This Sunday's Sermon Info

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Matthew 5:1-12

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The King had begun His ministry.  God the Father had made His approval and endorsement of His Son clear, and the Spirit of God was fully upon the Son of God.  Up until this point Matthew has not recorded much of what Jesus has said, Jesus’ words have been limited.  But now Jesus “sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them”.  The “sermon on the mount”, as it has been called, starts here with what has been termed “The Beatitudes” and ends in chapter seven with the words “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”  Jesus clearly moves from a description of those who are His and conduct their lives according to His teaching to those who are not His and are attempting to establish their own selfish kingdoms, which will fall.  This week we will study the portion of Jesus’ sermon called “The Beatitudes”.  The beatitudes are a picture of the righteousness of Christ in the life of those who sincerely and genuinely follow Him.  It is not personal effort that strengthens the saint but the Person of the Spirit of God using the Word of God.  Jesus qualified His description by noting what motivates His people in that they “hunger and thirst for righteousness”.  What is His promise to them?  That “they shall be satisfied.”  Certainly, they will experience persecution by the kingdom of this world, but also as certain is Jesus’ promise that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”