It does indeed. Good morning. Would you turn in
your Bibles, please, to the Gospel of
Matthew, chapter 5. Now while you're
turning there, I just want to say that, to
a lot of churches, the heart and soul of what
goes on in that church happens on Sunday morning. It's a little bit different
in this particular church. I would say that the heartbeat
is not Sunday morning but, at least for
me, Wednesday night. It is where we go through
the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. We are right now in
the book of 1 Samuel. So if you have never
gone through the Bible that Jesus and
the apostles read, which was the Old
Testament, we are right at the kingship
of Saul, when Saul becomes King of the nation. We're in 1 Samuel, end
of chapter 14 into 15, and chapter 16. You who attend go, Yeah right. Like you're going to
cover three chapters. But it's been known to happen. Miracles have been
known to happen. Nonetheless, that's when
we meet, Wednesday night. We invite you out to
be a part of that. That is our church's
reading plan. Through the Bible. We cover from one cover to
the next, or to the last. From the first to the last. And we've done it
several times, and we invite you to be part of it. Let's have a word
of prayer together. Father, thank you for
gathering us together, which is what we are called
to do in the New Testament. Thank you, Lord, that
the church is back. That we can be all about
the Apostles' doctrine, fellowship, the breaking
of bread, and prayers. We now, Lord, turn
our attention to you. We believe that you speak
through what you have spoken. And we pray that we might learn
and, not just be attentive, but be conformed to what
your Spirit says to us through this incredible book. In Jesus' name, Amen. I know you've heard the
statement before that truth is stranger than fiction. And so often that
is the case, right? There are some
things that happen that are just outlandish,
bizarre, unexpected, but real, nonetheless. They happen. And there are so many
examples of this, but let me give you a few
to show you what I mean. In 1979, a Burger
King in the Midwest was broken into, burglarized. And though that, in and
of itself, isn't odd, the name of the criminal who
broke into the Burger King makes the story interesting. He was 18-year-old Ron McDonald. Right? That's strange, right? How's that for a headline? Ronald McDonald breaks
into Burger King. A year later, in a
completely different city, Detroit, Michigan, burglary
took place and the burglar was apprehended. His name was Jimmy Carter. 1980. Jimmy Carter was arrested
in Detroit for burglary. Not the president, but a
man named Jimmy Carter. But that, in and of
itself, is sort of strange. But what makes it
over the top strange is the name of the arresting
officer, who was Richard Nixon. So, when Richard Nixon arrests
Jimmy Carter, that's strange. Here's another one. In Orlando, Florida, in a
courthouse, a jury of 12 were on their way
to the courtroom to finish out the
hearing of a case. As they were on their
way to the courtroom they were in the
courthouse elevator and the elevator got stuck. So they're trapped in an
elevator for 20 minutes. Eventually they get out. They make their way
to the courtroom, but they were on their way to
hear a case against the Otis elevator company. So do you think the
jury was prejudiced when they heard that case? Strange. And then there was
an there was an ad in a newspaper in Wisconsin,
Marshfield, Wisconsin, that ran this way. For sale, parachute. Used once, never opened. I'm not going to be
buying that parachute. Really strange. Now you've guessed by
now, and you know by now if you've been in the
series, that this series, Now Streaming, we're taking
popular shows that people stream on different platforms. And we're looking at kind of
a biblical twist on the name. Now, I just want to
give a disclaimer. We're not recommending
any or all of these shows. Some of them I've
never heard of. Some of them I have. And I have heard of the one
called, "Stranger "Things. And "Stranger "Things is
based on the disappearance of a young boy in
Indiana in a town that was near a
top-secret government lab. The boy disappears. The police, friends, and family
go on a search for the boy. And the strange disappearance
of this young boy leads to stranger phenomena,
like government experiments and supernatural forces. So it's called,
"Stranger Things." Well, with that as
an introduction, we are looking at a small
section this morning of the Sermon on the Mount. And the Sermon on the
Mount, as you probably know, is the best known sermon
Jesus ever preached. Everybody knows about
the Sermon on the Mount. But it's arguably the
least understood sermon that Jesus ever preached. I would put it this way. The Sermon on the Mount is the
greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest
preacher who ever lived. But I've never really liked the
title, the Sermon on the Mount, to be honest with you. First of all, it's
not a biblical title. Jesus does not say,
the name of my sermon this morning is the
Sermon on the Mount. That's just a name that we
have traditionally passed down through history because Jesus
spoke it on a little mountain that you can visit in Israel,
a little outcropping of a hill. I preached the
Sermon on the Mount from that Mount several
times with groups in Israel, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. But the reason I
don't like the title is because the title
gives you no information about the sermon. That's like me saying
the name of my sermon this morning is, the
Sermon from the Pulpit. And you're thinking,
every sermon is a sermon from the pulpit. So it gives you no information. It's really not as much
a sermon on the mount, as it's a mountain of a sermon. In fact, I would
give it this title, The Sermon of the Monarch. Because that's what
it's about, the kingdom. It's the kingdom of God. It's the King announcing
kingdom living to subjects of the kingdom. Now, this sermon is filled
with some strange things. And the people
who heard it, they had never heard anything
like this before. So, when it was all done,
which is the end of chapter 7, the last two verses of
chapter 7 read this way. "So it was, when Jesus had ended
these sayings, that the people were astonished at his
teaching," utterly amazed, blown away by what they
heard, "for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as the scribes." It was all strange to so
many of them who heard him. Now, much of Jesus' ministry
was filled with strange things, strange sermons, sermons
about controversial subjects, sermons that got
people's emotions going. Conversations that
Jesus had, which were sometimes very heated
and very intimidating. Miracles that He performed. All of these
together were strange the people who observed them. In fact, when Jesus healed
a paralytic and told him, your sins are forgiven, we're
told "they were all amazed. They glorified God, were
filled with fear, saying, we have seen strange
things today." The gospel is filled
with strange things. Do you know that unbelievers
think you're strange? Right? You figured that out. They think you are weird
for what you believe in. You mean to tell
me you're saying the whole world is
consigned to an eternal hell unless they believe in one
guy who died and rose again? That is absolutely
absurd to them. And the Bible says the
message of the gospel is foolishness to those
who are perishing. When Paul preached
that gospel in Athens, at the Areopagus, Mars Hill, and
the philosophers were listening to Paul preach,
they said you are bringing some strange
things to our ears. And so, your friends,
your acquaintances, and your family
members weren't too happy to hear about
your conversion. They weren't when I told
them that I was saved. My parents weren't. My friends certainly were not. My brothers didn't like it. And that's because my
friends and my brothers sort of knew, from
now on, this guy is making the
statement that he's going to live a
different kind of a life. He's not going to do what he
used to do, what we used to do. Peter speaks about
that in 1 Peter chapter 4, "In regard to these, they
think it strange that you do not run with them in the
same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you." So it's all strange
to outsiders. What I want to do is
have you look with me at the first little section
of the Sermon on the Mount this morning and
I want to show you four strange things,
four strange elements about this sermon. First of all, a
Strange Hopefulness. Now let me take you to
verse 1, where we read, "and seeing the multitudes,"-- Just mark that. There is a crowd. There are huge numbers of
people who are watching this. "And seeing the multitudes,
He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His
disciples came to Him." Now that you have
that in mind, I need you to understand where
the multitudes came from, because, we just kind
of open up the story and there is a crowd of people. And so, the observer should ask,
why is there a crowd of people? And that's because,
go back to chapter 4, verse 23, just the
last few little verses. "Jesus went about all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel
of the kingdom, and healing all
kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease
among the people. Then His fame went
throughout all of Syria,"-- That's the northern
regions above Galilee. "--and they brought to Him all
sick people who were afflicted with various diseases
and torments, and those who were
demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics, and
He healed them." And what's the result of that? "Great multitudes, " plural. Huge, enormous
crowds "followed him from Galilee, the
Decapolis, Jerusalem, and beyond the Jordan." They'd never seen this before. People didn't get healed
when they went to church, or synagogue. And now, all of
a sudden, there's this new preacher who has come. And He's saying strange things
and doing strange things, healing people, natural
law gets suspended. Bodies that naturally
deteriorate, congenital anomalies
are fixed instantly. Dead people come back to life. So this brought massive
crowds with a hope that starts growing in their hearts. I call it a strange hopefulness,
and here's why it's strange. They hadn't had hope
for hundreds of years. In fact, there had
been a hopelessness to all of the people that were
living in the land of Israel. And here's why. The history of the Jewish nation
is a history of oppression, occupation, a history of
slavery and subservience to other nations. They were slaves for
400 years in Egypt. After that, they got
into the promised land for a little while, until 722
BC, when the Assyrians took them captive to their land. But, 586 BC the
Babylonians came again and took the rest of them
captive to their land. And then, later on, the Syrians,
the Selucids, oppressed them. So, it was like one
oppression after another. But in each of those cases God
sent them a Savior, a deliver. So they were in Egypt. Who did God send to
deliver them from Egypt? Moses. Moses delivered them. He was their savior. He brought them out of Egypt. When they were in
Babylonian captivity, God raised up Nehemiah
to approach the King and brought a batch of
them back into the land. When the Selucids, the
Syrians oppressed them, God raised up a guy by the
name of Judas Maccabeus. That's not in your Bible. That's between the
Old and New Testament. But now, at this time,
New Testament times, there is another
oppressor, called Rome. Rome is in charge. Roman rule is bearing down on
the vassal state of Israel. They're paying taxes to Rome. They're being told what
to do by Roman soldiers. They are feeling hopeless. Until now. Now, hope begins to grow. They've been longing
for a deliverer. Maybe this is the one. That hope begins to grow. In fact, there was
an ancient prayer that every Jewish person
said that went like this, "I believe in the
coming of Messiah, and even though
he tarries, yet I will wait for him
every coming day." I am waiting for a savior,
a deliverer, a helper. Now, chapter 4, verse
23 on, now there is this hope, this messianic
longing that is being birthed. And here's what
you need to know. The messianic longing
is now at fever pitch. If Jews, and they always
have, longed for a messiah, if ever there was a time
when they super-longed for a messiah, it was right now. Listen to the words of Rabbi
Abba Hillel Silver, who writes this, and I'm quoting. "Prior to the First
Century, messianic interest was not excessive. The First century, however,
especially the generation before the destruction
of the Second Temple, witnessed a remarkable outburst
of messianic emotionalism. When Jesus came into
Galilee, 'spreading the gospel of the
Kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled' and
the Kingdom of God is at hand he was voicing the
opinion universally held that the age of the
Kingdom of God was at hand. Listen to his last statement. "The Messiah was expected
around the second part, the second quarter, of the first
century C.E.," Christian Era. In other words, the expectation
that the Messiah would come is happening right now. Now you understand why, when
John the Baptist was baptizing at the Jordan River, what was
like one of the first questions they asked him. Are you the guy? Are you the Messiah? And he goes, No. There's one coming after
me who is the Messiah. So now there's a preacher. And this preacher
can perform miracles and He cures people and
hope, it went ballistic. Crowds of people are teeming
around Him wherever he goes. Now who's in that crowd? Well, who's in any crowd? It's a mixed bag, right? There were some real
disciples, authentic disciples. There were some curious people. They just heard that
this guy can do things, and he speaks differently. So, I want to go out
and see what he's about. But then there were
people who were part of the crowd who were
following Jesus, so to speak, who were really only there
for the immediate benefit. Because, I hear he
gives free lunch, if you hang around
him long enough. And he heals people. So these people saw
Jesus as a bread line, a free lunch, a healing line. They saw the immediate benefit. In John, chapter 2,
when He is in Jerusalem, we're told "many
believed in His name when they saw the
signs which He did." What's interesting is,
right after that it said, but Jesus did not
commit Himself to them, because He knew the
hearts of all men. Then, in that crowd
there were some people who just looked at this as
a political opportunity. Jesus could be a political
pawn, very useful. We hate Rome. We want to overthrow
Roman bondage. This could be the
tipping point we need to get Rome off our back. Jesus knew this. In John chapter
6 we read, "Jesus knew they were about to
come and take him by force and make him a King." So you've got people
from authentic disciples, to seeing this as a
political opportunity, to people seeing
this as a free lunch, all sorts of different
motivations in that crowd. But there is a Strange
Hopefulness that is growing. Here's the second strange
thing I want you to notice. There is a Strange Emphasis. Here's what I mean. The crowds are coming. They're here. There's thousands upon
thousands of people. So what does he do? Verse 1, "seeing the multitudes,
He went up on a high mountain," or "He went up on a mountain,
and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. And He opened his
mouth and taught them," them being His
disciples, "saying." So this is worded
very carefully. Don't miss this. He sees the crowd. It's as if He leaves
the crowd, or tries to, with his disciples. And with His disciples,
He takes them to a place where He sits
down and He teaches them. In other words, and it's
important to note this, this is a message not preached
to the crowds at large, but to the disciples. Now, certainly there were people
from the crowds who were there. I don't doubt that. I mean, it's hard to keep
that many people away. But, you've got to imagine this. Jesus is outside, speaking. And there may be thousands
of people scattered around. He has no microphone. He might be talking
loud, but the people that are really
going to hear Him are His disciples
because they're closest. And as you get further
back in the crowd you're going to miss a lot. But that's OK, because
this is a message preached, in Jesus' mind and
heart to His disciples, primarily spoken
to His followers. Now I'm bringing this
up because some people say that the Sermon on the Mount
is God's plan of salvation. And they will say that, if you
ever want to make it to heaven, you're going to have to obey
the Sermon on the Mount. So they see it sort of
as a means to salvation. You earn your stripes with
God by keeping the Sermon on the Mount, and then
you'll go to heaven. Others look at the
Sermon on the Mount as --get this-- a
charter for world peace. That if we can get
nations of the Earth to adopt the Sermon
on the Mount, things will be
good in the world. Leo Tolstoy, who wrote
that famous novel, "War and Peace,"
that was his premise. The Sermon on the Mount,
if nations adopted this, it could change everything. And then there are others, I
would say many, many others, who just think the
Sermon on the Mount is just a great speech,
filled with nice sayings. You know, you've
got some Beatitudes. We like those. Golden Rule, that's awesome. Thing about birds and
not worrying, cool. But that's kind of
it, it's just sort of platitudes and nice
sayings and lovey dovey and the brotherhood of man
and the birds are singing and peace is reigning. These are people
who don't understand the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount, or
the Sermon of the Monarch has no broad,
universal application. It is a message for disciples,
mathetai, followers, students, His own. So, to expect non-Christians to
act like Christians is absurd. They first have to be one. They first have to have life
change, internal change, where something happens
to that person. It's called conversion. Then they're in the kingdom. There is something else you
should note in this emphasis. He's teaching His disciples. It said, seeing the multitudes,
He went up on a mountain, and when He was-- What did he do? He sat down. When He was seated, His
disciples came to Him. So, picture in your mind
Jesus giving a sermon. He's not standing up
like I'm standing up. He was sitting down. See we have this
thing all messed up. You know, I'm standing,
and you're sitting. [LAUGHTER] If this was antiquity,
if this was then, the rabbi would be seated,
and you would be standing. Now, you know what? Just for fun, just humor me. Just stand to your feet, just
for second, stand to your feet. Let's just get the feel
of what this is like. Oh, yeah. I'm liking this. [LAUGHTER] I'm-- I can get used to this. Can you do this? Yeah, no. We won't do it. Have a seat. I just wanted, wanted you-- We're too far down that
road to change it now. [LAUGHTER] When a rabbi wanted to
speak with authority, the rabbi sat down. If the rabbi was having
casual, informal conversation, he might stand up. Or walk with his
disciples and teach them. But it was considered not as
authoritative as sitting down. And we still use this
idea to this day. Have you ever heard
of a professor holding a chair in a University? Ever heard that term? Oh, that's a tenured professor. They hold a chair of philosophy,
or psychology, or science. To hold a chair means to have
a place where that professor speaks with authority. Or, if you have a Catholic
background, like I had, sometimes the pope
in the Vatican gives a proclamation that
is called ex cathedra. And ex cathedral is Latin
for, from the chair. He is speaking from
the chair of St. Peter, the chair of authority. So it carries more weight. So Jesus was seated and
His disciples came to Him. And please notice in verse
2 what He did with them. He taught them. He's not preaching to them. He's teaching them. Now there's time
for Jesus to preach. He did both preaching
and teaching. But here He is
teaching His disciples. He's instructing believers,
not evangelizing unbelievers. Now this is, as you know,
one of my pet peeves. I believe that, perhaps the
greatest need of the church has always been, and
certainly is today, a need to be taught the Scripture. In fact, I'll take
it a step further. I honestly think
most of the church has been preached to death. It's all about preaching
in most churches. The preacher gets up
and preaches at them. That is, its exhortation, and
admonition, an exclamation, and agitation. [LAUGHTER] Very little explanation. And what does that do? It creates frustrated believers. I think you have churches filled
with frustrated believers. And they hear every
week the exhortation. You need to love God more. You need to love your wife more. You need to obey God more. You need to do this more. You need to do that more. And all the while they're going,
preacher, teacher, show me how. Teach me how to do it. [APPLAUSE] That's the shepherd's role. Ephesians tells us, we
are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. OK. So this brings up an issue. Here, here's the multitudes
coming, following Jesus wherever He goes. Jesus takes his disciples away. Come on, guys. Come over here. Sit down. Or, stand up. I'm going to sit down. And start teaching them. Why? I mean, when you have
that big of a crowd and that much interest, why
not give an altar call, Jesus? You've got that many
unbelievers for whatever reason, whether they're just curious
or they want free lunch or they're really interested. Now is the time for
you to challenge them to make a commitment. Why do you teach your disciples? I'm so glad you asked that. I'm going to answer that. Turn with me to
Matthew, chapter 9. Just go to four,
four blocks right. Four chapters to the right. Matthew chapter 9. This is the answer to that
question of the altar call and how evangelism takes
place in the world. Verse 35, Matthew chapter 9. "Then Jesus went about all
the cities and villages, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing every sickness and every
disease among the people." Reads just like what
we've just read. "But when He saw
the multitudes, He was moved with
compassion for them, because they were
weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." Jesus' heart broke. He saw the multitudes. For whatever reason they
were hanging around Him, He knew they needed
hope, they needed life. They didn't need a free meal. They needed spiritual hope. So what does He do? "He said to his disciples--" OK. He sees the need,
but instead of like, I'm going to address
the need with the crowd, He tells His disciples. He's teaching His disciples. "He said to his disciples,
'The harvest' --speaking of the multitude--
'is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of
the harvest to send laborers into the harvest.' " OK. Now I'm guessing,
just my guess, I'm guessing the disciples
obey Jesus, at some point. Maybe this was spoken to them
on an afternoon or an evening and they went to their tent,
or home, or on their bed roll, wherever they were. And I'm guessing they prayed. So I picture Peter,
James, and John. Lord, just like Jesus
said, Father, we pray that You'd send laborers
out into the harvest field, this multitude of people. Send out laborers, Lord. Raise up laborers. All right. Then we get to the
very next verse. Chapter 10, verse 1, their
prayer gets answered. When Jesus "called his
twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power
over unclean spirits, to cast them out, to heal
all kinds of sickness all kinds of disease." The names of the Twelve
Apostles are given. Look at verse 5. "These 12 Jesus sent out and
commanded them, saying--" What's the solution
to the multitude who has such heavy spiritual need? Here's the answer. Train your disciples,
and send them out. So here's Peter,
James, and John. Lord, send our laborers
into the harvest. Amen. And then Jesus said, Boys. Your prayers have been answered. [LAUGHTER] Go. So the solution is to
pray for evangelists, and then to practice evangelism. Be the ones that you pray for. That's His solution. So that's really the
answer to altar calls. I do give altar calls
quite frequently. But I'm passing the
baton on to you. You have the privilege to go
out and do your own altar calls, bringing people to the Kingdom. So that's the Strange Emphasis. Let me give you a third strange
thing about this sermon. There is this
Strange Truthfulness. He is focused on essentially
one gigantic theme. I want you to see what it is. In Verse 3, "Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven." Verse 10, "Blessed are
those who are persecuted for righteousness'
sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Verse 12, "Rejoice and
be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward
in heaven, heaven." And then now, go back to chapter
4, since we already read it. Verse 23, at least. Look at chapter 4, verse 23. "Jesus went about all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel
of the kingdom." Now I just want you to get this. One of the great themes
of Jesus' whole ministry is this, the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of
heaven is among you. Preach the kingdom. And the Sermon on the Mount
is the kingdom manifesto. Now, here's what
you've got to know. This is a strange kingdom. This is a kingdom that
the crowds had never heard of before. They've never seen
a kingdom like this. This is a kingdom
without any armies. This is a kingdom
with no weapons. This is a kingdom with no taxes. Hallelujah. [LAUGHTER] This is a kingdom that has no
pomp, no ceremony, no castles, no pageantry. It's completely different
than any kingdom they had heard of or seen. In fact, when Jesus stands
before Pontius Pilate and Pontius Pilate says,
so you are a King, then. Jesus said, My kingdom
is not of this world. If my kingdom or of this world,
my subjects would rise up and would fight. But they won't because my
kingdom is not of this world. So He's speaking about
the great truth He is bringing is the kingdom of God. But it's very, very different. John Stott who wrote-- He's one of my favorite authors. He's now in heaven. But he wrote a
commentary in this. He said, I could sum up the
entire sermon on the Mount with two words. So if you're taking notes,
write these two words down. Christian counterculture. That's the Sermon on the Mount. Christian counterculture. This is the kingdom,
and the kingdom is completely contrary to the
culture that is around us. It is counterculture
and says John Stott, the church ought to be
the ultimate expression of that counterculture. Not just another
version of the world. Yeah, come on, come
into our church. We're sort of like you guys
only we use different words. No. This is a completely
different kingdom. Completely different culture. Radically different. And you can't go through
the Sermon on the Mount without picking that up in,
literally, every paragraph. Every paragraph. Things like this, "You have
heard that it was said, but I say unto you." He uses that formula a lot. You have heard that people
said this about that, but I say unto you. You've heard other things
about the other things, but I say this. And He contrasts what they had
heard from the religious world, from the world at large
around them and says, but you are different. In fact, in Matthew chapter
6, the Sermon on the Mount, He says, "Therefore
do not be like them." Don't take your
cues from the world. That's kingdom people. We who are part of
this strange kingdom are those who don't let the
world, or its standards, or its values, or its rock
stars, or its movie stars, or its sports icons tell
us how to think and live. We march to a different
drumbeat of a different drummer. We're in a different kingdom. [APPLAUSE] So Christianity is,
or I should say, ought to be the ultimate
counter culture. Sadly, however, our biggest
danger is not standing out. It's fitting in. And I say it's a danger
because all of the messaging, all of the time, on
all of the platforms, are telling you to fit in, don't
be different, think like us, be like us, go along with our
narrative, be like we are. And because everybody
likes to be liked, nobody likes to be
unliked, everybody wants the popularity of the
crowd, that kind of pressure makes it hard to go
against that flow. But we're in a
different kingdom, and so I call this a
Strange Truthfulness. It's a kingdom, but it's
a very different kingdom. Which leads me to the fourth
and final strange thing about this Sermon on the
Mount, a Strange Happiness. Now what's the first
word in Verse 3? What is that word? Shout it out. Go ahead. Blessed. Blessed. And what's the first
word a verse 4? Yeah. And it goes that way
9 times, Nine times. Blessed, blessed, blessed. It's a repeated word. And wouldn't you
agree, if ever there was a churchy-sounding word,
it's this word, blessed. I mean, who-- You don't talk like that
outside of biblical parlance. You don't say, this
is a blessed loaf of bread at the grocery store. [LAUGHTER] You just don't, right? It's a word nobody gets. And I understand
that some Christians like to use that word. You say, how are you doing? We always say, good. But sometimes they don't like
to say, they go, I'm blessed. That's OK. And you can be blessed. I'm glad you are. Just know that nobody knows
what that is unless they're part of the kingdom. All right? So it is a kingdom word. It is a kingdom declaration. Now let me explain the word. The word blessed is the
Greek word makarios, which means happy. Happy. It could be translated, "Oh,
how happy are those who--" and then the
Beatitudes continue. It means happy,
fortunate, blissful. It speaks of an
inward contentedness. It speaks of the
satisfaction of your soul. We sing the hymn, It
is Well with My Soul . That sort of sums up
the word, blessed. The Amplified Bible
translates it, "blessed, happy, to be envied,
and spiritually prosperous." You're thinking, what's
so strange about that? Here's what's so
strange about that. Here's Jesus saying, let me
describe happiness to you. But the description doesn't
sound like happiness like we think about happiness. Look at it. Verse 3, "Blessed are
the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed," or, Oh, how happy
"are those who mourn," wail. Doesn't sound like happiness. "They shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful,
they will obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in
heart, they shall see God. Bless are the peacemakers, they
shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those
who are persecuted for righteousness sake." These don't sound like
a recipe for happiness. These sound like misery
under another name. And here's the point. Everything you thought you knew
about what it means to be happy is challenged, right here. Everything the world says will
bring you deep satisfaction is contradicted right here. And most people have an idea
of what it is to be happy. Certainly, they wouldn't
include any of these. Most people would
say, if you say, well, what would make you happy? Well, if I only owned, fill
in the blank, whatever it is. If I owned that I'd
be really happy. If I lived there, or got to
move there and live there, I'd be happy. If only I could marry
that guy I'd be happy. If only I wouldn't
have married that guy-- [LAUGHTER] --I'd be happy. Some idea of what it takes
to make a person happy. And it changes geographically. An article that I
found said, and I'm quoting "Austrians,"
which is my background, "Austrians say health is the
most important precondition for happiness." Those in Finland
"say it's kindness. The Greeks opt for honesty. The Dutch say beauty in
women and handsomeness and men make for happiness. The British claim
a sense of humor is the indispensable requisite." Sort of sounds British. But "the Italians the Japanese
and the Americans agree that money is no guarantee
of happiness, but that it sure helps. " Get this. I read this the other
day, two days ago. NBC News said, and I'm quoting,
"Americans are the unhappiest they've been in 50 years." It's a very interesting article. It was post-pandemic, or sort
of on the edge of the pandemic. So we kind of understand that,
that we've gone through a lot. The world has gone
through a lot. There's been economic issues
that go along with that. But the article went on to
say the reason people are more unhappy now than
ever is, at this time, even though they're
coming out of it, they don't see things
getting much better. So they're feeling trapped. They're feeling isolated. They're feeling very hopeless. Well, I've got good news. God has a lot to
say about happiness. Did you know that? In fact, did you
know God invented it? It was His idea. Happiness was His idea. It was God who created you
with a central nervous system. That was His plan, His idea. It was God who created pleasure
receptors in your brain. It is God who put a limbic
system in your body. It is God who came up with the
idea of dopamine in the brain. All that's God. So that you can be
pleasureful, happy. He created you
with that capacity. And get this. 56 times in the Scripture,
the words "God," and "joy," show up together. Or "the Lord," and
"joy," show up together. In other words, there
is a direct correlation between your experience of joy
and your relationship to God. What's sad is so
many people connect Christianity with something
that takes joy out of life. When I told my friends
that I had accepted Jesus and I was a Christian so many
of them said, I'm so sorry. I'll never forget that. Two of you said, I'm so sorry. You're sorry, why? Well, I mean, it doesn't
sound like a happy life to me, following Jesus. But I'm having the
time of my life. [APPLAUSE] Now we're out of time, and
we can't get into all these obviously. So let me just make
a few observations about these Beatitudes. First of all, they
are proclamations. It's not a surface emotion. Jesus is not
declaring, necessarily, what people feel, as
much as what God thinks. Blessed, that's
His proclamation. So they're proclamations. Another observation,
they're paradoxical. You want to be happy? Blessed are the poor,
those who wail and mourn, those who are merciful, those
who are insulted and get persecuted. I mean, that's such a
paradoxical way of thinking. But, if you're a Christ
follower this morning and you've been in those
places, you get it. You know that you
can be completely independent of
external circumstances, favorable circumstances,
and be filled with a sense of
joy and happiness that the world can touch,
so they're paradoxical. And then another observation
is they're progressive. That is, they begin and then
they take you somewhere. So the first step in a
relationship with God is that you are poor in Spirit. That's how you get
in the kingdom. The first step in the kingdom
is to be poor in Spirit. What does that mean? Poor in Spirit
means I realize I'm poverty-stricken before God. I got nothing. I can't earn my way. I can't talk God into liking me. I am broke. I am poverty-stricken,
because I'm a sinner. And that leads me to have
an opinion about what I just discovered, and that
is I mourn over it. That's repentance. I realize I'm spiritually broke. I mourn. And then, as I do that, I come
through that experience meek. Blessed are the meek. It leads me to a
gentleness, a humility. Meekness is where I realize
I'm small before a holy God, I am inadequate
before a holy God. By the way, meekness
is not weakness. Meekness is power under control. And then, what happens
is I start hungering for a righteousness I know I
need desperately but I cannot produce on my own. It has to be given to me. I hunger and thirst
for that righteousness. And that righteousness
is manifested in me being merciful,
having a pure heart, and being a peacemaker. And when I start living
that way, people notice it. And when they notice
it I get persecuted, because I'm different
than they are, and they don't like different. So I start getting insulted,
and start getting misjudged. And now blessed, Oh, how
happy are the persecuted. So one leads to another. They're progressive. So this is God's kingdom. And this is a strange kingdom. This is an upside-down kingdom. Now, the world says,
happy are the rich. Blessed are the thin. [LAUGHTER] Blessed are the tanned. [LAUGHTER] Blessed are the powerful. Blessed are those who push
others out of the way, make a name for themselves. Jesus said, Nah. Actually, poor, mourning, you
know, and these, persecuted. Those of the blessed. It's just completely different. The strangest thing is that
you can be hated by the world and so full of joy. Look at verse 11. We just looked at it, but
verse 11 and 12, we close. "Blessed are you when they
revile and persecute you, and say all kinds
of evil against you falsely for My sake." Don't you hate
when that happens? I have had it happen. A lot. Look at verse 12. "Rejoice and be
exceedingly glad." Why? "For great is your
reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the
prophets who were before you. " Listen. You've got something
coming up ahead, and you are connected
to those who went behind, before, prophets. You're in good company. Jesus, all the prophets, all the
godly men and women of history, they've all been hated and
persecuted by the world. Welcome to church. [APPLAUSE] So joy is not the
absence of trouble. Joy is the presence of Jesus. And joy is, perhaps,
the most infallible sign of the presence of Jesus. So, we're done this morning. I know that's a very abrupt
way to close a sermon. [LAUGHTER] Usually you just kind of ease
into it, land the plane softly. But we're out of time. And I'm out of words. But I do want to say this. This is what preachers do. I'm out of words, but-- Paul did that a lot, by the way. I wonder how many
of you would dare to come to God poor in spirit. To realize, you know
what, I'm broke. I'm bankrupt. I got nothing. I realize who I am. I'm a bankrupt
sinner before God, and I'm mourning over that. I'm sorrowful. And I just want God
to accept me as I am, and forgive me, and be
merciful to me as I am. That is how you get
into the kingdom. That's how you get there. Poor in Spirit, mourning,
He'll receive you. And you'll have-- He'll put
within you a joy you cannot find anywhere. And I was going to
say, I guarantee it. Jesus guarantees it. These are His words. Father, thank you
for the gospel. I'm just-- I get so amped. I get so excited
by these truths. They're just so transformative. Even though I have read
and taught this epic sermon so many times, it's fresh. I pray for those who might
be with us this morning who have yet to surrender
their life to Christ. They've come among the
disciples, so to speak. Like the crowd members,
they're hearing, but it has not up to this point
penetrated who they really are. They have come to church
and they have come close, but they have not
yet come to Christ. And I pray they would. So, as your heads
are bowed, your eyes are closed, if you are willing
to come, just as you are and be forgiven for
whatever it is in your past, and it really
doesn't matter what it is, God will
accept you as you are and forgive you completely. But if you're willing to
accept that forgiveness and enter into the
kingdom just as you are, or you need to come back to Him
and you're going to do that. If any of that is true of you, I
want you to raise your hand up. Our heads are bowed,
our eyes closed. My eyes will be open, so I
can acknowledge those hands. Just raise your
hand up in the air and just say again,
right over here. Pray for me. You can just keep it
up for just a second. God bless you. Anybody else? You, over in the family room. Thank you for that. Anyone else? Just raise the hand up. Just so I can acknowledge
you this morning. In the back, 1, 2, 3. To my right, thank you guys. Right over here, to my left. Yes, yes, yes. So right where you are, if
you raised your hand, just-- Let's do this right now. Right where you're seated,
say this to the Lord. Say it from the
depth of your heart. Lord, I need You. I'm a sinner. I admit it. Forgive me. I believe in Jesus. I believe He died, that He bled
for me, but that He rose again. I believe He's alive. I turn from my past. I repent of my sin. And I turn to
Jesus as my Savior. Help me to live for
Jesus as my Lord. Fill me with joy, this strange
happiness, in Jesus name. We hope you enjoyed this special
service from Calvary Church. We'd love to know how
this message impacted you. Email us my
story@calvarynm.church. And just a reminder, you can
support this ministry with a financial gift at
calvarynm.church/give. Thank you for joining us for
this teaching from Calvary Church.
