The Motivated Christian
INTRO
1. Jack had been saved for many years. At one time he had attended Sunday School and church every week; but now, he casually attended a service here and there.
2. There was a time in Jack’s life when he craved the Word of God; daily devotions, Bible studies, books, Christian radio….not much now.
3. If you sense yourself becoming more like Jack is now, rather than how he used to be, you might be suffering from lack of motivation.
4. Lack of motivation has a number of causes: disappointment, getting so used to spiritual things that you no longer appreciate them, sin, let-down, physical fatigue, stress….on and on….
5. How can we regain motivation? How can we build spiritual momentum? Many things involved, but key ingredients include faith and its cousin, hope.
6. The Bible often uses the terms "heart" and "mind" interchangeably; our inner thinking and feeling.
MAIN THOT: When a heart/mind is set on a course of faith, the motivation just flows.
TS-------------The beatitudes describe a disciple who is motivated by faith by describing his/her heart.
I. A Hungry Heart (Matt.5:6)
1. Both "hunger and thirst" are terms used to express a CRAVING.
2. We are to crave righteousness with an intensity, fervency, and vigor
3. We crave PERSONAL righteousness
(1) sin to be replaced with virtue
(2) disobedience with obedience
(3) the sign of this fervency: Love of the Word of God (Ps. 1, 119)
(4) I know people who got saved and then needed GLASSES
4. We are also upset at injustice and unrighteousness; it should trouble us to see the dishonest take advantage of the downtrodden…
5. If the things of God are not real to you, you will not have this hunger…
(1) Listen---if you do not accept Scripture as the inspired, inerrant Word
of God, or if you think that the Bible is for the scholars but not you, you
will never be motivated to live in light of its truths…
(2) If you really believe that every work will be brought into judgment, if you really believe God has a plan and will for your life, if you really believe it is to your advantage to serve God as He leads, you WILL VERY LIKELY HUNGER AND THIRST for RIGHTEOUSNESS. You will follow through unless:
` (3) Sin or wrong priorities fill up your soul with junk food. Like a child gorging himself on candy or junk food, we displace our appetite by numbing our hunger….
6. If our hearts are not hungry, we either have a sin problem or a faith problem. Let’s not try to justify it; let’s confess and repent of hearts bloated by unbelief or mixed up priorities. IT IS A BELIEVER’S NORMAL CONDITION TO BE SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY.
When a heart/mind is set on a course of faith, the motivation just flows.
II. A Big Heart (Matt. 5:7)
1. Mercy and grace—two sides of a coin…
(1) merciful people are not cheap with being gracious…
(2) they do not state the obvious if it is hurtful
(3) they offer help and do not wait to be asked
(4) they empathize and sympathize
2. To be merciful = compassionate in action, kindness
(1) help the afflicted, rescue the helpless, be there for the lonely
(2) ready to forgive
(3) in the original language, can be translated as kindness
3. Mercy is the opposite of cruelty… Pr. 11:17
---extends even to animals…Pr. 12:10
4. The key to becoming merciful is to savor the mercy of God and others to us….DO WE REALLY ACKNOWLEDGE HOW LOST AND HELPLESS WE WERE? HOW UNDESERVING? Do we view God’s mercy as common place, nothing special?
5. Mercy is in proper balance when we have the right mixture and love and conscience…
(1) too strong or too weak a conscience
(2) too much love (permissiveness) or too little (ungracious, selfish)
(3) examples of wrong mix: Child molester---mercy ploy could have swayed those with too much conscience ; Arab terrorists
Application: Most people, even lost people, are merciful and compassionate. Mercy should be a clear-cut attribute of every believer.
When a heart/mind is set on a course of faith, the motivation just flows.
III. A Pure Heart (5:8)
1. Morally pure (will address later in 5:28)—mind set on good things
2. Also religiously pure (Psalm 24:3-6)
3. Sincerity = no pretending ("The No-Spin Zone")
4. Do we really believe that we will SEE GOD? That every work will be brought into judgment? That God is holy?
5. Note how this theme is developed later by John in I John 3:2
When a heart/mind is set on a course of faith, the motivation just flows.
CONCLUSION
