Discipleship Training: Week 4 by Heather Compton

This week I want to begin looking at the Sermon on the Mount.  It is far too much to cover in one lesson. This week we will look at the first of three chapters. This sermon comes after He was baptized and had starting calling the disciples.  He had begun to draw crowds with His teaching and miracles in Galilee. This is the longest running sermon recorded in the Bible, and sets the standards by which we should live. It is basically the backbone of our faith!

Let’s read at Matthew 5

 The beginning of the sermon is what we refer to as the beatitudes. Beatitudes means supreme blessedness. This is a picture of who He blesses. You are a candidate for blessings today and always. Stop for a minute and look at verses 11-12.  Has anyone ever got on you for your faith?  Has anyone ever questioned your church attendance, your faithfulness to give, or your “fanatical” attitude about your faith in general? If so, REJOICE!  Our first reaction in situations like this is to get upset, offended, and upset. We should have the opposite reaction. These people are actually heaping blessing on your life. We should thank them!  We should be excited for what God has in store for us. The Living Translation actually says “Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in Heaven!” Hallelujah!!

 Internal Reflection: Have you allowed your attitude to be swayed by someone else’s comments?  Do you react incorrectly to someone’s response to your faith? If so, let it go RIGHT now! Do not dwell on it another second. A reward is waiting on you!!!

 Verse 13-16 talks about being salt and light. I am sure you have heard many things about these verses. I preach on being the light quite often. I wanted to take some time today and discuss being the salt of the Earth.  One thing I learned a few years back is that salt preserves. This was something that was brought out in the book Fearless Parenting by Sarah Blount. Long ago there weren’t refrigerators and so salt was used as a preservative. If I am the salt of the Earth, one of my jobs is to prevent God’s standards from rotting away. In today’s world, many people are attempting to change HIS standards and make them fit into what they deem as right. Many people are heading down the wrong path and as we work, go to school, or interact with them, we should be the standard bearer. We should be an influence to avoid decay. Sarah Blount said in her book “May we be salt that preserves faith and hope in a world where faith and hope are fading fast.”  Are you preserving truth? Are you preserving purity? Does your life reflect one that is preserving the truth of God’s word? If not, change course today and allow your life to be the salt Jesus is speaking of.

Let’s move on to verses 21-26. This segment focuses on anger. Are you an angry person? Do you tend to be emotional more than spiritual? Look up, Psalm 37:8, Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 15:1, Ecclesiastes 7:9, and Ephesians 4:26.  What can you do to beat anger in your life?

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Lastly, in verses 43-48 we are taught about loving our enemies.  We are called to be separate from the world; to act differently than everyone else acts. One way to do that is found in verse 44!  Love and pray for your enemies! It goes on to say if we only love those who love us we are no different than the pagans!  I want to be different. I want to draw people to Christ and the one way to do that is to LOVE them!

 Key Verse: Matthew 5:16 (Take time to memorize if you haven’t already)

Let your life so shine before men that they will see your good deeds and glorify your father in Heaven.

There are a few sections of this chapter I didn’t talk about. What are some things you learned in those?

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