Kingdom Happiness
Notes
Transcript
Handout
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Logic of the sermon on the mount
To be blessed is to be the happy or privileged recipient of divine favor
The opposite of blessed is cursed.
Two primary ways to interpret the Beatitudes:
Entrance to the kingdom requirements
Participation in the kingdom results.
Matthew 1. God’s Approval: The Beatitudes (5:1–16)
“One can only thankfully acknowledge these characteristics as evidence of God’s gracious working in one’s life and cultivate them as one lives as a disciple of Christ. Certainly the view that regards them as blessings rather than requirements is correct.”
Matthew 1. God’s Approval: The Beatitudes (5:1–16)
The Beatitudes reveal key character traits that God approves in his people. These character traits are gracious gifts indicating God’s approval, not requirements for works that merit God’s approval. Those who repent receive these character traits in principle but must cultivate them in the process of discipleship.
By the time the bullies and the bosses wake up to what's going on, The meek and merciful and the peacemakers and the hungry for justice people have been founding schools and hospitals and looking after the poor and bringing healing and hope and that is the way in which actually, historically, God's world has been changed.
People often say, “Christianity is just part of the problem, not part of the solution. It's never actually going to make a difference. It just makes people hate each other. Christians misbehaved; we know that Christians have got it badly wrong. They fight each other over trivial points of doctrine; we know that. That’s a shame on us. All sorts of things bring shame on the church, but at the same time, there has always been the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart; the people who know in their bones that there's a way to bring healing and hope… ~NT Wright
In your life how have you seen divine favor evident? “To be blessed is to be the happy or privileged recipient of divine favor”
How is self-centered living encouraged in our 21st century American culture?
In what way is that self-centered, 21st century living contrary to the way the Beatitudes shows us to live?
How are you doing relating to God (Matthew 5:3-6)?
How are you doing relating to other people (Matthew 5:7-10?
