Blessed
are the gentle, 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. Matthew 5:5-8
The past few weeks we have been enjoying a sermon series about the Beatitudes called Authentic Christianity. Today we are continuing our review as we prepare for the final wrap up sermon this coming Sunday morning.
The past few weeks we have been enjoying a sermon series about the Beatitudes called Authentic Christianity. Today we are continuing our review as we prepare for the final wrap up sermon this coming Sunday morning.
Blessed
are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
Step three in Authentic
Christianity is a new attitude resulting from being humbled and broken which
exudes patience and power and a full experience of life’s benefits. In some translations this passage reads Blessed are the meek… Meekness is often confused with weakness. Meekness
is not fear demonstrated by timidity. Meekness
by definition means submissive, controlled, tame, gentle, and teachable. Those are all good things for Christians to
be. Meekness is not cowardice, helplessness, spiritless, fragile or
spineless. Our source of meekness is
God. The one who will find perfect joy is the one who realizes their strength
and humility before God and exercises strength with gentleness before
others. Such a God-controlled individual
will receive more from life on earth and all of earth in heaven.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6 Step four in Authentic Christianity is a
change in the will and its desires resulting in seeking Christ and the
contentment and blessing in life He brings. God has put eternity in our hearts
and we have an inconsolable longing. We try to satisfy it with greater
financial position, being more popular, going new places, sexual exploits, sports,
mind altering substances, getting more things, etc. But the longing remains. To have a spiritual passion to know God
reveals that we are in great need of God and creates a constant appetite for
God that can only be satisfied by God.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall
receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 Step five in Authentic Christianity is a new heart of
compassion and mercy toward others enslaved to sin or suffering from the trials
of this world resulting in reciprocal gratitude and compassion from others.
It's so easy to get a hard
heart. But Jesus knew the value of
mercy. It brings great blessing to all. Mercy is showing love to the people that you
are justified in giving the verdict “guilty” to. Mercy is possible only when we have a right
to sit in judgment with the power to act. True mercy requires power to forgive
in being the one wronged. Mercy comes
from a heart that has first felt its own spiritual bankruptcy and mourned
deeply over its sin. Having been broken, this heart is now open to the truth of
the Lord and hungers for His truth which comes in His person and a new heart.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall
see God. Matthew 5:8 Step six Authentic Christianity is a new focus on the inner
man and a singleness of motive and heart which enables us to understand the
revelation of God. A person who is pure
in heart does not have mixed motives.
They are not double-minded or two-souled. God desires fellowship with us. God desires
that we are enabled to see Him. And this is the promise to us - it is the
result of becoming pure in heart. The pure in heart are a rare breed in our
society today. They are even rare in our churches today. But I believe God is
calling us back to that single-minded, unmixed devotion to Him which
characterizes those upon whom He pours out His Spirit. In the Kingdom, the way up is always down. We
must fall on our knees in repentance before we can look up to catch a glimpse
of His glory. O God, purify our hearts that we may see Jesus!
