The “Sermon on the Mount” was our Lord’s call to service and obedience to His followers no matter the cost. It still speaks today.
Matthew 5: The Sermon on the Mount
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
The Beatitudes
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13 "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Christ Came to Fulfil the Law
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Anger
21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last cent.
Lust
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Divorce
31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'
32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Oaths
33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'
34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
37 Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.
Retaliation
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Love Your Enemies
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.'
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 6: Giving to the Needy
1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Lord's Prayer
5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Fasting
16 "And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 "No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.
Do Not Be Anxious
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Things to think about…
1. The Sermon on the Mount begins with bold statements about what it is to be blessed. This certainly would have been encouraging and sharpened the focus of our Lord’s hearers. The Beatitudes is the name given to Mt 5:2-12. It is derived from the Latin word beātitūdō which means ‘happiness’. The point being that we are happy and blessed when we have these character traits. Note that not all of them feel good or give a sense of euphoria. Being poor in spirit, or mourning does not feel good and yet our Lord says that when this is our frame the promise is that we will see the kingdom of heaven and be comforted. Wonderful promises.
2. Salt and light, Mt 5:13-16, for the believer means that there is an effective influence. Light obviously exposes objects. We expose sin, hurts, pain, but also things of value like, integrity, honour, faithfulness. This is what our witness does in this world. Often, we see this passage in the negative, gospel light exposing the moral darkness of the world. This is true, but there are also wonderful things to be seen in people and indeed in creation that the gospel light shows as points of beauty, wonder and encouragement. Salt in like manner is both used as a condiment to make food taste better but is also used as a disinfectant against disease in an open wound. One use is pleasant, the other painful, but both are beneficial.
3. Christ did not come to abolish the law but fulfil it, Mt 5:17-20. We do not go soft on the law’s requirements; the law is the Lord’s schoolmaster against our sinful behaviour and desires. We are called to be holy as He is holy. But the ultimate truth is that we can never fully keep the law’s requirements. But praise the Lord – Christ came to fulfil the law. This is the gospel that we take into the world. Christ is our righteousness.
4. There is some very good advice from our Lord in Mt 5:21-26 with respect to anger and heart attitudes towards others, especially in this context towards other believers. This comes into focus with respect to our service and worship within the fellowship. Our Lord hates hypocrisy. His most vehement words were against the Pharisees who were the epitome of hypocritical worship. Our worship is hypocritical when we offer it up knowing there is something not right between someone else within the church, vs 23. Our Lord would rather have us be reconciled than receive our tainted offering. To continue to offer our gifts of praise and tithes regardless would show a similar spirit to Aaron’s sons offering strange fire, Lev 10:1-3.
5. There has been a lot written about Jesus’ words on divorce and remarriage, Mt 5:31, 32. The Lord is looking at the heart, not the contract. One of the laws of the Pharisees meant they only needed to say ‘I divorce you’ three times to their wives and they were released from their marriage vows. But this does not fly in the sight of God. God does not have such a fickle view of marriage. Divorce sadly does happen, but as our Lord would say later in Mt 19:8 it was not this way from the beginning. Please pray for the young couples in the church that the Lord speaks to them regarding this institution and affirms what marriage truly reflects - the mystery of Christ and His bride – the church.
6. There is plenty we could say about oaths etc in Mt 5:33-37. But have a look at what Jesus says regarding Jerusalem, vs 35. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, especially with the current situation happening in Israel. This city will one day have the great King Jesus literally rule from there for 1000 years. For the rest of these verses it is enough to ‘say what you mean and mean what you say’.
7. The verses on retaliation and loving your enemies are timeless, Mt 5:38-48, but they are incredibly difficult to put into practise when there is a lot of emotion and heat in the various situations they are applied to. Nevertheless, these are abiding truths for all Christians for all ages. What does Jesus mean by saying “turn the other cheek” and “give him your tunic also”? Does He mean we should be door mats? Again, the focus here is the heart. We should be ready to endure persecution and be ready to forgive. That should be the first port of call. Indeed Jesus would later say to Peter, “forgive seventy times seven”, Mt 18:22. Our Lord does not mean give away everything and allow ourselves to be robbed and abused, because he speaks about protecting ourselves against the one who “steals, kills and destroys”, Jn 10:10. Retaliation and vengeance however should be left primarily with the Lord, and the state Rom 13:1-8. Justice will be meted out, but our initial response to all is to show Christ’s character. Paul also echoes the same spirit with the Corinthians when they were taking each other to court, 1Cor 6:6.
8. Do you notice the theme in Mt 6:1-18; secrecy. When it comes to doing works of faith whether it is giving to the poor, praying to the Father, or fasting, it should all be done before God and not before others. As a pastor I see the most faithful members of our congregation just going about quietly serving, whether it is serving in the cafe, teaching our precious children, cleaning our facilities, mowing our property, looking after our admin, running a cell group, running audio and visual, etc. These things are not up-front ministries, but without them our church simply wouldn’t function. Please encourage those in the fellowship who you know are doing an amazing job behind the scenes. God the Father is smiling upon them.
9. So what’s it all about? Mt 6:19-34 tells us. Our treasure is not on this earth, vss 19-24, so why should we be concerned, vss 25-34. This is the heart of our faith. The One who is unseen is in control of all that is seen. So, let’s act as if this is always the case. There is some very good advice from our Lord in Mt 6:21-26. Especially when it comes to our service and worship within the fellowship.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer. This week we consider Psalm 8 – O Lord our Lord how majestic is your name.
Prayer Points
1. A new admin and finance officer for CBC. Pray for God’s choosing in this role.
2. Prayer for Israel, Gaza and Lebanon for peace to descend over the region.
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
7. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
8. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
9. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
10. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
11. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Lots of joy at our service on Sunday
2. More new visitors on Sunday. Pray they feel welcomed in the church
3. Café, music, sound and technical team every week
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members meeting – AGM - 24th Nov after the service
2. PlayPatch Friday mornings – 9:30am. Contact Anna for details
3. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
4. Carols Sunday 22nd Dec starting from 3pm.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 26. Who tempted them to this sin? A. The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam.
