Introduction: Those who are blessed by God
How fortunate are the depressed because they will rule God’s kingdom!
How fortunate are the sorrowful, because God will cheer them up.
How fortunate are the lowly, because God will give them the earth.
How fortunate are those who desperately desire justice, because they will get just what they want.
How fortunate are those who act in compassion, for God will be compassionate to them.
How fortunate are those single-minded on God, for they will see Him.
How fortunate are the creators of peaceful communities, for God will make them rulers.
How fortunate are the sufferers for righteousness, because they will rule God’s kingdom!
*How fortunate you are when your enemies verbally abuse you and do and speak evil against you because you follow me. When that happens, you are like the prophets of the past who suffered for their message they received from God. Even as they are now rewarded by God, so will you be. So when you are persecuted for me, be happy about what you will receive—jump up and down in joy and praise God!
*You are essential for the world. But if you lose the basic qualities that make you important, you cannot regain them. You will be useless, cast out of God’s kingdom and trampled.
*You are God’s glory and truth in the world. You are the kingdom of God to come, and you cannot be hidden. Nor should you be hidden—God’s glory should be displayed, not hidden. So display the true righteousness of God before everyone, so that people will see your acts of God and so glorify the Father.
Part A: The Law of God
Some think that I am setting aside the Old Testament, especially Moses’ law—but I have not come to do that. Rather, I have come to complete the Old Testament. Pay attention, here: even the least bit of Moses’ law will stand written, until every minor part of it is done as it stands written. Therefore, whoever is lax with Moses’ law and teaches others to do the same—they may enter the coming kingdom, but they will be unimportant there. But whoever emphasizes obedience in their own lives and in others’, they will be called great in God’s kingdom. Unless you have a better righteousness than today’s Bible teachers, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
1. Murder and Hate
You’ve heard the teaching, how Moses told the ancients, “Don’t murder.” Some tell you that God judges just those who are guilty of murder. But I command you that every person who is hostile to others is going to be judged by God. In the kingdom, the one who insults another will be condemned by the Supreme Court. And the insulter will be punished by hell.
If you wish to make an offering to God and remember that you have wronged someone, then don’t finish making your offering. Making everyone else wait, first go and make it right with the one you wronged—then go to God.
You are going to God with all of these around you. Whomever you have wronged will accuse you before God. And for your debt to them, God will put you under the authority of Satan and Satan will put you in judgment. And you will not be released until you have repaid your debt, even the smallest bit.
2. Adultery and Purity
You’ve heard the teaching, “Just don’t commit adultery.” But I say to you that if you even look at the opposite sex with desire to possess, then you have already intended to commit adultery, and so you will be judged by God.
If your good eye is what is encouraging you to fall from devotion to God, pluck it out and throw it away. It is to your benefit to lose even a part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown away into hell. If your good hand is what is encouraging you to fall from devotion to God, chop it off and throw it away. It is to your benefit that you lose even a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown away into hell.
3. Divorce and Remarriage
You’ve heard it taught, “If you want to divorce your wife, just give her a written notice of the fact.” But I command you that if you divorce your spouse you are causing them to be unfaithful to your marital covenant—unless they have already been unfaithful. This means that if you marry a divorcee, you are committing adultery.
4. Keeping Promises
Again, you have heard it taught that Moses said, “Don’t break your oath.” They teach you, “As long as you invoke God, you need to keep your promise.” But I say to you, invoke nothing in your promises— not heaven nor earth nor Jerusalem. If you invoke any of them, you are ultimately invoking God— for heaven is God’s throne, the earth is God’s footstool and Jerusalem is God’s city. You might as well not invoke your head, either—it is God who determines what happens to your head. You don’t have the power to make a hair of it either white or black. Instead of invoking anything, just make a promise and keep it. Or don’t make a promise. But if you do anything else, you are an evil person, associated with Satan.
5. Submitting to Evil Authorities
Some teach, “Whoever harms one’s eye must have his eye harmed, and whoever harms one’s tooth must have his tooth harmed.” But I command you, do not resist an evil authority. As an authority wrongly slaps you, give him an opportunity to slap you again. As a creditor takes you to court to collect what he can, give him an opportunity to take more than you can afford. As a soldier conscripts you a legal amount, offer him more than the legal amount. If an authority demands something from you—give it to them. And if they insist on “borrowing” from you, let them have it.
6. Love Your Enemies
You have been taught that Moses said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I command you to love your enemies and to pray blessings on those who harm you. Do this so you will be like your Father in heaven, and so you will be his children and so inherit his kingdom. God grants sunshine and rain to everyone without exclusion—no matter they are good or evil, righteous or unrighteous. God gives great rewards to only the righteous—but if you love only those who love you, how are you more righteous than any evildoer? If you offer blessings only to those you like, how are you more righteous than any pagan? So if you want God’s reward, then love without exclusion, even as the Father does.
Part B: God’s Purity
Don’t do your religious deeds openly so that you would gain something from others, or else you will not gain any blessing from your Father in heaven.
1. Giving To The Poor
When you give to the poor, don’t let it be known with a megaphone, as some pretenders do in churches and benevolence centers so that people would say how great they are. Listen here, they’ve already got their pay. As for you, keep your giving even a secret from yourself— hide it, if you can. For God sees every hidden thing and will pay you back according to what he sees.
2. Prayer
When you pray, don’t be like the pretenders who make a show of praying in the churches and on street corners so people would notice their prayers. Listen to me, they have already got everything they asked for. But as for you, pray in the room with no windows, shut the door and pray to your Father, whom no one sees. But God, he will see you in hiding and give to you accordingly.
Also, don’t go on and on in prayer, like people who don’t believe—they think God hears them because of their speech. Your Father knows your need before you even ask, so don’t be like those who get carried away with long prayers.
This is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven
Your reputation is smeared—make your name holy!
This world is corrupt—make your kingdom come!
Make your desire be accomplished on earth, even as it is truly accomplished in heaven!
Give us everything we need this day to survive.
Cancel our debt to you, as we will cancel the debts others owe us.
Don’t bring us into situations that test our faith in You
But take us out of the realm of evil.
If you wipe away people’s sins, your Father will fully accept you. But if you do not fully accept others, your Father will not wipe away your sins.
3. Fasting
When you fast before God, don’t be a sad sack like the pretenders—they put on an unhappy face so people would notice their fasting. Listen to me, they’ve already got everything they’re fasting for. As for you, act in your fast as you normally would—put on normal clothes and do your normal hygiene. No one will notice your fast except your Father in heaven, who is unseen. God will see your hidden act and give to you accordingly.
Part C: Wealth and Possessions
Don’t collect important stuff on earth for your personal use. All stuff on earth breaks down, wears out, is destroyed or is stolen. Instead, if you give to the poor, God will keep the important stuff for you in heaven. There, your stuff never breaks down, wears out, gets destroyed or is stolen. Build up your savings account in heaven—for where you keep your stuff, that’s where your true self is kept.
Your eye is like a window. What you do with your eye shows who you are. If your eye is open, generously sharing, then your body is enlightened. If your eye is shaded with covetousness—desiring to have what others have—then your whole self is darkened, spiritually dead. Thus if your “enlightenment” is pure darkness, you are completely blind.
No one can truly have two gods he is committed to. In the end, every man will display his love for one god by consistently serving him and he will display his contempt for the other by neglecting service for him. You cannot commit yourself to both the Father God and the god of Wealth.
You might be concerned because surrendering what we have to the poor seems like economic suicide. And not storing up for the future seems like irresponsibility. But listen to me—Don’t bother about your livelihood. Don’t worry about what you will eat or drink or wear. Your life, as a whole, is more than what you stuff in your mouth, isn’t it? And isn’t a living body more than having clothes to wear?
Study the birds. Do they go to stores, work to make money, or savings accounts? No, they rely on the Father in heaven to feed them—and somehow they get fed.
Doesn’t God consider you more important than them? And tell me, which one of you increased your quality or quantity of life by being anxious about tomorrow’s food? And clothes—why bother about being concerned about them? Study wild flowers. You see how they spring up? They don’t haunt retail shops or have closets full of clothes, but even the richest woman in Beverly Hills isn’t clothed as beautifully as these. So if God provides clothes for flowers that pop up one day and are mowed down the next, surely he will provide for the mustard-seed-faith troupe.
So stop worrying! Stop saying “How can you ask this of us? How can we provide for ourselves? How can we survive?” You are talking like unbelievers—those who don’t know that God provides for them. Your Father knows what you need already. Focus instead on God’s kingdom and accomplishing God’s righteousness, and your boss—the Father—will provide all these basics for you. So stop being concerned about the future. It is enough to be concerned about today’s trouble, and let the future go.
Part D: Christian Leadership
Don’t condemn others, or else you will be condemned by God. With whatever kind of judgement you judge, that’s how God will judge you—either with mercy or with harshness. With whatever kind of measuring stick you use, that’s how you will be measured as well.
You so easily point out the inconsistencies of your fellow Christian, but neglect the major sins you perform before God. You note the speck of dust in another’s eye, but neglect the two by four that is stuck in your own. There you go to your friend—“We’ve got to get rid of this speck of dust in your eye”, meanwhile, you’re hitting him with your two by four! Stop pretending you have no problems! If you get rid of your two by four, then you’d be able to see. And then you can help your friend get rid of his speck.
Don’t offer the Holy Spirit to those after worldly gain, nor to those who are impure. Your gift will be destroyed by them and then they will attempt to tear you down.
But if you ask, then God will grant you what you need. If you seek the Lord, you will find what you need. If you knock on his door, he will welcome you into the kingdom. For everyone who asks him will receive from Him. Whoever seeks God will find Him. And whoever knocks on his door, it will be opened.
You fathers out there, if your kids ask you for a sandwich, you wouldn’t give them a rock and say, “Here, eat this” would you? If they ask you for a hamburger, you wouldn’t put them in a bullring with a red cape, would you? Look, you guys may not be the best people in the world, but at least you know how to give your kids what they need. Don’t you think that your Father in heaven will give the good things you need when you ask for it?
Part E: Mercy and Your Future
Always consider what others need. Consider, “What is the best I want for myself—how do I want people to treat me?”. Then turn around and give to others exactly what you thought of. If you do this, you will ultimately obey the Word of God.
Look for the unpopular routes to heaven. There are many ways that everyone likes in seeking God’s favor—but they lead to your destruction. Sure, they’re popular, but they are also deadly. But the way to God’s blessing and life is so difficult that few will accept it.
Even so, there are teachers that look great, and are so charismatic, but they are false teachers, leading you away from God. They may look like well-groomed sheepdogs, but in reality they are wolves, seeking to fill their stomachs, not care for the sheep.
How will you know the difference between a guard dog and a wolf? By their actions. How do you know if you’ve got an apple tree? If there are any apples on it. If there are peaches on it, it ain’t an apple tree. Even so, a good teacher does good things, but a false teacher does evil things. If an apple tree only bears rotten fruit, then you know there’s a problem with the tree. Even so, every teacher who does evil things is taken away from God's people and is judged. So you will know who are the good and bad teachers by what they do.
On the last day, there will be many who call me “Lord”, but not all of them will enter God’s kingdom. Only the one who does God’s will has the opportunity to enter. Many will get my attention on the final day and say, “My Lord, didn’t I teach your word? And I prayed for people, and they were healed! And I was able to give them spiritual healing!” And I will make my final decision: “I never knew you. Get lost—you aren’t entering God’s kingdom. You are those who did what was evil in God’s sight.”
Conclusion: Obeying Jesus
Here’s my final story: Whoever has heard my teaching—from “How fortunate are the poor” to here—and puts these teachings into practice, they are the fortunate ones. These doers of the word are like a builder who establishes a level, solid, concrete foundation for his house. Floods came, earthquakes came, wind storms came—but nothing could destroy that building, because it was built not just on good theory, but good practice. However, there are many who have heard my teaching and then thinks, “Interesting ideas…” but never accomplishes any of it. That person is like the builder who has gone to school, read all the books, and then said, “Forget it, I’m building my house my way.” So he decides sand is cheaper than concrete and who needs to go through all the effort for it to be level? And he builds his house. Let me tell you, the next flood, the next earthquake, the next wind storm—whatever disaster is next on the grid—and that house will fall so hard, you’d need a microscope to find the pieces. This isn’t just another sermon—it is your life and death. Please pay attention and do as I have said.
How fortunate are the depressed because they will rule God’s kingdom!
How fortunate are the sorrowful, because God will cheer them up.
How fortunate are the lowly, because God will give them the earth.
How fortunate are those who desperately desire justice, because they will get just what they want.
How fortunate are those who act in compassion, for God will be compassionate to them.
How fortunate are those single-minded on God, for they will see Him.
How fortunate are the creators of peaceful communities, for God will make them rulers.
How fortunate are the sufferers for righteousness, because they will rule God’s kingdom!
*How fortunate you are when your enemies verbally abuse you and do and speak evil against you because you follow me. When that happens, you are like the prophets of the past who suffered for their message they received from God. Even as they are now rewarded by God, so will you be. So when you are persecuted for me, be happy about what you will receive—jump up and down in joy and praise God!
*You are essential for the world. But if you lose the basic qualities that make you important, you cannot regain them. You will be useless, cast out of God’s kingdom and trampled.
*You are God’s glory and truth in the world. You are the kingdom of God to come, and you cannot be hidden. Nor should you be hidden—God’s glory should be displayed, not hidden. So display the true righteousness of God before everyone, so that people will see your acts of God and so glorify the Father.
Part A: The Law of God
Some think that I am setting aside the Old Testament, especially Moses’ law—but I have not come to do that. Rather, I have come to complete the Old Testament. Pay attention, here: even the least bit of Moses’ law will stand written, until every minor part of it is done as it stands written. Therefore, whoever is lax with Moses’ law and teaches others to do the same—they may enter the coming kingdom, but they will be unimportant there. But whoever emphasizes obedience in their own lives and in others’, they will be called great in God’s kingdom. Unless you have a better righteousness than today’s Bible teachers, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
1. Murder and Hate
You’ve heard the teaching, how Moses told the ancients, “Don’t murder.” Some tell you that God judges just those who are guilty of murder. But I command you that every person who is hostile to others is going to be judged by God. In the kingdom, the one who insults another will be condemned by the Supreme Court. And the insulter will be punished by hell.
If you wish to make an offering to God and remember that you have wronged someone, then don’t finish making your offering. Making everyone else wait, first go and make it right with the one you wronged—then go to God.
You are going to God with all of these around you. Whomever you have wronged will accuse you before God. And for your debt to them, God will put you under the authority of Satan and Satan will put you in judgment. And you will not be released until you have repaid your debt, even the smallest bit.
2. Adultery and Purity
You’ve heard the teaching, “Just don’t commit adultery.” But I say to you that if you even look at the opposite sex with desire to possess, then you have already intended to commit adultery, and so you will be judged by God.
If your good eye is what is encouraging you to fall from devotion to God, pluck it out and throw it away. It is to your benefit to lose even a part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown away into hell. If your good hand is what is encouraging you to fall from devotion to God, chop it off and throw it away. It is to your benefit that you lose even a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown away into hell.
3. Divorce and Remarriage
You’ve heard it taught, “If you want to divorce your wife, just give her a written notice of the fact.” But I command you that if you divorce your spouse you are causing them to be unfaithful to your marital covenant—unless they have already been unfaithful. This means that if you marry a divorcee, you are committing adultery.
4. Keeping Promises
Again, you have heard it taught that Moses said, “Don’t break your oath.” They teach you, “As long as you invoke God, you need to keep your promise.” But I say to you, invoke nothing in your promises— not heaven nor earth nor Jerusalem. If you invoke any of them, you are ultimately invoking God— for heaven is God’s throne, the earth is God’s footstool and Jerusalem is God’s city. You might as well not invoke your head, either—it is God who determines what happens to your head. You don’t have the power to make a hair of it either white or black. Instead of invoking anything, just make a promise and keep it. Or don’t make a promise. But if you do anything else, you are an evil person, associated with Satan.
5. Submitting to Evil Authorities
Some teach, “Whoever harms one’s eye must have his eye harmed, and whoever harms one’s tooth must have his tooth harmed.” But I command you, do not resist an evil authority. As an authority wrongly slaps you, give him an opportunity to slap you again. As a creditor takes you to court to collect what he can, give him an opportunity to take more than you can afford. As a soldier conscripts you a legal amount, offer him more than the legal amount. If an authority demands something from you—give it to them. And if they insist on “borrowing” from you, let them have it.
6. Love Your Enemies
You have been taught that Moses said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I command you to love your enemies and to pray blessings on those who harm you. Do this so you will be like your Father in heaven, and so you will be his children and so inherit his kingdom. God grants sunshine and rain to everyone without exclusion—no matter they are good or evil, righteous or unrighteous. God gives great rewards to only the righteous—but if you love only those who love you, how are you more righteous than any evildoer? If you offer blessings only to those you like, how are you more righteous than any pagan? So if you want God’s reward, then love without exclusion, even as the Father does.
Part B: God’s Purity
Don’t do your religious deeds openly so that you would gain something from others, or else you will not gain any blessing from your Father in heaven.
1. Giving To The Poor
When you give to the poor, don’t let it be known with a megaphone, as some pretenders do in churches and benevolence centers so that people would say how great they are. Listen here, they’ve already got their pay. As for you, keep your giving even a secret from yourself— hide it, if you can. For God sees every hidden thing and will pay you back according to what he sees.
2. Prayer
When you pray, don’t be like the pretenders who make a show of praying in the churches and on street corners so people would notice their prayers. Listen to me, they have already got everything they asked for. But as for you, pray in the room with no windows, shut the door and pray to your Father, whom no one sees. But God, he will see you in hiding and give to you accordingly.
Also, don’t go on and on in prayer, like people who don’t believe—they think God hears them because of their speech. Your Father knows your need before you even ask, so don’t be like those who get carried away with long prayers.
This is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven
Your reputation is smeared—make your name holy!
This world is corrupt—make your kingdom come!
Make your desire be accomplished on earth, even as it is truly accomplished in heaven!
Give us everything we need this day to survive.
Cancel our debt to you, as we will cancel the debts others owe us.
Don’t bring us into situations that test our faith in You
But take us out of the realm of evil.
If you wipe away people’s sins, your Father will fully accept you. But if you do not fully accept others, your Father will not wipe away your sins.
3. Fasting
When you fast before God, don’t be a sad sack like the pretenders—they put on an unhappy face so people would notice their fasting. Listen to me, they’ve already got everything they’re fasting for. As for you, act in your fast as you normally would—put on normal clothes and do your normal hygiene. No one will notice your fast except your Father in heaven, who is unseen. God will see your hidden act and give to you accordingly.
Part C: Wealth and Possessions
Don’t collect important stuff on earth for your personal use. All stuff on earth breaks down, wears out, is destroyed or is stolen. Instead, if you give to the poor, God will keep the important stuff for you in heaven. There, your stuff never breaks down, wears out, gets destroyed or is stolen. Build up your savings account in heaven—for where you keep your stuff, that’s where your true self is kept.
Your eye is like a window. What you do with your eye shows who you are. If your eye is open, generously sharing, then your body is enlightened. If your eye is shaded with covetousness—desiring to have what others have—then your whole self is darkened, spiritually dead. Thus if your “enlightenment” is pure darkness, you are completely blind.
No one can truly have two gods he is committed to. In the end, every man will display his love for one god by consistently serving him and he will display his contempt for the other by neglecting service for him. You cannot commit yourself to both the Father God and the god of Wealth.
You might be concerned because surrendering what we have to the poor seems like economic suicide. And not storing up for the future seems like irresponsibility. But listen to me—Don’t bother about your livelihood. Don’t worry about what you will eat or drink or wear. Your life, as a whole, is more than what you stuff in your mouth, isn’t it? And isn’t a living body more than having clothes to wear?
Study the birds. Do they go to stores, work to make money, or savings accounts? No, they rely on the Father in heaven to feed them—and somehow they get fed.
Doesn’t God consider you more important than them? And tell me, which one of you increased your quality or quantity of life by being anxious about tomorrow’s food? And clothes—why bother about being concerned about them? Study wild flowers. You see how they spring up? They don’t haunt retail shops or have closets full of clothes, but even the richest woman in Beverly Hills isn’t clothed as beautifully as these. So if God provides clothes for flowers that pop up one day and are mowed down the next, surely he will provide for the mustard-seed-faith troupe.
So stop worrying! Stop saying “How can you ask this of us? How can we provide for ourselves? How can we survive?” You are talking like unbelievers—those who don’t know that God provides for them. Your Father knows what you need already. Focus instead on God’s kingdom and accomplishing God’s righteousness, and your boss—the Father—will provide all these basics for you. So stop being concerned about the future. It is enough to be concerned about today’s trouble, and let the future go.
Part D: Christian Leadership
Don’t condemn others, or else you will be condemned by God. With whatever kind of judgement you judge, that’s how God will judge you—either with mercy or with harshness. With whatever kind of measuring stick you use, that’s how you will be measured as well.
You so easily point out the inconsistencies of your fellow Christian, but neglect the major sins you perform before God. You note the speck of dust in another’s eye, but neglect the two by four that is stuck in your own. There you go to your friend—“We’ve got to get rid of this speck of dust in your eye”, meanwhile, you’re hitting him with your two by four! Stop pretending you have no problems! If you get rid of your two by four, then you’d be able to see. And then you can help your friend get rid of his speck.
Don’t offer the Holy Spirit to those after worldly gain, nor to those who are impure. Your gift will be destroyed by them and then they will attempt to tear you down.
But if you ask, then God will grant you what you need. If you seek the Lord, you will find what you need. If you knock on his door, he will welcome you into the kingdom. For everyone who asks him will receive from Him. Whoever seeks God will find Him. And whoever knocks on his door, it will be opened.
You fathers out there, if your kids ask you for a sandwich, you wouldn’t give them a rock and say, “Here, eat this” would you? If they ask you for a hamburger, you wouldn’t put them in a bullring with a red cape, would you? Look, you guys may not be the best people in the world, but at least you know how to give your kids what they need. Don’t you think that your Father in heaven will give the good things you need when you ask for it?
Part E: Mercy and Your Future
Always consider what others need. Consider, “What is the best I want for myself—how do I want people to treat me?”. Then turn around and give to others exactly what you thought of. If you do this, you will ultimately obey the Word of God.
Look for the unpopular routes to heaven. There are many ways that everyone likes in seeking God’s favor—but they lead to your destruction. Sure, they’re popular, but they are also deadly. But the way to God’s blessing and life is so difficult that few will accept it.
Even so, there are teachers that look great, and are so charismatic, but they are false teachers, leading you away from God. They may look like well-groomed sheepdogs, but in reality they are wolves, seeking to fill their stomachs, not care for the sheep.
How will you know the difference between a guard dog and a wolf? By their actions. How do you know if you’ve got an apple tree? If there are any apples on it. If there are peaches on it, it ain’t an apple tree. Even so, a good teacher does good things, but a false teacher does evil things. If an apple tree only bears rotten fruit, then you know there’s a problem with the tree. Even so, every teacher who does evil things is taken away from God's people and is judged. So you will know who are the good and bad teachers by what they do.
On the last day, there will be many who call me “Lord”, but not all of them will enter God’s kingdom. Only the one who does God’s will has the opportunity to enter. Many will get my attention on the final day and say, “My Lord, didn’t I teach your word? And I prayed for people, and they were healed! And I was able to give them spiritual healing!” And I will make my final decision: “I never knew you. Get lost—you aren’t entering God’s kingdom. You are those who did what was evil in God’s sight.”
Conclusion: Obeying Jesus
Here’s my final story: Whoever has heard my teaching—from “How fortunate are the poor” to here—and puts these teachings into practice, they are the fortunate ones. These doers of the word are like a builder who establishes a level, solid, concrete foundation for his house. Floods came, earthquakes came, wind storms came—but nothing could destroy that building, because it was built not just on good theory, but good practice. However, there are many who have heard my teaching and then thinks, “Interesting ideas…” but never accomplishes any of it. That person is like the builder who has gone to school, read all the books, and then said, “Forget it, I’m building my house my way.” So he decides sand is cheaper than concrete and who needs to go through all the effort for it to be level? And he builds his house. Let me tell you, the next flood, the next earthquake, the next wind storm—whatever disaster is next on the grid—and that house will fall so hard, you’d need a microscope to find the pieces. This isn’t just another sermon—it is your life and death. Please pay attention and do as I have said.
