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Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt, February 5, 2017


Living in the Light of God’s Kingdom


Text: Matthew 5:7–16

I first met Teresa when I was 15 years old and I walked her home from a play that I was in. From the first time that I saw her I loved the beauty of her eyes and her smile and to me she was so feminine. I didn’t really see her again until the following fall when we had a class together and again just couldn’t get enough of her. I remember acting stupid around her by trying to make her laugh and get her attention. Apparently, it worked because our first date was September 25, 1970 and the rest is history. She is one of the most feminine women that I know but one thing really surprised me about her. She hates movies or TV shows that most would call “Chick Flicks” but absolutely loves action/adventure movies and the more things that blow up the better. Her eyes light up as we watch the super heroes—Iron Man, Captain America and basically the entire retinue of the Marvel Comic Book characters now made into action figures for the movies. The good guy defeats the really despicable villain and everyone leaves feeling like justice has been served and the world is safe once more.

It really is what we want and deep down we hope someone will come to the rescue and the enemy will be vanquished. Of course as Christians we know that Jesus Christ came and lived among men and taught them a much different way of doing battle. He allowed the enemy to seemingly defeat him by nailing him to a cross and as he breathed his last it seemed that all was lost. The gospel story teaches us that in doing so Jesus defeated sin and death by taking our guilt upon himself and bearing the wrath of God on our behalf. It didn’t look like victory but it was, and still is for those who by faith embrace the hope and promise found only in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is the simplicity of the Christian message: Jesus came and defeated the enemy and rescued his people from eternal judgment. He didn’t look or act like our perception of a super hero but he was the ultimate one.

Last week we began a 5-week series on Matthew chapter 5 from what is called the Sermon on the Mount and our focus last week and this week is on the portion commonly called the Beatitudes or “The Blessings”. Last week we talked about the first four of these blessings:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

We discussed how the progression of these Beatitudes depended on beginning with “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Until we come to the place where we realize that we are beggars, spiritually bankrupt and completely dependent on the love and mercy of God through Christ, we will never be able to accomplish the other Beatitudes. Until God changes us by the power of his Holy Spirit we will never be those who mourn our sin, are meek and humble or who hunger and thirst for righteousness. We must be able to see through the eyes of God’s Spirit and have his mind in order to live according to the model of sacrifice and surrender that Jesus teaches us to follow. How Jesus is asking us to live as his followers is the antithesis of the model of strength that is revered by the world. Whoever heard of super heroes with names like: “Captain Righteousness” or “Humility Man?” The amazing physical abilities of the Marvel characters are as nothing against the enemy that we face but Jesus’ way brings ultimate defeat to our enemy.

In the meantime we are to bring the good news of Jesus’ victory to those who are still in bondage to Satan the enemy of God, and we are to continue fighting in the same way that Jesus did, in the power of God and strength and wisdom of his Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul knew the secret of this as we read in our epistle from 1 Corinthians 2:1–5,

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Paul wasn’t trying to impress them with his academic credentials and mental prowess which would make the focus on him because he knew that their focus must be on the power of God. This is where our power and strength are and we show that by demonstrating the Spirit’ presence in how we live our lives. With that in mind let’s continue considering the Beatitudes. Matthew 5:7,

•  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Remember that the effects of these blessings are cumulative and start with our own acknowledgement that we are poor beggars desperate for God’s mercy and grace to be poured out upon us. In light of that those who are to show mercy do so because they have received the mercy of God. It is mercy to be emptied of your pride and arrogance and brought to poverty of spirit. It is God’s mercy to be brought to the place of understanding the effects of your sin and mourning over your spiritual condition and it is mercy to receive the joy and grace of meekness and gentleness. It is mercy to be made hungry and thirsty for righteousness and to receive the nourishment and refreshment that you have longed for. Therefore God expects those who have been shown such mercy to willingly give it to others.

I remember having this truth driven into my heart when I was the director of a homeless shelter for men. It wasn’t unusual for one of our residents to fail a drug or breathalyzer test thereby violating the rules of our shelter. I had no choice but to dismiss them from the program and it wasn’t a surprise when I did because they had been forewarned. The others who were living there needed to see that we were serious about these rules so that they could have the motivation to stay sober. What they weren’t prepared for, and initially neither was I, was my reaction. I had many men stand there and weep because of their failure and at times I would be there hugging them and weeping with them.

I wanted their lives to be transformed even more than they did and sometimes I was the only one who believed that it could happen for them. You know why? Because I knew what it was to fail over and over again and I understood the frustration and hopelessness that I felt during those times. I also knew the embarrassment and guilt of letting myself and my family down and in those moments I didn’t feel anger towards those men but I felt the empathy that was born from common experience. I also felt hope for them because I had experienced the mercy of God through his people and mercy was what I longed to show them.

There were those who acted with anger and defiance and God would usually give me the grace to be patient with them because I could remember acting the same way and yet I was shown mercy. I stand before you today a much different man than I once was because I have been shown so much of God’s mercy. The one who has been shown mercy should find showing mercy a delight and a privilege. It must let you know that I still enforced the rules that were the foundation of our shelter but I had many men tell me that they always felt loved and it made them want to come back after our 30 day out period and try harder.

The promise that Jesus made to those who show mercy is that they will be shown mercy. A great example of that is King David who while being unjustly pursued and hunted by King Saul found himself in the position on two occasions where he could have killed his persecutor and no one would have blamed him. Instead he chose to not take advantage of Saul’s vulnerability but instead to show mercy. Perhaps when David committed adultery with Bathsheba and sent her husband Uriah to his death God showed him mercy because he had shown mercy.

•  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

We must teach plainly that the faith which saves the soul is not a dead faith, but a faith which operates with purifying effect upon our entire nature, and produces in us fruits of righteousness to the praise and glory of God. It is not by personal holiness that a man shall enter heaven, but yet without holiness shall no man see the Lord. It is not by good works that we are justified, but if a man shall continue to live an ungodly life, his faith will not justify him; for it is not the faith of God's elect; since that faith is wrought by the Holy Spirit, and conforms men to the image of Christ. We must learn to place the precepts in their right position. Precepts are not given to us as a way to obtain life, but as the way in which to exhibit life. The commands of Christ are not upon the legal tenor of "this do and live," but upon the gospel system of "live and do this." We are not to be attentive to the precepts in order to be saved, but because we are saved. –Charles Spurgeon

•  Blessed are the poor in Spirit

This Beatitude continues the flow that starts in “Blessed are the poor in Spirit” and shows the effect of the move of God’s Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. However, it is not limited to the idea of moral purity but reveals the result of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which produces a single, undivided heart that is completely devoted and committed to God. This is where we see the character and nature of the Beatitudes. They are not rules to live by or instructions on how to please God but instead show the outflow of the intimacy between the child of God and their Father who is in Heaven. This single-minded devotion is perfectly demonstrated to us by Jesus in his devotion to the Father, and the Father’ response to him. John 5:19–20,

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

Their relationship is not one of Master and servant but the intimacy of the Father and child and this is what we have been invited into. When we seek to know God in this way then we can begin to hear his voice and sense his presence. As this develops the Father speaks to us concerning what he is doing and then we can follow the example of Jesus and be doing what the Father has shown us. The promise of this beatitude is that our devotion to God will result in our seeing God. When we think of seeing God Heaven always comes to mind and rightly so because one day we will behold him face to face in his kingdom. I don’t think that the promise made to the pure in heart is limited to Heaven only but promises that we can see God now. For the pure of heart seeking intimacy with God can see God in nature and through all that he has made. They will see God through his Holy Word in Scripture and they will see him in the lives and faces of those within the church family. For the heart in tuned to God will see him in smallest of things as well as the more obvious. We see this hope in our epistle reading from 1 Corinthians 1:9,

What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.

•  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Those who through Jesus Christ are at peace with God find themselves living in peace within their own spirit and if possible they should live in peace with all men. They are following in the footsteps of Jesus who himself is the “Prince of Peace”. We should be those who strive to bring about peace, overcoming evil with good. One way we do this is through spreading the good news of the gospel because God has entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). In evangelism we seek for peace between men and God whom they have rejected and offended. Hebrews 12:14,

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

That being said, the peace that we seek is not to be seen as peace at any price, which ignores the truth of God’s word or even confessional standards that we hold dear. Jesus was not offering blessings to those who were against him or his church and insisted on their false views. We must always keep in mind that those who hate God, his word and his people will never know salvation until they have their hearts changed by the word of God. Our responsibility is to speak that word hoping that it will penetrate their hard heart and bring them to repentance and peace with God. Many within organized religion feel that we must always seek reconciliation through compromise so that there can be unity and peace. This is a false peace and puts those who would give up the truth of God’s word for the sake of peace with their neighbor in line for the judgment of God. This peace, that is nothing more than a lie and false promise of the devil ends up producing the opposite of real peace because the peace is not with God but with man.

We are to be 'first pure, then peaceable.' Our peaceableness is never to be a compact with sin, or an alliance with that which is evil. We must set our faces like flints against everything which is contrary to God and his holiness. That being in our souls a settled matter, we can go on to peaceableness towards men. –Charles Spurgeon

The promise for those who strive for peace while maintaining their stand upon the solid rock of Christ is that they will be called sons of God. Notice that the promise is not that they will be called the children of God but sons. The connotation of the word children is that of tender affection but the word sons implies dignity and high standing. God himself will own them as his sons. He is the one who sent his Son to make peace between God and man and he will acknowledge as his sons those who through the Spirit of his Son also make peace.

•  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The last beatitude is something of a paradox when seen in light of the previous beatitudes, especially the last one, peacemakers. Those who because of their love of God work for peace and reconciliation between God and man themselves are accorded the opposite of peace in this battlefield of spiritual warfare. The character traits that we have seen in the Beatitudes are not of much value in our modern culture. We don’t give awards for “Most Pure in Heart” or “Most Poor in Spirit.” Though they are not valued by most here they are norm for the citizens of the kingdom of God.

Today we are seeing one example after another of how those who hate truth react when the truth is told. The militant reactions by those who are radically pro-choice and pro-sexual expression in any way they want are a tangible indicator of how far we have declined as a people. At UNC-Berkley this past week students rioted and set fires in protest of a conservative speaker coming to their campus. They proclaimed that no one would be allowed to speak who did not embrace their radically liberal and seemingly demonic view of culture. Christianity is hated there and on many campuses around the country and Christian students are mocked and ostracized by many. The students who are doing this will be our future citizens and potential leaders. What does this mean to us?

Jesus points out that this has always been to lot of the prophets and it will be for those who stand and boldly claim that Jesus is Lord. The early church was plagued by those who spread lies about the Christians. They were called cannibals because of the misrepresentation of the practices of the Lord’s Supper. Families split because one member chose to follow Christ and the other wouldn’t. They were charged with treason because they wouldn’t bow down to the Roman gods and participate in emperor worship and yet they grew and flourished because they had fallen in love with Jesus and had been filled up with his Holy Spirit. Their affections were undivided and their focus was on the promises of God. Jesus tells us that in such times we should “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in Heaven is very great.”

Jesus closes out the Beatitudes with an exhortation to faithfulness to what he has just taught. He likens his people to salt and light: salt which, in a time when there was no refrigeration, served as a preservative and light is used to dispel the darkness. If his disciples would allow the Holy Spirit to move powerfully in and through them they would follow the pattern laid out in the Beatitudes and would end up hindering the corruption and decay of their culture and would shine the light of God’s saving work upon the hearts of those around. Then people would be able to recognize in tangible ways what the kingdom of God looked like.

We have been meeting to pray and ask God to move in power through our ministries here at Light of Christ and God has heard us and responded in many ways. For that I am exceedingly grateful but the one question that has been nagging at me throughout this series so far is this: Our persecution in this country may not be much compared to others, but if no one is speaking evil of you, are these Beatitudes traits of your life?

I’m asking God to show me where he wants to bring change into my life and where I am resisting. I believe that God will take us to places of intimacy with him. As we focus on the Beatitudes we must not let them become rules for us to obey but occasions for our intimacy with God to deepen. God wants to be more personal with us than we often realize. I want all that he has for me and for us.

Let’s pray.

©2017 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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