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Peniel Pentecostal Holiness Church
3239 Rosebud Road
Walnut Cove NC 27052
Pastor: Dr. Tim Nelson - Church Office 336-591-36112
A Place To Encounter God Face To Face. Gen. 32:3 A Word From The Pastor Archives 2023
February 2023
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February 5, 2023
You have heard it said, bu5 I say… Matthew 5:21-22
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasted the oral
traditions of Jesus’ day with the true intent of God’s Word.
“Ye have heard that it was said” (5:21), Jesus
stated, referring to the Jewish traditions that the rabbis
spoke in synagogues. He was not contrasting His message with
the Old Testament, for He clearly stated, “Think not that
I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come
to destroy, but to fulfill” (Mt.
5:17).
Instead of helping God’s people obey His holy Word, the
Pharisees missed the true intent of the Word. The oral
traditions of men were eventually set up against God’s laws.
The religious leaders set their goals to focus on actions,
not attitude. And by obeying a superficial standard, many
Jews felt righteous when, in fact, they were far from it.
In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus gets to the heart of the matter.
Are you loving God with your whole heart? It is a heart
matter.
Adapted from: https://israelmyglory.org/article/but-i-say-unto-you-matthew-521-48/ |
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February 12, 2023
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before
men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your
Father which is in heaven.” Matthew
6:1
In chapter 6, of Matthew, we find Jesus
confronting the disease of religious exhibitionism. In verse
1 Jesus is crystal clear on the issue. Earlier in this
sermon, Jesus had also made it clear that God’s people
practice righteousness. He said, disciples are to put away
anger and lust, pursue marital fidelity, uncompromising
honesty, long suffering, and sacrificial love.
Jesus assumes that God’s people will pursue
lives characterized by things like this. But a warning comes
with that assumption: Don’t be a religious exhibitionist.
Don’t practice righteousness for human applause, approval,
or acceptance. Pursue righteousness, yes; but not just to be
seen. Therefore, do all you do for the glory of God.
Adapted from: https://oakridgebiblechapel.org/piety-without-pageantry-matthew-61-18/ |
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February 19, 2023
Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth…; but store up for yourselves treasures
in heaven…, For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also. (Matt.
6:19-21)
The implication Jesus is making in these
verses is that we would do better to invest our material
things in activities that transform the world, using our
treasures, talents, and time to bless others and be a
blessing, rather than being consumed in securities that
protect our accumulated surplus and lifestyle. One might
ask, “Is it wrong, then, to have a retirement portfolio or
even to care about the material things of this world for
ourselves or for others?”
The answer is both no and yes. The no comes
from the fact that this passage is not the only one in the
Bible speaking to questions of wealth and provision for
ourselves and for those who are dependent on us. But the yes
part of the answer is a warning, summed up beautifully in
verse 21, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.” The real matter of one’s treasures, is a heart
matter. How’s your heart?
Adapted from:
https://www.theologyofwork.org/new-testament/matthew/the-kingdom-of-heaven-at-work-in-us-matthew-5-7/wealth-and-provision-matthew-6/store-your-treasure-in-heaven-not-on-earth-matthew-619-34
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February 26, 2023
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matt.
7:1)
In Jesus’ Sermon on
the Mount, He teaches what it means to live
faithfully as a committed follower of Christ, one who
pursues holiness out of reverence for God. Jesus is
proclaiming a high moral standard that is consistent with
what it means to live as a citizen of the kingdom of God.
Believers who live in this kingdom are called
to live differently, and Jesus is explaining what that looks
like in a very practical sense. His words are not hard to
understand as He sets up a strong moral ethic that reflects
what it means to love God with all your heart and your
neighbor as yourself. It is here that Jesus addresses the
issue of hypocrisy.
And one can discover in the collective
teachings of the Bible, that those who are created in the
image of God are morally responsible to God and to one
another. So to use “do not judge” as a means of dismissing
oneself from moral responsibility would be to interpret it
in a way that pits it against the rest of Scripture.
So the challenge is to always read a biblical
passage in context of its immediate chapter, then in the
context of the biblical book, and finally in the context of
the whole Bible.
Adapted from: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/the-most-misused-verses-in-the-bible-excerpt.html |
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