Scripture Focus (Matthew 5:1-6) – “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. [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.”
I. The Christian’s Spiritual Accounting (Matthew 5:3)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
A. The potential – “Blessed…” Happy, contented, fulfilled – Oh how happy are they!
B. The prerequisite – “…are the poor in spirit.”
To be poor in spirit is to live with an utter absence of pride & self-reliance, understanding that we are nothing apart from the grace of God and righteousness of Jesus. It is the opposite of feeling proud, competent and entitled.
To be poor in spirit recognizes that there must be:
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- an emptying before a filling
- a pulling down before a rising up
- a breaking before a connecting
- a death before a resurrection
- the admission of guilt before the receiving of forgiveness
- a condemnation before a pardon
- a fear before a comfort
- an awareness of being lost before a desire to be found
C. The promise – “…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
II. The Christian’s Heavy Awareness (Matthew 5:4)
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
A. We mourn for our sins and the sins of our generation
B. We mourn for the ignorance of God’s glory in our generation
C. We mourn (long for in earnest) for the return of the Bridegroom
Matthew 9:15 – “And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
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- The mourning Christian is comforted because godly sorrow works repentance.
- Those who mourn over sin will flee it, those who flee it will escape it, those who escape it find comfort.
- There is a righteous heaviness, entirely rooted in confident hope, that will mark all believers who long for Jesus’ return.
- We cannot be fully content while He is away. We cannot operate in glibness or artificial glee.
III. The Christian’s Developing Attitude (Matthew 5:5)
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
A. The definition of meekness – A gentle, kind, humble attitude.
Meekness is the logical outflow of life based on an accurate understanding of oneself.
B. The decision for meekness – We choose to be meek before God and before our fellow man.
C. The declaration of meekness – Those who are meek never need to advertise it, their lives leave us no doubt.
D. The destiny of meekness – “…they shall inherit the earth.”
IV. The Christian’s Kingdom Appetite (Matthew 5:6)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
A. The desire for personal righteousness – Living out our spiritual identity. We cannot bear to violate our conscience.
B. The desire for relational righteousness -We are only at peace with God & ourselves when we are at peace with others.
C. The desire for undiluted righteousness – We long for the final fulfillment when we will never again fall short.
D. The desire for established, global righteousness – We long to be faithful to God’s revealed standards.
“…for they shall be filled…”