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Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt, January 29, 2017


The Witness of the Kingdom's Presence


Text: Matthew 5:1–12

As you are traveling down most any highway you are sure to encounter a tractor-trailer. Perhaps you have noticed while you are stuck behind one that there is a sign on the left side of the back door the reads something like: “How am I driving? Let us know. Call Safety Dept. at 1-800-…… or “We are concerned about safety. If this truck is being driven in an unsafe manner, call…… I can testify personally that the safety department of every trucking company takes those phone calls very seriously and investigates them thoroughly. During orientation for new drivers they spend time teaching the values of the company and the importance of image because these things directly affect the bottom line.

Having just told you this I’ll wager that many of you are thinking about all the times that you have seen a truck driver following to close or driving too fast or acting in some way that makes you feel unsafe. How many of you this morning have looked in your rear view mirror and been alarmed that all you see is the grill of a big truck that clearly wants you to get out of his way? Just because a company puts up a sign or has a positive safety slogan does not guarantee that their driver is really concerned about how he represents the company and its image.

This week we begin a 5 week series on Matthew chapter 5 that begins the section called “The Sermon on the Mount” which is the first of five blocks of teachings from the Book of Matthew. The section that we will focus on deals with the ethics of the Kingdom of God and evidence of the king’s sovereign reign over his kingdom is to be shown through the faithfulness of his subjects. For five weeks we will focus on how those who are called his servants should reveal the presence of the kingdom and their love and fidelity to the king. Just like the truck driver who behaving badly brings shame and dishonor to the company he drives for, Christians must be aware that how they act in the world becomes a reflection on how God is seen and understood by those who are unbelievers and quite possibly it is the litmus test as to the truth and sincerity of their faith. If we are to be the light of Christ that shines in the darkness then we must reflect his life and a reveal the evidence of the Spirit of Christ within us.

Let’s begin with Matthew 5:1–3,

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This discourse is very similar to another sermon that Jesus preached in Luke 6, where he is said to be preaching at a level place. This is called the Sermon on the Plain and even though the teaching is very similar, I don’t believe that this indicates that this is merely Luke’s account of what Matthew records. I suspect that this refers to two separate sermons because this teaching is so central to the Christian faith that Jesus would have spoken of it more than once and to different crowds.

The teaching presented a radically different agenda than what Israel would have expected from the Messiah. It does not focus on political or material blessings that were associated with the reign of Messiah but instead it reveals the Holy Spirit’ effect on the life submitted to the rule of Jesus as king. This teaching shows us how we must live when Jesus is the Lord of our lives.

The first part of this teaching that we will be dealing with today and next week is called the “Beatitudes” which means “The Blessings” and these were to be seen as the characteristics of the presence of God’s kingdom and were to be revealed through the lives of Jesus’ followers.

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus is promising blessing to his disciples and the word is often translated “happy” but it means much more than being comfortable or finding something that entertains temporarily. It includes spiritual well-being, living in the approval of God and isn’t affected by situations or changes in life. To be blessed of God is seen as the highest goal and indicates the state where those who are living according to the heart of God should find this to be their greatest delight.

The term poor in spirit recognizes that spiritually we are in and of ourselves beggars and spiritually bankrupt. Apart from God’s mercy and blessing we have nothing to offer. Those who realize the truth of their condition and as poor beggars cry out to God for the Spirit “Pneuma” the same word used for the Holy Spirit. God’s response is to fill them up, to meet the cry of their hunger with his holy presence and to give them all the benefits that come with the kingdom of God. The inheritance of the kingdom promises those who bow before the king that they will inherit all the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah's kingdom. The blessing comes by submitting to the hope found in the Messiah alone and then the promise is to reign with him in his kingdom forever. This kingdom is not given on the basis of importance, or earthly merit but is offered by Jesus to the poor, the despised, the prostitutes and all those who know that they have nothing to offer and don’t try. Instead they cry out for mercy and they alone are heard. Charles Spurgeon said this,

The poor in spirit are lifted from the dunghill, and set, not among hired servants in the field, but among princes in the kingdom … 'Poor in spirit;' the words sound as if they described the owners of nothing, and yet they describe the inheritors of all things. Happy poverty! Millionaires sink into insignificance, the treasure of the Indies evaporate in smoke, while to the poor in spirit remains a boundless, endless, faultless kingdom, which renders them blessed in the esteem of him who is God over all, blessed forever.

Remember our passage from Micah 6 this morning. Let’s look again at verses 6–8,

With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

What can we bring God that he needs? We must fall down before him in humility crying out for him to bring change to our hearts that can only come through the power of the risen Savior.

This beatitude is first because this is where we begin in our walk with God. Everyone can and must start here because in actuality we cannot start anywhere else and it puts the following commands into perspective. They cannot be fulfilled by one's own strength, but only by a beggar's reliance on God's power. No one mourns until they are poor in spirit; no one is meek towards others until he has a humble view of himself. If you don't sense your own need and poverty you will never hunger and thirst after righteousness, and if you have too high a view of yourself you will find it difficult to be merciful to others.

• Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

The word used for mourn here is the strongest word for mourning in the Greek language. It is the word used for mourning the dead, a heart broken loss for someone who was much loved. It is a lament that within the context of our passages would be the weeping and wailing over sin of both themselves and that of society. A good example of this is in 1 Corinthians 5:2 where Paul is admonishing the church for tolerating grievous sin in the church.

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

This mourning is the godly sorrow that produces repentance that Paul described in 2 Corinthians 7:10. For those who mourn over sin and its effects Jesus is promising that they will be comforted. The question might be asked, “Why would someone mourn and grieve over their sin or the sins of others?” The answer has to do with our first beatitude where the relationship with God has gone deep into our hearts through his Spirit and therefore sin is seen as the failure to give the proper glory to God, the one who we love and who has offered us his kingdom.

Have you ever loved someone so deeply that if you were to hurt them it causes you to grieve? Jesus is promising that those who love God with the kind of passion that is grieved by their sin and longs for restoration of relationship will find the comfort that they long for and for this they will be blessed. What about mourning the sin of others?

The perfect example of grieving over the sins of others is clearly seen through the example of abortion in our nation. This past week the stark reminder of the horror of possibly the most grievous sin in the history of man was brought to the forefront of our minds in the Right to Life meetings and marches. The sin of abortion should break our hearts and cause us to cry out to God on behalf of the unborn child but also for our nation and world. Is there anything that we could have done that would be more effective in blinding the mind and the heart of a nation than butchering the bodies of the unborn for convenience sake and compound it by calling good and compassionate? Can we expect God’s blessing and comfort as a nation while this atrocity continues? I think not and that is why I rejoice that we now have those in our government who are willing to do what it takes to rectify this great national sin. We must be doing our part in educating those who have been blinded by this lie and offering the forgiveness of Jesus Christ to those who have been broken by their sin. We must be praying and fasting that God will move in power on behalf of the unborn as well as the vulnerable and all those who lack the ability to fight for themselves.

There is something that each of us can do right now. Before you leave this morning I would like everyone to have a print out of an action that we can take to encourage our state delegates to support House Bill 1473, “The Virginia 20-Week Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” that will be voted on shortly. In this case it only takes a phone call to make a difference and to potentially stop the abortion of child over 20 weeks. Clearly the goal is to stop abortions completely but this is a start.

• Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

This beatitude resembles Psalm 37:11,

But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.

The word used for meek is difficult to express with just one word in English but carries with it a proper balance between anger and indifference. It does not describe someone who is timid and compliant but describes the person who has a powerful feeling about something but maintains control over that feeling and reacts instead with humility. In the vocabulary of the ancient Greek language the person who was meek might well be someone who was not passive or easily overcome. Think of a strong stallion that had been trained to be ridden as opposed to running wild. Their strength, although dangerous, was under control and dependable. This word describes someone who has a gentleness of spirit and mildness in their disposition even though it isn’t because they are weak in body or character. Paul commanded in Ephesians 4:27–28,

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and give no opportunity to the devil.

The attitude here is spiritual meekness and submission to God. Our model is Jesus who although he was not weak and showed in the overturning of the money changers table in the temple that he wasn’t always passive, ultimately allowed himself to be treated with contempt and crucified out of obedience to his Father. He could have easily overcome his oppressors but instead chose faithful surrender to his Father’s will.

To be meek means being willing to submit and work under proper authority and a willingness to not insist one’s own rights and privileges. Jesus is promising that those who submit to the will of his Father in Heaven with meekness will inherit the earth. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham, whom Paul calls in Romans 4:13, “the heir of the world.” Even though this promise of inheriting the earth carries with it the same promise of inheriting the kingdom that Jesus will come and give us in the New Heavens and the New Earth it also has a promise for us now. The first two beatitudes are mostly inward and matters of our hearts before God but the third beatitude is mostly outward and has to do with how we deal with our fellow man.

For those who are meek before their fellow men, and have great personal strength and character, will be inclined to fair better in every area of life and relationships. The nation of Israel in the Old Testament is a good example of this. While they were faithful to God and his commands and acted with humble submission to him they were given the Promised Land as an inheritance, a foreshadowing what God is offering us in Christ. It was when they acted in arrogance and disobedience to God that they lost the land and all the blessings that God had promised.

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

I can honestly say that I have never been in a position where I was starving or dying of thirst. I have been hungry and I have been very thirsty but not to the point of doing justice to the words used here for hunger and thirst. The word for hunger here literally means “to crave,” to have a passion or desire and the word for thirst means to painfully feel the want of refreshment. To desire righteousness like this is not a natural desire for those who have not experienced the re-birth that is only found in Jesus Christ. Those who live for themselves and their own desires hunger and thirst for those things that satisfy their craving and wants as James 1:14–15 reminds us,

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

However, for those who have cried out for God to pour out his spirit, who mourn that they have transgressed the word of God and who humbly submit to the God who is their only hope it is only natural that their desires change and their hunger is for the things of God. I recently read a very timely word from a sermon preached by Charles Spurgeon almost 150 years ago,

He hungers and thirsts after righteousness. He does not hunger and thirst that his own political party may get into power, but he does hunger and thirst that righteousness may be done in the land. He does not hunger and thirst that his own opinions may come to the front, and that his own sect or denomination may increase in numbers and influence, but he does desire that righteousness may come to the forefront.

To those who hunger and thirst that the righteousness of Christ might be given to them, Jesus promises that their hunger and thirst will be satisfied.

Jesus reveals to the woman at the well in John 4:14,

whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

And to the crowds in Capernaum he declared,

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

As the Psalmist declared many years earlier in Psalm 34:8,

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

This is the satisfaction that Jesus promised to those who would hunger and thirst for him and his righteousness above all things. We should desire this above all things because of what Christ has done for us. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:21,

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We have looked at 4 of the 10 Beatitudes and we will discuss the remainder next week. Already we should recognize that the life that Jesus is calling us to is radically different than the lives that most people desire and maybe be different than the life we are now living. If we are to follow the Lord Jesus then we must openly live the life he is calling us to, so that those around us might know that the kingdom of God has come and our King is already reigning in glory and power. Our Epistle reading this morning from 1 Corinthians 1 exhorts us to live differently than the unbeliever even though we may be despised and ridiculed. Listen again to verses 26–31,

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being] might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

Let us be those who represent the life in Christ that we claim to follow. Remember people need to see that Jesus is real to us and that his light has dispelled the darkness of our hearts. We can put up signs and have pithy slogans but how we live and love speaks much louder. Let’s pray!

©2017 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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