Crucial Characteristics for Citizens of Heaven

Introduction

What is your favorite Bible verse? Many of us have a list of several verses that stand out to us but you can google this question and find a list of 10-15 that stand out to many Christians. Verses like John 3:16, Philippians 4:13, Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 55:8-9, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28, Psalm 23, the list goes on and on! There are certain verses and stories that simply stand out to us as Christians. We hold on to truths concerning our God and His amazing grace. We hold on to stories about God’s faithfulness and deliverance. Maybe for some of you, you hold on to the wisdom found in a specific proverb of parable. For others, maybe you look more to the world to come in places like Revelation. The Bible is full of wisdom and truths that not only guide our day to day living, but completely change us from the inside out! One such place that packs a lifetime of wisdom into a few chapters is the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.

In these 3 chapters Jesus teaches His disciples and followers what it looks like to be a citizen of heaven. Jesus flips conventional wisdom on its head and calls His followers to speak, think, and act differently than those around them. Jesus, much like Moses in Exodus, gives His people instructions to live by. And as the Greater Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6), we must pay attention to what He says! He tells His followers what ultimately matters and what it looks like to be a follower rather than a mere fan or spectator. David Platt once shared this, “The Sermon on the Mount teaches us what it means to be a citizen of Christ’s Kingdom.”

Jesus begins this sermon with several truths known to us as the Beatitudes and today we’re going to be examining these promises and Kingdom characteristics… But before we do, consider the beatitudes of our society first. Our media crazed society offers a different worldview than the one found in Matthew 5-7 - our world says

Blessed are those who fly to luxury vacation spots on tropical islands, where they lie in lounge chairs; for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are those who have the latest smartphone, for they shall gaze on a screen swirling with color and shall get all the information they need just when they need it; and they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are those who have outstanding kids. Verily I say to you, highly blessed are those who have a golden Labrador retriever bounding along on that slow-motion-videoed day of playing with the kids in the park, for they shall be the envy of real families everywhere; and they shall be satisfied.

Our world says that those who have certain material things are the ones who are blessed and those are the ones who find true satisfaction… Enter the words of Jesus - it is not the ones who have everything money can buy who are blessed… It is the one who knows that they are bankrupt and dead without Jesus Christ.

Friend, as we begin this study through the Sermon on the Mount, allow yourself to be rewired of what society screams at us 24/7, allow your brain to meditate on the words of Jesus and allow His message to change the way that we speak, think, and act today. Allow yourself to see this message not as an optional idea for a few, but as a command for all who claim to follow Christ as Lord!

Matthew 5:1–12 CSB

1 When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 11 “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Assurance #1: The Kingdom Belongs to Recipients of Amazing Grace (3)

It is important to begin this study by looking at the tense of the verbs in these verses. In verse 3 and 10 we see a present tense verb “is theirs” whereas the other verses contain a future tense verb “will ___ (be)” - what is significant about this? Jesus’ statements here serve as a present assurance and a future promise for His faithful followers. The first piece of assurance to His followers is that those who are poor in spirit are blessed because the Kingdom of heaven is theirs. What does this mean? What does it mean to be blessed? What does it look like to be poor in Spirit? How does this impact us today?

The Greek word found throughout this text for blessed is the word “markarios” and it appears 50 times in the New Testament, with nearly 1/5 of those occurences here in Matthew 5:1-12! This is a word that has puzzled Christians for years and years as they seek to interpret it correctly. Literally markarios can mean happy, fortunate, privileged, or blessed. Some Christians look at these verses and they translate the word as happy… Here is the danger in doing that. Happiness fades. It is a subjective state that is often based on our circumstances. Jesus isn’t making a subjective statement and saying that His followers might feel happy. He is making an objective statement about His people. He isn’t declaring how we may feel but what God says about us. What does it mean to be blessed? It means to belong to Jesus and to be a part of God’s forever Kingdom.

Because of this truth, who are the beatitudes written to? Jesus gives this message to a large audience but consider the meat and potatoes of the message. This isn’t a self-help book to give readers 3 points to apply and to live their best life now all of a sudden. This isn’t an entrance exam to get into heaven where if you fail on one point you’re doomed. This isn’t a lofty message that we can never measure up to. This is a sermon delivered to motivate His audience to depend fully on God as they grow spiritually. This is a message that flips the script and forces us to continually look to God. The first assurance in the text is simply this: The poor in spirit belong in the kingdom of heaven!

What, then, does it mean to be poor in spirit? Does it mean to be financially poor? No. Does it mean to have a poor attitude? No. It means to get so low that you recognize that the only chance you stand is to rely wholly on the mercy and grace of your God. That is what it means to be poor in spirit. Consider how this stands out in Jesus’ day and in ours as well. Who had a kingdom back in Jesus’ day? The king and those who were very powerful. Jesus says that if you want to be apart of the Kingdom of Heaven, you have to lower yourself. The Kingdom isn’t given to the strong, it’s given to the weak. It’s not given to the powerful, it’s given to the powerless. It’s not given to the soldiers, it’s given to the children. It’s not given to the pharisees and legalists, it’s given to the rejects and outcasts. It’s given to those who know that they have no chance based on their own goodness and righteousness. The only ones who enter the kingdom of heaven are those who cry out to God for divine mercy.

How many of you have ever had to climb a ladder to put up Christmas decorations or Christmas lights? The purpose of a ladder is to help you access places that you wouldn’t be able to get to without it. Usually we have to get toward the top of the ladder to reach our destination but before you can reach the top you have to take the first step. The rest of the steps are useless without getting on the ladder itself. From that point, you continue to take steps up the ladder but if you refuse to get on the ladder, it’s useless to you and your goal.

Likewise, the rest of the beatitudes are useless if you get the first one wrong. If you are not poor in spirit, if you think that you are good enough on your own, if you think that you don’t need Jesus, then the rest of these will not apply to you! You won’t mourn over your sin until you belong to God. You can’t be called a Son of God until you are cleansed of your sin and pure in heart. These build off of one another and it all starts with being poor in spirit.

Danny Akin asks his audience, “Do you see yourself as a spiritual cripple who can only hope in Jesus Christ?” If your answer is yes, rejoice today because that means that you’re finally low enough to belong in God’s eternal kingdom. If this is you, rest assured today that your citizenship is in heaven and that you’ve received His amazing grace.

Promise #1: God Comforts Those Who Mourn (4)

In the 6 verses that follow, we find 6 promises from God toward His people.

The first promise is that those who mourn will be comforted. If you have a cross-reference section in your Bible, Matthew 5:4 has a cross reference to Isaiah 61. In Isaiah 61 the context of mourning is not simply being sad because something bad happened, it is mourning over one’s sin. At this point in Isaiah the people of Israel are in exile… But they know that exile is only temporary and that salvation will come. Specifically this chapter looks ahead to the Savior who will come and comfort all those who mourn. Jesus applies these verses to Himself in Luke 4:18-19 and here in the Sermon on the Mount, the message is simply this: Those who are brokenhearted over their sin now will one day be removed from the very presence of sin for all eternity.

Consider, though, do you mourn over your sin? Whenever I was in Jr. High I worked as a custodian at FBC Ozark and had the brilliant idea of playing hide and seek with my friends after a Sunday night choir program. To make matters worse, though, me and one of my friends climbed up onto the roof using my keys to hide. Needless to say, I got punished for that decision and I mourned - I cried more tears that night than I had in years! Why did I cry, though? I cried because I had gotten caught and was punished by my boss. For many of us, that is why we cry. We don’t get upset so much at our sin as we do the consequence of our sin. As a Christian, though, sin should break our heart because it breaks God’s heart!

The only way that we will truly mourn over our sin is to have a new heart and this is exactly the type of change that Jesus is all about in the Sermon on the Mount. This message isn’t about changing our outer garments, it’s about changing our heart. It’s about transforming us from the inside out to be like Christ. Part of being like Christ, though, means that you also come to understand that you fall woefully short at times. You will continue to struggle with sin. This isn’t to discourage you, it’s to challenge you. When you sin, what do you do? Do you continue on or do you pause and repent? DA Carson once shared this, “The great lights in church history learned to weep.”

If you are in Christ, learn to weep over your sin because whenever you are weak, as Paul shares in 2 Cor 12, then you are strong because you are comforted by God and in good Christian company!

Promise #2: God Rewards Those Who Submit to Him (5)

In our world, humility is often seen as a good thing to be praised. In Bible times, though, humility was thought of as a bad thing. People who were humble were thought to have been cowards and weak. Sadly, there are many people today who feel the same way regarding humility - they think that self-confidence is key and to be praised. Even worse, this idea can trickle into our walk with Christ to the point that people can deceive themselves into thinking that they can earn their own way or even their own salvation. We all want to claim credit for our actions and be rewarded accordingly! The Gospel message reminds us clearly that we cannot save ourselves! We can’t boast in our works and actions because we can’t save ourselves! What, then, must be our response? We must humble ourselves. As Christians we have to get ourselves out of the way and submit to God’s will.

What would you do if you had a pressing financial need that you were unable to meet on your own and a stranger came up to you and offered you a blank check? You’d likely rejoice because someone stepped up and helped you in your time of need. They didn’t attach any strings to their gift, they simply gave you a blank check to be filled out to meet whatever need you had. That’s how our Christian life is supposed to be. We are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to our God - as a blank check - and we allow Him to fill it out however He see’s fit! We humble ourselves and we go wherever God calls us to go. In doing this, our reward is not immediate… It’s a future reward. It’s a future promise from God that in doing this, we will inherit the earth!

The promise is simply this: By trusting in God in this life and humbling ourselves, we are promised God’s richest blessing. This isn’t a temporary blessing of wealth or success - it’s a promise of spending eternity with Him as citizens of His Kingdom.

Promise #3: God Satisfies Those Who Long for Him (6)

Think of the things that our world says can bring in satisfaction into our lives. Food, relationships, entertainment, achievements, money, possessions, and countless other things. The Bible shares with us a different story, though. Jesus doesn’t say that those who long for entertainment will be satisfied by the latest and greatest Marvel movie - He says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. That those who long to be more like Jesus will be satisfied. What do you crave most of all?

People around us crave happiness and satisfaction but they look for these things in all the wrong places. They run to wells that can never satisfy the void that they are seeking to fill. The promise from Jesus is to hunger for holiness and when this happens in our lives, we will be filled and satisfied. God’s promise is simply this: Come to me and I will satisfy your longing.

If you are a Christian this morning, are you hungry for holiness? Do you desire to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and continue to be changed by His grace each and every day? This is a crucial part of discipleship!

Promise #4: God Helps Those Who Are Merciful (7)

Some Christians and many non-churchgoers believe something along these lines: God helps those who help themselves. One of the arguments for this statement is Matthew 5:7 as those who are merciful will be shown mercy - therefore, of course God helps those who first help themselves. What’s the problem with this logic? We are saved by our works. God only gives us mercy whenever we give mercy to others. God gives me something good whenever I do something good - as if my good works deserve His eternal salvation! Do you know what Paul says about our salvation in Ephesians 2:8?

Ephesians 2:8 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—

Do you know what the Mormons teach?

“For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

The pharisees claimed to be merciful but it wasn’t from their heart - they were legalists. They didn’t have compassion on others, it was about boasting in their own goodness at the expense of someone else experiencing difficulty. So many people today are tempted to do the same thing - if I do _____ good thing then I’ll be blessed by God

That’s not how mercy works, though. If we could earn something then we wouldn’t require God’s grace and mercy. The fact remains that we are completely saved by grace through faith, not by our works! As people who are saved, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have been given mercy and we are expected to give mercy. We are expected to forgive others, exercise compassion for those who are suffering, and turn the other cheek - not in order to get something from God, but because we’ve already been saved by God. Forgiven people forgive people. Hurt people hurt people. People given mercy from God extend mercy to others. This is a characteristic of God’s followers and we know that on judgment day, because of what Jesus has done, God will extend to us the greatest mercy of all as He will say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

Promise #5: God Fellowships With Those Who are Pure (8)

Who are the people that you fellowship with? Likely the people who you are close with - your family and friends. Often times the people that we fellowship with are people who are very similar to us from the outside perspective. People that act like us, look like us, and have similar backgrounds to us. Consider now who Jesus fellowshipped with during His earthly ministry. Even though He was the greatest teacher in Israel, He didn’t often fellowship with the religious elites who thought that they had it all figured out and who tried to keep external appearances looking good. He often fellowshipped with the people who were broken and recognized their desperate need to be helped.

We often look at the outside actions, looks, and behaviors… But we find in Scripture that God is far more concerned with the inside. He cares more about our attitudes and heart than the external. Likewise, as citizens of His Kingdom we need to be more concerned about the inside as well. Jesus’ promise in verse 8 is that the pure in heart will see God.

Psalm 24:3–4 CSB

3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully.

What matters most to God is the status of our heart. How can you and I have this type of pure heart? Maybe you’re hear this morning and you’re thinking that you’ve done this terrible thing and that you’re unfixable and irredeemable. Take heart today and realize that God’s grace is sufficient and greater than any and all mistakes you’ve made. May your prayer be like that of David and cry out for God to create in you a new heart! Repent from your sinfulness and turn to Him. God fellowships with the pure in heart - not the perfect or the people who try to build this incredible outside image, it’s the inside that matters most of all. Rest assured in His promise and focus on where your heart is at today.

Promise #6: God Claims The Peaceful as His Own (9)

What is the greatest title you have? As a kid that title might be an award you receive at school, “Student of the Month” or something along those lines. As you get older your answer might change to “employee” or “homecoming queen.” As you enter into adulthood your title might change to “husband/wife” or “college graduate” or “mom/dad.” These are great titles, but there is one greater than all of these and it is being called a son/daughter of God! That is the best title that any human can ever receive and it isn’t even close!

Matthew 5:9 tells us that the peacemakers are called sons of God. Our God is a God of peace and our Savior is called the Prince of Peace. If this is the best title we can receive, we should do everything possible to be peacemakers… So, how can we fulfill this position? How can you be a peacemaker?

First you must be a child of God - if you don’t have peace with God, you can’t be a peacemaker for God. As a child of God, though, your responsibility is to build one another up. Philippians 2:4 shares this

Philippians 2:4 CSB

4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.

Hebrews 12:14 CSB

14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.

We maintain the peace and unity that was bought for us by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross! We look out for others and consider the needs of others before the needs of ourselves. This isn’t an easy thing to do, and if you’re a new Christian this might sound impossible to do! Remember that these beatitudes flow from one to the next - keep growing in your discipleship journey with the Lord and be known as a peacemaker because that is what God is calling you to be and remember that He promises to claim you as His Son/daughter.

Assurance #2: The Kingdom Belongs to the Persecuted (10-12)

The other bookend of the beatitudes serves as another present assurance for believers. Gone are the 6 consecutive future “will be” promises and here we find yet another present truth - the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are persecuted because of righteousness. In a world where evil seems to win the day and injustice dominates the headlines, what do we need to be assured of? That eternity is not like this fallen world. That the Kingdom of Heaven is unlike the Kingdom of man. In our world where people are vying for power and will persecute anyone who gets in their way, we need to hold on to the hope that God’s Kingdom is an upside down one. The Kingdom doesn’t belong to the powerful, but to the persecuted. It doesn’t belong to the clever speaker, it belong to the contrite sinner.

Friend, as we studied in the book of Daniel throughout February, suffering and persecution is a part of following Jesus Christ and as you are changed by Christ and begin to live out these beatitudes, you are inviting more persecution to come your way. Our human mindset tells us that whenever we are opposed, insulted, lied about, and rejected that we need to run away or cause a fight… Jesus tells us to simply rejoice and be glad. He doesn’t say that we fight fire with fire or anything of that sort - He simply says to rest assured that the Kingdom of Heaven is their and to know that their reward is great in heaven.

Rejoicing in persecution seems crazy! Yet this is what we see throughout the New Testament

James 1:2 CSB

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,

Philippians 1:29 CSB

29 For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,

As a Christian, the highest ladder you can get to is being like Christ and at no point are you more like Christ than when you lay down your rights, comforts, and life for others. The most Christlike thing we can do is imitate Christ even if that involves our suffering and persecution. How do we get to this point? How can you get to the top of the ladder? By taking the first step. How can you get to this point spiritually? By first becoming poor in Spirit and crying out to your Father. You won’t inherit the earth, be called a child of God, or enter the Kingdom without first repenting of your sins and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life and following Him the rest of your life. Maybe you’ve already done that and you’re a born again believer this morning, understand that the beatitudes are a call to action for you to grow in your walk with the Lord. These are fundamental characteristics of citizens of heaven. This is in the DNA of Christ-followers - are you living these things out today? Are you more recognized by your earthly abilities and defined by their presence in your life or is your life marked by your dependency upon God and His grace in your life? If so, friend, understand that you are blessed because that could never come from yourself.

Beatitudes are words of:

Celebration for disciples

Invitation for those who are outside looking in

Transformation for those being led by His Spirit

If you are on the outside this morning, if you haven’t repented of your sins and placed your faith in Christ as Lord, understand that the Gospel is an invitation to you to come as you are and be changed forevermore. Come celebrate what Christ has done. Be transformed from the inside out and experience the otherworldly peace that only He can bring to your life! Rejoice today even in times of difficulty because your hope is not in food, power, money, or status - your hope is found in the Lord. Only then can you hold onto the assurances of verses 3 and 10 and say that the Kingdom of Heaven is yours. How can you better live out these Kingdom Characteristics in the days ahead?

You know what the last word of the Old Testament is, don’t you? It’s curse… What is the first word of Jesus’ first recorded sermon? Blessed. Trust in Jesus and be forever blessed.