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Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Ali Yost. It is a joy and honor to be here with you guys. Hi everyone. Hi guys. How are we feeling today? How are we doing? I hope that our spirits are high when we are lifted up by Jesus. Obviously he is our strength. Thank you God. Okay, wait, but before all else, obviously we have our coffee on ice and we have our Christ. We do. We really do. Thank you Jesus for both. Also, God, thank you for waking us up today. Can I say that? Let's just hold on. We gotta pray. We need to start this off with gratitude, Jesus. God, thank you so much for today. Lord, I thank you that every day that we are woken up in the morning, it just really isn't promised. And God, I also just want to repent in front of my brothers and sisters for taking that for granted. And actually I have. I haven't been keeping in mind enough that tomorrow just really isn't promised. And that you say in your word that when the time comes, when Jesus returns, that it will come at a time where none of us will know. Like none of us actually know the timing of when Jesus will come back. And so Lord, every day that goes by where we get to wake up and live in the normalcy of our lives is a gift. And so Lord, let us just never take that for granted. I actually pray that we always have a heart posture of like today could be the last day before the end, times before everything. Like we don't actually know when all of this will come to an end and when Jesus will return. God, I repent for that and I'm asking for Your forgiveness, Jesus. And I just pray from now on that we can all have just a different perspective of life and being able to live and be and being woken up today by you, God, that it's actually you who puts breath in our lungs. Like, the only reason that we're breathing right now is because you are keeping us alive. And so, Jesus, let us not take today for granted. Let us not be distracted by the inconveniences in our lives and even things that are probably very serious. But let us always be rooted in gratitude that it is a gift to be alive today, Lord, it is a gift to be sitting with you, to be reading your word and to be together right now. Let us always fix our eyes on the blessings and the good of today, instead of being so quick to looking to the things that are negative and the things that lack in our lives. Jesus, we love you, we honor you, and we are grateful for today. And we rejoice in today because today is yours. In Jesus name, I pray all these things. Amen. Yeah, sorry. Just needed to be grateful for today. We need to be grateful for the very day in the moment that we're living in. And it's not just another day. It's a day to rejoice in. Sorry, guys, I still kind of have the sniffles a little bit. All right, so today I really want to read the Bible. I really want to read the Bible with you guys. And to be honest, we've done this a few times on the pod. Obviously, like, reading the Bible is not a new thing for us here on Christ with coffee and ice. And I don't know if I've read Matthew with you. I feel like I have. I just love it and I want to read it again and I need it. And it's kind of like my comfort book in the Bible. I just loved the book of Matthew. I think it's a comfort book for me because it was the first time that I ever read the Bible where I was just weeping, like, legitimately weeping. Yeah. This book was the very book that introduced me to the spirit of God and his love. So it's very sentimental to me. And the whole Bible in itself, I'm like, the whole thing, right? The book of Matthew just is my fave for that reason. And so I'd love to read it with you guys, but I would love to start. Start at the birth of Jesus. So in the beginning of Matthew, it lists off the ancestors of Jesus, the Messiah, which are all very important people. The thing is, is like God put it in The Bible for a reason. Right. But I feel like if you guys want to go through that, you absolutely can. But I'm going to just Skip to Matthew 1:18, which is the birth of Jesus. And we're just going to keep reading until we feel led to stop reading. Yeah, I just want to read about Jesus. And I actually haven't even read Matthew in a while. So if you guys are in a place to do it, I would encourage you to also take out your Bibles and read along with me. I think that's like, the most impactful way to really allow the Scripture to speak to you is also like reading along with it. But if you're not in a place to do that, I'm happy to read it to you. So if you're going on a little walk or you're in your car or wherever you're at. I have a hair or something. Hold on, everybody. Yeah. This is driving me nuts. What are you. That was on my face the whole time. Okay, if it sounds a little different than yours, if you are reading along, I have the NLT translation. Okay. This is my Bible that I've gotten from Hosanna Revival. I plug them every time because I love my Bible. It's beautiful. It's stunning. Look at how gorgeous she is. I do have a code with them if you guys are ever curious or on the market for a new Bible or they have travel size ones, which I also have, and I love my travel size. And they have journals and all sorts of fun stuff. You can use my code. Ali Yost. It's just my first and last name. So that is the version I'll be reading from today. So let's start in Matthew 1:18, okay? Chapter one, verse 18. I love the Bible. Okay, guys, you ready? This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. Joseph, son of David. The angel said, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son. And you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet. Look, the virgin will conceive a child she will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us. Can you believe how much just happened right there? Can we just take a second? Like, sometimes scripture for me, I'm like, wait, wait a minute. That was a lot. So a woman named Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph. Also, I believe Mary was like 13 years old at this time. Can we Google this? Wait, hold on. I got to make sure I'm not spreading misinformation. Possibly between 12 and 16 years old. About 14 years old. Mary. I didn't realize how young she was. That's insane. Okay, so Mary, being just a little teenager, barely a teenager, 14, maybe 16 at the oldest, was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a righteous man, meaning he feared the Lord. He lived all the ways of his life according to how God had told him to live his life, right? So he's a righteous man. He fears God, and he's just found out that his fiance, the woman that he's engaged to, is pregnant. And so he was literally going to break off the engagement, but he had enough mercy for her in that. I'm sure he could. Can you imagine? Can you imagine that? Actually, I can't imagine being Mary and having to tell my fiance that I was pregnant, but I didn't have sex to get pregnant. Like, no one would believe you. A lot of people didn't, by the way. But, like, no one would believe you. And I can't imagine the anxiety she was probably feeling and the stress of, like, having to tell her partner that while also acknowledging that there's a very likely chance, like, a high chance of him not believing that that's true. Because what? That's, like, impossible. I put impossible in air quotes because obviously not though, right? God can do whatever he wants. So she's impregnated by the Holy Spirit. I can only imagine the anxiety she was feeling, right? And I can only imagine also what Joseph was feeling. So angry. I'm sure he was so upset, so hurt, felt so betrayed. Probably felt super lied to because she's sitting there saying she didn't, but she's literally pregnant. So, like, how else did you get pregnant then, girl? You know? So he was going to end it with her, literally was going to break off the engagement, but had enough mercy for her, even probably in all of. Of, you know, the anger and frustration and confusion and hurt that he was feeling in that to not do it publicly. But he was just going to, like, quietly break off the engagement. But before he could do that, an angel came to him in a dream saying, hey, by the way, you don't need to be afraid to marry Mary. You don't need to be afraid to make Mary your wife, because the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and she's going to have a son, by the way, you're going to name him Jesus, and he's going to save his people from their sins. That is, like, the craziest news you could ever receive ever, in the history of ever. I think about this, and I'm like, wow, Mary and Joseph were, like, real ones. The faith that they both had to have to me, I'd be like, this goes against any of my own understanding, and I have no idea how this is possible. I don't actually know what you're talking. What do you mean? What? I'd be like, what? So the faith that they had to have to just keep going in this kind of scenario is crazy. But obviously the Lord trusted them with this because he knew that they could. But it's like, wow, I can't imagine. Okay, so when Joseph woke up. All right, guys, we're back on. We're. We're back to scripture. So when Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. Faith, it's giving faith. Because he still had a choice. He could have just been like, nah, I'm not doing that. It was just a dream. But this man feared the Lord, and so he did just as the angel said, and he made Mary his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod. About that time, some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him. King Herod was deeply disturbed when he had heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, where is the Messiah supposed to be born? In Bethlehem in Judea, they said, for this is what the prophet wrote. And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you, who will be the shepherd for my people Israel. Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told Them. Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too. After this interview, the wise men went their way, and the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. And they entered the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. What is myrrh? Also, what is frankincense? Mmm. Oh, it's a perfume. Perfume and incense and traditional medicine. Oh, myrrh is also a fragrance. Okay. So they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold and incense and like perfume. When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route. For God had warned them in a dream to not return to Herod. So the Lord had given these men a dream about Herod, warning them and saying, actually, you're not going to go back to him and report back to him. Because when King Herod was like, oh, yeah, like, report back to me and let me so I can worship him too, he was being a big fat liar. He didn't mean that he wanted to kill Jesus. So that's why the Lord had warned them to not go back to Herod, because he didn't mean it when he said that, when he was like, oh, yeah, yeah, let me know so I can also worship the baby. Nope. And the Lord knew what was within Herod's heart. Right? So even if that wasn't evident on the outside, God knew what was within him. So he warned the men. Okay. After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up. Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother. The angel said, stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. Yeah. That was the truth. So the night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod's death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet. I called my son out of Egypt. Herod was furious when he realized that the wise man had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all boys in and around Bethlehem who were 2 years old and under. Based on the wise men's report of the star's first appearance, Herod's brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. A cry was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead. When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. Get up. The angel said, take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead. So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod's son, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophet had said. He will be called a Nazarene. I didn't realize how many dreams Joseph got from the Lord. That's really cool. This is a little side note from Al, but that's cool. Fun. He got so many dreams, and that actually was like the very thing, like God sending him dreams was how he would discern, like, what to do next and where to take his family is because of the way that God would speak to him in dreams. That's so fun. Now we're at Matthew 3. John the Baptist prepares the way. I love John the Baptist. Oh, my gosh, I love him. In those days, John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is near. The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, he is a voice shouting in the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord's coming. Clear the road for him. John's clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptized, he denounced them. You broad of snakes. He exclaimed. Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don't just say to each other, we're safe, for we are descendants from Abraham. That means nothing. For I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now, the axe of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever the root of the tree. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone who is coming soon, who is greater than I, am so much greater that I'm not worthy even to be his slave and to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn, but burning the chaff with never ending fire. Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan river to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. I am the one who needs to be baptized by you, he said, so why are you coming to me? But Jesus said, it should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires. So John agreed to baptize him after his baptism. As Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, this is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy. I actually can't imagine that happening. The heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Jesus. And a voice from heaven set audibly. They heard this. It was God speaking. He said, this is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy. So at this point, it has been revealed to John, Jesus is the Messiah that they have all been waiting for. So we're in Matthew 4 now. It says, then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. Isn't that interesting that the Spirit led him into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil? That was actually why he went into the wilderness. It wasn't like Jesus went into the wilderness. And then like, you know, the devil just came and it was such an inconvenience. It was like, no, Jesus actually was led by the Spirit to go into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. For 40 days and 40 nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time, the devil came and said to him, if you are the Son of God, then tell these stones to become loaves of bread. But Jesus told him, no. The scriptures say people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple, and said, if you're the Son of God, jump off. For the scriptures say he will order his angels to protect you, and they will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. Jesus responded, the scriptures also say, you must not test the Lord your God. Oh my gosh, this is such a cool interaction. Okay, next. The devil took him to the peak of the very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. I will give it all to you, he said, if you will kneel down and worship me. Get out of here, Satan. Jesus told him, for the scriptures say, you must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Then the devil went away and angels came and took care of Jesus. And it's like Jesus did that to demonstrate to us. Like, it's crazy that a lot of his life he was like, I'm going to show my people. But he did that to demonstrate to us how we're supposed to combat the enemy when he comes creeping in. You know, Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil so that it could then also be recorded in this book forever for us to still read about and learn from 2000 plus years later. Like exposing the enemy. Like completely just exposing the enemy in this and showing us how to combat it. I'm obsessed with Jesus. Okay, the ministry of Jesus now begins. When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum beside the Sea of Galilee in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what God had said through the prophet Isaiah. In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali beside the sea, beyond the Jordan river, in Galilee, where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined. From then on, Jesus began to preach. Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is near. One day, as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, also called Peter and Andrew, throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people. And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little farther up the shore, he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. Jesus traveled through the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the good news about the kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. News about him spread as far as Syria. And people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed, he healed them all. Large crowds followed him wherever he went. People from Galilee, the ten towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River. One day, as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up to the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him and he began to teach them. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the kingdom of God is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you. Because you are my followers. Be happy about it. Be very glad, for a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot and worthless. You are the light of the world. Like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth. Until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But anyone who obeys God's law and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. But I warn you, unless your righteousness is better than the Righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that our ancestors were told you must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment. If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. And if that happens, you surely won't be free again until you have paid the last penny. You have heard the commandment that says you must not commit adultery. But I say anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye, even your good eye, causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand, even your stronger hand, causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. I love that scripture. I just want to make a side. A little side comment right now. If anyone is, like, having a hard time understanding that a lot of that is symbolic. God is not actually telling us to cut off our hands and gouge out our eyes. I know that that can sound kind of brutal. And you're like, wow, it's very graphic. Jesus. Wow. Okay. God. All God is saying in that scripture is that if there is something in your life that is causing you to sin, cut it off. Cut it off. If there are temptations in your life, if there are things that you are falling to because of xyz, you have to cut out that XYZ in your life. That could be a person. You know what I mean? That could be c. Certain environments, that could be certain habits, that could be certain entertainment that maybe you're watching or you're listening to. Like, if there are things in your life where you're like, okay, if I really go to the root of this, and I'm like, why do I keep falling to this very thing? And the example that's being used in this is lust. Right. Adultery. But what this scripture is saying and using as an example of sin is even if you look at a woman with lust, you've already committed adultery. So gouge out those eyes if those are the things that are causing you to sin. Representing cut the very thing out of your life that could be causing you to sin and causing you to fall from holiness. Yeah, just some of the things I listed now where it's like, if it's a friend in your life, if it's a person, if it's a habit, if it's a substance. Yeah. Influence in your life, like, whatever that could look like, it's better to cut it off than to continue to live in that sin because it's bondage and it's not free freedom. You have heard the law that says a man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce. But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery. You've also heard that our ancestors were told, you must not break your vows. You must carry out the vows you make to the Lord. But I say, do not make any vows. Do not say, by heaven, because heaven is God's throne. And. And do not say by the earth, because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, by Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say by my head, for you can't turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple yes, I will, or, no, I won't. Anything beyond this is from the evil One. You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say, do not resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek. Also, if you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who want to borrow. You have heard the law that says, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust. Alike. If you love only those who love you. This is, like, one of my favorite scriptures ever. Are you guys locked in? Okay. If you've been kind of like, floating off somewhere, lock in for this one at least. Okay, ready? This is Matthew 5:46. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Now, the reason that I love that scripture so much, y', all, and I'm just going to give you my own interpretation of what I believe Jesus is saying in that scripture, is that it is easy for any of us, whether we're walking with Christ or not. Okay? Whether you're in the world or you're not, it is easy for us people to love the people who love us, to love our friends, to love the ones who give us love. That's such an easy thing to do. If people love us, it's very easy to love that person back. But what Jesus is telling us in this scripture and what he's showing us is he's obviously, like, laying out and kind of mapping out what our character should look like as followers of Christ, because this is his character. And. And so anything in his character, we have to also reflect. It should also be our character as well, is that we have to look different than the world. So if that's like a common thing that, like, the world can this easy thing, right? We can love the people who love us done. But what we're called to be is salt of the earth, light of the world. We are supposed to be different. We are supposed to be going against the grain of the world. We're honestly supposed to be doing the opposite of what the world does. And so what Jesus is challenging us to do in the scripture is to love our enemies. Why? Because that's not easy to do. 1. It's typically not a strength we can even get within ourselves. What is going to make us different than the world? Loving our enemies? Because that isn't something that you do in the world. Like, you don't love your enemies. You only love the people that love you. What do you mean? I'm going to love the people who are persecuting me? What do you mean? I'm going to pray for the people who are spreading lies about me. But that is the very thing that's actually going to set one of the many things that's going to set us apart and make us the light of the world. Make us salt of the earth, make us set apart from the world, in the world, but not of it, right? So Jesus is saying, yeah, how easy is it for you to love the people that love you? Great. Yeah. Anyone can do that. Even the tax collectors can do that much. Even the pagans do that, right? He's like, that doesn't make you different, but you are to be perfect even as your Father in heaven is to be perfect. Meaning you are supposed to love the way that the Father loves, and so he loves everyone. God has love for everyone, he says, for he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good. God does, right? And he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. The same. The same rain he sends to both. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? But you are to be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect. And also the scripture says that we are supposed to rejoice. Let me go back. That was good, too. Hold on. God blesses you. That's the reward. That's the reward. Are you guys. Are you. Are we tracking. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it. Be very glad. For a great reward awaits in heaven. Okay? That's the reward when we decide to love those who hate us. Okay, so if you only love those who love you, what reward is there for that? I don't know. I guess just temporary, like, gratification, satisfaction of, like, yeah, I love the people, they love me. I love them. But really, what is the reward in that? There's actually a greater reward in being challenged to love the people who hate you. It's a promise. It's a promise. In scripture, God says you are actually to be glad in that. Rejoice in that, actually, because there are rewards that are stored in heaven for you. A lot of times, sometimes when God is talking about the rewards that he has for us, when we choose to do the right thing, when we choose to do the perfect thing, as he does, right? When we choose to do the holy thing, the righteous thing, the thing that Jesus would do, maybe sometimes that reward doesn't happen in the moment. Maybe it would never even happen here on earth, right? But what God has promised us in scripture is that there are some Serious treasures and rewards stored in heaven for you. So why we do it, we do it to please God. But it's like, that's his heart though, right? Is he's like, hey, I got rewards for you in heaven, though. I'm telling you that that did not go in vain, right? The sacrifice and the humility that you practice in that with loving that person, even when it was hard, did not go in vain. That's what God is saying, right? The motivator is not the treasures in heaven. And so let's just like, slow down for a sec and make sure that that's not being interpreted right now. That's not why we do it, but it's actually the love of God that he's like, but I got some good things for you. I do thank you for loving me enough and fearing me enough to take my word seriously and to take the very things that Jesus taught and demonstrated. And when he said, this is. These are the characteristics that you should have. You are supposed to love everybody. God sees that. Now, when we move to Matthew 6, I'm just going to read this briefly and then we'll wrap. It says, watch out. Don't do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others, right? So when we read that. Hold on, let's rewind. Remember when Jesus was talking about, like, us being up on a hill, though? So you're like, for. For all of people to witness our good deeds. So that could feel contradicting because you're like, okay, well, just a few verses ago, Jesus was saying, we're not supposed to be under a bull, right? They're like, you don't put a light under a bull and hide it in a basket or whatever it said it is to put. Be put on a stand to light up the whole room for everyone to see. So let everyone witness your good deeds that you do through Christ. Let everyone witness the love that you pour out to people, right? The good deeds, the way that you serve people, the way that you decide to love even your enemies, okay? Let people witness those things. When we move to Matthew 6:1, when it says, watch out, don't do your good deeds publicly, hold on to be admired by others. What does that mean? So what that scripture is saying, but hold on, as you're doing your good deeds publicly and you're representing me, okay, you're being the light on the hill, you're being the salt of the earth, you're being the light of the room, make sure you're checking your heart. This is God saying, I want you to be aware of your heart posture, though, because we can do good deeds in light and we can be the light of the world, but where is your heart? Because if you're doing your good deeds publicly to be admired by others, you will lose the reward from your heavenly Father. It says for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. Meaning he doesn't want you to do this out of a place of like, look at me though, right? I'm doing all these good deeds and you're only doing them publicly to be admired by others. Because you want people to look at you and say, wow, what a godly person. Right? It's a lot of what the Pharisees would do. And there's a verse somewhere here in the Bible too. I don't know if it's in Matthew. Where is it, guys? Is it in John talking about fasting? Like, don't go around parading, telling everyone that you're fasting and running around being, oh, I'm so hungry. I'm just so, oh my gosh, I've been fasting again. It's giving. Why are you doing. What's the heart posture? Why even do that? God doesn't honor that. He doesn't want that. That's not a pure heart. There's not pure motive in that. It's just to be admired by others. Okay? That's not the Bible contradicting itself. It's the Bible saying one thing and then saying it again and saying, but make sure, don't just do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others. Because that's not what God is asking, right? When you give to someone in need, don't do as the hypocrites do, blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity. I tell you the truth, they have received all of their reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private and your father, who sees everything will reward you. That also rocks. I love that the Lord said, I tell you the truth. Oh, they've received their all the rewards they'll ever get. They got the reward that they wanted, they got the admiration of others. Great. They got their reward. But I'm telling you, that's the most of what they're going to get because they're not going to get any reward from me for that. Because that's not a pure heart. God wants us to do things out of purity and true Fear of him, of just wanting to please him and to love others, to love God and to love others as we love ourselves. It's the two most important commandments. It always goes back to that. Give your gifts in private and your father who sees everything will reward you. I love him. I love God. Okay, we're actually going to stop there. That was at Matthew, chapter 6, verse 4 is where we ended. Good book, right? Yeah, good book. Book actually pretty meaty though. I feel like we could have stopped at least 183 more times to break down more of that scripture. But I really enjoyed that. Thank you guys for reading that with me or thank you for listening, if you were just listening. Hey, I love you guys so much. Thank you for tuning in today. I hope you guys have such an incredible day with the Lord today. Oh, my gosh. Talk to him all day. Acknowledge him in all the things that you do. Say hi to him. He'll say hi back. Ask him what he thinks of you. He'll tell you. Ask him what his favorite qualities are of you. He will tell you. Let him be your friend today. Let him pour into you today. Just talk to him. Just talk to him and invite him into everything. And also tell him your favorite things about him too, because I know he probably loves that as well. Okay, I love you guys. Hey, can we do something cool, though, really quick? Can we do something cool and show somebody how cool Jesus is? Let's walk more like Jesus. Let's talk more like him. Let's be that light on the hill. Let's be the light of the room. Let's be the salt of the earth. Let's do the opposite of what the world does. Let's choose love, no matter what. I love you guys. I'm proud of you and I will see you in the next episode. Bye. Are some of y' all still listening? Okay, if you're still here, that means you're a real one, which is why I'm about to share this with you. If you've already caught up on all the episodes so far and you don't want to wait until next Friday for a new one, I have really good news for you. 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