1Peter 2:9-10, Matthew 5;1-2, 28

Introduction:

Last two weeks we witnessed 8 adults who publicly confessed their faith in Jesus Christ through baptism. They and others, who have acknowledged Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, are citizens of God's kingdom. 1 Peter 2:10, "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." So, what does it mean to be citizens of God's kingdom?

What does the king of this kingdom expect from his citizens? Years ago, if you were a sales person for IBM, you had to wear navy blue suits. When Enron was in its zenith days, its upper management staff were expected to be from the ivy league business schools. I remember when I first went to teach in a medical school in Taiwan, I was told that my hair was too long. Definitely, your companies and research labs also have certain expectations of you.

How about as citizens of God's kingdom? Whenever this question is asked, we turn to Matthew 5-7, also known as the Sermon on the Mount. This is the most preached passage. Thousands of commentaries and articles have been written on it. It is full of ethical instructions. This is where Jesus opens up his mind to his disciples. Many of its teachings would surface in the later epistles. In these three chapters, Jesus Christ makes it unmistakably clear about what is expected of his followers. Some have called it the Magna Charter of God's Kingdom.

This morning we'll take an overall view of this Sermon on the Mount. Next time we'll begin to look at this passage closely. This sermon on the mount covers almost every aspect of our lives. It is also very foreign to our way of thinking and way of living. Even as we study it, there is the temptation for us to water down its meaning to make it more palpable to our taste. The challenge before us, in the coming months is to open our hearts and minds to God's word, and be ready to change and adjust the way we think and live, so that it will clearly reflect the fact that we are citizens of his kingdom.

I. Kingdom of God expects its citizens to focus on inner quality.

I guess many of us are following the unfolding of the Enron debacle. Enron, probably like many other high power companies expects its employees to be smart, MBA from famous schools. To them, one's appearance means a lot. In Thursday's Chronicle, we have these words on Andrew Fastow, "…intelligent, impeccably groomed, with a winning smile, he could charm a roomful of investment bankers or stock analysts…in 1997 he hired a personal image consultant to advise him on how to project an executive image and what clothes to wear. In 1998, he was hand-picked by Skilling for CFO…..Others commented that he was like a human cactus, belittling people, with an air of superiority." In those days, he was considered a very successful Enron man.

However, what is it like to be a citizen of God's kingdom? In vs3-8, it tells us that in God's kingdom, the truly happy person, is one who is broken, mourning for his sins, meek, merciful, pure in heart, thirst after righteousness, and willing to be persecuted for doing what is right and proper. This is about an inner quality of life. A citizen of God's kingdom is expected to be a person who focuses on what he is more than what he does. He is a person of humility and gentleness. Can you imagine being a humble and gentle person during the hey days of Enron? Or for that matter, at home and your present place of work or school, that you are humble and gentle, your mourn for your sins and brokenness, being merciful, with a pure heart and thirst after what is right and not what is good and beneficial? This kind of take our breath away, right? But this is the kind of person in God's kingdom, radically different from the surrounding world.

What happens when citizens of God's kingdom live like this? We will become the salt and light of the world. (vs13a, 14a). You see, we live in a dark and rotten world. Being salt, we will be able to stop, prevent or slow the decaying process of the culture around us. We are the light, so we can point those living in darkness to the big light, Jesus Christ.

II. Kingdom of God expects its citizens to obey God perfectly. 5:17-48

In last week's Dateline program, was a story about a teenagers' party that ended up with two high school girls' death. In the interview, the reporter asked why there was no parental supervision. The response was that was the whole point. When parents are present, its not a party anymore. A party means total freedom from any kind of authorities. Therefore, without parent's presence, it's a symbol of liberty. If you have teenagers, I think you understand this well.

In our culture, not just the teenagers, but adults also detest authority, or anyone they perceive as authoritative figures. This person could be your boss, teacher or the pastor. There is an innate immediate negative response to whatever they say. Now, what a surprise as you enter into God's kingdom. This kingdom is not a place where you can do whatever you want. Vs.17-18, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Jesus is saying that citizens of God's kingdom, are to obey him, his law, his words completely.

Jesus explained, expanded and applied the OT laws to our lives. These laws are about how humans are to relate to each other. Yes, murder is wrong, so is hatred of another person. We are not to commit adultery, however, if we look at a person and continue to entertain sexual thoughts and fantasies with that individual, it is the same as adultery. Jesus acknowledged the presence of divorce, but set up clear boundaries to help marriages avoid divorce. Yes, there is divorce, only when there is adultery in the relationship. Later, apostle Paul further explained that if one spouse deserted the other, then divorce is permissible. And then we are to be truthful to each other, if yes, say yes, if no, say no. Don't tell half truth. To those who wrong us, to our enemies, he taught that we are not to revenge. On the contrary, we are to love our enemies.

7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." This is what Peter later wrote in 1 Peter 1;2, "To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood." Who are the elect? Who are the believers and followers of Jesus Christ? What is the purpose of their election? "through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ……." We are chosen so we can be obedient to him.

This is certainly a standard that is not of this world. Why is there this demand for such perfect obedience? 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect." Are you kidding? No, it is true. Jesus wants us to be perfect, complete like our heavenly father. He wants us to be complete like our creator. On second thought, isn't this quite natural for parents wanting their children to be like them? Citizens of God's kingdom are to be expected to be like their king. How? By obeying his words. You see, as we obey him, we'll begin to change our behaviors. This is how we can become like him. A very tall order, right? But this is not any kingdom on earth. It is the kingdom of the most high God, the creator of all.

III. Kingdom of God expects its citizens to live "before the Face of God". 6:1-18

In the last passage we discussed, it is our relationship with people. As citizen's of God's kingdom, we go by certain rules when we relate to others. Here, in 6:1-18, its about our relationship with God.

In the previous passages, the standards are certainly high, to say the least. But isn't it true that the higher the standard, the easy it is for us to become a hypocrite? The more I tell you to read the Bible for 2 hours and pray for 1 hours, the harder I will try to project an image that it is no sweat for me. This is what happened to the Pharisees. They told others to do this and that, but were they doing it? Soon, all they care is to show others how pious and spiritual they are. 6:4b, 6b, 18b, 3 times it says, "…your father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." As you remember whenever we see a sentence or words that appear repeatedly, watch out, it means its important. What Jesus is saying is that the heavenly father doesn't care how pious you are in public. It is always easy to be pious in public, right? Say the right prayer, sing the right song and people will say, "how spiritual he is." But Jesus says, what counts is what you are like, what you do in private. In other words, what really matters is how you live before the Face of God.

Our world screams at us saying, I don't care how you live in private. That is your private life. I only care what you do and how you perform in the public. To this, Jesus' response is simple. What counts is how you live before the Face of God.

IV. Kingdom of God expects its citizens to uncompromisingly trust God. 6:18-34

Having discussed relationships with men, with God, now it is relationship with money, with possession. Something has changed very little since the first century. It is the power of money or possession. Money has the power to control and mesmerize us. Vs21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This is simple to understand. You remember back in 99' when the stock market was in its zenith? Is there a day you don't watch the stock ticker streaming across your computer? How happy are you at the thought of early retirement. But now? An ex-Enron employee said, "prior to 2001, my salary was in the 6 digit numbers. But with the collapse of Enron, I lost 1 million dollars. This is probably the best thing that had happened to me. I realized how money and wealth can suck my emotions so deeply into it."

You see, money causes us to be greedy. And you know what, this is the only sin that we don't realize we have. If you commit adultery, you know it. If you steal, you know it. But greedy? No. We can always find someone with more money than us. Therefore whatever we do, it's not greed. Money can make us feel good and important, giving us a sense of false security.

What about the citizens of God's kingdom. Don't we wish the Bible would be silent on this? But you know and I know, how powerful the grip of money can have on us. Many of us come here on Sunday mornings, yet thinking about the bills we have to pay or the money we don't have. The rule for the citizens of God's kingdom is to break the power of money over us.

How? We are to know what is the real treasure in life, who is the real master in life. In Psalm 73:25, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you." The Bible is telling us that the real treasure is God, is Jesus Christ himself. He is the most important thing in life. When we hold onto this, then all else will fade.

Not only this, we are also reminded that the king of this kingdom is also a loving God. He knows our needs, cares and provides for us. 6: 32, "….and your heavenly father knows that you need them. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Since this kings know and cares for us, therefore we are to trust him without reservation.

In chapter 7, Jesus concludes this sermon by reminding his followers the choices we have to make. Do we choose the wide or narrow door. Do we build our house on sand or on solid rock.

Conclusion:

This brief overview can take our breath away. It opened our eyes to the chasm between the world we live in and the kingdom we belong to. Our natural response is who can live like that. Of course, no one. This then brings out a very important point about this passage. If this is meant for everyone to live like this, then it is very cruel, isn't? Telling people to do something that they cannot do is mean and cruel. This is why we said at the beginning that this sermon is directed to the citizens of God's kingdom. We do not enter God's kingdom by obeying these instructions. If so, none of us will be in God's kingdom. We enter God's kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ. When we confess our sins to him, accept him as our lord and savior, the scripture says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Now as citizen of this heavenly kingdom, the king's Spirit, the Holy Spirit will enable us to live like we should. Dear brothers and sisters, by the grace of God, let's go live it.

Rev. William Hsueh    Oct.05, 2002    Houston Chinese Church,  Houston, Texas