MOTIVATE

• When a couple brings home a newborn, their entire life changes: fix bedroom for child, extra toys around house, invasion of privacy and comfort and priorities. The arrival of a child in the home requires big changes of time demands and priority of resources. One positive change that takes place involves a new affection and love that develops in a parent’s heart. All the adjustments and sacrifices are worth the effort because of the joy and purpose of raising a child – a new life.
• Faith in Jesus Christ is a turning point that alters and awakens new priorities. Jesus identifies transforming characteristics of His followers in the Sermon on the Mount (SOM)

*Illus: Driving Benfield Rd and tempted speed is 55mph unless police behind then you drive 30mph out of fear obedience… but if you have children passengers, you drive closer to speed limit not out of fear but out love and protection of those individuals. LIKEWISE, the SOM is teaching us to obey God not out of fear but relational love.

• SOM = MOS with our series today showing that I’m drinking water from a fire hose.
  Matthew 5-7 is masterpiece study / 2017 Rogue Living (Beatitudes) / 2015 Praying With Jesus / various other years and passages in between. So, today will be a fast jet flyover with observations about God’s kingdom…

EXAMINE    Winning Upside Down (Matthew 4:23 – 5:48)

God’s kingdom is available to the crowds.

4:23-25; 5:1 Everywhere Jesus went there were crowds.
Who made up the crowds?

• Not just elite, unexceptional; not just able, those average; not just wealthy but needy   
• Laborers like fishermen, carpenters, farmers, merchants, etc.
• Fathers, mothers, siblings, gparents – families desiring care & help & hope
• Those hurting with physical & debilitating pain and those hopeless with affliction
• Where the brokenhearted can be mended / sons of thunder can be transformed into tender & loving / and religious zealots can be transformed into humble servants

This is important bc

1. The biblical world is our world today. We still have everyday ordinary people wondering if their life matters, seeking direction and purpose; curious about spiritual things; and needing help and hope for the rough and raw issues of the world.
2. God is not uninvolved or uncaring. God sent Jesus to the world at just the right time.
   1. Imagine 21^st C without the history of Christianity that would have spiraled in depravity a) Human rights is sourced in Gen 1 imago dei
      b) Learning, education, along with science, medicine, and technology is sourced in Gen 1 cultural mandate for humanity
      c) Charity, servant leadership, ethics, freedom are sourced in Gospels

Jesus is for you. Whether it’s the 1^st or 1000^th time you’re hearing about Jesus, know the invitation to join God’s kingdom is wide open and personal for you.

à Move from crowd to committed follower of Jesus

à Grow from committed follower to catalytic mobilizer

God’s kingdom has one king.

5:1 Jesus went up on a mountain, and when he sat down, disciples came to him

• Going up a mountain is Matthew’s comparison of Jesus of OT characters.
  • Abraham went up Mt Moriah and God spared
• • Isaac with a sacrifice (Gen 22). So, Jesus goes up the mt to assure God’s promise to spare us with His own life.
• • Moses went up Mt Sinai to receive 10 Commands (Ex 19:20). So, Jesus interprets God’s law beyond external obedience to internal heart attitudes. IOW, God’s standard of righteousness is far higher and impossible for anyone to follow; and reveals our grave need for a savior.
• • David conquered Goliath in the valley between mountains (1Sam 17). So, Jesus conquers the giant curse of sin, satan, and death on mt Calvary.
  • Jesus frequents the mountains to meet with the Heavenly Father and train the disciples (Matthew 5:1; 14:23; 17:1; 28:16; Mark 3:13; 6:46; John 4:20; 6:3; 6:15; Rev 21:10).
    
• Jesus sat while teaching. Jewish teachers would stand when reading Scripture but sit when teaching. Jesus takes this position regularly: 13:1-2, 15:29, 24:3-4, and 26:55. He would say, “You have heard it said… but I say to you…” Those who heard Jesus’ teaching always responded with awe and amazement at His authority (Mt 7:29; 9:8; 10:1; 21:23-27; 28:18)
  • Professors today hold “chair” title of department to signify an honored position
    
• The more we read & learn Jesus’ teachings the more we are convicted, challenged, and compelled to a life of greater purpose. The SOM confronts us not just with the message, but the messenger: Jesus. Jesus’ teachings are unique bc He is the Son of God, King of kings and Lord of Lords.
  • The essence of Christianity is not merely about obedience to Jesus’ teachings. It’s about new birth in Christ, but new birth is always followed by a new way of living, which is described by obedience, with examples from this SOM.[1]
    
• Sadly, many Christians & churches have many preferences and few priorities when it should be the opposite under King Jesus. His teachings are not merely good ideas and wise advice, but they’re commands and descriptions for what it means to be citizens of God’s kingdom.

à This week read SOM… takes ~15 minutes. /// memorize Beatitudes (5:3-10)
à Committing to church body means I/we invite one another to willing accountability.  

*> Later in SOM, Jesus explains accountability with equal judgment.
Don’t judge someone by a different standard than you would judge self or others.
BUT today people use phrase to mean “I can do whatever I want.”
YET Jesus is saying not to judge hypocritically. We are to judge with accountability so that when we stand before God, He will judge acceptance and mercy.

God’s kingdom is counter-cultural.

5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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

5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

5:10 Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  

• Jesus’ sermon is about blessing – more than superficial feeling, but the confidence of having God’s approval.[2] It’s leaving the status quo to live uniquely counter-cultural by the power of God’s Spirit. Living for Jesus is will not always make you happy, but it will make you blessed.
  
• Jesus’ teachings are meant to give us pause. We should think about them, dwell/meditate, and discern how best to apply.
  
• The Beatitudes contain no imperatives (commands), but are ongoing indicative statements of reality concerning citizens in God’s kingdom. Today’s Christianity speaks more about the 10 Commandments more than the Beatitudes. People are wired for performance and frequently seeking to turn Christianity into a task list or system of do’s and dont’s to earn their spot at the table of grace. The Beatitudes are not directions but descriptions of those who are truly following Jesus.
  
  • You can’t command people to “Be humble,” “Mourn. Now!,” “Crave purity,” “Exhibit mercy/compassion,” “Make peace,” OR… “Be persecuted.” Besides, who wants that last one? Rather, these are the result and outworking of following Jesus over the spiritual journey.
    • You can fake being religious thru outward motions but can’t fake being a Christian; it will be obvious as your life is measured against the Beatitudes.

Living for Jesus is will not always make you happy, but it will make you blessed. #Beatitudes

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Beatitudes[3]

• Poor in spirit πτωχοὶ (begging poor) vs πενιχρός (working poor); Jesus wasn’t favoring a social status but a spiritual standing of humility before God. So, the start of God’s blessing is opposing pride and uplifting humility; cf Isa 66:2 humble/contrite/trembles at word.
  When we admit our emptiness, we receive God’s fullness.
  
• Mourn Princess Bride: “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” How true. Disappointment, Grief, Suffering are significant realities of a fallen world, but Jesus says “In this world you will have tribulation; but take heart, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). Jesus promises to comfort those mourning.
  
  
• Meek gentle strength as a tamed stallion; not a coward – courage is knowing what is right and still treating people the right way w/o making others feel inferior. The last decade+ our culture has essentially lost this virtue.
  
  
• Crave righteousness Acknowledges selfish preferences are strong with the wells (sources) of satisfaction we seek: ladder of success, cul-de-sac of dead ends, merry-go-round of futility. Instead, we need a deeper well and firm foundation that exchanges self-reliance for Christ’s righteousness (Ro3:21-26; 2Cor5:16-17).
  
• Merciful Mercy is not getting what is deserved / Grace is getting what is undeserved. So all that we receive in the gospel brings us freedom, love, peace, joy, and hope. And who are we to deny these to others?
  It’s like somehow discovering a cure for cancer/dementia and not sharing. Sick!!
  >Jesus warns if we are unforgiving to others then God will not hear our prayers.  
  
• Pure in heart Pharisees who were pure appearance with public ritual cleansings to show everyone how dirty they were – and their “unholy” water was insufficient. Today the appearance purity is presented as people embarrassed to admit wrongs, so they raise voice and elevate tone to present as pure &perfect &just for their cause. Instead, Jesus expands purity internally, which the rest of the SOM reveals a frightening state of how depraved and guilty we are before a holy God.
  Thus, Jesus is driving us to understand our need for the “new birth” in the gospel.
  1Jn 3:1-3 “See what kind of love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called children of God… beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when Christ appears we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who hopes in Christ purifies himself as He is pure.”
  
• Peacemakers World peace isn’t just the desire of pageant queens. We live in a world of division, racism, riots, conflict, and war and peace appears unlikely. But Jesus says peace shall be our pursuit. … …
  World thinks peacemaking is…
  Avoiding conflict, but it only escalates.
  Appeasing and compromising truth.
  Annihilation of those who disagree.
• ILLUSTRATION – Handling Conflict

There was once a man from SP and another from Pasadena who lived on the border next to each other. The Pasadena man owned a hen and each morning would look in his garden and pick up one of his hens eggs for breakfast.
One day he looked into his garden and saw that the hen had laid an egg in the SP man’s garden. He was about to go next door when he saw the Pasadena man pick up the egg. The Pasadena man ran up to the SP man and told him that the egg belonged to him because he owned the hen. The SP man disagreed because the egg was laid on his property.
They argued for a while until finally the Pasadena man said “In my family we normally solve disputes by seeing who has the toughest kick in the shin. The first person kicks the other person in the shin and times how long it takes the other person to get up. We repeat it both ways and whomever gets up quicker wins the egg.”
The SP man agreed to this and so the Pasadena man found his heaviest pair of boots and put them on, he took a few steps back, then ran toward the SP man and kicked as hard as he could in the shin. The SP man fell to the ground, holding his shin and howling in agony for 30 minutes. Eventually the SP man stood up and said “Now it’s my turn to kick you.”
The Pasadena man said “Keep the egg.” 
– – – >  NOT how to handle conflict! 

Biblical Peacemaking is Attacking problems not people; resolve conflict by confronting problems, confessing faults, and clinging to gospel grace.

Peace is not the absence of conflict but the present of Christ in all circumstances.

Horizontal harmony is aided by knowing Vertical shalom.

The world makes peace through either avoiding conflict, appeasing and compromising truth, or annihilating enemies. Biblical peacemaking is attacking problems not people. It resolves conflict by confronting problems, confessing faults, and clinging to the grace of Jesus.

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• Persecuted Not the goal but is the outcome of one living out loud for Jesus  (whenVSif)
  USA is not Ir@n or N.K0re@ / not getting beheaded, burned, or breakfast for lions;  persecution here is mild but multiplying with increasing public shame/canceling.
  – – Persecution should not make us rage against culture but seek to redeem it, for time is escaping opportunity for others to repent and be rescued (2Pe 3:8-13).
  – – Mt 5:13-16 live as salt & light / we are thermostats!
  – – – Jesus gave His church a bloody cross so we can offer the world death-defying hope.

APPLY/TAKEAWAY

Matthew 5:48 Perfection is the standard that leads us not to anxious stress but to the Savior.

USA flag flown upside down is a single of distress, needing rescue… in essence, you waiving the flag of your life upside down is saying, “God I need you… Take my life, I’m yours.” And that’s winning & blessed.

[1] Peter Kreeft, Back To Virtue: Traditional Moral Wisdom For Modern Moral Confusion

[2] D.A. Carson, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World – Exposition of Matthew 5-10, 1987, p.16-17

[3] For my sermons on each beatitude: https://growinggodlygenerations.com/2017/08/23/beatitudes-series-links-matthew-51-12/