Fruitful Living
The sermon on the mount (Part I)
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 5:16; 6:33.
INTRODUCTION
After Jesus’s time in the desert, He launched into His public ministry by proclaiming the message that the kingdom of God was at hand, choosing His disciples, and preaching to and healing the crowds.
With Matthew 5, the Gospel shifts to the record of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount – His teaching on how citizens of the kingdom of God should conduct themselves. The sermon begins with the Beatitudes; blessings God gives to people who cultivate certain spiritual attributes.
They emphasize inner motives rather than mere outward conformity. Jesus then shifted His message to the issue of behaviour. Jesus addressed several Jewish laws and helped His disciples understand how right behaviour is never the ultimate indicator.
A person must have the right heart motive too. The commands of God remind us that He has a plan for how we ought to live our lives, and that plan is based on who He is and how He’s treated us.
Ultimately, we must remember that the God who demands perfection has already provided a means through the perfect sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.
As Salt and Light, we believe in the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus’s Kingdom values for everyday living. We would like to share this again since it is still relevant to us today.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT — MATTHEW 5:1-48
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them.
THE BEATITUDES
He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. -Matthew 5:1-12
To be continued!
Stay blessed!
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By Dr. Joyce Aryee, the author
Fruitful Living
Honeycomb Ministries founder ordained as Priest
Rev. Dansu (third from left) with other officiating ministers at the event
The Dominion College of Bishops, last Saturday commissioned and ordained as Reverend Minister, Ms Cecilia Dansu, the Founder and Lead Facilitator of the Honeycomb Ministries, a non-denominational end-time revival movement, in Accra.
Minister Dansu who undergone an intensive theological training and gazetted by the government was ordained in recognition of her humanitarian outreach and dedication to spreading the word of God to schools and communities.
The colourful service which was officiated by the Deputy Prelate of the Dominion College of Bishops, Bishop Dr Albert Ken Dapatem and Director of Programmes, Bishop Peter Koomson was attended by family and loved ones.
In a short exhortation on the theme: ‘You were chosen for a purpose (John 15,16),’ the Associate Pastor of Change Life Baptist Church, Rev. Samuel Ohemeng Damptey, admonished Christians to avail themselves for the gift of God to operate in them.
According to him, it was not only the clergy that the Lord had called but each and every one for a specific purpose.
“If you cannot preach like Paul, or all the other Bishops, at least there’s something you can do. You can share the word of God with children for the bible says, He has chosen us for a purpose to bear fruit-a fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you,” he added.
Rev. Damptey charged the newly ordained minister to be committed to the cause of God, and use her mantle to save people and expand the ministry, whiles keeping in mind that she was called by God to spread His message.
She was presented with a Holy Bible, pastoral collar and awarded a certificate of recognition.
As part of the consecration, the officers used the opportunity to officially inaugurate her ministry, the Honeycomb Ministries to ascertain the feasibility of the ministry’s vision and action plans.
In addition, two Christian publications authored by her was also launched to shape the Christian youth in their everyday lives with God.
By Vivian Arthur
Fruitful Living
WHAT IS THE LOVE OF GOD? (PART 1)
God is love
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in His love – John 15:9-10
INTRODUCTION
Remain in my love – Jesus calls us to a life of holy intimacy and personal devotion to Him. This is possible because of God’s love for us, which he has poured into our hearts by the holy spirit (Romans 5:5). God demonstrated His great love through Christ’s dying for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). We remain in Jesus’ love by pursuing spiritual intimacy and communication with Him, and by obeying His commands, just as He did with the Father.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. – 1 John 3:1
CHILDREN OF GOD
The truth that God is our Heavenly Father and we are His children is one of the greatest revelations in the New Testament.
1. Being a child of God, adopted in Christ as His very own (Ephesians 1:5), is a high honour on privilege of our salvation. (Galatians 4:7).
2. Being a child of God is the basis for our faith and trust in God (Matthew 6:25-34) and our hope of glory for the future. As God’s children, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17; Galatians 4:7).
3. God wants us to be increasingly made aware through the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of Sonship” (Romans 8:15) that we are His children. The Spirit produces the cry “Abba, Father” in our hearts (Galatians 4:6) and gives us the desire to be “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14).
4. Being a child of God is the basis for our discipline by the Father (Hebrews 12:6-7-11) and the reason we live to please God.
God’s ultimate goal in making us His children is to save us forever (John 3:16) and to conform us to the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:29).
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is an activity and behaviour and not just as an inner teaching or motivation. Other aspects of love are characteristics of God Himself who has been revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ.
The love of God is His passion to sustain and uphold and exalt His holiness and His Son for your everlasting enjoyment. If you put yourself at the centre, you’re suicidal because it robs you of the very glory of God and his enjoyment.
1 John 4:8 describes one of God’s primary attributes as love. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” This verse does not define God as love; it describes God’s love as permeating His essence in all He is and all He does. As for today’s headlines tout stories of scandal, tragedy, and war; believers can be confident knowing all they need is God’s love.
I agree with the Theologian A.W. Tozer once stated, “Nothing God ever does, or ever did, or ever will do, is separate from the love of God.” Everything He has ever done has been out of love.
THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD
1. God’s Love Is Incomprehensible. – “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” – Ephesians 3:17-18.
2. God’s Love Is known and Proven – “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”. – John 3:16.
3. We Can Trust In God’s Love.
4. God’s Love is Pure.
5. God’s Love is Perfect.
6. Our Salvation Is An Expression Of God’s Love.
7. Our Ability To Love Is Enabled Through God’s Love.
8. We Can Rest In God’s Love.
9. We Can Have Confidence In God’s Love.