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Reference

Matthew 5:1-12

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SCRIPTURE

Matthew 5:1-12 NIV

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Main Idea

The Kingdom of Heaven is upside down to the Kingdom of this world.

GOING DEEPER
Questions from this weeks message.

1.  What insight, principle or observation from this week’s message did you find to be most helpful, eye opening or troubling?  Please explain.  

2.  Have you ever come across something that just seems so backwards to you that you had a hard time making sense of it? (Maybe it was in marriage or something in regard to another culture?) How did you process the difference?  

3.  When you think of fortunate, happy, or blessed people what do you think of? What are some standards this world uses when it comes to the happy and blessed ones?  

4. Read Matthew 5:1-12. Jesus uses the word Blessed, which can also mean happy or fortunate. But in this context, it means those things in relation to God. Why would this list be a hard sell in this worlds system?  

5.  What in this list catches you, or is hard to accept for you, why?  

6. The beatitudes (this list of 8 things) are a description of the Kingdom of Heaven. Living in the kingdom can be difficult because it is so upside down to the kingdom of the world. What in this list is most difficult for you to live into? Which one do you feel like needs more explaining for you?  

7. If the Kingdom of heaven is the pathway of following Jesus, in what ways are we (Christians) tempted to try and get the benefits of the kingdom, without entering the kingdom (the last part of each beatitude without living the first part)? Why might this be a problem?   

SUMMARY POINTS

 The Kingdom of Heaven is upside down to the Kingdom of this world. 

What we will see in this series is that the Kingdom of God is Topsy Turvy to the Kingdom of this world. This simply means, upside down. What we see is that  the Kingdom of God is right side up and the Kingdom of this world is upside down.

Jesus begins with 8 statements that have been called the beatitudes. Really beatitudes are the Kingdom of Heavens answer to this human desire and question: How can I be happy?  

 3 “Blessed…   This Greek word can be translated into English as Blessed, happy, fortunate. And although it is all of these, ‘blessed’ in a religious sense captures it best. It includes happy, but it is one who is blessed, happy or fortunate in God and in relation to God. 

When we think of the pathway to happiness, and those who are blessed we don’t usually think of…
 
The poor in spirit, Those who mourn, The meek, Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, The merciful, The pure in heart, The peacemakers, and Those who are persecuted.

But, The Kingdom of Heaven is upside down to the Kingdom of this world.  

When we look at the outcomes Jesus gives, we understand, although the pathway isn’t what I thought, the outcomes of the Kingdom are… those who live in it receive things like…  
The kingdom of heaven, They will be comforted, They will inherit the earth, They will be filled, They will be shown mercy, They will see God, They will be called children of God, and Theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Now that sounds like an attractive list.  
The Kingdom of Heaven is upside down to the Kingdom of this world. 

 The blessed, happy, and fortunate are those living in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. 

CALL TO ACTION

In what ways are you challenged to step in, or step into the kingdom in a fuller way?  Why not join in and become one with those who are called “blessed”.