This Present Kingdom | Week 5 | Jean Stockdale

hi ladies and welcome back to our spring bible study this present kingdom we are officially halfway through our study and speaking of halfway yes and speaking of halfway we're going to be taking our spring break next week that's right yes but just as excited as i am to have all of you here today we're gonna be so excited to be back together the following tuesday march 23rd so keep on your calendars come back and join us after we have spring break next tuesday yes we have really enjoyed going through this study with all of you ladies those of you who are here in person and those watching online and speaking of online ladies right now go ahead and click that share button on your screen so that your friends can join in on the study with us because as i'm sure paige will tell you it's never too late to join us that is correct it is never too late and if you have not registered for the study go ahead and go to bellevue.org women and there you'll see a link to register for our bible study and when you do so in your confirmation email you'll find that you'll get the lecture notes for today and all of the weeks that we've covered so far so you're definitely going to want to check that out yes and be sure to follow us on facebook and instagram there you will find all of our updates and latest information page i feel like i'm doing an infomercial a little bit but i wanted to remind all the ladies the information is important no but speaking of latest information so most of you know that on thursdays i send a link in your emails to you that have that week's study the lecture notes for that week and our latest episode of our podcast the afterward yes and ladies if you have not already you are going to want to listen to last week's episode most of y'all may not realize but i'm actually not in there when they record it so i get to hear it around the same time y'all don't do and it is so great lauren what did you think of it well paige i have the pleasure of sitting in the studio with donna dana and gene as they record the podcast and as they share such profound wisdom and insight you know and a couple laughs of course i'll tell you it's just such a blessing to me when i'm there but when i listen again later i'm doubly blessed i love how we get to walk through this passage in this large group time together but then when we listen to the podcast it's like you're just sitting around the table with your girlfriends and talking about things that we just don't have time for in this time and that's really the whole idea is that we just get to share and experience this passage on a more personal level with those ladies last week actually dana shared a personal testimony about silence and solitude that kingdom exercise from last week and that just really touched me and made me think about it in a whole new way so if you haven't already i encourage you to go check that out and listen to last week's podcast yes and ladies as much fun as it is to listen to donna and gene and dana and it really it really is a blessing we love to hear from y'all too yeah last week yes last week i shared about one of our sweet friends and how she put that kingdom exercise to work and what you'll notice if you're following us on social media which you should um is that on saturdays i'm starting to put our a post about the kingdom exercise for that week just as kind of a reminder for us of how we can do it so if you would we would absolutely love it if you would leave a comment on there about how you're living that out how the lord spoke to you those examples and not only would it bless us i know it will bless some of the other ladies as well because like i said sometimes we just want to hear you know how the lord's working in other people's lives i know i would love to hear about that this past week we were challenged to spend time on the practice of meditation so as you go about your week um over the coming days and find time to meditate on the word of god be on the lookout for paige's post on saturday so that you can leave us a comment on how the lord spoke to you and how you were able to live that out this week yes please and while you're there just go ahead and give us a follow too so you can stay up to date with us of course so today we welcome back our friend jean as she teaches out of matthew 5 verses 31 through 48 and this week in our homework we were challenged to do a heart inventory as we strive to orient ourselves to kingdom living yes and since we've been talking a lot about homework and kingdom exercises we just want to remind you ladies that if you feel like you are behind or if you feel discouraged because you don't think you're where you should be just do not be discouraged to start in where you are whatever that may be the baby steps will help grow and i promise you as much as you put in the lord will be faithful through that absolutely donna reminded us last week even if you're just able to spend 10 minutes in silence and solitude that that's a great place to start and you know we can testify that the more you do it the more you will crave that time with the lord and he will just bless it and you know help you find time to do more yes and ladies i just feel like we may have had a little soapbox moment there but it is so true we are so encouraged by you we love to hear you and love you to join in with us and speaking of joining in those of you online if you'll just go ahead and share this on your feed then your girlfriends can join in with us before worship and speaking of worship those of you here in the rooms and your smile grief rooms are watching with this line why don't you just go ahead and stand up with us as we get ready to sing praises to our lord [Music] spirit of the [Music] spirit of [Music] me mold me fill me use me spirit of the living god fall fresh on me [Music] there's nothing worth more that could ever come close nothing can compare you're our living hope [Music] your presence i've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves where my heartbeat comes free and my shame is [Music] your glory god is what our hearts long for to be overcome by your presence [Music] there's nothing worth war that could ever come close nothing can compare [Music] i've tasted and seen [Music] is [Music] holy spirit [Music] is lord [Music] your presence let us become more aware of your presence let us experience the glory of your goodness let us become more aware of your presence let us experience the glory of your goodness let us become more aware of your presence let us experience the glory of your goodness let us experience [Music] [Applause] [Music] you are welcome here come flood this place and fill the atmosphere your glory god is what our hearts long for to be overcome by your presence and holy spirit we tell you that you are not just welcome in this place you are welcome but we are desperate for you to manifest your presence in this place today holy spirit breathe over this place minister to our hearts transform our lives do your work within us we yield ourselves completely totally to you today oh father thank you for the incredible love you have for us your daughters we bless you in the name of your son jesus we pray amen well thank you so much for joining us today for week five in the bellevue women bible study this present kingdom the disruptive message of the sermon on the mount you know a.w tozier said if the holy spirit was withdrawn from the church today 95 of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference but if the holy spirit had been withdrawn from the new testament church 95 of what they did would stop and everyone would know the difference why is that why is that the early church lived out the teaching of the sermon on the mount new testament believers were known for praying for those who persecuted them turning the other cheek going the extra mile blessing those who cursed them giving their possessions away going above and beyond in obeying authorities and loving their enemies in fact you know i think if there had been a doormat at the front door of a believer in the early church instead of it saying welcome friends it probably would have said welcome enemies that is how committed the early church was to obeying the teaching of jesus and the sermon on the mount these early believers sought to live in such a way that the personality and actions of christ just naturally overflowed from them wherever they were and whoever they were with you see when christ comes to live in our hearts he invites us he invites each one of us to participate with him in showing god's love to the world around us we aren't just saved from something we are saved for something and that something is to bring the full expression of the love of christ into the world and that friends is not going to happen by just being a little bit nicer to each other at the end of the day the most compelling the most enduring the most indestructible proof that god is alive and exists and is at work in the world is love our love for every person every tribe every nation every tongue and that kind of love is not just something we can work up from within ourselves it has to flow from a heart that is full of christ and operating under the control of the holy spirit it is the holy spirit that draws us in to the likeness of christ and the outcome of jesus living through in us through the holy spirit is fruit and you could say that fruit with me love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control that is the way that we get to the place when we can bless those who curse us or just don't really like us the way we can love our enemies the way we can give without expecting anything in return the way we can honor our authorities who may treat us poorly through the power of the holy spirit at work in our lives jesus wants to transform us into the citizens of the kingdom of god who show the world such a vision of the father that all who see stand amazed as we sing this next song would you make it the prayer of your heart ask the spirit of the living god to fall fresh on you right now make that your prayer ask him to change the way you see change the way you move speak to the deepest part of you and transform you into the image of jesus christ [Music] spirit of the living god spirit of the living god we only wanna hear your voice we're hanging on every word spirit of the living god spirit of the living god we want to know you more and more we're hanging on every word ladies would you stand and sing that with me of the living god spirit of the living god spirit of the living god we only wanna hear your voice we're hanging on every word spirit of the living god spirit of the living god we wanna know you more and more we're hanging on every word it's when you speak and when you move when you do what only you can do it changes us [Music] it changes us it changes what we see and what we see [Music] it's changing everything spirit of the living god spirit of the living god we're leaning [Music] come now and breathe upon our hearts come now and have your way cause when you speak and when you move when you do what only you can do it changes us it changes what we see and what we seek when you come in when you do what only you can do it changes us it changes what we see [Music] [Applause] [Music] is you move us to tears [Music] [Music] and when you fall we fall at your feet [Music] what only is can do it changes us it [Music] what changes you can do [Music] spirit of the living god we only wanna hear your voice we're hanging on every word ladies would you pray with me please oh father father you have shown up so big this morning father son and holy spirit of the living god we are excited we are delighted we are honored and privileged to step into your throne room today and worship and praise and father now as we go and open the word of god it is my prayer that you would speak that we would hear a voice saying this is the way walk ye in it thus saith the lord oh father speak your daughters have gathered and lord we're just wrecked we are so messed up life is so hard and so full of challenges both know our heart is this as your daughters that we desire to walk in the fullness of jesus christ spirit of the living god descend upon this place i mean settle in you are welcome in this place but lord what we're asking for is a fresh manifestation of who you are we need to see your glory today lord so do what you must break free in this place father i am asking with the audacity of faith that you would interrupt that you would disrupt every preconceived notion that we have anything that exalts itself above the true knowledge of god that you would tear down those strongholds and set us free today father i pray and i pray for myself that you would hide me behind the cross that i would decrease and you would increase that when i opened my mouth you would fill it with your anointed words today and father as we wait with great expectation with faces lifted up into your presence we say speak lord speak you're handmade your bond slave your bond servant your daughter is eagerly anticipating what it is you want to say today so speak we'll be careful not to touch your glory in jesus name amen and amen well god bless you thank you for the worship team for uh leading us to the throne of grace this morning would you open your bibles please we're in uh as you know matthew chapter 5 and beloved i hope that this study is becoming more than just an exercise in bible study more than something you can check off your to-do list that it's becoming life-changing and life-giving because i don't know about you but i want my life changed i want to be more like jesus christ through the power of the word of god and the power of the spirit god i want all that he has for me so beloved if you'll open your bibles please to matthew chapter 5 and we're going to be looking beginning in verse 31 and beloved this is a long lesson i've added to it i know it makes some of you a bit twitchy when i go off my notes and really rightly it should it should we should have a moment of silence you know what i'm saying but i just want to tell you that i hope you will listen that you will listen with expectancy that you will take notes and that you will have determined that when god speaks you want to act when you hear from him you want a life that has changed the sermon on the mount teaches us what it means to be a citizen in the kingdom of god this is a righteousness that you and i have in christ that far exceeds externals and religious ceremonies and conformity beloved you and i who know the lord who have met him on his terms of repentance and faith beloved you and i have been declared judiciously righteous in god's eyes because of christ he has imputed on our behalf the very righteousness of christ he who knew no sin the bible says became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of god in christ jesus that's who we are and beloved that's something to get excited about now in the passage that donna taught us last week this is a continuation because jesus gives six examples that contrast his own authority as the original author and ultimate interpreter of the law with the false teaching and the false authority claimed by the rabbis with their oral traditions they had added hundreds of laws and rules and regulation to god's law distorting it and frankly making it so that they could keep it in part and they had put this burden on others they had invented all manner of ingenious ways of working around the intention of the word of god so i want to move us into the third uh and following donna taught us the first one that had to deal with murder and anger and the second that had to deal with lust and adultery look with me in verse 31 i call this god's plan for marriage look in verse 31 it says this jesus speaking it is said it was said whoever sends his wife away let him give her a certificate of divorce but i say to you that everyone who divorces his wife except for the reason of unchastity or adultery makes her commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery now beloved divorce was rampant in the jewish culture jesus addresses this issue although these two verses were hardly designed to reveal all of his teaching on divorce and remarriage they simply are to give us a summary of his teaching and they are essential essentially beloved a call to marital fidelity remember it's in the context he's just spoken about lust when it is unchecked will certainly lead to adultery and now he's saying adultery will lead to divorce how do you avoid divorce beloved you live a holy separated life he's upholding the institution of marriage god instituted marriage back in genesis chapter 2 24 for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife the two shall become one flesh in ephesians chapter 5 paul quotes this passage and adds this to it this mystery is great but i am speaking with reference to christ and the church beloved citizens of the kingdom understand that in marriage that both parties must be spirit-filled spirit-led controlled by the spirit and aggressively pursuing jesus christ as lord individually and collectively and even in that beloved let me just drop real close come up real close so you can catch what i'm trying to say marriage is hard can i get an amen i'm talking about people who love god craig and i have been at this thing for over 47 years we were childhood sweethearts we married at the age of 19. most of you know my testimony we were not believers when we got married we were married five years before we came to faith dramatic conversion i am telling you we stepped out of darkness and into light under the preaching of adrian writers here at this church and for over 40 years craig and i have planted our lives here and served here because frankly they grew us up pastors and leaders and teachers poured truth into us and grew us up in the lord and then called us by the lord called us to turn around and pour that truth into others and we've been steadily at it but could i just say one more time marriage is hard work no good marriage just happens why because the power of the flesh is so strong and every day it requires we crucify the flesh that we live dead to sin and alive to christ and yet beloved the flesh is so sneaky that it rises up at times and sneaks up on us and takes us down i know you're all looking like this has never happened but i know you're agreeing this is what marriage looks like it's hard hard work and if you think it gets easier just because we've been at it a long time i will tell you no no excuse me i'm talking so fast i'm sorry i'm going to have to stop and get a sip of water excuse me this is god's plan for marriage is that jesus christ would be exalted and the picture of christ would be set on display for the entire lost world to see i don't know about you but during this last year in pandemic i have caught myself being more irritable than usual and just a tiny bit needier than i would like to own up to i have caught myself being overly sensitive and easily frustrated i don't like that about myself and you perhaps have as well and frankly when you're in a marriage covenant the person that usually spills out on is your spouse and if you are not careful to knit that in the bud what happens is it festers and it grows and suddenly it becomes such a big deal because it was not dealt with in that seed thought that first came to you and you spend the whole day pondering what you don't really like about him and you begin to wonder why did i marry him [Music] i might have done better if i just remained at home and if you're not careful you'll begin to be mad at his mother because you'll start thinking to yourself if she had trained the boy better we wouldn't be in this position i can tell you that my husband is an absolute darling you know i very affectionately call him mr stockdale it is just a nickname just a nickname and i'm not even sure where that came from but mr stockdale is the kindest man i have ever met in my entire life he is gentle and tender and kind and loving and he adores me and yet i catch myself at times deciding i'm going to tell him a thing or two and on one such occasion when we had had just a few words a little disagreement a little spat that after it was resolved we were both kind of laughing about it and craig said to me very playfully now darlene obviously obviously you have not trained me well in this matter to which i said i have two things i'd like to say about that the first is i have never tried to train you the second is if i had you'd be farther along listen god instituted marriage and he designed it so that you and i would have to rely upon the indwelling spirit of god and the word of god in order to know how to do this thing well in order to exalt jesus christ in our married relationship that's god's plan for marriage the second thing i want you to see and again i know we're moving very quickly is what i call god's perspective on vows look with me in verse 33 again you have heard from the ancients you have been told you shall not make false vows but shall fulfill your vows to the lord but i say to you make no oath at all either by heaven for it is the throne of god or by earth for it is the footstool of his feet or by jerusalem for it's the city of the great king nor shall you make an oath by your head for you cannot make one hair white or black but let your statement be yes yes or no no anything beyond that is evil in that day there was this distortion of what the law had dictated the law allowed for a vow to be made that invoke the name of god and that thou could not be broken but the pharisees taught there was a loophole in the law and that if you made a vow that you might possibly not be able to keep you could make a vow by uh swearing by heaven or earth or the holy city or even their own heads well jesus taught there's a higher standard for kingdom servants we are to uphold godliness and righteousness and truth we're to be people of integrity therefore we should not need to make such vows rather let our yes be yes and our no be no now beloved i hope that you know that words are powerful agents god has given some of us huge word banks like myself and because of that i'm always collecting verses on words throughout my study time if i come across a verse that speaks about words i put a w in the margin and i try to read it and reread it until i can begin to catch the essence of the truth and apply it to my own life because i have so many words in fact one of my favorites is found in proverbs 10 verse 19 where there are many words transgression is unavoidable if you have lots of words therefore you need to be editing yourself by the spirit of god to guard your words ephesians 4 29 let no one wholesome word proceed out of your mouth but only that which is good for edification according to the need of the moment so it will give grace to those who hear in colossians the scripture says that we're to speak in such a way that our words are gracious yet seasoned with salt second timothy 2 16 says avoid worldly and empty chatter it only leads to further ungodliness and it will spread like gangrene words are powerful they're powerful and we as kingdom dwellers as citizens of the kingdom of heaven need to guard our words so that the words we speak testify that we belong to jesus christ the words are encouraging and edifying that we're building one another up in the faith the bible said death and life are in the power of the tongue our word should be life giving now years ago one of the first classes that craig and i ever had together was a young married class in fact we were still at bellevue downtown and we gathered up this group of folks their teacher had resigned and we took on this class just a few couples in it and i remember being introduced to a couple that we just immediately connected with and we did not know them very well and just a few weeks after having that class barely knowing this uh family this couple i got a phone call from the wife and she said i know you must be terribly busy but i got to tell you i'm having an issue in my extended family and i'm in so much pain do you think you could possibly swing by and visit with me so we could talk this thing through so you could offer some counsel and we could pray together i said absolutely again i really did not know her very well but i certainly could recognize that she was in terrible pain and so i drove over to her house and she welcomed me in and she was in tears and soon i was in tears and we sat there on the couch with our legs curled up underneath ourselves and we sat there for hours and she told her story and we talked about uh god's word and what it said and conflict resolution and and who we were in christ and on and on and on and we were going to pray together and i could remember being in tears and just looking at my sweet friend big tears just streaming down her face in so much pain and i was i was gonna say this is what i meant to say that's what i meant to say i meant to say that i am often irrational i just want you to remember that was what i meant to say but i heard myself say i am often erotic [Laughter] i'm telling you i that word hung out there in the air and i thought to myself did i say what i think i said and i looked at my friend and i'll just simply never forget this moment she was just blinking at me i could not decide if i needed to try to fix that or simply move on i opted to move on because i don't i didn't think you could come back from that and my friend never once never once referred back to that terrible blunder and don't you know we've been friends ever since words are powerful and we need to guard them and protect them we need to make sure that what we speak is truth and what we speak is kind and good and edifying the building up of other saints we need to make sure that when we make a promise that we absolutely intend to stand behind it our word should be our bond because we should be as citizens of the kingdom of god we should be beloved people of integrity so that people can trust what we say well let me hurry on the next thing we see is what i call god's purpose for justice look in verse 38. well you've heard that it was said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but i say to you do not resist an evil person for whoever slaps you on the right cheek turn the other to him also and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt let him have your coat also therefore whoever forces you to go one mile go with him too give to him who asks of you and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you beloved this is radical teaching and radical thinking jesus is trying to get them and by extension us to begin to think differently about the way a believer operates in the midst of a world that is set against the kingdom of god he says if someone slaps you on one cheek give them the other if someone sues you and takes you to court and you are ordered by the court to give up your shirt and give up your code as well if you're required to go one mile go the second mile if someone has a genuine need and ask you for something give it give it gladly give it freely donald showed us last week or mentioned to us that everything we have has been given by the lord and beloved we're just to hold it with an open hand as a good steward and when god requires it we're to graciously and quickly respond to give liberally paul said what do you have that you have not received it's all the lords it's all the lords i can remember when craig and i first moved out to our little garage it's been 11 years ago that we went through a financial implosion and lost everything and we moved into a little one car garage at the time and have renovated into what we call the cottage because frankly i think that sounds better than living in a garage but actually we're just grateful we're just grateful but there was a few weeks when we were moving out of one house and moving into our little garage and craig had a trailer that had been in the business for many years and it certainly wasn't anything particularly nice or exceptional but it was ours and it was paid for and we were using it with our renovation and we went out there one night and would you believe it out there in the middle of nowhere where we live someone had stolen our trailer and i just got to tell you it just sits so badly with craig and i for both of us were rather stunned it's like we have lost everything and now people are going to steal from us what little we have left we just couldn't believe it and yet as we began to kind of talk each other off the ledge i told craig you know what the truth of the matter is i'd rather be offended than the offender and my husband very wisely said whoever stole that trailer from us they do not know who they have truly offended because everything we own belongs to the father and somewhere someone has made god their enemy tonight by touching the possessions of one who belongs ones who belong to him and before the evening was over craig and i were together we were able to gather together and pray for that one that somehow somehow god would break through and bring him under conviction or her and bring them to jesus christ beloved what god is calling us to is to live so radically different that the unbelieving world wants to know what is this all about that's why we're told to be ready at any instant to give an answer of the hope that is within us because we're to live differently i'm talking about marked out by the kingdom of god no one should be surprised when they find out that we name the name of jesus christ we are to be willing to go the extra mile roman law during jesus day gave a soldier the right to force a civilian to carry his pack or any of his military equipment for exactly one mile they were required to go one mile and no farther and so what jesus is saying here is if you're required to go one mile go an extra mile one of my commentaries that i read said that most jews so despised this law that they had measured out from their home exactly one mile and had set a marker and when they got to that one mile they would throw that equipment or backpack on the ground and say there i've done what i had to do and jesus said you know what you're a kingdom dweller be willing to go the extra mile now here's where i'm going to get off my notes so y'all just take a deep breath and stay with me would you turn please to genesis chapter 24. i was at a women's conference and heard this truth taught some years back and it's simply one of those truths that just resonated so with me that it just sort of has been on this loop in my brain and i could not help but show it to you because it was so meaningful to me now in genesis 24 which is where i'm going to take you i'm just going to give you quick little background this is the story of abraham getting a bride for his son isaac now at this point you remember that abraham and sarah were given the son of promise when abraham was a hundred years old so he was a very special child a child of covenant for god had told abraham that through you all the nations of the world are going to be blessed and yet sarah was barren at the time they could not imagine how this thing was going to work out it took 25 years from the time of the promise until the fulfillment that sarah was pregnant with isaac now at this time sarah has passed away and abraham has not secured a bride for isaac i i wonder if it's because sarah could not be pleased i don't know why but she's passed away and now abraham who it says in verse 1 that he is old at this point he's about 140 years old and he wants to get a bride for his son but he does not want to choose a woman from the canaanites and so he asked his servant and most commentators believe this is eleazar who was mentioned back in genesis 15 as a very faithful servant that he sends him to look for isaac a bride but he wants him to go back to his native land to his father's house verse 7 and take a bride from the land of my birth because it is there that god spoke to me and he swore to me to your descendants i will give this land so obviously whoever married isaac was a very serious decision she had to be god's choice and so he promised that he would go and he would get a bride for isaac and in verse 10 i just want you to look it says the servant took ten camels how many camels i want you to remember that i'm going to come back to it and all these other things and he went about to abraham's hometown home area looking for a bride and in verse 11 excuse me verse 12 the servant prays to the lord and asked him to direct his steps to the one who god has chosen for isaac verse 12 he says o lord the god of my master abraham please grant me success today and show lovingkindness to my master abraham behold i'm standing by the spring and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to dwa to draw water now may it be that the girl to whom i say please let down your jar so that i may drink and who answers drink and i will water your camels also may she be the one whom you have appointed for your servant servant isaac and by this i will know that you have shown loving-kindness to my master before he had finished speaking behold rebecca who was a a relative verse 16. i'll just drop down the girl was very beautiful she was a virgin no man had had relations with her and she went to the spring and filled her jar and came up then the servant who has just prayed this prayer you understand that he ran to meet her and he said to her please let me drink a little water from your jar and she said drink my lord and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand and she gave him a drink now stay with me verse 19. now when she had finished giving him a drink she said i will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking and she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the well to draw and she drew for all of the camels beloved how many camels were there ten do you know how much water a camel drinks well google does now if you're going to go to google you got to watch yourself but i'm assuming this is accurate because google says the average camel will drink 20 gallons of water when he is thirsty 10 camels 20 gallons a piece she did not know and go and get helpers she said i will do this beloved this is the principle that is referred to as the and also principal she said to the servant here's a cool drink of cold water help yourself and while you're refreshing yourself and also i'm gonna go water all of that caravan of smelly camels that have been traveling with you knowing what kind of appetite for water they had this is the second mile principle this is the and also principal why is this so important eleazar was looking for a godly woman for god's choice and he knew that if she met the criteria the criteria that he would know much about her character by the words she spoke and by the way she responded to his request he asked for water she responded she was gracious hospitable kind thoughtful selfless had a servant spirit she looked well to the ways of her household she volunteered and also to water the camels by this he knew she was hard-working industrious diligent and did not eat the bread of idleness the works of her hands revealed the character and condition of her heart she was a god follower she was devoted to him she was determined to serve others well and the servant knew this is god's choice this is god's woman and beloved if you would go and look at proverbs 31 and i know most of us don't especially love to read that passage because it is so full of conviction but those are the qualities of a godly virtuous woman and she fulfilled them it hadn't been written yet but these same qualities you read about in proverbs 31 were evident in her she was a woman of virtue a woman of valor a woman of value proverbs 31 says an excellent wife who can find her her worth is far above rubies that's what jesus is talking about go the extra mile don't just do what is required do what is unexpected do over and above what is needed that you might bless others because after all beloved the bible says that when you and i were dead in our sins christ died for us we who have received so much grace can we not extend it on our king's behalf well the final thing i want you to see is what i call god's pattern for maturity in this last example if you'll flip back to matthew chapter 5 and look at verse 43 he said you have heard it say you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy but i say to you love your enemies pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven for he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good he sends rain on the righteous and the unright unrighteous for if you love those who love you what reward do you have do not even the tax collectors and they were despised do they not do the same if you greet only your brothers those folks who are just like you who think like you and look like you and dress like you if you only greet your brothers what more are you doing than others do not even the gentiles do the same therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect jesus reminds his hearers that our christian faith is worth little if the most we can do is imitate the kind of love that tax collectors and gentiles are able to generate beloved you and i have been recipients of his agape grace and love he set his affection on us we didn't earn it we didn't deserve it oh he ran us down in order to bless us what jesus is saying is the mark of you who have claimed the name of christ who have met him on his terms of repentance and faith you who are kingdom followers kingdom dwellers citizens of the kingdom of god you want to live and love in such a way that is so contrary to what the world has to offer that others will see your good works and they will glorify your father who is in heaven and then he sums it all up therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect in your homework this week you would have looked up that word perfect and according to strong's it means mature full grown adult wanting nothing necessary to completeness brought to an end or finished what he's saying is you are to be about the business of growing in the grace and knowledge of jesus christ and being conformed more and more into the likeness of jesus christ i don't own a lot of good jewelry i love costume jewelry and um honestly for warm for the microphone i would wear earrings but as you know i click when i teach and so i've given that up but if you see me any other time i will have on very large earrings because i do love them but i don't have a lot of good jewelry that's not really my thing but when i turned 42 now that was a long time ago but when i did i lost my fine tuning and because back then i was a bible teacher as well and i needed to be able to look at my watch and tell what time it is and i couldn't read it any longer so i was mentioning to my husband that i was going to have to do something different about getting a watch face that i could read and that year for my anniversary craig bought me a coach watch a real one beautiful beautiful watch i would have worn it today except the battery is dead in it and i was so stunned by his generosity and he picked out such a beautiful watch and it was huge it had a great big face that i could simply look at and read the time on and uh one day shortly after i had gotten it the battery went dead and i took it over to the mall to the wolf chase there was a little jeweler there and i asked him to replace the battery now the jeweler was uh had transplanted to the united states from russia and had a very heavy accent and because i did not like to ask him to keep repeating himself because he was trying so hard to learn english as a second language i tried to always be able to grasp what he was saying and respond quickly but this particular time he looked at my watch and he said something and i couldn't get it he said it again and i couldn't get it and i asked the third time i'm so sorry i didn't catch what you said and uh he said it again i still didn't get it and finally he held his hands up and he says ma'am no problem i will know if this is genuine if this is a real coach watch when i see what is on the inside i'm telling you i folded my arms and stepped back i thought well that's the most spiritual thing you've ever said to me come on y'all this lost world is so hardened in their hearts they're sick of religious ritual and they need to see the real thing we need to live in such a way that jesus christ is honored and glorified would you pray with me father i pray your kingdom come your will be done father may we be kingdom servants may we be living in the authenticity and the audacity of faith may we be living out loud for jesus christ may others see the reality of jesus lord may we decrease and you increase in our life until father they are stunned as they watch how we live and how we love may we act like we are citizens of the kingdom of glory may we act as if we are daughters of the king may we live in such a way that we are so so radically different that even this lost world wants to know what gives what gives father we are living in a time that is unprecedented coming out of a pandemic the world has gone mad stir up your church that we might rise up and operate as citizens of the kingdom in jesus name amen and amen spirit of the living god fresh [Music] full french [Music] we [Music] fresh [Music] fresh [Music] full frame [Music] me [Music] god [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] it has been today for us to be in the presence of the lord for us to be washed by his word to be able to join in community with each other to love on each other to spend time with each other i hope you've just had an awesome day here and we won't be here next week because next week we'll be off for spring break but we look forward to week after next when we study week six kingdom righteousness let me pray over you as we leave today father would you take the word that has been spoken today plant it in our hearts let it grow deep roots and then father as your holy spirit comes and waters that in our lives may the fruit of love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control be used to show your love to all of those we come in contact with father this is not a study this is not just a bible study this is a life journey holy spirit draw us as we study your word into the likeness of christ i pray your protection over my sisters until we gather together again in your name for your kingdom and your glory in the name of your son we pray [Music] amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Bellevue Baptist Church

Views: 631

Rating: 4.3846154 out of 5

Keywords: This Present Kingdom, Bellevue Women's Ministry, Sermons for Women, BellevueChurch, Bellevue Church, Bellevue Church Memphis, BellevueMemphis, Bellevue Memphis, Bellevue Church sermons, Steve Gaines, Steve Gains, PastorSteveGaines, Pastor Steve Gaines, Pastor Steve Gains, Steve Gaines Bellevue Church

Id: h9SZWKGcWQY

Length: 68min 10sec (4090 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 10 2021