oct 19-25-08 sermon of the mount

The Sermon On The Mount

Matthew 4:23 NET Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their

synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of

disease and sickness among the people. 24 So a report about him

spread throughout Syria.


People brought to him all who suffered with various illnesses and afflictions, those who had seizures, paralytics,

and those possessed by demons, and he healed them. 25 And large crowds

followed him from Galilee,


the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan River. 5:1 When he

saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. After he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them by saying:


Jesus gave “The Sermon On The Mount” on a hillside near the town of Capernaum. Jesus did not come to

destroy the law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets, but to fulfill

what they said.


Jesus told us to be perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect.

Sacred delight is good news coming through the back door of your heart. It's what you'd always dreamed but

never expected.


It's the too-good-to-be-true coming true. It's having God as your pinch-hitter, your lawyer, your dad, your biggest

fan, and your best friend. God on your side, in your heart, out in front, and

protecting your back.


It's hope where you least expected it: a flower in life's sidewalk.

It is sacred because only God can grant it. It is a delight because it thrills. Since

it is sacred, it can't be stolen. And since it is delightful, it can't be

predicted.


It was this gladness that danced through the Red Sea. It was this joy that blew

the trumpet at Jericho. It was this secret that made Mary sing. It was this

surprise that put the springtime into Easter morning....


It is this sacred delight that Jesus promises in

“The Sermon On The Mount.”Nine times he promises it. And he

promises it to an unlikely crowd:


"The poor in spirit...Those who mourn ... The meek ...

Those who hunger and thirst... The merciful...The pure in heart... The

peacemakers ...The persecuted ..."


It is to this band of pilgrims that God promises a special blessing. A heavenly joy. A sacred delight.

(From The Applause of Heaven by Max Lucado)


How are you fulfilling Jesus' command to be perfect before God? Do you fall

short by lying, lusting, cheating, coveting, or gossiping?


When you battle one of these temptations, instead of giving in, pray, sing a worshipful song, or think of a

memorized verse. Praise God instead of giving in.


After teaching about happiness and honoring the Law, Jesus taught about

giving, praying, and worshiping.


The Lord's Prayer, a model prayer, is really the disciples' prayer.

When David says, "I will live in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalm

23:6), he's not saying he wants to get away from people.


He's saying that he yearns to be in God's presence, wherever he is.

David longs to be in God's house.I know what you're thinking:

Sure, Max, but he was David. He was the poet and the prince and giant-

killer.


He didn't have carpools and diapers and a boss who breathes deadlines like a dragon breathes fire. I'd love to live in

God's house, too, but for the time being, I'm stuck in the real world.


Forgive me, but I beg to differ. You aren't stuck in the real world. Just the opposite, you are one step away from the house of God. Wherever you are.

Whatever time it is.


Whether in the office on Thursday or at soccer practice on Saturday, you are

only a decision away from the presence of your Father. You need

never leave the house of God.


You don't need to change your zip code or your neighborhood; all you need to change is your perception. When your

car is stuck in traffic, you can step into the chapel.


When the gust of temptation unbalances your stride, step behind the wall of his strength. When the employees belittle

you, take a seat in the porch swing next to your Father; He'll comfort you.


Remember, this is no house of stone. You won't find it on a map. You won't find it described in a realtor journal.

But you will find it in your Bible. You've seen the blueprint before.


You've read the names of the rooms and recited the layout. You're familiar with the design. But chances are you

never considered it to be a house plan. You viewed the verses as a prayer.


Indeed they are. The Lord's Prayer. It would be difficult to find someone who hasn't quoted the prayer or read the

words.... Children memorize it. Parishioners recite it. Students study

it...


I want to challenge us to do something different.

I want us to live in it... to view it as the floor plan to our spiritual house. In

these verses Christ has provided more than a model for prayer, he has

provided a model for living.


These words do more than tell us what to say to God; they tell us how to exist

with God. These words describe a grand house in which God's children

were intended to live ... with him, forever.

(From The Great House of God by Max Lucado)


Take each section of the Lord's Prayer and recast it in your own words.

Consider what it means to you to have a Father in heaven. What aspects of God's kingdom can you help to build

this week?


Who do you need to forgive today? What "food" do you need for today?Live in the Lord's Prayer today!

“The Lord’s Prayer”

Matthew 6:9 KJV After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father

which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.


11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we

forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from

evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.


After this manner pray ye. The Savior does not bid us use these

words, nor command any set form, but gives this as a proper example of

prayer, simple, brief, condensed, yet all-embracing.


Our Father which art in heaven. These words reveal a very tender relationship between God and the true worshiper, and base the petition on the fact that

the child speaks to the Father.


Hallowed be thy name. Of the seven petitions of the Lord's prayer the first

three are in behalf of the cause of God; the glory of his name, the

extension of his kingdom, and the prevalence of his will.


The other four, which are properly placed last, as least important, pertain

to our individual needs. No one can offer the first three petitions who is in

disobedience.


Thy kingdom come. The Messiah's kingdom had not yet come, but was proclaimed by the Lord as at hand. It did speedily come, but in its fullness, and in its final triumph over evil, it has

not yet come.


For this coming we may now pray, and the prayer is answered in part by each

success of the gospel. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. None can pray thus who have not merged their own wills into the divine will.


He, in effect, prays the prayer of Gethsemane, "Not my will, but thine,

be done." It is mockery for disobedient lips to utter such a prayer. Give us this day our daily bread. We are bidden to ask for our bread, not for future years,

but for "this day."


Forgive us our debts, as we forgive, etc. Debts mean moral obligations

unfulfilled--our shortcomings, our sins. Let it be noted with emphasis that God

is asked to forgive us as we forgive others.


We ask, in other words, that he may mete out to us what we measure to others. Lead us not into temptation.

The thought is that God may preserve us from temptations that might lead us

astray.


No man can pray these words who does not try to keep out of temptation. For

thine is the kingdom. This clause, called the doxology, is wanting in the oldest and best manuscripts, and is undoubtedly an addition by men.

(The People’s New Testament)


Matthew recorded the ending of Jesus' sermon. Jesus called his hearers to

put his teaching into practice.Jesus said that the true way which leads

to life is based on an internal transformation, not on external deeds.


You want to make a difference in your world? Live a holy life:

Be faithful to your spouse. Be the one at the office who refuses to

cheat. Be the neighbor who acts neighborly. Be the employee who does

the work and doesn't complain.Pay your bills.


Do your part and enjoy life.Don't speak one message and live

another. Note the last line of Paul's words in

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12


1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, "Do all you can to live a peaceful life. Take care of

your own business, and do your own work as we have already told you. If

you do, then people who are not believers will respect you,"


A peaceful life leads nonbelievers to respect believers. What if John's life had not matched his words? What if

he'd preached repentance and lived in immorality?


What if he'd called for holiness and yet had a reputation for dishonesty? If

John's life had not matched his words, his message would have fallen on deaf ears. So will ours. People are watching

the way we act more than they are listening to what we say.


Saint Francis of Assisi once invited a young monk to accompany him to town to preach. The novice was

honored at the opportunity. The two set out for the city, then walked up and

down the main street, then several side streets.


They chatted with peddlers and greeted the citizens. After some time they returned by another route to the

abbey. The younger man reminded Francis of his original intent. "You

have forgotten, Father, that we went to town to preach."


"My son," he replied, "we have preached. We have been seen by many. Our behavior was closely

watched. Our attitudes were closely measured. Our words have been overheard. It was by thus that we preached our morning sermon."


John was a voice for Christ with more than his voice. His life matched his words. When a person's ways and words are the same, the fusion is

explosive.


But when a person says one thing and lives another, the result is destructive. People will know we are Christians, not because we bear the name, but

because we live the life. (From A Gentle Thunder by Max Lucado)


What would others say about your life? What kind of fruit are you producing? Think of three specific steps you can

take to live the life of a Christian. How are you fulfilling Jesus' command to be

perfect before God?


Do you fall short by lying, lusting, cheating, coveting, or gossiping?

When you battle one of these temptations, instead of giving in, pray, sing a worshipful song, or think of a

memorized verse. Praise God instead of giving in.


Jesus ends His sermon with the parable of the wise & foolish men building their houses. Matthew 7:24 NET "Everyone who hears these words of mine and

does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.


25 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock. 26 Everyone who

hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who

built his house on sand.


27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!"


28 When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching, 29 because he taught them like one who had authority, not like

their experts in the law.


How are we doing?Are we a sermon to anyone who sees

what we do every day?You might be the only sermon some will

ever have.Will your sermon bring them closer to

Christ or drive them farther away?

oct 19-25-08 sermon of the mount

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