This is one of the most iconic and MYSTERIOUS sermons ever given because it invites us into the UPSIDE-DOWN kingdom and the feelings of getting caught up in something so much BIGGER than you.
Matthew 5:1-12
5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 5:1-12
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you & persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Matthew 5:1-12
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.�
BIG IDEA: From unknown to known; Jesus teaches and unveils His upside-down kingdom.
Matthew 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Human Beings can lose themselves in a card game or electric trains and think they are fortunate. But to God, there is available, in the language of one reporter, “Towering clouds of gases trillions of miles high, backlit by nuclear fire in newly forming stars, galaxies, cartwheeling into collision and sending explosive shock waves boiling through millions of light-years of time and space.” These things are all before him, along with numberless unfolding rosebuds, souls, and songs – and immeasurably more of which we know nothing.
- Dallas Willard, The Divine conspiracy, pg 63.
Matthew 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:23-25
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Matthew 5:1-12
5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 7:28-29
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 5:1-12
5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew 5:1-12
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you & persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Matthew 5:1-12
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you & persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Matthew 5:1-12
Luke 6:17-26
17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
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Luke 6:17-26
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
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The Kingdom is available…
Silly: The Vikings fans, the bald, the ugly, the old, the misshapen, and socially awkward.
The Kingdom is available…
Silly: The Vikings fans, the bald, the ugly, the old, the misshapen, and socially awkward.
Serious: The broke and broken. The drug addicts, the divorced, the barren, the pregnant (too many times at the wrong time). The brain damaged. The underemployed or the unemployed. The lonely. The emotionally starved or dead. The republicans and the democrats.
The Kingdom is available…
Silly: The Vikings fans, the bald, the ugly, the old, the misshapen, and socially awkward.
Serious: The broke and broken. The drug addicts, the divorced, the barren, the pregnant (too many times at the wrong time). The brain damaged. The underemployed or the unemployed. The lonely. The emotionally starved or dead. The republicans and the democrats.
Immoral: Murderers. Child-molesters. The bigoted. The filthy perverted, and the filthy rich. The Vengeful. The War criminals.
1 Corinthians 6:10
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Matthew 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Confusion of the Call to “FOLLOW”
Discipleship
Evangelism
?
Confusion of the Call to “FOLLOW”
Call of discipleship is a process (OST)
Confusion of the Call to “FOLLOW”
Discipleship
Evangelism
More Joy in anything more than God intended.
More Joy in anything than God.
Call for “ALL’ is missed when we fail to recognize, remember, and REPENT
Call comes with a cost that we GLADLY pay
Matthew 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
WHAT Might We Need to Repent Of:
Implications….
WHAT Might We Need to Repent Of:
SINS of commission
SINS of omission
SINS 🡪 others
WHAT Might We Need to Repent Of:
SINS of commission
SINS of omission
SINS 🡪 others
SINS 🡪 Ourselves: GUILT and self-condemnation