A Sermon For Our Times Part 2 Series

A SERMON FOR OUR TIMES

A Series On The Sermon On The Mount

Section 1 "Be All That You Can Be With The Right Attitude"

Part 2b

Matthew 5:3-12 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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

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

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

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

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

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

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

11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:5-6 (AMP)

5 Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth!

6 Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!

INTRODUCTION: From the very onset of this message, Jesus has made it clear that the kingdom of heaven was close, it was at hand. As such, his message was give in order to prepare the people on living in the kingdom. With his crucifixion, resurrection and promise of return, kingdom living needs to be practiced now. So, we need to identify how God wants us to live and incorporate that kind of living into our lives now.

QUALITIES OF A BIBLICAL LIFESTYLE (Meekness)

A diminishing desire for my rights

An increasing desire towards my responsibilities

A strong teachable spirit

An inward harmony with God

THE REWARD OF MEEKNESS IS TO INHERIT THE EARTH

Inheritance is a gift

Inheritance is also a legacy of what has gone on before us

Inheritance is the opportunity to carry forward with us what has been accomplished before us

I Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

A The words "hunger" and "thirst" are words of intense longing.

Psalms 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

B Longing for righteousness is a "blessed" activity -- it brings satisfaction to us

1 A hunger and thirst for personal righteousness

a 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

b What a way to start out every morning with the simple prayer, "God, today I want to be like Jesus."

2 A hunger and thirst for a righteous world

a 2 Peter 3:13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

C Righteousness is a sign of personal growth

IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY:

1 wanting what God wants

2 A complete discipleship -- I am going where God is going, I am going to do what God does

3 Complete obedience -- most of us walk around partially obedient, thinking that is enough for us.

a God does not grade our spirituality on a curve

b That’s why he sent Jesus

Romans 7:21-8:4 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

25 Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.