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March 5, 2021 7:05 am
Today a lesson on overcoming anger, person who holds a grudge.
But if you are I plead with you on this day in your life to break that habit. Holding grudges is a horrible way to live and it's a dreadful way to die.
At one point as a mild expression of anger, cross the line righteous indignation to an explicit sin, after all, it's one thing to be ticked off quite another to be out of control. So how can we tell the difference between the two today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll's teaching from Matthew chapter 5 in this passage the features Jesus sermon on the Mount, we discover the serious nature of anger, particular weight of anger exposes the depravity of the human condition.
Chuck titled today's message steering clear of murder back in the mid-1950s there was a team of five young men would come to know one another in college and were led by the Lord to pursue a tribe in Ecuador known as the alchemists in the process of time, they, with their wives moved there and before they departed to begin that very significant connection with the tribe of savages they met together for prayer husbands and wives, and they sang one him.
Be still my soul the Lord is on my side. Taken from Psalm 46 verse 10. Let's be still before the Lord as we bow for prayer as was true of those five are father we acknowledge we also face an unknown future.
Each of those men becoming martyrs in their desire to reach those who had never known the Savior and we move into a world that has lost its way, has long since left the teachings of the Scriptures, and it's our desire to live for you in this hostile environment in such a way that if nothing else, their curiosity would be drawn to how we might live so differently in the world of the majority who live the same. I pray for courage in this congregation upriver wise decisions to be made before anyone enters the workplace this week. I pray that our hearts will be right before you, and that we will not be ashamed of our convictions or the good news that has transformed our lives. We need wisdom to do this, lest we come across as prudish holier than thou. I pray that you will give us an authenticity like Christ, who lived and spoke in such a way that people could not stay away as he drew to himself, those who would follow him. If he were to live today may be made. May we be among those in that number may be here when we hear his word above all others, may we follow his teaching more faithfully than we follow our conscience or what we may have been taught in years past, may we be willing to devote ourselves to the way we should go to please you, Lord, not ourselves, not people, but may we please you in the process. Maybe learn how to do it in such a winsome and gracious way that others are drawn to our good works to you and your son Jesus.
We desire that this message go beyond our own property and beyond our own neighborhood and while infiltrating this area.
May we be faithful to carry it beyond. Use the gifts that we give for that purpose.
And now as we sit still before you. May we rehearse in our minds the week that is passed, we prepare ourselves for the sewing of the seed we not be defensive or preoccupied as we hear your son from your word. Teach us how to live in this world for your greater glory and for your sake alone. We pray this and we give our gifts through Christ our Lord.
Everyone's study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll.
Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures.
Studies by going to Insight world.org/studies and now Chuck's message titled steering clear of murder. Religion has a strong foothold in most people's lives who were reared around churches and religious teaching. Much of the teaching is incorrect. Rather than giving you a way to live. That is under the power of the spirit. You and I were given less things we should do things we should not do so that the doing of things characterized our lives.
It was all about how we acted you don't do this because it doesn't look good. You don't say that because people will form opinions. It's all about the action for risk true religion genuine Christianity goes deeper than the mouth than the fitness than the feet was all the way to the inner man, for we have a chance to realize there can be a control and when you come to Christ. The spirit of God makes his residence in your life and the lives there to control your emotions to restrain your rage to calm your tendency toward retaliation and to give you genuine peace so that your speaking peaceful terms encouraging terms loving words. Now that all of these you are listening to Jesus teaching his sermon on the Mount have been reared under rabbis who learned their lessons from the Pharisees and the scribes they read them.
They listen to them. They were tutored and mentored by them so they parroted what they had been taught and seen before.
There are everything was about the act. So when they address hangover.
They address murder. They address the act of murder, not the motive behind the thoughts that lead to the anger that stands from the heart and leads to assaulting others were taught about that.
They were taught.
The act of murder because that's what the West with the law teaches.
You shall not kill meaning you shall not murder and along comes Jesus and says but I say to you, you are to be different from that isn't simply the act on address behind-the-scenes the hidden motive of the heart. You see the Pharisees dealt with the letter of the law.
Jesus came and talked about the spirit of the law.
In this sermon. Jesus tells them what they been hearing and then he corrects that teaching with his words that are introduced by what I call a literary clue. There were six of these clues that go together. Look at your Bible. Chapter 5 verses 21 and 22 would be the first. I'll not read it all, but simply the first lines verse 21 you have heard. 22 but I say to you what they had heard was what they had grown up with what they listen to what they had witnessed among the Pharisees what the rabbis had taught them and along comes Jesus who says there's more to it than that. It's not an act.
It's an attitude which he addresses look again.
Verse 27 verse 28. You can mark this with your with your pen or pencil you have heard but I say to you, and here he addresses adultery 2728 2930 adultery. They taught this which was about the act of adultery. Jesus taught that which is about lust. That leads to adultery. You don't control your lust.
You are guilty of adultery, just as if you don't control your anger, you are guilty of murder until you see that you won't understand the seriousness of this teaching.
There's 1/3 verse 31 verse 32.
It was said verse 32 but I say little change in wording rather than you have heard, but it was said the same thing but I say to you, and that he corrects the teaching regarding divorce versus 33 and 34 mark that again you have heard verse 34 but I say here he talks about booths 38 and 39 you have heard verse 38 but I say to you, and here he talks about retaliation and eye for an eye or two for the two and that's the way the Pharisees taught. But he said there's a better way. Let me tell you about it was another you have heard it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say that's 43 and 44 got all successful were looking at the first of six relearn how to steer clear of murder. The outward act is in verse 21 all your growing up years.
All those times in the synagogue all those days in church we would say you have heard the ancients were told that you shall not commit murder.
Murder is obviously the taking of the life of another. Don't do that. Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. The law says don't do it in the Pharisees taught the law, but they never went behind-the-scenes and dealt with anger. That's why many of them were filled with anger. You question that they're the ones who led to the crucifixion of Jesus.
He shattered their self-righteousness and they despised him for it. But now Jesus comes along and says there's more to it than it when you go further.
Now it gets very convicting everyone who is angry with his brother, so let's keep this among the family. Your brother would be your fellow Christian, your sister would be your fellow Christian everyone who is angry with his brother or sister in the family of God shall be guilty before the court even goes into detail. Whoever says you good for nothing as an insulting statement.
We would call it airhead. It means an empty headed individual. That's an insulting statement shall be guilty. Whoever says you fool fool is someone that just does something mischievous of pool, says in his heart there is no God. You got so-and-so so it's a it's a pronouncement of condemnation of another person is what we do in a burst of temper.
What we do when we take off all the restraints. This is road rage and action except it has to do with the tongue. Now you can begin to get the picture you see it is an inner attitude has to do with an anger which broods to go further and anger that will forget you could name. Book chapter and verse of an event that happened of where it made you angry and you have carried that anger.
To this day. Even though the words that were said anger that will forget arts and anger that refuses to forgive and be pacified or is in anger. Worst of all, that seeks revenge.
I don't know if you're the kind of person who holds a grudge. But if you are I plead with you on this day in your life to break that habit. Holding grudges is a horrible way to live and it's a dreadful way to die.
I had little research this week on the Hatfield's and McCoy's, the sort of the notorious example of a feud between two families.
The Hatfield's lived in Kentucky near the big Sandy River. The fork and McCoy's lived in West Virginia because one of the members of a family fought for the Union rather than the Confederacy.
The group on the other side that was inside of the Confederates hated him when he turned when he returned from battle.
Having lost a leg was killed by a Hatfield body was found January 7 get this 1865. Stay with me.
13 years later in an argument over the ownership of a hog. In June 1882 McCoy brothers killed a relative from the other family.
The feud escalated when a Hatfield married a McCoy about that was fun. When the two got together. The families can you imagine August 9, 1882 as a reason I'm giving you date August 9, 1882. Another murder followed the flight. This led to a revenge killing of several that same day, no forgiveness, no reconciliation, only loading up the weapon for another shot 1886. A McCoy shot and killed a Hatfield January 1, 1888, McCoy killed nine was killed by nine Hatfield attackers as a payback. January 7, 1888 a Hatfield killed was killed by McCoy.
January 18, 1888 another killing. February 18, 1890 a hanging similar killings acts of hatred, ongoing fights, lingering offenses. Finally June 14, 2003 there was an official truth declared one of the members of one of the families that sometime you do have to fight with you don't have to fight forever signed by more than 60 descendents from both sides after the feud had lasted 138 1/2 year's what happens when you hold a grudge. You are not that violent and I know that I know. Also I need to clarify to overall sitting here shredded and killed. I need to adhere that not every skirmish is a is a verbal murder, you have arguments start talking about arguments coming your married users married goes with it. And the longer your married. It's interesting, isn't it. Skirmishes occur back in full the case of the old guy that had been married to this older lady 50 years and you retired and she was sick of having them around and she said he would just get out for a while. I need a break. So really he leaves and goes to a store and he steals a can of peaches and he comes home and he opens a can of peaches that is even she's aware you do any so I meet need peaches so were you going to be said.
I still was. She hit the ceiling.
She turned them in press charges. Sticking to the cops. The cops got them for the judge judge had said to him as he got the picture. How many peaches and that can your glasses six okay said a meticulous and will put you in jail for six days his wife in the back of the court, saying he also stole a can of peas and Marilyn anger there going on. You understand is why you led you understand were not talking about that you know better talking about those times that fire could've been coming out of your mouth like a dragon. We talked about those moments when you see deep within, and you cultivated a hatred for another person is talking about were dealing with murder in the heart see when you're a Christian, you learn not to shrug sins you don't do that mature Christians don't shrug off sends it even though your strong believer in grace and there's no one right now on this planet stronger in grace than I am. But I will tell you is a grace loving believer, you don't dare shrug off sin that cheapens grace this what Jesus is, what he does and uses words like this that strike the heart and say what it says no imperfect Jesus Christ fashion.
He flips the story around when he gets to verse 23 and he no longer looks at you in your anger. He now looks at the person you've offended the person you said those things to get 23 it's a conditional sentence if an urine church you're reaching into your wallet or your checkbook to write out for the day.
In those days you had a gift that you brought an offering to the altar. That's what it's saying if you are presenting your offering at the altar and there remember that while you were engaged in worship amazing about the mind suddenly stone with memory, you blink your eyes and you see another face on your eyelids begin to be pierced in your heart when you're in the middle of a song or tie a time of silence or in a sermon you want to present your offering at the altar and what happens.
You remember your brother has something against you, you are the offender you remember that a lot had that happen, and I know you have what you do, do you sort of shrug and pray and ask the Lord to help them understand that it was just a bad moment.
No say that you wait a few days and think maybe have a chance to make contact door will maybe write a letter no then say that there's no weight here. Do you leave it up to him, or her to come to you and say you know the other day when you said so. So that was very hurting. That was that was difficult and I can't quite get no no. The responsibility is not the other persons. Please observe the verse and let the verse say what it says.
Look at the verbs leave your offering and go first be reconciled get that order of importance. First be reconciled and then come in now present your offering full circle you're in the middle worship, and you realize all your convicted is come from the Spirit of God.
You said or done something up was cutting you know you were wrong. You know the other person was hurt sufficient your mind has the ability to picture all of that you go what he was a sadist as you go first and be reconciled. You turn enmity into amity you turn the offense into a resolution you reconcile with this brother or sister.
You have heard at Insight for living. We've always been an advocate for forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus perfectly modeled forgiveness in his life and in his famous sermon on the mount. He made it undeniably clear that his followers are to be reconciled with each other to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org well in the spirit of today study. I'm eager to call your attention to a wonderful message presented by Chuck Swindoll and his wife Cynthia is contained on a CD called finding healing through forgiveness in this message Chuck exposes the barriers that often get in our way and keep us from giving and receiving forgiveness and his message is followed by an emotion filled testimony from Cynthia in which she transparently shares her pursuit of mending a broken relationship in this rare moment of public speaking. Cynthia explains how forgiving according to God's word ultimately ended her battle with depression to purchase a copy of the CD finding healing through forgiveness. Call us if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or it may be quicker if you go directly to Insight.org/store and then as God leads you.
Please remember the influence of your donation to Insight for living our websites in our mailbox are filled with affirming notes from grateful listeners. They often describe God's faithfulness as they learn to activate the power of God's word to life. People from all walks of life are benefiting the gifts you sent. We hear from truck drivers business executive plumbing professionals. So thank you for your donation Chuck delivers the sermons. Our staff puts together this program is people like you who give wings to Insight for living to give a donation right now, listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8881 800-772-8888 also go online to Insight.org join us again Monday.
Chuck Swindoll continues his message titled steering clear of murder here on Insight for living. The preceding message steering clear of murder was copyrighted in 2015 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. all rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited