He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found, Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before His throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. All right, well done, good singing this morning. Let's let the little ones go to class. You guys can head out with Mrs. Schor. And the rest of us, please, let's open our Bibles to Matthew chapter five. And continuing our study of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter five. It's just a normal week tonight at half five. Children's choir, Lord willing, we need to have the kids singing soon. So maybe next week we'll have them sing. Still praying about the family conference and so pray that the Lord will give wisdom about that. All right. No, I don't. Yeah. All right. It hath been said, is what we're gonna look at this morning. It hath been said, Jesus will say several times in our text, he's already said it actually once, as he referred back to the law, and last week he looked at murder, and he said, it hath been said, ye shall not commit murder, but then he spoke about that seed of murder, or the sin of murder, in the hearts of people, that curse, in the hearts of people that hate without a reason, and get angry without a reason, and how that sin is there, it's prevalent. And so he said, it hath been said, but I say unto you. And so it's man's perspective versus God's perspective. Self-righteous people will take the law, they'll look at it and say, I can keep that, I can do that. And I meet people all the time, they knock on the door, and why should you go to heaven? Well, I've been a good person. It's not, and they'll maybe say even something, it's not like I've killed anybody, but we looked at last week how that that sin is in our hearts, and we've committed it if we've ever hated somebody. And so God's gonna continue that today as Jesus Christ preaches that Sermon on the Mount up there on the Mount with his disciples. And to those that perhaps are listening in that are self-righteous, thinking that they're okay, thinking that their life's fine because they've tried to keep the law and as best they understand the law, they think they have. And yet Jesus is gonna take it from, again, the outside, what people do, to the inside, where people think, where people see. How that works in so the Lord deals with other issues of the heart today and what we're going to try to get through this morning Is what he says about? adultery divorce deceit and Vengeance all right and just take it a step further and let's pray and ask God to bless his word to our hearts this morning Father, we're thankful for the privilege that we have to study your word. We're thankful for the grace that you give. Lord, we need your help this morning as we come to your word. Father, give us grace to discern your truth and to apply it to our lives. Father, help us to take it out of the context of a set of rules to see that the rules mean something. It's not about externals. It's not about not doing something. It's about not doing something with the right attitude, with the right heart, with the right love and the right desires. And so I pray, Holy Spirit, that you help me as I speak. I pray, Lord, that you give grace to the children in their class in the creche, that that will go well. I pray that you give us grace as we look at the word of God and consider a great sermon. Lord, I'd love to have sat at your feet and listened to you preach your word, but I believe this message would have been very convicting to those that were there. And so give us grace to see the sin in our hearts, in our lives today, and deal with it as you'd have us do. is in Christ's name we pray, amen. So the first thing that the law said, it hath been said, is do not commit adultery. And that's the obvious reading of the law, what it says, verse 27, you have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. And last week we looked at the giving of the law and Moses on the mountain and the awful things that were taking place on that mountain to show the power of God and to put people in the fear of God. And one of those awesome laws that God gave is thou shalt not commit this sin of adultery. Adultery is a horrible sin. Adultery tears apart a family. It's when somebody takes somebody else's wife and lives with her as if they are married to them, but they're not. It's a very wicked sin. It destroys marriages. We came across some results of adultery in the States when we were back, and it was heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking for the churches that were dealing with it. It was heartbreaking for those couples that had gone through it, and by God's grace, there's hope that those marriages will stay strong. And yet, adultery can wreck a marriage completely. Just like murder. Remember murder last week? We're looking at it. Why is murder such an awful thing? Well, murder takes away something that cannot be ever given back. doesn't it? And so does adultery. Adultery takes away a wife, it takes away a husband, it takes away a father, it takes away a mother, and oftentimes destroying that marriage and breaking apart the family. It's a very awful sin. In Jesus' day, The Pharisees knew what the law said about adultery. They tried to trick Jesus by using what the law said, because the law had said in Leviticus 20, verse 10, and the man that committed adultery with another man's wife, even he that committed adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. Wow. God was serious about sin in the Old Testament. You know, he's serious about sin today. There are other times where God said the death penalty, one of the death penalties was for a rebellious son. Remember that? He wouldn't obey his mom, wouldn't obey his dad. Guess what? That's one of the Ten Commandments, isn't it? Honor thy father and mother. But this son refused to, the punishment for that was death. Punishment for adultery was death. The punishment for taking another man's life purposefully was death. So God's very serious about the sin. But the Pharisees came to Jesus with a woman taken in the act of adultery in John 8, 4 through 6. They said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. They say it's a fact, there's no doubt that this was adultery taking place, and Jesus, what are you gonna do about it? Expecting that he would say, let's stone her, because that's what Moses said in the law. And yet as Jesus looked at those men that had brought that woman who was guilty of adultery to him, he who could see into man's heart saw, I believe, in the hearts of those men, not just sin, but the sin of adultery. I believe that based on the context and the response of those men. But he says, remember to them, he says, he that is without sin, let him cast, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at him. Jesus is looking in the heart. Oh, they may not have committed the act of adultery, maybe they have. but they had committed the thought or the mental or spiritual adultery in their heart with somebody. And so Christ could see into their very heart and that's where he's dealing. You know, in the book of Chronicles, It says in 1 Chronicles 28 9, Thou Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind. For the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him, he'll cast thee off forever. God doesn't just say, dwell before me in perfect action. He doesn't just want us to have an outside shell that looks clean and looks right if the inside is corrupted. Remember the Pharisees, they diligently cleaned the outside, but God said on the inside, you're full of dead men's bones. And so God doesn't want him just not committing the act of adultery. He doesn't want him committing the thought of adultery. And that's what he begins to speak about as he says, but I say unto you, he begins to speak about the adulterous heart. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. It's not an accident. It's not that this man's walking along and There's blatant immodesty, and he looks away. That happens. That will happen in life. There's gonna be times where you're going along and there's somebody that's dressed immodestly. But it's not the look, seeing, it's the look of lust. Looketh upon her to lust after her. If there's lust, then it's sin, and God says it's the sin of adultery. Job, in Job 31.1, it says, I made a covenant with mine eyes. Why then should I think upon a maid? Job recognized that there was sin in a lustful look, and he said, you know, I'm going to guard my heart. I made a covenant with my eyes, just like Daniel, purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Job purposed in his heart that he was going to guard his eyes. And then he said this, and notice how it's connected. Why then should I think upon a maid? I'm going to guard my eyes. Why then should I lustfully consider a woman? You know, King David, we all know his sin against God and where he failed God. It was in this very sin. It was a sin of adultery. But David, where did it start? The act of adultery started by the look of adultery as he was upon his rooftop. In 2 Samuel 11 verse 2, it says, It came to pass in an evening tide that David arose from off his bed. He walked upon the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself. And the woman was very beautiful to look upon. So here's a woman that's immodest. She's down below the castle and she should have been in a more modest way, but she's exposed and David sees her and he looks on her with lust. And that leads to the sin of adultery, but adultery was already there in the heart of David before it took place. Can I say this too about Bathsheba? Bathsheba was not without sin. She should have been more modest. Matthew Henry in this passage says this, and if looking be lust, they who dress and deck and expose themselves with design to be looked at and lusted after are no less guilty. Men sin, but devils tempt to sin. You know, for the young men's sake, we're living in a very difficult day. There's a modesty that's all around us. It's gonna take the grace of God to protect our eyes and to look away and not to look with lust because there are so many that are dressed in a way to attract and seek wicked desire, right? It's there, it's prevalent. But Job in his day made a covenant with his eyes. How we need to do that, why? Because that sin does not happen just when the act is committed. It can happen in a man's heart when he looks with lust. So sin, in whatever form, whether it's the act or whether it's the thought, needs to be dealt with severely. There's people that are trusting in their self-righteousness, and Jesus has previously said, except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. And they're sitting there thinking, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not a murderer, but again, after last week, they had to stop and go, you know what, maybe I have committed the sin of murder if I've hated somebody. And after this part of the message is Jesus says this, they'd have to look at their heart and say, you know what, I have committed the sin of adultery because if I ever looked on a woman to lust after her, that is the sin of adultery. That's a severe thing, isn't it? It's a severe sin, and yet that sin is more prevalent than we think. It's not just the act, it's the thought. And so it needs to be dealt with severely. Remember what Jesus said to the woman taking an adultery, and she was guilty of the act. But he said in John 8, 11, Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee, go and what? Sin no more. So though you've committed, yes, a great sin, you've broken one of the Ten Commandments, you've committed the sin of adultery, go and sin no more, deal with it. Remember Rahab in the Bible? She's recorded in the New Testament in Hebrews chapter 11 in the Hall of Faith. Rahab was a harlot. She used her body in a wicked way, and she sold, basically sold her body for money. It's a very sad sin. But Rahab got saved. Rahab had imputed righteousness given to her by God. Rahab was forgiven of that sin, but that sin had to be cut off. You know, carry the word of God as Jesus deals with the sin in men's hearts. He says, it's better to lose an adulterous eye than to go to hell as an adulterer. Verse 29 says, if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it's profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. If somebody in our society is into pornography, they might even be a pedophile. And they're not willing to cut that sin off and deal with that sin and have victory over that sin, that sin's gonna what? It's gonna lead them to hell. And God says, you know what, it's better to deal severely. If you're a right eye offendee, pluck it out. And God's not saying self mutilation is what his intention is. He's not saying that somebody should physically take their eye and pull it out. But he is saying you should deal with your sin so severely that even if it's that severely, that's better than going to hell, isn't it? And then he says, It's better to lose an adulterous hand than to go to hell because of an unwillingness to repent of your sin of adultery. Verse 30 says, if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee. For it's profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Do you know, I can illustrate this very easily today. Because I assume this, and forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think it's a correct assumption. When I meet people and they're a couple, it's a man and a woman, I assume first that they're living together rather than that they're married. Because in the majority of cases, I found that that's the case. And I don't know whether that's your experience or not. That's my experience. Most people today, even in their 60s, I meet people that are living together. You know, it's possible at times that we're gonna have somebody come to our church, and they're living with somebody. They're not married to them, but they're living with them as if it's their wife, as if it's their husband, but it's not. And they're in that sin, and as the word of God's preached, they're gonna come under conviction, and they're gonna realize, you know, that sin's not right, and God's against that. But they might decide this. They might say, I'm not willing to deal with that sin, and so I reject Christ. You know, it's better for them to deal severely with that sin, even if it meant separating from that person that they've spent years with, living in sin, so that they could get saved and that they could go to heaven when they die. That'd be better. And that's what the Lord's saying. He's not saying it's good to cut off your hand. He's not saying it's good to rip out your eye, but he's saying it is good to deal severely with sin. And as believers, we're struggling too with sin, and as that sin becomes a pattern in our life, we need to deal severely and say, you know, if it's setting aside technology, if it's setting aside something that's okay, I'm gonna set it aside for the sake of myself, for the sake of my family, so that I can please God. That is what Jesus is teaching. And so again, the self-righteous person says, well, I'm not an adulterer, but God steps in, Jesus says, maybe you are. There'd be very few people in life, men, that have not committed that sin of adultery by looking and lusting. And yet God seeks to deliver, God seeks to help men to do what's right. So he says, guard your heart. That's a great sin. Then secondly, he says, not only do not commit adultery, he says, do not divorce. Do not divorce. Divorce in the Old Testament had become a matter of convenience. It says in verse 31, it hath been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. And so back in the day, I mean, there might have been a disagreement takes place. And a man says, I don't love you anymore. And I want to end this marriage. They could go, they could get a writing and say, I divorce you. And they could be divorced. And so it hath been said, let him give her a writing of divorcement. But God never intended divorce. That's very clear in the New Testament that divorce is not something that God ever intended. In fact, the Pharisees came to Jesus and they said, is it lawful for a man to put his wife away, like Moses said? And Jesus answered them, Matthew 19, six, Wherefore they are no more twain, speaking about marriage, but one flesh. He's saying when people get married, they become one. It's a precious, that's why adultery is such a wicked sin. It adds somebody else into that union. But two become one. There's a one flesh of marriage that God does. My dad used to illustrate it this way from the Old Testament, speaking about, shall man cleave unto his wife, they too shall be one flesh. It's like two dirt clods that are soaked, you know, and then they join, they become one. You can never take them apart. If you pull them apart, there's always something on the other left with either one, right? because they're united, and God's given that precious unity within marriage. But then divorce comes along, and divorce says, rip them apart. But Jesus said, in Matthew 19, six, he said, therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. You could ask, is marriage biblical? Well, does it sound biblical when God is the one that joins them? Think about that statement. A marriage, a man and a wife, why? Because God put them together. God did that. Well, God has joined together, let not man put asunder. It's like man is created in the image of God. One of the things about murder that's so awful is man is in God's image. It's a sin against the creator, designer to take somebody's life because he's their creation. He's made in the image of God. And so there's this union that's of God. And so, God never intended it to be torn apart. Divorce was because man was so hard-hearted against God. Matthew 19 passage again, verse eight. But from the beginning, it was not so. Jesus says the only reason that divorce was ever allowed was because of your hard hearts, your rebellion against God. So it's not God's intention. It's not God's plan. It's a sacred covenant before God. You know, marriage is so wonderful in God's eyes that he lets marriage be an example of Christ's love for the church and vice versa. He says in Ephesians 5, 25 through 28, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word, that he might present it to himself, a glorious church. Just like a wife is presented to her husband as a glorious bride, that Jesus loved the church and brought the church to himself, and God takes that picture of marriage. And he uses it for Christ's love for the church and for how a husband is to love his wife. It's a very precious, precious entity. Institution ordained by God for the purity and protection of the family. And it's for God's glory, isn't it? a good marriage. I love meeting people that have been married 50 years, 60 years. What a testimony to this generation of steadfastness and commitment, just like the commitment of God. So Jesus gave only one valid allowance for divorce here. He says in verse 32, remember he says, it hath been said, you can get divorced easily. But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery, and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committed adultery. The only valid reason that Christ says is allowable is the sin of fornication, it's sexual sin. She's entered into an unlawful relationship with somebody else, or some way has perverted that relationship, And God says in that case, divorce is allowed, but notice it's not commanded, right? It doesn't say because this sin takes place that there has to be a divorce. It doesn't have to take place. But Jesus says, if that's not the reason for a divorce, That what happens when you, you know, she burnt the toast or something and you say, I divorce you, what you're doing, you're causing her to enter into an adulterous relationship with somebody else. And whoever enters a relationship with her is committing adultery. See, you thought it was OK in your self-righteousness because the law said you could. said you could easily end this marriage. And so you're just gonna say, well, that's it, you burnt the toast. So marriage annulled and what you've done, you've entered again into a great sin that we've already talked about. One of the 10 commandments, the sin of adultery. And so man's perspective versus God's perspective. And so do not divorce, do not divorce, do not commit adultery. And then the third thing that we can look at this morning, is do not swear an oath. Do not swear an oath. An oath is a promise with God as your witness. Do not swear an oath. Because an oath before God was binding, verse 33, says again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oath. A promise that was made with God as your witness has to be kept. Why? Because otherwise you're breaking a promise to whom? God. And that's not a light thing. Any promise that is made before God is a promise that has to be kept. Be very careful if you ever promise God something. When you surrender your life to the Lord, say to God, God, however you want to use my life, use it. I know a friend of mine growing up, he had an older brother. And that older brother at one time surrendered to preach. In fact, I was told by his mom that he and another friend both surrendered to preach. Told God that they would serve him full-time in full-time ministry. Instead, he rebelled against God. He ended up marrying a Catholic girl, and he worked at a bike shop down in South Florida. A guy that was taking boot camp or something like that came in, had an argument with him, went out to the vehicle, came back in, and took a gun, put it up to his head, and killed him. It's a very, and I'm not saying necessarily that's why he died, but it was interesting that his mom said, both of them are dead. Both of them. Isn't that interesting? It's not a light thing today to promise God something. We might treat it like it's no big deal, God doesn't. But men, in an attempt to lessen the severity of an oath before God, try to add to it, and they kind of thought, you know what? Let's change the wording. Rather than saying, I swear before God, let's say something like, I swear before heaven. You know, Jesus said, in verse 34, again, this is one of his statements, but I say unto you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it's God's throne. He said, he's trying to get out of it, trying to make it no big deal. You know, have you guys, you cross your fingers, put them behind your back, and that means I can promise something and it doesn't mean anything? They do that here? They do that in the United States, right? You got your fingers crossed behind your back, you can promise, and it doesn't mean anything. That's kind of the same idea. These Pharisees or these self-righteous people, they thought, you know what, I will promise before heaven. It's kind of like putting your fingers behind your back, because you know heaven's not that big a deal. God is, but heaven's not. But Jesus said, wait a second, heaven is God's throne. Don't swear by that, that's God's throne. and earth is his footstool, verse 35, nor by the earth for it's his footstool. Again, they're thinking, I can get away with it. I swear by earth that I won't do this. And yet that's God's footstool. Don't swear by Jerusalem, neither by Jerusalem for it's the city of the great king. I mean, that is the city where it's all gonna take place, where it all has taken place. That is the city that God set his love upon that he chose. That's the city of the great king. Don't swear by that. Nor by your own head, he said. Neither shalt thou swear by the head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. Why is my hair the color it is? Because of God. I'm his creation. So don't swear by yourself, because you're God's creation. But what's he saying? After he takes out all their sub-clauses, he lets us know that God's more concerned about integrity than what we promise. Does God care what we say? No, He cares what we do, right? You know what I'm saying? I mean, He doesn't want us to promise Him something. He wants us to show that promise in our life. Verse 37. He said, just say yes or no. And let it stand by itself. Just say yes. Just say no. You know, our yes should mean yes, and our no should mean no, right? Have you ever had somebody, and I know somebody comes to my mind very quickly when I think about this topic, because it does, it bothers me a bit. Often as I'm speaking to them, they'll say words like this, honestly, honestly. Or they'll say, to tell you the truth, pastor. To tell you the truth, right? What's the problem with that? Should I have to say when I'm speaking to somebody, this is the honest truth? I have an integrity problem right away if I have to back up what I'm saying by an oath. Don't I? Shouldn't my yes mean yes and my no mean no? If not, I've got an integrity problem. And so it doesn't matter if I swear. It doesn't change the condition that's in my heart that God sees. And that's that I don't have integrity. When I see yes, my yes doesn't mean yes, my no doesn't mean no. But God says don't let it be like that. Don't swear, don't persuade yourself, don't call heaven to witness against you, don't call God as your witness, just say yes and mean yes. Just say no and mean no. Again, we live in a day, I feel like, and maybe I'm just missing it somehow, but I talk to people all the time, I knock on the door, and I ask them about heaven, and I'll ask them about sin, and they'll say, you know, I'm a good person, and I'll say, have you ever lied? Do you know what they all say? Every single one. Little white lions. Do people right now in our day and age, do they think lion's a big deal? But God does. God does. Just like swearing an oath before a holy God and breaking it, God sees integrity of the heart as a big deal. Our yes should mean yes, our no should be no. So don't make a vow and not keep it. It's better not to vow and just let your yes be yes and your no, no. And then, do not avenge yourself, is the last thing that we'll look at this morning. Do not avenge yourself. You know, the law gave an opportunity for vengeance. And I've spoke with people that are not saved, but they'll say, I love that. I love the Old Testament. In my mind, I'm thinking of a guy very specifically. I love the Old Testament, an eye for an eye, this way said, and a tooth for a tooth. What's he love about the Old Testament? Vengeance. You know, the law wasn't created for vengeance. What was the law created for? It was to protect the innocent. Yes, vengeance was there as punishment for the guilty, but it was not for the delight of the avenger. It was not for the person to say, yes, I can get even an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. And I love this Old Testament because it allows me to avenge myself. But that's what the law became to these self-righteous. Verse 38, you have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That equal penalty, why was that? Again, it was to protect the innocent. Somebody, you know, if the punishment didn't fit the crime, then the crime would just be committed more often. And so there was equal punishment. And so people began to, you know, begrudge others and what vindication against others. And after all, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus said, it hath been said, but again, he's going to say unto you, but I say unto you that ye resist not evil. Wow. It's kind of different. As self-righteous people, I can do this. I can have my own way because God gave me license to give back in the Old Testament. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. And Jesus goes, I'm just gonna interpret that a little bit differently for you, help you to understand what it means. It's not made for vengeance. It's made to protect the innocent. So I say unto you, resist not evil. Now Jesus, in our day, he'd not be an activist. He wouldn't be out politicizing and saying, ah, let's go against the evil. In activism, he would stand up at times, but always for who? God. Always for God's glory. He wouldn't be the first one to get back at the wicked. He said, I resist not evil. On the cross, how did Jesus do that? He said, Father, forgive them, right? for they know not what they do. He could have called 10,000 angels or legions of angels to destroy these wicked people that put them on the cross, killed the Son of God on a cross. But he didn't. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And so, what does he instruct us to do? He says, if you get hit, let him hit you again. But whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. This person is going eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth, and Jesus says, look, if he hits you on the one side of your face, you turn your face and let him hit you on the other side. You take it, why? For Christ's sake. Take it, why? For God's glory. Take it, why? To show the grace of God. You know, there's a gracious power possessed by those who can suffer and not feel the need to punish back. Isn't there? Isn't that meekness? Isn't that strength under control? Doesn't that take great grace to take a beating and allow it and say it's okay? Remember that bold deacon of the early church, Stephen? He was a giant of a man. And just like our Lord in his death, he's being killed in Acts 7, verse 60, he kneeled down, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Could you do that? Or would you be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? Christ says that's not the New Testament. But I say unto you, take it. Why, for God's glory. Take it, allow it. Why, you know, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, held grudgingly onto, what's it lead to? Bitterness? Anger? Hatred? Years of just contamination of your own heart? You know, it's far better to forgive and to say, it's okay, it's okay. You know, they treated my Lord worse than you're treating me. It's okay, just like Stephen did. Let him hit you again. And then give more than he demands, verse 40. And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. It's probably an injustice that's taking place already. They've been brought before the law, and the law said you're gonna lose your coat. You've gotta surrender your coat as security until you pay your debt or whatever the case. He takes your coat, give him your cloak also. Say it's okay, I'm gonna give you a bit more. I'll tell you a story. I thought about this as I was looking at this passage. It's just one opportunity. God allowed us as a family to practice this, but I won't tell you the whole story, except that I realized that there was a church that supported us. This is way back when we were raising support to come over here. I just realized I had, I disagreed with some things about the church, and I just thought, you know, it'd probably be better not to have that relationship of them supporting us. And I called the pastor and I said, pastor, I'm sorry. I said, but I want to, you know, here's my concern. It was about music. They weren't musically where we are. And it concerned me. And I said, you know, I'm concerned about that. And we talked about that. And I and I offered to send back the support money that they had given to me. That pastor sent me a bill with love offerings that they gave to us, the exact amounts. He sent me a bill with the months that they had supported us. They showed more support than our mission agency showed that they'd given to us. He charges for electricity for plugging in our caravan at his property. You know what I said? I wrote back and said, Pastor, that's fine. I said, and I want to send you an extra $100 because I know we did laundry there and some other things. I want to make sure that everything's covered. You know, that's what God wants us to do. I don't say that to pat myself on the back. You know what's neat about that story? God totally took care of it. My mission agency, when they heard about it, a pastor that's passed away, his name's Doc Cummins, that man who put the fear of God in you more than anybody, he called up that pastor and he talked to that pastor about what he had done. I couldn't do that, but he could. But you know, our mission agency totally took care of it. It was like $1,100 at a time where we didn't have any money. We really didn't. We had very minimal accounts at that time. But you know, God honors that. Why shouldn't you get upset and go, why do you treat me like that? You know, today I can honestly say I'm not bitter against that pastor. I'm not. And I'm not bitter against that church. I don't think the church has any idea what took place. Why? Because God protected us by allowing us to practice what Matthew 5 speaks about, and that's when you're sued, give more than you're sued for. So give more than he demands. And then serve more than expected. Verse 41, whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. The Roman soldiers in that day could come up to you and say, here, take my bag and carry it a mile. They could legally do that. But what Jesus says, if he compels you to go a mile, don't go kicking your toes in the ground, grumbling and complaining and saying, this is awful. Why should I have to carry your bag? Just talk to the guy, say, hey, you know what? I'd be happy to carry that another mile for you. And do it. You heard the phrase, go the extra mile? Guess what? This is where it comes from. comes from the Bible. Go the extra mile. Don't just give something because you have to. Kids, mom and dad ask you to pick up your room. Go beyond that. Do beyond that. Don't say, oh, begrudge, I've got to do this. And so this is what I'll do, and not anymore. You know, dad and mom said to clean my room. That toy made it out into the hallway, and so that's out of bounds. No. It's the spirit of the law. It's obeying with the heart. Serve more than expected. Do you go the extra mile? and then freely share what God's given to you. Verse 42 says, give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow thee, turn not thou away. It's that liberty of sharing what God's given to us. God's given us things that a lot of people don't have. These poor Syrians that are pouring out of Syria and having to take a treacherous journey across these countries, these people are poverty stricken. They don't have anything. They need people to come along. It's legitimate. It's not fake. We get sick of the fakery on the streets. I know a guy, I've talked to him. He sits on North Bridge and he sits on the left hand side down by Balmoral, the Balmoral. He's always there. And I've spoken to him. I asked him one time, I said, how's your day going? He's going, oh, it's not going good. I said, why not? He said, well, I've only made, I think he said like 10 pounds in a couple hours that morning. And normally he's made like 40 by that time of day. These people are raking in the dough. And I mean, he's not interested in work. He's not seeking a job. He's a fake. He's a fraud. But just because there's frauds doesn't mean that we ignore everybody that asks us for something. I shared last week, there was a man that I spoke to, he's been homeless for two weeks, and I took him and I bought him breakfast. Why? Because that's what God wants us to do. Share what we have. You know, when somebody has a legitimate need as a church, that's why we desire to know about that and seek to meet a physical need. Because that's the spirit of the law. See, they had it wrong. They had this idea. Well, the law says do not commit adultery. And so I've never committed the act. And Jesus said, well, wait a second. What about your thought life? What are you thinking about? Are you looking on a woman to lust after her? And Jesus says it's the same sin. It's the same sin. So deal with it as severely. He said, do you think you can divorce and just, you know, and commit adultery, you know, by the fact that you're divorced? And he says, not so, because you're causing her to commit adultery. And if you remarry, another scripture says you're committing adultery as well. And so easy divorce, that's out. And he deals with this spirit of the law and responding and not swearing, but letting yourself have integrity. Like your yay-be-yay, your nay-nay, you know, so that you say yes or no, people go, you know, mom said yes, that means yes. Dad said yes, that means yes. Pastor said yes, that means yes. That we can keep our word, have integrity of heart, because what does God really care about? our promise, or our actions. He cares about our action. So may the Spirit of God just speak to our hearts and help us to see as God sees, not externals, internals. And how does God see your heart today? Let's pray. Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit would speak to our hearts now. I pray God give us grace to respond to you as He desires to. It's in Christ's name I pray, amen.