Matthew 5 | What are the Beatitudes | The Life That Flourishes | Sermon on the Mount

[Music] [Music] well good morning friends it is awesome to be together with you I have said many times I've repeated again now that my favorite place in scripture is always where I've been spending the most time and I have been hanging out in the Sermon on the Mount lately because we are going to spend the rest of our summer in this little series called sermon or summer on the Mount behind me is a picture of where tradition holds Jesus stood when he gave this message taking with an iPhone right there in the little hill that it's called a mount in the scripture looking out over the Sea of Galilee this is where Jesus put together these hundred and seven verses twenty four hundred and sixteen words that he shared with us that are still as relevant as can possibly be imagined I love this little section of Scripture because of what it does it answers the the greatest question that people still have that let me give you proof we do this thing called real truth real quick right here where people can submit questions either through the app or by emailing real truth real quick and watermarked org and every week they kind of put together the questions that came in for me and they group them just to let me know a little bit of what's going on this is the grouping of this week's questions that came in to real truth real quick look it says there were about four questions that dealt with community group issues you know three you can see based on earlier real truth real quick a couple from the message last week and you can see all the way through but look at the number one most asked series and groups of questions it's basically on this issue of how can I know that I'm saved if there is a God and there is judgment how can I be rightly related to him how do I know for sure that I haven't just let it pass through me that I've got this that I missed heaven by 18 inches you know that I intellectually embrace the story of the gospel but it doesn't hit my heart what kind of person has peace with God it won't surprise you that the most famous message ever given perfectly answers the question and specifically the verses that we're going to look at today they're known throughout history as the Beatitudes you might ask yourself why are they called to Beatitudes that's a weird word well it just is a a transliteration if you will of a Latin word word beatitude Oh which just basically means blessing and so in the Latin translation of Matthew 5 3 through 12 you have 9 different times that words show up and so it commonly became known as the Beatitudes section of the sermon of the Matt let me remind you the Sermon on the Mount is one long message it's a message that frankly has so many statements that are still largely embraced and part of our even biblically illiterate society they want to know or they want to talk about these things but the most famous of which is what man hey don't be judging me right judge not lest you be judged right in that somewhere in the Bible yes it is and you should know what it means if you're here July 21st I will tell you exactly what Jesus meant by that because that's when we'll be in Matthew chapter 7 you're like wait a minute Todd what's going on Jesus ripped through this in about 15 minutes the whole thing why is it gonna take us to July to get there well it's because what Jesus was doing in this little message is he was giving you some highlights of things that you absolutely want to understand and know he was speaking to his cultural context as Winstanley and powerfully as he could but he wasn't fully explaining there's a word that we use around here called exegesis you ever heard that phrase what's it mean to exegete a text let me explain you something when Jesus gave the Sermon amount it wasn't the only time he gave this message in Luke 6 it shows up it was called the Sermon on the plain Jesus would often share the things that make up this little section of scripture everywhere that he went one of the most frustrating things by the way about being a pastor is that you're not a musician and what I mean by that is this musicians like if you like a certain music and you buy a ticket to go hear them sing you're angry if when you show up they don't sing the song that you bought the ticket to hear them sing right like if you go you know when the Beatles were alive if you once saw the Beatles they didn't sing yesterday you're like what that's why I bought the ticket I mean like yesterday is like your song if you once saw John Denver when he was alive and he didn't say any song like what using a nice all right if you're a of you too and they don't sing this is the song that like screams your mind over the Sunday Bloody Sunday whatever it might be for you I don't know every singer is like I'm coming to see you Taylor Swift so you can sing our song I'm all great right with all your new stuff but you better drop you know a little cute drops of my guitar to me whatever it is that you're into right you're angry now if you're a pastor and you use the same illustration twice people like oh man sweetie it's time we find another church clearly he's not very creative he's recycling these stories I mean how many times you can tell the fireball story right I mean right three times in 20 years that's your answer but people are like oh come on man Jesus in the midst of sharing the sermon amount what he did is he spent almost the rest of his ministry exegete Matthew five through seven he explained constantly what he mean by these little pity statements and these summary statements and this introduction to his ministry and who he was than what he was about our societies held on to these an eye for an eye tooth for tooth judge not lest you be judged all these different little things that show up in this message and you want to make sure you get him correct his disciples would get with him later and go hey what do you mean when you said blessed are and he would expound on that I'm gonna show you that a couple of times today so what we're gonna do is what Jesus did with his disciples we're gonna give you the pithy summary statements that are contained in Matthew 5 to 7 Luke 6 and other places interspersed about the Gospels but we're gonna spend some time there like his disciples did and a little bit later say will you explain to me what you really meant by that so I don't take it out of context and get myself in a lot of trouble it'll get you in a lot of trouble if you think you should never make judgments there is nothing in the Bible that says you should make judgments it does say you shouldn't be judgmental about what makes people righteous in God's eyes but that doesn't mean you can't quote them what God says make you righteous in this eyes you will know what makes you righteous in God's eyes hang in there today with me this section tells you now what's really interesting about this section is it doesn't have the gospel in it no none of the sermon in the mount has the gospel in it so how can you know you're saved if the section that tells you how you're saved doesn't have the gospel story in it what do I mean by the gospel story well in 1st Corinthians 15 you've got Paul and he says hey I delivered to you as of first importance the gospel message which is he says you know I preached you this that you're saved if you hold fast the word which I preached so that my preaching wouldn't be in vain he said I delivered you as a first importance this gospel message which is it the Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures that's the gospel story and it's nowhere in Matthew 5 through 7 now what's in Matthew 5 through 7 is an explanation of why Jesus had to go to the cross and be crucified so that you can be saved and the heart that is necessary for you to embrace that message let me set it up for you this way and then we're gonna read it I want you to think about the moment your life you're most embarrassed about I want you to think about when you were doing the darkest nastiest most vile repulsive God dishonouring worthy of judgment thing I want you to think about doing that you know not the act and the sadness that it creates but I just want you to find yourself in that moment when you knew if there was a God and he showed up at that moment there is very little question what your destiny should be and I want you to ask yourself what you think would happen if in that little dark room where you're hiding even though God's omniscient and he knows all things you think you kind of got away with it you kind of passed it maybe you're haunted by it you've never shared it with anybody I want you to put yourself back in that moment and I want you to ask yourself what would God say to me if in that moment he kicked the door open and the light flooded in and he was there because how you answer that question is gonna determine whether or not you're gonna want to know God and whether or not you're gonna be encouraged but who God is or whether you gonna continue to live inside lie this series of verses are the answer to what God would do because probably most of us think it would go down like this door kicked open hey what are you doing that right there is why I made hell it's what you deserve is what you're getting and you couldn't be more wrong about that being God's response to you in that moment that most vile shameful moment can I tell you exactly what God would say and I'm gonna prove it to you this is what would happen you ready boom I love you so much this is not this is not the future I had for you this is not what I designed for you I didn't want you caught in this debauchery I don't want you a slave to that sin I don't want you addicted I don't want you lonely I didn't want you depressed I didn't want you abused I didn't want you abusing I didn't want you to be scared I don't want you to love the dark I didn't want you to be a slave to anything less than life and blessing and goodness do you want out do you want to come to me and live with me and be forgiven and be restored now let me just say that is almost too wonderful to believe that it's true but it is nothing twists and deforms the soul more than an unworthy conception of God and there's an enemy and all he wants to do is deceive you and make you think that God is trying to rip you off that God's trying to oppress you that God delights in judgment that he knows what you've been up to and you're gonna get yours and this gang this section of Scripture will correct your thinking if you'll just listen and if you're quit making God in your image and what you would do in that moment to somebody who had betrayed you stabbed you in the back forsaken all the love that you have shown them because he's nothing like you he's more wonderful than you can imagine unspeakably kind now make no mistake God will eliminate sin he will judge disobedience but he's made provision so that you could be forgiven and pulled out he loves you he is a father King you are his child and you might be slave right now and the tool of the enemy but he wants to rescue you from that restore you and this section of Scripture proves it where are we in the Bible we are in Matthew 5 which is important because it comes right after this little section of verses in Matthew chapter 4 verse 23 and 25 let's set the context this is what's going on we have been in the middle of what has been known as the silent years it's been 400 years since God has any prophet any revelation any suggestion that he was who he said he was in terms of wanting to reveal himself to a specific group of people it was said well last week there's really only two kinds of folks on earth there's the Jew that has been given the law of God as a source of revelation to show you that God is holy he doesn't trifle with sin but he loves people and so he was gonna rescue a specific group of people from real earth circumstance real earth provision the oppression and the horror of man against men because men don't know God that's what we do we abuse one another and he was gonna deliver some people out and he's gonna tell them how to live and fellowship and walk together as God intended them to he was gonna create a new community that was blessed and protected that the rest of the world could see the blessing in the protec of their way and they were to call others to follow in the way and those others were come to love God so that the the message of God's goodness and his way would spread throughout all the earth now here's the problem those people called Jews decided that what God had given them was a bunch of rules that they needed not only obey but they need to become more specific with and add to and that if you didn't do all these little things there's no way you could know God and God was saying to them from the very beginning this is not the way you get to know me the laws for you to get to know who I am that I'm righteous I don't trifle with sin but the law was never to show you how you become righteous the law was there to teach you that you're not like me and that's why embedded of the law was a provision of grace embedded in the law was a sacrificial system but if you had faith in what I told you to do I would forgives you until the picture of the means of forgiveness would become a reality and not just the blood of bulls and goats but the perfect Lamb of God the infinite eternal perfection of God would come and be the ultimate sacrifice to appease the eternal infinite perfection of God so that God could then be just and judge sin completely and still be a lover of those that have committed those sins but the Jews became prideful and they became committed to the system and didn't love God as a savior and so what they started to do was kind of have festivals and do all the things that God said they should do but then they did whatever they wanted the rest of the time but they showed what their festivals they showed of example they showed the sacrifices and they did whatever they want to do there was no relationship imagine you being a hateful son who 364 days a year badmouth your mom hated your mom talk poorly of your mom cursed your mom and then on Mother's Day you sent her chocolate-covered strawberries would you be a good son and God says you know good people if you do these temple ceremonies and festivals but you don't love me the whole purpose of those festivals is to remind you of my grace that you would love me because all I want is a relationship we just all God's ever wanted let me show you how God views men in Genesis chapter 1 watch this vs. 26 God said let us make man in our image according to our likeness and let's let men do what we do we rule over all of creation God the Father Son and spirit let's let men rule over the earth that we create over the fish of the sea and over the cattle of the earth and over every creeping thing we're gonna make them sovereign there's gonna be nothing like them no no one who has the cognitive ability and the sovereign endowment to rule and God created man in his own image that's not the word for male it's the word for humans and now he's gonna tell you what humans are they are male and female watch this distinct equal both valuable together representing God not the same separate but they love each other and they should become one as they walk with God and love each other the way that God and the Father Son and spirit are distinct separate equal and subordinate in their clear definition of roles the father is not the son the son is not the spirit the spirit is not the father the father says this is my son whom I'm well pleased please listen to him the son says I don't do anything unless the father tells me to do it the Spirit says my whole job is to exalt the son the son says it's better for you that I leave that the spirit might come to see the mutual love admiration and celebration that exists in the Trinity it's what God intends for us and the perfection of which he created us for us to be - and yet one it's a picture the only picture God's given us of multiplicity that dwells in unity as we walk with God but when we leave God we can't walk with one another and so we go to war with one another we act like there's no difference between us men use their strength to oppress women women try and usurp men's Authority and there is no peace but that's not the way God designed it God designed us to enjoy him in and are enjoying him live and love for one of the watches here comes the very first words that God ever spoke to man without looking do you know what the very first word God ever spoke to men with this well in the Latin it would be the word beatitude Oh which I want to tell you it's the word blessed macario's in the Greek it's a word that basically means beloved good fortune blessed favored privileged among creatures one on whom fortune smiles it was a word used in classical Greek of the state of the life of the gods on Mount Olympus they alone were in this place of great prosperity and blessing who got to live the way that that the people should live it's the word that just basically means human flourishing the very first thing that God did is he just said flourish privileged ones those who good fortune and kindness comes their way God blessed them and then part of that blessing was I want you to increase others who will bless I'll give you the ability procreate and I want you to fill the earth and I want you to rule in the way that that we have purpose and meaning in ruling you have purpose and meaning and ruling but from there at the place of perfection men said I don't know if we really want to walk with this God who blesses us and puts us in a state of perfection called Eden I think maybe and God warned us there'd be a liar there who would say hey God's not good he's not a blessed one he's one to be avoided he's one to be managed what you need to do is figure out what's good and evil on your own and choose it God said I wouldn't do that you're free I'm not gonna rape you I'm not gonna make you love me I'm not gonna make you robots so you have to love me you're free to have a relationship with me but if you'd want a relationship with me then go find your own good and when we did that came death now if you read the story you know that God right away came back said hey where are you Adam do you like what you got this isolation from woman this now creation which has lost my protection do you like the death and destruction disease take my provision I'll bring you home I'll bless you again but now the world's gonna be a little different until I rescue the world completely and so we have the story go forward and all Polly what God does is he takes a group of descendants of Adam specifically the sons of Noah called sham the shemites which we know is the Jewish people that he says I'm gonna reveal myself to you specifically and you're gonna be blessed among nations of the earth if you walk with me but they didn't walk with him they just sent him flowers on Mother's Day and he finally said enough so he took his hand of protection off them they went into judgment and in the judgment they came back home and they kind of reminded themselves that hey goddess is not take just kind of superficial devotion to him very well and then the Bible goes silent and for 400 years we don't really hear any message from God and then all of a sudden in Matthew chapter 1 we find out that there's a woman that's told she's going to give birth to a child and that she should name him Jesus and then a little bit later there's a man in Matthew chapter 123 who he says hey Joseph remember the verse back there a long time ago that the prophet Isaiah said when he said behold the Virgin shall be with child that girl you're engaged to she's the virgin and she's gonna bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel Joseph that name Emmanuel it means God with us I'm about to kick down the door of separation between creator humanity and infinite God and I am about to come and visit you and then it says Joseph as a result of that when he heard these words he awoke from his sleep he did as the angel the LORD commanded him he took Mary as his wife but he kept her a virgin until the child was born so that sin would not be imputed to him because God put life inside of her that was perfect and good it was him in His image in the person of the son and it says when the child was born even though Joseph knew that's God with us and the name was Jesus the name Jesus is the Hebrew name Yeshua it means God saves this young man grew up and in Matthew chapter 4 we have this in verse 23 it says Yeshua the Lord saving one who has come that's kicked the door in of creation that is depraved and debaucherous or stuck in dead religion because there's only really two kinds of people the Gentile who doesn't know God and never loved God and never pursued God and so this is what the Gentiles did they made up this story this mythology this is who God is that God is in the heavens that's what the word baile means BL when you see in scripture the word baile means God in Canaanite language and he is the Lord of the heavens and he has a consort he has a wife her name is Asher or not and she's the goddess of the earth and what happens is periodically they they have relations they they they they're intimate and his semen comes from heaven in the form of rain it hits the earth and then what happens is it causes the seed of Asherah to grow and when it grows it turns into crops and we eat the children of a land Astra and so it's only right that since they're sacrificing their children that we might live that we create bail worship and we sacrifice our children to them so it will reign again in the harvest can grow that was the mythological idea of Canaanite worship it was surrounded with temple prostitution because you slept with temple prostitutes they would have babies those babies would be sacrificed and God said that is just unspeakable and you have every kind of perversion and deviation and craziness and mythology that came out of it that's the Gentiles the Jews had the law we're righteous enough if we do the things you tell us we should do instead of falling in love of the God who made gracious provision for them and God's kicking the door in he's got to show up to those two people it says that Jesus want to let people know that something special was going on so this is what happened as he went all throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues that's just the place where folks who said they knew the Bible and what God had said was gonna happen were and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom he healed every kind of disease why he was reversing the effects of the fall he was showing that he's the sovereign one that that can reverse disease and death and war and destruction and anxiety and depression every kind of sickness was being reversed that's the way God intended because he's bringing back a genic moments and the news about this spread all around can you imagine that and they brought to him all who were ill those were suffering with diseases demoniac sepal epics paralytics and he healed them so large crowds start to follow him from all over the region the northern region the the non-jewish region east of the Jordan River that's called a capitalist all the way down there where the temple is everything came and when Jesus saw that he's becoming more popular so I didn't come to be popular I came to tell you who God is and you may not like it but this is who he is and so he went up in the mountain he said other people can come but people who want to follow me and really learn for me I'm gonna tell them more and he sat down his disciples came to him he opened his mouth began to teach him saying blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted you know these words right you have never even tried to memorize them but they're just kind of out there all the time blessed with those who are gentle for they shall inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst after 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 blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God and then he stops and he for a second and if you will I think he paused and then he went into verses 10 through 12 we'll get to those in just a moment but let me just show you what Jesus is doing right here okay III think this is the way to understand the Sermon on the Mount this is this is the way that the attitudes one these first three that we're going to talk about just in a second the poor in spirit the morning and the meek those are just foundational beliefs and characteristics of folks that will experience what God wants humans to experience I'm gonna explain to you if you're not poor in spirit if you're not an individual that mourns your own brokenness if you don't want to be surrendered to your king then you don't have the foundation to receive the gospel but if you have those things you're gonna want the God that can give you what you don't have which is righteousness and so you're gonna hunger for more of God and if you hunger for more of God when you come back into relationship with God by grace you will be among a lot of other things symbolically merciful a lover of good and you will be a maker of peace that's the fruit see when the Spirit of God is there love is there pieces their patience as their goodness as their kindness as their generals as their self-control is there don't ever pray for more patience just say God right now I need more of the Spirit in my life if I'm a yielded to your spirit not leaning and Courtney my own understanding I will have self-control in your marriage when you're not being kind you're not being good you can be sure that in that moment you're not walking with God because when God is there the fruit the fruit singular of the Spirit all these things are present when you walk with God love joy peace patience kindness goodness gentleness not an exhaustive list it's just symbolic of every good and beautiful thing is there when God is there the same thing is happening in the Sermon on the mat and these Beatitudes it's the fruit of being reconciled to God mercy lover of good peacemaker now what happens in verses 10 through 12 if you get the foundational characteristic right the focus will be on more of God the fruit will be more of the things that is said but there are foes who will not like it that's 10 through 12 they will persecute you because they don't like the fact that you're confronting their dead religion and they may not like the fact that you're calling them out of their rebellion against God and living against their own way they love their Bale worship they love defining humanity sexuality and freedom the way that they do it maybe isn't bringing a lot of joy that's sustaining but they like it enough right now that they're gonna keep doing it and so the world's gonna hate you that's rebellious and the world's gonna hate you that's religious but that doesn't mean you don't love him ken does tell you real quick if you want to know Jesus how he told the Beatitudes in a symbolic way I would take you to the most famous story in the New Testament that story it's fat in Luke 15 it's a story called the prodigal son and it's wrongly named the prodigal son it should be called the prodigal sons plural because there's two boys in that story neither which had a relationship with the father the one we can see his godlessness we can see his debauchery we can see his selfishness because he's Alyssa's the father was dead give me my inheritance let me do what I want to do and he went he squandered his fortune on loose living and it led to destruction and sadness and he's eating with the pigs but if you read the story you see the father's just wicking the kid looking to kick down the door of separation just saying sons you want to come home in fact the father's feet on the edge of the ranch and all he wants to do is run to him the second the Sun and his brokenness goes what am i doing I'm a child of a king I've left my father my father's servants he better and they want to run back to him and the father would run to him in that moment meanwhile this another son of home was not enjoying the father either he never left in debauchery but he stuck at his dead religion and his self-righteousness so what's he do he sees the father's kindness and His grace and his love the rejoice seeing at the intimacy and the restored relationship and he goes what are you doing man you've never slaughtered a fatted calf for me and the father's like this because you don't want to have fellowship with me you're just living in my house taking advantage of all that's going on in my in my in my wealth in my provision but you don't love me I would love to kill the calf for you but you never wanted time with me you never want to be with me you're stuck in your dead self-righteousness and your religion I'm not mad at you but Oh son come be intimate and near your father not just polite civil the reason you're on the ranch is to have a relationship with me you see that it's the story of those who are caught in dead religion or self-righteousness and debauchery or sin and what they both meet is a relationship with the father they need to know that on their own they're not righteous that the rebellion isn't gonna work out well for them that there's forgiveness here Jesus says blessed the word means one who lives as God intends one who lives not dependent upon the circumstances of the world but but who has contentment in the fullness of God God said this world right now is gonna have trouble but I can give you peace in the midst of it and you will flourish even in a world that's still largely defined and ruled by sin because you won't be a slave to the ways of the world and sin the world's not gonna like you when you say religion doesn't work and rebellion doesn't work but love the world and there's gonna be a day when you'll be glad that you love them in my name and you lived my way but you'll never live my way just by wanting to you got to be poor in spirit that word literally means bankrupt it means just grinding poverty that you've got nothing that's what should the son who was at home should have said dad I've got nothing the only reason that we have a relationship is you want a relationship with me that God you and your sovereignty father you and your sovereignty made me and long for me to be intimate with you not to behave and be polite but to love father I I have nothing except what you've given me it's what the rebellious son needs to say I've got nothing unless you restore me my wealth and riches and blessing are tied to you blessed are those that know they've got nothing that they can bring God to please them for theirs and theirs alone is the kingdom of heaven you can't get to the kingdom of heaven apart from God saying I want you to be blessed don't perform for me loves me and in fact be broken over your hard heartedness your self-righteousness or your sin weep and cry and I'll comfort you because I don't want you to be stuck in dead burdensome religion and I don't want you to be stuck in wild and loose living that seems right to you but always leads to death come Jesus says this I hold I stand at the door knock on your closed bedroom or on your closed heart if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and dine with him and he with me and and I will bless them I want them to enjoy me are you broken about your sin let me tell you what Jesus did at one point he he explained Matthew chapter five verse three he did it through his story stories help people understand so Jesus tells a story you wonder who the poor in spirit are here he goes in Luke chapter eight verse 9 through 14 he says this two men went up to the temple to pray I'm gonna tell this story he says to the son who's here in the house with me who's locked in his room and doesn't have a relationship with me who thinks he's righteous because he's never done what his corrupt brother has done this brother who views others with contempt here comes a story two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee the people that basically the Sermon on the Mount is addressed to but he says under chapter 5 verse 20 unless you're more righteous than the brother who never went away and was to borås you'll never get into an intimacy with the father and so he says this the Pharisee stood and was praying to us to himself god I thank you that I'm not like the other people the homosexuals the pro-choice movement the folks who put on righteous Fox in office the Socialists God I thank you that I'm not like those people who live in really nice houses I mean nice with in mind because because you know mine's okay but those really rich people thank you that I'm not like them I'm not like this this this guy who divorced his wife I'm still married I mean I don't have the relationship I want but let's not go there what I really got is that you know I'm doing better than most I fast twice a week I go to watermark her to read Jen I've been to reengage with my wife for goodness sake I've been to equip disciple 1 - I teach equip disciple thank you thank you that I'm not like them but the tax collector standing some distance away he was unwilling to even to lift up his eyes he was mourning his sin he was broken in spirit beating his breast is that God be merciful to me the sinner I tell you this man went to his house justified rather than the other one for everyone who exalts himself and thinks he's got righteousness of his own he'll be humbled and He Who humbles himself will be exalted you see what's foundational to acceptance with God is to realize you can't put together a resume church planner you can't put together a resume faithful husband that's good enough to please God it's why a little bit later in verse 48 he says unless you are perfect you got a problem be perfect like my Heavenly Father is perfect it should immediately make you go hey anybody else you're perfect I'm not will just acknowledge your poverty and mourn over the separation from God because the truth is that radical feminists that lesbian that homosexual that person had an affair with your wife that person the distance between you and them is infinitely closer than you and a holy God and your problem is your distance between you and a holy God and you better close that and then you take his peacemaking message back to all those who are still stuck in their debauchery or they're dead self-righteousness just like you can't tell your story another story and I'll tell you this because I heard somebody say something this week that really saddened me it was somebody said you know I don't know if water marks the church for me I mean water mark is an amazing place it's got crazy stories of redemption but III don't have a crazy story I mean I you know the watermark news stories every week are just nuts no the one with just the video we showed two weeks ago Edwyn on his 26th birthday gets strung out and crystal meth carjacks two different cars causes a police chase that shuts down the Metroplex is Macon cuffed and thrown down the middle of a highway and the news stories cover it and then some Mexican drug cartel gets involved in his life and he gets redeemed and you're like wow and you're like well man I me it's not my story I wonder if this took place for me let me just tell you something it's a place for you because this is the church for both sons and post sons neither father hears the story story of a church in England and beyond even like the way the story is told it's the story of a church who has a church in a dignified part of town and they have submission churches I hate that because every Church should be a mission but they have mission churches down with a scum live the scoundrels the ex-prisoners the thieves and twice a year they would get together just to worship and on this one Sunday when they were together the pastor was walking his way down the communion rail and he saw that a member of his distinguished church who happened to be a part of the Supreme Court of England was there on the rail and next to him was a guy from the mission church that that guy earlier in his judicial career had sent to jail for a couple of decades and that was out had come to know Christ it was a part of the church down there but together they were at the rail and so after the service was over the past who's a friend of the judge was walking home and he said that and the judge said to him pastor did you see who was next to me in the communion rail today and the guy goes yes I did I didn't know if you did he was all I did what an amazing story of grace and the pastor said I know I marveled at the same and the judge said can I ask you who you're speaking of and the pastor said well the criminal of course and the judge says I was talking about me I mean because of course that guide trusted Jesus everything in his life he was born without a father he lived in a home where he was never instructed in the way of righteousness and good at led to incredible despair he was eventually a slave to his actions and lost all of his freedom he had nothing and he cried out to God and of course he sought God and of course God His mercy redeemed him I'm talking about me pastor you know my father he was a leader in this church I was raising this church I was taught Bible verses my father loved my mother I was training the best schools I went to Oxford everything about my career and my life is rich thick with dignity and the fact that God would show me my depravity and my desperation for a savior and my need to be redeemed that is a story of grace amen my kids who have been raised and they say dad you've loved us well when we think of a father we we think of a father who loves us unconditionally and seeks us he doesn't who modeled for his presence and faithfulness and kindness you've modeled that for us dad you've loved our mom you you you you and mom have created a home where there's been security you taught us the truth about God you told us that your imperfection was that a reflection of God that God is the perfection of where you lack and you taught us always the beauty of kindness of God's Way and we we've seen it we we were part of a church where people really loved God and did the things that God should do in my kids every one of them who have described their life this way dad we've got more joy and less scars because we were raised in a community of grace but that every one of them have said oh but God has shown us our need for grace we are sinners and if it weren't for the kindness of God to redeem us we would never want to worship him but he has shown us in our more joy and less scars that we need to Savior that's a one of our news story there is no other Church for anybody except for sons who think they're okay without the father and sons who have tried to find life without the father they both need him blessed are the poor in spirit blessed are those who mourn it's what Jesus says come are you weary and heavy-laden he kicks that door open and he says do you want to be blessed or rescue you this is God I'm with you I am Yeshua I'm the one who saves my child you don't have to be this way my child you don't need to be here and not enjoy me get out of your dead religion your self-righteousness start to webs your heart to me come sit my table blessed with a gentle for they shall inherit the earth this is this is a passage that you need to understand the word general the word meek is what most Bibles say the word meek isn't weak blessed are those that just say God saddle up on me take me I have a friend who I privately and every now and then will write a note to my comm thunderhoof that's his nickname because he was here he came in here hung over smelling like smoke living in the background Jonathan Balu I was teaching Matthew chapter five verse five and I described who God is and how people who know God live with him and I was talking about how blessed are the meek and I used an illustration that came from this children's book it's called thunderhoof he was a picture of it up here it's an early I can read book so it's when I hang out in a lot and I described the story of thunder if njp the six-foot-seven strong young man who was just terrorizing lower lower greenville running riot with his friends and having the time of his life trying to kick and scream and blow and whinny and be a stallion was a little bit sick and tired of smelling like smoke and being hungover I explained the story of what the word meat was used the word meek is used in Scripture of a stallion that has been broken so that it can be what God intended for it to be thunderhoof is this story it's a story of a stallion that the Cowboys always wanted they could never get him he was too fast too while too strong and so they just let him go and thunderhoof loved his life free until then some point in his strength there was a poverty was a a drought and poverty came to his strength and thirst came to his throat hunger came to his bones and he became weak was vulnerable the Cowboys went and took him and said come here and they brought that stallion in they said hey drink our water hey here's some food and they brushed him they took the the burrs out of his mane they nestled up against him this a good good horse they loved him they showed him kindness I showed him who's created for and they they tried to saddle him up and in the story found her bucks off every cowboy for like hey no no no no no no and finally they couldn't break him it so they just let him go I'm thunderhoof goes back out he's strong again he's enjoying it had rained again so now he's he's through his pain and he's kind of back at it and so he wants to be a stallion again but even though he's being a stallion he he remembers the kindness that he was shown he's got you know he's got some birds in his mane again no one's whispering love to him and combing him and encouraging him and so he makes his way back it's the kindness of the cowboys that led him to repentance and he goes back and this time he lets them saddle him and this time he's cared for and they build a relationship and he's restored to his sovereign and the glory of what God intended him to always be is known to all men and all the earth that's me he's still a stallion he's just the glorious stallion that God created him to be he's not cold and lonely he's cared for it and shepherded and loved provided for for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God that's not a verse of judgment that's just saying you're not experienced in life if you were created to experience if you don't saddle up and ride with a king if you don't say God take Todd Wagner and all this strength take take the Apostle John who's very different take Peter take Paul take Jenny take Becky take every one of us exactly how you made us and Lord make us the one that you created and ride our hearts and let the glory return see that that foundational belief that God you're good I'm left alone without you I'm self-righteous or I'm a slave to sin I want you to be the son that's there that enjoys the father that's not eating pig food come father make me the child of a king that's literally what again the word bless means it's a child who gets to live as the king intended last now watch what happens those foundational ideas I am poor and I'm bankrupt I hate my bankruptcy I wish God could show me and make me more of what he had designed me to be that means when you see that God is a merciful God that speaks blessed to you you're gonna want more of God blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness give me more God give me more I know who I am I know who you are I want more of you can I just say this to you if you don't want more of God I doubt that you know him at all if if a man doesn't want to know more of God it's doubtful if you really knows him at all that was I wrote in my Bible that's what I wrote in my notes as I was reading that that's what this means was it blessed are those who hunger and thirst of righteousness because they will be satisfied when you delight yourself in the person of God and run towards him and quit thinking he's there to rip you off that's the lie of the enemy God's not good his words not true disobeying him is not that big a deal when you say God I want more for you because I see that you're good full of loving-kindness and true slow to anger I know you're gonna judge sin but I wouldn't confess my sin and you want to bless me oh god show me more of this God that has come to save show me more of the God who's not angry at me because of my disease and who wants to heal me I wrote that down I found out there was another guy who's called the Prince of peaches Chuck Prince of preachers Charles Spurgeon he actually said something very similar when he read Matthew 5:6 he said if you don't want to know God more you know nothing of him yet if you're here and you don't want community you don't wanna be a part of God's family I don't know if you know God if you're here and you're indifferent to the Bible I don't know if you know God if you're here and you don't want to Claire his deeds and share his love with others and study his word and pray and seek it I miss him I don't think you know God I mean do you know who this is he loves you he wants to bless you make you what you were created to be free from anxiety and despair and disease and selfishness and self-righteousness if you don't think that God is worth running to with every discipline that you have it's because you have a toxic view of God and you're buying a lie now watch what happens the focus of your life when you're broken and you realize the goodness and beauty of God that he's not trying to rip you off and last lo you and put a bit in your mouth but to make you what he created you to be you're gonna want more of him and when you want more of him okay that's your focus then you're gonna bear certain fruit watch this blessed are the merciful people that have been forgiven much forgive this let me just tell you Jesus a little bit later didn't tell a story but he exited Matthew chapter 5 verse excuse me verse 7 it happened that he was with a Pharisee the name was Simon it's his father Luke 7 and a Pharisee requested that he come and dine with him because he thought he was doing jesus a favor to help him and when Jesus showed up at the same time that Jesus showed up there was a woman that showed up and this woman took an alabaster full of perfume and broke it and she was so broken by her sin she happened to be a woman of ill repute she was so broken by her sin that her tears wet his feet and then she used her hair to dry her tears and to anoint his feet with oil and perfume Simon sitting there looked thought to himself if this guy was a prophet he wouldn't know that that's not a good woman and he wouldn't let her do that Jesus to show he was a prophet since Simon let me tell you what that woman's doing she's showing me love you know why she's showing me love because she's received mercy for me she knows who I am that I had the ability to forgive sins that I don't hate people in their darkest moment and she's lived some dark moments when I came in you didn't kiss me she's kissing my feet when I came in you didn't anoint my head with oil she's annoying my feet when I came in you didn't cleanse me that's just a simple step one way to greet a person where we all wear sandals she is cleaning her feet with my hair do you know why because she has received mercy you don't love me because you don't think you need mercy daughter your sins are forgiven and they're like oh who can forgive sins except God exactly my name is Jesus the Lord saves I am Emmanuel the Lord is with you that's the story are you merciful man this way yesterday I got up early it was pouring down rain on if you remember and I went over here to john Wallace's office he's an oral surgeon here in town he works with us in our clinic we have other doctors who are part of our clinic on a normal basis we get a backlog of people who specifically in the dental area because they're indigenous indigenous or under-resourced they can't even get basic mental I mean at dental care and and so every now and then four times a year what they do is they open up their office on the weekend let me tell you who's in this picture right here members of our body one guy who's been married for five days left his new bride in bed a single mom of four kids people who had worked 65 hours a week in their dental practice who got up early and a rainy Saturday morning to come so about 35 or 40 people who were backlogged at the clinic could have diseased teeth pulled from their mouths that they might have some relief and when I got there to talk with them you see my buddy Kevin there with his Bible open reading out of Isaiah 58 talk about the kind of fasting from injustice that God wants us to do not going through forms of self-righteousness but the fast from being self-righteous and to be merciful this is what pleases God he said we're here because we've received mercy that we can give mercy to these people they've got disease in their life and we're gonna pull it in Jesus's name we're gonna say we're not gonna love you more now that we've done this if you agree with us but you need to know the reason we're here is because Jesus loves you and we have a means through our profession to give you some relief it moved me to tears man to watch the saints of God bear the fruit of hunger inform or if God's intention for them it was beautiful blessed are the merciful they've received mercy and they extend it blessed and watch this by the pure in heart this doesn't mean if you're good long enough God will give you a little glimpse behind us as curtain and let you see him what this means is Paul exegete 'add Matthew 5:8 in Romans 12:2 12:2 says this don't be like the world don't be conformed to the world's way who doesn't know that God is good but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that he's the blessed one the one who loves you watch this and be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you might prove in other words your life might testify to and you would personally experience what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect what this verse means is not behave and God will let you be called a good boy you're an acceptable Christian no it means when you walk with God and you seek what God wants and you love God and you want more of him you're gonna live the life the purer life that God intends and you're gonna see this is the good life this is the bless of life this is the flourishing life I'm gonna see more of God's character the more I love what is good the fruit of knowing God means I want more of him I hunger and thirst after righteousness so guess what you get more righteousness what do you get when you get more righteous you go this is right I see the beauty of God that's Matthew 5:8 and then Matthew 5:9 blessed are the peacemakers for they called sons of God because that's what God is he's a peacemaker self-righteous son sinful son I made peace with you through my shed blood and my body on the cross I am the Lord who saves are you a you have you what have you done this week to be a peacemaker with the lost and the rebellious of the world to tell them of the kindness of God how have you modeled that kindness has come to you in the way that you're making peace with your spouse and your children and those that have offended you are you the kind of person that when you're nailed to a cross because they don't know who you are that you say Father forgive them I don't know what they do I know they wouldn't treat me this way if they knew who you were Oh God let me be as a means of peace to them it's the fruit Christiaan of who you are now watch there's a foe and when you tell the world that their religion and their self-righteousness doesn't save and when you tell them hey you're sexual gender dysphoria does not mad at you about that it's just because you're broken hey you're lusting after other women your addiction to pornography God's not mad at you it's just it's just because you're broken hey your anxiety and your depression it's just because you're broken and I'm not mad at you I just want to help you be restored I mean your disease your quadriplegia it's because you live in a broken world and I want you to have strength even in your brokenness and when you tell people that God is sufficient in all of these things they're not gonna always like you that's why 10 through 12 is there I am with this blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness watch that for the sake of righteousness not because they're self righteous make sure make sure that you're persecuted for the good you're doing in Jesus's name and not for the craziness you're capable of when you don't walk like Jesus wants you to but blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you it's just part of the course the the Pharisees heard this message and the sermon amount heard what he said to Simon heard the way that he lived and they go we're not gonna kill our tradition we're gonna kill you and Jesus says some of the people that were wicked and Romans that were kind of into their own mythology they go you know what we're gonna keep the peace we're gonna kill Jesus because we like our little Roman way he said don't be surprised when you call Romans Gentiles out of their paganism that they hate you don't be surprised when people who think they're righteous in on themselves hate you and you say that Jesus alone is the way it's just what happens but watch what he says blessed are you rejoice and be glad because your reward in heaven is great you're coming home to dad because in the same way they they persecute the prophets who were before you don't be surprised truth isn't always popular but prophets aren't running for mayor you're here to serve me is this things been thick with application but but I I closed with just these little points number one when Jesus got done with the entire message he went all the way through to Matthew chapter 7 this is what the people said verse 28 of Matthew 7 when Jesus finished these words the crowds were amazed at his teaching some of you guys this morning went out if what you're saying is true that's amazing but here's the truth amazement doesn't save what saves is absolute conviction of sin and abandonment of self righteousness and self will be amazed at what I'm saying this morning won't save you you've got to go I abandon I repent I changed my thinking about God and about me and my sin and my love of self and my love of self-righteousness and I want more of God that's what says that's what saves now watch secondly disciples do these are called the Beatitudes I will tell you they of the two actions disciples do the deluded don't you can come in here all day long and sing songs to God and you can like what I said today but if you don't do then you are not rightly responding to this message this is James chapter 1 verse 22 when James explains the Sermon on the Mount in verse 22 he says this prove yourself to be doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude yourself that is Matthew 7:24 through 27 a wise men hears and acts believers to disciples do the deluded don't by the way he goes on in Matthew and James chapter 1 verse 22 he says this he says the one who looks intently at the perfect law the law of Liberty and abides by it walks in it not having becoming forgetful here but a factual doer blessed is he same word and then lastly this believers are blessed the reward of humility the fear of the Lord are riches honor and life it says believers are blessed among men but they are promised persecution not health wealth and prosperity that is a lie from the pit of hell I don't know if you're gonna get healthier wealthier wiser you might be persecuted you probably will be in some way but you are promised that there's a blessing in that because the prophets who spoke and didn't forget God what he wanted to do before you were persecute in the same way it's glorious to be a peacemaker merciful to those who don't know the goodness of God yet seekers of good so they can experience the fullness of what God intended because you're poor and spirit broke in the mourning over your sin saying God saddle me up give me more of you and I want to seek you I love this text because it reminds me how much jesus loves me Father I pray that my friends in this room see the love of God and they repent of their self-righteousness and they are poor in spirit they're broken over their sin and they say saddle me up Lord sign me up give me more you and they hunger and thirst for more of you and as they do they bear fruit of mercy as they've received it and lover of kindness and goodness because they see it in you and that there are peacemakers singing the song of redemption to others and modeling' redemption in their love for one another help us Lord to be peacemakers and not peace fakers and Lord to help us to brace for the coming storm the persecution of Romans who don't like us telling him that that's not going to lead to life when you live in rebellion and the juice Christian elitist who think they're church-going and Bible reading is enough to please you helped us to love religious people and help us to love rebellious people help us to know your kindness if there's anybody today stuck in their dead religion or the debauchery would you bring him to You Father you just stand at the door and you knock and you say hey come on I want to bless you let him come and let knows those of us who know you go till the whole world knows in Jesus name Amen enjoy your father this Mother's Day have a great week of worship

Channel: Watermark Community Church

Views: 587

Rating: 4.6923075 out of 5

Keywords: Secrets, beatitudes, summer on the mount, sermon on the mount, sermon, jesus, hidden, confession, pride, Gospel, forgiveness, Todd Wagner, Watermark Community Church, Dallas

Id: AUmfTKhp4wQ

Length: 61min 20sec (3680 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 31 2019