Sermon on the Mount Blessed

Blessings on Blessings

Has your parents ever helped you make up for a sucky day?

maybe thats when you just bombed a test

maybe its when that girl or guy dumped you

maybe its when you crashed the car

maybe its when your best friend told you that you could no longer be friends becuase you thought that spiderman was a lame superhero and should have never been played by tom holland becuase he was a b list actor at the time that he was cast as spider man.

maybe you have felt that way before?

Well thats just what friends and family do, they help you out of the sucky situation by cheering you up.

They do that in a plenty amount of ways, like ben and jerrys icecream or a movie marathon or even just some kind and well thought out words.

See thats what makes us feel better. I gotta be honest I am a guy that loves some kind words, my love language might be quality time but man I am a sucker for some words of affirmation, right like anyone else?

Well I want to tell you about some powerful words of affirmation that carry some serious weight.

This month we are talking about the sermon on the mount and the importance that it plays on our life as we follow Jesus.

The sermon on the mount is a sermon that was preached on the mount of olives, thus the name Sermon on the Mount.

So Jesus here is preaching on the side of this hill and he is giving some passionate words that should change the way that we live. The way we have a relationship with God, the way we have a relationship with each other, the way we have a relationship with everyone else in the world.

So we start right at the Beatitudes, where Jesus starts this sermon by talking about who is this for for and to fiqure out who that is for we are going to turn and read the beautitudes in Matthew 5:3-10

Matthew 5:3–10 NIV

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Who do you think this is for?

Which Beautitude stands out for you? why? (Matthew 5: 3-10)

Jesus when he says this is for the true disciple, the whole part of the beautitudes is for the true disciple. This is for you! if you want to be a true disciple mimic these sayings, but there is this idea that these saying are still to come and we can see that through the differnet verses and with our english classes we can see.

Matthew 5:4 NIV

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

Matthew 5:5 NIV

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

Matthew 5:7 NIV

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

Matthew 5:9 NIV

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

This happens through out, that in the future as you become disciples you will be someone who is a peace maker, or someone who hungers and thirst for righteousness.

see its this future idea, and as we have been talking about all year is that there is this transformation from who you are now to this better person that is fully in with the Holy Spirit. You will be a better person in Jesus and this is what it looks like.

BUT,

I want to shift your mindset. I know we just talked about how this will be you in the future but we also need to look at the present and how that reflects you now aswell.

The first and last line of this passage change this.

Matthew 5:3 NIV

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

anyone pick that up, what tense is this?

present tense, right now this is happening.

how about this, Mt 5:10

Matthew 5:10 NIV

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

yeah same thing theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus gives us this Sandwich, where he squishes the future tense by two present tenses to remind us that, “hey this is a process that you need to be involved in right now”

So what does that mean for us right now?

Well there is a few different things speaking to us. one is that we know Jesus is a comforter in our life.

but a big one I want to talk about is that most of these beautitudes are for us to be to others. we are suposed to be merciful to others, giving them mercy, a gift that nobody deserves. We are supposed to be pure in heart, we are supposed to seek righteousness and justice. You see Jesus is saying if you are a true disciple you will mimic these behaviours.

Maybe that means showing your firned or even a enemy some mercy,

Maybe its standing up for justice and doing the right thing even when it is hard.

maybe its being meek, putting yourself to a lower standard then someone else to show them love.

We are going to break into small groups where we are going to jump in to the next passage and talk about how that directly relates to what this means.

Are any of these Beatitudes confusing?

Salt and Light

Read the passage, Matthew 5: 13- 16

What does it mean to be salt? what does it mean to be light?

How does this passage connect to the Beautitudes?

How can we use the Beautitudes to be a Light? Pick one to focus on.

What is one thing you can do this week for someone else to follow with the Beautitudes?