(10/6) Welcome to Christ’s Community Church. We are beginning a new series in the gospel of Matthew called The Way. This is a passage of Scripture that has been treasured for centuries. Some of you may know it as the Sermon on the Mount and it is found in Matthew chapter five continuing all the way through chapter seven. Now, what you may not know is that the Sermon on the Mount is likely one of the most misunderstood messages that Jesus ever gave to the people.

In other words, some people read the Sermon on the Mount and think it is God’s plan of salvation. That this is what you must do and if you have any hope of going to heaven, you must obey all of these rules. Others see it as a roadmap, a treaty for world peace, and plead for all people to accept it with unconditional surrender. And still others, believe that the Sermon on the Mount doesn’t apply to us today, but it will apply at some future time, maybe during the tribulation or in the millennial kingdom. However, whatever applications the Sermon on the Mount may have to world problems or to future events, what is certain is that this sermon has definite applications for us today.

Jesus came to show us the way, but before we begin reading this amazing sermon, I want to give you the context. Because last week we talked about being rewired by Christ, and we saw him overcome his testing in the wilderness, but no sooner had he returned to civilization then did he hear that John the Baptist had been arrested. Immediately he left Judea and returned to Galilee where he began to preach,

"Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near" (Matthew 4:17, NLT).

In other words, he came to show us a new way, and as he was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee he ran into Simon Peter, and his brother Andrew. Jesus called out to them,

"Come, follow me" (Matthew 4:19).

They left their nets at once and followed him. A little further up the sure he saw James and John sitting in a boat repairing their nets. He called them to come also, and they immediately followed him.

Together with Jesus they traveled throughout the region of Galilee, and he was teaching in the synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Jesus came to show us the way and the Bible says,

"News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him" (Matthew 4:23-25).

And so, this was Jesus audience, he wasn’t talking either to righteous people or religious people but individual believers that had seen or had been touched by the power of the living God. In other words, the blessings of the kingdom of God that we are about to read are not just for the rich or the powerful, the religious or the influential, but they are available for the meek, those who are suffering, the brokenhearted, the persecuted, as well as the peacemaker. In other words, the blessings of the kingdom of God are available for all of us, because we all need Jesus, and so we are going to see that he makes a new way for us to be saved and to experience the manifold blessings of God.

Let’s begin reading the gospel of Matthew at chapter five, verse one, and allow the words of Jesus to settle on our hearts, working their way into us today.

"Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down" (Matthew 5:1).

In other words, Jesus’ fame was increasing, and more and more people were following him. Crowds of people, all kinds of different people were coming out to see who this prophet and teacher and miracle worker was that healed the sick and preached the law with such insight and authority.

Continuing to read, Matthew tells us,

"His disciples came to him and he began to teach them" (Matthew 5:1-2).

As he begins speaking, the crowd’s attention was riveted on Jesus as he uttered his first word,

"Blessed" (Matthew 5:3).

I am curious, how many of you would say that God has blessed you? You are living a pretty blessed life. Just raise your hands for a moment.

Now, how many of you would say, "I would love to be even more blessed"? Go ahead and raise your hands, there is no shame in admitting it. "I would love to be even more blessed, experiencing the divine presence of God everywhere I go, just surrounded by blessings of divine providence."

Well, let me tell you, this one word "blessed" gives us the title of this section. In fact, many of your Bibles have a heading right here that says, "The Beatitudes" which comes from the Latin word "beatus" which means blessed.

Warren Wiersbe said, "This was a powerful word to those who heard Jesus that day, because to them it meant, "divine joy and perfect happiness", but this wasn’t a word that was traditionally used for humans, because it described a joy experienced only by the gods or the dead."

Now, in the Jewish way of thinking, those devout Jews would have seen "blessing" as the happiness of a person based upon or because of certain praiseworthy religious behaviors or attitudes. In other words, in their minds it was assumed that those who were blessed were fortunate because God rewards those who trust him with wealth or worldly well-being. We see this kind of thinking in the book of Job, because he was considered blessed when everything was fine, but when adversity came Job’s wife suggested that he curse God and die. You know, "you might as well just get it over," but Job wisely replied,

"Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10).

And so, today as we sit down on the mountain sigh with Jesus, to be blessed, suddenly takes on a very different meaning. Jesus continues speaking, saying these unforgettable words:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3).

And Jesus says this, connecting with his audience, recognizing that most if not all of them are in fact "poor in spirit". In other words, to be poor in spirit refers to those who recognize their desperate position before God and who long to see God’s restoration through his promised Messiah.

And so, he says to those who came out to hear him, "theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Because it was those in the crowd, who were desiring to see the kingdom of God come right now. Suddenly, in opposition to both Greco-Roman and Jewish ways of thinking, "blessing" becomes linked with things like brokenness, poverty, humility, and yes, even persecution. And so, we want to understand in the context, that true blessing is not worldly, it is not attached to what you have or don’t have, but true blessing is one that comes through faith in Jesus and a commitment to the Kingdom of Heaven.

In this passage we are going to discover that Jesus preaches a new way, he offers a better commandment and teaches the people that to be truly "blessed" implies an inner satisfaction and sufficiency that is not dependent upon outward circumstances. This is the blessing that the Lord Jesus offers those who put their trust in him, and so let’s continue down this path of thought as we continue reading in Matthew chapter five,

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4).

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5).

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6).

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7).

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8).

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9).

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10).

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 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 5:11-12).

Having read down through the Beatitudes, the blessings, you may have noticed that they represent a radically different outlook from that of the world. The world praises pride and self-promotion, seeking personal gain, while embracing a merciless and callous indifference for others. The world endorses those who are fighting and clawing their way to the top, constantly seeking conflict and discord, while ignoring ethics or morality and pursuing selfish desires, because it is at war with God.

Meanwhile, God is pursuing those "who are weary and burdened" and he promises, "I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

But that Kingdom mindset that Jesus invites us to share in, is a polar opposite from the world that we live in today, which makes his teaching perpetually relevant to each one of us. Because Jesus ascribes blessings to the poor, the broken, the weeping, the hungry and hated, not because they have deserved it or have accomplished anything noteworthy themselves, but because he said the Spirit of God has anointed him to preach good news to the poor. "He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed…" (Luke 4:18).

You see, the presence and preaching of Jesus signifies the coming of the Kingdom of God and a new way, a new reality, that transcends the troubles of this age. And so, even though you may be mocked and persecuted and ridiculed for following "the way" it’s only because the world is at war with God. If you are here today and you have been mocked and ridiculed, condemned and looked down upon; if you are poor in spirit and you are hungry and thirsty for more of God; Jesus has a place for you, because he said,

"Yours is the kingdom of heaven… you will be comforted… you will inherit the earth… you will be filled… you will be shown mercy… you will see God… and you will be called the children of God… because great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:3-12).

And so, in Jesus we discover a new way to experience life, and the manifold blessings of God, and ultimately eternal salvation.

Now, let’s back up and see how we can apply this to our lives, looking at the four different attitudes that Jesus describes that pave the way for a blessed life. And so, the first attitude when we are living as Jesus wants us to live is our attitude toward the world. Jesus said simply, "rejoice and be glad" and indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

You may say, "Why should we or how do we have that kind of attitude?" And it’s because we are blessed (Matthew 5:10). Jesus said,

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12).

That is important to know, because the world is not a friend to God nor to God’s people. In fact, the Bible says that,

"Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God" (James 4:4).

And so, there is a cost to following Jesus, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise to you because Jesus said,

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).

And so, that is the environment that we are thrust into, and whether we like it or not, there is conflict between us and the world, because we are different from the world, we have different values, and we have different attitudes.

Number one, you can rejoice and be glad when you are persecuted, because if they persecuted Jesus, they will persecute you also, but you can be assured that great is your reward in heaven. And then, the second attitude we want to maintain as believers is our attitude towards the Lord. He said it this way in verse seven,

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7).

We want to be merciful, extending mercy to others, because we ourselves have experienced God’s mercy when we put our trust in Jesus. The Bible tells us that God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions (Ephesians 2:4-5). And so, having received his mercy, we are able to share his mercy with others, because he has purified our hearts by faith.

As David cried out, "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalms 51:10). He has cleansed us and the blessed us so that we might see God in our lives today. That’s what Jesus promised in verse eight,

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8).

Therefore, since we have been washed, justified by faith, we have peace with God and we are blessed, becoming peacemakers in a troubled world (Matthew 5:9). And our attitude toward the Lord is one that reflects God’s mercy, purity, and peace. And then, number three, our third attitude we must embrace is our attitude toward our sins. Jesus said,

"Blessed are those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4).

In other words, we must see sin the way God sees it. We must treat it the way God treats it, not hiding it or defending our sin, but dealing with it radically.

Our attitude toward our sin must be one that mourns over sin and despises its influence on our lives. James describes this attitude the best, telling us,

"Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom" (James 4:8-9).

Because not only are you blessed when you mourn, but when you acknowledge your sin, and meekly submit to God, he promises,

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5).

Too many people interpret meekness to be weakness, but the word translated "meek" is used in the original language to describe a horse that has been broken. In other words, this is the kind of attitude is really one of power under control as the Scripture says,

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:10).

And so, as we hunger and thirst for righteousness, the fourth attitude is our attitude toward ourselves. Jesus said,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3).

To be poor in spirit doesn’t mean to be a wimp or have no backbone but the Bible describes it best in Romans chapter twelve where the Spirit says,

"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment" (Romans 12:3).

In other words, this is opposite of the world’s attitude, the self-exultation, pride and arrogance, but to be poor in spirit means to be honest about ourselves, to think of ourselves with sober judgment.

Israel’s King David described it well when he cried out to the Lord,

"Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (Psalms 51:14-17).

The Beatitudes are a powerful reminder that the blessings of the Kingdom are not for those with the most power or influence, but they are available to the meek, the brokenhearted, the gentle, the persecuted, and the forgotten. These are the attitudes that ought to be in our lives today, they are available to all of us, because Jesus has made a new way for all to be saved and to experience the blessings of God, the glory of God, and the grace of God.

Read Part 2

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott