Matthew Ch5v1-20 - Kingdom Living

Chapter 5. And if you're using notes this morning, I've confused you all, I've even confused myself, which isn't a difficult thing to do.

We're going to go Hebrew today. We normally read left to right. Hebrew goes right to left.

So you'll see the title on the front, Living for the King. When you've completed that page, don't open it up, just go to the very back.

And it'll be Jesus the King at the top and you can follow through. And then at the end of that page, open up the middle and then it's back to English again.

So start with Hebrew and part to English. Now that I've confused you, we're going to read God's word.

Thank you so much, Claire. Hope you don't mind me asking. Thank you. Thank you. That's great. Brilliant.

Let's continue in our reading of the Gospel of Matthew.

Starting at verse 1 of chapter 5 and we'll go down to verse 20.

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.

His disciples came to him and he began to teach them.

Jesus said,

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

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

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

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

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

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you,

persecute you,

and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

because great is your reward in heaven,

for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth,

but if the salt loses its saltiness,

how can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything,

except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand

and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way,

let your light shine before others

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your Father in heaven.

Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them,

but to fulfill them.

For truly I tell you,

until heaven and earth disappear,

not the smallest letter,

not the least stroke of a pen,

will by any means disappear from the law

until everything is accomplished.

Therefore,

anyone who sets aside

one of the least of these commands

and teaches others accordingly

will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

But whoever practices and teaches these commands

will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I tell you

that unless your righteousness

surpasses that of the Pharisees

and the teachers of the law,

you will certainly not enter

the kingdom of heaven.

Well,

let's keep our Bible open

and we'll pray.

Blessed are those who hunger

and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Father,

would you give us

that hunger

and that thirst

and may it only be satisfied

by Jesus

and knowing him more.

Meet us in our need today.

Show us the greatness

of your kingdom

and what it is

to live as your people

in that kingdom.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well,

we're going to jump

straight into the text today

so you can take a deep breath.

We're straight into the deep end.

And we're going to look at

three themes

that build on one another.

We're going to look at

God's kingdom has come,

enter the kingdom,

and then live

as God's kingdom people.

So,

God's kingdom has come,

enter the kingdom,

and live

as God's kingdom people.

So,

the first one,

God's kingdom has come.

Let's read verse 1.

Now,

when Jesus saw the crowd,

so,

just prior to this,

Jesus has been about

teaching in different places

and he's been healing

lots of people

and of course

it's caused a stir

and there's crowds

of people going

wherever he is.

So,

when Jesus saw the crowd,

he went up on a mountainside

and sat down.

Seems the obvious thing

to do,

isn't it,

when you want to get away

from people?

Go and climb a mountain.

It's what I like to do

because when you get

up a mountain

you don't particularly

see many people up there,

do you?

Apart from sheep

and they don't want to

talk to you either.

Well,

here we have Jesus

going up a mountain.

except for

Jesus is not trying

to get away

from the crowds.

Look at the end

of verse 1.

His disciples

came to them,

to him

and he began

to teach them.

This begins

a whole teaching section.

It's like one

big long sermon

that goes

all the way through

to the end

of chapter 7.

So,

if you just quickly

have a look at

chapter 7

and verse 28.

So,

he's gone up

the mountain,

he begins teaching

and then he concludes

verse 28,

when Jesus

had finished

saying these things,

the crowds

were amazed

at his teaching.

You see,

the crowds

are still with him.

They followed him

up the mountain.

Jesus isn't trying

to get away

from anyone.

Jesus has taken

an intentional

and deliberate

step to go

up a mountain

because by going

up a mountain,

he's revealing

something about

who he is

and what he has

come to do.

Mountains are

very significant

things in the Bible.

Things happen

on mountains.

In particular,

is what happened

on Mount Sinai.

Do you remember

that event?

Well,

go with me

all the way

back to Exodus.

It's the second

book in the Bible,

Genesis,

Exodus,

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19.

Exodus,

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19.

So God,

through Moses,

has rescued

the Israelites

from Egypt

and God

brings them

to Mount Sinai.

And from this

mountain,

God speaks

and reveals

his purpose

in rescuing

his people.

They are to be

God's

treasured

possession.

So let's

pick it up

in verse

3.

So then

Moses went

up to God

and the Lord

called to him

from the

mountain

and said,

this is what

you are to say

to the descendants

of Jacob

and what you are

to tell the

people of Israel.

You yourselves

have seen

what I did

to Egypt

and how I

carried you

on eagles'

wings

and brought

you to

myself.

Now if you

obey me

fully

and keep

my covenant,

then out of

all the nations

you will be

my treasured

possession.

Although the

whole earth

is mine,

you will be

for me

a kingdom

of priests

and a

holy nation.

These,

Moses,

are the words

that you are

to speak

to the

Israelites.

So God

rescued his

people to be,

verse 5,

his treasured

possession,

to be his

chosen special

people.

But in being

his special

people comes

a purpose.

Look at

verse 6,

you will be

a kingdom

of priests

and a

holy nation.

You see,

the role

of the

priest

was to

represent

God

to the

people.

So if

you are a

kingdom

of priests,

that means

together

they are

to represent

God to

all the

nations

around

them.

And if

you are

going to

be holy,

it means

you are

to be

set apart,

to be

different.

You are

to reflect

God's

character.

So if

you are

a holy

nation,

that means

that together

as God's

people,

you are

to reflect

God's

character

to all

the nations

and all

the people

around you.

So as

God's

treasured

people,

they are

to represent

God and

reflect

God to

the nations.

That was

God's

purpose.

But the

problem was

they failed.

Instead of

drawing the

nations to

God,

the nations

drew them

away from

God.

Rather than

being a

light to

the world,

they became

part of

the darkness.

They didn't

represent God

fully and

they didn't

reflect God

as they

should.

But yet

when God

makes a

promise to

bring a

people to

himself,

he will

fulfill that

promise.

Let's go

back now

with that

in mind

to chapter

5 of

Matthew.

So look

at verse

1.

What has

happened?

Well,

just as

Moses went

up the

mountain

before the

people,

so Jesus

goes up

the mountain

before the

people.

The difference

is that

Jesus is

claiming to

be God

on the

mountain.

Remember the

name given

to Jesus

earlier in

Matthew 1

Matthew 1:23

verse 23?

You will

give birth

to a son

and you

will call

him

Emmanuel,

which means

God

with us.

So as

Jesus stands

on the

mountain

before the

crowds,

he stands

there as

God.

He is the

true priest

representing

God to the

people.

He is the

true holy

one reflecting

God to the

people.

As Jesus

speaks,

people are

hearing the

very words

of God.

You see,

Jesus going

up the

mountain

side is

not to

get away

from people.

It's

significant.

It tells

us something

about who

Jesus is

and why

he has

come.

Have a

look over

at verse

17.

Jesus says,

don't think

that I've

come to

abolish the

law or

the prophets.

That is,

the Old

Testament

scriptures,

scriptures like

what we've

just read

in Exodus

19.

I haven't

come to

abolish

them,

but to

fulfill

them.

In other

words,

what you

see in

the Old

Testament

is a

picture,

it's

pointing

towards

me,

it's

longing

for me

to

come.

I am

the

faithful

one

who

has

not

failed.

I am

the

light

come into

the

darkness

to draw

people

to

myself

because

the

coming

of

Jesus

is

the

coming

of

God's

kingdom.

And

that is

the case

today.

Jesus

has

come,

that

means

God's

kingdom

has

come.

And

God's

plan and

purpose

is the

same.

He is

to rescue

a people

for himself

who will

be his

treasured

possession,

a people

who are a

kingdom of

priests,

and a

holy nation

who will

draw

people to

God.

God's

God's

kingdom

has

come.

God's

kingdom

has

come.

Second,

he calls

us to

enter into

the

kingdom

of

God.

Jesus

is

calling

a

people

to

himself.

Look at

verse 1

again.

His

disciples

came to

him

and he

began to

teach

them.

He

teaches

how we

might

enter

the

kingdom

and

become

his

treasured

possession.

And

his

teaching

initially

is

focused

on

eight

beatitudes

or

blessings.

The

first

one,

verse

three,

and the

last

one,

which

starts

in

verse

10

and

continues

into

verse

11.

The

first

and

the

last

of

these

blessings

set

the

theme.

It's

repeated.

Theirs

is the

kingdom

of

heaven.

So

how do

we

enter

the

kingdom

of

heaven?

Well,

first we

are to

be

poor

in

spirit.

Verse

three,

blessed

are the

poor

in

spirit,

for

theirs

is the

kingdom

of

heaven.

Those

who

are

poor

in

spirit

enter

the

kingdom.

Suppose

you

get

yourself

into

debt.

You

might

go to

the

bank

and

get

a

loan,

but

instead

of

dealing

with

your

debt,

you

decide

to

use

that

money

and

keep

on

spending,

and

so

you

get

into

a

pattern

of

just

borrowing

and

borrowing,

and

sooner

or

later,

you

become

bankrupt.

You

haven't

the

resources

or

the

means

within

yourself

to

pay

it

off.

Well,

to be

poor

in

spirit

is

to

recognize

and

to

own

the

fact

that

I

am

spiritually

bankrupt,

that

I've

been

running

up

an

increasing

sin

debt

and

I

have

no

resources

or

means

to

pay

it

off.

And

rather

than

plead

innocence

or

ignorance,

we

accept

our

condition

and

completely

rely on

God.

It's

saying,

I deserve

justice,

but I

am

desperate

for

mercy

and

grace.

It's

what

David

prayed

as he

accepted

his

sin

of that

adultery

and

murder.

This is

what he

prayed

to

God.

God,

my

sacrifice,

O God,

is a

broken

spirit,

a

broken

and

contrite

heart

you,

God,

will

not

despise.

You

see,

poor in

spirit,

that

contrite

heart,

it's

coming

before

God

with

nothing

and

offering

nothing

except

our

broken,

ruined

lives.

Poor in

spirit is

the necessary

heart

attitude

to enter

the kingdom.

It is

what marks

out

members

of God's

kingdom.

So first,

poor in

spirit.

second,

a

God

given

righteousness.

Do you

see what it

says?

Verse 10,

blessed

are those

who

persecuted

because of

righteousness.

In other

words,

that if

you are

righteous,

you will

face some

kind of

opposition.

Blessed

are those

who are

persecuted

because of

righteousness,

for theirs

is the

kingdom of

heaven.

those

who are

righteous

enter the

kingdom.

Well,

what does

it mean

to be

righteous?

How can

I be

righteous

to enter

the

kingdom?

Well,

Jesus

explains it

for us.

We read

it in

verse 20.

Jesus

says,

I tell

you that

unless

your

righteousness

surpasses

that of

the Pharisees

and the

teachers

of the

law,

you will

certainly

not

enter

the

kingdom

of

heaven.

Now,

the Pharisees

were the

religious

lot.

We'll

meet them

lots of

times as

we go

through

Matthew.

They were

the religious

leaders of

the day.

And they

had worked

up,

they'd done

their sums

as they

read through

the Old

Testament

scriptures.

There

were 613

laws.

And they

not only

claimed to

know every

single one

of them,

but that

they kept

every single

one.

They saw

themselves as

righteous,

pure,

blameless,

and right

before God.

In their

eyes,

they were

the keepers

of righteousness

and they

made sure

that everybody

else kept

these laws

so that

together they

could become

a kingdom

of priests

and a

holy nation.

Do you see

what Jesus

says in

verse 20?

Unless your

righteousness

surpasses that

of the

Pharisees,

you won't

be able to

enter the

kingdom of

heaven.

Now Jesus

is not

saying you

must be

better than

the Pharisees.

He's saying

you need to

surpass it.

In other

words, you

need a

righteousness

that is

something

altogether

different.

Have a

look with

me please

to Matthew

Matthew 23 · chapter mention

chapter 23.

23.

Go to

Matthew

23.

Here Jesus

confronts

these very

Pharisees

over their

understanding

of what it

is to be

righteous.

Because they're

all telling

everybody,

do this,

do this,

be righteous

and you'll

enter.

And Jesus

confronts this

notion.

Let's

pick it

up in

verse 27.

Woe to

you,

teachers of

the law

and Pharisees,

you hypocrites!

You look

like whitewashed

tombs.

Now for

us in our

culture we

put flowers

where people

have been

buried,

then they

whitewashed,

they got

out nice

white paint

and cleaned

them all

up.

It was

nice and

bright and

white.

He says

you are

like

whitewashed

tombs,

which look

beautiful on

the outside

but on

the inside

are full

of the

bones of

the dead

and

everything

unclean.

In the

same way

on the

outside

you appear

to people

as righteous

but on

the inside

you are

full of

hypocrisy

and wickedness.

We're all

good at

putting on

a show

aren't

we?

Nice and

white and

bright on

the outside.

We can

all do

our acts

of righteousness

committed

at church,

serving away,

giving generously,

obeying all

the COVID

rules in

society and

we can spend

our time

making sure

that everybody

else keeps

to my

little standard

of what it

is to be

right and

good.

But Jesus

says it's not

about that,

it's about

what's on the

inside that

counts.

He's concerned

with what's in

the heart,

our motives,

our attitudes,

our desires,

what we're

thinking about

people who

don't measure

up to me.

The reality

is we are

all hypocrites.

We look so

nice and

bright on

the outside

but inside

we are

bones,

we're dead,

we're unclean.

Let's go

back to

chapter 5.

You see,

we need a

righteousness

that doesn't

come from

self,

where we

manage to

do all

these different

things,

but we

need a

righteousness

that is

given to

us by

God.

It's not

about external

behaviours,

but about

an internal

change of

heart.

Any one

of us

can put

on a

show,

but no

one can

change the

true self,

the heart.

So

righteousness

that comes

from God

is the

necessary

thing we

need for

heart change

to enter

the kingdom.

kingdom.

So we

need to

be poor

in spirit,

we need

a God

given

righteousness

and well

if that's

the way

it is

then we

are truly

blessed.

You see,

to enter

we must

begin to

apply what

we've just

looked at

to our

own life.

We become

poor in

spirit and

we seek

his

righteousness.

As one

writer put it

like this,

every day

Jesus comes

to us

with his

mercy and

grace and

says,

I'll do

a deal.

I will

take all

your failures,

all your

sin,

all your

guilt,

all your

bitterness,

all the

curse,

all the

wrath,

all the

death,

and in

return I'm

going to

give you

love,

joy,

life,

righteousness,

peace.

Nothing

delights

Jesus more

than for

us to

come to

him empty

and needy

so that

we might

be filled

and satisfied.

We give

him our

sin and

we receive

his

righteousness,

his

perfection.

We give

to him

our sin

debt and

he credits

us with

his

righteousness.

Now if

that's how

we come

to Jesus,

we are

truly

blessed

people.

Verse

three,

blessed

are the

poor in

spirit.

Verse

ten,

blessed

are those

who are

righteous,

for theirs

is the

kingdom of

heaven.

You see,

if you are

blessed,

you are

approved by

God,

you've been

accepted by

God,

you are

now his

treasured

possession.

In coming

to Jesus,

you become

a priest in

his kingdom,

representing

God to

others.

You become

a holy

one in

his nation,

reflecting

God to

others.

You see,

Jesus has

come to

us today,

speaking

his word

to us,

calling

us to

himself,

commanding

us,

enter the

kingdom.

kingdom,

and as

we humbly

come,

as we

rely on

him,

we become

his

treasured

possession.

God's

plan and

purpose

remains the

same,

for him

to make

himself a

kingdom of

priests and

a holy

nation that

will bring

others to

the king

and into

his kingdom.

kingdom.

So the

kingdom has

come,

enter the

kingdom,

and third,

live as

kingdom

people.

So what

does Jesus

say to

his kingdom

people?

You say

you follow

me, you

say you've

entered your

poor in

spirit, that

you've received

my righteousness,

what does

that look like

now for us

in his

kingdom?

Well,

first,

it's about

distinctive

living.

Look at

verse 13.

Jesus says

you are the

salt of

the earth.

We can say

at least one

thing about

salt, it's

distinctive,

isn't it?

It tastes

different.

You always

know if you've

eaten something

with salt in

it.

Salt, to

state the

obvious, is

salty.

So Jesus'

message is

simple, be

distinctive in

the way you

live.

Be different

from those

around you.

Be salty

people.

So in

what ways

are we to

be different?

Well, let's

just think

about these.

I'll throw

a few things

out.

How we

speak about

others to

others.

Are we

building them

up in our

conversation or

are we just

knocking them

down?

how we

treat those

who hurt

us?

Do we

forgive their

gripes or

do we bear

grudges?

How we

use our

finances?

Are we

open-handed

or are we

tight-fisted?

How we

respond to

practical needs

around us?

Are we

willing to

give of our

time or do

we begrudgingly

do what we

have to do

because someone's

seen us?

Here's a good

question to ask

ourselves.

Think about

who you'll

meet this

week.

The people

in your

work?

People who

you live

next door to

in your

neighbourhood?

Your social

group?

Do they

see difference

in the way

you live?

Or do you

just blend

in with

everybody

else?

Are we

just kind

of camouflaged

in with

everyone else?

We can't

see any

difference,

just the

same.

You see,

if there's

no distinctive

living,

if we're

not salty,

look at the

end of verse

13,

it is no

longer good

for anything

except to be

thrown out

and trampled

underfoot.

kingdom

people live

distinctive,

salty

lives.

Second,

there's

attractive

living.

Look at

verse 14.

You are

the light

of the

world.

A light

stands out

in the

darkness,

doesn't it?

So,

look at the

rest of

verse 14.

A town

built on

a hill

cannot be

hidden.

We're used

to lots

of lights

in our

society,

but then

you think

of a

town,

and the

lights in

that town,

if you are

a long

distance,

you can

see that

town from

a long

way away,

and you're

attracted

towards it.

You're

heading to

the light.

Jesus'

message is

clear.

Be a

light for

good in

this world

of darkness.

In other

words,

be attractive

in the

way you

live.

Draw

people to

the light

by the

way you

conduct

yourself.

So,

what's that

going to

look like

for you

and me?

Well,

think about

this.

It's

listening to

others'

concerns

and not

voicing

your

complaints.

sacrifice.

It's

sacrificing

what you

want

and giving

to those

who are

in need.

It's

about

inviting

people into

your home,

not waiting

to be

invited.

It's

pursuing

the good

of others,

not protecting

the comfort

of self.

Again,

it's good

to ask

ourselves

this

question.

If you

were to

ask them

or they

were to

write

something

about

you,

would

people

say,

Johnny

is so

caring,

he's

such a

loving

neighbour,

or

would they

say he's

stingy

and selfish?

Are we

a light

in the

darkness?

Or by

our words

and actions

are we

adding

to the

darkness?

You see,

kingdom

people

live

attractive

lives.

And this

attractiveness,

this

distinctiveness,

well,

it's not

to be

done in

isolation,

it's a

community

project.

Again,

look at

verse 13,

he says,

you are

the salt

of the

earth.

Verse 14,

you are

the light

of the

world.

He's

talking about

his people,

his treasured

possession,

his church,

us,

as we're

gathered here

today.

We are

to live

this kingdom

life together.

We're not

doing it

in isolation,

me in my

small corner

and you

in yours.

We're

together.

That's why

Carragoline

Baptist Church

exists.

We serve

each other,

we're to

love each

other,

show compassion

and forgive

and work

all these

things out

so that

our

distinctive

living

becomes

attractive.

That people

see a

difference

the way

that

community

live and

operate

and are

drawn in.

A grain

of salt,

one little

inchy pinchy

grain of

salt has

a little

impact,

but a

fistful

of salt,

the impact

of that.

or one

little

candle

in the

darkness,

but 50

candles

in the

darkness.

The

community

of God's

people

rescued

for a

purpose,

drawn

together

to be

his

treasure

possession,

working

and serving,

making a

difference.

We live

communal

lives.

We don't

just come

and disappear.

We get

involved

with each

other.

This is

the best

I could

come up

with,

intentional

living.

Being

distinctive

and being

attractive

is of

no value

if we're

all just

looking at

each other