Scripture

“But I warn you – unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and of the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Observation

We, the followers of Jesus are the salt of the Earth. The salt must keep its flavour, otherwise it becomes useless. We are the light of the world. A city on a hilltop cannot be hidden. In the same way, we are to let our good deeds shine out to the praise of God.

Jesus did not come to abolish the religious law but to fulfil it. Not even the least commandment will pass away until God’s purposes have been completed.

Our righteousness must be better than the righteousness of the Pharisees if we want to enter the kingdom of God.

Application

This righteousness of the teachers of religious law and of the Pharisees was a works based righteousness. They strove to be good, according to their interpretation of God’s law.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus describes a better righteousness. His followers will not achieve self-righteousness by being good. No, God will change their hearts so that good deeds flow from a transformed life.

When God heals our souls and fills us with His love, we find that we want to be kind to others. God’s righteousness does not just cover over a corrupt heart, it gives us a new and clean heart.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for the righteousness that comes from you as a gift. Amen.

Scripture

“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”

Observation

The last beatitude concerns persecution. Those who are persecuted for the sake of God’s righteousness are blessed. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.

We can be sure that people will persecute us. They will mock, lie., and gossip against us because we are followers of Jesus.

We should rejoice in this because a great reward awaits us in Heaven. The ancient prophets were also treated this way.

Application

If we are serious about following Jesus, persecution is inevitable. The world hates those who point out their sins by living in a different way.

They don’t understand how you can live happily without alcohol or drugs. They don’t like the idea of sexual purity, as a choice for those who are unmarried.

You don’t have to be a street preacher to receive this kind of persecution. Those who know you are a Christian, will find ways to mock or to deride your beliefs.

We live in a “tolerant” society which tolerates and even celebrates the things that are repulsive to God. This kind of society will not tolerate Christian, belief or actions.

In Australia, we do not yet face persecution that is the norm for many believers in other parts of the world. Unless genuine revival transforms our society soon, we will experience discrimination oppression and legal opposition.

Prayer

Lord Jesus. I pray for this nation. Raise up righteous rulers, politicians, and media personalities. Change this nation by changing the hearts of its people. Amen.

Scripture

“God blesses, those who work for peace for they will be called the children of God.”

Application

There is a difference between pacifism as an end in itself and the working for peace that is a result of our relationship with God.

The peace makers referred to here are people who know that they are reconciled to God and therefore work in all their relationships to bring peace, justice and love to other people.

When we are saved, the wall between us and God comes to an end. We experience God’s shalom, the real peace or harmony that can only exist when we are walking in fellowship with the Lord.

God’s peace has four dimensions. It is peace with God, peace within ourselves, peace with others, and peace with creation.

As I grow in this experience of God’s peace, I live it out in my relationships with others. Not only that, as my life reflects the nature of God, people around me are saved and experience this piece themselves.

Every Christian becomes a catalyst for peace. Rather than demanding that others live at peace, we show what peace really looks like.

The Bible tells us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. This is His nature and His desire. When we live in the habit of reconciliation or peace, then we are living as God’s children.

Prayer

Your peace, Lord, flows through me like a river. May I share this grace with those around me. Amen.

Scripture

“God blesses those who are merciful for they will be shown mercy.”

Application

Those who show mercy- forgiveness, grace, no record-keeping, they will receive God’s mercy.

Over and over, Jesus. emphasised that if we want to receive God’s forgiveness, we must also be people who forgive.

It is there in the Lord’s Prayer. — Forgive us as we forgive others. It is in the warning about judging other people. –do not judge or you yourself will be judged. It is there also in the salvation of Zacchaeus.

This is not to say that God’s grace is in any way dependent on what we do. We do not show mercy in the hope that God will be merciful to us. God is not transactional.

No, those who truly receive God’s forgiveness and have had an encounter with the Holy Spirit will themselves become people of mercy.

Genuine conversion results in conversion of relationships, so that revenge gives way to mercy.

We don’t forgive to buy God’s forgiveness. We forgive because we have been forgiven.

This raises an interesting question. What about people who do not know Jesus, but they live lives of mercy towards others?

At the risk of being branded a heretic. I think that some people like that will be in God’s kingdom. They have instinctively grasped what it means to be forgiven and they will receive God’s mercy on the day of judgement.

Prayer

Lord, please show me areas of my life where I need to show more mercy. Thank you for your forgiveness through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Scripture.

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.”

Application.

Money does not meet our needs; it does not satisfy. If we have some income, we always want more. We think, “If only I had another ten thousand dollars, then I would be happy.” But we find that a higher income opens our eyes to more to want.

Other sources of meaning also come with the same properties. We think, “more sex or more holidays, or more power, or a better job, surely these will make me happy.” But they just leave us wanting more.

Jesus tells us that those who hunger and thirst for justice will be satisfied.

We can interpret this in two ways.

Those who want the righteousness of God and pursue Him above all else, they will be satisfied. The Holy Spirit removes our desires for sin over time, and we live a holy life.

The beatitude can also be interpreted as meaning that those who hunger and thirst for justice in society, or in a community, will be also satisfied. We focus on bringing an end to unjust systems and we find that, through prayer and action, God cleanses the land of unrighteousness.

Unlike the fleshly ways of attending to our own desires, seeking God’s ways brings fulfilment of our needs for significance.

Prayer

Lord, please teach me how to hunger and first for your righteousness. Amen.

Scripture

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”

Application.

The world wants us to boast about ourselves. We are told to sell ourselves, to put ourselves out there to be seen. We can live our lives out loud on social media, letting people know what awesome lives we are living.

Celebrities seem to compete to see how much of their bodies they can expose in public. They literally live as if the flesh is the only thing that is important.

Jesus commands us to be humble, because he is humble. The Son of the Living. God is humble and meek. The one who carries the glory of deity hides it in a body of flesh.

We don’t have to make a big deal, clamouring for the attention and the accolades of people. The approval of God should be enough for us.

We don’t have to selling ourselves for the best jobs and positions because God’s assignment for us is way better.

In the end, it is not the proud, the haughty, and the arrogant ones who will inherit the Earth. They will pass away. Those who are humble, who follow Jesus in all that they do, they will inherit the Earth.

We don’t have to scramble for fame and fortune. The Lord will give us all that we need

Prayer

Father, thank you for the acceptance and love that come to me from you. Thank you that I never have to prove myself to you. Amen.

Scripture.

“God blesses those who mourn for they will be comforted.”

Application.

The feelings surrounding grief are complex and beyond explanation.

Grief can catch us unexpectedly sometime, such as when an experience, a smell or a place, remind us of a person we miss.

Somebody has said, that grief is the price we pay for love. In other words, if there were no love in the world, there would be no grief. That would not be a better place.

God promises that those who mourn will be comforted. I can testify to this. In one very sad episode of my life, both my wife and I experienced what we came to describe as glimmers of joy. What should have been, and was, a very tragic experience gained redemptive power because we met God in the darkness.

This is very powerful. Grief is an inevitable part of life, and God does not promise to take us out of suffering and grief.

But He does promise to go with us through the darkest, most anguish-filled times.

Those who walk with the Lord will be comforted in their times of mourning.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for all my experiences of your presence. In the midst of suffering and of loss. Amen.

Scripture.

“God, blesses those who are poor and realise their need for him. For the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”

Application.

The sermon on the Mount is introduced by very powerful statements about the nature of God’s Kingdom. These statements are often called the Beatitudes.

The poor are blessed when they realise their need for God because they will receive God’s kingdom.

This statement reverses the values of the world. Most people think the rich are the blessed ones because they have lots of stuff. They can get quality care when they need it and they enjoy life’s luxuries.

Jesus says, it is the poor who are blessed. It is not that material poverty is a blessing in itself. In fact, Jesus does not say the poor are blessed because of their poverty. He says, “Blessed are those who are poor and realise their need for God.

The rich are less likely to recognise their need for God. The poor have fewer options.

Even so it is not uncommon to be poor and to not recognise your need for God. These people will not receive the Kingdom. It is when we realise that we cannot trust in our own abilities, resources, or talents to give us eternal life that we are forced to throw ourselves into God’s arms and trust Him to save us.

Prayer

Please help me Lord to trust in you and you alone. May your Kingdom come in my life and those around me. Amen.

Scripture.

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God. For the kingdom of Heaven is near.”

Observation.

Jesus hears that John has been put in prison so he goes to Galilee. He returns to Nazareth first, but then moves to Capernaum.

Matthew says that this fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah, “In Zebulun and Naphtali and in Galilee, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light. “

Jesus begins to preach his message that people are to repent and turn to God for the kingdom of heaven is near.

Application.

The gospel message is a call that has three parts.

1. We are to repent of our sins. Too often people want to have a bit of God while holding on to their sins. That is a form of religion in which we go through the outward actions, but refuse to let God change our hearts.

Repentance is hard because nobody wants to admit that they are a sinner.

2. Turn to God. If all we do is live a respectable life with no recognition that we owe our lives to the Lord, then we can be easily become self-righteous.

There are many good people in the world, but that does not make them acceptable to God. We must recognise that any goodness we have comes from God and not from ourselves.

3. We must recognise that the kingdom of God is here. Jesus is the king. He is king of my life, every part of the things that I do, my values and my ambitions; all of it must be subject to his Reign.

Prayer

Lord Jesus. I lay myself at your feet. I declare that you are my king. Please give me grace to be able to surrender completely to you. Amen