Different thinking produces different living - Matthew 5-7

This section of the Gospel of Matthew is typically referred to as the "Sermon on the Mount." I memorized it once and used to present it to groups in a first person narrative drama type presentation. It takes about twenty-minutes to quote it and maybe thirty to add correct pauses and presentation candy. It is by far one of the greatest "speeches" or "sermons" every spoken, if not the best. It sums all of the Law (first five books of the Bible) into a single-sit-down message (5:1). It isn't surprising that the God of the universe was able to use the art of speaking words to convey His message succinctly and graphically. In college I studied some of the greatest speeches by Kennedy, Churchill and King. But none of them can hold a candle to Christ's Sermon on the Mount. Despite the beauty of the style, however, is the reason Christ uses this approach. The God of the Universe, who created us, knows that in order to change the behavior of the body you have to change the thinking in the mind and the spirit of the heart. The local religious leaders at this time had twisted the Law to their own means. Christ uses the spoken word to change the thinking of the mind. Reading His words is the approach God has given us to change our ways. The Spirit uses the Words of God to change the hearts of the people of God. If you want different behavior you have to change your thinking. If you want to change your thinking you have to read and meditate on the Words of the God who created the mind.