Sermon Tone Analysis

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Blessed are the Merciful
Matthew 5:7
November 16, 1997
 
Review
We have now reached the mid-point of our study of the Beatitudes.
Four down - four to go.
It’s really interesting, though, that this doesn’t just represent the mid-point on the continuum of our study.
It also represents a turning point.
A major shift in the focus of the Beatitudes.
Now, to see that shift, I want to take a few minutes this morning to review what we’ve learned so far.
*/Broad Context/*
 
First of all, we know that the Beatitudes are found in the overall context of the Sermon on the Mount.
And that’s vital because it tells us that the Beatitudes have something to do with Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God.
In the SOM, Jesus tells us about the nature of the Kingdom of God, and what it means to be a member of the Kingdom of God.
So, in essence, He is saying, “This is what Christianity is all about.
And this is how a Christian lives.”
Now, within this overall context what is the purpose of the Beatitudes?
Well, the first thing we notice is the location of the Beatitudes in the sermon.
They come first.
They serve as the introduction of the whole sermon.
And in that capacity, this is what they do: they define and describe the true nature of a Christian.
Altogether, then, they give us a portrait of the character of a Christian.
Now then, the rest of the sermon is built on that introduction - the remainder of the sermon draws out the implications of the principles laid out in the Beatitudes.
In other words: “This is who a Christian is, this is his nature - and this is how that same Christian lives in the real world.
This is how that same Christian responds in specific life situations”
 
So, the rest of the sermon doesn’t make sense apart from the Beatitudes.
It’s utterly ridiculous to think that a person could live out the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus speaks of turning the other cheek, loving your enemies, and all of the high ethical standards - without first knowing what kind of person is capable of living that kind of life.
No human being can do it in his or her own strength.
It is only possible when a person has been transformed by the power of God’s Spirit.
*/The First Four Beatitudes/*
 
So, the Beatitudes describe what that transformation looks like - what happens in the heart and the character of a person who has come into a relationship with Jesus Christ and is now a new creation.
And this is what we’ve learned about the nature of a Christian so far:
 
·        Is Poor in Spirit - is radically dependent upon God; has come to the end of his rope and has recognized his utter need for God.
·        One who Mourns - whose heart is broken because he understands the tragedy of sin and the tragic consequences of sin in his own life and in the world, and turns from it with all his heart.
Mourning is really about repentance.
·        Is Meek - is surrendered to the will and control of God.
One who has let Him have the reigns of his life.
·        Hungers and Thirsts After Righteousness - whose deepest yearning - greatest passion - is not for stuff or fame or power or any other earthly thing or person, but for a right relationship with God and everything that is of God.
Now, you may be thinking, “But Keith, these Beatitudes are much more profound than I ever realized.
And if I’m going to be honest with myself, have to admit I don’t always exhibit each of these characteristics.
Does that mean I’m not a Christian?”
And the answer is, “Not necessarily.”
If the qualities we just talked about are repugnant to you.
If they repel you, and you have no desire whatsoever to see them in your life, then “Yes, it’s not likely that you have been saved and transformed by the grace of God.”
Because this is the heart of what it means to be a Christian.
On the other hand, if you have asked Christ into your heart and you do truly long to see these qualities in your life, but you find yourself falling short, don’t be disheartened.
Don’t beat yourself up.
That’s not what this is all about.
Jesus is describing His own nature and the ideal nature of all who follow Him.
But we know we will not perfectly attain these qualities on this side of heaven.
Still, Jesus says, “This is your true nature.
So seek after these qualities, cling to them, embrace them.
Put yourself before God daily so He can work them out in your life.
And He says that when we do embrace them, we will experience the full blessings of the Kingdom.
Eight times, He says, “Blessed are you; Congratulations to you who are marked by these characteristics, for you will enjoy the deepest blessings of the Kingdom of God - blessings that cannot be matched by any blessing of the world.”
Again, look at the blessings we’ve seen so far:
 
·        When we poor in spirit - when we live in a state of dependence upon God - the Kingdom of God and all its resources is made available to us.
·        When we mourn over our sins and the sins of the world, we will know the comfort of a loving and gracious God who can forgive every sin and heal every wound.
·        When we are meek - when we submit ourselves to the will and control of God - we will experience the very best life this world has to offer.
·        And when we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we will be filled as nothing else can fill us.
Now, I said earlier that we have come to a turning point in our study.
And it’s very important that we see and understand the significance of this shift in focus.
When you begin to understand the deeper meaning of each of these Beatitudes, you begin to see that there is a natural progression from one to the next.
Each one builds on the one before it and leads to the one that follows it.
·        Poverty of spirit is ground zero – the recognition of our need for God.
·        But as we look to him, we become deeply aware of our sinfulness and unworthiness before him, and this leads to mourning or repentance.
·        But Christianity is not just about repentance.
After we have repented, we turn to God and we give Him the reigns of our lives, which is the definition of meekness.
·        And that leads to a right relationship with God and a deeper yearning for everything in His Kingdom.
*/The Shift/*
 
So there are the first four.
They are distinct, but they do have something in common.
They all have to do primarily with the vertical relationship - the relationship between God and man.
But now comes the shift.
The next four will focus primarily on the horizontal relationship - the relationship between man and man.
Now this is not just an interesting observation.
There is a critical principle here that is vital to the Christian life, and it has to do with the relationship between being and doing.
Being, which has to do with who we are in Christ and our relationship with Christ, must always be the foundation on which all our doing is built.
This is the way Christ, Himself, lived.
As you’ve read through the Gospels, have you ever noticed how often Christ withdrew from the crowds and the hectic pace of ministry in order to be alone with the Father.
If Christ, the Son of God, knew that He could not “do” without first “being”, how in the world do we think we can do it?
That’s why Jesus says to us in John 15, “I am the vine and you are the branches.
He who abides in me will bear much fruit.”
You see, God does want us to bear fruit - to do something.
But the bearing of fruit comes as a result of abiding, which is being.
So, being must come before doing.
Because we must first be filled before we can give.
So we must maintain this proper relationship between being and doing, but we can be sure that when we are right with God it will have a dramatic effect on the way we relate to and live with other people.
And that’s what we’ll explore in the next four Beatitudes.
Blessed Are the Merciful
This morning we will look rather briefly at the fifth: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
I’ll never forget once in my first church, I was preaching on mercy and in that church we always had a children’s sermon.
And I because I wanted to somehow tie it in with the regular sermon, I was trying to think of some way of illustrating the concept of mercy on a kids level.
And the only thing I could think of was how when I was a child we had occasionally found an injured animal, and we felt sorry for it, and as an act of mercy, we tried to nurse it back to health.
So, I asked the children if they had ever found an animal that was hurt.
This one little girl piped up immediately, “Yeah, I found a hurt cat once, and I took it home, but my Daddy killed it and threw it in the trash can.”
Well, how do you recover from that?
What do we mean when we speak of mercy?
·      Spiritual Gift of Mercy - has to do with a ministry of compassion to those who are hurting.
·      Ministering to the needs of those who are poor and oppressed; especially in the Old Testament, we find a close relationship between mercy and working for justice.
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