1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,680 Father God, we thank you for tonight and a chance to spend 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,640 time in Your Word. We are grateful for how it is 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:09,720 you have provided your words in print that we might read them, 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,000 memorize them, study them, and get to know you all the more. 5 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:18,320 We thank you, Lord, for this New year and the opportunity you 6 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,920 give to us to live for you. We trust that Lord, during this 7 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:28,280 year, 2026, that we would really truly be committed and devoted 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,800 to living out the things that we learn and following You in 9 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:37,320 obedience every single day. We are grateful Lord, for your 10 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:39,560 salvation. We're grateful for all that 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,080 You've done. Open our hearts and minds this 12 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,240 evening to behold the beautiful things out of Your law. 13 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:52,480 We pray in Jesus name, Amen. I've come to realize the older I 14 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:55,760 get, the more I remember all that my mother and father said 15 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:59,720 to me when I was growing up. I kind of wish I would have 16 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:02,280 remembered him when I was younger, but now that I'm older 17 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,160 and they're with the Lord, I tend to remember more of what 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:10,080 they said now, then, then. And one of my mother's favorite 19 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:16,160 sayings was, was this. She would say to me, since 20 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:22,200 you're a child of the king, you need to dress like the child of 21 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,080 the king. She would say, since you're a 22 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:30,440 child of the king, you need to walk like a child of the king. 23 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,560 You need to talk like a child of the king. 24 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,400 You need to understand that you're a Kingdom citizen and 25 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:44,160 live in light of that. And she would repeat that over 26 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,960 and over again. Remember, you're a child of the 27 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:52,600 king, live like a child of the king. 28 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,720 And she understood what the Bible says in Philippians 29 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:03,560 chapter 3 when Paul said these words, he said for our 30 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:08,320 citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly wait for a 31 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:13,800 Savior of the Lord Jesus Christ. She understood that she was a 32 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:21,600 Kingdom citizen. She also knew what Peter said in 33 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,480 First Peter chapter 2 when he said, beloved, I urge you as 34 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:30,840 aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which waves 35 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:36,720 war against the soul. She knew that we were strangers, 36 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:44,280 we were aliens in this land. She knew what the Apostle Paul 37 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:48,280 said in the the book of Colossians when he said that 38 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,760 you've been transferred from the Kingdom of darkness into the 39 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:59,720 Kingdom of God's dear Son, that there's a Kingdom, and when you 40 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:05,800 become a Christian you're a child of the king. 41 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:12,480 Over in Hebrews Chapter 11, it says this is verse #13. 42 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:17,240 All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but 43 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,160 having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance 44 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:25,120 and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the 45 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,080 earth. For those who say such things 46 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:32,280 make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 47 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,280 And indeed, if they had been thinking of the country from 48 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,520 which they went out, they would have had the opportunity to 49 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,560 return. But as it is, they desire a 50 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,680 better country, that is, a heavenly one. 51 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,920 Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has 52 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:59,000 prepared a city for them. Those patriarchs of the Old 53 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:04,120 Testament understood Kingdom citizenship. 54 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:10,640 They understood that this life was not all there was, but they 55 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,280 were surely just passing through. 56 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,839 They, they understood that they were aliens and strangers and 57 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,360 the land that they were in was a foreign land. 58 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,000 I'm afraid that today as, as Christians, we, we don't like to 59 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,240 be seen as aliens and strangers in this land. 60 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,080 We we want to be welcomed in this land. 61 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,920 We want to be friends of the people of the land. 62 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,120 We don't want to look different, we don't want to act different. 63 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,200 We don't want to speak different. 64 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,600 We just want to blend in with everybody else. 65 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:53,880 But the Lord has always made it very clear from the very 66 00:04:53,880 --> 00:05:01,240 beginning that His people have been called out to be 67 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:08,400 completely, uniquely and distinctly different than the 68 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:14,480 people of the world. In fact, if you got your Bible, 69 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,400 turn back with me, if you would, to the book of Leviticus. 70 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:27,000 The book of Leviticus, the theme of this book is holiness. 71 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,720 Be holy, for I am holy, says the Lord. 72 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:39,280 That means that you are separate, uniquely different. 73 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:45,080 You are set apart. So the whole theme of the book 74 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:50,560 of Leviticus was God's blueprint for His people that would set 75 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:55,800 them apart from the world. In Leviticus 18 verse #1 it 76 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,000 says, Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons 77 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,080 of Israel, and say to them, I am the Lord your God. 78 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:08,240 You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you 79 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:13,160 lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where 80 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,440 I am bringing you. You should not walk in their 81 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,880 statutes. You are to perform my judgments 82 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:23,920 and keep my statutes to live in accord with them. 83 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:29,160 I am the Lord your God, so you shall keep my statutes and my 84 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:34,120 judgments by which a man may live if he does them. 85 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:42,280 I am the Lord. The Lord brackets what he says 86 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:46,320 with his identity. I am the Lord God. 87 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:51,960 I am the king of all. You are not to live like those 88 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,320 in Egypt. You're not to live like those in 89 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,120 Canaan. You were to follow My statutes. 90 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:03,560 You are to be different. You are not to be like them. 91 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:09,680 And then if you follow through to the book of Deuteronomy in 92 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:16,560 chapter 6, Moses says this in verse #10 Then it shall come 93 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,440 about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which 94 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,920 He swore to your father's Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to 95 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,800 give you great and splendid cities which you did not build, 96 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:30,240 and houses full of good things which you did not fill, and hewn 97 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,200 cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which 98 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:39,080 you did not plant. And you eat and are satisfied. 99 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:44,920 Then watch yourself that you do not forget the Lord who brought 100 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,400 you from the land of Egypt out of the House of slavery. 101 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,840 You shall fear only the Lord your God, and you shall worship 102 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:57,800 him and swear by his name. You shall not follow other gods, 103 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:03,560 any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the Lord 104 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,200 your God in the midst of you is a jealous God. 105 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,520 Otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against 106 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:15,480 you, and he shall or he will wipe you off the face of the 107 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,600 earth. Moses was serious. 108 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,640 When you follow the Lord and you worship the Lord you, you can't 109 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,040 worship and serve any other gods. 110 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:27,560 You've been called out of slavery. 111 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,320 You've been called out of Egypt. You have been delivered, you 112 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:34,760 have been redeemed by your God. You can't be like the people of 113 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:38,559 the world, even though you live in houses that you did not build 114 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:42,080 and you drink from sisters that you did not dig, and you are 115 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,520 able to have the fruit of the vine, but you did not plant you. 116 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,400 You cannot be like the people in the land of Canaan. 117 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:52,520 But Israel had a hard time with that. 118 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:55,680 They had a very difficult time with that. 119 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:01,600 They loved to be like the people of the world. 120 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:07,920 And so when you come to the book of first Samuel, chapter 8, 121 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:13,000 listen to the words of the Lord, verse 4. 122 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,440 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to 123 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:20,680 Samuel at Rama. And they said to him, Behold, 124 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:25,280 you have grown old and your sons do not walk in your ways. 125 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,400 Now appoint a king for us to judge us. 126 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:35,000 Next phrase. Like all the nations. 127 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:39,000 We want a king like all the nations have. 128 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,840 We want to be like the other nations. 129 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:49,080 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel, when they 130 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,600 said, Give us a king to judge us. 131 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,360 And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, 132 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:58,960 Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that 133 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,160 they say to you. For they have not rejected you, 134 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:11,120 but they have rejected me from being king over them, like all 135 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,960 the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought 136 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:19,320 them from Egypt, even to this day, and that they have forsaken 137 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:27,080 me and served other gods, So they are doing to you also. 138 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:32,400 Now then, listen to their voice. However, you shall solemnly warn 139 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:38,360 them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will 140 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,640 reign over them. So the Lord says to Samuel, He 141 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,160 says, look, this is not about you. 142 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:45,240 Don't take it personally, Samuel. 143 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:48,080 They're not rejecting you, they're rejecting me. 144 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:54,000 They don't want me as their king, that they want an earthly 145 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,240 king. They don't want a heavenly king. 146 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:58,720 So don't take it personally, Samuel. 147 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:01,080 It's about me that they have rejected. 148 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:06,280 So give them what they want, but tell them, warn them about what 149 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,120 this king will do. So Samuel does. 150 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,680 He tells them exactly what the king would do. 151 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:24,840 And verses 10 down through verse #18 it says, in fact, verse #17 152 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,720 or yeah, excuse me, verse #17 He says He will take a tenth of 153 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,240 your flocks, and you yourselves will become His servants. 154 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:36,520 Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom 155 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:41,480 you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you 156 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,920 in that day. He gives them all the negatives 157 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,680 about this earthly king and tells them we're not going to 158 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:54,080 like it and you're going to cry out to the Lord, but he's not 159 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,600 going to answer you. So you would think they would 160 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:01,480 say, then we don't want that. Oh no. 161 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:06,320 Verse 19 Nevertheless, the people refuse to listen to the 162 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:10,120 voice of Samuel. And they said, no, but there 163 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:16,760 shall be a king over us that we also may be like all the 164 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:23,200 nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and 165 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,800 fight our battles. We we want to be like all the 166 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,560 other nations. We want a king that will fight 167 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:32,200 for us. The Lord of armies isn't isn't 168 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,720 strong enough. The King of Israel isn't mighty 169 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,280 enough. We need an earthly king to to 170 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,120 fight our battles for us. After all that God had done for 171 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:45,280 them, after he led them to the wilderness, after he delivered 172 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,800 them in a miraculous way by separating the Red Sea, and then 173 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,960 able to walk through on dry land and all the miracles that God 174 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:56,360 did. It just wasn't sufficient. 175 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:01,440 We want to be like all the other nations. 176 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:09,760 We want a king to rule over us. So in Psalm One O 6, when the 177 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:17,600 psalmist is reviewing Israel's history, he says in verse #35 178 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:25,440 They mingled with the nations and learned their practices and 179 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:32,960 served their idols, which became a snare to them. 180 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:39,360 They became just like the nations of the world. 181 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,800 Read on. It says they even sacrificed 182 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:47,360 their sons and their daughters to the demons and shed innocent 183 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,800 blood. The blood of their sons and 184 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,520 their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of 185 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:56,800 Canaan, and the land was polluted with the blood. 186 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,720 Thus, they became unclean in their practices and play the 187 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:06,480 harlot in their deeds. Therefore, the anger of the Lord 188 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:13,360 was kindled against His people, and He abhorred his inheritance. 189 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,280 God warned them, but they did not listen. 190 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:27,920 Because God has always told His people you're mine, and because 191 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:34,800 you're mine, you can't act and be like everyone else who was 192 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:39,960 not mine. You must be uniquely and 193 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:46,680 distinctly different from them. That's why Peter says you're 194 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:48,600 aliens and strangers in a foreign land. 195 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:55,400 So by the writer of Hebrews said the fathers, the patriarchs knew 196 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,400 that this was a land they were strangers in, but there was a 197 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:07,640 city beyond that they live for. That's why Paul said in quoting 198 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:12,360 the Old Testament in Second Corinthians chapter 6, said 199 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,560 verse 17. Therefore come out from their 200 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:21,840 midst and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is 201 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:26,040 unclean. And I will welcome you. 202 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:32,040 To be holy means to be separate, to come out from among them. 203 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:41,160 And so the Lord says in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 204 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:50,480 chapter 6, verse #8 you shall not be like them. 205 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,160 He's speaking about the religious leaders. 206 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:01,280 You can't be like them because they're hypocrites. 207 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:07,200 They live a life of duplicity. They live a life of hypocrisy. 208 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:14,720 You can't be like them. In Matthew 5 verse #20 He says 209 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,760 these words. Unless your righteousness 210 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:26,600 exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you cannot be a part 211 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,320 of my Kingdom. And the people listening to that 212 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:33,240 would think, well, how can that possibly be? 213 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,920 The Pharisees are so religious. They dress like they're 214 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:43,680 religious, they pray like they're religious, They look 215 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:47,080 like they're religious. They speak like they're 216 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,200 religious. And you're telling us that 217 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:55,880 unless our righteousness exceeds their righteousness, we can 218 00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,960 never enter the Kingdom of God. How can that possibly be? 219 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:07,319 Because their righteousness was based on human achievement. 220 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,960 God's righteousness is based on divine accomplishment. 221 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:19,440 That's why you could say that. And so in Matthews 5-6 and 222 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:28,040 seven, our Lord tells the people how to live like a child of the 223 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:34,560 king, how to understand Kingdom citizenship. 224 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:40,960 After all, he, he's the king. And the king came preaching 225 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:45,560 about the Kingdom. In fact, that's all he preached 226 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,640 about was the Kingdom. John the Baptist, the 227 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,280 forerunner, would preach about the Kingdom of heaven. 228 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:56,760 It was at hand when the king, king, he began to preach, and 229 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:59,920 he's preached the same message that John the Baptist preached, 230 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,080 that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand. 231 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,480 And so as he began to preach, Matthews 5-6 and seven, tell us 232 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:13,920 about some of the elements that would be in the sermons that 233 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:18,080 Jesus would preach as he went from village to village, from 234 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:23,640 town to town, preaching the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. 235 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:29,920 And when you come to the Sermon on the Mount, Matthews 5-6 and 236 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:36,320 seven, you have a record of the greatest sermon ever preached by 237 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:41,480 the greatest preacher who has ever lived, Jesus Christ our 238 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,600 Lord. And so we have the the blessed 239 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:50,280 opportunity to spend the rest of this portion of the year through 240 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:55,080 the springtime, into the fall, and probably even into next 241 00:18:55,080 --> 00:19:02,080 year, 2027, examining this great sermon, Matthews 5-6 and seven, 242 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,880 commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. 243 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:09,000 You can read it in about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how 244 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,440 fast you read. And there have been many 245 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:19,320 commentaries written on Matthews 5-6 and seven, many books 246 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:25,640 written, many devotional books written about this sermon. 247 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:32,920 It's filled with so much. In fact, more is said in these 248 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,800 three chapters than most preachers say. 249 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:42,360 In a lifetime of sermons, this is the greatest sermon ever 250 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:45,360 preached. And Christ is the greatest 251 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:50,640 preacher whoever preached. And so therefore we need to 252 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:53,640 understand exactly what he said and why he said it and how he 253 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:57,080 said it. So we, we've given you an 254 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:58,920 outline you can follow along with us. 255 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:01,960 It's basically three simple points. 256 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:07,840 It begins with the purpose of the sermon, then the preface to 257 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,160 the sermon, and then we'll give you some principles about the 258 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:16,440 sermon as way of a introduction to. 259 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:21,200 The Sermon on the Mount. We'll begin by reading Matthew 260 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:27,600 chapter 5, verses 1 and 2. When Jesus saw the crowds, he 261 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:31,880 went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples 262 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:36,520 came to him. He opened his mouth and began to 263 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:41,480 teach them. It would be so great to have 264 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:48,440 been there on that day, to hear Jesus speak to large crowds of 265 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:53,320 people without a microphone, and to be able to speak to them so 266 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,520 they could all hear what he had to say on that day. 267 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:03,440 But there was a purpose behind what he said, and it begins with 268 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:08,880 the fact that he was going to identify the identity of those 269 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:14,320 who are citizens of His Kingdom. That's why it begins with the 270 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:21,160 Beatitudes, with blessing. And when he begins to speak 271 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:26,000 about blessing, he says that in a way that is contrary to what 272 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,760 we would say, a person who was blessed would be like. 273 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:36,520 He says the poor, not the rich, are blessed. 274 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:42,280 And you think, well, that's opposite of a child of the king. 275 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,560 Children of the king are rich, but he says blessed are those 276 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,600 who are poor children of the king. 277 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,080 They, they laugh, but not according to this sermon. 278 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,440 They mourn. Children of the king are 279 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,120 warriors. Well, not according to this 280 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:03,720 sermon. They're meek, they're gentle, 281 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,720 they're peacemakers. Children of the king are 282 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:12,040 protected. Not in this sermon. 283 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:18,680 They're persecuted, they're reviled against, so much so that 284 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:25,040 all men speak evil against them. But what Jesus does is he begins 285 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:29,240 to help you understand the character of Kingdom citizenship 286 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:35,080 by identifying the identity of the people who enter the Kingdom 287 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,960 and grow up in the Kingdom in those first 12 verses. 288 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,320 Then after he identifies the identity of those in the 289 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:48,760 Kingdom, he articulates the authority of those in the 290 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:54,040 Kingdom by saying that they are salt and they are light. 291 00:22:55,480 --> 00:23:01,240 Other words, their salt and as salt they will preserve 292 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:09,920 corruption as light, they will proclaim the solution, giving 293 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:14,240 them the authority that comes as a Kingdom citizen. 294 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:20,360 So he interprets their identity, he articulates their authority 295 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:28,640 and then he says the people of my Kingdom manifest a specific 296 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:34,480 morality. That is they follow the law of 297 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:37,640 God. They understand the laws of God 298 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,120 because I didn't come to abolish the law. 299 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:46,400 I came to fulfill the law. And therefore in fulfillment of 300 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:51,560 the law, they understand who I am and they want to follow me. 301 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:57,400 They want to serve me, and they become Kingdom citizens. 302 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:02,640 And therefore they, they follow the laws as they're prescribed. 303 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:09,080 And as He begins to to show how how they manifest his morality, 304 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:14,160 he is showing to them that as he speaks, he says, you have heard 305 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,560 that it was said by the ages of old. 306 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,760 But but I say unto you, in other words, this is what you have 307 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:24,680 heard from your scribes and from your Pharisees. 308 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,880 But I saying to you, this is the way it is you. 309 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,760 You have heard that it was said, you shall not murder, and thus 310 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:37,800 you should not murder. But he says, But I say to you, 311 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:44,280 If you hate your brother in your heart, you're already a 312 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,680 murderer. He says, you have heard that it 313 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,960 was said, you shall not commit adultery, and thus you should 314 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:56,800 not commit adultery. But he says, I say unto you that 315 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:00,600 if you look after a woman and lust for her in your heart, you 316 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:05,000 have already committed adultery on the inside. 317 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,200 So He begins to help them understand the issue of morality 318 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:13,600 and how it applies to Kingdom citizens when it comes to 319 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:21,480 murder, adultery, love, and reaching out to others that they 320 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:25,720 might begin to realize that Kingdom citizens live by a 321 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:30,240 different set of standards than those outside the Kingdom. 322 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:41,120 And then He says these words, He says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 323 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:47,160 #20 again, unless your righteousness exceeds that of 324 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,680 the scribes and Pharisees, they'll never enter the Kingdom 325 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:55,760 of heaven. He talks about Jeremiah 31 and 326 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,880 how the Lord will be, how the law of God will be written on 327 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:02,680 the hearts of His people, that they might want to follow the 328 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:06,240 truth of God's word. And that's what God does. 329 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:13,840 His children long to follow Him. So the purpose of the sermon is 330 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:19,200 to #1 interpret the identity of Kingdom citizens, articulate the 331 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:25,760 authority of Kingdom citizens, manifest the morality of Kingdom 332 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,280 citizens. And then he prescribes the 333 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:36,000 piety, the religious devotion of Kingdom citizens when it comes 334 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,880 to giving, when it comes to praying, when it comes to 335 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:48,040 fasting, says when it comes to giving, Kingdom citizens give 336 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:53,560 secretly. When it when it comes to to 337 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:59,400 fasting, Kingdom citizens do it sincerely. 338 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:08,360 And when it comes, when it comes to praying, Kingdom citizens do 339 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:12,960 it with simplicity. And so he sets Kingdom citizens 340 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:16,840 apart from everybody else when it comes to religious devotion 341 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,840 because there's something unique and distinctly different in 342 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,960 their worship compared to the way the world worships. 343 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:29,960 And then he goes on and portrays the priority of Kingdom citizens 344 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:35,040 in Matthew 6, verses 19 to 24 by helping them understand that 345 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:40,640 they are the ones who who seek the Kingdom 1st and the 346 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,480 righteousness of God first. They don't serve God and serve 347 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,720 money. They serve the Lord God of 348 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,560 Israel. They don't worry about what 349 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,320 they're going to wear or what they're going to eat or what 350 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:54,960 they're going to drink because they have a Father in heaven who 351 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,920 takes care of them, a Father in heaven who clothes them. 352 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,400 They don't worry about what the world worries about. 353 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,160 The world worries about those kinds of things. 354 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:06,360 But Kingdom citizens, they don't worry about those kinds of 355 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:09,720 things because they have a God in heaven who takes care of 356 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,560 them. And so He portrays the priority 357 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:16,160 of Kingdom citizens. And then he reveals 358 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:21,080 responsibility of Kingdom citizens when it comes to their 359 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:25,320 fellow citizens, when it comes to their Father in heaven, and 360 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:30,720 when it comes to false prophets. And then he defines the duty of 361 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:34,760 Kingdom citizens as he closes out Matthew Chapter 7. 362 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:43,520 They build on rock, not sand. They obey the words of the Lord. 363 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:48,920 And so you have an overview of the sermon and all that's going 364 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:51,120 to be covered over the next several months. 365 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:56,760 And when you come to the end in Matthew Chapter 7, it says in 366 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:01,000 verse 28, when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds 367 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:06,520 were amazed at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one 368 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:12,920 having authority and not as the scribes. 369 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:18,920 They were amazed. But note, there were no 370 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:23,120 conversions. Nobody gave their life to 371 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:27,480 Christ. Nobody rose up and said, yeah, I 372 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:31,120 want to be a Kingdom citizen. I'm all in. 373 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:36,120 No, the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest 374 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:42,800 preacher, whoever lived. And there were no conversions as 375 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:49,920 recorded in the Scriptures. But yet they were amazed at what 376 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:55,680 he said, because he spoke as no other rabbi had ever spoken. 377 00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:00,960 He didn't quote anybody. He just quoted himself. 378 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:07,360 He just said what is true. He spoke with such authority. 379 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,160 He marvelled at all that He said. 380 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:17,240 So let's move from the purpose of the sermon to the preface to 381 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:21,080 the sermon. In chapter one of our verse 1 of 382 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:29,240 chapter 5, it says when Jesus saw the crowds, who were these 383 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:37,520 people who were in the crowd? We'll go back up to verse #24 it 384 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,080 says the news about Him spread throughout all Syria. 385 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,840 They brought to Him all who were I'll those suffering in various 386 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:51,040 diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics, and He 387 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:55,280 healed them. Large crowds followed Him from 388 00:30:55,280 --> 00:31:01,320 Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from 389 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:06,800 beyond the Jordan. These are the multitudes. 390 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:10,400 These are people that have been healed. 391 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:12,960 They could not see, but now they can. 392 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:15,200 They could not walk, but now, now they can. 393 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:20,360 They had all kinds of diseases during the earthly ministry of 394 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:22,720 Jesus. He, he pretty much banished all 395 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:29,080 disease, all sickness, all illness from the land of Israel 396 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:34,720 because he was the Messiah. Those were the credentials of 397 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,200 the Messiah. And so he's healing all these 398 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:39,560 people. Sure enough, they're going to 399 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:41,680 follow him. Sure enough, they're going to be 400 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,160 right on his tail. They're going to tell other 401 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:45,960 people, look what Jesus did to me. 402 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:51,040 Come see what he has to say, see what he's going to do next. 403 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:53,360 And people would begin to follow. 404 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:59,760 The crowds begin to balloon and grow increasingly every single 405 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,960 day. These are are the multitudes 406 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:11,200 next the mountain. When Jesus saw the crowds, he 407 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:16,800 went up on the mountain. The mountain. 408 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,320 It was just a mountain until Jesus made it the mountain. 409 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,360 Why? Because it was just another hill 410 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:33,160 on the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee until Jesus preached the 411 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:38,400 Sermon and then it became the mountain. 412 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,160 Now no one knows where this is. I've been to Israel and, and 413 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,920 there is a place there where the Catholics have built a, a church 414 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,560 there on the North Shore, the Sea of Galilee. 415 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:49,960 And they say this is where the Sermon of the Mount was 416 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:53,280 preached. We don't know that it, it could 417 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:57,600 be, it could not be. There is no guarantee that that 418 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,760 is the hill that Jesus spoke from. 419 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:06,120 I've been there, I've seen it, but that doesn't mean it's the 420 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:10,280 place. But whatever the place is, it 421 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:15,520 was the mountain in which Jesus would address these people from. 422 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,160 And because of the sermon that He preached and the impact that 423 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:22,960 it was upon the multitudes and all that He had done, it became 424 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:27,280 the mountain. Next, I want you to see the 425 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,400 manners in which He spoke. It says when He went to the 426 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:36,160 mountain, His disciples came to him, but He sat down. 427 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:45,880 It says he sat down in Latin. It's called ex cathedra from the 428 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,880 chair. In Catholicism, when the Pope 429 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:56,560 speaks with, as they would say, infallibility, he sits ex 430 00:33:56,560 --> 00:34:03,000 cathedra from the chair. When rabbis would teach, they 431 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:07,720 would teach sitting down. Sometimes I wish I could teach 432 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:12,040 sitting down, but they would teach sitting down because that 433 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,120 would mean they were speaking with authority. 434 00:34:14,639 --> 00:34:17,440 When they stood up, they, they had conversations. 435 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:20,840 When they stood up, they, they would discuss different things. 436 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:25,280 But formal teaching, formal authority came when the rabbi 437 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:29,960 sat down. Jesus went up into the mountain 438 00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:36,960 and he sat down because He was speaking with great authority as 439 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:44,639 the King of His Kingdom. Then note the message. 440 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:52,719 It says He opened his mouth and began to teach them. 441 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:56,520 He opened his mouth and began to teach them. 442 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:03,920 And the message is so important because you see, He knew that 443 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:11,400 the only way to true blessing was not because of your physical 444 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,120 healing, but your spiritual healing. 445 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:20,840 Jesus knew that all those people he healed, they're still going 446 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,680 to die. They're going to get old, 447 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:27,000 they're going to get decrepit, and they're going to die. 448 00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:31,120 And the physical healing was only temporary, temporary, 449 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:34,200 temporary. But the spiritual healing that 450 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:39,000 would be eternal, that would be forever because it would deal 451 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,080 with the soul of a man, the soul of a woman. 452 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:47,120 And in Christ wanted to know that as he opened his mouth and 453 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:50,360 began to speak, the words that he would give them would be the 454 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:54,960 source of eternal life. As he began to speak, he would 455 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:59,120 be able to portray to them to the truths of of eternal life 456 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:04,560 and help them understand that He's the king and the people in 457 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:08,520 my Kingdom are children of the King, and they live as Kingdom 458 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:11,000 citizens. And this is how they live their 459 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:12,960 lives. And this is where the true 460 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:17,320 blessing comes from. They thought that they were 461 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,360 blessed because they felt better. 462 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:22,880 They thought they were blessed because they could see. 463 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:26,280 They thought they were blessed because they can walk and run. 464 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,920 They thought they were blessed because those who were dumb can 465 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,840 now speak. They thought they were blessed 466 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:37,000 because those who are demon possessed were set free. 467 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:44,160 But it was just a foretaste of true blessing because true 468 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:49,200 blessing came on the inside through the healing of a man's 469 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:52,840 soul. That's why it's so important to 470 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:57,240 understand this sermon and what it means to you and me today. 471 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:01,600 So from the purpose of the sermon to the preface of the 472 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:06,560 sermon, to the principles of the sermon, 4 things are going to 473 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:11,000 happen over the next several months in your life. 474 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:16,600 When you begin to understand Kingdom citizenship, when you 475 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:20,040 begin to understand what does it mean to be a child of the king 476 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:25,200 and to follow the word of the Lord, 4 things are going to 477 00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:34,640 happen #1 you will be blessed, you will live the blessed life. 478 00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:43,280 That's what Jesus says 9 times. Blessed, blessed, blessed, 479 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:47,960 blessed. Blessing comes from what Jesus 480 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:51,000 says. And the word is macario comes 481 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,920 from the word macar. It's a state of blissfulness, a 482 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:58,200 state of, of, of joy. It's a state of contentment. 483 00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:01,960 It's, it's, it's that inner peace. 484 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,720 It's the inner contentment. It's the inner joy that's not 485 00:38:05,720 --> 00:38:09,080 depended upon anything circumstantial. 486 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:12,880 That's not dependent upon anything on the outside because 487 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:14,760 it's all happening on the inside. 488 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:20,000 That's what Macario is. And so Christ is talking about 489 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:27,400 true blessing, true joy, true contentment, the blessing, the 490 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,880 blessing that characterizes God because it's a phrase used of 491 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:36,200 the Lord. Psalm 68, verse #35 says blessed 492 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,480 be God. Psalm 7218 blessed be the Lord 493 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:45,600 God, the God of Israel. Psalm 11912 Blessed art thou, O 494 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:49,560 Lord. First Timothy 6:15 He is that is 495 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:55,000 Christ the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and 496 00:38:55,000 --> 00:39:00,160 Lord of Lords. In other words, you receive as a 497 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:04,920 believer, you become a partaker of the divine nature, and if God 498 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:09,000 is the blessed God, then you become the blessed as God's 499 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:12,880 children because you're a partaker of divine nature. 500 00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:19,200 And the Lord is not dependent on anything externally to suffice 501 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:23,200 him to satisfy him. Doesn't need all that. 502 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:28,840 And when you become a believer, you realize the things around 503 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:35,760 you don't mean nearly as much as it did before, because what 504 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:40,600 happens on the inside of a man, the soul of a man, changes 505 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:46,280 everything. So over the next several weeks, 506 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:49,840 as we go through the Beatitudes, you, you're going to begin to 507 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:57,320 understand the blessed life. Society says if you want to be 508 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:00,120 happy, you're going to be joyful. 509 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:06,600 Then you, you, you got to, you got to have the right girl. 510 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:09,840 You got to have the right guy, you got to live in the right 511 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:13,520 house, you got to drive the right kind of car, you got to 512 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:18,240 have a certain amount of income. And Jesus says that man's life 513 00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:20,240 does not consist of the abundance of things which he 514 00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:23,720 possesses. He says don't be like them. 515 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:27,160 You must be uniquely and distinctly different from the 516 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:29,640 world. But we find ourselves always 517 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:32,120 targeting the world. What do they have? 518 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:35,600 What can we have? How can we be like them so we 519 00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:40,040 can be joyous, so we can be happy, so we can be fulfilled? 520 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:45,400 Yet Kingdom citizens, they are uniquely and distinctly 521 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:50,760 different. Even Solomon, who had gardens 522 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:59,840 galore, who had parks, houses, temples, women, silver as the 523 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:07,520 sand of the sea, gold, intellect, wisdom, knowledge, he 524 00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:12,680 was a king, said all that was vanity, all that was empty. 525 00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:19,080 It doesn't mean anything. And if Solomon says it and he 526 00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:21,760 had it all, why can't we believe him? 527 00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:25,080 But we don't. We still want more. 528 00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:27,720 We want more money. What? 529 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:32,560 Bigger houses, bigger cars, we went finer clothes. 530 00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:35,520 We, we, we just think if we have a little bit more here or a 531 00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:38,120 little bit more there, we'll, we'll finally be happy. 532 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:42,680 No, because it's not dependent upon circumstances. 533 00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:45,320 On the outside. It's all about the Christ. 534 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:48,040 On the inside. That's where true blessing 535 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:52,880 comes. And the Beatitudes, the Sermon 536 00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:57,040 on the Mount will teach you the blessed life. 537 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:03,680 It will also teach you about the baffled life. 538 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:10,400 In other words, your life will be absolutely bewildering and 539 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:17,120 baffling to everybody around you because you won't be like them. 540 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:22,840 You won't act like them. You will be uniquely and 541 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:25,480 distinctly different. Then then, then they will be 542 00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:28,440 quite perplexed. Why? 543 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:31,880 Because in your realm, misery is the key to happiness. 544 00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:40,840 In their realm it's not. Being poor is the key to being a 545 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:46,160 child of the King, but in their mind it's not. 546 00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:52,520 In fact, even though the people were amazed at what Christ said, 547 00:42:54,080 --> 00:43:00,600 because he spoke like no one else, no one wanted to follow 548 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:04,960 him. Nobody wanted to bless life that 549 00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:06,840 He offered. Why? 550 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:09,720 Because they didn't believe that that was the key to happiness. 551 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:15,520 They didn't believe that that was the the route to to joy and 552 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:19,200 contentment. That they were happy, just that 553 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:21,800 they had been healed, that they were happy, that they were just 554 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:24,640 better. And now they felt better. 555 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:27,680 Now that they looked better, everything was fine. 556 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:33,680 They didn't need what Christ offered them, but He offered it 557 00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:37,200 anyway because He always preached the truth. 558 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:43,680 And when you study the sermon and you apply the sermon, you 559 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:47,480 live the blessed life. And the blessed life is the most 560 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:50,400 baffling life to those around you. 561 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:54,560 They will not understand what makes you tick. 562 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:59,920 They will not understand that you don't have the same desires 563 00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:05,200 and passions that they have the same drive that they have, That 564 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:08,880 when you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, 565 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,800 because that's your priority, everything else will be added 566 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:13,960 unto you. But you have a priority to seek 567 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:18,400 first God's Kingdom, not your own Kingdom where the people 568 00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:21,120 around you are all trying to build their little kingdoms. 569 00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:24,800 Why? Because they are their own king. 570 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:27,720 They don't want to serve the true king. 571 00:44:28,240 --> 00:44:32,520 That's why later on in the ministry in Luke chapter 19, the 572 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:38,280 people would say we will not have that king rule over us. 573 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:41,000 Why? Because that king had a 574 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:47,160 different criteria than they appreciated, had a different 575 00:44:47,160 --> 00:44:53,600 standard than they believed in. The third thing is that you will 576 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:55,920 end up living the beautiful life. 577 00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:00,480 Why? Because it's the life of Christ. 578 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:06,600 This is his life. This is who he is. 579 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:08,760 This is how he, he lived his life. 580 00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:11,680 He, he didn't come to abolish the law. 581 00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:14,920 He came to fulfill the law and then fulfilling the law, He 582 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:17,560 embodied everything that the law required. 583 00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:23,280 And, and he says in Matthew chapter 5 verse #48 be perfect 584 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:25,800 even as your Father in heaven is perfect. 585 00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:30,280 Strive to live the life that Christ wants you to live. 586 00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:37,600 And because he lived that life, you've been following your 587 00:45:37,600 --> 00:45:44,240 master, your king. Live his life and that becomes 588 00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:48,600 the most beautiful life there is. 589 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:55,200 Doctor Richard Albertson in his book No Holiness, No Heaven, 590 00:45:56,400 --> 00:46:01,360 says this. God calls us not the happiness, 591 00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:06,080 but the holiness. Of course, to be holy is a 592 00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:10,320 necessity also to be happy. But we are to seek after 593 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:14,400 holiness. If we seek happiness, we should 594 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:21,680 get neither that nor holiness. And he's right. 595 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:26,800 God wants us to be holy like him. 596 00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:31,520 That's the beautiful life. It's the beauty of Christ life 597 00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:38,240 in you and through you. So listening to the sermon, 598 00:46:38,520 --> 00:46:43,400 applying the sermon, following through on what Christ says, you 599 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:47,680 live the blessed life. The blessed life is the most 600 00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:51,560 baffling life there is because it's totally contrary to the 601 00:46:51,560 --> 00:46:55,800 world, and yet it is the most beautiful life there is. 602 00:46:57,320 --> 00:47:03,840 And fourthly, you'll end up living the bold life, the strong 603 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:08,520 life, because of the boldness of what is said. 604 00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:12,320 When you apply those things to your life, you become strong. 605 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:16,680 You become the strength of all those round about you. 606 00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:23,000 You become bold in character, bold in conversation, bold in 607 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:29,920 all the things that you do, and you live a a bold and strong and 608 00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:34,520 wonderful life. And let me add another one. 609 00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:38,920 You really will live the born again life. 610 00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:45,480 For this truly is a sermon about how to be born again, how to 611 00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:48,600 enter the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the poor in spirit, 612 00:47:48,680 --> 00:47:50,280 for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 613 00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:54,880 It's all about being born again. It's all about having new life 614 00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:58,360 in Christ. The born again life is the 615 00:47:58,360 --> 00:48:01,240 beautiful life. The born again life is the bold 616 00:48:01,240 --> 00:48:03,400 life. The born again life is the 617 00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:06,160 blessed life. The born again life. 618 00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:12,040 Life is the most baffling life to the unbeliever because it's 619 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:16,880 totally contrary to anything they could think of. 620 00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:20,040 So let me say it to you this way. 621 00:48:21,840 --> 00:48:26,680 I shared this with the the women yesterday at the Women's Bible 622 00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:33,640 Study. But let's say that every time 623 00:48:33,640 --> 00:48:38,640 you came to church, you received $100. 624 00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:44,320 So you're here tonight and we're going to give you $100. 625 00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:48,400 There's a good chance you'll be back next Wednesday night 626 00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:52,960 because next Wednesday night we'd give you another $100. 627 00:48:55,160 --> 00:48:58,360 You come on Sundays, we we'll give you $200. 628 00:49:01,120 --> 00:49:05,960 But if you came and received a hundred spot or 200 bucks, you'd 629 00:49:05,960 --> 00:49:09,120 be sure to come back next Wednesday and next Sunday and 630 00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:10,840 the following Sunday and the following Wednesday. 631 00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:13,880 In fact, you'd probably even be on time. 632 00:49:16,920 --> 00:49:19,680 Why is that? Because you'd be inviting your 633 00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:22,880 friends to come with you. You come to our church, we're 634 00:49:22,880 --> 00:49:25,440 going to give you 100 bucks. Really. 635 00:49:25,960 --> 00:49:28,560 I'm going. You come on Sunday, we give you 636 00:49:28,560 --> 00:49:33,000 200 bucks. I'm I'm there, pick me up. 637 00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:38,000 I'm coming with you. If we did that within a week's 638 00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:43,480 time, there would be no room for you to sit on Wednesdays and or 639 00:49:43,480 --> 00:49:47,400 Sundays. People would be on the outside 640 00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:50,840 looking in wanting to be in here because knowing that if they 641 00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:55,480 were in here, they would receive 100 bucks or 200 bucks depending 642 00:49:55,480 --> 00:50:04,960 upon Wednesday or Sunday. So having said that, listen to 643 00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:12,680 the words of our Lord. The law of your mouth is better 644 00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:19,680 to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. 645 00:50:22,440 --> 00:50:31,600 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and 646 00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:40,680 silver pieces. In verse 127 of Psalm 119, the 647 00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:48,120 psalmist says, I love your commandments above gold. 648 00:50:48,840 --> 00:50:59,200 Yes, above fine gold. When you come, we offer you 649 00:50:59,200 --> 00:51:01,200 something better than $100. Amen. 650 00:51:03,440 --> 00:51:06,160 We offer you something better than $200. 651 00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:10,680 We offer you something better than gold. 652 00:51:12,480 --> 00:51:18,800 We give you the bread of life. We give you the word of the 653 00:51:18,800 --> 00:51:26,400 living God, which is more valuable than anything else, is 654 00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:29,200 more precious than anything else. 655 00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:36,440 Think about that. Why isn't that enough to 656 00:51:36,440 --> 00:51:40,560 motivate us to come? You know why? 657 00:51:42,280 --> 00:51:46,880 Because we value money and gold and silver pieces more than we 658 00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:52,040 value the Word of God. We don't value the Word of God 659 00:51:52,040 --> 00:51:58,640 nearly like we should, but the psalmist knew, the psalmist 660 00:51:58,640 --> 00:52:02,120 understood that the words of the mouth coming, the words coming 661 00:52:02,120 --> 00:52:06,360 out of the mouth of our Lord, are so valuable that he didn't 662 00:52:06,360 --> 00:52:12,440 want to miss a one of them. He loved them so much, they were 663 00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:15,480 more valuable to him than anything earthly. 664 00:52:17,680 --> 00:52:20,520 And so you, we ask ourselves the question, why is it we don't say 665 00:52:20,520 --> 00:52:22,880 to people, come with me because we're going to give you 666 00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:26,640 something more valuable than gold, more valuable than silver, 667 00:52:26,720 --> 00:52:30,240 more valuable than thousands of pieces of gold. 668 00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:32,720 We're going to give you the bread of life. 669 00:52:32,840 --> 00:52:34,920 We're going to feed you the bread of life. 670 00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:39,080 We're going to feed you that which is absolutely sustainable 671 00:52:39,080 --> 00:52:45,120 for all eternity, but yet people still don't come. 672 00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:52,760 Why is that? It's because they do not value 673 00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:58,680 the word of the Lord. It doesn't mean that much to 674 00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:02,080 them. All the people were amazed at 675 00:53:02,080 --> 00:53:09,000 the words of Jesus, but they did not heed the words of Jesus. 676 00:53:10,280 --> 00:53:12,120 They weren't that valuable to them. 677 00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:18,680 This auditorium should be filled on Wednesdays and Sundays 678 00:53:19,760 --> 00:53:22,200 because when you come, you get something better than thousands 679 00:53:22,200 --> 00:53:26,480 of pieces of gold and silver. You get the word of the living 680 00:53:26,480 --> 00:53:29,680 God. But you see, for most people 681 00:53:29,680 --> 00:53:37,880 that just is not sufficient. It's just not enough for them. 682 00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:42,320 There's something more valuable to them than the word of the 683 00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:46,080 Lord. That's why they are not here. 684 00:53:48,480 --> 00:53:53,520 But through this sermon, Matthews 5-6 and seven, you will 685 00:53:53,520 --> 00:53:59,640 see the value of truth, the value of the word of God, how 686 00:53:59,640 --> 00:54:05,440 important it is to our lives to apply, to memorize, to live, 687 00:54:06,960 --> 00:54:12,720 because it gives you true blessing, true beauty, true 688 00:54:13,240 --> 00:54:18,800 boldness, like nothing ever, because it comes from the living 689 00:54:19,280 --> 00:54:25,600 and abiding word of God. Let's pray, Father, we thank 690 00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:29,600 you, Lord, for tonight. A brief moment you give us to 691 00:54:29,600 --> 00:54:34,200 spend in your word and we thank you Lord, for how it is we can 692 00:54:34,200 --> 00:54:35,520 study it in the middle of the week. 693 00:54:37,200 --> 00:54:41,000 My prayer is for everyone in the room that Lord you would do a 694 00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:44,960 mighty work in their heart and life, that they would see the 695 00:54:44,960 --> 00:54:50,640 value of the truth of God, how it applies to them and how it is 696 00:54:50,640 --> 00:54:53,080 they can live in accordance to it. 697 00:54:54,400 --> 00:54:57,120 And pray, Lord, for those who come who might not even know 698 00:54:57,120 --> 00:55:03,000 you, that Lord, you would come into their hearts and save their 699 00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:07,400 souls, that they might truly follow You and live with us, 700 00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:15,680 truly the greatest of all lives, the life as a child of the King. 701 00:55:16,880 --> 00:55:21,600 Help us to understand Kingdom living, Kingdom citizenship. 702 00:55:22,640 --> 00:55:26,960 Help us come to grips with the fact that you are the King, and 703 00:55:26,960 --> 00:55:34,040 the King has spoken, and we as your subjects bow before you in 704 00:55:34,040 --> 00:55:39,640 adoration, thanking you for all that you say and all that you do 705 00:55:41,880 --> 00:55:43,800 in Jesus name, Amen.