Spare Change

The Beatitudes: Introduction

Posted by Bryan

In the process of cleaning and fixing up Spare Change, I have been digging through the archives. The first sermon series I ever posted on here was on the beatitudes. My pastor is preaching through the beatitudes right now (available to you via podcast).

So, I'll be editing my messages and reposting them here.

Matthew 5:1-12

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

This passage, known as the Beatitudes, allows you to sit at the base of the mountain along with the other disciples of Jesus, separated only by about 1970 years, give or take a few (which is a small thing for God). And here, you can receive the words of Jesus...words that promise blessing, and words that communicate the wonderful message of God's deep love for you.

As you proceed, pay particular attention to avoid the very common mistake of considering these words to be conditional statements. Jesus extends the promise of blessing to a category or classification of person, not to a condition of existence. So, this is not saying that you will receive blessing in the times of life when you are poor in spirit, or when you mourn (and so on), but rather, these blessings are extended to you if God identifies you in one of these categories. More accurately, as you will discover as you explore these Beatitudes, you actually find yourself in all these categories as you persevere in your faith relationship with God through Jesus.

It seems that today, more than ever, people focus on the sad state of affairs constantly at the top of the headlines. International war, racial conflict, economic crises, and celebrity rehab of the week. Today, "no news is good news" has taken on an entirely new, albeit depressing, meaning.

Living in a world that is in such a need of blessing could lead you to have a poor attitude. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ should change all that; too often, the unhappiest people in a crowd are the ones who are supposed to be the ones with all the joy.

In this regard, you might be just like the people who were there, in person, at the foot of the mountain. The Bible says that they were sick people who were afflicted with diseases and torments of every kind. And Jesus had healed them. Because of this, he had a multitude of people following him.

Just like those people, people today need a new attitude.

A new perspective.

June 4, 2007 9:24 PM