Kingdom Charter

Matthew 5:1 NIV

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,

Matthew 5:13–20 NIV

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Introduction: Who am I, What does Jesus care about, and how does he want me to live?

18-Jesus is King.

We need to begin with the Sermon on the Mount first with who is Jesus? Who is giving this message on the Mount? What kind of message is it? and even why is it on a Mountain?

He re-enacts the Story of the O.T. w/ the exception of sinlessness.

• Geneology - Jesus has the legal right to rule Israel - King in the line of David.

• Birth with slaughter of children - Moses.

• Escape to Egypt - Like the people of Israel.

• Baptism in the Jordan - Red Sea Baptism - Identifies with the story line.

• 40 Days Temptation in the Wilderness - 40 Years wandering in the Desert.

•19- Giving the Kingdom Charter and Law interpretation from a Mountain - Moses giving the law on the top of a Mountain.

• All of this points to Jesus being the New and Greater Moses, He is the true and blameless Israel, He is the King for eternity promised to David.

And Like Moses he gives his Kingdom Charter, or the Kingdom Covenant if you will. The Sermon on the Mount.

The point of this Sermon is for...

20-Jesus calls us to Kingdom Living.

Charter - a written instrument that creates and defines the rights and privileges of a city, educational institution, or corporation to do business.

This passage is all about the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount - That we be Salt and Light and live according to God’s way.

It was directed specifically to the Disciple’s, and secondarily for the crowds to listen in.

Great Commission - The Sermon on the Mount is the Heart of what we should be teaching in “Making Disciple’s by Baptizing them and teaching them all that I have commanded.”

Jesus’ Call to Kingdom living is synonymous to the call to live as a disciple of Jesus.

Kingdom Living is in line with the Law, but goes deeper than the law.

He Completes the Law in this way.

• Ceremonial Law - Points to Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice. Book of Hebrews then says we do not need to perform these laws, but they must be taught so we understand how Jesus has fulfilled them.

• Moral Law - Jesus is the sinless righteous one who is the only human able to fulfill the Morality of the Law and be Just...

› In this way Jesus says our righteousness must go beyond the Pharisees.

Filling Full

• Jesus is the one who applies his righteousness to us who put their trust in him. - We need his righteousness. - He does not say that in this passage, you must read the rest of the Gospel’s to find that out, and the Letters. He is just pointing us

• Filling Full the meaning of the Moral Law and the Civil Laws of Israel - No rule is to be ignored.

• Notice how Jesus goes beyond the written rule - Murder is about Anger, Sexual immorality is about lust, etc… - Jesus goes beyond the written rule to our heart.

Kingdom Living Illustrations: - Our Identity....So much more than Evangelism.

21 - Light - Phoenix Lights,

22 - Salt - They did not have pure salt - could possibly be washed away

able to both preserve, and to bring good taste.

23 - Illustration Key points

1. Different - Disciples live differently and this can bring persecution - vs. 11 & 12.

2. Good - Both illustrations also provide something good in the world that is needed.

Often I hear, “The Church is turning Non-believers away.” Is that because the Church lives quite differently? or is it because the Church is not living according to Jesus’ Charter?

This way of life will stretch you. If you are a new and young believer it will require you to get closer to Jesus, because you are going to need him to live this way. People are not going to understand you. They will want to to live according to the streams, either this way or that.

Exploring - mixed feelings - Jesus will challenge you, and you may wonder, why Christians don’t always live like Jesus taught.

As the Church we may be challenged to think, how do we do discipleship, how do we train others in Jesus’ way?

In a real sense - If we live according to Jesus’ words, then we will be effective in being Salt and Light in this world

The ultimate Goal for being Salt and Light is one thing.

24 - Kingdom Living Makes God Famous.

It is only as this distinctive lifestyle is visible to others that it can have its desired effect. But that effect is also now spelled out not as the improvement and enlightenment of society as such, but rather as the glorifying of God by those outside the disciple community. The subject of this discourse, and the aim of the discipleship which it promotes, is not so much the betterment of life on earth as the implementation of the reign if God. The goal of disciples’ witness is not that others emulate their way of life, or applaud their uprightness, but that they recognize the source of their distinctive lifestyle in “your Father in heaven.” R.T. Fance

Conclusion:

My prayer in this series is that you get a clearer picture of who you are according to the King. You are Salt and Light, and what Jesus cares about and how to live as a citizen of his Kingdom so that you can make God famous.

Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 86, 91, 94 Belgic Confession: Articles 24