Matthew 5:13-16

     Satan has thrown every stumbling block in between me and this computer that he can think of.  I have been miserable because I'd make a writing date with God and then wouldn't show up.  That is so wrong.  Thank you, Jesus, for your great capacity to forgive.  We're on the same page tonight and He is writing again.
     Part of the problem was that I couldn't wrap my brain around the Sermon on the Mount. It is three chapters long and I couldn't figure out how Jesus could teach so many people from the top of a mountain.  He didn't!  Jesus went to the top of the mountain and sat in a grassy spot and His disciples sat around Him.  That's where and when He gave them the Beatitudes.
     He called them the salt of the earth and charged them to be the light of the world.  If salt (our testimony) loses its savour, it can't be restored.  It's worthless and all you can do with it is throw it away.  This is what I see as a wake-up call to all of mankind who are believers.  I need to testify that I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ as often as I can.  I need to keep my testimony fresh and alive.  My love for Jesus Christ must be what my mother used to tell us, "First impressions (testimonies) are lasting impressions."
     I was at a store the other day and my check out person was tired, her feet hurt and she was anxious to go home and soak in a hot tub.  I asked her if I could pray for her and she smiled from ear to ear.  Her answer was,"Oh, please do."  I told her I was going to ask God to give her a special blessing the next day.  About a dozen people were standing around, so by the grace of God, I got to talk about Jesus to a dozen or more people just thru our conversation.  I don't know if she got her blessing, but something tells me she did.
     A building that sits on the top of a mountain cannot be seen without light, lots of light. It doesn't need a wick in a petri dish in the window.  It'll just flicker and die out and the building will be lost in the darkness.  However, if I fill a candelabra with candles and set one in each window, my house has a beacon to lead others to me.  My light is my love for my Lord and one I want everyone to see,
     I remember God calling me to be an educator on my first day of kindergarten.  There was no question in my mind that I was to become a teacher.  I have spent my life teaching children from preschool to adults studying for their GED test.  There was VBS, Sunday School, day care and teens at church.  I have written programs used across the nation to help adults learn job skills as well as educating them.  To God is the glory.  In one incident when I was not in fellowship with Him, I lost my ability to speak clearly.  I lost my teaching career.  I was humbled at the feet of the Holy Spirit.  To God still goes the glory.

Matthew 5:12-

It has been awhile since I've been able to continue with my study of the gospel of Matthew. I hurt my back and slept the last few months away on pain pills.  Thank you, Jesus, for helping me heal and for giving me with the patience to heal.

Looking forward in Matthew 5:15, I remember when I first lit my candle and where I put it. I was 14 and we had just moved to Indiana from Michigan.  I lit my candle in my new church in my new town.  It gives off a soft glow, powered by my love for my Lord.  My prayer is that my glow shows Jesus to everyone I encounter, in everything I say, do or think.  If I have caused anyone to turn away from God, I'm so sorry.  He has forgiven me and I pray you will, too.  Let your own light shine.

Emily Dickinson wrote a short poem that I dearly love and would like to share here.  

     "My candle burns at both ends.

          It will not last the night,

     But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends

          It gives a lovely light."

Onward, chapter 5, 6, and 7 are written in great detail and are called "The Sermon on the Mount".  Chapter 5 is the first discourse out of 6 that Matthew records.  It is also instructions sent by God to tell us how to live a Godly life.  Since Matthew was a disciple of Jesus, he was also a student of Christ.  With the invention of the printing press, we can now read what he wrote in his student notebook.  It became the first Gospel out of four in the Bible, and this discourse covers everything Jesus had to say to us.  

Jesus states that He came to fulfill the prophecies and the laws and to save the prophets. Here is where we are told to not change one jot or tittle in the Word.  Well, why not? some of us may ask.  You need to research this because you need to know what a jot or tittle is. They are both diacritical marks found above certain vowels in the Hebrew language.  If they are moved, deleted or changed in any way, the meaning of the word or the word itself could be changed.  The word could have a different meaning or even become a different word.

The same thing can happen in the English language.  For example, the contraction it's means it is.  Supposedly it takes less space to print it but only one space is saved.  In the long run, I suppose it could save a whole page in a book.  If you use the contraction instead of its, you are saying it is instead of the possessive pronoun.  That one little diacritical mark determines the meaning of the word.

I think the Beatitudes are strategically placed at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus lays down the ground rules for life, both then and now.  Matthew wrote long dissertations about these sermons; however, Luke and Mark offer a shortened version of each discourse.  It has been suggested in some of the study books that Mark and Luke wrote shorter versions because they weren't there.  They used their notes from Matthews gospel to write their own version.

The gist of the Beatitudes as the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount gives us the way to live Godly lives, ways to become the teacher of His Word and how to teach it to others. Jesus wanted the Jews to accept Him as the Messiah and He used the discourses to offer eternal life thru salvation.

When Jesus gave His life on the cross, He offered salvation to everyone by becoming a living sacrifice, forgiving our sins and eliminating the need for the animal sacrificial ritual. His blood covered all our sins and we are forgiven if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God who leads us to His Son and forgiveness.

Beatitudes-check your attitude

Matthew 5:3-12

v. 3   "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  I had to humble myself on bended knee in order to have my sins forgiven and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Isaiah 57:15 says, "...I dwell in the high and holy place, with Him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  A humble spirit is one that is not consumed with pride, but is one that is meek and mild when dealing with other people.  God requires me to have a humble spirit in order to accept Him as my Savior.
v. 4  "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."  When Christ ascended into heaven, He sent the Comforter to us.  The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity and He lives in us.  (John 14:17)  He teaches us. (John 14:16)  In I Corinthians 5:11, Paul describes His personality.  He is God, equal to the Father and to the Son.  He is defined in Hebrew as well as in Greek as a "wind, a breath".  Jesus taught that the job of the Holy Spirit is to dwell in me as my Comforter and as my Counselor.  At Pentecost, God revealed Himself in a new way-as a mighty rushing wind that filled the room and each of the disciples.  The Pictorial Bible Dictionary tells us that the Holy Spirit is sadly the neglected One in the Trinity, yet the New Testament is full of references to the Holy Spirit.  Another study for another day.
v. 5   "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."  To be meek, I must be humble but not weak.  I so want to be meek, to have self control, personal integrity and to consider the needs of others before my own.  David tells us that God takes care of the meek in Psalm 22, 25, 27 and in chapter 37:11, David writes, " The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
v. 6  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." This tells me that I will always hunger for the words in the Bible so I call myself Christian.  i want to study my Bible, memorize it and apply it to my life.  I want to understand the words God has given to me in His Holy Word.  I understand now why my dad used so many of his old reference books when he studied his Bible to prepare himself to teach an adult Sunday School class. He was hungry for the Word and wanted to embrace it with understanding.
v. 7   "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."  To be merciful is to be kind and forgiving.  James calls mercy the most powerful virtue a Christian can have.  God showed mercy when He sent His Son to give His life on the cross so my sins could be forgiven.  Jesus showed mercy to the thief who hung on the cross next to Him.  All we have to do to gain His mercy is to accept Him into our hearts.
v. 8  "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."  Purity of heart in the New Testament is considered an inward requirement for entering the kingdom of God.  God cannot look on sin so in order for me to enter His kingdom, I must have a pure heart. Anyone who has not been cleansed of sin cannot enter His kingdom.
v. 9  "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."  Jesus tells me to make peace with those against whom I hold a grudge.  I must forgive them if I am to obey the Lord.  When a wrong is committed against me, I need to consider that perhaps something disturbing is going on in their lives.  I have found that praying for a particular person's salvation helps me to take the focus off the wrong and on the person's soul.  That's right where it should be, offering words of peace and tranquility instead of harsh words.
v. 10  "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  My pastor has described the church as a hospital for sinners.  God heals them there or wherever they are willing to humble themselves before Him.  Remember though, God will not allow sin into heaven.  As soon as I was saved at age 14, Satan attacked.  I was old enough to understand what it meant and how to prepare for it.  I was blessed to have 2 parents who loved the Lord, had a strong support group at church and a best friend who was also saved.  Satan still throws roadblocks in my path during my walk with Jesus.  Most of them, I can kick out of the way.  Some I have to lay at the foot of the cross and let Jesus handle them.
v. 11  "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake."  Haters are just haters, and Christians should love them.  We want to introduce them to Jesus and not be afraid to do so.  If we are persecuted, we can praise God because it sets us apart from the world and gives us the name Christian.  Great rewards await us in heaven and when we are persecuted, God draws us closer to Him and Jesus is glorified.
      If I am being favored by God in a special way, I feel His blessing deep in my heart.  His presence fills the room with joy.  Jesus encourages me to inspect how each individual beatitude impacts my life.  If the beatitudes are a part of my life, then Jesus Christ get the glory because I am His.

Matthew 5:1-16

     The Kingdom of God broke into history in this chapter.  Here we read the "Sermon on the Mount", the best of all the teachings of Jesus.  It is understood the least and disobeyed the most, yet it tells us what He wants us to be and how He wants us to behave.  Praise God for a new age had come upon the land.
     The message of the Sermon on the Mount was quite simple.   REPENT!  The Greek definition of repent is a complete change of mind.  If we read the Sermon on the Mount in this context, it tells us what the world would be like if we obeyed God and studied His Word.  It is a world I would like to live in.
     Jesus observed a great horde of people coming toward Him, believing by faith that He could heal even the worst of their physical afflictions.  He went to the top of the mountain and taught them from there.  That area either had to have had fantastic acoustics, or the mountain magnified His voice, so all could hear.  I just can't picture Jesus with a booming voice that make the babies cry and the men and women shrink away in fear.  I'm going with the heavenly sound system and a crowd of people with hearts yearning to hear the words of the Lord.
     Verses 3-11 are what we call the Beatitudes.  I have written in the margin of my Bible "Beatitudes-check your attitude".  When you read these 8 verses, you can maybe understand that this is what Jesus meant.  Check your attitudes!  How do you treat people? Read each one and check your attitude toward the people described here.
     Jesus says in verse 12 that if your attitude is right toward those in need, your reward in heaven will be awesome.  Not only that, you can feel the love here on earth because you obeyed the Lord and you can rejoice in that.
     You are called the salt of the earth as long as you don't lose your ability to do good things for people, your ability to love them.  Jesus also calls you "the light of the world" for if you are on top of that mountain and your are rejoicing in His greatness, giving Him glory, your light cannot be hidden.
     Remember the childrens' Sunday School song, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine." (author could not be found)  Jesus wants us to let our light, our inner joy, shine for Him and glorifying our Father in heaven.

Matthew 4:17-25

     Jesus made Capernum His home and began His ministry from there.  Read v.17 a couple of times.  What a message He had to begin His ministry!  Those words came from His heart and He still feels that message deep in His spirit.  He wants us all to be genuinely sorry for the sins we have committed against God (repent).
     How close is the kingdom of heaven for those who have repented?  It could be 2 seconds; it could be 80 years.  We don't know when the kingdom of heaven will be our home.  We must be repentant of our sins and live a new life for "the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Read the verse again.  Jesus put His whole ministry into that one sentence. "Repent: the kingdom of heaven is at hand,"
     After speaking those words of warning, and being filled with compassion, Jesus began to gather His disciples so He could begin His ministry.  This group of men walked with Him throughout the last 3-4 years of His life.  They learned while sitting at His feet or while walking by His side. They witnessed His death and His resurrection.  They saw Him ascend into heaven and sit on the throne of David at the right hand of God.  What a gathering of men it was !
     While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He spied His first two disciples hard at work, fishing.  They were named Simon and Andrew.  This was the Simon who was later called Peter or Simon Peter. All He had to say was, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men."  These two men immediately stopped what they were doing, left their fish and their boat and followed Jesus. Did they know who he was?  Had they heard of the Messiah? What kind of power did this man called Jesus have over these two fishermen?
     Then it happens again!  Jesus finds His next two disciples, James and John.  They were mending their fishing nets with their father, Zebedee.  James and John dropped the torn nets, left their boat and their father to immediately follow Jesus.  This man, whom they had never met, never heard of, called to them and they followed Him without so much as a, "By Dad."
     This group of men walked all over Galilee with Jesus, learning about the kingdom of heaven, and the role Jesus and His followers had in it.  Jesus taught about heaven and repentance and the Father.  He healed all who came to Him, knowing that He could heal them.  His fame spread to Syria and they brought their sick, their demon filled and mentally ill friends to be healed.  People believed in Him by merely hearing the stories about Him. Great multitudes followed Him.  People from Galilee, from Decapolis, from Jerusalem and even from as far away as Jordan.  Why?  Jesus, the Messiah, gave them hope.

Matthew 4:12-16

     ON EVANGELISM: PREACH THE GOSPEL AT ALL TIMES: IF NECESSARY, USE WORDS.
(credit to Saint Francis)  In other words, let people see Christ in you.  Live a life that is Christ-like and then introduce them to Jesus with your words.  Your own personal relationship with Him is the best place to start.
     Ephesians 1:13 says, " In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye are sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."
     I Thessalonians 1:5-6 says, "For our gospel came not to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. (6) and ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost."
     Old Testament kings would send decrees, invitations or announcements on scrolls to the largest cities and they would seal those scrolls with a drop of wax and an impression of their signet ring.  That signet impression proved that the message was from the king.  This practice was followed in England thru the 1800's.  The king sealed the news with his signet just as Jesus sealed us with His blood and by our faith.
     Thus began the start of the ministry of Jesus Christ.  John the Baptist had completed his mission as the forerunner of the Messiah and was in jail for continuing to preach the gospel. John had to decrease in status so Jesus could increase before the children of Israel.
     After His baptism, Jesus went from the Jordan River to Sycar which was about 40 miles from Jerusalem,  then to Samaria and to Nazareth and then to  Capernaum.  This was near a lake near Zebulon and Nephthalim.  This fulfilled a prophecy by the prophet Esaiah in Isaiah 9:1-2 stating that "the land of Zebulon and the land of Nephthalim, by way of the sea, beyond Jordan, to Galilee of the Gentiles. (2) The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up."
     Such a beautiful verse for God to introduce His Son to the Gentiles.  Take the time right now to read Isaiah 9:2 several times, then close your eyes and feel the Holy Spirit fill you up.  What a way to get closer to God.

          "Earth's crammed with heaven.
               And every common bush alive with God,
          But only he who sees, takes off his shoes.
               The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries."
from "Aurora Leigh" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

Matthew 4:1-11

Upon being baptized by His cousin, John, Jesus began His ministry.  The Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness, where after fasting for forty days and forty nights, Satan appeared to Him.  My mother always called me her "why child" so I wonder why the Holy Spirit led Jesus, the man, into the wilderness, knowing Satan would appear to tempt Him at the end of His fast. 

     I think the key here is that Jesus is now a man, and He had to defeat the temptations that Satan offered to Him in order to give us a plan, to prepare us to successfully resist Satan.  The plan is really quite simple.  Know the scriptures.

     Picture Jesus in the wilderness for forty days and nights.  I imagine He spent His time communing with the Father, getting hungrier every day.  Satan caught Him in this physically weakened state and very slyly said to Him, "If You truly the Son of God, just turn those stones into bread."

     Jesus was ready for him.  "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  Notice that Jesus quoted Old Testament Scripture.  In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses wrote to the Israelites to remind them of all God had done for them in the wilderness.  He wrote " . . . that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."

     Satan then took Jesus to the holy city.  Remember, Jesus is still in a weakened state from not eating.  From the pinnacle of the temple, Satan again tempted Jesus.  It reads to me more like Satan was taunting Jesus.  He even quoted Scripture for this one. Psalm 91:11-12  "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.   They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."

     Again, Jesus replied, "It is written.  Thou shall not temp the Lord thy God."  What if Jesus, the man, threw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and no angels appeared to catch him?  The plan Jesus gives us is that we are to be true to the Scriptures, the holy Word of God.

     Satan tried to tempt Jesus one more time.  He took Him to the top of high mountain, showing Him all the beauty and grandeur of the world below Him.  Satan offered to give all the beauty and glory before Him to Jesus if He would only bow down and worship him.  Ah, the ultimate motive is revealed.  Satan went through all this to get Jesus to deny God and to worship him by offering to Him a world that was already His.

     Jesus responded with, "Get thee hence, Satan:  For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thy serve."

     Realizing he was beaten, Satan left Jesus alone, and then the angels came and took care of His physical needs.  3 temptations, 3 wins for Christ.  Jesus had to know that Satan's ultimate goal was to get Him to worship the great deceiver as he wants us to bow down before him.

     Jesus showed us that when we are tempted by Satan, to search the Scriptures, to not tempt or challenge God and to not worship anyone or anything except the one true God.