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Sermon on the Mount
189
field, and He asked, “Are you not of more value than they?” God
watches over the little brown sparrow. The flowers and the grass
share the notice of our heavenly Father. The great Master Artist has
taken thought for the lilies, making them outshine Solomon’s glory.
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How much more does He care for His human creatures, who are the
image and glory of God! As the sunbeam gives the flowers their
delicate tints, so God gives us the beauty of His own character.
In the book of God’s divine guidance, the volume of life, we
are each given a page. That page contains every particular of our
history. God’s children are never absent from His mind. “Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow.” God does not give His children all
the directions for their life journey at once. He tells them just as
much as they can remember and perform. The strength and wisdom
He gives are for the present emergency.
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” “Do not think yourself better
than others and set yourself up as their judge. You cannot see the
motives. In criticizing another, you are passing sentence on yourself,
because you show that you are a participant with Satan, the accuser
of the brethren.” See
2 Corinthians 13:5
;
1 Corinthians 11:31
.
The good tree will produce good fruit. So the fruit of our lives
testifies about our character. Good works can never purchase sal-
vation, but they are an evidence of the faith that works by love and
purifies the soul. The reward we receive is not because of our merit,
yet it will be in proportion to the work we have done through grace.
In this way, Christ laid out the principles of His kingdom. To
impress the lesson, He added an illustration. “It is not enough,” He
said, “to hear My words. By obedience, you must make them the
foundation of your character. If you build on human theories, your
house will fall. It will be swept away by the winds of temptation
and trial. But these principles that I have given will endure. Receive
Me; build on My words.”
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them,
I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and
the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on
that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
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