SERMON ON THE MOUNT SERIES Message 3 THE BEATITUDES ...
SERMON ON THE MOUNT SERIES Message 3 THE BEATITUDES ...
SERMON ON THE MOUNT SERIES Message 3 THE BEATITUDES ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Message</strong> for <strong>THE</strong> LORD’S DAY MORNING, January 20, 2013<br />
MESSAGE 3: Living The Salt Life (A Study of Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount)<br />
Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina<br />
by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>BEATITUDES</strong> (Part II)<br />
<strong>Message</strong> 3 in “Living The Salt Life” Sermon Series<br />
(A Study of Jesus’ Sermon on The Mount)<br />
Matthew 5:5-7 (NKJV)<br />
As we continue with our series of messages from Jesus’<br />
Sermon on The Mount, please open your Bibles once again<br />
to the fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel.<br />
In last Lord’s Day’s message, we learned that The Beatitudes<br />
aren’t a description of eight different types of people, but rather<br />
they are eight characteristics of one life…..the life of a true<br />
disciple of Jesus Christ….the life of one who is truly saved.<br />
These eight Beatitudes provide us with the kind of<br />
character Jesus Himself modeled while here on<br />
earth. And as you and I grow and mature in our<br />
spiritual life, these eight characteristics should<br />
become more and more evident in our lives.<br />
Last Lord’s Day, we looked at the first two beatitudes:<br />
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom<br />
of heaven.”<br />
and<br />
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be<br />
comforted.”<br />
In today’s message we are going to be looking at the next<br />
three beatitudes. Before we read our text, let’s ask God’s<br />
blessings on the study of His Holy Word this morning.<br />
***********************************************************************
Let’s pick up the record in verse 5.………..<br />
I. BLESSED ARE <strong>THE</strong> MEEK (v. 5)<br />
v. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”<br />
1. When we think of someone who is “meek” a number<br />
of adjectives come to mind, and none of them are<br />
flattering.<br />
We think of someone who is WEAK…..WIMPY……<br />
COWARDLY……A “PUSH-OVER”…..or A SISSY.<br />
When we think of someone being “meek” we think<br />
of someone who gets bullied…..teased…..picked d…..picked on<br />
……..pushed around……stepped on…..and walked all<br />
over.<br />
2. Certainly if this is what “meekness” is then none of us<br />
would ever aspire to be “meek” would we?<br />
3. Obviously Jesus has something different in mind<br />
when He says, “Blessed are the meek.”<br />
4. The Greek word for “meek” is the word praus.<br />
It is a word that was used by ancient sailors<br />
to describe a gentle breeze. It is a word<br />
used by ancient farmers to describe a broken<br />
colt.<br />
These things describe POWER under C<strong>ON</strong>TROL.<br />
In fact that is a good definition of the word “meek.”<br />
To be “meek” is to exercise power under control.
5. Jesus was the “meekest” man who ever lived.<br />
Would anyone dare say Jesus was weak or wimpy<br />
or cowardly? Not at all!<br />
Jesus displayed meekness in two ways, both of which<br />
demonstrated POWER UNDER C<strong>ON</strong>TROL.<br />
When it came to how He Himself was treated Jesus<br />
practiced neither RETALIATI<strong>ON</strong> or VINDICTIVENESS.<br />
When He was mocked and spat upon, he didn’t respond<br />
in anger, but rather trusted in His Father. When He<br />
was confronted by Pilate, He kept silent. When Peter<br />
denied Him, Jesus restored him to fellowship and service.<br />
When Judas placed the kiss of betrayal on Him in<br />
Gethsemane, Jesus called him “friend.” And when Jesus<br />
was crucified, He pleaded with His Father to “Forgive<br />
those who had done this to Him, because they didn’t<br />
know what they were doing.” That was one side of<br />
Jesus’ meekness.<br />
But when it came to matters of faith and the welfare of<br />
of other people, JESUS WAS A LI<strong>ON</strong>. He rebuked the<br />
Pharisees for their hardness of heart when He healed<br />
the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath day.<br />
(Matthew 12:9-45) He rebuked His disciples when they<br />
tried to prevent the little children from coming to Him.<br />
(Mark 10:13-16) Jesus made a whip and drove the<br />
moneychangers out of the temple. (John 2:14-17)<br />
He called Peter “Satan” when Peter tried to deter Him<br />
from His mission to Jerusalem.<br />
That is “meekness.” That is “power under control.”<br />
6. How do you and I become meek? Only the Holy Spirit<br />
of God can break us and make us meek. If you and I<br />
could produce meekness by our own human effort, we<br />
would be proud of ourselves wouldn’t we? And if we were<br />
proud of ourselves, we would no longer be meek, would<br />
we?
7. You see, because “meekness” is a Christ-like<br />
character, it cannot be produced by SELF-EFFORT,<br />
only by SPIRIT-EFFORT.<br />
When we become “poor in spirit” realizing that<br />
without God we are nothing; and when we<br />
mourn over sin in our own lives and in the world<br />
around us, our hearts become “fertile ground”<br />
for the Holy Spirit to produce a spirit of Christ-like<br />
meekness in us.<br />
8. And what is the reward? Jesus says, “Blessed are<br />
the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”<br />
Now what does that mean? Think of it this way:<br />
The proud and arrogant, who try to inherit as<br />
much of this world as possible through WEALTH,<br />
POWER, or FAME are never satisfied or content.<br />
Those who pursue WEALTH will always want one<br />
more dollar than they have right now.<br />
Those who<br />
pursue POWER will always want more power than<br />
they have right now. Those who pursue FAME will<br />
always want more fame than they have right now.<br />
And in their pursuit to “gain the whole world” they<br />
will forfeit their own soul.<br />
But the “meek” who seek after the things of God<br />
rather than the things of this world are those who<br />
will truly inherit God’s spiritual riches here on<br />
earth that the world knows nothing about.<br />
“Blessed are the MEEK for they shall inherit the earth.”
Let’s move on to the next Beatitude.<br />
II.<br />
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST<br />
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS (v. 6)<br />
v.6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for<br />
righteousness, for they shall be filled.<br />
1. We know what it means to be hungry, don’t we?<br />
“I’m hungry for a big, ‘ol juicy steak!”<br />
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”<br />
“I’m as hungry as a bear!”<br />
And we know what it means to be thirsty, don’t we?<br />
“I’m so thirsty I could die!”<br />
“I’m so thirsty I could drink a gallon of tea.”<br />
2. But living in a land of plenty as we do, none of us has<br />
ever experienced “true hunger” or “true thirst.” I’m<br />
talking about the kind of hunger and thirst that is so<br />
intense it causes pain.<br />
3. When Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger<br />
and thirst for righteousness” he is talking about those<br />
who have an intense, painful hunger and thirst for<br />
the things of God.<br />
4. David wrote a couple of passages in Psalms that<br />
describes the kind of “spiritual hunger and thirst”<br />
Jesus is talking about. In fact, we sing a couple of<br />
praise choruses based on these passages of scripture,<br />
so they should sound familiar to you.<br />
One is found in PSALM 42:1-3 (NKJV) As the deer pants for the<br />
water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts<br />
for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before<br />
God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they<br />
continually say to me, “Where is your God?”
The other scripture is found in PSALM 63:1,2 (NKJV)<br />
“O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul<br />
thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land<br />
where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the<br />
sanctuary, to see Your Power and Your glory.<br />
5. These scriptures are not describing a “take it or leave it”<br />
kind of hunger and thirst. They are describing “a can’t<br />
live without it, must have it no matter the cost” kind<br />
of hunger and thirst.<br />
6. This is the kind of longing that Jesus is describing<br />
in this beatitude. And notice the “object” of the<br />
longing, “righteousness.”<br />
7. What does it mean to hunger and thirst for<br />
righteousness? It means to hunger and<br />
thirst for those things that PLEASE GOD….H<strong>ON</strong>OR<br />
GOD……WORSHIP GOD…..and GLORIFY GOD.<br />
*The world hungers and thirsts for unrighteousness,<br />
the child of God hungers for righteousness.<br />
*The world hungers and thirsts for those things<br />
which are SINFUL…….SHAMEFUL……and SENSUAL.<br />
The child of God hungers and thirsts for those<br />
things which are DECENT…..H<strong>ON</strong>ORABLE……and<br />
PRAISEWORTHY.<br />
8. Do you know what you “hunger and thirst” for<br />
reveals the true nature of your heart. It is possible<br />
for one to put on an outward performance that<br />
looks spiritual, and talk Christian lingo that sounds<br />
spiritual, and yet in his or her heart have no<br />
intense hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God.<br />
9. When we “crave” the things of this world it “curbs”<br />
our appetite for God, for God’s word, and for quiet<br />
fellowship with God. Just like “junk food” curbs your<br />
appetite for nutritious food, “worldliness” curbs your<br />
hunger and thirst for righteousness.
10. If you have little or no appetite for “spiritual things”<br />
stop and think about the things you feed your mind<br />
and heart upon most……the things that consume<br />
a great deal of your time, attention and energy;<br />
and chances are you will find the source of what<br />
has “curbed” your appetite for the things of God.<br />
10. Jesus said, the reward of hungering and thirsting<br />
for righteousness is that YOU WILL BE FILLED.<br />
Only the things of God can truly fill us.<br />
Only the things of God can satisfy the hunger<br />
and thirst of our souls.<br />
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.<br />
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for<br />
they shall l be filled.<br />
Jesus gives us the next beatitude in VERSE 7.<br />
III. BLESSED ARE <strong>THE</strong> MERCIFUL (v. 7)<br />
v.7 “Blessed are the MERCIFUL<br />
CIFUL, for they shall obtain<br />
MERCY.”<br />
1. It has been said, “We behave most like God when we<br />
show mercy to those in need.”<br />
2. Someone who is merciful is “full of mercy.”<br />
Some people are “full of baloney!”<br />
Some people are “full of hot air!”<br />
When one is “merciful” he or she is full of mercy.<br />
3. Mercy is “a compassionate disposition that leads<br />
one to take action to forgive a wrong……..lighten<br />
a burden……or to ease the pain of another.”
4. A “merciful” person is one who is fully conscious that<br />
he or she is an unworthy recipient of God’s mercy and<br />
only by His grace have they been saved.<br />
Do you realize God renews His mercy for you and<br />
me every morning?<br />
Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV)<br />
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,<br />
because His compassions fail not.<br />
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.<br />
Every day is a fresh start, a clean slate, in the eyes of<br />
God. God doesn’t hold yesterday’s sins, failures or<br />
shortcomings against us. His mercies are NEW<br />
every day.<br />
5. Because God is “merciful” to me, I should be<br />
“merciful” towards others.<br />
*When someone has wronged me, I don’t hold<br />
a grudge against them, I forgive them. That’s<br />
what someone who is merciful does.<br />
*When I hear of someone in need, I don’t move<br />
away from them, I move towards them. That’s<br />
what a merciful person does.<br />
*When someone needs help, I don’t ask “why<br />
doesn’t somebody do something?” I ask,<br />
“What can I do?” That’s what a merciful person<br />
does.
6. And the reward? Jesus says, “Blessed are the<br />
merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”<br />
This beatitude is unique in that <strong>THE</strong> REWARD<br />
corresponds exactly to the action it calls us<br />
to.<br />
The reward for BEING MERCIFUL is to RECEIVE<br />
MERCY.<br />
7. What Jesus is telling us is this: “If we have tasted<br />
of God’s mercy towards us, we are obligated to<br />
show mercy towards others. And so long as we<br />
refuse to show mercy towards someone, it will<br />
put a “strain” on our own relationship with God<br />
until we do. Our failure to be “merciful” toward<br />
someone will result God withholding peace from<br />
our mind and heart until we let go of the offence.<br />
8. Jesus gives a classic illustration of this in “The<br />
Parable of The Unmerciful Servant” in Matthew 18.<br />
Remember the man who owed the King a<br />
debt he couldn’t possibly repay? The King<br />
showed mercy towards the man and forgave<br />
him his debt and released him from prison.<br />
On the way home, that man encountered someone<br />
who owed him $16 lousy bucks. Instead of showing<br />
mercy towards him, he had the man thrown into<br />
prison until he paid him the $16 he owed him.<br />
When the King heard about it, He withheld His<br />
mercy from the unmerciful servant and had him<br />
thrown back in jail until he paid back his debt.
9. As recipient’s of God’s mercy, you and I are<br />
obligated to show the mercy of God towards any<br />
one who has wronged us. As much as it may pain<br />
us to do that, Jesus said there is a reward. Blessed<br />
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!<br />
C O N C L U S I O N<br />
As we go through these Beatitudes, perhaps you are realizing<br />
there are certain areas of weakness in your life.<br />
Maybe you believe you aren’t meek enough; that perhaps<br />
there’s too much pride in your heart. And you’re thinking:<br />
“Boy, I need to work harder to become more meek.”<br />
Or maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t hunger and thirst<br />
after righteousness” as I should. And you’re thinking:<br />
I just need to work harder at hungering and thirsting<br />
after righteousness.<br />
Or perhaps you know in your heart you are holding a<br />
grudge against someone and you have not been<br />
merciful towards them. And you’re thinking, “I really need<br />
to work harder at being a more merciful person.”<br />
Listen very carefully! If you have a weakness in one or more<br />
of these Beatitudes, the solution is not to “work harder,”<br />
the solution is to surrender that area of your life to the Holy<br />
Spirit. May our prayer today be this:<br />
Dear Heavenly Father,<br />
By Your Spirit, create within me a spirit of Christ-like MEEKNESS.<br />
By Your Spirit, stir my hunger and thirst for RIGHTEOUSNESS.<br />
And by Your Spirit, create within me a MERCIFUL spirit, like that<br />
of Your Son, Jesus Christ.<br />
In Jesus’ Name, AMEN