All right, well, good morning. It's certainly a pleasure again to be here today to share with you a message from the Word of God. And I hope that you will be blessed by hearing the Scriptures today. I wanna continue in my theme of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
And today, I wanna share with you the words from Matthew chapter five, what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. In about three weeks from today, God willing, I plan to be at the Sea of Galilee. I plan to be in Israel three weeks from today and spend about three weeks going through the land and meditating on the Scriptures and enjoying the Word of God. And I enjoyed the study so much, I thought I would take a personal field trip.
So I'm gonna bring back to you lots of pictures and lots of things that I have enjoyed, and hopefully we can all enjoy them together. So the Sermon on the Mount, I would like to start by saying this, we have already established that the historical Jesus is the eternal God who became flesh, the eternal God who became flesh, and that is incarnation. John chapter one, we read those words and we studied that truth, that in the beginning he was with God, he was God and he became flesh, and he actually dwelt among us. Jesus Christ is the eternal God.
Can you go to the next slide? Secondly, we've already established that he is sinless in his humanity. This is essential for him to be the Savior. We did that study in Matthew chapter four on the temptation where Jesus was tempted in every way, like as we are, yet apart from sin, no sin in him.
The last time that I spoke, we presented to you that Jesus Christ is the anointed Messiah, the sent one of God. And we looked at the fact that he is the healer of broken hearts, he is the emancipator of captives, he is the Savior of the world. So now that we have established who he is, where he came from and why he came, I wanna ask this question today. What was his message?
What was the message that the eternal God came to earth with, sent by God, to communicate to humanity? What was his message? Today I want to begin to share with you the teaching of Jesus Christ. What's commonly called the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes.
Matthew chapter five to chapter seven is really the Sermon on the Mount. This is the first of five blocks of teaching that you get in Matthew's Gospel, wrapping it up in chapter 24 with the all of it discourse, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus gave a masterful exposition of the law and he exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. And he finishes this passage with a call to personal faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Matthew chapter five, verse one to 16, we're gonna read it in a moment. But I'd like to say this, the teaching of Jesus Christ was unprecedented. Something that was never heard before, it was actually unearthly. Literally, it is because his kingdom was of another world.
And that's why he spoke of the kingdom of heaven, not the kingdom of earth, but the kingdom of heaven. Jesus baffled the minds of the people in that day. Why? He spoke with authority.
And yet his words were seasoned with grace. He taught in parables. He spoke of paradoxes that really were foreign to their culture. He talked about things that were counterculture.
The religious leaders totally rejected him because he exposed them and he was a threat to the power that they had over the common people. But what about the multitudes? They were amazed at him and they followed him. And this is what they said, no one ever spake like this man.
Because Jesus Christ is the eternal God that came in the flesh. I've entitled this message today, the pursuit of blessedness. We're gonna read it together. Matthew chapter five verse one to 16.
Could you go to the next slide? In case you don't have your Bible with you, it's right up here on the screen. Seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain and he sat down, his disciples came to him. 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 the sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And 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. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except it be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
You are the light of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand and it gives light to all that are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so they may see your good works and give glory to your Father that is in heaven. It says that when Jesus saw the multitude, he went up into the mountain and he began to teach. The pursuit of blessedness.
This word blessed is given nine times in this passage. I did a study on what this word actually means and it's more than what meets the eye. This word blessed in its context means more than just happiness. It means to be enriched in the soul.
It is more than just a surface emotion. It is a deep sense of wellbeing, divinely bestowed upon the soul. It is the fruit of spiritual character. Do you know that Jesus said in John chapter 14, the night that he was gathered with his own and he was being betrayed and he was about to go to the cross, some of the last words that Jesus said to his disciples were these.
He said, if a man loved me, he will keep my words. And then he said, and my Father will love him. And we will come unto him and make our home our dwelling place with that person who loves God and keeps his words. Today I present to you the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the challenge for all of us is, do we love God? Are we keeping his words? This is an incredible standard that humanly speaking, none of us would naturally be able to keep. And yet when we know God, and when we are empowered by the Spirit of God, amazing truth is this, you and I can actually be like God in character.
I challenge you today as I challenge my own heart with these words, the words of Jesus Christ. Can you go to the next slide? Blessed are the poor in spirit. What does this mean?
What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Well, first of all, I'd like to say, it's the opposite of the way the world thinks today. Most people are lifted up in pride. In fact, the world and society that we live in today, they celebrate pride.
Jesus said blessed, enriched in the soul. There's a divine blessing upon every person who is poor in spirit. It is the opposite of self-sufficiency. It is to have a deep sense of humility.
It is to recognize one's utter spiritual bankruptcy before God in themselves. It is to be conscious of one's lost condition before God. To have a heart like this is to be prepared to receive Christ. And every person that has a spirit that is repentant is prepared to receive Christ.
And when you receive Christ, you will experience the kingdom of heaven. Could I stop and ask us all today? Are you poor in spirit? You see, a person cannot be poor in spirit without divine illumination.
We cannot even understand our lost condition, our guiltiness before God until we are brought into an understanding of the light of God's word, shining on our conscience that shows us who we are, what we are, and what condition we are in. And it's actually a blessedness to see yourself the way God sees you. There is a spiritual enrichment with knowing that before God, I am just a broken human being that has nothing to offer God, I am poor in spirit. That person is going to be blessed by God.
And then he says, blessed are those who mourn. These are so counterculture to the world in which we live. Do you know what Jesus is doing? I will say this, right here in this passage, Jesus is laying the groundwork to teach salvation by grace alone through faith.
That is a fundamental truth of the Bible. There is none of us that deserve anything from God. We are broken, sinful human beings that are poor in spirit, bankrupt, nothing to offer God. And that's why Jesus Christ came into the world.
You'll know this verse, and the background of this truth gives new meaning to this verse. This is a faithful saying. Worthy to be accepted by all that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Blessed are those who mourn.
You know, when I studied this, I was a little bit surprised at really what this means. It means to mourn over sin. The sin that is seen all around us and in our very own hearts. Could I say this?
This is a hallmark of every true Christian, to hate sin and to love righteousness. Do you hate sin? I'm not saying do you sin. I know you sin.
I sin too. In fact, John said, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not his. But if you are a true Christian and you want to serve God, when you sin, there will be a strong hatred of your own sin. There will be almost like a, you will detest sin because the spirit of God is in you.
And that light that is in you, wrestles with the darkness of sin and the flesh. Jesus said, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. You know what this is? This is to have a godly sorrow that leads to repentance.
In 2 Corinthians chapter seven and verse 10, Paul wrote about this. He said, there is a godly sorrow that produces repentance. What did Jesus see when he came to this earth? You know what he saw?
He saw a broken world of sin and destruction. He saw a world that had been devastated by the consequences of sin. All around him were people that were sick and diseased and lepersed. And then he saw this category of religious Jews that were dominating the common people and in promoting their own self-righteousness.
And he saw their hypocrisy. And Jesus said to these people, blessed are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. Did Jesus mourn? He sure did.
You see, in Matthew chapter 17, when the disciples are trying to cast out the demon of this young boy and they can't do it. And Jesus comes down and he looks at this awful young man that had just been so torn apart by this demon throwing him on the ground and just his life was a disaster. And the disciples are looking at the Lord and they say, why can't we cast out this demon? And what does Jesus say?
How long shall I suffer this generation? He was mourning. He was distraught at what sin had caused and the blindness and unbelief of a broken world that was all around him. How about when Jesus stood at the grave of Lazarus?
The one whom he loved was dead four days buried in a tomb and his body was corrupting. And Jesus says, take me to the tomb, roll away the stone. And the Jews are there and he saw what sin had done to this one whom he loved. You know what it says?
Jesus wept. He had compassion. He was mourning. It says he literally groaned in his spirit when he saw what sin had done in this world.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. What does it mean to experience this comfort? Could I make a suggestion to you? I think of what this means in this passage.
Is it means to have the comfort of the forgiveness of sins and to have peace with God? Could I ask you all a question today? Do you have the forgiveness of your sins? Do you have the personal comfort of God in your soul, knowing that you are right with God?
That if I lay my head on my pillow tonight and I never wake up again, I will be with Jesus Christ forever. My sins are forgiven. I have peace with God. Can I tell you there's nothing more valuable than that in this entire world?
Nothing to have peace with God. To have the comfort of knowing your sins are forgiven. How does it come? It starts with a mourning over sin.
When we see what sin has done in this world, in this city, in our families, in my very own heart, I need to mourn over sin. And I need to enjoy the comfort that God has given me in the forgiveness of my own sins. And I need to share it with others. Next slide, please.
And then Jesus says, blessed are the meek. Isn't this so counterculture? Do you know what corporate America says? Stamp on the meek.
Destroy the weak. You got a competitor that's about to go out of business? Put him under. Write him off.
You got somebody that's staggering? Finish him off. No. How about the Pharisees that are probably so aggravated by this point, listening to the message of Jesus?
He's telling the common people, blessed are the meek. And they're probably thinking, when will this guy be quiet? He's driving me crazy. Jesus says, blessed are the meek.
What is this? This is more than just gentleness. This is the opposite of being out of control. We live in a world of people that are out of control, out of control in so many ways.
Jesus said blessed are the meek. And the meek are those who have the power of strength that is harnessed. Meekness is seen like no other in the person of Jesus Christ. You know what Jesus said?
Matthew chapter 11 and 28, he said, come unto me. All ye that are weary, heavy burdened with the cares of life, the burdens of sin, the unrest in this world. Jesus said, come unto me. I will give you rest.
Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart. And you will find rest unto your souls. Blessed are the meek. This is seen in the person of Jesus Christ, like no other person that ever walked the face of this earth.
Jesus at any moment could have destroyed the world. Yeah. He holds the power of all things in his hand currently. Your breath, the heartbeat that is beating within your chest, is a gift from God he controls life.
He breathed into man's nostrils of breath of life, and man became a living soul. And at the moment that he stops your breath, you're gone. He is the controller of all things. And yet, when he came into this world, he stood in the face of false accusation, while his soldier slapped him in the face.
And he said, why did you smite me? The king of the universe. He could have destroyed that man instantly. He stood there while men blindfolded him, beat him with a rod, prophesied in Micah, that they will smite the king of Israel with a rod.
He was flogged with the cat of nine tails, scourged, spit upon. They bowed the knee in mockery. They punched him. They nailed him to the cross.
And in meekness, he said this, father, forgive them. They know not what they do. There was no one meek like the Lord Jesus. But these are the words of God.
And there is a special blessing offered to every person even today that is willing to follow the path of Christ. He said, blessed are the meek. God will grant them an inheritance. How do we know?
Psalm 25 and 12 says, the man that fears the Lord, his soul shall dwell at ease, and his dependence will inherit the earth. Psalm 37 and 11, it is the meek that will inherit the earth. There was a special blessing connected with Israel that we're looking forward to that day in the kingdom. When the Millennium reign of Christ, the Jews, that have turned back unto the Lord in repentance and in belief in Jesus Christ, they will literally inherit the earth.
How about every believer today? Do you know what you can say today if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? You can say these words in Psalm 23 and 6. Ah, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. There is no greater blessing than spiritual blessing. There is no greater joy than to be right with God and to have a heart that is in tune with the very heart of God and to have a spirit that is united to the spirit of Christ. These are beautiful, profound, deep words with incredible truth and promise.
The meek, he will grant an inheritance. What are you thirst for? What are your desires? You ever ask yourself that question?
You know what we wrestle with? We wrestle with the lust of the flesh. Every one of us, I know you do. You say, how do you know?
Because I know myself. We're all the same. We learned that this morning. We are all the same.
We have a thirst. It's called the lust of the flesh. And you know what it does? We think we want sin and pleasure.
And when we get it, it hurts us. And the more we do, it destroys us. And the farther we go, it actually will kill us. And yet we drink sin like poison.
We think it's like water, Jesus said. Counter culture to everything you've ever heard in your life. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. For they shall be filled.
They shall be satisfied. There are pleasures in this world, no doubt. But you know what? The pleasures in this world will never satisfy.
It'll just keep you thirsty for more. And the more you do, the more you want. It's just like an addiction. And you keep going back and it keeps hurting you.
Jesus is a chain breaker. He is the one who breaks all the vices, all the addictions, and he satisfies the soul. Could I ask you honestly, do you know him? Do you know this truth?
Have you experienced it between your own heart and God? Blessed are those enriched in the soul. Are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. For they shall be filled.
What does it mean to hunger and thirst after righteousness? Jesus said in John chapter six and verse 35, I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never hunger. And the one who believes in me will never thirst.
This would have been a big blow to the Pharisees, whose whole life was built on establishing their own righteousness. And yet their very own righteousness condemned them. And Jesus said, you are blessed in your soul if you seek the righteousness of God that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. They will be filled.
Blessed are the mercyful. This is literally a characteristic of God. He is a God who shows mercy. In fact, that's why he came as a father pity of his children.
God sent his son into the world to show us mercy. Mercy. There are five times in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Hosea, five times in the Old Testament where God says, I will show mercy. And the Pharisees, they never got it.
Jesus said to them one day, he said, go study what this means. I will show mercy. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Go study that and see what it means.
God is a God who wants to show mercy. It's a deep sense of compassion, to exercise pity to the less fortunate. You know how it's demonstrated? In the parable of the Good Samaritan.
You remember that parable in Luke chapter 10, don't you? When everybody else had just walked to the other side, here's a man beaten, robbed, wounded, lying in the ditch half dead. And everybody's got nothing to do with him. But the Good Samaritan, the despised one, comes right where he is, lifts him up, pours in oil and wine, bandages him up, and takes him to the end.
That is a picture of what Jesus Christ did when he came to this earth. Folks, we're the broken. We're the wounded. We're the ones that are robbed and half dead and lying in the ditch.
And Jesus came to show mercy, to lift us up. What does he say in Ephesians two? But God, who is rich in mercy, with his great love. Wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins and in trespasses, for by grace are you saved through faith, believing what God says.
Could I ask you all again? Have you all experienced this mercy? There's nothing like it. It's an ocean.
And you know what we do? We get a little drop now and then. When we come to the shores of God, we deserve nothing. And yet he shows us mercy.
He bountifully, in deep compassion, displays the heart of God to a world of lost sinners. And he gives them mercy. God says, Jesus says, blessed are the mercy full, for they shall be shown the mercy of God. Are you quick to show mercy?
I gotta speak to my own soul. Sometimes I'm so busy, distracted with so many other things in my life, I'm pressing on. There's somebody over here that needs mercy. Do I stop?
I gotta confess to you, my wife is so much better at this than I am. To stop and show mercy to someone. This is why Jesus Christ came. To show mercy to a world of broken sinners.
And there's a blessedness and enrichment in the soul when we are willing to be like Jesus Christ and she'll mercy to others. I love this next one. Blessed are the pure in heart. What's in your heart?
If every one of us all knew each other's hearts today, would we be embarrassed? I think that I would have to say we all would be slightly embarrassed. Because what is naturally in our hearts is what Jesus said. Matthew and in Mark, he said it twice over.
That the heart of man is filled with evil thoughts, sexual immorality, anger, pride, wrath, all of these things that are in our hearts. And Jesus said this, Ah, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall seek God. What does it mean to have a pure heart? I would tell you this, it's very, very, very challenging.
Very challenging in 2019 to have a pure heart. It means to have unmixed motives, to have a single eye. I don't know if you live in the same world that I live in, but I'll tell you guys, it's crazy. The media, this crazy little phone in our pocket, the internet, the TV, the movies, Netflix, everything that is all around us is anti-God.
Takes us away from the purity that God has for us. It defiles us. And Jesus said, blessed are the pure in heart. What does it mean to have a single eye?
Jesus said in Matthew 6 and 22, Sermon on the Mount, have a single eye, focused on one thing. Why? Because the eye is the light to the soul. You look into somebody's eyeball, and you stare at them, eye to eye for a number of seconds.
What's in their heart? You and I can't tell. But Jesus Christ, God incarnate, looked into the eyes of men, and he knew their very thoughts, he knew their heart, he knew everything about them, their past, their present, their future, all their motives. And he looked into the eyes of many people, and he spoke truth to them.
Jesus said, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. It means to have a single desire to walk with God, to lead a blameless life, to have a tender conscience, to be without guile, to be without deceit, nor envy or malice, harbored in the heart. It means to have your life fixed on pleasing God. What a blessedness, what an incredible promise that is attached to this.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for these ones shall see God. Let me give you some incredible examples of men that had pure hearts, men, humans, just like you and I, men that had pure hearts. You know what the result of their lives were? They saw God.
Let me give you one example, Enoch. Enoch walked with God in a perverse world. Enoch walked with God. He had this testimony that he pleased God.
Job, you know what it says about Job? He was upright in all his ways. He was blameless. He loved God and he turned away from evil.
He astute evil. He was a very assault to Satan. Satan was baffled by this man. How could this man live such a pure blameless life?
Satan said, I want to destroy him, because he's not bowing to my temptation. And you know the story of Job. The end of Job, he saw God. How about Daniel?
Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. He wouldn't bow down. He would live for God in a perverse nation. He saw God.
An angel actually came down to Daniel, put his hand on his shoulder and said, Daniel, you are well beloved by God. He had a pure heart. Nathaniel, you know what it says about Nathaniel? There is no deceit, no guile in this young man in Nathaniel.
Simeon. Simeon was a devout man that waited, waited to see God. And one day he took that little baby up in his arms. And he said to God, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation.
He saw God. Stephen. Stephen was a man who stood for principle, and he taught truth. He was a man who was blameless, and he had a pure life.
He saw God. He was stoned to death for the stand that he took. And yet God opened the heavens for him to see into the very presence of God. He saw God.
Here's the truth with us. Blessed are the pure in heart. Do you know what? I want to have a pure heart.
But I will tell you that often I don't. And it's a struggle. But God says there is a profound blessing. On everyone who pursues a life of single heartedness to serve God, follow God.
They will see God. You'll see him in the scriptures. And you'll experience his presence with you if you have a pure heart. Blessed are the peacemakers.
Let's go to the next line. Those who actively intervene to make peace. They create the means of unity. This is Godlike.
Unity is Godlike. Division is Satanlike. Those who are peacemakers who create unity are like God. What's the greatest example of this?
You know it. It is Jesus Christ when he died upon the cross. He became the ultimate peacemaker. Colossians 1 and 20.
He made peace through the blood of his cross. He took the punishment for our sins. He stood before a righteous holy God. And he took the punishment for my sin, for your sin, for the sins of the whole world.
He made propaciation for the sins of the entire world. He gave his life to be the ultimate peacemaker. Do you want your way to make peace? We should.
But here's the greatest question that any one of us need to answer in this life. How can I make peace with God? I will tell you the answer according to the scriptures is to surrender your life to him in humility with a contrite heart and accept his sacrifice at the cross as the very means of satisfying God once for all time on account of your sins. What a blessedness.
Blessed are the peacemakers. Here's the blessing attached with that. They shall be called the children of God. When you have peace with God, you are a child of God and you're brought into incredible blessings.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you falsely because of me. Here's the key phrase there on account of me. Suffering for the sake of Christ carries a blessing from heaven.
Peter said suffering for righteousness was well pleasing to God. Jesus said this in John 15. Don't be surprised if the world hates you. They will hate you.
They will persecute you. They hated me. They persecuted me. And he said, don't be surprised.
It will happen. But in Luke 6 and 22, Jesus said if this happens to you, rejoice in that day. Leap for joy. That's exactly what it says.
Leap for joy because great is your reward in heaven. I'm gonna wrap it up with two thoughts. Jesus said you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world. That is your purpose and my purpose as a child of God in this world to be salt and to be light.
What does it mean to be salt? I think it's speaking of the power of a spirit filled life in a world of darkness, in a world of perishing souls. It's effectiveness. Salt is used for preservation of perishable goods.
Are you? Are I making an impact on the souls of men? Or have we lost our saltiness? You know, when you go to the Dead Sea and you, it's an incredible experience and you reach down and you pick up a handful of salt.
It's actually mixed with a lot of minerals. So there's pure salt, there's gypsum, there's minerals and there's dirt. That's all in that. These people would have known exactly what Jesus was saying because in their culture, they would take bags of this and before they had refrigerators, they would pack it around their perishable goods.
And after a while, the salt would evaporate and all that would be left would be dirt, minerals, things that were good for nothing. I think that Jesus is given the analogy of a spirit filled life as salt versus living in the flesh and a carnal life that's just dirt, that's just minerals. Do you know what they did after that salt was used? They would actually dump it out in the street, people would gather it up and they would pack it down and make roads with it.
That's what he says. So it's like, if the salt has lost its saltiness, it might as well be just thrown out of the street, trampled down. Could I encourage you today? If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, don't lose your saltiness.
Be focused on living for God. Be a light in this world. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. And then later in chapter nine and five, he said, as long as I'm in the world, I am the light of the world.
Here he says, you are the light of the world. Light in the Bible stands for an attribute of God. To have light is to have guidance, direction, and discernment. To walk in darkness is to follow sin and Satan.
Light also speaks of truth. To be light is to live like God and speak truth. Live like God and speak truth. That's what God wants us to do.
And so let your light shine before men. You know, Warren's gonna speak next week and I'm sure he's gonna encourage you to witness for God and share your faith. There's a great joy to go out in the streets in the public environment and preach the name of Jesus Christ and let your light shine and share the gospel. What a tremendous blessing that's associated with that.
And here is the truth that God has for us. We are in this world to make a difference, to be salt and to be light. May God help us to be blessed by the words of Jesus Christ and to be active in living our lives in such a way that we make a positive impact in a world of perishing souls for Christ. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you for this time together that we can share the word of God. We thank you Lord for the tremendous truth that Jesus taught when he came as a light into a dark world. I just pray that you would bless us today, encourage us Lord, help us to go away with the determination in our soul to devote our lives to serving God, to be empowered by the spirit, to live in the spirit and produce the fruit of the spirit and that these things that we've heard today, that each one of us would be encouraged by them. Bless us today and take us to our homes and safety later and help us to enjoy this week and to live a victorious triumphant life.
In the person of your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we ask in his name, Amen.