Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:

Matthew 5:1-2

When Jesus sat down on the mountain, He wasn’t just talking to them, He was talking to us.  What He was teaching was not just a good lesson, it was the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven.  What he showed was the perfect walk of faith, failures, a picture of what living the by Spirit looks like, how to communicate with God, why it is enough and we don’t need to fear, and the true nature of sons of the Kingdom.  Finally, He gave it’s guarantee.  Those who follow His instructions will stand.

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most comprehensive, if perhaps parabolic, descriptions of living in the Kingdom there is.  Starting with the Beatitudes.

These eight statements, all beginning with “Most Happy” (the word literally means macro happy, not ‘blessed’), all describe the life in the Spirit.  The person, in perfect faith of who God is and His Kingdom, is not on a constant roller coaster of emotion, but, in simple faith and trust of God, even in adverse situations, because of the known outcome, His Kingdom, His Deliverance, His justification, the person in Faith will abound even more in happiness in the midst of the cirucmstances, simply because he knows God is about to move.

With this knowledge, we are instructed that we can truly be lights to the world, that we can really shine!

After this, Jesus begins talking about things that would directly indicate that you are NOT living by the Spirit.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Galatians 5:16

Paul elaborated on what Jesus presented, and described it from the other end, to those who already knew the Spirit.  Jesus spoke His lesson before the people to whom He was speaking even had an understanding of who the Spirit was inside them.  The disciples, because of the physical presence of Jesus, could understand a measure of what He was saying, simply because He was the light of the world in their midst, so long as He was with them (John 9:5).

One unfortunate conclusion many have drawn after reading Jesus’ words is that they do not apply directly to a believer today.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  People sometimes mis-read that when Paul said the believer was totally justified by the cross, and conclude that behavior is no longer relevant.  However, Paul himself called this false.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

Romans 6:1

2 Corinthians 10:6 describes it well in this phrase, “punishing every disobedience once your obedience is made perfect.”

You see, the law of sowing and reaping never went away.  He who sows to the flesh reaps corruption, and he who sows to the Spirit reaps life (Galatians 6:8).  This was written to the church for believers, not unbelievers.

God desires our hearts to be established through Grace, not obedience, but obedience was never removed as God’s desire, merely the motivation to change.  The fear of punishment has been removed, and with it its torment.  The power of law to enslave has been eradicated by being nailed to the cross, making us free in Him.  And, if we fail and fail and fail, and get back up again, we have complete forgiveness in the cross.  Yet, if we chose to willfully sin, after having a knowledge of the truth, Paul in Hebrews 10:26 says there remains no sacrifice for sin.  God is gracious and patient, and we are responsible for what we are given, but we remain responsible.

But, beyond that, it is impossible to cling to Christ and be happy in sin anyway.  The believer WANTS to be free.  It is through being crucified with Christ that we are set free to live this, and to fulfill the requirements of God’s demands through the Spirit, and not through our own effort.

What appears to be death to the world is life to those with the Spirit, and it is with joy, ever being renewed, day by day on the inside.  You see, the standard never really changed.  God wanted your heart, and you simply couldn’t do it, so He removed the punishment for those who seek Him, removed your failures from His mind, removed your propensity and bent-ness towards failing, AND enabled you, through the overcoming power of His Spirit and Love in you, to live out Love.  To live in the perfection of love is to keep the law and the prophets, and is the fullness of the Gospel.  Only Jesus fulfilled it in himself, and now, through Faith, He lives His life in us (Galatians 2:20).

From this place, we live on the rock of Matthew 7:24, His finished work, His whole life, Him the Way, Him the Truth, Him the Life, Him the way to the Father without hesitation.  From this place, we live in the totality of the Spirit, which is the only way to not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  From this place, we are made perfect in love (1 John 4:18).

You see, it is all about the heart.  Out the heart flow the well-springs of life, and out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  As a man thinks in his heart, so is he, and, out of the heart, proceeds worship for His throne.

If you give Him your heart, He has everything else.  If things are hard, love is stronger, and if all else fails, He will raise you up.  This is what Jesus taught, and this is how he lived.  And, this is why the Father raised Him from the dead.  If it is true for Him, there is no need to be afraid.

Everyone who tries to come in another way is a thief and a robber.  Some try to take spiritual principles and use spiritual means to produce physical, materialistic results.  It is merely using the divine to receive the carnal, and despite however good your think your intentions are, it is the definition of idolatry.  God loves to bless His children, and the material rewards will always come, unless something greater is involved (you will be rewarded eventually regardless), but, if your goal for seeking heaven is the natural, as Jesus himself said, that you will receive, and nothing else.  Yet, if you seek heaven first, and His requirements, you will receive all that you need in this life, here and now, AND in the age to come, Eternal life.

The rock is Christ, and living by His Spirit.  It only happens, as Jesus said, as we are born again (John 3:3-5), so that we can see and enter the Kingdom, yet, as He said, it is those who do the will of His Father that are those that will enter.  To use any faith or spiritual realm or any ultimate goal other than the Kingdom constitutes theft and robbery.  Their use will always bless you (all His commands lead to life, John 12:50), yet, our primary goal, our One Thing, is always Him.

Jesus’ promise is profound.  If having heard and obeyed, you will stand.  If having heard, and not obeyed, you should not expect to last every storm.