I find it interesting and so like God that when our pastors went on a sermon planning retreat last Fall and planned out the series that we would do this year, that we chose this series for this time. God was certainly in the timing of this series. God knew what would be going on in our country and in our culture at this time. There are several things going on that you might find yourself at odds with our culture or with others. Jesus teaches us, no matter what your position is on those things, HOW to respond, HOW to behave. What our attitudes should be. If we will understand and put into practice His words in our lives, you will be amazed at the difference it will make. Our bottom line for the whole series is this:

LEARNING TO WALK IT OUT FROM THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Let’s get started.

Jesus recognized that He had a crowd of people gathered, paying attention to what He had to say and He chose to address culture and the way our natural culture clashes with His Kingdom of God culture. The reality is that each of us are called to be kingdom bringers, bringing a counter-culture to the world that we live in.

This teaching is FOR the FOLLOWER of CHRIST. If you are NOT “IN CHRIST”, much of this may sound foolish, undesirable and impossible. But, as we are about to find out, Jesus says that this is the BLESSED LIFE! It is the ideal of the Christian life. It is truly COUNTER CULTURE!

THE BEATITUDES CALL US OUT OF OUR ME-ATTITUDES

Even if you are not a Christ follower, you have heard some of the things Jesus says in this sermon. Listen to how he starts off his teaching.

We are going to look at each statement in just a moment, but first, let’s examine the word “BLESSED”.
Blessed is the opposite of the pronouncement that Jesus gave the Pharisees’…of WOE. It means “fortunate is or happy is.” The word is used at times as synonymous with rich, but in this case it is the symbol of a happiness that is identified with godly character. Now, let’s take a look at each statement.

Vs. 3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Poor, here is a recognition of the want, need and helplessness in relation to the soul. All people are, by nature, poor in this way. But many are a long way from being ‘poor in spirit’, because they lack the recognition. In fact, Jesus, in a message to a church in Laodicea says of them.

In order to receive you have to recognize your need. When we recognize HOW poor we are spiritually, HOW desperately NEEDY we are spiritually, then we receive His kingdom. It’s like the old chorus:

I need thee oh I need thee
Every hour I need thee
Oh bless me now my savior
I come to thee

Vs. 4 flows with verse 3 – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

In addition to recognizing their need, they mourn over their past sins. This is a truly repentant heart. Not sorry they ‘got caught’ but deeply sorry for their actions. Have you ever messed up in a major way and you kept asking yourself, “How could I be so stupid?” That is this person, except they are not commiserating to themselves. They are mourning to God. There is a deep feeling of how far short they fall on their own. It is like when the apostle Paul lamented in Romans 7 – “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?”

There is this deep knowing that they didn’t earn anything or deserve anything good, but that they deserved the wrath of God.

One commentary said, “To feel and to lament their need of these things, is ALL the qualification that God requires for the reception of them.” To those who are unaware of their need, He will give nothing, but to the humble and contrite He will give more than they can ask or think.

THE BEATITUDES CALL US OUT OF OUR ME-ATTITUDES

Next verse.
Vs. 5 – “Blessed are the meek,for they will inherit the earth.”

This is a verse that every man dreams about I’m sure. To be described as meek would not be considered a compliment by many. Too many have equated ‘meek’ as ‘weak’ or ‘passive’ or ‘mild’ but that isn’t the meaning at all. A better definition is “Strength under control”. Think of a horse that has been broken and trained. Listen to this quote from an article on Abraham Lincoln:

“Its young men gone to death or in prisoner-of-war camps far in the North, its heartland in ashes, and its agriculture and industry destroyed, the South, in 1865, was shattered. Postwar poverty, and a deep sense of shame and defeat gripped the states of the former Confederacy with economic and psychosocial depression.

The Army and the congress wanted the conquered rebel states occupied, gutted and forever stripped of full participation in the republic. Lincoln, as war-weary as any, with as great a reason for vengeance as they, would have none of it. With the power to punish them bitterly or even to return slavery for slavery, Lincoln longed instead to return the wayward safely to the fold.

Only his meekness, his refusal to use his power in unrestrained vengeance, saved the South and the nation from a postwar nightmare even worse than it was. Long known for his honesty, Lincoln proved the depth of his character with meekness. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln boldly called on Americans for healing love:

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

The greatness of the powerful is made manifest in restraint, and meekness is the virtue of the victor, not the vanquished. Misunderstood by many, meekness is often thought to be only for the weak-sister types. Nothing could be further from the truth. Meekness is the supreme virtue of leadership without which power becomes tyranny. Meekness is power under control.”

For the Christian meekness isn’t his natural personality but a result of his relationship with Christ. He has become a new man. The other people in his life see and feel the difference.
· As a husband, he is more tender
· As a wife, more gentle
· As a boss, more kind
· As a member of society, more engaging
· As a tweeter on Twitter, more grace-filled

When we react in the flesh, it’s like the person who has a fever. Every posture is painful, every food undesirable, every effort troublesome… So too an impatient, fretful man, everything becomes a source of trouble.

The man that is TRULY meek, cuts off, instead of multiplying, occasions of pain. By kindness and courtesy he disarms his adversary, and ‘by his soft words, he turns away wrath.’

My favorite definition of meekness is this: “Velvet covered steel”, which means, he is strong but soft. Another I have seen is this, “Strong enough to crush, gentle enough to hold.” Men, let’s make meekness the best compliment!

THE BEATITUDES CALL US OUT OF OUR ME-ATTITUDES

Matthew 5:6 – NIV - “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

MSG – “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.”

Hunger and thirst express deep longing, a deep desire. It reminds me of a statement I’ve shared on a few occasions that I love. I saw it on a conference center sign once. It simply said, “What you feed grows!” That is SO true! When you hunger and thirst for God, for His righteousness, you will be filled.

Matthew 5:7 – NIV – “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Mercy = “not receiving punishment or consequence.” So, to be merciful, is to choose to not punish, to not extend consequence to others.

This was illustrated well in the story that Jesus told, in the Bible, of the unmerciful servant who was forgiven a huge debt, but instead of passing that ‘mercy’ on to someone else, he threw them in prison. That is what Jesus says we are doing when we receive such great mercy and don’t extend it to those who have hurt us.

Matthew 5:8 – NIV – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Purity of heart may be thought of as the opposite of hypocrisy. The motives of the person are pure. It does not mean “without sin”. It means that they are not attempting to serve the world and God at the same time. They have secured their hearts in God. They shall see God implies face-to-face contact with the living God.

Matthew 5:9 – NIV – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

We are not called to try to argue people into the kingdom of God. We aren’t called to beat them up intellectually or call other people names. We are called to be PEACEMAKERS. We are never to seek conflict or be responsible for it. On the contrary, we are called to peace, we are to actively pursue peace.

Hebrews 12:14 – NLT - “Work at living in peace with everyone”
“Work at living in peace” with who?
· Those who agree with you?
· Those who vote like you?
· Those who look like you?
· Those who kneel? Those who stand? Those who link arms?
“Work at living in peace with everyone”!

PEACE = The absence of conflict. Peace makers remove conflict.

We have been given the ministry of reconciliation and everything we do should be done from the position of a reconciler.

Madeleine L’Engle said “We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.”

Now, peacemaking is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of peace and of reconciliation. Indeed, the very same verb which is used in this beatitude of us is used by Paul to what God has done through Christ.

It is hardly surprising that Jesus would attach this particular blessing, “They will be called children of God”. For they are seeking to do what their Father has done. It is the devil who is a troublemaker. It is God who loves reconciliation.

When there is tension in our culture between two groups of people or two races, or two political parties, our role as peacemakers is to:
· LISTEN WELL. Don’t jump to conclusions
· Rid ourselves of any prejudice. Bring it to the cross
· Strive sympathetically to understand both points of view
· TALK it through

THE BEATITUDES CALL US OUT OF OUR ME-ATTITUDES

Matthew 5:10-11 – NIV – “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

It may seem strange that Jesus should transition from peacemaking to persecution, from the work of reconciliation to the experience of hostility. Yet however hard we may try to make peace with some people, they refuse to live at peace with us. Not all attempts at reconciliation succeed. Indeed, some target us not because of our mistakes or idiosyncracies, but ‘for righteousness sake’. That is, because they find it offensive the righteousness for which we hunger and thirst and because they have rejected the Christ we seek to follow. Persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value systems. Now, the last verse. How did Jesus expect us to react under persecution?

Matthew 5:12 – NIV - “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

I don’t know about you, but the way that my flesh, my natural self, WANTS to react sometimes is very short sighted.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, when my flesh wants to say that I am rich and don’t need God.

Blessed are those who mourn, when my flesh wants to say I’m alright.

Blessed are the meek, when my flesh wants to demonstrate my Strength.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, when my flesh wants to be lazy and passive.

Blessed are the merciful, when my flesh wants to get revenge.

Blessed are the pure in heart, when my flesh wants anything but purity.

Blessed are the peacemakers, when my flesh wants to add fuel to the fire.

HOW COUNTER-CULTURE is that in your life?

See, our focus tends to have a rather short view. What we see in the Beatitudes is that the BLESSED LIFE has a VERY LONG view!

“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven!”

THE BEATITUDES CALL US OUT OF OUR ME-ATTITUDES