Hope Community Church
September 20 2026
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      • Psalm 100:title–5KJV1900

      • Matthew 5:48NASB95

  • Matthew 5:48 NASB95
    48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
    A standard bearer is someone who carries a banner or flag for others to see and follow.
    Historically, a standard bearer carried the army’s flag into battle, giving soldiers a clear point of unity, direction, and loyalty.
    Figuratively, a standard bearer is a person who represents and models the values of a cause, community, or faith.
    Examples include:
    An Olympic flag bearer who represents an entire nation.
    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a standard bearer for justice and civil rights.
    Mother Teresa as a standard bearer for compassion toward the poor.
    A godly parent, teacher, pastor, or mentor who models faithfulness and integrity.
    Some folk has good standard bearers or roll models, some have negative roll models:
    Our current political representative in this nation has swayed so many people in this nation that take on his characteristics as a person.
    1.truth deniers
    2. no respect for women
    3. narcissistic
    4. boastful
    5. Petty
    To list a few...
    The main problem church is that people(including christians) are living their lives behind standards that are weak, lacking, poor examples that spill over into our homes, communities, workplaces, and definitely our churches. How are we to increase our footprint as a ministry if we don’t conduct ourselves as disciples of Christ and follow Jesus and His final statement in Matthew 5 telling us how to live in a sin sick world.
    There are two points that I would like to express then I’ll be out of your way. When we set our hearts to God, the Divine Standard,
    Point #1- Receive the Present Precept
    Matthew 5:48 NASB95
    48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
    Therefore connects us to all the previous sayings of Jesus in Matthew 5.
    This phrase employs an imperative construction—“you are to be perfect”—which carries grammatical weight worth examining. The command form demands present obedience rather than future aspiration, establishing perfection as an immediate ethical obligation rather than a distant goal.
    The greek word is teleios which means perfect or complete
    The sense of this word tells us of being complete of its kind without spot or blemish…
    Matthew 19:21 NASB95
    21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
    This dictates our present behavior right now….dealing with greed, coveting riches over people …
    let the world be the world, but if we are to follow the present precept of Jesus He is commanding us a how to live in this world
    Romans 12:1–2 NASB95
    1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
    You cannot live this way according to your own strength, we need God’s grace and mercy to live godly in a wicked world…
    We need to re-establish/refocus our purpose according to God’s word that changes our behavior to aline with our heavenly Father, the Divine Standard/ Our Standard Bearer. This is an attitude shift that with God’s grace and mercy and our obedience , we will get there.
    Philippians 3:12–15 NASB95
    12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;
    Point #2- The Paternal Pattern
    Matthew 5:48 NASB95
    48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
    The comparative structure is equally significant. Jesus grounds the command in a divine standard: “as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt 5:48) This “as” construction functions as both measure and motivation—the Father’s perfection becomes simultaneously the model and the metric. It’s not “strive to be good” but “be like God in this specific way.”
    There is nothing wrong with earthly roll models…so long as they follow Jesus
    1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB95
    1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
    Paul can make this statement because he was following Jesus , but like Paul, we need to reset out purpose as the Lord want to take us higher, we must align with Him because there none higher than Him
    Deuteronomy 4:35 NASB95
    35 “To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him.
    1 Samuel 2:2 NASB95
    2 “There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.
    Aw Tozer tells us, “ No people who will rise above their view of god
    So if our view is small, our behavior will follow ..
    This is our God, our Savior, but we keep on blessing these corrupt Kings and Queens and give them so much influence in our lives that we begin to look like them, walk like them, talk like them.
    Psalm 12:8 NLT
    8 even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.
    Psalm 12:8 LEB
    8 The wicked prowl about when vileness is exalted among the children of humankind.
    We need to stop lifting up wicked folk that deviate from our Heavenly Father…We are commanded to live complete lives, holy lives, as our Heavenly Father is Perfect
    Matthew 5:16 NASB95
    16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
    Ephesians 5:1 NASB95
    1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
    1 John 3:3 NASB95
    3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
    The tension in this text is a theological reality. The present precept and the Paternal Pattern does not reset on human achievement, but divine empowerment.
    Hebrews 10:13–14 NASB95
    13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

    Final Celebration: Perfected by His Sacrifice

    Hebrews 10:14 declares that by one offering, Jesus has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. What a reason to celebrate! Our pursuit of Godlikeness is not an attempt to earn His acceptance; it is the response of people already made whole through Christ’s sacrifice.
    The Father is our pattern, Christ is our provision, and the Holy Spirit is our power. Though we are still growing, we stand perfected before God because of Jesus. Therefore, let us carry His banner with joy, reflect His character with love, and celebrate the finished work of the cross!
    Exodus 17:15 NASB95
    15 Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner;
    What altar are you building this morning? Moses built his altar to the Lord His Banner after Ben and Hur held up his hands during Israel battle against Amalek.
    Is the Lord you banner this morning? Is he our standard bearer? Is He Jehovah Nissi
    HAS THE LORD BOUGHT YOU THROUGH SOMETHING THAT YOU AND I SHOULD GIVE HIM PRAISE AND RAISE OUR VOICE AND OUR SOULS TO THE LORD THIS MORNING. LET EVERYTHING(3X’S) THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE YE THE LORD…
    GO TO YOUR LISTS…

      • Matthew 5:48NASB95

      • Matthew 5:48NASB95

      • Matthew 5:48NASB95

      • Ephesians 5:27NASB95

      • Leviticus 19:2KJV1900

      • Romans 12:1–2NASB95

      • Philippians 3:12–15NASB95

      • Matthew 5:48NASB95

      • Matthew 5:48NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 11:1NASB95

      • Deuteronomy 4:35NASB95

      • 1 Samuel 2:2NASB95

      • Psalm 12:8NASB95

      • Psalm 12:8NASB95

      • Matthew 5:16NASB95

      • Ephesians 5:1NASB95

      • 1 John 3:3NASB95

      • Hebrews 10:13–14NASB95

      • Exodus 17:15NASB95

Hope Community Church
hopeccchurch@hopecchurch.org
(443) 759-9277
http://hopecchurch.org
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