Cross Road

Baptist Church

© 2017

Sermon Text

Set Up to be Blessed

3. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

4. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

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

9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

11. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My Sake.

12. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in Heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:3-12

Do you know how blessed you are?

Many Christians misread these passages in two ways. First they assume that these are attitudes that must be maintained. That is not the meaning of the text. The state of blessedness refers to a condition rather than an attitude. When a believer trusts God, the Lord Himself establishes them firmly in their faith even when the circumstances around them present extreme challenges. The blessed state depends on God and not the believer. The second misread of the passage has to do with the Christian witness to the world. Many believers assume that godliness is measured by the good fortune(s) they experience in life. Jesus turned those notions upside down when He declared His followers to be extremely blessed and happy when they mourn, are poor, are hungry, are meek, are merciful, and are persecuted.

That is radical thinking in a world that is driven by greed, fame, excess, and self indulgence. While Jesus never intended for these “Beatitudes” or “Blessed” statements to be a check list, He did intend for His followers to check their life to see if God was working through them. Jesus declared us blessed no matter what struggles or trials or conditions that may come our way.

In the Old Testament, there were many that faced opposition and yet they were blessed. The Old Testament Saint, Job did not pull out a check list when he faced his loss of family, fortune, and health. He relied on his faith and waited for God to move. Job was a blessed man even though his conditions said otherwise.

David did not feel blessed when Saul was chasing him around the country side attempting to take his life. The anointing of God was on his life even as he faced challenging times. God considered David’s struggles as blessed times.

You and I don’t feel “blessed” when things go wrong in our life. We lose a job; we lose our health, or we lose a family member. We don’t feel “blessed” but the point is – we are blessed. As a matter of fact, we are extremely blessed because the condition has increased our God dependence. God has considered us blessed even if He chooses not to change our environment; He still has us in His hands. Our problem is that we don’t realize how blessed we truly are.

There are a couple of things that we should focus on as we work through this passage. First, your situations in life cannot change what God has planned for your life. Here is a great application of that point. At the dentist’s office I read this sign that read, “Change the world with your smile – but don’t let the world change your smile.” Is that great? When it is firmly embedded into your soul that the conditions of life will never change God’s plan for you, you will take on an entirely different approach to living. It is called blessed living.

The second focus is that conditions are only temporary, but the Kingdom of God is eternal. When we learn this, we will stop worrying so much about temporary conditions and focus more on things that are eternal. Knowing that you are blessed to be in God’s Kingdom will make you brave, bold, and bountiful even if you have make do with less. It is not what you have, but it really is who you have. You have God and that is more than enough. When you are poor in spirit, when you mourn, and you hunger for righteousness, you are blessed.

Thirdly focus on being blessed and using that blessedness to change the world instead of your circumstances. It would be good for Christians to stop waiting for circumstances to change and start recognizing that our blessedness can change the world. When folks take note of your life, they will desire to have what you have and to do the things that you do because they see that it is not based on silver and gold. They will start to recognize the Power of Jesus in your character. That is when the blessedness that you have begins to touch the lives of others. The more pressure the world places on you – the more you show how blessed you are. The more the world persecutes you, the more you take the persecutions and give God praise. God allows the struggles life to push us into the “blessed life.”

If Jesus says you’re blessed – then you’re truly blessed

Jesus made nine declarations of blessedness to show the impact of believers connecting with God’s Kingdom. The focus is not on possessions, nor is it acceptance by the world; the focus is on belonging to God. So what does blessed look like and how can we embrace these truths?

One of the Old Testament passages that come to mind is Deuteronomy 28 when Moses instructed the Israelites to recite “blessings” and “cursings” upon the nation when they entered the Promised Land. Some of the tribes would stand on Mount Gerizim and pronounce “blessing” while the other tribes would stand on Mount Ebal and pronounce the curse if the people were unfaithful to God.

When Jesus stood on this Mount, He was giving people the Law of the Kingdom of God and it was all based on their relationship God as Lord. Jesus was reminding them, that there was no circumstance in life that would keep them from being blessed as long as they remained faithful. The definition for “blessed” was the given by God and He established it as the Law of the Kingdom.

The struggles of life leave you blessed not cursed. Jesus said in verses 3, 5, and 6, that spiritual conditions lead to Kingdom dependence. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven … Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted … Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Our first reaction to struggle is to think we are living wrong and that God has abandoned us. The fact that Jesus said, the poor get the Kingdom is good news for all those who have experienced the pains of poverty. There is one slight twist: these are poor in spirit. The reference to mourning refers to brokenness over the evils of this life. Who wouldn’t be heart broken to see others suffer? Jesus promised comfort. In addition to that, when we look at the hunger in our world, Jesus takes us to a higher hunger. It is the hunger for God’s righteousness. Our struggles will lead us to God if we know that He is the Only One that can handle them. It is good news to know that we are blessed in our struggles.

Simple living doesn’t mean you are missing out. Jesus says we are blessed even when life seems to be simple and the finer things in life seem to pass you by. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth … Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy …Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. We have been told by the world that you must be tough, relentless, and conniving if you want to succeed in this dog-eat-dog world. My reply is “no thank you” I don’t have a canine appetite. The point is that we reflect the Spirit’s response to the world and not the fleshly response. The flesh says, get it first and get it all. The flesh says “show no mercy” and you will win. The flesh says no one knows what is in your heart – hide it. The Lord Jesus shows us a different picture of people who are led by the Spirit of God. They are meek (that is discipline). They are merciful (that is they are kind-hearted). They are pure in heart (they are focused on pleasing God). Jesus says you are blessed in that simple living.

When we think about the Christian’s focus on the world and how we adapt to our environment, Jesus says we are blessed even when stressed. Stress does not mean we have missed God’s plan. Our Lord, Himself is the greatest example of living with stress. People were always coming to Him with problems and He would give them peace because He was the Prince of Peace. People were constantly testing Him and trying Him for what He said and what He did. Jesus faced the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the demons, and the disease. He was constantly persecuted by those who were jealous and envious of His ministry. Even when our Lord stood before Pilate on trial, Pilate knew that Jesus’ enemies had put Him on trial because they were envious of Him. How did our Lord handle stress? He committed everything to God. We too must do the same in our life.

Don’t feel that you are missing out because you are a Christian. When you and I realize how blessed we truly are, we will stop looking for the world’s endorsement. We will embrace the fact that we are of a different Kingdom and Kingdom people are blessed no matter what comes their way.