Turn with me to the book of Matthew
chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. I'd like to look at the first
12 verses of this scripture. Before we begin, let's ask our
Lord's blessing. Our Father, as we call upon you
this evening, we thank you. and we bless and praise you for
who you are. Lord, I thank you that you've
given us this time to be here. I ask you to bless the word,
bless it to our understanding. Lord, would you grant us a heart
to worship? I realize that we have only right
now. We're guaranteed nothing else.
And I pray that, Lord, if this is the last time we ever meet
together, Lord, would you call out your sheep? Would you save
your people? Would you encourage us by your
word for Christ's sake? Amen. By the grace of God, there are
people out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue in this world
that are truly blessed. Blessed in many ways, in a temporal
way, but the scripture declares that we're blessed with spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. spiritual blessings. Just look at Ephesians chapter
1. We read this passage so many times, but just look at it again
and stop and think, what a blessing. You talk about a spiritual blessing.
Now for those that the Lord has everlastingly loved, Ephesians
chapter 1 verse 4. according as He has chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world." Now, the fullness
of being in Christ, I've heard men try to explain it. I know it has to do with being
represented by. I know that. I know it has to
do with Him being our surety, but the fullness of being found
in Christ, secure in Christ, in the city of refuge, what a
blessing. Protected, secure, surrounded
by, kept by. Why are we in Him? That we should
be holy and without blame before Him, before the Father in love. Without blame. No blame. Having predestinated, here's
another spiritual blessing. Predestinated. He determined
the destination beforehand. Eternally. Predestinated us. unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself, all according to the good pleasure
of His will. In adoption, all the decisions that are made in
adoption is made by the parent. The child makes no decisions.
The parent chooses. God predestinated us unto the
adoption of children. to the praise of the glory of
His grace. Now here's another spiritual
blessing, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved, the
only place we're accepted. Not in our decisions, not in
our will, not in our works, not in Christ. Accepted of God, in
whom we have redemption through His blood, sold under sin, bondage,
bound in trespasses, redeemed through His blood, and we have
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. There
are some people that are blessed in this world. And one day we
are going to know it fully. We know it now in part. We know it by faith. We see through
a glass darkly, we see it's cloudy, but one day we're going to know
him as he is. We're going to see him. I was
thinking about just the other day, going to Brother Henry's
funeral, and I thought to myself, I wonder, I wonder what he knows
now. I wonder what Scott sees now. Martha, those that have died
in the faith, they know Him. And they know as they are known. And they behold Him. What a blessing. Spiritual blessing. God is blessed. Here's the source of the blessing. I'll read Jeremiah 17.7. Blessed. Now that word blessed there means
has God's blessing upon. It means been caused to bend
the knee. Blessed. God has done something
for somebody. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in the Lord. And whose hope, confidence, the
Lord is. Now that's a blessed man. That
trusts totally in the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing else. Doesn't
trust anything else. That's the source. Now here's
the result. This word blessed is the result
of that. Blessed or happy is everyone
that feareth, that respects the Lord and walketh in His ways. Blessed, happy is he whose transgression
is forgiven and whose sin is covered. Now for just a few minutes
I want, before we partake of the Lord's table, I want us to
look at Matthew chapter 5 and just look at the first 12 verses. I'm just going to make a couple
of comments on each verse. And I want us to just hear. The
Lord, Scripture says in verse 1 of chapter 5 of Matthew, in
seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain. And when
He was set, His disciples came unto Him, and He opened His mouth,
and He taught them saying. Now, the Lord is preaching to
a group of disciples, not the twelve. Not to say they weren't
there, but it doesn't merely mean the twelve. It means the
followers, those that were following Him at that time. The scripture
declares in verse 1, Went up into a mountain, He was set,
His disciples came unto Him. They approached Him and came
with a desire to hear. what He had to say. Not only
were they getting ready to benefit from what He was about to say,
but we are right now. He's getting ready to preach
a message to them, a message called the Sermon on the Mount,
which goes from 5, 6, and 7 in Matthew. He says in verse 3,
blessed, and this word here and these following words of blessed
means happy. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed of God are those
that know something about their spiritual poverty. They've been
taught something of man's ruin. Now man fell in the garden. He fell. He was ruined in the
garden. And he's totally unable. Man is born totally incapable
of doing anything to help himself. He cannot pay the debt that is
owed to God's broken law. Now, why is that such a blessing? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those that know that
they cannot do anything. They're blessed. Why? Because
by the grace of God, being taught that, they also are taught that
there's no salvation in any other but the Lord Jesus Christ. But
listen to this, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed is every
man, every woman that knows he cannot, period. That knows he cannot reconcile
himself back to God. He knows it in heart. Every man,
every woman born in Adam, in an unregenerate state, thinks
they can. But those that are truly blessed,
poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To them belongs
all that God Almighty has prepared for His people from before the
foundation of the world. A blessed sinner is one that
knows that he is spiritually broke and has nothing to pay. You that truly know something
of your total depravity. You know something of it. We
don't know all of it. We know something of it. We don't know
the depths of it. The Lord's been pleased to show
us in part that we're not totally despair, but you that truly know
something of your total depravity. Let me ask you this. Aren't you
thankful? Thankful that God showed you
that. Show you that you can. The scripture declares it, but
man by nature just doesn't know it. Those that think themselves
to be rich in their so-called ability or will or spirituality,
actually the scripture declares them to be wretched, miserable,
poor, blind, naked, Psalm 34, 18, The Lord is nigh, He's near
unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be
of a contrite spirit. A contrite spirit is the definition,
crushed to powder. The Lord is near to those that
realize I'm a crushed creature. I'm guilty. Verse 4. Blessed
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. I want you to notice how many
times in these scriptures this word S-H-A-L-L is said. They shall. One that knows something
of his spiritual poverty. Blessed are those that see it.
They're poor in spirit. But what's the result of that?
Well, they mourn. What do they mourn? They mourn
over the indwelling sin. They see, they grieve, and that
grieving over it is a very profitable thing. The Lord said that's a
blessing. It's a blessing. Paul said, Oh wretched man that
I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? And the Lord said, that's a blessing.
You're a blessed man, Paul. Blessed of God. Blessed to grieve. Blessed to mourn. Why? It draws
us to Him. Lord, hear my prayer. Lord, forgive
me. Lord, forgive me for what I'm
about to say. I don't know how to say it. Everything
that I say needs to be repented of. Blessed are they that mourn. Why? For. Because. Because. They shall be comforted. They shall experience comfort. Isn't it wonderful when you're
truly brought down that you can be comforted? The only thing
that comforts a broken sinner, God's Word. Listen, David said,
this is my comfort in my affliction. Thy Word hath quickened me. Your Word has enlivened me. That
Word that reveals the Father who loved me and chose me, the
Son who redeemed me, Spirit of God that regenerated me and kept
me. Here's the comfort in the midst
of suffering, in the midst of mourning. I quote this scripture
so many times, I need to hear it. I will never leave thee. I will never forsake thee. Verse 5, blessed are the meek.
for they shall inherit the earth. The meek, not easily provoked, but easily pacified. Patient in adversity, in injury,
with a spirit of submission unto the Lord. Meekness, meekness. I think of, well, Eli came to
my mind. I mentioned this passage a few
weeks ago. Eli had two sons, Hoffman and
Phineas, rebellious boys, but they were his boys. They were
his boys. Being his boys, you know he loved
them, but he knew, he knew, That it's the Lord. When those boys,
when God killed them, that's what He said. It's the Lord. Let Him do what seemeth Him good. That's meekness. Meekness is
submission to God's will. Meekness to God's providence.
Meekness to God's direction. Meekness is the fruit of God's
Spirit. And it's only learned by experience. You just can't learn it any other
way by experiencing it. That's chastisement, the Lord
teaching us. David said in Psalm 119.71, it
is good for me that I've been afflicted, that I might learn
by statutes, that I might be taught, that I might be trained
up. Train up a child. Train up a child. Only God can
train up a child. Only God trains all His children.
All God's children are trained. They're all taught. There's none
without chastisement. If they're without chastisement,
it's because they're not the Lord's. To learn meekness by
the sovereign hand of Almighty God is a glorious treasure. The meek, the quieted, the content,
in Christ, listen, they shall inherit the earth. What earth? This earth? Let's go burn up. Ah, that new
earth. That new earth. When He makes
all things new, the meek before God, those that are submissive,
trusting, they're heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
They'll have all with Christ that comes to Him, which is everything. Verse six, blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Hungering and thirsting for this
world's good, which we all do. I mean, let's just be honest.
But it never satisfies. Whatever you have, you need,
you want more. You don't need it, you want it.
Whatever we got, we want more. But a hunger and a thirst, truly
for righteousness, the righteousness of Christ, that's a blessing. Blessed of God. Righteousness
of this world, the scripture declares it to be nothing more
than filthy rags. Paul says dumb is what it is.
That's dumb. Righteousness that men think
that they have established. I obeyed the Lord. I ABCD. I did this. I did that. Paul
said it's dumb. That's dumb. That's all it's
worth. Righteousness that has been wrought
out by the Lord Jesus Christ. Perfect, holy obedience. This is my beloved Son in whom
I'm well pleased. Hear Him. Hear what He has to
say. That's what we're doing right
here. This is what the Lord says. Blessed, blessed, happy are they
which hunger. and thirst. And I, not just, you know, well
it's about 10.30, 11 o'clock in the morning. Y'all hungry?
Anybody hungry? I don't know, I'm not really
that hungry. Well, we can stop and get something if y'all want
to. Well, I don't know. We can go, he ain't hungry. He's
not hungry. But I'm talking about somebody
that is truly at that point If I don't have something to eat,
I'm going to die. If I don't have something to
drink, I'm not, not just, just take a sip, you know. Sometimes
I'll watch people, you know, they'll have a bottle of water.
It makes me think of this. They'll open up a bottle of water.
Look. You weren't thirsty. You just
happened to have it. It was just, but I'm talking
about you hadn't had a drink of water in two days. If I don't get a drink of water,
I'm talking about hungering and thirsting. Oh, that the Lord
would grant me a hunger and a thirst like that. That's a happy man. That's a happy woman. Blessed
are they that hunger and long to have a hunger in their soul,
a starving hunger and a slaking thirst to be robed in His righteousness. to eat of the bread of heaven
and to drink of the fountain of the water of life and to dine
nowhere else. If I could just eat and drink
of Him, that's a happy man. That's a happy man, a happy woman.
For they shall be filled. They're going to be satisfied. Verse 7. are the merciful, for they shall
obtain mercy. Being merciful is an attribute,
that's a characteristic, that exhibits compassion toward others. I read this when writers said
it's kind, it's gracious, it's forgiving, It's the effects of
God's grace and our vital union with Him. I told you what Brother
Maurice Montgomery told me. He said, Marvin, he said, a believer
can always be gracious. They can always be gracious. When I was in Louisiana, there
was a man He crossed my family's path. And he claimed to be a believer.
He claimed to believe the five points of Calvinism. He claimed
to believe the truth. And he was the most unlovely,
hardest, most arrogant, disrespectful, mean. He was just mean. He was
mean. And he took the gospel and he
used it like it was a hammer to just beat people. He just had the most sour attitude
about him. And in time, the Lord was pleased
to expose him. Expose him. And he just, he left. He left. Never did believe it.
And every time I think of ungraciousness, he's one of the ones I think
about. He was just haughty, arrogant, blessed, or the merciful, the
kind, the considerate, the gracious. The scripture says, for they
shall obtain mercy. They shall obtain mercy. Verse
8, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Now here's
a character of one who stands in regenerating grace, accepted
in Christ. Man by nature is born with a
wicked heart. It's evil, a heart that's wrathful
toward God, but a pure heart. Blessed, the scriptures are,
are the pure in heart. Now what kind of a heart is that? A pure heart? Is there anybody
in this room that would say, well, I tell you, I can certainly
detect in me a pure heart. I can't either. A pure heart,
one that is absolutely holy. Let me tell you what that is. That's a new heart given in regenerating
grace. That which is born of God, what? Sineth not. A pure heart. That's a heart
made willing in the day of God's power. That new heart. I'll give them a new heart. That's what scripture says. I'm
going to remove that heart of stone. It's not going to reign.
It's not like, I say this every time, that stony heart that has
been removed from its dominance. Now the presence of sin is there,
but there's only one heart that rules in a believer. And it's
that new heart, given by the Spirit of God in regeneration. The old man is still there. The
effects of sin are still there. And there's a battle that's going
on. But there is a pure heart, blessed are the pure in heart. And they lay no claim. to that
purity by their own works or efforts. They confess, as the
Apostle Paul says, but by the grace of God I am what I am. What a believer sees of himself
is a rebellion. That's what he sees. That's what
he can see. But he believes God. And what God says is there is
what's there. A believer says, well, I don't
see it like that. What God says is there, is there. You see the effects of it. You
love God. You love His people. You long
to be with Him. You cry unto Him in prayer. You
seek Him. You hunger and thirst after righteousness.
You do. Not as you ought. Not as any
of us ought. Not as we would. Not as we shall. But we do. Blessed are the pure
in heart. truly blessed of God. God's regenerated
them. God's given them a new man, put
a new man there. One that the Lord has imparted. They shall see God. Job 19, 25, 27, For I know that
my Redeemer liveth. You know, that's a blessing.
That's a blessing. Job said, I know that my Redeemer
liveth. Here's another blessing, that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. You think
about this. He's coming back, and he's going
to stand on this earth. Job said, although after my skin
worms destroy this body, I know that this old body right here
is going down. I can see. I can feel. I'm getting
older. I know that. I can feel the effects
of it. I'm not, I'm really not like
I used to say, I used to think. Ten feet tall, bulletproof, I
can do whatever I need to do, I can do it. Physically speaking,
I can handle it. I can't do that anymore. Stuff
I did when I first moved here, you know, trying to work around
the house, things that I did, I don't want to try that anymore. Why? I just don't think I want
to hurt myself, that's what it is. Though after my skin, worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh, God's going to take this
flesh and it's going to be changed. I don't know exactly how, but
I know this, I believe this, God's going to change this flesh.
It's going to be this flesh, but it's going to be changed
flesh. It's going to be immortal flesh. It's going to be really
flesh. It's going to be this. Whenever
the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven from the Mount of
Olives, what do those two angels say? You men of Galilee, why
stand you here gazing into heaven? Know you not that this Jesus,
this same Jesus that you see, ascending into heaven, shall
return in like manner. He was just there. They were
just right there by Him. He was right there in the flesh.
This same Jesus, same one, is coming back just like that. Though after my skin worms destroy
this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for
myself. And mine eyes shall behold, and
not another, though my reigns be consumed within me. This is what Job was saying. This heart, this old man, is
going to die. And I know it's going to go to
corruption. But in my flesh, I'm going to
see God. I'm going to see Him for myself. And this is what
my soul longs for. This is what I desire. Verse
9. are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called the children of God. Not those that think
that they've established peace with God, but peace with God
that is accomplished by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Peacemakers whose heart is ruled and directed by the Prince of
Peace, and those who strive to live peaceably with all men,
especially those of the household of faith. And they do so establishing
peace with one another. They do it as a fellowship with
one another and through the preaching of the gospel. Those peacemakers,
they shall be called the children of God. And then the last verses,
blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake. for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall
revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad
for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. These that are persecuted for
righteousness' sake, for Christ's sake, are those that God keeps by grace, by power, through faith,
unto the day of their final salvation. Now, a stony ground hero, according
to the Lord's parable, will wither under the persecution of unbelievers,
but not those that are kept of God. They're kept by power. The Lord told His disciples in
John 15 and 18, if the world hate you, you know that it hated
me before it hated you. No one hates someone that's honest. People don't hate you if you're
honest. Nobody hates you if you're faithful
in your community or in your house. No one is hated for being
fair, as far as the world calls fair. But let me tell you why
men and women are hated. It's for the declaration that
man cannot save himself. Men are hated because men and
women believe that salvation is altogether of grace. In Christ alone, through faith,
you preach the truth that man's own righteousness You tell somebody
that what you're doing, if you think that you're converted because
of what you're doing, because you walked down, because you
walked down, because you prayed, because you were baptized, you
tell somebody, if you think you're saved because you did that, you're
lost. Because you believe in salvation
work. Now, they'll hate you for that. Because now you're getting
to the heart of their God, of their liturgy God. Blessed are
they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. Theirs is the Kingdom of
Heaven. The Lord set forth those that
are truly blessed. That's the character of a believer.
Where you find these characters exhibited, you find a believer. Where they're not, you don't.
God Almighty has blessed some people. And by the grace of God,
he's blessed some of us. May the Lord bless us and teach
us for Christ's sake. Amen.