1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:07,760 I heard a speaker one time make this comment and he said, what 2 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:13,160 if Jesus meant what he said? What if Jesus really did intend 3 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:20,040 for us to love those who hate us, who are unkind to us, and be 4 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:24,000 kind to those who mistreat us? What if he really meant that? 5 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,760 What if Jesus meant what he said when he told his audience to 6 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,760 have treasures in heaven means you can't be attached to 7 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:35,120 treasures on earth? What if Jesus meant what he said 8 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,760 when he said that for a man to look at another woman with lust 9 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,160 in his eyes was committing adultery with her in his heart? 10 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,040 What if Jesus meant what he said when he said that? 11 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,720 For a person to be angry with his brother that was committing 12 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:55,400 murder in his heart. What if Jesus meant what he said 13 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,440 when he said that? To hear his words and not do 14 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:04,239 them was like building a house on sand and in the storm it 15 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:08,200 collapsed. But then to hear his words and 16 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,800 do them would be like building a house on the rock that 17 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:16,040 withstands the storm. What if Jesus meant what he 18 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,200 said? We're beginning a new sermon 19 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,240 series this morning out of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5 to 20 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:24,480 7. And for the next three months we 21 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:29,320 want to spend time to dig into what did Jesus mean with what he 22 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:32,600 said this morning. We will not actually go into 23 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,840 Matthew 5, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. 24 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:40,480 We won't actually go into it, but I want to do an introductory 25 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,280 sermon on the content of this passage. 26 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,800 Kind of an fly over view if you said if you could call it that. 27 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,000 More of the question, why take this journey? 28 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,520 Why would we take a preaching journey through this passage of 29 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,600 Scripture? Matthew 5-6 and seven? 30 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,760 What would be the purpose of taking a journey through the 31 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,240 Sermon on the Mount? We do believe in moral 32 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,120 absolutes. We believe the Bible is relevant 33 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,240 today. We believe the words of Jesus 34 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,280 mean today what they meant for the people of his time when he 35 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,000 preached them. God's plan for creation has not 36 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,760 changed since the day he said behold, it's very good. 37 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:23,800 When he finished it, it was very good. 38 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:25,560 He did not somewhat change his mind. 39 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:30,280 OK now, well, he doesn't like his creation anymore and things. 40 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,200 It's over. We know when you sent Jesus, he 41 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,560 still has the same plan for humanity he did when he created 42 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:41,360 Adam and Eve. God's reason for his creation, 43 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:45,040 his why for creating the world is still the same as it was when 44 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,560 it was a brand new planet when Jesus came and preached his 45 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,360 sermons on this earth. His purpose then is still the 46 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,800 same today. So this morning before we start 47 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:57,800 actually going through the Sermon on the Mount, which we 48 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,680 will start next Sunday, today we want to do an introductory 49 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:02,880 sermon. And why is this important? 50 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,720 We read much in the Gospel of Matthew about the Kingdom of God 51 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,360 and the Kingdom of Heaven. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus 52 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,760 tells his disciples, when you pray, pray this way, our Father 53 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,600 in heaven, hallowed, be your name, your Kingdom come. 54 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,880 In his audience, Jesus told his people that God's Kingdom is 55 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:23,880 here. It's among us today. 56 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:31,960 Our theme for this morning is our title is Be Kingdom People. 57 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:35,040 That's the theme for the sermon series. 58 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:39,280 To all of it, Be Kingdom People. And as we will make our way 59 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,680 through Matthews 5-6 and seven, we will see that Jesus puts out 60 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,240 an impossibly high standard of life that he expects from his 61 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:51,120 audience to be Kingdom people. And it's not going to be easy. 62 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,480 Anybody who wants to follow Jesus is going to have a hard 63 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,360 road ahead of them. It's just the way it is because 64 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,920 we live in a fallen world, in a broken world. 65 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,880 That's why it's a hard Rd. But it's a good road and it's 66 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,120 the only Rd. Humanly speaking, yes, it's 67 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,760 impossible. But by God's grace, through 68 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,720 Jesus Christ, the blood of Christ cleanses us from our sin. 69 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,079 His Spirit comes and helps us and through that we can do this. 70 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,760 And it's not a one time only. Stamp it, you're good to go for 71 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:20,959 now. There's no more work to do. 72 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,800 It's a growing process. It's a journey that will not 73 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:25,200 finish on this side of the grave. 74 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:27,960 We're always in need of help on our journey. 75 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,040 So for this journey and the Sermon on the Mount, let's go 76 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,240 way back in the early years when God revealed Himself to the 77 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,200 people, He chose the people of Israel. 78 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,880 In the book of Exodus in chapter 19 verse five and six, we find 79 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,520 that God had some serious instructions for His people and 80 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,480 they were just starting out on their journey from Egypt to the 81 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:55,960 promised land as God's people. It says in Exodus 19 says God is 82 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:57,680 speaking here to Moses to tell the people. 83 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:03,520 He says Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and 84 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:08,160 keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me 85 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:13,280 above all people, for all the earth is mine and you shall be 86 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:15,400 to me. Listen here, a Kingdom of 87 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:20,320 priests and a holy nation, these are the words which you shall 88 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:25,240 speak to the children of Israel. God's instruction to Moses to 89 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,720 tell the Israelites there were very high conditions to be met 90 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,320 for God's people to be his Kingdom of priests and to be a 91 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,440 holy nation. And just a way of reminder, 92 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:37,800 God's never lowered the standards. 93 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,680 The standard is still the same as it was for them. 94 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,240 In fact, in the New Testament, Jesus upped the ante. 95 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,120 Later in the New Testament we find Peter writing about God's 96 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:50,440 holiness. He was very much in line with 97 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:55,000 Moses in the book of Exodus and he said Peter writes therefore 98 00:05:55,080 --> 00:06:00,120 girt up the loins of your mind, be sober and rest your hopefully 99 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,760 upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation 100 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,400 of Jesus Christ as obedient children, not conforming 101 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:12,480 yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance, but as he 102 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:17,240 who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct 103 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:21,320 because it is written the holy for I am holy. 104 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:26,960 The same meaning in Exodus is now repeated in here in in in 105 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,040 first Peter. It's a command. 106 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,360 It's a command we have to choose to obey if we want to follow 107 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,720 Christ. In Hebrews as well. 108 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:42,840 We read Hebrews 12/14 pursue peace with all people and 109 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:46,720 holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 110 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,280 It's impossible to see God if we're not pursuing this, if 111 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:54,240 we're not pursuing holiness. So times we must pause on our 112 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,160 hearts and minds and think to ourselves, what are we pursuing? 113 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:02,080 To be holy means to be set apart, to be set aside. 114 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,600 It means to be dedicated for a special purpose. 115 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:10,480 Holiness is not an option for the believer, it is mandatory. 116 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,840 Put it this way, Jesus did not come to this earth to make us 117 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,680 comfortable or happy. He came to save us, to have a 118 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:23,160 relationship with us, and to make us holy. 119 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,920 A question that some people may inwardly be asking themselves 120 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:33,000 might be, how holy do I have to be to be a follower of Jesus? 121 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:38,280 Or they may ask, how holy do I have to be to get into heaven? 122 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,000 I have news for you. Those are the wrong questions. 123 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,920 They're the wrong questions because the key part of that 124 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,320 question is I you maybe noticed it. 125 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,960 You see, no matter how well-intentioned a person may 126 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:59,080 be, self focused will never get a person where God wants that 127 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,480 person to be. Self focused will never bring a 128 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,920 life of fulfillment, peace, joy and satisfaction and 129 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,920 contentment. Self focused in the end always 130 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:14,160 leaves us empty, dry and starved and disappointed because we're 131 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,800 not created for self, we're created for relationship. 132 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,800 The true answer is to be holy, To be truly what we are created 133 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,200 to be, we must walk the path of Jesus. 134 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,080 It's only through faith in Jesus that we can be holy and follow 135 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,120 Jesus in this faith in Jesus that we talk about. 136 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,159 It's not something that sits on the shelf to be admired and 137 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:37,840 looked at once in a while and admired. 138 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,280 It's a character trait that's in US, lived out in obedience to 139 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,240 God's call on our lives. And how it works is this. 140 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:46,880 Jesus died for our sins. He paid the debt we could not 141 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,120 pay. Now He invites us to repent and 142 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,880 to walk with Him. And our part simply is repent of 143 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,920 our sins, put our trust in Him, deny ourselves, take up our 144 00:08:55,920 --> 00:09:00,920 cross and walk with Him. Only a person who has a desire 145 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,320 to follow Jesus can do that. And it's only by his grace from 146 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:05,960 him towards us that it's possible. 147 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:11,880 He accepts us when we repent. Kingdom people serve Jesus by 148 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:15,920 following Jesus example. So for us to be Kingdom people, 149 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,160 our question we must ask and answers. 150 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:20,880 Do we want to be holy? Do we? 151 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:30,080 And I think it's like this many people want to get to heaven on 152 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:32,720 a minimum holiness requirement basis. 153 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:40,360 Let me use a simple analogy. Trying to be a Kingdom person 154 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:44,280 out of duty, obligation, I have to. 155 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:47,920 That does not work. It's kind of like a young man 156 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,160 finding a beautiful young woman he wants to marry and he's 157 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,760 asking her and he says, hey, sweetie, how committed to you 158 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,680 would I have to be for you to marry me? 159 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:00,400 Imagine that. Imagine a young man asking a 160 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:01,840 woman a foolish question like that. 161 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,200 How committed to you would I have to be to marry you? 162 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,040 Just the question alone. Such a turn off, such a rude and 163 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,000 bargaining demand. And if you ask that, any wise 164 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,880 young lady would say just turn away in disgust and walk away. 165 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:19,640 And yet that's often times what people who go to church somehow 166 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:20,680 think. Well, how much? 167 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,200 How good do I have to be for God to be pleased with me? 168 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:28,600 That's the wrong question. God does not want 99.9% of me, 169 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:31,240 He wants all of me. A young woman does not want 170 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:37,040 99.9% of her man, she wants all of him and that's often times 171 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,920 what happens in the church. The question is not how holy do 172 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,080 I have to be to get to heaven. It's a self focused question. 173 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:53,040 The question is this, Our entry into heaven will not be decided 174 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,640 by any other standard than our relationship with Jesus. 175 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:00,400 The question is am I in relationship with him? 176 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,000 Only Kingdom people will get to heaven and only Kingdom people 177 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:10,640 are in relationship with Jesus. One of the one of my favorite 178 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,040 authors, his name is Dallas Willard. 179 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:16,560 He's passed on. He had a conversation with a man 180 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,520 one time about going to heaven and they were having a 181 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:23,920 conversation and how people understand this and and people 182 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,480 want to live good now and hopefully make it to the other 183 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,840 side and enjoy heaven with Jesus when the time comes. 184 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:33,640 And Dallas pointed out that's the wrong way of looking at it. 185 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:38,280 He said not only should we wanting to go to heaven when we 186 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,640 die, but we get to heaven now, today. 187 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,600 Eternal life is that Kingdom life. 188 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:45,600 It's not about going to heaven when you die, it's going to 189 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:47,600 heaven before you die. He tried to point that out. 190 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,240 He said that the correct way of looking at it is when we die to 191 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,160 self, when we die to sin, we become Kingdom people, and then 192 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:02,040 we enter eternal life. And that's a continuation on 193 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,040 past the grave. It's a transition through the 194 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:05,720 body dies, but the spirit goes on living. 195 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:10,000 This whole goes on living. There are only two kingdoms. 196 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,400 There's the Kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of darkness. 197 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:16,640 One is the Kingdom of darkness, the other is the Kingdom of 198 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:20,720 light. One is the Kingdom of death, one 199 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,400 is the Kingdom of life, one is the Kingdom of now, one is the 200 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:29,160 Kingdom of eternity, 1 is the Kingdom of this world, and one 201 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:32,800 is the Kingdom of heaven. There's an eternal, endless 202 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,560 chasm between these two kingdoms. 203 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,240 They cannot and never will reconcile. 204 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:44,560 Our eternal destiny is only one of them and the choice we make 205 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:49,040 here in this life today. And you and I are invited to be 206 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:53,840 Kingdom people, God's Kingdom. Early on, I mentioned we looked 207 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,400 in Exodus, what God spoke to Moses and what God demanded of 208 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,360 his people. Let's dig a little deeper. 209 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:00,880 Let's go back into that a little bit. 210 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:03,600 Let's peel back another layer, the layer of creation. 211 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,280 Let's look at creation. Look at what God did and why he 212 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,360 did it. This world as we know it is 213 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,520 God's creation. It's beautiful, it's glorious. 214 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:17,760 As human beings, we've been given the joy of being here and 215 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:21,480 we're actually told to manage it, take care of it, enjoy it, 216 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,440 rule it. In Genesis chapter one, verse 217 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:29,920 26, God says let us make man in our image according to our 218 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,200 likeness. Let them have dominion over the 219 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:36,840 fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, 220 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:40,440 over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps 221 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,040 upon the earth. So God created man in his own 222 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:47,160 image, in the image of God. He created him, male and female. 223 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:50,920 He created them. You and I are made above 224 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,280 everything else that's been made. 225 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,040 We are made in God's image. And I'm not talking about 226 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:00,800 physical features, we're talking about characteristics, character 227 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:06,400 traits, God like qualities. One of those is the character 228 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:11,880 trait to be creative to do things and as God's created 229 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,800 image, we've been given the responsibility to have dominion. 230 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,840 Remember the part where I don't have it here in my my notes, The 231 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,880 part where God says to puts Adam in the garden. 232 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:28,200 He brings the animals to him and it says to see what he would 233 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:29,840 name them. God's not saying, OK, he'll name 234 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:31,840 that a lion, he'll name that a bear, he'll name that a cat. 235 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,960 It's not what happened. God stepped back his God like 236 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:39,800 image quality in Adam at work naming the animals. 237 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:46,240 That's huge folks, that's huge. We are responsible and God's 238 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:47,640 going to step back. OK if he's not taking 239 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,360 responsibility I will no we by default respond either for or 240 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:56,760 against. I'm reminded of a story of a 241 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,760 young couple wanted to get married and boyfriend girlfriend 242 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,680 and they were getting along just fine and he loved her, she loved 243 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,000 him. And one day they were going to 244 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,400 go out to eat. And young man says to his 245 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:11,640 beautiful girl, he says, so where would you like to go 246 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:15,120 tonight? And she said, I don't know. 247 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,120 I'm I'm good with where you want to go. 248 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,000 And they're driving along. And then he asked her again, 249 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,040 where would you like to go? She said, I don't know, I'm good 250 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,840 with where you want to go. He pulled over, parked the 251 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,440 vehicle and stopped, stopped and parked the vehicle. 252 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,360 She said, what are you doing? He said, I'm waiting for you to 253 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:39,000 decide. I'm good with Reona, though. 254 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:44,600 No, he said, no, you decide. And she wrote the story many 255 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:47,920 years later and she mentioned how that had been a turning 256 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:52,600 point for her in her life and understanding her, her what has 257 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:57,920 been her husband. And she said that he refused to 258 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,760 take that role in her life, what should be hers. 259 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,640 And he and she mentioned this young man who became her husband 260 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,160 had been wise, not allowed her to slip into this one sided or 261 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,480 he'll take care of me or he's the boss or what? 262 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:11,840 I'll be the servant. No. 263 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,800 And hindsight, she reflected that he wanted a relationship 264 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:20,960 partnership and he forced it in the sense that I'm not going to 265 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,840 make this decision for you. He made it clear. 266 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,840 We're A-Team, we're both participants, and she mentioned 267 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:31,760 in her story how this helped her to mature and grow into the wife 268 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,000 that she now was and how wonderful had been that her 269 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,280 fiance had taken that step in that early relationship before 270 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,080 they got married. I was thinking about this story 271 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,920 this last week as was getting ready for this sermon, and I 272 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,600 thought about it and I thought, this fits. 273 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:54,280 And marriage is a small Kingdom, a couple Kingdom, if you will. 274 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,360 She was a Kingdom woman. He was a Kingdom man. 275 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:01,560 This is not just related to marriage, although marriage is a 276 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,839 very good analogy, but and marriage is a reflection of 277 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:07,359 God's creation on earth as a husband, wife, unity with God 278 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:09,480 the Father and the and the couple together. 279 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,800 This does not mean that singleness is is less than 280 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,280 marriage, but this is an image. This is a reflection. 281 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,240 We're all designed and created to be Kingdom people, partnering 282 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,720 with God in His work. He gives us responsibilities 283 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:32,600 which we choose how we're going to respond to, and we will not 284 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,880 do well until we embrace it. And as we'll go through Matthew 285 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,680 5 in the coming sermons, we'll see how important it is that we 286 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,920 embrace the teachings of Jesus as he calls us into relationship 287 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:43,440 with Him. Live out the blueprint He's 288 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,720 called us to live out. We see this in marriages. 289 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:49,440 Just look at marriages where this is not working. 290 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,000 And here's where it becomes steep in the steep climb, so to 291 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,880 speak, because relationships are difficult in this world. 292 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:01,640 It takes sacrifice. It takes self denial. 293 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:04,360 Because of what the world is, a sinful place. 294 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:08,320 It has to be a free choice. It has to be Unchained, as it 295 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,360 were. It has to be reciprocal. 296 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,880 Let's just let that sink in for a second. 297 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,400 And if we're Kingdom people, that's what it will be, living 298 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:21,840 in relationship with God and with one another. 299 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,760 And in our series, we'll go through the sermon. 300 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,440 As we go through the Sermon on the Mount, we'll see what it is 301 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,680 that Jesus requires of his stewards or his managers. 302 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:37,440 And he always led by example. I mentioned Dallas Willard 303 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:38,600 before, and I'll continue with that. 304 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,360 And he wrote a book titled The Divine Conspiracy, and in it he 305 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,080 does explore the Sermon on the Mount and how God brings his 306 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,480 Kingdom into this world and how it happens through US, you and 307 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,760 me, his people. You see, when God created you 308 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:56,280 and me, He created us for glory, not for judgement, not for 309 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,480 destruction, not for damnation, but to reflect Him in this 310 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:01,560 world. His purpose for creating us is 311 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:05,080 for us to voluntarily, as image bearers, to respond to Him, 312 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,280 engage in Him, and have relationship with Him. 313 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,760 That's the greatest glorious thing that can happen on this 314 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:11,320 earth, to serve and bring Him glory. 315 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:19,680 It's not forced, not cursed, its relationship and as he draws us, 316 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,480 we are Kingdom people, Dallas wrote in the book. 317 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,280 The following I quoted, I copied it. 318 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,680 He said we are made to have dominion with an appropriate 319 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,640 domain of reality. This is the core of the likeness 320 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:37,200 or image of God in US and is the basis of the destiny for which 321 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,360 we were formed. We are all of us never ceasing 322 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:45,080 spiritual beings with a with a unique eternal calling to count 323 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,360 for good in God's great universe. 324 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:52,200 Our Kingdom is simply the range of our effective will. 325 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:56,920 Whatever we genuinely have the say over is in our Kingdom, and 326 00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,560 our having to say over something is precisely what places it was 327 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,880 in our Kingdom. In creating human beings, God 328 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,800 made them to rule, to reign, to have dominion in a limited 329 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,200 sphere. Only so can they be persons. 330 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,520 Think about that. Just think of it. 331 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,440 In Genesis, it says God brought the animals to the man to see 332 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,200 what he would name them. As I said before, he gave it up 333 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,120 to Adam to make those decisions. That's deep. 334 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,480 God did all of this in a relationship context. 335 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:33,120 It also tells us in Genesis that God would walk with Adam and Eve 336 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:36,040 in the cool of the garden. There was fellowship. 337 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:42,760 There was relationship. That was true Kingdom living and 338 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,560 through Jesus Christ that starts here today. 339 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:50,160 Now someone might ask, well, what does it look like today? 340 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,720 It's a life fully surrendered and committed to Christ. 341 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,440 It's the joyful giving up of our earthly physical lives for His 342 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,720 cause in order for us to become totally what He has designed us 343 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:06,280 as His image bearers to be. What is interesting about this 344 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,800 is we don't have to wait for some time in the future to get 345 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:12,040 this. We can start right where we're 346 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,440 at. It happens at all levels of 347 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,760 life. It doesn't depend on where you 348 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,320 are. Geographical place to be 349 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:20,960 somewhere else, then I could do it better. 350 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:23,720 No, it doesn't mean we have to measure up to a certain cultural 351 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,160 standard, a certain level of living and better opportunities 352 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,920 and so on. To be Kingdom people does not 353 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:31,760 depend on anything that's temporal. 354 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,960 It does require holiness. To be a Kingdom person is 355 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,880 strictly first and foremost a matter of relationship with God 356 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,000 that works itself out in our daily lives. 357 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:46,160 There's many powerful stories we can go to in the Bible that 358 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:47,920 illustrate this. One that comes to mind is the 359 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,760 story of Daniel. I like to read the stories of 360 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,440 the characters of the Bible and they're all different, very 361 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,080 different. Some that very well, some that 362 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,600 very poorly. There's one character that I 363 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:00,760 really admire, and his name is Daniel. 364 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:04,480 I was contemplating Daniel this last week. 365 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,800 I was getting ready. I thought to myself, I can't 366 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:13,880 think of a single time when Daniel faltered or failed in his 367 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:14,960 faith. Not to say he didn't. 368 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,400 I don't know that. But we know that when Daniel was 369 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,880 a young man, he was taken as a prisoner of war to faraway 370 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:24,120 Babylon wasn't his doing. He was just as a young, maybe, 371 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:27,240 probably, probably a teenage boy when he was taken captive. 372 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,760 And here he was a prisoner of war. 373 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:35,080 And then he got picked as a prisoner of war to be educated 374 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:39,200 and trained in the language of Babylon and the laws of Babylon, 375 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,000 to be a help with the government, maybe to connect 376 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,320 with the with the land that he had been taken from. 377 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:46,560 The governments would do that in those days. 378 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:51,160 He he complied with everything that he possibly could in 379 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,720 Babylonian culture. He took their training, but he 380 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:58,560 refused to take the food. And in this way he did his very 381 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:03,240 best to please the king but also not compromise his connection to 382 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,080 God. He went through the training, He 383 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,080 was placed into this environment and he never compromised his 384 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:14,720 character or his integrity. He was brought. 385 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,080 He brought his Kingdom values into the environment which he 386 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,560 was placed. He didn't adapt. 387 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,080 You see, so often times a person, well, it's so hard, 388 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:26,400 we'll just adapt. We'll just acclimatize. 389 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:29,280 And when we're not strong, we do that. 390 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:32,640 And I'm not here saying that, oh, if you failed or you 391 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:34,480 faltered, now it's over. It's judgement, it's 392 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,560 condemnation, or there's grace, there's forgiveness. 393 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,400 But this is a reminder of how important this is as Kingdom 394 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,480 people to always put the temporal last and put the 395 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,760 eternal first. That's what Daniel did. 396 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,600 And in Daniel's case, as I mentioned, from as a young man 397 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,560 when he was put into leadership in Babylon to the time when 398 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,320 Darius, the king of the Medes and the Persians had this 399 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,440 foolish law created, actually says advisors did that. 400 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,120 Nobody could worship anybody except the king for a month, for 401 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:05,480 30 days. Even then, Daniel refused to 402 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:07,240 compromise his relationship with God. 403 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,040 He stood strong every single time. 404 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,960 You know why? He was a Kingdom person. 405 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,480 He's one of the best, if not the best example in the Old 406 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,240 Testament. In the New Testament, a story 407 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:22,840 that comes to mind is Jesus himself, when he left, was ready 408 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:25,560 to leave this earth. The last act of service that 409 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,000 Jesus did for his disciples was to wash their feet at the Last 410 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,080 Supper. He was God, but also a man, a 411 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:36,440 truly perfect Kingdom person. When Jesus shared the Last 412 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:39,800 Supper with his disciples, it's very interesting to read what 413 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:45,200 went on the last evening on that Thursday night before he was 414 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,080 arrested and bound and LED off to the to the temple. 415 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,160 They're around the table. Jesus had told them that one of 416 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,680 them would betray him and we read that they were not getting 417 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:56,360 it. They were arguing themselves and 418 00:24:56,360 --> 00:24:57,960 there was just it was not a good evening. 419 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:02,160 It says in verse 24 of chapter Luke, chapter 2224. 420 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:04,800 Now there was also a dispute among them as to which of them 421 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:06,120 should be considered the greatest. 422 00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:09,760 Little did they know in less than 24 hours they'd be again 423 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:12,800 together out of fear and dread, locked away. 424 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:14,240 Because who's going to get us now? 425 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:18,440 Jesus told him one someone of them was going to, he was going 426 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:20,600 to be killed, he told them on their way to Jerusalem a week 427 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:24,120 earlier. Then at the supper, he said, one 428 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:27,200 of them is going to betray me and they have a disagreement. 429 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:29,960 They were not acting like Kingdom people. 430 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,440 They were very fleshly minded. They were thinking, yeah, Jesus 431 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,640 is going to soon become the ruler and we're all going to 432 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,120 have control and power and influence. 433 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:39,880 And when he was arrested in the garden, they all fled. 434 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,680 But what does Jesus do when they're having these squabbles? 435 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:47,920 John 13 verse 3, it says, Knowing that the Father had 436 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:50,760 given all things into his hands and that he had come from God 437 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:54,480 and was going to God, he rose from the supper and laid aside 438 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,480 his garments, took a towel and girded himself. 439 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,160 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash the 440 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:03,960 disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was 441 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,440 girded. Then he came to Simon Peter and 442 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:08,440 Peter said to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? 443 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:10,120 Then of course Jesus explains it to him. 444 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:12,760 We know how it continued. Jesus did wash him in everyone 445 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:16,240 else's feet too. And he reminded them, This is 446 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,360 what I want you to do. That's Kingdom living folks. 447 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:22,680 That's Kingdom living. That's what Kingdom people do. 448 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,560 The last night of his life on earth, before he was nailed to 449 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,000 the cross, he did this act of service. 450 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:33,400 He did. He demonstrated Kingdom behavior 451 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,600 to his disciples. And as we will go through the 452 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,840 Sermon on the Mount in the following weeks, we'll find the 453 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,040 Sermon on the Mount. These principles are woven 454 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,160 through and through with an emphasis on glorifying God and 455 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,840 all that we do and all that we are. 456 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:50,520 Some may be sitting here this morning and think, OK, well, 457 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,120 that sounds good for Palestine, 1st century Jews and the people 458 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:54,520 of Israel living earlier than that. 459 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,600 What about us today? Why is the Sermon on the Mount 460 00:26:57,600 --> 00:26:59,040 important to us today in our time? 461 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,240 We live in a day and age when life has been so 462 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:08,880 compartmentalized, so individualized, so disconnected, 463 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:11,320 where it is less and less a unit, less and less a 464 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:14,040 relationship. Life increasingly is becoming a 465 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:18,360 confused pile of disconnected beliefs and disjointed pieces, 466 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:21,160 and for so many people, discouraging and depressing and 467 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:23,800 hopeless. Increasingly it's about my 468 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,960 rights and everyone else's rights, and each one for 469 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,520 themselves. And as communities are becoming 470 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:32,720 fractured more and more, we need the teachings of Jesus in the 471 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:37,480 Sermon on the Mount just as much as the people did whom he spoke 472 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:41,400 them to when he was there. When Jesus was here. 473 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:42,800 The Pharisees, they were the elite. 474 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,560 They were the revered and the respected. 475 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,520 They knew the laws of God. They preached the laws of God 476 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,880 but didn't practice them. They have the letter of the law, 477 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:57,880 but no relationship. The Pharisees were not Kingdom 478 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:03,720 people, So what difference does it make for us today? 479 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:09,720 We live in a time when people say Christians say it well I 480 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:14,120 yes, I know I should, but and then they engage in lifestyle 481 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:17,760 choices and actions they know contradict what Jesus taught and 482 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:19,080 what the Bible says we should do. 483 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:23,760 No person, people, group or culture can afford to live 484 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:26,440 successfully in contradiction to the rule of moral truth. 485 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,520 When we hold the teachings of Jesus casually in no regard, 486 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:35,240 there's no telling to what level we will be dragged down to. 487 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:38,800 The Bible warns us strong against compromise, and there 488 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:43,840 are serious warnings. And we are never so good that we 489 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,760 cannot fall. There's a man, the Old 490 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,160 Testament. We exemplified that very, very 491 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:54,520 much So he's called a manner after God's own heart was King 492 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:56,880 David. Yet one time he allowed his 493 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,880 feelings, his emotions to direct his thinking and his behavior. 494 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,200 In the end, his family paid a terrible price. 495 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:07,120 David, king of Israel, committed adultery. 496 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:12,000 He decided to take a woman, Bathsheba, had her husband 497 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,200 killed and didn't count what would happen? 498 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:18,280 He tried to cover his sin, arranged for her husband's 499 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,160 death, but God decided not to let him get away with it. 500 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,680 And he paid a horrific, A catastrophic price. 501 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:30,520 The good thing was he repented and many other people's lives 502 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:35,000 were affected by what he did. And these things happen in our 503 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,000 day and age. Psalm 11/13, the 11, verse 3. 504 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,240 The writer says if the foundations are destroyed, what 505 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,960 can the righteous do? You see, once the points of 506 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:46,680 reference are gone, there's no more any sense of direction. 507 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:49,800 Some years ago I preached A sermon here and I used an 508 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,440 illustration that few will remember. 509 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:53,960 Some of you will and I want to use that illustration again this 510 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:55,640 morning. It's again out of the book of 511 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:57,440 Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. 512 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:01,040 He shares this little story. A pilot was practicing high 513 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:02,760 speed maneuvers in a jet fighter. 514 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,200 She turned the controls for what she thought a steep ascent and 515 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,040 flew straight into the ground. She was unaware that she'd been 516 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:16,240 flying upside down. Sometimes happens when pilots 517 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:18,760 don't pay attention to the instruments when they go by the 518 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:20,680 appearance by the surround with the see through the cockpit 519 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,440 windshield. You have to know your 520 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:25,280 instruments and if you don't, you'll use your instruments. 521 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,320 You can, you become disoriented and you do that stuff. 522 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,880 He continued. He says this is a parable of 523 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:41,640 human existence in our times. Not exactly that everyone's 524 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:43,440 crashing, though, there's enough of that. 525 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,040 But most of us, as individuals in world society as a whole, 526 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:50,760 live at high speed and often with no clue to whether we're 527 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,680 flying upside down or right side up. 528 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,840 Indeed, we're haunted by a strong suspicion that there may 529 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:01,040 be no difference, or at least that it's unknown or irrelevant. 530 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,600 You see, there's some things in life we cannot afford to guess 531 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,160 at or take chances, as in what kind of house or car we buy. 532 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:09,200 Sure we can. We can. 533 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:11,280 We can guess at that. But when it comes to 534 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:15,120 relationship, life's decisions, we must have the right reference 535 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:18,960 points from where to make choices, or the consequences can 536 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:20,760 be catastrophic and may be fatal. 537 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,320 It's vitally important for us, both in the here and now and for 538 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,120 eternity, that we make the right choices early to be Kingdom 539 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,720 people, to live by Kingdom values. 540 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,880 And these are our choices. The Bible's full of stories. 541 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:38,200 How God invites, how God reminds, how God moves people, 542 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:40,960 how God warns people, opens doors for people, and some 543 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:46,200 respond and some don't. We're given one life each. 544 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,800 We're responsible for it, how we manage it, take care of it, and 545 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:53,760 for whose purpose we live it. I'm going to close with one 546 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,120 little story. I'm a university student whom 547 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:57,800 Dallas Woodard mentions in his book. 548 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:02,360 She came from a Midwestern town in the US, came from a working 549 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,160 class where things were more traditional. 550 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:06,600 Right was right and wrong was wrong. 551 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,160 Traditional conservative beliefs were held. 552 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:14,880 She managed to get into Harvard. You know what Harvard is the big 553 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,480 prestigious university where if you go there, then you've got it 554 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,680 made, so to speak. It was a big deal. 555 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:24,280 However, as a woman, she was simple. 556 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:28,000 She didn't have a lot of money. She cleaned dorms to earn money 557 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,440 to help pay her way. She was treated rudely by some 558 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:33,760 of the students because of where she came from, what she did, 559 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,960 cleaning, and so on. On a number of occasions, she 560 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,080 reported the behavior of her fellow students to the higher 561 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,520 ups and nothing was done. She was disrespected, 562 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,680 mistreated, and repeatedly propositioned for sex. 563 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,280 But one of the young men and who this young man was in the same 564 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:54,480 class, she was taking the same class called moral reasoning, 565 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,680 doing very well in his assignments, getting taught 566 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:00,160 marks, but immemorial in his behavior. 567 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,400 The time came, this young woman couldn't stand it anymore and 568 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:04,960 she quit the school, she quit Harvard. 569 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:08,640 She had an exit interview with the professor who she had 570 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,240 reported to. And she told him all that had 571 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:11,480 happened, how she'd been treated. 572 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:15,720 And she mentioned that the the classes the students was taking 573 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,480 was she was in her class. And she says she had this to 574 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:20,600 say. She says, I've been taking all 575 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:23,480 these philosophy courses. We talk about what's true, 576 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:26,520 what's important, what's good. Well, how do you teach people to 577 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,480 be good? And she added, what's the point 578 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,120 of knowing good if you don't keep trying to become a good 579 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:35,680 person? She thought that Harvard, of all 580 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,000 places, that would have been a place to be. 581 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:40,800 And their professor refused to take a stand. 582 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:44,840 That may happen in a school on earth. 583 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:48,640 But listen friends, the Bible is different, Jesus different. 584 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,440 What is known is expected. There are no exemptions. 585 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,720 As we go through the Sermon on the Mount in the coming weeks, 586 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,000 we will come across some very difficult teachings. 587 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:03,600 The question I want to leave us with this morning is are we 588 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,520 Kingdom people? I want to direct our thoughts to 589 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:12,239 to this concept. Are we Kingdom people? 590 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:15,719 Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 Paul writes for you were once 591 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:18,440 darkness, but now you are light in the Lord walk as children of 592 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:20,400 light. For the fruit of the Spirit is 593 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:22,120 in all goodness, righteousness and truth. 594 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:25,120 Finding out what's acceptable, acceptable to the Lord and 595 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,360 having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, 596 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,400 but rather expose them. For it's shameful to even speak 597 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,040 of those things which are done by them in secret, but all 598 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:37,480 things that are exposed are made manifest by the light for 599 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,120 whoever for whatever makes manifest is light. 600 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:44,320 Therefore, he says will wake you who sleep arrives from the dead, 601 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:50,320 and Christ will give you light. As Kingdom people, let's live. 602 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:56,920 As Kingdom people, let's pray. Lord, we know that you've 603 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,400 created us for glory to live out. 604 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:02,280 You're calling on us on this earth. 605 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:05,520 You put us here as your image bearers to reflect your 606 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,720 character in this life on this earth. 607 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:10,840 We also know that in and of ourselves, due to our sinful 608 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:12,280 nature, we're not able to do that. 609 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,800 We need you. We need Your grace at all times 610 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,480 for this. Lord, we pray that your Spirit 611 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:20,440 will go with us, fill us and lead us. 612 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:23,200 Lord, it is our desire to be Kingdom people. 613 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,160 Now as we'll go forward into the following weeks into Matthews 614 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:27,920 5-6 and seven, we pray that you will. 615 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,240 We'll be in tune with you and as we go through this week, give us 616 00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:34,640 the grace this week to be surrendered, submitted and voted 617 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:36,440 to you. Help us Lord, to be Kingdom 618 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:38,720 people. Thank you Jesus name.