Sermon on The Mount: The Blessed

Introduction

We are beginning a new series on what is known as “The Sermon on the Mount”. Jesus was preaching on the this mountain to a large group of people.

In this sermon Jesus address mainly Christians, those who believe that He is the way to the Father.

Over the next several weeks we are going to read and see not only what Jesus commands from his people but how to live it out.

Matthew 5:3-10

Jesus is telling us how people of the Kingdom will look, what things they will go through.

Jesus accompanies each statement with a promise. Blessed are....for they(the promise)...

Some translations say the word Happy instead of blessed. Imagine being happy for these things as we read.

Poor in Spirit

The word poor often has a negative connotation, right? Here God is saying the opposite that it is a positive to be poor in spirit. Why would that be?

Because we are reliant on God. We are poor in spirit because we acknowledge our need for God, our need for a savior.

When we are “poor in spirit” we see the need for Jesus and accept him as our saviour. Therefore the Kingdom of God is ours

Those Who Mourn

Who knows what an oxymoron is? Things like sweet-tart, jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly. They are words put together that contradict each other.

How is it Jesus is saying happy are those who mourn?

When we think of mourning we often think about the feelings we have after losing a loved one, right? The word Jesus uses here is to mean being in a bad situation.

How does that make sense, those who are in bad situations should be happy? Because of the promise Jesus gives, he says, when we mourn he will comfort us.

Humble

How many of you are humble? I think at our core it is difficult for us to be humble.

This beatitude is similar to the first, poor in spirit, in the sense that we cannot come to know Christ and accept him as our saviour if we don’t first recognize our need of a saviour.

The promise to inherit the Earth is similar to the first promise. We will gain salvation when we are humbled and see our need for a saviour.

Hunger for Righteousness

Has anyone been hungry before? We all have right? We have a feeling in our stomach that tells us we have to eat. What are somethings you crave? When you finally eat them what is that feeling like?

Jesus is using that as an illustration here for righteousness.

Righteousness is making right what is wrong. Righteousness isn’t how we act but rather the character of God. We should hunger for God. Jesus is telling us that we will be happy and blessed when we hunger for God.

When we hunger for righteousness God will then fill us with himself. As we had been talking about over the last several weeks. God will fill us with his spirit when we hunger for it. When we need it, when we desire it.

Merciful

Jesus says in v.7 that if you show mercy then you will be shown mercy. What does it mean to be merciful? When punishment is not given for actions deserving of such. If you were to gossip behind someone’s back and instead of them dragging you through the mud they choose not to even talk about you.

Are you a revengeful person or someone who is merciful? Jesus assures us that we will be blessed if we are merciful. Why? Because he will have mercy on us.

Pure in Heart

It can sometimes be very easy to appear as though you are living for the Lord. For instance, I once gave out a prize for some contest and it was a snickers bar because who doesn’t love a snickers?

Come to find out the snickers was made form spicy chocolate. What the snickers appeared to be, it was not.

When you have a pure heart and are concerned with the inside then the outside. When you do this you will truly see God.

Peacemakers

Is this just talking about war and violence? I think not. Peace makers are those who wish to see love win. What does this mean to you to be a peacemaker? Does it mean maybe you quit gossiping, maybe you quit arguing with your siblings, doing your homework, honoring your mom and dad. There are many things we can do to bring peace.

What promise comes with this? Jesus says that you are sons of God. Why that promise with this action? How many of you have ever been told you look like or act like one or both of your parents?

Jesus is saying if you are peacemakers then it is clear that you are God’s children because you are acting in a way that resembles his character.

Persecution

How many of you feel like you have been persecuted for what you believe? There are some that die for what they believe about Jesus. Why would Jesus again say that the Kingdom of God is yours if you are persecuted. The Lord would obviously have to be number one in your life in order for you to die for him right?

In this country we may never be put to death because of our faith in Jesus but what are some persecutions we may face? If we dodge those are we really living out what Jesus has called us to do?

Conclusion

Jesus is talking just to christians here. I want you to ask yourself how many of these beatitudes are you living out? How many are reflected in your life today. Pray and go to small groups.