A Disciples Progression

V. Christ Foreseen: Pre-Incarnate Appearances of Christ (Christophanies- i.e. Jesus in the Burning Bush, Fiery Furnace, the Wilderness - Hagar, Wrestling Jacob, Jesus with Abraham)

The Incarnate Christ - pt.1-2

I. The Mother; II. The Method; III. The Motivation

Learning from a 12 Year Old

I. His Foundation, II. His Formation & III. His Focus

The Jesus We Know Not

I. The Person; II. Precepts & III. Principles of Character

The Baptism of Christ

I. The Significance; II. The Symbolism of Baptism & III. Special Nature of Christ’s

Having Victory Over Temptation

I. How the Enemy Operates: Temptation is Assured; He Comes when you’re Weak; He Promises Large, Fulfills Small; He Twists the Word of God; His Attacks are Physical, Spiritual & Mental

II. How to Withstand the Onslaught: Be Prepared; Starve the Flesh; Depend on the Word of God; Realize there’s Something Better

III. What We Gain when it’s Over: If you Withstand, you will Find Rest; If you Withstand, you will be Strengthened; If you Give In, you will be Sorry

The Call to Follow

I. The Call of Christ: From the Saviour & Creator; For Submission, not Salvation; The Scope of the Call

II. The ‘Cause and Effect’: The Condition: “Follow Me”; Serving; The Prideful, Hated, Maligned & Outcast; Sailing; Upon Stormy Seas; Suffering; Rejection; Humiliation; Persecution; The Promise: “And I Will Make”; Therein Lies Power; Therein Lies a Promise; Therein Lies Production

III. The Cost Associated: A Sacrifice Required: Free Will; Family; Familiarity; Fortune

Introduction

We see in the lead-up to the Beatitudes a few things to note.

Jesus positioned Himself to address all

Those who Desired to be Disciples Came to Him

I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding as to what a disciple is.

Disciple (def) A disciplined follower of Christ

And so I want to use this opportunity to highlight the difference between someone who is simply saved and a follower of Christ. We'll elaborate more on this shortly.

I call these the progression because rather than looking at each one of these Beatitudes separately, we're going to see how they build one upon another. And much like any other teaching in scripture, you must get past the surface level if you're going to truly understand the teachings of Jesus.

Ultimately in the culmination of describing how one comes to Jesus and becomes a disciple

These are known as the Beatitudes.

Beatitude (def) 1. Blessedness; felicity of the highest kind; consummate bliss; used of the joys of heaven. 2. The declaration of blessedness made by our Savior to particular virtues.

Jesus here, at the onset of His Sermon on the Mount, is declaring how someone is blessed.

I don't know about you but I want to enjoy the blessings of God. If you want to enjoy the blessings of God, then pay close attention to the message today.

The first thing we see is their inward conflict.

I. Their Inward Conflict (v3-6)

These first four Beatitudes speak of something that happens inside a person.

I labeled them as conflicts because what Jesus is describing here is spiritual attributes and they conflict with the natural man.

They Recognize their Spiritual Void (v3)

To say that one is “poor in spirit” is to say that they have no spiritual nature about them.

When Jesus is saying "blessed are the poor in spirit," what he is saying is "blessed are they who recognize their own spiritual depravity."

There's a true saying that goes something like this: "One can never be saved until they realize they are damned or one can never be found until they realize that they are lost."

You turn on the TV and you see a multitude of people parading about, filled with the cares of this world.

You go down to Wal-Mart and you walk past people who give no thought to the things eternal.

There are those who feel they have everything they could want:

Luke 12:19 “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”

There are those who have their minds on the cares of this world:

Luke 8:5 “A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.”

In short many people are consumed by the cares of this world and riches thereof, that they give no thought to their spiritual depravity. The conflict within here is that of recognizing the value in the things of this world vs. the things of God.

What Jesus is saying here is, "Blessed are those that recognize their poor spiritual condition, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

You must recognize your need of your spiritual depravity. Once you do it sets you on a course to the kingdom of heaven.

They Feel Remorse for their Sin (v4)

When someone comes face to face with the fact that they are poor in spirit (in other words they are sin-filled, fleshly beings), The next place they get to is having remorse for that sin.

They come to the understanding that in their flesh they are wicked and vile and they realize that they are without hope. It’s likened unto Ephesians 2:12 “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”

When one comes to the understanding that it is their sin that causes them to be poor in spirit, they realize they have no hope in and of themselves and for that they mourn.

We see this attitude play out in the parable of Christ: Luke 18:13 “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

This of course stands in stark contrast to the Pharisee: Luke 18:11–12 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”

The Pharisee stands prideful, the publican mourns - why? Because He came face to face with his Spiritual bankruptcy!

But the good news is that those who are Spiritually bankrupt there is hope! They will be comforted.

They feel Remorse for their Sin

They Demonstrate Reverence unto God (v5)

So far we see the broken heart of one who is spiritually bankrupt. What must one do when they find themselves in that position? They turn unto God and show reverence.

Meek (def) Appropriately, humble, in an evangelical sense; submissive to the divine will; not proud

Where was that publican?

“Standing afar off” - for he felt unworthy to come nigh unto a Holy God

“Would not so much lift up his eyes to Heaven” - He was ashamed of his sin and submissive unto God

But where was he at? He was at the Temple! Luke 18:10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.”

One of them went to pray to show God how good they were. The other one went there because they had nowhere else to turn.

For those that turn unto God in meekness, the Bible says they will inherit the earth.

They demonstrate reverence unto God.

Their Righteousness is Filled by Christ (v6)

But none of this matters if you stop short of this last step.

I believe there to be a lot of people who have been convicted by their sin, who have felt the weight and sorrow thereof - and then during the altar call, instead of turning unto the Lord, they turn and walk out the doors.

If someone is to be filled, then they must hunger and thirst after it - that’s the difference between those who turn to the LORD and those who turn away. It must become something that they desire - to be righteous in the sight of God. To not be covered in their sinfulness, but to be cleansed!

Church, I’m here to tell you today - that in your natural state you’re a sinner - you are Spiritually bankrupt. That sin cost Christ His Life That sin will send you to Hell EVERYTHING you’ve done, EVERYTHING you’ve thought, EVERYTHING you’ve coveted after - God has seen! NOTHING IS HID FROM HIM!

And if you’re lost today, you’re faced with a choice - to continue on in your sin, or to turn to Jesus and be cleansed of that sin!

You don’t have to live with the rotten stench of sin pouring from your flesh - you can be righteous in the sight of God! You can have your sin cleansed! IF YOU HUNGER AND THIRST FOR THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS, you will be filled if you turn unto Jesus Christ!

He Died so that you may live! If you place your faith in His Sacrifice upon the Cross and His and believe that God raised Him from the dead - THOU SHALT BE SAVED!

You will have that conflict within you - whether to come to the altar and be saved, or let your pride keep you damned! What will you do?

Righteousness is filled through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We see an Inward Conflict

II. Their Outward Charity (v7-9)

Once a soul has been born again, things change in their life and their demeanor.

It will not happen overnight but a change will take place, a change in our demeanor and our actions.

James 2:18 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

Your faith will work if you’ve been born again - if you have no works, you have no faith. Simple as that.

Their outward charity

They have Pity for Others (v7)

“Blessed are the merciful…” Merciful (def) Having or exercising mercy; compassionate; tender; disposed to pity offenders and to forgive their offenses

One of the effects of those who have been born again is shift in attitude toward those who offend them. From Vengeance unto mercy.

Our initial, fleshly reaction to those who wrong us is to ‘get them back’, isn’t it? We’re completely justified in doing so. “That’s what’s fair” we tell ourselves. We want vengeance!

But for those of us who have been born again, God has given us a new nature. He has given us understanding.

Romans 12:19–21 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

(Ill.) In this election, one of my opponents attempted to seize upon something I said, twist it and ridicule me for it online. That bothered me, as you can imagine. I considered defending myself. I considered posting some not flattering footage of them speaking in ignorance I chose to do none of those things. I chose instead to pray for them.

Only small people try to belittle others to make themselves seem larger. I thought that it’s truly sad to be so small. They need Jesus. So I prayed for them and said “Lord, I don’t want them to win this race, but I want them to meet you. I want them to be saved. God help them in that endeavor”.

Saved people will leave vengeance up to the LORD and instead have pity on others & show them mercy.

They are Pure in their Actions (v8)

“Blessed are the pure in heart…”

Not only in their charity will they show pity on others but they'll be pure in their actions.

They'll not be duplicitous.

They will not say one thing then do another.

Purity, honesty, moral will define their character.

We see this contrasted in the Pharisees - those men as Jesus called them: Matthew 23:27–28 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

These men feigned themselves to be pure, but they were vile, wicked men!

Those who are saved will be changed and their vile hearts will be pure.

They are Peacemakers between Man and God (v9)

Lastly and this is the culmination of it all: those who have been born again will demonstrate charity unto others by being peacemakers between man and God.

Jesus told Peter and Andrew: Matthew 4:19-b “…Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Jesus’ final instructions are found in: Matthew 28:18–20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

The true difference maker between a ‘Christian’ and a ‘Disciple’ is this - a disciple will be a peacemaker. To be a peacemaker, you must share the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

To bring others to Christ is the most ‘Christ-like’ you can get in this world. It is the true marker of a disciple of Christ!

They are Peacemakers between Man and God

We see an Inward Conflict, then an Outward Charity

III. The Inevitable Cost (v10-12)

There is a cost associated with becoming a disciple of Christ.

We looked at this and saw it just last week in the call to follow. There is a sacrifice. There is a trade-off.

You will be called the children of God but for many you'll be hated for it.

Righteousness Brings Persecution (v10a-11)

(Ill.) You cannot put a lamb in the midst of wolves and expect the wolves to behave like lambs.

When you live righteously in the sight of God and in the sight of man, you will be hated for it. You are a constant reminder of their wicked lifestyle.

John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”

Consider what Jesus did:

He healed the sick

He cured the diseased

He preached the truth

He called out sin

He did not lie, cheat or steal - He did not unfairly speak ill of anyone - He was righteous in ALL His DOINGS - and they crucified Him.

The question isn’t “Will I be persecuted”, the question is “Am I / Have I been persecuted” and if not, why not?

(Ill.) A lesson I learned many years ago, when I messed up a sale at a farm supply dealership. I felt really bad and I apologized to the owner. He told me, "If you're not making mistakes, it means you're not doing anything."

Church, let me just say this: if you are not being persecuted in some form or fashion, you're not doing anything.

Righteousness brings Persecution

Persecution Brings Rewards (v10b-12a)

Righteousness brings persecution but the good news is persecution brings rewards.

Jesus said: Mark 10:29–30 “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

You will suffer, but God will make it worth your while. And when it's all said and done, you'll look back at how you suffered and what you gained in return and wish you could do it a hundred times over.

Persecution brings rewards.

Persecution has Good Company (v12b)

If you suffer persecution, church, you're going to be in good company. You'll be in league with the likes of:

Elijah

Zachariah

Micaiah (My-KAY-uh)

John the Baptist

Stephen

Paul

Charlie Kirk

and Jesus Christ Himself!

That’s the company I want to be in! I want to be counted in that number! What about you?

Persecution has Good Company

Conclusion

Related Media

Related Sermons

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.