Sermon Central
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Quest For Blessedness Series
Contributed by Jim Drake on Apr 9, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: People today must understand that God’s standard for blessing is unattainable apart from a miraculous work of grace in their lives.
1. Jesus requires the attitude of blessedness
a. Mourn (5:4)
b. Meek (5:5)
c. Merciful (5:7)
d. Maker of peace (5:9)
2. Jesus requires the essence of blessedness
a. Poor in spirit (5:3)
b. Pure in heart (5:8)
3. Jesus requires the evidence of blessedness
a. Pursuit of righteousness (5:6)
b. Persecution for righteousness (5:10-12)
If you ask parents today what they want most for their children, most of them will tell you one thing. They want them to be happy. The sad thing is, it is a futile quest. The more a person seeks happiness, the harder it is to find. The kind of happiness the world seeks, ends up being nothing more than a fleeting emotion. It is the kind of happiness that tries to cover up the pain and emptiness of our lives with entertainment, diversion, and distraction. That kind of happiness is fleeting, like a vapor. But there is a deeper kind of happiness. A kind of happiness that doesn’t come from ourselves, or the world. It’s a supernatural happiness that can only come from one Source—God Himself. Happiness that is given to us by God is more than just an emotion. It’s a blessing from God. So, this morning, our quest should not be a quest for happiness. We don’t need to be on a quest for something that is here today and gone tomorrow. Our quest needs to be a quest for something forever. Something given to us by God. A quest for blessedness. As we look deeper into these words of Jesus, I want each of us to begin a true quest for blessedness this morning. In order to do that, we’re going to look at Jesus’ three requirements for blessedness. As we look through these Beatitudes, we can see that four of them relate to a person’s attitude. That tells us that Jesus’ first requirement is an attitude of blessedness. The world tells us we need to have the attitude that we’ll do whatever it takes to have the edge—to reach the top. A winning attitude—that’s what it takes. Winner takes all—second place is the first loser. Isn’t it ironic that the first attitude that Jesus talks about is an attitude of mourning? Look with me in verse 4:
We think of mourning when we think of the terrible grief of losing a loved one. Not when we think of blessing. But Jesus wants us to have an attitude of mourning. He wants us to mourn over the results of sin. Remember that Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus before He raised Him from the dead. Jesus was mourning the fact that death was a result of the original sin. He wants us to mourn over the consequence of sin. The fact that we all know many people who, if they died tonight, would spend an eternity in Hell should make us mourn. But He also wants us to mourn over our own sin. Every time we sin, it grieves the very heart of God. If it grieves Him, don’t you think it should make us mourn too? But not only are we supposed to mourn, verse 5 tells us to have an attitude of meekness. Look with me to verse 5:
The original word for meekness was used to describe a wild animal that had been tamed. A horse has all the same strength of a wild mustang. But that mustang becomes meek when it submits itself to the full control of the master. It becomes useful. In the same way, we are blessed when we submit ourselves to the full control of Jesus Christ. His full control means giving up ours. Jesus showed us this when He told the Father, “Not My will, but Thine.” And He willingly gave up His life as a blood sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. That’s meekness. An attitude of meekness is allowing ourselves to be weak so God can show Himself strong. We are to have an attitude of mourning and meekness, but we are also to have an attitude of mercy. Look at verse 7
The kind of mercy Jesus is talking about is the kind of mercy He showed to people. Think about it. As he hung on the cross, He looked down at the one who hammered the nails in His hands. He looked down at the ones who cast lots for His clothes. He looked down at the ones who mocked Him and spit on Him and plucked out His beard. He looked down at all of them and what did He say? He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He could have immediately called a legion of angels for His defense. But He didn’t. He showed mercy. He showed an attitude of mercy to those who had hurt him the most. That’s what mercy is. It’s showing mercy to those who least deserve it. To those who have hurt us the most. Mourning, meekness and mercy. We are also to have an attitude of making peace. Look at verse 9:
