Mt 5:1 ¶ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 ¶ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
5. The world says: Happy is the man who insists on his rights.
You’ve seen this message. Just take your Yellow Pages, turn to the section (the very LARGE section) called “Attorneys.” You’ll read things like:
- “Don’t do anything until you’ve talked to a lawyer who knows your rights!”
- “Standing with you to protect your rights.”
- “Don’t get cheated! Know your rights.”
Now, I’m not saying that this is wrong – there is a place in society for this kind of thing. I’m just demonstrating that this is the message that our culture sends us each day. From getting all you can in a settlement for a car accident, to suing McDonald’s when you spill coffee on yourself, our culture is not tuned in to forgiveness, it’s tuned in to rights and revenge.
BUT JESUS SAYS: Happy is the man who forgives, for he will find forgiveness.
Forgiveness is NOT an option if you are going to be a follower of Jesus! Look at these verses from the New Testament:
□ "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).
□ "So also my heavenly Father will do to everyone of you; if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:35)
□ The Lord’s Prayer is followed by these two verses which explain: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:12,14,15).
□ "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)
It is the consistent teaching of the New Testament that indeed only the merciful shall receive mercy.
What is forgivness?
Forgiveness is NOT:
- Letting people walk over you.
- Refusing to press charges. (Our country does have laws that must be enforced!)
- Forgetting. You’ve heard that one? “Forgive and forget!”
Forgiveness IS:
- Giving up your right to hurt them back.
There are lots of ways to get people back. . . there are the obvious ways: legal action, physically hurting them, hurting someone they love.
Then there are the sneaky ways: gossip, lies, silent treatment, withholding something they like. . .
Forgiveness means giving up your right to hurt them back.
Forgiveness is not easy. In fact, you’ll never be able to do it without God’s help. To forgive someone isn’t natural. . . we don’t do it automatically.
I’ve got news for you: If you want to be truly happy, and you’ve been hanging on to that hurt from the past, you’ve got to let it go! Jesus was right – happy is the man who forgives.
If you’ve been wanting God to forgive you, and you’re hanging on to the right to hurt someone back who hurt you, you’ve got to let it go!
ILLUS> Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!
“Happy is the man who forgives, for he will find forgiveness.”
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6. The world says: Happy is the man who thinks much of himself.
But Jesus says: “Happy is the man whose heart is completely clean and unmixed, for he shall see God in everything.”
The word pure has a couple possible meanings.
1. It’s used of something that’s been washed clean.
Such as dirty clothes.
2. It’s used of something that’s unmixed or not watered down.
Such as milk that’s not watered down, metal that is pure.
So here’s what I want to draw from that:
1. God wants to take your heart and wash it clean.
He wants to forgive you of all the wrong things that you’ve ever done. If you’ve never experienced that, I’ll give you a chance at the end of the message – I’d like to pray with you!
2. God wants to make your motives completely pure.
He wants to change you so you only motive is to please him.
Even when we do something good, it’s difficult to keep our motives completely pure.
Even preachers aren’t exempt from motives that aren’t pure.
However, Jesus says that we need to be pure in heart – in other words, your top motivation is to please God.
Jesus went on to say that only the pure in heart will see God. What does that mean?
Scientists have published a study that says people only see what they are prepared to see. HA! I could’ve told them that!
An ordinary person goes out on a clear night, and sees a bunch of white dots. An astronomer sees those stars, and knows their names, and can tell you the month and time by their position.
An ordinary person walks along a country road and sees a tangle of weeds. A botanist sees those plants and knows their names, and might see something rare and valuable – because he has eyes trained to see.
An ordinary person in a room with art couldn’t tell a master’s painting from a worthless one. But an art critic can see the one worth millions, because he is trained to see.
Let me ask you: How are your eyes trained?
- Are you trained to see every opportunity for a dirty joke, or are you trained to see God?
- Are you trained to see an opportunity to cheat the other guy, or are you trained to see God’s point of view?
- Are you trained to see the depressing side, or are you trained to see God at work?
- Are you trained to expect to fail as a Christian, or are you trained to see God giving you strength to follow Jesus?
Remember: It is only the pure in heart who will see God.
“They shall see God” means two things:
1. They will see God at work every day.
The truth is, they were there all the time – I just never noticed them. If you’ll keep your heart’s #1 motive to please God, you’ll start seeing God working in your life.
2. They will live with God someday.
If you’ve realized today that your eyes are trained to see the wrong thing, then I’d love to pray with you and ask God to make your heart pure.
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Jesus: Life Coach
Happy are those who forgive and whose motives are pure...Mt 5:1 ¶ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 ¶ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
5. The world says: Happy is the man who insists on his ___________.
BUT JESUS SAYS: Happy is the man who ______________, for he will find forgiveness.
Forgiveness is NOT an option if you are going to be a follower of Jesus! Look at these verses from the New Testament:
□ "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).
□ "So also my heavenly Father will do to everyone of you; if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:35)
□ The Lord’s Prayer is followed by these two verses which explain: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:12,14,15).
□ "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)
Forgiveness is giving up your right to _________ _________.
6. The world says: Happy is the man who thinks of ______________.
But Jesus says: “Happy is the man whose heart is completely _________ and unmixed, for he shall see God in everything.”
The word “pure” has a couple possible meanings:
1. It’s used of something that’s been washed clean.
2. It’s used of something that’s unmixed or not watered down.
That means:
1. God wants to take your ______________ and wash it clean.
2. God wants to make your ______________ completely pure.
Jesus says that we need to be pure in heart – in other words, your ______ ____________________ is to please God.
- Are you trained to see every opportunity for a dirty joke, or are you trained to see God’s point of view?
- Are you trained to see an opportunity to cheat the other guy, or are you trained to see God’s point of view?
- Are you trained to see the depressing side, or are you trained to see God at work?
- Are you trained to expect to fail as a Christian, or are you trained to see God give you strength to follow Jesus?
“They will see God” means two things:
1. They will see God at work __________ ___________.
2. They will see God face-to-face _______________.