Sermon 1-23-11 beatitudes pt 1 Mt 4:23-25 5:1-12 yyyy
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[g] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Large crowds followed him
Religious
Broken
Greeks from the decapolis
Arabs, jews, gentiles, tax collectors, sinners,
Random collection
This is what the kingdom is like………random collection
Among this crowd, he singles some people out…..
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
The kingdom is for them – it is coming upon them. It is for them
Poor in spirit is not a good thing
It is the marginalized
Those who don’t fit in
Losers, spiritual zeros, pathetic, morally empty, end of rope, bankrupt, lame, without a trace of good.
This is not a condition to which we should aspire……..
Sometimes it is translated-blessed are those who know how much they need god
So now the blessing is given to those who’ve attained a level of humility
Ah I have the gift of humility so now I am blessed
And we have earned it
No, there is nothing good here.
Nothing worth celebrating.
Nothing by which a person would say, ah, look at me, I have earned it.
Infact the opposite is true.
Unto the broken, the lost, the edge of society.
God is with you
This is good news
It is counter intuitive to how our brains work
There is nothing that you can earn
And the doctrine of grace begins
God leaves the 99 to find the one
Mt 18:10-14
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [11] [a]
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
The homeless man on the side of the road.
My last dollar on my person
Who is god more with, the preacher or the man on the side of the road.
Blessed – fortunate are you.
It is the divine – I am with you
Fortunate are the lame the broken, the spiritual zeros
If you are broken, this is good news for you.
This is an announcement.
Not instruction.
7 steps to get the blessing.
Here is what you need to do in order to get the blessing
It is an announcement.
This is just how it is.
God is on the side of everyone whom god should not be on the side of.
We don’t get this.
We want to find What good ting makes me worthy
I will get the blessing if I pray more, read more
no
Blessed are those who there is no reason why they should be blessed
The favor is pouring down on everyone who does not deserve it.
This is the gospel. Terribly painful to religious people.
Jesus destroys traditional religious thinking
He smashed the smug
Why. We want to know why?
We don’t know why except this is how god works
He leaves the 99 for the 1
He throws a party for the one who comes home
The elder brother is mad
Luke 15
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Why does this happen like this? This is how god is. It is what he does.
The banquet – what is the context here?
Luke 14:15
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
Why does this happen like this? This is how god is. It is what he does.
The people that get the blessing are always those who’re broken & lost
Its not because these people are good.
The opposite is true
There is no explanation
Except that god is like this
He loves the broken. And this is why we love him because we know that ultimately none of us have it figured out. None of us earn it. None of us deserve it, but gods love just comes pouring out
And we are held, we are embraced. We are forgiven.
The minute you think you deserve it, or have earned it, you are no longer among the poor in spirit. You play a different role in this story, and it is a place that none of us wants to be.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Are you poor. Broken. Crushed. Alone. Struggling with sin?
An announcement has been made. God is with you. His grace is poured out for you.
Blessed are those who there is no reason why they should be blessed.
Everyone here who is in financial trouble. God is with you.
Everyone whose marriage is in trouble. God is with you.
Everyone who has goofed up their life. God is with you
Blessed are the poor in spirit. God is with you
Do you see how god loves?
Do you see how god loves you?
When we can learn to love like this,
Then we have become true Christ follows and the gospel truly is good news.
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