Insight Into The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord, Our King, Our Strength and Our Redeemer! AMEN.

In the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit- Amen.

A warm welcome to everyone worshipping here today! And especially to all relatively new worshippers here. You are loved!

In today’s presentation I’d like us to look at how Jesus said we should live in this age, as mighty children of God.

A good place to look, I feel, is in Matthew 5: verses 4-12.

Let’s review these verses one by one.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Many believe that the ‘kingdom of heaven’ is different from the ‘kingdom of God’. The kingdom of heaven being the reserve of ‘overcoming’ Christians who walk in the spirit and not according to fleshly lusts.

So we are blessed if we are poor in spirit. This does not mean not having spirit or drive. It means to be humble in spirit. Put humble in place of poor and you will see what Jesus meant. He wants us to approach God realizing that we need Him in all areas of our lives. We need Holy Spirit as our guide 24/7, and we need Jesus as our saviour and Lord of our lives.

Then when we humble ourselves before them we can be used by God and in due time He will lift you up.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Many believe that this is not just referring to mourning the physically dead, but also the mourning the spiritually dead who live by corruption and greed.

In Ezekiel 9:4-6 we read this. And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.”

There will come a time when God will say “Going against my moral will, ends here!”

And being in His sanctuary, the house of God, will not be enough in itself! We must be followers not hangers-on!

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Remember meek is not weak.

Moses was meek. Yet Jewish writings tell us that he was a General in the Egyptian army. He was not weak.

Jesus was meek. The money-changers can certainly report that He was not weak!

Biblical meekness is strength under Godly control!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Those who have truly given their hearts to God and seek after His righteousness will have Jesus’ righteousness imputed to them. When they ask, they will be filled with the Holy Spirit. They will BE holy just as God is holy! They will be enabled to live by grace through faith. And grace will teach them to say “NO” to all unrighteous and to live upright and self-controlled lives in this present age. In other words, NOW!

Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.

While we were still sinners Jesus died for us. We come to Him and throw ourselves on His mercy and He freely forgives us! Now as ones who have been forgiven much we cannot help loving mush also. We will be merciful to those who offend us in any way realising how much we we have been forgiven. And, God will give us favour in this world when we need mercy from those around us!

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

On the simplest level this could be referring to the time after our death or rapture when we are resurrected. On the other hand it could be referring to this age!

When you believe, you will receive and SEE your questions to God answered?

When you are living according to God’s guidance and you SEE His favour in your life?

When you see and hear of miraculous answers to prayers?

And as you get closer you will see God!

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

Are we spreading peace or are we amongst those who spread discord and war? As children of God we live in love and our lives will reflect that love of Christ. Jesus reconciled us to God and God the Father was in Christ reconciling us to Himself. Now, they have given US the ministry of reconciliation and we are to tell everyone how they can also be reconciled to God and bring peace to all men!

All men and women need to know that Jesus died for them. That He was buried and rose again demonstrating that the way was opened to give all those who put their trust in Him into eternal life!

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

There are people all around the world and especially where Christianity is not the dominant religion, who are persecuted for their belief in the true God. Our brethren are being tortured and killed because they have chosen the God who chose them. Choosing to live righteously can bring persecution at home and abroad.

But what we may go through here on earth cannot be compared with the joy that awaits us in heaven. In fact it so fantastic that the Apostle Paul considered it better to go to be with the Lord than to live here on earth! He only stayed because the Church needed him. God has us in His Church to educate us to bring others in also! Like Paul we have a job to do before taking our future positions in the kingdom.

Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so they persecuted the prophets who came before you.

This seems at first to be just like the previous clause on persecution but it is indeed different. In this case it’s talking about being persecuted for Jesus’ sake. To me this speaks of being attacked for following Jesus and His instructions. Jesus said that His disciples would spread the good-news and make disciples. Home and abroad this can put peoples noses out of joint! In this age people want everything for themselves and to have someone around who loves Jesus and wants to give to outsiders goes against the grain!

The thing is God and Christ are not surprised! That’s why they tell us in advance that there is a reward waiting for us when we recognise how much we have been forgiven and thus we love God and promote Jesus.

Isn’t it amazing when a God plan comes together and you KNOW that you are IN Christ and you are the righteousness of God in Him. And nothing can take that away from you!

As a true Christian you have no sins imputed or held against you; and as a mighty man or woman of God, whatever you do for Christ WILL make a difference! Now and into your glorious future!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all,

Amen.