Heaven Coming to Earth!
1. Good Morning. Let’s pray. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
2. Opening comments: Well this morning we’re going to focus on our Gospel reading from Matthew chapter 5 – the Beatitudes. I’m a little daunted by this task as I gave a sermon series of 6 weeks on the Beatitudes and even then felt that I had only begun to scratch the surface.
But our challenge today is to discern what God Almighty wants to say to us now given our unique calling and our unique context. So what fresh revelation is God going to give each and every one of us this morning as we “lean in” to hear from Him.
Let me set the context by asking this framing question:
“What are we here on earth for?”
And the answer is this, “We are here to create on earth a world which reflects the reign of God in heaven,”
That’s after all is what we’re praying for in the Lord’s Prayer when we pray “Thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
So what are we about? We’re about bringing heaven to earth – establishing God’s heavenly kingdom on earth!
Now that’s no small order is it?
But let’s say we’re up to the challenge – we must discover what God’s kingdom in heaven is all about. What it looks like, what it feels like – how it works!
The Beatitudes are perhaps the most perfect description of what the Kingdom of God looks and feels like for in fact these beatitudes describe the qualities or virtues of the most perfect citizen of God’s kingdom – they describe Jesus Christ Himself and by extension they are ultimately to describe you and me as we become increasingly made into the image of the one we follow – Jesus Christ . . . and in so doing we become true to our name – Christians – followers of Jesus Christ!
This is your calling and mine – to become more and more identified with Jesus Christ – the perfect human being – the one that Adam should have looked like had he not rebelled against God!
So what we’re about to explore are the virtues – the qualities of character - that are to become more and more a part of our lives.
3. Focusing in on the Beatitudes: So let’s focus in on the Beatitudes and see what we can learn with the clear understanding that they are ultimately to describe us. Let’s allow the Beatitudes to interrogate our lives as they are today.
Last week Deacon Tom Jewell and I met as usual to discuss our the upcoming Sunday’s Lectionary scripture references and were confronted with the Beatitudes. Our usual 1 hour session turned into a 2 hour marathon and do you know what most of the time was spent in? We found ourselves sharing our lives with each other in light of these Beatitudes – and I’ve got to tell you, it was a most uncomfortable but truly salutary experience.
So this morning it’s my conviction that God wants you and me to compare our lives against the straight edge of the Beatitudes.
OK let’s begin.
Matt. 5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:
The First Beatitude:
3. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
What does this mean – “Blessed are the poor in spirit?” Poverty of spirit – what does that mean? Think about it now – just imagine that Jesus Christ in all of His resurrected glory were to come into this room right now – what would be our immediate reaction? I think it might be like what happens at the beginning of all great revivals – the people fall to the ground and beg for mercy. Their sense of their absolute poverty in the presence of such sublime magnificence thrusts them to their knees.
Truly they would be experiencing that sense of “utter poverty of spirit!” They feel poor – terribly poor – in the Presence of Him who is infinitely wealthy!
Poverty of spirit is that most perfect state of spiritual humility. It’s that state in which we, as it were, stand with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and declare – “Whatever You say – be it unto me as You have said! You have it all and we have nothing to offer but our immediate obedience and devotion!”
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!
Ah! “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “theirs IS the kingdom of heaven!
Can you hear it? Only those who are aware of their utter poverty in the Presence of the King of Glory are truly then worthy to be called “citizens of the kingdom of heaven.” Their state of spiritual humility transports them immediately into the kingdom of heaven – theirs “IS” the kingdom of heaven!
Ah! The spiritually humble – are already in heaven! Unlike most of us they’re not driven by pride or ambition or fear or greed but rather are so in touch with their poverty and therefore their absolute NEED FOR WHAT THEIR KING CAN GIVE THEM!
The Second Beatitude: Now let’s turn to the Second Beatitude:
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Now let’s explore this virtue a little further. Isn’t this state of “mourning” a definition in some sense of our human condition?
Let me quote from Michael Crosby in his book “Spirituality of the Beatitudes:”
“So much in our lives – our relationships in family and community, our local churches and congregations, our dioceses and orders – points to a kind of listless spirit and depression. This listlessness and sense of alienation are other words for mourning. Mourning continually touches all levels of life. “
And what does God incarnate say to us in this listless mourning?
“Be comforted! I have come to bring heaven to earth! Come back to Eden with Me! Come out of the kingdom of darkness into my heavenly kingdom – it’s coming – join with me in bringing it into this world!”
Let’s go a little deeper though. William Barclay wrote a little poem that will help us:
“I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser,
For all she had to say.
I walked a while with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she,
But, oh, the things I learned from her
When sorrow walked with me.”
What we’re talking about here is Godly sorrow. A sorrow that is redemptive – that makes us more and more like Jesus! Did Jesus mourn? Yes, the shortest sentence in the Bible is “and Jesus wept.”
There is another form of sorrow that grieves over our own sins. We hear it in 2 Cor 7:10:
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Godly sorrow over sin in our lives brings repentance and life. Jesus wasn’t saying “blessed are those who are lonely or discouraged, “ but He was saying “O the blessedness of those who are sorry about their sinfulness for they will be forgiven – they will be comforted!”
The third Beatitude:
OK let’s turn to the third Beatitude:
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Now remember these Beatitudes are Jesus describing Himself so “meekness” is certainly not “weakness” is it?
Remember the passage in Micah 6:8
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
My dictionary defines meekness as “pliant, gentle, free from hautiness, patient and unresentful under injury or reproach, not easily angered, patient, courteous, kind, merciful, and compassionate.
Andrew Murray defines humble meekness as:
That state of “perfect quiet of heart. It’s to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It’s to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It’s to have a blessed home in the Lord where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret, and have His peace, as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.”
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Ah – it’s these people who are worthy to steward God’s creation. They are the ones who will not rape and pillage it but rather will nurture and preserve it! The meek are truly worthy stewards of Creation.
Moving on to The Fourth Beatitude:
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Ah this is the beatitude that asks us the question - what do you really hunger and thirst after most? What do you really want most out of life?
Blessed is the person who hungers and thirsts for what is just, upright, virtuous, guiltless, sinless, and ultimately conforming to the standard of the divine or moral law of God.
How do you and I stack up against this heavenly citizen’s virtue? Ouch!
Do you and I hunger for what is absolutely right and good at all time?
How much compromise with mediocrity is in our lives? How much have we been conformed to this culture? Fundamentally how different are we from our culture?
O Lord help me – help us – to desire to hunger and thirst for what is absolutely right so that we can become filled to overflowing with this heavenly elixir! Amen and Amen!
Now to The Fifth Beatitude:
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Do you and I want to experience God’s mercy? Then we must become merciful to others – all around us? This is an echo of last week’s sermon which focused on the question, “How safe am I in your heart and mind?” Are you merciful to me at all time? Are you a generous person with your love and forgiveness?
Mercy is loves other name – it’s “Agape” love which is at the very heart of God given expression. As one of my mentor’s once put it – it’s what is born when God’s Agape love is spoken into the world!
Mercy identifies with those who need mercy. Jesus is the perfect example of this virtue. He so identified with our need that He became one of us.
You and I exhibit this great kingdom virtue when we identify with those about us who are lost and need a shepherd – this is what mercy is all about.
How do you stack up to this heavenly citizen virtue?
And now The Sixth Beatitude:
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
This beatitude describes the blessedness or bliss of the heart whose thoughts, motives and desires are completely unmixed, genuine and sincere.
The pure of heart can withstand the stare of God Himself – it’s is the pure heart and the pure of heart alone that can stand in the presence of Almighty God.
How many of us seek to keep our hearts completely pure? Rather how many of us tolerate a little sin in our lives?
A little rottenness – a little indulgence . . . and the corruption spreads like cancer throughout our being. And so most of us come to the place where we couldn’t stand in God’s presence – our hearts betray us and we run from such sublimity.
How pure is your heart? How blessed of God do you feel?
And now The Seventh Beatitude:
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Are you a peacemaker? - a bringer of serenity and tranquility?
Ah! Peace brings rest to our very being. And God says that these are blessed!
O how this world needs peacemakers! But are peacemakers permissive? I don’t think so. Are they compromisers at any cost? I don’t think so.
So what are peacemakers? Are they not people who are at peace with the God of this universe and their very presence ministers peace to all who surround them. To have peace with God is to bring peace to the world around us.
Are you completely at peace with God? Are there any areas of your life which your have not make God sovereign over? Ah! To the extent that you harbor any rebellion to God is the extent to which you are not at peace with God and therefore are limited in your ability to exhibit peace in your life.
And finally The Eighth Beatitude:
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Have you ever been persecuted because of your righteous stand?
Not many of us can claim absolute unsullied righteousness can we?
O to be that righteous and then to be persecuted for it is to be truly blessed.
May it be so that as we seek to adopt more and more of the blessed virtues of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we too may be persecuted for then we will know the blessedness of our Lord and His certainty of coming home to glory! Amen and Amen!
Let’s Pray . . .