The Sermon on the Mount

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The Sermon on the Mount

• St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church
• Middle School
• November 2003

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Introduction

• Our God and King met us on the mountain to reveal
  fulfill His law with His message of love.
• When God spoke with Moses, Moses went up Gods
  mountain after fasting 40 days. In that time,
  nobody but Moses did God address directly.
• In the Messiah, the incarnate God, Emmanuel, has
  come down unto us and has talked directly and
  clearly with us.

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Objective

• Objective To understand the moral standards
  given by Christ as attitudes in our hearts that
  help us to fulfill Gods will
• Memory Verse Think not that I have come to
  destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come
  to destroy but to fulfill. (Matthew 51718)
• Reference Matthew 51-18

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The Beatitudes

• A moral code or system of principles, like the 10
  commandments
• Consistent with the 10 commandments, but not
  behavioral laws, but rather . . .
• Attitudes in our heartsto please God by a humble
  and loving heart.
• For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I
  would give it You do not delight in burnt
  offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken
  spirit, A broken and a contrite heartThese, O
  God, You will not despise. (Psalm 5051)

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A Blessing is . . .

• A gift from God
• A gift of joy, holiness, grace
• To be set aside or sanctified
• To be rewardedon earth or in Heaven
• To be chosen by your Father to inherit his
  kingdom (Gen 2723)

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Outline of the Blessings

• The humble will inherit Heaven.
• Those who mourn will receive comfort.
• The meek shall inherit the earth.
• Those hungry for righteousness shall be
  fulfilled.
• The merciful shall obtain mercy.
• The pure in heart shall see God.
• The peacemakers will be called sons of God.
• The persecuted for the sake of faith in Christ
  will receive great Heavenly reward.

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Poverty in Spirit

• Blessed are the poor in spirit,
• for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
• Pride exhibits confidence in oneself, while
  humility demonstrates confidence in God.
• The devil said, wanting to be great I will make
  myself like the Most High. (Isaiah 1414)

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Poverty in Spirit (Contd)

• Humility reminds us that we are all dependent
  upon God and not ourselves.
• The rich and the poor have this in common, that
  the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.
  (Proverbs 222)
• Pride causes men to stumble, but humility is the
  first step in the journey to Heaven.
• Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a
  Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The
  Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself God,
  I thank you that I am not like other menrobbers,
  evildoers, adulterersor even like this tax
  collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth
  of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a
  distance. He would not even look up to heaven,
  but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on
  me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather
  than the other, went home justified before God.
  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
  and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
  (Luke 181014)

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Poverty in Spirit (Contd)

• Pride is the first Sin (Wisdom of Joshua
  1015).
• The poor in spirit is a person who fears God and
  repents and confesses his sins. He is never proud
  of his righteousness.

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Spiritual Mourning

• Blessed are those who mourn,
• for they shall be comforted.
• Normally speaking, we mourn because of losing a
  precious thing or person.
• However, a spiritual person does not consider
  things precious but seeks eternal life.
• For Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to
  salvation, not to be regretted but the sorrow of
  the world produces death. (2 Corinthians 710)

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Spiritual Mourning (Contd)

• The humble person feels his sins and their
  weight, so the Holy Spirit leads him to the
  spiritual mourning.
• All night I flood my bed with weeping. (Psalm
  6)

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Spiritual Mourning (Contd)

• David says to God, Listen to my tears, and
  indeed God forgave David of his sins from the
  mouth of Nathan the prophet.
• David realizes, Be at rest O my soul, for the
  Lord has delivered my soul from death, my eyes
  from tears. (Psalm 11678)
• Repent, mourn, and weepnow, dear soulsso that
  you be comforted in eternity.

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Spiritual Mourning (Contd)

• St. John the Short mourned for every sinful
  person, and repented himself for their sins.
• St. Arsenius wept so much for the sins of himself
  and others that his eyelashes fell out.
• St. Arsenius mourned the fact that he entered the
  holy life relatively late (at the age of 40).
• St. Moses the Ethiopian never felt satisfied with
  his repentance.

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Spiritual Mourning (Contd)

• The Lord Christ repented for the sins of the
  whole world, sweating blood in fervent prayer.
• Then Jesus came with them to a place called
  Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, Sit here
  while I go and pray over there. And He took with
  Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He
  began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then
  He said to them, My soul is exceedingly
  sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch
  with Me. (Matthew 263638)
• And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.
  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood
  falling down to the ground. (Luke 2244)

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Spiritual Meekness

• Blessed are the meek,
• for they shall inherit the earth.
• Meekness does not mean weakness but means the
  power of the inner spirit that goes beyond this
  temporal life.

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Spiritual Meekness (Contd)

• Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I
  am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
  rest for your souls. (Matthew 1129)
• The reward is inheriting the earth, which can be
  interpreted literally. A meek person does not get
  only spiritual reward but also an earthly reward.
  It can be interpreted as the land of life I
  cried out to You, O Lord I said You are my
  refuge, My portion in the land of the living
  (Psalm 1425).

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Spiritual Meekness (Contd)

• For whoever desires to save his life will lose
  it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will
  find it. (Matthew 1625)
• just as the Son of Man did not come to be
  served, but to serve, and to give His life a
  ransom for many. (Matthew 2028)
• A meek person finds it easy to forgive.

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Hunger for Righteousness

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
  righteousness, for they shall be filled.
• As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my
  soul pants for You, O God. (Psalm 421)
• O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek you my
  soul thirsts for you. (Psalm 631)
• Sir, give me this water of eternal life, that
  I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.
  (John 414-15)

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Righteous Hunger (Contd)

• The Holy Spirit takes us through this hunger and
  thirst to unite with Christ so we are a filled
  only by Him. (John 6)
• As for me, I will see Your face in
  righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake
  in Your likeness. (Psalm 1715)

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Righteous Hunger (Contd)

• There is no more righteousness than to be in love
  with God.
• Taste and see, how sweet is the Lord. (Armenian
  Communion Hymn / Psalm 33)

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Righteous Hunger (Contd)

• The Israelites were hungry and thirsty in the
  desert waiting for the mannait was a matter of
  life and death to them.
• Our Lord Jesus Christ is the living manna, I am
  the bread which came down from heaven. (John
  641)
• For with You is the fountain of life.
  (Psalm 369)

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Mercy Forgiveness

• Blessed are the merciful,
• for they shall obtain mercy.
• Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive...
• When we are filled with Jesus Christ, we start to
  become like Him.
• Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also
  is merciful. (Luke 936)
• Father, forgive them, for they know not what
  they do. (Luke 2334)

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Mercy Forgiveness (Contd)

• Mercy is not only by giving to the poor but in
  every aspect of our life. We should feel others
  pain and share it with them.
• He who has no mercy deserves not the mercy of
  God. (St. Kyprianos)

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Mercy Forgiveness (Contd)

• If you forgive someone who is unjustly hurting
  you, or if you help a person in need, rest
  assured that Jesus Christ will accept your act of
  mercy, for
• Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did to
  one of the least of these My brethren, you did it
  to Me. (Matthew 2536)

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Purity of Heart

• Blessed are the pure in heart,
• for they shall see God.
• The eyes of the merciful see beyond the ordinary
  and the temporal world.
• Pursue peace with all people, and holiness,
  without which no one will see the Lord (Heb
  1214).
• We can only see the Divinity with our hearts, My
  heart said to You Your face, Lord, I will seek
  (Psalm 278).

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Purity of Heart (Contd)

• The start of sin is through the eyes, ears, and
  other senses, which are connected to the brain.
• A bad thought can enter the heart often through
  the senses. What is our response? Do we take
  action, looking at something or doing something
  inconsistent with Gods will?
• For the pure heart, it is an extreme pleasure to
  obey the one you love. The pure heart will not be
  corrupted by the senses.

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Purity of Heart (Contd)

• Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or
  who shall stand in his holy place? (Psalm 243)
• If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord,
  then who shall stand? (Psalm 1303)
• But who may abide the day of his coming? and who
  shall stand when he appears? for he is like a
  refiners fire .... (Malachi 32)

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Purity of Heart (Contd)

• Remember the story of the ruler who asked Jesus
  what must I do to obtain eternal life?
  (Luke 18)
• Were the ruler truly convinced (as he indirectly
  hints, saying good teacher) that Jesus was good
  (that is, God), then surely he would have wanted
  to follow Him.
• But he was not convinced (see verse 19) that is
  to say, his heart was not pure.

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Make Peace

• Blessed are the peacemakers,
• for they shall be called sons of God.
• If you love your enemies, you will resolve
  conflicts and make peace with them.
• God is The Peacemaker. If we cannot stand to see
  rifts tear Gods family apart, then we are His
  sons.

30
Make Peace (Contd)

• By this all will know that you are My disciples
  if you have love for one another. (John 1335)
• Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you
  not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not
  your heart be troubled, neither let it be
  afraid. (John 1427)

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Persecution

• Blessed are those who are persecuted for
  righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
  heaven.
• When we become the sons of God through being born
  of the Spirit in baptism, we do Gods work, which
  is peace.
• However, the Devil immediately starts persecuting
  us and tempting us. (Jesus in the desert the
  beast ready to destroy the new baby as soon as it
  is born in Revelation)

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Persecution (Contd)

• The apostles accepted persecution with happiness
• So they departed from the presence of the
  council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy
  to suffer shame for His name (Acts 541).

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Life Application

• Try to adopt one of the virtues addressed by the
  Lord and practice it in your daily life.
• For example, you can try to be a peacemaker and
  not get involved in fights or arguments. Better
  still, you can try to listen and understand
  others points of view before categorically
  disagreeing. You can become a listener.
• Read the Sermon on the Mount many times and
  memorize it as much as you can.