Sermon on the Mount, Day 8 of 40: The Pure in Heart

Matthew 5: 8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

For Jesus, it is never enough to simply comply with the law.  Jesus is concerned with a person's heart.  If I never murder someone and comply with the law but in my heart I actually want to murder someone, then, according to Jesus,  I have complied with the laws of humans but not of God.  In 1 Samuel 16:7 we read "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

In every action and interaction Jesus asks us to examine the motivations of our hearts. The heart is where our thoughts, desires and character reside.   The heart is vitally important to Jesus.  What we do, say, and think in our hearts is what Jesus came into this world to change.

As disciples, we should ask, are we serving God or are we serving ourselves?  Do we give our service with a glad heart or do we serve reluctantly?  Do we build others up or do we promote ourselves?  In all things we are to be honest and utterly sincere, and, according to the Apostle Paul, in all things we are to be motivated by love.

I once knew a man that worked tirelessly at the church as a volunteer.  No matter what time you were in the church, you would see this man performing some task that no one else wanted to do.  But one day he came up to me and pulled a small notebook from his pocket and showed me, very proudly, all of the things he had done for the church and beside each accomplishment he had carefully recorded the number of hours he had spent on that task.

What was his motivation for showing me that notebook?  What was his motivation for working in the church?  Only he and God knew for sure.

 "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."  (Psalm 51: 10)


Tomorrow we study the peacemakers.

Sermon on the Mount, Day 7 of 40: The Merciful

Matthew 5: 7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Mercy resides in those who have realized their own utter helplessness and have put their trust in God (the poor in spirit); those who know and grieve their own sins and who repent (those who mourn); those who put aside their own pride and self-interests for the authority and will of God (the meek); those who seek righteousness above all things (those who hunger and thirst).

Being merciful involves knowing and experiencing Christ in a very personal way and being led by the Holy Spirit to reach out into the world to help those in need.  It is not enough to simply know Christ.  Those who know Him are called to go into the world; to encounter the hurting and to bring them comfort and peace.

In Matthew 9:13 we read of Jesus eating with sinners:
"And as he sat at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  Go and learn what this means, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice."  For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Christianity asks more from us than worshipping on Sundays and going through the motions (fulfilling our obligations).  We are called to be broken before God, filled with God's mercy and grace, and then to offer the same to the world.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37), we find that mercy requires that we put aside our own needs and desires so that we can recognize the needs of others; mercy requires that we overcome our own prejudices and self pride so that we will be able to reach out to those who are different than us; mercy requires us to respond not with reluctant hearts but with hearts full of love, compassion, understanding and forgiveness; and finally, mercy requires us to translate these things into action and to go the extra mile for people that we may not know.

Tomorrow we study the pure in heart.

Sermon on the Mount, Day 6 of 40: Those Who Hunger and Thirst

Matthew 5: 6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessedness comes to those who desire righteousness.  Most people, if asked, would reply that, yes, they hunger and thirst for righteousness. But the Greek words that are used for hunger and thirst are words that indicate a complete and absolute hunger and a complete and absolute thirst for a spiritual righteousness that completely fills one's heart and soul; a desire for righteousness that is all consuming.

I think that people do not fully understand the concept of righteousness; that people are not prepared for the sacrifices that righteousness demands.  The word used for righteousness is defined as a state of being that is acceptable to God.  The poor in spirit and those who mourn (as defined in previous posts) know that a state of being that is acceptable to God is impossible to achieve except through Christ.  Those with an all-consuming desire for righteousness must also desire Christ.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled, not through their own efforts but by the grace and mercy of God.

Tomorrow we study the merciful.

Sermon on the Mount, Day 5 of 40: Blessed are the Meek

Matthew 5: 5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

The meek are those who put aside their own pride and self centeredness for the will of God in their lives.  Instead of relying on their own strength, they put their trust in God and are willing to be led by the Holy Spirit, knowing that God is good, and wherever he leads, it is for His good purpose.

We see this sort of meekness in the Apostle Paul, as described in Acts.  During his travels, Paul is led by the Holy Spirit from city to city and from country to country, preaching the gospel, leading others to Christ and making disciples.  It wasn't easy.  During the course of these travels, Paul describes, in 2 Corinthians 11 the following hardships that he personally suffered:

"24 Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked."

Yet, after each beating or stoning or shipwreck; after each sleepless night; after each instance of hunger and thirst, Paul is found in the next city, preaching the gospel, making disciples.  After any one of these hardships, Paul could have given up.  And who among us could have blamed him?  But his own "meekness" would not let him.  And the next day, hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, he was willing to be led, knowing that God is good.

Tomorrow we will study the blessedness of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Sermon on the Mount, Day 4 of 40: Those Who Mourn

Matthew 5: 4
Blessed are those that mourn, for they will be comforted.

Jesus is not speaking of those who mourn the loss of a loved one, although I do believe that God reaches out to them.  But in the context of this sermon I believe Jesus is speaking of those people who  mourn their sins.

People who are poor in spirit have a keen sense of their own sins and are deeply troubled by them. They are said to be "convicted of their sins by the Holy Spirit." In my years as a pastor I have found that one of the biggest obstacles to a person's spiritual life is their past and specifically their past sins.  Many people do not feel worthy to approach God in prayer, take communion, participate in Sunday School, or even read scripture because of their past.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins but then provides us with power and strength to overcome our pasts.  We are made anew.  We are new a creation.  And when we experience this, when we discover that our past no longer weighs us down or defines us, we are comforted.  And we find great joy and peace in this.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can begin to live in a different way.  The Holy Spirit leads us in our practice of the spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, scripture study, sacrifice of our time, talents and resources, fellowship, and service. As a result, we are drawn into an ever deepening, ever evolving relationship with God.

On Monday (skipping Sunday) we will study the meek, who will inherit the earth.

Sermon on the Mount, Day 3 of 40: The Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5: 3
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Who are the poor in spirit?  In Greek there are two words for poor, penes and ptochos.  Penes describes a person who lives and works day to day, barely making ends meet, barely getting by.  Ptochos describes someone who lives in abject poverty, someone who has nothing at all and is forced to beg.  They are utterly helpless.  This is the word used for poor in Matthew 5:3.

Jesus is not calling for material poverty.  Being homeless and without means is never a good thing and Jesus would never have claimed material poverty was good.

The poverty that Jesus says is blessed is the poverty of the spirit.  Poverty of the spirit occurs when  people realize that their own efforts will not result in their salvation.  The poor in spirit are blessed because, realizing how helpless they are, they have recognized their need for God and have put their trust in God.   The true spiritual life begins at this point.

After seeing a vision of the glory of God on the throne, the prophet Isaiah cried out, "Woe is me, I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."  (Isaiah 6:5)

This is the realization of all who are poor in spirit.  Only when we are able to see who we truly are,
are we able to confess our sins  and live in the light of the Spirit.  The Kingdom of Heaven belongs only to these "enlightened" people.

Jesus illustrated this in his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18: 9-14).  "The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of all my income." But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, "God be merciful to me, a sinner!"

Jesus continued, " I tell you, this man [the tax collector] went down to his home justified rather than the other [the Pharisee]; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."

Tomorrow we study those who mourn.

Sermon on the Mount, Day 2 of 40: Blessed

All of the eight beatitudes are expressed in the same form,  "blessed are..." The Greek word for blessed or happy is makarios, used to describe something that is almost indescribable; something that is untouchable and unaffected by the world; something that is self-contained; a kind of deep peace we may experience in a crisis even though we are suffering or shedding tears.

Blessed describes a present state of existence, the here and now; not a future state.  So, Jesus is saying to the crowds and to his disciples, "Through me, this is the way you can live now."  Not in the future, not just in the afterlife, but you can live this way now.  The beatitudes are not glimpses of some distant future existence.

Followers of Christ are the center of an untouchable peace and joy in the middle of chaos; a peace that comes from a daily walk with Christ.

A few years ago, I flew to Washington, D. C. for a conference.  As the plane approached Washington, the pilot informed us that a storm would delay our landing and, in the meantime, we would circle the airport until we were allowed to land.  

I could see that we were not the only plane in this predicament.  Behind us and in front of us were other planes, flying in one long circle over Reagan National Airport.  As we flew around and around, people began to curse under their breath and I heard a woman across the isle crying.  The pilot would occasionally announce that there was no change in the weather down below and we would continue to circle, which darkened the mood on the plane each time he made this announcement.

After we circled the airport for about an hour, the pilot cheerily announced that we were turning around and flying back to Charlotte, N. C. because we were nearly out of fuel.  The result of this bit of news caused a new, more energetic round of cursing and wailing and gnashing of teeth; as if the pilot and his crew were responsible for the weather.

After we landed in Charlotte and rolled to a stop, everyone jumped out of their seat at once in a race to grab their carry on bags, jostling one another to be the first off the plane.  But, more bad news awaited us at the baggage claim.  We were informed, after waiting for 30 minutes, that our luggage had successfully landed in Washington D. C. on a flight ahead of us.

Once this news spread, total chaos erupted.  People were cursing loudly, yelling at no one in particular or yelling directly at someone; people were running with their arms waiving wildly, eyes rolling, faces contorted.  There was a great deal of pushing and shoving; disrespect for other people was the rule.

But there was one exception; an island of peace in this sea of chaos.  A father had gathered his wife and two children together in a circle in the middle of this madness.  As I stood close by, I heard him say, “Let’s hold hands and pray.  Let’s thank God that we landed safely and that we have each other.  Let’s thank God for being with us on this flight and with us in this airport.”  And they stood together and prayed, as people all about them cursed and swirled in their anger and their confusion; an example of humility and respect in a crowd that had neither; a reflection of God’s love and peace in a world gone mad.

Blessed are those whose peace is of Christ and not of the world.

Tomorrow we study the poor in spirit.