The Way of the Blessed
Testimony and Call
When I was seven, my dad was coming off his shift as an Iowa State Patrol officer when a call came in that a dementia patient had wandered away from a nursing home. They were going to take the patrol airplane up to help search and my dad volunteered to look while the pilot flew. They had found the man in a bean-field and were circling to indicate where he was to the troopers on the ground when the plane stalled and crashed, killing my dad and the pilot.
Obviously, this was earth-shattering as a kid, and started my questions about who and where God is. I was already a fairly shy, introverted, kid, but this probably made me even more so. I was a pretty awkward kid, and I got picked on a lot at school.
I heard the Gospel a couple times a year, when we would go the the Christmas and Easter cantatas at Harmony Bible Church, where my Aunt, Uncle and cousin participated. Mom also sent us to East Iowa Bible Camp in the summers, and it was there, the summer after fifth or sixth grade that I came to faith.
As I said, I was a shy, introverted, kid, so when there was some free time, I was back in the cabin by myself, and I picked up my Bible to read. I flipped through the pages, not really sure where to start. The Bible was a red letter King James Version that my Aunt had given me, and I saw that there was a really big chunk of red in Matthew. I figured the red meant it was important, so I went to the beginning of that big red chunk and started reading:
Matthew 5:1–12 KJV 1900
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto 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 they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
As a sad, picked on, shy kid, these words hit me. Blessed are they that mourn? Blessed are the meek? These were the things I was getting made fun of for, and the Bible was telling me these were good things. God wanted the sad, shy, picked on, kid. Having heard the Gospel before, I gave my life to Jesus there in that cabin.
Scooting forward to college, I attended Iowa Wesleyan College, which was about the same distance from our house in the other direction as my high school was. However, my scholarship required that I live on campus. My roommate in college was a guy named Luke, who is a band director out in Hoxie, Kansas now. The fascinating thing about Luke to all of us was that he was a Quaker, which is a disappointingly modern church these days. We had some good discussions in the dorm room, and he used to call me out for the fact that I never went to church. “Alan,” he would say, “You can’t be a Christian and never go to church.” I was convinced I was fine.
Well, towards the end of my Freshman year, I went to the Easter cantata at Harmony, and I just remember so clearly sitting up in the front left, and the cross scene was right in front of me, and just being totally broken. I repented of my pride and committed that following Jesus wasn’t just going to be a intellectual thing, but a whole life thing.
I started going to Harmony regularly on Sunday mornings. I got involved in the college and career Bible study, of which I was the only college student. I got plugged into the choir and when we added a third, early, service, the worship team. The summer after my Sophomore year, I went back to East Iowa Bible Camp as a counselor. While helping with the worship team that summer, I figured out that I could apply the skills I was learning for jazz piano to playing along with the worship songs. I started teaching myself guitar my Junior year with a chord chart poster on the wall and a binder full of Jars of Clay songs.
At the end of my Senior year, the worship pastor at Harmony, Pastor Leonard asked me if I could come over and meet with him. He asked me two things in that meeting. First, he asked if I would consider being Jesus in the upcoming Easter cantata, Bow the Knee. It was a tenor part, so I turned him down. Then he told me that he was going to be gone on an upcoming Sunday and he asked if I would lead worship while he was gone. Pastor Leonard has a way of asking you to do things that it’s very hard to say no, something along the lines of, “it would be such a blessing to the church if you...” Anyway, I led worship that Sunday, and then a few more times that Spring as he was gone for a three-week stretch. Just as I was graduating with my Bachelor of Music Education so I could become a band or choir teacher, I started having doubts about my chosen path.
As I started teaching, I continued to be involved at Harmony, leading occasionally, and in that first year of teaching, we started a college outreach ministry, and I helped to lead our worship band, “Attaboy Dave.” I was feeling more and more called to ministry, and I took a couple of seminary classes in the summer after my fourth year of teaching. While I was up in Minnesota, I was walking back from class, and sat down next to a lake on campus to pray, and I felt such a clear direction from God that I needed to take the leap and go into ministry. I went back and let the administration know that my fifth year teaching was going to be my final year as a teacher and started applying to worship leader jobs. I interviewed at several churches, including Grace Baptist. As I worked through the interview process I felt led to come here to Manhattan, and when the church called me in 2008, I accepted.
My time here at Grace certainly has continued to grow me in my ministry and my faith in innumerable ways, but I would be remiss if I didn’t include what God has been doing in our lives the past seven years with our daughter Chloe. Many of you know our story here, but many of you are newer and might not. My wife Jodie and I had our first two children, Isaac and Abigail after we came here to Manhattan, and found out we were expecting again in the fall of 2013.
While Jodie was pregnant, we found out that our little girl had a very rare genetic condition called Mosaic Trisomy 22. Down’s Syndrome is Trisomy 21, where all of the cells have three sets of the 21st chromosome instead of two. In Mosaic Trisomy 22, some of the cells have three of the 22nd chromosome, but some of the cells only have two and are normal. Each tissue in her body has a different ratio of normal and trisomy cells which is different for each kid that has MT22. For Chloe, she had several differences we could see on the ultrasound, but the main concern was that she would be born with a three-chamber heart.
Chloe was delivered early at Children’s Mercy, with the three-chamber heart, only one kidney, and several other issues. She was also incredibly small, and our goal was simply for her to get big enough to have her first heart surgery to have a shunt put in her heart. While in the NICU, she aspirated on some spit-up and had to be intubated. Because of her cleft palatte, intubating her was very difficult, and they had to make multiple attempts which essentially created a flap of scar tissue. Because of this, we had to do a tracheostomy for her. Around this time, I remember a doctor sitting down with us, trying to explain how uncertain her prognosis was. He said, “As far as we know, Chloe might live another three days, she might live three weeks or three months. She might even live three years.” She will turn seven next month.
We spent five months in the NICU before coming home for a while. We then spent another six months in the PICU surrounding her second heart surgery before coming home again for a little bit before heading back for another couple of months. While she still is very medically fragile, we have had colds send her back to the PICU, she has grown bigger and stronger, and continues to amaze us with her progress. Through it all, we have seen God’s sovereign hand. We also have been incredibly blessed by the love the church has shown us.
Also, while we were in the PICU, I started slowly working through a seminary degree with Midwestern, which I finally finished up during my sabbatical last summer. I worked through a personal statement of faith, and the elders convened an ordination council last month. Which brings us to today.
Having taken half of my time this morning just working through my testimony and call, I wanted to take the remaining time and revisit that text that struck me in that cabin when I was a kid. If you would join me again in Matthew 5.
Matthew 5:1–12 ESV
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when 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 sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“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.
The Way of the Blessed vs. The Way of the World
Here we have the beginning of Jesus’s teaching that is known as the sermon on the mount. Jesus goes up to a high spot and sits down, which is the teaching position that a rabbi would take to teach His followers. He begins this teaching by laying out a way of living totally contrary to the way of the world.
I’m sure you know lots of folks for whom the ends justify the means. Well, as Jesus lays out this way of living, the counterintuitive means have counterintuitive eternal results that should cause the listener to take note.
Jesus starts with:
Matthew 5:3 ESV
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Who are these poor in spirit? I think we know who the poor are. The poor are those who lack material goods. Consequently, the poor often must rely on others to meet their needs. Much the same way, the poor in spirit are those who realize that they are spiritually destitute. The poor in spirit know they desperately need God and look to Him.
The opposite of this might be the spiritually self-sufficient or the spiritually proud. The way of the world is to trust in yourself before all other things. The way of the blessed is to trust in God alone. What is the reward for a life lived in submission to God? Jesus says the reward is the Kingdom of God!
You can’t self-will yourself into the kingdom of God. You can’t work yourself into the kingdom of God. You can do and say all of the right things, and yet not enter the kingdom. Jesus makes it clear when he says:
John 14:6 CSB
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
So, before we go any further in the text, let me stop and ask you, are you poor in spirit? Do you realize your spiritual impoverishment? Or have you convinced yourself that you’re basically a good person? Romans tells us that:
Romans 3:10–11 CSB
as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
Realize this morning your desperate state before God and come to Jesus this morning for your salvation. If you want to talk more about what it means to live a life devoted to Jesus, you can come up after the service and talk to one of us up front. Allen Featherstone will be over by the organ and I’ll be at the piano. Or, you can check the box when you fill out your connection card this morning that you want to know more about how to find peace with God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus continues in Matthew 5:4
Matthew 5:4 ESV
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
When I was a kid, I didn’t have any trouble understanding what this verse meant to me. However, the word that translated here as “mourn” is not necessarily speaking of those grieving a loss, but instead is perhaps better understood in light of passages like Isaiah 61:1-3
Isaiah 61:1–3 CSB
The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him.
All is not right in the world. Grave injustices and horrible evil pervade our world and our culture. One need only turn on the news to know this is true. People are perishing every day in darkness, many without ever even having heard the name of Jesus Christ. Is your soul grieved or have you become numb to it all? Listen to the Psalmist when he says:
Psalm 119:136 CSB
My eyes pour out streams of tears because people do not follow your instruction.
If this mourning is the way of the blessed, what is the way of the world? Those who delight in evil. Solomon warned his son against these men. He described them in Proverbs 2:12-15 calling them:
Proverbs 2:12–15 CSB
It will rescue you from the way of evil— from anyone who says perverse things, from those who abandon the right paths to walk in ways of darkness, from those who enjoy doing evil and celebrate perversion, whose paths are crooked, and whose ways are devious.
Enjoy doing evil and celebrate perversion. Is this not what our culture is demanding, that we celebrate perversion? I mentioned earlier that the elders have called the church to pray for the country in light of the so-called Equality Act before the US Senate right now. They literally want to enshrine the celebration of perversion as law, and the pursuit of righteousness as bigotry.
There are many for whom doing evil has become right. It’s not enough that they attack us for cherishing the life of each and every person made in the image of God, they want us to pay for and participate in evil. We were told at least twice directly, more indirectly, that we should consider abortion with our daughter. This is evil.
Do you mourn? If so, blessed are you, for you will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4 ESV
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
There is a day coming when all things will be made right. There will be no more injustice, no more evil, and Jesus will reign for all eternity. Take hope, Christian.
Jesus continues:
Matthew 5:5 ESV
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
What does it mean to be meek? Some of your translations this morning might say humble or gentle. This is perhaps the easiest one to get a good feel for, because we all know people who are arrogant, boastful, and proud. Let me offer you a quick definition, arrogance points to self, humility points to others. Specifically in this context, the meek are those who understand their position and standing before a holy God and point to Him.
Earlier, I mentioned that as a kid, I was picked on a lot. Because of it, I don’t like bullies. I resonate with the Psalmist when he says:
Psalm 73:3–5 CSB
For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have an easy time until they die, and their bodies are well fed. They are not in trouble like others; they are not afflicted like most people.
Yet, the Psalmist realized that even in his derision for the arrogant, he was not any better towards God.
Psalm 73:21–22 CSB
When I became embittered and my innermost being was wounded, I was stupid and didn’t understand; I was an unthinking animal toward you.
Are you arrogant and proud before God? Or, are you humble before Him? Jesus says it is these who are humble that will inherit the earth. Do you need to repent of your arrogance before God this morning?
Matthew 5:5 ESV
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Time is running away from us this morning! Jesus continues, saying:
Matthew 5:6 ESV
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Jesus continues to build on this understanding of our position before God. We are poor and destitute. Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? Do you desire that you live your life pleasing to God? What is the trajectory of your life? Are you battling the sin in your life, or have you grown comfortable with it. In Romans 7, Paul describes his battle with sin, waging war with the sin of the flesh. He concludes,
Romans 7:24–25 CSB
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.
The way of the world is to coddle sin and minimize it. Sin is death! Is your life marked by repentance, by a hunger and thirst for righteousness? Jesus has good news for you. If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you will be filled.
Matthew 5:6 ESV
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Where the first four beatitudes deal with your vertical relationship with God, the rest deal with horizontal relationships with those around you.
Matthew 5:7–9 CSB
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
We’re short on time this morning, but what I want you to see this morning is that your horizontal relationships have direct bearing on your vertical relationship with God. Living this way is already contrary to our culture, but even more so. Mercy is seen as weakness. Mercy requires that you give of yourself. The world wants you to take what you think you deserve.
The world looks at those who live even slightly pure as an oddity. I remember when I told my students that I had gotten engaged to Jodie, their first question was literally, “When does she move in with you?” “Um, after the wedding?” College kids, do you ever feel any pressure to drink and party? Everyone around you is obsessed with sex. Will you compromise, or will you live a pure life devoted to God?
Our culture is divisive. Are you a peace-maker? Notice that Jesus didn’t say here that the peace-keepers are blessed. He says that the peace-makers are blessed. Let me put it this way, do you love your enemies? Do you pray for them? Which is more important, proving your point, and being right, or loving the lost? When you are anonymous on the internet, do you build up, or do you tear down? I’ll be honest, I struggle horribly with this one. I regularly go back through my Twitter feed and scrub stuff I’ve said or posted. Are you a peacemaker?
That said, I’m talking about your motivation and desire for peace. Jesus makes it very clear that that is not what the world will give you for a life lived this way. Matthew 5:10-11
Matthew 5:10–11 ESV
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Are you going to live like this? Will you be a humble, pure, person whose life is clearly devoted to God? If you will, the world will revile you. If you live a life of righteousness, you will be persecuted. If you are persecuted for your righteousness, first of all, someone noticed. But more importantly, you are blessed when you are persecuted for righteousness. How can you hate someone who brings you blessing?
You are blessed when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil falsely because you are a follower of Christ. Let me pause for a second I don’t have and point out, you are not being persecuted if people accuse you of evil, and it’s true. You also aren’t being persecuted if you’re out there picking fights with people. You’re persecuted when it is on account of Jesus. Live sold out for Jesus, and the world will hate you. Are you persecuted for Christ? Jesus is speaking to you this morning:
Matthew 5:12 CSB
Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This morning, we looked at two ways of living, the way of blessing, and the way of the world. Which one will you follow this morning? A day is coming when the results of those two different paths will be made clear.
Malachi 4:1–2 CSB
“For look, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Armies, “not leaving them root or branches. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.