Who’s Invited? If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead. William Law 2/3/2019

The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of principles to be obeyed apart from identification with Jesus Christ. The Sermon on the Mount is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting His way with us. Oswald Chambers

Matthew 7:24 Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock…

Matthew 7:24 Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock…

Matthew 23:25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

The New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31-34 Hebrews 8:8-12 – Vs. 13 - In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The Beatitudes Blessed are the/those…Matthew 5:2-11 Blessed are you who are…Luke 6:20-22

John 7:47-49 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”

Luke 15:1-2 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Matthew 4:23-25 - And He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and He healed them. And great crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 9:36 When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Blessed means happy here - makários describes a believer in enviable (fortunate) position from receiving God's provisions (favor) – which extend (make long, large) His grace (benefits). Greek Helps

Blessed… Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Luke 6:20 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

Blessed… Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Luke 6:20 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

Poor in Spirit To crouch or cower like a beggar. Deeply destitute, completely lacking resources relates to the pauper rather than the mere peasant, the extreme opposite of the rich – Greek Helps Universally, lacking in anything, with a dative as respects their spirit, i. e. destitute of the wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools afford. - Thayer Greek Lexicon

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For Our Consideration What do you think poor in spirit means and what do you think Jesus meant by it? What does the Gospel mean to you? What does the New Covenant promise? Are you an important member in God’s Kingdom? Why or why not?

Prayer Focus Thank You Father for the glorious good news of the Gospel! Thank You for Your Word to show us what You think of us and what You have planned for us. Thank You that we are blessed!