Okay, this morning we're going to pray together as a church, and every Sunday during our pastoral
prayer, we love to pray for another church, often in Hong Kong.
This morning we're going to pray for this church, it's called New City Church in Delhi,
and it's just been planted by a man called Ranjit and his wife Deepa, and we're going
to pray for them.
I think they've been going for about a year or so, but they've just moved to a new venue,
and the day before they moved, Ranjit got kidney stones, got admitted to hospital, so the
day before their launch of their new campus, and so I was emailing him this week, and he
said, hey, just pray for his health, pray for his family, and pray for this church.
The area where they've just moved to, there's never been a worshiping community in that area
for a thousand years.
It's a very old historic area of Delhi, and so we're going to pray for New City Church.
There's a couple of photos, but won't you join me as we pray this morning?
Heavenly Father, gracious God, wonderful Savior, we've come to worship and adore you this morning.
We've come to lift up your name, to declare that you are God and that we are not, to remind
ourselves, remind one another that there is no one else in all creation as awesome and
as glorious as you.
God, help us to know that and to rest secure in that and to glory in that truth.
Father, this morning, won't you come and wash us in who you are, that you are sovereign,
you are majestic, you are gracious, you are faithful.
You, God, are trustworthy.
And remind us who we are in you, God.
We are loved, chosen, secure, your children.
God, we pray for ourselves.
Don't let us be fooled into putting our hope and trust in the things around us, nor let us
be seduced by the bright lights of this world.
Lord, God, help us, strengthen us, remind us, draw us back to the truth of who you are
and who we are in you.
God, may it be in our hearts as it is in heaven, we pray.
Father, this morning, we want to pray for our congregation and for ourselves as we go into
our work week.
We ask for your favor and your blessing to rest upon us as we work this week.
We pray, Lord, that you will keep us humble, gentle, and gracious with those around us.
May our conduct, our gentleness, our humility speak loudly of our security in you.
God, in a world in which we so often feel the pressure to hustle, to outdo one another,
may our security be in your love for us, God.
May that cause us to act and behave differently.
We pray, God, that your gospel will speak in our work lives, in the conference room, in
the lunch table.
Remind us, God, you are as interested in the staff meeting as you are in the prayer meeting.
Help us to take both of them seriously.
God, we pray for those who are facing difficult work situations.
God, difficult bosses, difficult colleagues, difficult challenges.
Help us, God, not to be defensive, insisting on our own way, but to be humble and gracious,
we pray.
And, Lord, we do pray for those in our church that are looking for work.
We pray, God, that you'll provide not just a job with a salary, but an opportunity to
grow, to be stretched, to contribute to the city, and to serve others in our city, we pray,
Lord.
Father, this morning we want to pray for New City, Delhi, and Ranjit, and Deepa, and their
family.
We pray that that church will be a faithful gospel witness in the area in which they meet.
For many that are lost and don't know you, to find the true God through this church.
Use them to welcome all and to share the gospel.
We pray, God, for men and women to be converted, born again, saved, have the life of God breathed
into them.
We pray, Lord.
We pray that you, Lord, will raise up leaders from within this community to lead various initiatives
and plant new churches in Delhi.
And we pray, God, for Ranjit and his health, Lord.
Pray for speedy recovery for his family, his children, the church in this season.
We lift them up before you and ask for your favor and your anointing to rest on them,
God.
And then finally, Father, we pray for Justin this morning and the preaching of your word.
We pray, God, that you will use him to speak your word to us, encourage him.
God, I pray that your word will edify us, build us up, strengthen our faith, help us
to live out your word this week because of Justin's preaching this morning.
We pray these things in your glorious name.
Amen.
Let's listen to God's word being read to us and then Justin's going to come and share
the scriptures.
The scripture reading comes from Matthew chapter 5.
Please follow along in your bulletins or on the screen.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from
the law until all is accomplished.
Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to
do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you
will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders
will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.
Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council.
And whoever says, you fool, will be liable to the hell of fire.
So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something
against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go.
First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you're going with him to court, lest your accuser
hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
Truly I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
This is the word of God.
Can you hear me?
Those at the back can hear me too?
Okay.
So good morning, Watermark.
My name is Justin Ma, and I started coming to Watermark about five and a half years ago
with my three sisters, Edie, Phoebe, and Iris.
It's a privilege to bring God's word to you this morning.
We have been going through the book of Matthew to learn about an upside-down kingdom.
Chris talked about Jesus calling two fishermen brothers to follow him, and he promised to
make them fishers of men.
We learn that Christ is, in fact, inviting not just the two fishermen brothers to follow
him, but all of us.
And then we look at the Beatitudes.
We learn from Kevin that Jesus is not presenting a bundle of optional blessings for us to choose
from, but he is presenting a vision of this new way of living in the kingdom of God.
And today, we come to Matthew 5, where Jesus talks about the law of God in the Old Testament.
That is the law in Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, Leviticus, etc.
Basically, Jesus is talking about the books in the Bible that we often skip.
How do you personally view the law in the Old Testament?
Perhaps you think it has been abolished, so it is no longer relevant to us.
Or perhaps you think that we should still obey the Old Testament law, because faith without
work is quite dead.
Maybe you have heard that Jesus has replaced the Old Testament law with a new set of law.
But you're not quite sure what this new set of law is all about.
So you start asking questions like whether you should state a non-Christian, whether you
should accept a job that demands working on Sundays.
But I guess none of you is like King David, who says in the Psalms that he delies in the
law, and he meditates on the law day and night.
Now, isn't it weird for King David to do that?
But as I was preparing for today's sermon, it starts to make sense for me.
I think today's passage actually gives us a refreshing perspective on how we should approach the law of God.
And it's actually quite key to our Christian faith.
And if you're not a believer, welcome to be with us.
And I believe this passage would also fundamentally change your understanding about the law of God.
And also the Christian faith itself.
In today's passage, I think Jesus talks about three things.
That the law prophesies about Jesus.
That God demands from us the righteousness of Jesus.
And lastly, I'm going to talk about what it means to live in this loving worship of him.
I'm coming to my first point about the law prophesying about Jesus.
If you look at a bulletin in verse 17, Jesus says,
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
Jesus is saying that both the law and the prophecies in the Bible prophesy about his coming,
his death on the cross, and his resurrection.
So his coming does not abolish the law and the prophecies.
His coming actually fulfills both of them.
See, if Jesus was merely talking about his obedience with the law,
he would have used the word obey.
But he deliberately chose the word fulfill.
The same word he uses when he goes to a synagogue on the Sabbath day in his hometown Nazareth.
And he read from the scroll of prophet Isaiah and told the synagogue that Isaiah's prophecies have been fulfilled.
Jesus is saying that the law is like the prophecies in prophesying about a Savior that is coming
and his death and resurrection.
Now, what does this mean for Jesus' audience?
His audience were Jewish men and women who thought that they have to obey the Old Testament law strictly
so that they could earn a ticket to heaven.
At that time, there was also a group of influential people called the scribes and the Pharisees.
And they spent much time studying and interpreting the Old Testament law.
And they have come up with quite a complicated system of law.
In this system, you not only find the Old Testament law,
but you also find many laws that are added to the Bible.
The audience that Jesus was addressing must have felt quite tired,
exhausted, and even burned out by trying to obey the law.
But we see in Matthew 5, Jesus telling them that the law is actually here to remind you
that you're not your own Savior.
The law is to remind you that there is a Savior that is coming,
a Savior who will save us by his death and his resurrection.
But is this message still relevant to us today?
I think it is.
Because all the religions in the world, in one way or another,
talks about a system of law that we ought to obey
so that we could achieve something spiritual.
But it's only in Christianity that we find the law prophesying about a Savior,
his death and his resurrection.
And don't we all have colleagues and friends who ask us whether Christians ought to do something
or not do something?
Perhaps next time we could tell them about this law of God,
but we also can tell them,
hey, you know what?
I didn't obey this law so that I could please God.
This law of God actually is a prophecy.
It talks about a Savior that is coming, a Savior who died for me, a Savior who resurrected,
so that I can come near God, so that you can come near God.
But can we really see Christ, his death and his resurrection in all the law in the Bible?
I believe we cannot unless God opens our mind.
Because in Luke 24, after Jesus' death and resurrection,
he says to his disciples,
These are my words that I spoke to you while I was with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
It's very similar to what he was telling the crowd in Matthew 5,
that he came to fulfill the law and the prophecies.
But then he says something very critical.
He said,
Then he opened the disciples' minds to understand the Scriptures,
and said to them,
Thus it is written,
that the Christ should suffer,
and on the third day rise from the dead.
Jesus had to open the mind of the disciples,
so that they could see in the law clearly,
that they could see Christ and his death and resurrection.
So I would encourage you,
after the sermon today,
to read one of the books in the Old Testament,
that talks about the law.
And when you read,
be praying,
that Christ please open my mind,
like you opened the minds of the disciples,
so that I could see in the law yourself,
your death and your resurrection.
Now, I have to confess,
that I don't have an answer,
for how in each and every law in the Bible,
you could see Christ.
But I would like to take you,
to just two places in the Bible,
where I could see Christ clearly personally.
And the first one,
is a Passover lamb,
in Exodus 12.
When Israel was still slaves in Egypt,
God sent Moses,
to bring them out of slavery.
So Moses asked the king of Egypt,
to let his people go.
But the king of Egypt refused to do so.
And God performed many miracles,
against Egypt.
Then God said,
there is a final miracle I will perform,
and after that,
Egypt will let Israel go.
God said,
he will go into Egypt,
and kill every firstborn in the land.
Now that is a problem for Israel,
because the Israelites,
were actually living in the same land of Egypt.
So God commanded Israel to do this,
that each household of Israel,
is to kill a lamb,
without any defect,
and take the blood of the lamb,
on the doorpost of the household.
So when God comes into the land of Egypt,
and he sees the blood of the lamb,
on the doorpost,
he will pass over the household,
for his judgment.
So the blood of this Passover lamb,
saves Israel,
from God's judgment.
And God commanded Israel,
to kill this Passover lamb,
year after year.
This Passover lamb actually,
prophesies about Jesus himself,
whose death on the cross,
and whose blood will save us,
from God's judgment.
Remember the first song we sang today?
We sang this morning,
that our God is a lamb,
the lamb that was slain,
that was killed,
for the sin of the world.
So this is an example,
to show that in the ceremonial law of the Bible,
we would see Christ.
How about the moral law?
I would like to take us to Deuteronomy 21,
where it talks about a rebellious son,
and then a man hang on a tree.
It says this,
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son,
who will not obey the voice of his father,
or the voice of his mother,
and although they discipline him,
will not listen to them,
then his father and his mother
shall take hold of him,
and bring him out to the elders
of the city of the gate,
at the gate of the place where he lives.
And they shall say to the elders,
This, our son, is stubborn and rebellious.
He will not obey our voice.
He is a glutton and a drunkard.
Then all the men of the city
shall stone him to death with stones.
And then he says,
If a man has committed a crime punishable by death,
and he is then put to death,
and you hang him on a tree,
his body shall not remain all night on the tree,
but you shall bury him on the same day.
For a hanged man is cursed by God.
Now wait a minute.
How can we see Christ?
In the passage, it talks not only about
stoning a rebellious son,
but also about hanging this son on the tree.
But if we really think about our heart,
are we not all this rebellious son
this passage talks about?
Are we not stubborn in our sins
and refuse again and again
to obey God's voice?
God has plenty of testimonies
to pronounce a judgment of death against us.
Yet Christ is the perfect son
who became the cursed man on the cross for us.
And I wrote something
which I believe represents the reality
that Deuteronomy 21 actually points to us.
It talks about this perfect son.
God has a perfect and righteous son
who obeys his voice.
Although God did not discipline him,
he obeys his voice.
God gave this testimony about his son to Israel.
This is my beloved son,
with whom I am well pleased.
The son gave himself up willingly
to the authority in Israel.
And though no testimony was given
to establish any wrong done by him,
Jesus was crucified on the cross,
becoming the cursed one
where the God's curse against us
can be taken away.
Isn't the law marvelous and wonderful?
Does it now make sense to you
why King David could delight
and meditate on the law
day and night?
I now come to my second point
about righteousness.
In verse 20,
Jesus says,
unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes
and the Pharisees,
you will never enter the kingdom of God.
As I said earlier,
the scribes and the Pharisees
came up with a complicated system of law
that adds much to the Old Testament law.
And they taught the Israelites
that in order to be righteous,
that is,
in order to live
in the right relationship with God,
they ought to obey
this complicated system of law.
So the people at Jesus' time
thought that the Pharisees
and the scribes
were the most righteous people
in the land.
No one can possibly
be more righteous than them.
But then Jesus shockingly
demands from us
a righteousness
exceeding that of the scribes
and the Pharisees.
How can we attain this righteousness?
Well, if you think righteousness
means strict obedience with the law,
then you definitely cannot have
a righteousness
exceeding that of the scribes,
and the Pharisees.
But I think what Jesus
is really saying here
is that our understanding
of righteousness
has been totally wrong.
In order to live
in the right relationship
with God,
strict obedience with the law
is not enough.
In fact,
no human efforts
will be enough.
it is a humanly impossible
and it is righteousness
of God.
In Romans 10,
it says,
since they,
referring to the Israelites,
did not know the righteousness
of God
and sought to establish
their own righteousness,
they did not submit
to God's righteousness.
righteousness,
but Christ
is the culmination
of the law
so that there may be righteousness
for everyone who believes.
We can only be righteous
by having Christ's righteousness.
righteousness.
What that means is
we can only live
in the right relationship
with God
by having Jesus'
relationship with God.
What is Jesus'
relationship with God?
He is the perfect
Son of God.
He experienced temptations
to sin,
but He never sinned.
He even willingly
went to the cross
for us
as this is
the Father's will
for Him.
God the Father said,
this is my beloved Son
with whom I am well pleased.
Christ, in fact,
is the only one
who ever lived
in the right relationship
with God.
And Romans says
that His righteousness
is available to everyone
who believes in Him.
Available to you and me
if we believe in Christ.
Now, what does this mean
for us practically?
I think oftentimes
we as Christians
ask questions like
the question I posed
at the beginning
of a sermon.
Should I date
a non-Christian?
Should I take this job
that demands work
on Sundays?
And I think oftentimes
we ask these questions
with the same motivation
as the Pharisees
and the scribes.
That is,
what shall I do
in order to become righteous?
what shall I do
in order to come
into this right relationship
with God?
And I think that really
is the language
of the law.
But Christ says
we cannot be righteous
without efforts.
And we need
His righteousness
that is available to us
if we believe in Him.
So after we put our faith
in Christ,
we know that we are already
in this right relationship
with God
and that should change
the language of the law
into the language of love.
So instead of asking
what shall I do
to become righteous?
That is the language
of the law.
I think we are now
able to ask
in light of Christ's love
for me,
His sacrifice
on the cross for me,
His righteousness
given to me.
How shall I live
to love Him,
to honor Him,
to praise Him,
to worship Him,
to testify about Him?
I think that is
a language of love.
And that brings me
to my last point
about living
in loving worship
of Jesus.
Jesus in Matthew 5
gave a number
of examples
about what it means
to live in loving worship
of Him.
And today I will just
focus on the first
example He gave
about anger.
In verse 21,
Jesus refers
to the sixth commandment
that you shall not murder.
Have you wondered
why Jesus then suddenly
talks about
the issue of anger?
Well, in Genesis 4,
we see the first murder
in the history
in the history of mankind.
That is Cain's murder
of his brother Abel.
Cain murdered
his brother Abel
because the Bible
tells us
he was very angry.
Christ says
that the sixth commandment
against murder
actually points us
towards the issue
of anger.
And that is no longer
an issue
on the outside
that the Pharisees
and the scribes
care about,
but an issue
on the inside,
an issue
of the heart.
Jesus is not
talking about anger
with what a person
does,
but He's talking
about the anger
with the person
himself or herself.
To cry out
against a person
you fool
demonstrates
this profound
sense of hatred
and even total
disregard
for the welfare
of this person.
is kind of,
is like
looking down
the person
as if that person
is no longer
made in the image
of God
and no longer
fit
for salvation
in Christ.
Have you had
an outburst
of anger
against someone
recently?
Perhaps someone
who has wronged you
and you lash
on that person.
or perhaps
you're a less
confrontational
person,
so you're on
good terms
with everybody,
but deep down
in your heart
you're quite angry
and bitter
against a lot
of people.
when you come
to pray
before God
do you think
of those
person?
Have you
realized
that Christ
hates that
person's sin
against you
and also
your sin
but Christ
loves you
and the person
so much
that he came
he went to the cross
for both of you.
Now if you
realize this
Christ says
leave your gift
at the altar
and go to seek
reconciliation
and we will know
that living
in a Chinese society
to apologize
to someone
that you are
rightly angry
with what that
person did to you
but you are
quite wrong
to treat that person
less than a person
made in the image
of God
as a person
not fit for salvation
in Christ
isn't that
the strangest
thing ever?
And don't we
lose faith
doing that?
But for people
at Jesus' time
to leave the altar
while the act
of sacrifice
is still unfinished
is also
deeply improper.
Christ knows
there is a cost
to such reconciliation
in each
and every
culture
but he
asks us
this question
in light
of his love
for you
his sacrifice
for you
on the cross
his righteousness
given to you
would you
give up
your face
to love him
to honor him
to praise him
to worship him
to testify
about him
you may be
sitting here
and think
this is just
too much
for you
do you
feel powerless
Christ knows
we're too weak
on our own
so he actually
not just give us
his own righteousness
he also gives us
his spirit
to empower us
last week
Kevin
talked about
this famous
passage
in Ezekiel 37
where God
shows us
we are all
dry bones
with no sign
of life
but God
promises
that one day
he will put
his spirit
within us
so that we
are empowered
to live
to worship him
we're empowered
to give out
our face
and seek
reconciliation
with those
we have sinned
against
shall we now
pray for the
spirit
to empower
us
Father God
please
open our
eyes
so that we
could see
Christ in the
law
so that we
could be like
King David
to delight
in the law
and to meditate
on it day
and night
how beautiful
and marvelous
is the law
Father God
we thank you
for Christ's
righteousness
we cannot
fully understand
why we could
be counted
righteous
through someone's
righteousness
through Christ's
righteousness
it's such a
profound mystery
and I pray
that you help
us understand it
and more importantly
help us believe
in Christ's
righteousness
and please
help us God
to abandon
the language
of the law
we no longer
want to ask
what we could
do to
please you
to become
righteous
we are
righteous
in Christ
already
and now
we are
enabled to
speak a
language of
love
to do
everything
we could
think of
to love
you
to worship
you
to honor
you
to praise
you
to testify
about you
but one
issue we all
face
is the issue
of anger
Father God
we confess
we cannot
control
our anger
we are
angry
towards
people
as if
they are
not people
made in
the image
as if
they can
no longer
be saved
Holy Spirit
we are
powerless
and we are
too weak
to do
anything
about our
anger
issue
we hold
on to
our face
because we
dare not
lose it
in the
Chinese
society
Holy Spirit
would you
help us
see the
wonders
the glory
and the
beauty
of Jesus
and help
us
willingly
give up
our face
to reconcile
to people
help us
Spirit
please help us
we pray
this in your
son's holy
and precious
name