Defining righteousness as whole person behavior that accords with God's nature, will, and coming kingdom.

Understanding Kingdom Righteousness

Emphasizing the need for a change of heart in order to achieve greater righteousness, focusing on interpersonal relationships and challenging teachings.

Practicing Kingdom Righteousness

Exploring the progression from understanding to practicing to imitating kingdom righteousness, and examining Jesus's teachings in Matthew chapter 5.

Imitating Kingdom Righteousness

Exploring the teachings of Jesus on truth, vengeance, and agape love, and the structure of his teachings.

Wholeness of Truth and Vengeance

Examining the principle of surrendering rights and privileges, and the duty to love and serve others.

The Principle of Surrender

Reflecting on Jesus as the ultimate example of greater righteousness, demonstrating turning the other cheek, offering lobster, walking the extra mile, and giving to those in need.

The Ultimate Example of Greater Righteousness

Understanding the principle of loving your enemies and the meaning of agape love.

Love Your Enemies

Exploring the concept of imitating kingdom righteousness and being perfect as the heavenly father is perfect.

Diving into the nature of agape love and its difference from other types of love.

The Nature of Agape Love

Discussing practical ways to demonstrate love for enemies, such as praying for them.

Demonstrating Love for Enemies

Understanding the goal of being children of the heavenly father and imitating God's agape love.

Becoming Like God

Exploring the concept of telios (perfection) and fulfilling the purpose for which we are designed.

Perfection and Purpose

Understanding how to flourish in righteousness and experience the good life through imitating kingdom righteousness.

Flourishing in Righteousness

- The speaker has been studying kingdom righteousness and is grateful for how God has been working in their lives
- They have been focusing on understanding, practicing, and imitating kingdom righteousness
- They are going to look at the remaining 3 examples that Jesus teaches in Matthew chapter 5
- The big idea is that whole person behavior that accords with God's nature, will, and coming Kingdom requires a change of heart
- They will be considering 3 things: wholeness of truth, vengeance, and agape love
- The speaker discusses the concept of oaths and how Jesus was concerned with unnecessary oaths and using the name of the Lord falsely

- The speaker discusses the significance of swearing to God and the importance of keeping promises
- Jesus teaches about the importance of being truthful and having integrity in our words and actions
- He also addresses the concept of retaliation and encourages turning the other cheek instead of seeking vengeance
- Jesus emphasizes the importance of focusing on our duties rather than our rights, using examples of giving up a seat for someone in need and being generous with possessions

- The speaker shares a personal story about choosing to give up the last lobsters to someone else
- Jesus teaches about going the extra mile and serving joyfully, using examples from occupied territories and personal experiences
- Jesus instructs to give to those in need, emphasizing the importance of helping others as if helping God himself
- The speaker discusses the need for godly wisdom in applying these principles and acknowledges the challenge of surrendering rights and privileges
- Jesus is presented as the ultimate example of righteousness, suffering for doing good and loving even in the face of insults and threats.

- The speaker discusses the importance of loving one's enemies as a demonstration of righteousness
- They emphasize the Greek word "agape" for love, meaning unconquerable benevolence
- The speaker encourages praying for enemies as a way to demonstrate love
- They emphasize the need to imitate God's love and righteousness by loving others deeply
- The speaker concludes with a prayer for God to help change hearts and mold them into His image

The speaker discusses the concept of kingdom righteousness, emphasizing the need for a change of heart. They explore Jesus' teachings on truthfulness, retaliation, and serving others, emphasizing the importance of love and integrity. The speaker encourages imitating God's love and righteousness and concludes with a prayer for God's help in transforming hearts.

Over the past few weeks, we've been studying kingdom righteousness.

And I am so grateful to hear how God has been working in our lives, as we heard this morning from Kamau and Rebecca, as we journey with Jesus and each other through the Sermon of the Mount.

2 weeks ago our topic was understanding kingdom righteousness.

And our big idea wasn't so much a big idea, it was a definition.

And you might recall, because I said it over and over and over again, that righteousness is whole person behavior that accords with God's nature, will, and coming kingdom.

It's about behavior that is consistent with God's nature, consistent with God's will, consistent with God's coming kingdom.

And we looked at examples, biblical examples.

We looked at how righteousness was contrasted in the Bible with the unrighteous, with sinners, the wicked, hypocrites, cursed.

And we use the example, and we heard about it again this morning, about the rich young ruler, right?

And then God says, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and he freezes.

And so we've been speaking about this blessed life that Louis began within the series, a flourishing life, a good life, 1 that requires a greater righteousness than that of the Pharisees.

And we've been emphasizing over and over and over again about being right with God and being right with others.

And I loved what they shared about interpersonal relationships because for me too, it has been challenging.

And so last week our topic was practicing kingdom righteousness.

And our big idea was greater righteousness requires a change of heart.

And again we heard it this morning, a change of heart.

And this is unequivocally true as we continue considered last week Jesus's teachings, right?

We spoke about anger, we spoke about lust, we spoke about marriage.

This morning our topic is imitating kingdom righteousness and there has been intentionally this progression from understanding to practicing to now imitating kingdom righteousness.

And we're gonna look at the remaining 3 examples that Jesus teaches in Matthew chapter 5.

Now a couple of things that we need to know.

Each of these teachings is going to explain to us how we are to flourish in his kingdom now and not yet.

There will be a day where this will all come together.

You remember a couple weeks ago we had a picture of the garden and then the 2 came together.

That's what we're waiting for, that perfectness if you want to call it.

I don't know what the right word is, but when everything just comes together, just perfect.

And you're gonna see that in this exegesis, we also see that there's an internal righteousness that occurs.

And we've been speaking about stuff that it's not what goes into our mouth.

We've been saying it's stuff that comes out of our heart that defiles us.

And thirdly, each exegesis that we're going to look at this morning is going to tell us what our attitude, our behavior, and what our conduct should be.

And so that brings us to our big idea this morning, which is a combination of our last 2 big ideas.

So we took a big idea and a big idea, Louis, a bigger idea, and this morning we're just bringing them together and this is what we have.

Whole person behavior and I threw in the word that, okay that's the big difference here, whole person behavior that accords with God's nature, will and coming Kingdom requires a change of heart.

That summarizes what we've been looking at these last 3 weeks.

If you're gonna remember that definition, that big idea, hopefully that'll encourage us to grow to become more like Christ, to imitate him.

And so structurally this morning, we're gonna consider 3 things.

Wholeness of truth, vengeance, and agape laf.

Those are our 3 little markers if you like.

And again, the structure of Jesus's teaching, I'm just going to repeat myself quickly, it's Jesus is going to refer to Torah, the first 5 books of the law, right, in the Old Testament.

He's then going to tell you, well this is what I'm teaching, and then he's going to give us a practical example.

So that's the structure, that's what we're looking at, that's the big idea.

And I don't know if you remember, but last week as our time was drawing to an end, I mentioned how I was so blessed to be married to Nancy, to have an amazing wife, and I said, my children were so blessed to have an amazing mother, and how I was so glad that Megan, David, and William were watching.

And I was really alluding to how our marriage was not always perfect.

And then there was a brother who spontaneously screamed out, shouted out, Amen.

And I think he did that in recognition, he's smiling now, I'm not calling you out, he did that in recognition that marriages are difficult and they do require work.

I don't want to get my peer into pretend something that it's not my character, it's not who I am.

And so I shared with you this quote last week which read, 2 broken people, and this is so important, it's broken people.

It's 2 broken people that come together and I said they're either going to fit together perfectly or they're going to destroy each other beyond repair.

And then I intentionally, I mentioned that Nancy and I, how we took an oath to fit together perfectly and how God is the glue that binds us together.

And I use the word oath purposely because I knew what was coming now in this action and so I'm inviting you to open your Bibles and to turn with me to Matthew chapter 5 where We're gonna begin this section of teaching at verse 33, where Jesus is going to forbid oaths.

Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.

Megan and I were having a moment this week and we were sharing, talking about what I'd be speaking about this Sunday and I mentioned the word oath and she said, what's an oath?

And so, Google the definition and this is what I came up with.

A solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness regarding one's future action or behavior.

Actually, I had this definition before if she answered the question, and here it is.

It's a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness regarding one's future action or behavior.

So I'm not sure what comes to mind when I say the word oath.

Maybe you picture a witness in a courtroom with 1 hand over a Bible.

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Or maybe you picture a wedding day where the bride and groom, perhaps here standing in front of the church, in front of God, in front of witnesses, and they're exchanging their vows that they've prepared for each other.

Now you see, on our wedding day, how many people were here at our wedding?

There were some people who were definitely there.

You will recall on our wedding day, the priest overseeing our wedding ceremony accidentally mistook Nancy's name for her sister Tracy and asked me if I was ready to take Tracy as my bride instead.

Now just imagine if I had sworn that something was true in the name of the Lord when in fact it was false.

See, in Jesus' day the Mosaic law contains specific instructions against swearing falsely by the name of God.

So when Jesus says, again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.

Many of Jesus' listeners in that day, they hear this, and they know that he is referring to the 10 Commandments in Exodus chapter 20, verse 7, which reads, you must not misuse, again, misuse is gonna be used twice in this verse, you must not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse His name.

The idea behind misuse is of the name of the Lord our God is not about spoken profanity.

It's not about what you might overhear at a sporting event.

It's not about what you might hear at work or at school or behind the wheel of a car, I don't know.

It's about swearing that something is true in the name of the Lord when in fact it is not true.

Swearing that something is true when in fact it is not true.

And in verse 34 we read, but I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king, nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make 1 hair white or black.

In those days, Jesus was concerned with 2 things regarding oaths.

First, individuals would sometimes take an oath when none was required.

These types of oaths could be associated with non-sacred things like a fig tree or an olive tree.

Rabbis discourage people from using the name of the Lord unnecessarily.

I remember when I was growing up, I was 7, 8 years old, somebody who was instrumental in my life, My parents divorced when I was young.

And when I got to Montreal, there was somebody who was very much a father figure in my life.

And 1 of the things, and I'm just giving you the example, 1 of the things that we used to do when we were kids is he would say, do you swear to God that you did your homework?

Do you swear to God that you brushed your teeth?

And as a 7, eight-year-old, that was a way of saying whether or not at that point, whether or not you were telling the truth.

But as a 7, eight-year-old, you quickly figured out that if you put the letter L in there and you said, you swear to God, you weren't really swearing to God.

And I was like, you can kind of break the promise.

And I just use that as an example as I was preparing this because that's what my mind went back to, right?

Because you're taking an oath when none is required.

The second issue is that oaths were divided by Jews into 2 separate classes.

Those sworn by God, they were binding, solid, could not be broken.

Those that were sworn by heaven and earth and Jerusalem, they were not binding, they could be broken.

So what Jesus is teaching or addressing the people in this passage is, he's speaking to those that are intentionally evasive or misleading.

Jesus is concerned with our whole person behavior.

Ever notice how some people speak 1 way on a Sunday morning and another way the remaining of the week.

And we may think that God is uninvited or excluded from parts of our conversation.

But God is everywhere, he hears everything, including the words that bear his name.

Our words matter, and this is especially true in a world where promises are often broken, And in our homes, and in politics, marriages, and even to our children.

I remember, again, growing up, I was young, and you'd kind of wait for a father to come from out of town to visit you, and you're really excited.

You were waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting.

And there was always a reason why that didn't happen.

Lost a job, car broke down, lost a tire, fill in the blank.

That is why, fact check, ask my wife, ask my kids.

When I tell my kids something, it happens.

Imagine a world where people were too embarrassed to ask us to make a promise because of our Christian character displayed daily.

And so in terms of practical application, Jesus says in verse 37, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, for whatever is more than these is from the evil 1.

If you want to flourish, greater righteousness requires us to be men and women of impeccable Christian character with wholeness of truth, speech, and dependable in all areas of life.

That's what it means to be right before God and right before others.

Whole person behavior that accords with God's nature, will, and coming kingdom requires a change of heart, including the words we speak.

In our next exegesis, Jesus is going to speak about how we should go the second mile, beginning at verse 38.

You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Here Jesus is referring to 1 of 3 Old Testament texts that his hearers would have known very well from Exodus chapter 21, verse 23, which reads, but if there is a serious injury or you are to take wife for wife, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

This was known as the law of tit for tat.

And what it actually does is it puts a limit on vengeance.

In the earlier days, think of tribal society.

If a tribal member over here was attacked and injured by another member, this whole tribe would attack this tribe over here, but they weren't just going over after the guilty tribal member, they were going after the entire tribe, they would have been willing to kill that entire tribe group, and this type of vengeance was passed down throughout the generations.

It actually made it to the movie Untouchables.

I don't know if you've seen that movie where Sean Connery says, you wanna get Capone?

You pull a, oh come on, I know you've seen it.

He sends 1 of yours to the hospital, you send 1 of his to the morgue, exactly.

But Jesus says in Matthew 5, 39, but I tell you not to resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

And whoever compels you to go 1 mile, go with him too.

Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.

Here Jesus is providing 4 examples of the Christian ethic he expects among Christians, and the conduct that distinguishes us from others.

So to begin with, Jesus says, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to them, turn the other to him also.

David Jeremiah, a Christian author and pastor, tells the story of a professional boxer who becomes a pastor and moves his family to a tough neighborhood.

1 night, doorbell rings, and a group of men looking for trouble arrive at his door.

He answers the door, and as he greets, he is greeted by the first man with a punch right to the face, and it sends him back, falling down, and he hits the ground, and after a couple of minutes, he regains his composure.

He gets back up, rises to his feet, he removes the dust off of his clothes and he goes back to the door where he is greeted a second time by a punch harder than the first.

And so this time the pastor, he stands up.

And he says from his professional boxing stance, you hit me once, you hit me twice, I have no further instructions from the Lord.

But how do we react when someone disrespects us or slaps us in the face?

Or insults us or gossips, or defames our character.

You ever have, you know, we spoke with oaths and marriage, And by the way, I forgot to do this, I'm gonna do this.

Louie and Kelly, 24 year anniversary today.

Cause I was tying this to marriage again, and I went, oh, I forgot to mention that before.

But has not, because you guys are a perfect example of this probably never happening, right?

I was thinking, have you ever had an argument with a significant other?

And the next thing you know, the argument turns to insults.

And so you hurt me, so now I'm gonna hurt you.

And the hurt kind of like escalates with each additional blow.

I remember years ago, I remember their names, I don't.

There was a couple here that oversaw our youth group and I remember them saying, I was in my teens, so this is like over 30 years ago, and I remember them saying, the minute we have an argument and 1 starts in any way to say anything other than factual, like they walk away, it's over, they don't continue anymore, and I've always remembered that.

So this is just as bad as tribal justice, right?

What Jesus is saying is that retaliation is not welcome.

Don't trade insult for insult, don't seek vengeance, instead turn the other cheek.

And so whereas the first example is physical, the second 1 is financial, but it contains the same principle.

If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let them have your cloak also.

You see, back then the tunic was made of linen and it was an inner garment that was worn by everyone, including the poor.

Including the poor, that's what they wore.

But the cloak, that was an outer garment.

It was an outer garment that was worn over the tunic, but at night it could also be doubled up as a blanket for when it was cold.

And according to the law, this is the law, a person's cloak could not be taken away from them.

And so in this example, when Jesus says, let him have your cloak also, You know that 1 that you have every right to keep, the 1 that belongs to you?

What Jesus is saying is focus less on your rights and more on your duties.

And so I was saying, Megan, yeah, we gotta focus more on our rights.

You're on the metro, and you're there in time, and you grab a seat.

But in comes an elderly person, or a pregnant lady, or somebody with a disability.

You have the right to the seat, but it's your duty to stand up and

Or this week, and I was at IGA, they had a special on lobsters.

We're all going to your house after the, and so we're there and I'm in line and there's a line up for lobsters, right, and then there's another person over here.

This may or may not be true, right, but there's a group of lobsters, and as we're getting closer to the line, I get there and there's none left.

There's no more, like, there's like 2 lobsters left, right?

And I know that the person on my right may have been waiting and I heard it, really, really excited about the lobsters, but I know if I take the 2, there's none left for this person here.

So there's something, it's my right, I've been waiting on it, it's my lobster I'm going to buy, I've been waiting here.

Or I can say, you know what, I'd love for you to have that lobster, really, I'm okay, I'm good, you have it.

Or I can say, I'd love for you to have it and I'll just wait for the special next year, don't worry about it, okay?

Or, or you can do neither of those and just say, just take the lobster, right?

What I did is I didn't take the live lobsters, I took the already cooked lobster, right, is what I did.

And it's just an example of, it's my right, they're my lobsters, but duty, hey listen, you'll probably appreciate them more than me.

As Christians, it's our duty to love our neighbor, to serve others, to live a life of integrity.

And sometimes, and we sang this this morning, it was the last song, sometimes we have to surrender what is most valuable to us.

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Flourishing in the Kingdom of Heaven