of His counter-cultural kingdom.
It's radical.
What Jesus is going to get at is the coming kingdom,
His kingdom, His reign,
goes beyond the world of entertainment.
This manifesto makes a claim on every area of our lives.
And it has eternity in scope.
So, Matthew 5, 6, and 7,
we're going to take our time.
We're just going to soak in it.
I don't want to rush through it.
I want you to kind of enjoy it,
to make sure you're hearing what our King is telling us
about ourselves and how to live.
I need that too.
But before we get into kind of the individual parts
on the Sermon on the Mount,
I mean, really, what does it mean to be poor in spirit?
What does Jesus have to say about divorce?
Really, we'll get there.
But this morning, before we get into the details,
into the parts,
I want you to see it as a whole.
I want you to see the manifesto for what it is.
Our King is making a huge claim on our lives,
of who we are,
and how we are to live for His kingdom on earth.
How to live under His reign.
And so I want to give you an overview
of the Sermon on the Mount this morning.
So we're going to be moving briskly.
But here's where I want to begin.
As a follower of Jesus,
as a Christian,
you are a kingdom citizen.
A citizen of heaven.
You are under Jesus' reign.
And so this Sermon on the Mount,
He is speaking to you.
He has you in mind.
The Sermon on the Mount is living and active for us today.
And so this morning,
I'm going to do my best
to kind of split the Sermon on the Mount
into two parts.
There's two parts to this manifesto.
The first part is the Beatitudes.
Who you are, kingdom citizen.
And the second part is the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.
That's how we are to live.
We live in light of the kingdom.
And what we're going to see is
who we are and how we live,
it's counter-cultural.
You ready to dive in?
Amen.
Matthew chapter 5,
verses 3 through 10.
Who you are, kingdom citizens.
The Beatitudes.
Now, here's a Captain Obvious statement.
The Beatitudes,
blessed be, blessed be, blessed be, blessed be, blessed be, blessed be, blessed be, blessed be, blessed are, are, are.
They don't come at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.
But, Jesus starts the manifesto with the Beatitudes.
He starts it with who you are, kingdom citizen.
That's where he starts.
And it's important.
Because that's where the rest of the Bible starts.
All the rest of the other epistles,
they start with who you are,
what has God done in you,
and then the rest is how you live.
And this Sermon on the Mount,
this manifesto,
is the same thing.
It starts with you,
what God has done in you,
and then it goes out to how we are to live.
So, it's like Jesus is saying to us,
this is what marks my people.
This is what is true of those who are citizens of my kingdom.
They have a counter-cultural character.
They stand out in a dark world.
And so, what we have in the Beatitudes
are eight descriptions of the character
of a citizen of heaven.
Poor in spirit.
A kingdom citizen knows they're spiritually bankrupt,
apart from God.
kingdom citizens grieve over their sin against God.
They're meek.
They see themselves as God sees them.
They hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Kingdom citizens crave to do the will of their Father.
They're merciful.
Kingdom citizens have been shown mercy,
and they will be shown mercy,
and they show kindness and forgiveness on earth now.
The pure in heart.
Kingdom citizens have pure motives.
God help me.
Peacemakers.
Kingdom citizens.
They bring shalom to their relationships.
They bring shalom to their worlds.
They're not crazy makers.
They're not chaos makers.
They don't divide people.
They seek to unite people,
just as God and Christ has united us with Him.
Kingdom citizens are persecuted for righteousness' sakes.
We suffer for doing the will of our Father.
Now, in all these eight characteristics,
what I want you to see is that they're all Godward in orientation.
They're all moving towards the Lord.
It's all for Him.
It's God aimed.
These Beatitudes,
well, they're not suggested character traits of a kingdom citizen.
They're required character traits of a kingdom citizen.
And don't make the mistake of thinking that these eight marks of a kingdom citizen
are kind of distributed among us,
like some of us are poor in spirit,
and others of us are meek,
and then we have some over here who are persecuted,
and then some over here who are peacemakers.
That's not how this works.
What Jesus is telling us is that each of us
is to possess all eight of these characteristics in growing measure.
It's true of every Christian.
Now, upon hearing that,
I'm not sure what you're feeling,
but all week long,
here's what I've been feeling.
Jesus is calling me to something
that I know,
in and of myself,
I am incapable of doing.
I don't know about you,
but
in and of myself,
I am blind to my own spiritual bankruptcy.
I don't know about you,
but
in and of myself,
I am not meek.
I think too highly of myself.
I don't know about you,
but
in and of myself,
I would not mourn
over my sin.
I don't know about you,
but
in and of myself,
I can't make my heart pure.
I can't purify my motives.
You feeling what I'm talking about?
This Godward orientation we see in the Beatitudes,
this stuff doesn't come naturally to us.
So from the get-go,
you've got to realize
that
to be a citizen
of Christ's kingdom
is to be a recipient
of God's grace.
Only by God's grace
are we able to see
our spiritual depravity.
Only by grace
would we mourn
over our sin
against God.
Only by God's grace
are we able to see ourselves
as God sees us.
Only by God's grace
would we have
any inclination
to do the will of God.
Have you read
Romans 3,
1 through 10 lately?
There's not one of us
who would see God.
Not one.
It's only by God's grace
that we experience
a purity of heart.
It's a work He does in us.
Do you know what's so beautiful
about the Beatitudes?
You know what's so beautiful about them?
They point us to the beauty
of God's grace
again and again.
He alone can do in us
what we are incapable of.
The kingdom of heaven,
the active reign of Jesus
is a reign
not of terror
but of grace.
He calls us to what is
humanly impossible
but He makes
what is humanly impossible
a reality
through His grace.
He alone can do it.
All those blessed words,
blessed are,
blessed are.
Do you know what blessed means?
happiness?
Happy.
But it's not a circumstantial happiness.
It's not like winning the lottery
and you're happy
and then you've got to pay
half of it to the government
and then you're sad.
I'd still be happy.
Sort of.
To be blessed by God
in this sense
is to have an abiding joy
because you've been graced by God.
He's done something in you.
He's changed you.
He sought you.
He loved you.
He changed you.
Blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Kingdom citizens are blessed of God
because they're recipients
of God's grace.
Objects of God's grace.
God did
for us
what we could not do
for ourselves.
He made us alive.
By His grace.
We were born again
unto God.
We are
new creations
in Christ Jesus.
It's all by His grace.
All by His grace.
Not our doing
but His doing.
So Jesus starts out
this manifesto.
This first part
of the manifesto
is all these beatitudes.
All these
blessed R's.
Blessed,
blessed,
blessed.
Blessed by God.
And I just want to see,
help you to see that
the beatitudes
are speaking of people
who have been recipients
of God's grace.
A grace of God
that makes
dead
sinners
alive.
new creations.
A grace of God
that transfers
a sinner
who's been living
in the domain
of darkness
and transfers them
into the kingdom
of the beloved Son.
It's by His grace.
this is who you are.
Brother,
sister in Christ,
fellow
kingdom
citizen,
your citizenship
is yours
by grace.
You didn't earn it.
You've been brought
into the kingdom
by grace,
not by your own merit.
He did a work
in you.
This is what's
to characterize you.
These eight characteristics,
they're counter-cultural.
It's,
they stand out.
It's who you are
and who we are
to continue to be.
These beatitudes
are beautiful
in God's sight.
It's a work
of His grace.
So that's part one.
Who you are.
The beatitudes.
And we're going to
come back to this
over the next few weeks.
We're just going to
take our time
going through
each blessed are.
But the manifesto
begins here.
It doesn't end here.
The Sermon on the Mount
continues.
He moves from saying,
this is who you are,
kingdom citizen,
the one blessed of God,
the one graced.
And then He goes on
to say,
and this is how you live.
Part two of the manifesto.
How kingdom citizens live.
We have a counter-cultural character
born of God's grace
and we live counter-cultural lives
that display His grace.
And so,
let's burn through these.
I want you to get,
acquaint yourself
with the Sermon on the Mount.
So we're just going to
walk through,
follow with me.
I'm going to be kind of a,
I guess,
kind of a tourist host.
Kind of like,
let's go through
these beautiful places.
I'm going to show you.
We're not going to spend
much time,
but we're going to keep
on moving.
Just so you get a sense
of what this sermon
is all about.
how kingdom citizens live.
You've been changed
by God's grace.
And so now we look at
Matthew 5, verse 13.
So,
how kingdom citizens live?
Well,
the first thing you need
to realize is
kingdom citizens live
to influence.
We've been born of God,
recipients of His grace.
We've been blessed.
And now,
we influence
for the kingdom.
And where Jesus goes,
He gives us two pictures.
Salt and light.
Verses 13 and 14
through 16.
Salt and light.
Salt is a preservative.
It keeps meat
from decaying.
And way back in the day,
you didn't put salt
on something
to make it a little bit
more tasty.
You put salt on something
so it didn't decay.
So it would last.
And we're to have
a preservative effect
in the culture
that we live in
as kingdom citizens.
But He doesn't stop there.
He says that we are
to be light
in the world.
So not only
would He have
a preservative effect,
salt,
we're to have
an enlightening effect.
We're to be a city
set on a hill.
We are to light up
the darkness
with our lives,
pointing to Jesus.
We are to expose
the darkness.
We are to make
Christ known.
And so,
not only preservative,
we are an enlightened bunch.
We're lit up
by God's grace
and we shed light
around us.
We influence
for the kingdom.
That's the first thing
that we see
in verses 13 through 16.
The second way
Jesus points to
the way we're supposed
to live,
we see through
chapter 5,
verses 17 through 48,
and this is
a doozy
of a section.
Jesus says
some unbelievable
things here.
Unbelievable.
But if I were
to summarize it,
it's this.
Kingdom citizens
live to fully
obey
the full intent
of God's Word.
Fully.
We're to fully
obey
the full intent
of God's Word.
And so,
if you look at
chapter 5,
verse 17,
I mean,
think about this.
Red ink,
Jesus saying,
do not think
that I have come
to abolish
the law
or the prophets.
I've not come
to abolish them,
but to fulfill them.
Jesus came
to fulfill
the Old Testament.
Not to put it
on the shelf.
He came
to fulfill it.
At a minimum,
what it does
is helps us
to know how
to then read
our Old Testaments
in light of Jesus.
He came
to fulfill it.
It points
to Him.
Not one iota,
not a dot
will pass
from the law
until all
is accomplished.
It's got purpose.
It's aimed.
He didn't come
to relax the law.
He came
to fulfill
the law,
and He came
to redeem
a people
to live
as fulfillers
of the law.
Jesus came
to uphold
and fulfill
all that the law
and prophets
said.
Part of His
fulfilling the law
and prophets
was to bring out
the full intent
of the law.
Not just
external obedience.
The scribes
and the Pharisees
were known
for doing that
very well,
thank you very much.
Jesus went
from external
obedience
to addressing
internal obedience
as well.
And so,
in verses
21-48,
He shows us
how those
who've been
radically changed
by grace
live out
the full intent
of the law.
And so,
in verses
21-22,
there are these
six statements
Jesus makes.
You've heard it said,
but I say.
It's a huge
claim of authority.
Let me just
clarify you
what my word
means.
Here is
God incarnate
correcting
misunderstandings
of His word.
I would have
loved to have
been there.
I love having
this at my hands
and fingertips
now.
This is my king
speaking to me.
This is our king
speaking to us.
And He brings
out the full intent.
So,
you've heard that
this is said,
those who murder,
well,
they're liable
for judgment.
But I say,
if you get angry,
you're liable
for judgment.
He goes from
external to
internal.
Full obedience
to the full
intent of the law.
You've heard it
said that
adultery is not
okay.
Agreed.
but I say,
even someone
who lusts
in their heart
after a woman
commits adultery
in his heart.
Full intent.
Full obedience.
Outer conformity.
Inner conformity.
He goes on to say
some very
strong things.
You've heard that
no default
divorce is okay.
But I say,
do you realize
what you're doing
to people
by doing that?
33 and 34,
you've heard it said,
don't swear falsely.
Then He says,
but I say,
let your yes
be yes
and your no
be no.
Let's dive
into that one
when we come
to it.
38 and 39,
you've heard
that it said,
an eye for an eye
and a tooth
for a tooth.
Lex talionis!
But I say,
do not resist
the one
who is evil.
Wait,
Jesus,
are you telling me,
are you telling me
to enable bad people?
Is that what
you're telling me?
We've got to find out
what He means.
We'll come back to that.
43 through 44,
you've heard that
it said,
love your neighbor
and hate your enemy,
but I say,
love your enemies.
Radical
kingdom
living.
Now,
I'm the first
to admit
there's a lot
to understand here.
I've got a lot
of studying to do.
But what Jesus
is showing us
is that the full
intent of the law
makes a claim
on all
of who we are,
external
and internal.
And we have
a tendency
of not going
deep enough.
Are you ready?
Are you ready
to wrestle
with the words
of our King?
Are you ready
to live for His
kingdom on this planet?
kingdom citizens
live to fully
obey
the full intent
of God's law.
The third thing
that we come across
is in verses,
chapter 6,
verses 1 through 18.
Kingdom citizens
live for God,
not man.
there's a temptation
we all face
is to do
our obedience,
practice our righteousness
for the eyes
of men
to show our
obedience.
And then it
ceases to become
obedience to God.
It becomes
something else.
Jesus says,
no,
don't do that.
Don't give
so other people
can see you.
Don't pray
so others
can hear you.
Don't fast
so that other people
know.
Don't do that.
No,
you won't get
a reward
from your Father
in Heaven
if you do that.
He tells us
to give
and to pray
and to fast
not for public eyes
but for private eyes
which reminds me
of a Hall & Oates song.
Private eyes,
they're watching you.
I used to build
Legos to that.
But the private eyes
that Jesus is
talking about
is not the private eyes
Hall & Oates
we're singing about.
If you look at
chapter 6
verses 3 and 4
we're going to start
seeing a pattern.
But when you give
to the needy
do not let your
left hand know
what your right hand
is doing.
Do it in private
so that your giving
may be in secret
and your Father
who sees in secret
will reward you.
Do it for His eyes.
The audience of one.
Look at verse 6.
But when you pray
go into your room
and shut the door
and pray to your Father
who is in secret
and your Father
who sees in secret
will reward you.
Audience of one.
Look at verses 17 and 18.
But when you fast
anoint your head
and wash your face
that your fasting
may not be seen by others
but by your Father
who is in secret
and your Father
who sees in secret
will reward you.
See a pattern?
See repetition?
Practice your righteousness
for the audience
of one.
Your Father in heaven
not for the eyes of man.
Kingdom citizens
live for God
not for man.
Chapter 6 verses 19-34
Kingdom citizens
live to serve God only
and seek God first.
Kingdom citizens
have been radically changed
and therefore
our priorities
have been radically changed.
And do you see
where Jesus goes
in this section?
Verse 19
Do not lay up yourselves
treasures on earth.
Verse 24
No one can serve
two masters
for either will hate
the one and love the other
or he will be devoted
to the one
and despise the other
and then he brings it home.
You cannot serve
both God
and money.
We've been radically changed
by God's grace
and it radically changes
who we serve.
We don't serve money.
We don't live for money.
We live for our God.
And so
we use money
as a means
to serve Him.
We don't use God
as a way of serving money.
It's called idolatry.
Kingdom citizens
only have one master.
We prioritize God
over money
because God's changed us.
Kingdom citizens
not only serve God
over money
we prioritize God
over our most basic needs.
Don't be anxious.
Anybody anxious in the room?
Anybody anxious about their life?
Anybody anxious
about what they're going to wear
what they're going to eat
where they're going to live?
Anybody.
Don't be anxious.
Seek first
God
in His kingdom
and He
will take care
of the rest.
Trust Him.
He's your heavenly Father.
He knows your needs
before you know your needs.
Kingdom citizens
are not anxious
about their life
because they seek
first their Father
who takes care
of their life.
Man,
you know what I love
about the Sermon on the Mount
and this manifesto?
Jesus gets right at it.
He speaks to us.
He speaks to where we live
now.
Kingdom Christians
live to serve God
over money
and seek God
before themselves.
The fifth thing
I want you to see
is found in verses
1-12 of chapter 7.
Kingdom citizens
live to relate
to others
for the kingdom.
Our relationships
don't exist for us
but ultimately
we leverage
our lives
and our relationships
for the kingdom.
And so in verses 1-5
we're told to
get the log
out of our own eye
before we pull
the speck
out of our
brothers.
When we've been
radically changed
by God's grace
it radically changes
the way we relate
to other people.
And so
instead of saying
right there
I see that
speck
there are
three fingers
pointing right back
at me
saying
there's a gigantic
log in your eye
Salvati!
And what Jesus
is telling us
to do is
humble yourself.
Live out
the blessings.
Be meek.
See yourself
as God sees you.
Get the log
out of your own eye.
And then love you
brother.
In verse 6
kingdom citizens
exercise discernment
with those
who we talk
to about the
kingdom.
Pigs,
swine,
what's he talking
about?
At a minimum
he's calling us
to be discerning
of who we talk
about Jesus
with.
Look at verse 12.
Kingdom citizens
fulfill the law
by living
by the golden rule.
There's the golden rule!
Right there.
So whatever you wish
that others would do
to you
do also to them
for this is the law
and the prophets.
Fulfill the law!
Love everybody!
This is the golden rule!
Jesus,
this is the second
commandment.
Love your neighbor
as yourself.
Did you notice
I skipped over
a spot?
Verses 7
through 11.
It's kind of,
you're kind of like,
what is that
doing there?
I mean,
he goes from
talking about
getting the log
out of your own eye
and the speck
out of your brothers
and he says,
don't throw,
you know,
these wonderful,
valuable things
to pigs and swine
and then he says,
then he goes into
ask,
seek,
and knock
and then he goes
into saying,
live the golden rule
and you're kind of like,
why are you telling me
to pray
in the middle
of being
in these relationships
with other people
and chapter 6
he's already told me
to pray
as the Lord
prays,
the Lord's prayer
so why are we
going back
to prayer here?
here's why,
our relationships
with other people
are governed
by our relationship
with our Father
and so we ask,
seek,
and knock
our Father
for good things
related to our
relationships
with other people
I ask God
to help me
to live out
the golden rule
with this person
and with that person
at a minimum
we're to be asking
our Father
to help
live in relationship
to others
for the glory
of his name
and advancement
of his kingdom
kingdom citizens
live to relate
to others
for the kingdom
the last thing
I want you to see
is chapter 7
verses 13
through 27
this is like
the finale
this is like
Jesus
sits you down
and he's like
alright
sign here please
commit
and so in verses
13 through 27
we
I'd summarize
that kingdom
citizens
live committed
to Christ's
kingdom
we live committed
and in this section
he contrasts
four things
he says
enter the narrow gate
don't go through
the wide gate
enter through
the narrow gate
is going to lead
to a hard way
with a few people
but it leads
to life
and what Jesus
is calling us to
is
live it
live it out
don't go back
to the wide gate
don't go back
to the easy way
don't go back
to the mob
live for me
live this way
enter the narrow gate
and in 15 through 20
he tells us
commit to me
don't listen
to false prophets
listen to me
he compares
two trees
a healthy tree
and a diseased tree
a healthy tree
bears good fruit
a diseased tree
the ministry
of a false prophet
bears bad fruit
and if you eat
that fruit
not only are you
going to
get sick
it's going to have
an effect
on the body
commit to
discerning truth
from falsehood
commit to
eating
from the ministry
of a healthy tree
verses 21 through 23
oh this is such
a sober one
verse 21
not everyone
who says to me
Lord Lord
will enter the kingdom
of heaven
what
Lord Lord
have you said that
Lord
Lord Lord
Jesus gets at
something
verses 21
through 23
he's like
hey
commitment
doesn't
to me
does not
look like
a profession
and doing
these
awesome works
commitment
to me
looks like
living out
the will
of my father
day after day
not lip service
but life service
that's sobering
makes you ask
some hard questions
verses 24
through 27
Jesus
shares this
last contrast
between foundations
he says
whoever hears
and does
my words
it's like
a wise man
who builds
his house
on a solid
foundation
of rock
build
your
life
on the rock
of Christ
not on the
shifting sands
of other
words
Jesus
closes
the
manifesto
with that
called a
commitment
this
manifesto
is broken
into two
parts
who you
are
blessed
are
you
one
graced
by God
and then
he calls
us to
live it
out
in a
certain
way
counter
cultural
character
shows up
in a
counter
cultural
life
and as
we walk
this way
he proves
himself
faithful
can I call
you to
something
this morning
I know
you can't
say no
right now
let's
press
into
who we
are
right
now
let's
live out
what God
has already
called us
to be
kingdom
citizens
of
his
realm
of
his
reign
let's
live it
out
let's
live it
out
together
and so
I'd
like to
ask you
to start
praying
for
something
praying
for
three
things
in your
private
prayer life
when you
go into
your prayer
closet
to pray
to your
heavenly
father
in secret
would you
start praying
these three
things
something
like this
first
God
I am
totally
dependent
on you
to live
this
life
you have
called
me
to
it's
admitting
your
need
admitting
your
place
exercise
of
humility
I
need
you
I'm
dependent
on
you
second
God
will you
give me
the grace
to be
a faithful
citizen
of your
kingdom
today
give me
what I
need
today
God
help me
to live
this
out
for you
today
I
need
you
and you
have
what I
need
grace
me
and then
third
God
would you
make me
the
countercultural
Christian
you called
me to be
for the
glory
of your
name
would you
begin
praying
that
with me
the
sermon
on the
mount
is a
manifesto
it's a
manifesto
of our
king
to us
his
citizens
to live
for the
kingdom
on this
planet
and we
are to
live it
out in
every area
of our
life
let's pray
God in
heaven
we have
covered a
lot of
ground
here
I pray
that
Lord
you
would
do
a
work
in
us
in
which
we
recognize
that
we
need
you
that
you've
done
a
work
in
us
you've
calling
us
something
beyond
ourselves
and our
natural
abilities
and so
God
would you
grace
us
would you
pour out
your grace
would you
empower us
by your
spirit
would you
compel us
by your
words
God
would you
use
the
relationships
of
people
in this
room
to stir
us
up
to love
and good
deeds
to live
out
kingdom
principles
to live
out who
we are
together
here and
now
in
2016
in
Kenosha
God
would you
make us
salt
would you
make us
light
God
would you
help us
to
live out
fully
the full
intent
of your
word
God
would you
do a
work in
us
we ask
in Jesus
name
Amen