Matthew 5:17–20 (NIV)

17 “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. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

A fire in the living room could be an invitation to cuddle up with a cup of coffee and a loved one, or it could be an invitation to call 911 and frantically get the family to safety. It all depends on if the fire is in the fireplace. You want the fire in the fire-place. If it is in any other place it will do damage and possibly harm others. 

The same is true with righteousness. If you don’t have it in the right place in your life it can damage your soul and will possibly harm those around you. When righteousness is emanating from the proper location, it will be an invitation to be closer to Jesus and will draw others nearer to Him as well. The only place where righteousness belongs is in your heart. If it starts there, the warmth of it will fill your soul, renew your mind, and strengthen your hands for action. 

You can’t start with a list of do’s and dont’s that you try to conform to, this is how you become like whitewashed tombs that are clean on the outside but filled with decay (Mat 23:27). The only way for our righteousness to surpass the Pharisees and teachers of the Law is for it to flow from the heart. 

Your turn:

This is a hard one to challenge you with because it can come across as more do’s and dont’s. It's not that the do’s and dont’s are bad or wrong, they are what we hope to see. The problem is when we approach righteousness by trying to do the do’s and dont’s through our will power. What we are seeking is a righteousness of the heart, not just the will. 

This week you are invited to do some heart work. 

• Invite Jesus into your heart

• Get into a safe and quiet space where you can let down your guard.

• Pray “Jesus, I invite you,and you alone, to come into my heart. I ask that you shine your light in the dark places to reveal what is going on in my heart.” 

• Heart check

• How is your spiritual heart doing? Let Jesus show you around. 

• Don’t focus on fixing anything right now, just take some time to be honest about what you see. (Don’t worry, we will deal with some of this stuff later)

• Have you felt let down by God? Or maybe let down by His Church? 

• Do you have a hard time believing that Jesus cares about you? 

• Do you feel known, accepted, and deeply loved by God? 

• Maybe your “heart bucket” feels empty. What would fill it back up?

• In the weeks following, it is essential that you return to this place with Jesus before trying to do any of the invitations. 

• You don’t want to put the practices ON you, the goal is to get them IN you. 

• Let Jesus transform your heart so that you will naturally do the righteous things. If it doesn’t feel natural, that means there is some clutter or lies in your heart.