The Laws of the Kingdom Pt. 1: Opposites Attract
Sunday, May 7th, 2006
Well, it’s happened again. I’m finding that there is one thing about preaching that I have come up against several times now that is frustrating to me. You plan and you lay out a series and then you come upon a passage like today’s passage that is essentially a series unto itself and that really needs eight or nine weeks devoted to it and we have one. We’re going to be looking this morning at the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In fact, for the next 5 weeks, we’ll be looking at this sermon, but today, we’re looking at the intro to this sermon known as the beatitudes. They’re found in Matthew chapter 5 verses 1-12.
We’ve skipped ahead a little bit again in the book of Matthew and if you’ve been keeping up with your readings, you know that in the last chapter, Jesus was lead out to the desert by the Holy Spirit, after He had been baptized by John, and once there, he fasted for 40 days. 40 days without food. Most of us can’t imagine missing a meal or two! At the end of that time, when Christ was at His weakest and Scripture tells us that he was hungry, which is understandable, Satan tempts him and tries to get him to bow down to him. Jesus resists the temptation by quoting the Scriptures and Satan leaves him. At the end of the fourth chapter, Jesus begins the work that He has come to do. He calls His disciples, who left everything and followed Him, and then He went throughout Galilee, teaching, preaching, and healing their sick. As you can imagine, word about Him spread quickly. Here was a man from Nazareth who was healing and performing miracles in God’s name and who was teaching with an authority that they had never heard before. People wanted to see this, and we’re told that large crowds from across the region followed Him. This brings us to our passage today.
In the days of old when Kings ruled their countries, every king had a different set of laws that governed his kingdom. Each member of that kingdom was expected to follow the laws of the king. Each kingdom also had different standards by which they judged the greatness of men. For many, a man was judged on a combination of strength, courage, loyalty, and the ability to fight. We’ve all heard the tales of the Knights of the Round Table and Sir Lancelot and the bravery that distinguished him above all others. The return of the King, the coming of Christ and His Kingdom, was no different, this kingdom would also have laws that would govern its people. There would also be standards that set people apart in this kingdom. This, however is where there is a difference. See, the standards of God’s kingdom were all backwards from what men were used to being judged on. In the very beginning of His discourse, we see the difference in this kingdom and what it takes for us to enter into it.
Read Matthew 5:1-12
The beatitudes is really an 8 step plan to spiritual growth. It’s not a set of rules to enter the kingdom, but rather a set of Guidelines for those who have already come in. It’s a process, each step building on the one before it and resulting in tremendous blessing and reward from God as our relationship grows and fellowship with Him deepens each day. Each step begins with the word blessed. Literally translated, it means happy or fortunate. But there’s a much deeper and richer meaning to the word.
Quote: To be blessed isn’t a superficial feeling of well-being based on circumstances, but a deep supernatural experience of contentedness based on the fact that one’s life is right w/ God. MacArthur
It isn’t necessarily monetary blessing or being blessed with a certain position, though God may choose to include that, it’s the blessing of a relationship with God and knowing that you’re living according to His standards. It doesn’t change as your circumstances change because it’s rooted in your relationship with God. It’s what every Christian longs for, but many miss because they want the rewards, but they don’t want to change.
Jesus begins with four internal steps, things that have to happen in here as we begin toward spiritual growth.
I. Internal Steps
a. Poor in Spirit
The first step to growth is being poor in Spirit. Jesus says “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This has nothing to do with how much money you make or the conditions that you live in. The poverty that Christ is referring to is completely different. When we began our Extreme Makeover series, we started in the same place that Christ does here. We talked about all of the changes that need to happen in our lives and the fact that the first step is a broken heart. Literally a heart that is crushed and broken into little pieces over the sin in our lives. Being poor in Spirit is having this broken heart. It’s understanding that apart from Christ we have nothing. There are so many Christians who believe in Christ and what he has done for us but still hold onto that thought that we’re pretty good on our own, that somehow God owed us salvation because of some good that we have in ourselves. The one who is poor in spirit sees himself as he truly is, spiritually bankrupt and in spiritual poverty with no way out on our own.
Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Those are the words of one who is poor in Spirit. One who recognizes the condition of our soul apart from Christ and is on His knees begging that God would forgive and change.
Luke 18: 0 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ LK 18:13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ LK 18:14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
That tax collector understood who he was, a sinner and was dependant upon the grace of a Holy God for deliverance and the reality is that all of us are the same. The poor in spirit acknowledge that in there lives and it changes their perspective on everything. The kingdom of God, the riches of heaven’s storehouses, belongs to those who are poor in spirit, empty of themselves and full of Christ.
b. Mourn
The second step follows closely on the heels of the first. You can’t see yourself as a sinner and look by faith at Jesus suffering on the cross for our sins not be moved to mourn. Once we realize the condition of our souls, it ought to bring us sorrow and grief for the ways that we fall short of what God has intended for our lives. We live in a society in which this is a totally foreign concept. As a nation, we flaunt our sin. The more sin the better, the more shocking something is, the more popular it will be and the better it will sell. As a Christian, understanding where sin leads and the consequences of it should move us to mourning. And knowing that those around us who are still dead in their sins will face an eternity apart from God in hell should cause us to mourn. Christ promises that the one who mourns will find comfort. For the Christian, there is comfort in the knowledge of salvation, of knowing that our eternity is secure.
When we are poor in spirit and mourn for our sin and understand the price that was paid for us, it will lead us to the next step.
c. Meek
We tend to think of meekness as a character flaw. The one who is meek is the one who is pushed around and taken advantage of. But in the original language, “meek” is used in bridling a horse, or taming a wild animal. The word “meek” is a picture of “power under control.” So when we talk about a meek person, we’re talking about one whose life has been brought under the influence of the Holy Spirit, & God is in control of his or her life. To be meek is to yield your life and will to God’s. Follow Jesus’ line of thinking here, a person sees his spiritual poverty, he grieves over it, the next logical step is that he would bend his knee before the one who delivers him and would be willing to follow his will and his ways. Blessed are the meek. In God’s kingdom, meekness is a prerequisite. And it’s the meek who will be exalted, it’s the meek that Jesus says he’ll give the world to!
PS 37:11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
When we become meek in God’s kingdom, that’s when God can use us. It’s when we bend to His will and when we put the needs of others first. It’s meekness of Spirit, it doesn’t man that we become spineless pushovers, it does mean that we can push aside our own will and agenda to advance the Kingdom of Christ. The last internal change that needs to mark the life of a subject of God’s kingdom is:
d. Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
When we come to God in meekness, he will begin to give us a longing and a desire to do what is right in His eyes. The one who is righteous is morally upright, they make sound choices in life based on God’s principles for living, the principles that are found within the pages of His Word. Jesus doesn’t say blessed is he who tries to be righteous, no, he says that your blessed when you hunger and thirst for righteousness. When it consumes you and you base your life on doing what is right.
On every car trip that we take, we go through the same sequence of events. About a half hour into the trip, Catherine informs us that she’s hungry. If we don’t give her something to eat, she will inform us again and again of her need until it turns into “I’m starving!. When we’re hungry or thirsty, there’s nothing else that can take our mind off of that and there is nothing that will satisfy that except food or drink. When we hunger and thirst for righteousness it’s the same way. Nothing can distract us, and nothing short of righteousness will fill us. We can try and be satisfied with all of the things that the world offers but they will not quench our thirst or satisfy our hunger, only a changed life and actions that speak of that change will satisfy. When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, Jesus promises that we will be filled. Jesus now turns from the changes that need to take place on the outside and looks at some of the changes that will take place externally for the one seeking God’s blessing. Each of these is an expression of the internal change in the life of a believer.
II. External
First, Jesus says “blessed are the merciful.”
a. Merciful
This is one of the things that set his kingdom apart. See, the Pharisees and teachers of the law thought that they had the righteousness thing down pat. They sought in every aspect of their lives to obey the law and to be upright so that they looked god before men. They were doing it without those other three internal changes that Christ talks about. The Pharisees were so caught up in their quest for righteousness that they had no patience for anyone who fell short of their standards.
When you have little kids, they are so quick to point out when a brother or a sister does something wrong and they’ll run to mom and dad and tattle and then they expect punishment to be exacted at that moment because a horrible wrong has been done. Like the Pharisees, they don’t understand the concept of mercy. Jesus takes us to the next step and says that we need to be merciful. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who want what is right so badly that they can taste it need to have a balance to that attitude. Loving and doing what is right needs to be balanced by mercy to those who do wrong. God knows our humanity and he knows our imperfection and he has mercy on us as sinners and says that we need to show that same mercy to others. We need to extend healing, comfort, help , and restoration to those in need. Then we will be blessed, and then we will be shown mercy as well. However, showing mercy to those in sin does not mean that we compromise our purity. Jesus next points out that God blesses the:
b. Pure in Heart
Quote: We’re suffering from only one disease in the world. Our basic problem isn’t a race problem. Our basic problem isn’t a poverty problem. Our basic problem isn’t a war problem. Our basic problem is a heart problem. Graham
Jesus says that our hearts are to be pure. Something that is pure is untainted. The Greek word that is used in this passage means something that is unmixed, has no double allegiance. Quote: The basic idea is of integrity, singleness of heart, as opposed to duplicity, or a divided heart. Wiersbe The pure in heart is one with integrity, they are the same on the inside as they are on the outside. This is the biggest issue that many people have with the church today, they feel that it is full of hypocrites. And they are not necessarily wrong. The church has plenty of people whose hearts are divided. They want God but they don’t want to let go of the world. The church is never going to be perfect, it is always going to be full of sinners in need of God’s grace, but when our hearts are pure and our desire is for God and His kingdom and to not just go to church but to be the church, that’s when the world is going to sit up and notice. When we have integrity, when our hearts are pure, then we’ll see God. The word that is used here is not a down the road future promise but means that we will see him now and will continuously see him.
PS 24:3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. The pure in heart will know what it is to be in God’s presence!
The promise means that the pure in heart will see God move and work in their lives on a daily basis and we will have that intimate relationship with him that all of us long for. We will have peace. And with that peace comes the next step, we are to be:
c. Peacemakers
Jesus didn’t say peace lovers, he commands that we be peace makers and not only will we be blessed, but we will be called Sons of God. We are to be reconcilers, to put aside our rivalries and competitiveness and to seek to restore relationships that have been hurt and broken. I can remember when I was 10 or 11 and I was fighting with my brother at Delta Lake one summer and things were getting heated up. My best friend Kevin Wheeland jumped in between the two of us and said break it up, and then he asked a question, he said “Aren’t brothers supposed to love each other?” He not only got in the middle of the situation, but he helped us to think about what was going on and what we were doing. He played the role of a peacemaker and helped to restore a relationship. Christ came to bring peace between man and God, He is the Prince of Peace. As we reflect Him in our lives, we are to become peacemakers. God wants us to experience his peace and then to teach that to others by working hard to maintain peace in our lives and in the relationships that God blesses us with.
Jesus has one more step to growth. If you begin to change in these ways, if you get involved as a peacemaker, God’s final blessing will come because you will face persecution.
d. Persecuted
God expands on this one: Read 11-12. We are to rejoice when persecution comes, not because we enjoy it but because we know that we stand for what is right. We live in a society that demands that we are accepting and open to any and every belief. We are taught that all religious roads lead to the same place as long as you have faith. Children are instructed in school that it’s alright to believe whatever you want, but you should never push your views on another. Satan has worked overtime to advance these ideals and the thought of a society where everyone can be right. So, when Christians stand up and proclaim one way, when Christians share their beliefs because of the reality of the destiny of the lost, we are labeled as intolerant, narrow-minded, out-dated, out of touch, and those are just the nice terms. Christianity does not fit in to the worldview that the vast majority of society holds. It’s different. The lives of Christians are to be different, they are to reflect each of the steps of growth that Jesus has taught us in this passage. When something is different, when something sticks out, when something makes people uncomfortable, persecution will follow.
2 Timothy 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, It had been this way since the beginning, Jesus says that we will be treated the same way that the prophets before us were treated when they stood for God in a Godless world. But when persecution for righteousness comes, we will be blessed. And we are to reflect that blessing back to the one who is persecuting us.
RO 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
We are to be different. We are to take Christ’s words to heart and change. Jesus begins his sermon on the mount by sharing what a subject of the Kingdom of Heaven should look like, how they should grow and develop. All the way from the attitude of our spirit, to how we face the persecution that will come. Christianity requires your life.
God’s kingdom is different! For us to be a part of that Kingdom, we need to be different too. I look at a passage like this as essential teaching for this ministry. People have tried to interpret and to explain away what Jesus is saying here. They try to say that it is an archaic teaching for another time and place. I don’t believe that. I believe that as we read that passage, Jesus is saying exactly what He means to say and that it is every bit as relevant for us today as it was for those people gathered around, listening to His words for the first time. Unless God’s people and God’s church begin to look like what He calls us to look like and begin to act how he calls us to act and to think how he calls us to think, unless we do these things, we will never be the people that God desires for us to be and we will never be the church that God wants us to be.
The laws of Jesus’ kingdom are not easy. The church has been entrusted with the Truth of these laws and ordained by God to carry them to the world. We see in Acts, in the story of the first church, the difference God can make through the local church. The local church is the hope of the world. The local church is the hope of the world. You’ll hear me say that often in my time here with you because I believe it with all of my heart. We have the privilege of taking the Gospel to the community and to the world. We have the privilege of being a part of something that’s bigger than ourselves. It’s time that we put away the things that are holding us back and slowing us down, those things that are distracting us from what’s really important. Why is it so important that we are changed by God’s spirit? Because of what Jesus taught next. Read 14-16
We are the light of this world, people’s eternity will be affected but how brightly that light shines or by if it shines at all. There is nothing that is more important than that.
We are to let our lights shine, as individuals and we are to let that light burn bright for all to see as a church. There is nothing that is more worth your time and resources than that. God wants to build this ministry, he wants to enlarge our territory and our sphere of influence, but before He can do that, this church needs people who look like what Christ is preaching here in this passage. This church has to have people that look and act different, according to God’s standard, not man’s. People who aren’t afraid of what others might say or think about us, but only of what God says and what He thinks about us. When we begin to deepen our walk, and that light begins to shine, that’s when the blessing of God comes.
