Matthew 5:1-12

Matthew 5, 1-12. Sometimes, you know, there's things in life, aren't there, that just, they're really hard to get going, they're really hard to get into.

A little bit like exercise. You know, don't you, there's certain times you're supposed to do exercise. And you know the time when you're supposed to start doing it. It's just so hard to get in the gym or to get out for a run or to do those things.

It's a really difficult thing to start. And you just need to get on with it and do it and start it. And it's a bit like that when you come to a two-part sermon.

You just have to get on with it. And you just have to get into it again. And last week, you'll know if you were here, we dealt with the first half of the Beatitudes.

Beatitudes. And we mentioned several things about the Beatitudes. We said you've got to take them as a whole. Don't divide them up.

Don't carve them up individually and think, well, I'm not bad at being merciful, but I'm not so pure in heart.

We're meant to take them together. They are a total description of the disciple of Jesus.

And you need to remember, secondly, the audience to whom they were spoken to. They were spoken to the disciples of Jesus.

In other words, they're not for every Tom, Dick and Harry out there. They are not spoken to the pagan world at large.

They're not a manifesto for a government. They are spoken to the followers of Jesus Christ.

And they are descriptive of God's people.

The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7, is not meant for all people.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

It is particularly aimed at Jesus' disciples.

And so we said that the first thing that Jesus does in these Beatitudes is he gives us a description, then, of kingdom people.

A description of kingdom people. That was the major point.

He describes kingdom people. And he describes them as to their condition.

So we looked at verse 3 and 4 and 5 and 6.

And we said the one thing that runs as a theme through those verses, through those first four Beatitudes,

is essentially common to them all. It's that theme of being destitute.

That they describe God's people as having needs.

They are not completely filled.

God's people still mourn over their sin.

And over the church's sin.

That repentance is continual.

They hunger and they thirst for righteousness.

They thirst to be conformed

to God's will

for their lives

and for this world.

And so it describes them according to their needs.

And then you have this description of God's people.

Not only the condition

of God's people, but the character

of God's people. That's the first thing this morning.

A description of their character.

And you see that in verses 7

and 8 and 9.

How blessed are the merciful

and the pure in heart

and the peacemakers.

So he's describing

kingdom people.

He looks at their character

and look what it says.

It says,

How blessed

are the merciful

verse 7.

This word is one that is used

when they translated

the Old Testament into Greek

about 200 BC or so.

They use this word

merciful

in the Old Testament

about 18 times.

13 of those 18 times

it refers to the Lord.

And it describes the Lord

as merciful

or gracious.

Especially in the fact

that he

withholds judgment.

And he forgives sin.

And he withholds punishment.

He doesn't treat his people

as they deserve.

He is merciful

in that sense.

And that is the majority

of the way that it's used

when it's describing the Lord.

And so it's interesting

isn't it?

When Jesus should describe

his people

as ones who are merciful.

That is they take on

their father's characteristic

in that they delight

to be able to forgive others

when wrong is committed

against them.

They are a kind people.

They are a pardoning people.

They've received

the mercy of God

in their own lives.

They know that they've not

been treated by God

as they deserve to be.

They know that they've been

forgiven for Christ's sake.

And that has left

its mark upon them.

And so they can't help

but let that mercy

flow out to others

who wrong them.

And so they reflect

the father's characteristics.

And then he says

verse 8

How blessed

are the pure in heart.

Who are the pure in heart?

What does that mean?

I think immediately

in our culture

for some of us

that immediately goes

to kind of sexual sin

isn't it?

The pure in heart

are not like that.

They don't think

rude thoughts.

They're not infected

by the world.

But actually

as we saw last week

we need to remember

don't we?

Bible words have

Bible meanings.

What does it mean?

What is this idea

of being pure in heart?

It's not so much

that of being

undefiled

but actually

that of being

undivided.

We see

say pure in heart

let me try to get it

this way.

When they translated

the Old Testament

into Greek

the very word

pure was used

in reference

to the tabernacle.

So as you remember

we went through

Exodus a few years ago

we came to the instructions

about the tabernacle

and in those latter chapters

of Moses

of Exodus

when God is giving

Moses

those instructions

on how are you going

to build the tabernacle

what furniture

are you allowed to use?

He talked various times

about different types

of furniture

that they would put

in the tent of God

and he said

over and over again

that they would be

covered in pure gold.

Again and again

and again

pure gold.

It means gold

that's unmixed

with other metals.

It means gold

or metal

that doesn't have

anything mixed

with it.

It is

pure gold.

It is gold

gold

quite literally.

The idea

of being unmixed

of being whole

of being complete

that is

pure.

Abraham

or to take

another background

in Genesis chapter

Genesis 20 · chapter mention

20 and verses

5 to 6

you've got this

little story

about Abraham

passing off

Sarah

as his sister

and because he

pretended that

Sarah was his

sister

Abimelech

that Philistine

thought

well I'll take

Sarah as my wife

she's available

because after all

she's only Abraham's

sister

and so

Abimelech

adds Sarah

to his

harim

he'd not had

sexual relationships

with her yet

but he'd taken her

into his household

and into his

harim

and the Lord

confronts Abimelech

about that

and he says

well Abraham

it's not my fault

Abraham told me

she was his sister

he says

why

in the wholeness

of my heart

in the innocence

of my hands

I've done this

that's the idea

the innocence

of my hands

the wholeness

of my heart

he said

I didn't have any

underhanded

scheme at work

there was no

devious design

I acted in

integrity

towards Sarah

and so

when they used

when they translated

it into the Greek

they used this

with a pure heart

I've done this

that's what it is

in our vision

with a pure heart

in the wholeness

of my heart

wholeness

and undivided

hearts

not mixed

with other

motives

and this

may well

be what

Jesus means

when he speaks

about blessed

are the pure

in heart

that is

their whole

heart

is devoted

in affection

to their

father

they don't

have a

divided

heart

they don't

have other

allegiances

and so on

but it is

all focused

on their

God

and their

kingdom

how blessed

are the pure

in heart

verse 9

how blessed

are the

peacemakers

for they

will be called

sons of

God

and immediately

we think

well this is

exactly what

our world

needs

isn't it

peacemakers

and negotiators

between nations

on the international

scene

the united

nations

how blessed

are the

peacemakers

that's why

you should

go into

the army

blessed

are the

peacemakers

well forget

all that

I'm not

saying the

world peace

doesn't

matter

but the

tendency

is to

always

when we

come to

the

bible

I think

we

we get

a big

general

picture

and we

think about

the big

problems

which allows

you and

I just

to wiggle

out from

under the

word of

God

so let's

stick with

the disciples

of Jesus

being

peacemakers

what does

that mean

we know

that it

doesn't mean

that you

ignore

wrong

it doesn't

mean that

you cover

over wrong

and act

like it's

not there

doesn't even

necessarily mean

that you

avoid

conflict

in fact

blessed are

the peacemakers

and that

means that

sometimes

there must

be

there has

to be

conflict

sometimes

you have

to confront

and you

have to

confront

wrong

and sin

and error

before peace

and any

real peace

can be

restored

sometimes

church

leaders

have to

fight

they

must

fight

Jesus

is not

saying

appease

everybody

it is

not

appeasement

making

it is

peacemaking

and we

need to

keep that

in mind

it's not

peacetalkers

it's not

peacethinkers

but it's

peacemakers

and the

disciples

of Jesus

who act

in this

way

they are

blessed

and I

want to

say to

you

you are

in the

greatest

laboratory

that you

could

you will

ever need

to be in

for

practicing

peacemaking

church

because

after

15 years

of working

for the

church

and a

lifetime

of being

in the

church

I want

to say

to you

there is

nowhere else

on earth

that I

can think

of where

you can

become more

exasperated

with people

than the

church

I've just

spent a

week with

different people

moaning to

me about

problems in

their church

do you

remember what

you promised

when you

became a

member of

the church

to commit

yourself to

building and

maintaining

healthy

relationships

within this

church

treating your

fellow believers

as your

brothers and

sisters in

Christ

it's really

a question

about the

peace of

the church

if it had

been written

a hundred

years ago

it would

have read

something like

this

do you

promise to

promote the

purity and

the peace

of the

church

and that

means to

be reconciled

with those

you have

wronged and

who have

wronged you

to seek to

be at

peace

that doesn't

mean you

cover over

things

that doesn't

mean that you

pretend it's

okay when

it's not

okay

doesn't mean

when you say

it doesn't

matter when

it does

matter it

means you

get to the

root

and you

make peace

in

relationships

in a

place where

you know

some people

very well

it's very

easy to

become

aggravated

with them

and here

it says

God's

people are

peacemakers

you see

Jesus says

kingdom people

people who

belong to

me have

this character

about them

there are

characteristics

there are

marks of

being in

my kingdom

there is

this

mercifulness

there is

this

pardoning

mentality

about it

there is

this

undividedness

in their

affections

and in

their

internal

being

towards

their

God

and this

way of

peacemaking

which they

practice

now that

is the

charter

that is

what

marks

them

out

Spurgeon

tells the

story of

a man

in the

army

and he

was fighting

or serving

somewhere

and finally

after years

he was

discharged

from the

army

and he

studied

for parish

ministry

to become

a minister

in the

church

of England

studied

theology

and he

was finally

ordained

and he

was going

back to

Glasgow

to his

home

to preach

there

he'd not

seen his

aged mother

in years

so he

stopped to

see her

and as

he walked

up the

road

she was

sweeping

the path

he recognised

her straight

away

but she

didn't recognise

him because

he'd changed

he'd left

as a boy

but now

he was a

man

when he

was a

little boy

she had

accidentally

cut his

wrist

and left

a scar

and she

comforted

her son

at that

time

and said

never mind

ye

bonnie

men

your

mother

will

ken

you

that's

recognise

you

by that

when you're

a man

he walked

up the

path

he spoke

to her

and she

didn't

recognise

him

what did

he do

he pulled

back his

sleeve

and said

mother

do you

ken

this

and immediately

they were in

each other's arms

there was a

mark that

identified

him

Jesus

says

there is a

mark that

identifies

kingdom

people

because

they have

a certain

character

they have

a certain

mark

and part

of the

way that

you can

identify

them

and describe

them

is that

they show

mercy

and they

have this

undivided

devotion

and they

make peace

among each

other

it's a

mark of

kingdom

people

Jesus

in this

description

of kingdom

people

he not

only does

he describe

us in

terms of

our

condition

and our

character

but thirdly

he describes

us in

our

conflict

thirdly

including

last week

the points

are all

mixed up

look at

verses 10

to 12

blessed are

those who

are persecuted

for righteousness

sake

for theirs

is the

kingdom

of heaven

blessed are

you when

others

revile you

and persecute

you and

utter all

kinds of

evil against

you falsely

on my

account

rejoice and

be glad

for your

reward is

great in

heaven

for so

they persecuted

the prophets

who will be

for you

he expands

doesn't he

on this

persecuted

for righteousness

sake and

when others

revile you

he expands

on that

much like

he does

in Matthew

6

with the

Lord's

prayer

you know

where he

talks about

forgiveness

forgive us

our debts

and then he

goes to

expand that

doesn't he

and so

here he

takes verse

10 where

he talks

about

persecution

for

righteousness

sake

and then he

expands on

that in

verses 11

and 12

and he

says how

blessed you

are

when men

heap

abuse on

you and

they persecute

you and

they speak

all sorts

of evil

against you

they speak

evil on

falsely on

account of

me

and it's

important to

one notice

why this

persecution

is

look at

verse 11

it's speech

as well

it's not just

in actions

they might

abuse you

verbally

that's

more

the

case

for

us

today

isn't

it

they may

ridicule

you

they may

make fun

of you

and that

may be

what persecution

involves for

us

it involves

verbal abuse

of some

sort

but I think

it's really

important if

it's going

to be

persecution

for it

to meet

a couple

of

criteria

number one

it has to

be

false

doesn't it

look at that

in verse

11

they utter

all kinds

of evil

against you

falsely

on my

account

they'll say

all sorts

of evil

against you

falsely

I mean

if it's

true about

you then

they're just

telling the

truth

they're not

persecuting

you are

they

and you

need to be

aware of

that

when Peter

talks about

that

if for

instance

you just

happen to

be an

abrasive

person

if you

happen to

be

someone

who

really

gets on

people's

nerves

and

somebody

verbally

abuses

you

you should

just

expect

that

if I'm

persecuted

or

I'm

reviled

just

because

of my

sheer

awkwardness

that is

not

persecution

it may

be just

that

you're

pretty

obnoxious

and if

people

abuse

you

because

of

that

it's

not

persecution

and it

needs to

be said

and done

falsely

and it

also needs

to be

done

falsely

on account

of me

Jesus

says

it is

only

persecution

if it

is on

account

of your

relationship

or some

account of

your relationship

with Jesus

that's what

brings the

abuse

and so we

need to keep

that in

mind

Jesus

is

implying

here

and he

is

assuming

that if

you are

a

kingdom

person

and you

belong

to him

you are

going to

have

trouble

and you

are

going to

have

distress

and you

are

going to

have

abuse

that you

are

going to

have

to

face

there

will

be

ridicule

there

simply

will

be

conflict

because

you

are

his

on

account

of

me

he

said

and

when

you

belong

to

Jesus

more

or

less

severe

whether

you

have

it

in

your

workplace

or

even

in

your

home

or

perhaps

in

your

relationships

at

some

point

when

your

relationship

to

Jesus

becomes

visible

in

some

degree

or

other

it

will

cause

fire

and

so

we

need

to

teach

that

to

our

children

don't

we

you

children

who

are

here

that

when

you

make

a

stand

for

Jesus

and

when

you

stand

out

for

him

people

will

not

like

it

and

there

may

well

be

verbal

persecution

and we

mustn't

be surprised

at that

we must

prepare

ourselves

for that

and it

is

infinitely

worth

it

and as

adults

we mustn't

keep our

heads

down

martin

jones

before

he

came

to

london

and

was

a

minister

in a

really

deprived

part

of

south

wales

abber

abben

and

while he

was there

it's a

great story

to read

if you've

not read

it

there's a

number of

people in

the

congregation

who are

wonderfully

converted

at that

time

and because

of that

one man

had been

converted

he was

a joyful

christian

he attended

the

monday night

prayer

meeting

and as

he came

home from

the

prayer

meeting

his wife

met him

at the

prayer

meeting

where did

she get

that kind

of

hostility

from

it's

just

when

people

when

someone

belongs

to

Jesus

people

tend

to

hate

that

and so

there's

this

conflict

and so

Jesus

gives us

a description

of kingdom

people

he talks

about a

condition

he says

kingdom

people

have a

certain

destitution

they are

needy

they're

still mourning

over their

sin

more of

the sins

of God's

people

generally

and they

hunger

and they

thirst

for righteousness

they're not

yet filled

and they

still haven't

seen

complete

conformity

to God's

will in

their lives

they know

there's areas

in their

lives

where God's

will isn't

perfectly

practiced

and they're

still

unsatisfied

there's

this

destitution

about

kingdom

people

and then

there's

their

character

there's

a certain

likeness

in kingdom

people

that you can

see a

resemblance

of their

father

they remind

you of

God

and then he

describes the

conflict

and he says

there's a

certain

suffering

in kingdom

people

and there

you have a

description

of kingdom

people

now let's

leave that

behind and

go to the

second major

point of the

past two

weeks

not a

description

of kingdom

people but

Jesus gives us

a declaration

a declaration

about kingdom

people

can you see

that

look at these

statements

again

look at the

declaration

Jesus makes

what we've

been doing

is we've

taken

these

phrases

and we've

asked what

does it

mean to be

poor in

spirit

and try to

define that

that's

important

but you

mustn't think

that's really

what's happening

in the

beatitudes

because what's

really happening

in the

beatitudes

is Jesus

is making

a declaration

that's very

important

he's saying

something about

kingdom people

and basically

it's this

how blessed

my people

are

this is what

I'm giving

them

these are my

assurances

they are almost

his covenant

promises to

his people

how blessed

are they

he's saying

here are the

blessings

here are the

riches I'm

giving them

because theirs

is the kingdom

of heaven

because they

will be

comforted

and they

will be

filled

and they

will inherit

the earth

with the

righteousness

that they

long for

and they

will receive

mercy at the

last judgment

and they

will see

God as

Revelation 22

says

and they

will see

his face

and they

will be

called

God's

sons

and so on

so these

are the

blessings

these are

the treasures

these are

the gifts

that God

gives to

his people

and these

attitudes

they really

are a

declaration

about

Jesus

people

and the

riches

he's

given

them

they're

not

rewards

please don't

think that

they're not

rewards

they are

assurances

you see

Jesus did

not say

did he

in verse

four

because you

mourn

you will

be comforted

he did

not say

it that

way

he said

how blessed

are those

who mourn

for they

shall be

comforted

so it's

not as

though

mourning

earns them

or makes

them

deserving

it is

that

Jesus

delights

to assure

them

of it

you will

be

comforted

these are

declarations

of Jesus

gifts

and assurances

to his

people of

what he's

giving

and he

will give

them

and you

need to

see that

Jesus

is trying

to assure

his

people

he's trying

to assure

his people

who assert

as certainly

as possible

that these

gifts

belong to

them

and they

will have

them

because the

future tense

in these

beatitudes

is not just

what is in

the future

but it is

also a future

that has

certainty

they will

be

comforted

they shall

see

God

so what

difference does

that make

for us this

week

it ought to

make a

difference

in this

way

in this

sense

it tells

you

that Jesus

delights to

assure his

people

of what he's

going to

give them

Jesus

delights

to tell his

people and

to assure

them what

he's going

to give

them

and the

reason that's

so important

is this

because it's

so hard to

believe

it's so hard

to believe

that these

beatitudes do

actually carry

your name

and your

address

it's very

hard isn't

it for our

feelings

to be

really to

the point

where we

read Matthew

5 1 to

12 and

we think

yes that's

talking about

me

as one of

his kingdom

people

and if

you've never

struggled to

think like

that

well let me

say to you

you are a

freak

and you

should be

very thankful

that you

are a

freak

because many

of us

do

remind me of

a story

that a

preacher told

and so you

know that

it's not

true

but you

have this

guy this

man who

believed that

he was

dead

and his

wife and

family were

really concerned

about him

because he

was convinced

he was dead

his friends

were concerned

about him

because he

was convinced

he was dead

sent him to

the friendly

neighbourhood

psychiatrist

and the

psychiatrist

decided he

would treat

him by

convincing

him of

something

convincing

him of

something that

contradicted

his other

belief

that he

was dead

that he

would convince

him of

something so

surely that

if he

believed that

then he

would no

longer be

able to say

I'm dead

and so he

decided the

psychiatrist to

go about it

this way

he was going

to convince

him of the

simple truth

that dead

men do

not bleed

dead men

do not

bleed

well he

started to

work and

to study

he had him

reading medical

records and

autopsies and

all sorts of

things

and after

several weeks

of quite

concentrated

effort the

fella finally

caved in and

he said alright

you have convinced

me dead

men do

not bleed

with a certain

triumph and

joy the

psychiatrist

took a

needle out

of his

pocket and

he pricked

the man's

arm and

blood flowed

the man

looked down

and with a

contorted and

ashen face

said good

grief dead

men do

bleed after

all

and some

of us

we know

that don't

we

it's so

hard for

us to

believe

sometimes

the

comforting

reassurances

of jesus

but they

really do

carry your

name and

address

it's very

hard sometimes

for our

feelings to

feel really

assured

and what

jesus promises

us when he

seeks to make

us secure in

what he's

giving us

and what

can we do

at a time

like that

well we

have to

be brought

and come

to the

place where

we have

to say

even though

my feelings

don't

reinforce it

and even

though my

feelings don't

know if

this is true

i have to

forget my

feelings

and believe

the word

that jesus

speaks

and that

is the

challenge of

faith

let's pray