May 26, 2019
Morning Service

Jas 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  (23)  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; (24) for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  (25)  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

            In the last few weeks, I have had a good chance to look at myself in the mirror of God’s Word.  To be very honest, there are some things that need to be adjusted; I saw many imperfections in my reflection.  I have some ugly attitudes that flare up from time to time.  There are dirty streaks that sin leaves on my face that need to be honestly and humbly confessed before God.  I still have some work to do in becoming the man God has intended me to be.  A regular mirror shows only what is on the exterior, God’s Word exposes who we are on the interior.  As we begin the study diving deep into Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount I simply ask you to look into the mirror of His Word and be honest with yourself on what is exposed.  Admit it, own it and begin to work on the things that need adjusted with the help of the Holy Spirit.

I feel we are on a journey as a church and each of us individually as we are seeking more of what God wants from us in our lives.  We are wanting to identify the old sinful ways that are in our lives and remove them and replace them with things that reflect “the newness of life” that Jesus’ death on the cross bought for us.  We are seeking to please Him simply because we love Him for all He has done, is doing and will do in our lives.  We want to express our love to Him through our obedience to His commands just as He asked us to.

 Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

        It almost sounds to simple and easy to be true that this is what Jesus expects of us; to read and study His Word and then to follow it as best we can.  It is a choice we make that we are no longer following the desires of our will but now we seek His will for our lives.  We want to serve Him and become tools in His hands to fulfill whatever He has for us. 

We are going to begin a study of the longest and most in depth sermon Jesus gave that is recorded for us in the Bible.  It is called the Sermon on the Mount and it came at a time that there were great multitudes beginning to follow Him and His popularity was growing every day. 

 

 Mat 5:1-2 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  (2)  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

        Jesus was very aware of the increasing crowds and wanted to be sure that His chosen disciples did not get caught up in all the hoopla so He begins to lay down a foundation that He would build on.  He begins to define the attitudes that they will need to display that will please Him in their walk with Him (our walk as well).  These attitudes, traits or virtues when displayed in our lives will be blessed.  Each of these attitudes is in direct conflict with a typical world view.  We will look at these in order to equip us to be able to keep us from being “conformed” to the world and allow us to be “transformed by the renewing of our mind.”  (Old out new in)

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

NLT “God blesses those who realize their need for Him for the kingdom of heaven is given to them.”

Jesus begins with saying that God is pleased with those who display that they are poor in spirit.  Being poor in spirit is not necessarily an economic term, but refers more to one who is spiritually bankrupt.  They realize that they have nothing good to offer to God fully recognizing their own sinful nature.  They know they cannot live a righteous life on their own but are in need of a Savior to intervene for their many weaknesses.

The world view that clashes with this value is one of pride and personal independence.  The world teaches that we can achieve whatever we want if we work hard enough.  We can have confidence in ourselves without the need for any help from others especially from God.

To help us to develop the correct attitude we need to read and follow the command from the Book of James:

James 4:7-10 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  (8)  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  (9)  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  (10)  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

            It is a humble, submissive and seeking heart that will live out the attitude of being “poor in spirit” and be rewarded by being given the kingdom of God.

Mat 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

            Those who display this attitude are ones who see the world as it is.  It is fallen world stained with sin and its painful consequences.  Evil is a part of it and a Christ follower should anticipate trouble and heartache along the journey of faith that we are choosing to walk.  They grasp the fact that this world is not heaven, but only the beginning of our journey to get there.

            The opposing world view is that happiness is available to all if we are willing to pay the price for it.  There is no place for sorrow or pain in our lives and those are things we must avoid at all costs.  All we have is now eat, drink and enjoy for there is no tomorrow.

            To develop this attitude, we can read David’s confession of his sins and the broken and sorrowful spirit it developed in him that he wrote in Psalms 51.  It is God who guides us through this difficult life with a hope for heaven in our sight.  God promises to comfort those who mourn over this sinful world.

Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

NLT God blesses those who are gentle and lowly for the whole earth will belong to them.

            It is a meek, humble, lowly and gentle attitude that pleases God.  It is one that is displayed by a person who understands the sovereignty of God and accepts his own position in it.  God is in control and I am not.  He is the Potter and I am the clay.

            The world states that it is the loud and proud that will be successful.  We need to wear our confidence like a banner flying it high that we are the ones holding the power and calling the shots.  It is the highly successful that are place high upon a pedestal to be revered by all.

To develop the correct attitude, turn to Jesus explained in Matthew 11:

Mat 11:27-30 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  (28)  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  (29)  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  (30)  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

            The one who chooses to be meek and lowly accepts the will of God for their life and “picks up their cross daily and follows Jesus”.  We find our rest in Him alone and are complete in Him.   It is very easy to see the distinct contradiction that Jesus is drawing between the attitude of His followers and those of the world.  We must be ready to do what seems strange to the world.  We must be willing to be humble when others display pride, give when others take, to love when others hate, to speak truth when others demand tolerance, and to help when others abuse.  In doing so God promises that one day the whole earth will belong to us.  Look into God’s mirror this morning and being honest with yourself make the changes that are needed.