Sermon On The Mount: Part 1

Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! Matthew 5:1-3

As we begin to study the Sermon on the Mount together, I want you to remember this Truth: it is Jesus’ responsibility to cause His teachings in this sermon to come to pass in our lives.

I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me— John 10:14

Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.  I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. John 15:4-5

John answered, A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing, he can take unto himself nothing] except as it has been granted to him from heaven. [A man must be content to receive the gift which is given him from heaven; there is no other source.] John 3:27

Jesus is our Shepherd and we are His sheep. Jesus is the Vine and we are His branches. Jesus is our Head and we are His body. Sheep do not shepherd themselves, branches do not bear fruit on their own, clay only becomes what the potter wants it to be, and the Truth is everything must first be given to us from our Father.

So as we study Jesus’ teachings remember that He has to make them happen. We cannot do them, we cannot will them into existence, and we cannot learn them unless Jesus empowers us to. The responsibility is completely and solely on Jesus, not on us.

Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]— Jude 24

So for us to be humble as Jesus teaches that we should be, we must be empowered by our Father first to be humble.

But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. Galatians 5:22-23

We have been given the Holy Spirit and His fruit within us causes us to be humble. So right out of the gate we see that we are blessed, because the Holy Spirit causes us to be humble, His presence within us accomplishes humility. The Truth is that we will know each other by our fruit and our fruit is our Father’s Fruit and humility will always abound through a true believer.