Sermon On The Mount - Kingdom Life

·         Pray

·         Matt 5:1-10

• ·          Words of Jesus have uniqueness because of who He was   

•        In many cases against or opposite way of world  (James 4:4)                                     

•              Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom of God. So they could be Kingdom people on earth

•              Jesus just beginning 2^nd year of Ministry

•              Just returning from His 2^nd Passover in ministry

 MATT 4  ²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds from Galilee, Decapolis,^[g] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

• Most Jews expected the Messiah to be a political / military leader. Jesus had no intention of changing the world through politics or military might. He was here to take back the world for God with love.
•  In those times life was as cheap as it’s ever been in history. Most people (including His disciples) did not understand anything but force. Jesus instead preached – meekness, Love,  mercy, - fruits of spirit.
• Most of them did not get it (we are no different) – we want what Jesus can do for us but we don’t get WHO HE IS! HE IS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD – AND ALL THINGS HE PREACHED, HE IS OUT TO CHANGE THE WORLD THROUGH LOVE AND SERVICE THEN AND NOW!

Returning to Capernaum – preaching and teaching (what did He teach about?)

KINGDOM OF GOD AND RELEVANCE TO LIFE AND RELEVANCE OF LIFE TO KINGDOM OF GOD – THE FACT THAT THE TWO ARE INSEPARABLE but also opposite the world’s idea of life and priorities.

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           People gathering and following – traveling with Him – They expected something from Him  note: They wanted what He could do, they knew because of Jewish teachings that He might be the Messiah. They wanted to hear or be around Him for what he could do for them right now - they did not get it spiritually - they wanted what we would call "welfare". God in His compassion took this opportunity to teach – HELP them – PROCLAIM KINGDOM

Mat 5  ¹ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes   He said:

·         ³ 
  “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  

•  can’t do it alone – admit and correct mistakes. Cant do it without God and the people He puts in our lives – He gets ALL the credit – GLORY - in your brokenness seek Him. - If you can fix problems yourself, you don't need God 
                                                

·         ⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
  for they will be comforted.  

• Bounce back especially when hurting (praise IN all things - not FOR all things) – remember your trust is In Him – deep compassion
  

·     
   ⁵ Blessed are the meek,         
   for they will inherit the earth.  

• Remain cool calm and collected – meekness does not mean weakness…it mean being under control. - Racehorse analogy: Race horses are awesome specimens, pound  for pound almost pure strength. Yet a rider weighing a fraction of what the horse weighs and also at fraction of the horses’ strength controls him - Strength under control

·         ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.

•  Insisting in your personal life on being connected to God and knowing you are made right    with Him through Christ. Doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Showing Him to others by what you do as well as what you say.

·         ⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.

• Treating others the way I want to be treated – no matter what - simple but hard to do

·         ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
         for they will see God.  

•  Really caring because you know the Love of God and you want others to know  it to. You show them your faith by your actions. Showing and sharing you’re your faith because you care.

·         ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called children of God.

•  A lifestyle of bring people together – bridge building

·         ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  

• Choose to be joyful, by doing that, you can be happy no matter what. – Remember your Joy is in the Lord . Easier said than done. Hurt is real.Happiness and joy two different things.

Luke 6

1.       Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath        (vs 1 -11)

a)       Edges of fields not harvested By farmer – left for travelers and poor (Duet. 23:25 Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28)

b)      God created the Sabbath for man’s benefit.  So he can recharge – spiritually as well as physically.

c)       Not harvesting or doing daily work on Sabbath, simply eating.

d)      God concerned about what people SHOULD be doing (advancing His Kingdom) on Sabbath – Pharisees concerned with what they said man SHOULDN’T be doing (following rules. Not necessarily helping fellow man).

e)      Jesus cleverly trapped them (of course) by reminding them that their king - David and his men  used the sacred Bread Of The Presence for their food when they were in need fleeing from Saul. (1 Samuel 21:1-6) – man’s need more import than set of rules as long as Kingdom being advanced.

f)       By Jesus saying He was “Lord of the Sabbath” He was saying He created it and could thus overrule their dogma. The creation is never greater than The Creator – He was indeed overruling the Pharisees.

g)      Religious leaders used man with withered hand to try to trap Jesus - didn't care about helping man with withered hand.

h)      Jesus’ point was is there is ever a wrong time to show compassion or do good?

i)        The Pharisees zeal for the Law made them plot murder – clearly against the Law. 

·         Started plotting His death

·         Danger already starting for Jesus

·         Always in prayer – sustain strength – dangerous times – critical decisions

j)        Chose disciples as a man – stayed connected, seek God’s counsel like we all must

·         Disciples were  students who followed teacher

2.       Blessings and Woes       (vs 17 – 26)

a)      From now on Jesus includes disciples in everything He does.

b)      Beatitudes not a list of “don't s”, but is a list of “dos” with implied consequences, hope and encouragement.

c)       Teaching about spiritual matters – not military. People thought Messiah would be military leader.

d)     Some think this is same “Sermon On The Mount” as recorded in Matthew (maybe so – I don't think so. Luke says “on a level place”). I think Jesus prob. taught this message many times.  He was an itinerant preacher. Always on move.

e)      People thought they coming to be healed. Most only wanted Jesus' benefits … welfare program, Jesus turns it into a Bible study and heeled them out of compassion.

f)       The purpose is to reveal Kingdom

·         Spiritual Kingdom

·         Not only about salvation – expectations of Kingdom

·         Love - Sum of Jesus’ (God’s) very being

 (I Tim 1:11, Mat. 25:34 ) you are blessed RIGHT NOW

·         Addresses people in need – “poor in spirit” dependent on God – EVERYBODY IS - regardless of financial status!

     g)      It has been said if you took all the good advice for how to live ever uttered by any philosopher, psychiatrist or counselor, took out the foolishness and boiled it all down to the real essentials, you would be left with a poor imitation of this great sermon.

         3.     Love for Enemies           (vs 27 – 36)

a)      Simple – very hard

b)      Particularly relevant because soldiers, messengers of the king or in this case of the emperor, could demand that the individual give them any item they wanted. They could make these demands under the auspices of need for official business, refusal = insult to king.

c)       His very essence – was showing His true love and compassion by healing that multitude and I would say His very presence.

d)      Loving your enemies benefits you more than your enemy – same with forgiveness

e)      This is also a Kingdom principle of forgiveness. 

4.        Judging Others                                (vs 37 – 42)

a)      Very misunderstood – we use judgment every day.

b)      We are to help others and be non-judgmental in the sense that you are to judge no one’s individual sin (this applies only spiritually – God established nations with rules and rulers so man could govern himself) – judge or improve yourself – help and pray for your neighbor.

c)       Vs 38 misused all the time also. PREACHERS use it all the time for TAKING OFFERINGS -  JESUS is clearly speaking of MERCY to others.  (principle of sowing and reaping – Kingdom principle)               

5         A Tree and Its Fruit         (vs 43 – 45)

a)      Jesus speaking here of what a person says verses what they do. He is saying what you do is what you believe. Again, the only person to be held accountable is yourself to yourself. (Luke 7:37) 

6.        The Wise and Foolish Builders                (vs 46 – 49)

a)      Jesus again teaching what the Kingdom is like – teaching advantages of coming to Kingdom

b)      Teaching coming to Kingdom out of compassion -  God wants all to come to saving knowledge (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

c)       A little harder possibly but with much  greater reward (coming to Kingdom)

·         must use good judgment