The Beatitudes

Q: What does the Bible say about being poor in spirit?

Being poor in spirit means recognizing one's spiritual poverty before God, which leads to the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 5:3, Jesus declares, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' This poverty is not about material wealth; it's an acknowledgment of spiritual bankruptcy without God. It signifies a deep awareness of one's sinfulness and need for grace. Throughout scriptures, such as Psalm 40:17, David identifies himself as 'poor and needy,' illustrating that true blessedness comes from recognizing our utter dependence on God’s mercy and grace for salvation, not our self-righteousness.

Q: How do we know the importance of mourning for sin?

Mourning for sin is crucial for true repentance and is an evidence of genuine faith, leading to comfort from God. Jesus states in Matthew 5:4, 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.' This mourning is not about worldly sorrow or grief over life's circumstances, but a profound sorrow for sin and its consequences. This deep awareness of one’s sin against God, as exemplified by David in Psalm 51, leads to restoration and comfort through God’s forgiveness. The mourning that Jesus speaks of acknowledges our desperate need for mercy and is a vital aspect of the believer’s spiritual life, ultimately allowing us to experience God’s comfort and grace.

Q: Why is meekness important for Christians?

Meekness, understood as humility, reflects a heart transformed by the Holy Spirit and is essential for inheriting the new earth. In Matthew 5:5, Jesus says, 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.' Meekness is not a weakness but a product of the Holy Spirit, showcasing one’s humility before God and others. It involves recognizing that all that we have and are comes from God's grace. True meekness is steadfast regardless of circumstances, whether in poverty or abundance, as demonstrated in Philippians 4:12 by Paul. By embodying meekness, believers exhibit a Christ-like attitude that opens the door to spiritual blessings and eternal rewards in the new heaven and earth.

Q: What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Hunger and thirst for righteousness signifies a deep yearning for both justification before God and a life reflecting His holiness. Matthew 5:6 states, 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.' This hunger does not merely seek personal righteousness but acknowledges our insufficiency and turns to the righteousness of Christ. It involves a longing for both a position of righteousness before God (justification) and the moral transformation in our lives (sanctification) that reflects Christ’s character. Paul expresses a similar desire in Philippians 1:11, praying for the fruits of righteousness that glorify God. Therefore, this beatitude highlights our dependence on Christ to fulfill our spiritual thirst.

Q: Why are merciful people blessed?

Merciful individuals reflect the mercy they have received from God and will receive further mercy in return. In Matthew 5:7, Jesus says, 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' This beatitude emphasizes that those who show genuine mercy demonstrate the impact of God’s mercy on their lives. The essence of mercy is unearned favor, mirroring God’s grace toward us. It’s not simply about being kind; it’s about extending forgiveness and compassion without expectation of reward. As believers recognize their own need for mercy, they are called to embody that mercy in their interactions with others, fulfilling the command of Christ and becoming instruments of His grace in the world.

All right, let's look at these,
what we call beatitudes. And as I say, they're marks of
the believer, they're evidences of saving faith. And the first
thing our Lord said in verse 3 is this, blessed or blessed
are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God. Now, he's
not talking here about the poor materially. I tell you, some
of the poor people of this world are the most vicious and conniving
and dishonest and evil and mean people you'll ever meet, the
poor. Our Lord said one time, the poor you have with you always.
A person is not a child of God because he's poor. A person's
not going to inherit heaven because he's poor. I hear people say,
well, he's gone to his reward, he's suffered enough on earth,
he may suffer some more in hell, too. He's not talking about the
poor materially. And I tell you this, he's not
speaking here of the poor spiritually, alone. Now, wait a minute. Everybody's poor spiritually.
They may not know it, but they are. In Revelation, he said, people
say we're rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing.
He said, you don't know it, but you're poor, miserable, and blind. All men are in debt with nothing
to pay spiritually. All men are diseased from sole
of their feet to the top of their heads, Isaiah said. There's no
soundness in them anywhere. All men are clothed in filthy
rags of self-righteousness. All men are ignorant of the of
the truth of God. You neither know me, Christ said,
nor my Father. That's poverty, isn't it? All
men are beggars on the dunghill. They may claim to be rich and
increased with goods and have need of nothing, but our Lord
said there's none righteous, no, not one. There's none that
understand it. There's none that seek it after God. Well, who
are these? Blessed are the poor in spirit.
They're not the poor materially. They're not even the fallen in
Adam, all of them, poor spiritually. These people here are people
who have been made aware of their poverty of spirit. See what I'm
saying? These are they who've been made
aware of their spiritual poverty by the Spirit of God. They may
have much of this world's goods, but they know before God they're
poor spiritually. David said that again and again.
Let me show you that. Turn to Psalm 40, just two or
three places where David, David was a king. David wore a crown. David wore robes of royalty.
David lived in a palace. But before God, David said in
Psalm 40, verse 17, I'm poor and I'm needy. I'm poor and I'm
needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and
my deliverer, O make no tarrying, my God." Turn to Psalm 70. Listen to him over here. Psalm
70, verse 5. But I'm poor and needy. I'm poor
and needy. Make haste unto me, O God. Thou
art my help and my deliverer, O Lord, make no tarrying. And
again, he said in Psalm 86, I'm poor and needy. Job felt it. Job said, I've heard of God by
the hearing of the ear, now mine eyes see it thee, wherefore I
hate myself. I repent and sackcloth the nation.
Isaiah felt it. He said in Isaiah 6, I'm a man
of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips. Mine eyes have seen the Lord.
I'm undone. I'm cut off. And then Paul saw it. Paul the
apostle. Paul, the founder of churches,
Paul, the writer of scripture, Paul, the specially used man
of God. But he said, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? Those are
the people he's talking about here. They're poor in spirit. They've been made to feel and
to experience and enter into their spiritual poverty. The
Pharisee was just as poor as the publican, just as poor as
the publican. Was he not? Just as lost, just
as sinful, just as evil. And yet he stood in the temple
proud and lifted his eyes to heaven and probably his hands
too. And he said, God, I thank you I'm not like other men. I've
tithed and I've fasted twice a week. I give alms to the poor.
I'm no extortioner. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer.
I'm not like that fellow back there. But the publican would
not so much as lift his eyes, let alone his hands, to heaven,
but bowed his head and smote on his breast and cried, O God,
O God, be merciful to me, the sinner." A definite article.
The sinner. If nobody else is a sinner, I
am. If nobody else is evil, I am. If nobody else needs mercy, I
do. Have mercy on me, the sinner. That's a man. Poor in spirit. That's what he's talking about.
And he said, these people that are poor in spirit, theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. What does that mean? It means
they have the gospel preached to them because my Lord came
and said this, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to the needy. to the needy, mercy for the miserable,
grace for the guilty, salvation for sinners, hope for the helpless,
eternal lives for those who have no hope. Theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. They have the gospel preached
to them, they receive the gospel, they embrace the gospel, and
they have an inheritance, Peter said, that's reserved in heaven,
incorruptible and undeviled, that waited for them. are the
poor in spirit. Arthur Pink said it this way.
Who are the poor in spirit? They're people who realize before
God they are nothing, they have nothing, they know nothing, they
deserve nothing. That's it. Theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. My Lord said I didn't come to
call the righteous, I came to call sinners. By God's grace, I can enter in
there. Can you? By God's grace, that's
me. All right, look at the second
one. Blessed are they that mourn. Mourn. Any mourners here? Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. Now, let's start again. This is not This is not people
who mourn and weep over trials and troubles and infirmities
in the flesh. Everybody either has done that
or is doing that or will for this fight so. We're going to
mourn over our children. We're going to mourn over our
lost health. We're going to mourn over the loss of parents. We're
going to mourn over financial problems and difficulties. We're
going to mourn over this and mourn. Everybody here has cried
before and you're going to cry some more. and lie on your bed
at night and cry and not be able to sleep and wonder when the
day is going to dawn. Everybody does that. That's not
what he's talking about here. And secondly, this is not a religious
show at a mourner's bench down in front of the church. Blessed
are they that mourn and the preachers preached Singers have sung, and
the preacher gets to the end of the message and drags people
down here and tells them how terrible they are and how hot
hell is and how beautiful heaven must be, and Mama's over there,
and if you don't do some mourning and scrawling and crying or something,
you're not going to see Mama. So they start all that ballaring
down here, and that's not what he's talking about either. That'll
pass, too. This morning, right here, mourn. Mourn apart, mourn before God. This is a mourning, personal
mourning, in here now. It's not to be seen of men. It's
in here. And it's a mourning before God
over my sins against Him. That's what this is. David's
a perfect example of it. Let's turn to Psalm 51. Now,
we keep talking about David, but I tell you, he's an example
A man after God's own heart, I do know this, he knew the Lord.
And he certainly was poor. He said, I'm poor and needy.
And here he is now, mourning before God. What's he mourning
over? Well, it says here in Psalm 51, verse 1, Have mercy on me,
O God, according to your lovingkindness, according to the multitude of
your tender mercy. Blot out my transgressions. Wash
me. I'm dirty, I'm guilty, I'm filthy. Wash me throughly, throughout,
inside and out, for my iniquities. Cleanse me from my sin. Acknowledge
my transgression. My sin's always in front of me,
against you. And you only have I sinned and
done this evil in your sight that you might be justified when
you speak and clear when you judge me. Behold, I was shapen
in iniquity. In sin did my mother conceive
me. Behold, you desire truth in the
inward part, in the hidden part. You shall make me know wisdom.
Purge me, O God, with hyssop, and I'll be clean. Wash me, and
I'll be whiter than snow." That's mourning. That's mourning. That's mourning. God is now to
them of a broken heart, save us such as be of a contrite spirit. Mourning apart. Mourning apart. What do you mourn over, preacher?
I mourn over my sinful nature. I mourn over the nature that
makes me think what I think and do what I do and say what I say. Paul said that the will is present
with me. How to perform it I find not.
When I would do good, I find a nature, a principle, a law
within me that doesn't want to do good. I mourn over my nature. I mourn over my unbelief. Don't
you? God help my unbelief. I do believe. Don't you believe? I do, but not like I want to,
not like I ought to. Do you? God, I believe. Help my unbelief. I ought to
believe more. I mourn over my sins, O rescued
man that I am. I mourn over my inability. I
mourn before God. I'm not what I ought to be. I'm
not what I want to be. I'm not what I used to be. But
I'm not what I'm going to be either. I'm just not. Are you?
And I mourn. Well, he says this, blessed are
those people, they're going to be comforted. You find any comfort
now? Oh yeah, I find comfort in Christ. There's therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. Who can condemn me? Who can lay anything to my charge?
It is God that justifies. Christ died, yeah. Who can separate
us from the love of God? Oh, I tell you, they're going
to be comforted now by the mercies of God. And they're going to
be comforted later, eternally. I would advise all of us who
mourn, for every look we take in here, take ten looks to Him.
You keep looking in here, you're just going to mourn and mourn
and mourn. There'll be no comfort. You can't find any comfort in
your resolutions. You can't find any comfort in
your determination. You can't find any comfort in
your perfection, but you can find comfort in your substance.
All right, well, I can get in on that. I hope we can get in
on that. All right, look at the third
one. Blessed are the meek. Meek. The meek. That word is
humble. They go and inherit the earth.
Now, meekness and humility is not a product of human nature. We are by nature proud. Now,
let's just face it. We are proud by nature. We all
find something to be proud about. We are haughty by nature. We
are self-defensive. We defend ourselves. We justify
ourselves. We always have a reason, an alibi. Meekness and humility is not
a product of human nature. Meekness and humility is a fruit
of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5, turn over there
just a minute, Galatians chapter 5, it says here in verse 22,
Galatians 5, 22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, humility, temperance. It's the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Meekness is a heart work. And meekness is the same, now
watch this, now it's easy to be meek when you're weak. You know, a beggar comes to the
door. And sometimes they don't even come up on the porch. They
kind of take their hat off and crumple it up. You ever had beggars
come to your door? And they kind of crumple their
hat up, you know, and they'll kind of knock on the porch like
this, and you'll go to the door, and they'll kind of back up.
And they'll say, you know, sir or lady, I'm kind of down on
my luck right now, and boy, I sure would appreciate you give me
something to eat, you know, or give me A little money, something
to buy, something to eat, have you got any old clothes? Boy,
that's meekness, you know, they just back off and they're with
a hat and a hat. You say, is he really meek? I
don't know, let him inherit a little money and we'll find out. Let him inherit a little money
and you'll find out whether he's meek and humble. You see, this
true humility before God and before men is a heart work. And this humility, this true
meekness, is the same in poverty or plenty. He's the same. Paul said this, I know how to
be abased. I know what it means to sit in
prison. I know what it is to be poor, hungry, destitute, without
a friend. And I know what it is to abound,
to be popular, to be praised and to have plenty. Paul was
the same in both places. I am what I am by the grace of
God. Whether I'm naked or clothed,
whether I'm in poverty or plenty, whether I'm in sickness or health,
whether I'm in weakness or strength, whether I'm successful or whether
I'm a failure, it's the same. You see, true humility, this
is what it is, true humility ascribes everything that I am
and have to the grace of God. Everything I am and have. Who
makes you see the difference? That's what you quoted, Walter.
Who makes you the difference? What do you have you didn't receive?
Man can receive nothing except it be given him from above. So
true humility, honestly, from the heart now, this is not just
a creed, it's a confession. It's not just something a fellow
believes doctrinally, it's something he experiences spiritually. What
I have, God gave me. Secondly, true humility does
not envy the blessings of others, but rather rejoices in the blessings
of others. That's right. And true humility
is self, not defensive, but self-sacrificing, and remembering that everything
I have is from God, then I freely share it with others. True humility
is kind and generous and shares what God has given to us, true
humility. And these are the people that
are going to populate the new earth. He says, blessed are the
humble, blessed are the meek. They're going to inherit the
earth. That's the new earth, the new heaven and new earth. Our Lord, one day, his disciples,
he was here and they were walking, coming toward the place where
he was. He knew their thoughts. And they were arguing among themselves. There were 12 of them. They were
arguing among themselves about who was going to be greatest
in the kingdom of heaven. who was going to get the most
rewards, and who was going to sit on the right hand, the left,
who was going to be this, that, and the other in the kingdom
of heaven. When they came in the place, he said, what were
you talking about? And they brought it up again.
And the master then took a little child from where they were, the
place where they were, and put that little child right in here,
all these grown men. Peter and James and John and
Nathanael and Philip and all these grown men, fishermen, tough
men, 50, 40, 60 years of age standing around,
Luke the physician and all these fellows standing around. And
here they were, they had sacrificed, they had followed Christ, they
had given up their homes and their families and all these
things, followed Christ. They had been arguing about who
was going to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He took a
little child. and stood that little child and
missed him. He said, let me tell you, unless you fellas come down
off your high horse, unless you fellas are converted and have
a change of spirit and a change of attitude, unless God takes
care of this pride in you and this arrogance and this haughty
spirit, you're not going to enter the kingdom of heaven. Because
unless you're converted and become like this little child, You're
not even going to see the kingdom of God. That's what he's talking
about. I tell you, so much preaching
today about rewards and who's going to occupy the chief seat.
I'll tell you who's going to occupy the chief seat, the one
occupying it right now, seated at the right hand of God. Who's
going to wear the crown? He's going to wear the crown.
And you and I are going to be so thrilled to be in his presence,
we're not even going to think about He's our reward. He's our reward. It's some of that singing, you
know, build me a mansion next door to Jesus and tell the angels
I'm coming home. That's a good special, isn't
it? I like the one I heard the other day. It made headlines
in heaven the day I got saved. Well, blessed are the meek. Blessed are the humble, they
go and inherit the new earth. All right, the next one. Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. Now
then, listen to me a minute. This righteousness which These
blessed people, these saved people, these faithful believers, these
children of God, this righteousness they hunger and thirst for is
twofold. Now stay with me, it's twofold.
Number one, we hunger and thirst and desire and want above all
things the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Don't we? That's right. You have to have
it, you read it, Toland. If you don't have this righteousness,
you're not going to see the kingdom of God. And we don't have it
by nature, we don't have it by birth. Can't get it in the pool,
can't get it shaking the preacher's hand. Our righteousness is a filthy
rag. We have no holiness. God is holy. But God Almighty has purposed
and purchased for us a perfect holiness, a perfect righteousness. Our Lord Jesus Christ came down
here to earth, the God-man, and was made of a woman, made under
the law, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
And our Lord Jesus Christ, by his obedience, see, in Adam we
were made sinners, in Christ we were made righteous. In Adam
we died, in Christ we're made alive. And he, by his perfect
life and perfect obedience, as our substitute, as our representative,
as our federal head, worked out for us a perfect holiness. He
met the law and obeyed it, fulfilled it. He said, I didn't come to
destroy the law, I came to fulfill it. Every jot and tittle, it'll
not pass away till it be fulfilled. And in him, I'm holy. With his spotless garments on,
I'm as holy as God's Son. In him, I'm justified. In him,
I'm sanctified. In him, I'm righteous. In him,
I'm holy. God looks on Christ and me in
Christ. That's the righteousness I desire.
That comes by faith. It comes by believing on Christ,
right? But the other righteousness we
desire is that righteousness of inward grace. I desire not
only to be righteous and holy in Christ, positionally, legally
before God, but I want to act like Christ. I want to love like
Christ. I want my light to shine that
men can see the works that God's given me and glorify Him. Don't
you? Let me read you that. Turn to
Philippians 1. Philippians chapter 1. Philippians 1 verse 8 now listen
to this Paul's writing to the church at Philippi and he's writing
from jail in prison Philippians 1 verse 8 listen to this God
is my record for God is my record how greatly I Long after you
all in the bowels of Jesus Christ and this I pray That your love
may abound more and more in knowledge and in all judgment that you
may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without
offense till the day of Christ, that you might be filled with
the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the
glory and praise of God. What are the fruits of righteousness?
Love. I just read them, didn't I? Joy, peace, longsuffering. meekness, patience, kindness,
gentleness, temperance. That's the righteousness of inward
grace. Now, neither of these come by
the law. Neither of these come by the law. You see, Romans 10
tells us about Israel. They said, Paul said in Romans
10, I'd like for these people to be saved, but they're ignorant.
They have a zeal for God, but they're ignorant. They're ignorant
of God's righteousness. And they're going about through
the law to establish their own righteousness, and will not submit
to the righteousness of God. So the holiness of God, the righteousness
of God, the sanctification of God is not mine by keeping the
law, obeying the law, doing the law at all, because I don't keep
the law. It's by Christ, by the love of
Christ. And this inward grace and fruit
of the Spirit, that doesn't come by the law either. You know how
it comes? It comes by love of Christ. Paul said, the love of Christ
constrains me. The first righteousness of God
comes by the love of Christ. And this godliness and faithful
walk comes and grows by the love for Christ. What did he say to
Peter? You love me? Yes, I do. Feed my sheep. You
love me? Keep my commandments. You love
me? Love each other. Love each other
as I loved you. Isn't that what he said? He said,
be ye kind one to another, forgiving one another as I forgave you. So blessed are they that hunger
and thirst for righteousness. What's this righteousness? A
hunger and thirst for perfect standing before God. Perfect
standing. Righteousness in Christ. And
that comes by His love for me. And I long to grow in grace and
in the knowledge of Christ. And I long to show others and
myself and God and everybody else, how grateful I am to God
for what he's done for me. And I do that because I love
him. Huh? Sure, that's it. And he says,
if they really want that, they'll have it. They'll have it. If they really want it, they'll
be faithful. All right, look at the next one quickly. Blessed
are the merciful. Blessed are the merciful. They'll
obtain mercy. And my friends, the Lord means
just what he says here. Blessed are the merciful, they'll
obtain mercy. Now, I'm not saying, and he's
not saying, now listen to me, he's not saying that men receive
mercy. He said blessed are the merciful,
they're going to see God. He's not saying that men are
going to receive mercy and see God because they're merciful.
But their showing mercy indicates they have received mercy and
have seen God. Understand? This man that's merciful. You
see, mercy is undeserved. Christ said, you love them that
love you? Well, thank him. That's not mercy. That's debt.
You give to those who give to you? That's not mercy. That's
returning a favor. You see what I'm saying? You're
kind to those who are kind to you. Everybody does that. I say unto you, love them that
don't love you. Give to those from whom you hope
to receive nothing in return. Be ye merciful as your Father
in heaven is merciful. The man or the woman or young
person who can genuinely actually show mercy, mercy, I forgive you. That's mercy. I give, hoping for nothing in
return. That's mercy. You don't deserve
it. See, that's an attribute of God.
Mercy is an attribute of God. Desi just sang about it. What
I am, what I am. But God, but God, who is rich
in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved me, even when I was
dead and sinning, quickened me with Christ. That's mercy. I do what I have to do. Do what
I'm required to do, that's obligation. If I do unto others because they
did unto me, that's a returning of favor. We're talking here
about mercy. And mercy is an attribute of
God. He's plenteous in mercy, he delights to show mercy, and
his people are merciful. Long, long years ago, There was
a crowd of people coming over on a boat from England, and one
of the Wesley brothers, either Charles or John, was on the ship. I don't recall or remember which
one, but he was on the ship coming over from England to Georgia.
And also on the ship was the governor of Georgia, appointed
by the king, governor of Georgia, one of the colonies. And the
governor of Georgia was going to have his servant flogged,
beaten, on the deck of the ship in front of everybody because
he drank his personal wine. The servant got the governor's
wine and drank it, and he was going to have the man stripped
and flogged on the deck of the ship. And Mr. Wesley came to
the governor of Georgia and pleaded for mercy for the man. He just
got before the governor and pleaded, showing mercy, forgiving. To which the governor of Georgia
replied, I never forgive. To which Mr. Wesley replied, then, your honor, I sure hope
you never sin, for you will never be forgiven. If you forgive not
men their trespasses, neither will the heavenly Father forgive
yours. Mercy. And he says, blessed are
the merciful. Just plain merciful. Don't you
want to enter into that? I do. I want to enter into that
right there. Merciful. Merciful. That's an attribute of my God.
And mercy is undeserved, sometimes unsought, it's certainly unbought,
and it's unearned. But mercy comes flowing from
the heart, motivated only by the love of the one who shows
it. Those folks are going to see God. They have seen God and
they're going to see God. All right, the next one. Blessed
are the pure in heart, they'll see God. The merciful are going
to attain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart,
they're going to see God. Now, when you get on to this
one right here, there's nobody here, nobody, like that Buick
dealer says, but nobody claims to have a pure heart,
do you? I wouldn't want you to know what's been in my heart
even since we've been in service, would you? Anybody see yours?
Because from the heart proceeds sinful thoughts and sinful attitude
and all these things. It's an impossibility in this
life to have, before the law of God, a pure heart. Impossible. Well, what's he talking about
here? This is what he's talking about. They have a pure heart before
God because that heart's been sprinkled in the blood of Christ.
Okay? That's right. Having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience with the blood of Christ. My
heart in God's sight is pure. That's right. The blood of Jesus
Christ cleanses us from all sin. Is that all right, Colin? I know
that. See, when you're preaching or
teaching, start with what you know. Don't tell anybody what
you don't know. Just start with what you know.
So I know that first. I know this. I know our hearts by nature
are not pure. I know that we don't experience
an hour of life when it's absolute purity. Would you say it? No. But I know this. Through the
blood of Christ, in the sight of God, I've got a pure heart.
Secondly, I know this. My heart has been purified from
dead works to serve the living God. You know what he said? Purify
your hearts from dead works to serve the living God. I don't
claim to have that pure heart and that righteousness before
God because of anything I've done. Because I was raised in
the church, or read the Bible, or went to church, or preached
the sermon, or sang in the choir. My heart is pure from works.
I'm not going to bring any works before God, not by works of righteousness
which we've done, but according to his mercy and savings. My
heart's pure before God as far as works are concerned. Can you
say that? You got any works? Anybody here
got any works? We don't have any works. Our
righteousness is a filthy work. So that's pure, isn't it? Our
heart's pure in that regard. We have a pure and sincere heart
in the fact that we do love Christ. Yes, sir, I'm trusting Christ.
Spurgeon said, if I go to hell, I'm going to go to hell trusting
Christ. You can't take that away from me. I trust him. I believe
him. With all that's within me, Christ
is my Lord. He is my God. He is my refuge. He's my foundation. He's my strength.
He alone is my hope. The chief of sinners looks to
Christ. And that's sincere. That's what
Peter said, Lord, you know I love you. That's pure. That's untainted and undefiled.
That's pure. I do love Christ. And that's what that means. And
fourthly, our motives are pure. We want Him to have the glory.
Whether in word or deed, whatever you do, whether you eat or drink,
let it be for the glory of God. I don't deserve any glory. He
deserves it all. So that's a pure heart. Pure
because it's bathed in the blood. Pure because it's Purified from
dead works, pure because it has a sincere, I'm not playing games. I'm not trying to impress anybody.
You're not either. We trust Christ Jesus in Christ
alone. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, the Holy Land on Jesus' name. And then the motive. It's pure and sincere. They're
going to see God. They're going to see God. Anyone
else couldn't be allowed to see God. Anyone else with an impure heart
not bathed in the blood of Christ, he couldn't see God. No man can
see God and live in the flesh in sin. Having an insincere trust
and faith, you couldn't see God. All right, the next and last. Blessed are the peacemakers. Peacemakers, they're going to
be called children of God. Now, only Christ is the King
of peace. Only Christ can make peace with
God for sinners. We don't make our peace with
God. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is the King of Peace. He's the King of Salvation. He
made peace. But these peacemakers are sons of the King of Peace.
They're sons of the Prince of Peace, and as such, they have
his disposition, a peaceful disposition. That's right. And they labor
in life, and they labor in love to make peace. A peacemaker ends
a quarrel. A peacemaker extends a hand of
fellowship. A peacemaker seeks unity and
reconciliation. A peacemaker avoids discord and
dissension. He doesn't sow discord among
the brethren. A contentious spirit is an unregenerate
spirit. A troublemaker is in trouble
with God. Men who sow discord among the
brethren are strangers to grace. A grudge-bearer bears his own
sins. And those who seek revenge certainly
do not seek God. Peacemakers. This was my peace
I've given to you. You see, it's a threefold peace.
There's the peace with God. made by Christ. There's the peace
of God in our hearts and conscience because we are assured and confident
of Christ's redemption. We have peace about it. We rest.
And then there's peace with men. As much as in you, as much as
in you is live what? Peaceably with all men. Peaceably. Let the peace of God rule in
your hearts. They're peacemakers. They have
the disposition of their Father. And they're called the children
of God. Now, watch how these be added
to. Let me show you something here. And this is not... There are babes in Christ, young
men in Christ, and elders. This is a growth. This is a growth. If you'll not watch how these
beatitudes spring one out of the other, and the one that follows
rises above the other. Watch this. Each leads to the
other. Now watch this. Blessed are the
poor in spirit. Theirs is the kingdom of God.
Which leads to, blessed are they that mourn. They mourn over their
poverty of spirit. They mourn over their sins. They
should be comforted, which leads to A man who knows what he is and
mourns over what he is certainly has no pride in himself. So he's
a meek man. And that meekness, what does
it lead to? It leads, that humility leads
to a hunger and thirst for righteousness. It leads to fulfillment. It leads
to seeking joy and peace in Christ and that righteousness in Christ.
I don't have it, I must have it in him. And then when all
of this is said and done, that leads a man to be merciful. There's
no one that comforts a fallen person like one who's fallen.
There's no one who can comfort one who weeps like one who's
wept. He said, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual,
restore such a one, considering thyself, lest thou be tempted.
I know myself, therefore I have to be kind and merciful to others.
Everything I have, I have by mercy. And all of that leads
to this. It leads to a purity of purpose
and a purity of heart before God Almighty. Now, what's going
to be the results of all this? Well, verse 10. And blessed are
you which are persecuted for this righteousness' sake. The
world is going to persecute you and hate you, for yours is the
kingdom of heaven. And blessed are ye when men shall
revile you. and persecute you, take advantage
of you, say all manner of evil against you, lying, that word
false is lying, against you for my sake, rejoice and be glad. For you shall see God, you're
children of God, you'll receive mercy. But you're not alone,
for so persecuted they in the same way. the prophets which
were before you. God had one son without sin. He doesn't have any sons without
suffering. They that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer. May the Lord bless this word
to your prophet and his glory. Mike, come lead us in a closing
hymn.

The Beatitudes

What does the Bible say about being poor in spirit?

How do we know the importance of mourning for sin?

Why is meekness important for Christians?

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Why are merciful people blessed?

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The Beatitudes

What does the Bible say about being poor in spirit?

How do we know the importance of mourning for sin?

Why is meekness important for Christians?

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Why are merciful people blessed?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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