Kingdom Living

I'll take your Bible and turn back with me to Matthew chapter 5. I'm sure it's there. I already turned there from our scripture reading earlier, Matthew chapter 5. Of course, last week we've gotten started in our series on the Sermon on the Mount and I am titling this series, "The Extraordinary Christian Life." This morning we will be in verses 3 to 12, but obviously we will not divide all of these verses. Now, as we journey together in a few portions of scripture here in Matthew 5, I will reference other passages and like I always do, I just invite you to write those passages down for your own study.

But just keep your Bible here at Matthew 5 and you'll be okay throughout the message. Now, in last week's message, I sought to introduce to us this sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. We dealt with what I called a broader background and then I went on to what I called a specific setting of the sermon. The background was the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry and his very, very fast growing popularity. We saw that in Matthew chapter 3 and chapter 4. And then we moved on to the specific setting, which was Jesus teaching the crowds there on the mountainside, right there by the Sea of Galilee. We saw that in chapter 5 verses 1 and 2.

And then last week I went on to share some very practical information. I shared our approach to the sermon. Then I went on to why the sermon is so important. And then last I shared the purpose of the sermon. Now, everything in last week's message brought us right up to the actual sermon. And the actual sermon starts right there in verse 3, when Jesus opens his mouth and begins to speak. Simply last week I sought to introduce to us what many Bible scholars say is the greatest sermon within the Scriptures. Therefore, it would be the greatest sermon that was ever preached. And I wholeheartedly agree.

And that is why I call the Sermon on the Mount the Sermon. That was the title of last week's message. And if you hear me use that phrase throughout the sermon this morning, I'm just referencing to that thought. This is the sermon, the greatest sermon, the most important sermon ever taught. Now this morning we have before us the first section of the sermon or the first division of the Sermon on the Mount. Most scholars call verses 3 to 12 the Beatitudes. Many of you probably have a heading in your English Bible right there above verse 2. Now a couple of questions. What does this title mean?

And then specifically, what does this word Beatitude mean? These are questions that we need to ask. And answering these questions will help us more than you know. The word Beatitude is not found in the English translations of the Bible. It's just a heading. It is not found in the actual text. It is a Latin word used as a heading and as a description of the verses, verses 3 to 12. The word Beatitude means a declaration of blessedness, especially as made by Christ. One commentator simply defines this word Beatitude as blessings. Both definitions are accurate in defining the word.

So we need to see this first section, this first division that is right before us in the Sermon on the Mount. These are what's called the Beatitudes. These are words or statements of blessings from Christ. These are words of blessings by Christ for those who are listening. Now there was the original audience. I mentioned that last week. I will continue to mention the original audience. We had the chosen disciples. We had the vast number of Jews. And then we had those Gentiles as well. But we need to see that this teaching is also for us here this morning. We are the audience.

Now when we look into verses 3 to 12, there is one word which dominates the conversation. And there is one phrase that really is almost hidden. This one word is very easy to see while this phrase can be overlooked. Now this word Blessed, which is right in front of us, I'm sure you've seen, it is spoken nine times from verse 3 down to verse 11. It's right there in front of you. Look at your verses, your copy of God's Word. Verse 3, Blessed. Verse 4, Blessed. Verse 5, Blessed. You might say, "Pastor, that's obvious for us to see." All the way down to verse 11. That dominates the conversation.

And then this phrase, "Kingdom of heaven," it is spoken two times in verse 3 and in verse 10. Look at verse 3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And then on down in verse 10, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Two times and those phrases can be overlooked.

Now personally, in all of my studying this week, in all of my preparation to get to this portion of the sermon, the Beatitudes, I just really could not get away from this word Blessed, and I could not get away from this phrase, "Kingdom of heaven." As I prayed more and more, as I kept coming back to the Word, coming back to my study material, this word Blessed and this phrase, "Kingdom of heaven," it just kept coming to the surface, coming to my mind. It just kept rolling over in my heart in prayer.

And I strongly feel that before we can get into each of these Beatitudes, starting in verse 3, we must fully understand this word and this phrase. And for some of you, for some of us, to really get all that the Lord wants us to get here, we will have to be faithful to study and to pray and to maybe even seek some counsel to grasp what the Lord wants us to see this morning. So that will be our approach this morning. We will examine this word Blessed, and then we will move on and we will examine the phrase "Kingdom of heaven," and then I believe that will get us ready to examine the individual Beatitudes.

So the first thing that we're going to see this morning is this word Blessed. First is this word Blessed. Now in our effort to understand this word Blessed, I want to ask us three questions. They're very simple. What and then where and then how. You can jot that down easily. What, where and how. Those are the three questions around this word Blessed, and these questions will help us understand the meaning of this word and how it applies to you and to me. So let's start off, number one, with what is this Blessedness? What is this word Blessed?

In all of the definitions and explanations that I studied, there are two things which always seem to come up in everything I looked at. First, scholars state that Blessed means a form of happiness, but second, all of the scholars that I read, they say it is the opposite of our cultural definition and understanding of happiness. One commentator said that our culture is so accustomed to happiness being demonstrated by material possessions, physical circumstances, and physical experiences that it is virtually impossible to use this word happiness in defining this word in the scripture Blessedness.

For me, I do not mind using happiness if we explain the source of this Blessedness of this happiness. The source of this Blessedness is not from the world, but from a spiritual work within a man. This Blessedness comes from something from within and it is something which is independent of physical circumstances. One of the Bible commentators that I referenced from time to time, I've used his material throughout the years. He's very respected. His name is William Barclay and he helps us here. And I'm going to give you a quotation of his. It has really helped me and then I'm going to add to it. Now I'll tell you what I add to his quotation.

He says, and I'm quoting human happiness is something which is dependent on the chances and the changes of life, something which life may give and which life may also destroy. But Christian blessedness is completely untouchable and unassailable. And I'm adding, and it is within the Christian because an inner work of God. The Bible commentator D.A. Carson kind of puts it the same thought in a different way. I think this will help as well. And I'm quoting, "Those who are blessed will generally be profoundly happy, but blessedness cannot be reduced to happiness." So what have we seen here?

This blessedness from verse three all the way down to verse 11, it is an inner joy. It is a blissfulness. It is a happiness. It is not determined, affected or destroyed by any physical circumstances. It is the inner condition of the Christian, whether they be man or woman or young or old. It is the inner character of that Christian. So that's the first question. What is this blessedness? And this takes us right up to that second question. Where? Where does this blessedness come from? Where does this blessedness come from? Now I have stated that this blessedness, this joy, this happiness, it is an inner condition.

It is a character within the Christian. It is a work within the man. But that poses a problem. How can this blessedness come from within a sinful man? We need to think about that. We know that man is sinful by nature. I've taught you that thoroughly here in the life of our church. Chapters like Romans chapter three teach us that man is corrupt to the core by his very nature and nothing comes out of a man but sin because of that total corrupted nature. So a question, how can this work of blessedness come about within a sinful man? Now that's the million dollar question.

We need to see the source of this blessedness and then we will see the best example of this blessedness and then we'll move on to the manifestation of this blessedness. Now again, we're exploring the question, where does this blessedness come from? Notice the source of this blessedness. I'm going to give you the source of this blessedness. Now I have stated that this blessedness is not dependent on physical circumstances. Its source is not from without but we need to see another layer of meaning. This word blessedness is a word which speaks of one's character. I've already used that word. It speaks of one's being.

When used of man, it speaks of man's character or his being. Now the reason I can say that this word is used of character, it is used many times to describe God. Psalm 68 verse 35 says, "Blessed be God." Psalm 72, 18 says, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel." And we see the same phrase in Psalm 19 verse 12 and then we even see it also in the New Testament specifically in 1 Timothy 1, 11. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1, 11, "In accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God." Now, what are we seeing here? This condition of being blessed is true of God. It describes God's actual character. Now a question, why is that important?

This tells us that God, God himself is the source of this blessedness. But let's continue. Let me show you the example of this blessedness. We go from the source of the blessedness to the example of this blessedness. Now I do not say an example. I say purposely the example because Christ Jesus is the example. The word blessed is used to describe Christ Jesus as well. Psalm 6 verse 15 says of Christ Jesus, "He who is the blessed and only Savior, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords." Now this should not surprise us. We know that Christ spoke only what the Father told him.

He did only what the Father told him to do and he was, Christ Jesus, the exact representation of God in the flesh. So it should be easy for us to see that Christ Jesus is the, he is the perfect example of this blessedness. Simply because Christ was God, he is and was the perfect example. Now the next step. I've showed you the source. I've explained to you Christ is the example and now notice the manifestation of this blessedness. The manifestation of this blessedness. Now we've established that this blessedness is an inner work of man. It is an inner work of joy. It is an inner work of blissfulness or happiness.

It does not come from anything external nor can it be affected by anything of the external. And we have seen that God himself, he is the source of this blessedness. This blessedness, it represents his character. And then we see Christ, he was the perfect example of this blessedness in every way. Now another million dollar question, where do we see the manifestation of this blessedness? We see the manifestation of this blessedness in those who were truly born again. True believers are the ones who have partaken of God and of Christ.

Timothy 1.4 says, "True Christians are partakers of the very divine nature of God." That means that we can know the same blessedness, the same joy, the same blissfulness, the same happiness that is of God, of Christ and seen in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the character of God being imparted to man. So what are we seeing here? This question. Simply the source of this blessedness is God. The example of blessedness is Christ. The manifestation of this blessedness is in those who were born of God. They have God living within them, therefore his character is being made known in them and through them. Then let's move on.

Notice our third question. Still we're exploring this word blessed. How can blessedness be made real in our lives? How can this blessedness be made real in our lives? Now think about it. You tell me. That's a rhetorical question I know. You tell me. You tell me how this blessedness is made real in your lives and in my life. It is right here in verse 3 going on down to verse 11 and 12. That is why Jesus taught the Beatitudes. That is why Jesus taught the greatest sermon that was ever preached. John 10.10 says that Jesus came to give men life and not just life but life to the fullest.

Now look, this life to the fullest has nothing to do with a new car but everything to do with this inner work of blessedness, this inner work of blissfulness, this inner work of joy and happiness. And starting in verse 3, Jesus introduces his people to a massive inner work which will produce what we need more than anything and that is a work of blessedness and joy and blissfulness and spiritual happiness that can only come from God. And next week we'll jump into this inner work of blessedness and we'll see how it can be made real in our lives in a way in which some of you have never seen. So let's take a step back here.

Let's see what we have looked at in examining this word blessedness. I have explained to you what it is. I have explained to you where this blessedness comes from. I have shown you how it can be made real in our lives. Now notice what I have done so far. One word, look at your scripture, verse 3, blessed, one word. Now let's move on. I want us to examine this phrase, kingdom of heaven. So we've looked at first the word blessed and then second, let's notice this phrase, let's study this phrase, kingdom of heaven. Now in our effort to understand this phrase, kingdom of heaven, again I want to ask us three questions.

First why and then second what and then third how. Very easy for you to write down what, why, what and how. And of course I'll flesh these out just like I did previously in examining the word blessed. So let's start off with our first question. Number one, why is the kingdom of heaven important? Why is it important for us to study this phrase, the kingdom of heaven? Why is this important? Someone might say, pastor. She's only mentioned two times. So I'll take the time to study this phrase. Now on the surface we could think that the reward for the kingdom applies only to the first and the last of these beatitudes.

We can think that this only applies to verse 3 and verse 10. But we need to see the literary structure here within these verses in the original language. The structure brackets everything between the two statements in verses 3 and 10. These are brackets. I use the term bookends which are inclusive. That means this term, theirs is the kingdom of heaven, is applied to every verse within the brackets. It's inclusive. So we could read each of the beatitudes to include this statement, theirs is the kingdom of God and we would be accurate. We would not be mutilating the scripture. Let me go back and show you.

"Blessed," verse 3, "are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Verse 4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." According to that literary structure, we can do that with verse 4, verse 5, verse 6, every one of the beatitudes. So that means that there are eight kingdom statements and nine blessed statements. That's why it's important to study this phrase, "kingdom of heaven." So what do we have here? This kingdom of heaven, it is a reward. Isn't that what verse 3 says?

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." But this reward is connected with all of the other beatitudes. So let's look at our second question. What is the kingdom of heaven? What is the kingdom of heaven? Now before we can see what it is, we must see what it is not. Now the idea of the kingdom within the scriptures is not primarily seen as physical kingdoms or geographical boundaries. It's not physical. So here in the beatitudes, Jesus is not speaking of anything physical, no physical kingdom, whether it be past, present, or future. But that leads us to what the kingdom is.

Within the scriptures, the kingdom of God is seen in two ways, in a universal sense, and then in a particular sense. Or I can say it another way, the kingdom of the world in a universal sense, and then the kingdom of the redeemed in a particular sense. Now I want us to examine these. Notice the kingdom of the world. Now we must see that God's reign and kingdom is all-encompassing. God's reign is eternal. No one and no one thing is outside of God's reign and God's kingdom. This speaks to the totality of God's sovereignty. It encompasses all. God rules over North Korea. God rules in the Middle East.

As a matter of fact, we have a young man from our church. He is in a very dangerous place in Southeast Asia doing mission work. And listen, God rules in every village and in every city where He may go. But that is not the kingdom spoken of here in most of the New Testament. That is not the kingdom of God here, right here in the Beatitudes. So let's notice the kingdom of God I call the redeemed or the particular. Now in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus differentiates between the redeemed and the unredeemed. Between the lost and the saved.

Towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Chapter 7, Verse 21 and 22, Jesus says that not all who profess Him as Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven. He goes on to say that many will not enter who even profess His name. But that is not the case with those within the Beatitudes starting in Verse 3. Only the poor in spirit will enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus taught the same reality in John 3.3 when He said that those who were born of the spirit, they can understand the kingdom, perceive the kingdom and enter into the kingdom. These are the redeemed. These are the born again. Those within the kingdom.

Now I need to take this a little further. I want to go a little further down this road so that you can see what this kingdom really means and how it applies to us. What we must see is what the kingdom looks like for those of us who are redeemed. Basically, it is fairly simple. I will use two words here that will help us understand this. This word relational and a word vocational. You might want to write those down. The word relational and vocational. After we are born again, we relate. We relate to Christ as Lord of our life. This was the confession of Thomas.

Remember when we were in John chapter 20, specifically verse 28, when Thomas saw and touched Christ's wounds, he confessed humbly, "My Lord and my God." That is how Thomas related to Jesus. All true believers within the New Testament related to Christ as Lord. Now this word vocational. When we are born again, not only are we called to Christ, but we are called to and united with the church. We are called to plant our life into the church and to serve God within the church. I use the word vocational because 1 Corinthians chapter 12 says that each believer is given at least one spiritual gift to be used in service in the church.

We have a vocation within the church. In a great way, that becomes our vocation because Christians are called and gifted to serve in the church within the kingdom. Just this week, I heard a quotation from Brother Jeff Noblett that captures this so well. I just put it down and I think it will help you here. I'm quoting, "The one who professes true saving faith in love is drawn toward, he rejoices in and contributes to the work of the assembly of God's people." What have we seen here with this kingdom of heaven? This kingdom is God's personal rule and reign in the life of the believer.

This kingdom is serving Christ Jesus in kingdom work on earth for the believer. That kingdom work is the work of the church. That is what is seen within the pages of the New Testament. And then our third question, still dealing with the kingdom of heaven. How does the kingdom of heaven apply to me? How does the kingdom of heaven apply to me and apply to you? If you think about it, you should see that the kingdom of heaven applies to us in two ways. Either we're in or we're out. There's no middle ground, folks. There's no middle group. There's no in between. We are either in or we are out. You are in or you are out.

As we study each of these beatitudes, there will be two works that God will do among us. For those of us who are born again and the Spirit of God dwells within us, we will see that true kingdom living, we will see what that looks like. And oh, it is the opposite of living according to the world. The world, they will say we are complete fools for striving to live this way. No, we will be drawn to this life. The Spirit will bring us into that life. And we will be compelled to seek after this blessedness, this blessed living, and we will see ourselves living in the kingdom.

But for those of you who are not born again, you will see yourself on the outside, on the outside, on the outside, only looking in. This reminds me of the testimony of a young person that I counsel with, and they were telling me how the Spirit of God was drawing them to salvation, and they were seeing saved people all around them, and they described how they were living on the outside, on the outside, on the outside, and that's how it applies to some of you. So let's take a step back, examining this phrase, the kingdom of heaven. What have we seen here? I've explained to you what it is.

Yes, it is God's sovereign rule and reign in the world and in all eternity. There is a great comfort in that reality. I can travel to the most dangerous neighborhood, the most dangerous country, and stand before the most dangerous dictator, but God is still sovereign right there. But I have shown you that you, as a born again Christian, we possess a life in the kingdom. He rules over our lives, and we are a part of kingdom work. In this life, in this work, there is a guaranteed attachment of blessing with the Beatitudes. Now, this truthfully led me right up to a particular time in my life that some of you are familiar with.

Most of you know that I spent 10 years in full-time ministry, and then I spent a bit of time in my vocational ministry, used to work for a contractor, a building contractor who built homes. Truthfully, he built upper-end homes, as a friend of mine would say, homes for the other half, how the other half lives, a million, two million dollar homes. One particular thing about the boss, the contractor, he was fanatical about proper foundations, proper footings. Now, some of you might not know what a footing is, but if a house is built on the slab, up under that concrete slab, there are footings over 30 inches wide, and they would go deep.

Sometimes, they would go deeper than you think, and the idea was to dig down past the topsoil to the clay, to that soil that does not shift. The footing is up underneath the slab, and it is all under the exterior walls and under any load-bearing interior walls. He was fanatical about proper, proper footings. Why? Because he knew without a proper foundation, those walls would settle over time. The house would settle. The house would move.

You know, when you're building a nice home, an expensive home, and you're wanting that home to stand through the years, stand through the generations, stand through the storms, stand without moving, a proper foundation is needed. It's unseen, but without that proper foundation, time will tell. Now, with all that we have examined this morning, what have I sought to accomplish? Understanding the meaning of this blessing, this blessedness, this joy, this inner happiness that Christ has for us, understanding the meaning of possessing and living life in the kingdom of God.

This is the foundation for embracing this inner work that God wants to do in us through each of these beatitudes. Listen to your pastor. Don't overlook this foundation. A proper foundation is essential for any physical building, and this foundation is essential for the life that God wants to build in us through these beatitudes. So what have we seen this morning? To be honest with you, I've wrestled and wrestled and wrestled with the title of this message. The commentators, the resources that I look at all dealt with it differently, but for me, it just came down to two words. Kingdom living. This is the beginning of kingdom living.

Yes, a part one, part two, part three, as many messages as it takes to get through each of these beatitudes. What are we dealing with? Kingdom living. Blessed living. Happy living in Christ Jesus. Blissful, joyful living as we live in the kingdom, and this work is being made known in us and through us. What do we have? Kingdom living. Kingdom living. I believe that if we will be faithful to go through these beatitudes one by one, one by one, we will see ourselves living in the kingdom in a way in which we've never seen before. Now as we close the question, pastor, why take the time? Why the time sometimes to go one word, one phrase at a time?

Why take our time to get all that we can get out of these beatitudes starting in verse three, going all the way down? Why do the work? Why take our time like this? Why not just go on through the work of God in you is worth it. The time that the Spirit needs to unfold the meaning here, it is worth it. He is worth it. The life that he wants to bring about in you and me is worth it. And his glory in your life and in the life of the church and the work he wants to do through us in the years to come through this, it's worth it. It's worth it. Now I'll remind you of an illustration that I gave you last week.

Remember I told you that I had really kept up with a new story throughout the summer. It was the story of all of the individuals, men and women from all over the world making that journey to climb the highest mountain peak in the world. That's Mount Everest. I told you how I had been keeping up with the problem there on the mountain. That is the track up, the mini tracks up the mountain are littered with garbage, human waste, even dead bodies.

There's a great effort within the climbing community to clean up Mount Everest, to get all the waste and even the dead bodies and all of the garbage off the mountain to return it back to its pristine place. And I shared with you that we are ascending the greatest sermon ever preached. And my call, my challenge for you again is afresh and anew, to clean up our lives, to be faithful to be here, to hear what God would say, to come in clean and ready and deal with sin and deal with attitudes and get our rest and come in ready as we seek to ascend the highest mountain peak of the greatest sermon ever preached. What do we see? Kingdom living.

Let's pray and then we'll sing a song of closing at our service.