The Beatitudes
The Sermon On The Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
Blessed - blessed, happy, fortunate
“Makarios then describes that joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life.” (Barclay)
Sermon On The Mount
Jesus is laying out the blueprint of the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus started His ministry preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Well, what exactly is that ‘kingdom of heaven’?
The Sermon on the Mount spells out what that kingdom consists of and what is required for those who want to be a part
Begins with how to be blessed
Blessing is God’s design for us
Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Notice the language is ‘blessed are’, there is certainly future blessing to be had but also an immediate blessing
Character
Character
Being blessed, or happy, is something we are continually seeking. As we covered, we were designed for blessing. The issue is this sinful nature in us tells us the blessed life is different than what Jesus said.
Poor in spirit
Realize the helpless state we are in
When we realize we are in need of saving it moves us to mourning
Mourn
We weep for our circumstance
We weep for the circumstance of the world
As we weep we enter a state of humility
Meek
I am nothing and have nothing
All I have belongs to God
When a child realizes they sleep in peace because you are the one in charge, it opens up a whole new appreciation for what they have and a willingness from the parent to give even more
When we realize everything comes from God, and how good He is, we want even more of Him
Hunger and thirst for righteousness
Seeking after the righteousness of God to our fullest capability
When we satisfied in God’s righteousness we understand how much mercy He has given to us
Merciful
The mercy which we desire to be treated with
A life of mercy leads to a life of purity
Pure in heart
To understand we are poor, brings us to a place of mourning, which instills humility in us, and creates a hunger for the righteousness of God, with the mercy He has shown us we are merciful to others, and seek a pure heart
To earnestly delight in God’s laws
When we are living in such a state, we are makers of peace
Peacemakers
Peace with God is the highest peace
To love God with all our heart, soul, and strength ushers in the peace of God and gives us a wisdom of the Holy Spirit to live in peace with others and help them be at peace with God
If we are ordering our lives in such a way, so countercultural, the world will notice and feel convicted
Persecuted for righteousness’ sake
Persecuted because of righteousness, true righteousness, not persecuted because you’re a jerk
There’s an important and significant difference
So greatly will our life stand out that Jesus mentions being persecuted twice
Reviled and persecuted because of Jesus
Persecuted twice!
Catch this, Jesus is declaring His Lordship
There is a different reaction from the world when the name of Jesus is mentioned
Acts 5:41 “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”
Never shall we be ashamed of the name of Jesus
Every Beatitude requires something of us we don’t want to give, these two are no different, we don’t want to be persecuted and it requires humility and courage in the presence of God
Thus concludes the characters we need and experiences from living according to the Lordship of Jesus Christ
Rewards
Rewards
The Kingdom of heaven
Comforted
Inherit the earth
Satisfaction
Receive mercy
See God
Called sons of God
The Kingdom of heaven
Great heavenly reward
Are You In?
Are You In?
What will your response be?
The path is difficult but the rewards are immense
What a display of salesmanship. “Who wants to be poor in spirit, mournful, persecuted unjustly? Have I got a deal for you!”
Those rewards though!
Is it okay to follow God for the rewards? Yes, but you have to do it right.
One reason Israel was chosen was for their stubbornness to get the rewards, Jacob wouldn’t let go until He was blessed.
There’s no shortcut and there is no backing off to make it more palatable.
If you are unwilling then you are missing it and will continue to miss it
Not everyone is willing
Either your heart yearns for it or it doesn’t
If your heart is yearning for it then let us pursue God with all we have
How now shall we live?
How now shall we live?
An acknowledgement of who we are
An acknowledgement of who God is
An acknowledgement of other people’s value to God
An acknowledgement of the final judgment
Where are you today? Do you think are doing well enough in all these aspects? Then you missed it. What sticks out to you? Where is God tugging on your heart? One of the great things we see from the Beatitudes is that God is always eager to bless and continues to poor His mercy upon us. Let us, with all humility, approach the throne of grace.