In 1999, there was a science fiction film released called the Matrix. The main character is a software programmer known in the computer hacking world as Neo. He investigated a mystery called the Matrix, and his search led him to a man named Morpheus. Morpheus offered Neo a choice: swallow a red pill to see the truth or swallow a blue to forget everything and return to normal life. Neo chose the red pill, and it revealed to him what was really going on. The Kingdom of Heaven is a bit like that. We walk around every day seeing what see but there’s an unseen world beyond what our eyes can see. In Matthew 5:1-16, Christ reveals 3 “red pill” actions for us to take in order to participate in the unseen Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. 

God is Not Great! Thus, declared the former atheist Christopher Hitchens in the title of his 2007 book, which was a case against the greatness of God. The adjective, former is appropriate, not because he became a theist, but because he died on December 15, 2011. Certainly, he is no longer an atheist. Surely, God is now proving to him that his thesis was wrong. Matthew 5:17-20 is meant to have that effect on us, during our Earthly life before we die. Though many may not see it in those four verses, they communicate that Jesus is a great King who deserves our life. This passage has 3 aspects of what he has done that warrant us giving our lives to him.

The United States has some really odd laws. For example, in Arkansas, honking your horn near a sandwich shop after 9 p.m. is against the law. In Topeka, Kansas, it is illegal to sing the alphabet out on the street at night. These, and others, all reflect the desire to control specific outward behaviors. Religious leaders in Jesus’ day had that desire too, and it resulted in laws like…spitting on the ground was forbidden on the Sabbath because it might disturb the dirt, which was equated with plowing. Jesus is different than religion like that. He insisted that law keeping is a matter of the heart. Matthew 5:21-48 describes his law, but more so, contains 5 descriptions of the heart that Jesus commands us to cultivate as Christians so that we are more virtuous like God.

Western civilization has been greatly influenced by the altruistic thinking of Immanuel Kant. If you never read anything he has written, it is important for you to know, that you have likely still been influenced by him, particularly on the connection between faith and reward. He said, “An action, to have moral worth, must be done from duty.” That stands in stark contrast to the teaching of Jesus. The Lord has promised to reward us, and therefore, approves wholeheartedly of us being motivated to obey him for reward. Matthew 6 touches on 3 religious practices that were the most common in Christ’s day, and Jesus assures everyone that they will be reward for them if they practice them in the way he instructs.

When people first put their faith in Jesus, they usually don’t know how to pray. Sometimes listening to others can add to their confusion. For example, they hear someone waxing eloquently on and on in a deep voice that’s different from their normal voice, and another person ecstatically uttering unintelligible words with no grammar, syntax, or vocabulary, and still another reading a prayer from a piece of paper. They wonder, “God, how you want me to pray?” The good news for everyone is that Jesus has commanded us to pray a certain way and it is recorded in Matthew 6. It has four answers to the question, “How does God want us to pray?” 

There is a story of a wealthy woman who, when she reached heaven, was led to a very plain house. She objected and asked, “Whose is that fine mansion across the way?” Her guide replied, “It belongs to your gardener.” She said, “How is it that he has a house so much better than mine?” The answer, “The houses here are prepared from the materials that are sent up. You choose them by your acts of faith while on earth.” Now, that’s probably not how it is really going to go when we get to Heaven, but the story bears some truth about the “treasures” we accumulate, doesn’t it? It alerts us as to why Jesus has commanded us to invest in Kingdom possessions, not worldly ones. In Matthew 6, Jesus has 4 lessons for us on this topic.

A lady in an airport bought a book to read and a package of cookies to eat while she waited for her plane. After she sat down and became gotten engrossed in her book, she noticed that the man one seat away from her opened the package of cookies on the seat between them. The lady couldn’t believe the man’s nerve, but soon the announcement came to board the plane. Once the woman was aboard, still angry at the man’s audacity and puzzling over the incident, she reached into her purse for a tissue and found her still-unopened package of cookies. This story is a reminder that sometimes we read situations and people wrongly. That’s why we need the reminder from the Lord to always be loving in our relationships. Matthew 7 provides us 3 words that fill in what the Lord means when he tells us to love each other. 

Consumer products have some of the most obvious warnings on them: On a batman costume: “Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly,” on a cardboard sun shield for a car: “Do not drive with sun shield in place,” and on a portable stroller: “Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage.” Who wouldn’t know that you shouldn’t do those things? Interestingly enough, those warnings a bit like the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount. God himself became man in Jesus Christ and told humanity what to do. Who wouldn’t know that we should listen to him? Matthew 7:13-29 contains 3 summary statements about why it’s so obvious we should follow Jesus for true life.