The Beatitudes Part 1

The Life Of Christ  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Introduction

Greetings…
We are going to continue looking at our theme for this year, here on Sunday mornings, which is “The Life Of Christ.”
Today, we are going to begin looking at the greatest recorded sermon our Lord and Savior ever gave while on earth, often called the Sermon on the Mount.
The Sermon on the Mount:
This sermon is from Matthew 5 through Matthew 7.
It covers a wide range of topics, of which we are not going cover each and every one of them though we will look at some of them for sure.
Jesus, up on the mountain begins with one of the most well-known sections of scripture, the Beatitudes.
Of which, Jesus covers nine of them here in this sermon.
Today we are going to examine the first four and the next five the following week.
With this in mind, let’s read, Matthew 5:1-6.
Matthew 5:1–3 ESV
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.
Matthew 5:4–6 ESV
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.

The Poor In Spirit

Theirs Is The Kingdom Of Heaven.

We read in Matthew 5:3
Matthew 5:3 ESV
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
In Jesus’ opening statement we are met face to face with the difference between the wisdom of men and the wisdom of God.
Who in this world, besides followers of Christ, would regard the poor in spirit as the truly blessed or happy person?
The worldly mindset says…
“Blessed are the rich; blessed are the great and powerful; blessed are those who lay up treasures on the earth; blessed are the highly educated; blessed are the powerful in the eyes of the world; blessed are those who spend their days pursuing only physical pleasure.”
The Christian mindset says…
“Blessed am I who recognizes how minuscule I am compared to my Creator and how much I need him in every aspect of my life.”
Jeremiah 10:23 ESV
23 I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
Luke 18:13 ESV
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!’
1 Corinthians 1:26 ESV
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
James 4:10 ESV
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Summary

To have others get to the point of describing us as “Christian,” we must humble ourselves or be “poor in spirit.”
We must not look to ourselves or rely on ourselves but whole and completely rely on our God.
We then see Jesus say Blessed are…

Those Who Mourn

They Shall Be Comforted.

Again, we read in Matthew 5:4
Matthew 5:4 ESV
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Once again, we see this seemingly contradictory statement.
Have you ever heard of “Happy Mourners?”
Typically, we as people shrink back from things that cause suffering and sadness.
We usually gravitate toward things that are joyous and cheerful.
The world will look at this statement and ask, “Why would a blessed or happy person mourn?”
The reality is, the humble or poor in spirit, will mourn because they recognize their inadequacies and sinful state.
The faithful child of God mourns because they know how much they hurt their Savior and God in sin, and it hurts.
Matthew 26:75 ESV
75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Matthew 23:37 ESV
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Summary

To have others get to the point of describing us as “Christian,” we must be “poor in spirit” to the point of “mourning” over our sins and the sins of others as well.
Jeremiah 9:1 ESV
1 Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jesus continued with the next beatitude, blessed are…

The Meek

They Shall Inherit The Earth.

Matthew 5:5 reads…
Matthew 5:5 ESV
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Does meekness mean weakness?
Many think so, yet we will see that this simply is not true!!!
The word meek literally means “tamed wild beast.”
Let us look at the examples of Moses & Jesus who were characterized as meek.
Numbers 12:3 ESV
3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.
Exodus 32:19–20 ESV
19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
2 Corinthians 10:1 ESV
1 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!—
Matthew 11:29 ESV
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 21:12–13 ESV
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Matthew 23:33 ESV
33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

Summary

In the world “might equals right.”
However, it is the meek that will inherit the world.
To have others get to the point of describing us as “Christian,” we must be “poor in spirit” to the point of “mourning” over ours and others sins which should tame us spiritually to meekness.
Fourthly, Jesus would declare, “blessed are…

Those That Hunger & Thirst For Righteousness

They Shall Be Satisfied.

Matthew 5:6 reads…
Matthew 5:6 ESV
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Physical hunger and thirst are two of the basic “needs” every person has and requires for survival.
Those that are hungry or thirsty desperately seek out food and water.
God knows this and takes care of these need for the righteous.
Matthew 6:31–33 ESV
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
When it comes to spiritual things, we ought to have the same hunger and thirst when lacking as we do the physical when lacking.
Proverbs 27:7 ESV
7 One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.

Summary

The reality is, those of the world that are satisfied loath the gospel.
They hunger and thirst for careers, sports, friends…
The child of God finds the gospel as sweet as honey even though it has bitter truths concerning our sinful lives.
To have others get to the point of describing us as “Christians,” we must be poor in spirit to the point of mourning over ours and others sins which should tame us spiritually to meekness and make us hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Conclusion

Next week we will finish looking at the rest of these “blessings” we will have if we abide by them.
So, if we want to have the best possible life here on earth and in the next life we must be…
Poor in spirit, Mourn our sin and the pain it causes our Creator, be Meek, and Hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Invitation
Isaiah 59:1–2 ESV
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Philippians 2:6–7 ESV
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Romans 10:17 ESV
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Hebrews 11:6 ESV
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Acts 17:30 ESV
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
Matthew 10:32 NKJV
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
2 Thessalonians 1:8 ESV
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
Romans 6:3–5 ESV
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
1 John 1:7 ESV
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
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