day our [What?] daily bread," and God is the author of it. And if I have abundance, what is the message that I'm teaching? It's the Lord that gives you power, the blessings of the Lord. God is the source. In our generation we have to come to grips with the fact that He said, "Be very careful that when you begin to partake of all these things you don't say, ‘Look what my arm, the strength of my right arm, has given me; look what I've done.'"

Now, we're not saying to our kids, "Well, I want you to know the reason we're blessed is because I'm such a hard worker--I went and I applied myself and I studied and I got my multiple degrees and I show up every morning an hour before everybody else on the job and stay an hour later--and look what I've done." We don't say that, most of us, but what is it that you're promoting, how to be a success? What are you promoting to the next generation? I'm not saying that we're not to talk about diligence, preparation, education. I'm saying it has to be emphasized in the Lord that what we have we've received of God and what we're doing we're doing for the glory of God. Do everything unto the Lord. It's lawful for me to do everything I can do that honors God, that's unto the Lord, that I can attach the name of Jesus to.

So He says again--let's look back at this passage as we're winding up for this morning--" . . . whosoever shall do and teach [others], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, [Now, this is what adds a little weight to this teaching.] ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Oh, so we're to have a righteousness, a life, that exceeds that, that the Pharisees lived. Well, Jesus brought a lot of reproof to the Pharisees, but it's interesting to take note that at one point He said, "Listen. These men occupy the seat of Moses, so listen to what they're teaching, but don't do what they're doing." You all remember when Jesus was telling them that? "They occupy the seat. The Word has authority; the Word is true. The fact is they're a bunch of hypocrites; they're not doing it. They won't enter in, and they're preventing you from entering in."

So what Jesus is teaching here when He's talking about a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, He's talking about the simple application, the doing of the Word of God. In our society today it never ceases to amaze me. We've run into this in a couple of issues with families here in different things and if you talk to the civil authorities. Do you know that in America we have the freedom of religion? We do. You just can't practice it--"You're free to believe whatever you want, but you must do what we tell you." You can believe what you want, but you can't act it out. Who are we as the salt of the world, the salt of the earth, and the light of the world? What are we called to do? We're called to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. The teaching that Jesus is calling us to here, as the greatest among us, is application, requirements of obedience, constantly reaffirming in our relationships the course that we're on--"Follow me as I follow Christ."--the exalting of the moral code, the social code, of the law of God, because none of it's been done away with. It's all been focused on the finished work of Jesus.

Let me share one other thing just before we unhook for this morning. We'll be continuing along these ways, but turn over to Galatians 3 for just a moment. As we talk about the law we can see here that we're talking about the spirit of the law; [that] is where Jesus is going in the rest of this teaching--"You've heard it said, but I say unto you . . . "

Now, some people want to go back to the letter of the law. We want to talk about having to build banners around the roof of our houses and you can't wear certain clothes that have different types of material in them, etcetera, etcetera. He's not talking about those specifics. Those were all written for specifics of that time of community, the covenant people, and Jesus lets us know that more importantly there's spiritual application and [there are] spiritual purposes for all of these commandments. And none of them, if kept to the nth, can bring about righteousness or regeneration.

So in Galatians, Chapter 3, let's just end with this part for this morning. He says in verse 19, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made, [That's Jesus, and you'll see that more clearly in Romans, Chapter 3.] and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." Verse 21, "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

So we begin to see, then, this great purpose of the law. The law does not oppose faith. It promotes and directs us to this life of faith that the law was only fulfilled in the finished work of Jesus. We'll never be able to keep the law to obtain a righteousness. The law points to the fact that Jesus was the promise, He was the fulfillment. He is the source of life, redemption, reconciliation. This law is good; it constantly reminds us of what He has done for us. And if we'll do it and promote it, we'll be great in the kingdom.

Father, we thank You this morning for Your Spirit and Your direction in our lives. As we take these next few sessions, Father, and we begin to emphasize the importance to get back to the Word of God, to understand how we represent You in this time in history, don't let it be mundane. Don't let it become mechanical. Help us to understand that this Word is living; it possesses all of the wisdom of God and the power of God! It's more precious that rubies. This law is holy and just and good.

Father, don't let us go to the Word with the motive of thinking we can make some adjustments and then You'll be happy with us, we'll appease You. Let us go to the Word because that's where You are. We can fellowship with You. We can embrace Your presence; we can be filled with Your spirit. There's nothing we can do, Jesus. You've done it all. God is appeased; He's pleased. We're justified; we're the sons of God. We come now to be refreshed; we come now to fellowship in the Word of God. It's not for education; it's for inspiration. It reminds us of who we are as sons of God. But at the same time let us be jealous, Father, and in our own lives and in those that are around us realize that to not give the Word first place, to not apply the Word of God, is to deny You, because You're one with this Word.

And because we know You, Lord, doesn't mean that we can now add other gods, for the first commandment is still in place, and there is no place for idolatry of anything but loving You with all of our heart, mind, body, strength. Don't let us become distracted in this last hour by all that You've blessed us with. As we go to possess a land let us seek first and always Your kingdom in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord. As Gary plays for us, we'll just take a moment here in His presence. We spent a good amount of time trying to say this one very simple thing: the law isn't an entity to itself; the law is our instructor to know Him. Don't know the Word; know Him. Don't know the letter of the Word; know the Word. Don't study to find a formula or a methodology, a doctrine, though it's profitable for those things, but go to the Word to know Him.

Father, we thank You this morning that You will not let us count common this Word that we hold in our hands. Father, for forty years as I've meditated on this now, I thank You that we began this journey by forsaking everything we had in the natural to buy this book. I thank You for those days that I had no money to eat, but Your Word was bread to me. And I was rejected of all of my natural family, but in this Word I found that You were a Father to the fatherless. We don't need anything, Father, but this, Your presence. Thank You for Your Word.

Let's sing it together and let's worship Him this morning. "Jesus, name above . . . "

Hallelujah, Jesus! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Oh, we thank You, Father, for all of Your goodness. We ask You now to just create in us a hunger and a thirst like we've never known. Father, a hunger and a thirst for Your righteousness. Strengthen us as we press toward that mark, the prize, the high calling of God in this generation.

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