Learn
From Me
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. Do
you remember your favorite school teacher?
1. In the third grade I had a teacher named
Geraldine Aldy. She was tough and hard. One day she
snatched me up by the collar and took me
to the principal’s office where I received a paddling
because I wasn’t paying attention. She
called my parents. They, too, got my attention! Mrs. Aldy
was tough but she became one of my favorite
teachers because she cared.
2. Jesus was a tough teacher. He taught
things that go against the grain of human nature. The
world was his classroom. Everyday life
was his blackboard/whiteboard. The word
of God was his
textbook.
3. Jesus did more than lecture. He lived.
He did more than teach. He practiced. He did more than
tell. He demonstrated.
4. To everyone who responded to His
invitation, “Come unto me,” he said, “learn from me”
(Matthew 11:29).
B. There
is one passage of Scripture that provides us with a broad view of the
curriculum Jesus used.
This passage is the Sermon on the Mount in
Matthew 5-7.
1. The Sermon on the Mount is universally
recognized as one of the greatest pieces of literature
ever written.
2. President Harry Truman said there were
few problems in the world that could not be solved if
people would abide by the teachings of
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
3. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught
about attitudes (5:3-12); Influence (5:13-16); Motives
of our hearts (5:17-48); Prayer and
giving (6:1-13); Forgiveness (6:14-15); Fasting (6:16-18);
Treasure in life (6:19-34); Judging
others (7:1-6); Asking God for what we need (7:4-11);
Obedience to God (7:12-23).
4. Why did Jesus teach these things? Notice the end of the message in Matthew 7:24-28.
“Therefore everyone who hears these
words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a
wise man who built his house on the
rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds
blew and slammed against that house; and
yet it did not fall, for it had
been founded on the rock.
26 Everyone who hears
these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man
who built his house on the sand. 27 The
rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
slammed against that house; and it
fell—and great was its fall.”
5. Jesus taught these things so we can know
how to build our house (life).
C. Matthew
5 begins with 8 statements commonly known as the “Beatitudes.”
1. The word “beatitude” means – “blessed.”
Some people have said it means “happy.” (Robert
Schuller wrote a book entitled, The
Be-Happy Attitudes). The word means much more than
superficial happiness. It means deep,
fulfilling joy. In Matthew 4:17 Jesus began preaching,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.” These verses describe the characteristics of that
kingdom.
2. What are these attitudes?
I. HUMILITY
A. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
1. It seems odd to find the words
“Blessed” and “poor” in the same sentence.
2. According to William Barclay this
phrase underwent three stages of development.
a. Originally it meant poor from a
materialistic standpoint.
b. Then it came to refer to a person who
was without prestige because of their poverty.
c. Finally it came to mean a person
who does not place their trust in anything of this life but is
wholly dependent upon God.
B. There is a vivid contrast between the
humility Jesus teaches and the pride and arrogance of the
Pharisees, Sadducees and religious
leaders of His day.
1. In Matthew 23:5-7 Jesus said,” But
they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they
broaden their phylacteries and
lengthen the tassels of their garments.
6 They love the place of
honor at banquets and the chief
seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the
market places, and being called
Rabbi by men.”
2. To the contrary James wrote, “Humble
yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will
exalt you” (James 4:10).
3. Peter wrote, “Clothe yourselves with
humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the
proud, but gives grace to the
humble.6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of
God, that He may exalt you at the
proper time.”
II. BROKENNESS
A. When Jesus said, “Blessed are those who
mourn,” He had more in His mind than the grief we
experience in a time of loss.
1. It is true that God does provide
great comfort when we experience loss in our lives. Jesus
traveled to Bethany when Lazarus
died so that He might bring hope and comfort to Mary and
Martha.
2. Paul wrote that God, “comforts us in
our tribulations so that we may comfort one another with
the comfort we receive from God” (2
Cor. 3:4).
B. The ultimate comfort comes to those
whose hearts have been broken by sin and the realization
of how much they need God.
1. When David had sinned he cried out,
“Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your
lovingkindness; According to the
greatness of Your compassion blot out my
transgressions” (Psalm 51:1). Later
he would write, “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You
will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
2. It is only when our hearts are broken
by sin, (the Bible calls this “Godly sorrow” in 2
Corinthians 7:1), that we surrender
ourselves to Him and repent.
3. When our hearts are broken and we
turn to God in the heartfelt obedience of faith, repentance
and baptism we can experience
comfort that is greater than anything the world offers.
4. First there must be the spirit of
brokenness – mourning for our sinfulness. Before we can
accept the “Good News” of Christ we
must recognize the “Bad News” of our own sin.
III. GENTLENESS
A. Gentleness is also described as “meekness.”
B. Gentleness is not:
a.
Weakness.
b. Lack of resolve or conviction.
c. Lack of courage or strength.
C. The word, “prautes” means “controlled
strength.”
1. Originally it meant the domestication
of a wild animal. A wild horse that had been tamed was
“gentle.”
2. An ointment that took the sting out
of a wound was referred to as “gentle.”
D. The kingdom of God is not made up of
weaklings but of strong people who possess great
courage.
IV. PASSION
A. If you were to ask me to use one word to
describe what is lacking in most churches and
Christians today I would use the word
“passion.”
1. Jesus pronounced blessing on those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
2. These are two of the basic needs
every human being has.
3. The writer of Hebrews uses “food”
language in referring to spiritual growth in Hebrews 5:12,
“you have come to need milk and not
solid food.”
4. Peter also use this imagery in 1
Peter 2:1-2, “Putting aside all malice and all deceit and
hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like
newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word,
so that by it you may grow in
respect to salvation.”
B. The story is told of a young man who
went to the Greek philosopher Socrates and asked, “What
must I do to become educated.” Socrates
took him to the town fountain, grabbed him by the neck
and plunged his head under the water. Eventually
the young man broke free and came up
gasping for air. “What was the one thing
you wanted more than anything else when you were
under the water?” asked Socrates. “Air,” came the young man’s reply. “When you
desire
knowledge as a drowning man longs for
air you will be on the road to being an educated man.”
The same is true of righteousness. It
must be passionately pursued!
C. When we have this passion God will
completely satisfy us. The word, “filled” referred to a cow or
sheep that had eaten all it could. Too
many of us are trying to fill our lives with things that cannot
satisfy. Passion for God leads to
fulfillment.
V. MERCY
A. Do you want to receive mercy? Jesus said
you must be merciful.
B. Mercy means to put yourself in the place
of another person.
1. Luke 6:38 – “Give, and it will be
given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—
pressed down, shaken together, and
running over. For by your standard of measure it will be
measured to you in return.”
2. James 2:13 – “For judgment will be
merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy
triumphs over judgment.”
C. This is a kingdom characteristic because
the kingdom is made up of imperfect people.
1. I do not think people get upset about
the church because we are imperfect. Such is obvious.
2. People become upset because we wear
masks of perfection and when someone stumbles
rather than extending mercy we
render judgment. Are we, as someone once said, “an army
that shoots its wounded?”
VI. PURITY
A. Do you have a clean heart?
1. In the spring of 2010 the “Deep Water
Horizons” oil rig, owned by BP, exploded in the Gulf of
Mexico. For five months it spewed
crude oil into the gulf. Before it was sealed in September of
2010 it is estimated that 2.9
million barrels of oil (210 million gallons) were discharged into the
water.
2. There was such an outcry about the
oil polluting the waters and beaches of the Gulf of Mexixo.
3. Where is the outcry in our society
about the threats to our moral and spiritual purity?
B. Jesus wants us to be wholly committed to
Him. He does not want us to have divided loyaty.
Later in the Sermon on the Mount He
said, ““No one can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he
will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24).
C. David’s plea, following his catastrophic
sin (1 Samuel 11), was, “Create in me a clean heart, O
God, And renew a steadfast spirit within
me” (Psalm 51:10).
VII. PEACE
A. Why is this an important kingdom
characteristic of the kingdom? It is because this
is what Jesus did. According to
Ephesians 2:12-14 – “Remember
that you were at
that time separate from Christ, excluded
from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the
world. 13 But now in
Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought
near by the blood of Christ. 14 For
He Himself is our peace, who made both groups
into one
and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”
B. Jimmy Carter is perhaps better known for
bringing a peace treaty between Israel
and Egypt than anything he did during
his presidency. Jesus is talking about
something greater. Bringing the peace that
can only come from the Prince of Peace
to the hearts and lives of people.
VIII. FORTITUDE
A. Jesus knew that people who possess these
characteristics are going to stand out
in the world. The world will not
approve.
1. The world will accuse you.
2. The world will speak evil of you.
3. The world will oppose you.
B. The
blessing is for the person who stands firm in the midst of this persecution.
CONCLUSION:
A. The
beatitudes are a stepladder to the spiritual maturity of Christ. They are the
characteristics of
the kingdom of God. They are the building
blocks for life.
B. May
I ask you, “Who are you following today?” Who is your teacher? From what source
are you
learning life’s greatest lessons? Jesus is
saying to you, “Come, learn from me.”
C. May
we assist you with a spiritual need in your life?
