Sermon Tone Analysis

| *TEXT* | Matthew 5:1-16 |

| *SERIES ** * | Matthew |

| *TITLE ** * | The World Puts its Stock in Us If you’re happy and don’t know it say Amen! |

| *Exegetical Idea* |   |

| *Homiletical Idea* |   |

| *Want them to Know?* |   |

| *Want them to do?* |   |

| *BIG IDEA** * | When you live the good life you serve as a preservative to keep the world from spoiling and as a guiding light to the life we were created for, as a result God will be praised.

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| *PREACHING IDEA** * | Live the good life for your sake, for the sake of the World and for God’s sake.

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| *What’s Different?*

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| *What difference does it make?

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| *DATE & PLACE DELIVERED** * |   |

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| What do they need to know? (Information) | God has not called us to follow rules, but to live the good life.

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| Why do they need to know it?

(Motivation) | To live the life God intended.

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| What do they need to do? (Application) | Live in relationship with Jesus.

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| Why do they need to do it?

(Inspiration) |   |

| How can I help them remember?

(Reiteration) |   |

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\\ *Outline*

 

*Introduction *

* Possibly a joke about preachers who don’t receive the reward that other more obscure people do in heaven.

* TEXT 5:1-12

* Movie Pursuit of Happyness

* I used to think this was Jesus kind of validating the marginalized and oppressed in society, kind of a “cheer up” after all you are going to heaven some day.

* “I got you Babe” at least we are going to heaven.

* It is not at all what I expected.

/This passage is talking about blessing and happiness for more than just the marginalized hurting people.

This passage very clearly shows us how to live the good life.

It shows us how living the good life will be a blessing to you, how those who live the good life are a blessing to others, and finally how they are a blessing to God.  /

/ /

*Living the good life will result in blessing (benefit~/profit) for you.

*

* Not just poor, but poor in Spirit.

Those who intellectual recognize their need for God and their own spiritual bankruptcy apart from God.

* Mourn, everybody mourns at some point so it has to be more than a “there, there it’s going to be alright” from Jesus.

It is an emotional recognition of our need for God.

* Humble, Meek…need an illustration of strong humility.

* This truly is “Your Best Life Now” from God’s perspective

* As I mentioned last week apart from a repentant heart these will seem more burdensome and foolish than desirable.

These are the natural result in the life of a person that has committed his or her life to following God and allowing Him to change his or her heart.

/People would be asking, “Jesus are you replacing the torah?

Are these the new laws that we are supposed to follow now?”  Jesus is saying, “No this is the fulfillment, this is the logical end to the torah, this is what your life should look like if you are doing the deal of loving God and His word.”

It is like there have been this group of people who have been trying to convince people that it is about rule keeping, but it’s not.

It is like someone who works in the hospitality industry.

They learn the rules, but the job is not the rules the job is people.

“The customer is always right.”  /

/ /

/Then comes the really mind blowing part, when you live this good life then the whole human race is blessed.

/ 

 

*When you (pl) live the good life it will result in blessing (benefit~/profit) for others (the world).

*

 

*The good life as a preservative to keep the world from spoiling and becoming rotten.

* 

A Christian musical group, Sixpence None the Richer, had the opportunity to perform on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

Leigh Nash, the lead singer of Sixpence, was given the rare chance to be interviewed by Letterman after the band performed.

Letterman's first question was why they chose Sixpence None the Richer as their band's name.

This gave Nash the opportunity to share C.S. Lewis' story of a father giving his son a sixpence to buy him a present.

"When the father received the present, he was none the richer because he originally gave the sixpence to his son.

The analogy is to God who gives gifts for us to glorify him.

He is not richer because of our presentation since he originally gave the gift."

Letterman responded, "That's a beautiful story.

If people could stop being so stupid and actually hear that, and live by that sort of thing, then our world would be a better place.

God bless you, thank you for playing, and thank you for being here."

"The Industry of Christian Music," Trinity Magazine (Summer 2001); submitted by Lee Eclov, Lake Forest, Illinois

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*The good life as a guiding light that illuminates the life that we were all created to live.

*

 

*In order for these two purposes to be accomplished the good life must be distinct and also lived out in view of people.

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*When others (the world) see you living the good life it will result in blessing (benefit~/profit) for God.*

* *

*Then the good life will ultimately brings praise to God.  * 

* God gets, it is always to the benefit of God. 

 

 

*Conclusion *

 Why am I so excited about this?

Because of two words “you are,” when you live the good life “you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world.”

Then God will be praised and that is your ultimate joy.

Are you living the good life?

Or are you just trying to follow the rules?

Are you a Christ follower or a rule keeper?

*Ideas*

 

* There is a coherence and solidarity to this passage that often gets missed because it is so often broken up into separate parts.

Like the blind men who each have a hold of a different part of the elephant, when you only examine one part you miss the whole message.

Often there is a focus on the individual beatitudes or a lengthy exposition on how Christians are to be salt and light, but it should not be missed that one directly proceeds from the other.

Followers of Christ are salt and light in this world only to the extent as they are characterized by the beatitudes.

Which in turn will result in people giving glory to God. 

* “you are the salt of the earth” “You are the light of the world” so what then it meant by, “LET your light shine…”?

If you are something, how then does there need to be a choice to do it?

Maybe that is the paradox of the salt, it cannot lose its saltiness and remain being salt.

The same as we cannot “be” salt and light if we do not “let” our light shine through good deeds.

Essentially then what Jesus is saying is, “When you live like this then you add flavor to, preserve from spoiling and bring light into the world so much so that they will praise God.”  

* We are supposed to be different.

These qualities run contrary to the natural inclinations of human beings because the natural inclination of human beings is to serve ourselves and not God.

* If you posses these qualities you deserve congratulations because they are the end of the law, they are the goal that the law is intended to produce.

Jesus then goes add one additional one about himself so they understand the true significance of who he is in relation to that which is has come from God in the past.

* The big question is application.

Jesus seems to be saying that these qualities should be present in the life of followers of God, he is stating a fact (blessed, happy, congratulations) not giving them an imperative.

The application could be a question: “Are these present in my life as a result of following God, if not then why?”

The application could be a challenge live out these out before other people so that God will be glorified.

The application could be an encouragement that if you feel different then you are on the right track and if you are not distinct then what is the point.

* These qualities seem a bit “wimpy” why would anyone desire them?

Answer: examine the alternative.

* Poor in Spirit                         No intellectual need for God

* Mourn                                    No emotional need for God

* Humble                                  Proud

* Desire for Righteousness  No concern injustice

* Merciful                                  Vengeful, Harsh, Sadistic