Transformative Power of Kingdom Righteousness in Relationships

The mark of knowing him was that they actually did the will of the Father which is in heaven and that is spelled out in what he has been teaching now again not as laws that's what will kill you not just with the Sermon on the Mount but any of Jesus's teachings and I hope you will remember my saying that if you want to keep the law don't try to keep the law concentrate on becoming the kind of person who would keep the law. [00:03:13]

The way to learn how to step free from anger is the surrendered will because anger is a will problem, and then we didn't have time to cover all of it but again I just have to refer you to chapter 5 sorry to seem like I'm selling books but they just have to forgive me for that because really you need to work through this carefully and you need to understand exactly what anger is and how it works. [00:08:00]

If it were not for anger and contempt, how much would go wrong in sexuality? Pull the anger out, pull the contempt out, and you have transformed sexuality and I don't have time to elaborate that on at great length but you need to think about it and divorce and he treats divorce under the heading of sexuality because most of the issues that lead to divorce not all of them but most of them have their roots at least in anger and desire. [00:13:36]

The will is involved here to lust see that is a propulsive action in which the will is already implicated and that's why he says what he does about it not because there's a thought not because of the temptation now he says something that has caused people so much trouble because they read this as Pharisees and now there's teaching you're going to have here is precisely directed at the Pharisees interpretation. [00:16:20]

Righteousness is a matter of what you do are you with me, and just like in the case of killing it isn't a matter of what you do it's true you shouldn't kill people murder people it's true you shouldn't commit adultery but if that's all you have not done you're a long way from where you ought to be a person who has learned to see another person as a child of God with a destiny in God's great universe. [00:21:31]

Letting your yes be a yes is you just say it's this way or your no be a no just say no it's not like that no to just latch on to that and say well there's a little verbal thing here that I have no no it's getting to your heart are you willing to let people make up their own minds on the basis of truth now he's saying if you're not you've got a problem. [00:33:12]

The kingdom heart is one that stands freely and does not utter yeses that are nose and nose that are yes what a favorite come to combat one of those little comics of mine is out of the New Yorker they're very good with some of these things and it shows a man sitting here on this side of the desk and another man sitting over here and out of this man's mouth comes a bunch of yeses yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes and they form a cloud that says no. [00:35:47]

If you are using persuasion for the good of the person you're talking to you have to be careful but there is a legitimate use of that but if you're using persuasion for your benefit stop it. Not any good yes well I I would truth is a good guideline yeah but even within the limits of truth you want to distinguish whose interest is being served the old rule in current criminal law follow the money. [00:41:50]

Jesus is not laying down things for you to do like a law you go unto the others and by the way you want to keep in order here what's going on before you come to resist not evil make sure you've taken care of not swearing not cultivating lust not being filled at anger because if you try to not resist evil whoever slaps you on the right cheek turn to him the other if you try to do that without having taken care of the others basically you will be a failure. [00:44:21]

The Lex talionis is an advance in mercy and justice an eye for an eye, and we think uh-oh no that's terrible I mean no no it's better than a head for an eye now this gets into lots of issues about the progress of God in dealing with these people and so on but when you come to Jesus now he's going beyond that and the rest of the teaching there in chapter 5 is about largely about that it's about going beyond and on teaching a better way a better way. [00:48:01]

You open up a space in which grace and judgment and love can intervene this passage let me just say has absolutely nothing to do with pacifism, so let me just make a brutal statement to that effect and then you have to worry about it, but it has nothing to do with pacifism it's not talking about that issue that's a separate issue and of course it is one that is important very important but don't misuse the scripture if you can keep from it. [00:49:55]

The Lord's Prayer which is of course the disciples prayer that might help you to see it better in the kingdom context that we've been talking about now and hopefully you can think it differently this is this is from chapter 7 of the divine conspiracy so you don't want to have to write it down you can find it there, dear father always near us our Father who art in heaven was that mean our Father who art far away and much later see no this is what it is. [00:52:30]