The Gospels in Harmony Sermon #103-12718
Matthew 5:3-4
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:3-4
As we continue in the teaching of Jesus to all disciples we must understand the blessing He is speaking of, comes through the spirit toward God.
He started with poor in spirit.
It is through that poor or unconditionally humbled spirit that the true disciple is blessed.
The verse reads --Blessed are the poor in spirit.
It is present and continuous, not before.
This is the condition of a truly penitent heart toward God through Jesus Christ.
It is the condition of the heart which receives the correlating blessing from God.
So keeping our thoughts on our spiritual condition as a disciple let's continue with the Beatitudes.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4
Once again, a simultaneous and continuous blessing.
Reading the Beatitudes we should understand these are promises of God already spoken into existence. “Blessed are”; is Jesus, the Word of God, saying these blessings already exist and are imputed to all who will accept them through repentance unto faith and obedience. In other words; all who will rise to walk in true discipleship.
Matthew writes the Words of Jesus in a repetitive “Blessed are” list, so too often we have the fleshly attitudes of choosing the one or ones that will be the easiest to apply or claim and then have the arrogance to claim ourselves a blessed disciple.
No my dear friends this is a list that is to be read as a whole. This is a list of all spiritual holiness that a truly saved person will possess. This is what a child of God will be in himself and what he will be through faith in Jesus Christ.
We gave reference to the fruit of the spirit in our last sermon as being one fruit with many facets. They are the whole of the fruit. Not to be separated and chosen from but one proof or evidential presence of the Spirit of God in you.
As we read this list of holy attributes of the truly penitent, we also see the promised attributes of faith and obedience. Faith in and obedience to the Holy Word of God through repentance and confession which creates devotion and servitude for the glory of God.
Please understand, I am not admonishing anyone by bringing these simple truths to the surface that all who read these sermons may see. My desire is to strengthen and encourage all who desire to come closer to Jesus in discipleship. If you feel you are being pointed at or made to feel you do not meet the requirements or spiritual attitude,then praise the Lord! God is calling you to look at yourself and weigh yourself and question your beliefs and the teachings you have chosen to accept as truth. We do not get to pick and choose from a list. We must be that list. We must be that one thing that list makes.
The disciple of Jesus Christ is blessed.
There are many things that a blessed disciple must be but if you are all of those things spiritually, you are a blessed disciple of Jesus Christ.
The attributes of a disciple are holy before God.
Have you ever stopped to think about that?
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
1 Peter 1:16
Holiness before God is not the sin you refrain from, but the sin you confess and repent of. It is the giving of yourself to Jesus that He may wash and sanctify you with His Spirit for presentation to His Father in Heaven.
Look at the very first verse in this list given by Jesus and recorded in Matthew.
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3
As we have stated in Sermon #102 the poor in Spirit are those who are spiritually destitute, sick, disabled and blind.
You cannot save yourself from damnation because of sin in your life.
You have fully recognized and admit your inability to face God because of the sin you cannot separate yourself from. Repentance is the soul crushing reality of whom you really are in the sight of God and who Jesus is in the sight of God.
Repentance begins when a soul has no way to look, but up and confesses he must believe in the Living Word of God to be raised into life with God.
Being poor in spirit is being holy before God. There is no sin in the recognition and admission of total depravity and helplessness without Jesus.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
The next verse in our text begins the same.
You are blessed as a disciple. This is not a blessing for someone who wants to pick and chose or claim blessing because they feel they fit into one category or another.
No this is a list that makes up each and every disciple. It is what they are totally
Matthew 5:4
True disciples mourn.
How do they mourn and what do they mourn?
Disciples mourn spiritually. They have a heart that knows the great sorrow that sin has created. Can you imagine the sorrow that God has suffered watching all of His creation being deluged and consumed in sin? All of God’s creation being held to the penalty of death and separation from Him because of sin?
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Romans 8:22
It was the disobedience of man that brought sin into the entire world. It is unbelief and disobedience in men which keeps sin growing in this world we live in today. Yes, perhaps I should say the spreading and acceptance of sin is consuming the world we live in.
The heart of the disciple of Jesus is filled with sorrow for the sin that was once their happiness. The true disciple not only turns away from sinful behavior but is disgusted with it and abhors being near it. They mourn for what was lost so long ago by Adam and Eve. They long to once again walk with God in a Garden filled with perfect splendor and life eternal for all. But for now, because of sin they must wait to be called home to live separated from the sin and death in this world.
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:52
The disciple of Jesus also mourns for Jesus.
Although I am eternally grateful for Jesus giving Himself for me, I am filled with sorrow that He could not come and remain here with us. To read and know the punishment Jesus took for my sin and this makes me mourn His absence. For I know, if I were the only man in the world, He loves me so much He would have still given His life that I may live for Him.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
Philippians 1:23-24
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21
The disciple of Jesus also mourns for the lost. How can a disciple not be so filled with grief for the lost he would not rise to reach out to draw them near to the truth of salvation in faith in the Word of God? So many so called Christians today claim their salvation yet will not lift a finger to be a true disciple of Jesus. A disciple who is not only learning and growing but being ordained to teach and preach; to minister and evangelize. No, they believe they have their get out of Hell pass so that's good enough for them!
The true disciple mourns the death of all people. The true disciple mourns the separation of all people who are lost, to this world. They look at this world and see the walking dead. Disciples know the truth of salvation by grace through faith and long for all to receive the Word of God for eternal life.
I know a man who claims to be saved yet he has made dirty dealings in investments until he has acquired great sums of property and money. He also is consumed with attempts to persuade many woman to become physically involved with him in promise of financial favors. This man thoroughly disgusts me and I refuse to even be near him. However, I have at the same time been so broken hearted because of the sin he has succumbed too. In tears I have prayed his eyes would be opened to the truth of what he is and will turn from the sin of this world and be truly saved.
I prayed for this man until I knew I was to pray no more. God always answers them who pray in earnest. The answer may be little more than the Holy Spirit speaking in your heart, your prayer as been heard. That does not mean God will act in a way you will understand but being a true disciple means you mourn for the lost. You are so filled with sorrow for their absence from the family of God, that you must set aside the knowledge of the sin that has consumed them and pray for that persons soul.
Mourning is for what we have lost.
We have lost the physical presence of God. We have lost walking and talking with Him in a world of perfect splendor and peace. We have lost much of our own lives being obedient to sin. Yes, being disciples of Satan walking and working in obedience to him. We have lost many around us because of sin and because we ourselves have not taken the light of truth to them before they passed from our midst. But we also are blessed as mournful disciples.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:3-4
We are comforted.
We are comforted in knowing though the world is filled with sin; by grace through faith we are saved. We are gathered into the family of God in Christ Jesus.
Even though He does not walk with us in this world now, He is in us as we walk in this world for Him. We are the presence of Jesus shining in this dead and dying world today. We walk with the Holy Spirit in us in constant communion with the Father. Our spirits are in His Presence in Heaven as His Spirit in present with us here and now. How comforting it is to know His presence even in absence.
We are comforted in knowing our prayers for the lost are heard by our merciful and loving Father. It is the heart of the true disciple that pours out for the lost. Not all will be saved. Not all will turn from being obedient to Satan, even many who wear the facade of being saved. God looks into the hearts of men and blesses them who see and know sin as He does. He blesses them who are penitent of sin, as well as them who desire sin to be washed from others. He blesses them who mourn the loss of this world to the devil by sealing them to Himself in life through His Spirit by His living Word, Jesus Christ.
Yes, true disciples are blessed in Christ because they are poor in spirit and mourn because Jesus freely gave His life for such retched sinners. They are comforted in knowing they are forgiven and will once again walk with our Lord and Savior in His Heavenly home and Garden of splendor and peace forever more. AMEN!
Do you have the comfort of the presence of Jesus by His Spirit in you?
Do you know you are a blessed disciple being called to rise and be ordained to walk and serve in the guidance and power of our Lord?
Do you know what you were and yet live for what God has made you to be?
Do you know your prayers for the lost are heard?
Are you living spiritually in the heavenly places being comforted by Gods Spirit?
Are you a blessed disciple or a deceived sinner?
Pastor Steven Freede
Cornerstone Independent Church
1/27/18