Now, this is commonly called
the Sermon on the Mount. And in this sermon, our Lord
is not telling His disciples how men are saved. He gives the fullest light on
that subject elsewhere. But in these verses, what our
Lord is declaring is how men and women act who are saved.
That's what this is all about. And you notice the first word
in the sermon, verse 3, is blessing. Blessing. I'm sure you've noticed
this, but in the event you haven't, turn to the last chapter, the
last verse, the last word of the Old Testament, Malachi. Chapter 4, verse 6, the very
last word written, uttered by a prophet in the Old Testament
is curse. Lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse. That's all the law can do, is
curse. That's all any system of works
can do for sinners, to curse them. Cursed is everyone that
continueth not in all things written in the law to do them.
That's the result, a curse. But here the Savior begins the
ministry of the gospel with the word blessed. Not cursed, but
blessed. Blessed, which is a pronouncement
of great happiness and great favor. The Greek word for blessed
is well-off. You heard people say, he's well-off.
If he's blessed of the Lord, he's well-off, fortunate. That's what it means, well-off,
fortunate. If you'll turn with me to Luke
chapter 1, just a moment, let's see what the Lord said to Mary
through the angel. This word, blessed, means great
happiness, favored of God, fortunate, well-off, blessed. In Luke 1,
verse 26, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from
God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin, espoused
to a man whose name was Joseph. of the house of David. Joseph
was of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And
the angel came in under her and said, Hail, thou that are highly
favored, graciously accepted, or much grace, highly favored,
the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou. Blessed art thou. among women. And here in this, in our text
tonight of Matthew 5, beginning with verse 3, our Lord uses that
word nine times. Nine times in these few verses,
He says, blessed. Blessed. And you know, verse
3 says it's not a future state He's talking about. Not blessed
shall be, blessed are. Right now. are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are the meek. Right now,
this is not a future state. This is a present state. Not
shall be, but are. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Right now, beloved, now are we
sons of God. Right now. Right now. It does not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know when He shall appear, we'll be like Him.
We're blessed now with all spiritual blessings. in the heavenlies
in Christ Jesus. We're already sons of God. Alright, another thing about
these verses before I get into them more fully, is these what
they call Beatitudes. They stand together. They spring
one out of the other. Each one marks a growth in grace. Each one is a work of grace. Each one is a deepening of spiritual
experience and life. Now watch this. Blessed are the
poor in spirit. They're poor in spirit and therefore
verse 4 says they mourn. Because of their poverty, they
mourn. And because of their poverty and their mourning, they're meek,
they're humble. And because of their mourning
and their poverty and their meekness, they cry for help. They hunger
and thirst for righteousness. And because of a realization
of their own unworthiness, and because God has filled them with
his righteousness, they're merciful. And they're pure in heart, and
they'll see God. You see how they... It's like...
Turn to Romans 8 a minute. We've got the same experience
here, the same... the same truth. In Romans 8,
verse 29, it says, For whom He did foreknow, He did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of His Son. Whom He foreknew,
He predestinated that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Whom He predestinated, He called. See the progression. And whom
He called, He justified. And whom He justified, He glorified.
You see what I'm saying? He foreknew us, therefore He
predestinated us to be like Christ. Whom He predestinated, He called.
Whom He called, He justified. Whom He justified, He glorified.
And when God brings a man to see his poverty of spirit, he's
going to mourn over it. That's a natural consequence.
And being a mourning, mourning apart, genuinely affected by
his poverty of spirit, he's going to be meek. It's going to whittle
him down and put him in the dust. And he's going to cry for help.
He's going to hunger for righteousness. And like somebody said, they
spring one out of the other. Each one marks a growth in grace,
a work of grace, a deepening of spiritual experience. And
each one depends on the one before. You can't go ahead to the calling
without the foreknowledge, you can't go ahead to a glorification
without the justification. You just can't jump ahead. So
let's go back to Matthew 5 here, and let's look at them one at
a time. Matthew 5. It says here, "...Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Now,
this is not the poor in material things. He doesn't say, are the
poor in this world, in material things. For many poor people
are vicious, and they're thieves, and they're violent people. Because
they're in poverty materially doesn't mean they're in Christ
and in salvation. What is this? These are those
who are poor in spirit. Arthur Pinck said this, he said,
there are people who spiritually have nothing and are nothing
and can do nothing before God. David summed it up in Psalm 40
this way, Oh Lord, I'm poor and needy. I'm poor and needy. And this was a man who had everything
materially, but yet poor and needy. Yet the Lord thinketh
upon me, and, Lord, Thou art my help and my deliverer. Make
no tarrying, O my God, because I am poor and needy." And then
in Psalm 86, he says, Lord, bow down Thine ear and hear me, for
I am poor and needy. That's what we're talking about
here, the contrite heart, the broken heart overseeing. There's
a loneliness of heart. You see, this poverty of spirit
empties a man that he might be filled. This poverty of spirit
strips a person that he might be clothed. This poverty of spirit
lays the beggar like Bartimaeus at the feet of the Son of God
so that he may be made whole. This poverty of spirit humbles
the proud heart so that God may exalt it in due time. And our Lord came, He said, to
preach glad tidings to the poor. To the poor. Glad tidings. That's
Isaiah 61 in the Messianic prophecy. He said, the Lord, the Spirit
of the Lord is upon me. He's anointed me to preach good
news to the poor. Poor in heart and spirit. All
right, notice the second one now, and theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Verse 4 says, And blessed are
they that mourn. Do you see now what we mean by
one springing out of the others? Why are these people mourning?
Because they're poor in spirit. Why are these people grieving
before God? As the prophets said, mourning
apart, because of their poverty of spirit, because of their sins. David's prayer over here in Psalm
51 is a classic example. This is the only example we need
to use right here. Although there are many examples,
but here's the classic example. Here's that morning over guilt,
over sin. Psalm 51, Have mercy upon me,
O God, according to Thy loving kindness. According to the multitudes,
I tend to mercies, not what I deserve, but your mercies blot out my
transgressions. Wash me, wash me throughly from
my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge
my transgressions. My sin is ever before me. Against
thee and thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight,
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and clear
when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity. He mourns over his sins, and
he mourns over the source of his sins, the nature. In sin
my mother conceived me. Behold, thou desirest truth in
the inward part, in the hidden part, Thou shalt make me to know
wisdom, O purge me with hyssop, and I'll be clean. Wash me, and
I'll be whiter than the snow." One of the old hymn writers said,
Lord, let me mourn for naught but sin, and after none but Thee. And then, O Lord, I would, O
that I might, a constant Mourner be. Well, it says here, blessed
are they, the poor in spirit, that mourn over their sin, they're
going to be comforted. They're going to be comforted.
The Lord is nigh unto them of a broken heart. The Lord save
us such as be of a contrite spirit. And Paul said in Romans 7, let
me just read this to you, Romans 7, he said, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? And here's the victory, here's
the comfort, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's
my victory, that's my comfort, that's my deliverance. Blessed
are the poor, the brokenhearted, the contrite spirit. Blessed
are they that mourn. They're going to be comforted.
Comforted with the assurance of God's grace in Christ. All
right, notice the next one. Blessed are the meek. I'll tell
you who the meek man is. It's the man who knows what he
is by nature and what he is by birth. what he is by practice. The man who frequently mourns
before God and weeps over his sins is a meek man. You see,
meekness and humility is characteristic of those who have felt their
own poverty and wept over it. And meekness and humility is
not a product of the human nature. This old human nature is proud
It's proud and haughty by nature. Mourning and meekness and humility
is a fruit of the Spirit. Let me show you that in Galatians
5. This is the fruit of the Spirit. It says that positively in Galatians
5, verse 22. It's not a product of the human
heart. We're proud by nature. Meekness and humility is a product
and fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.22. But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. Meekness is a hard work. It manifests
itself both in poverty and plenty. Now, a lot of times, poverty
will lead to a fake meekness. For example, the doorbell rings
and you go to the door and there stands a beggar with his hat
in his hand, ragged and dirty and diseased and having nothing. And he's so meek and so humble
and pushes his hair back, holds his hat and says, you wouldn't
give a poor old beggar something to eat would, just so humble.
You say, my, what a meek man. Well, let him win the lottery
and let's see him next week. He just might be the most arrogant
thing that's ever turned loose on society. So this is not the
kind of meekness I'm talking about. This is a meekness. Turn
to Philippians 4. I want you to hear what Paul
says here. This is a meekness and humility, a genuine meekness
and humility, created in the heart by the Spirit of God, which
manifests itself both in poverty and plenty, especially in plenty. Especially. Because he knows
a man can receive nothing except it be given him from above. In
failure or success, in weakness or strength, Philippians 4 verse
11. Listen to Paul. Not that I speak
in respect of want. I've learned in whatsoever state
I am therewith to be content. Daisy just sang about content
with beholding his face. My all to His pleasure resigned. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. While blessed with a sense of
His love, a palace, a toy, would appear. And prisons, where Paul
was when he wrote this, would palace as proof if Jesus would
dwell with me there. See, read on, listen to Philippians
4, 12. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. I've been both places. I've been
on the bottom and I've been on the top. Everywhere and in all things
I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. It doesn't really matter. I can
do all things through Christ which strengthens me. There's
what I'm talking about. Meekness is a hard work which
manifests itself the same in poverty or plenty, in failure
or success, in weakness or in strength. The genuinely humble
and meek persons are gentle. They're gentle and they care
for the feeling of others and the feelings of others. And they
use their strength to carry the burden of others. The meek are
teachable. The meek are generous and find
their happiness in making others happy. And the meek are of a
quiet spirit, who by their silence do not condone error, but who
show patience and longsuffering because they know their own error.
That's what makes them quiet. And then he says, blessed are
the meek, they shall inherit the earth. And I ask you, who
but these should inherit the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness? Who but these? So, poor in spirit
leads to genuine contrition and mourning over sin, which leads
to a meekness and humility before God and men, which leads to verse
6, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst for righteousness. Pray tell me, who are these who
desire righteousness, who hunger for righteousness, who thirst
for righteousness? Who are these but those who have
none of their own? That's the fellow that's hungering
and thirsting for righteousness is the fellow that doesn't have
any and knows it. Poor in spirit, mourning over
his emptiness, poverty. They have no righteousness, they're
poor in spirit. They grieve over their nakedness,
they mourn before God. They know they're nothing and
cannot produce a righteousness or please God, so that's made
of meat before God and men. They cry like the publican, Lord
be merciful to me. They cry, Lord, if you will,
make me clean. They cry with David, Lord, create
in me a clean heart, renew within me a right spirit. And this righteousness which
they desire is twofold. Turn to Philippians 1, that's
twofold. This is what they desire, a clean heart and a right spirit. A clean heart and a right spirit. Justified and sanctified. Philippians
1. Listen to Paul here. This righteousness
they crave and desire is Philippians chapter 3. Let me read that first.
Philippians 3. He said in Philippians 3 verse
8, the last line of verse 8, that I may win Christ, verse
9, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith." Now, we ought
to know something about that, don't we? We preached a lot about
that. Alright, here's the other, Philippians
1. Philippians 1. Verse 10, that
you may approve things that are excellent, that you might learn
the true value of those things, that you may be sincere and without
offense in the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits
of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ under the glowing
praise of God. See what I'm saying there, Ken? legal standing of being justified, cleansed
by the blood, clothed in the righteousness. But there's this
being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which causes
us to delight in those things. Delight in them. All right, look
at verse 7. And that makes a man merciful. Well, he says, those people who
hunger and thirst after that righteousness, they're going
to have it. They'll be filled. And then he says, watch this,
now, blessed are the merciful. Now, you tell me who are the
merciful. Well, just let me tell you who
the merciful are. That person who has felt his
own guilt and sinfulness, it has driven him to his knees before
God, mourning, grieving over his sin, his sins, and his filthy
rag righteousness. And it has humbled him within,
and he's cried for mercy and cleansing and a work of grace. And he's aware of the fact that
all that he is and all that he has and all that he knows is
by the grace of God. With David, he says, Lord, who
am I? Who am I? What is my people, family that
you've blessed us, shown such favor? That man will be merciful. He will be merciful. He'll be
merciful because he has received mercy. That's right. John Wesley was on board a ship. He and Whitefield
used to come back and forth to Georgia. Whitefield had an orphanage
down in the state of Georgia back in the 1700s, and they used
to come over here and preach a lot in Georgia up down the
east coast. But Mr. Wesley was on his way
to Georgia, and the governor of Georgia, under the crown,
I guess, was on board that ship. And he had a special compartment,
a fancy, nice, beautiful compartment, and he had all kinds of servants.
The governor of Georgia had all kinds of servants. And one of
his servants was caught stealing his wine, drinking the governor's
wine. And the governor had the officers
bring him topside on the ship. And he was going to have him
flogged. He was going to have him stripped and beaten with
a whip in front of everybody. And Mr. Wesley came to the governor
in front of all those people, and that man standing there waiting
to be flogged. And he begged the governor to
show mercy and forgive this poor man and not flog him. To which
the governor replied, Mr. Wesley, I never forgive. And it got very quiet on board
that vessel. And Wesley strongly and clearly
said to the governor, then, sir, I hope you never sin, because
it's certain you'll never be forgiven. He that forgiveth not
those who sin against him will not be forgiven. See that? That's where generosity and mercy
and kindness, that's where it's born. It's not a duty to be performed. It's not a standard to be followed. It's an experience that is born
of our own need. Our Lord said, to whom much is
forgiven, they love much. To whom much is forgiven, they
love much. And there's no shortcuts. And
He says here, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy. The merciful do not obtain mercy
because they're merciful. Their showing mercy indicates
that they've learned it. They've learned it. And they
themselves have been objects of mercy. They know what mercy
is about. Then verse 8, blessed are the
pure in heart, they're going to see God. Now, no man or woman
will profess to be pure in heart. When I read that, everybody in
here simultaneously looked at that and shook his head and said,
That's certainly not me, pure in heart. But yes, yes it is.
Yes it is. The word pure here is clean and
clear. Look it up. Clean and clear. Now first of all, we're clean
by the blood of Christ. Our Lord was going to wash the
disciples' feet, and Peter said, not going to wash mine. He said,
if I don't wash you, you have no part. Peter said, wash me
all over, my head, my feet and all. He said, you don't need
to be washed, you're clean. You're clean. But he said, not
all of you, for Judas was that. But you're clean. You're clean. You've been washed in the blood.
So you're clean. You're pure in God's sight. The
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us. That's what
the word means. Pure means clean. And it means
clear. What's clear? Clear of hypocrisy
and insincerity. And you are. Peter said that. He said, Lord, You know all things. You know I love You. There's
no insincerity or hypocrisy involved in this relationship I have with
You. You know I love You. See what I'm talking about? Pure. Look it up. You can look it up
yourself. That's what you got a concordance
for. It means clean and clear. And we're clean through the blood
of Christ, and we're clear by the grace of God in that our
hearts are purified from dead works to serve
the living God. I'm not trusting my works. And
you're not either. There's not a person from that
wall to that wall, from this curtain to that clock back there,
not a person in this building that's trusting his works for
salvation. I know better than that. Not a blessed one. You
know how I know that? Because we don't have any. How
couldn't you trust something that doesn't exist? I know that, and you know that.
But our hearts are purified from dead work. Secondly, our hearts
are sincere. We believe Christ died for our
sins. Don't you believe that? Why,
sure you do. Sure you do. And you can say
this, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. But what little
faith I do have in Christ is not anywhere else, is it? Not an out of, it's anywhere
else. It's in Christ and Christ alone.
And that's what we're talking about. They're pure in heart.
Their hearts have been cleansed with the blood and cleared with
the Spirit. They're resting in Christ completely,
surely. To whom shall we go? That's what
Peter said. He said, well, you go away, so
to whom shall we go? Now that's the words of life.
You got anywhere else to go? No. In fact, we've tried other
places, like the woman with the issue of blood. We've tried all
this other. It didn't work, did it? We found peace in Christ. And it says here, these folks
are going to see God. They're going to see God now, in His
Word, in His Gospel, in His Son. See the glory of God in Christ.
They're going to see Him later, face to face. Then face to face.
Alright, verse 9, blessed are the peacemakers. It's not making
peace with God. Christ made peace with God through
the blood of His cross. But these people we've been talking
about here, a church that's all this going on, yow yow, you know,
and I don't understand that. What do we got to yow yow about?
Just a bunch of sinners saved by grace. These folks that are
poor in spirit and that mourn over their sins, and had been
brought down into the dust and cried for mercy and got it, they're
peacemakers. Isn't that right? They're peacemakers. They have peace with God and
the peace of God, and they're mature believers who promote
peace among the brethren. Those people are peacemakers. They're pure in heart. They publish
the gospel of peace. They promote the gospel of peace.
They promote peace and unity between men. They have peaceable
dispositions. They live at peace as much as
within them, with all men. That's right. It's men of peace,
and they're called the children of God. Unfortunately, the world doesn't
look with favor upon this type of person. Look at verse 10.
"'Blessed are you which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, yours
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall
revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against
you falsely.' That's the way they treat you. You see, this
character here that I've been reading about, or the Lord's
been telling us, This character that our Lord praises, the world
despises. This conduct that our Lord honors,
the world ridicules. They laugh at you. This attitude
that our Lord blesses, which is characteristic of His people,
the world condemns. It's dog-eat-dog out there, they
say. Well, you're not a dog. You're
a sheep. The dogs will eat dogs, but the
sheep won't eat dogs. Only Apaches eat dogs. They don't. You see, to be rich,
we become poor. It's a totally different thing
from the world's philosophy. To be rich, you become poor.
To be filled, you become empty. To live, you die. To be wise,
you become a fool. To be lifted up and exalted,
you come down in the dust. Now, the world laughs at that.
They revile it, persecute it, speak evil of it. But wait a
minute, verse 13, don't run off and hide. Don't isolate yourself. You want to sometimes, I know. You'd be glad when you move out
in the country with a lake in the backyard and just sit on
a bank and fish and not need anybody, anytime, anywhere. But
that's not what the Lord intended. He said, they're not of this
world, even as I'm not of the world, but they're in the world.
And we're in the world for a purpose. What is that purpose? Verse 13.
You're the salt of the earth. All right, let me see if I can
work on this just a minute. You're the salt of the earth.
These folks he's been talking about. Not there. And these folks that the world
doesn't like, persecutes them, lies on them and reviles them. But they're the salt. Now, the
earth is mankind, which like meat, it spoils quickly without
salt. Y'all use it in Africa a lot
without refrigeration. I know they used to have it in
the Philippines when I was over there. They didn't have refrigeration, so
they preserved meat with salt, rubbed it in. Salt preserved.
Without it, the meat spoils. The primary function of salt
is to preserve. When it's rubbed into the meat,
salt preserves it against those agencies which tend to spoil
the meat and ruin the meat. And the presence of the Lord's
Spirit and the Lord's Gospel and the Lord's Church in this
world is to preserve it. That's right. To preserve it. To preserve it. Turn to 2 Thessalonians, and
I'll show you that. 2 Thessalonians. The Lord will bless a whole city
for the sake of His church. The Lord will bless that whole
village where you live, Kim, because you're there, because
those native preachers are there, because those churches are there.
They're the salt of Gognio and Sassandra and Ivory Coast and
those places up and down there. God put them there, and they're
the salt that keeps it from rotting and ruining and corrupting and
going to the dogs. Listen to II Thessalonians, chapter
2, verse 7. The mystery of iniquity doth
already work, only he that now letteth will let. That word letteth
is hinder. Only he that hinders will hinder
till he be taken out of the way. And when it is the Holy Spirit,
when the church is taken out of here, then shall the wicked
be revealed. That's when she's going all the
way down. When God takes away spirit, takes away his preacher,
takes away his people. You're the salt. You're the salt. You preserve. God blesses because
of you. He blesses a family because of
his child. He blesses a workplace. He'll keep a company going to
support his children. That's right. Use salt. Well,
another function of salt is what? It's to flavor. Salt flavors
meat. I have a hard time eating meat
without salt. I guess I could learn to, but
I wouldn't like it. It's flat. And salt takes away the flatness
and gives it flavor. And life is flat and pointless
and hopeless without the hope of eternal life, without the
gospel. That's the reason I can't understand
how people can live. People say they love Christ and
love the Word, love the gospel, and live where there's no salt,
where there's no gospel. No gospel, no preaching. No place
to come on Wednesday night and Sunday and hear the gospel of
Christ. How do you survive? Life is flat, pointless, pointless,
a dead-end street without the gospel of Christ. It is for me. I believe it is for you. Dead-end. Well, he says that if the salt
has lost its savor, what is the savor? It's what makes the believer
different. It's what makes salt salt. It's
what gives salt its strength and power, is the savor. And
what if this salt has lost its savor? It's not worth anything.
Somebody says, throw it on the compost pile. No, you can't put
salt on the compost pile. It ain't worth that. And if this
believer has lost what we've been talking about, his mourning,
his meekness, his hunger, his peace for disposition, his kindness,
he's good for nothing. but to be thrown out, cast underfoot.
Salt, yeah, God's put us where He's put, He put me where He's
put me, to flavor the meat, to preserve
the meat. And if I lose my disposition
and my characteristics and what God gave me by His grace, I'm
not any use anymore. Paul said, I keep my body and
bring it into subjection. That's when preaching to others,
I become a castaway, castaway of no more use to God. That's
what he's talking about there. Stents forth good for nothing.
Then he says in verse 14, watch this, you're the light of the
world. You're the light of the world. The world's in spiritual
darkness, and the only light our world has, spiritually, is
us. That's just so. We've seen the
glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
us the knowledge of Christ. We're the only light to God.
But what do you do with the light? Well, you don't put it under
a bushel. Listen. You're the light of the world.
A city that's set on a hill cannot be hidden, and men do not light
a candle and put it under a bushel. They put it on a candlestick,
and they give light to everybody in the house. That's what he's
done. He's put us right out here in
the open, poor in spirit, mourn, meet, merciful, peacemakers,
God's children, to preserve the meat, flavor the meat, to give
light. Show the way. A light points
the way. A light illuminates people and gives them understanding.
A man who walks in the light doesn't walk in darkness. A man
who walks in darkness stumbles. People say, well, show me. Well,
be in the position to show them on the candlestick. Now watch
this. And let your light, your light,
mine and yours, so shine, where? Before men, wherever you are,
that they may see your good works, that they may see your attitude
and spirit and thankfulness sincerity and generosity and kindness and
forgiving spirit. And what will they do when they
see it? They'll glorify your Father. They won't glorify you,
because they know you're not that way by nature. God gave
it to you. God made you what you are. God
made... Paul said, it's not I, it's Christ in me. I am what
I am by the grace of God. We have any goodness, it's His
goodness. Any knowledge, it's His knowledge.
Any grace, it's His grace. But let them see it. Everybody's not going to glorify
God, but his people will. His children will. Your children
will. Those who love God will. They'll
glorify your Father, which is in heaven. All right. I pray the Lord will bless that
to your prophet. Mike, come and lead us in a hymn,
if you will, please.