Sermon on the Mount 

Message 1 

Blessed 

1. Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom
   1. Jesus is travelling from town-to-town teaching and healing people.
      1. Matthew 4:23–25 See back cover.
   2. Jesus climbs a mountain.
      1. Matthew 5:1–2 (NLT) — 1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them.
2. The Happy Song
   1. It will cheer you up!
      1. Clap along!
   2. I want to be happy.
      1. Do you?
      2. The problem is we seek it in the wrong places.
      3. Write down the ones you are tempted by.
      4. ______________________________________
   3. God has a different path.
      1. We can see living the Christian life as a joy kill.
      2. Give it a fair hearing.
3. Blessed 
   1. Means happy, fortunate, blissful.
      1. It would describe an inward contentedness that is not affected by circumstances.
      2. Philippians 4:11–13 (NLT) — 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
   2. The word blessed is often used of God Himself.
      1. Psalm 68:35 (ESV) — 35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! 
      2. Psalm 72:18–19 
      3. Blessedness is a characteristic of God.
      4. God wants that same blessedness for us.
   3. There is a catch.
      1. It only comes by a personal relationship with Jesus.
      2. “To be blessed is not a superficial feeling of well-being based on circumstance, but a deep supernatural experience of contentedness based on the fact that one’s life is right with God.”
4. The Beatitudes seem paradoxical.
   1. Poor in spirit???
      1. Matthew 5:3 (ESV) — 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
      2. “By normal human standards such things as humility, mourning, desire for righteousness, mercy, and persecution are not the stuff of which happiness is made.”
   2. Jesus has changed the price tags.
      1. He teaches that misery endured for the right purpose and in the right way is the key to happiness.
      2. The world says, “Happy are the rich, the virtuous, the successful, the macho, the glamorous, the popular, the famous, the aggressive.
      3. Solomon had something to say about this.
         1. Ecclesiastes 1:2–3 (GW) — 2 “Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless.” 3 What do people gain from all their hard work under the sun?
5. Jesus is going to guide us on a different path.

A path of true blessedness