Pastor Morgan shared a line to begin our time that I believe is very important to remember, “the foundation of the Sermon on the Mount is on who Jesus is.” Jesus was the original proclaimer of the gospel. Jesus lived and taught that the Kingdom of God was now and not yet. Jesus himself had ushered in the reign of God, this was the good news of the gospel for the now. While we wait for the “not yet” of Jesus return, he gave us his Sermon on the Mount as our framework for how to be Kingdom people. 

 

Additionally, while our millennial sensibilities may bristle at this thought, Pastor Morgan also taught that the we, the Church, are called to obey Jesus words to us in the Sermon on the Mount, it is not optional. That said, it is important to remember as we seek to obey Jesus that the Sermon on the Mount is not a series of commands to teach us how to get into heaven, rather his words are how we are to respond to the gospel. There is an indicative and an imperative. The indicative of the good news is what God has done on our behalf in Jesus. The imperative is how we respond to this gracious good news - not through earning, but through simple submission to Jesus’ lordship. 

 

After establishing this, Pastor Morgan brought us to the first Beatitude in Matthew 5, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Jesus’ teaching begins with blessing, not with command. Let this sink in for a moment, this is the good Father we follow. It can be easy to read our own definition and understanding of the word “poor,” but when Jesus speaks of the poor, what he is communicating is not a monetary sense of poor but rather a spiritual one. Another way reading this could be, blessed are those who see & understand their need for God. It is a calling out of the illusion of self-sufficiency, and into the humble posture of one who relies upon God. 

 

To end our time, Pastor Morgan gave us some ways to make this teaching practical. Being poor in spirit means: