Matthew 5 Life in the Kingdom

SLIDE 1 Last year in our study of Revelation, chapters 21 and 22 gives a depiction of heaven on earth. What a glorious place that will be! No pain or suffering, no temptation or trials where the Son of God provides the light for the kingdom.

 The world where we live in now is far from this paradise. Jesus was teaching to people who needed blessings. Beatitude is derived from the Latin word for blessed. Blessed implies an inner satisfaction that does not depend on outward circumstances for happiness. This is what the Lord offers to those who trust completely in Him.

SLIDE 2 Life in the Kingdom

·        Sermon on the Mount

·        Receiving True Righteousness

·        Living in the World but not of the World

We are to glorify God with our actions.

SLIDE 3 After Jesus healed the multitude of people they began to follow Him. The local mountain of Capernaum is actually a ridge of hills just to the west of the town. Sitting down is a typical position for a teacher of Judaism. Since this setting was mainly to the disciples we can conclude that he was giving all of them an invitation to discipleship in the Kingdom.

Matthew 5:

¹Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. Jesus began to teach the people about the blessings of the kingdom.

SLIDE 4 The first beatitude ³"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and the last ¹⁰"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, contain the identical phrase in the present tense. These are like bookends that gives the reason for the blessing.

Verses 4-9 have a future tense (e.g. they shall be comforted, they shall see God), indicating the blessing will not be completely experienced until the Kingdom is God established on earth.

Poor in spirit not only means those have fallen on hard time but also looks to our spiritual poverty. We must recognize we are born in sin; we need a Savior. Before we can enter God’s kingdom, we must recognize the utter worthlessness of our works to save us.

SLIDE 5 ⁴"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Isaiah 61:3 ³  them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”

⁵"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. We think meek people are timid, mild, and not resisting. The meek is humility not weakness. The word in Greek describes a horse that has been broken. It refers to power under control. Moses and Jesus were called meek.

SLIDE 6 ⁶"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied

Hunger and thirst for righteousness-Ladies I believe you are here tonight because you have a hunger for the things of God. Jesus is the bread of life and those who drink from Him shall never thirst. When you are so full of the LORD Jesus there is no room for anything else. When you start getting cranky and grumbling, it is time to break open the Bread of Life.

SLIDE 7 What are you Hungry for?

The second group focuses on positive heart conditions. How we treat our neighbors as well as the unlovely. We are to glorify God by our actions in the world.

SLIDE 8 ⁷"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

The merciful-I have a friend that is the definition of mercy. She feels mercy for stranger wherever she meets them. She bought a Bible for someone on the street, and not a cheap edition. A Bible like the one she carries. And Jesus says she will receive mercy. I have pockets of mercy (like I have pockets of perfection.) Not those deep pocket like in cargo pants like my son used to wear. One specific group I have mercy for is for the children of abuse and neglect, aging widows of my church, the poor and homeless.

But Jesus wants us to show mercy on everyone-even if they don’t deserve it. Jesus loved us on our worst day when we deserve to perish in hell He saved us for His righteousness’ sake.

We are to glorify God with by showing mercy to others.

SLIDE 9 ⁸"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Pure in Heart Warren Wierbe in Be Loyal the study of Matthew says we can only be blessed because of the work of Jesus.  We are being sanctified by His refining fire and His pruning. The pure heart is marked by transparency and an uncompromising desire to please God in all things. It is more than an external purity of behavior; it is an internal purity of soul.”

SLIDE 10 David bears his soul in Psalm 51: Create in me a clean heart O God. And renew a right spirit in me.

⁹"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Who do you consider to be peacemakers? One who does not easily take offense. Does anyone go to a church when there are no complaints? How about your workplace? No problems there!

SLIDE 11  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt…Colossians 4:6

Ladies as Christians we must be able to accept some small inconvenience. Speaking of that; the parking lot will be paved here next week. If orange cones block you way we will enter the dirt road and park in the grass. 

As sisters in Christ we need to overlook careless remarks rather than to create a climate of discontent. Three times in Proverbs we are advised to cover an offense. God wants our churches to be a beacon to the community not a firestorm.

Proverbs 19:11 in the Amplified Bible instructs
Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger.
And it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment].

We are to glorify God with our actions by not harboring resentment.

Ww The Pharisees tried to conserve the law it they actually were preserving God’s Word by embalming it. We embalm what is not longer living.  Jesus fulfilled the law through his life.  Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active.

We can only fulfill the law by yielding our personal will to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work in our lives. The only way we can experience the righteousness of the beatitudes is through the redemptive power of Christ. We can gain a more personal relationship with God by obeying his laws and sharing it with others.

SLIDE 12  One of your questions ask about the uses of salt.  You know I sometimes go off on a treasure hunt. I found some I had not known before. Flavor, Preservative, Cleanser, Healing, De-ice, Weed killer This last one is for Katie click Racing. This is the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

SLIDE 13 ¹³"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Salt is a preservative that works only when it penetrates into food. How can it lose its savor? When contaminated by other chemical substances. It must remain pure to do its job. Jesus says that Christians, likewise, must penetrate society while keeping themselves pure from being influenced by sin in the world. In the same way light penetrates darkness. We are to glorify God by being salt and light.

SLIDE 14 ¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁵Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

SLIDE 15 From my teaching days I learned darkness is not a thing, it the absence of light. We know the world is dark and crime happens in area where evil can hide in the shadows. Likewise to know the truth of God and fail to stand for it, Jesus says, is as senseless as lighting a lamp and putting it under a basket. Our purpose is to bring glory to our Father in heaven with our words and actions.

WW says true righteousness is a matter of the heart. Anger is murder in the heart and lust is adultery of the heart. Most murders are crimes of passion.

SLIDE 16 To be angry and unforgiving is like kudzu choking the life out of a full grown oak tree. Bitterness is like taking a poison and expecting the other person to die. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” Lewis Smedes

We’re not to be of the world, but we’re to be in the world. We’re citizens of an earthly kingdom as well as a heavenly one. To live in true righteousness worthy of our name Jesus gives us some suggestions.

SLIDE 17 ⁴¹And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary tells that Persian royal post officers could force a civilian to carry official correspondence. The Greek term million was 1000 paces approximately a U.S. mile.

SLIDE 18 Roman military personal could enlist bands of unpaid laborers to from ordinary people to build road and public buildings. You remember the scene when Simon of Cyrene was forced by Roman guards to carry Jesus’ cross. And just for showing up tonight here is another fact: Salt was used as currency in ancient Rome, and the roots of the words "soldier" and "salary" can be traced to Latin words related to giving or receiving salt. And the expression “he’s not worth his salt.” We are to glorify God by willingly going the extra mile.

SLIDE 19 v. 40 from The Message says “If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it.”

Anger is really a destructive emotion. It robs us of our joy and will affect our witness to the world.  Retaliation can destroy the bridge we are trying to build in relationships. Sinful anger will affect you relation with God. The Christian act of love is chosen action not a feeling.

 Jesus teaches us how to live a righteous life through our memory verse.

SLIDE20 Matthew 5:⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Jesus offers 3 reasons for this Attitude of Love

1.     It shows Christian maturity.

2.     It emulates our Heavenly  Father

3.     It is a testimony to the world. It separates us as Christians.

Matthew 5 ⁴⁵ you are sons of your Father who is 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.

We are to glorify our Father by our actions.

SLIDE 22 We all know the story of the Good Samaritan. It applies here.

The Living Bible ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. ⁴⁷ If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that.

SLIDE21 I don’t know who said this but I think it is appropriate with the memory verse. “You cannot comprehend the deepest love God has for you until you realize that he has the same love for that person or people you most despise.”

SLIDE23 Are you willing to be light and salt to glorify your heavenly Father?

Extra slide if we have time.