Page 10 - July 2015 Catalyst

Iam a Jesus pusher!!!
The first two parts of the Sermon on the Mount explain the final section (Mat- thew 7). Matthew 5 establishes the fundamental premise of the Kingdom of Heaven. All other systems are a road we must travel. They require self-denial, discipline, struggling, and effort to arrive at the goal or morality. Jesus does not present a new standard of righteousness to achieve, but a new standpoint of righ- teousness in His embrace. Others pres- ent ways to become the children of the Kingdom; Jesus simply states that you are a child of the Kingdom.
In the second section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6), Jesus high- lights the intimate relationship within the Kingdom, which affects all activities of life, religious and non-religious. How does the nature of Jesus in you affect “charitable deeds,” “prayer,” and “fasting?
One person focuses on “materialism,” another person focuses on “our relation- ship with God,” the last person focuses on “the relationship of the physical to the spiritual.” Every activity of life occurs within one of these three areas. There is one fundamental principle: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous- ness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33).
This final section flows with a concise fo- cus on the inner heart of the individual. Jesus reveals the key pitfalls into which religious individuals tend to fall. The way to avoid such places is to be filled with the Kingdom. If Jesus is not living within you, you will eventually develop another moral system based on perfor- mance. However, you will miss the in- ner and secret rewards from the heart of God. They cannot be missed in Jesus.
I am a Jesus pusher!!!
10 CityLight.org
July 2015