Obtainable Expectations: A Timely Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

As You Were! is a directive Jesus never issued.

False-grace mentalities prevail today in the Church perpetuating the deception that since God loves us as we are, we don't have to change anything or live differently. Therefore, people come to Christ, then they quickly resume whatever they were doing and stay as they were.

Jesus, however, drafted a blueprint for the Christian life in the Sermon on the Mount that would make His followers different from others. He actually expects us to be categorically different—hence the world "expectations" in the title of this book. The modifier "obtainable" is related to the fact that the Sermon on the Mount is a lifestyle that is livable.

Jesus concluded this famous sermon by giving it a piece of singular importance when He was said whoever puts "these words of mine" into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. He was expressly saying the Sermon on the Mount is foundational for future success in the face of the coming storms.

Steve Hickey is the founding pastor at the Gate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He also currently serves in the South Dakota House of Representatives. His previous books are Obtainable Destiny based on 1and 2 Timothy and Titus (Creation House, 2004) and Momentum: God's Ever-Increasing Kingdom (Creation House, 2009). He is married to Kristen and they have a daughter and two sons, all grown, Kaitlyn, Thomas and Caleb.