Our Upside Down Kingdom and Our Upside Down King: Part 2

Introduction:

Last week we started our two part mini series on the Beatitudes and this morning I think it would be helpful to do a quick review.

Matthew introduces Jesus in his gospel as the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament prophecies. First we see that Jesus is the New David. The new king who will bring into the world His new kingdom. But Jesus is also the new Moses and when Jesus sees the crowds following him in Matthew 5 he goes up on the mount and gives his new law.

Now both his new law and his new kingdom are unlike anything anyone has ever seen. They subvert all expectation of what the Jews expected from their coming king and his coming law. It’s upside down. It’s backwards. It doesn’t make sense. But that’s because Jesus is an upside down king proclaiming the gospel of his upside down kingdom.

Jesus starts his new law with what many have called the beatitudes. Remember that word Beatitude means, “a state of utmost bliss or supreme blessedness.” Jesus is promising that those who follow his upside down law will be happy. Not always in the short-term but for those who this list describes Jesus is promising an eternity of being in a state of utmost bliss.

Follow along with me as I read. For those of you apart of the memory verse challenge you should have the first few verses already down.

Matthew 5:1–10 “1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Last week we looked at the first four beatitudes. Let’s review those quickly.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Remember to be poor in spirit means to be spiritually bankrupt. The kingdom of heaven is not given to the wealthy or the religious.

The kingdom of heaven is given to those who are so poor they know they can offer nothing and do not try. They cry for mercy and they alone are heard.

The door to God’s upside down kingdom does not sit on top of a tall spiritual stair case that we climb through a series of good works. But at the bottom long dark and dingy stairs way that leads to the basement of spiritual bankruptcy and it is only when we realize how bankrupt we are spiritually that we will have access to the kingdom of heaven.

This is the first beatitude because it is the most important. It sets the tone for all the rest. The Christian life is not a race to the top but a race to the bottom. Our goal is not to raise ourselves up in in humility lower ourselves to a place of utter dependence on God’s grace.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Is Jesus preaching works based salvation. Do I have to give mercy in order to get mercy. No of course not. We love Jesus because He first loved us. We give mercy to others because He first gave mercy to us.

Again Jesus is showing what the people look like who live in His upside down kingdom. They don’t hold grudges. They don’t stay bitter. They forgive. They show mercy.

What keeps us from showing mercy to others? A richness of spirit or an arogant spirit.

It’s when you realize that no one has sinned against you more than you have sinned against God that you are freed to give mercy to others.

But what is so typical about Jesus’ teaching is this. The reason we obey the command is not so someday we can receive a reward. We don’t grit out teeth and give mercy now so we can get mercy later. The very act of of giving mercy is a mercy in it of it’s self.

Bitterness may feel good in the moment. Righteous indignation makes us feel good about ourselves. But bitterness is the poison you drink hoping the other person dies. Bitterness will kill you from the inside out.

And so in God’s great kindness and mercy towards us he tells us to show mercy to others. To forgive others of their debts as God has forgiven us of our debts.

Don’t let your life be destroyed by bitterness. Show mercy to others as freely and abundantly as Jesus as shown mercy to you.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

The phrase pure in heart is speaking of moral inward purity as opposed to external piety. This isn’t speaking of someone who looks like they have it all together but inwardly is a mess. To be pure in heart means you don’t harbor sin in your lives but you expose your sin to the sanitizing light of the Father.

What’s the reward for those who are pure in heart? They shall see God. Have you wondered why your relationship with God feels distant? Why there seems to be something between you and Him. It might just be sin in your heart.

How can you expect to see God while you are still holding onto unconfessed sin. David says in Psalm 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. How can you see God when it is your sin that is ever before you?

Rather we should in poverty of spirit lower ourselves and plead along with David

Create in me a clean heart a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,  and uphold me with a willing spirit.

How can we cultivate a pure heart before God. 1. We make war against our sin. We fight sin with everything we have. But secondly we become very used to repentance

The Christian should breath repentance. They should be excited to do it. They should be excited to run to the Father, mourn their sin, and be made right with God. Every sin in our lives obstructs our view of God. Which means every time we find a sin or every time a sin is pointed out to us it should almost excite us. Another thing that has been obstructing my view of God can now been taken to Jesus and he can clean it and then I’ll be able to see God better.

I have this weird quirk. It seems to drive people nuts. I don’t know it doesn’t bother me. But I wear glasses and for whatever reason I am completely unbothered when my glasses get dirty. Finger prints, smudges, dust, doesn’t bother me. It has to get really really bad before I even notice my glasses our dirty.

Now I don’t know why it bothers so many other people when my glasses our dirty. But it sure seems too. They are almost offended as they ask me if I can eve see through my filthy glasses. And Yea I can. It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t bother me.

Now I will admit. That when I do occasionally take the time to wash my glasses off and get them looking nice I am always amazed by how clearly I can see. Oh that’s what my wife’s face looks like that’s nice… But it’s not long and my glasses become dirty again and do I take the time to clean them again? No… If I were honest it’s easier to just look through a dirty pair of glasses than have to continue to clean them all day long.

Now some of you think that’s a big deal and I’m crazy for treating my glasses like that and you might be right. But we can all agree that it’s a big deal when we treat our relationship with God like that. Sin is constantly obstructing our view of God. We are can’t clearly see the face of God. But do we repent? No… That’s hard work. We’ve found it easier to just look through dirty glasses. We’ve found it easier to just let sin obstruct our view of God then continue to repent all day long.

But then you wonder why your relationship with God has grown stale. Why you’re cold toward spiritual things. When was the last time you spent extended time on your knees, with your face in the dirt, and tears in your eyes repenting to the God of the universe?

Or when was the last time you know you did something wrong and instead of moving on you took a minute, acknowledged it before God, repented, and then went on with your life?

In God’s upside down kingdom the one who is invited into His presence is not the great warrior. But the lowly sinner. Listen to Jesus’ pararable from Luke 18

Luke 18:9–14 (ESV)

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In God’s upside down kingdom the way up is the way down. It’s not a race to the top but a race to the bottom. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. But those who first humble themselves will be exalted.

The pure in heart are not those who have no impurities to repent off but those with lives filled with impurities take their sin to the purifying fire of God’s grace.

It’s the tax collector to ashamed to even lift his eyes to heaven that will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou has brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;

Let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty Thy glory in my valley.