HOW TO GET ALONG WITH GOD AND OTHERS
Mt 5:1 ¶ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 ¶ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Last week, we started this series on Jesus’ instructions, his coaching on how to really live life. We discussed how the word “Blessed” in this passage really means “Happy”. . .
The Greeks, remember, used this same word “Blessed” to describe the island of Cyprus, because it was to them what Hawaii is to us – like a paradise! When you were on Cyprus, life was as good as it gets!
In other words, Jesus’ coaching for your life is this: If you want to live a life that’s as good as it gets down here, follow these directions!
With that in mind, let’s examine the
3. The world says: Happy is the man who has the power.
What’s one of the biggest items on the news between now and November 2nd? The upcoming elections!!
I LOVE this! It’s a circus to watch what people will do to get power! Not at any other time are so many lies told, mud slung, characters smeared, conspiracies made. . . and that’s just in the dogcatcher’s race!
“No,” replied her mother, “lots of them begin with, ‘If I am elected...”
You know what I mean? The promises that are made are so big that we actually created a whole new category of promises called “Campaign Promises.” And it’s all in a quest to get the POWER! That’s because our culture teaches us that if you just can get some power, and be in charge, you’ll find true happiness. This attitude causes some real problems:
- in marriages.
- in politics.
- in business (ever heard of backstabbing to climb the ladder?)
- in families.
But look at what Jesus says, “The meek shall inherit the earth...” What does that mean? The word “meek” is not a word that most people would like to have put on them these days, because the meaning of the word has shifted in the last 400 years. Right now, if you think of someone “meek”, you probably think of someone who is spineless – someone who lets others walk right over top of them, someone who has no strength.
But this word in Greek meant something totally different. This word was the regular word for an animal which has been domesticated. An animal which has been tamed! So when Jesus says “Happy are the meek,” he’s not saying, “Happy are those who have no power and no spine.”
Instead, here’s what Jesus is saying:
BUT JESUS SAYS: Happy is the man who has put all his strength and ability under the control of God.
Think about it. . . a horse who has been tamed: weak and spineless? No! Friday night, Lizzy and I were down at Bricktown, and watched some of the horse and carriages down there. Some of those huge horses could pull thousands of pounds! There’s no weakness there – there’s only “strength under control!”
God’s not asking you to become a spineless creature to be a follower of His. . . he’s asking you to put that fiery personality, and that strong decisiveness in his hands!
Let me prove that: Who was the meekest man in the Bible? "Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth" (Num.12:3)
What kind of man was Moses? He was a man who was strong enough to be the leader of a nation of 2 million! He was the guy who faced down one of the most powerful kings in the earth, Pharaoh, and said, “Let my people go!” Moses’ meekness was simply his strength completely under the control of God.
Meekness is simply your strength, your passions, your drives, under the control of God!
REWARD: God will advance him and make him great. “...shall inherit the earth.”
Remember, we’re talking about Jesus’ coaching about how to be completely happy. How does this apply?
Well, the Bible tells us “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness that is in it.” If you have put all you have under God’s control, God will put all his resources at your disposal.
How can this make you truly happy? Only in his service do we find our perfect freedom, and in doing his will our peace.
4. The world says: Happy is the man who has every desire met.
This is another message that we get regularly from all around us! The famous actress, Katherine Hepburn said, “If you keep all the rules, you’ll never be completely fulfilled.”
What’s she saying? You’ve got to go follow your desires, no matter what rules you’ve got to break. . .
Contrast that attitude with what Jesus tells us:
BUT JESUS SAYS: Happy is the man who longs to be completely good like the man dying of thirst longs for water. “Happy are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness...”
To understand this verse, you’ve got to realize what hunger and thirst was 2,000 years ago. The average working man was so poor that he barely could buy enough food to feed his family. In fact, they only ate meat once a week. The constant, not-quite-full feeling never went away. At times when money was short, the food at the table was even less.
Thirst was no less scary – all of the people Jesus were talking to knew what it meant to go out and cross the deserts around Israel. Shifting sands, blazing heat, and wind that blew sand and grit into your eyes, nose and mouth made thirst not just a matter of pleasure – it was a matter of LIFE!
So we’re not talking about a hunger which could be satisfied with a mid-morning snack; we’re not talking about a thirst that needs a quick drink from a water fountain. It is the hunger of the man who is starving for food, and the thirst of the man who will die unless he drinks.
So, this coaching from Jesus is in reality a question and a challenge. In effect it demands. "How much do you want goodness? Are you tired of just trying to ‘turn over a new leaf’ occasionally? Do you want goodness as much as a starving man wants food, and as much as a man dying of thirst wants water?" How intense is our desire for goodness?
Most people want to be good people, but it’s one of those things that is vague – it’s kind of “out there somewhere.” It’s kind of our new Year’s resolutions. . . “I’d like to be a better person.”
But this coaching of Jesus is not “I’d like a pinch of goodness, please.” In Greek, the normal structure of saying you’re hungry indicates that you’d like SOME bread, not the whole loaf. Or SOME water, not the whole tank. But this statement of Jesus is structured differently in Greek from the normal way – it’s says, “Happy are those who hunger and thirst for TOTAL righteousness.”
This is not PARTIAL goodness, it’s TOTAL goodness!
But that is what people rarely do! They are content with a part of righteousness, with a pinch of goodness.
You ever heard someone say, “Well, he’ll lie through his teeth, but he’ll give you the shirt off his back.” There’s a guy who’s got partial goodness!
This beatitude says, it is not enough to be satisfied with a partial goodness. Blessed is the man who hungers and thirsts for the goodness which is total.
REWARD: God will help him to be completely good.
Do you want to be good?
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Jesus: Life Coach
Sermon #2: Happy are the surrendered and dissatisfied.Matthew 5:1 “ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
1. Happy is the man who realizes he can’t make it without God , for everything God has he will give to that person. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
2. Happy is the man who is broken hearted for his sin, for that person will know the comfort of God’s forgiveness.
“Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.”
3. The world says: Happy is the man who has the ________.
The word “meek” has come to mean “__________” or “_____________________.”
But the word “meek” in Greek was the word for an animal that has been _____________________.
BUT JESUS SAYS: Happy is the man who has put all his ______________ and ability under the ______________ of God. “Blessed are the meek. . .”
Meekness is simply your strength, your passions, your drives, under the control of God!
Who was the meekest man in the Bible? "Now the man ____________ was very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth" (Num.12:3)
What kind of man was Moses?
- the leader of a nation of 2 million!
- faced down Pharaoh, and said, “Let my people go!”
REWARD: God will advance him and make him ________. “...shall inherit the earth.”
4. The world says: Happy is the man who has every _____________ met.
BUT JESUS SAYS: Happy is the man who longs to be completely ___________ like the man dying of thirst longs for ___________. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness...”
This is talking about a desire for ____________ righteousness, not “being a little better.”
Most people are content with a “____________” of goodness.
REWARD: God will help him to be completely _________.
