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With Eternity’s Values in View

Part 3

by Samuel E. Ward

The BeatitudesMatthew 5:3-12

To read the text version of this sermon, go to

http://www.cbckck.blogspot.com

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Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV2011) 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

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7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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Introduction

Those who witnessed the mighty works of Jesus and heard His teaching must have held within them the hope that He was indeed the promised Messiah. We know they were certainly living in the anticipation of that hope. Many candidates had appeared during the Maccabean period only to be crushed by the foreign power s that kept Israel subjugated. Even John the Baptist was viewed as a possible deliverer. Now there was Jesus. He possessed power, teaching, and authority that came from heaven itself.

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The condition of possessing the kingdom of heaven was repentance—the message of both John and Jesus. Repentance came as a result of recognizing one’s spiritual poverty—to be “poor in spirit.” This characteristic is the hallmark of a true citizen of the kingdom of heaven.

Paul understood well what it meant to be spiritually impoverished.

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Philippians 3:4b-8a (NIV2011) 4b If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8a What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

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He also knew the blessing of accepting the righteousness of Christ as a covering for his own lack of righteousness. He could not could not satisfy God’s demand for absolute holiness on his own merit.

Philippians 3: 8b-9 (NIV2011) 8b I consider them [all confidence in the flesh] garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

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Confronted with the fact of our spiritual poverty due to our sin, this moves us to a felt spiritual brokenness. We should mourn for our own sin and all the grief it brings to others, as well. Hear the words recorded by James as the proper response to sin when it comes to light.

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James 4:7-10 (NIV2011) 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

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Having examined the first blessing of the Beatitudes,

I. Blessed Are Those Who Are Poor in Spirit, Mat 5:3

we address the second.

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II. Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, Mat 5:4

A. It Is God’s Desire to Comfort Those Who Mourn over Their Sin

1. This comfort was a hope for the nation of Israel.

Isaiah 12:1 (NIV2011) In that day you will say: “I will praise you, LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.

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Isaiah 40:1-2 (NIV2011) 1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

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2. This comfort was to be offered by the Messiah.

Isaiah 61:1-2 (NIV2011) 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.

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3. This comfort will one day be fully realized for all the broken-hearted.

Revelation 21:3-4 (NIV2011) 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

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B. It Is God’s Desire to Cleanse Those Who Fall into Sin.

1. This side of heaven, we will always be doing battle against sin. There is no such thing as sinless perfection while we walk this earth.

1 John 1:8 (NIV2011) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

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2. This side of heaven, we will always have a pathway back to forgiveness and cleansing.

1 John 1:9 (NIV2011) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

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C. It Is God’s Desire that We Use Our Bodies as Instruments of Righteousness Rather than Sin.

Romans 6:13 (NIV2011) Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

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D. It Is God’s Desire that We Learn the Value of Godly Sorrow Over Sin So that We May Receive His Salvation and Comfort.

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (NIV2011) 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

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Conclusion

There is no One more sympathetic to the sorrow brought upon us by our sin. No one is more compassionate than He when we bring Him our broken and contrite hearts. No one is more ready to forgive us our every sin. And certainly, there is no One more qualified to bear our sins for us so that we can be delivered from our sin and experience eternal fellowship with God. How do I know? God told me through the prophet Isaiah.

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Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV2011) 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.