The Character of a Christian
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Matt 5:3-12 ““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 gentle, 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 have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
SERIES PROP: God’s people are different
“There is no single paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount in which this contrast between Christian and non-Christian standards is not drawn” - Stott
SERMON PROP: 8 ways Christians are different
Blessed - Privileged recipients of God’s favor. These people are those whom God smiles upon. Not a superficial feeling based off circumstances but a divine blessing. The blessings are secure realities. 8 ways that God blesses the citizens of heaven.
The beatitudes are not requirements to enter the Kingdom but qualities of those already in it.
The beatitudes are supernatural and cannot be attained at birth but are only done by Gods transforming work
Poor
This is the first because it is the key to all that follows - golden chain - all other charateristics are a result of this one. No one in heaven is not poor in spirit
You must first be emptied before you are filled
This proves you cannot simply begin to “do better” as you are
The ‘poor man’ in the Old Testament is one who is both afflicted and unable to save himself, and who therefore looks to God for salvation, while recognizing that he has no claim upon him
to cower or bow-down - describes the posture of a beggar as he held out his cup and pled for coins from passerbyers. beggars were often crippled and completely unable to provide an income for themselves. they lived in absolute dependence on the graciousness of others. Poor in spirit = beggarly in spirit.
This is in stark contrast to the world which says self reliance, confidence, expression YOUR BEST LIFE NOW
The world says the way to success in every category (give scenarios) is confidence
This beatitude is a result of coming face to face with God, if you feel anything else than poor in spirit in the presence of God, then its not god
Isa 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Isa 6 & pharisee and tax colector
Examples in Gideon, Moses, Isaiah, Peter, Paul and JESUS
Poor in Spirit = absence of pride, self assurance, self reliance. Consciousness that we are nothing in the presence of God
Do not rely on or boast in ANY natural means, athleticism, good looks, humor, influence, family, position, intelligence, personality, our style, materials, our morality, our knowledge of scripture- we count it all as DUNG Phil 3:8 “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
The way to be poor in Spirit is to TRULY look to God - you can’t do anything to be poor in Spirit you just become poor in spirit when you see God for who he is and see yourself for who you are
SUMMARY STATEMENT: When individuals recognize their inability to save themselves and cast themselves on Christ in total dependence on Him. He graciously reigns over them as King here and now (easy yoke) and graciously promises them a part in His future kingdom.
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 1. The Poor in Spirit (3)
Thus, to be ‘poor in spirit’ is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty, indeed our spiritual bankruptcy, before God. For we are sinners, under the holy wrath of God, and deserving nothing but the judgment of God. We have nothing to offer, nothing to plead, nothing with which to buy the favour of heaven.
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 1. The Poor in Spirit (3)
As Calvin wrote: ‘He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God, is poor in spirit.
Mourning
Isa 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” THE MOURNING
Isa 61:10 “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” THE COMFORT
Psalm 119:136 “My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your law.”
Psalm 40:12 “For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me.”
Psalm 51:16-17 “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”
Jas 4:8-10 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Rev 7:17 “for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”” ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISE
Mourning shows the sincerity and and intensity NECESSARY for repentance
Greek of Mourn - Deep grief that one felt over the death of a loved one. Refers to intense remorse, not superficial regret, over ones sinfulness and alienation from God.
“Will be comforted” - means God will act to restore the broken relationship and bring the repentant mourner back to complete fellowship with him. Sorrow from exile will be replaced with joy of His presence.
COUNTER-CULTERAL- the world says this beatitude is ridiculous. The world shuns mourning, says forget your troubles, things are bad enough don’t go looking for sadness. In fact they say don’t mourn BE AS HAPPY AS POSSIBLE. The world is designed to avoid mourning by providing pleasure, entertainment and really distraction.
This is ENTIRELY SPIRITUAL, jesus didn't say those mourning over death are happy, because thats natural mourning, this is totally in reference to spiritual mourning over sin
Just like poor in spirit comes before being filled with the HS, so being convicted of sin comes before by saved from it
mourning follows poor in spirit - when we look to God and see His holiness and the life were meant to live. When we see His sacrificial death on our behalf and what our sin caused we become poor in spirit and respond with mourning. Helplessness and hopelessness leads to mourning
ILLUS: Terminal Illness - when you’re in the hospital room and hear the doctor tell the pt of their illness, their prognosis and offer no remedy YOU MOURN - but this mourning is because of the spiritual diagnosis you and I receive when we are confronted with a Holy God.
Christians don’t just mourn over their own sinfulness but the sins of others. He doesn’t hear of the state of the world and scoff and show disgust but he mourns
We must mourn over sin because of God’s absolute hatred towards it and because sin is a stab into the heart of God, it is rebeliousness and arrogance that leads to devestations, sufering, and death
Luke 6:25 “ Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.”
2 aspects of mourning: Mourn our own sin Psalm 51 (unbeliever & believer), Mourn others sin
But look at the complete statement of Jesus “BLESSED are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” People who spiritually mourn are actually HAPPY! Because it is ONLY those who truly mourn that will truly repent and the one who truly repents will most definitely be led to Jesus Christ.
Like night follows the day so joy follows mourning. It is as if those who mourn will wipe their tears from their eyes to see the saviour and comforter. IMMEDIATE
We are comforted because of the hope we have in not just a RISEN Christ but and Exalted one, Jesus acended to heaven and that means he will come again to once and for all defeat satan, sin and death. To make for us a new heaven and a new earth where there is no remnant, no footprint, no fossil of sin, there is no memory of the imperfect world, it is a place of uninterupted perfection and glory in the presence of the exalted Christ. A place of eternal sunshine where their will be no tears. It is at the gates of promised heaven that our mourning will cease. The Christian understand that blessed are those who mourn for the shall be comforted. We are comforted now by our saviours forgivness of sin, his reconciling of us, his relationship to us, his interceding for us and his eternal plan of glory for us.
Christians then are a people who see life seriously and contemplate it spiritually. They do not have to make themselves seem sober minded or seem joyful - they just are as a result of their remorse over sin and their comfort found in Christ.
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 2. Those Who Mourn (4)
the Christian life, according to Jesus, is not all joy and laughter. Some Christians seem to imagine that, especially if they are filled with the Spirit, they must wear a perpetual grin on their face and be continuously boisterous and bubbly. How unbiblical can one become? No. In Luke’s version of the Sermon Jesus added to this beatitude a solemn woe: ‘Woe to you that laugh now.’ The truth is that there are such things as Christian tears, and too few of us ever weep them
Meek/Gentle
Poor in spirit leads to a condition of mourning as we understand our sin and that will lead to meekness
Jews of the time thought of the kingdom of heaven in a political, military and material sense that would use force, power and strength to conquer the world but Jesus says NO NO Christians must be different, my kingdom is different, the meek will inherit the earth.
Here we reach a point that is concerned with our relationship to other people. It is more humiliating because so far we have been confronted with our sinfulness by the holiness of God and the gospel and in light of those we will confess ourselves to be sinner but its much harder to accept when other people say were sinners. And thats whats happening here. So far weve been lookin at ourselves but now others are looking at us.
Meekness = one who feels that he is a servant in relationship to God and who subjects himself to him quietly and without resistance
Psalm 37:11 “But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”
Psalmist describes meek as those who trust, delight, wait for and put their hope in THE LORD
Meekness is not: naturally nice, easy going, non-confrontational - those are biological AND the beatitudes are exclusively spiritual.
ILLUS: Some dogs are born nicer than other dogs, some cats nicer than others - thats not meekness
Meekness comes with great authority, power and strength
Meekness is a true view of oneself expressed in an attitude and conduct in respect to tohers.
Meekness ineveitably follows poor in spirit and mourning over sin
I ALREDY know how bad I really am therfore, No one can hurt me, no one can say anything too bad about me, no one can insult me, in fact they don’t even know the worst parts about me
In a sense we inherit the earth today because the man who is meek is totally satisfied. A meek man is a content man in need of nothing because he sees all things He needs already as his.
In a fuure sense obvioulsy we will inherit the earth because we will return with Christ to reign over and judge the eath, thats what 1 Cor 6 says
We cannot make ourselves meek. Many have tried and always fail. Monks receded from soceity to try to be meek but ended up making money driven montestaries and dressing in luxioriusly clothing and being spirirtually exclusive.
Only the Holy Spirit can humble us, make us poor i spirit, mourn over our sin and make us meek.
APPLICTION: First cry out to the Lord to make you meek by giving you a truly accuracte view of yourself that forces you to humility and meekness.
dont seek retaliation (scenario)
dont be defensive (scenario)
dont be boastful (scenario)
HUNGRY & THIRSTY
This is where the emphasis slightly changes from self examination to solution. From negative to positive.
We are not to hunger and thirst after blessedness/happiness. But that is what most people do and and they never attain happiness.
Happiness should not be sought after directly it is a result of seeking after something else
“Whenever you put happiness before righteousness you will be doomed to misery”
Desire for rightousness = free from sin in all its forms and manifestations
free from sin because it sepreates us
free from the power of sin (which we were formerly under)
free from the desire of sin (more horrible than bondage to sin is liking it)
When we are meek we no longer hunger and thirst after self; self concern, pride, boasting, sensitiveness - we get over ourselves and hunger and thirst for rightousness
H & T means to long to be postively HOLY
Hunger and thirst are not passive feelings BUT DEEP and PROFOUND desires that keep going until they are satisfied. They cause real pain and increases more and more it keeps going until it causes suffering and and agony.
When the prodigal was hungry he ate with the pigs, when he was starving he turned to the father”
Psalm 42:1 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.”
H&T means to be desperate to be starving to feel life fadding and realize my need of URGENT help
BUT these people who are IN THE GREATEST NEED are actaully HAPPY and BLESSED and to be congratulated why because they will be filled
This is the beauty of the gospel, all that is required for you to be filled is that you recognize your need for Him.
Those who hunger and thirst WILL BE SATISFIED - what do we want? rightouness and thats exactly what Cjrist gives us at the moment we belive in Him. He credits his rightousness to our account, he makes us right with God, he fills you with rightousness and it is that filling that leads to happiness
How do I know if I am H&T?
Do you see through your own false rightousness? No one is hungry if they think they already are full
Do you avoid things that are opposed to such rightousness?
avoid sinful things Like the plague
avoid things that are dulling your appetite
things that arent sinful but take up so much of your time that you desire the things of God less
SPOLING APPETIET ILLISYTRAUON
Disicplie yourself to keep this hunger constantlu
we alays find time to do what we want to do, if we H&T we will find time to cosider it
Put yourself in the way of rightounsess (You cannot obtain it or create it but like Bartameaus you can get yourwelf in the right place at the right time)
If you H7T you will never miss a chance to be in a plave where you can find it
small groups, church, youth, sermons online, dinner with belivers
Read the bible and books about the bible
pray - if we wantbsomething we will ask for it
Long to live a godly life like a starving man for his next piece of bread, like a parched tongue for a drop of water
Merciful
Christians are something before they do anything. being is more importatnt than doing, attitude>action
Mercy is a sense of pity and action
To know if your merciful think about when someone as undoubtledy wronged you and theynare then in your power - to you seek to make them pay (feel the consequence) or to you seek to relieve them from the consequnce
Mercy is best exemplified notjust through GOOD SAMARITAN BUT by God sending His son
“They shall recieve mercy” Not that if you are merciful God will be merciful - thats legalism BUT that if you are truly repentant then you will inevitably be merciful REMEMBER THE PARABLE OF THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT
REMEMBER THE SEQUENCE - if you have been humbled and poor in spirit, and undertood and mourned the effects of sin in your own life and in the world at large, have then become meek and defenseless over yourself because you know how bad you really are, and because of that hunger for rightousness and been reconciled to God and recieved the free gift of grace INEVITABLY your view and attirude of others will change.
you will pity and be sorry for those who are in the enslaved state that you were.
BEST EXAMPLE: Jesus on the cross “Forgive them father for they know not what they do”
Not if you are merciful you merit mercy BUT if you are ACTUALLY merciful than you have ALREADY recieved mercy
If you are not mercifu there is only one reason, you havent undertsood the grace and mercy of God, you don’t know Cjrist and you are unforgiven
Pure in heart
The sequence - first 3 provide the need then when we are aware of the need we H&T - and our compleeleu filled and those who have had their need filled will be merciful, pure and peacemakers which will reult in persecutiom
We summit in the 4th and come down the otherside