Be Blessed - The Beatitudes

Blessings in Disguise

We all want happiness and dread the thought of rain.

When the sun fails to shine, we worry and complain.

We forget that God above is infinitely wise,

and sometimes or ails are blessings in disguise.

For if we're always happy, filled with sunshine and cheer,

our hearts would hold no mercy for others who shed tears.

So when trouble comes knocking, remember to stay strong.

Rainbows always follow the storm and dark clouds never stay long.

The Sermon On The Mount has been long hailed as the sum of all Jesus ethical teachings telling us how to live our Christian lives.  It is often, and properly referred to as the "Declaration of the Kingdom."

The American revolutionaries had their Declaration of Independence; Karl Marx had his Communist Manifesto; and this is Jesus statement or teaching regarding His kingdom.

It presents a radically different manifesto than what the nation of Israel was expecting; it does not present the political or material blessings of the Messiah's reign which the Jews were looking for, Instead, it expresses the spiritual implications of Jesus' rule in our lives: how we are to live when Jesus is our Lord.

 The Character of Kingdom Citizens

Matthew 5:1-2

"And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:"

We notice first, that Jesus is speaking to His disciples; His sermon is directed towards His followers, though others may (and should) hear it.

The first portion of the Sermon On The Mount is know as the Beatitudes, which means "The Blessings" but can also be understood as giving the believer his "be- attitudes" or the attitudes he should "be."

1. Jesus is setting forth both the nature and the aspirations of citizens of His kingdom; they have and are to be learning these character traits.

2. All of these are both marks and goals of all Christians; it is not as if we can major in one to the exclusion of the others.

3. There is no escape from our responsibility to covet every one of these attributes!

The Foundation: Poverty of Spirit

Matthew 5:3

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

1. To be poor in spirit is a man's confession that he is sinful and rebellious and utterly without any moral virtues that are adequate enough to commend him to God.

I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be totally honest:
Do you think more highly of yourself than you ought to?
Do you consider yourself better looking than most?
Do you consider yourself more athletic than most?
Do you consider yourself more intelligent than most?
Do you consider yourself more spiritual than most?
or Do you live your life in a spirit of humility?

2. The poor in spirit are those who recognize that they are devoid of spiritual "assets", they know they are spiritually bankrupt.  Those who are poor in spirit are rewarded: they receive the kingdom of heaven and poverty of spirit is an absolute prerequisite for receiving the kingdom of heaven, because as long as we harbor illusions about our own spiritual resources, we will never receive from God what we absolutely need to be saved.

3. Poverty of spirit is brought about by the Holy Spirit and our response to His working in our hearts.

4. Jesus says that the poor in spirit would be blessed: the idea behind the word is happy, but in the truest, Godly sense of the word, not in our modern sense of merely being comfortable at the moment.

5. Poverty of spirit is placed first for a reason, because it puts the following commands into perspective: they cannot be fulfilled by one's own strength, but only by a reliance on God's power.

The Godly Reaction To Poverty of Spirit - Mourning

Matthew 5:4

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

1. Jesus is not speaking of casual sorrow for the consequences of our sin, but a deep grief over our fallenness before God.

2. Blessed are they that mourn, for what?  Not just anything, but mourning over sin.  Primarily, we mourn for our own ruin and estrangement from God that's a result of our sin.  But also, we mourn the separation sin brings, far beyond the personal consequences.

3. Those who mourn over their sin and sinful condition are promised comfort by God; He brings this grief into our lives as a means, not an end.

The Next Step: Meekness

Matthew 5:5

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

1. In the words Jesus originally used, the meek person was not passive or easily pushed around; the main idea behind the word was strength under control - like a strong stallion who was trained to do a job instead of running wild.

2. To be meek is to show a willingness to submit and work under the proper authority; it also shows a willingness to disregard one's own "rights" and privileges.  It is one thing for me to admit my own spiritual failures, but what if someone else does it for me? Do I react meekly?

3. We can only be meek, willing to relinquish our own rights and privileges because we are confident that God is watching out for us, He will protect our cause - the promise they shall inherit the earth, promises that God will not allow His meek ones to end up on the short end of the deal. This truly is a measure of our trust in Him.

4. Through the first three beatitudes we notice that the natural man finds no happiness or blessedness in spiritual poverty, mourning or meekness; these are only a blessing for those who are new creatures in Christ.

The Desire Of The One Who Has Poverty Of Spirit, Mourning For Sin, And Meekness: Righteousness

Matthew 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."

1. Jesus is speaking of profound hunger, a longing that endures and is never completely satisfied on this side of eternity.

2. We see Christians hungering for many things: power, authority, success, comfort, happiness - but how many hunger and thirst for righteousness?

What Jesus is talking about is a hungering for complete righteousness, not just enough to soothe a guilty conscience. 

3. The promise to those who hunger and thirst in such a way is that they shall be filled; yet it is a strange filling, which both satisfies us as well as keeps us longing for more.

How The Previous Mentioned Character Traits Display Themselves Among Men.

Matthew 5:7-9

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

1. Mercy: Caring and reaching out to help those that are in need, without demanding that they deserve such help.  And if you would obtain mercy - from others, but especially from God - take care to show mercy to others.

2. Pure In Heart: The thought is of straightness, honesty, and clarity; these are people not given to all the world's little stains.
a. The pure in heart receive the most wonderful reward; they shall see God; they shall enjoy greater intimacy with God than they could have imagined.
b. Ultimately, this intimate relationship with God must become our greatest motivation for purity.

3. Peacemakers: This does not describe those who live in peace, but those who actually bring about peace, overcoming evil with good.
a. We accomplish this in one sense, through the spreading of the gospel; God has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).
b. The reward of peacemakers is that they are recognized as true children of God; they share His passion for peace and reconciliation, the breaking down of walls between people.

4. If anything can be said about the character traits described in the Beatitudes is that there is a lack of them in the world today; but if they do not describe the character prized by our culture, we understand that they do describe the character of the citizens of God's kingdom.

The World's Reception Of These Kind Of People: Persecution.

Matthew 5:10-12

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

1. For what sake are these blessed ones persecuted? For righteousness sake - not for their own stupidity or fanaticism.

2. Jesus brings insults and spoken malice into the sphere of persecution; we cannot limit our idea of persecution to only physical opposition or torture.

3. The response of the persecuted is literally, that they should "leap for joy!"  Why?  Because the persecuted will have a great reward in heaven; and because the persecuted are in good company: The prophets before them were also persecuted.

4. Why will the world persecute them? Because the values and character expressed in these Beatitudes are so opposite to the world's manner of thinking.  The life that is blessed under the Beatitudes isn't assertive or self-interested enough for today. Our persecution may not be much compared to others, but if no one speaks evil of you, are these Beatitudes traits of your life?

Those who are poor in spirit are those who recognize their own poverty, in light of who Jesus is.  Poverty of spirit is the opposite of pride.  It causes us to mourn and be meek. When we realize our poverty and weep over it, we begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness.  This leads us to be more merciful. As we recognize our own need for mercy, we begin to show more mercy. This has a cleansing effect on our lives, making us pure.  This enables us to be peacemakers, but some will resent and persecute us for it. 

The Beatitudes demonstrate that the way to heavenly blessedness is directly opposed to the worldly path normally followed in pursuit of happiness. The worldly idea is that happiness is found in riches, parties, material things, leisure, and such. The real truth is the very opposite. The Beatitudes give Jesus' description of the character of true faith.  Where are you at today?

The Best Things In Life Are Free

When we count our many blessings; it isn't hard to see

that life's most valued treasures are the treasures that are free.

For it isn't what we own or buy that signifies our wealth.

It's the special gifts that have no price; our family, friends and health.

God Bless and Press On
Larry