Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent. Matthew 5:24-26.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I will give you knowledge and wisdom that no one can take exception to or contradict. How? By My Spirit. “And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy.’” Acts 2:17-18.
Yes, it is happening for those who are walking with Me with hearts filled with My love in the light, those of transparent hearts that are not covering anything in the dark. Those who have taken the stand to give Satan no part in them. You will awaken in the morning with the outline of the plan set clearly before you in the clarity of your mind. Quickly write it down on a tablet so you can read it and begin to develop it with all the details. What I give you in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, will take you at least six hours to write out in fuller detail of what is all there in the outline. But you will have seen it and you know it is certain to come to pass if you run with it. You are going into a time of a whole new level of walking with Me for now you have come through the wilderness as a worshipper and a lover of souls. Now the Manna I have been giving you in the wilderness will become your source for the hundredfold in your promised land—your Kingdom assignment which is entering the rest of love in Me.
Follow the plan I set out before you and you will prosper and succeed. And others will see your good deeds and want to have what you have too. Jesus could not escape notice, His life was so radiant and filled with goodness, and as He is so are you in this world.
Be wholehearted to Me and I will be wholehearted to you. Be busy about My affairs and I will be busy about yours. Be transparent and out for the good of others and you will have greater reward every day. Be seeking to give the limelight to others and not self-glorification and fame, sincerely want good for everyone in a situation. You do not have to have all the credit, even when you were the one that solved the problem, let others take it but I will know and reward you. And I will bring your gift before great men in due time, as I did with Jacob’s son Joseph and My servant David. I give grace to the humble but I resist the proud. I can work great deeds with the humble and they are not in danger of falling from places of honor due to pride or the corruption of mammon.
What you have done all these years behind the scenes I will bring to success. Let all be for My gory and the good of all.
In the prior Life Lesson we began the passage for the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.” Matthew 5:21-26.
We did not finish this passage, so we will pick up from where we left off, that is, “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.” Matthew 5:24-26.
It is good to bring offerings to Me, I told the Israelites that they were not to come to My house empty handed, “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.” Deuteronomy 16:16. I did not let My people leave Egypt empty-handed, I filled their hands and carts with rich and valuable treasures beyond what they could contain or use and then I humbly asked them for each one to bring offerings from what I had miraculously given them as their heart moved them to build My dwelling place with them in the wilderness. “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to raise an offering for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My offering. This is the offering which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, rams’ skins dyed red, badger skins, acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.” Exodus 25:1-7. And the purpose? “Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8.
And I have not changed, from the beginning I have sought to dwell with you and be your God and you to be My people. That was My covenant with Abraham, that I would be his God and the God of his descendants and he and his descendants would be My people. And now I have gone even closer to you, I now dwell in you by My Spirit and you are My dwelling place, My house, upon the earth. And My house is a house of prayer for all peoples.
Anything done without love is not worth anything lasting. If you do not give your offerings to Me out of love and gratitude for all the good and grace I lavish upon you then they mean nothing to Me. I love a cheerful giver. And I seek the greatest offering of all—your heart filled with love for Me and your brethren, a heart that forgives and reconciles. For that is who I am, I love you so much that I was in Christ reconciling the world to Myself, not counting your sins and transgressions against you. “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. But if you have not reconciled with your brethren, how can you reconcile your brethren with Me? How can you be an ambassador for Christ, as though I were making an appeal through you to others to be reconciled with Me in perfect harmony; when your brother has ought against you and you have not been reconciled, then how can you be totally reconciled to Me? My Son died for your sins but for those of the whole world as well.
If you come to make an offering to Me at the altar, no matter how big or small, and there remember that your brother has something against you (I will let you know), leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Don’t leave out either one. I want My children dwelling as one with Me and one with each other.
Jesus prayed to Me for the oneness He had with Me to be extended to all His disciples, not just to those at the Last Supper with Him that night who had walked with Him in His time on earth dwelling among you according to the flesh, but all of you also that would believe in Jesus through their word passed down the generations to you. “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:20-21. By seeing you and your oneness with Me that causes you to walk in love and the beauty of holiness with others bring others to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the One who was promised long ago to come to save you. And what makes you so one in goodness with Me? My glory (goodness, presence and power) in you. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:22-24. This is a prayer that Jesus prayed for you to Me the night when He agreed with My Will to put all your sins upon Him and accept the wages of sin upon the Cross the next day so that you would never have to taste the dust of eternal death and live separated from Me and My Kingdom. And He continued that prayer that night at a very appropriate meal, the memorial of the Passover when My children were redeemed from slavery to freedom, the shadow which He was about to fulfill, “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:25-26. There it is again, you must come to the realization and acceptance of My great love for you that is a love beyond the love known in the world, it is a love beyond love, it is vaster than the universe and can fill every moment of your life and every part of your spirit, soul, and body, making you complete. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.
Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent. Matthew 5:24-26.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift comes down like showers of rain and the shining sun upon all from above, from Me the source of all love, light, and beauty and all that goes with it—everything needed for life and godliness. Receive them till you overflow and share them with all I send you—those who love you and those who hate you, those who befriend you and those who reject you. Live your life through Jesus, for He Himself is gracious to the ungrateful, unfaithful and the wicked. Do not return evil for evil, but return good so that all involved may come out better for you having been there.
Humble yourself to reconcile with others as far as you are able. Let them know you are there not to impress them but to love them into wholeness and reconciliation with you and Me. Vengeance and vindication are Mine, for I see into hearts, love and forgiveness are yours.
“You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:5-11.
And there is more to this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.” Matthew 5:24-26.
Today is a very litigious society. Everyone wants to enforce their rights, but often those rights are masks for greed, hatred, and vengeance. Part of reconciliation is reaching a settlement agreement rather than entering into a full blown battle where no one wins and everyone loses resources and days and sometimes years of their lives in fruitless fights. “Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the believers? Or do you not know that the believers will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren.” 1 Corinthians 6:1-8.
“Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” Hebrews 10:14-15. An ambassador of Christ does not seek to harm others but seeks “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” Acts 26:18. Remember your calling.
Pull up all bitter roots and conquer evil with good. If you walk with Me this will become a joy for you for it will open a whole new level of blessing to you. Edify, exhort, and encourage, but above all, love one another as I have loved you. And I have settled My case against you, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you are willing and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 1:18-20.
And don’t be argumentative, combative, belligerent, hostile, contentious, quarrelsome, and the like, you see this all around you in today’s society, people are jealous and angry. “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:23-26.
Be more intent on saving souls than fighting over an offense they caused you. Do not brood over injuries until you end up in a court battle where everyone actually loses. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9.
I love you. Imitate Me as My dear children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for you, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2. You will find reconciliation and peaceful settlement a joy, and when you sow joy, you reap joy. A hundredfold—which is vaster than the universe.