Sermon Nuggets Mon March 21 Happy Man
Verses- Matt 5: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Happy Man
A few years ago in parade magazine there was a survey of what citizens of various countries believe brought happiness. Austrians said health is most important precondition for happiness. The Finns said it was kindness. The Greeks mentioned honesty. The Dutch told us beauty in women and handsomeness in men make for happiness. The British claimed a sense of humor is indispensable. The Italians, Japanese, and Americans all agree that money is no guarantee if happiness but it sure helps.
I read that some people bring happiness where ever they go, some whenever they go." Show me a person who is completely dependent and trusting God and there will be one who is happy under various circumstances.
We introduced this theme last week as we through about the Sermon on the Mount. We began with the beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” We come to the Lord without personal merit only relying on his grace. We have no righteousness of our own. We see ourselves in light of God's perfection. No one can say, "I'll come to God when I'm good enough, or when I get my life straightened out, or I'll come to God when I'm living the way I should, because none of us will be good enough straightened out enough or live the way we should. We are sinners.
To be POOR IN SPIRIT is to recognize one’s spiritual poverty apart from God. It is to see oneself, as one really is; lost, hopeless, and helpless. Apart from Jesus Christ every person is spiritually destitute, no matter what his education, wealth, social status, accomplishments, or religious knowledge.
This keeps us from making the fatal error of thinking that God was less holy than He is and that we are more holy than we are. Being poor in spirit is the first beatitude because humility must precede everything else. No one can receive the kingdom until he recognizes that he is unworthy of the kingdom.
Jesus is saying, “When your recognize your spiritual poverty and have no place to turn, then you are blessed, because when you come yielded then I can give you the Kingdom by God's grace.”
My mind goes to the time when the disciples were trying to figure out who Jesus was. Peter, James and John were out fishing, but caught nothing. Jesus, from shore, asks how it went. Peter’s reply was they were fishing all night and caught nothing.
Jesus told them to go and put the nets on the other side of the boat. It always amazes me that from a human point, Jesus was a carpenter telling professional fishermen how to do their job.
The passage doesn’t record what they were thinking, but perhaps reluctantly they went and did as Jesus said. To their shock the nets were so full they were about to break.
That’s where God has to get us, to the place where our human efforts are useless. Where the only way it’s going to work out is for God to get involved. Peter realized Jesus wasn’t just merely a teacher to be called “master.” But He was God, so he called Him, “Lord.”
He was poor in spirit and although he didn’t know what would die ahead in the coming days and years, yet me made a decision that day to follow Jesus. He discovered the Kingdom of heaven.
Pastor Dale
Sermon nuggets Tues March 22 Mourning
Verses – Matt 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Mourning
I think some of the beatitudes follow a sequence. Since the poor in heart refers to the importance of our need and humility that explains our condition before the Lord it will result in mourning or sadness for sin.
I do not want to ignore the hope that we have as grief stricken people who are part of Gods’ kingdom. We certain experience grief in our world with the loss of loved ones, loss of friends, loss of homes or jobs. There will be comfort. There will be hope that turns those things around from eternity’s eyes.
But I wonder if Jesus is also saying being aware of sin and our need before God brings to us conviction of the soul and sorrow for sin. Recognition of the spiritual poverty is followed by mourning over that condition. When they enter the Kingdom of God they will be comforted. There will be relief.
There are some who mourn when things don't go their way. That is selfish not referred to here. Some mourn our of self pity and personal loss. What sense does it make to declare blessing those who are sad? We soon realize that authentic happiness does not mean the absence of sorrow. What Jesus is referring to is a Godly sorrow. A Godly sorrow reflects a broken heart and moves us to rest upon God. Hurt that drive us to such mourning brings God's comfort. When we cry unto the Lord for help, there is comfort His presence which satisfies.
When the poor in spirit have given up on their attempts to find happiness turn in humility toward God, when they see their emptiness before a righteous God they mourn their sin. It is then they discover they have been seized-wholly seized-by the grace of God. Kingdom people, therefore, mourn. God transforms their values and changes their perspectives.
One of the missing messages in today’s gospel of salvation seems to be repentance. Those who see themselves with their need see they are not worthy to receive salvation for they see themselves out of fellowship with a Holy God. That is when they come to Him in sorrow and seek salvation and desire to repent from their ways and embrace the Lord who will save all who come to Him.
When we have been touched by the grace of God we then mourn for the sin of the loved ones around us and see what victims they are. We mourn when people endure spiritual pain they do not have to endure. We want people to see the love available in God. We wonder why people do not turn to Him. We cannot live in a sinful world without mourning as we seek the heart of God. What breaks God's heart breaks our hearts.
But think also of the comfort. Those who experience greatest pain experience greater joy. Those who have been saved from the bondage of a sin full life better rejoice in their salvation. They know that which God has saved them. We see this dichotomy demonstrated in Jesus life. What we see in Jesus Christ is one who experiences the hurts and pains of our life. We see Jesus weeping over the death of his friend Lazarus; we see Jesus filled with compassion, suffering with the sick and dying; we see Jesus taking the sin of the entire world into himself and dying on a Roman cross. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
But then comes the joy, the comfort, the peace, the celebration. Then on Easter we see the victory.
Mary Magdalene was a great mourner at the grave of Jesus. She was faithful to the end. She mourned when he cried out in agony on the cross. Peter and the others could not handle it that ran for safety from the horror of it; they ran back to fishing, back to families and homes. But Mary stayed with her grief. So to the tomb she went weeping that morning, simply to be the like a loved on goes to grave of the person they lost. She went to cry and finish the preparation for burial since she and the other women had to leave so quickly.
To whom did the resurrected Lord first appear on Easter? Who felt his comforting presence before anyone else? It as Mary who stayed with her grief until the comfort came.
For some they will not experience the complete comfort in this life, but rather the filling of the Holy Spirit that is the seal for the life to come. Those that mourn will be comforted.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds March 23 Meekness
Verse- Matt 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Meekness
Too often our culture interprets meekness as a spineless, ineffective weakness. In the secret life of Walter Mitty James Thurber presented a man who imagined great things through courage and accomplishments in his secret dream life, but in reality had a personality who couldn't stand up to anyone and was a door-mat to the world. In our society one who is meek seems to be taken advantage of by others.
We admire the mighty and the successful. The sharks of our society make things happen. We perceive the meek of society watch things happen. Many delight to the call to valor. The recent air strikes over Libya have an appeal of strength that seeks to stop the attacks by the evil dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi.
It is easy for Christians to adopt a stance that says ‘no one is going to push us around’. But "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong..” (I Cor. 1:27)
The secret behind Samson was not his muscles; it was the Spirit of the Lord. The Christian will either rely on our own earthly resources, or on the Spirit of the Lord and the difference is night and day.
The Lord told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is perfected in weakness." Weakness and meekness are not the same thing.
Aristotle referred to the term meekness to indicate a balance between two extremes. It was used to indicate anger at the right time and never at the wrong time or in the wrong way. It highlights a sense of moderation but with a spirit of seeking others good more than your own. Perhaps words for our culture to understand might be yeildness or subjection of one's emotions so they are under control.
In the context of the spiritual happiness and blessing from God the term takes on an added meaning. Blessed is the one who is poor spiritually, and has spiritual sorrow for confession then one is in the position of being yielded to God and seeks to have God now control their own urges, passions, and life. Many are unhappy because they will not mourn for their sin, nor yield themselves unto God, but think have something they can give to God.
When we freely admit our weaknesses, there's no more show to put on before the world. We don't have to prove anything to anyone other than we're dependent on God. When we acknowledge the truth about ourselves and the truth about the completeness of Christ and rejoice in him, the Lord gives us His wisdom and strength.
Jesus demonstrated meekness in the garden when he said, "Lord not my will, but Thine be done" It is seeking to let God take control of ones life. But Jesus also stood against his accusers and attackers. The pierced lamb ready for the sacrifice is the picture of the might from God. Through Christ's meekness the victory over all the forces of evil was established.
The meek shall inherit the earth. Notice the meek are not taking the earth by force, but inheritance comes as a gift that is promised by another. God promises to give us the earth when we are yielded to His will and not seeking our own advantage. Jesus owns the earth and all that is in it belongs to him.
When will there be an earth to inherit? I believer Scripture is pointing to the Millennial reign when there will be ushering in a new Kingdom order on earth after Jesus’ return. And following there will be a new heaven and new earth. We shall reign with him eternally.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs March 24 Righteousness
Verse- Matt 5: 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Righteousness
Bob Bonebrake recalls after church his brother and sister would persuade their father to buy sodas and ice cream. One Sunday he protested, "Where does it say you kids should always get something to eat and drink right after church?" In the Bible they responded, "It says, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness."
What is it we hunger and thirst for? These words come from the poverty stricken culture where people in the desert area know what dying of thirst means; We do not. They know what hunger is and what starvation is; we do not. They know that when they are so hungry nothing else but food matters. They don't care how they look, whether they have shoes whether they own a house, the very basics for survival is food and water. With that kind of craving for life, Jesus poses the thought. Blessed are they that have that desire and ambition for righteousness, the desire to do what is right and doing what God would have us do.
Notice the blessed man is not necessarily the one who achieves goodness, or righteousness, but the one who longs for it with all his heart in spite of his failures and failings. David desired more than anything to build the temple for God but it was not in God will, yet according to I Kings 8:18 Because it was in your heart to have a temple built for my name you did well to have this in your heart."
David was blessed for that which was his desire. When people hungered Jesus said I am the bread of life when they thirsted Jesus said, I am the living water.
Would our world change if our ambition were to serve God? The lusts of the heart, according to the Bible, are self serving. The things we long for, beyond our basic needs, does not satisfy. Saved people find purpose in a life that is devoted to God. Those are the treasures in heaven that will not pass away.
One man translated this verse this way- "O the bliss of the man
who longs for total righteousness for that man will be truly satisfied.” How unhappy are they who do not desire God and instead live for things that pass away. They will find themselves hungry and thirsty for momre, but never filled. Jesus said in Matt 6:33 “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri March 25 Mercy
Verse Matt 5: 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Mercy
Another stepping stone for spiritual happiness relates to our relationship with others. We begin recognizing our need, mourning over our sin, yield our hearts to God in meekness, desiring to be filled with righteousness from God and doing his will. Then we need to reach out to others with the same mercy that God has shown to us. If we have received such tremendous mercy, can we fail to be merciful to others? How much is kindness toward others seen in your life? How much is kindness from Christ shown to you?
Mercy most often is shown in forgiveness. It realizes hurts, debts, and sins can be put aside for the sake of a relationship.
Merciful people do not hold others to a standard they cannot keep themselves. As we have been forgiven out of that same mercy forgive others. As we thirst for righteousness in our own lives, we find our hearts more and more broken for the needy.
I was watching a concert on PBS last week where in costume the singers sang the songs from Les Miserables. Victor Hugo tells the story of Jean Valjean, who stole a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving children. After serving 19 years for his crime he was released. Unable to find work because he had been a convict, he came to the home of a Bishop who kindly gave him supper and a place to sleep. Yielding to temptation, however, Valijean stole the Bishops silver plates and slipped out into the night. But he was apprehended and brought back to the scene of his crime. The kind Bishop did not want to prosecute the man. Deciding to try and win him to the Lord instead, he told officers he wanted Valjean to have the silver plates. Turning to the culprit he said, "And Jean you forgot to take the candlesticks." He handed them to him. The criminal was astounded, and the kindness later resulted in his conversion. This brought a deep sense of joy to the compassionate Bishop.
God will reward us with additional blessing and increased happiness. As Ralph Scot comments, "Kindness is a hard thing to give away; it keeps coming back to the giver."
That isn't always easy. It isn't our nature. We want revenge. Like one T-shirt said, "I don't get mad, I get even."
Jesus sought instead to get into the skin of man and walked this earth and showed mercy to those in need: the lame the blind, the deaf, the poor, the sick, the prostitutes, the tax-collectors.
James 2:13 says, God will not show mercy when he judge the man who has not been merciful." We recite the Lord' prayer at times, Lord forgive me my transgression as I forgive those who trespass against me." Like Joseph showed to his brothers who wronged him and sold him into slavery; like Moses showed to the Israelites again and again when they rebelled against him; like Stephen prayed for the persecutors throwing stones at him, "Father forgive them they do not know what they are doing"
Watch for an opportunity to extend mercy and kindness to someone today.
