#1219 Matthew 5 Part 4 P.O.P.

 

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5: 1-12 NASB

Matthew 5: 8-9

…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.… Psalm 51: 9-11

Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God - All of this passage is in opposition to the way men naturally think, in terms of strength, revenge and what is holy. We mostly use the measure of someone who we see as not, like an old colleague of mine use to say, "you have to find your Mississippi", that's the person that looks worse than you, who doesn't run their area as well, and so you look good by default. His use of that state was his opinion that it made the other states around it look good by comparison. And then, in the midst of all this that is in reverse to this present age, this darkness, there is this verse about the pure in heart, and this wonder of statements, "they will see God." I'm going back and forth in my head about which end of this to start at, but let's ask the question of a curious nature, what is it like to see God? What does that mean?

…23But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” 25The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”… John 4: 23-25

…11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit.… 1 John 4: 11-13

…19“I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name—the LORD—in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 20But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.” 21The LORD continued, “There is a place near Me where you are to stand upon a rock,…

…22and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.” Exodus 33: 19-23

…17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known. 19And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”… John 1: 17-19

According to Scripture, "God is Spirit", and no one can see Him face to face and live. So how is it that we do see God? Well, this is through eyes of faith, and with a pure heart. A pure heart is one that has been washed, made clean by the blood of Jesus. This is the regenerate heart, the one that has been brought to life to believe. Look, see again how we got here, it started with being poor in spirit, which realizes that we are sinners, at enmity with God, and unable to save ourselves. We were told of our offense, believed the direness of our situation concerning a holy and just God, we ached over our sin, and received forgiveness. This made us meek, for where does pride fit in to this story? We were bankrupt, and to a point that was unrecoverable in our own power, by our own cunning or works. So first we saw that there is a God, but the demons know this too well. Then we realized some of the nature of God, that He was not a god made with hands, not a god of the human imagination, but a righteous and omnipotent Creator of all things. He revealed Himself  to a fallen humanity by approaching Abraham, by bringing Abraham to a place of faith, showing him that He was the Creator. When Abraham doubted God according to the promise of Isaac, because of his wife's barren womb and great age, yet God made life possible where there was none. Abraham learned to see God through faith, through knowing that God could be trusted, that what He says is truth, and what He wills must come to past. When our eyes are opened we can see God in nature, the intricacy of His design, the odd effect that everything reveals language, and there is a God Who claims to have spoken all things into being. We see God through His prophetic word, His word which He has made equal to His name. We see in the Holy Scriptures the promise of a Messiah, detailed and pictured throughout the OT and then revealed to us in the person of Christ, who fulfills all that was spoken of Him. When we know Christ, we see God, for He is God the Son. We see also the image of God in others, as they were made in His image. The Israelites saw visions of His glory, the sea parting in front of them as He lead them through the wilderness, and the Shekinah that rested on the Tabernacle. We see Him through His attributes, Isaiah 6 speaks to His crowning attribute, His holiness. The prophet Ezekiel sees a vision of His glory, and in every instance it forever changes the one who glimpses even just a vision. 

…8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.… John 14: 8-10

Blessed are the peacemakers - This is one of the most confused of the beatitudes when taken out of the context of Matthew 5. In fact, verses 10-12 give us a lot of perspective on this. Everyone talks about peace in our world, and people define it in all sorts of ways, but there is an ultimate peace, which is a reconciled relationship with God, and this has eternal implications. Today, we would like peace in the sense of quiet, unity, and that being the sought after common goal, even at the cost of truth. But here's the problem with that. You will still have to face a righteous God, a just God, Who has given His word and meant things when He said them. We are to look for the Author's intent in Scripture, and we are not given room or authority to change what He said. It is a non-negotiable; it's His word, His name.

1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138:2

We bring a gospel that causes people to realize their spiritual bankruptcy or reject it in favor of their own self righteousness. We bring a gospel that causes people to mourn over their sin or deny that it is sin. We carry the gospel of peace with God, and anything that would avoid the purity of the gospel would point people away from the narrow gate, and onto the broad way that leads to destruction. Just like "love without the truth is hypocrisy", so is a peace that sacrifices the truth, for it will be worldly, short-lived, and in defiance of God. We need to bring the truth in love, in humility, so that we can model that peace which passes understanding. We need to refuse to be so easily offended, to pray for those who are our enemies, and refuse to gossip about those around us. Our gospel is controversial enough on it's own, so we need not add our egos, or any external preferences. We need to forgive, and not be the authors of unnecessary strife. Our goal is that men be reconciled to God, and therein they will find ultimate, eternal peace.

33But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. 34Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.… Matthew 10: 33-35

In the end times there will be, as there has been, antichrists, and yet we shall see this spirit culminate into one man during the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob's Trouble. He will promise the kind of peace the world is hoping for, economic stability, an end of war, good medicine, long life, materialism, and happiness, but it will come at the cost of truth, at the cost of freedom to disagree, and it will lead to a very open and blatant idolatry. The world wants peace, and people will believe a lot of dumb things, history has shown that over and over. Men and women everywhere need to repent, they need Jesus, He is the only way, everyone else is a humanist fraud. If you want to be a peace maker then you have to carry the gospel of peace, the good news, point people not to systems, but to Jesus Christ.

…6Therefore My people will know My name; therefore they will know on that day that I am He who speaks. Here I am!” 7How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy. For every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion.… Isaiah 52: 6-8

…17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”… Romans 12: 17-19

…6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.… Philippians 4: 6-8