On The Mountain Top with Jesus series #2

March 7, 2010 MW “On the Mountain Top with Jesus” series #2/6
Stockwell Road MBC
THE MOUNTAINS OF TEACHING
Matthew 5:1-2, 24:3
INTRODUCTION:
A. Learning the things of God’s Word is like a man flying a kite. The kite does the flying, but it needs the man’s help to take advantage of the wind. Kites don’t fly on their own—unless they are out of control, in which case they are completely at the mercy of shifts of wind and the downward pull of gravity. Jesus ascends these mountains to teach us about His Word and about ourselves. We need Him to teach us and allow the Holy Spirit to work out these words in our hearts and minds remember Paul’s words in I Corinthians 2:14, “For the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

B. The Lord climbed many mountains in His ministry but I want us to look at two that he climbed specifically for the purpose of teaching His disciples. The first mountain we climb is located in the northern parts of Israel around Capernaum. We do not know the name of this mountain but one Old Testament commentator refers to this mountain as the “Sinai of the New Testament” because of the important message that Jesus taught here. From here Jesus taught His disciples about the heart of true Christianity and what it really meant to be a Child of God. The second mountain is probably more familiar to us, the Mount of Olives. Jesus ascended this mountain on many occasions for prayer and we will look at this greater detail later but this morning Jesus delivered what is called the Olivet Discourse and taught concerning end time events.

C. The significance of these two sermons is very important to every child of God. We need to be taught this morning about what it means to mature in Christ and how to be motivated to serve Him greater. If you never learned how to mature you would become malnourished and would never live up to your potential as a child of God. If you never learned of end time events you would not see the urgency of the Gospel call or the importance of Biblical missions. We need to climb these mountains with Jesus and sit at the Master’s feet. We need to allow Jesus to teach us this morning.

D. As Jesus teaches we learn…
BODY:
I. JESUS TEACHES US ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS Matthew 5:1-16
Note: I firmly believe that the most important word in English language is relationships. We were created by God with the capacity and need for relationships. We need a relationship with God and a relationship with man. If your relationships with people are not healthy it will have an effect on your relationship with God and conversely a poor relationship with God will cause you to have poor relationships with people. Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount how to have a healthy and proper relationships.
A. Being Blessed in Your Relationships vs. 1-12
1. blessed in your vertical relationship vs. 3-6
2. blessed in your horizontal relationships v. 7-12

B. Being a Blessing in Your Relationships v. 13-19
1. making a difference v. 13—salt
2. marking a distinction v. 14-16—light

II. JESUS TEACHES US ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS Matthew 5:20-7:29, Isaiah 64:6
Note: The purpose of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount can be summed up in this one verse. Religious hypocrisy was at a fevered pitch during the ministry of Jesus. He says that the heart of true Christianity exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees. The Bible speaks of personal, positional and practical righteousness!
A. Personal Righteousness—Pharisees—filthy rags
B. Positional Righteousness—imputed—being saved
C. Practical Righteousness—lived out daily

III. JESUS TEACHES US ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY Matthew 24:1-3
Note: The Olivet discourse is Jesus’ response to the Disciples’ three questions in Matthew 24:3. The answers to these questions reveal to us the urgency and awesomeness of our responsibility.
A. The Suddenness of His Coming—when…
B. The Signs of His Coming—signs of thy coming
C. The Supremacy of His Coming—end of the world

CONCLUSION:
Daily we need to climb the mountain and be taught by the Lord. His words are truth and they are life! Will you commit to being taught by the Lord?