Common Ground D: Part 6

Transcription

1 Common Ground D: Part 6 6 1

2 Common Ground D: Part 6 2 Context Matthew 5:1-12 Purpose: To prove Jesus is the Messiah, the eternal King Author: Matthew (Levi) Audience: Jews Date: A.D Setting: Matthew was a Jewish tax collector who became one of Jesus disciples. This Gospel forms the connecting link between the Old and New Testaments because of it s emphasis on the fulfillment of prophecy. Key Verse: 5.17 Don t misunderstand why I have come - it isn t to cancel the law of Moses and the warnings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them. Closer Yet: Today s passage of scripture falls at the opening of the Sermon on the Mount. In this discourse, Christ is speaking about the presence and power of the Kingdom of God in our everyday world. He describes what our discipleship should look like, making our faith threedimensional in a world that is three-dimensional. The moral standards set here are high, impossible even, as Christ brings the matter of the heart into the matter of the law.

3 Common Ground D: Part 6 3 Text Matthew 5:1-12 Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. The Beatitudes He said: 3 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 children 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.

4 Common Ground D: Part 6 4 Overview Where We are Headed As we discovered in our last session, meekness is not weakness. It is synonymous with power. It is the surgeon with the scalpel. It is power under control. It is how we handle God and our fellow man in light of our poverty and grief. But it is not enough to recognize and grieve our poverty that is a stagnant position. God says we should be forward-moving. We should hunger and thirst for Him intensely, desperately. The problem is in our pursuit of happiness, we often seek the effect, instead of the cause which leads us to a joy that is plastic and short-lived. True happiness comes from having fellowship with God and fellowship with God comes by seeking true righteousness in Jesus the Christ. Let s move!

5 Common Ground D: Part 6 5 The Condition The Subject The Reward Verse The Impoverished Heart Blessed The Poor in Spirit. The Kingdom of Heaven. 5:3 Blessed Those Who Mourn. They Shall be Comforted. 5:4 Blessed Those Who are Meek. They Shall Inherit the Earth. 5:5 Blessed Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness. They Shall be Satisfied. 5:6 The Tender Heart Blessed Those Who Are Merciful. They Shall Receive Mercy. 5:7 Blessed Those Who are Pure in Heart. They Shall See God. 5:8 Blessed The Peacemaker. They Shall be Called Sons of God. 5:9 The Resilient Heart Blessed The Persecuted and Reviled for Righteousness Sake. Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Their Reward is Great in Heaven. 5:10-12

6 Common Ground D: Part 6 6 v.6 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Thou has made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee. -St. Augustine

7 Common Ground D: Part 6 7 Thirst & Hunger The Contrast Hunger & thirst in the 1st Century Times of famine, sickness and death Rome in 436 BC Europe in 879, 1016 & 1162 AD People well acquainted with the feeling Hunger & thirst in the 21st Century A drive-through people with a super-sized appetite Food is pleasurable. We even take pictures of it. We rarely (physically) fast for (spiritual) growth Hunger is a good thing Hunger is a healthy thing Hunger keeps us moving forward Yesterday s meal will not satisfy tomorrow. Desire What we are really talking about here is desire Not just intense but utterly desperate How do you know if you are hungry? How is your appetite? What are you hungering for?

8 Common Ground D: Part 6 8 Happiness The Source The Need, then the solution. The first three Beatitudes present man s need poverty mourning meekness The fourth presents God s solution seek righteousness Seeking happiness instead of holiness We often seek the effect instead of the cause Joy is an effect, a by-product the emotion of the reality God is the source of happiness James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Happiness should never be sought directly; it is always something that results from seeking something else. Put happiness in the place of righteousness and you will never get it. Righteousness leads to fellowship with God We cannot have happiness outside of fellowship with God

9 Common Ground D: Part 6 9 Righteousness The Quality Driving in the rear-view mirror Not enough to mourn past sin, we must also hunger for future righteousness. Hunger spurs us forward Righteousness in the Bible Legal (justification) Romans 9: What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. Moral (personal conduct) The expectation of belonging Social righteousness (global concern) Private becoming public Desiring the whole thing True, perfect, divine, complete righteousness Not just justification, but sanctification A desire to be totally free from sin because sin separates us from God we cannot be happy separated from God.

10 Common Ground D: Part 6 10 Righteousness The Source Christ is the source of righteousness John 4: Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. 11 Sir, the woman said, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock? 13 Jesus answered, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 6:35 35 Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 2 Peter 3:13 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. Revelation 7: Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

11 Common Ground D: Part 6 11 Supporting Texts Romans 10:1 1 Brothers and sisters, my heart s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Luke 1:53 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Psalm 107:9 9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. John 7:37 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

12 Common Ground D: Part 6 12 Recommended Reading Stott, John R. W. The message of the Sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian counter-culture. Leicester [Leicestershire: Inter-varsity Press, Print. Boice, James Montgomery. The Sermon on the Mount; an exposition.. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, Print. Jones, David Martyn. Studies in the Sermon on the mount. London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, Print. Discussion Q & A Discuss experiences being hungry i.e. being sick, spiritual fasting, 30-hour famine. What does hunger feel like? When does it hurt? So what about our spiritual appetite? Is our position with God a reflection of our hunger? What are the wrong things to feed on? Why do we feast on things that don t last? Why is it impossible to be happy outside of fellowship with God? Discuss the paradox of Christianity- we are called to a righteousness that we cannot live. Why is Christ necessary for fellowship with God? How are the beatitudes changing you (so far)? Seeing things any differently?

13 Common Ground D: Part 6 13 Jots Notes & Prayer Needs

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