August 3, 2003
Morning Service
Text: Matthew 5:3-6
Subject: The Beatitudes
Theme: Living by the Book, Part One
A middle-aged woman suffered a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While in intensive care she had a near-death experience and saw God. She asked, “Is it my time to go now?” God answered, “No, you have another 43 years. 2 months and 8 days to live.” When she had made a full recovery she made up her mind that if God was going to give her so many years, she was going to make the best of them. She stayed in the hospital and had a facelift, liposuction, tummy tuck and a nose job. She even had someone come in and change her hair color. Finally she had recovered enough to leave the hospital and on the way home she stepped out into the street and was hit by an ambulance and killed. She stepped into eternity and stood before God and said, “You said I had another 40 years ahead of me. Why didn’t you save me from that ambulance?” To which God replied, “I didn’t recognize you.”
The world is full of people who would tell us what we need to do to be happy, what looks good on us, what foods we should eat … There are also those who constantly are telling us what we can’t do.
I remember a TV show from some years back where they had a skit that showed a family that went to a state park for the day to enjoy the great outdoors. When they got there they saws a whole row of signs that said, “no hunting, no fishing, no picnicking, no trespassing, no feeding the animals, no camping, no swimming, no parking, no hiking!” Then at the bottom of the list was a sign that said, “This is your state park; enjoy it”.
Today we look at, not a list of don’ts, but a list of do’s. Jesus gave His sermon on the mount and a list commonly called the beatitudes. And that is a perfect title for the instructions given here. These are attitudes that show us how we should be or act. They are the BE - - -Attitudes. Jesus was at the height of His popularity and large crowds were coming to hear what He had to say. The disciples that came to him in verse two were not necessarily the twelve or even the larger group that professed faith in Him, but they were a group of followers who, because of His popularity, wished to be seen with Him. They may have believed Him but they had an ulterior motive in being with Him. They thought that if this were really the Messiah, then they might win political favor by being seen close to Him. So Jesus begins his sermon on the mount with this word:
Look at the word “blessed”. The Greek word "makarios" describes one who is singularly favored by God and therefore in some sense is “happy”. There is more to it than just that. This word can also apply to God. When we see “Blessed are” we can look at it in two ways. God is blessed because those spoken of in the beatitudes bring approval through their praise, worship, and obedience. Those who are blessed are approved by God, by his grace, which He offers freely. The word “happy” which is used in some translations will not do here. Though these people are happy the word refers to, not a state of inner feelings, but the point of blessedness from an ideal point of view in the judgment of others. The word blessed in each one of these beatitudes is then followed by phrase describing specifically who is blessed.
I. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
A. The “poor in spirit” can be taken two ways. It can mean that those who are poor (economically) are blessed spiritually. In the OT being poor often had religious overtones. Several words were translated “poor”. And it referred to those who because of long economic and social distress could only have confidence in God. Psalm 40:17, “Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me? You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.” Psalm 69”32-33, “The poor will see and be glad—you who seek God, may your hearts live. The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.”Another way to look at this phrase (I believe this is what was intended by Matthew) is to understand that these are people who recognize that they are spiritually bankrupt in the eyes of God. Their righteousness is as filthy rags. Nothing they can do will make them righteous. Those who understand that they cannot earn their way into the kingdom are not far from it. The kingdom of heaven is not given according to race (the Jews). It is not given because you have earned merit; “For it is by grace you are save, through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift from God- not of works so that no one can boast.” It is not given because of wealth. Wealth was often considered a sign of blessing. Zacchaeus received Christ but not because he was wealthy, but because he placed his trust in Christ alone. (he repented and gave back four times what he had stolen from others) But the kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in spirit; to those who recognize that they must rely on God’s grace to receive eternal life. In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. “Two men went to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee prayed about himself, “Thank you God that I am not like these other men…”The tax collector prayed “God have mercy on me, a sinner”Which one was poor in spirit? The kingdom is given to those who are so poor that they know they can offer nothing of themselves but must surrender themselves totally to God’s mercy and grace. In order to receive the kingdom of heaven one must deny that he can earn his way to heaven and accept the grace God gives to those who accept Christ. They are the poor in spirit. That is grace.
B. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Why are they mourning? At the time of Jesus there was a remnant of faithful, believing Jews who mourned for the sins of Israel. The remnant waited for the coming Messiah. They understood that the humiliation and oppression of Israel came, not from the strength of Rome, but from the wretchedness of the corporate sin of Israel. When Jesus preached, “The kingdom of heaven is near” He, like John the Baptist, meant it as a warning to sinners, and not as a victory chant. They both expected tears of sorrow and repentance to be the product of their message. You see, to recognize spiritual bankruptcy and be poor in spirit is not enough if it is accompanied by an insincere heart. A tender, weeping, sorrowful heart for personal sin as well as corporate sin touches God’s heart. Psalm 119:136, “streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed”. Should we weep for our own country? Should there be tears flowing from our own eyes right now? We are a nation that for the last thirty years has been more concerned with the economy and their pocketbooks than the precious life of an unborn child. we have continually voted for our own welfare and have forgotten about the welfare of a whole generation of children who, in some cases, would be partially born and then murdered for convenience sake. Should we be weeping for a nation that will allow their daughters to be taken from school to abortion clinics, providing them with a ride if needed, while denying students the right to pray before sporting events? Should we weep for a nation that welcomes and encourages alternative lifestyles as the norm? Should we mourn for a nation that calls itself Christian, and then stands by idly while millions of Christians are tortured and even murdered worldwide, for their faith? Should we mourn because we then offer those nations most favored trade status? If we expect to be comforted we should weep for the sins of our nation. Yes, we should repent for the sins of our fathers. In the book of Ezra, God’s people had sinned by inter-marrying with pagan people and needed to get right with God. Ezra 10:1,2, “While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites – men, women, and children – gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. Then Shecaniah son of Jeheil, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God . . . But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.
C. Let’s look at these first two beatitudes in conjunction with Isaiah 61:1-3. Jesus quoted this passage in the synagogue in Luke chapter 4. We can see how Jesus was the fulfillment of everything that He was teaching. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. What did Jesus say? Blessed are the poor in spirit. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn - Blessed are those who mourn - and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes (a sign of repentance) the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. All of these blessings are related to the end of the age. When Christ returns we will no longer be poor in spirit, will no longer mourn but will be blessed. We realize these blessings partially now, but will realize them fully when the King who saved us from our sins returns for his church.
D. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. The word meek is hard to define. Some would associate meekness with weakness; being a pushover. Some equate it to the beauty that is spoken of in I Peter 3:4, “Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” To be meek, to some, means freedom from malice and a vengeful spirit. Jesus best exemplified meekness. It is our attitude toward others. True meekness understands the truth about ourselves and expresses that truth in our attitudes towards others. What does that mean? Let me explain it this way. I’ve got a terrible temper and you made me mad and now I’m going to beat the tar out of you. That may be the truth about me but if I am born again, I am a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. Meekness resists retaliation. Notice that it is the meek and not the – strong, forceful, aggressive, harsh- that will inherit the earth. The others may try to take the earth by force and may have some success in achieving what they consider important in life. They are taking what does not belong to them. But the meek do not have to take the earth. It is their inheritance. It will be given to them. This promise has end times implications as well. What the wicked have now on the earth will be made new and given to the meek. Understand this. True meekness comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not just an attitude or a personality trait. It is a way of life, with Christ shining through the believer. Meekness may seem to be a quiet, gentle spirit and freedom from a vengeful spirit, but true meekness is firm and confident in its understanding of who the believer is in Christ and accepting the changes that God wants to make in your life without resistance. Romans 8:16,17, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.”Jesus is the perfect example of every “blessed” statement mentioned in the beatitudes. Poor in spirit-He subjected Himself totally to the will of God. He mourned over Jerusalem and the catastrophe that would befall it. He was the epitome of meekness. Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did no open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth”. Though He exemplified meekness, Jesus was not weak. On the contrary, He was strong and confident, knowing that what God promised, He was able to bring about. There was never any doubt in His mind. There should never be any doubt in yours.
E. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Hunger and thirst are strong sensations that express intense desires. Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” This hunger and thirst is for righteousness. The Psalmist desires righteousness so much that he knows that he can’t live without it. As food and water are the sources of physical life, righteousness is the source of spiritual life. This righteousness can be taken also in two different senses. It can be seen as personal righteousness. These are people who desire with all their hearts to do God’s will. All that is unrighteous grieves them and makes them homesick for their eternal home, the new heaven and the new earth, where righteousness is eternal. Righteousness can also be seen as the righteousness of God, by which a sinner is justified. Those who hunger and thirst for this righteousness shall be saved. This righteousness is attributed to us through Christ’s redemptive act on the cross of Calvary. We are not made righteous by anything we do. The basis of our being made righteous in God’s eyes is by God’s grace. Let me clarify this. Our being made righteous does not have anything to do with our spiritual condition, but with our spiritual relation to God. Our true relation to God was lost by sin. And there are three results of sin ; guilt, condemnation, and separation. Justification is the restoration of our true relation to God and it includes removal of guilt by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Romans 8:33, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Justification brings removal of condemnation by the gift of forgiveness. Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Justification brings removal of separation by the restoration to fellowship. Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be saved. Isaiah 55:6,7, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on him while He is still near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.” Those who cry out for both personal righteous, and the righteousness attributed to us by the grace of God, (one goes hand in hand with the other) will be satisfied. For now we have received the Holy Spirit as a down payment for what we will receive in full when Christ returns. What we receive now only makes us hunger and thirst more for more of God. Our appetites are quenched but then we want more and so on. . .
Conclusion.
As Jesus spoke these words to the crowds, don’t you know that hearts were being touched, lives were being changed? Today we need to look at Jesus as our model for each “blessed” spoken here in the beatitudes. We must be poor in spirit as Jesus was. We should mourn for our own sin and the sins of our nation which was founded on the precepts set forth in the scriptures. We should exhibit meekness but not weakness. And we should hunger and thirst for righteousness. We can be filled over and over again. There is a song that I have on a tape that says, “ There is one heart that Jesus can’t fill, the heart that won’t let Him in. But if you will let Him, Jesus will fill you again and again.” Be one of the blessed. That’s what Jesus wants for you.
