Marc Hunter – Class 1: The Tale of Two Mountains

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Thank you Jason.
So with that introduction.

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Will now call on a brother Mark
to lead us in first class, on

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the tale of two mountains.
Sort out the technology here.

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Morning morning.
So The Sermon on the Mount is

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Jesus.
Most famous speech and we’re all

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intimately familiar with it and
that can be one of the dangers

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to us is that we become over
familiar to it and we build up

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these mental blocks.
I swear we compartmentalize

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things and we begin to ignore
the actual message in the

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sermon.
So the challenge that I want to

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put to you today is to listen to
The Sermon on the Mount as if

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you’re a first-century Jew
steeped in the judaic tradition

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and the law of Moses and there
is this radical Rabbi who has

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come and is presenting this
message to you.

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And and if you let Jesus do
that. you’ll find that his words

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are inspiring and they’re
challenging and they will also

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Crush you, if you let them So,
what is he talking about in The

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Sermon, on the Mount, I proposed
to you.

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That what Jesus is trying to do
is to share with the Jewish

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people, what is righteousness?
It’s a fundamental question of

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every religious system, every
ethical system, every political

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system has to Define for
themselves.

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What is righteousness?
And the big conflicts between

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civilizations in many ways
revolves around, And this fresh,

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we’re suffering a conflict
around this right now.

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Right.
In the school system in the

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political system, they are
changing the definition of

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righteousness and we are feeling
that pressure.

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So what Jesus is doing is he’s
challenging their definition of

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registering up here, a
first-century Jew and you want

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to think of the most concise way
to define righteousness, what

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would it be?
Carlton think I asked you how

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well you follow?
Okay.

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And if you had to say to someone
here is the most concise summary

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that I can give you some of the
fundamentals would go the Ten

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Commandments.
Thank you.

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I was hoping somebody get that
answer.

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So the Ten Commandments 04 3500
years.

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This code of righteousness has
been Endlessly effective.

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And if we think of even our
legal system today, a lot of it

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is actually still based on this
code from so long ago.

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But if we consider for a second
how these Commandments arrived

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and we’ll look at Exodus chapter
19 and this is from verse 12,

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you shall set limits for the
people all around saying.

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Take care not to go up into the
mountains or touch the edge of

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it.
Whoever touches, the mountain,

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shall be put to death on the
morning of the third day.

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There were Thunders and
Lightnings and a thick Cloud on

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the mountain and a very loud
trumpet blast.

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So that all the people in the
camp trembled, then Moses

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brought the people out of the
camp to meet God and they took

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their stand at the foot of the
mountain.

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This is the context of the
arrival of the Ten Commandments.

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What do we see in Matthew
chapter 5 verse 1?

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And when he saw the multitudes
he went up on the mountain.

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And he sat down.
And all his disciples came to

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him.
Oh, here we go.

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Different version. so, In the
very setting in which Jesus is

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going to present his approach to
defining righteousness.

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We have a stark contrast to the
Mosaic summary, and he’s going

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to give us a list, right?
Moses came down from the

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mountain with the list and now
we’re going to consider a list

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So, how does Jesus start
blessed?

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What’s the first word out of
Jesus mouth?

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When he’s providing an image of
what righteousness?

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Looks like is blast. and I just
want to pause at the very first

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word and don’t worry, we’ll move
a little quicker through the

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chapter than one word at a time
but Do we approach our faith in

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the same way when we are going
to summarize and describe to

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someone the essence of what our
faith does for us the essence of

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what our life consists of view,
we lead with the concept of

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blessing.
And I proposed you that very

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often, we don’t very often.
We sort of carry that heavy load

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and that we have an example, we
can take from Jesus here in

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terms of how we present our
message.

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Now, there are people who leave
our community because they grow

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up Among Us and they experience
our community for years and they

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never internalized in their
heart.

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The idea that we are Are blessed
to be here.

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They leave.
Because they feel some kind of

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Burden, they feel some kind of
weight.

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It feels something like our face
should be about Liberation.

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Our faith is about Freedom.
Our faith is about Hope about

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being God’s chosen people and
yet, so many people can listen

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to our presentations for years.
They can come to our cos he’s in

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our Bible class and they walk
away in.

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This is, this is, this is to For
me.

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Whenever that happens, we need
to really look back at ourselves

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and say, where did we go wrong?
Where were we out of balance?

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And how we presented our
message, we are more than

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conquerors through him, who
loved us.

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We can do all things in Christ,
who strengthens us?

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This is a privilege to be here.
It’s a blessing, it’s an

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opportunity.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy,

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right?
And we’ll get to that in the in

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the Beatitudes.
And then Jesus says, blessed are

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the poor now again, Jesus,
they’re going to continually

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surprised us through this
through this topic because if I

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said to you, I’m so blessed.
Because I’m poor, you would say

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you’re crazy, right?
We would not associate those two

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concepts together.
When we were introducing, the

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idea of blessedness to someone
poverty would not be where we

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would start.
In fact, in most cases, we would

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assume the exact opposite right
in society.

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At large, the very definition of
blessing has become something

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akin to Will and so The
Challenge and Paul addresses is

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later on.
I have learned in whatever state

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I am to be content.
In the first phrase, Jesus is

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challenging us to disconnect the
idea and the concept of blessing

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from some kind of situation.
You may experience in your life

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right now whether it’s a health
situation, whether it’s an

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economic situation, whether it’s
a social situation, what we’re

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going to see throughout these
Beatitudes is that you can be

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Blessed independent of the
circumstances that you’re in.

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It’s a radical concept that
everything in the world around

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us, and in our heart Rebels
against that notion, we are kind

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of insist that the way we feel,
is a consequence of the

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circumstances that were in.
And Jesus is telling you right

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from the start, that’s not the
case.

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You have a choice.
And then he says, in spirit

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blessed are the poor in spirit.
Now, you may say, it’s unfair of

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me to focus on poverty because
these clearly spiritualizing

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here but in the Luke account, he
just says, blessed are the poor

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and he leaves it at that.
And what we see here is a common

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thing that Jesus does which is
he takes the physical and he

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spiritualizes it right.
There is a poverty that we can

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experience but there’s also a
poverty of spirit and will see

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this all throughout Jesus
teaching.

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In Luke 4:18, the spirit of the
Lord is upon me because he has

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anointed me to Proclaim good
news to the poor.

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He has sent me to Proclaim
Liberty to the captives.

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You go, okay?
Liberty to the captives.

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When did Jesus ever go into the
prison and set people free?

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He clearly.
Never did that.

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Recovery of sight to the blind
to set at Liberty, those who are

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oppressed to proclaim the year
of the Lord’s favor.

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We see in Galatians 3. 23 before
Faith came.

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We were held captive under the
law imprisoned until the coming.

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Faith would be revealed.
Jesus said for judgment, I came

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into this world that those who
do not see, may see and that

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those who see may become blind.
So we’re going to see the

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constant Spirit
spiritualization, we’re going to

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see it.
In the case of morning, we’re

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going to see it in hungering and
thirsting.

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Eating and other cases through
the Beatitudes so let me come

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back to the notion of the
Beatitudes we said were blessed.

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We’re starting on the premise of
being blessed all throughout how

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is a list of blessings, a
definition of righteousness.

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I guess that’s kind of odd.
Okay, the attributes that Jesus

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talks about here, they’re not
even Commandments.

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Just blessed are the poor in
spirit.

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He doesn’t say you should be
poor in spirit.

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You must be poor in spirit.
He just makes an observation.

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You’re poor in spirit, you will
be blessed.

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So just keep in mind, what a
difference in approach we have

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from from Jesus.
Here we have a different

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teacher, different mountain and
a different list.

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So now let’s dive into them in
more detail.

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Blessed are the poor in spirit,
what does it mean to be poor in

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spirit?
And in the nasb ministers, Bible

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says those who are not
spiritually.

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Arrogant.
Okay, now, why would Jesus Lead

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With blessed are the poor in
spirit?

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Why of all the things you could
lead with?

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Why is that his first beatitude,
you think?

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What about who he’s talking to?
Okay.

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And why would poor in spirit be
an appropriate?

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Yes absolutely okay.
So there’s actually two layers

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here.
Right?

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What we’re going to see through
each of those Beatitudes is that

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every one of them is going to
poke at the scribes and the

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Pharisees and their whole
approach to religion and their

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whole approach to Righteousness.
So when you say well, you know

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what’s really great is that
people who are poor in spirit

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the scribes and the Pharisees
are going to feel left out of

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that category, right?
Because that’s not generally how

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they approach religion.
Now, in terms of for us, how

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does being poor in spirit be
serve as a good foundation for

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us?
Why like, for sure, but what is

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it about being crushed in
spirit?

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That’s right.
You are open to answers to

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questions.
You haven’t figured it all out

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yet, right?
What, when you’re poor, you

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don’t have enough when you’re
broken.

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You need to be made whole,
you’re looking for something.

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And one of the biggest problems
we have as humans is that We

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know the answer to things and
the moment, you know, the answer

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the moment you’ve solved the
question, the moment you figured

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it out, you have stopped.
That’s it.

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There’s no more spiritual
growth.

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What would you grow into?
You’ve already figured it out.

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So Jesus is saying, blessed are
the poor in spirit because you

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know what, only the poor in
spirit are probably going to get

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past the first beatitude
Everyone else has figured it all

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out there somewhere else doing
their thing.

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But the people who are hungry
and are going, I need something.

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I’m still missing something.
They’re going to listen to the

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rest of this sermon.
When slide behind blessed.

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Are those who mourn for they
shall be comforted.

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So this again is there’s a Is
Jesus just saying, you know,

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anybody who’s lost a relative
recently is blessed.

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We are talking about this, they
brought it up the readings last

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night, right?
That just morning is not in and

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of itself.
Some kind of holy attribute,

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right?
Everybody Mourns.

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So in what way is Jesus saying
that those who mourn are

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blessed?
And I proposed to you and I

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think I’ve got a slide for this.
Yeah, Nehemiah chapter 1, he

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says this is me my As per.
They said to me the remnant,

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there in the province, you
survive, the Captivity are in

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great distress.
And reproach in the wall of

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Jerusalem is broken down and
it’s gates are burned with fire.

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And when I heard these words, I
sat down and wept and mourned

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for days, and I was fasting and
praying before the god of

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Heaven, you might had a good job
and he was set, he was not poor,

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he didn’t have any immediate
problems. but when he became

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aware of the suffering and the
poor condition of other people,

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he mourned Right, his morning
was a consequence of loving

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other people and this is one of
the big paradoxes in life is

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that the more you love other
people, the more you will suffer

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and suffering is unpleasant and
painful by definition.

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So a lot of people manage that
suffering by caring less, right?

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You can just say, you know what
you do your thing, I don’t care

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and you will feel the weight go
off of your shoulders.

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But when you come to the
Ecclesia in, you’re just eating

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00:15:39,400 –> 00:15:41,800
up inside.
When you hear your neighbor and

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how hopeless is life is when you
encounter the people at work and

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00:15:45,900 –> 00:15:49,400
and the consequences of sin that
are destroying their lives and

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00:15:49,400 –> 00:15:52,500
it just weighs on you.
Right?

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Why would it when you?
Because you love them and if

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00:15:55,300 –> 00:15:58,800
you’re happy to see them, go off
the rails and, and and into

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00:15:58,800 –> 00:16:06,200
trouble This blessing isn’t for
you, we mourn in proportion to

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how much we love.
And therefore we are blessed.

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If we mourn How is this poking
at the scribes and the

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00:16:15,700 –> 00:16:21,500
Pharisees?
That’s not something They Mourn

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00:16:21,500 –> 00:16:23,600
about, right, right?
They’re not particularly

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00:16:23,600 –> 00:16:27,300
concerned about in a morning.
Sense, they may be concerned

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00:16:27,300 –> 00:16:31,000
with what other people do, but
but it’s not very much from from

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00:16:31,000 –> 00:16:34,000
a sense of.
Oh, I’m so, you know, carrying

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and I’m concerned about this
person’s fate.

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And we see this also Matthew 23
Jesus said this Jerusalem

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Jerusalem who kills the prophets
and Stones, those who are sent

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00:16:48,700 –> 00:16:52,500
to her, how often I wanted to
gather your children together,

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00:16:52,700 –> 00:16:55,900
the way a hen gathers, her
chicks under her wings and you

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00:16:55,900 –> 00:16:59,300
were unwilling.
The thing that I find

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00:16:59,300 –> 00:17:04,900
fascinating about this is that
Jesus is morning for Jerusalem

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00:17:04,900 –> 00:17:08,300
and in the process, he describes
what kind of people are in

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Jerusalem, the The people who
kill the prophets and stone,

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those who are sent to them.
Now that’s love right?

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00:17:16,900 –> 00:17:21,800
If you can mourn for people who
are that Wicked, that’s love and

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00:17:21,800 –> 00:17:23,500
that’s something we should
aspire to.

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Blessed are the meek for they
shall inherit the earth.

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Now I meant I’ve titled this the
unexpected Sermon on the Mount.

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Blessed are the meek.
Okay, your first century Jew for

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00:17:40,600 –> 00:17:44,400
they shall inherit the earth,
like you’re under Roman

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00:17:44,400 –> 00:17:48,500
occupation.
Like, how is meekness ever going

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00:17:48,500 –> 00:17:50,400
to put you in a position of
power?

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00:17:50,800 –> 00:17:53,300
And this is the same problem we
have today, right?

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00:17:53,300 –> 00:17:57,500
Like meekness does not put
people in positions of power.

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They do not inherit the the
Earth, the people trying to

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00:18:00,100 –> 00:18:03,200
inherit the Earth right now are
exactly the opposite of

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00:18:03,300 –> 00:18:06,000
meekness.
And and again how does this poke

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00:18:06,000 –> 00:18:07,400
at the scribes and the
Pharisees?

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00:18:09,200 –> 00:18:12,500
Meekness was in.
They were trying to inherit,

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right?
Like in the crucifixion of

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Jesus.
What we’ve got to kill this man

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00:18:17,000 –> 00:18:21,400
because he is going to threaten
our position, right?

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00:18:21,400 –> 00:18:25,700
Our inheritance as meager isn’t
was under the Roman occupation

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00:18:25,800 –> 00:18:28,300
that little bit, they were
willing to kill innocent people

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00:18:28,300 –> 00:18:35,200
in order to preserve that the
opposite of meekness Blessed are

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00:18:35,200 –> 00:18:40,100
those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness for they shall be

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00:18:40,100 –> 00:18:43,700
satisfied.
And the verse I love in relation

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00:18:43,700 –> 00:18:48,500
to this here is second, Timothy
4:8 henceforth there is laid up

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for me the crown of
righteousness which the Lord the

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00:18:51,000 –> 00:18:53,500
righteous judge will award to me
on that day.

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And not only to me but also to
all who have loved his appearing

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00:19:00,700 –> 00:19:03,800
and I sense in here a hunger and
a thirst.

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00:19:03,900 –> 00:19:07,000
Just right.
So when you feel that the trials

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00:19:07,000 –> 00:19:11,000
and you see the catastrophes on
Earth, what is your reaction to

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00:19:11,000 –> 00:19:13,800
that?
You get angry at God, you go,

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00:19:13,800 –> 00:19:15,400
have your, how could this
happen?

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00:19:15,700 –> 00:19:19,800
Or does it fill you with the
longing for things to be better?

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00:19:20,500 –> 00:19:25,800
So that when Jesus arrives
you’re like, finally, like this

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00:19:25,800 –> 00:19:29,700
is the moment that I’ve been
waiting and living for at this

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00:19:29,700 –> 00:19:32,200
moment, everything is going to
be okay.

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00:19:34,300 –> 00:19:37,800
Now, if we’re scribes and
Pharisees now, they weren’t

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00:19:37,800 –> 00:19:41,100
necessarily think of Jesus in
the terms of judgment.

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00:19:41,100 –> 00:19:48,700
But if we’ve absorbed their view
of religion, How might we feel

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00:19:48,700 –> 00:19:56,000
about Jesus appearing?
Hey, this could be some anxiety

290
00:19:56,000 –> 00:19:58,900
in there, right?
So, this is where we have to

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00:19:58,900 –> 00:20:01,600
consider that we’re used to
talking about the scribes and

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00:20:01,608 –> 00:20:04,300
the Pharisees over there, and
we’re here on that other side.

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00:20:04,300 –> 00:20:06,500
And looking at them.
There’s a little bit of scribe

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00:20:06,500 –> 00:20:09,200
and Pharisee, and every single
one of us, right?

295
00:20:09,700 –> 00:20:15,000
And so when we think of Jesus
arriving at this very moment, do

296
00:20:15,000 –> 00:20:17,600
you love his appearing or it is
that stress?

297
00:20:17,600 –> 00:20:20,700
You out a little bit, right?
Are you really hungry and

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00:20:20,700 –> 00:20:22,700
thirsting for righteousness?
Because that’s what Jesus is

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00:20:22,708 –> 00:20:25,400
going to bring.
He’s To bring righteousness.

300
00:20:25,400 –> 00:20:27,500
Is that a world?
You want to live in?

301
00:20:28,200 –> 00:20:31,700
And how do you feel in terms of
your relationship with Jesus?

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00:20:33,300 –> 00:20:34,800
Okay.
Would you feel blessed if you

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00:20:34,800 –> 00:20:39,000
walk through right now and if
you don’t, we have work to do.

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00:20:43,200 –> 00:20:47,600
Blessed, are the merciful for
they shall receive Mercy.

305
00:20:48,300 –> 00:20:53,000
Now here’s some the real jab at
the scribes and Pharisees,

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00:20:53,000 –> 00:20:57,200
right?
And Fundamental problem with

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00:20:57,200 –> 00:21:02,600
Mercy is it it seems in direct
opposition to law.

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00:21:03,400 –> 00:21:09,600
Like if, if you have a rule and
people break it and then there

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00:21:09,600 –> 00:21:13,000
are no consequences to them
breaking it, what’s the point of

310
00:21:13,000 –> 00:21:17,900
having a rule at all right?
The whole Foundation of of rules

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00:21:17,900 –> 00:21:22,600
and Commandments in order and
structure depends on not having

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00:21:22,600 –> 00:21:26,500
Mercy.
You can’t just be willy-nilly.

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00:21:26,500 –> 00:21:28,900
Merciful it undermines the whole
Foundation.

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00:21:30,800 –> 00:21:32,400
And so, we have to ask
ourselves.

315
00:21:32,400 –> 00:21:36,300
How do we see our discipleship?
Are we in?

316
00:21:36,300 –> 00:21:38,700
Are we the custodians of the
rules?

317
00:21:39,400 –> 00:21:42,300
Are the ones who make sure
that’s for you shall go and no

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00:21:42,300 –> 00:21:48,900
further.
Blessed, are the merciful I’ve

319
00:21:48,900 –> 00:21:52,300
noticed something interesting
about my personal levels of

320
00:21:52,300 –> 00:21:54,800
mercy.
So I charted them out here on a

321
00:21:54,808 –> 00:21:57,600
computer guy.
So I started them out on a

322
00:21:57,600 –> 00:22:01,100
chart.
And on this scale we have the

323
00:22:01,100 –> 00:22:05,600
amount of Mercy that I’m
inclined to exhibit and on this

324
00:22:05,600 –> 00:22:11,100
axis I have the amount of time.
And it’s the amount of time

325
00:22:11,100 –> 00:22:15,800
since I have made a very public
mistake.

326
00:22:16,900 –> 00:22:21,100
I’ve failed in a way that is
unavoidable and that everybody

327
00:22:21,100 –> 00:22:24,100
knows that.
I yeah, I should have done that

328
00:22:24,400 –> 00:22:26,900
lost my temper.
You know there’s any number of

329
00:22:26,900 –> 00:22:31,200
ways to fail publicly and what I
find is in that first hour after

330
00:22:31,200 –> 00:22:36,800
I have failed publicly, I am so
full of Mercy.

331
00:22:36,900 –> 00:22:43,300
Like, if I, like, if I spill at
the dish in the kitchen and then

332
00:22:43,300 –> 00:22:46,100
my kid comes along and knocks
over a bowl of cereal.

333
00:22:46,100 –> 00:22:48,400
I’m like, It’s okay.
It’s like that.

334
00:22:48,400 –> 00:22:51,700
Those things happen, right?
Let me help you clean it up

335
00:22:51,900 –> 00:22:55,200
right at first.
Our it’s great, you know, my 6

336
00:22:55,200 –> 00:22:59,000
hours 12 hours, by the next
morning and number eight, you

337
00:22:59,000 –> 00:23:01,400
know, like yeah, I can remember
that yesterday.

338
00:23:01,400 –> 00:23:04,400
I spilled my milk, but if you’re
a little more careful, when you

339
00:23:04,400 –> 00:23:07,300
came around the corner then you
know, maybe we won’t have these

340
00:23:07,300 –> 00:23:11,500
accidents by a week later.
Two weeks, one month, it’s more

341
00:23:11,500 –> 00:23:13,100
like, what are you doing?
You know?

342
00:23:13,100 –> 00:23:17,100
Yes, it was an accident, but if
you’re more careful, These

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00:23:17,100 –> 00:23:21,900
things won’t happen.
So there’s now there’s power in

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00:23:21,900 –> 00:23:26,200
here and this is why I want to I
mentioned crushing and it was

345
00:23:26,200 –> 00:23:30,000
mentioned earlier.
There’s a side effect to

346
00:23:30,000 –> 00:23:33,600
acknowledging being crushed the
longer.

347
00:23:33,600 –> 00:23:39,700
You can stay crushed and more.
Merciful, you will be.

348
00:23:40,900 –> 00:23:44,600
And when that crushed feeling
when you leave it behind, when

349
00:23:44,600 –> 00:23:48,200
you kind of forget about it when
you fade it that’s where your

350
00:23:48,200 –> 00:23:53,900
sense of order and structure and
well we just can’t let anything

351
00:23:53,900 –> 00:23:56,000
happen here.
Like, you know, there are

352
00:23:56,000 –> 00:23:57,800
certain standards that must be
upheld.

353
00:23:58,600 –> 00:24:01,400
And again, will come.
I know there’s Nuance here,

354
00:24:01,400 –> 00:24:06,300
we’ll come back to that. c.s.
Lewis says a quote, he says,

355
00:24:06,300 –> 00:24:10,800
everyone says, forgiveness is a
lovely idea until they have

356
00:24:10,800 –> 00:24:15,400
something to forgive Now, the
other point I want to make here

357
00:24:15,400 –> 00:24:18,400
is blessed.
Are the merciful pole?

358
00:24:19,800 –> 00:24:23,600
Not just blessed is the person
who, once upon a time in one

359
00:24:23,600 –> 00:24:29,400
event, despite some mercy, it’s
blessed are people who have an

360
00:24:29,400 –> 00:24:34,400
abundance of Mercy.
Now, how do you put yourself in

361
00:24:34,400 –> 00:24:38,500
a situation where you have
continual opportunity to show?

362
00:24:38,500 –> 00:24:41,900
Mercy, what does your
environment have to consist of?

363
00:24:45,500 –> 00:24:51,600
People people what people would
be the most helpful and growing

364
00:24:51,600 –> 00:24:56,200
your sense of mercifulness.
Sinners people who are making

365
00:24:56,200 –> 00:24:58,800
mistakes.
Now making mistakes in general,

366
00:24:58,800 –> 00:25:03,100
that’s helpful.
But if you really want to sort

367
00:25:03,100 –> 00:25:06,400
of take your mercy up a notch,
what should these people be

368
00:25:06,400 –> 00:25:11,700
doing things again?
They should be really offending

369
00:25:11,700 –> 00:25:15,600
you.
In a completely unjustifiable

370
00:25:15,600 –> 00:25:18,100
and unfair way.
Right.

371
00:25:18,100 –> 00:25:22,100
We’re on no basis whatsoever.
They’re holding a grudge,

372
00:25:22,100 –> 00:25:26,000
they’re holding a resentment,
they’re expecting you to they’re

373
00:25:26,000 –> 00:25:30,100
saying things to behind your
back that like this is where you

374
00:25:30,100 –> 00:25:33,200
need to be if you want to be in
this category, right?

375
00:25:33,200 –> 00:25:37,500
It’s a necessary precondition.
You simply cannot be a merciful

376
00:25:37,500 –> 00:25:41,000
person around perfect people so
we should be thankful that we

377
00:25:41,000 –> 00:25:43,100
are in the families and
equations that we are.

378
00:25:43,200 –> 00:25:45,300
Right?
Because they fill our days with

379
00:25:45,300 –> 00:25:50,400
these opportunities.
For Mercy, fascinating thing.

380
00:25:50,400 –> 00:25:55,700
I was watching a an online, a
preacher online and he was

381
00:25:55,700 –> 00:25:59,200
getting big into, you know, what
Jesus did for us.

382
00:26:00,200 –> 00:26:04,800
And then he got into the
atonement, and he was like, you

383
00:26:04,800 –> 00:26:08,800
know what, Jesus did for us is
there’s all this, you know, God

384
00:26:08,800 –> 00:26:11,900
is righteous.
And you’re evil.

385
00:26:12,600 –> 00:26:19,300
So the only way we can solve
evil, Is by killing an innocent

386
00:26:19,300 –> 00:26:24,800
man.
And I’m like, I did you not read

387
00:26:24,800 –> 00:26:28,600
the rest of scripture like they,
they they don’t believe in

388
00:26:28,600 –> 00:26:32,600
Mercy.
They don’t see any Escape force

389
00:26:32,600 –> 00:26:37,700
in other than somebody must pay
and, and I don’t know, I don’t

390
00:26:37,700 –> 00:26:39,600
know.
I can’t understand how they see

391
00:26:39,600 –> 00:26:45,800
God as just when he’s, you know,
killing an innocent man in that.

392
00:26:45,800 –> 00:26:48,600
Substitutionary way it’s a
little bit of an aside but it

393
00:26:48,600 –> 00:26:53,300
just shocked me.
Let’s move on to the next.

394
00:26:53,300 –> 00:26:57,300
One blessed are the pure in
heart for they shall see God as

395
00:26:57,300 –> 00:27:00,500
an attention getter again
because nobody can see God,

396
00:27:00,500 –> 00:27:02,200
right?
So it listeners are going to be

397
00:27:02,200 –> 00:27:05,100
going, well, okay, how does that
work?

398
00:27:06,100 –> 00:27:10,300
But we know Psalm 24, who may
Ascend the hill of the Lord, who

399
00:27:10,300 –> 00:27:15,000
may stand in his holy place, he
who has Clean Hands and a pure

400
00:27:15,000 –> 00:27:18,500
heart who has not lifted up his
soul to falsehood and is not

401
00:27:18,500 –> 00:27:21,400
sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive.

402
00:27:21,600 –> 00:27:24,500
Blessing from the Lord.
And this is another exercise

403
00:27:24,500 –> 00:27:27,600
that I like, do for homework.
But all these Beatitudes have

404
00:27:27,600 –> 00:27:30,400
all kinds of cross references,
to the Old Testament, to

405
00:27:30,400 –> 00:27:33,300
blessing blessing, blessing all
through the Old Testament.

406
00:27:34,300 –> 00:27:39,900
Now, I struggle with this one
because when your heart is your

407
00:27:39,900 –> 00:27:43,200
heart, and there it is and it’s
full of all those things that

408
00:27:43,200 –> 00:27:46,000
you put in it over the years and
all those things, you can cock

409
00:27:46,000 –> 00:27:50,200
at yourself.
How does one go about?

410
00:27:51,500 –> 00:27:58,000
Being pure in heart.
What can I do tomorrow?

411
00:27:58,000 –> 00:28:02,800
And the day after, like I can’t
just be pure in heart, like it’s

412
00:28:02,800 –> 00:28:06,000
there, right?
I like there’s no physical thing

413
00:28:06,000 –> 00:28:08,400
I can do to get this thing away
from me.

414
00:28:19,300 –> 00:28:25,300
oh, yes.
Okay, so your heart has what it

415
00:28:25,300 –> 00:28:29,500
has and it’s not good, right?
So, if you have a big jug of

416
00:28:29,500 –> 00:28:32,900
polluted water, okay?
It sits there.

417
00:28:33,300 –> 00:28:36,500
And and and that’s, that’s what
you’re working with.

418
00:28:37,000 –> 00:28:42,600
But the least you can do is put
in some pure distilled water

419
00:28:42,600 –> 00:28:46,400
into it, right?
And every little, little bit of

420
00:28:46,400 –> 00:28:49,700
that that you can do, what it
does is it dilutes the other

421
00:28:49,700 –> 00:28:52,300
stuff and while Never ever
reach.

422
00:28:52,300 –> 00:28:56,900
Absolute distilled water Purity.
It is a continual process of

423
00:28:56,900 –> 00:29:00,800
making sure that the things that
are going into your heart are

424
00:29:00,800 –> 00:29:05,400
contributing to purification and
not to corruption.

425
00:29:06,600 –> 00:29:09,100
Now, scribes and Pharisees
listening to.

426
00:29:09,100 –> 00:29:13,500
This blessed are the pure in
heart in their world view.

427
00:29:13,500 –> 00:29:16,000
How is this?
How are they going to react to

428
00:29:16,000 –> 00:29:22,400
this?
What’s up, what’s up?

429
00:29:22,400 –> 00:29:25,400
The Pharisees General view of
the purity of your heart.

430
00:29:27,200 –> 00:29:31,900
You can make it here by Paul in
the wall so you can make it pure

431
00:29:31,900 –> 00:29:35,600
by following the law hasn’t.
That’s an interesting, that’s an

432
00:29:35,600 –> 00:29:47,600
interesting question. her either
are there already pure I

433
00:29:47,600 –> 00:29:51,200
proposed to you, sorry this
issue here he comes.

434
00:29:53,300 –> 00:29:55,600
Yeah so that you know you
shouldn’t eat and you shouldn’t

435
00:29:55,600 –> 00:29:56,500
but you know what I mean.
Yeah.

436
00:29:56,500 –> 00:30:02,200
So there’s all these rules but
that’s kind of a ritual Purity

437
00:30:02,800 –> 00:30:07,000
that fundamental question of
whether your actions are

438
00:30:07,000 –> 00:30:09,900
motivated by the sincerest of
motives.

439
00:30:10,400 –> 00:30:13,000
Right.
How much does a Pharisee care

440
00:30:13,000 –> 00:30:16,100
about that?
Are the answers?

441
00:30:16,100 –> 00:30:20,100
They generally don’t write like
if you did the thing.

442
00:30:21,200 –> 00:30:23,500
Then, whether your heart was
pure when you did, it is

443
00:30:23,500 –> 00:30:26,700
somewhat irrelevant, right?
Who knows, how would you measure

444
00:30:26,700 –> 00:30:29,200
that, right?
Well, like I would, I wouldn’t

445
00:30:29,200 –> 00:30:32,100
know, right?
Like if you’re measuring Purity

446
00:30:32,100 –> 00:30:35,800
by number of hours of attendance
way I can do that, right?

447
00:30:35,800 –> 00:30:39,200
I can make a chart and I can say
you’re at this level of this

448
00:30:39,200 –> 00:30:42,700
person’s at this level but what
if somebody was more pure and

449
00:30:42,700 –> 00:30:47,100
hard, like I don’t know.
Like I you can’t tell and

450
00:30:47,100 –> 00:30:50,800
therefore it becomes outside of
the scope of what they were you.

451
00:30:50,900 –> 00:30:56,800
About generally speaking and to
that point, they defined Purity

452
00:30:56,800 –> 00:30:59,100
they changed the meaning of the
word to be well.

453
00:30:59,100 –> 00:31:03,100
How many hours were you there or
you know, how religious do you

454
00:31:03,100 –> 00:31:05,800
appear?
And so something we have to

455
00:31:05,800 –> 00:31:10,500
worry about blessed are the
peacemakers for they shall be

456
00:31:10,500 –> 00:31:14,500
called the sons of God.
This is another one of those

457
00:31:14,500 –> 00:31:17,500
ones that peace with who.
Right?

458
00:31:17,500 –> 00:31:20,800
We don’t want to make peace with
the world but peace.

459
00:31:21,100 –> 00:31:25,400
Amongst ourselves, we want to be
peacemakers.

460
00:31:26,700 –> 00:31:29,400
Jesus said you’re not think that
I came to bring peace on the

461
00:31:29,400 –> 00:31:31,100
earth.
I did not come to bring peace

462
00:31:31,100 –> 00:31:33,900
but a sword.
We have a movement sweeping our

463
00:31:33,900 –> 00:31:37,800
society that says the definition
of righteousness is that I

464
00:31:37,800 –> 00:31:41,400
should never say anything but
you might find upsetting, right?

465
00:31:41,700 –> 00:31:46,400
And therefore they would say we
are peacemakers You know, don’t

466
00:31:46,400 –> 00:31:50,000
say things against what we
believe that’s not what Jesus is

467
00:31:50,000 –> 00:31:53,000
talking about here, right?
If possible.

468
00:31:53,000 –> 00:31:55,800
So far, as it depends on, you be
at peace with all people.

469
00:31:55,800 –> 00:31:57,600
It’s not always going to depend
on us.

470
00:31:58,100 –> 00:32:03,000
If by simply advocating biblical
principles, we will encounter

471
00:32:03,000 –> 00:32:08,500
conflict.
Now, what is the situation in a

472
00:32:08,500 –> 00:32:14,600
community?
When you increase legalism and

473
00:32:15,100 –> 00:32:18,900
the spirit of the scribes and
the Pharisees, what effect does

474
00:32:18,900 –> 00:32:26,100
that have on peace?
Almost always a negative effect,

475
00:32:26,200 –> 00:32:28,400
right?
When when people come in with a

476
00:32:28,400 –> 00:32:31,500
legalistic point of view and I’m
going to talk about people and

477
00:32:31,500 –> 00:32:34,000
and you might be thinking about
this person that person when I

478
00:32:34,000 –> 00:32:35,600
say people.
I mean you, right?

479
00:32:35,600 –> 00:32:39,900
And I mean me and I mean every
one of us has this battle inside

480
00:32:39,900 –> 00:32:46,500
us between this rules-based
observable rigid system and what

481
00:32:46,500 –> 00:32:51,600
we know we should be but we are
not yet and so When we have

482
00:32:51,600 –> 00:32:56,800
issues of conflict in our
relationships, families and

483
00:32:56,800 –> 00:32:59,500
Ecclesia has we have to ask
ourselves?

484
00:33:00,000 –> 00:33:04,000
Is there some degree of legalism
involved here?

485
00:33:04,400 –> 00:33:06,800
And is this what Jesus is
getting at here?

486
00:33:12,100 –> 00:33:15,800
Blessed, are the persecuted in,
there’s a whole number of verses

487
00:33:15,800 –> 00:33:18,900
here and we know from Hebrews
chapter 11, where it talks about

488
00:33:18,900 –> 00:33:21,600
all the people who suffered so
much.

489
00:33:22,100 –> 00:33:25,800
Again, the Pharisees not super
excited about being persecuted,

490
00:33:25,800 –> 00:33:27,500
right?
They much prefer to be on the

491
00:33:27,500 –> 00:33:29,900
other side of that equation,
right?

492
00:33:29,900 –> 00:33:32,700
And, and ferreting out the
people who have stepped over a

493
00:33:32,700 –> 00:33:37,400
line and making sure that
they’re in line.

494
00:33:37,800 –> 00:33:43,000
The other thing here is that
There’s a question of status of

495
00:33:43,000 –> 00:33:47,200
who is at the top and who’s at
the bottom and the persecuted

496
00:33:47,200 –> 00:33:51,600
people by definition, or at the
bottom of the hierarchy socially

497
00:33:51,600 –> 00:33:55,200
in every respect.
And and part of what Jesus is

498
00:33:55,200 –> 00:34:00,300
saying, here is that, if you’re
at the bottom of a hierarchy and

499
00:34:00,300 –> 00:34:03,800
we talk about being merciful and
people are mistreating you in

500
00:34:03,800 –> 00:34:06,300
some way.
This is actually a privileged

501
00:34:06,300 –> 00:34:09,600
position.
This is one of those moments

502
00:34:09,600 –> 00:34:12,199
where you You can actually be
christ-like right?

503
00:34:12,199 –> 00:34:14,400
Price was persecuted.
He was murdered.

504
00:34:14,400 –> 00:34:17,000
He was tortured.
You want to be christ-like.

505
00:34:17,900 –> 00:34:22,400
Except the situations where
people will persecute you

506
00:34:22,600 –> 00:34:26,100
without bitterness and without
Revenge.

507
00:34:29,900 –> 00:34:33,900
So context, we were looking, we
started with the Ten

508
00:34:33,900 –> 00:34:37,000
Commandments.
Now if you had to summarize from

509
00:34:37,000 –> 00:34:41,300
The Ten Commandments, the
recurring theme within the Ten

510
00:34:41,300 –> 00:34:50,100
Commandments What would you say?
Thou shalt not, Thou shalt not.

511
00:34:50,100 –> 00:34:54,699
And interestingly enough, eight
times in the Ten Commandments we

512
00:34:54,699 –> 00:34:59,500
have the phrase, Thou shalt not,
and eight times.

513
00:34:59,500 –> 00:35:03,500
Jesus comes forward here in The
Sermon on the Mount with a

514
00:35:03,500 –> 00:35:07,200
beatitude.
And what we have to think about

515
00:35:07,200 –> 00:35:11,400
here is what is our fundamental
philosophy of religion?

516
00:35:11,400 –> 00:35:15,500
What is our fundamental view of
righteousness?

517
00:35:15,500 –> 00:35:19,900
And how we Define it is it
defined by a long list of bow

518
00:35:19,900 –> 00:35:26,200
shalt Nots or is it defined by a
principle of blessing?

519
00:35:28,100 –> 00:35:30,900
We see our faith is one of the
Privileges or one of

520
00:35:30,900 –> 00:35:35,300
prohibitions.
Do we see it as a blessing or as

521
00:35:35,300 –> 00:35:37,800
a burden?
The Beatitudes are not something

522
00:35:37,800 –> 00:35:41,100
that Jesus commands.
It’s just something he observes.

523
00:35:41,300 –> 00:35:44,900
It’s an aspirational message.
He just letting you know, this

524
00:35:44,900 –> 00:35:48,000
is information.
You want to be a part of this

525
00:35:48,000 –> 00:35:50,100
community.
You want to be a part of the

526
00:35:50,100 –> 00:35:52,200
Blessed Community.
These are the character

527
00:35:52,200 –> 00:35:56,000
attributes, all of them are
unmeasurable very frustrating.

528
00:35:56,400 –> 00:35:58,300
How am I doing?
Morning today.

529
00:35:58,500 –> 00:36:01,500
How am I doing in hungering and
thirsting them that there’s no,

530
00:36:02,100 –> 00:36:05,500
there’s nothing tangible for me
to hold onto and, and we’re

531
00:36:05,500 –> 00:36:08,000
going to get into a lot of
tangible things in the next

532
00:36:08,200 –> 00:36:10,400
sections.
But I want you to try to

533
00:36:10,400 –> 00:36:12,100
remember, through this whole
series.

534
00:36:12,100 –> 00:36:18,500
This is where Jesus starts, this
is as Foundation blessing and

535
00:36:18,500 –> 00:36:25,200
Broad spiritual principles.
Then we get salt and light.

536
00:36:25,400 –> 00:36:31,900
And now, we shift from purely,
sort of spiritual into actual

537
00:36:31,900 –> 00:36:36,300
activities.
And there’s a lot of debate when

538
00:36:36,300 –> 00:36:39,700
you read the literature on what
Jesus means by Salt and Light.

539
00:36:39,900 –> 00:36:46,500
But I think that Jesus says, you
are the salt of the earth and if

540
00:36:46,500 –> 00:36:51,900
the salt doesn’t bring that
salty quality, then it becomes.

541
00:36:51,900 –> 00:36:56,200
Absolutely you Alice, you are
the light of the world and where

542
00:36:56,200 –> 00:37:00,400
in scripture have I have I heard
this notion of being a blessing

543
00:37:00,400 –> 00:37:04,600
in the whole world.
And for me, I go back to Genesis

544
00:37:04,600 –> 00:37:08,400
12:3.
I will make you a great nation

545
00:37:08,400 –> 00:37:11,500
and I will bless you.
I will make your name great.

546
00:37:11,500 –> 00:37:16,600
And you shall be a blessing.
You shall be a blessing.

547
00:37:16,600 –> 00:37:20,100
I will bless those who bless
you, and I will curse him who

548
00:37:20,100 –> 00:37:24,900
curses you and in you all the
families of Of the Earth shall

549
00:37:24,900 –> 00:37:28,500
be blessed.
And what I Think Jesus is

550
00:37:28,500 –> 00:37:31,900
telling us with the salt and the
light is that okay?

551
00:37:31,900 –> 00:37:35,000
We’ve spent some time in
meditation and contemplation and

552
00:37:35,000 –> 00:37:41,000
we consider these principles and
if you don’t live in a way that

553
00:37:41,000 –> 00:37:45,800
these are noticeable, then it’s
absolutely pointless.

554
00:37:47,000 –> 00:37:48,900
You might, as well Chuck this
all about.

555
00:37:48,900 –> 00:37:52,100
What’s the point of having salt
in a recipe if it does not

556
00:37:52,100 –> 00:37:54,900
affect the taste?
What’s the point of you being a

557
00:37:54,908 –> 00:37:57,600
disciple of Christ and going out
into the world?

558
00:37:57,700 –> 00:37:59,500
If nobody can tell that you’re
there.

559
00:38:01,100 –> 00:38:03,300
Right.
If you can work next to someone

560
00:38:03,300 –> 00:38:07,000
8 hours a day, you know, five
days a week month after month.

561
00:38:07,000 –> 00:38:11,300
And they have no idea that you
have a light.

562
00:38:12,500 –> 00:38:14,500
Then the whole thing was
pointless, right?

563
00:38:14,800 –> 00:38:17,600
It doesn’t matter how many hours
of Bible study, and how many

564
00:38:17,700 –> 00:38:21,800
Bible classes and how many Bible
School, none of that matters.

565
00:38:22,000 –> 00:38:26,800
If you go out and spend a bunch
of time with with people and

566
00:38:26,800 –> 00:38:29,900
they can’t tell and they call it
just Canadians guy.

567
00:38:29,900 –> 00:38:32,800
Canadians are so polite, right?
You just, you’re just another

568
00:38:32,800 –> 00:38:36,800
Canadian.
This is the first major risk

569
00:38:36,800 –> 00:38:41,000
that we encounter here, right?
Principles are great.

570
00:38:41,400 –> 00:38:45,200
They Manifest in your daily
relationships.

571
00:38:46,300 –> 00:38:50,300
Do the people in your life.
Feel it that you are a disciple

572
00:38:50,300 –> 00:38:56,300
of Christ in your family, right?
This is the the big challenge

573
00:38:57,400 –> 00:38:59,800
because our faith make any
difference.

574
00:39:04,000 –> 00:39:09,700
So Jesus sets this stage and I
believe he’s deliberately

575
00:39:09,700 –> 00:39:13,900
contrasting, his message with
the law of Moses with the Ten

576
00:39:13,900 –> 00:39:20,000
Commandments specifically.
And maybe I’ll get you to act.

577
00:39:20,000 –> 00:39:22,800
I know, I’ve been letting you
off easy, not making you turn

578
00:39:22,800 –> 00:39:25,800
off a lot of past, turn up a lot
of passages, but if you look up,

579
00:39:26,800 –> 00:39:31,100
Hebrews chapter 12.
We’ll look at some verses in

580
00:39:31,100 –> 00:39:38,400
Hebrews, chapter 12.
And we’ll think about two

581
00:39:38,400 –> 00:39:45,000
mountains here and we’ll start
at Verse 18.

582
00:39:51,100 –> 00:39:56,400
Are you have not come to what
may be touched again touch

583
00:39:56,400 –> 00:39:59,700
there’s we’re talking about
what’s measurable, right?

584
00:39:59,700 –> 00:40:02,200
Being pure in heart, that’s not
a measurable thing.

585
00:40:02,600 –> 00:40:06,500
So you have known come to what
may be touched a blazing fire

586
00:40:06,700 –> 00:40:10,900
and darkness and Gloom and a
tempest and the sound of a

587
00:40:10,900 –> 00:40:14,800
trumpet and the voice, whose
words made the hearers beg that,

588
00:40:14,800 –> 00:40:17,700
no further message should be
spoken to them.

589
00:40:19,300 –> 00:40:22,400
Is this how we show forth our
religion and our faith to people

590
00:40:22,400 –> 00:40:25,100
around us for they could not
endure.

591
00:40:25,100 –> 00:40:28,600
The order that was given if even
a beast touches the mountain.

592
00:40:28,700 –> 00:40:30,600
It shall be stoned.
Indeed.

593
00:40:30,600 –> 00:40:35,600
So terrifying was the sight.
That Moses said, I tremble with

594
00:40:35,600 –> 00:40:39,600
fear.
Is that how we approach?

595
00:40:39,600 –> 00:40:45,700
Our belief as a big scary
mountain is clouds as Lightning

596
00:40:46,600 –> 00:40:51,000
earthquakes and fear than
Hebrews 12:22?

597
00:40:51,300 –> 00:40:56,300
But we have come to Mount, Zion
the city of the Living.

598
00:40:56,300 –> 00:41:00,700
God, the heavenly Jerusalem to
innumerable, angels and festal

599
00:41:00,700 –> 00:41:03,700
Gathering into the Assembly of
the firstborn, who are enrolled

600
00:41:03,700 –> 00:41:08,000
in heaven and to God, the judge
of all and to the spirits A

601
00:41:08,000 –> 00:41:12,900
righteous men made perfect and
to Jesus the mediator of a New

602
00:41:12,900 –> 00:41:17,500
Covenant, and to the sprinkled
blood, that speaks a better word

603
00:41:17,500 –> 00:41:22,800
than the blood of Abel.
So in Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus

604
00:41:22,800 –> 00:41:27,300
is calling us to his mountain
and we have to choose in our

605
00:41:27,300 –> 00:41:29,300
daily life.
And in the way we live our

606
00:41:29,300 –> 00:41:33,100
religion, whether we are
standing at the Mosaic mountain,

607
00:41:33,600 –> 00:41:35,400
or are we standing at the
mountain?

608
00:41:35,400 –> 00:41:47,100
That Jesus is calling us to Two.
she slides behind and then if we

609
00:41:47,100 –> 00:41:56,200
go back to Matthew, chapter 5,
Jesus surprises us again.

610
00:41:58,500 –> 00:42:01,500
All this time, the people who
are in, this is a fancy word for

611
00:42:01,500 –> 00:42:04,800
this antinomy ins and, you know,
mediums are against legalism.

612
00:42:04,800 –> 00:42:06,600
So they’re the other side of
legalism.

613
00:42:07,100 –> 00:42:09,100
They’ve been cheering this whole
time, right?

614
00:42:09,100 –> 00:42:14,400
Jesus is sort of opposing the
the law, he’s opposing this

615
00:42:14,400 –> 00:42:22,500
legalistic view of religion and
then he says in verse 17, Hold

616
00:42:22,500 –> 00:42:28,600
on, do not think that I came to
abolish the law or the prophets.

617
00:42:29,900 –> 00:42:31,400
Okay, in this, this is part of
the reason.

618
00:42:31,400 –> 00:42:35,100
I Think Jesus is structured on
the some self, he’s challenging

619
00:42:35,100 –> 00:42:38,200
the law and the prophets, but
he’s not, right?

620
00:42:38,200 –> 00:42:40,400
And we’re going to have to
wrestle with this to the rest of

621
00:42:40,400 –> 00:42:42,900
this series.
Do not think I came to abolish

622
00:42:42,900 –> 00:42:47,300
the law and the prophets, I did
not come to abolish but to

623
00:42:47,300 –> 00:42:52,600
fulfill.
So sometimes when we say, oh,

624
00:42:52,600 –> 00:42:56,900
we’re not going to be legalists.
That the comfortable space, we

625
00:42:56,900 –> 00:42:58,800
move into.
As we see them, the rules, don’t

626
00:42:58,800 –> 00:43:02,400
matter, Right.
I’m approaching god with a fear

627
00:43:02,500 –> 00:43:06,200
because there are no rules and I
can do whatever I want and

628
00:43:06,200 –> 00:43:08,800
that’s why I have such peace in
my heart.

629
00:43:08,800 –> 00:43:14,500
When I approached Jesus and
Jesus is going on, no, you know,

630
00:43:14,600 –> 00:43:18,200
that is not the message that
would be a misunderstanding of

631
00:43:18,200 –> 00:43:21,100
the message that I’m putting to
you today.

632
00:43:22,000 –> 00:43:27,000
And then so at this point and my
mind’s eye, I see the Pharisees

633
00:43:27,000 –> 00:43:30,300
on the sidelines going.
Yeah, you know, this. you tell

634
00:43:30,300 –> 00:43:32,300
them, you know, they thought
they were going to, you know, go

635
00:43:32,300 –> 00:43:37,200
with it that fuzzy, easy
approach to religion and then

636
00:43:37,200 –> 00:43:44,600
Jesus gets to verse 20, where he
says, unless your righteousness

637
00:43:45,100 –> 00:43:49,800
exceeds the righteousness of the
scribes and the Pharisees you

638
00:43:49,800 –> 00:43:55,700
will, by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven, And I want

639
00:43:55,700 –> 00:44:02,200
you to put yourself again in the
shoes of a first-century Jewish

640
00:44:02,200 –> 00:44:09,900
Baker.
And what he imagines in the

641
00:44:09,900 –> 00:44:14,300
pharisaic whole life, they and
their world affairs cycle.

642
00:44:14,300 –> 00:44:15,900
Like, this is the good life,
right?

643
00:44:16,000 –> 00:44:18,600
This is the Pinnacle of
righteousness.

644
00:44:18,900 –> 00:44:22,400
These are the people who know
all the books, they’ve memorized

645
00:44:22,400 –> 00:44:25,100
huge tract.
They spend day after day,

646
00:44:25,100 –> 00:44:28,800
studying and debating.
They have every physical and

647
00:44:28,800 –> 00:44:32,000
obvious manifestation of
righteousness, right?

648
00:44:32,000 –> 00:44:34,400
They correct me.
I go to them for teaching.

649
00:44:35,600 –> 00:44:39,800
These are the university
professors of our religious

650
00:44:39,800 –> 00:44:46,500
system.
And this man is telling me that

651
00:44:46,500 –> 00:44:52,700
unless I, as a humble Baker
exceed, the righteousness of

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00:44:52,700 –> 00:44:55,100
those people, I cannot be in the
Kingdom of Heaven.

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00:44:57,000 –> 00:45:01,100
It’s absolutely mind-boggling.
How can that be true?

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00:45:01,700 –> 00:45:06,300
How does this not immediately
put the Kingdom of Heaven Out Of

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00:45:06,300 –> 00:45:12,900
Reach for every ordinary person.
The scribes and Pharisees work,

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00:45:13,000 –> 00:45:17,200
all their lives to attain that
level and that level isn’t good

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00:45:17,200 –> 00:45:19,600
enough.
And where does that leave you?

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00:45:21,500 –> 00:45:26,700
And that’s the topic that we’ll
look at next class, but I want

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00:45:26,700 –> 00:45:31,900
to leave you with a reminder of
where Jesus started.

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00:45:31,900 –> 00:45:34,600
We’re going to get into the law
and examine some of the elements

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00:45:34,600 –> 00:45:38,100
of the law.
Remember that, Jesus started

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00:45:38,100 –> 00:45:42,500
with the principle that you are
to be a blessing.

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00:45:46,000 –> 00:46:11,200
Thank you.
Thank you brother, Mark.

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And we are just going to