Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
The Beatitudes
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5: 1-12 ESV
Matthew 5: 4-5 Happy Are Continued
…16For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 18In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.… Psalm 51: 16-18
Blessed are those who mourn - "Happy, fortunate, blissful" are they. So we remember the first, those that realize their spiritual bankruptcy, and this in light of a holy God. This is the heart of repentance, you cannot repent from what you do not believe to be sin, and saying it is not, or trying to cover it by appealing to one's emotions, is only self justification. You will not turn away from what you do not believe to be evil. This is also not theatrics, a Sunday drama, a staged revival, not about your relationship to me, or how you want to appear to others, but it is you, as though you were the only human being alive, and coming before the all consuming fire that is God. You no longer wish to deny God His right to say what is right, what is good and just. If He says it is sin, and you see it in your life, then it brings you godly sorrow, the sorrow of repentance unto salvation. It is a place of surrender.
…9And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.… 2 Corinthians 7: 9-11
There is a worldly sorrow, so do not be confused. It is tied to the ego, and it does not enjoy the shaking head of others, does not like being seen as sub par to the ideology of the day. It will reject God's definition of right and wrong for the applause of the culture, and call good evil and evil good. This is an apologetic sorrow, fraught with the logical fallacy that the culture is correct, that the movement is good, must be for it's mass, the numbers that hash tag and like it. It is the penitence of movie stars, athletes and politicians. It is the blind leading the blind, conditioning everyone to say the emperor is not naked, it is the public display of an unregenerate heart. Anyone who has children has seen this sort of sorrow, it is not over the sin, not over the offense to God, but because they were called out on it, and they like being considered good. You took away something important to them, a trip, a cell phone, and they want it back. They are sad because you put the candy back on the store shelf because of their bad behavior, but they don't hate their sin, only these results. You see, there is a sorrow over sin and a sorrow over repercussions.
For they shall be comforted - Those that truly mourn over their sin, that have been granted repentance unto faith, will receive forgiveness. I say faith, because it is a gift.
…7in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast.… Ephesians 2: 7-9
It requires faith to see the truth because it is not palatable to us, but it also requires faith to receive forgiveness because when we see the magnitude of our sin, when we know the truth that we are poor in spirit, unable to reverse this, unable to save ourselves, in the depths of our sorrow their is a glorious light, rays of hope come flooding in, because the Spirit that has revealed this to us, has also pointed us to the Cure, which is the perfect life of Christ, and the unfair nature of His trial and death. He, Who knew no sin, became sin on my behalf. It is the comfort of salvation, the perfection of Christ, the indwelling of His Spirit that chases away despair, that silences our accuser.
Blessed, happy are the meek - Those who have recognized that they are spiritually bankrupt, that have mourned over sin, are repentant of their old life, have a marvelous sense of humility, at first with God, but now it is part of them and so extends to their fellow man. The world would say that meekness is weakness, but it is really a fruit of the Spirit, the epitome of self control. The culture will not appreciate it, for you are not assertive enough, not promoting yourself enough, and when your enemy thinks he has had a mic drop moment, and your friends know that you have a bomb to answer with, they will think you weak for not going in for the kill. The meek man doesn't care though, because the value of the person you disagree with is worth more than your ego. He knows he has to tell the truth, knows that his adversary needs to hear it, but he doesn't want to blow up the bridge, doesn't want to add another scalp to his belt, he wants the other person to turn from their wickedness and become a brother. Yet, this same meek man, in the face of apostasy, will be a force, will be stayed and true, and rebuke those who claim Christ but preach another gospel. He is more concerned with the honor of God than the opinions of man. Meekness is best understood as "power under control".
…22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.… Galatians 5: 22-24
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.… Galatians 6: 1-3
…2“Does the LORD speak only through Moses?” they said. “Does He not also speak through us?” And the LORD heard this. 3Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth. 4And suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three, come out to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three went out,…
…5and the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, stood at the entrance to the Tent, and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them had stepped forward, 6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream. 7But this is not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house.…
…8I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?” 9So the anger of the LORD burned against them, and He departed. 10As the cloud lifted from above the Tent, suddenly Miriam became leprous, white as snow. Aaron turned toward her, saw that she was leprous,…
…11and said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed. 12Please do not let her be like a stillborn infant whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” 13So Moses cried out to the LORD, “O God, please heal her!”… Numbers 12: 2-13
Moses didn't start out humble, it was a gift, and at one time he was willing to start an insurrection, even killing an Egyptian who was whipping his fellow Israelites. God humbled him instead, and when God did come to call him, out in the wilderness tending sheep and goats, he was now a member of a class of people that the Egyptians despised. Moses had also lost any interest in being a leader, enjoying the nomadic, peaceful life of a shepherd, not believing himself even able to speak before Pharaoh. He spent 40 years in the wilderness with a people who murmured, whined, rose against him, and even his own brother and sister spoke ill of him, wanting to be exalted, wanting to be lifted up, speaking evil against God's servant, yet Moses interceded on their behalf. He let God avenge him.
Joseph is another amazing example, Pharaohs right hand man, sold into slavery by his brothers, who also lied to his father that he had been torn apart by wild animals. When it was in his hand to repay his brothers for the evil they had done, to return to them slavery for slavery, to throw them into prison, he forgave instead. Meekness need not lord itself over others; it seeks reconciliation, not revenge.
…19But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this— to preserve the lives of many people. 21Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.…Genesis 50: 19-21
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.