How can you be perfect as Jesus is perfect?

November 1, 2017 Discerning Reader 0 Comments

Your heart controls your tongue. Whatever is in your heart comes out through your mouth. If you are hateful, hate comes out of your mouth. If you are a negative, you speak doubt and negativity. Negative words bear the fruit of death in your life; when you speak negative things it’s like you are speaking death into your spiritual and physical life. By the way you talk, we can tell whether you belong to God or to Satan.

Everything starts with words. God created the earth in Genesis by spoken word. By your words, you can create or destroy, lift up or tear down, make someone great or hurt them.

We all have the desire to be perfect as God is perfect. We all want to be like Jesus.

How can we be perfect? What makes us perfect?
#1 Love your enemies

Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus has commanded us to love our enemies. It’s easy to love those who love you.

When you speak negative words to others, you are actually speaking negative words to yourself. When you curse someone else, that curse actually comes to you. Why? Those negative words live inside your heart. Whatever is in your heart comes out of your mouth.

Matthew 15:11-19
11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

You shouldn’t curse even your enemies because those curses will come back to you. Let God take care of sin and judge sin. You shouldn’t try to take vengeance into your own hands.

It’s difficult to love someone who hates you. That kind of love comes from God.

#2 Take care of your enemies

Romans 12:19-21
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

If we truly love God, we must keep God’s commandments. Feed your enemies when they are hungry. Give them something to drink when they are thirsty.

Who is your enemy? Who is the enemy of God?

  • Someone who persecutes you
  • Someone who hates God and Jesus in you
  • Someone who loves this world, who are friends with this world
  • Someone who takes you to court or trial
  • Someone who tries to kill you spiritually or physically
  • Someone who comes against the kingdom of God

The Bible tells us to love our enemies, not to fellowship with them, confide in them or trust them.

Keep your heart clean and pure. Love your brothers and sisters in the Lord. Do not focus on life on this earth. Focus on heaven.

We must love our enemies with perfect love.

#3 Speak according to the Word of God

Watch out for how you speak. If you overcome your sinful tongue and speak according to the Word of God, you will be perfect. Control your tongue. Speak to others like Jesus spoke. Then you will have perfect love.

We must love our enemies. Speak the Word to your enemies. Speak according to His Word.

Our tongue is the most powerful thing we have in our whole body. The tongue can give life or death. The tongue controls people’s lives, bringing blessing or curses. The tongue can lead someone to salvation or to the pit of hell. The tongue can be used to heal the sick. The tongue can bring life or death. This world is killing itself by it’s own tongue.

James 3:1-12
1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

We need to watch out for how we use our tongues. Social media is your tongue – whatever you post and comment on is your tongue. Bring life and hope to others. Lead them to Christ. Don’t use social media to damage others. Use social media to be a blessing to others.

If you want to be perfect, love and take care of your enemies. Control your tongue and speak the Word of God.

God bless you,
Pastor Sun East