Heaven is yourS part one
“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them. He said:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’”
Matthew 5:1-12
“The first portion of the Sermon on the Mount is known as the Beatitudes, which means ‘The Blessings’ but can also be understood as giving the believer His ‘be – attitudes’ — the attitudes he should ‘be.’ In the Beatitudes, Jesus sets forth both the nature and the aspirations of citizens of His kingdom. They have and are learning these character traits.
All of these character traits are marks and goals of all Christians. It is not as if we can major in one to the exclusion of others, as is the case with spiritual gifts. There is no escape from our responsibility to desire every one of these spiritual attributes” (David Guzik).
God’s ways are counterintuitive to us. The Bible commentary says it best: “The Beatitudes don’t promise pleasure and earthly prosperity. Being blessed by God means experiencing hope and joy, independent of the outward circumstances.”
As I think about the Beatitudes and how they are goals of all Christian’s, I giggle thinking how innocently, yet purely wrong in my thinking I can be on some days. But what I love about God is the genuine kindness and compassion He continues to bestow on us as we try to navigate our lives like Christ. I think about my 2-year old daughter, Norah, who as she is learning the ins and outs of life, will mimic everything I say or do. And every time she does this, I smile with absolute delight. She wants to be like me, and her attempts to do things the correct way, is pure and wholesome. I believe God looks at us in a similar way. He knows we are going to stumble and fall in our attempt to please Him but as a loving Father, He sees our heart in these times and I believe that means the most to Him.
In Jesus’ teaching of the Beatitudes, we see a pattern. The first blessings in verses 3 and 10 both offer a present tense promise…”theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” But in verses 4-9, Jesus speaks in future-tense that will one day be fulfilled heaven side.
“Another way to put it is that Jesus has brought the kingdom of heaven to earth in his own kingly power and fellowship, and we can enjoy foretastes of it here and now; but the full experience of the life of the kingdom will have to wait for the age to come” (John Piper).
Today, we are going to be sharing from the first five beatitudes. Next week, we will be diving into the remaining four beatitudes.
By sharing from the Beatitudes for the next two weeks, our heart is that we can together remind ourselves and begin to understand what being blessed means to God and to us!
Jesus was getting ready to speak to an eager and curious crowd that had already gathered to hear Him. Seeing the crowd, He walks up to the top of the Hill and His disciples follow Him up. This is when Jesus begins with the famous Beatitudes:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…”
I can imagine the crowd going quiet, many of them confused — Blessed are the poor in spirit? Is that not the antithesis of what we all naturally pursue in life? He continues…
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
I’m sure much of the crowd knew God as a comforter to those who mourn. But why consider it blessed to mourn?
“‘Blessed are those who mourn,’ clarifies the subjective side of being poor in spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit who mourn. Blessed are the people who feel keenly their inadequacies and their guilt and their failures and their helplessness and their unworthiness and their emptiness — who don’t try to hide these things under a cloak of self-sufficiency, but who are honest about them and grieved and driven to the grace of God” (John Piper).
In other words, blessed are those who humbly view themselves and their circumstances in light of who God is in all His Mighty Power as they will be the ones who experience and receive the grace of God!
Jesus continued “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.”
In Psalm 37: 5-11, David shares how the meek can inherit the land. We are reminded that the meek are those who wait patiently for God to move on His timing based on His infinite knowledge. Those who will inherit the land, are those who commit to trusting in God despite what our circumstances may be.
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, and your vindication like the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:5-6).
“Blessed are those who hunger for righteousness for they will be filled.”
In Isaiah 55:2–3, it describes beautifully a hunger and thirst for righteousness as the key to our soul’s living abundantly!
“Incline your ear, and come to me; hear that your soul may live…” (Isaiah 55:3)
When I picture someone who had a hunger and thirst for righteousness, I think of Jesus’s disciple, Peter. He so desperately wanted to please Jesus and to live like Christ. Although Peter fell short many times and even denied Christ three times that we know of, there is no doubt that Peter desired passionately to please Jesus.
“Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy…”
There is no greater biblical understanding of mercy than when Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life on the cross for us. We did nothing to deserve this merciful and loving act. Yet, God freely gave His son and because of God’s mercy, we are called children of God for all those who accept Him and ask for His forgiveness!
Likewise, we should desire to follow Jesus’ example and choose to be merciful to others because of the great mercy given to us.
The Good News is this: We serve a God who desires to bless His children. But His blessings don’t lead us to a gluttonous mindset but rather to one of holiness that will result in pure joy regardless of our circumstances!
Let’s choose together to be doers of His Word and in turn receive His richest blessings!
“But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth]” (James 1:22, Amplified).