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"Your Father who sees in secret will reward you." That's how Jesus ends each section in Matthew 6:1-18. We have a Father in heaven. We are his children by adoption through Jesus Christ. And our Father sees. He sees everything that goes unnoticed and unaccounted by others. And he rewards. What a breathtaking reality!

Does it get more radical than this, friends? Does anything in the Sermon on the Mount communicate to us more the need for poverty of spirit? Let’s remember, this sermon isn’t about entrance into the Kingdom; it’s about life in the Kingdom. That life is made possible by the power of Jesus Christ!

God has been teaching me that regardless of how insufficient I feel, He is greater. When I’ve tried to figure out on my own how to transition neighborly chat into talk about God, I couldn’t find an easy way or smooth transition. But God has given me His boldness. I don’t need the perfect opportunity to share the Love of God. He’s teaching me that those five seconds of awkwardness are entirely worth it. It is for the sake of their soul!

We just studied Matthew 5:21-26 together on Sunday. What a passage. What a hard passage! When Jesus said our righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees he wasn’t kidding! It is a hard passage, because it humbles us in seeing that what Jesus is really building in us by His Spirit are a people who don’t just refrain from external acts, but who are literally changing from the inside out. I want to be the kind of follower of Jesus who does not grow indifferent to a passage like this, because it really is a demonstration of the Gospel’s power in us. Relationships are plain hard work. As fellow Christians we are all redeemed works in progress. We are fully forgiven and righteous, yet we change by degrees (1 Corinthians 3:18).

It wasn't until someone preached the gospel to me that I started feeling convicted about my sins. I knew I wasn't living my life right. I felt like I needed a change, I needed something... what I needed was a Savior.

Throughout church history the relationship between law and grace has been a lively discussion. Legalism and license have been tripping up the saints for centuries. Does it have to be that way? No! The Gospel is our anchor, keeping us from either error! Lets pray together for a deeper understanding of what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, and out of that understanding, a right application of living completely at rest in the finished work of Jesus on our behalf, while we also walk by the Spirit, as God who began a good work in us, will be faithful to complete it! We love God’s moral law because we desire to be like Him and shine forth His glory on the earth.