The Kingdom of Heaven - Here and Now | Matthew 5:3-12

Welcome to Preaching from Bryanson Bible Church, located in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa.

It is our prayer that this teaching would bless you, deepen your love for God's word, and encourage you as you follow Jesus.

And if you are not a Christian, we pray that this message would encourage you as you explore the Christian faith.

Good morning, BBC.

It is such a blessing and a joy to be unpacking God's word with you this morning.

Let me start by asking you a question.

If somebody happened to ask you, what does a blessed life actually look like?

How would you respond?

I think if we're honest, most of us have a picture in our minds.

A good job, financial security, and if many would say a nice car, if I confess I can't relate to that because I'm clueless when it comes to cars.

And one of those guys that if the police happened to ask me what car was involved in a hit and run, I'd probably just say the white one.

Perhaps it's a healthy family.

I think we all want that.

When life is going smoothly and everything's going well, then we say, I'm blessed.

But what if I told you this morning that Jesus completely disagrees with that definition of blessed?

The life that we naturally call blessed is different to the life that Jesus Christ calls blessed.

This morning we start our sermon series entitled The Kingdom of Heaven, and we're going to see that Jesus describes how a blessed life is entirely different to the way that we would think of a blessed life.

It's entirely upside down.

The life that Jesus Christ is going to describe for us this morning.

At first, it doesn't seem powerful, it doesn't even seem desirable at first.

But as we dig into the scriptures today, we're going to see that this is the best way to live.

Matthew chapter 4, verse 17.

Matthew 4:17

Jesus begins his ministry with these words.

Jesus says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

At the beginning of Matthew's gospel, Matthew describes how Jesus Christ is the God man.

He's born of a virgin conceived by the Holy Spirit, that he is the king of the Jews.

Excuse me, I've been fighting the flu for the last two weeks and I've uh I lost the battle.

So excuse me if I cough a little bit.

And Matthew describes how Jesus Christ is, the king in the kingdom of heaven.

So here as Jesus says, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Jesus Christ is calling the people who first heard him and calling us to do a 180-degree turn, to turn from their life and from the way that they would live and embrace him and his kingdom and to live under him as the king and living under his rule and his reign.

The scriptures describe that when we trust in the Lord Jesus, he brings us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the Son He loves.

So the question then becomes this morning, not what kind of life am I able to build for myself, but rather am I willing to submit to the King and submit to his rule and submit to his reign.

And as we're going to see this morning, the life that Jesus Christ calls us to, the blessing is only found in submitting to him as king and submitting to his lordship and trusting in him to lead and to guide us in our lives.

The book of Matthew is the only book where we find this phrase, the kingdom of heaven.

And throughout Matthew's gospel, he sets up these two different realms.

We've got the earthly realm, and then we have the heavenly realm.

And a scholar, Jonathan T.

Pennington, he describes this reality as he writes how Matthew is repeatedly setting up a contrast between two realms, the heavenly and the earthly, which stand for God on the one hand and humanity on the other.

In other words, he is subtly but powerfully weaving into his gospel narrative a theme of heaven and earth, particularly emphasizing the contrast between these two polar realms.

And as we reflect upon how Matthew describes the kingdom of heaven, he's showing us, as Jesus is gonna uh preach this first sermon in Matthew 5 through 7, what a blessed life looks like in the kingdom of heaven.

It's a kingdom beyond our earthly realm, and what it truly means to live an abundant, full life in the kingdom of heaven.

So what happens is the crowds gather around Jesus.

He goes up on the mountain, and his disciples come around him as he sits down and he begins to teach them.

And over the next four weeks, we're gonna be in this amazing sermon in Matthew chapter 5 through 7.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

It's traditionally known as the Sermon on the Mount.

And over the next four weeks, we're just gonna highlight key passages where Jesus explicitly describes the kingdom of heaven for us.

But this morning, we're just gonna be in the introduction, which is generally known as the Beatitudes.

And the Beatitudes is just a Latin word that means state of blessedness.

We could spend the next eight weeks looking at each of these eight beatitudes because there's so much in each and every single one of them.

But this morning we're just gonna do a bit of an overview of these eight beatitudes and just make two points this morning.

As we're gonna see that in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus calls us to surrender, and secondly, in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus calls us to sacrifice.

As we embrace life in the kingdom of heaven, thank you.

Appreciate that.

As we embrace life in the kingdom of heaven, we do so in opposition to the world and the ways of this world.

As we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, where we experience a blessed life.

And we experience these blessings that Jesus is going to describe for us in measure, but we still need to continue to cultivate them in our lives as this world is drawing us away from living the way that Christ would call us to live.

I love how our Bible commentator, uh David Turner, describes the Beatitudes, and he says, at the Beatitudes describe the divinely approved lifestyle of those who have repented at the arrival of the rule of God in Jesus' words and works.

So as you trust in the Lord Jesus, as you bow the knee to Jesus Christ, so you're able to experience this abundant blessed life.

But then you still need to continue to cultivate these attributes in your heart as you continue to live in submission to Jesus Christ as King.

The word blessed in this context, as we're going to see, means happy or fortunate, or as uh one Bible commentator described, it's like the Australian expression, get on your mate.

In essence, Jesus is just saying, This is the blessed, this is the best way to live.

If you want to experience life and life to the fullest, embrace this teaching that Christ gives for us here in Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

All of the beatitudes are connected, and there's a progression to these uh amazing beatitudes that Jesus describes for us, but they all hinge on the first one.

If you miss the first one, you're not able to experience the other seven.

So let's read together.

Matthew chapter five, verse three, as Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It's a surprising that Jesus says you're blessed if you're poor.

We generally wouldn't consider being poor a blessing.

But here Jesus describes being poor in spirit, it's acknowledging your spiritual condition before a holy God.

That we're all of us, when we can say God, we're spiritually bankrupt before Him.

I've heard it said that Christianity is like one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.

Excuse me.

All we bring to our salvation is simply just our sin.

And this spiritual condition, we never graduate from this.

Throughout our life and our walk before the Lord, that we are we should have this posture of heart before the Lord where we are continually poor in spirit.

We continually realize, as Jesus says, that apart from me, you can do nothing.

And I think it's sometimes so easy to forget about our spiritual condition.

As I reflect upon my own life, uh, as sometimes I forget how spiritually banked up I am before a holy God.

And I start trying to do things in my own strength based on my own self-effort without actually depending on the Lord.

And man, when that happens, uh life just doesn't go well and it ends in failure.

But Jesus here is drawing us to acknowledge the true blessing is found when we adopt this posture of heart of being poor in spirit, a posture of heart that says, God, I'm nothing apart from your grace, a posture of heart that says, God, I desperately deeply need you.

And that's the posture of heart that we embrace when we enter the kingdom of heaven.

You can't uh you can't enter the kingdom of heaven without acknowledging your great need for God.

And that's the posture of heart that we have to adopt as we continue to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Being poor in spirit is kind of like uh the passport of your citizenship in heaven.

Without it, you won't be able to experience uh the rest of the blessings that we're gonna unpack today.

So as Jesus describes, Blessed are the poor in spirit, he goes on to say, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

As we realize our great need for the Lord, and as we realize our sin and our brokenness, it should draw us to grief.

That we should mourn over the injustices in this world, we should mourn over the sin in the world, we should also mourn over our sin.

I think never has there been a time in history that we have so much access to be able to see just the wickedness and the injustice in the world as we think about the access that we have to media and so forth.

That it's possible to be constantly just exposed to the injustice in the world, and it's possible for us to become apathetic about the sin in the world.

It's also possible to become apathetic about the sin in our own lives.

We forget that it's because of our sin that Jesus Christ bled on the cross.

So do you acknowledge the weight of your sin?

Have you come to a place where you understand that it's because of your sin, it's because of my sin, uh, that Jesus was willing to die for us?

It's the consequences of our sin is Christ being crucified on the cross.

As we're able to see the cross clearly, so then that'll draw us and bring us to a place where we're able to grieve over our sin and over just the sin in the world.

And Jesus goes on to say in verse 5.

As he says, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

The dictionary defines meek as someone who is quiet and gentle and who does not uh force their own opinion or their arguments on others.

It's just surprising that Jesus here says that the meek will inherit uh the earth.

We might perhaps think that those who are strong, those who are powerful, at those who know how to rule over other people, that they would perhaps inherit the earth.

But here Jesus says, no, it's it's the meek, those who are gentle, those who are humble, that they will be in charge in the new heavens and in the new earth.

Jesus is most likely a referencing Psalm 37, verse 11.

Psalms 37:11

And the thrust of that psalm is to trust in God in the midst of difficult situations.

In essence, Jesus here is saying that blessed are those who trust that God will care for them.

Being meek in effect is trusting that God will care for you.

And what this means is that we don't have to stand up for ourselves.

We don't have to try to get ahead, we can just rest in the sovereignty of God.

It's a it's a quiet rest, it's a quiet trust in God's strength and in him and in who he is.

And this world will teach us that in order to climb the corporate ladder, you gotta stand on other people, you gotta uh try to get ahead.

But being meek liberates you to just rest in his sovereignty.

Not that you're a doormat, but rather that you can just trust that God has got your back, God will care for you, and he will guide and he will lead you and he will help you.

So we're blessed when we can adopt this meek posture before the Lord, trusting that he will care for us.

Amen.

It continues.

Verse 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

The Bible uses the word righteousness in different ways.

If you've been with us uh over the last two or so years, we saw in Romans how Paul describes righteousness in this positional way, uh, speaking about right relationship with God.

At the moment that you trust in the Lord Jesus, the moment that you bow the knee to Jesus Christ, God gives you his righteousness as a gift.

He imputes his righteousness to you.

And what happens in that moment is the power of sin is broken over your life.

The righteousness that Jesus Christ is most likely speaking about here in Matthew 5 is righteous living.

So though the power of sin is broken over your life, the presence of sin still remains.

And Jesus here says that you're blessed if you hunger and if you thirst for the righteous lifestyle that Christ has called you to.

As we've already seen, we need to adopt a posture of heart where we're poor in spirit, where we recognize that Jesus, apart from you, I can do nothing.

So as we hunger and as we thirst for this righteous lifestyle that Christ calls us to, we do so with this deep dependence on God, saying, God, unless you help me, unless you pour your spirit into me, I can never live righteously the way that you've called me to live.

But it's possible for us to uh grow cold when you've been uh fighting sin, uh, and it's been months and years, and you're not able to put a certain sin to death, it's possible to almost just grow disheartened.

But here Jesus says, keep hungering, keep thirsting after God to enable you to live righteously before Him.

As believers, we know that sin just does not satisfy us.

In the same way that drinking alcohol doesn't actually quench your thirst but makes you even more dehydrated.

We know that giving into sin simply just will not satisfy, that giving into sin just leaves you broken and distraught.

But here, Jesus, as he says, we're blessed if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, if we continue to cry out to God to enable us to live in a righteous manner before Him.

So, what sin do you need to put to death this morning?

What areas of your life do you need to hunger and cry out for God that He would enable you to change as you seek to love the people around you?

Ask God to cultivate that righteousness in you, that he fill you with his spirit and enable you to serve, to live the way that Christ has called you to live.

So, in these first four beatitudes, as we see what it means to live a life of surrender, as Jesus calls us to surrender, as we come before God, realizing our brokenness, our deep need for him, as we grieve and as we mourn over our sin, as we adopt this meek posture of heart, trusting that he and he alone will care for us and he will help us.

And as we continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness, we do so from a posture of heart of surrender, saying, God, I trust you, I look to you.

You and you alone are the one who is able to help me.

And as we do this, so then it liberates us to embrace the next four beatitudes as Jesus Christ uh calls us to sacrifice.

In the kingdom of heaven, Jesus calls us to surrender, and in the kingdom of heaven, we see that Jesus calls us to sacrifice.

As I've said, we live in the kingdom of heaven in opposition to the ways of this world.

And sometimes it comes at a cost.

That living and following Jesus can be hard.

We have to say no to the things of this world in order for us to be able to say yes to Jesus and his ways.

And that comes at a cost, and that comes uh with sacrifice.

So, as Jesus says in Matthew 5, verse 7, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Matthew 5:7

God has been so good to us, God has shown us mercy in such an amazing way, even though we didn't deserve it.

And our God calls us to show that same mercy to others.

Jesus here is saying, is teaching us that we should be kind and compassionate and loving and gracious to people, even if they don't deserve it.

We should be merciful to people if they've done nothing to earn it.

And implicit in being merciful and showing grace and compassion and kindness to others.

Jesus is calling us to be a people who are quick to forgive.

Showing mercy to others means that when somebody hurts you, if somebody insults you, or if somebody disrespects you in any manner, I think it's quick for us to want to retaliate.

But Jesus here says there's a blessing in being merciful.

There's a blessing in essentially letting things go and showing people grace in the same way that God has shown us so much grace.

Yeah, Jesus says the promise is they shall receive mercy.

As we show mercy to others, we're reminded afresh of how good God has been to us, how merciful God has been to us.

And also we show mercy to others as we one day look towards the day when Jesus returns and we receive mercy in an ultimate sense as we're given this eternal life, we're able to experience life in the new heavens and in the new earth forever.

And we look towards that day as we as we cultivate this posture of heart and this behavior where we're quick to forgive others, where we're quick to show mercy to other people.

Jesus continues in verse 8.

As he says, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

A pure heart is a heart that's devoted to God, uh, where your uh your passions are for him and for his glory and for his kingdom.

The opposite of a pure heart is a divided heart, is a mixed heart.

And Jesus here says that it's only the pure in heart who will be able to see God.

It's only those who are passionate about God and his glory and his kingdom who will be able to see the magnificence of God, who will be able to experience him and see him for who he truly is.

If you're pouring all of your energy and your time into personal hobbies and personal interests, and you just don't have any time or capacity for the things of God and for the Lord, don't be surprised when you're not able to see God in his glory clearly.

When you're pursuing your career more than God's kingdom, don't be surprised if you if your heart's not captivated by God and his goodness and who he truly is.

But if you seek his glory, and we can do that in all areas and all aspects of our life, where we say, God, I'm more passionate about you than anything else in this world.

Uh the promise here is that we will see God.

You'll be able to catch a glimpse of his magnificence, you'll be able to truly uh comprehend and see him for who he is.

Uh that God is glorious, that he's magnificent, that he's so great and so wonderful.

And as you have a heart that's passionate about him, so then you'll be able to see see him.

And as Jesus goes on to say in verse 9, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

When we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are adopted into his family and we become his children, positionally.

But here Jesus says that as uh blessed are the peacemakers, as you begin to make peace with those around you, so people will be able to recognize that you truly are a son and daughter of the Most High God.

In Matthew 5, verse 44, Jesus will go on to describe how we should pray for those who persecute us, how we should love our enemies.

Matthew 5:44

And Jesus says, if you do those things, you will be called sons of your father in heaven.

Making peace with people can be hard.

Notice that Jesus says, Blessed are the peacemakers, not the peacekeepers.

That trying to seek out to make peace with somebody when there's friction or when there's tension, man, that can be difficult.

Having an awkward chat uh and trying to just reconcile and just to pursue peace in the midst of hostility, it can be difficult, but it's worth it.

As Jesus says, there's this blessing implicit in being those who actually seek out to make peace with other people.

So as we reflect upon your relationships this morning, is there somebody you need a call after church?

Is there a coffee you need a schedule?

You need to make peace with somebody?

Or perhaps God might be calling you to be the instrument uh by which you're able to help other people make peace and help other people reconcile.

It's difficult, but it's worth it because of the blessing that Jesus says uh that there is involved in making peace with other people.

God made peace with us, Romans 5.

He loved us while we were still an enmity towards him.

He loved us while we were still his enemies.

And as we make peace with others, so we represent him to the world.

And as you embrace the cost of making peace with others, so people will see God, and that we also recognize that you truly are his children.

Amen.

Amen.

Lastly, Jesus says, verse 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And this last beatitude, Jesus expands, and he says, Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

He goes on to say, Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

For though so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

And as we just consider living for God's purposes, living for God's kingdom, some people won't appreciate it.

But I love the way Jesus starts and he ends these Beatitudes as he says, Yours is the kingdom of heaven, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

That even if you experience difficulty and trouble in this world for following Jesus Christ, you have an inheritance that's unshakable, that's undefiled and unfading.

As we think about the reward that we have in heaven, the great reward that we have in heaven, there's nothing in this world that can shake that from us.

That the eternal reward that we have in heaven we can't lose that as we experience difficulty and trouble in the here and in the here and now.

As a church living here in the northern suburbs, we sometimes forget the persecution that our brothers and sisters are experiencing throughout the world around us.

I recently read an article that just described how just under a million believers were killed for their faith in this last decade.

Just a few weeks ago, while we were here at BBC celebrating the 15 people who got baptized, just north up in Nigeria, 60 believers lost their lives over the Easter weekend while they were trying to celebrate the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

And I was listening to an interview of a Nigerian lady who was describing just the reality of what it's like to experience that persecution.

And I was struck by what she said as she described just how she was responding to the situation.

And she responded in an interview saying, We are not confused.

If the only threat that you can give us is the threat of death, you have to do better.

And then she quoted that scripture on our wall outside, Galatians 2.20, which says, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

And I think as we grapple with the suffering in the world around us and the persecution that the believers in the world around us have to suffer, so that helps us to endure the persecution that we have to experience here in our context at BBC.

That when you lose your job because you're not willing to commit fraud, uh, that when your family won't speak to you because you're not willing to practice ancestral worship, that when you're ostracized as a teenager or a young adult because you're not willing to get drunk with your friends.

As we reflect upon again how believers throughout history have suffered for the glory of the Lord and for the purposes of his kingdom, so that helps us endure some of the difficulties that we have to experience here at BBC in our society.

I heard a story the other day about somebody here at BBC who received a death threat because that person wasn't willing to participate in corruption.

When the threat of death is imminent, the eternal nature of the kingdom of heaven suddenly becomes so much more apparent.

As we just embrace this reality that whatever we may lose on earth, we can't lose our heavenly reward.

And Jesus promises in the scriptures that we have a heavenly reward when we're persecuted and when we experience trouble and difficulty.

But as we just consider that reality, it's hard.

It's hard to say yes to Jesus and to say no to the comforts of this world.

And the truth of the matter is we can't actually do this in our own strength.

But as we consider that Jesus starts the beatitudes by saying, Blessed are those who poor who are poor in spirit, as we reflect upon the reality that we can't actually live out these beatitudes as Jesus Christ calls us to, in and of ourselves, it should draw us to come before the Lord in dependence, saying, God, I can't embrace these character traits, I can't live the way that you want me to live, unless you help me, unless you so pour out your spirit upon me and enable me to live like this, I won't be able to embrace the life that you're calling me to.

This life of surrender and sacrifice.

And as we come before the Lord with this deep dependence, saying, God, please work in me in a mighty way, so we do so, looking to Jesus, as he is the one who perfectly lived a life of surrender and sacrifice.

As we consider how Christ lived a sinless life and then was willing to be brutally murdered by unjust rulers, as uh his crown was made of thorns, and as he was exalted on a wooden cross, as we look to the example of Christ, so we're able to follow in his footsteps.

So Jesus paved the way for us.

And as we look to him and as we trust in him and fix our gaze and our hearts on him, he'll help us to embrace uh these beatitudes and embrace the blessed life of living under his kingdom, where he is the Lord, where he rules, where he reigns.

So my encouragement this morning is for you to choose Jesus.

No matter the cost, no matter uh what sacrifices you have to embrace, choose Jesus.

Live for him, follow after him, pursue him, seek to advance his kingdom in your life, and you will be blessed here and now, and ultimately you will be blessed one day when Jesus Christ uh returns in the new heavens and the new earth.

Amen.

So, in a moment we're gonna sing a song uh that literally is written straight from Matthew 5.

Uh so we're gonna sing these Beatitudes just as the as the band uh comes up, and just as we uh reflect upon these lyrics and just allow uh just uh just these words to minister to you, I'd encourage you to pray.

Ask God, say Lord, please help me to live uh like this.

Acknowledge your deep dependence on Him.

Acknowledge that you are nothing aside from the grace and the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And feel free to sing along if you're able to.

But just let this be a time where we're able to come before the Lord and say, Lord, let us be a church, let us be a people who truly embody uh these beautiful attitudes and live the way that you've called us to live.

So let me pray for us.

Father God, thank you, Lord, so much.

Thank you for your kindness, God.

Thank you for your goodness.

Lord Jesus, we just come before you and we just acknowledge, Lord, that we fall short of your glory every day.

God, and we acknowledge that we desperately, desperately need you.

So, Lord, help us as a church.

Help us to be a people, uh, Lord God, who are poor in spirit, who come before you, Jesus, you as you are our King, and humbly acknowledge our great need for you.

And God, we ask, please, that you pour your spirit out upon us as your people.

Lord God, even now as we as we sing these uh these lyrics, Father God, and reflect upon this song, Lord God, please pour your spirit upon us, Lord.

He said, all we need to do is ask and and and and so we'll receive.

Well God, that if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, so we will be filled.

So please come fill us, Lord, with your spirit.

Enable us to live the way that you've called us to live.

And we know that you can do this as we continue to depend and as we continue to trust in you.

We pray these things in your precious name.

Amen.

Thanks for listening to this sermon from BBC.

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God bless you.