First Baptist Church Litchfield
March 24, 2024

      • Psalm 95:6–7ESV

  • We Fall Down
  • Revelation Song

      • Psalm 118:1–7ESV

  • Lord I Need You
  • Build My Life

  • “If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.” Gandhi

    We are picking up where we left off last week. Remember, Gandhi had an unfortunate experience with the church. He had read the gospels and wanted to spend time in the church learning about Jesus. He was rejected because of his ethnicity and lower rank int he caste system.
    We came to the conclusion that the church he visited was not living out the ethics Jesus puts forth in the beatitudes. True believers recognize their poverty of spirit, that they are sinners in need of mercy. They mourn over their sin and its effects on the world. They are humbled by this knowledge and seek God’s mercy and grace.
    Today, we are examining the second part of the beatitudes.

    The Center of the Beatitudes

    The beatitudes are like a door. On the front side of the door the three beatitudes we discussed last week: poverty of spirit, mourning over sin, and meekness. To have a poverty of spirit is to recognize you are a sinner in need of God’s mercy. To mourn over sin is to hate sin the way God hates it. To be meek is to be humble. Those who have an impoverished spirit and mourn over their sin mortify their pride, humble themselves, waiting to be exalted by God.
    Matthew 5:6 is the door hinge or the center of the beatitudes, on which the first three and the last three hang. If the first three beatitudes describe our spiritual need, the six verse is God’s promsie to fulfill it. Danial Doriani sums it up well,
    “When Jesus blesses “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (5:6), he declares the spiritual consequence of the first three beatitudes. If we know our sin and spiritual poverty, if we mourn over it and live meekly because of it, we will hunger and thirst for righteousness. That is, we will seek it, yearn for it, and ask God to help us attain it.” (Doriani, Daniel M. 2008. Matthew & 2. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani. Vol. 1. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.) And God promises to satisfy our hunger and thirst.

    Those who flourish yearn for holiness (Matthew 5:6)

    Matthew 5:6 ESV
    6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
    All of us have a spiritual appetite. We have deep desires that the Bible describes needing quenched or satisfied. The Sons of Korah describe their soul as parched, thirsting for God, the living God (Psalm 42:2). Amos says we can experience spiritual famine (Amos 8:11-14). The Lord told Israel that they cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God’s mouth, as if God’s word was bread for the soul (Deut 8:3). The Lord says that those who are hungry and thirst cry out to Him and He delivers them:
    Psalm 107:4–9 (CSB)
    …5 They were hungry and thirsty; their spirits failed within them. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; he rescued them from their distress. 7 He led them by the right path to go to a city where they could live. 8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity. 9 For he has satisfied the thirsty and filled the hungry with good things.
    What is the good thing God gives you? It is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. Jesus says to those who have a deep desire for righteousness will be satisfied. Jesus is your food and your drink. Jesus says,
    John 6:35 ESV
    35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
    You must seek him. What do you do when you are hungry? What do you do when you are thirsty? You seek after food and drink. As a starving person seeks after bread and a thirsty person longs for water, so the righteous seeks Jesus to satisfy His soul.
    John Blanchard speaks of an odd tension with hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
    God promises to fill those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, yet the sign that he is doing so is that they go on hungering and thirsting.
    John Blanchard
    When you eat food your stomach reaches a point where you are full. Its a sign you are satisfied. With your heart however, hungering for more righteousness is the sign you are being filled with righteousness. The more you hunger the more God is satisfying you with his righteousness. What do hunger for? You hunger for truth. You hunger for prayer. You hunger for the word of God to read and applied to every part of your life. It is exciting to hear of people who cannot get enough of God’s word. That is because the more they eat of it, the more they want it, and the more God satisfies their hunger and thirst.
    Which brings up an intriguing question for you this morning. How hungry and thirsty are you for God’s righteousness?
    John Piper makes a sobering point. He says,
    The key to Christian living is a thirst and hunger for God. And one of the main reasons people do not understand or experience the sovereignty of grace and the way it works through the awakening of sovereign joy is that their hunger and thirst for God is so small.
    John Piper
    There is a problem I see in the church today regarding hungering and thirsting for Jesus. So many in the church hunger and thirst after an experience, some emotional movement of the soul. Affections do matter and they must be present in your worship. Affections are not what you hunger for, nor is experience. These create small appetites for God’s righteousness of they are what you seek.
    Another problem curbing your appetite for righteousness are respectable sins. Jerry Bridges wrote a book in 2007, called Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate. Respectable sins are those sins that we see are not vile like pedophilia or abominable like murder. The kind of sins we tolerate as “just being human” are sins self-pity, frustration, impatience, or resentment. These are respectable sins. (Bridges, Jerry. 2007.Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.)
    When respectable sins are tolerated in your life they are like an a-symptomatic cancerous tumor in your stomach that deceptively curbs your appetite for righteousness.

    Beatitudes of Action

    The next three beatitudes are beatitudes of action. They are the consequence of hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Just as my physical body changes when I eat and drink, so my soul changes when I am satisfied with God’s righteousness. These are not just personality changes. God is not satisfied to change my personality or accept external moralities. My character is transformed as I seek to be satisfied by God’s righteousness.

    Those who flourish show mercy to their neighbors (Matthew 5:7)

    Jesus says,
    Matthew 5:7 ESV
    7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
    The consequence of having an impoverished spirit is mercy. On the one hand, the impoverished soul recognizes their need for mercy. Remember the Tax collector. He could not lift his eyes to heaven. He beat his chest and pleaded for mercy. His heart was tender. He understood his failings. With this kind of heart he could see the failings of others through the lens of empathy. An impoverished soul can see their sin in others with compassion, and choose mercy over condescension.
    Mercy, says D.A.Carson, embraces both forgiveness for the guilty and compassion for the suffering and needy. (Carson, D. A. 1984. “Matthew.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, 8:134. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
    R.T. France says mercy is a generous attitude which is willing to see things from the other’s point of view and is not quick to take offense or to gloat over others’ shortcomings. Mercy sets aside society’s assumption that it is honorable to demand revenge. (France, R. T. 2007. The Gospel of Matthew. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.)
    Jesus expects a heart of mercy from his disciples. He says,
    Matthew 6:14–15 ESV
    14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
    Mercy naturally moves towards forgiveness. Jesus says you must be a forgiving person. In turn, you must be a merciful person. Jesus illustrates his commitment to mercy when he answers Peters question about forgiveness.
    Matthew 18:21–22 ESV
    21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
    Mercy must continuously flow from your heart like living water. It must express itself in forgiveness and works of compassion. How often did Jesus heal the sick (Matt 9:36; 14:14) or feed the hungry (Matthew 15:32), give sight to the blind (Matthew 20:34); or even raise the dead (Luke 7:11-15) because his mercy poured out of him. He was compelled to help those in need because mercy flooded his heart like a dam that broke onto those who were suffering.
    Charles Spurgeon says,
    God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of his light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.
    Charles Spurgeon
    As the Lord’s mercy is great toward you expressing itself in forgiveness, and compassion so must your mercy be great toward forgiving others and doing works of compassion. And God promise you, that those who are merciful will receive mercy.
    The Psalmist says,
    Psalm 18:25 ESV
    25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
    One of the best pictures of the Lord’s mercy is the father’s mercy toward his prodigal son. As prodigals with impoverished souls we recognize our need for mercy, and we see the Father..
    “You held out Your arms, I see them still You never left, You never will Running to embrace me, now I know Your cords of love will always hold Mercy's robe, a ring of grace Such favor undeserved You sing over me and celebrate The rebel now Your child” (Meghan Baird / Ryan Baird; Prodigal Son, Sons and Daughters)
    Oh, we have received great mercy from the Lord. As such let us give it mercy freely to others. May we pray with Alexander Pope,
    Teach me to feel another’s woe,
    To hide the fault I see;
    That mercy I to others show,
    That mercy show to me.
    Alexander Pope
    Mercy, friends, had much to do about the good life. We flourish when we are merciful.

    Those who flourish fellowship with God from a pure heart (Matthew 5:8)

    Matthew 5:8 ESV
    8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
    As I stated before, Jesus is not concerned with external moralities. He is concerned about your heart. And if you want to spend time with hIm, you must have a pure heart.

    What does purity mean?

    Purity means It is undivided devotion of heart along with inner moral purity, a moral uprightness as opposed to an outward ritual purity, a life-style of pleasing God, a single-minded loyalty to God that arises from inner cleansing. (EBC Carson, D. A. Matthew. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1995. Abernathy, David. 2013. An Exegetical Summary of Matthew 1–16. Exegetical Summaries. Dallas, TX: SIL International.)
    Those who mourn over sin hate their sin. They strive to mortify their sin. As we heard from John Owen last week,

    “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” John Owen

    Purity, then in one sense, is an inner holiness, not simply outward piety. David touches on this in his psalm of worship. He says,
    Psalm 24:3–5 ESV
    3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
    Who can be in the Lord’s presence? Only those who have a pure heart. That is, those who have not worshiped other gods or have lied.
    In another sense, purity is free from hypocrisy. Purity is a single minded heart united loyal love to Jesus that expresses itself in joyful and intentional obedience. Purity loves to show mercy because purity loves mercy. The pure of heart hates adultery because it loves fidelity.
    When Jesus teaches on adultery, he’s not simply concerned with the outward work of adultery. He’s concerned with the thoughts and intentions of your heart. he says if you look at a woman and lust, you’ve committed adultery in your heart. That is, you have a divided heart and mind, which is impure.
    If there is a beatitude that burdens me the most, it is this one. I’ve rightly told you that if you spent ten minutes in my heart, or my mind for that matter, you would never want to speak to me again. Jeremiah is right to say the heart is desperately wicked, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). My thoughts plague me. One minute I can be praying through scripture. The next minute the most vile and unholy thought can grab the hand of my imagination and lead me to impure pastures. Furthermore, the more I want purity, the more I seek the Lord, the more aware I become of my sinful nature. So, how do I ever spend time with my God?
    A.W. Pink is helpful. He advises tender hearts to think of the consequences of being in Jesus’ presence. Seeing our sin inlight of Jesus is what exposes our impurity. Think back to Isaiah’s expericen with the Lord in Isiaiah six, or Peter’s experince int he boat with he relaizes who Jesus is. The more you look at Jesus the more you realize you are not like Jesus, and the burden you feel is the evidence you are in Jesus’ presence. A.W. Pink says,
    One of the most conclusive evidences that we do possess a pure heart is to be conscious of and burdened with the impurity which still indwells us.
    Arthur Walkington Pink
    How do you know Jesus has arrested your heart? You are conscious of your sin and are burdened by it! How do you know God has given you a new heart that is pure? You know his law and you desire to obey it, and when sin is exposed in your life, you are compelled to confess it and repent of it. So, on the on hand, I mourn over my sin, but I am grateful, even joyful that the Lord is near enough to me to expose it so I can deal with it. In that way he comforts me. I find forgiveness, and with forgiveness I can be in God’s presence.
    Pay attention to your thoughts and your imagination. Take every thought captive making it obedient to Jesus Christ (2 Cor 10:5-7). When Jesus reveals indwelling sin, be quick to confess and repent of it. Be grateful God is near to you and seek to be pure in thought, word, and deed.
    Live your life without compromise. Do not go to work this week and let unwholesome things come out of your mouth and then come to church next Sunday singing sweet things to Jesus. Keep a single minded heart united loyal love for Jesus that expresses itself in purity and obedience.

    Those who flourish are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)

    Matthew 5:9 ESV
    9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
    Meekness is a requirement for peacemaking. Humility should lead to peacemaking if it is true humility. Danial Doriani notes that the meek know that they are without merit. The meek stop promoting themselves, stop grasping for privileges and recognition. When they stop demanding, peace tends to emerge, for most strife stems from self-assertion. (Doriani, Daniel M. 2008. Matthew & 2. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani. Vol. 1. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.)
    The peace in Matthew 5:9 is not merely a treaty of sorts. It’s already established because God has made peace with you through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesu says the peace I give to you the world cannot give you (John 14:27). Paul says God’s peace surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4). So it is not so much about the absence of conflict, as Dorani says, but is the way God defines you. You are at peace because God has made peace with you.
    And yet, it is something we continuously pursue with our neighbors. Jesus calls you to be a peacemaker. Paul commands you to live at peace with everyone as far as you are capable of doing it (Romans 12:18). Peace is something you will pursue, and even fight for when disruption or discontentment raises its head. Peacemaking never assumes.
    I read a story this week of a pastor who added fifteen minutes to his sermon. Where church ended at 10:30am, it now ended around 10:45am. One man sat near the back. Each week, he stood up at precisely 10:30, straightened his jacket and pants, and walked out. He never said anything, but the pastor could feel his displeasure over the longer services. Indeed, the pastor said sometimes he had to labor to stifle his anger at the weekly display. Then one week, he changed the order of worship and put the sermon first. The man still left at 10:30, but later that day the man’s wife called.
    “Pastor,” she said, “you can’t imagine how happy my husband was today. You see, he has to report to work at 10:45 on Sundays. He waits until the last possible minute each week, but it grieves him that he can never stay until the end of your message. Today he heard your whole sermon and he is so pleased. I just had to tell you.” (Doriani, Daniel M. 2008. Matthew & 2. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani. Vol. 1. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.)
    Peacemaking does not give into the impulse to assume the worst about someones motives. we flourish with peace when grace gives the benefit of the doubt.

    Peacemakers are sons of God

    Jesus says, peacemakers then, will be called sons of God. What does he mean? Just as a child who is born will resemble some of the physical attributes and personality traits of their father and mother, so a child of God who has been born again will resemble the Father. God is a peacemaker. we are siting in this church right now because God sought peace with us through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of His Son. Jesus died on the cross as your substitute to atone for your sin. What was your sin? You exchnaged the glory of God for worthless things? You are by nature an enemy to God. Paul describes the fallen human heart in Romans 8:7-8
    Romans 8:7–8 CSB
    7 The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
    By nature you are God’s enemy. The Bible is clear. God destroys all of his enemies. In the end, the word of the Lord says
    Revelation 21:8 ESV
    8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
    But God is merciful. he desires to take the impure and make the pure. He is a peacemaker by nature. he desires to give his enemies the opportunity to know His peace. You must accept his peace on his terms. You must confess your sin and ask God for forgiveness. You must repent, turn from you sin and allow God to cleasnes of your unrighteousness. You must confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to cover all your sin, and that by your faith in him you will have eternal life. Only then will you begin to flourish now in God’s kingdom and for all eternity. If you reject God gift od salvation, you will live for eternity in the lake of fire. But tall who trust Jesus, the burdens of this world are light and momentary compared to the flourishing God has for you in eternity.
    Do you know how others can tell you’ve trusted Jesus? You begin living the good life now. You hunger and thirst for righteousness. You are merciful because you know the poverty of your soul. You are pure with your words and deeds because Jesus is king of your heart and is cleansing you from the inside. Your meekness is loved by your neighbors because it goes out of its way to pursue peace.

    Live the Good life this week

    Had Gandhi seen this int he church, maybe he would’ve been more open to hear the gospel, repent of his sin, and flourish in Jesus Christ. Let’s not be a stumbling block to others whom God is calling to hear the gospel. May our friends, family, and neighbors see God satisfying our hunger and thirst for righteousness, and experience the his sanctifying work in making us merciful, pure, and a peacemaking people. Amen.

      • Matthew 5:6–9ESV

      • Matthew 5:6ESV

      • John 6:35ESV

      • Matthew 5:7ESV

      • Matthew 5:7ESV

      • Matthew 6:14–15ESV

      • Matthew 18:21–22ESV

      • Psalm 18:25ESV

      • Matthew 5:8ESV

      • Matthew 5:8ESV

      • Psalm 24:3–5ESV

      • Matthew 5:9ESV

      • Romans 8:7–8ESV

      • Revelation 21:8ESV

      • John 14:23–27ESV

  • Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
First Baptist Church Litchfield
pastorjason.fbcl@gmail.com
217-324-4232
http://www.firstbaptistlitchfield.org/
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