Opening Prayer - Heavenly Father we thank You for the opportunity to learn about Your Word. We pray that you will help us to understand these verses in Matthew so we can fulfill our purpose in life. May everyone who tunes in this evening receive a blessing and learn from your Word and be able to apply what we have learned in our daily lives. We're eternally thankful for this ministry, and we pray that we can share these websites with others and many people can begin to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Worship music - Please click the links and sing along if you know the words (You can also click skip ad to go straight to the songs) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxbju9ymtuQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-yYXFPCjJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-lRMO8vHT0
For Wednesday evening services, the Lord has lead me to do a Bible study for practical Bible verses in Matthew. Please come back to these Bible lessons in order to review them and learn them. Whenever we have learned the meaning of Bible verses and think about them throughout each day, we will be in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Not only that, but when we are in a situation in our daily lives and are tempted to sin, we can think back to what we have learned from the Bible and say to ourselves, "The Bible says to not do what I am tempted to say, think, do, and/or desire right now, so I am going to refuse to give in to this temptation." This is what Romans 12:2 means, and it says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." This is also the pattern that Jesus used when the devil tempted Him to sin in Matthew 4:1-11.
Chapter 7
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
Matthew chapters 5-7 are Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 4:17 means if someone wants to go to Heaven, they need to be willing to repent (change the way they live and think) from this moment on and for the rest of their life. Matthew chapters 5-7 explains how someone needs to be willing to live and think, from this moment on, if they want to repent and go to Heaven. Also, if someone wants to become a Christian, they need to be consciously or unconsciously willing to follow (imitate and obey) Jesus "from that moment on and for the rest of their life". If someone is not willing to live the way Jesus' Sermon on the Mount explains, they are not willing to follow (imitate and obey) Jesus. Therefore, that person is not ready to become a Christian by trusting Jesus' death on the cross and His shed blood to erase their sins and let them into Heaven. For more information about being willing to follow Jesus and it's relationship to salvation, please see these websites - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/nocontridiction and http://chriswaug5.wix.com/theanswer
Matthew 7:19,20
19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
If someone believes they are a Christian, but they don't bear good fruit, something is wrong. The following are examples of fruit Christians - becoming more holy (someone who sets their old plans of each day aside and spends more of their time doing what God wants them to do) in the way they live (Romans 6:22), sharing their material possessions with other people (Romans 15:28), telling people how to become Christians (Romans 1:16), having Jesus' character traits (Galatians 5:22–23), praising the Lord (Hebrews 13:15), answered prayer (1 John 5:14–15), and doing good works (Colossians 1:10) such as -
spending more of your money on things like evangelistic associations, charities, and things for God’s purposes instead of entertainment and material type things (Matthew 6:19-21), if you have money left over from providing your self with food, clothing, and shelter, be willing to give to those who have needs and/or ask the church that you attend and support financially to help meet their needs (Luke 12:16-21);
teaching people the Bible (Matthew 28:19), counseling with people who are having problems (Galatians 6:2), encouraging others (Hebrews 10:25), correcting other believers when they sin (Galatians 6:1), and telling people how to become Christians (2 Timothy 4:5) by mouth, through email or social media, and/or by handing out or dropping off Christian tracts in places like stores or restaurants where people can pick them up;
feeding, clothing, and providing shelter and financial help for the less fortunate, and visiting people in hospitals and jails (Mark 12:30-31);
doing acts of kindness for people that will make God look good in front of others (for example - cooking for people, cleaning for people, doing people’s yard work, helping people shop, washing people’s cars, fixing people’s appliances) (Matthew 5:16);
If you have prayed or made a decision to trust Jesus’ death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven, but you haven't been bearing good fruit, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/makingsure
Matthew 7:21-23
21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Even though Matthew 7:21 means if someone never began to do God's will (This means what God wants, and this most definitely includes bearing good fruit (John 15:16). Please see the explainations for Matthew 7:19,20.) "after" they prayed or made a descion to become a Christian, they was never saved in the first place, verse 22 seems to state that the people Jesus mentioned really did do God's will after they believed. However, in verse 23 Jesus said, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (which means sins)." So, it is possible for someone to do God's will after they pray to get saved, but if that person continually sins like they did before they prayed to get saved, they was never really saved either. 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 is an example of this. Also, someone can "appear" to do God's will, but if they do it in order to impress others and not to make God look good and to genuinely help others, then that is also wrong. This was what the scribes and Pharisees were guility of, and that is why Jesus said in Matthew 5:20, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
If you have prayed or made a decision to trust Jesus’ death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven, but Matthew 7:21-23 describes you, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/makingsure
Matthew 7:24-27
24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Christians are people who study the Bible, and they try their best to say, think, and do what the Bible says to do. Christians also try their best to avoid doing what the Bible says not to say, think, and do.
If you have prayed or made a decision to trust Jesus’ death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven, but you haven't been living this way, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/makingsure
This concludes the explainations for the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). If you have never prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, you need to be willing to live this radical type of lifestyle. If you are willing to live this way, from this moment on and for the rest of your life, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven
If you have prayed or made a decision to trust Jesus’ death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven, but you have not been living the way Matthew 5-7 explains, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/makingsure
If you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, but you are not sure that you are really a Christian (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 21:18-22, 1 John 5:14, and Hebrews 11:1), you need to be sure - please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven