Farmerville Church of Christ
Sermon Outlines
Sermon On The Mount #2
Mt. 5:3-12 (Overview)
Connection Between Beatitudes And Faith</h4
By Bill Denton
Introduction
- A. Last week we started a series of lessons based on the Sermon on the Mount
- 1. Sermon on the Mount = most beautiful of Jesus' words
- 2. "The greatest single statement of the Lord's moral and spiritual teaching on record
- B. The SOM is actually a series of challenges to man's concept of his relationship to God, himself and others
- 1. It challenges the idea of personal character
- 2. It challenges the concept of man's purpose
- 3. It challenges the concept of obedience to God
- 4. It challenges the concept of righteousness
- 5. It challenges the concept of communication with God
- 6. It challenges the concept of piety and dedication
- 7. It challenges the concept of life values
- 8. It challenges the concept of trust in God
- C. Jesus started by talking about blessedness through what we know as the Beatitudes
- 1. Read Mt 5:3-12
- 2. Tonight we will look at an overview of the beatitudes
- 3. In subsequent lessons, we will look at each of the beatitudes separately
I. THE IDEA OF BLESSEDNESS
- A. Blessed = MAKARIOS
- 1. Basic idea is "happy" but means much more
- 2. Greeks used this word to describe the "state of the gods"
- 3. It carries the idea of health and well-being in all aspects of life
- B. The blessedness that Jesus discussed is based on three things
- 1. The sovereignty of God -- ie. God must rule
- 2. The proper view of satisfaction -- spiritual versus worldly
- 3. The proper source of security -- faith in God
- C. When Jesus said, "Blessed is ..." he was giving essential elements that go together to produce an overall healthy life in which a person receives all that makes life pleasant, enjoyable, rewarding, fulfilling, etc.
II. THE NEGLECTED "MIDDLE-GROUND" OF THE BEATITUDES
- A. Each statement of blessedness contains three parts
- 1. The statement that blessedness is the result or reward
- 2. The essential element to achieve
- 3. The specific stated blessing that results from the essential element
- B. Why is the middle-ground neglected
- 1. The idea of blessed is appealing
- 2. The specific rewards mentioned are inviting
- 3. It is easy to forget that the emphasis in each beatitude is the middle part of the statement
- 4. This is what Jesus was telling people to be
- C. The challenge of the beatitudes is that they are presented in paradoxes
- 1. A paradox is a seeming contradiction
- 2. The contradiction is found in the fact that what Jesus says will result blessing goes against worldly thinking and wisdom
- 3. Three specific challenges are found in each beatitude
- a. challenge to our idea of truth
- b. challenge to the way we think and make decisions about life
- c. challenge to accept God's way over the way of the world
III. THE BEATITUDES AND FAITH
- A. Mt 5:3-5 The beginning of faith
- 1. Three elements of life are noted here
- a. spiritual poverty
- b. mourning
- c. meekness
- 2. Three blessings are noted as well
- a. kingdom of heaven
- b. comfort
- c. inherit the earth
- 3. How the three elements relate to the beginning of faith
- a. Because they fit a person for an initial response to God and his word
- 1). spiritual poverty eliminates pride
- 2). ability to mourn makes it possible for a person to respond to his or her true state in life
- 3). meekness produces humility and gentleness and eliminates arrogant resistance to God's will
- b. Notice how worldly attitudes prevent faith
- 1). pride keeps a man from admitting his need or responding to God
- 2). inability to mourn causes one to ignore the problem of sin and how it affects his relationship with God
- 3). arrogant rebellion literally fights against God
- B. Mt 5:6 -- The progress of faith
- 1. Faith is designed to continually move a person further away from the world and closer to God
- a. human life develop, grows and is sustained by built-in responses of hunger and thirst
- b. if you never eat or drink, or if you stop eating and drinking, you die
- 2. Faith progresses by hungering and thirsting after righteousness
- a. faith progresses by craving the things of God
- b. hungering and thirsting for righteousness is the desire that moves a person closer to God as he takes in the things of God
- 3. How this element relates to faith
- a. Jesus promised that hunger and thirst for righteousness would be satisfied
- b. just as a big meal satisfies our physical life requirements, so will our spiritual life requirements be met also
- C. Mt 5:7-9 -- The perfection of faith
- 1. Faith perfected is when man develops the ability to reflect the character and attributes of God in his own life
- 2. Jesus identified three elements that summarize the character of God
- a. mercy -- receive mercy
- b. purity -- see God
- c. making peace -- called the sons of God
- 3. What a difference this person would make in the world, one who grants mercy to others, lives purely, and makes peace wherever he goes
- 4. How they relate to faith
- a. mercy given produces mercy received -- what all of us need
- b. purity of life is a life resisting sin, which is God's will for us
- c. being a peacemaker is the healing, soothing work of God in putting the world back together after Satan's destructive work
- D. Mt. 5:10-12 -- The trial of faith
- 1. Persecution and suffering as a follower of Jesus will test and prove the validity of your faith
- a. the temptation is always to revert to the ways of the world
- b. under pressure, can you maintain the qualities identified in the beatitudes?
- 2. Without persecution and suffering, anyone might be able to practice the things Jesus taught, but what when it looks like they don't work?
- a. here is where faith is proven
- b. who / what are you going to trust
- c. there is a great difference between the claim and the walk
CONCLUSION
- A. So, here is our overview of the beatitudes and their connection to faith
- 1. God wants us to experience a deep happiness in life
- 2. But it must be on his terms instead of ours
- 3. Faith puts us on his terms
- B. The very first words of this sermon are not simple, sweet pabulum. Jesus challenges the kind of person you are
- 1. What kind of person are you?
- 2. Do the qualities of your life demonstrate your faith in God?
- 3. Are you willing to risk violating the wisdom of the world to be happy?
- C. Invitation
Copyright © 1995, Bill Denton. Permission granted to use sermon outlines for personal study and preparation of sermons, Bible classes or other teaching format. Sermons may not be reprinted in any form without written permission of the author.
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