[podcast]http://www.revkwon.com/podcast/sermon-beatitudes.mp3[/podcast] Were starting a brand new sermon series called, The Sermon. In this series, we will take two months looking into Matthew 5 and exploring the riches of Jesus Sermon on the Mount. The reason were doing this is because I think we spend so much time listening to sermons that we dont actually ever sit down and read one with careful understanding. For some of you, this is going to be like, duh. I know this stuff already, Im a Christian born and raised. For others, this is going to be like, oh, thats what it means So, without any more introductions from me, lets start reading Jesus famous Sermon on the Mount.
1Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, 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 children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:1-12)
If the first and last beatitudes are for the present, and what I said is true. Im thinking it is true, then I want to focus on the first and last beatitudes right now so that you can understand what is poor in spirit and what it means to be persecuted for righteousness. Poor in Spirit: A person who is poor in spirit is somebody who knows he or she cant make it on their own. Somebody once asked me, “Isn’t Christianity a crutch for people who can’t make it on their own?” My answer was very simple. I said, “Yes.” Heres why its so important for us to understand that we cant make it on our own if we want to be a part of the kingdom of heaven here and now. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote this: discontent is the want of self-reliance. That is simply to say that the more you are self-reliant and not poor in spirit, the more you are sick of yourself. Jesus is offering you the kingdom of heaven if you would stop relying on yourself and rely on him. This is all we need. Isnt that the gospel? That we stop trying to sabotage ourselves by earning our own salvation and relying fully on the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ? King David wrote in Psalm 51:17, The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit Its true, a person poor in spirit is blessed because he/she is exactly whom God created His kingdom for. Now the last beatitude, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness. Heres why doing whats right and fighting for whats right leads to persecution. It comes from Luke 16 where Jesus is talking about a servant not being able to serve two masters. Im not going to read it to you, but I will give you some examples of what Im talking aboutwhen you desire to be like Jesus in your affairs and your relationships, then people who are not like Jesus nor want to be like Jesus will attack you and condemn you. Its why we have hypocrites. This is what happens all the time, whether we know it or not. Movies are made based on this dynamic dichotomy. Tales are told, legends are made. I want you to know the next time you find yourself struggling to do whats right, the next time you find yourself backed up against a rock and a hard place with nowhere to go, that yours is the kingdom of heaven. God made heaven for somebody like you. When people stand up against injustice like ISIS and people say, why get involved, this is whybecause yours is the kingdom of heaven and God is the God of righteousness and you serve Him. When drs risk their lives to go to Africa to help Ebola patients, thats whybecause God calls you fight for the mourning, the meek. When we stand up and do whats in our hearts to do, we are finding ourselves in the midst of Gods kingdom unfolding here on Earth. If these things are happening to you then pay nobody any mind when you are being persecuted because yours is the kingdom of heaven, here and now. I told you earlier that the six beatitudes in the middle are yours, they happen in the kingdom when yours is the kingdom of heaven. The problem is that this topic alone should really be an 8 week series, but Im not going to do that. Rather, Im going to ask you a question, and after we pray together and end our service, I want you to jump into your small groups to ask yourselves: if the kingdom of heaven is here and now, then where in my life do I see the blessings of the kingdom? Do I not find them because Im not looking? Or do I not find them because Im not living life in Gods kingdom?
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