Happy New You
Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew 5:1-12
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (NIV)
What New Year’s Resolutions did you make last year?
How many did you keep?
Resolutions may help us get started in the right direction toward a goal, but in order to really produce the life-change, a revolution must take place. We don’t need resolutions; we need something revolutionary to change us for good! It will require more than just reform! We need something transforming!
The Beattitudes, as we call them, are expressions of DESIRE producing a DARING DECISION, resulting in a DIRECTION for life, which DETERMINES our DESTINY.
We are blessed when we allow the desire Jesus highlighted here to cause us to make a daring decision to change our situation. When that decision changes our lifestyle, it causes us to travel in a new direction. And whatever road you travel right now determines where you will wind up tomorrow.
Let’s say that you make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight. Too many Christmas candies have made your clothes shrink. So today you begin your diet. Your desire to lose a few pounds will require you to make some daring decisions: drinking skim milk rather that whole milk, choking down salad with no dressing rather than ladling the Bleu Cheese or Buttermilk, bypassing the beef to put a dried-out piece of baked fish or chicken on your plate. These decisions will be a daring change of direction for you (no more lingering at the bakery isle). If you want your clothes to fit again tomorrow, you’ll have to make some revolutionary adjustments to your life today!
The end result is worth the daring decision. My wife loves candles. I don’t know if she thinks that a single flame has an element of beauty to it, or if she just likes to see wax melt, or if she is a pyromaniac at heart, but she loves candles. And being the influencer she is, my daughters have all picked up on her attitude toward candles. The other day I came in and every room in the house had a candle burning in it. Since each of those candles was scented, each room had a different atmosphere. One room smelled of honeydew melon, one smelled of vanilla bean, one smelled like cinnamon, and on and on. The ladies in my house each desired to produce a change in the atmosphere of the room so they decided to strike a match and stick it to a candle wick of chosen scent. When the flame came in contact with the waxy fuel, it produced a sweet odor which resulted in changing the way the room smelled. As I walked from room to room, the ambience changed as you entered the next doorway. The place sure smelt better that my stinking feet when I removed my shoes!
Instead of just having a “Happy New Year”, wouldn’t you rather have a “Happy New YOU”?
Let me give you some realities which when recognized will produce a Happy New You in the New Year:
Matthew 5:3
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(NIV)
1) Do you desire to be HUMBLE?
Jesus is saying that reliance solely upon yourself and what you can do is not that way to reach Heaven. You cannot save yourself! In most respects you cannot help yourself up! In other words, Being at the end of your rope is really the best place to be!
Matthew 5:3 (Message)
"You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”
Having nothing means that you have to rely on someone else. You have no one to trust in but God. No visible means of support, only invisible. That’s a scary place to be but it really is the only place of safety.
Matthew 5:4
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
(NIV)
2) Do you desire to LOSE?
No one really desires to lose, do they? Ask any football player from any game that will be played today and they will tell you they are not plying to lose; they’re playing to win!
But only the ones who have lost need comfort. Losing is the only way to find!
Matthew 5:4 (Message)
"You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you.
Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.”
Do you have enough desire to be held in the Arms of God that you would decide to lose?
Jesus said,
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt 10:39 NIV)
Matthew 5:5
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
(NIV)
3) Do you desire to be BALANCED?
The word translated here as “meek” does not mean “weak”. It means “content”. One can only be content when they are not contentious. One cannot be content if one is always striving for the bigger and the better, the grand and the glorious. Some people make a New Year’s resolution to be rich by the end of the year only to make it to December 31st with less than they began with.
Remember - Life is a Balancing act. Be Balanced!
Matthew 5:5 (Message)
"You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”
Matthew 5:6
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV)
4) Do you desire to be HUNGRY?
Christmas will make you stretch your capacity for food. We eat more so we want more!
But the desire Jesus is talking about is a desire to know God more…to live a life that pleases Him in everyway. Do you want that? It will require a daring decision if you are to stay hungry for God. The only way to stay hungry is to keep busy. When you are busy for God, serving Him, you find that you are hungry for God and His righteousness.
Keeping active is the best way to stay hungry!
Matthew 5:6 (Message)
“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat”
Matthew 5:7
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
(NIV)
5) Do you desire to be CARE-FULL?
How much to you care? Does the concerns of others touch your heart or do you not care? If you want to be shown mercy you have to be merciful. Jesus said,
"With the measure you use, it will be measured to you-- and even more. (Mark 4:24 NIV)
What if He really meant what He said? HE DOES!!!!!
Matthew 5:7 (Message)
"You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ’carefull,’ you find yourselves cared for.”
Matthew 5:8
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (NIV)
6) Do you desire to be PURE?
God will make you as clean as you want to be. Holiness is His idea and He wants you to be holy! We must desire His holiness, make a daring decision that we are not going to be “conformed to this world but be transformed”, and let Him keep us clean. Contrary to popular opinion, God did not make you to be like the Peanuts character, “Pig Pen”, who could never stay clean. To say that it is impossible for you to be pure makes Jesus out to be a liar, for He said,
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt 5:48 NIV)
AND
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;
without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14 NIV)
Let Jesus do an inside work to purify you and cleanse you.
Matthew 5:8 (Message)
"You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”
Matthew 5:9
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
sons of God. (NIV)
7) Do you desire a better world for OTHERS?
Those resolutions you made for this year: are they benefiting you or others? You want to be considered by others to be a child of God? Become a peacemaker. Peace is not the absence of trouble. It is the condition in which you want the absolute best for the other guy? How badly are you willing to sacrifice your wants so that someone else can have what is best for them?
Here’s how you can know – do you fight over the remote control?
Matthew 5:9 (Message)
"You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”
If you desire be revolutionized by the Words of Jesus, so much so that you would make some bold and daring decisions about how you will live, then let me congratulate you on your upcoming martyrdom! You will experience pain because you are going against the grain of the world. Do you know what Jesus calls that? BLESSING!!!!
Matthew 5:10-12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(NIV)
Matthew 5:10-12 (Message)
"You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”
You want a standing ovation from Heaven? DESIRE His will and His way so much that you make some DARING DECISIONS about how you will live your life each day of this New Year. You will find that it gives you a new DIRECTION which will make you a HAPPY NEW YOU!!!!
