Well, welcome everybody. My name is Kevin, if you don't know, and we're going to have a time of praying now.
We pray every week for our city and our church, and this morning we're going to do something a little bit differently.
I just came back last night from Singapore. I was there with Jeremy and Julie. There should be a photo.
And a bunch of other pastors and church leaders from around Asia.
There were some of us from people from Singapore, from Tokyo, from Nagoya in Japan, from Thailand, from Australia.
And we're getting together for three days to talk about what would it look like for churches in Asia to strengthen each other, encourage each other, and work together.
And so there's a whole bunch of us that were in Singapore this week.
And so what I want us to do is every Sunday when we have our pastoral prayer, we normally pray for one other church in Hong Kong.
Whether it's community church, or Ireland, or DBICC, or whatever it is.
This morning I want us to pray for this guy on the second from the back.
Okay, here's another photo. His name is Ryuta, and there's his wife Paddy and their two daughters.
That's an old photo. Their daughters have grown up.
And Ryuta Kumira is from Tokyo, and they planted Double O Cross Church.
That's how you spell the church, Double O Cross.
And so we're going to pray for them this morning.
And so as we pray, why don't you join me as we pray for Ryuta, their church they planted five years ago.
And they're doing a great job in Tokyo City.
And so just to let you know why we're going to be praying for them.
Okay, we're going to pray for our friends in Tokyo.
So let's pray as a church together.
Now remember, we're all praying together.
This isn't just me. This is us praying.
And so will you join me as we pray together?
Heavenly Father, this morning as a church family, we've gathered to meet with you, the living God,
to pour out our praises and our worship to you, to declare that you are the one true God,
you are heaven and earth's true king.
And God, even though your kingdom has come in a small way on earth,
we've come to sing about and to proclaim and to declare that we believe you are the true king,
that your kingdom will come in finality one day.
And we long for that day, God.
We've come to say that you are God and you alone are good.
You alone are worthy of our worship and our devotion.
So often, Father, we get seduced by ideas and thoughts and the worldview of our city and our culture.
Father, this morning, God, won't you rightly align our hearts to truth?
Won't you shape our hearts with the gospel, Lord?
Won't you remind us of who you are and your ways, Lord God?
God, let your kingdom come.
Let your will be done in our hearts and in Hong Kong, we pray, God.
Father, thank you for this financial worship and the tide that has been given.
We really do thank you, Father, for the resources you've given each one of us.
We acknowledge that all of our resources come from you.
And, God, we want to steward them for your glory.
And so help us as a church and individually to do so.
Give us this day our daily bread, we pray, God.
Father, this morning, we want to pray for Ryuta and Paddy and all at Double O Cross Church in Tokyo.
Thank you, Father, for their love for the gospel,
their passion to see many Japanese men and women in Tokyo
coming to experience the life and the power and the freedom found in Jesus.
Father, thank you that Double O Cross is such a healthy church, such a wonderful church,
which loves your word and loves Jesus and loves the gospel and loves the city of Tokyo.
Father, we pray that they will continue to make disciples and disciple them in the gospel.
Fathers, they look for a venue.
Won't you provide a great venue for them?
They look to start an afternoon congregation.
Won't you give them leaders?
Father, we pray.
God, won't you bless their labors?
Anoint them.
Won't you give them fruit?
Father, we stand with our brothers and sisters across the waters and say,
God, won't you bless that church?
We pray, God.
Lead them as to where to go and when to start.
And won't you give them leaders for this new meeting?
We pray, God.
Fathers of church, we ask you to send us a youth pastor at Watermark
as we look for someone to lead and disciple our teenagers.
God, we bring this before you and we ask you for this, Lord.
We really do long, God, that our youth and our teenagers will be discipled in the gospel
and will come to know you, Lord, and love you
and be rock solid in the midst of a changing culture
and a culture that's telling them to be anything and do anything.
God, that they will know the truth and they'll build their lives upon you.
And so we ask you, God, won't you provide for us as a church in this regard?
God, we pray all these things in your wonderful name.
Amen.
Let's listen to the reading of God's word as Arlene is going to come and read for us.
The scripture reading comes from Matthew chapters 4 and 5.
Please follow along in your bulletins or on the screen.
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues
and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom
and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
So his fame spread throughout all Syria.
And they brought him all the sick,
those afflicted with various diseases and pains,
those oppressed by demons,
those having seizures and paralytics.
And he held them.
And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis
and from Jerusalem and Judea
and from beyond the Jordan.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain.
And when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you
and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil
against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in heaven.
For so they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.
This is the word of God.
Great. Thank you, Arlene.
Okay.
Well, if you are new to Watermark this morning,
we are working our way through the book of Matthew,
Matthew's Gospel.
And Matthew's Gospel is all about Jesus,
the fact that he is the king,
and he's come to bring a new kingdom.
But his kingdom is upside down.
It's often very different to the way that we would expect
and the kingdoms of this world.
And we're going to see this preeminently
as we go through the Sermon on the Mount,
which is where we find ourselves today.
Now, before this,
Chris preached last week
and showed how Jesus,
after his time of preparation in the wilderness,
he launches his ministry with an announcement.
And this is his announcement.
Turn from your sin and turn to God,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
And what does that mean?
Why is the kingdom of heaven at hand?
Well, it's at hand because the king has arrived,
because King Jesus has come.
And so Jesus then goes
and immediately he calls some people to follow him,
to give up their previous way of life
and to follow him in whatever he says
and where he calls him to.
And so right at the beginning of Jesus' ministry,
we hear this call.
It's the call of the gospel
to turn from our sin and to follow Jesus.
And then after that,
we get to this most famous
and wonderful passage of Scripture
in the New Testament,
the Sermon on the Mount.
Now, in order to understand the Sermon on the Mount,
let's just zoom back a little bit
and understand the context of what's going on here.
And so just before,
look at chapter four with me at verse 23.
It should be in your bulletins.
Look at the last paragraph in your Bible
before the Sermon on the Mount.
And verse 23 says this.
It says,
He, that's Jesus,
went throughout all Galilee
and doing three things,
or two things.
Teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing every disease
and every affliction amongst the people.
Okay, you see that?
Jesus went throughout doing these things.
Preaching, teaching,
and healing people of their diseases.
When we jump a few chapters later
in Matthew chapter nine and verse 35,
there's almost the exact same description,
almost word for word.
Look at what it says.
Jesus went throughout all the cities
and the villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing every disease and affliction.
You see that?
So here in these,
chapter four,
we've got this description of Jesus' ministry.
In chapter nine,
we've got this description.
And there's two kind of main things that he did.
He was preaching and teaching,
proclaiming,
explaining what does the kingdom of God look like,
and doing miraculous works of power,
demonstrating what does it look like
when the kingdom of God breaks into your life.
It changes you.
It comes with power.
And in between chapter four and chapter nine,
there are two bodies of teaching,
or two sections.
One is Matthew chapter five to seven,
the Sermon on the Mount,
which is a summary of everything
that he taught and preached and proclaimed.
And chapters eight and nine,
there's about eight or nine different stories
of miraculous healings.
Jesus casting out demons,
healing people from sickness,
raising the dead.
And do you see what Matthew's doing here?
He's showing us these two bookends.
Jesus' ministry consisted of preaching
and teaching the kingdom,
and miraculous signs and wonders.
And in between these two bookends,
he shows us what did that look like.
What did it look like?
It looked like the Sermon on the Mount,
and it looked like miraculous,
powerful acts of demonstration of his kingdom.
And so what is the Sermon on the Mount?
Well, Jesus didn't just stand up on a mountainside
and say, just listen to me,
and for 45 minutes,
you know, Matthew copied verbatim,
word for word, what Jesus said.
The Sermon on the Mount, in many ways,
is a summary teaching of what Jesus said
as he went throughout the villages
and the cities of Galilee,
proclaiming and teaching and preaching,
the kingdom of God has come,
and this is what life in the kingdom looks like.
Okay?
And so in many ways,
the Sermon on the Mount
isn't just this phenomenal moral teaching
about turning the other cheek
or taking the log out of your eye
or how to pray.
It's not just this one-hit wonder
where Jesus, you know,
the stars aligned,
the lights were on him,
and he just preached the best sermon of his life.
In many ways,
it's a collection of the things that Jesus taught
as he went throughout the villages
and the towns,
teaching what life as he purposed it,
life in the kingdom looks like.
But there's something else about the Sermon on the Mount.
It's also more than that.
In many ways,
the Sermon on the Mount
is an answer to one of humanity's
greatest and deepest and oldest questions.
The question that human beings have asked for centuries is,
how can I experience true human flourishing?
What is happiness?
What does it mean to live the blessed life?
What is a good life anyway?
How do I experience human flourishing
and how do I keep it?
How do I obtain it?
So it's not just a once-off experience,
but how do I experience a human flourishing ongoingly?
And in many ways,
the Sermon on the Mount
is an answer to that question.
Now, let's think about this question for a bit.
What is happiness?
What is blessedness?
What does the flourishing life look like?
I don't know what you would say,
but in our culture,
we've got many answers to that
on a superficial level.
For some of us,
maybe a flourishing life
means to be a person of great success,
to achieve success in our chosen field
or our career,
to be at the top of our game,
to be at the top of the class,
top of the list,
to achieve our goals in our vocations.
Maybe for some of us,
a flourishing, successful life
is to be well admired and well respected,
to get to the end of our days
and our family and our children
and our grandchildren
look up to us as somebody respectable,
somebody who's lived a good life.
Maybe for some of us,
it means no relational strife.
Everybody likes you.
Everybody gets on well with you.
Everybody admires you and likes you
and there's no relational tension.
You get on with everybody around you.
Maybe it means having your dreams fulfilled
or maybe it just means
living a contented and a comfortable life.
It is no heartache and no difficulties.
Whatever shape or form it is,
while there's many superficial forms,
all of us long for this flourishing,
this blessedness, this happy life,
which in many ways involves
having the difficulties
and the obstacles to happiness
removed from our lives
and going through life
without encountering too many difficulties.
It's what makes me happy
and what advances my life.
I get to do that.
And this isn't just a modern thing.
This is what we've believed throughout the ages.
There's interesting,
there's a Jewish rabbi and teacher
by the name of Basira.
I think that's how you say it.
Jesus Basira.
And he lived 150 years before Jesus.
He was one of the most respected
and well-loved Jewish rabbis of his time.
And Sarah came up with a list of blessings
of what a flourishing life looks like.
This is one of his most famous poems.
Look at what he says here.
He says,
There are nine that I would call blessed,
a tenth that my tongue would proclaim.
Blessed is the man who can rejoice with his children.
Blessed is the man who lives to see the downfall of his foes.
Blessed is the man who does not sin with his tongue.
Blessed is the one who does not serve an inferior.
Blessed is the man who finds a friend.
Blessed is the one who speaks to attentive listeners.
Greatest is the one who finds wisdom.
And none is superior to the one who fears the Lord.
Now, when we read that,
part of that feels like,
yeah, that sounds like my life.
That's what I would like, right?
Blessed is the man who can rejoice with his children.
Blessed is the man that finds a friend.
That sounds like the things that our culture would esteem.
There's some things in here that even sound a little bit like Jesus, right?
Stuff like the man who does not sin with his tongue,
or the one who finds wisdom or fears the Lord.
Yeah, there's some good things in there.
But then there's also a couple of lines that are a little bit interesting, right?
Things like the man who does not serve an inferior,
or the man who lives to see the downfall of his enemies.
Now, I think like Oscar was saying earlier,
these are the kind of things that we shouldn't really say, right?
It's not very politically correct to say,
I hope at the end of my life to have seen the downfall of my enemies.
I really got them under my foot, right?
But just like the musician who had a good front and came to church
and performed in front of many,
and yet would go back to his hotel room at night,
and the demons would come out.
If we're honest, there's a little bit of that inside each one of us.
Each one of us, at times, thinks,
yeah, I want to get to the top of the class.
And maybe I might need to stamp on a couple of others along the way.
Sometimes we might think,
this sounds just like the young people these days.
So individualistic.
ICF students.
I mean, I can't believe how self-centered and individualistic they are, right?
Young people these days.
They really don't make them like they're used to in the good old days, right?
But here, but hang on.
Here's a guy from 2,000 years ago.
One of the most respected leaders in a society, in a culture.
And what's he saying?
He's saying, blessed is one who doesn't serve an inferior.
Blessed is one that can see the downfall of his enemies.
Why?
Because at a deepest heart level, that's exactly what we think.
How do I experience human flourishing?
Well, the answer that our culture says is,
hey, find some friends.
Rejoice with your children.
Have a big growing family.
Try not to sin too much.
And make sure that you get on top.
Make sure that at the end of the day,
you're on top of your enemies.
You're on top of the class.
You succeed in your career.
Ray Ortlund is a pastor in Nashville, Tennessee.
And he wrote an amazing article about the Beatitudes.
And he says that there's a modern version as well.
He calls them the un-Beatitudes.
Look at what he says.
He says,
This is the Beatitudes of our day and age.
Congratulations to the entitled.
They will grab what they want.
Congratulations to the carefree.
They will be comfortable.
Congratulations to the pushy.
They will win in the end.
Congratulations to the greedy.
They will climb to the top.
Congratulations to the vengeful.
For they will be feared.
Congratulations to those who don't get caught.
They will look good.
Congratulations to the argumentative.
They will get the last word.
Congratulations to the popular.
For this world lies at their feet.
Ray Ortlund asks this penetrating question at the end.
He says,
Have you ever met one person
who believed and lived by the world's un-Beatitudes
and came to the end of their life
a satisfied, vibrant, radiant, wise human being?
Have you met even one?
And friends, that leads to the problem of this worldview.
It's a worldview.
It's a system of beliefs which cannot deliver on its promises.
It will promise you the world.
It will promise you satisfaction.
But it cannot deliver that.
It will promise you both power and purpose.
And yet it cannot deliver.
It will promise you peace and contentment.
And yet you'll end up anxious and worried all the time.
You might remember that famous commencement speech
by David Foster Wallace a few years ago in the U.S.
He said this.
He says,
If you worship beauty and good looks,
you'll spend your whole life worrying
that you're ugly and unattractive.
If you think that human flourishing and peace
are found in power and control,
you'll always feel insecure in your positions of authority.
If you strive for money and possessions,
if you think that's where human flourishing is found,
you'll never feel like you have enough
and always be anxious for more.
Friends, have we found one person
who believed and lived by the world's unbeatitudes
and got to the end of their life
a satisfied, radiant, wise human being?
Have you found even one?
Jesus answers this question.
How can we find human flourishing?
How can I be a salient, satisfied, radiant, wise person?
And Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
gives a very simple and yet a very profound answer.
And his answer is this.
His answer is that it's not found in acquiring possessions.
A flourishing life is not found in accumulating many things.
It's not found in positions of authority or influence.
It's not even found in accessing opportunities and education.
Jesus answers that true human flourishing,
true human happiness,
the blessed life is really found in knowing the God who made you
through Jesus Christ who died on the cross
to secure that knowledge, that relationship,
empowered by the Holy Spirit.
And that this flourishing is only going to be experienced
through faithful, heart deep,
whole person following of Jesus as Christ the King
in a community of his followers.
In other words, Jesus says,
the way we get to experience true human flourishing
is as we come to Christ the King,
we get our hearts shaped by the gospel
and then we live out our lives in the kingdom of God
with the community of his followers.
And the Sermon on the Mount is his invitation
to come and experience that.
It's his invitation with a promise.
It's an unusual promise,
but it's his invitation to come and experience life in the kingdom
as we follow Jesus the King with all of our lives.
But it starts off, Jesus tells us,
with the most provocative description of the upside down nature of the kingdom.
And so let's see what Jesus says.
And so look at what he says here in Matthew chapter 5.
He says this,
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Now, when Jesus used the word blessed,
he's not speaking a blessing.
He's kind of saying,
How blessed!
How fortunate!
It's almost like he's saying,
How lucky are those that are poor in spirit.
How lucky, how fortunate are those that are humble and unassuming.
To be poor means you don't have much resources, right?
Jesus is saying,
How fortunate are those that don't have much spiritual capital?
Right?
When they come to the table,
they aren't middle class with spiritual capital.
They don't have resources.
They come empty-handed to God and say,
Father, I've got nothing.
Oh, how fortunate are those that are poor in spirit.
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Oh, how fortunate are those who mourn.
Those who are disturbed or even broken
by the state of their own hearts and the state of the world.
How fortunate are those who mourn.
For they will be comforted.
Jesus says,
How blessed!
How fortunate are the meek.
Those that have found a way or chosen to be gentle
in their dealings with people around them.
They're not gentle by personality.
They might even be quite strong with personality.
But they've chosen a way of gentleness
in their dealings with those around them.
They're not pushy or self-asserting.
How fortunate are the meek, says Jesus.
For they will inherit the earth.
Oh, how blessed!
How fortunate are those that hunger for righteousness.
There's something in their hearts that is desperate
for the world to be the way that Jesus designed it
and made it.
And they long for things to be right again.
They look at the world around them
and they look at their own hearts
and they say,
There's something not right.
And then they hunger,
they long for the world to be
according to the way that God designed it.
They will be satisfied, says Jesus.
Oh, how blessed!
How lucky!
How fortunate are the merciful!
Those that don't hold on to grudges.
They're not vengeful,
but they dispense mercy and grace
to those that hurt them.
They will receive mercy, says Jesus.
Jesus says,
How fortunate are the pure in heart!
Those that are single-minded
in their devotion to Jesus.
They don't have a Sunday life
and then the rest of their life is something else.
There's a single-mindedness.
There's an integrity
between their spiritual life
and the rest of their life.
How blessed is Jesus
of those that are single-minded,
pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Oh, how fortunate are those
that are peacemakers,
those who love peace
and don't like conflict and arguments.
They deal with things properly
so that there's no relational tension.
For they will be called sons and daughters,
children of God.
Fortunate are those who are persecuted
for doing what's right, says Jesus.
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
And so what's Jesus saying in all of this?
This list of beatitudes.
What's Jesus really saying?
In many ways, he's saying,
How fortunate are the unfortunate!
Or how lucky are the unlucky!
Right?
How blessed are those
that the world looks down upon
as unfortunate and ill-fated.
How lucky are those!
Jesus is happy are those
that exhibit the qualities
that this world thinks is ridiculous
and those that the world pities
and carries in their heart
the brokenness of this world.
Oh, how blessed and fortunate
are they!
In a sense, Jesus is almost saying this.
He's almost saying,
If you had a choice before you,
am I going to get to the end of my life
being well-esteemed,
looked up to,
well-regarded,
and having conquered all the things
that the world offers,
or if I get to the end of my life
being pitied,
being thought of as
somebody that didn't quite
make it through life,
not that successful,
if you had to choose
between two of these,
think carefully
because the answer's not as obvious
as our world makes it out to be.
Jesus is almost saying,
It might be better
to get to the end of your life
being pitied,
poor,
and powerless
than having lots of possessions,
power,
and achieving all of the dreams
that society tells you to achieve.
Provocative, right?
Now,
why does Jesus say that?
Well, what's the reason behind this?
Well, I want to give us three reasons
why we should rather be people
to be wise for us to say,
God, I'd rather be poor in spirit,
meek and mournful,
and hungry for the things of God
than satisfied, esteemed,
and blessed in this world
apart from you.
Three reasons why we should do this, okay?
First thing,
let's look at this.
Because the king
and the kingdom have come.
When we look at the list of Beatitudes,
Matthew has deliberately structured them
to communicate
what Jesus was communicating.
So remember,
Jesus didn't just list off this,
rattle off this list of eight sayings
and then kind of move on
to the next section.
Jesus, over a couple of days
and months even,
would have gone
and he would have taught,
hey, rather,
blessed is this person,
even though our world says
this person is to be esteemed,
rather choose this way.
And so Matthew summarized
Jesus' teaching
and he structured it
so that we catch
what Jesus is trying to communicate.
And so how has Matthew structured it?
Well, as we look at it,
there's a pattern here.
And so notice the pattern.
The first Beatitude
and the last Beatitude,
in verse 3 and verse 10,
have the identical promise.
He says,
blessed are the poor in spirit,
verse 3,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
And then verse 10,
he says,
blessed are those that are persecuted,
why?
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Do you see that?
Okay.
What's Matthew trying to tell us here?
He's telling us
that this list
is not just
a promise box
of promises from Jesus
that you can take out
one at a time.
This is actually
a summary description
of what life in the kingdom
looks like.
Of those that have
encountered Christ the king
and live in the kingdom,
this is what their life
will look like.
Let me give you an example, okay?
Jesus is not saying
that
if you go through life
and you encounter
something difficult
and you go through
a time of mourning,
well,
don't worry,
blessed are you
because you go to
the promise box
and say,
blessed are those that mourn
for they will be comforted.
Or if you happen
to go through life
and somebody irritates you
and riles you
and you're tempted
to get them back
and you go to your promise box
in the Bible
and pull out and say,
blessed are those
that are merciful
for they will be shown mercy.
And you remember,
oh yes,
I should be merciful.
Okay,
let me give you an example.
In our family,
sometimes my girls
will come to me
and say,
dad,
can we have a chocolate
or a biscuit
or a candy
or something like that?
And I'll go
and I'll bring out a box
and say,
sure,
help yourself.
Now,
as I do that,
I know what they're thinking.
They're thinking,
how many of these
can I get away with?
Right?
And so what do I say?
Before they even say anything,
I first say,
Sierra,
just one.
Okay,
just one.
Shiloh,
just one.
I don't want them
to stuff their mouths.
Right?
Sometimes we can come
to the Beatitudes
and think that this is
a box of chocolates
of Jesus' promises.
Right?
Like we've got to choose.
Should I inherit the earth
or should I be called
a son of God?
Should I be,
should I rather choose mercy
or should I rather choose
to be in the kingdom?
Right?
But that's not what
Jesus is saying at all.
But by structuring it like this,
Matthew is telling us
this is a description
of what life in the kingdom
looks like.
Jesus is saying this.
The way of the king
is that,
the way of the king
is to mourn
and be grieved
by the brokenness
of the world
and what sin does
in the world
and in our own hearts.
And therefore,
such is his people
that they too
will mourn
for the brokenness
of the world.
But they'll be comforted
because they'll know
that Jesus came
to dismantle sin.
Jesus is saying
the way of the king
is to be meek,
not pushing his agenda,
not self-asserting,
but to be humble
and gracious.
And therefore,
his followers
are those who like him
aren't pushing their agenda
and trying to get
to the top of the pile,
but like Jesus
are gentle
and others serving,
not self-seeking,
not grasping
or self-entitled.
And they find themselves
empty-handed,
but yet full
of the kingdom of God.
Jesus says
that the way of the king
is to long
for what is right
and for justice
in the world.
And as such,
his followers
will be those
that because we've
got his heart,
we will be broken
by the injustice
and the unrighteousness
in the world
and we too
will hunger
and thirst
for righteousness,
for what is just
and right in the world.
And because we know
that Christ has come
to turn around the world
and to end all
injustice and wickedness,
we will be satisfied
when Christ returns.
Jesus is saying
that this is the way
of the kingdom.
But notice secondly,
there's something else
to notice.
These two
at the top
and the bottom
are the only two
that are in present tense.
All the others
are in future tense.
Blessed are those
that are poor
and spread
for theirs
is the kingdom
of heaven.
But then it goes on
to say,
those that mourn
they shall be comforted.
Those that are meek
they shall,
what does it say?
Inherit the earth.
Those that are hungry
will be satisfied.
So what's Matthew
telling us here?
He's telling us
that the kingdom of God
isn't just one day
in the future
like hold out
and suffer in this world
and I know it's terrible
and I know that
you've just got to suffer
because one day
when you get to heaven
you'll experience
the kingdom.
What's he saying?
Blessed are those
that are poor in spirit.
Blessed are those
that persecute
for theirs is
the kingdom of God.
Today,
this week,
as you go to work
this week
and you're tempted
to trample
on somebody else
to get in head
of the pile,
the kingdom of God
has come to your life
today and as you say
I will be meek,
I will follow
the way of my king,
today the kingdom of God
has come into your life
and you get to experience
what King Jesus
is doing
in your heart
and your life.
This afternoon
as I go home
and I feel
completely empty
and I feel like
I've got zero
spiritual credentials
and I come to God
and I say
God,
I've got no
spiritual capital.
I've got nothing
to commend myself to you.
I'm done.
Today,
not just in eternity,
the kingdom of God
comes to me.
Theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
You see,
being a Christian
is not just a matter
of doing good things
or observing Jesus
teaching in the hope
that one day
we'll get to paradise
or one day
we'll get to experience
Nirvana.
No,
that's something else.
That's religion.
Jesus says,
I've come to bring you
the kingdom of God
today.
That right now
as you go to work
tomorrow
and as you go and
visit your family
over Chinese New Year
and as your kids
are sick
and as marriage
is hard
and as finances
are tight,
as you follow
the king,
you experience
the kingdom of heaven.
Theirs is the kingdom
of heaven
today.
Friends,
the day you become
a Christian,
you may not understand
a whole lot.
You may not know
your Bible at all.
You may have
a lot of questions.
You may still have
some doubts.
But the day you say,
Jesus,
take my life.
Jesus,
I want to follow you.
Jesus,
I'm all in.
That day
you get to experience
the kingdom of heaven
breaking into your life
and changing you
forever.
That's the day
you get to experience
human flourishing.
Irrespective of
your circumstances,
irrespective of
what's going on
in your life,
the kingdom of heaven
comes.
Jesus is saying
that human flourishing,
what it means
to be a human being
is not found
in happy circumstances,
but it's found
by participating
in the kingdom of God
by being in relationship
with him
through what Jesus did
on the cross.
Does that make sense?
Okay,
that's the first thing
because the king
and the kingdom
is here.
The second reason,
why does Jesus tell us
if you had to choose
the way of power,
prestige,
and honor
or the way of
mourning,
meekness,
and powerlessness,
choose this way?
Why does he tell us
to do that?
Well,
the second reason
is this,
because every other
kingdom is going
to steal your joy.
Steal your joy.
Jesus,
in the Sermon on the Mount,
throws us a challenge
and he asks us
a question.
He says,
where are you going
to find your joy
and what is going
to be the source
of your human flourishing?
What's going to be
the source of your flourishing?
Where are you going
to find your joy?
As we read through
the Gospels,
one of the things
we see again
and again
is that Jesus
constantly is ignoring,
sometimes even
outright rejecting
the rich
and the powerful
and the leaders
of society
and he's always
welcoming into his midst
those that have got
no spiritual capital,
those that aren't
going to bring anything
and contribute
towards his kingdom,
right?
Remember Matthew
in Luke,
I think it's around
chapter 16 or so,
some children
come running to Jesus
and the disciples
are trying to push them away
and say,
Jesus doesn't have time
for you
and Jesus says,
bring the children,
bring the children
to such belongs
the kingdom of heaven
and then,
straight after the children
come to him,
in fact,
while the children
are with him,
a very rich,
very powerful,
young,
influential leader
of society
comes to Jesus
and he says,
Jesus,
I want to join
your party.
You can do good for me
and I can do good for you.
Let's talk.
How do I get
to heaven?
How do I get to be part
of what you're doing here?
And Jesus says,
he gives them
a whole lot of obstacles
and he rejects him
and eventually,
Jesus says,
listen,
if you really want
to join my kingdom,
do this.
Sell all your possessions,
get rid of all your wealth,
give it to the poor
and then come and follow me
just as you are
and this wealthy,
influential,
powerful man
walks away saddened.
Why does Jesus
welcome the children
that are going to
contribute nothing
to his campaign
and yet rejects
this influential,
powerful person?
Why is Jesus
constantly
shunning
those that have
got influence
and welcoming
the poor
and the marginalized?
Friends,
the reason why
he does it
is that to me
sorry,
I don't know
what I'm doing.
Okay,
let's just try that.
I think this will be right.
Why is Jesus doing this?
Why is he constantly
inversing and doing
the opposite
of what we'd expect?
The reason why
he constantly comes
into conflict
with the establishment
is not because
having money
is morally wrong,
not because being
influential is wrong,
not because having
power is wrong,
but it's because
it has the ability
to blind us
to what truly
gives life
and where true joy lies.
The reason Jesus
constantly is warning us
against finding
a joy
in the things
of the world
is because
while they promise
the world,
they actually steal
our joy.
Remember the unbeatitudes?
Congratulations
to the entitled.
They grab what they want.
Congratulations
to the pushy.
They will win
in the end.
Congratulations
to those who
don't get caught.
They will look good.
Ray Orton
asks this question.
He says,
well he actually
says this,
he says,
either way
we must live
by faith.
Both the promises
of Jesus
and the promise
of this world
promise a successful
and flourishing life.
Promise a good life.
But you have to choose
which one.
Which one
are you going to follow?
Either way
we have to live
by faith.
And who are we going
to trust?
Whose invitation
are we going to accept?
Friends,
here is a king
who offers us
an invitation
with a promise.
He says,
if you invest
your life
and your hopes
and your dreams
in me,
if you hand over
all of your life
to me,
it will cost you
no doubt.
You may not be esteemed,
you may not be loved,
you may not be adored.
Following him
will cost you
everything.
But if you trust him,
if you let your life
shaped by the gospel,
you will discover
a kind of human flourishing
that nothing
and no one
can take away
from you.
It's a kind of human flourishing
which both deeply satisfies
and will never
get taken
away from you.
In Luke chapter 7,
there's a similar
account to the Beatitudes.
Jesus says,
blessed are these people
and not these people.
One of the old commentators
in Luke chapter 7
writing on this,
he's got this little line
where he says,
the writings on the wall,
see Daniel chapter 5.
In the book of Daniel
in chapter 5,
what's happening is
there's a king
called Belshazzar
and he's the king
of Babylon.
But the Assyrian army,
I mean not the Assyrian,
the Persian army
is at the gates
and they're about to come
and overthrow
the Babylonian empire.
And so,
he knows it's kind of the end.
And so,
he throws this epic party.
He decides he's going to go out
in a blaze of glory.
And so,
he throws this massive party
for thousands of people.
There's wine,
there's beer,
everything's happening.
And he brings in
all their wives,
he brings in their concubines
and it's just this massive
hedonistic festival.
And at this party,
what happens is
in the middle of the party,
there's this handwriting
that starts to write
on the wall.
And essentially,
what the handwriting
is saying,
it's in the strange language
and no one can understand it.
And eventually,
Daniel comes in
and he interprets it.
And what he says is this,
Belshazzar,
your time is up.
And essentially,
the handwriting on the wall
is saying,
you've been king,
you've been doing
your own thing,
you've been living
for your own glory,
self-esteem,
you're at the top
of the pile,
but your time is up.
Friends,
that's what Jesus
is saying here
with the Sermon on the Mount.
He's saying,
the handwriting's on the wall.
The time is up.
Yeah, sure,
you can pursue a kingdom.
You can get to the top
of the pile,
you can advance,
you can get what you want,
you can be well-loved,
you will win in the end,
you grab what you want,
be entitled
and self-seeking,
sure,
but the handwriting's
on the wall.
That kingdom
will steal your joy
and it will never,
ever satisfy.
But if you want to experience
true human flourishing,
if you want to get
to the end of your life
and maybe your name
won't be in lights,
maybe nobody
will remember you,
you want to get
to the end of your days
a wise,
radiant,
satisfied person.
If you want to experience
true human flourishing,
there's a path to take
and it's not the most
popular path.
It's not the path
that's going to make you
rich and famous.
It may even be the path
that society mocks you for
and laughs at you
and thinks you're ridiculous.
Choose that path.
Blessed are the poor
in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Blessed are those
that mourn,
for they will be comforted,
both in this life
and the next.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit
the earth,
both in this life
and in the next.
Blessed are those
that are hungry,
they are desperate
for the world
to be made right again,
in their hearts
and in this lifetime too.
And while it seems
like it's never coming,
they will be satisfied.
They will come a day
where every longing
of their heart
will be satisfied.
Friends,
Jesus is blessed
with the pure in heart,
those that are single-minded
and devoted
to his cause
and his purposes.
For they will see God.
Friends,
human flourishing
is found in the fact
that everything
in this,
if human flourishing
is found
and the fact
that everything
in this life
fits perfectly together
and you never grieve
or mourn,
it's just a matter
of time
before some tragedy
strikes
and your whole world
comes to an end
and your whole kingdom
comes crashing down.
Jesus is those
that have followed him
because they have
entrusted their life to him.
They will discover
a contentment,
they will discover
a blessedness
that transcends
even these moments
of grief.
To be modest,
to grieve,
to be regarded
as a disappointment
and unfortunate
is better than being
prosperous,
powerful,
and well-esteemed
in the eyes of the world.
And the third
and final reason
is this,
because of who
this king is.
Friends,
this morning,
Jesus offers us
an invitation
and it's an invitation
with a promise
that life and happiness
are not found
in having all your problems
taken away.
They're found
in a person.
They're found
in the one
who is both king,
the one who
all the world
will one day bow before,
but the king
who ended up
on the cross.
And the invitation
is not to get your life
sorted out
so that you can come
into his kingdom.
The invitation
is not to do
a bunch of religious things
that Jesus will say,
okay,
you've done enough,
come to my kingdom.
The invitation
is not to try
and be extra religious
or to do certain things
that you can be qualified
for this kingdom.
It's an invitation
to come to the kingdom,
the king,
just as you are.
And why should he
accept you?
Why should he receive you
with all your brokenness,
as Oscar said,
with all your conflicting
and darkness
in your heart?
Why should he accept you?
Because of who this king is.
Because he's Jesus.
This week,
I was texting
a friend of mine
and I said,
hey bud,
why don't you come
to church on Sunday?
We'd love to see you.
And his response was,
he said,
I want to come to church,
but I want to have
a good spiritual image
before I come to church.
I want to have
my ducks in a row.
And I replied
and I said,
that's the very opposite.
You should come to church
as you are.
But as I thought about it,
I thought,
I'm just like him.
I love to come to church
with a good spiritual image.
I love to come here
with all my ducks in a row,
having had perfect
quiet times in the week,
coming having never
missed a beat,
having me and Jesus
just tight like this,
having come and feel
so good about myself.
But friends,
this king,
Jesus,
he says,
come as you are.
I won't leave you
as you are,
he says,
I'll change you,
I'll break into your life,
I'll align your heart
more like my life,
but come as you are.
Come as your brokenness.
Come in your sin.
Come and surrender.
Come and follow the king.
Friends,
you may say,
but I haven't done enough.
I don't deserve his kindness.
Of course you don't
deserve his kindness.
That's the whole point.
Only when you understand,
begin to understand
that you don't deserve
his kindness,
can you begin to come to him.
Come to him nevertheless.
Come as you are.
Come and he will
truly satisfy you.
You may say,
but I don't know enough.
I don't know the Bible.
Will he accept me as I am?
Friends,
come to the one
who rejected the rich
young ruler
and welcome children.
Come to him as you are.
You may not know the Bible,
you may not understand
all the spiritual laws,
come just as you are
and he will teach you.
You may say,
but I've sinned this week.
Well,
come and bring your sin
to his cross.
Bring it and leave it
at the foot of the cross.
Don't focus on your sin.
Bring it,
but don't focus on it.
Lift your eyes above the sin
and look to Jesus,
the one who nailed
your sin to the cross,
the one who went to the cross
that your sin
doesn't need to be held
against you.
Come to him this morning.
You may say,
but it will cost you too much.
I don't want to mourn.
I don't want to be poor in spirit.
I don't want to be merciful.
Friends,
of course it will cost you.
It will cost you everything,
but it will cost you nothing
compared to what
he's going to give you.
It's like holding on
to a $10 note
when he's offering you
a million dollars
and saying,
I don't want to let go of this.
Let go of it.
It will cost you,
but it's nothing compared
to what he's going to give you
as he gives you
the kingdom of heaven.
Friends,
you may say,
I don't feel worthy.
Friends,
come to Jesus,
the one who welcomes sinners,
the one who welcomes
the poor in spirit,
the one who welcomes
those that have no spiritual capital.
He promised that
yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Come to him.
Friends,
better to be those
who are poor in spirit,
those who mourn,
our brokenness,
those who are regarded
as a disappointment,
those who are regarded
as unfortunate
in the eyes of the world,
than to be rich
in our own eyes,
than to come to Jesus
with spiritual capital,
to come to the bargaining table
saying,
this is what I can bring,
than to be those
that are self-sufficient
and well-esteemed.
This is the way of the king.
This is the way of the kingdom.
It's a kingdom
which is here and now.
It's a kingdom
which will change your life
tomorrow as you go to work.
It's a kingdom
which will never end.
It's a kingdom
which will promise you
true joy.
Let's come to him
now.
Let's pray together.
Oh Lord Jesus,
God we confess
that
God our eyes
are so often
caught up
with the things around us.
God we've been seduced
by the message
of our world
and our culture.
God we've
we confess
Lord God
that we believe
the lie
and Father
so many of us
are sorry for it.
We've realized
that the world
cannot deliver
what it promises.
God won't you
give us faith
to trust you
won't you
open our eyes
to see you
Lord Jesus
as heaven and earth
true king.
God won't you
open our eyes
to see that
true flourishing
the blessed life
God
is found
as we come
to know you God
because of what
you did on the cross
Lord Jesus
by the power
of the Holy Spirit.
And so Holy Spirit
come and open our eyes
and draw us to you
we pray.
Father where we are
tempted to hold on
where
we acknowledge
that it will cost us
and we don't want
to give up our right
we don't want to
give up our throne.
Oh Jesus
help us to see
Lord
help us to see
everything you give us
God.
Jesus we pray
that you'll make us
more like you
we'll pray
Lord God
that we really
will be those
that experience
the life
of the kingdom.
God I pray
that this week
because we
go and visit
family
at Chinese New Year
and we
spend time
with loved ones
God may we be
agents for the kingdom
may we be those
that
in some ways
are ambassadors
for the kingdom of heaven
in the city
God we pray
these things
in your majestic name
Amen