July 14, 2025 • 38 mins
In this inspiring message, guest speaker Michael Rondon takes a break from the regular series to dive into Matthew 5 and the Sermon on the Mount. Michael explores the Beatitudes, unpacking the eight blessings that Jesus presents as a roadmap to a fulfilled life, emphasizing a desperate dependence on Christ and a heart for Scripture. He challenges the congregation to live as "salt" and "light" in the world—called to be rare, precious, and impactful in Jesus’ name, influencing their communities without being diluted by cultural values. Michael encourages believers to embrace kingdom values over worldly virtues, pursue intimacy with God, and return to Matthew 5-7 annually for spiritual renewal. Join us for a compelling call to live boldly and sacrificially for Christ, starting where you live, work, and serve.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Good morning church.
How's everyone doing?
Good.
Happy Sunday.
If we have not met yet,my name is Michael.
I'm on the team here at flipside.
I serve our kids and youth.
And it's actually.
I've been here a year in July,which has been pretty cool.
And so
the first event I went to was a food bankservice day, which we are doing tomorrow.
(00:22):
And so crazy how time flies.
Already been a year.
But Pastor Carl is out of town.
He is visiting grandkids.
And so I said this the first year.
I'm going to say it every time I'm up hereis just my little bit of immaturity.
Send him a textif you have his number right now.
I would love for himto get 30 texts this morning.
And so just to kind of bother himand annoy him,
but let him know you're thinkingabout him. You care for him?
(00:45):
This morning,though, we're going to take a brief pause
from our current series, and we're goingto jump into the Gospel of Matthew.
So if you have your Bibles oryour smartphones, open up to Matthew five,
Matthew chapter five, we're going towe're going to sit in this morning
the sermon on the Mount.
At least we're going to introduce it.
We're going to talk about three things.
(01:06):
The Beatitudesor these blessings that Jesus talks about.
And we're going to talk about salt,and we're going to talk about light.
And really,
what kind of prompted this doing thisone off, although I hope it continues.
Right.
My challengeis that we don't just sit in this morning,
but you will continue inMatthew in the coming weeks.
Is the you and I my oldest?
(01:26):
We I usually put him to bed
and we'll do somekind of Debo will read from his Bible.
We'll open upone of the devotionals he has,
or we'll just read the verse today.
And a couple weeks ago.
And when Pascale hit me up about teaching,
every day was Matthew,it was Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, Matthew.
And so our high schoolersand I, we went through the sermon
on the Mount last fall,and we sat in it for three months.
It was awesome, right?
Just these red letter texts
(01:47):
that Jesus has wordson, on what it means to follow him.
And I thought it was so impactfuland such a challenge.
And so this morning, that's my my heart.
There are two thingsI hope we could walk away with.
The first isthat we'd have a value of Scripture.
We have a heart for it.
And the second is that we would understandwhat it means to follow Jesus.
(02:08):
Right?
That Jesus is challenging us in this textand saying, hey, it's not a mystery.
And what I what I expect of you, what I,what I ask of you, it's right here.
Right.
And so we're going to say it inMatthew five this morning.
Eight Beatitudes and then salt and light.
But here's the questionthat has been thrown in my head.
Really for like 20 years.
And it's why I want to start this morning.
As I became a believer in high school.
(02:29):
But, you know,there's not a ton of depth there.
But but that's kind ofwhen this faith journey started for me
and this questionall the way again, is elementary.
It's kind of morphed and changed howI interact with it throughout the years.
And I'll put it on the screenfor you to look at.
It's this. And what does it look like?
What does it feel like andwhat does it sound like to follow Jesus?
Again, kind of elementary,but I'm talking about like
(02:50):
all in chips in the middle,like win or bust.
Go home.
What does it look like?Or does it feel like?
And what does it sound like to followJesus with everything,
every single second of every single day?
There's a dependance on himfor for the thoughts you have
and the actions you take.And just whatever you're doing in life.
And so blessings salt and light.
(03:11):
But kind of to
position us well or posture us well.
There's a couple of things I want to throwon the screen for you to think about.
So, Pastor Carl and I,we're processing this week is this idea
that Matthew five through seven thereKingdom values.
But you might hear that phrasea lot at Flipside Kingdom
that it doesn't meanto be a part of this kingdom
when we're in the world,but not of this world.
So five, six and seven are kingdom values,not cultural virtues, right?
(03:36):
What culture says on what the kingdomand the values are, and what
Scripture shares are very different.
And the sermon onthe Mount is not about chasing blessings,
although that's where Jesus startsthese beatitudes,
but becoming the kind of personthat God blesses, right?
That we look more like Jesus every day.
And in that way we live a fulfilled life,not a perfect life or always happy life,
(03:56):
but a fulfilled life.I would say a blessed life.
But as we go through these eight,you're going to
you're going to realizethat they're not what the world says.
It's not,
oh, you're so blessedwith the house in the car and the kids
and the health and the vacationsand the whatever.
Those things are amazing, right?They're such a blessing.
But Jesus is talking about
what it means to be blessedand live a blessed lifestyle.
And so that's we're goingto talk about, this morning.
(04:20):
And before we do, though, again,I want to kind of set this up, God,
to be kind of stirring in my heart.
This idea about our primary call in life.
I think for a long timeI've always struggled with what's my
what's God's will for me.
Right. We pray, father, your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth or in my lifeas it is in heaven, right?
And so I try to give my careerto the Lord.
And I think I've stumbled a lot with
(04:40):
like, what is God's call for meprofessionally?
And that's when I'm living in God's willis when I'm in that role
or I have that status,or I have a check that box or achieve this
something in life.
And I realized that I was missing it,I think, the whole time,
and this is our primary call,this is the Lord's will for our lives.
It's it's our primary callfor intimacy with the father,
a closeness to himand a dependance on him.
(05:02):
That's our primary call in life, not ourministry role, not the job that we have.
Although we may still be living inGod's will for us professionally.
I hope you are.
But don't get stuck thatwhen I get to that job or that promotion
or I can check that box,then I'm living in God's will.
Know.
Don't miss the lifethat's happening all along, right?
Living inGod's will means a dependance on him and
(05:23):
and a knowledgethat His Word is beneficial to you.
And I think one wayin which we have that intimacy with God,
one way in which we we drawnear, is through God's word.
Right? We need to know what God says.
We didn't know how he interact
with his creation,how he talked about us, how he views us.
We need to know God's voice.
(05:47):
My father in law, he'ssitting in the back, right?
He used to ask a really funny questionwhen we were in high school.
We had a Tuesday night Bible study
and he would he would ask, What's God'sfavorite flavor of ice cream?
It was a silly question,the dumb question.
But it gets to the heart of,do you know God's voice?
Do you know God's character?
Do you know him intimately enoughwhere you would know his favorite flavor
(06:07):
of ice cream? Right? As silly as that is.
And that's the kind of intimacywe need with God.
A very close nearness where we can say,yeah, I know, I know what he likes.
I know how he speaks.
I know what he says.
I know his posture towards me, what hewants of me, what he does not want for me.
I know these things because I meditateon his word day and night.
(06:29):
And so that's my hope that we walk awaythis morning with a value of Scripture,
a view of Scripturethat is beneficial to you.
And then also when it kind oflooks like to live
this very challenging walk as a believer,because the sermon on
the Mount is not easy,it is challenging for sure.
So eight blessings, eight beatitudes here.
This is the sermon on the Mount is thelongest recorded sermon that Jesus gave
(06:53):
it. And what I love is he'stalking to his disciples, right?
But it's not just the disciples.
2000 years ago, anyone in the room?
This is Jesus, the Lord and Savior.
He is my Redeemer, right?
He has made me new.
You are his disciple.
And so in that wayhe is speaking directly to you.
I believe in Matthew five six and sevenand I thought, we have to know this text.
(07:14):
We have to have to have to.
And if I can humbly say this right,and if I could speak for Jesus, it's
I think he's saying this.
You say, Michael, if you want to followme, this is the standard.
This is the standard.
Matthew five, Matthew six, Matthew seven.
This is the standard for following meand living a fulfilled life.
Right?
Because if you just look at thejust the tops of these text, right.
(07:35):
Salt and light talks about murder,adultery, divorce,
oaths, eye for an eye, loving your enemy,prayer, fasting, worrying.
Judging.
True and falseprophets, true and false disciples.
He taught touches on the wiseand the foolish builders.
He touches on everything that we're goingto interact with in this world.
Right?
All the things we're goingto rub up against, not the process.
As believers.
And so it is the standardat which you're called to live.
(07:56):
If you're a follower of Jesus right here.
So don't miss this text.
I think we should come back to thisevery single year at minimum annually,
every July. Just make itput on your calendar.
Sermon on the Mount.
Sermon on the Mount, sermon on the Mount.
Come back to it.
Because here's what Pastor God told methis week I've been processing it.
Is that the sermon on the Mount?
It's a radical redefinitionof what it means to be blessed.
(08:17):
Right? Radical redefinitionof what it means to be blessed.
Again,we think of like these external things
that we can acquire,and that's not a blessing.
Those are just fun parts of life.
Right?
But these these blessed statements,they're not positions we earn.
We don't earn them from God.
They're just postures that we embrace.
We try to live out every dayand we're walking and doing and,
(08:39):
you know, taking on, you know, with joythe responsibilities God's given us.
And so eight, eight Beatitudes,eight characteristics.
It's a package deal, though.
You can't all look at this one three,five all or nothing.
Right. This is what it means to livea blessed life.
What it means to live a fulfilled life.
And so let's jump in.
The first oneJesus highlights is Matthew five three
(09:00):
says, blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I think Jesus starts hereso wisely and intentionally.
Blessed are the poor in spiritI mean sync with me.
I think Jesus wants us to start with this.
This view and understandingof how desperately we need him.
There's a desperate dependance on Jesusbecause think for a second, right?
(09:20):
How how Jesus has madeyou new. He's transformed you.
He's changed your outlook on lifeand who you become.
And you just what you do in life.
Now remove that spirit.
We would be the poorest of the poor.
There is nothing goodI can do in this world apart from Jesus
and the Holy Spirit working through me.
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
If I would be fully emptyand without hope, right?
(09:41):
And so in that it is blessedto acknowledge my huge and overwhelming
dependance and need for Jesusand need for the Holy Spirit.
And so we need to just say yes,it is a blessing to be poor in spirit
because I need to acknowledgeand live in the reality
of how much I needJesus every second of every day.
That we need to embrace the idea.
(10:01):
That's all you and none of me.
All the good I dois you and all the bad I do with me.
All the selfishI do is me. We are poor in spirit
and it just highlights this desperate need
for Jesus, this desperate needfor the Holy Spirit, his guidance
and in his encouragement.
So I love that Jesus starts here.
So you hate me, me, me, me.
It's all about me.
You need me to live this life well,
(10:23):
second beatitude
again, these are blessingsthat are not always part of what we view.
But it says, blessed are thosewho mourn, for they will be comforted.
We all mourn.
You may be even in a season of mourning.
Now mourning just angel transitionor loss of a loved one or something
that is just different in life.
And what's interesting here, I think, is
(10:43):
it's how we respondwhen we're mourning, right?
As believers,we're called to mourn with hope, right?
Because we have salvation,we have eternity.
We have a future apart from this world.
And so we mourn with hope.
We certainly have to get the tears out.We have the process.
We don't want our mourning to Lord over usand control us in that way.
(11:04):
We have to give it to God
and allow him to transformwhatever we're going through.
And I think as I processmourning really well biblically,
I think of of just believing two things.
First is that God is good because if he isgood, then I can mourn with hope.
And the second is believingthat God is always working right.
(11:27):
Scripture talks of the invisible hand ofGod where we see him working in real time.
We feel the spirit.
We feel God's encouragement.
We can see him bring people into our lives
and the church, the sermon, the teaching,whatever it is. Right?
But then we often look back,
right 2020 vision when we see like,
oh God, was just workingthings out the whole time.
But if you believe thathe was working there
and we can look back and see, then he wasworking the whole time, we missed it.
And so we can believethat God is good always.
(11:50):
And if we can believethat he's always working things out,
then we can mourn with hope,
because there's never a season
or a secondthat God is not still working things out.
I heard one pastorsay, God can take a crooked stick
and continue with his straightpath, right?
Our sinful desires, our sinful world,he takes the brokenness, but his path
and what he wantsis still going to be accomplished.
(12:13):
And so we can mourn with hope becauseGod is good and he's working things out.
We can mourn with hope.
The third beatitude,
this blessing that Jesus highlights isis blessed are the meek.
Pascal.
I had a pretty good conversationabout this one.
Blessed are the meek, forthey won't hurt the earth, right? Meek.
Biblically it is strength under control,
(12:35):
strength under control.
And so we don't have to be weak.
It's not meek and weak, it'swe have strength,
but we're going to be mindfulof how we use that strength.
It's not wielding power against others,
although sometimes we might want to.
Right?
It's fun to have power, authority,and to be in control,
(12:55):
but it's strength under control.
So as believers, we should be strong.
We should be confident.
We shouldn't be shy or bashful or weak.
Not at all.
Like we have thethe God of the universe who speaks.
And this whole thing gets goingliving in us.
We should be biblically strong.
Pastor Carl said,when the when culture crowns
the strong, Jesus blesses the surrendered.
(13:18):
So even though we have that strength,
we still surrendered toGod's will in our lives.
And we surrender to Scriptureand what it says of us.
I heard one pastor say,
if we have a complaint with Scripture,we have a frustration.
We don't agree with it.
Then change your mind right?
Change your mind because you're wrong.
And so biblically, we're
called to be meek, strong,but have self-control.
(13:39):
Our fourth blessingthat Jesus shares is five six.
It says, blessed are the.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirstfor righteousness, for they will be filled
is an interesting question
I ask myself last couple of weeks iswhat do I hunger and thirst for?
What are you constantly craving in life,or pursuing or viewing or wanting
or just what are you?
What do you hunger and thirst forin this world? Right?
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What has your attraction?What has your eye?
What has your your your gaze like?
What is it?
Not just bad things.
Good is what is itacross the board, right.
The religious leaders, they back inJesus's day, it was all me, me, me.
Look at me.I'm doing it, I'm doing it, I'm doing it.
Let us self righteousness,not righteousness.
But Jesus says, blessedare those who hunger and thirst,
and he is righteousness, right?
(14:20):
So those who hunger and thirst for Jesushave this unquenchable thirst for Jesus.
That'swhat what's what Jesus is saying here.
I think that we want more of usand less of me.
I want to hunger and thirstfor you this unquenchable way
whereI need to wake up and spend time with you.
I need to have lunch with and I need to goto bed and spend time with you.
(14:41):
I just I need to hunger and thirstfor the God of the universe
who is good and always working things out
right.
Not a self righteous,but there's a righteousness.
We just seek and desire and demandmore of Jesus and less of me.
Our fifth, fifth beatitude this morningis, five seven.
(15:02):
Blessed are those
who are, or blessed are the merciful, forthey will be shown mercy.
This one I think, is challenging as well,but I think it starts
with this acknowledgmentand this reality of
of just a self-assessmentof how much mercy I've been shown.
We know the depth of our sin.
We know the depth of our hurtand our frustration.
We knowthe depth of our wickedness at times.
(15:25):
And when we can sit and reflect and acknowledge how much mercy we've been shown,
right.
Even though it's difficult at times to toto give it out,
we can't not just extend that out,
right.
We don't get to receive mercyand then not, not give it out.
And so that's the challenge here
because we are always quick to receiveand not always quick to give,
(15:47):
right? When it comes to mercy and grace
and forgiveness, it'sjust not always our default.
So we have to acknowledgehow much mercy we've been shown,
and let that just be an important realityfor you so that you can extend it out
to your wife, to your kids, to youryour coworkers, your friend,
your family, your neighbors. Right?
Show that mercy.
Extend that mercy.
(16:08):
Right.
The sixth this morningbeatitude is Matthew five eight.
It says, blessed are the pure in heart.
Blessed are the pure in heart.
For they will see God.
I don'tknow about you, but I want to see God.
A time
and in as we process Phariseesand this lack of internal
transformation, I think pure heart is allabout the internal why do I do what I do?
(16:30):
Why do I say what I say?
Why do I think what I think,what I pursue, what I pursue,
like, is just getting down to this baselevel
of what is my motivationfor all the things me.
And if it's not Jesus and it'snot for others, and it needs some tweaking
and needs some adjusting,it needs, you know, a reconfiguration,
inward transformation.
I want to look more like Jesusand less like myself.
(16:52):
I have to believe and actually like walkconfidently in this reality
that I am a new creationand you are all in Christ, a new creation.
Scripture says the old has gone,the new has come.
You're not even the same Michael anymore.
You're not the same person anymore.
And so live confidently in that reality
and have a pure heart, right?
And that's where it comes down to,I got to believe this,
(17:13):
and I'll be confidentbecause I have to walk in purity.
The world's going to say,that would be fun and that would be cool.
And you might really enjoy that,
but it's not going to be a partof that fulfilled life.
That's a roadmap of what it meansto experience a blessed life
according to the scriptures.
So pure in heart.
It's a challenge for us.
Our seventh beatitude, our blessingthis morning is is five nine.
(17:34):
It says, blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are the peacemakers, forthey will be called children of God.
I want that title a Child of God.
Embrace that role in life.
And so I think the challenge here, right?
I was talking with John B, he helped serveour junior highers on Sunday morning.
He shared last week.
He can't wait to hear the words,well done, my good and faithful servant.
(17:57):
Right?
What an embrace to hear thatfrom the God of the universe who can speak
and change and do insert himselfin the humanity and died for us, like
to hear that from him.
There's nothing better you can experience.
And so we have to look to himand say he is the ultimate peacemaker.
He took the sting of death
and the sting of sin awayby going to the cross and dying for us.
(18:18):
Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker.
And so I think he's challenging usthen to be peace, peaceable people.
I mean, walk into our homes.Do we bring peace?
Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't.
Right.
And my sense of
peace this morning, a sense of peacewith our junior high students, my kids
do I bring a sense of peace in the roomsthat I'm in?
That's a really challenging question,because if not, why not?
(18:41):
What do we need to work on?
What do we need to submit?
What do we need to do differently,
or call to facilitate peaceand be peacemakers in this world?
Again, in a worldwhere we sometimes feel like you deserve
what you got, why you made your bed,we're still called
to forgive and extend mercy and graceand provide some level of peace.
It's grace and truth.
(19:02):
There's a there's there's a balance there.
And then the last one wouldn'twe wouldn't call this a blessing.
But Jesus says, blessed are those who arepersecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,
right?
Fortunately, we live in a countrywhere we don't face a lot of persecution
for our faith. Right?
We might get like a comment or a side eyeor something here and there, but
(19:24):
for the most part, we're not persecuted,and that's a blessing.
But Jesus is saying,if you are persecuted, it's a blessing.
And so I want more blessings.
So if I have to be persecuted,I mean, I want to stand on and be next
to that name of Jesus as much as I can,
because again,it's going to make me a better
me and I'mgoing to live a more fulfilled life.
So if it's persecution, it's persecution.
So maybe we should be readyfor a little persecution in this life.
(19:45):
As much as we don'twant to experience pain,
right?
Jesus name, blessed are you because ofrighteous, because of me.
Jesus saying because of mine.
If you are attached to my name and you arepersecuted, that is a blessing.
Embrace it.
Give it to me.
And so as we think about blessings,as we think about persecution,
if you think about what it means to walk
(20:06):
this faith out this morning,I think I want,
I want to I don't think we're going to sitin this idea of salt and light,
salt and light.
And it's interesting thatJesus calls us salt and he calls us light.
We're going to read Matthew
five verses 13 through 16.
I'm on the screen for us.
But this is the only time that Jesus usesthis metaphor to describe us.
(20:29):
He says, Michael or anyone else,you are the salt of the earth
and you're the light of the world.
And so here's what the text says.
It says
you are the salt of the earth.
But if the salt loses its saltiness,how can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anythingexcept to be thrown out
(20:50):
and trampled underfoot.
Verse 14 says,you are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lampand put it under a bowl.
Instead, they put it on its stand, andit gives light to everyone in the house.
16 wraps up in the same way.
Let your light shine before others,that they may see your good deeds
(21:12):
and glorify your father in heaven.
Is. This is interesting.
I think our call as believers
is to influenceand impact the world around us
in the name of Jesus. That's our call.
And I would even be bold enoughto say that this is a mandate.
(21:34):
It's not an option.
He didn't say, Michael, will you thinkand pray about being light and being salt?
He didn't say that, right?
He said very specifically, you are salt,you are light.
So the really honest, sobering questionthis morning
is amI effective salt in my effective light.
Right. That's the challenging piece.
It's not aam I doing it? Am I not doing it?
(21:56):
Should I do it should I not?You already are salt.
You already are light.
It's are you effective in those phases?
Are you salty? Are you helpful?
I'm going to unpack salt and light.
But but it's it's a mandate.
But here's why. It's not burdensome.Right?
Jesus has people in Africa.
He has some people in Asia,some people in Europe.
Like he's saying, Michael, right here,where you live, where you sleep,
where you work, where you go to school,where you go to the gym, where you coach.
(22:17):
Whatever you do, be salt and be light.
So it's not a burden.
It's it's just a blessingand a responsibility
to walk in the ways of Jesusand to influence this world in his name.
Right?
To say yes to the call
and yes to step up to the plate and say,all right, Jesus up.
I'm good. Let's go.
I'm not embarrassed. I'm not scared.
I'm not.
(22:38):
I'm not burdened by this.
It's a responsibility.
So think this morning,
how can you impact the name of Jesusright here where you live?
What does that look like?
Tangibly feed it for you to.
What does that look like?
Like what are some action stepsyou can do? What can you what can you do?
Who can you bless? Who can you pray for?What can you?
What does that look like for you?
Right here in the Ranchos,wherever you wherever you live.
(23:00):
And so saltwant to talk about salt for a second.
So back in Jesus's day, right?
Couple thousand years ago, salt was rare.
It was precious.
It was a commodity.
Soldiers, Roman soldiers were oftenat times paid with salt.
Right. So it had value.
So think about thatnow for you and your faith.
You're called to be rare, calledbe precious.
(23:23):
You're called to be a commodity.
You're called to add value to this world.
In Jesus's name.
Are you doing that?
Are you a rare, precious commoditythat adds value to this world?
If you think about salt as well, saltit can.
It can preserve, right?
Are you preserving life?
Are you preserving life? Right?
In the name of Jesus, salt can also limitthe decay that happens.
(23:46):
This world is decaying.It is. It is broken.
It is filled with sin and hurtand brokenness.
Are you slowing the decay in the name ofJesus
is a challengingidea, is to be salt and to be effective.
Salt.
Right.
Think about that.
You're grilling thrownsteak on the grill or whatever, right?
You eat it without a flavoredblend is still pretty good,
but you put a good salt blend.
(24:08):
It's very good. Right?
So you your call to add flavoror to enhance the world around you
in the name of Jesus.
Rare. Precious. Helpful.
Sacrifice.
Sacrificial. Slow the decay, add value.
Flavor.
Enhance in the name of Jesus.
But then Jesus also has a warning to us.
(24:29):
He says,but if salt loses its saltiness, it's
not good for anything but to be thrown outand trampled underfoot.
Right?
So we're processing that a little bitthis week.
And I was processing the idea
that I think salt loses its saltinesswhen it's diluted.
When we are a believer,we are walking with him.
But maybe we allow culture to influence us
to just as much as Scripture,just as much as Jesus, where
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we're diluting ourselves.
We're watering down our morals,our values, who we are as believers.
This new creation might get called,pulled back.
That old creation right when we getwatered down where the saltiness is gone.
So don't let culture and the worldand the virtues and the values
influence who you are, right?
We're in the world, but not of the world.
(25:12):
That's the challenge for you and me.
If you want to be effective,salt is to not lose sight of
of of kind of our compass.
And who gives us what we need
the strength, the wisdom,the discernment as we live our lives.
So be salt that then Jesus says, what?
You're the light of the world.
Light is mentioned.
I did some research over250 times in Scripture
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Genesis let there be light, right?
First book of the Bible.
Revelation talks about God,how God gives light.
So kind of book in Scripture.
First on God's God is light.
It says Jesus.
In Johnit says, I am the light of the world.
I mean God in light, God and light. Right?
We need you to lean into that a little bitbecause what is light?
Do light exposes darkness?
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A lot of darkness in our world,and we're called in Jesus name
to get rid of as much darkness as we can.
Right.
And that can be overwhelmingand that can be difficult
and that can be messy.
But you are the light of the world.
So our call in life,
I'd also illuminate our path, our steps.
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Scripture talks about this, right?
That we would not stumbleand we would not lose focus.
We would not.We would not veer off left and right.
We would.
It would illuminate our path,but also the path of those around us.
Let it help those who are walkingshoulder to shoulder with us, right?
Our spouse, our extended family,our friends, our neighbors, students,
whoever.
I love this idea.
To that light can't be hidden by darkness.
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Light.
Darkness cannot overcome light.
It just can't. It physically can't.
I had a flashlight here,but you can't cover it with darkness.
So in that way we should be confident.
As believers, we're light of the world.
Then go into these dark spacesand live for Jesus and proclaim his name.
Because darkness cannot overcome
the light.
(26:57):
Pascale shared this cool quote,and if it is or we found it.
But this idea that light doesn't apologizefor being bright,
light does not apologize for being bright.
So lean in and embrace this call
of being a light in this world.
So start where you sleep.
Sorry.
We go to school and where you work again.
(27:20):
I already asked that,already said this morning. But.
But how can you be saltand light in these places?
Just start here.
You know, I heard one friend
talking about man that, you know,you hear this conversation a lot.
There's so much darknessand evil in this world.
How can a good God be in control?
And, you know,you hear this, this rhetoric a lot.
And why is our brokennessand why is our pain
and why is there suffering?I think the reality is,
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even as believers,we can fall into the trap of God.
Where are you at?
Where are you at?
Look at what's happening.Where are you at?
And here's our challenge.Here's our posture.
It should be at least I think God saying,well, like I said, I'm sending you.
I given you my spirit. Go. Right.
Why are you asking me to do it?I already died for you.
I went to the cross.I answer to myself in humanity.
And then I'm giving you my spirit.
Go, go.
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Alleviate the hurt,the pain, the suffering, the brokenness
you have my spirit,your soul and your light.
Go and do stop looking at me.
Right?All right. God is saying, go, go, go.
You have the power ofof of the resurrection living in you.
You're meek.
Your strength with control.
You're a precious commodity.
(28:25):
Add value to this worldin the name of Jesus.
And as I was processing this week,it was interesting
as we're leaning into who we are asbelievers and what we're supposed to do.
I think we also have to acknowledge
what we're in, what what's not true, rightwhere Scripture speaks
that the Holy Spirit is a depositguaranteeing our inheritance, guaranteeing
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like the forever,the amazingness of of eternity with God.
But we can't stop there.
It can't only be a depositguaranteeing our inheritance.
The Holy Spirit is saying like,I want to use you here
and I want to use you now.
And here's kind of the realityI had this week
is that both salt and light,they don't go unnoticed.
You can taste it.
You can see the light.They don't go unnoticed.
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And so as believers,we're not supposed to be silent.
I'm not supposed to be passive.
We're not supposed to be embarrassedfor our faith or
or unsure of how to share it.
Let God go and speak and do.
A lot of the battle is justjust the front and saying yes.
And then Godworking it out on the back end.
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Believers who are salt and light,we and you have to engage the culture,
speak truth, share Jesus,
serve those around you well, rightthis grace and truth lifestyle.
Because here's the reality, right?
I think this is why I just use thesemetaphors, is that both salt and light
sustain life.
And I like asking a lot of questionswhen I teach.
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And and so one that I just kept comingto my mind all week was,
am I sustaining life around meand start with my spouse.
Start with my kids, my neighbors, cousins,whoever
is like the close in laws,my mom, my brother, right?
How am I sustaining life around me?
How am I leading?
(30:11):
Because both salt and lightresult in change, right?
As we've talked about, darkness is gone.
Meat is flavored right?
So how are you changing
the environment around you?
How are you living for others?
How are you saying yes to what?
Are you saying yes to
when it comes to sacrificing for our Lord?
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I mean, our charge is to not be apatheticin our faith.
Scripturesays, don't lose your first love.
Don't live for yourself.
Five, six, and seven in Matthew.
It is a roadmap to a fulfilled lifeand it's right here in front of us.
It's not a mystery how are
supposed to live our lives.
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Who canyou share the gospel with this week?
Who can you pray for? Who can you serve?
Who can you forgive?
Who can you extend mercy to?
I think Paul,
as you know, right, God,use him in a mighty way.
Ton of the New Testamentand just his testimony alone,
(31:18):
and how he lived for Godin such a radical way.
I think he was he was on to somethingbecause Paul recognized
this reality that sin still lives in us.
There's this warningwe still have a sin nature.
It's still there.
We also have the spirit. Right?
And so they're at war as they should be.
And so Paul recognizesthat sin still dwells and where it lives.
(31:38):
Sometimes it bubbles up and it comes out.
And we live in a very selfish way.
And that's why
Paul, I think in his from his perspective,he's going to be salt and light.
He said, I got to die to self daily.
I have to die to self daily.
I have to crucify my flesh daily.
When he wakes up, it's
more of you, Jesus and less of methat we have to start there.
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Otherwisewe won't do it on our own accord,
our own strength, our own understanding.
We got to die daily.
Our prayer should be God, make me justas alive today as you made me yesterday.
Show me where I can be salt.
Show me where I can be light.
Show me where I can I can speak truth.
Where I can blot out the darkness.
So process that for your life.
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What does
it mean to die daily to self for you?
It's going to be different for all of us.
We all have different,
different responsibilities, different,different burdens in life, if you will.
Different challenges from, you know,a junior high or a high school student
to grandparents and aunts and unclesor parents in the thick of it, like,
what does it mean to die daily for you?
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And here's just where it really hitsme, is
your kidsneed to see you being salt and light.
Your kids need to see that.
Your kids need to see parents sacrificing.
Your kids need to see aunts and unclessacrificing.
Your kids need to see grandparentssacrificing.
And it's not always fair.
It's not always easy.
Needle on the cross right?
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And so die to self.
Daily process what it meansfor more of Jesus and less of you.
I love what Psalm 1123 says.
It says this.
It says, blessed is the one
who does not walk in thisin step with the wicked, or stand
in the way that sinnerstake or sit in the company of mockers,
(33:29):
but whose delightis in the law of the Lord,
and who meditate on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree plantedby streams of water
which yielded fruit in season,and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever they do prospers.
We are called to meditate on God'sWord day and night.
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Know his voice,know the flavor of ice cream
that he likes to know how he views.
You know what he's done for you.
And know that
not only is God saying we should do it,but it will.
It will make you a better person.
It will make you more patientand more graceful than we understand him.
(34:11):
The more we realize the depthsat which God has.
He went to save me.
He went to save you.
It just gives us this greater appreciationfor God, his heart, his desires,
his motivation for, for, for seeking us,
for saving us, for pursuing us.
We are to meditate on God's Word.
We're going to die to self daily,because if we don't,
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we're not going to be effective.
Saul. We're not going to be effectivelight.
Here's my hope for for my life,for my wife,
for my kids, for you andand your families is three things, right?
That you would have a heart for a God,
right?
And justlike a God, what do you have for me?
A heart for who God is.
Two theyou would have a submission to his word
(34:55):
and know that this is priority one
and three that you would blameblameless and testimony.
Right?
Because so often, I mean, you'd hatethis to be the reality, right?
Where you're sharing the good news,sharing the gospel.
God's really workingthrough someone's heart.
But then like, but Michael,you talk like that, or Michael,
you act like automaticallyyou pursue those things, right?
(35:15):
You're not blameless in testimony.
You almost like gettingin the way of the gospel.
And that's really challenging, right?
And how am I walking the walk?
How am I walking in purity
when friend want to go do thisor they want to go indulge in that?
That's the challenge.
Heart for God, submissionto His word and blameless in testimony.
(35:38):
And then I think just this umbrella overthis whole conversation is
and have grace for yourself and seek
God's face when you do mess up and repent,
because you're going to mess upand you're going to need to repent.
That's a huge part of this.
I said my hopes were two,you'd value Scripture
and you'd know kind of the startof this roadmap for what it means
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to live a fulfilled life,to walk in the ways of Jesus.
So my challenge to youis a couple things one.
Read chapter five this week
said in Matthew five.
The rest of this weekprocess it a couple of times two.
Read chapter six next week and three readchapter seven the following week.
Just just sit in Matthew five,sit in Matthew six, sit in Matthew
sevenand come back to this at minimum annually.
(36:23):
Every you like, put on your calendar.
I'm going to read the sermon on the Mountbecause here's the reality, right?
We Scripture says this that God's Wordis good
in all situations, in all occasions,for teaching and rebuking and correcting.
And just because you've read itonce doesn't
mean God's doneusing that in your life, right?
How many times we read something at 20and it hits different at 25 or 28
or 30 or 35, because nowyou're not the same person you were.
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You're married with kids as opposed towhen you were a young man on your own.
And socome back to this every single July.
Make this a priority, this red lettertext of what it means to live a fulfilled.
And I think blessed life
sound good.
Sweet. Here, I'm going to pray for us.
We're going to sing one more song togetherthis morning.
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Father, I thank you for your graceand your mercy and your love.
The truth of your wordfor Matthew chapter five.
For what it means to be blessed.
I am grateful that you pursue usand that you
forgive us.
I'm grateful that you challenge usto be salt and light.
Lord,
father, please convict our hearts
(37:27):
and show us the waysin which we can serve this world.
Show us the waysin which we can sacrifice for this world.
I pray for a deep conviction
that we die to self dailyand that we live for you. Lord
God, I do pray for everyone in this room.
That and we could support each other well
and that we could
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honor the commitmentto sacrifice for each other
and to pick each other up,and to forgive each other
and to have graceand to serve this community well.
Lord,
please help us to take the stepswe need to take
to live for you.
Got to be an effective, saltand effective light.
We thank you Jesus.
We pray this all in your name. Amen.
Good morning church.
How's everyone doing?
Good.
Happy Sunday.
If we have not met yet,my name is Michael.
I'm on the team here at flipside.
I serve our kids and youth.
And it's actually.
I've been here a year in July,which has been pretty cool.
And so
the first event I went to was a food bankservice day, which we are doing tomorrow.
(00:22):
And so crazy how time flies.
Already been a year.
But Pastor Carl is out of town.
He is visiting grandkids.
And so I said this the first year.
I'm going to say it every time I'm up hereis just my little bit of immaturity.
Send him a textif you have his number right now.
I would love for himto get 30 texts this morning.
And so just to kind of bother himand annoy him,
but let him know you're thinkingabout him. You care for him?
(00:45):
This morning,though, we're going to take a brief pause
from our current series, and we're goingto jump into the Gospel of Matthew.
So if you have your Bibles oryour smartphones, open up to Matthew five,
Matthew chapter five, we're going towe're going to sit in this morning
the sermon on the Mount.
At least we're going to introduce it.
We're going to talk about three things.
(01:06):
The Beatitudesor these blessings that Jesus talks about.
And we're going to talk about salt,and we're going to talk about light.
And really,
what kind of prompted this doing thisone off, although I hope it continues.
Right.
My challengeis that we don't just sit in this morning,
but you will continue inMatthew in the coming weeks.
Is the you and I my oldest?
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We I usually put him to bed
and we'll do somekind of Debo will read from his Bible.
We'll open upone of the devotionals he has,
or we'll just read the verse today.
And a couple weeks ago.
And when Pascale hit me up about teaching,
every day was Matthew,it was Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, Matthew.
And so our high schoolersand I, we went through the sermon
on the Mount last fall,and we sat in it for three months.
It was awesome, right?
Just these red letter texts
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that Jesus has wordson, on what it means to follow him.
And I thought it was so impactfuland such a challenge.
And so this morning, that's my my heart.
There are two thingsI hope we could walk away with.
The first isthat we'd have a value of Scripture.
We have a heart for it.
And the second is that we would understandwhat it means to follow Jesus.
(02:08):
Right?
That Jesus is challenging us in this textand saying, hey, it's not a mystery.
And what I what I expect of you, what I,what I ask of you, it's right here.
Right.
And so we're going to say it inMatthew five this morning.
Eight Beatitudes and then salt and light.
But here's the questionthat has been thrown in my head.
Really for like 20 years.
And it's why I want to start this morning.
As I became a believer in high school.
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But, you know,there's not a ton of depth there.
But but that's kind ofwhen this faith journey started for me
and this questionall the way again, is elementary.
It's kind of morphed and changed howI interact with it throughout the years.
And I'll put it on the screenfor you to look at.
It's this. And what does it look like?
What does it feel like andwhat does it sound like to follow Jesus?
Again, kind of elementary,but I'm talking about like
(02:50):
all in chips in the middle,like win or bust.
Go home.
What does it look like?Or does it feel like?
And what does it sound like to followJesus with everything,
every single second of every single day?
There's a dependance on himfor for the thoughts you have
and the actions you take.And just whatever you're doing in life.
And so blessings salt and light.
(03:11):
But kind of to
position us well or posture us well.
There's a couple of things I want to throwon the screen for you to think about.
So, Pastor Carl and I,we're processing this week is this idea
that Matthew five through seven thereKingdom values.
But you might hear that phrasea lot at Flipside Kingdom
that it doesn't meanto be a part of this kingdom
when we're in the world,but not of this world.
So five, six and seven are kingdom values,not cultural virtues, right?
(03:36):
What culture says on what the kingdomand the values are, and what
Scripture shares are very different.
And the sermon onthe Mount is not about chasing blessings,
although that's where Jesus startsthese beatitudes,
but becoming the kind of personthat God blesses, right?
That we look more like Jesus every day.
And in that way we live a fulfilled life,not a perfect life or always happy life,
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but a fulfilled life.I would say a blessed life.
But as we go through these eight,you're going to
you're going to realizethat they're not what the world says.
It's not,
oh, you're so blessedwith the house in the car and the kids
and the health and the vacationsand the whatever.
Those things are amazing, right?They're such a blessing.
But Jesus is talking about
what it means to be blessedand live a blessed lifestyle.
And so that's we're goingto talk about, this morning.
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And before we do, though, again,I want to kind of set this up, God,
to be kind of stirring in my heart.
This idea about our primary call in life.
I think for a long timeI've always struggled with what's my
what's God's will for me.
Right. We pray, father, your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth or in my lifeas it is in heaven, right?
And so I try to give my careerto the Lord.
And I think I've stumbled a lot with
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like, what is God's call for meprofessionally?
And that's when I'm living in God's willis when I'm in that role
or I have that status,or I have a check that box or achieve this
something in life.
And I realized that I was missing it,I think, the whole time,
and this is our primary call,this is the Lord's will for our lives.
It's it's our primary callfor intimacy with the father,
a closeness to himand a dependance on him.
(05:02):
That's our primary call in life, not ourministry role, not the job that we have.
Although we may still be living inGod's will for us professionally.
I hope you are.
But don't get stuck thatwhen I get to that job or that promotion
or I can check that box,then I'm living in God's will.
Know.
Don't miss the lifethat's happening all along, right?
Living inGod's will means a dependance on him and
(05:23):
and a knowledgethat His Word is beneficial to you.
And I think one wayin which we have that intimacy with God,
one way in which we we drawnear, is through God's word.
Right? We need to know what God says.
We didn't know how he interact
with his creation,how he talked about us, how he views us.
We need to know God's voice.
(05:47):
My father in law, he'ssitting in the back, right?
He used to ask a really funny questionwhen we were in high school.
We had a Tuesday night Bible study
and he would he would ask, What's God'sfavorite flavor of ice cream?
It was a silly question,the dumb question.
But it gets to the heart of,do you know God's voice?
Do you know God's character?
Do you know him intimately enoughwhere you would know his favorite flavor
(06:07):
of ice cream? Right? As silly as that is.
And that's the kind of intimacywe need with God.
A very close nearness where we can say,yeah, I know, I know what he likes.
I know how he speaks.
I know what he says.
I know his posture towards me, what hewants of me, what he does not want for me.
I know these things because I meditateon his word day and night.
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And so that's my hope that we walk awaythis morning with a value of Scripture,
a view of Scripturethat is beneficial to you.
And then also when it kind oflooks like to live
this very challenging walk as a believer,because the sermon on
the Mount is not easy,it is challenging for sure.
So eight blessings, eight beatitudes here.
This is the sermon on the Mount is thelongest recorded sermon that Jesus gave
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it. And what I love is he'stalking to his disciples, right?
But it's not just the disciples.
2000 years ago, anyone in the room?
This is Jesus, the Lord and Savior.
He is my Redeemer, right?
He has made me new.
You are his disciple.
And so in that wayhe is speaking directly to you.
I believe in Matthew five six and sevenand I thought, we have to know this text.
(07:14):
We have to have to have to.
And if I can humbly say this right,and if I could speak for Jesus, it's
I think he's saying this.
You say, Michael, if you want to followme, this is the standard.
This is the standard.
Matthew five, Matthew six, Matthew seven.
This is the standard for following meand living a fulfilled life.
Right?
Because if you just look at thejust the tops of these text, right.
(07:35):
Salt and light talks about murder,adultery, divorce,
oaths, eye for an eye, loving your enemy,prayer, fasting, worrying.
Judging.
True and falseprophets, true and false disciples.
He taught touches on the wiseand the foolish builders.
He touches on everything that we're goingto interact with in this world.
Right?
All the things we're goingto rub up against, not the process.
As believers.
And so it is the standardat which you're called to live.
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If you're a follower of Jesus right here.
So don't miss this text.
I think we should come back to thisevery single year at minimum annually,
every July. Just make itput on your calendar.
Sermon on the Mount.
Sermon on the Mount, sermon on the Mount.
Come back to it.
Because here's what Pastor God told methis week I've been processing it.
Is that the sermon on the Mount?
It's a radical redefinitionof what it means to be blessed.
(08:17):
Right? Radical redefinitionof what it means to be blessed.
Again,we think of like these external things
that we can acquire,and that's not a blessing.
Those are just fun parts of life.
Right?
But these these blessed statements,they're not positions we earn.
We don't earn them from God.
They're just postures that we embrace.
We try to live out every dayand we're walking and doing and,
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you know, taking on, you know, with joythe responsibilities God's given us.
And so eight, eight Beatitudes,eight characteristics.
It's a package deal, though.
You can't all look at this one three,five all or nothing.
Right. This is what it means to livea blessed life.
What it means to live a fulfilled life.
And so let's jump in.
The first oneJesus highlights is Matthew five three
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says, blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I think Jesus starts hereso wisely and intentionally.
Blessed are the poor in spiritI mean sync with me.
I think Jesus wants us to start with this.
This view and understandingof how desperately we need him.
There's a desperate dependance on Jesusbecause think for a second, right?
(09:20):
How how Jesus has madeyou new. He's transformed you.
He's changed your outlook on lifeand who you become.
And you just what you do in life.
Now remove that spirit.
We would be the poorest of the poor.
There is nothing goodI can do in this world apart from Jesus
and the Holy Spirit working through me.
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
If I would be fully emptyand without hope, right?
(09:41):
And so in that it is blessedto acknowledge my huge and overwhelming
dependance and need for Jesusand need for the Holy Spirit.
And so we need to just say yes,it is a blessing to be poor in spirit
because I need to acknowledgeand live in the reality
of how much I needJesus every second of every day.
That we need to embrace the idea.
(10:01):
That's all you and none of me.
All the good I dois you and all the bad I do with me.
All the selfishI do is me. We are poor in spirit
and it just highlights this desperate need
for Jesus, this desperate needfor the Holy Spirit, his guidance
and in his encouragement.
So I love that Jesus starts here.
So you hate me, me, me, me.
It's all about me.
You need me to live this life well,
(10:23):
second beatitude
again, these are blessingsthat are not always part of what we view.
But it says, blessed are thosewho mourn, for they will be comforted.
We all mourn.
You may be even in a season of mourning.
Now mourning just angel transitionor loss of a loved one or something
that is just different in life.
And what's interesting here, I think, is
(10:43):
it's how we respondwhen we're mourning, right?
As believers,we're called to mourn with hope, right?
Because we have salvation,we have eternity.
We have a future apart from this world.
And so we mourn with hope.
We certainly have to get the tears out.We have the process.
We don't want our mourning to Lord over usand control us in that way.
(11:04):
We have to give it to God
and allow him to transformwhatever we're going through.
And I think as I processmourning really well biblically,
I think of of just believing two things.
First is that God is good because if he isgood, then I can mourn with hope.
And the second is believingthat God is always working right.
(11:27):
Scripture talks of the invisible hand ofGod where we see him working in real time.
We feel the spirit.
We feel God's encouragement.
We can see him bring people into our lives
and the church, the sermon, the teaching,whatever it is. Right?
But then we often look back,
right 2020 vision when we see like,
oh God, was just workingthings out the whole time.
But if you believe thathe was working there
and we can look back and see, then he wasworking the whole time, we missed it.
And so we can believethat God is good always.
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And if we can believethat he's always working things out,
then we can mourn with hope,
because there's never a season
or a secondthat God is not still working things out.
I heard one pastorsay, God can take a crooked stick
and continue with his straightpath, right?
Our sinful desires, our sinful world,he takes the brokenness, but his path
and what he wantsis still going to be accomplished.
(12:13):
And so we can mourn with hope becauseGod is good and he's working things out.
We can mourn with hope.
The third beatitude,
this blessing that Jesus highlights isis blessed are the meek.
Pascal.
I had a pretty good conversationabout this one.
Blessed are the meek, forthey won't hurt the earth, right? Meek.
Biblically it is strength under control,
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strength under control.
And so we don't have to be weak.
It's not meek and weak, it'swe have strength,
but we're going to be mindfulof how we use that strength.
It's not wielding power against others,
although sometimes we might want to.
Right?
It's fun to have power, authority,and to be in control,
(12:55):
but it's strength under control.
So as believers, we should be strong.
We should be confident.
We shouldn't be shy or bashful or weak.
Not at all.
Like we have thethe God of the universe who speaks.
And this whole thing gets goingliving in us.
We should be biblically strong.
Pastor Carl said,when the when culture crowns
the strong, Jesus blesses the surrendered.
(13:18):
So even though we have that strength,
we still surrendered toGod's will in our lives.
And we surrender to Scriptureand what it says of us.
I heard one pastor say,
if we have a complaint with Scripture,we have a frustration.
We don't agree with it.
Then change your mind right?
Change your mind because you're wrong.
And so biblically, we're
called to be meek, strong,but have self-control.
(13:39):
Our fourth blessingthat Jesus shares is five six.
It says, blessed are the.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirstfor righteousness, for they will be filled
is an interesting question
I ask myself last couple of weeks iswhat do I hunger and thirst for?
What are you constantly craving in life,or pursuing or viewing or wanting
or just what are you?
What do you hunger and thirst forin this world? Right?
(14:00):
What has your attraction?What has your eye?
What has your your your gaze like?
What is it?
Not just bad things.
Good is what is itacross the board, right.
The religious leaders, they back inJesus's day, it was all me, me, me.
Look at me.I'm doing it, I'm doing it, I'm doing it.
Let us self righteousness,not righteousness.
But Jesus says, blessedare those who hunger and thirst,
and he is righteousness, right?
(14:20):
So those who hunger and thirst for Jesushave this unquenchable thirst for Jesus.
That'swhat what's what Jesus is saying here.
I think that we want more of usand less of me.
I want to hunger and thirstfor you this unquenchable way
whereI need to wake up and spend time with you.
I need to have lunch with and I need to goto bed and spend time with you.
(14:41):
I just I need to hunger and thirstfor the God of the universe
who is good and always working things out
right.
Not a self righteous,but there's a righteousness.
We just seek and desire and demandmore of Jesus and less of me.
Our fifth, fifth beatitude this morningis, five seven.
(15:02):
Blessed are those
who are, or blessed are the merciful, forthey will be shown mercy.
This one I think, is challenging as well,but I think it starts
with this acknowledgmentand this reality of
of just a self-assessmentof how much mercy I've been shown.
We know the depth of our sin.
We know the depth of our hurtand our frustration.
We knowthe depth of our wickedness at times.
(15:25):
And when we can sit and reflect and acknowledge how much mercy we've been shown,
right.
Even though it's difficult at times to toto give it out,
we can't not just extend that out,
right.
We don't get to receive mercyand then not, not give it out.
And so that's the challenge here
because we are always quick to receiveand not always quick to give,
(15:47):
right? When it comes to mercy and grace
and forgiveness, it'sjust not always our default.
So we have to acknowledgehow much mercy we've been shown,
and let that just be an important realityfor you so that you can extend it out
to your wife, to your kids, to youryour coworkers, your friend,
your family, your neighbors. Right?
Show that mercy.
Extend that mercy.
(16:08):
Right.
The sixth this morningbeatitude is Matthew five eight.
It says, blessed are the pure in heart.
Blessed are the pure in heart.
For they will see God.
I don'tknow about you, but I want to see God.
A time
and in as we process Phariseesand this lack of internal
transformation, I think pure heart is allabout the internal why do I do what I do?
(16:30):
Why do I say what I say?
Why do I think what I think,what I pursue, what I pursue,
like, is just getting down to this baselevel
of what is my motivationfor all the things me.
And if it's not Jesus and it'snot for others, and it needs some tweaking
and needs some adjusting,it needs, you know, a reconfiguration,
inward transformation.
I want to look more like Jesusand less like myself.
(16:52):
I have to believe and actually like walkconfidently in this reality
that I am a new creationand you are all in Christ, a new creation.
Scripture says the old has gone,the new has come.
You're not even the same Michael anymore.
You're not the same person anymore.
And so live confidently in that reality
and have a pure heart, right?
And that's where it comes down to,I got to believe this,
(17:13):
and I'll be confidentbecause I have to walk in purity.
The world's going to say,that would be fun and that would be cool.
And you might really enjoy that,
but it's not going to be a partof that fulfilled life.
That's a roadmap of what it meansto experience a blessed life
according to the scriptures.
So pure in heart.
It's a challenge for us.
Our seventh beatitude, our blessingthis morning is is five nine.
(17:34):
It says, blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are the peacemakers, forthey will be called children of God.
I want that title a Child of God.
Embrace that role in life.
And so I think the challenge here, right?
I was talking with John B, he helped serveour junior highers on Sunday morning.
He shared last week.
He can't wait to hear the words,well done, my good and faithful servant.
(17:57):
Right?
What an embrace to hear thatfrom the God of the universe who can speak
and change and do insert himselfin the humanity and died for us, like
to hear that from him.
There's nothing better you can experience.
And so we have to look to himand say he is the ultimate peacemaker.
He took the sting of death
and the sting of sin awayby going to the cross and dying for us.
(18:18):
Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker.
And so I think he's challenging usthen to be peace, peaceable people.
I mean, walk into our homes.Do we bring peace?
Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't.
Right.
And my sense of
peace this morning, a sense of peacewith our junior high students, my kids
do I bring a sense of peace in the roomsthat I'm in?
That's a really challenging question,because if not, why not?
(18:41):
What do we need to work on?
What do we need to submit?
What do we need to do differently,
or call to facilitate peaceand be peacemakers in this world?
Again, in a worldwhere we sometimes feel like you deserve
what you got, why you made your bed,we're still called
to forgive and extend mercy and graceand provide some level of peace.
It's grace and truth.
(19:02):
There's a there's there's a balance there.
And then the last one wouldn'twe wouldn't call this a blessing.
But Jesus says, blessed are those who arepersecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,
right?
Fortunately, we live in a countrywhere we don't face a lot of persecution
for our faith. Right?
We might get like a comment or a side eyeor something here and there, but
(19:24):
for the most part, we're not persecuted,and that's a blessing.
But Jesus is saying,if you are persecuted, it's a blessing.
And so I want more blessings.
So if I have to be persecuted,I mean, I want to stand on and be next
to that name of Jesus as much as I can,
because again,it's going to make me a better
me and I'mgoing to live a more fulfilled life.
So if it's persecution, it's persecution.
So maybe we should be readyfor a little persecution in this life.
(19:45):
As much as we don'twant to experience pain,
right?
Jesus name, blessed are you because ofrighteous, because of me.
Jesus saying because of mine.
If you are attached to my name and you arepersecuted, that is a blessing.
Embrace it.
Give it to me.
And so as we think about blessings,as we think about persecution,
if you think about what it means to walk
(20:06):
this faith out this morning,I think I want,
I want to I don't think we're going to sitin this idea of salt and light,
salt and light.
And it's interesting thatJesus calls us salt and he calls us light.
We're going to read Matthew
five verses 13 through 16.
I'm on the screen for us.
But this is the only time that Jesus usesthis metaphor to describe us.
(20:29):
He says, Michael or anyone else,you are the salt of the earth
and you're the light of the world.
And so here's what the text says.
It says
you are the salt of the earth.
But if the salt loses its saltiness,how can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anythingexcept to be thrown out
(20:50):
and trampled underfoot.
Verse 14 says,you are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lampand put it under a bowl.
Instead, they put it on its stand, andit gives light to everyone in the house.
16 wraps up in the same way.
Let your light shine before others,that they may see your good deeds
(21:12):
and glorify your father in heaven.
Is. This is interesting.
I think our call as believers
is to influenceand impact the world around us
in the name of Jesus. That's our call.
And I would even be bold enoughto say that this is a mandate.
(21:34):
It's not an option.
He didn't say, Michael, will you thinkand pray about being light and being salt?
He didn't say that, right?
He said very specifically, you are salt,you are light.
So the really honest, sobering questionthis morning
is amI effective salt in my effective light.
Right. That's the challenging piece.
It's not aam I doing it? Am I not doing it?
(21:56):
Should I do it should I not?You already are salt.
You already are light.
It's are you effective in those phases?
Are you salty? Are you helpful?
I'm going to unpack salt and light.
But but it's it's a mandate.
But here's why. It's not burdensome.Right?
Jesus has people in Africa.
He has some people in Asia,some people in Europe.
Like he's saying, Michael, right here,where you live, where you sleep,
where you work, where you go to school,where you go to the gym, where you coach.
(22:17):
Whatever you do, be salt and be light.
So it's not a burden.
It's it's just a blessingand a responsibility
to walk in the ways of Jesusand to influence this world in his name.
Right?
To say yes to the call
and yes to step up to the plate and say,all right, Jesus up.
I'm good. Let's go.
I'm not embarrassed. I'm not scared.
I'm not.
(22:38):
I'm not burdened by this.
It's a responsibility.
So think this morning,
how can you impact the name of Jesusright here where you live?
What does that look like?
Tangibly feed it for you to.
What does that look like?
Like what are some action stepsyou can do? What can you what can you do?
Who can you bless? Who can you pray for?What can you?
What does that look like for you?
Right here in the Ranchos,wherever you wherever you live.
(23:00):
And so saltwant to talk about salt for a second.
So back in Jesus's day, right?
Couple thousand years ago, salt was rare.
It was precious.
It was a commodity.
Soldiers, Roman soldiers were oftenat times paid with salt.
Right. So it had value.
So think about thatnow for you and your faith.
You're called to be rare, calledbe precious.
(23:23):
You're called to be a commodity.
You're called to add value to this world.
In Jesus's name.
Are you doing that?
Are you a rare, precious commoditythat adds value to this world?
If you think about salt as well, saltit can.
It can preserve, right?
Are you preserving life?
Are you preserving life? Right?
In the name of Jesus, salt can also limitthe decay that happens.
(23:46):
This world is decaying.It is. It is broken.
It is filled with sin and hurtand brokenness.
Are you slowing the decay in the name ofJesus
is a challengingidea, is to be salt and to be effective.
Salt.
Right.
Think about that.
You're grilling thrownsteak on the grill or whatever, right?
You eat it without a flavoredblend is still pretty good,
but you put a good salt blend.
(24:08):
It's very good. Right?
So you your call to add flavoror to enhance the world around you
in the name of Jesus.
Rare. Precious. Helpful.
Sacrifice.
Sacrificial. Slow the decay, add value.
Flavor.
Enhance in the name of Jesus.
But then Jesus also has a warning to us.
(24:29):
He says,but if salt loses its saltiness, it's
not good for anything but to be thrown outand trampled underfoot.
Right?
So we're processing that a little bitthis week.
And I was processing the idea
that I think salt loses its saltinesswhen it's diluted.
When we are a believer,we are walking with him.
But maybe we allow culture to influence us
to just as much as Scripture,just as much as Jesus, where
(24:51):
we're diluting ourselves.
We're watering down our morals,our values, who we are as believers.
This new creation might get called,pulled back.
That old creation right when we getwatered down where the saltiness is gone.
So don't let culture and the worldand the virtues and the values
influence who you are, right?
We're in the world, but not of the world.
(25:12):
That's the challenge for you and me.
If you want to be effective,salt is to not lose sight of
of of kind of our compass.
And who gives us what we need
the strength, the wisdom,the discernment as we live our lives.
So be salt that then Jesus says, what?
You're the light of the world.
Light is mentioned.
I did some research over250 times in Scripture
(25:33):
Genesis let there be light, right?
First book of the Bible.
Revelation talks about God,how God gives light.
So kind of book in Scripture.
First on God's God is light.
It says Jesus.
In Johnit says, I am the light of the world.
I mean God in light, God and light. Right?
We need you to lean into that a little bitbecause what is light?
Do light exposes darkness?
(25:54):
A lot of darkness in our world,and we're called in Jesus name
to get rid of as much darkness as we can.
Right.
And that can be overwhelmingand that can be difficult
and that can be messy.
But you are the light of the world.
So our call in life,
I'd also illuminate our path, our steps.
(26:14):
Scripture talks about this, right?
That we would not stumbleand we would not lose focus.
We would not.We would not veer off left and right.
We would.
It would illuminate our path,but also the path of those around us.
Let it help those who are walkingshoulder to shoulder with us, right?
Our spouse, our extended family,our friends, our neighbors, students,
whoever.
I love this idea.
To that light can't be hidden by darkness.
(26:37):
Light.
Darkness cannot overcome light.
It just can't. It physically can't.
I had a flashlight here,but you can't cover it with darkness.
So in that way we should be confident.
As believers, we're light of the world.
Then go into these dark spacesand live for Jesus and proclaim his name.
Because darkness cannot overcome
the light.
(26:57):
Pascale shared this cool quote,and if it is or we found it.
But this idea that light doesn't apologizefor being bright,
light does not apologize for being bright.
So lean in and embrace this call
of being a light in this world.
So start where you sleep.
Sorry.
We go to school and where you work again.
(27:20):
I already asked that,already said this morning. But.
But how can you be saltand light in these places?
Just start here.
You know, I heard one friend
talking about man that, you know,you hear this conversation a lot.
There's so much darknessand evil in this world.
How can a good God be in control?
And, you know,you hear this, this rhetoric a lot.
And why is our brokennessand why is our pain
and why is there suffering?I think the reality is,
(27:43):
even as believers,we can fall into the trap of God.
Where are you at?
Where are you at?
Look at what's happening.Where are you at?
And here's our challenge.Here's our posture.
It should be at least I think God saying,well, like I said, I'm sending you.
I given you my spirit. Go. Right.
Why are you asking me to do it?I already died for you.
I went to the cross.I answer to myself in humanity.
And then I'm giving you my spirit.
Go, go.
(28:04):
Alleviate the hurt,the pain, the suffering, the brokenness
you have my spirit,your soul and your light.
Go and do stop looking at me.
Right?All right. God is saying, go, go, go.
You have the power ofof of the resurrection living in you.
You're meek.
Your strength with control.
You're a precious commodity.
(28:25):
Add value to this worldin the name of Jesus.
And as I was processing this week,it was interesting
as we're leaning into who we are asbelievers and what we're supposed to do.
I think we also have to acknowledge
what we're in, what what's not true, rightwhere Scripture speaks
that the Holy Spirit is a depositguaranteeing our inheritance, guaranteeing
(28:46):
like the forever,the amazingness of of eternity with God.
But we can't stop there.
It can't only be a depositguaranteeing our inheritance.
The Holy Spirit is saying like,I want to use you here
and I want to use you now.
And here's kind of the realityI had this week
is that both salt and light,they don't go unnoticed.
You can taste it.
You can see the light.They don't go unnoticed.
(29:08):
And so as believers,we're not supposed to be silent.
I'm not supposed to be passive.
We're not supposed to be embarrassedfor our faith or
or unsure of how to share it.
Let God go and speak and do.
A lot of the battle is justjust the front and saying yes.
And then Godworking it out on the back end.
(29:29):
Believers who are salt and light,we and you have to engage the culture,
speak truth, share Jesus,
serve those around you well, rightthis grace and truth lifestyle.
Because here's the reality, right?
I think this is why I just use thesemetaphors, is that both salt and light
sustain life.
And I like asking a lot of questionswhen I teach.
(29:50):
And and so one that I just kept comingto my mind all week was,
am I sustaining life around meand start with my spouse.
Start with my kids, my neighbors, cousins,whoever
is like the close in laws,my mom, my brother, right?
How am I sustaining life around me?
How am I leading?
(30:11):
Because both salt and lightresult in change, right?
As we've talked about, darkness is gone.
Meat is flavored right?
So how are you changing
the environment around you?
How are you living for others?
How are you saying yes to what?
Are you saying yes to
when it comes to sacrificing for our Lord?
(30:35):
I mean, our charge is to not be apatheticin our faith.
Scripturesays, don't lose your first love.
Don't live for yourself.
Five, six, and seven in Matthew.
It is a roadmap to a fulfilled lifeand it's right here in front of us.
It's not a mystery how are
supposed to live our lives.
(30:57):
Who canyou share the gospel with this week?
Who can you pray for? Who can you serve?
Who can you forgive?
Who can you extend mercy to?
I think Paul,
as you know, right, God,use him in a mighty way.
Ton of the New Testamentand just his testimony alone,
(31:18):
and how he lived for Godin such a radical way.
I think he was he was on to somethingbecause Paul recognized
this reality that sin still lives in us.
There's this warningwe still have a sin nature.
It's still there.
We also have the spirit. Right?
And so they're at war as they should be.
And so Paul recognizesthat sin still dwells and where it lives.
(31:38):
Sometimes it bubbles up and it comes out.
And we live in a very selfish way.
And that's why
Paul, I think in his from his perspective,he's going to be salt and light.
He said, I got to die to self daily.
I have to die to self daily.
I have to crucify my flesh daily.
When he wakes up, it's
more of you, Jesus and less of methat we have to start there.
(32:01):
Otherwisewe won't do it on our own accord,
our own strength, our own understanding.
We got to die daily.
Our prayer should be God, make me justas alive today as you made me yesterday.
Show me where I can be salt.
Show me where I can be light.
Show me where I can I can speak truth.
Where I can blot out the darkness.
So process that for your life.
(32:22):
What does
it mean to die daily to self for you?
It's going to be different for all of us.
We all have different,
different responsibilities, different,different burdens in life, if you will.
Different challenges from, you know,a junior high or a high school student
to grandparents and aunts and unclesor parents in the thick of it, like,
what does it mean to die daily for you?
(32:44):
And here's just where it really hitsme, is
your kidsneed to see you being salt and light.
Your kids need to see that.
Your kids need to see parents sacrificing.
Your kids need to see aunts and unclessacrificing.
Your kids need to see grandparentssacrificing.
And it's not always fair.
It's not always easy.
Needle on the cross right?
(33:09):
And so die to self.
Daily process what it meansfor more of Jesus and less of you.
I love what Psalm 1123 says.
It says this.
It says, blessed is the one
who does not walk in thisin step with the wicked, or stand
in the way that sinnerstake or sit in the company of mockers,
(33:29):
but whose delightis in the law of the Lord,
and who meditate on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree plantedby streams of water
which yielded fruit in season,and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever they do prospers.
We are called to meditate on God'sWord day and night.
(33:50):
Know his voice,know the flavor of ice cream
that he likes to know how he views.
You know what he's done for you.
And know that
not only is God saying we should do it,but it will.
It will make you a better person.
It will make you more patientand more graceful than we understand him.
(34:11):
The more we realize the depthsat which God has.
He went to save me.
He went to save you.
It just gives us this greater appreciationfor God, his heart, his desires,
his motivation for, for, for seeking us,
for saving us, for pursuing us.
We are to meditate on God's Word.
We're going to die to self daily,because if we don't,
(34:33):
we're not going to be effective.
Saul. We're not going to be effectivelight.
Here's my hope for for my life,for my wife,
for my kids, for you andand your families is three things, right?
That you would have a heart for a God,
right?
And justlike a God, what do you have for me?
A heart for who God is.
Two theyou would have a submission to his word
(34:55):
and know that this is priority one
and three that you would blameblameless and testimony.
Right?
Because so often, I mean, you'd hatethis to be the reality, right?
Where you're sharing the good news,sharing the gospel.
God's really workingthrough someone's heart.
But then like, but Michael,you talk like that, or Michael,
you act like automaticallyyou pursue those things, right?
(35:15):
You're not blameless in testimony.
You almost like gettingin the way of the gospel.
And that's really challenging, right?
And how am I walking the walk?
How am I walking in purity
when friend want to go do thisor they want to go indulge in that?
That's the challenge.
Heart for God, submissionto His word and blameless in testimony.
(35:38):
And then I think just this umbrella overthis whole conversation is
and have grace for yourself and seek
God's face when you do mess up and repent,
because you're going to mess upand you're going to need to repent.
That's a huge part of this.
I said my hopes were two,you'd value Scripture
and you'd know kind of the startof this roadmap for what it means
(36:00):
to live a fulfilled life,to walk in the ways of Jesus.
So my challenge to youis a couple things one.
Read chapter five this week
said in Matthew five.
The rest of this weekprocess it a couple of times two.
Read chapter six next week and three readchapter seven the following week.
Just just sit in Matthew five,sit in Matthew six, sit in Matthew
sevenand come back to this at minimum annually.
(36:23):
Every you like, put on your calendar.
I'm going to read the sermon on the Mountbecause here's the reality, right?
We Scripture says this that God's Wordis good
in all situations, in all occasions,for teaching and rebuking and correcting.
And just because you've read itonce doesn't
mean God's doneusing that in your life, right?
How many times we read something at 20and it hits different at 25 or 28
or 30 or 35, because nowyou're not the same person you were.
(36:44):
You're married with kids as opposed towhen you were a young man on your own.
And socome back to this every single July.
Make this a priority, this red lettertext of what it means to live a fulfilled.
And I think blessed life
sound good.
Sweet. Here, I'm going to pray for us.
We're going to sing one more song togetherthis morning.
(37:05):
Father, I thank you for your graceand your mercy and your love.
The truth of your wordfor Matthew chapter five.
For what it means to be blessed.
I am grateful that you pursue usand that you
forgive us.
I'm grateful that you challenge usto be salt and light.
Lord,
father, please convict our hearts
(37:27):
and show us the waysin which we can serve this world.
Show us the waysin which we can sacrifice for this world.
I pray for a deep conviction
that we die to self dailyand that we live for you. Lord
God, I do pray for everyone in this room.
That and we could support each other well
and that we could
(37:48):
honor the commitmentto sacrifice for each other
and to pick each other up,and to forgive each other
and to have graceand to serve this community well.
Lord,
please help us to take the stepswe need to take
to live for you.
Got to be an effective, saltand effective light.
We thank you Jesus.
We pray this all in your name. Amen.
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