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Salt + Light Community is a SOMA church plant in the heart of Fort Worth, TX. Here you’ll find teaching and discussions from our gatherings on Sundays.
Last time I was up here, um.
It was my daughter Bell's 13th birthday
and today it's my son's 15th birthday.
So emotionally I'm doing great.
No, it's been actually I think a gift from
the Lord that on these milestone birthdays
that they have fallen on a Sunday that
I am reminded, um, to root myself.
In God's word, um, to keep my eyes fixed
upon him in prayer, to be surrounded
in community with one another.
You know, those, they're, um, we
always need, we always need the Lord.
And sometimes we get these moments
like milestone birthdays of children
that you are shepherding to remind
you of how much you need the Lord.
And so I'm thankful, um, that
we've gotten to mark these
birthdays together on Sundays.
So.
Um, but today, yeah, we are
introducing a new sermon series
and I'm really excited for it.
I love the book of Matthew and so, but
getting to root ourselves in the Sermon
on the Mount is just, I mean, I'm just
so excited to see what we are going to
glean from it, what the Lord has for us.
Uh, this Sermon on the Mount
is considered Jesus' manifesto.
You know, it is his.
It, it is all of his, like the essence of
his teaching, the is right there for us.
And, uh, so it's found in the book of
Matthew, chapters five through seven.
And if you don't know much about Matthew,
Matthew was one of the disciples who
he, he was the one who chose to leave
his old life and as a tax collector.
And he literally got up and
went and followed Jesus.
Jesus said, follow me.
And he went.
And so as a tax collector, he not only
would've been educated, he uh, he also
would've been good at record keeping.
And he also probably understood, we
would assume he understood Greek,
that he understood Hebrew and
he understood Aramaic, which was
the popular language at the time.
So all of that makes Matthew the
ideal person to have recorded Jesus's
teaching, uh, to have recorded
this chunk of teaching for us.
And because he's the one that's gonna
give us the most robust picture of what
Jesus is trying to convey with his words.
And I just think that's a really cool
example of how God uses a person's skills
and talents for his purposes and glory.
The fact that he chose Matthew
to record the Sermon on the
Mount, I don't, I, I think that's
intentional for who Matthew was.
And one common way that we
approach reading the Bible is we
read short passages at a time.
And that's great, like keep doing that.
The Sermon on the Mount is a great
piece of scripture to do that with.
We can take it in small chunks at a
time and chew on it 'cause there's
so much to take away from it.
And so it's really good to sit with
a small passage of it at a time.
And when you do that, we often pick up on
details or something specific will stand
out to us, kind of capture our attention.
And reading a smaller portion,
uh, it means we're more likely to
remember the thing that we've read.
You know, uh, I'm notorious for
reading a book and being like,
that was such an incredible book.
And then when someone asks what it is,
I'm like, I, I don't really remember.
I just remember I really liked it,
you know, so when we read small
portions of scripture, we can actually
begin to remember those details.
And if, if you pay attention to our
newsletter in the newsletter each
week, we try and give you, uh, the
scripture that we're gonna be teaching
of the following week, so that you
can spend some time for yourselves
being in that scripture passage.
We want you to meditate on it too.
We want, uh, we want the
Holy Spirit to speak to you
personally throughout the week.
But there's something I wanna
challenge you guys with today,
uh, in addition this week.
Um, and then this is probably just,
this is the English teacher in me.
Um, but here's what I'm
gonna suggest for each of us.
I wanna suggest that we read the
entire book of Matthew this week.
It's 28 chapters long.
Uh, so you can divide
it up over a few days.
You can listen to it while you're driving,
uh, you know, do whatever it is that you
can kind of just take the next few days,
the next week to read the entire book.
Okay?
And the reason why is because when you
do read an entire book of scripture,
uh, in a short amount of time, it's
easier for us to kind of pick up on
the themes, the thread that, uh, the
author is trying to get, um, get.
Uh, communicate to us.
It can help give us like a great
overview of the land, you know, to
that we can just kind of see what
he's trying to repeat, what the author
is trying to repeat over and over.
What's the main idea?
You get to notice what the
point is, what the author is
actually trying to emphasize.
And so I wanted, I want
us to do that this week.
Um, even though we're not studying
the whole book of Matthew, it's
gonna help us as we study this short
passage, um, looking when we're
zooming in on these three really
important chapters in the book.
So that's why I'm encouraging you this
week to read the whole thing so that
when we're looking at the Sermon on the
Mount, you also have this broader picture
of the person of Jesus and his ministry.
Okay.
So.
See, see if you can make
that happen this week.
Um, the book of Matthew, though, what
it's doing is it's placing a lot of
emphasis on Jesus' teaching, which
is a core tenet of his ministry.
And the main message in Matthew's
words is that he wants everybody
to know that Jesus is the king.
And he's not trying to emphasize that
Jesus the king of the Jews, but he's
trying to emphasize that Jesus is
the king of the entire human race.
And man, don't we live in a world right
now where that truth has been forgotten.
So when Matthew records the Sermon on
the Mount, what he wants is he wants the
reader to understand this is the king of
the world talking, and he's explaining
what it means to be part of his kingdom.
So he's saying, listen up.
This is not just a great teacher.
This is the king of the world
speaking to us right now.
And what we are supposed to realize is
that that means that this is unexpected.
It's upside down.
It is unlike the ways of the world.
In the Sermon on the Mount, uh,
Jesus gives us the clearest picture
of what life in the kingdom of God
actually looks like and how his
people throughout the ages, throughout
time can participate and continue,
uh, can continue in that kingdom.
And so instead of offering a checklist
for a moral improvement, what Jesus is
doing right now is he's gonna paint a
vision of a radically different kind
of life and a radically different group
of people, and he's describing who will
make up his kingdom, the kingdom of God.
So, uh, uh, today, or actually over the
next couple months, as we're looking at
this sermon, um, Jesus' sermon, you're
gonna notice a lot of plural pronouns
because this is not an individual charge.
This is not just a personal plan.
This is him characterizing a people group.
So, as we walk through this sermon
series over the next couple of months,
I want you to keep asking, what does it
mean to belong to the Kingdom of God?
What does it look like to belong
to the Kingdom of God, his economy?
So before we get into the actual Sermon
on the Mount, though, it's important
to pause for a minute and get some
context for what he's been doing
and who he is, who he is addressing.
So it starts in chapter five,
so we're gonna look back at
chapter four for a minute.
Jesus begins his earthly ministry
in chapter four in verse 17
of chapter four says this.
From that time on, Jesus began
to preach, repent from the
kingdom of heaven has come near.
The message version says it plainly.
The message version
says, change your life.
The kingdom is here.
That was his message.
That was the beginning of Jesus' ministry.
That's his message
that's going to carry on.
And then in chapter five, when we
get to the Sermon on the Mount,
um, verse one sets the scene for
us by saying, seeing the crowds.
Jesus went up on the mountain.
And he opened his mouth and
he taught seeing the crowds.
So it's important to
understand who he is teaching.
Who, who is this crowd?
Something about this crowd motivated
him to give this incredible sermon.
Who are they?
Who is this audience?
Well, again, we're gonna look back,
um, at the end of chapter four,
chapter four, verse 23 says this.
Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching
in their synagogues, proclaiming
the good news of the kingdom.
Uh, there's that kingdom mindset
and healing every disease and
sickness among the people.
News about him spread all over Syria
and people brought to him all who
were ill with various diseases.
Those suffering severe pain, the demon
possessed those having seizures and
the paralyzed, and he healed them.
Large crowds from Galilee, the Deco
Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the
region across the Jordan followed him.
So this crowd, these crowds were
made up of some of his disciple or
all of his disciples, the the 12
disciples and his followers, other
people that have been following him.
But he was also surrounded by
the sick and the oppressed, the
afflicted, the poor, the curious.
The marginalized, the people that are
trying to figure out who is this guy.
So when he sees the crowds.
He begins to teach and he opens
with this famous list of blessings.
Um, and I'm, and we're gonna
be looking at that today.
And as I was studying and preparing for
it this week, and even when I walked in,
I was talking with Mike and we said we
could have made an entire sermon series
going through, um, blessing by blessing.
There's so much to say, and I'm just gonna
give a, a, a fly by overview of them all.
But before we can even look at the
list of blessings, it's important
that we first grasp, uh, what
this word blessed even means.
Because blessed means a lot
of different things to a lot
of different people, right?
So what is Jesus actually
trying to convey here?
What is he, what's he doing?
This word?
Blessed.
It can be translated to mean, um,
happy Are you or blessed are you?
Congratulations.
That is the good life.
This, this blessing.
When he says blessed are you, it's like
he's pointing and saying, this is a,
this is a blessed person right here.
This is an example of a blessed person.
He's not pronouncing blessing.
He's just saying this is a blessed person.
It's a way to describe someone
who you think is experiencing
blessing or God's favor.
Life is good for this person.
So the problem though, when we heard
that list read, uh, is that we would not
classify these statements as good things.
So what Jesus is doing here is
he's saying he's starting off.
This profound sermon by
saying Your understanding of
the good life is inaccurate.
And let me tell you what the
good life is and why it matters.
So think about that for a second.
What is the good life for you?
I think this is really an
important heart check for us.
Um, what do you long for So that
you feel like you could actually,
honestly say, I have the good life.
What is it that you feel is
missing from your life that is
preventing you from saying that?
What do you believe you need and
who is shaping that belief in you?
Is it that you think you need
more time or a better job?
Or more money or good health
or happy kids, um, you know,
a better title, social status.
What is it that makes you think
If I just had this missing piece,
then I would be truly blessed?
I, there is something in each one of us
that is believing something that is not
true of the kingdom of God that we're
thinking, if we just have this one thing,
then we will have the blessed life.
And I think it's important
to sit and wrestle with that.
We need to know and confess what it is.
That's kind of having a
tug on our heart right now.
We look out at others and we
think, oh, that's the good life.
They're the ones that have the good life.
We are so quick to size ourselves up based
on the world and the culture around us.
Every human is searching for the good
life, but what is actually the good
life And Jesus's teaching here gives us
a radically different vision for that.
And it's rooted in his kingdom,
not the kingdom of this world.
And that's what we have
to be careful about.
So Jesus looking around at this
crowd, this crowd of misfits and
broken people and hurting people
and lost people and confused and
marginalized, he's looking at them.
All these people with, uh, regular
people with regular needs, and
he's saying, let me tell you what
actually makes the good life.
And so that's what he means when
he's using the word blessed here.
These are actually identity
statements tied to a kingdom blessing.
So you kind of have to read it separately.
The blessing isn't the first part of
the statement, it's what comes after.
So there's the identity
followed by the blessing.
So what he's doing is he's
recognizing who these people are.
He's making statements about each
person, and he's hoping, and he's
hoping for us too, that we identify
ourselves with one of these statements.
He's placing value on each one of
us because though the world looks at
this list and says that those people
we would classify as unblessed, those
people, they don't have the good life.
Jesus say, no.
And my kingdom, they are the blessed ones.
So this list of blessings and can we put
the, is there a way to put the scripture
back up so we can just continue to.
Um, let's go to the next one.
Find the list of perfect.
Okay.
So that way we can see, we can
just kind of follow along as
we, um, are talking about these.
Okay.
Um, so what he's doing here, this list,
list of blessings, it's an invitation
for us to reframe our situations.
Everything about the kingdom of
God is upside down in nature.
And, um, if you wanna do a deeper dive
into all these, 'cause like I said, I'm
gonna give an overview on all this, but
if you really wanna geek out and learn
a lot more about this, y'all, the Bible
Project is rich in information on the
Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount.
So, uh, enjoy digging around
there if you're interested in
especially learning this, um,
more about this idea of blessing.
But, um, in one of the articles
or podcasts, um, Tim Mackey, he
says, he phrased it like this.
He says, the logic of these
sayings depends on Jesus' claim
that he is bringing the kingdom of
God on Earth as it is in heaven.
And the Kingdom of God brings a
total reversal of our value systems
and our estimations of who are
the fortunate ones, and that's
the work these sayings are doing.
It is a total reversal
of our value system.
So that being said, let's look
at this list of blessings.
We're gonna start at the
beginning and work through them.
The first one says this.
Jesus says, blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Okay, so notice the present
tense of the first blessing.
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
There you go.
The kingdom is here.
Jesus is proclaiming it.
The kingdom is here, and it's
for the relationally poor
and the economically poor.
And the spiritually poor, the ones who
know that they're bankrupt, that they're
dead in their sins and they need a savior.
It's for the ones who feel their
poverty and their in inadequacy.
It's for people who know they need Jesus,
and that's the blessing because if we
forget our need, then we forget Jesus.
Who has ever felt completely aware
that you have got nothing to offer?
Maybe you have felt completely empty or
unimportant, or overlooked or unseen.
Have you ever felt so desperate
for help, but you know you've
got nothing to give in return?
How often do you wake up
and you just feel so needy?
That's such an uncomfortable
position to find ourselves in.
Like you have no power
over your situation,
and this is good news.
Jesus says, congratulations, blessings.
What a good life.
Because the kingdom is for you.
This is all grace because we come
needy and Jesus takes our poverty
and he offers us his kingdom.
Man, that's really good news.
And then the next blessing says,
blessed are those who mourn
for they will be comforted.
And there's a verb change
there if you catch it.
They will be comforted.
And it's interesting to note that in the
first blessing and in the last blessing
in this list, the verbs are present tense.
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
But then there's these blessings in
the middle where the tense is future.
It will be you will be.
They will be.
It's as if Jesus is trying to convey
that the kingdom of heaven is here
now, but there's more to come.
We will receive these blessings now
in part, but a day is coming when
there will no longer be mourning.
The world is broken.
We're all in agreement on that.
The world needs a savior.
There is so much to mourn
and we mourn our own sin.
Our own wrong choice choices.
That is a good right and holy response
to our sin as we are led to repentance.
But there's more that he's talking about
here when he says, blessed are those who
mourn because he is also talking about
the heartbroken and the grieving, the
people who are sitting there hurting, the
people who are sitting here today hurting.
He sees and understands.
That the world can be such a painful
place that we also are sitting here
mourning things like aging bodies and
war corrupt politicians and leaders
who compare themselves to Jesus.
We mourn the loss of someone that we love.
We mourn broken relationships,
estranged family members.
We mourn racial injustice.
We rem, we mourn all kinds of abuse
and manipulation that we see and the
list goes on and on and on of the
things that we each mourn and we all
have really small personal grief that
we carry that aren't personal to us.
Maybe that's a fresh wound
that we're carrying, or maybe
it's scars from our past.
I know, and I, I know that we could
take the rest of the time here and
we could just all take turns listing
out the things that break our hearts.
But as com, as uncomfortable
as it is, there's something
about mourning that prevents us.
From being apathetic.
Uh, I was reading something and
a commentator put it this way,
mourning is intuition that things
are not right, that more is possible.
It's intuition that things are not right.
And Jesus says in his kingdom,
those who mourn will be comforted.
He meets us with his
unfailing love and comfort.
He sees you and he says, I bless you.
I offer comfort.
You are not alone.
The next blessing says, blessed are the
meek for they will inherit the earth.
In this word, meek, he's talking about
the powerless, the ones who are passed
up, who are passed by, who don't
have a voice or influence, who don't
seem to be able to affect change.
Uh, and Jesus sees them and he
blesses them by saying that they
will inherit the earth, that this
place where they have no power.
The place where they go unnoticed or
they're taken advantage of where they're
oppressed and unable to change things.
Jesus says, this is for you.
He takes it from the powerful and he gives
it to the powerless, and he says they
will be the ones to inherit the earth.
Do you see how radical that is?
He gives them a future
inheritance that they could have
never imagined for themselves.
He goes on to them blessed.
He says, blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
This is a blessing for those who desire
righteousness, but know what they lack.
Knowing that keeping all of the
commands is impossible for us.
And I think it's so, um, intentional
that this blessing comes before we
even get into the rest of the sermon.
Because when you know you are unable
to do the things that God calls us
to do, Jesus says, blessed are you.
You will be filled with the
righteousness that you lack, but you
long for because I will fill you.
I love this blessing.
I love this blessing so much because
it keeps us from a false theology
that says righteousness is achieved
by works or that we can earn it.
Because so many of us want to do good.
We want to love well.
We want to obey God.
We want to seek justice and
speak truth and show love.
But I don't know about you guys, but I
really struggle with feeling defeated.
And frustrated at myself
when I miss the mark.
Striving doesn't make it easier.
Working harder doesn't do it.
We can't make ourselves
righteous, true righteousness.
Uh, what we're seeking
cannot come from us.
It has to come from God.
We need to be filled so that
how we live in this world will
display his righteousness.
So if we hunger and thirst for
righteousness, if we desire to do
good, if we desire to obey, but we
keep falling short, which is all of us,
then you are blessed because you are
in a posture to be filled with Jesus.
What grace?
So those first four blessings of this
list, they address our condition.
They're not virtues, they
are states of condition.
This is who we find ourselves
to be who we are, how we
identify ourselves and Jesus is.
Jesus blesses each one with
grace by offering his kingdom,
his comfort by offering himself.
But then the next three, uh, blessings,
they address our actions towards others.
And they say, Jesus says this, blessed are
the merciful for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in
heart for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers for
they will be called children of God.
It is if as if Jesus is saying to
us in each of these blessings in
my kingdom, you are the merciful.
You are the pure in heart.
You are the peacemakers.
Because you are in me, you are
part of the kingdom of God.
So live that out as you bless others.
I will bless you as you show mercy.
I will show you mercy.
Is this not a picture
of what the world needs?
People need to experience
mercy as followers of Jesus.
We need to seek what is
pure and beautiful and good.
We need to pursue peace.
We need to engage and
participate and pursue shalom.
So the question for all
of us is who or where.
Do you need to extend these actions,
and some of us already extend these
actions and you're weary and discouraged.
It's as if you're swimming against
the current and maybe you feel
hopeless and you wanna quit, but
Jesus speaks a blessing over you.
For those of us who selflessly
show mercy, God shows you his.
For those who are pure in heart,
God gives you a picture of himself.
And for those who do the hard
work of seeking peace, God
says, blessed are you my child.
The rest of these blessings go like this.
Sorry, in verse 10, blessed are those who
are persecuted because of righteousness.
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you and people insult
you, persecute you and falsely say
all kinds of evil against you because
of me, rejoice and be glad because
great is your reward in heaven.
For in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you.
Jesus is telling us these blessings
are ours because we are his.
Here is your identity
as a follower of Jesus.
You are the blessed.
You are blessed now, and you will
be blessed 'cause God blesses people
who find their identity in him.
The kingdom is for people who are
poor in spirit, who mourn over
sin and brokenness, who are meek.
Who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Who are the merciful, the pure
in heart, the peacemakers.
This list is not a list of virtues
or commands or things we must become.
This is not a list of things we must
do in order to enter the kingdom.
Instead, Jesus is saying, do
you identify with this list?
Where do you see yourself?
And welcome to the kingdom.
Pull up a chair and come
have a seat at the table.
Let me bless you.
Have a taste of the good life.
A foretaste of what my kingdom will
be like in fullness when I return.
We are to begin living that
ethic and perspective here and
now, not one day in the future.
So the question for us is.
Are we able to be honest with
God about the state of our own
heart and our own condition?
Where do you find yourself in this list?
When you hear this red, when you
look at these blessings, where do
you find yourself identifying most?
Do you feel the weight of
your poverty and helplessness?
Do you feel powerless in your own life?
Are you needy and desperate?
Are you mourning and
carrying grief day after day?
Are you longing to do good and live
well, but you keep falling short?
Do you feel taken advantage of the
mercy that you extend to others?
Do you feel mocked by your
purity and your sincere motives?
Are you worn out from believing
in and fighting for peace?
What blessing then do
you receive from God?
We are accepted, loved, and blessed by God
completely and totally because of Jesus.
Our perfect savior who perfectly
embodied this list of blessings who
died in our place and rose in victory
for us to be accepted as we are.
And so as we prepare to take
communion this morning, I
want us to notice something.
Ultimately, we see that Jesus is
the embodiment of these passages.
That he didn't just teach us these
blessings, but he became who he blesses.
He became the one who was poor in spirit.
He mourned so that we would be comforted.
He was despised and rejected
in his meekness so that we
could inherit the earth.
He became sin so that in him.
We would become the righteousness of God.
Jesus was rejected and shamed
so that we could receive mercy.
Jesus was the sinless son of God, so
pure and faithful so that we might be
able to have a new heart and see God.
Jesus poured out his blood on the cross
so that we could have peace with God.
He was the one who was wrongfully
persecuted so that we could
be part of his kingdom.
That's our king.
That is the king of the world.
This is his kingdom that he's
describing, and we get to be part of
it today and look forward to it coming
in fullness when he returns again.
And so with that in mind, I want to
invite each one of us to come to the
table to receive the bread and wine,
and we'll celebrate that together.