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CONNIE: Have you been to the mountaintop with Jesus recently? We hope you’ll join us today as we review the words of Jesus found in the sermon people had to climb a mountain to hear. Giving God’s trumpet a Certain Sound for more than 70 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

CONNIE: Hello, I’m Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: and I’m Lonnie Melashenko, and I’d like to say Welcome to our broadcast today—as we take a little bit of a retrospective look back at a portion of Scripture that we’ve been carefully studying for the past several months—the Sermon on the Mount.

CONNIE: Well, Lonnie, I know that Matthew 5-7 is called “the Sermon on the Mount,” but do you really think people had to be mountain climbers to get a front row seat when Jesus preached it?

LONNIE: Well, certainly not mountain climbers in the sense we think of it today—with ropes and carabiners and pitons and all of that technical mountain climbing gear you might use to go up Half Dome at Yosemite or something. But you’ve been over there in Israel—around the Sea of Galilee. You know that the hills that go up from the water’s edge there are pretty steep. You have to exert some serious effort to get up very high. So the people who first heard the Sermon on the Mount must have been the more determined, dedicated members of the crowd that followed Jesus.

CONNIE: So when we look at these three chapters, we’re looking at what Jesus had to say to some of His closest disciples.

LONNIE: Yes—not just the twelve, of course. But some of the people who were willing to seek Him out and follow Him, rather than just waiting for Him to come to them.

CONNIE: There’s a spiritual lesson here—just in the geography of where the sermon was preached—isn’t there.

LONNIE: Yes, there is, and I’ll pick up on that a bit more in my message later in today’s broadcast. But right now, I’d like us to listen to an interview I had with Mark Finley recently. You know, Mark is a real pioneer preacher in a lot of ways. He was one of the first I know of to hold an evangelistic series using Satellite technology to take the message to downlink sites all over the country. And since Voice of Prophecy will be doing something similar, I invited Mark to come over and share some of his insights into the potential for reaching out with the gospel message that this provides.

LONNIE: Mark Finley, from the worldwide It Is Written ministry, welcome to our program.

MARK: Thank you Lonnie, I enjoy being with you.

LONNIE: It’s such a rare time when we can be together on the same campus, but we really do have parallel ministries don’t we?

MARK: We do! Both It is Written and Voice of Prophecy reach out to the world and touch people for the kingdom of a God.

LONNIE: That’s what this message from Matthew is all about, in the Sermon on the Mount, Mark. How do you feel the gospel is put into, you know, hands and legs and arms and mouth and speech, for a world today where so many people are just terrified? With bombers and Anthrax and suicide missions, what does the gospel to the world mean in today’s 21st century lingo?

MARK: When Jesus was here He said, “My peace I leave unto you, peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you”. Jesus promised a sense of internal peace. When I come to the cross and see that Christ has forgiven my sins and taken away my guilt, it gives me a personal peace. But because Jesus has forgiven me, and when I come to the cross and see his love and see his forgiveness, Jesus hung there and said to the world, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. So Jesus forgave His enemies, He forgave the people that betrayed Him, He forgave the people that flogged Him, He forgave the people that put the nails in His hands, He forgave Peter who denied Him, and the Jews who rejected Him, and even the Romans that crucified Him. When Jesus forgave them, it enables you and me to forgive others, and it also enables us to reach out with that spirit of love and forgiveness, because Jesus who lived a perfect life, who didn’t deserve what He received, could forgive. Then we who receive at times what we don’t deserve or maybe do deserve, we can forgive too.

LONNIE: In other words this dimension of peace and the gospel of peace that Jesus is trying to convey is far more than just these peace talk tables where they say peace and safety, but sudden destruction comes. How would you see Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, maybe Hindus, and non-believers translating that into something tangible where they could actually sit down and minister to each other?

MARK: You know, I had an amazing experience for many years, from 1985-1990 I lived in England and one of the territories that I often traveled to was Israel. I was responsible for an educational pastoral training program there, and I remember Lonnie, one time I was preaching on the very mount where Jesus gave this masterful sermon; that you have so eloquently been discussing in Matthew chapter 5, 6, 7, and I preached to a group of maybe two or three hundred. They were Christians, but they were Arab Christians, and also there were Christians from Western Europe there from England, Ireland, Norway, France, Germany, and Denmark, there were Jewish Christians there. Here you have this melting pot, this ethnic mix of representatives from about 17 different countries, and we talked about Jesus. We talked about peace, and about the Sermon on the Mount, seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. As we discussed the message of Christ, I saw singing together Arabs, Christians, and Jews now all coming to Christ. I saw in that meeting a marvelous peace and love. It was not too many weeks later that we had a communion service in a church in Jerusalem, and there was an Arab Christian man, Nasrra, who lives in Bethlehem, and he was at that service, and there was an Arab Christian woman from Jordan and she was at that service. I saw Arab women and men washing each other’s feet, and you know, Jesus said, “If any man among you is great, let him be your servant”, Jesus said, “I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and give my life a ransom for many”. So the gospel gives us a spirit of humility, kindness, love, and gentleness, and the gospel takes away that hatred and resentment away from our hearts, and the gospel unites us around the cross. I’ve seen that at work among Christians and Jews and Muslims, and it is a thrilling experience indeed.

LONNIE: That which could become a flashpoint without that word Christian there, and suddenly and completely transformed. Laying the ideological cultural and national barriers and coming together as God designed, because His family should be one in Christ.

MARK: Lonnie, that’s exactly why I am so excited about evangelism. To see people come to those meetings, and to see them come down the aisle and accept Christ and allow this peace and joy to come into their lives is a thrill. And I’m so encouraged about what the Voice of Prophecy is doing to reach out around the world, and I know that you have a special series of meeting’s coming up from Columbia, South Carolina.

LONNIE: That’s right! April 27th.

MARK: It will be broadcast throughout the United States, and you will be able to present the prophetic voice of God from the books of Daniel and Revelation, and as people begin to accept that Christ the Lamb of God, they will thus find this peace and joy that the sermon on the mount speaks about, and that only Christ can give.

LONNIE: Mark Finley from It Is Written, thank you for sharing how and understanding of the Bible and prophecy provides the assurance that people are looking for today.

CONNIE: That’s certainly good old evangelism-oriented song, isn’t it?

LONNIE: It sure is, Connie. That’s classic King’s Heralds music, recorded for our broadcast back in the 1960s. And the great thing about so much of that old music is that it has just been made available on CD for the first time ever. Wayne Hooper, who sang with the King’s Heralds for many years, and did many of the arrangements that they sang, recently went through our whole tape library—literally thousands of songs recorded for our broadcast over the years—and selected the best of the best songs from the time the King’s Heralds began doing recordings.

CONNIE: So, these classic songs are now available on CD. They’re included in a collection of twelve CDs. For more information about this brand new music collection, you can visit our web page at VOP.COM. The CDs are available for purchase in the bookstore. And of course you can find out more information about all of the music we play on the broadcast by visiting our web page and clicking on the link to “Music on the Broadcast.”

LONNIE: And while you’re on our web page at VOP.COM, there’s another link we’d like to encourage you to click on as well. It was right up in the upper right-hand corner last time I checked. It’s easy to spot. It says “Discover Online—Free Bible Guides.” And if you click there, you’ll be on your way to discovering just how easy it can be to study the Bible over the Internet, right in the comfort of your own home.

CONNIE: The people who put this together for us did a great job of adapting the Discover Bible Guides to an Internet format. If you’re a regular listener to our program, you know that we’re always encouraging you to get out the Bible and study it for yourself. And the free Discover Bible Guides are a convenient way to get started on a personal Bible study plan. They’ll guide you through a study of some of the most important topics in the Bible.
Now, if you don’t have an Internet connection, you can also take the Discover Bible course by mail if you live in the U. S. or Canada. And the way to sign up to receive your first study guides is to call our toll-free number, 1-800-872-0055, and ask to be enrolled in the Discover Bible Course.

CONNIE: The number to call is 1-800-872-0055, or visit us on the Web at VOP.COM. We hope to hear from you soon. But right now it’s time for Lonnie’s message for today, “Living Jesus’ Way.”

Living Jesus’ Way

Today we are concluding our look at one of the most crucial passages in the entire Bible, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7. The last two verses of chapter 7 report the reaction of the people who first heard these words: “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matt 7:28-29, NIV).

The people had good reason to be amazed. For Jesus, in these few words, had laid out the constitution of the kingdom of heaven—and in terms that no one had ever heard in just that way before.

Religious teaching in Jesus’ day took many forms. There was Greek religion, which focused on worship of a variety of “special purpose” gods—one god for war, one for agriculture, another to control the sea, others to handle the weather. In other words, a great bureaucracy of gods. The Romans, who now controlled Palestine, had adopted and adapted much of Greek religion, adding their own gods and renaming other gods

Surpassing even that was Egyptian religion, which saw divinity in almost everything that moved on earth or above the earth, including the sun, moon, stars, crocodiles, and even tiny beetles.

But the “teachers of the law” referred to at the end of the Sermon on the Mount didn’t teach about any of those foreign gods. The thing that people compared Jesus’ teaching to was the teaching of the rabbis and scribes who taught in the synagogues and temples.

Compared to these teachers, Jesus was a wonderful breath of fresh air. Because He spoke with authority—as one who really knew the will of God—rather than as one who was simply trying to interpret old teachings.

As Jesus Himself put it, “‘I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak’ ” (John 12:49, 50, NKJV).

Jesus spoke out with confidence that enraptured the common people, but enraged the other teachers of the law. Finally, when these other teachers decided they couldn’t take it anymore, they had Jesus killed. But despite their efforts to quiet Him, it is Jesus’ teachings that have come down through history, and spread all around the world.

What was it then—in a nutshell—that Jesus taught. Let’s explore that today as we review what we have learned in our study of the Sermon on the Mount.

First of all, consider the place where the sermon was given. On a mountainside. If you’ve been to Israel, you know that the hills around the Sea of Galilee are pretty steep. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that Jesus often taught down by the seashore, but for this day’s sermon, He climbed up into the hills. I can’t help but think that there’s a message in this. Jesus didn’t preach this sermon to the masses of idle listeners who thronged about Him in the villages and on the seashore. No. If you wanted to hear this message, you had to put some effort into following Jesus. You had to go up on the mountainside with Him.

Come to think of it, that may be why this sermon has been preserved, while most of what He taught down by the seashore was never recorded.

It’s just human nature that we appreciate things more when we’ve worked for them. And those who wanted to hear Jesus’ fullest message had put some effort into being with Him when He spoke these words.

Up on the mountainside, with fewer distractions, people who really wanted to hear Jesus’ teachings tuned in and listened carefully. You know, friend—of all the lessons taught in the Sermon on the Mount—I’m not sure there’s one that’s more important than that. If you want to hear Jesus’ voice speaking to you. If you want to know what His will is for your life. If you want real, meaningful fellowship with Him—it just might take some special effort on your part. Sure, Jesus will come to you down in the hustle and bustle of life. Sure, He wants to be with you while you’re relaxing by the seashore. But there’s more to the Christian life than that.

Maybe it’s time to do a little mountain climbing with the Lord. If you want that deeper relationship—maybe just an hour, or half an hour set aside, first thing in the morning to get into the Word—study the life and teachings of Jesus. All alone—just you and the Lord together on your own little mountaintop. Listening for your own Sermon on the Mount.

And what better place to begin studying the words of Jesus than in this famous sermon?

Jesus begins by turning the tables on us. As we look around our world, it’s easy to get to thinking that the most blessed people are those who are rich and have all their earthly desires satisfied. Our broadcast studios are located in Southern California, and living in this part of the country, we’re constantly surrounded by signs of opulence and wealth. Out on the freeways we see shiny new Hummers and Jaguars—even the occasional Ferrari or Lamborghini. And you can begin to look around you and think that the people driving those cars and living in the big houses in Malibu are the most blessed people on earth.

Jesus turns the tables on us, though. “Blessed are the poor” is the way He starts His sermon. Talk about an attention-getter. And He goes on from there to proclaim that most of our assumptions about life need to be turned on their heads.

Above all else in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaims that the spiritual world of blessing by God is more important than the physical world. The spiritually poor will be filled. The meek will inherit the earth. The persecuted will possess the kingdom.

Loyalty to God and a focus on spiritual values are what really count. Later in the sermon, He puts it plainly: You can’t serve two masters. If you’re pursuing money, you’ll lose out on your spiritual relationship with God. But if you’re putting God first, money’s importance will dim in your life. The only thing is—you can’t serve both at the same time, so you have to consciously choose to put God first in your life.

But the rewards for doing so are great. “‘Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be given to you as well,’ ” He promises in Matthew 6:33 (NIV).

The same principle—of putting God first, giving spiritual things first priority in your life—is also illustrated in the Lord’s Prayer, which is part of this great sermon. While we may be most inclined to go to the Lord in prayer in times of special personal need, and talk to God about what we want or need, Jesus calls us to remember who it is we are approaching in prayer: “Our Father, who is in heaven!” The prayer begins with praise and submission to the Father: “Hallowed be Thy name.” And it continues with acknowledgment of His right to rule in our lives and all the earth.

Putting God first should be an important part of our prayer life and every other spiritual exercise as well. Jesus was well acquainted with hypocrites who would stand out on the street saying long prayers to make an impression on people, and He warned us against that pitfall, telling us to go into a closet to pray—and have that private time with God. Fasting, too, can be done for the wrong reasons, so He tells us not to even let others know when we’re doing it. Keep your priorities straight! He says over and over again. Your relationship is to be with God, not with men and women.

And having established the fact that we are living for God’s kingdom rather than the things of earth, Jesus reminds us of where our treasure should be. “ ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven’ ” (Matthew 6:19, 20, NKJV).

Jesus lived on earth to do His Fathers’ will, and that is what He challenges us to do as well. To commune with our heavenly Father, to listen for His instructions, and become day by day more and more like Him.

The ultimate goal is summed up in the last verse of Matthew 5: “‘be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect’ ” (Matthew 5:48, KJV). What a lofty goal—a frightening goal, actually. If God really expects us to be as perfect as He is.

But remember. These words of Jesus are not spoken in isolation from the rest of the sermon.

They set a high goal for us, but not without pointing us to the method of achieving that goal. Every great journey begins with a single step.

The Christian’s quest for identity with God—to be like Him in attitudes and actions—is a day by day journey. It begins with the resolve to go up on the mountainside with Jesus, to take time listening to His words and imbibing of His love and character. It continues day by day in the quiet time we set aside to be with Jesus.

It is in those hours alone with God that a hunger and thirst for righteousness grows in our souls.

And guess what. When that hunger and thirst becomes preeminent in our lives, Jesus’ promise begins to be fulfilled. Listen to His words from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount once again: “ ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled’ ” (Matthew 5:6, NKJV).

Friend, the standards set in the Sermon on the Mount are high. Living up to them involves some serious mountain climbing with God. But the great news is that while we’re on this journey—this climb with Him—He provides the lunch.

And the dinner

And the breakfast.

For, He has promised: While you are walking with Me, seeking Me. Striving to attain to My character, I will fill you. With My righteousness. With My love. I will make you over in My image. Isn’t that a precious promise?

I want Jesus to do that for me, don’t you? Won’t you resolve to take that special time to go climbing with Him every day—and let Him fill you with Himself!