For the poor
Justice and Peace • Sermon • Submitted
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The New International Version Chapter 6
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Jesus was all about the poor the opressed he loved everyone but he went after the things society was against.
One of those things were the poor.
Jesus would give this sermon that we read here time and time again.
It spoke against the roman empire, it spoke against the pharasies
Yet Jesus didnt care because he knew what the Kingdom of God was about.
It was not about Empires but Kingdom
It was not about the Roman Empire nor the piety of the Jewish Temples
The empire of the Jewish Temples it was not about that. He was not about that
Jesus was about the oppressed, the people that did not know who they are, the people with out a home a place to lie down. That was Jesus he went after those people and showed the current rulers of the time this is wrong.
He was the biggest social acvtivist of his time.
In not having a lot your reliance on God becomes more
Yet you begin to to understand others without a lot.
Being poor yours is the Kingdom of God.
Kingdom Values are very different to Worldly Values
If you are poor you are about to inherit the Kingdom of God...
Sounds Strange Doesnt it lets get into it.
Play Rome Eagle Video
You see the romans were all about the Symbols. They were all about ceasur being lord. Taking Ground in the name of Rome.
Yet Jesus challenged this, he stood up against an Empire that was wealthy, Powerful commanded most of the world at this point, and it was violent.
It was the total oposite to what Jesus began to preach about the Kingdom of God.
To be a romanan meant honour power. Everyone in those days would aspire to two things if you were a working class person, to be a centurion the highest honour or a gladiator again honour would be given to you if you won the games.
Other than those things there was not much left for people to do but be poor.
Yet Jesus would come along and say to these poor people, yours is the Kingdom of God.
Rich people would be around hearing these sermons, It was believed that Jesus was regulaly giving these kind of sermons to the people.
Yet what he was saying is that if you are poor. You are blessed you get to have God totally for yourself as you would have to rely solely on him.
Today we need to ask the question, what drove the nails into Jesus’s hands and feet.
Was it just our salvation?
Or was it the anger of the Roman empire and the Anger of the Jewish leaders?
Was it their anger that a man had come along and is challenging the foundations of their empire?
Perhaps it was that… not just the fact that it was going to happen just for our salvation but maybe it was also Jesus’s Ideals and values of what the Kingdom of Heaven was like that put him on the cross.
Time and time again in the gospels we read how angree, the scribes, the pharasies and the rabis were at Jesus.
Yet you have to ask why?
It was Ideals like this bless are you who are poor yours will be this great kingdom I am on about.
This was the first time the Israelites were hearing about this.
It was the first time they were told your hight priest in that temple over there his not in heriting the Kingdom you who are poor who can just about afford the sacrifice you are the one who are inheriting the Kingdom.
These rich people, the roman rulers and tax collectors, the scribes, the rabis, give up all your money give it all away to the poor. Then yours will be the Kingdom also.
Yet when you hear it like this is it any surprise then that they petitioned for Jesus to be killed. Like a theif, like a murderer, like a treasonist. Crucified.
Years Later
Years Later
Years after Jesus’s Death and resurrection came Constantine in 312ad who is hailed Constantine the Great, amongst some Church historians and even Churches like the C of E, as the great bringer of Christianity into Rome.
Which he did do, but not without sacrifice.
Not without the stripping of Jesus’s values and the sermon of the mount Ideals being taken away.
Constantine would use symbols of Christianity in the roman Civil war to come to power.
He dedicated his battle to the Christian God making Christianity the forefront of the Roman Empire clipping the Kingdom of God into the Roman Box.
He watered down the ideals of Jesus, of Justice to the poor, the various ideas of Jesus about the Kingdom of God and he watered them down to him being a helpful saviour.
Yet this does not really show the Kingdom of God or Jesus at all its contrary to Jesus sermon on the mount.
The poor were still poor but the church had risen to power and the piety ideals of the Old Testament came rushing back and have never left.
Those Rabis, and Pharasies who had got Jesus killed had once again appeared on the scene, but as priests, Bishops and Pope’s of the Catholic Church.
Rich as anything and an empire built.
Then that church decided to hold crusades to take the Holy Land back...
There were seven crusafes in total where the Countries of Europe essentially went to take land in the middle east.
Here once again they used the Cross as the symbol and stated that it was a holy thing to do
The word crusade means to go on a holy journey for God.
Yet looking at the gospel and the Ideals from Jesus how far removed is this from him?
It ended with a childrens crusade where over three hundred young chidren died. They didnt make it to the end destination a lot of them starved to death, some were kid napped and put into slavery and only a small number returned
Yet it was the Catholic church of the Time, that pushed the families to send their children on crusade.
Yet this is far removed from the ideals of Jesus, and once again Jesus was just boxed and put in as saviour but his ideals where stripped from him for the empires use. This one being Europe.
So What about Today?
So What about Today?
Play Ads Video
No we have beauty women and men wanting to look younger not get older
Why Because Looking younger makes you look richer in life
The Adverts will never show a poor person or just an every day working persons life style. Why because that wont make you want the car or the beauty product.
Looking beautiful with makeup and a healthy bod is portraid as successful
Essentially you start looking rich..
The adverts promote self worth feeling better being better.
We now also go to Gym’s listen to self help books, folllow influencers all to chase what this empire has built more money, more time to have freedom and be happier.
Yet what the car add doesnt show is to afford this Car you will need to work all the hours under the sun just to pay it off.
What the Beauty adds doesnt show is the hours upon hours of makup and hair applied to make these people look the way they do.
What the Gym add doesnt show is that the person leading these people is loosing their mind in the process.
Yet we are told work harder, gain more money, buy the nicer things and go for you.
In the hope that you could end up on the lake with no one or in the forest relaxing.
Yet this goal is never atainable and we have now moved far from the principles of Jesus.
Yet were all in this machine together doing these things and no one is helping the poor just ourselves.
They have removed Jesus completly and his Ideals of no need to chase after those things. A life with God will bring you internal blessings beyond measure.
This is the world that we are in a World being fed, advertising where money is the number one thing to attain. The rich persons lifestyle that everyone wants. Success is labelled by how much is in your bank account not by how many friends you have or a loving family you have.
Success is labeled by how big your house is not how big your heart is.
This has also seeped into the Christian Churches.
Ministers want to know how big their congregations are, success is labbeled by how many people you have turning up on Sunday not on how many lives you are changing.
Play Think Different Commercial
The Gospel message the ideals of Jesus Changes lives it doesnt put them on seats every sunday.
The real Gospel message, will bring people from all over out of curisosity.
Steve Job’s once said go and do what you love and you will get rich in doing it.
I see this saying different than how the world sees it.
The more lives we change as a church, the more people will come from all over. We will get rich but not in money but in how many lives we impact and change with Jesus in us.
Thats the message of Jesus thats the Gospel, go after all the lost and bring them the good news that you dont have to chase aftet these adverts this lifestyle.
Blessed are you because you are content with where life is right now.
Blessed are you because you have a relationship with the father that will make you feel loved.
Blessed are you because you can experience all Joy beyond measure.
Blessed are you because you know Jesus.
Thats the gospel message, not this what we are seeing around Churches, on the TV.
Dont chase success Chase Jesus chase the father. Go after Justice.
Play Think Different Commercial
Jesus was this person he challenged the status quo,
He went for the opressed
He spoke out for injustice
He was a genius and still is a genius
He is the round peg in the square hole
He thought and new that he was sent to change the world and he has.
We do the foodbank because we are doing what the Gospel says to do go and change peples lives.
Bring them the good news.
That blessed are them and they will inherit the kingdom of God.
Let us be known as the Crazy ones the Peculiar People
The ones just like Jesus following his Example.
The people that go out there and change peoples lives
That help people
That bring Justice to a world that needs it
That brings hope into a world that is chasing it
That brings Joy into a world that is unjoyful
That brings love to a world that is searching for it.
Let us be the crazy ones that change this town and the surrounding area for Christ.
Be Poorer than the standard of the world the standard of the adverts be poorer than that,
and yours will be the kingdom of God.