The Beatitude Attitude II

Posted by David Whitten on October 4, 2011 under Staff |

II

If you were with us last week then you know that were studying the beatitudes that Jesus introduced in his sermon on the mount in Matthew 5.

The beatitudes are blessed behaviors that should be a part of every kingdom minded Christian. These attitudes are progressive. So far we have covered the first five

Humility

Repentance

Teachablity

Righteousness

Mercy

We left off with mercy. We discussed that it we expect mercy and forgiveness from then mercy and forgiveness would be readily given from us to others.

Next beatitude points out the practice of purity

Attitude 6 – We need an attitude of PURITY.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Matthew 5:8

Now here is a beatitude which demands that we should stop and examine ourselves. The Greek word for “pure” has a number of interesting facets.

• It was used for dirty clothes that had been washed clean.
• It was used to describe grain and flour that had been carefully sifted – cleansed of all impurities.
• It was used when describing milk or wine that had not been mixed with any other liquid. It is not diluted or watered down.

It was pure.

We are sinners and we need to be washed and made clean through the sanctifying work of Christ’s holy blood.

It may also take a personal sifting to remove habitual sin in our lives.

It may be that we truly guard out heart so that it is not be tainted by the impurities that are very readily available to us.

No matter what it is a kingdom seeker is going to be pure in his or her heart.

Notice Jesus points out that it is our heart that is pure. If we can obtain a pure heart then our words and deeds will be pure too.

So this beatitude could be translated, “Blessed is the man who is genuine in heart, who is authentic, who is not a phony, because such a man will see God.”

Now what does that mean? It means one is pure. It means one is holy. It does not mean that one is perfect – but that we strive to be clean. We take the mask off. We quit being phony. We quit pretending to be the person you’re not. We become honest to God. We become honest to ourselves. We become honest to each other. We strive to be “pure in heart.” That is why Paul can write to Timothy and say:

Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness,                                                                                    faith, love and peace,                                                                                                                                                                      along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.                                                                                      2Timothy 2:22

David’s most heart moving prayers is recorded in Psalms 51. We would do good to adopt this prayer for ourselves as we pursue purity in heart.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.                                                                                                                     Psalms  51:10-12
This verse is not just for Timothy – it is us too. We need an attitude of holiness in our lives.

Attitude 7 – We need an attitude of PEACEMAKING.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.                                                                                                                       Matthew 5:9

God wants us to be peacemakers, not peace BREAKERS!

He wants us to be a part of the solution, not the PROBLEM.

There are 2 kinds of people in this world: “thermostat” people and “thermometer” people. A thermometer reflects the climate of the room. If the room is cold, it’s cold. If the room is hot, it’s hot.

But a thermostat can change the climate of the room. By its setting a thermostat can change a cold room into one that is warm, or a hot room into one that is cool. And a peace-maker is a thermostat person. A peacemaker can change the climate of the room when he or she walks in. Have you ever seen that happen?

Have you ever been in a room where everybody is negative and complaining? Everything is going wrong. Then a thermostat person enters the room and soon says something that causes people to say, “We never thought of it like that.” – the whole climate changes.

God wants peacemakers in His church. God wants peacemakers in the workplace. God wants peacemakers out in the world, people who never dwell on the negative, but concentrate on the positive and see the good things God is doing in His church and in the world.

Jesus had the ability to change things. Even storms at sea. In Matthew there is a story of a storm. The storm was so strong that the disciples thought they were going to die. But do you remember what Jesus did?

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.                                                                                                                                              Matthew 8:26

You see Jesus was a peacemaker. He changes things. He has called us to be peacemakers too.

Attitude 8 – We need an attitude of ENDURANCE.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.                                                                                                                     Matthew 5:10

Folks I have lived long enough in this world to know that whatever you do – you will be criticized. Even if you do nothing – you will be criticized and persecuted. I don’t know about you – but I would rather be criticized for doing the right thing then for doing the wrong thing. I would rather be called a fool for following God – then to be called a wise man for following the devil.

Attitude 9 – We need an attitude of FAITHFULNESS.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12

When the going gets tough – the tough keep going.

Committed people stay COMMITTED.

Faithful people stay FAITHFUL.

Jesus is going to judge us by our faithfulness. In Matthew chapter twenty five Jesus tells a parable of a group of three servants who were given a certain amount of money. The master went off on a journey but when he returned there was a day of accountability. Two of the servants were faithful and this is what the master said to them:

Folks I am glad that Jesus was faithful to the Father aren’t you? Did you know that the Garden of Gethsemane was about Jesus’ faithfulness? It was! “Will I follow the will of the Father or will I try to have my own way? Father, take this task from me. If there is any other way Father – if there is an alternate route – I ask that it be taken. Take this cup of crucifixion – take this cup of suffering – take this cup of pain – BUT not my will, but Yours be done.” Jesus was found faithful. How about you? Are you committed to Christ? Are you faithful?

Jesus concludes with two analogies that speak of our influence in the world.

This concludes the thoughts presented in the 9 attitudes listed above. The intention is setting his hearers for action. He gives us a clear purpose as kingdom builders.

Listen to these next few verses.

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.                                                                                     Matthew 5:13-16

Let’s spend a little time getting to the root of Jesus’ charge to us to go in to the world and influence

The first object that Jesus likens us to is Salt.

Salt in our contemporary view of this substance is not helpful. If we are going to get to the depth of what Jesus is teaching then we need to consider the use of salt in the time Jesus lived. His crowd certainly appreciated the analogy.

Salt was the primary preserver of food and rather expensive because it was hard to process in its raw form to a useful form. Salt after it was used or wet would loose its saltiness and then need to be replaced. The salt that lost its saltiness actually was thrown out on the road to help build the famous roman roads.

Salt was used in many ways. Primarily it was used to pack down meat to keep it from spoiling. It was also used in cooking for flavoring like we use it. It would also be used to clean clothes, in medical treatments for sprained or aching joints, sour thoughts or ear aches and the list can go on. In fact in the 1920’s the salt industry listed 1400 uses for this substance.

I believe Jesus was pointing its main uses as a preserver and purifier.

When Jesus said “you are the salt of the earth” which means that we have the responsibility to be a preserving influences on this earth.

Folks, it is our very clear obligation to the kingdom of Christ to stand out not to blend in. I would go so far to say that if you are a Christian living in this world and there is no clear evidence to those around you that you have named Christ as your savior then you are sinning my friend.

It could be said that you have lost your saltiness and Christ said that saltless salt is not good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

We are a preserving or saving influence to the world around us. We are called to bring a message to this world we do that by both our words and actions; Our words confessing what we know about Christ and our actions following through with a godly example for the world to follow.

Colossians 4:6: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

This is some good old fashion preaching you are hearing. Our contemporary Christianity has somehow accepted that some sin will always be present in our lives. You often hear preachers and teachers say “it’s okay we all sin”. While that is true we all have sinned it is not okay. Sin is an offence to God and we should in all ways should avoid any hint of immorality. It should be our effort to live the example of Christ in our lives. And in him there was no sin at all.

As salt of the earth we introduce the sweet savor of the gospel. Our beautiful feet make a real difference in this dark place.

Second we are light. It is up to us to be the light of the world. We reflect the light of Jesus in our lives so others will follow us and we have the very real responsibility to lead others to him.

Jesus uses another physical analogy that was way more applicable to the culture he was speaking to in his day. Light and lambs were very important to the people he was talking to.

I guess we can use a light bulb to make it clearer. When a light bulb goes out in your house you are quick to change. No one wants to sit in the dark.

Jesus talks about how the most use out of a lamp it would be put up on a stand that set the lamp high and so the lamp could broadcast its light all through the room.

In comparison we are to be highly visible. Being a Christian is not your dirty little secret. It is who you are. And Jesus intends you to confess this truth before all those around you.

Luke 9:26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Jesus goes further with this analogy when he mentions the foolishness of lighting the light of a lamp then covering it up with a bowl. He says you don’t cover over your lamps after you light them. No you set it high and then all in the house can see.

Likewise we don’t hide our Christianity on the contrary we broadcast our faith. We let the world know we are Christians.

Let your light shine before others so when they see your good deeds they will glorify your Father in heaven.

The good deeds are displayed in the nine behaviors that Jesus listed in the beatitudes.

With these nine attitudes in us we are salt of the earth in deed. We set forth the light of Christ in our very behavior and words. We are easy to follow because we then follow the example of Christ.

May you be humble, repentant, righteous, teachable, merciful, pure, enduring and faithful

And may you be salt of the earth and a light in the world leading people to Christ and his glorious kingdom.