And please open again to your scriptures to the gospel of Matthew. Matthew, of course, is the first gospel in the New Testament. Matthew chapter 5. And what we have there in Matthew chapter 5 is the first recorded sermon of Jesus Christ. This is at the very beginning of his earthly ministry. And it is a sermon that goes from chapter 5 through chapter 7. Well, let's take a look at that structure given to us there in these preliminary chapters in Matthew chapter 5. Well, our text is chapter 5 beginning at verse 5. verse 2 specifically, but let's go backwards a little. I want you to see what we see in chapter 4 verse 23. In chapter 4 of Matthew verse 23, look at how it reads. It says, and he, referring to Christ, and he went throughout all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So what was he doing? He was preaching, he was teaching, and he was healing. Preaching, teaching, healing. Now jump over a couple of chapters to chapter 9. Chapter 9, verse 35. And you see the same thing. Chapter 9, verse 35 reads, and Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. Once again, he was preaching, teaching, and healing. Now, what we have in between chapters 4 and chapter 9 are two major sections. If you look at chapters 5, 6, and 7, you see there a collection of the teachings of Jesus Christ that we often refer to as the Sermon on the Mount. And it's called the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus Christ was teaching on the side of a mountain or a large hill, and I would assume that he was up higher and his disciples were down lower, and his voice projected downward. That's chapters 5, 6, and 7. And then you have chapters eight and nine. And there you have a collection of stories mainly about the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. So what do you see in these chapters? You see what we just read in chapter 423 and 935. Jesus went about preaching, teaching, and healing. And now chapters five, six, and seven give us his teachings. Chapters eight and nine give us his account of healings. Five chapters. presenting these aspects of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. And why was he teaching? Well, he was teaching because it is these truths that are going to begin to transform the lives of his followers. And he's answering one particular question. He's answering the question, how do I know whether or not I belong to the kingdom of God? And then by his healing ministry, Jesus Christ was demonstrating, one, his power, but also his compassion. And he was also proving that the kingdom of God is here. Because people were wondering, is this really true? You know, Jesus Christ was not the first to come out and say, I am the Messiah. There were many, many others. Well, Jesus Christ is going to prove that he is the Messiah, one, by his teachings, two, by the level of his compassion, and also through his miracles. Those people who doubt it had little reason to doubt any longer. Only the true Messiah could do what he was doing. Only a true Messiah would teach what he is teaching. Matthew here is the writer. And he wants to get a particular point across to us. He is the inspired author, the inspired apostle. And this is what he does to get his point across. He lays out this, what we refer to as the Beatitudes. And Pastor John Piper does a great job in analyzing this sermon. So I want to borrow from him this morning. I want you to see something about, the teaching and the healing of Jesus Christ. Before we even jump into the text, notice something that I think is extremely important for us to keep in mind. We cannot have the Jesus that teaches through this Sermon on a Mount without having the same Jesus that cleansed the lepers, that healed the centurion's servant, the Jesus that stilled the storm, the Jesus that cast out demons. These are all episodes that happen in chapters 8 and 9. Some people say they really admire that ethical teacher, that great prophet Jesus Christ, the one who spoke on his Sermon on the Mount. But they don't want to get involved in that other stuff, that supernatural stuff or that spooky stuff. The person who quiets the storms. No, we don't want to get involved in that. We just like what he teaches. His words of wisdom. Well, my friends, we can't have one without the other. Because as we see here in these chapters, Christ does both. Christ is both a teacher and a healer. Now, in our circles, I think it's more the other way around. I think what we are more accustomed to are people who are fascinated with the power of Jesus Christ, but they're not too excited about the teachings of Jesus Christ. They want his power, they want his healing power, they want his miraculous abilities, but they're not too interested in what Jesus Christ had to say, what he taught, what he preached. Why? Because they're too difficult. or they are impractical. Certainly they are out of sync with the world today. Many people say, you know, I love the power of Jesus. I don't like the words of Jesus because those words divide. It divides people. And it's true. Truth does divide. It divides between right and wrong and truth and lies. And so some people say, you know, I love the power of Jesus Christ, but I don't like what he said about calling your brother fool or about lusting or about swearing. I'm not too eager about what he had to say about returning evil for evil or to love your enemy. All those ideas are out of sync with the way the world thinks. John Piper writes, well, they like the miracle worker who heals their diseases. But this radical intruder into the personal lifestyle, they are not so interested in him. I think you understand what I'm saying, very much so. But I remind you again, the same person who preached is also the healer. The healer is the preacher. You cannot separate them. You cannot say, I like this part of Jesus, but not that part. So I'll just take that part. I'll take the part that I like. No, it's one person. We must believe his teachings. We must trust in his power as we wait for him to fulfill his will, whatever his purpose may be. And so what we see here in these teachings referred to as the Beatitudes, showed to us that Jesus Christ, those two aspects of Christ, are simply inseparable. Stop trying to separate them. It's one person. One person. So the sermon here begins And Jesus Christ is speaking to his disciples. And there happens to be a significant crowd as well. If you look at chapter 5, verse 1, it says that he was seeing the crowds. He went up on the mountain. And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. Who? His disciples, referring to the 12, the 12 disciples. So the 12 disciples are his primary audience. But if you read on, for example, chapter 7, verse 28, you see that crowds were astonished at his teaching. And so many other people came as well. And that was the norm. As Jesus Christ traveled from place to place with his 12 disciples, there were often great numbers of people following behind him, listening, also eager. Some were there just for the miracles, but many were there to hear the words of life. And so they followed. By the way, this is what we intend here at Hope Church. We speak primarily to those who know Christ. We speak primarily to those who are already believers. I speak directly to those who profess Christ. And so we come as people of God to worship the God we know, not just the God we assume or the God we've heard of, but rather the Christ that we know lives. But we also welcome anybody and everybody who would come and listen as well, because we understand that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. So all are welcome. All are welcome. And so the Sermon of Jesus Christ begins with the disciples gathered around Jesus Christ. And if you look at verses 3 through 12, we see the Beatitudes. Verse two says he opened his mouth and he taught them and this is what he said. Now the word Beatitude comes from the Latin language and it means to be happy or to be a blessed person. A blessed person, a happy person. And so some of your versions will say blessed is he. Some versions will say happy is he. It's fine, it means the same thing. And you'll notice that there are eight Beatitudes in all. Beginning at verse 3, right on down to verse 10. Those three verses, 3 to 10, are actually a unit. And then verses 11 to 12 are an extension or an explanation of verse 10. And you'll notice the promise of the first beatitude. Look at verse three. Look at the promise. It says, blessed are the poor in spirit. And here's a promise. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now notice the promise of the eighth beatitude. Look at verse 10. says blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Why? Here's a promise, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And so we have two identical promises, the beginning and the end. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now, sandwiched between those two, the first and the eighth, are verses four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine. And there we have six other Beatitudes that teach something somewhat different. Take a look at verse four. Look at the promise of verse four. The promise is they shall be comforted. Verse five, they shall inherit the earth. Verse six, they shall be satisfied. Verse seven, they shall obtain mercy. Verse eight, they shall see God. Verse nine, they shall be called sons of God. So we have here, my friends, a list of God-given promises that are going to be fulfilled in the future. And some of us are very happy about that. But you're not so much interested in the future, you're more concerned about today. But here we have God-given promises that are going to be fulfilled in the future. However, it is not just about the future. It's also about the present, about the now. You see, God gives us this present assurance as well. It's not just about what's going to be, it's about what is even now. I want you to see here, in these verses, the promises that are made about the future, but with present day guarantees. These future promises are couched in the present experience of the Christian. It says the kingdom of God is now. So you don't have to wait for eternity in order to enjoy the kingdom of God. You can count on these six things, these six blessings, verses four through nine. You can count on them if you belong to the kingdom of God now. And this is why the Father of Christ, the follower of Christ is blessed. Here we find the true pursuit of happiness. Listed right here. These promises. A very real, a very present reality, and yet a future kingdom. Again, verses one and eight. about the future, but notice that it's written in the present. It says, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Not theirs will be the kingdom of God, but it's yours already. And then verses, well rather Beatitudes 2 through 7 or verses 4 through 9 are listed in future. It says they shall, they shall inherit or see or be given. The fullness of these promises will be revealed, yes, in the future event. the fullness, but it doesn't mean we don't experience them now. It means that in its completion, in its greatness, in its magnitude, in its fullness, it will be experienced in the future, which makes it, I think, rather difficult for a generation like ours to embrace because we tend to want everything now. We don't like to wait till the future to be blessed. Well, the kingdom of God is present now for the followers of Christ. But the full blessing awaits, the full blessing awaits a future date. Another way to put it is this. Jesus has already established his kingdom here on earth. And we can enjoy now simply a foretaste of that kingdom here and now. But that full experience of the kingdom of God will have to wait for an age to come. But it's coming. And we can see exactly what this means right here in these verses. In the Beatitudes we see a foretaste. For example look at chapter 5 verse 4. on being comforted. Verse 4 says, those who mourn will one day be comforted. We can compare that to the very end of the Bible, Revelation chapter 21 verse 4 says, I will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore. That's an explanation of what we see here in chapter 5 verse 4 of Matthew. In fact, if you go to chapter 5, look at verses 11 and 12. It says, blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. I just want to underscore that, on my account. It's not saying that if people are mean to you because you're mean to them, God's going to bless you. No. It's saying if people revile you because of your pursuing after Christ, Blessed are you, why? It says, rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. Even though the final reward of complete comfort awaits us in heaven, my friends, please know that today, now, we can rejoice even in the midst of struggle. Even now. This joy we have now is yet, though, just a foretaste of the complete comfort that one day will be yours. In its fullness, joy comes from inward pleasure, yes, but it also comes when there is some sort of element of comfort. When comfort comes to you, there's joy. And here, the Lord says, happy is that person. And that comfort begins here, but it's just a foretaste. Look at verse seven, on obtaining mercy. Verse seven says, blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Again, it's a future promise, isn't it? But mercy does come to us now as well, doesn't it? Through Jesus Christ. But the mercy we receive now is just a wee bit. It's just a foretaste, if you will. A foretaste of the magnitude and splendor of the mercy that's going to be ours in eternity. In fact, I don't think we can begin to comprehend what that mercy will be like. We're so accustomed to this foretaste of mercy, we have no way of even imagining what that mercy in its fullness is going to be like. We have his mercy every time he forgives us. We have his mercy every time he blesses us in innumerable ways. You see, my friends, we do not have to wait till the future to know the mercy of God. If you take a look at Matthew chapter 18, beginning of verse 23, there you see the parable of the merciful ruler. And it is designed to illustrate just this, that if God is merciful to us, shouldn't we be merciful to others? And it reads this way, and shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you? The point is here is that God is already merciful to us. And because of his mercy to us, my friends, we could be merciful to others. In fact, we ought to be. is what the parable tells us. We must be merciful to others. Why? Because he's already merciful to us. You know, every year when my family, we would go down the shore down in Maryland, we would walk the boardwalk and we would purchase Polish ice. It tastes better than Italian ice. And every year, And every year, we would get to the counter there, and we would just take little spoonfuls and sample the different flavors, just a little spoonful, just enough to say, I want this one or I don't want this one. And we knew that once we tasted just that little, little spoonful, then we could pick the one we wanted. And the clerk there would give us a cup full. In fact, it was so much, I usually didn't want to finish it. And that's what the mercy of the Lord is going to be like. Right now, it's just a little spoonful. It's just a small taste. But in the future, in eternity, the children of God will know the full magnitude of the mercy of God. Amen. Look at verse 8. On seeing God, you shall see God. One day, every single one of us will stand before God and see Him with our own eyes, just like Job said he would in chapter 19 of Job. We will see Him with our opened eyes. We will see Him as He is. The book of Philippians tells us that every knee will drop, every knee will bow in the presence of God. We will see him in his greatness. But my friends, look, until then we still have glimpses of God. We don't have to wait till eternity to see God. And we can see God beyond the beauty of creation. Oh, it does reveal Him. It reveals aspects of Him when we see the complexity and the beauty of the world around us. But we will see God in His fullness. But until then, we have glimpses. You see, every time God restores a soul, you see a glimpse of God. Every time God forgives a sinner, your sins, you see a glimpse of God. Every time His Word proves true, you see a glimpse of God. Every time He rescues us, every time He fills us, every time He directs your life, you see a glimpse of God. There is a near and present advantage of being pure in heart now, because the pure in heart even now will see God in glimpses, but one day in His fullness. Look at verse 9. I'm being called sons of God. says they shall be called sons of God. We can compare that to what Paul writes in Romans chapter 8 verse 23 says we groan inwardly as we wait for the adoption of sons the redemption of our bodies. We wait for the fullness of adoption. One day we will be in his presence and know exactly what it means to call God our father. Right now it's as if we are orphaned children waiting for our adoptive parents to come get us. We know they're there. We know they're coming. We know we're going to have a radically new life. But one day it will actually be. They will be called sons of God. So the full benefits of being sons of God await our resurrection into eternity. But sonship does not start then, it starts now, it starts today. In fact, look at chapter five, verse 16. It's what we were talking about earlier. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to who? Your father, who is in heaven. You see, God is already your father. That is, we have now but a foretaste of being sons of God. Some of you are saying, yes, but I'm a daughter. No, you're a son as well. It's not that God does not care about gender. It's that he gives all the rights of sonship to everyone, male and female. In that culture, females, daughters did not have any rights, but sons did. And here God is saying, I make you all sons. You all have equal rights as my child. We look forward to that. So verse nine says that peacemakers, peacemakers are going to be greatly blessed. They will be called sons of God. So peacemakers experience today God's blessings in the faithful hope that one day they'll completely know all the privileges, all the joy of being his children. Now, as we move on, Let me, I think I'm just going to be not just honest with you, but I'm going to point out what I think everybody is thinking already. These are wonderful blessings, but they're rather difficult to embrace. I appreciate the words of Timothy Chapman. He wrote an article about 10 years ago on the difficulty of these beatitudes, and I'll share some of his thoughts with you. If you look at these Beatitudes that's been read to us now, we've just examined them some, you notice that it is a complicated reality, isn't it? It's complicated because it refers to the now, but not yet. It's hard for us to actually conceive in our minds. It is true now, but not yet. And it's a scenario we often see in the Bible. It's complicated for us to understand. It's certainly complicated for us to live out. How do I live this out? Now, but not yet. Well, let me explain what the now, but not yet is. Though we have a myriad of reasons for mourning, that would be verse four, right? We have many reasons for mourning. Mourners are blessed now since they have a God who will one day comfort them completely. You see it? Now, but not yet. A God who wipes away every tear from their eyes. And that's, of course, the power of hope, to know that God is going to do this for us. And one who even now is intervening on our behalf. We don't have to wait till then. It's actually happening now. It will be fully done then, but it's happening now. And what's he doing? He's redeeming us to himself. He's taking us to himself now. Finishing the good work that he began. So that the blessedness of the future is actually bleeding into this present state that we are in. The blessings of the future pours into us now. My friends, as you live from day to day, recall the blessings of the future are yours now. Don't live in dejection. Don't live as if Christ was not with you. Don't live as if these promises are only future. but these are for now as well. Yes, they will be greater in the future, but these are now. Now for you. It's not only a complicated reality, it's also a rather conflicted perspective. I know you must have noticed by now the problematic phrases or the challenging phrases that precedes each one of these blessings. Each section is coupled with a rather significant opposition, which makes the Beatitudes rather uncomfortable. These are not necessarily concepts that we naturally join together. We never say, I sprained my ankle. Boy, was that great. I loved it. I was just laughing. I broke down on a New Jersey turnpike at one o'clock in the morning. Boy, that was a great time. Those are just ideas we put together and it seems like that's what Christ is doing. And they're rather not only uncomfortable, they're difficult to comprehend and even more difficult to live out. From the perspective of the world, there's absolutely nothing blessed about meekness, or about mourning, or about mercy. The world asserts quite the opposite, I'm sure you've noticed. The world would say, blessed are the powerful, for they shall inherit everything. And Christ said the complete opposite. The kingdom of God operates according to the values According to the principles that are simply contra mundum, they go against the flow of this world. And our tendency is to think like the world and expect God to act like the world. And therefore we can be like the world. And he says, no, no, not at all. Jesus here challenges us to realize that his ways is certainly full of surprises and his kingdom does not look like the kingdoms of this earth. Chapman writes, those who get ahead in Jesus' kingdom are not those with unlimited power or the strongest determination. nor those with impressive resources or intolerance for mistakes. Instead, they are those who experience hardship and those who forgive. Who will get ahead in the kingdom of God? Those individuals. Those who go against the flow of the world. Now, we don't necessarily like the value system that God presents here. But we do like the outcome, don't we? For example, blessed are those who mourn. Who wants that? But we do like, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the pure in heart. Oh, really? For they shall see God. We want to see God. We tend to recoil from the means which God has said these blessings come to us because they are too countercultural. For us, we find it so hard to wait too long, so long for that final full reward in heaven. We wonder if the ends are actually worth it. Are the ends actually worth the means? So I need to be reviled in order to inherit the kingdom of God? I'm not so sure I'm there. We are unwilling to give up our expectations of what we feel life should really be like here on earth. Lord, I have these expectations. It does not coincide with your word. And I'm not willing to give up my expectations. This is how I want it. And the Lord says, no, it's quite different. We don't want to hunger. And we do not want to thirst for righteousness. We want to continue lusting after things that satisfy both imperfectly and momentarily, Chapman writes. We don't want pastors who are meek. We want strong charismatic leaders. We don't want to be peacemakers. We want to continue our congregational or group squabbles. We don't want to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We want to continue doing what it is we are doing. We're unwilling to give up our own expectations and turn to God's value system, his virtues, the virtues of the kingdom of God, Christ. So this is what I believe we've done. I think we have discovered, then, what is the best way to avoid these challenges that are innate to living for Christ? How can I somewhat be blessed without without these challenging words, without having to mourn, without having to be meek, without having to be pure, without having to be merciful. Well, this is what I think we have devised. We have devised a way in which we would just follow him half-heartedly. I'll avoid all this if I follow him half-heartedly, and then I'll just get half the blessing. And I'm OK with that. I'll just follow the Lord half-heartedly. Then I am not condemned. But I'm not fully blessed. But I'm okay with that. I'll just become complacent. Not too complacent, just sufficiently complacent. Because if we become too complacent, then we become despondent. We don't want to become that. We want to be able to say, look, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, even if I am the last one on line. It doesn't matter. Let me warn you, my friends, because too many of us think this way. It's very easy to think this way. Left to myself, I'll think this way, too. But here's a warning. There is coming to this land, and I think it's not far, far away, a day in which complacent believers will not survive. Complacent believers will not be able to endure. And you will mourn. you will not be blessed. Well my friends all this to say is that the Beatitudes as we have listed here they are simply a proclamation. Christ is saying this is who belongs to the kingdom of God. This is what the kingdom of God looks like. And if you look like this, you're part of the kingdom of God. So make this your goal to become this. So it's really not even a prescription. If you do this, this is going to happen. This is not a matter of theories or speculations. It is a proclamation. Jesus Christ is not here primarily instructing us in the pursuits of these virtues. Rather, he is simply proclaiming. This is what the kingdom of God looks like. And this is what the citizens of God's kingdom look like. So that we can recognize it when we see it and we can then join in. Join in. Join in. The Beatitudes do show to us what it looks like to go against The empty pursuits of the world. Pursuits that may very well be near and dear to us. But here Christ says they're empty. Abandon them. Abandon them. They are not in any way trivial. You've noticed that. They are not pacifying promises. Rather, these are proclamations that God himself will fulfill our greatest human desires, and that is the desire to know God, to be children of God, to know his comfort, to know his satisfaction, and to dwell with him forever. One day he will fulfill that for his children. And by the way, by the way, he calls you to know that happiness. He wants you to know that blessedness. And so he says, come to me. Come just as you are. Come to me. Put aside the values of the world and embrace my values. Embrace me. Receive me. Come with all your heart, soul, and mind. Come just as you are. Come. The Kingdom of God is God's promise for your life today and a wonderful promise of blessings in the future, fulfilled completely in the future. When you are standing in His presence in eternity, There you will find the ultimate fulfilling of his blessings, the final and immense richness of God and the pleasure of God. Look forward to it and live today with your eyes on that promise. For yours will be the kingdom of heaven. Let me pray. Our Lord and Savior, we thank you. Because from the very get-go of your ministry, you proclaimed your kingdom, and you explained your kingdom, and you demonstrated how your kingdom is not like this world. Help us, Lord, to desire not only the promises, but even the values that guarantee us these promises. We pray, O Lord, that we would indeed reflect your kingdom, that we would be, each one of us, a city on a hill. And may you be pleased. May you be glorified. Amen.