[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 10th of August, 2014.]
Since this was the weekend for our annual retreat at the Blowing Rock Conference Center, I thought it appropriate to look a little more closely at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Listen and follow along to the opening words of that sermon, as recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 5, verses 1 through 12…
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach 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 gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
--Matthew 5:1-12 (NASB)
Let us pray... Most generous Father, thank You so much for all the many blessings in our lives! Thank You for comforting us when we mourn, for satisfying us when we hunger and thirst for You. Forgive us, Father when we sometimes fail to recognize just how blessed we truly are. Speak to us now, Lord, through this Your servant, that we might hear Your message. In the glorious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Have you seen the latest Christian bumper sticker? It reads, “Tithe if you love Jesus. Any fool can honk.”
There was this man once who made a covenant with his pastor to give a full ten percent of his income every year to the church. They were both young and didn’t have much money, but that condition changed over time. The first year, the man made $10,000 and tithed $1,000 to the church. A few years later he tithed $10,000 when he earned $100,000. And a few years after that, he gave $100,000 dollars when he made his first million. But the year he earned six million dollars, he just couldn’t seem to bring himself to write out that check for $600,000. Visiting his pastor friend, who had since moved on to another church, the man begged to be let out of the covenant he had made so long ago. He pleaded, “This tithing thing has to stop! It was fine when I only made $10,000. But I just can’t afford to give up $600,000! You’ve got to do something, Reverend!” The pastor immediately went to his knees and began silently praying. After a few minutes the man asked, “Are you praying that God will let me out of this covenant to fully tithe?” “No, the pastor replied. “I’m praying for God to reduce your income back to the level where $1,000 will be your tithe.”
Now this isn’t a sermon about tithing. But the bumper sticker points to the story and the story points to how we can sometimes miss just how generous God is to us. God blessed the man in a way the world clearly understands: with an increasing income. He rewarded the man for tithing. But as his income grew and grew, the amount he should return to God also grew and grew. Pretty soon, he began to forget about the blessing and could only see all those zeroes on the right side of the figure he was expected to give back. He had begun to take the blessing for granted. His pastor friend cleverly reminded him of just how much God had blessed him.
And that is the point of this message. Have we forgotten just how blessed we truly are?
Maybe you’ve been wondering about the title I gave this message: “Exalted Happiness”? Well, that is how the dictionary defines the word “beatitude”. Our scripture reading today is that part of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount widely known and referred to as the Beatitudes.
Beatitude: supreme or exalted happiness. I’m sure we all have a pretty good idea of just what happiness is, but what about exalted? Turning to the dictionary again, we see that to be exalted is to be raised in rank, honor, power, character, or quality; to be elevated. So we could say that a beatitude is an elevated happiness, or a happiness that exceeds normal happiness.
In the children’s sermon, I told the kids that a blessing is like a gift. And a gift can make us happy, right? So how great and wonderful must a gift be in order to bring us to an elevated level of happiness, to make us happier than happy? That would truly be a marvelous gift, wouldn’t it?
I can give you one example of just such a blessing: me being here, with you. And like the man in our little story, most folks consider monetary wealth to be a blessing. In his book of Proverbs, chapter 10, verse 22, wise King Solomon tells us…
22 It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich,--Proverbs 10:22 (NASB)
And He adds no sorrow to it.
That’s not to say that we understand why God may make some people financially very well off while others struggle just to make ends meet. We simply cannot know or understand all the ways of God, not until He reveals them to us when we meet face to face.
But those examples are obvious blessings, gifts from God that bring us great, even elevated happiness. What about Jesus?
Our scripture text today opens with the words, “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain.” How do you think He viewed the crowds, the massive throngs of people that were always clamoring around Him, seeking His healing touch, yearning to hear His words? Do you think they were a blessing to Him, or a curse? Did He go up on that mountain to escape from the crowds? The end of that first verse says that the disciples came up to Him after He sat down, but Matthew doesn’t mention the crowds anymore. What happened to them?
Have you noticed I often ask questions that I don’t have the answers to?
All I know is from what Matthew tells us, and he only reports that Jesus spoke this sermon for the benefit of His disciples. Look at the 2nd verse: “He opened His mouth and began to teach them”, with “them” being the disciples who came to Him. Oh, and we’re His disciples too, aren’t we? We follow Him and strive to learn from Him, so we are His disciples and He is teaching us as well with His sermon. My guess is that at least some of the crowd followed them onto that mountain and listened intently as He spoke.
As for whether He considered the masses a blessing or a curse, He must have seen them as a blessing, for it was for them, for us, that He came to earth. It was for all of humankind that our Father set Him on this path. How could He see the people as anything other than a blessing?
Now what about the Beatitudes, what about those things that Jesus says are blessings?
Blessed are the poor in spirit… We don’t usually see “poor” as being a blessing, do we? Poor in health means ill, sick, not doing too well. Poor financially means not being able to pay the bills or put food on the table. Hardly what we would consider a blessing. But here, poor in spirit doesn’t mean lacking spirit, it means being humble, having a humble spirit.
Think of the rich man in our funny story. He had so much yet he seemed to constantly needed more and more. For him, too much was never enough. If we keep longing for more and more, we’re missing the point.
Nothing - neither power nor wealth nor influence - can equal the wonderful grace and mercy God has shown to us through the greatest gift of His Son. Remembering that keeps us humble, remembering just what Jesus went through on our behalf, just because He loves us that much, keeps us humble. Being humble means understanding the difference between having everything we want and having enough. And if we are humble, like both God and Jesus want us to be, we will inherit riches far greater than anything this world can provide, far greater than we can even imagine! In that way, we are blessed.
I referenced the Beatitudes last week when I quoted from the book of Isaiah, and I think it bears repeating that quote today. In chapter 66, God is talking about all of creation, how He made everything so what could man possibly offer Him? But then, in the last half of verse 2 He echoes the words Jesus will later say…
But those examples are obvious blessings, gifts from God that bring us great, even elevated happiness. What about Jesus?
Our scripture text today opens with the words, “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain.” How do you think He viewed the crowds, the massive throngs of people that were always clamoring around Him, seeking His healing touch, yearning to hear His words? Do you think they were a blessing to Him, or a curse? Did He go up on that mountain to escape from the crowds? The end of that first verse says that the disciples came up to Him after He sat down, but Matthew doesn’t mention the crowds anymore. What happened to them?
Have you noticed I often ask questions that I don’t have the answers to?
All I know is from what Matthew tells us, and he only reports that Jesus spoke this sermon for the benefit of His disciples. Look at the 2nd verse: “He opened His mouth and began to teach them”, with “them” being the disciples who came to Him. Oh, and we’re His disciples too, aren’t we? We follow Him and strive to learn from Him, so we are His disciples and He is teaching us as well with His sermon. My guess is that at least some of the crowd followed them onto that mountain and listened intently as He spoke.
As for whether He considered the masses a blessing or a curse, He must have seen them as a blessing, for it was for them, for us, that He came to earth. It was for all of humankind that our Father set Him on this path. How could He see the people as anything other than a blessing?
Now what about the Beatitudes, what about those things that Jesus says are blessings?
Blessed are the poor in spirit… We don’t usually see “poor” as being a blessing, do we? Poor in health means ill, sick, not doing too well. Poor financially means not being able to pay the bills or put food on the table. Hardly what we would consider a blessing. But here, poor in spirit doesn’t mean lacking spirit, it means being humble, having a humble spirit.
Think of the rich man in our funny story. He had so much yet he seemed to constantly needed more and more. For him, too much was never enough. If we keep longing for more and more, we’re missing the point.
Nothing - neither power nor wealth nor influence - can equal the wonderful grace and mercy God has shown to us through the greatest gift of His Son. Remembering that keeps us humble, remembering just what Jesus went through on our behalf, just because He loves us that much, keeps us humble. Being humble means understanding the difference between having everything we want and having enough. And if we are humble, like both God and Jesus want us to be, we will inherit riches far greater than anything this world can provide, far greater than we can even imagine! In that way, we are blessed.
I referenced the Beatitudes last week when I quoted from the book of Isaiah, and I think it bears repeating that quote today. In chapter 66, God is talking about all of creation, how He made everything so what could man possibly offer Him? But then, in the last half of verse 2 He echoes the words Jesus will later say…
2(b) “But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word."
Isn’t that a blessing, just knowing that God pays attention to those who are humble? The world might ignore the humble, but God won’t.--Isaiah 66:2b (NASB)
And all of that for the humble kind of fits with the blessing for those who are gentle. But what about those who mourn, there in verse 4 between the humble and the gentle? We mourn because we’ve lost something, because we’re hurting in spirit. And we usually associate mourning with grieving over the loss of a loved one. How is that a blessing?
Well, Jesus tells us the blessing comes in that we are comforted in our grief. Sometimes our grief can be so great it threatens to overwhelm us in its power, to drag us down to where we are at grave risk ourselves. If not for being comforted, we could also be lost. And what better comfort could possibly be found than in the arms of our loving Father, God.
Do we consider being hungry and thirsty a blessing? Well, Jesus wasn’t talking about hungering after food or thirsting for water or even sweet tea. He means that those of God’s children who want so much to learn more about God, to build a deeper and truer relationship with Jesus, to grow ever closer to our loving Father. Those who desire this so much that it is as strong as any hunger, as overwhelming as any thirst. To those the blessing comes in that they will be satisfied in their strivings, they will be made righteous, found to be righteous in God’s eyes.
Verse 7 tells us that when we are merciful to others, we will be blessed by receiving mercy ourselves. And the mercy we receive will be far greater than any we can give, for we will receive pardon of our every sin.
If we keep our heart pure, we will see God. Not that we don’t sin or won’t sin ever again, and not that we can possibly keep our heart pure on our own. But remember that part about receiving mercy. God will help us stay pure in our hearts if we ask Him to.
If we are true advocates of peace, we will be blessed by being considered God’s children, by God and by our fellow man. But whoa! Here’s another little glitch in verse 10. We’re blessed if we’re persecuted?
Yes! If we are attacked and persecuted and insulted and besmirched and lied about and assailed because we stand up for our belief in Jesus as Christ and the one true Son of God, then yes, we will be blessed. We will be placed in the same rank as the saints and the prophets who went before us, who also suffered at the hands of the world. God will reward our steadfastness, our faithful adherence to our belief. And in very many ways He already has.
Family, we are blessed, truly blessed. Just because we don’t always see what God gives us as a gift doesn’t mean it isn’t a gift. Remember earlier I said we can’t always understand why our heavenly Father does some of the things He does? God tells us through the prophet in the book of Isaiah chapter 55 verses 8 and 9…
God can see all the way out to the completion of His great plan for mankind. We can’t even see around the corner. He knows what He has in store for us, all the riches that await us when we finally come home to live with Him.8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,--Isaiah 55:8-9 (NASB)
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
And He also knows the expectations He has for us. Among them is that we not get all hung up on what the world would consider a blessing. If He gives us earthly rewards, we must not let them become all powerful in our lives. If we do, then we begin making them into gods, putting them ahead of the Father. And we cannot serve two masters. So if He does give us earthly riches, we should put them to use for Him, doing His work on earth, helping to advance and expand His kingdom. Because nothing we receive on earth will even compare to the glory that awaits us. All these treasures here will be trash, worthless, when we see what He has saved just for us.
We have been blessed, truly blessed. And we will be even more blessed when we go home to live with Him in His beautiful many roomed mansion. No matter how bad our current circumstance may seem. No matter how dire the situation we are facing right now may be. Just remember we are blessed!
Be humble, be merciful, hunger for righteousness, strive for peace, be comforted in your grief, and stand up to the world as it tries to beat you down. One day, none of this will matter. One day we will stand face to face with the One who created everything. One day we will begin a new life with a new body and a name Jesus has just for us. And we will live forever in the house of The Lord.
Blessed are we.
Amen.
Let us pray… O loving Father, Your Son Jesus tells us we are blessed, but we don’t always see it that way. Please forgive us, Father, when we fail to understand, when we start to feel sorry for ourselves because of the predicament we’re in, when we are hurting so much inside because a loved one is ill or has passed on ahead of us, when the world is tearing us down and we see no relief anywhere. We know You are always with us, Lord. And we know You love us. You cry when we are in sorrow just as You laugh along with us in our joy. Thank You so much for all the gifts you give us today, here in this world. But thank You even more, dear Father, for what you have in store for us when we come home to be with You.
Be patient with us, Father, as we struggle through this earthly life. Help us as we strive to resist the temptations and stumbling blocks Satan puts in our path. Nothing he can offer will ever amount to anything in Your great kingdom. Listen to us now, dear Lord, as we speak to You silently from our hearts, telling You our unspoken needs, seeking Your favor and Your help…
Thank You, loving Father, for listening to us. Thank You for the many blessings You shower upon us each day, and for the many more that await us. Help us, please, to remain faithful and steadfast to You no matter what this world might do to us. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.
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