Before I get into the body of this posting, I would like to take this opportunity to wish each one of you a “Happy Birthday”. At the end of this week, “We” (Americans) will be celebrating our 238th birthday, so I would like to encourage one and all to take a moment to reflect on what it means to live in “the land of the free, and the home of the brave.” Yesterday the Saint Louis Wind Symphony performed what has become our annual concert at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, MO, and everyone was in the red, white and blue spirit! What an honor to be part of such a meaningful celebration, and it brings to life the reality of the phrase “freedom isn’t free”. Those three words tell us why we should take a moment and thank a veteran or a current soldier for their service. As far as I know, only two people have volunteered to sacrifice their life so others might live in freedom: Jesus Christ and the American soldier. “Thank You” to both!
I have been drawn to the “beatitudes” for the past few weeks, realizing, as did the crowd gathered around Jesus, how absolutely contrary to “worldly thinking” and seemingly impossible that message was…and is! It was certainly a divisive message. Many who heard it were astounded by Jesus’ confidence and the authority with which he spoke. It was quite unlike what they were hearing from the teachers of religious law. But others thought he was nuts! “Are you serious? Blessed are the poor in spirit…the meek…those who mourn? ” Let me refer back to a paragraph near the end of last week’s posting, “Victory through Humility.”
Jesus described in the beatitudes the person after God’s own heart. This is a humble person; one who is aware of his own brokenness and his need for God. “Blessed are the poor in spirit (those aware of their brokenness) for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn (willing to repent), for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek (seeing the needs of others), for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (longing of the human soul for more of God) for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart (those filled with God) for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers (repairers of relationships), for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake (faithful to the truth of Jesus) for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:2-12)
Wow! What a calling. As Bob George states in his book, Classic Christianity, “the Christian life is not only hard to live, but impossible to live through our own effort.” So undoubtedly the answer begins with our attitude. God is clearly looking for a humble person, one who is aware of his lack of self- sufficiency. Nothing humbles a person more than finding themselves is a state of brokenness. Perhaps we are faced with the consequences of our choices: an addiction; an affair; outbursts of anger…or perhaps a threatening health report; a financial crisis; or the loss of a loved one. When we hit our bottom and there is no other place to turn; no light at the end of the tunnel and we finally cry out in total pathos, “GOD, HELP ME”, the good news is…God is waiting with open arms to welcome us home. In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-32), the father on the porch waiting for his son to come home is God; ALL OF US are the prodigal son.
We are told in Jeremiah 29: 13, “you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.” “With all your heart” means with a repentant heart. God isn’t interested in our words. He looks at the state of our heart. He knows the difference between a cry that means “God…get me out of this mess I’m in right now” and a cry that means “God, I know I can’t do this without YOU…HELP ME!” Repentance isn’t saying “I’m sorry” or “I’ll never do this again”. No! Repentance is about changing our mind; making a decision to live our life according to God’s will. Once we find ourselves in this state of “enlightenment”, we can begin thinking differently about God’s calling in the beatitudes.
Once we have cried out to God, “Help Me”, his first order of business is for us to come to know his Son. God is a loving God who wants a relationship with us – and eternal relationship, and the only way that is going to happen is by accepting his Gift of Grace. That was God’s plan for mankind “even before creation itself”. (Ephesians 1: 4) And we are told in Romans 5:6, 9, 11 “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us…”
In other words, God’s plan was always to send a Savior to do for mankind what we were unable to accomplish from Creation to 2000 years ago through our own effort. And that was to live a sin-free life that measured up to God’s standard as required by the law (the Ten Commandments). Romans 3:20 gives us an insight into man’s dilemma: “For no one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God’s law, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying it.” In Galatians 3:19,21-22, Apostle Paul answers this question about the law: “Well then, why was the law given? It was given to show people how guilty they are. But this system of law was to last only until the coming of the child (Jesus) to whom God’s promise was made. If the law could have given us new life, we could have been made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures have declared that we are all prisoners of sin, so the only way to receive God’s promise is to believe in Jesus Christ.”
God’s plan for our salvation is perfect! When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, our sins – past, present and future – are forgiven because Jesus became the sacrificial lamb and paid our penalty at the cross. Now we can come boldly into the presence of God without any fear of condemnation because we are in Christ. Three days later He rose to eternal life. More good news…we inherit that same eternal life because we are in Christ. Those two truths bring a sense of peace and serenity to all Christ-followers regarding our eternal destiny.
But what about now? How do we live the life Jesus called us to live in the beatitudes? That calling is as un-worldly and seemingly impossible today as it was when Jesus was preaching to the crowd.
The answer lies in the nature of God. God spoke through the prophet in Deuteronomy 31:6 stating: “Be strong and courageous! I will never leave you nor forsake (leave you hanging) you.” That’s a promise! So be strong and courageous! He will not ask us to do the seemingly impossible unless he equips us to meet that challenge, and that’s exactly what he did in the remaining part of the salvation package. When we accept His Gift of Grace, besides receiving forgiveness of sins and eternal life, we also receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (the essence of Jesus Christ in us.) The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to empower us to rise above this fallen world and to fully accomplish God purpose. Galatians 5: 17-18 tells us: “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to your sin nature.” This is “how” we become the Christians referenced in the beatitudes.
Being a Christian is not just a title or a statement of belief. Being a Christian is about how we live our life and about our life-style. We are called to become more like Christ-like every day. So what did Jesus model in his life? He modeled the truth of the God’s Word, and he did this by staying in communication with the Father. In John 5: 19, Jesus answered the Pharisees by saying, “I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does…” We are to model the same dependency on Jesus that he demonstrated with the Father. In John 15:5, Jesus tells us, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
Jesus learned first-hand how hard it was to live his teachings in this fallen world, and he also knew whatever strength and courage his Apostles had when carrying his message was drawn from him. That’s why he told them in John 16:7, 13, 15: “But it is actually best for you that I go away (to the Father), because if I don’t, the Counselor (Comforter, Guide, Teacher, Encourager, Advocate) won’t come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me.”
1John 4:4 tells us, “He (the Holy Spirit) that is in me is greater than he (Satan) that is in this world.” That’s a promise! And that says we are already victorious in this fallen world. So when we ask the Holy Spirit to give to us his wisdom, courage, strength, patience, perseverance, whatever it is we need to accomplish God’s purpose, the Scriptures tell us our prayer will be answered because we are in Christ. That is how we live the life of a “beatitude Christian.” It’s not done through our own effort, but by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us! And that is only possible because Christ has already overcome the world! John 16:33.
Are you a “beatitude Christian”? Why or why not? Feel free to give me your thoughts on this truth.
May God Bless ya…
Dan Presgrave, (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
Leave a Comment