The Sermon on the Mount #1

As with the beginning of any new year, it's worth looking back to look forward.

Are you the sort of person who makes resolutions?

Actually, I'm interested. Hands up if you make resolutions.

Just a few of you. Okay.

Get fit, break some annoying bad habits are the sort of top ones, I think.

And at this time of the year, apparently the big sellers online are exercise machines.

And if you're going to invest in one of those, I'd wait about six months because people give up on them and then you're probably going to get it cheaper.

Dumbbells, weight plates, pull-up bars, basically get fit and healthy.

A six-fold argument has been proposed in favour of preparing New Year's resolutions, regardless of whether you achieve them.

So here's the sort of reason why you might sort of rethink about setting a resolution.

Number one.

Preparing resolutions requires taking stock of the previous year, and that's usually a beneficial thing.

Number two.

Preparing resolutions involves pondering the good for your body, soul, mind and relationships.

And that's always a beneficial thing.

Number three.

In life, there are just three modes to choose from.

Decline, maintenance or improvement.

I don't know which one I'd like to choose.

Any improvements, number four, will benefit those around you.

Setting goals is potentially a kindness to others, actually.

And sure, we may only, 67%, accomplish a mere 75% of our resolutions.

But number five, that's still a pass.

And six, writing resolutions is an expression of hope.

And hope is better than resignation.

As we head into 2022, it's on the back of two years of pandemic, which was preceded by three years of drought, water restrictions, catastrophic bushfires and dust storms.

And these last two years have also included floods and mouse plagues.

I've got family that live on the land in parks, and they've felt the brunt of all this.

In light of all these events that are so far out of our control, it's worth pausing and asking, with life so unpredictable, how now should we live?

I've done the maths.

With 168 hours in a week, and hopefully you get at least eight hours sleep a night if you're lucky, that means we're awake for 112 hours a week.

In that time, there are so many voices vying for our attention, telling us how to live.

If we come to church once a week, or we're viewing online, and we're in a midweek Bible study group, and we read the Bible daily,

I'm pretty sure that will still only add up to maybe three, four, five hours of your waking week,

which is only about 3% or 4% of your week.

So what voice do we listen to?

If we really want to know how to live God's way in God's world, we need to go to the Maker's Manual, listen to God's Word, and look to Jesus.

As we begin a new year, a summer series from the Sermon on the Mount,

this sermon flips the expectations of society upside down,

as Jesus invites us to participate as members of the Kingdom of Heaven.

And that's the right side of history, by the way.

You hear that term a lot these days.

A couple of years ago, someone made a beautiful banner that hung outside their church where everyone could see it.

It depicted a thick, sluggish green caterpillar crawling up a twig,

at the top of which hovered a beautiful, iridescent butterfly.

And the caption based on Ephesians 4 verse 15 was simply,

Ephesians 4:15

If a caterpillar could see a butterfly and knew it was possible to be one, it would yearn to change.

How joyful to emerge from a chrysalis, stretch those soggy wings in the warm sun,

and to sort of heights never dreamed of.

And yet the metamorphosis cannot take place without a time of darkness,

and a struggle to be free from all that keeps one earth bound.

Transformational change is what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5.

Surely, heading into 2022, with some honest self-reflection,

and in comparison to Jesus' life, there is only one conclusion we can come to.

Our New Year's resolution will involve change, to be like Jesus.

The number of books written on the Sermon on the Mount would fill a library.

There is something attractive and compelling that has driven numerous authors

to seek further understanding of this most famous of sermons.

John Stott says of the sermon,

It describes what human life and human community look like

when they come under the gracious rule of God.

The opening address of the Sermon on the Mount is also referred to as the Beatitudes.

Beautiful attitudes.

The statement, blessed, is like an exclamation of congratulations

to those who have the complete attitude of Jesus.

And the author of this gospel, Matthew,

was someone changed and transformed by Jesus.

Matthew would have originally been hated by his fellow Israelites,

as tax collectors were notorious for skimming a little bit off the top for themselves,

and as they sided with the Romans, they were considered traitors.

Change for Matthew began with a simple command from Jesus.

Follow me.

What joy for the despised outcast to be forgiven and accepted by the Son of God.

When Jesus said, follow me, where would this lead him?

He didn't know.

But how now would he live?

Matthew knew that whatever it took, it would involve change.

The Beatitudes listed by Jesus were to his followers as he commenced his public ministry.

How now shall we live in 2022 and beyond?

Jesus teaches us how to live as subjects in the long-awaited kingdom of God,

even though it may make us stand out,

even though it may put us at a disadvantage in our current society and culture.

If we're to be followers of Jesus, we must listen to Jesus' words and obey them.

The Sermon on the Mount is challenging,

as it asks us to make significant changes,

to live opposite to the way the world thinks,

as Jesus calls us to live, for all intents and purposes,

for a completely upside-down kingdom,

and involves the beautiful attitudes of Jesus.

Verse 3, Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Jesus said,

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In the last few years, they've been pretty full-on.

And if they haven't taken their toll on you,

I'd be really surprised.

Disheartened, dejected, lonely, broken.

Jesus says,

Blessed are those who are poor in spirit.

But why?

Because the poor in spirit know how much they need God

and recognise how much they rely on God.

Instead of self-belief, which the world advocates,

we need to take an upside-down approach.

Which the world doesn't agree with.

We need to depend on God, who is in control.

I've heard it said,

This makes God a crutch to lean on.

Well, the sick need a crutch.

I haven't met one person who is not broken in some way,

carrying some untreated pain,

some kind of unresolved relationship,

or unaddressed guilt.

To all those who are poor in spirit,

Jesus reminds me in Matthew 11,

Come to me, all who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I'm gentle and humble in spirit,

and you'll find rest for your souls.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for they will call on the name of the Lord Jesus and be saved,

and theirs will be the kingdom of heaven.

Verse 4,

Jesus said,

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Cut off from friends and family in lockdown,

unable to attend funerals,

there has been widespread grief,

locally, nationally,

and there's been an outcry globally,

as tears have been shed.

I think the latest counts,

nearly five and a half million deaths just from COVID.

What hope is there without Jesus?

Even Stan Grant made note of this in a recent ABC article.

He begins by acknowledging that growing up,

surrounded by Christian family members,

he felt blessed at Christmas,

as it was a time of prayer and hope.

But as our society is turning its back on the Christian message,

he notes,

Our world is immeasurably poorer

for the loss and derision of faith,

and the substitute of cynicism.

In other words,

this equals,

people are living without hope today.

Blessed are those who mourn,

and turn to Jesus,

for they will be comforted.

We're reminded of Revelation 21,

where Jesus says,

Behold, I am making everything new.

It's a real, tangible, physical place,

where God himself, we read,

will wipe every tear from our eyes.

It's such a beautiful image as a parent

when you wipe the tears from your children's face.

God himself will wipe every tear from our eyes.

There'll be no more death,

or mourning,

or crying,

or pain,

for the old world of things will have passed away.

God promises

He will comfort those who look to the hope of resurrection,

where all things will be made new.

This hope is upside down to the secular view in our society,

where death is final,

and there's nothing beyond.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Verse 5.

Jesus said,

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

There's a bit of confusion about the word meek,

so I've got a definition here for you.

It means slow to anger,

gentle with others,

someone who is strong,

but chooses to use their strength to help others.

God has a special blessing for those who are humble,

and put others first.

Have you ever noticed how our modern depiction,

one of the modern depictions of Jesus,

is that He was a real softy?

Just a bit wussy, actually.

But a quick clarification on this misrepresentation.

When Jesus saw injustice,

He turned tables.

He really stuck it to the religious elite.

The cross epitomizes meekness.

Which is truly a demonstration of Christ's strength.

What Jesus endured,

the betrayal,

false trial,

the mocking,

the scourging,

the beatings,

ultimately the crucifixion,

if we were there at that time,

just as Peter denied Christ,

if we were put under that sort of pressure,

we would capitulate.

We'd give up.

At any given time,

Jesus could have bailed out.

He had the power and strength to call on the heavenly host.

He could have said,

come and save me.

And by the way,

strike down all these people who are giving me grief.

Instead,

in His meekness,

He faithfully sought God's will

and used His strength to help others.

He died for us,

absorbing God's judgment so that we can be forgiven.

Even declaring of His enemies,

Father,

forgive them,

for they do not know what they do.

How upside down is that?

Laying down your life for others,

not self-promoting,

rather using His strength to help others.

In fact,

the scriptures remind us,

while we're still enemies,

so He's using His strength to help enemies,

Christ died for us.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will use their strength to help others.

Verse 6.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

I've found this one of the most misquoted of the Beatitudes.

It often is quoted as,

blessed are those who hunger and thirst.

And then they stop there.

I'm not sure whether it's a ploy for us to say,

blessed are the poor,

those who are homeless or downtrodden,

because of the state they find themselves in.

And as a result,

there's no obligation for us to help,

because apparently they're blessed.

Or maybe it's because if we leave out,

blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

if we leave that bit out,

then there's no compulsion for us to get our lives sorted with God.

I'm not sure,

but let's read it into its entirety.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

In other words,

we're blessed if our greatest desire

is to be right with God

and live our lives worthy of His upside-down kingdom.

God has a special blessing for those

whose greatest desire

is to seek God's will.

God first,

followed by loving, selfless servanthood.

As we put God first and seek His kingdom,

we pray,

Your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

The trappings of the world

will just not deliver or satisfy.

I'm reminded here of Jesus' words

in John chapter 6, verse 35,

John 6:35

when Jesus said,

I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never go hungry,

and whoever believes in me

will never be thirsty.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled

when they come to Jesus

in repentance and faith.

Verse 7,

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Mercy is the compassion or forgiveness

shown towards someone

whom it is within our power

to punish or harm.

If you notice,

we live in a really unforgiving,

harsh,

ruthless age in history,

polarising political tribalism,

a cancelled culture dividing us,

religious bigots

with the freedom of faith

bill on the table.

God will be kind

and show mercy

to those who show mercy

and kindness to others.

Those who show compassion

who don't close their eyes

to human suffering and pain

and reach out into the world

with Jesus' hands

filled by God's spirit

to be a blessing to others.

Later in the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus reminds us,

and we know it from

the Lord's Prayer,

which was shared with us

with the kid spot,

but he says this,

For if you forgive other people

when they sin against you,

your heavenly Father

also will forgive you.

But if you do not

forgive others their sins,

your Father

will not forgive your sins.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Verse 8,

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

God has a special place

for those who have pure thoughts,

words and deeds,

for one day they will see God.

I'm not advocating here

being completely naive or gullible,

but there's some things

it's better not to see

or ever to know about.

We're living in an age

where immorality

is at our fingertips,

where instant gratification,

self-indulgent individualism

is the norm.

We hear the catch cries,

whatever makes you happy,

as long as it's not hurting anyone,

or if it feels good,

do it.

In Proverbs 4 verse 23,

Proverbs 4:23

we're reminded,

Above all else,

guard your heart,

for everything you do

flows from it.

We need to take care,

be self-controlled.

What's in our heart

flows out into how we live.

It actually shapes our thoughts,

our actions,

our habits,

and our character.

So blessed are the pure in heart,

those who have a heart for God

and for others,

for they will see God.

Verse 9,

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called

children of God.

Those who try to bring peace

to a situation

will be God's children,

they'll be called God's children.

Peacemakers in Matthew

is closely related

to love of neighbour,

and so we're to make peace

and to be peace-loving,

forgiving others

and showing kindness,

even if they're our enemies.

In contrast,

the world is vengeful,

stirring up trouble,

causing fights and dissension,

holding grudges,

bitterness and resentment,

factional,

warring.

In fact,

when we watch movies

and the villain gets it in the end,

we kind of cheer

and there's a bit of a hooray.

Do you know someone

who is always causing a drama?

God's upside-down kingdom

is marked by peacemakers.

Congratulations to those

who make peace.

Verse 10,

Blessed are those

who are persecuted

because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This is counterintuitive

and sounds masochistic,

but God has a special blessing

for those

who are insulted

or persecuted for Jesus.

Heaven is theirs.

While we don't like

being persecuted,

we will suffer

if we identify

as being Christian

and as followers of Jesus.

And in this,

we're to be rejoicing

because we're being faithful

and our reward

will be in heaven.

Now, there's a whole other sermon here

and I'd actually like to explore

this a bit more next week.

So stay tuned.

And it's going to be a bit heavy.

The Sermon on the Mount

is all about

the complete attitude of Jesus.

And I heard this story recently

and it involves

a baseball illustration.

So I'm hoping

you understand baseball.

Basically, there's nine innings

and one innings

is when three people get out

and the other team,

three out.

I'm hoping you've got

a bit of an idea of the game.

So in Brooklyn, New York,

excuse me,

Cush is a school

that caters to children

with developmental

and learning disabilities.

At a Cush fundraising dinner,

the father of a child

delivered a speech

that would never be forgotten

by all who attended.

After praising the school

and its dedicated staff,

he cried out,

where is the perfection

in my son's shire?

Everything God does

is done with perfection,

but my child cannot

understand things

as other children do.

Where is God's perfection?

The audience was shocked

by the question,

pained by the father's anguish

instilled by the piercing query.

I believe,

the father answered,

that when God brings

a child like this

into the world,

the perfection that he seeks

is the way people react

to this child.

He then told the following story

about his son,

Shire.

One afternoon,

Shire and his father

walked past a park

where some boys Shire knew

were playing baseball.

Shire asked,

do you think they'll let me play?

And Shire's father knew

that his son was not all athletic

and that most boys

would not want him

on their team.

But Shire's father understood

that if his son

was chosen to play,

it would give him

a comfortable sense of belonging.

Shire's father approached

one of the boys in the field

and asked if Shire could play.

And the boy looked around

for guidance

from his teammates

and getting none,

he took matters

into his own hands

and said,

we're losing by six runs

and the game is

in the eighth innings,

which is near the end

of the game.

I guess he can be

on our team

and we'll try to put him

into bat in the ninth inning.

So Shire's father

was ecstatic.

As Shire smiled broadly,

Shire was told

to put on a glove

and go out

and play short center field.

In the bottom

of the eighth inning,

Shire's team scored

a few runs

but were still behind

by three.

In the bottom

of the ninth inning,

Shire's team scored again

and now with two outs

and the bases loaded

with the potential

winning run on base,

Shire was scheduled

to bat.

Would the team

actually let Shire

bat at this junction

and give away

the chance to win the game?

Surprisingly,

Shire was given the bat.

Everyone knew it

was all but impossible

because Shire

didn't even know

how to hold the bat properly,

let alone hit with it.

However,

as Shire stepped up

to the plate,

the pitcher moved

a few steps

to lob the ball

in softly

to Shire

so he could have

a swing at it

and make contact.

But he missed.

The first pitch

went past him

as he clumsily swung

and one of Shire's

teammates came out

and helped him

hold the bat

as they faced

the pitcher

who then took

another step forward

to toss the ball

softly towards Shire.

As the pitch came in,

Shire and his teammates

swung at the ball

and together

they hit a slow

ground ball

straight back

to the pitcher.

The pitcher picked

up the ball

and he could have

easily thrown it

to first base

and he would have

been out.

But the pitcher

took the ball

and he threw it

in a high arc

over into the

outfield.

Everyone started

yelling,

Shire, run to

first base.

Never in his life

had Shire run

to first base.

He scampered

down the baseline

wide-eyed

and startled.

By the time

he reached first base

the right fielder

had the ball

and wasn't sure

what to do with it

but cottoned on

pretty quick

and he threw it

over the third

baseman's head

and they said,

run to second,

Shire, run to second.

He ran to second.

By this stage

it ran to third

and finally

both teams

run for home

and they were

cheering him on.

As Shire ran

from home

18 boys

lifted him

on their shoulders

and made him

the hero

as he'd just

made his first

home run

and won the game

for his team.

That day,

said the father

with tears

rolling down

his face,

those 18 boys

knew God's

perfection

as they did

what Jesus

would have done.

blessed

are the meek

they'll use

their strength

to help others.

Like those boys

needing their strength

to help others,

blessing and

congratulations

go to those

who have the

complete attitude

of Jesus.

We can't have

one

or a couple

where to have

the whole package

listed in the

Sermon on the Mount.

The demands

on us to be

kind of blessed

and fortunate

are high.

If we think of it

like a checklist,

oh yeah,

I was meek today

or I've been

a peacemaker,

I've shown some

mercy or I've

been pure in heart,

tick,

I've done all that,

we could easily

be discouraged

because actually

we don't get there

all the time

and our puny

attempts to change

can often be fought

with setbacks

and failures

and could result

in us actually

giving up.

The Sermon on the Mount

sets out an

impossible righteousness,

a standard

that only Jesus

fulfilled.

It cannot be a

checklist of things

to do,

but a reminder

of Jesus'

righteousness

where we need

to place our

trust in God

and in his

calling to be

like Jesus.

In a society

wandering further

from God,

demanding our

allegiance,

whose blessing

do we seek?

Whose voice

will we listen

to?

Does God's

blessing mean

more to us

than the approval

of our culture

or even our

loved ones?

How now

should we live

in 2022?

We have choices

to make this

new year

and each

and every

day of our

lives,

how we react,

how we respond,

how we step

out,

how we initiate.

Like caterpillars

longing to be

butterflies,

blessed are those

who walk in the

steps of Jesus

and emulate

his behaviour.

Remembering being

like Jesus

doesn't save us,

but as we place

our faith and

confidence and

trust in Jesus,

as we've been

shown mercy

and are saved

by grace,

we are then

blessed to do

the good works

that God has

prepared in advance

for us to do.

Blessed are those

whose resolution

is to seek

God's upside

down kingdom

and in God's

strength,

spirit filled,

display the

beautiful attitudes

of Jesus

as they are

being transformed

into the likeness

of Christ.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father,

we just thank you

that you've revealed

yourself to us

fully through your

word,

through your

creation and

through Jesus.

Your word became

flesh and Lord,

as he lived

amongst us

and endured

what we endured

and walked in

our shoes,

he showed us

how to really

live and to

live life.

Just pray now

for each and

every one of us

that we choose

life and we

choose this year

to walk in

Jesus' steps,

to honour you

and to reflect

those beautiful

attitudes in

all we do and

say.

In Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.