Bailey Methodist Church
2/16/2025
  • God Of Grace And God Of Glory
  • Love The Lord
  • I Love You Lord
  • Blessed Be Your Name
  • Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow!
  • Luke 6:17–26 ESV
    17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. 20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
    Introduction: Continuing our sermon series on “Reclaiming the Nations,” we turn to Luke’s version of the Beatitudes from the “Sermon on the Plain.” Although Luke’s version is shorter than Matthew’s, it gives us Jesus’ striking teachings, revealing God’s upside-down kingdom. It challenges us to examine what makes us secure in this life and eternity.
     Part of reclaiming the nations for Christ means proclaiming this upside-down kingdom through word and deed. The kingdom of God is not just about living according to a set of principles. It is about taking out the enemy. He no longer has power over the world. Christ teaches us how to live in this new reality while continuing to battle against the principalities that enslave people to sin.
     What made sense before Christ no longer does. Our blessings do not come from our circumstances; they are based on Christ. Those who are cursed are those enslaved to the world through the promises of luxury and stability that are fleeting at best. Ultimately, our trust must be in Christ alone for all things. That is where true blessing resides.  

    1. A blessed life is rooted in Christ.

    "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20)
     Blessings are not based on worldly success. The world measures blessing by wealth, power, and comfort, but Jesus flips the script. The poor, the hungry, and the sorrowful are blessed because their dependence is on God.
    Jesus begins with the poor in the same way he begins the announcement of his ministry from Isaiah 61:1. Jesus has come to bring good news to the poor. As we stated earlier, this is a socioeconomic category as well as a spiritual one. We are to care for those who are poor and destitute and, therefore, must trust God for their needs. All those Jesus listed here are marginalized in the world. They are the righteous remnant in the prophets who remain loyal to Yahweh amid a godless nation. They follow God even when they are persecuted.
    Those who are poor, hungry, weeping, and rejected will inherit the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is not just the final kingdom that will arrive with the day of the Lord at the end of history but also the present reign that has begun with the arrival of Jesus Christ. The present and future are intertwined, and the kingdom blessings belong spiritually to those who follow Jesus now and will culminate in the final and full blessings of eternity. We are already part of God’s kingdom but will not see the fullness of it until Christ returns.
    At the beginning of this chapter, Christ is showing the people that the kingdom has been inaugurated with his coming. People are healed. Demons are cast out. His teaching is a reclaiming of what the law is supposed to be, not all the additions made by scribes and Pharisees over the centuries.
    Rejoicing in trials. When we face persecution for Christ, we should remember the prophets who suffered before us and know that God is preparing a great reward in heaven. The effects of being rooted in Jesus are not just for the here and now but for eternity. There is an eschatological reversal that takes place in verse 23. When opposition to the gospel increases, so does our joy. We are participating in the Lord’s suffering. The more we share in Jesus’ suffering, the more we share his glory. Our joy is eternal. Our blessing is not based on current circumstances but on the goodness of God through Christ. Our eternity is secure.
    Jeremiah 17:8 says, “He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” No matter the circumstances, the blessing of God remains. We are not anxious in times of drought. When we are rooted in Christ, we will still bear fruit. There will still be blessings.
    Application: Are we trusting in God daily, or do we only seek Him in times of trouble?

    2. There is danger in relying on temporary satisfaction.

    "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort." (Luke 6:24)
    The curse of self-sufficiency. Many rely on wealth, power, or popularity, thinking they are secure, but Jesus warns that these things are temporary. Those who seek the things of this world at the expense of others will gain in this life and lose everything in the next. We have gotten in the habit of relying on ourselves too much. We think that all we have in this life is because of us. This is not to disparage hard work. We are all called to work. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” God commands us to work to supply the needs of our families. That is our responsibility. What Jesus is talking about here is when the things that we possess become a god to us. We worship what we accumulate as status symbols for others to acknowledge us. We become idol worshipers. We worship the things made with human hands. Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”
     Temporary vs. eternal satisfaction. If we have everything we want in this life but lack a relationship with God, we are in danger of losing everything in eternity. What happens is our joy is predicated on possessions rather than God. When status becomes the reason for our work instead of using our skills for the glory of God, it leads us only to have joy when we have things. All the things of this life are temporary. When we get to the resurrection of the dead, our status on earth and all the stuff we accumulated will not be in the calculation of our eternity. We may gain temporary satisfaction here and now. But we will be separated from God if we do not place our faith in God alone.  
    Beware of human praise. If everyone speaks well of us, are we standing for truth or just trying to fit in? Jesus warns that people who chase approval may be compromising their faith. The reason for trying to gain the world is to seek worldly approval. We see this in so many parts of the church where they have abandoned the orthodox faith to pursue the love of the world. They don’t want the world to criticize them. The reason for this is to gain power in this life. It is not about the gospel. It is about how they can get into the halls of power. They value this world over God. They will receive their comfort now. But they will stand in judgment before the Lord.
     Application: What do we value most—eternal treasures or temporary comforts?

    3. We must choose where we place our trust.

    We must decide where we place our trust. Are we seeking comfort and applause or pursuing God’s kingdom? This is a question we all must ask ourselves. It is easy to live and receive praise from the world. When we live to be liked by those around us, it means that we are living contrary to the gospel. We place our trust in this world rather than in God.
     When we go back to the prophets of the Old Testament, this was always a temptation. Relying on worldly powers rather than God placed Judah and Israel in predicaments that led to their destruction. Jeremiah reminds the leaders of Judah that blessing comes to those who trust the Lord. The false prophets and teachers of the Old and New Testaments told people what they wanted to hear, not what God wanted them to hear.
     God’s blessings may not always look like blessings now, but they lead to eternal joy. The focus of many of these false prophets and teachers was to receive blessings now at the cost of one’s eternity. It was never about the substance of the message but pleasure in the here and now. When we look at today’s church, we can find this message in every corner. Some use the Bible as a self-help book. They believe that God wants us to be happy and prosperous and that no pain or suffering should ever come to us. If it does, it’s because you are not living right and do not have enough faith. You have others who want to throw sin out and tell people they can live how they want to if they love each other. That love is translated into a globalist doctrine that destroys families and communities through selfish ambition to feel better. The focus is trying to make life a life of utopian bliss where it is always sunny and 72 degrees.
     This kind of theology and teaching collapses with the reality of life. When we trust in worldly blessings, our first inclination is to blame God when things don’t go our way. But often, this is not the case.
     Curses are not punishments from God but the natural consequence of trusting in things that will fade away. In reality, God doesn’t always send curses against people or nations. He allows them to follow their path of destruction to its natural end. People’s propensity to sin leads to self-destruction. God doesn’t have to do anything. People are innately evil. Our nature is to go against God. We curse ourselves. God doesn’t do it for us. Trusting in this world and this life will destroy us because we have set up false gods and listened to false teachers who tell us that the goal of the Christian life is to be happy. It’s not. The goal of the Christian life is to live in obedience to Christ no matter the consequences of this world. We are to trust God above all things. This world is fleeting and will pass away. Peter says it will be burned up in a fire. Why would we place all our trust in a world that will be destroyed?
     Application: Are you building your life on Christ or on things that will not last?
    Conclusion: Where do you seek your blessings? Are you trusting in Christ, even when life is hard, or are you chasing temporary security? Jesus calls us to a life of faith, where the true blessing is found in Him alone. Choose the eternal blessings of God over the fleeting pleasures of the world.
    Call to Action: Evaluate your heart. Are you living for the kingdom of God or the approval and comforts of this world? Jesus invites us to trust Him fully, knowing His blessings will never fade.
  • Blest Be the Tie, that Binds
Bailey Methodist Church
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