You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:14

Jesus said not to think that He was come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).  What this means for us today, was the He was the fulfillment of the Law of Moses.  What He lived on Earth, perfectly satisfied the perfect of justice of the Father, so that anyone who is baptized into Jesus Christ has lost their old life with its sin and corruption, and entered into that perfect, finished, and sufficient righteousness of God.

Yet, more than this.  In Matthew 5:19, Jesus says that whoever continues to BREAK one of these commandments AND teaches other to do so, will be considered least in the Kingdom.

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If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Matthew 7:11

It is God’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32).  Not some day far away in some millenial reign, but right here, today, at hand, where we need it.  When we need it.

Our Father knows our needs (Matthew 6:32).  He will give them to us if we are seeking after His interests.

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Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Matthew 7:6

God shares His secrets with His friends.  Psalm 25:14.

What if God didn’t want to share certain things with some people?  Would that make Him mean, just because He withheld certain details about His Kingdom?

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Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Matthew 14:31

John wrote in his first epistle that perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment (1 John 4:18).  John explained that it is when we abide in love that we abide in God.

Nearly all of the gospel, and hence life, revolves around fear in some way in another.  From the first time in the garden, when Adam and Eve knew they were naked, covered themselves, and hid from the presence of Almighty God.  To the first murder, when Cain offered an unacceptable sacrifice, God warned him, and  slew Abel out of jealousy.

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But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Romans 13:14

Every step forward in the gospel is important.  Every lesson learned, every difficulty overcome.  Peter referenced this proverb in his first epistle.

If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

1 Peter 4:18 (portion)

The higher we go in the Gospel, the deeper in His love, the more opportunities we could have to step off the narrow road.

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You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

Matthew 5:14

Salvation is a supernatural event.  God’s Spirit comes in and regenerates the dead human spirit, making a person alive again.  When a human believes, a change takes place, that changes a human being, dead in their trespasses and sins as they were, to being a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

A man does not need to be told or convinced that he has been born again, or saved, by any other person.  Affirmation and good Bible study is always advisable, and continued pointing to the truth of the Word of God is always recommended, but, when a man is changed, he knows it on the inside.

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Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus words in the Sermon on the Mount are the Eternal instructions for living in His Kingdom.  It is by these words, that we ensure our stability through the storms, and it is by these words that we can know God’s will for us.

Upon first approaching this teaching, there may be many different conclusions drawn.  In general, these are the approach, not it’s application.  Take the passages on anger.  Suppose you find yourself angry.  One approach to hearing the words of Jesus, seeing that He says you’re liable to the judgement if you’re angry, is to attempt to not be angry.  On the surface, this is actually the correct first step.  It is called repentance, but it is only superficial.

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 In his last days old Dr. Bressee [the founder of the Nazarene church] would preach from church to church one message: “Keep the glory down.” Why? He knew that if they ever lost it they were finished.

–R T Kendall, The Anointing

Probably every genuine move of God was birthed in something special.  In every move, there was something Beyond the text of the written Word, Beyond the meetings, Beyond the men, that made a difference.

If we understood that the Gospel is more than words on a page, that it is more than a natural man can understand (John 3:3-5), that it is the unseen, spiritual realm that makes a difference (Colossians 1:16), we would be much closer to the glorious overcoming church of Ephesians 4:13.

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There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips.  Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.  Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways,  and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:10-18 (except leading phrase)

Jesus came to show us His way, the way of peace.  Peace is peace with God, with men, and within ourselves.  The peace of Christ surpasses all knowledge throughout all time and is the force that calms the storm.

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And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

Matthew 10:7-8

The late Derek Prince pointed out that there is no authentic call to evangelism without the power of healing and deliverance.  There is no legitimate preaching of the Gospel without its appropriate demonstration.

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