"Straight Talk About Your Happiness" | February 20, 2022

hi i'm robert jeffress pastor of first baptist church in dallas we are so excited to have you join us on the i campus today for a time of inspiring worship and biblical teaching you are part of a vast online community gathered from all over the world we consider you a part of our first baptist church family and we hope you feel a part of what god is doing and improve first baptist dallas no matter where you are we hope and pray that this is a time you will grow in your relationship with god and others as we worship our savior together welcome to worship [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Music] well good morning welcome to worship at first baptist dallas it's great to see each of you welcome to our guest and i campus viewers let's stand together church let's sing this hymn of faith together joyful joyful we adore you god of glory lord our son [Music] gimme [Music] [Music] you are the one who says [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] do you want me you are the one who says [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] jesus you are my rescue jesus you are my rescue i give you everything i am jesus you are my rescue jesus [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] as you ready [Music] you are the one who says [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] let's praise the lord this morning for the truth he takes our sins away freedom's calling chains are falling hope is dawning bright and true day is breaking the night is quaking god is making all things new jesus [Music] jesus says [Music] [Music] glory to the newborn king [Music] [Applause] see the hearts adorning [Music] jesus says [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] jesus saves jesus days he will die our burden bearing jesus says [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] jesus said [Music] jesus said [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] forever [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] jesus [Applause] [Music] jesus saves amen great worship church you may be seated well it is so good to see each of you for worship this morning here at first baptist dallas we welcome you and we welcome our guests joining us here in the room as well as on our eye campus today guest we have a very special gift for you it's our pastor's new book invincible conquering the mountains that separate you from the blessed life and guests as you came in this morning you received a worship guide and you're going to find closed this welcome card please take the time to fill this out and keep the card with you at the end of the service take it outside these main worship center doors right there you're going to find our welcome center our staff is waiting there for you to exchange your completed card for your gift today and answer any questions you might have regarding our church we look forward to meeting you now if you can't make it to the welcome center we have some orange boxes on your way out you can place your completed card in one of those boxes and we'll mail you a copy of your gift as a token of our appreciation for your visit today and guess joining us on icampus just follow that link provided on your screen to access your gift as well again great to see each of you for worship at first baptist dallas here at our church there's so many exciting events taking place so let's all take a look together now at the screen [Music] good morning we are so thankful to be with you in worship today we want to take a moment to tell you about a few upcoming events ladies the heartstrung faith conference is next weekend february 25th and 26th our incredible lineup of speakers will encourage you to stand firm in your faith speak the truth with joy and confidence and remember that the lord is with you every step of the way you don't want to miss hearing from julia jeffress sadler naika spalling rebecca carroll liz rodriguez laura story and sheila walsh on saturday march 12th we have a church-wide opportunity to gather and make a difference in our community through our local mission partners with serve dallas in just one day volunteers experience a little bit of what our local partners do every day serving is truly a privilege and as a church we count it an absolute honor to be able to serve our city for more information on everything happening at our church visit firstdallas.org events [Music] so many exciting events to look forward to here at first baptist dallas well our pastor is here and ready to introduce a very special guest with us this morning pastor well that's right tyler we are honored today to have pastor andrew brunson and his wife marine here with us uh pastor brunson captured worldwide attention when after serving as a missionary for 23 years in turkey he was falsely accused of being a terrorist was imprisoned for nearly two years and we all remember that day when president trump intervened and secured the release of pastor brunson and we are so grateful for a man of god like this who's willing to stand firm for his faith in jesus christ would you join me now in welcoming a true hero of the faith pastor andrew brunson andrew glad to have you at first baptist dallas thank you for being here you know pastor brunson said that uh more than anything he wanted to focus on the subject of religious freedom not only in our country but around the world but for those unfamiliar with your story would you just tell us a little bit more about your story and how you ended up in prison and what that was like we had been church planting in turkey for 23 years as you mentioned uh very unexpectedly we were arrested told there was an order to deport us but then they didn't get around to deporting us they held us well they held noreen and me for two weeks together then they released her and they kept me for another two years sometime in solitary confinement sometime in a very crowded uh high security maximum security prisons and the story of my imprisonment i think of the first year as a breaking i uh broke in every way that uh possible physically emotionally mentally and spiritually especially i wanted a spiritual crisis with god and then the second year was god rebuilding me out of that brokenness wow you know we're talking today in matthew 5 about blessed happy joyful or those who are persecuted for their faith i doubt you were happy every moment that you were in prison i had no happy moments and it's interesting you mentioned this i was talking with noreen about this a couple of weeks ago that i i focused often on on the difficulties and the breaking and then that rebuilding process that was i had to make decisions that were not based on emotion because my emotions were in turmoil and i didn't have a real sense of joy that was one of the expectations i had that i would have a sense of joy and i didn't and joy i don't know how to describe it exactly sometimes it's too close to the idea of happiness but yet there was a rejoicing which i think is different and it's a nuance but there was a rejoicing even in the midst of the pain and uh the sense of loss because the turkish government wanted three life sentences for me i didn't know if i would ever get out and be with my family again and it was that uncertainty that it really tests the heart but there there was still a sense of rejoicing even in the midst of that sense of grief and loss that that this had meaning and that it was valuable to god you were in finland this past week uh tell us why you were there and what's happening there that ought to be a concern to us today who are christians in america well there's a finnish member of parliament a well-known public figure paivey rasanan who is being was charged criminally and prosecuted for quoting a bible verse and for her public statements about lgbt issues and finland has passed a an equality act law the same kind of thing that wants people want to pass here and basically if we could sum it up if you make moral statements then that can be hate speech and with in her case it was quoting a verse from the bible and so this is they're just a few steps ahead of us but i think that this is something that's coming in the states the direction our culture is going that there will be those who are faithful followers of jesus will be known as a people of hate having a message of hate and that's completely wrong but i think that's where we're going and that means that there will be increasing social and financial pressure on those who are faithful to the teaching of jesus so you don't think it's an exaggeration to say that persecution is coming to christians in america i think that many people don't think it can come here we're used to hearing about very intense persecution in places like iran or china i think the persecution here will be different but i think it will nevertheless be a very challenging time and one of the things that is uh on my heart i feel a sense of urgency which i never felt for the states i grew up as a missionary kid and we were in turkey for 25 years i didn't think about the states much but since returning here i've had a just an urgency that there's a dark churning wave of hostility that's about to crash onto the church and the urgency comes from my sense that most people are not ready for it yeah so what do you think we need to do to get ready for what i too agree is going to be a coming persecution for christians so one of the first things is to do what you're doing which is make people aware of it and if we're not expecting it we need to prepare our hearts and most of the preparation is a preparation of the heart if we're the natural instinct i think when there's a threat is to escape that threat to run and that's why we need to prepare ourselves ahead of time so that when there is that threat we do not run but stand so talking about it and being aware of what can happen and intentionally strengthening our hearts is i think very important yeah you know it's an amazing thing that you're here today because also in the audience today i have an assistant carolyn baker and her husband scott she met carolyn just a few moments ago their son-in-law trail trey rawls is a colonel in the air force he was on air force one the week you before you were released and on air force one president trump asked colonel rawls what is it going to take to get that pastor out of turkey and colonel rawls told him what he thought and the next week you were released we praise god for intervening in your life and to bring a new release so you could come and colonel rawls i don't know what you told the president but it worked so congratulations to you as well aren't you glad we got christians in places of leadership like trey rawls well pastor brunson your incredible story is available in this book god's hostage the true story of persecution imprisonment and perseverance it's in such hot demand we couldn't get copies of the book but you can go on amazon and get a copy of pastor brunson's great book and tonight you're going to be in our discipleship university to tell your complete story and to talk about what's happening in our country and if you don't have a place to go tonight church family come at 5 30 to lavorn hall to hear pastor brunson would you join me once again in saying thank you to pastor andrew brunson and noreen thank you both for being here today god bless you thank you so much thank you pastor for that powerful powerful word and a good word for us let's read god's word together and today we're reading from matthew chapter 5 and we'll read verses 9 through 12 as a part of the preparation for our pastor's message coming in just a few moments and we'll read from the new american standard bible so you'll see those words from that translation on the screen here in the worship center and also on icampus so that our campus congregation you can read along with us and we stand to honor the reading of god's word we invite you to stand with us as we read together matthew chapter 5 beginning with verse 9 ending with verse 12. blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god 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 against you because of me rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you may god richly bless the reading of his word you may be seated at this time as our executive pastor ben lavorne comes and we prepare to dedicate our gifts to god we continue our worship through giving this morning the giving of our tithes and offerings the commitment of our lives and you'll have the opportunity to leave those gifts in the boxes as you exit this morning you can also give online at firstdallas.org forward slash give online but during this time of commitment i'll invite you as you're able to kneel all over the worship center as we go to the lord in prayer together heavenly father we worship you this morning and we rejoice in our salvation but even as we do we are reminded of the words of our savior that in this world we will have trouble that there will be wars and rumors of wars that there will be disaster there will be sickness but we are encouraged because he promised that he has overcome the world and so we adhere to his admonishment to take heart to have courage to stand as salt and light in the world lord god we pray that you would give us strength to do so that that would come through the indwelling power of your holy spirit through the promises of your sure word and that we would stand strong that we would stand firm for you have given us the gift and the gospel of jesus christ lord may we as a church proclaim that message to the world may we share your love throughout the nations so that many more can come to a saving knowledge of jesus christ and it's in this spirit of worship and thanksgiving that you have saved us redeemed us and called us lord that we give to you our tithes and our offerings and we pray they would be pleasing in your sight we pray that they would be used for your purpose to advance your kingdom and to call out a people holy unto you we pray this in the saving name of jesus christ amen [Music] has always [Music] so [Music] is there's something that is [Music] and songs see [Music] for free [Music] [Music] we [Music] let's breathe [Music] [Applause] [Music] into [Music] to all be free and oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] three oh [Music] ah [Music] you can be free [Applause] [Music] me [Applause] is [Music] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] thank you so much andy edwards and marvelous first dallas choir and orchestra for your music today what an appropriate song considering our special guest with us today pastor andrew brunson we're delighted to have those of you who just joined us in day one the hundreds of thousands of you watching on our first dallas eye campus and the literally millions of you who watch or listen on pathway to victory i thought you'd be interested to know friday we just received the january ratings for pathway to victory and for the 15th month in a row pathway to victories the most watched program on the entire trinity broadcasting network and uh you know what's interesting is when you look at not just trinity but the hundreds of stations that we're on and so forth our overall viewing audience is up a whopping 40 over one year ago and over 100 percent above what it was two years ago we give god and god alone the glory for that thank you for your prayers and your faithful support of our outreach throughout the world on pathway to victory you're familiar with the movie and the book on which the movie is based the wizard of oz uh those of us who grew up uh going to church remember that the wizard of oz used to be broadcast once a year on television around easter time on a sunday night and if you grew up going to sunday night church like i did you remember about 20 minutes into the movie your parents would say turn the television off we're going to church i was an adult before i knew there was a color portion to the movie the wizard of oz i thought it was all in black and white in kansas but if you've seen the whole movie you know what happens dorothy and her dog toto and her three new friends the scarecrow and lion and tin man are all off to see the wizard in the emerald city and they each have their own request of what they want the cowardly lion wants courage the scarecrow wants a brain and the tin man wants happiness a heart and the scarecrow said i shall ask for brains instead of a heart for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one but the tin man offered a different perspective he said i shall take the heart for brains do not make one happy and happiness is the best thing in the world is that true is happiness the best thing in the world yes as long as you understand happiness the way jesus understood it and that's what we're going to look at today as we get into the text of the sermon on the mount if you have your bibles turn to matthew chapter 5 as we look at some straight talk from the savior about happiness we begin last week with an overview of the sermon on the mount it's the most foundational the first and foundational teaching of jesus as he prepared his disciples for their ministry and jesus addressed ten topics in this sermon that are of great interest to each one of us but it's interesting that he starts like any good preacher would by sharing the benefits of listening to his message and that's what these first verses we often call the beatitudes are they represent the payoff what you get if you follow the teachings of jesus and eight different times jesus says blessed blessed are the meek are the persecuted blessed are those who mourn blessed blessed blessed this represents the benefit of following jesus teachings what does he mean blessed the word blessed the greek word is macarios and it can be defined as happy happy blessed macario's happy but that doesn't capture the full meaning of what jesus is talking about our english word happiness comes from an old english word hap which means luck or circumstance it's a superficial emotion that can easily fade and it's tied to what is happening around us i like to say happiness depends upon our happenings if we have good happenings then we're happy i love nothing more than sitting on the couch at night with amy eating my bowl of ice cream and watching a favorite tv program i am happy but if the ice cream carton is empty if amy is on her cell phone if the internet connection has gone down and ruined my television program i am very unhappy you think what a shallow preacher we have but that's just true for all of us happiness many times depends upon our happenings but jesus is talking about more than happiness here macarios can mean joy it's that inward peace that rules over your life in spite of what is happening around you the word in greek macarios has the idea of being in a privileged position because you are approved of god the child of god can have that calm assurance that he has god's approval when he's following god's commands and that's what we're talking about when we talk about these beatitudes let me give you the theme of not only the beatitudes but the entire sermon on the mount those who model the attitudes actions and affections of jesus christ can experience genuine joy in this life and unending happiness in the next life you know i've read these beatitudes like you have for years and my number one question is blessed happy joyful is jesus talking about in this life or is he talking about in the next life and the answer is yes both he's talking about if you follow jesus way of living there is a joy that inward confidence that you have god's approval on your life there's an inward joy whether you're happy or not but there is an unending happiness in the next life as well and so the beatitudes are in a sense a summary of the entire sermon on the mount that we're going to look at in the next few weeks now what i want you to know today is we look at these eight beatitudes they really are paradoxes gk chesterton said a paradox is truth standing on her head to get our attention and what is interesting is jesus is going to take people that the world says have the least possibility of being joyful or happy and showing how in fact they are happy they are happy it's a paradox for example he talks in verse three the first paradox is the paradox of god's blessing he talks about the riches of poverty look at verse 3. jesus begins by saying blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven now jesus doesn't say blessed are the poor there is no special blessing to being poor poor people can be happy poor people can be sad your joy doesn't depend upon your economic status what he's talking about here is blessed are the poor in spirit that word poor in greek means to cower to cringe to crouch like a beggar to be poor in spirit is to realize you are spiritually bankrupt that's what it means if you come to that realization you are spiritually bankrupt you are in a blessed state because yours will be the kingdom of heaven it all begins our pursuit of heaven with an understanding of our spiritual poverty in isaiah 64 6 isaiah said our righteousness is like a filthy rag before god you have to come to that conclusion before you can enter into the kingdom of heaven paul said in romans 3 verses 10 and 23 he said for there is none righteous among us not even one for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god i'm not going to re-preach this message but remember a couple of weeks ago the parable of jesus told about the two men who went up to the temple to pray one was the pharisee and his prayer was basically a self-congratulatory prayer in which the pharisee reminded god how lucky god was to be in the pharisees presence he recited all of the good things he had done but remember the tax collector all he could utter out were those seven words lord be merciful to me the sinner he was spiritually bankrupt but he was closer to god's kingdom than the pharisee one person has summarized this beatitude this way blessed are the spiritual zeros in life have you ever felt like a spiritual zero you feel like no matter how hard you try you can't please god you ought to be comforted in that because you're closer than you think to the kingdom of god secondly he talks about another paradox the comfort of mourning verse 4 blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted this word mourn 10 theo in greek describes a feeling of anguish toward a special distressing situation many of you know what it's like to mourn some in our church family just recently have suffered the loss of a loved one through death there is that mourning that the stress you feel sometimes the distress reveal over the loss of a loved one is not through death but an even more painful circumstance can be defection somebody who once loved you tells you they no longer love you and you are separated from that person there is a mourning that comes from separation but i think the morning he has primarily in mind here is built on the last beatitude the poor in spirit a person who mourns his mourning over the state of his spiritual bankruptcy he's like peter who after denying the lord three times luke 22 62 says peter went out and he wept bitterly continually over his spiritual condition it's like paul in romans 7 24 said cried out wretched man that i am jesus said when you had that mourning you are closer to the kingdom of god than you ever thought possible one day you will be comforted in second corinthians 7 verse 10 paul said there is a sorrow according to the world that leads to death if you have a worldly kind of sorrow for your sin and wallow in it continually you're going nowhere but there is another kind of repentance a sorrow that is according to the will of god that produces a repentance without regret leading to salvation in psalm 32 the psalmist talked about the comfort those who mourn about their sin can have the psalmist said how blessed how happy how joyful is the person whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered how blessed is the man to whom the lord does not impute iniquity there is a comfort awaiting those who mourn for their sin thirdly jesus talks about the strength of meekness that's a paradox the strength of meekness it's reported that theodore roosevelt was once talking about william mckinley and said that mckinley possessed no more backbone than a chocolate eclair you know that's what we think about when we think about weakness and meekness we don't like that word meek because it rhymes with weak and we think of somebody meek being somebody who is weak i remember reading one characteristic of modern day preaching somebody characterized it as mild-mannered men preaching mild-mannered sermons teaching people how to become more mild-mannered nobody likes that that is weak it's tepid we don't like our coffee tepid we don't like our diet coke tepid we want it hot or cold we don't want something tepid lukewarm but that's what meekness seems to be but that's not what it is at all in classical greek the word translated me care literally means power under control it's a word that was used to describe a powerful animal like a horse that had been broken that had been harnessed and when jesus is saying blessed are the meek he is saying blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth when i think about the phrase power under control meekness i think about that scene in king kong remember king kong the giant ape and how he finally meets the love of his life originally it was fay ray but now it's naomi watts and uh he's holding naomi watts in his hand and the palm of his hand and with his big ape finger he starts to stroke her hair i mean that's what you call power under control i mean he could squash her like and that but he doesn't do it jesus said blessed are those who are in a position of power but they keep that power under control blessed happy joyful or those employers who may be irritated with an employee but instead of unloading their wrath on that employee they deal gently they keep their anger under control blessed are parents who are disappointed with their children who keep their power their fury under control by the way jesus put a premium on this quality of meekness the only time jesus ever described himself the word he used to describe himself was gentle meek in matthew 11 verses 28 and 29 he said come to me for i am meek and humble in heart do you remember in the children's series the chronicles of narnia when jesus or when the c.s lewis was trying to describe jesus he didn't use a fluffy bunny rabbit to describe him he used a powerful lion and in one of the most moving scenes of the lion witch in the wardrobe remember mr and mrs beaver told the children about aslan the king of the wood lucy wanted to know if aslan was a man and mr beaver told her no he was a lion and the little girl susan said well is he quite safe i shall re feel rather nervous about meeting the lion and mr beaver scoffed at the idea said safe who said anything about safe of course he isn't safe but he's good i tell you he's the king you know that's jesus there's nothing safe about jesus he's powerful he is righteous but he is good he keeps his power under control and he says to those of us who follow that example of meekness who says one day we shall inherit the earth david affirmed that in psalm 37 11 he said the humble will inherit the land and would delight themselves in abundant prosperity what does it mean to inherit the earth it's interesting over and over again it says the righteous will inherit not the heavens but the earth i don't want to get into another series here but our final place of dominion is not going to be floating around up there it's right here on this recreated earth this is where we were created to spend eternity in the new heaven and the new earth and one day our inheritance if we follow the commands of christ will be the earth a friend of mine says that doesn't mean there's going to be a mercedes in every garage a mink in every closet or a million dollars in everybody's bank account that's not what we inherit what he is saying here is our inheritance for following the commands of christ will be something that cannot be destroyed or taken away from us those who follow the commands of christ there's another paradox we see in verse six and that is the fullness of hunger the fullness of hunger verse 6 blessed happy joyful are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied remember last time i said your appetite is a sign of your health if you're hungry that's a sign that you're healthy and jesus is saying if you have a spiritual hunger for righteousness it means you're on the road to spiritual health that word righteousness as we've said before it can refer to judicial righteousness being in a right relationship with god that happens the moment you trust in christ as your savior therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ righteousness can also refer to an ethical righteousness that's our right acting before god after we're saved it means being christ-like in what we do an ethical kind of righteousness and if we have a hunger for that if we want to be more obedient to christ we can know that we're going to be satisfied second peter 3 1 says that we have everything we need regarding godliness if you have the holy spirit's power inside of you right now you can be satisfied you can have that obedience to god that produces joy but i think there's something else jesus had in mind here about hungering and thirsting for righteousness it can mean to have a desire to live in a righteous environment now the term social justice has become radioactive in recent days because it gets loaded down with a lot of political baggage and there is a false movement out there right now the social justice movement that says the way we're going to have the kind of righteous utopia we all deserve is by casting off the restraints of god's word and embracing ungodly and unbiblical values if we will just do that then we can have equality and social justice no that's not the way to freedom that's the way to bondage to cast off the restraints of god that's not what i'm talking about but putting that aside don't we all desire to live in a world that's characterized by righteousness where justice prevails for good triumphs over evil not just sometimes but every time don't we desire to live in a world where good things no longer happen to bad people and bad things no longer happen to good people don't we desire that kind of a world if you hunger and thirst for righteousness you will be satisfied one day because one day when christ rules that is going to be the environment in which we live blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied and then notice verse 7 in talking about our relationships with one another jesus said blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy for many people mercy is a mystery they get it confused with grace let me tell you what the difference is grace is giving somebody what they don't deserve mercy is not giving people what they do deserve there's the difference between the two mercy is not giving what people what they do deserve which is punishment which is justice the old testament law was basically based on justice an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth if you take out somebody's eye they get to take out your eye if you knock somebody's tooth out they can knock your tooth out gandhi once observed the problem with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is eventually everybody becomes blind and toothless so there has to be a better way and jesus talks about that better way which is forgiveness forgiveness is based on grace giving people what they don't deserve you know people run around today saying i want justice i want justice they want justice for other people they want other people to get what's coming to them i don't know about you i don't want to get what's coming to me when i come before god i don't want justice i want mercy i want grace and the bible says blessed are those who are merciful for they shall receive mercy did you see that scene just friday in the news dante wright was accidentally killed by that minion minneapolis police officer kim potter she thought she was pulling a taser when she pulled her gun accidentally and killed dante wright interestingly both sides in the case acknowledged that it was an accident she was sentenced to two years 24 months in prison but i thought it was interesting dante wright's mother said i will not forgive i will not forgive we can empathize with the loss that mom feels we understand that but when she says i will not forgive she doesn't realize that she is actually sentencing herself to not just two years but a lifetime in the prison of bitterness that's what happens to anyone who refuses to forgive and that's why jesus said blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy there is a blessing in this life when we choose forgiveness over bitterness but there's a reward in the next life as well jesus was very clear in matthew 6 verses 14 and 15 for if you forgive others for their transgressions your heavenly father will also forgive you but if you do not forgive others then your father will not forgive your transgressions as somebody said he who refuses to forgive destroys the bridge over which he must one day pass that's why jesus said blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy in verse eight jesus talked about another paradox the clarity of purity blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god you know people see what they want to see there's an old saying to a hammer everything looks like a nail we see what we want to see jesus is saying if we want to see god there has to be a purity in our heart you know some things can appear to be pure when they're not if you go to colorado and you're on a hiking trip and you get thirsty and see a clear stream the water may look pure but if you drink it you're gonna find out the opposite in a few hours there can be invisible parasites in that clear water the pharisees looked righteous but jesus said they were no more than unwashed dishes they were clean on the outside but dirty on the inside jesus said blessed are the pure in heart that word pure means undivided to have a pure heart before god means to have a heart that's undivided when i say i love my wife with all of my heart that means there's no room in my heart to love somebody else's wife i love my wife it's the same thing with god the bible says who may ascend unto the hill of the lord and who may stand in this holy place psalm 24 he who has clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood jesus says when we have a pure heart we shall see god then he talks about in verse 9 the paternity test of peace verse 9 blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of god what is peace somebody has described peace as that glorious moment in history when people are standing around reloading you know we're seeing that kind of peace colonel aren't we right now on the ukrainian border with russia they hadn't started firing yet but would we say they're at peace no peace is not just the absence of hostility it is a reconciliation it's when two warring parties decide to be reconciled with one another and that's what jesus is talking about here blessed are the peacemakers who work for reconciliation for they shall be called the sons of god why does jesus say that because god is the ultimate peacemaker in colossians 1 verses 19 and 20 paul writes for it was the father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in christ and through christ to reconcile all things to himself having been made peace through the blood of his cross god made peace with us who were at war with god he made peace by the blood of the cross of jesus christ god wants to be at peace with us and we can be at peace with god if we trust in the blood of his son to wash away our sins that's what he's talking about and if we have experienced listen to me if we've experienced that peace with god that means making peace with others is a part of our dna we want to be at peace with other people now that's not always possible it's not always possible matthew 10 verses 34 to 36 jesus said whenever our relationships with other people come come in conflict with the word of god it's impossible to have peace jesus said in matthew 10 do not think that i came to bring peace on earth i did not come to bring peace but a sword for i came to set a man against his father and daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's enemies will be the members of his household have you ever seen those verses on a christmas card before i never have what is jesus talking about he's talking about sometimes it's impossible to be at peace with other people if other people demand that you compromise your faith in jesus christ you can't be at peace with them paul said in romans 12 verse 18 as far as it depends upon you be at peace with all men that always depend upon us but where it can the default choice ought to be at peace with other people you know if i wanted to as pastor of this church i could divide this church right down the middle right now on a half dozen different issues predestination the end times vaccines i could choose a million different things to divide this church over but as a christian my job is to seek peace not peace at the expense of truth but peace wherever wherever's possible oh i'm the oldest of three children as you know in my family and i remember when i was a little boy my parents used to say to me is i would try to referee fights between my brother and sister they would quote the verse robert remember blessed are the peacemakers blessed are the peacemakers blessed are the peacemakers there is a blessing to being a peacemaker and finally jesus talks about the joy of persecution verse 10 blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when people will insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you well you notice something in verse 10 this blessing applies to those not just who are being persecuted but those who are being persecuted for righteousness frankly there are a lot of christians being persecuted today but they're not being persecuted for righteousness they're being persecuted for stupidity they're being persecuted for their own personal opinions they're being persecuted for rebellion there's no reward for that the blessing is for those who are persecuted for righteousness peter said in first peter 4 14-16 if you are reviled for the name of christ you are blessed because the spirit of god and the glory of god rest on you but make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer a thief an evil doer troublesome meddler but if anyone suffers as a christian he is not to be ashamed but is to glorify god in this name in this name persecution doesn't always mean imprisonment like pastor brunson experienced or execution it can be marginalization some of you maybe who are teenagers right now you're being ostracized you're being left out because you're seeking to glorify god in your life you're not bending to what everybody else is doing maybe you're an employee and you've been overlooked for a promotion maybe you've been demoted because of your stand for christ maybe you're experiencing divisions in your family right now because you will not compromise again not on your opinion but on the name of jesus christ and the cause of jesus christ he said blessed are you you can experience joy in this life and unending happiness in the next life for those of you who are watching today we have as our special guest pastor andrew brunson who spent nearly two years in a turkish prison for his faith in jesus christ you know i asked him earlier about how he felt during that time during those two years he didn't wake up every morning singing oh what a beautiful morning oh what a beautiful day i've got a wonderful feeling everything's going my way no he had moments of doubt he had moments of grieving but the fact is he had a joy and assurance that god was still in control of his life and that's what jesus is promising here he said those who are persecuted for their faith indeed those who live by all of these beatitudes can have that genuine joy in this life that leads to an unending happiness in the next life those who model the attitudes actions and affections of jesus christ can experience that genuine joy now and unending happiness in the life that is yet to come you know i've been wrestling with this all week how do i explain how do i illustrate the connection between temporary joy in this life compared to unending happiness in the next life and as i was thinking about it i remembered something that happened to me as a child when i was nine years old do you all have experiences in your childhood that are just burned into your memory you will never never forget well this was one of those if you grew up in the dallas area you probably remember when six flags over texas was opened the first six flags in the nation it was august of 1961 and it was a unique amusement park for this area in that all you had to do is pay one price it used to be 2.75 when it opened for 2.75 you could go into six flags and you could ride all the rides you wanted to ride as many times as you wanted to ride them i mean that was a big deal and i remember our family uh had our annual summer pilgrimage to six flags we'd go once a year that's all we could afford but we would go once a year to six flags and my brother's sister and i look forward to that day at six flags with our family when i was nine we were getting ready to go to six flags and we were looking forward to it and finally the day arrived and we loaded up in our car and drove to arlington and spent a great day at six flags had so much fun and as darkness descended over the park we were preparing to leave so we gathered as we always did at the front of the park getting ready to go out the turnstiles to the parking lot to get in our car and go home before we went through the turnstiles my father and mother said to us we've got a surprise for you the day's not over yet we're going to get in our cars we're going to drive home we're going to pack our suitcases we're going to drive to left field and get on an airplane and fly all night to new york city and spend a week of vacation there i didn't realize then what i realized as a parent that was a strategy to wear us out all day at six flags so we would sleep on the way but we couldn't we couldn't believe it i mean a day at this amusement park i mean that's all we would have ever hoped for but that day was just a prelude to something even better and more long-lasting that that's what jesus is saying here when you obey his prescription for living there is an immediate payoff a genuine joy the assurance that you've been approved by god but that genuine joy in this life is just a prelude to an unending eternity of happiness when we're with god let's bow together in a word of prayer psalm 32 how blessed how happy how joyful are those whose sins are forgiven whose sin the lord will not take into account the beginning place for this kind of joy and eternal happiness is making sure your sins have been forgiven and there's only one way that can happen it's through the blood of jesus christ the reason christ came was not just to be a good example a good teacher it was to be our savior when he died took the punishment from god that you and i deserve today if you would like to know that your sins have been forgiven i want to invite you wherever you are here day one watching online to pray this prayer in your heart to god knowing that he's listening to you right now would you like to receive that gift of forgiveness pray this with me dear god thank you for loving me i know i have failed you in so many ways and i'm truly sorry for the sins in my life but i believe what i've heard today that you loved me so much you sent your son jesus to die on the cross for my sins to take the punishment that i deserve to take for my sins and right now i'm trusting in what jesus did for me not in my good works but in what jesus did for me to save me from my sins thank you for forgiving me and help me to live the rest of my life for you in jesus name amen let me just say if you're watching online right now and you prayed that prayer please go to the top of your screen and click on the link that says i prayed the prayer to trust in christ as soon as you do that i'll be in contact with you and send you some free material about what it means to live your life as a christian don't wait another moment go to the top of the screen and click on that link for those of you in day one or here in our service today i'd like you to take out the card in your bulletin and if you prayed the prayer to trust in christ check that third box and we'll send you that same material as well if you're a guest check the first box if you'd like to join our church you can do it by simply checking this final box i'd like to join first baptist dallas we'll be in contact with you now when you finished your card drop it off at the welcome center outside and we'll exchange your completed card for a copy of my newest book invincible if you don't want to stop by the welcome center just drop this in one of the many receptacles on the way out and we'll process the card and get the book to you thank you so much for doing that now again tonight at 5 30 we've got all kind of classes in discipleship university but you're certainly welcome especially to come at 5 30 levorn hall to hear pastor andrew branson and again let's express our appreciation to pastor brunson and noreen for being with us today thank you all for your faithfulness for our women don't forget our heartstrong faiths women's conference this weekend friday night and saturday a great lineup of speakers rebecca saint james and our day one band will be here for the music as well you can go to firstdallas.org to register for the conference this weekend thank you so much for being here today let's stand together now as tyler comes to lead us in our final song thank you pastor let's worship together as we close singing his praise this is my story this is my story this is [Music] [Music] this is my song praising myself [Music] god bless you church well thank you so much for joining us for worship today on the first dallas eye campus it's our honor and privilege to worship chat and pray with you throughout the service if you are local to dfw let me encourage you to come on down we'd love to have you visit us in person we'd love to greet you and show you a great spot in the worship center for you to sit it would be our honor to worship with you in person in the heart of downtown dallas right here at first baptist dallas also if you are new here to the eye campus or have been watching for a while and want to get plugged in let me encourage you to sign up for a free gift we'd love to provide that to you directly in your inbox and then sign you up for pastors daily devotional it's straight from the pen of dr jeffress and you will be encouraged with that great resource each and every day simply visit the link that's provided on your screen and lastly stay connected with us each and every day with our facebook global group there we encourage one another through scripture and graphics but also pray for one another so head on over to facebook and join our icampus global facebook group thank you again for joining us today for worship we look forward to seeing you next week on the first dallas i campus hi i'm robert jeffress pastor of first baptist church in dallas we are so excited to have you join us on the i campus today for a time of inspiring worship and biblical teaching you are part of a vast online community gathered from all over the world we consider you a part of our first baptist church family and we hope you feel a part of what god is doing and improve first baptist dallas no matter where you are we hope and pray that this is a time you will grow in your relationship with god and others as we worship our savior together welcome to worship [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] great to see each of you let's stand together and let's sing this hymn of the faith joyful joyful joy [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] you are the ones [Music] [Applause] [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] say [Music] us [Music] [Music] jesus you are my rescue jesus you are my rescue i give you everything i am [Music] jesus you are my rescue jesus [Music] jesus jesus [Music] jesus [Applause] [Music] [Applause] who are you [Music] you are the one who says [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh praise the lord this morning jesus says freedom's calling chains are falling hope is dawning bright and true [Music] jesus [Music] jesus saves jesus [Music] jesus says [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus says [Music] jesus says [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] jesus christ [Music] [Applause] jesus says [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] salvation [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] uh [Applause] jesus saves today amen great worship church you may be seated and let's turn our attention to the baptistry thank you tyler church family this is my friend quentin mccaskill and quentin came to our church about five years ago through our special friends ministry quentin was raised in a christian home where he was taught the word of god at age 12 he trusted jesus christ as his savior and today he's coming to testify to his faith through believers baptism so quentin because you've trusted christ as your savior and in obedience to the lord's command i baptize you my brother in christ in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit buried with christ in the likeness of his death to walk in a new way of life well we welcome everyone to worship at first baptist dallas this morning and if you're a guest joining us we welcome you here those in our downtown dallas location as well as on our eye campus guest we have a very special gift for you today it's our pastor's new book entitled invincible conquering the mountains that separate you from the blessed life and guest as you came in this morning you received a worship guide you'll find and close this welcome card please take the time to fill this out and keep the card with you at the end of this morning's worship service just take it outside these main worship center doors right there you're going to find our welcome center our staff is waiting there for you we look forward to meeting you and you'll exchange your completed card for your gift and we'll answer any questions you might have regarding our church now if you can't make it to the welcome center we have some orange boxes on your way out you can take your card and place it in one of those boxes we'll mail you a copy of your gift and if you're joining us on icampus just follow that link provided on your screen for your gift as well again welcome to each of you to worship here at first baptist dallas today we have so many exciting events taking place in the life of our church so let's all take a look together now at the screen good morning we are so thankful to be with you in worship today we want to take a moment to tell you about a few upcoming events ladies the heartstrung faith conference is next weekend february 25th and 26th our incredible lineup of speakers will encourage you to stand firm in your faith speak the truth with joy and confidence and remember that the lord is with you every step of the way you don't want to miss hearing from julia jeffer sadler nika spalling rebecca carroll liz rodriguez laura story and sheila walsh on saturday march 12th we have a church-wide opportunity to gather and make a difference in our community through our local mission partners with serve dallas in just one day volunteers experience a little bit of what our local partners do every day serving is truly a privilege and as a church we count it an absolute honor to be able to serve our city for more information on everything happening at our church visit firstdallas.org events [Music] so many exciting events to look forward to here at first baptist dallas well our pastor is here and ready to introduce a very special guest with us this morning pastor well that's right tyler we are thrilled today to have as our special guest pastor andrew brunson the world was captivated by his story he spent two years imprisoned in turkey this wasn't just house arrest this was imprisoned in turkey for his christian faith having been falsely accused of being a terrorist god miraculously intervened in his situation and freed him and we are so happy to have pastor brunson and his wife maureen here would you join me in welcoming a true hero of the faith andrew brunson thank you pastor pastor i know the subject of religious liberty is on your heart and you want to focus on that but for those few who may be unfamiliar with your story tell us about it would you so noreen and i had been in turkey for 23 years already doing church planting when very unexpectedly we were arrested and told that we were going to be deported they held us for two weeks they didn't get around to deporting us and they released noreen and after those two weeks and then kept me for two years and it was two years but i didn't know it was going to be two years i didn't know i was going to be released until the very day that i was released and the turkish government wanted three life sentences for me so that was the uncertainty that i was living under that also tests the heart and when i think of my time in prison i think of the first year as a time of breaking so i broke emotionally physically mentally and especially spiritually i went into crisis with god i was surprised that i didn't feel more grace or a sense of joy or strength or of his presence as i had expected to from reading biographies and that took me into crisis with him and the first year was that breaking and then the second year was a rebuilding process and god took me out of that deep deep brokenness and rebuilt me over that second year so that actually came out stronger than when i went in how did you i mean how did you survive that emotionally two years being separated from your family and and what is it that sustained you during that time well my emotions were a wreck and it was actually coming to a point where i make decisions with my will [Music] aside from my emotions which were often in turmoil and just making a decision what led to the rebuilding process the turning point was was laying aside the conditions i placed on god and saying i'm going to follow you no matter what you do or do not do if you don't give me your presence or don't give me your voice or or never released me from here i am still going to follow you and then making a decision to turn my eyes toward him rather than away and this was a decision of the will i'm saying i choose to turn toward you and this is so key because in my weakness maybe i can only turn one degree in his direction but it's all the difference in the world turning toward him that one degree than turning away from him because that positioned me then to receive from him and that's when the rebuilding process began you know uh in our first service we had general trey rawls who is the son-in-law of my assistant carolyn baker and scott baker he was on air force one with president trump the week before you were released and president trump asked him general what is it going to take to get andrew brunson out of turkey and trey told him what he thought i don't know what he taught told him but the next week you were out it was a true miracle of god we're grateful for a president who believed in religious liberty i mean you told me it was in a 24-hour period you went from being in prison to being in the oval office of the white house only god can do that so i was convicted of terror crimes sentenced and then suddenly released and they let me leave the country so it was really a joseph type story where i'm i'm convicted and sentenced and then a day later in the white house wow well i know um you made a side trip on the way here to dallas to finland this week tell us what you were doing in finland and why we as americans and christians should be concerned about it so we were meeting with uh paivi rason and who is a a public figure in finland she's a politician a member of parliament and she is on a criminal trial prosecuted criminally for quoting a bible verse about homosexuality about lgbt and they have an equality law there similar to what people want to pass here in the united states and basically what the prosecutor was saying in the court is if you make moral statements if you say that something is a sin then that is hate speech and so this they're just a few steps ahead of us but i think this is a preview of what we can expect in the states that faithful followers of jesus who are faithful to the teaching of the bible are increasingly going to be labeled as a people of hate who have a message of hate and that is going to lead to financial and social pressure so i expect persecution to come i think there's when we i grew up in mexico as a missionary kid we were in turkey for 25 years i didn't really think about the united states very much but since i came back i've had a sense of urgency i think there's a a dark wave ready to crash onto the church a wave of hostility and the urgency comes from thinking that most people aren't ready for it yes so how do we prepare for it pastor well one of the main things is doing what you're doing which is making people aware uh because i think most christians when they think of persecution they think of you know something from china or iran where there's very intense persecution or imprisonment like i experienced and they don't think it can happen here but i think it is coming and so we need to be uh preparing our hearts and this is the main way to prepare ourselves is is the preparation of the heart because uh i've experienced this when uh when there's a threat the natural thing is to want to escape that threat and i cannot avoid that surge of adrenaline when i have fear because of a threat and so we prepare heart ahead of time so that so that when we are afraid when there is that threat we do not run but we stand firm so this is one of the very important things another thing is the most important thing daniel 11 32 it's a verse that's been on my heart a lot and daniel is speaking to the people who will live in the most difficult times and he says those who know their god shall stand and accomplish exploits and if you want to stand know your god know your god and if you know him then you're going to stand so this is what we we emphasize is begin to pursue god's heart emphasize intimacy with him and that will it's the best preparation you can have well you are a living illustration of daniel in that verse daniel 11 32 and we thank you for standing strong and i know a lot of our people would want to know more about your story tonight andrew is going to be speaking at discipleship university because of the great interest we're moving it to the historic sanctuary tonight at 5 30 and they can hear more of your story and i'd say to our friends watching online andrea noreen's story is in this best-selling book god's hostage we tried to get copies today they're out of copies the publisher but you can get it at amazon.com or any e-tailer you'll be inspired by it let's all express our admiration and appreciation for this great man of faith andrew brunson god bless you noreen thank you for coming thank you pastor brunson for those powerful words and i think maybe prophetic words as well we're going to read god's word together privilege that we have of doing that we're reading today from matthew chapter 5 and we'll read verses 9 through 12 and you'll see how that prepares us for the pastor's message to come in just a few moments we'll read from the new american standard bible that version will be on the screens here in the worship center and for eye campus as well giving us the opportunity to all read god's word together and as some are already doing let's stand honor the reading of god's word thank you for that as we read together matthew chapter 5 beginning with verse 9 ending with verse 12. blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of god blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you may god richly bless the reading of his word you may be seated at this time as our executive pastor ben lavorne comes as we prepare to give thanks and offer our gifts to god ben will we continue our time of worship through giving this morning during this time of the service we'll commit our tithes and offerings to the lord more importantly we commit our lives to the lord and you'll have the opportunity to leave your tithes and offerings in the boxes as you exit this morning you can also give those online at firstdallas.org forward slash give online but right now i'll invite you as you're able to kneel all over the worship center as we go to the lord in prayer together gracious heavenly father we rejoice in our salvation in jesus christ this morning as we worship you as we exalt your holy name but even as we come before your throne lord we are reminded this morning that we live in a fallen world we are reminded of our savior's words that in this world we will have trouble that in this world there will be wars and rumors of wars there will be disaster and there will be sickness but we are encouraged by jesus christ as well who told us to take heart because he has overcome the world and so even as your church faces persecution throughout the world even as our religious liberties increasingly come under attack in our own country lord we will stand as salt and we will stand as light because you have called us to do so and so we pray that you would make us strong and courageous that we would be filled by the power of your holy spirit as we stand on the sure promise of your word lord and help us to proclaim your love to proclaim your gospel of jesus christ throughout the world so that many throughout the world will come to a saving knowledge of jesus christ will enter into your family and enter into your kingdom and as we give to you our tithes and our offerings this morning lord we pray that these would be pleasing to you that you would accept these as our spiritual sacrifices worship lord and at that these resources would be used to advance your kingdom and we pray this in the saving name of jesus christ amen [Music] has always known that there is [Music] the priesthood [Music] there's something that keeps [Music] [Applause] [Music] to find the place [Music] for free [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] we can be free [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] i to all be free [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] ah [Music] oh [Music] [Music] hmm [Music] [Applause] [Music] great [Applause] [Music] is [Music] great [Music] [Applause] [Music] great [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you so much andy edwards and great first dallas choir and orchestra for your music today we welcome the multitudes of you who've joined us on our first dallas eye campus and literally the millions of you watching or listening on pathway to victory i thought you'd be interested to know that this friday friday we received our january ratings for pathway to victory and i'm happy to report to you now for the 15th month in a row pathway to victory is the most viewed program on the entire trinity broadcasting network and what was really interesting to me was when they added up everything from the hundreds of television stations and networks were on the viewing audience for pathway to victory is up a whopping 40 over the same time last year and over 100 percent from two years ago god is truly blessing this ministry so thank you for your continued support and prayers for our pathway to victory in our eye campus from first dallas you probably are very familiar with the movie and the book on which the movie is based the wizard of oz now if you're as old as i am you remember when the only time you could see the wizard of oz no dvds no dvrs it was telecast one time a year on a sunday night close to easter and if you were like me and had to come to sunday night church you remember what happened you'd watch 20 minutes of the movie when you heard the words turn off that tv it's time to get in the car and go to church i was an adult before i even knew there was a part of the movie that was in color i thought it was all in black and white uh during that time but if you're familiar with the story you know it's about dorothy and her dog toto and her three new friends the cowardly lion the scarecrow and the tin man and they're all prancing down the yellow brick road on the way to meet the wizard and they each have their own request of what they're going to ask the wizard for the cowardly lion wants courage but the scarecrow said i shall ask for brains instead of a heart for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one but the ten man had a different perspective he said i shall take the heart for brains do not make one happy and happiness is the best thing in the world is that true is happiness really the best thing in the world yes as long as you understand happiness the way jesus understood it and that's what we're going to talk about today if you have your bibles turn to matthew chapter 5 as we look at some straight talk from the savior about our happiness we are now beginning the verses that we call the sermon on the mount and then this first and foundational message that jesus ever preached he addresses 10 topics and shows how his way of dealing with these topics offers both genuine joy in this life and unending happiness in the next life and like any good teacher or preacher jesus begins with the benefits he says for his audience this is what you're going to get out of living according to my message today he front loads the benefits always a smart thing to do and over and over again in these verses he's going to see say blessed are the poor in spirit blessed are those who mourn blessed are those who are persecuted for their faith blessed blessed blessed and that's what we're going to look at this these verses that we often call the beatitudes are really a summary of jesus entire teaching of the sermon on the mount you know we need to understand what jesus means when he says blessed the word blessed is the translation of the greek word macarius and macarios literally can be defined as happy happy are those who are poor in spirit happier those who are persecuted now happiness is a acceptable translation but it's not a complete translation because frankly our english word happiness doesn't capture everything jesus had in mind our english word happiness comes from an old english word hap which means luck or circumstance i define it this way happiness depends upon our happiness i mean happiness is a superficial emotion and it is completely tied to our surrounding environment it can come as easily as it can leave for example i enjoy in the evenings sitting on the couch with amy eating my bowl of ice cream watching a favorite tv program i am happy but if my carton of ice cream is empty if amy is on the cell phone talking to somebody else and the internet connection goes down and i can't watch my program i'm very unhappy you didn't know you had such a shallow preacher did you my happiness depends upon my happenings what's going on around me jesus is talking about something more than that he's talking about an inward joy not a giddiness but an inward assurance that comes from following god in fact this word macarius in greek means to enjoy a place of special privilege a believer who obeys christ can be joyful if not giddy over the fact that he knows he is approved by god and jesus is saying happy blessed joyful are those who know they are approved by god as dallas willard notes and jesus takes the eight characteristics of people in this world that are the least likely to be thought to be in a place of privilege and shows how they are actually in a better place of privilege than those who are not in this situation let's low have an overview of these blessed attitudes this entire sermon on the mount remember is a constitution for how christians are to live both now and in the future one of the things i wrestled with as i prepared the message this week is okay is jesus talking about life now or life after we die which is it and the answer is both in fact if i were going to summarize the beatitudes we're going to look at which is in fact a summary of the entire sermon on the mount it's this write down this theme that i have on your outline those who model their attitudes actions and affections after jesus christ will experience a genuine joy in this life and unending happiness in the next life there is a coming kingdom of god the millennium when everybody will live according to these principles enjoy the benefits of doing so but right now the kingdom of god is within us if you're a believer you have the ability right now to submit to the kingdom rule of jesus christ and when you submit to him in the areas we're about to talk about you're going to experience a genuine joy not a superficial giddiness but a genuine joy in this life and unending happiness in the next life now i want you to notice each of what we call the b attitudes eight each of these eight are a paradox uh they as gk chesterton said a paradox is truth standing on her head to get our attention in fact jesus takes our expectations and turns them upside down about who is really blessed and approved by god let's look at these eight paradoxes first of all he begins by talking about the riches of poverty verse three blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven now he doesn't say blessed are the poor there's nothing about having no money that makes you happy you're not righteous if you have no money that's not what he's saying i know poor people who are miserable and poor people who are happy the same about rich people has nothing to do with how much money you have or don't have he's not talking about material possessions he's talking about the poor in spirit that greek word poor means to cower to cringe to crouch like a beggar when he talks about poor in spirit he's talking about joyful are those who realize their spiritual bankruptcy that they are lacking in spirituality we have to begin there in isaiah 64 6 isaiah says the best we can do our righteousness is like a filthy rag to god the apostle paul said in romans 3 10 and 23 for there is none righteous among us no not even one for all have sinned and come short of the glory of god the beginning place for experiencing god's blessings is to understand your spiritual bankruptcy one commentator translated it this way blessed are the spiritual zeros do you ever feel like a spiritual zero you feel like you're unworthy of god's blessing in your life i'm not gonna re preach my message but remember from luke 18 the story of the two men who went up to the temple to pray the first one was the pharisee and his prayer so to speak was just a self-congratulatory speech reminding god of how lucky god was to be in his presence but the publican the tax collector all he could utter were those seven words lord be merciful to me the sinner the chief sinner realizing your spiritual poverty is the beginning place of blessing secondly he talks about the paradox of mourning the comfort of mourning verse 4 blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted that greek word translated mourn pimpeo means to feel anguish over a distressing situation now when we think about mourning we think in relationship to losing a loved one through death some of our members even this last week have experienced the heartbreak that comes from knowing you're never going to see that loved one again on this side of the grave there there is a distress that comes from that perhaps the only thing more distressful than separation by death is separation from defection for somebody to willingly separate themselves from you to say that they no longer care for you they no longer love you that produces a an emotional kind of death and separation we understand that concept of mourning and the bible says you shall be comforted one day and that's true but when we read this in context this is building on the last beatitude the poor in spirit he's talking about those who are so spiritually bankrupt they mourn over their condition we understand that when we look at peter remember after promising the lord he would not deny him in the space of a couple of hours peter denied the lord three different times and when he realized what had happened luke 22 62 says peter went out and he wept bitterly i think about the apostle paul in romans 7 24 who talking about his own sinful condition even though he was a believer said wretched man that i am who can deliver me from this body of sin have you ever done something that was so horrendous that it even surprised you that you could do such a thing you mourn over your situation he said you shall be comforted there is a way to be comforted now not just in heaven when you're mourning over your sin it starts with asking for god's forgiveness by trusting in christ as your savior you know there are two kinds of sorrow for sin second corinthians 7 says there's a sorrow that just leads nowhere except to death if you're just constantly wallowing in self-pity over your unrighteousness that leads nowhere but paul said in second corinthians 7 10 the sorrow that is according to the will of god produces a repentance without regret leading to salvation psalm 32 david talked about he knew firsthand the comfort that comes from confessing your sins and receiving god's forgiveness in psalm 32 he said how blessed how happy is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered how blessed is the man to whom the lord does not impute iniquity there is no relief that can match the relief of knowing your sins have been forgiven that god no longer imputes them he no longer holds them against you how blessed is that person blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted and then in verse five jesus talks about the strength of meekness remember this is a paradox the strength of meekness theodore roosevelt once described william mckinley as a man who possessed no more backbone than a chocolate eclair you know our way of thinking is weakness is nothing to be admired and we equate meekness with weakness they rhyme who wants to be weak i mean our society frowns on that we don't like anything that's weak or tepid who likes a tepid cup of coffee or on a hot summer day a tepid diet coke you want things hot or cold you don't want them tepid we think of meekness as people who are doormats pushovers but that's not what the word make means in classical greek the word translated meek means power under control it actually was used in classical greek to refer to a powerful animal that had been broken that had been harnessed meekness under control when i think about that i think about the movie king kong remember when king kong finally meets the love of his life originally it was fay ray but then it became naomi watts and he's holding naomi naomi watts in the palm of his hand and he takes his big gorilla finger and he strokes her hair with his finger i mean that is power under control he could squash her like a net but he doesn't he strokes her hair gently jesus said blessed are those who harness their own power for other people you know happy is that employer who although he's disappointed and upset with that negligent employee he restrains himself he doesn't pour out his wrath happy is the parent who disappointed in the behavior of a child doesn't give full vent to his rage or her rage but instead keeps it under control blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth that's an interesting verse because throughout the scripture the ultimate destiny of the righteous is inheriting the earth psalm 37 11 they shall inherit the earth the humble will inherit the earth and delight themselves in abundant prosperity our final destination as believers is not up there floating around someplace on some other planet it's right here on this earth this recreated earth god made us for this earth and this will be our ultimate inheritance blessed are those who are gentle for they shall inherit the earth jesus said and then in verse 6 he talks about a fourth paradox the fullness of hunger blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied remember we said your appetite is a good indication of your health if you hunger you have a hunger that means you're probably healthy even though you may not be satisfied jesus is saying joyful happy are those who have an appetite for righteousness what do we mean we've said before righteousness can refer to judicial righteousness our right standing for god our need for god's forgiveness and if we have a hunger for that if we want to be right for god that we're only seven words away from that lord be merciful to me the sinner the person who places his trust in christ can immediately be declared righteous sometimes though that word righteousness refers to a right acting before god obedience and again ii peter 3 says if you're a christian you have everything you need to obey god and experience the benefits thereof but i think there's a third sense of righteousness that jesus has in mind here blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness blessed are those who hunger to live in a world that is characterized by righteousness now the term social justice has become radioactive in society now because of all the political baggage that is attached to it and those who are crying loudest for social justice in many ways are headed in the opposite direction they think you can have social justice a utopia if you just cast off the restraints of god's word and embrace ungodly unbiblical ideas that's not the way to freedom that's the way to bondage slavery so we need to understand what's going on with the social justice movement but let's strip that aside for a moment wouldn't you like to live in a world that's characterized by justice don't you want to live in a world where you don't have to lock your doors at night don't you want to live in a world where there's no more war or terrorist activities wouldn't you like to live in a world where good always not sometimes always triumphs over evil a world in which good things no longer happen to bad people and bad things no longer happen to good people we all have a hunger to live in that kind of world we crave justice because we're made in the image of god who is a god of justice the bible promises those who hunger and thirst for that will ultimately be satisfied when the lord rules again blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and then he talks about in verse seven as we talk about our relationships with other people the reward for mercy verse seven blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy a lot of people don't understand the difference between grace and mercy here's the difference grace is giving somebody what they don't deserve mercy is not giving people what they do deserve grace giving people what they don't deserve forgiveness mercy not giving people what they do deserve justice you know people who run around all the time i want justice i want justice i want justice i want people to get what they deserve but they sure don't want it for themselves and i know i'll be the first one to say i do not want god to treat me with justice i don't want god giving me what i deserve i want grace that's what mercy is mercy is not giving people what they deserve you know the old testament was based on justice leviticus 24 19-21 an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth if you take somebody else's eye out they get to take your eye out if you knock somebody's tooth out they knock your tooth out gandhi once said the problem with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is eventually everybody ends up blind and toothless that was never meant to sustain itself sometimes we need mercy we need grace we saw a great illustration of that this last week friday if you were watching any of the news coverage you saw the sentencing of kim potter the minneapolis police officer who accidentally shot dante wright she thought she was pulling her taser out and it was her gun and interestingly both sides the prosecution and defense agreed that it was an accidental killing nevertheless she received 24 months two years in prison the mother of dante wright the victim said i will never forgive i will never forgive now look we understand the pain of a mother losing a child we understand we can empathize with that by saying though she will never forgive that poor mother doesn't realize she has sentenced herself to not just two years in prison but a lifetime in the prison of bitterness when you refuse to give mercy and insist on justice you're robbing yourself of the joy the settled state that comes from forgiveness you rob yourself of a blessing in this life and you are in danger of robbing yourself of forgiveness in all eternity jesus said it very clearly in matthew 6 14 and 15 for if you forgive others for their transgressions your heavenly father will also forgive you but if you do not forgive others then your father will not forgive your transgressions somebody once said he who refuses to forgive destroys the bridge over which he must one day pass blessed happy are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy and then in verse eight he talks about the clarity of purity you know we all tend to see whatever we want to see there's an old saying to a hammer everything looks like a nail what's in our heart determines what we see the bible says blessed are the pure and heart for they're the ones who will see god what does it mean to be pure literally a pure heart is an undivided heart who may ascend to the hill of the lord psalm 24 asked and who may stand in his holy place he who has clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood to have a pure heart means to have that undivided heart for example if i say i love my wife with all of my heart that means there is no place in my heart to love somebody else's wife i love my wife with all of my heart to love god to have a pure heart means there is no love there is no competition for devotion to him and then verse 9 he talks about the paternity test of peace this is interesting verse 9 blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of god somebody described peace as that glorious moment in history when both parties stand around reloading well that's not really peace that's armistice but it's not peace right now we're watching the ukrainian border and there's not major activity yet but nobody would say russia and ukraine are at peace with one another just because they're not lobbing missiles at one another right now no true peace means reconciliation it's not just laying down weapons for a little while and reloading it is reconciliation it's reconciliation like god made between us the bible says we are born into this world separated from god again there's not one righteous among us not even one for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god but god took the first step in establishing peace between himself and us in colossians 1 verses 19 to 20 paul describes how that peace was made possible for it was the father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in christ and through christ to reconcile all things to himself having made peace through the blood of his cross there is only one way to be at peace with god and that's accepting the forgiveness he gives us based on the blood of jesus christ romans 5 1 therefore having been justified through faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ listen to me if you have really experienced that peace with god peace is a part of your dna it runs through your veins and you will do everything you can to be at peace with other people now it's not always possible to be at peace with other people even if you desire it sometimes especially when it comes to matters of faith we don't have a choice in matthew 10 verses 34 to 36 jesus said do not think that i came to bring peace on earth i did not come to bring peace but a sword for i came to set a man against his father and daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's enemies will be the members of his household have you ever seen those verses on a christmas card before i don't know one person don't think i came to bring peace but a sword what was jesus saying he's saying sometimes truth divides people now i'm not talking about your little opinions about something i'm talking about god's truth revealed in his word sometimes that divides people and you can't help that but romans 12 18 says if possible as far as it depends upon you be at peace with all men you know honestly as pastor of this church i could divide this church right down the middle if i wanted to over a half a dozen different issues you know predestination end times vaccines i could choose a million different things and divide the church but that's not god's will god's will is to be a peacemaker we're at all possible i was the oldest of three children as you know and whenever i would have to referee between my brother and sister they tell the story a little differently but when i would referee between them i remember my parents used to say to me all the time robert remember blessed are the peacemakers blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of god that's running in my mind all of the time if we are truly living according to christ's standard we'll seek peace and then finally he talks about the joy of persecution the joy of persecution talk about a paradox he says in verse 10 blessed are those who have been persecuted underline this for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are people are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely accuse you and say all kinds of evil against you because of me now there are a lot of christians right now who are being persecuted but they're being persecuted for their own stupidity they're persecuted for their personal opinions they're persecuted for all kind of reasons there's no reward for that no he's talking about christians who are persecuted for righteousness because of the name of christ in first peter 4 peter said if you are reviled for the name of christ you are blessed because the spirit of glory and god rest on you make sure that none of you suffers because you're a murderer or thief or evil doer or troublesome meddler but if anyone suffers as a christian he is not to be ashamed but it is to the glory in his name for those of you watching on television pastor andrew brunson has been our special guest today who spent two years in a turkish prison suffering because he was a christian suffering for the name of christ persecution is inevitable remember it's also incremental there are some of you right now maybe you're a teenager and you're trying to live according to the commands of christ and you're suffering being isolated you're not invited to certain parties certain people won't be your friends because of your commitment to christ there are some of you who are adults you've been looked over for a promotion demoted or even fired because you're trying to live a godly life some of you are experienced division with your mate with your children or grandchildren all over the issue of faith what does jesus say about that blessed are you blessed are you when you were persecuted that doesn't mean happy let me tell you i got to talk to pastor brunson before the service today trust me when i tell you those two years he was in a turkish prison he didn't wake up every morning singing oh what a beautiful morning oh what a beautiful day i've got a wonderful feeling everything's going my way it went like that there's not necessarily a giddiness when you're going through persecution but there is a genuine joy the calm assurance that because you are approved of god ultimately you're going to be blessed and rewarded by god blessed are you when you are persecuted for yours will be the kingdom of heaven you know i feel like i've preached eight sermons this morning looking at these beatitudes but i want to remind you again of the theme those who model their actions attitudes and affections after jesus christ will receive genuine joy in this life and unending happiness in the next life i've been wrestling all week with how to illustrate to you the connection between the temporary blessings that we experience now and the eternal happiness that is coming one day and as i was thinking about it i remembered something that happened to me as a child you ever have those experiences that are just burned into your memory as a child that you can never forget one of those happened to me when i was nine years old do you remember uh when six flags over texas opened up here in the metroplex i see michael jenkins out there he was instrumental in designing six flags over texas it was the first amusement park of its kind here in the metroplex for one price started at 2.75 you could get into six flags over texas and you could ride all of the rides you wanted as many times as you wanted our family used to have an annual pilgrimage in the summer to six flags over texas we could do it once a year and we so look forward to the day we were going to six flags and so when i was nine we went to six flags we had planned for weeks to go we knew this was going to be the day that we went and we had the best time my brother's sister and i and my parents and when dusk came and the sun started to set we knew it was time to get ready to leave and so we would meet at the front gate but we all assembled there before we went through the turnstiles into the parking lot to get into our car our parents said to us we have a surprise for you without surprise they said the day's not over yet we're going to get in our car drive back to our house pack our bags and then we're going to drive to love field and get on an airplane and fly all night to new york city and spend a week there we couldn't believe it as a parent now i understood the strategy just wear your kids out all day find something for them to do so that they will say i didn't realize that we couldn't believe trust me a day at six flags would have been enough that's all the happiness we could ever imagine it never occurred to us there could be something even more long-lasting and better that's what jesus is promising here he said when you live your life according to the way christ lived his life there's an immediate payoff there's a genuine joy but that genuine joy now is just a prelude to something better and more long-lasting let's bow together in a word of prayer i want to go back to psalm 32 blessed happy are those whose sins are forgiven whose sin the lord does not take into account if you're listening right now to this message or you're here in our worship center you can experience that relief that comes from knowing your sins have been forgiven you can't earn it you can't work for it it comes from trusting in jesus as your savior today if you would like to be at peace with god and know you have his approval of your life i want to encourage you wherever you are to pray this prayer in your heart knowing that god's listening to you right now would you pray this with me dear god thank you for loving me i know i have failed you in so many ways and i'm truly sorry for the sins in my life but i believe what i've heard today that you loved me so much you sent your son jesus to die on the cross for me to take the punishment i deserve to take for my sins and right now i'm trusting in what jesus did for me not in my good works but in what jesus did for me to save me from my sins thank you for forgiving me and help me to live the rest of my life for you in jesus name amen today if you're watching online and you prayed that prayer i want to know about it just go to the top of your screen click on the link that says i prayed the prayer to trust in christ the moment you do that i'll be notified of your decision and i have some free material i want to send you this week about what it means now for you to live as a christian for those of you here in our worship center if you would take the card that is in your bulletin if you prayed that prayer check the third box and i'll send you the same material we're sending our online friends maybe you're a guest today we'd encourage you to check that box maybe you would like more information about the church or you'd like to join the church you can do that by checking that final box when you've completed the card drop it off at the welcome center on the way out we'll exchange your card for a free copy of my new book invincible if you don't want to stop off at the welcome center drop this card and one of the receptacles on the way out we'll process the card and get the book to you this week thank you so much for doing that don't forget tonight 5 30 discipleship university lots of great classes including pastor brunson in the historic sanctuary at 5 30. and then ladies don't forget our heartstrong fates women's conference friday night and saturday great lineup of speakers and rebecca st james and our day one band will be providing the music for more information go to firstdallas.org it's been a great day every week have you noticed more and more people back in church which is the way it should be we're glad you're here we'll look forward to seeing you again next sunday let's stand together as tyler comes to lead us in our final song thank you pastor what an incredible morning of worship let's go out singing his praise this is my story this is my song [Music] praising my savior [Music] all the day long this is my story this is [Music] [Applause] [Music] have a blessed day church [Music] well thank you so much for joining us for worship today on the first dallas i campus it's our honor and privilege to worship chat and pray with you throughout the service if you are local to dfw let me encourage you to come on down we'd love to have you visit us in person we'd love to greet you and show you a great spot in the worship center for you to sit it would be our honor to worship with you in person in the heart of downtown dallas right here at first baptist dallas also if you are new here to the eye campus or have been watching for a while and want to get plugged in let me encourage you to sign up for a free gift we'd love to provide that to you directly in your inbox and then sign you up for pastors daily devotional it's straight from the pen of dr jeffress and you will be encouraged with that great resource each and every day simply visit the link that's provided on your screen and lastly stay connected with us each and every day with our facebook global group there we encourage one another through scripture and graphics but also pray for one another so head on over to facebook and join our icampus global facebook group thank you again for joining us today for worship we look forward to seeing you next week on the first dallas i campus you

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Length: 184min 10sec (11050 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 20 2022