Happiness is connected to Be”attitudes” II !?
Matthew 5:1-5:12
Last week in our message we shared four of the eight conditions required to enjoy happiness. The first was to be poor in spirit; second, to mourn; third, to be meek; and fourth, to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Today we will consider the remaining four.
Do you think Jesus was a happy person? I do, Was it Jesus’ money that made Him happy? Was it his house, job, or was it His wife and kids that made the difference in His life? He had none of the things we as Americans consider to make us happy. He never owned a donkey or horse. He depended on handouts for His income. He was sometimes so hungry He would eat raw grain or pick fruit off a tree. He knew what it was like to be rained on, to be cold. He knew what it meant to have no home.
He was convicted of a crime He never committed. Witnesses lied about who He was. Pilate swayed by politics Had Jesus Crucified.
He should have been miserable. He should have been bitter. But He wasn’t. HE WAS JOYFUL!
There was a time when if you were trying to help someone, there was an understanding that you were just trying to be like Jesus, that you were just being compassionate and Christlike. That you wouldn’t be sued for trying to help someone. It used to be that when you offered help to one in need, it was understood that you were just trying to be like Jesus, that your compassion would be your protection
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
In our world today in some places we have to have Good Samaritan Laws to protect the merciful. Those who are merciful, receive mercy from God, happy are those who have received that mercy from God. This mercy has been demonstrated by the sacrifice made for us through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:3 says “Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you. Who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Jesus didn’t have those things that perish, spoil or fade but he had the peace without those physical things because it is not the physical that will bring you true happiness but rather something more spiritual.
Paul said in his letter to the Philippians “I know what it is to be in need. And I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty of in want.” Paul also new that is wasn’t the physical that brings true happiness.
We should show mercy to our fellow man. Be merciful when getting your hair cut. Be merciful when someone cuts you off or makes you mad. Don’t be too soft. I am not talking about a soft mercy that has an anything goes attitude, we never pollute the truth in the gospel, we must be merciful while standing firm in our faith. And that leads us into our next beatitude.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Just because we have a merciful attitude doesn’t mean we compromise or pollute our beliefs. We have to be pure in heart. What does that mean, pure in heart? Pure in heart means you are a for real person. It means you live out what you really believe. To do that you have to first know who you really are. Some of us do not know who we really are. Some of us are angry, hateful people underneath the goody goody fake shell we have built. Yes, some of us are not pure in heart under that goody goody fake shell. Do you know someone like that? Someone who has a goody goody shell built around them. You have to know who you really are. So what is a pure heart? A pure hearted person is someone who realizes they are sinful human being. They have a holy sorrow for their sinful nature and submit to God through Jesus Christ; they follow the teachings of Jesus and apply them to their life. And they develop a heavenly hunger for righteousness. Does that all sound familiar? It should because we talked about that last Sunday morning. So in a nutshell a pure hearted person has a good start when they have a holy sorrow for their sinful nature, accept and apply the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then develop a heavenly hunger for righteousness. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. For they shall see God. We can only see God clearly when we have a pure heart. You can’t live under your goody goody shell and see the hand of God at work.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed are the peacemakers. What is a peacemaker? The worldly society we live in would have us believe that a peacemaker is weak. The World would tell us to listen too and follow the person who says what we like to hear. Blessed are the peacemakers. Some people appear to be peacemakers but they really are not they just can’t stand conflict. They run the other direction when it appears there will be a conflict. The absence of conflict does not necessarily imply the presence of peace. A church without conflict is a dying church. A dying church does not have the conflict of should we build or shouldn’t we. A dying church doesn’t have the conflict of who gets the church on Wednesday evenings the Youth or the Choir. A dying church doesn’t have the conflict of should we modernize or should we stay old and outdated. A dying church doesn’t have the conflict of should we sing progressive praise songs or should we stick to the old reliable hymns. A dying church doesn’t have much conflict but it doesn’t have much peace either. There is no peace in an unbalanced church budget. There is no peace in begging people for money. There is no peace in making cutbacks to the Christian programming a church offers. There is no peace in closing the doors of a church that has been a great beacon in its community. I don’t mind a little conflict, it can keep us healthy when managed properly, if unmanaged it can and will destroy us. Make no mistake, just because you run away or avoid conflict doesn’t mean you are a peacemaker. There are many persecutors out there. They don’t see their own spiritual poverty and are offended when told the truth. They are not submissive to God in meekness but are filled with pride and blinded by selfishness. When you’ve seen God, you’ve found peace. Jesus didn’t say a peace “lover” he said a peacemaker. Jesus was a peacemaker. He loved the people and cared for them. He had a peaceful nature about Him. But he also knew when to throw some tables around in the temple. Matthew 21:12 says “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written” he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’”
Blessed are those who are persecuted Because of Righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Now that’s a position of spiritual maturity. A person who like Jesus, will undergo suffering for the kingdom. The first suffering that receives a blessing is the suffering for our own sinful nature, the ultimate suffering that receives a blessing is suffering for sin in the world. Persecuted because of righteousness, is an important characteristic of a Christian. We talked about righteousness last week. The new Bible Dictionary says that righteousness has to do with relationships, a God—man relationship and a man—man relationship. Righteousness in this sense means to be given a true relationship with God that involves the forgiveness of sins; when a sinner falls in line with the will of God in union with Jesus Christ. It is not just something that we seek to be but something that happens to us. So righteousness has to do with our relationship with God. So when we are persecuted for our relationship with God, we are persecuted for righteousness sake. James says in James 1:12, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
When you are persecuted for Christ, You are on the right track; you are headed in the direction you have been called to go in. Christ was crucified for his righteousness, his beliefs. 1Peter 4:14 says “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you….If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
So where are you in your life? Are you happy, blessed? Have you seen your spiritual poverty? Have you mourned over sin in your life and in the world? Have you meekly submitted to the will of God? Have you developed a heavenly hunger for God’s righteousness? Are you merciful toward others? Is your faith real enough that you can see God? Are you a peacemaker? Are you enduring the world’s resistance to Jesus in your life? Jesus says that heaven will surely be worth it all! We endure suffering and trouble in life for so much less. God thought that heaven was worth the sacrifice, that’s why he sent Jesus. God thought that saving you for heaven was worth sacrificing his son on the cross. Worth it? Will you say yes to Jesus and no to sin?
