This represents you, before you accepted Christ. The 3-dimensional world we live in is on the bottom. The Spiritual realm, kingdom, kingdom of God, kingdom of Heaven, etc., is on the top. We’ll see all this as we go through the New Testament. When you accept Christ, you immediately become like Christ. That may be a shock to some of you, but God sees you spiritually as He sees Christ. That’s why we say that your sins are forgiven because God doesn’t see you—He sees Christ, who was crucified for you. Your sins are forgiven. In Ephesians (2:6), the Bible says that we are seated with Him in the heavenlies even as we’re on this earth. I’m going to be throwing things at you that are spiritual—that’s what we’ll be talking about: the spiritual. I’ll be challenging you every Sunday to continue thinking spiritually.

In the world, we have time: 1 year, 5 years, 30 years, etc. We will all physically die and then we’ll go to be with Him. We’ll spend a lot of time in the New Testament talking about what happens after death. We’ll read some Scripture that talks about "the glorified body."

If you died this afternoon, you would be with Christ. It’s immediate. Some people call this the "state" that we’re in. It’s kind of like the "solid state" or "steady state." No matter where you are or what you’re doing on this earth, God has seated you as Christ in Heaven. You are in this "state" all the time, whether you’re succeeding and happy or failing and sad. God sees Christ in you. This continues for eternity. That is how God sees you forever.

This is what happened when you accepted Christ. It’s really nothing you did. God did it all. God said, "When you accept Christ, I’m going to make you Christ. When I see you, I see Christ. You’re forgiven of all your sins. I forget your sins. You are now one with me. I am in you and you are in me." We’ll read this in John.

God also intends for us to do something on this earth. He says in 2^nd Corinthians 3:18, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." In other words, when you accepted Christ, God said, when you die on earth, I want you to be as close to Christ as possible: looking like Christ, thinking like Christ, making decisions like Christ, acting like Christ, etc. You are "as Christ" now in Heaven. God wants you "as Christ" on Earth too. Spiritually, you’re already there. In the world, you’re not—this is the "time" thing.

When you accept Christ, you become a new creature but you still have a past. You have all these "things" in you that you’ve learned through thinking, reading, and studying. The Bible is very clear: "I want you to be conformed to the image of Christ. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." In other words, "If anyone wants to follow me (be like me), he must deny himself, take up his cross (crucify your "self"), and come after me on a daily basis."

Last week we talked about temptation and sin. You’ve dealt with it. You’ve discussed it and thought about it. I want to challenge you when we discuss topics like that. Contrast where you are today with what it means to be Christlike. What is it about the testing Jesus underwent in the wilderness that you can apply to your life? Examine your thinking today—what is it that needs to change to become more like Christ? That’s what a Christian is supposed to be doing. If you’re doing that, you’re an impact on others without you even knowing it.

This growth is called "sanctification." You are in the process of being sanctified. You are sanctified in the spiritual sense but in the world, you are being sanctified (being made separate or holy). God is challenging you to become as holy as Christ here on this earth. I know a lot of you are thinking, "But that won’t happen here on this earth." I’m going to challenge you to eradicate that thinking from your brains. That’s negative thinking. It’s like, "God can’t do anything with me. I’m already a failure. I’m going to sin." You are going to be challenged in this class with this process. This is what we’ll be talking about. We’ll discuss and study the "spiritual" side in God’s Word, but the application to your life now (your sanctification) is where the rubber meets the road.

Your condition changes daily. It changes hourly. You will want to live a life that says, "God, I want to honor you in everything I do and become Christlike." That’s what we’re going to read, study, and discuss. If there’s any encouragement, any edifying, any building up I can impart to you it is to become more Christlike. That’s how we should all be encouraging each other. We’re going to read where Jesus said, "You’ve heard it said…," meaning "this is what the world says," but I say, "…," meaning "this is the real, spiritual truth." We’ll see that contrast on murder, anger, adultery, etc. When we talked about temptation last week or when we talk about judging others this week, think about these principles.

I’d love to spend the time to understand what everyone thinks about judging others. How many of you think we should be judging others? The Bible says that you are supposed to but what have you heard? What have you heard about judging others in your churches and Sunday Schools? What do you think? "You’re not supposed to do it," are you? Haven’t you heard that? I’m going to show you that Jesus said you are supposed to. What are you going to do with that? I just gave you one of these contrasts. You always thought we shouldn’t judge others and I’m telling you we should judge others. What are you going to do with it? That’s the challenge. I’m going to challenge you about some of the things you thought were true and set in stone. When we read God’s Word, you have to question your thinking.

Remember the "tripping verses," where you’re reading along and you trip over something you read? It goes against what you "thought." This is the key. Every time we read one of these, there is something there that’s for this purpose and this purpose alone: to become like Christ. That’s what we want to discover. That’s what each one of you has to do—individually, uniquely, and between you and the Holy Spirit. We will talk about judging. But what it’ll come down to this afternoon, tomorrow, or sometime next week, the Holy Spirit within you will say, "Do you remember what you talked about? Here’s an example in your life." Only you and the Holy Spirit will know about it. This is what we’ll be doing.

Last week was a fantastic example with the discussion of temptation and sin. We all have different ideas. It’s great to have those ideas but make sure you read God’s Word and pray, "Holy Spirit, show me what God’s Word says."

With that in mind, let’s get into the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are at the start of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. There are four major "talks" by Jesus, meaning He’ll talk for a whole chapter or two or three. Three of the discourses are in Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount is one of them.

Here’s an example of challenging your thinking. How many of you believe the Sermon on the Mount was delivered to the multitudes (a bunch of people on the hillside)? If you read it carefully, He only gave it to His disciples. He didn’t give it to a bunch of people. See, I always thought He did. If you read it carefully, He didn’t. There may have been a few people standing in the background, but He gave it to His disciples. And this makes a difference on how you read it.

In other words, He was with the multitudes but what did He do? He withdrew. Who went with Him? The disciples. It doesn’t say that the multitudes did. It says that He and His disciples went away.

Think about it as if you were one of the disciples. You’re seeing Jesus work miracles. You’re seeing Him teach. You’re seeing people in awe of the authority with which He’s teaching. And you’re one of His real close friends and followers. What do you start to think of yourself? You would start to get a big head. Jesus was trying to take them (James, Peter, Andrew, John, etc.) from worldly thinking to spiritual thinking. You have to understand that as you read this.

You’ll read something and ask, "What is Jesus talking about?" He was leading them away from the way they were thinking they should act toward His kingdom of heaven, the spiritual. Jesus takes His disciples aside and says, "I need to tell you what the ‘kingdom’ is all about because you are going off in the wrong direction." That’s basically what He’s saying. "You are viewing my work from a worldly perspective and coming up with your own ideas of what the kingdom of God is all about: how to live, act, breathe, make decisions, etc. But this is what it’s really all about." Let’s read some and you’ll see what I mean.

We can’t go through every, single verse. I hope I’ve challenged you enough to where you will do the studying.

What does "poor in spirit" mean? Another way of putting it is: if you’re weak in spirit then He is strong. Do you see the contrast there? We know that Paul says that about Jesus later on. He says (in 2^nd Corinthians 13:9), "When you are weak then He is strong."

Do you see the spiritual principle there? What is the worldly principle? "When you are rich, you have everything. You don’t have to worry about anything." That’s what the world tells you. That’s something in the past that prompts you to say, "I believe in money. I’ll base my decisions on that." What does God want you to do to make you more Christlike? Understand that all your possessions are not your own but God’s. Treat them like that. Don’t treat them like they’re yours. Do you see the difference? It’s an attitude. This is what will be challenging for you as we go through this. We’re talking about the eternal. We’re talking about your attitudes, how you’re formed, and how you think. It’s not the physical actions.

The second part of this verse says, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Doesn’t it say that? What does that mean? What is "theirs"? Their what? It doesn’t tell us what "theirs" is. What’s He talking about? Their inheritance, their reward, everything that belongs to them, their destination, their attitudes, their way of living—is the kingdom of heaven. Do you see it? Do you see how you can look at it this way? Yes, it is coming but Jesus wants it here too. He wants you to be different than everybody else in this world. How are you different?

Have any of you seen the new commercial for Dr. Scholl’s gel inserts for shoes? It is great. It threw me for a loop. Two men are involved in a car accident. One runs into the back of the other one. You know what normally happens when men get in an accident. Well, these two men walk up to each other smiling and say, "How are you?" "Oh, I’m fine…having a great day." "Well, it looks like we had a little bump." "Oh, yeah, but it’s nothing." It’s totally opposite from what you would think would transpire. You have to see this commercial. And I thought, "That’s like the kingdom of heaven." They’re not talking about the kingdom of heaven; they’re talking about gel inserts in their shoes. It is eye-catching because they are reacting differently. The next time you have a bump-in, try that.

Isn’t that what Jesus challenges us to do? He says, "You don’t own anything. You don’t own that car that was involved in the accident." Who owns it? God does. Think about your attitudes, your thinking, and your way of living—your growth toward being Christlike. That’s what it’s all about.

Let’s look at 2^nd Corinthians 3:18 again. You all need to circle it, highlight it, underline it, and remember it. It is all throughout the Bible, not just in 2^nd Corinthians 3:18, but this verse states it so clearly.

This is a reference to Moses and a story we’ll cover when we get to 2^nd Corinthians. Basically, it means that we can’t cover ourselves up. People know who we are. They look at us. You know this. As soon as your spouse finishes something, you look at them and ask, "You really didn’t enjoy that, did you?" They didn’t have to say a word. You knew it from the look on their face. That’s what it means by "unveiled faces." Other people read our motives really easily.

In other words, you’re reflecting whatever God has given you in the measure of glory that you have in you. You’re either letting it out or you’re squelching it.

The more you become Christlike, you get more glory. More Christlike, more glory. More Christlike, more glory. What do people see in you? A lost person (a non-believer) will say, "You’re different. You didn’t take that guy’s head off when he did that to you. Why?" A Christian will say to you, "I see Christ in you because I know what Christ was like and you reacted like Him." That’s edifying and building up other Christians.

The Holy Spirit accomplishes this within us. Does everybody understand? Let’s go back to the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus is challenging His disciples. He’s saying, "You have to think differently." You’ll see this all throughout the Gospels. You’re going to get to the point where you say, "Those were the most stupid, ignorant, unbelievable people. They couldn’t see Jesus for what He was."—just like the Jews. People have asked, "How did the Jews miss Him?" You’re going to ask the same thing about the disciples, "How could they have missed Him?"

When the children were trying to get to Him, what did the disciples say? "Oh, No. Jesus is a big, important man here. Get away. Back away, kids. You can’t get near Him." What did Jesus say? "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Their what? Their faith, their attitude, their willingness to take in something without being hyper-critical or skeptical. You’ll see this throughout the Bible.

In other words, there is this Christlike attitude that you need to have as you live this life. In mourning, you’ll be comforted. Seek righteousness. When you get up tomorrow morning, pray, "God, I want to live the whole day without sin." Is that an unfair request? No. Why would you not pray this? You don’t want to feel bad if you fail—so you’ve been taught. What’s the past thinking about sin? "You’re going to sin. You’re going to fail. You know it." And we stop there. We don’t ask, "Well, how does God view that?" I mean you’ve been taught in Sunday Schools that all you have to do is open one eye in the morning and you’re a sinner. But what does God’s Word say? How does God view sin in your life as a Christian?

Suppose one of you is sinning right now in this classroom. I don’t know what you’re doing but you’re sinning, between you and God. How does God view you? What have we already said? You’re forgiven, even as you sit here and sin. Christ died on the cross while you were in the act of sinning. That’s what Scripture says.

We look at it as, "Oh, we’re going to sin. We’re going to sin." This is negative. How should we look at it? "Well, I know I’m going to sin but God has forgiven me. I know I’m going to sin but God has forgiven me." What’s the difference? What happens to your mind? You start saying, "Wait a minute. God knows I’m going to sin. I know I’m going to sin. But, ultimately, God doesn’t see me. He sees Christ." It’s already been forgiven.

Who is jumping up and down on you about the sin? The world, the flesh, and the devil are making you "defeated" as a Christian. How can people see Christ in you if you walk around defeated, moaning and groping about? What do you think God wants you to do as soon as you recognize sin in your life? Get rid of it. He has. Can you do that? Can you get to the point where you say, "You know, I am going to sin but God has forgiven me."

Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That’s in God’s Word. Listen to me. As a Christian, have you all fallen short of the glory of God, sitting here, right now, today? No. If "yes," then you’re not reading God’s Word. Take a look at Matthew 5:48. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is speaking. What does He say?

Jesus commanded you to be perfect, holy, and mature as your heavenly Father is. Be mature in the likeness of Christ. This is "being transformed in the image of" Christ. Paul said (in Philippians 3:12-14), "Not that we’ve achieved this yet (on earth), but press on toward this mark." Keep marching toward this goal. When do you "fall short of the glory of God?" Before salvation. That’s what Romans 3:23 is about. That’s not for Christians.

What do you have, sitting here right now? How much of God’s glory do you have? All of it. How much of God’s perfection do you have? All of it. How many of you are as holy and righteous as Jesus, sitting here right now? All of you. You have to say that because that’s what God says. That’s God’s work in you. God said, "If you believe in me, I am going to do all the work and make you right with me." Does that mean anything I do can destroy that? No. God has done it all. We didn’t do a thing. You’re sitting here, right now, with all the perfection and all the righteousness of Jesus.

How long can you go without sinning? Can you go five seconds without sinning? Yes. Ten seconds? Yes. A day without sinning? Yes. A year without sinning? Yes! You have to say, "Yes!" I didn’t say that you will go without sinning but you can. You have to start thinking the way God sees you, not the way others see you or the way you see yourself. You’re still on that side that says, "Oh, I’m a sinner. I’m just a terrible, lousy, no-good person. I’ll commit sins today." Where’s Christ? You’re defeated because you’re focusing on "you," not on Christ. Instead of focusing on what God has done for you, it’s "what have I done?"

Why does the Bible say for us to go and ask for forgiveness of sins? Here’s another one of those concepts. The Bible says that I must ask for forgiveness. What does the Bible say? In 1^st John 1:9, it says that if we acknowledge/confess, He is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins. What is happening there? The original Greek used in that verse means, "agree with God." So you pray, "God, you have shown me sin in my life and I agree with you." God cleanses you.

It is just exactly like a child confessing to a parent. "Yes, Mom, you’re right." Why do children resist telling you what you already know? They don’t want to be punished. They’re embarrassed. Why do you not want to go to God even though He says, "I’ve already taken care of everything for you?" That’s between you and God. You have to ask yourself, "What is it from my past that keeps me from claiming God’s promise of forgiveness?"

What if you don’t acknowledge and ask for forgiveness of sin? What happens to you? It destroys your relationship with God. Do you lose your salvation? No. Jesus said, "I must leave and the Comforter/Counselor must come and He convict you of sin." The Holy Spirit will reveal sin in your life but you have not and can not confess each and every sin to Him. So, obviously, confession is not a requirement for salvation. Acknowledgement or confession of sin to God helps your relationship with Him. What does God want? A stronger relationship with Him, day by day.

God has given you everything. You don’t have to do anything. You think, "I’ve got to do something for my relationship with God." God says, "I’ve already done everything. Believe it. Let’s live life together." Here’s the difference: you wake up in the morning and pray, "God, show me your will in my life today." And you go through the day not thinking about or worrying about the next sin you commit. Because you have someone who’s going to tell you. I like it. I love it. The Holy Spirit will say, "Your anger was not right in this situation. Your look was not healthy in that situation. Check your attitude." The Holy Spirit will convict you. If you know that God has already forgiven you, how long does it take for you to understand that forgiveness? At first, it takes a long time because you have to dwell on it.

There’s something about us as human beings that says, "But there has to be some discipline involved. There must be punishment. Someone has to beat me, twist my ear, or tell me to go get a switch off the tree." There’s something inside of us that says, "I have to make retribution. I need to go say ten ‘Hail Mary’s’ and do two hours of community service." Do you understand me? Do we not think that? We think we have to do something to feel good about ourselves and sin. God says, "Feel good about what I have done. Look at what I’ve done for you." Here’s the key. The more we concentrate on what God has done for us, the more our love for Him will grow beyond anything we can imagine. It’s that love that motivates us not to be careless with sins. It’s that love that motivates us to say, "I can not wait to worship God and be with Him." When we understand more about what He’s done for us (and less about taking care of ourselves), the more our love for Him will grow and grow.

Someone approached Jesus and asked Him to sum up all the commandments. He replied, "Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, strength, and body and love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments are centered around that." That’s what it’s all about: love. We need to understand how to love God more. The more we love God, the more other people see Jesus in us without us even trying. We don’t have to worry about the sin we’re committing today or this or that. We’re living a life for God.

The only way we can do that is by thinking about temptation, judging, testing, anger, etc. We can’t talk about every issue but here’s what I suggest. Get a pen and write down subjects you’re unclear on in terms of your past understanding versus God’s truth. Write down "temptation." Write down "anger." I believe that because you’re writing them down, God will work on those areas in your life. Everybody will have a different list. God will work on you. Isn’t that what we want God to show us? Instead of "God, keep me from sinning all day," our prayer in the morning should be, "God, show me where I’m not conformed to the image of Christ today. Show me in my relationships with people, my spouse, my children, my colleagues, my friends, and my neighbors. Show me where I’m not Christlike." Guess what He’s going to do? He’ll do it. The first time it happens (if it hasn’t happened already), you’re going to say, "That can’t be. I’m too nice of a guy to be that way." That’s the self, the flesh, again.

Think about it. Jesus is telling His disciples this. He is saying, "Blessed, when people insult you and persecute you." This is totally unworldly. The word "blessed," by the way, is not just "happy," but it’s a "state of contentment," or a "state of being at peace." There’s nothing that can bother you. You’re in the midst of chaos and turmoil but you’re at peace and you don’t understand it. That’s being blessed. That is part of living and being Christlike. "Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me daily."—that concept is in here. It’s a spiritual concept. If you’re going to live a life for Christ here on this earth, that’s what you’re to do every day of your life. Pray, "God, crucify me today so that it won’t be about me but you working through me. As I go through this world, you will give me the power, strength, peace, and wisdom, not that I’ll get it from TV, books, or any other place. It’s your peace that you’re giving me. Yes, I will go about my day but I will look for you too. I am experiencing you, wherever I go and whatever I do."

I have drawn a comparison between the things in the past and growing in Christ. This is what ticked off the Pharisees, Sadducees, and others about Jesus. This is what really upset them. He was saying one thing about the kingdom of God but they believed another. Because their preconceived concepts were different, they didn’t like Him. They rejected Him. People do this today. If God doesn’t fit their preconceived molds, they don’t accept God. Do you see what I’m saying? Their minds have already been made up.

Jesus is talking to His disciples and He’s talking to you and me. He says, "unless your righteousness surpasses the Pharisees and Sadducees…" How righteous were the Pharisees and Sadducees? Back then, they were perceived as being the most righteous because they followed the Law. They had a list of things to do and they followed that list religiously—the list of additions and interpretations of God’s Law.

This is just like today. Tomorrow, not one of us will refrain from living "under the Law" somehow because of our past. In other words, we have placed something inside ourselves something that says, "Unless I do this and don’t do that, I will not be righteous or have a right relationship with God." We carry along rules and burdens from our past. When we do that, we are just like the Pharisees. We’ve taken the righteousness that God has already given us through Christ and supplanted it or replaced it with our own righteousness. Jesus was saying to them and to us, "If you want to see the kingdom of God and be in heaven with me, then be more righteous than the Pharisees." What was He saying? The disciples were thinking, "That’s impossible! They’re the most righteous people walking the face of the earth." What was He doing? He was challenging them to be dependent on Him and His righteousness. It’s a totally new way of thinking. People didn’t like it then and they don’t like it today.

As we discuss topics, you will be challenged. I hope and pray that you will be miserable over some of the things we talk about. I won’t know it. No one else will know it. But that’s the Holy Spirit in you saying, "Well, you thought this but that is the truth."