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Kingdom Lifestyle. Matthew 5 - 7. RETURN. 16 This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look ; ask for the ancient paths , ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls . ( Jeremiah 6). Living As God’s Kingdom People.
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Kingdom Lifestyle Matthew 5 - 7
RETURN 16 This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6)
Living As God’s Kingdom People If Jesus Christ came to this planet as a model of how we ought to live, then our goal should be to act like Jesus. Sadly, few people consistently demonstrate the love, obedience and priorities of Jesus. The primary reason that people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Behavior stems from what we think - our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions. Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life. We're often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and significance. (A Biblical Worldview Has A Radical Effect On A Person’s Life)
A Call To Discipleship "It is the nearest thing to a manifesto that [Jesus] ever uttered, for it is his own description of what he wanted his followers to be and to do. To my mind, no two words sum up its intention better, or indicate more clearly its challenge to the modern world, than the expression 'Christian counter-‐culture.’” (John Stott, “Sermon on the Mount”)
The Jews were called by God to be a light to the nations, to show forth God’s righteousness and grace and mercy to a needy world. But over the years they generated into a society that was very ingrown. Their idea of their specialness and calling of God was more about preserving themselves than declaring the righteousness of God to the nations…. Instead of being a light to the nations, they had erected walls around themselves, and the light was just reflecting back on them. They were so caught up in their own sense of who they were and their own preservation that they had become very legalistic, with many external markers of what being a good Jew was. (Dan Hall, “An Overview Of The Sermon On The Mount”)
… we have developed our own Christian culture, a set of assumptions that most of us operate by about what a good Christian does. Some of those assumptions may be on track and some of them may not, but when we make choices day by day, most of us are interacting with our understanding of what is expected of us rather than with the words of God themselves. (Dan Hall, “An Overview Of The Sermon On The Mount”)
Kingdom Attitudes Jesus knew how life works, in the kingdom of heaven as well as the kingdom of this world. In a life characterized by poverty, mourning, meekness, a hunger for righteousness, mercy, purity, peacemaking and persecution, Jesus himself embodied the Beatitudes. Perhaps he even conceived the Beatitudes as a sermon to himself as well as to the rest of us, for he would have much opportunity to practice these hard truths. (Philip Yancey, “The Jesus I Never Knew”, p.126)
Kingdom Identity & Purpose Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.” The pronoun is emphatic, meaning “you and you only” are the salt of the earth. They were a certain kind! In Christ, the church is absolutely unique. There is nothing on earth like the Church! Discipleship is thus the redemptive journey that takes us, through the Gospel, from the world to Christ and sets us apart as His distinct people for His redemptive purpose in our broken world.
Kingdom Identity & Purpose When Jesus said, “You are the light of the world”, He was calling His disciples to live with a sense of destiny. Our distinctiveness clarifies our destiny. When we lose our sense of identity and suffer an identity crisis, we tend to meander aimlessly through life. But when we know who we are, and whose we are, we are clearer about our fundamental calling and purpose in life. Indeed, true identity leads to true purpose – to a high calling in God. For when God calls, He issues a personal invitation to us – to align our fundamental purpose in life with His redemptive purposes in and through our life. (Edmund Chan, “A Certain Kind”, p. 160)
Kingdom Righteousness 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 5) “You have heard that it was said … but I tell you …” 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5)
Kingdom Disciplines 1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Matthew 6) Hidden motives play a large part in our everyday behavior. The important question to ask is not merely what a person is doing, but why he is doing it… What is the driving force of his life? What ambition dominates and directs him? Ultimately there are only two controlling ambitions, to which all others may be reduced. One is for our own glory, and the other God’s. (John Stott, "Christ The Controversialist”, p.192)
Kingdom Disciplines … God sees – not the outward appearance which is all men see but the heart, not the deed itself only but the thoughts and the motives which lie behind the deed. So to live and act in the presence of God ensures reality, while to practice our piety before men is to put on a charade. (John Stott, "Christ The Controversialist”, p.203)
Kingdom Allegiance 24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Matthew 6)
Kingdom Priority 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6)
Response 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5)
Response Jesus did not proclaim the Sermon on the Mount so that we would despair over our failure to achieve perfection. He gave it to impart God’s Ideal toward which we should never stop striving, but also to show us that none of us will ever reach that Ideal … Having fallen from the absolute Ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace. (Philip Yancey, “The Jesus I Never Knew”, p.144)
