What did both John and Jesus call for in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? (Mt 3:2, 4:17)

Repent -
Have a change in mind

What specifically did they need to have a change in mind in regard to? What is the main theme of the SOM?

Righteousness (+R)

All God is, commands, demands, approves and provides in Christ

Why? What had been their primary example of +R?

Because they had seen only the external +R the Pharisees taught and exhibited - outward show for praise of men not God

What did the King teach about +R needed to enter His Kingdom? (Mt 5:20)

It must surpass the +R of the Scribes and Pharisees

What then is the purpose of the beatitudes? How to be saved?

Not...

     how to be saved

But...

     How the saved live

Characteristics of believer

Ideal lifestyle of citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven who still live on planet earth

The secret of a happy life

Happiness that endures...

Forever!

What is the progression in the beatitudes? Remember each beatitude is like a clue in a "treasure map", each containing a crucial component of the secret of that leads to a truly happy life now and forever!

(1) Recognize spiritual poverty (Mt 5:3) (keep on recognizing even after saved - abide in Vine, Jo 15:5, or can do absolutely nothing in our own strength.

Reward: Continually possess the Kingdom of Heaven.

(2) We mourn over our sins (Mt 5:4) (continual need - in these mortal bodies we continue to commit sins against God)

Reward: As we confess our sins He comforts us with forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness

(3) Our spiritual bankruptcy and mourning should instill in us a gentle, meek spirit (Mt 5:5) one that accepts all that occurs in our life as from or filtered through the sovereign hand of God. Meekness is power under control, like our Lord (Mt 11:29) and Moses ( Nu 12:3).
Reward: Inherit the earth.

Who is blessed (spiritually prosperous independent of the circumstances) in Mt 5:6?

Those who hunger and thirst for +R

Remember that Jesus is describing the character of those who belong to His kingdom - a peculiar appetite and thirst for +R will mark them as different from the world!

What is the tense of the verbs "hunger" and "thirst"? Why did Jesus select those terms?

Both = present tense
Paraphrased "those who continually hunger and thirst"

 These are the most basic human needs. Without them we would die.

What is Jesus implying? Does the natural man hunger and thirst for +R?

In our fallen state there is none +R and none seek to live according to His +R standards (Ro 3:10-11). This is the state of the natural man (Ro 5:12).

And so Jesus'  implies that if you have absolutely no hunger and thirst for +R you need to examine the state of your soul. Spiritually dead people have no appetite for spiritual things.

Dear reader, have you ever by faith accepted Christ's perfect righteousness (Read Ro 1:16-17, Acts 4:12, 16:30-31, Ro 10:9-10, Eph 2:8-9)

Spiritually speaking...

You are what you eat!

What is the context? Clue: How available was food and especially water in ancient Palestine?
They were poor compared to America and water was not readily available. One could quickly die of dehydration in the arid conditions.

Jesus is not describing genteel urgings but desperate hungering and thirsting - those who keep on acknowledging their spiritual poverty, keep on seeking to live out God's +R as a starving man longs for food or a man perishing from thirst longs for water. Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? What are you hungering and thirsting for? Remember there is the world's way (it is passing away) and the King's way (endures forever).

What +R is
Jesus referring to? What happens we are saved (2Cor 5:21)? How are we then to live? What does Jesus emphasize in Mt 5:21-48?

When we are saved we receive the +R of Christ at that moment and forever (2Cor 5:21)

Christ becomes now and forever our source of righteous living (cf 1Cor 1:30)

And so based on our position in Christ, the King calls His subjects to practice +R as our lifestyle from the heart (see Mt 5:21-48 where Jesus contrasted external with internal +R)

What is the King's promised reward, the blessed state of those who hunger and thirst for +R?

They shall be satisfied
Completely satisfied

Note: "filled" = passive voice = filling comes about from outside source. The verb "filled" was originally used meaning to fatten animals. The root word describes green grass standing in a field or meadow. It's the place where sheep can graze. The ideas are to satisfy with food, to be fed full, and completely satisfied.

When? Now and in the future
(cf Isa 25:6, Lu 13:29-30, 14:15, 22:28-30, Mt 8:11-12, Rev 19:9)

How does this contrast with the world's way?

The world seeks for material possessions which can never fully satisfy. (cf Heb 11:24-25 "passing pleasures of sin")

Ex: Elvis Presley had a 1960 Cadillac with 40 coats of paint that included crushed diamonds and hardware in 18K gold. His possessions ended up possessing him and he died a tragic death, the perfect picture of a man who in the world's eyes had everything but who was not filled spiritually.

What is the key to hungering and thirsting for +R (Jo 7:37-39, cf Isa 55:1-2)? (Note the verbs "come" and "drink" are both in the = present tense calling for this coming and drinking to be our lifestyle)

 Come to Jesus
Source of rivers of living water

Come and drink the first time = salvation. Then...
Keep coming
Keep drinking

Spirit within causes us to be thirst for +R...

We must then choose to come and drink

We must do this continually

We must continually recognize our state of spiritual poverty (Mt 5:3) acknowledging that in our own strength even as believers, we cannot initiate spiritual hunger and thirst (cf Jo 15:5, Ro 7:18) but must manifest a continual dependence on our Counselor, the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:16-17, 24), Who will lead us into all truth. He will lead us into this righteous lifestyle but we must still make the moment by moment decision that work out that lifestyle in real life situations (see  Philippians 2:12-13)
 

This beatitude corresponds to the doctrine of sanctification (present tense salvation - see diagram on Three Tenses of Salvation)

Believers who recognize their spiritually poverty in that they can't live righteously (sanctification) apart from the Spirit will continually come to Him

Application

Do you crave God's +R?
What diminishes your craving?

What stimulates your craving?
 

Madison Avenue has played on this physical craving with the slogan

"Bet you can't eat just one" (Potato Chip)

The tragedy of our time is that so many people are wasting their lives (and beloved the church is not immune to this "disease") chasing after three things that can never satisfy--Money, sex and power. We want money - we sacrifice our families to get it. We want sex - we sacrifice our morals to get it. We want power - we sacrifice our friends to get it. And when we finally attain these goals (if we are not destroyed first) we find that none of them truly satisfy our deepest need, the need within our soul for Jesus. We end up like the richest man in the world who was asked what it would take to make him happy, to which he quipped "One dollar more!" Funny, but true. Only Jesus satisfies!

What does (Jer 9:23-24) state is worth boasting in?
Where or what is your source of greatest boasting beloved?

Let's look at some men God used mightily and how this beatitude relates to their lives...

David

Psalms 27:4-6

What is David's "one thing"?

To dwell in the house of Jehovah
All the days of His life
To behold the beauty of Jehovah
To meditate in His temple
 

David hungered and thirsted for closeness to Jehovah

Psalms 63:1
Psalm 63:1 (A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.) O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Had he already experienced God?
What was his response?

What is the paradox (where is he)?

David is in a dry land where there was no water

David is thirsty but not for water

It was his soul which was thirsty

David had tasted of God because he calls him
"Thou art my God"

Seeking corresponds to hungering and thirsting

One taste of God was not enough

He wanted more of God

(cf manna in the wilderness - it was a reflection of God's gracious provision to Israel in the wilderness but it was only enough for each day. They were to come back daily, Sabbath excepted, and partake of His manna. A perfect picture of our need to continually come to Him)

How do we see this continual hungering and thirsting portrayed by David in Psalm 143:5-6? How would this be especially applicable to one who has drifted from the longings they once had for their first love?

Psalms 143:5-6

5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Thy doings; I muse on the work of Thy hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to Thee; My soul longs for Thee, as a parched land. Selah. (For "Selah" the Amplified has "pause, and calmly think of that"!

David remembered what it was like
He meditated on what God had done and His work
Then...
He stretched out, his soul longed for more of God

Again David pictures his soul longing as one who is in the desert and who is desperate, even potentially dying of physical thirst. For this person, the only thing that can quench the thirst is water. For David, a man after God's own heart, the only thing that can quench his innermost being's thirst was the living water of God.

Don't you long to have the same experience David had?

Walk by the Spirit in obedience, an internal righteousness from the heart, not self-righteousness like the Pharisees. Theirs is the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.

Moses
Ex 33:7-18
What was the context?
What had Moses seen?
(clue: what mount was he on in Ex 24:15-18)?

Moses had seen the glory of God on Mt  Sinai as he entered into the midst of the cloud of glory
(see Shekinah glory cloud)

Despite having seen this incredible manifestation of God, far from satiating Moses, it created in him a greater hunger after more of His righteousness. He desired to know God's ways so that he would know Him

Moses did not want to go forward unless the Lord was leading.
 

Paul:

Philippians 3:7-14

Note: This was written after the Holy Spirit had come to permanently indwell all believers. Paul valued knowing Christ Jesus above all else and counted everything else as loss in comparison. He understood that righteousness can come only through faith in Christ and spoke of being conformed to His death. Believers die to self, and God's Spirit controls—His righteousness in and through them.

Paul makes it clear that he had not yet attained the goal for which Christ had laid hold of him. He had not come to the place in his Christian life where his growth in spiritual maturity had been completed. And so he pressed on hungering and thirsting passionately for righteousness. And so to should we beloved!

What things do you need to avoid
so that you do not dull your spiritual appetite?

There are few things more important
than our spiritual appetite.

A healthy spiritual appetite is one of the great secrets of progress in Christian maturity.

We are what we eat.

John Stott wisely counsels that...

"If we are conscious of slow growth, is the reason that we have a jaded appetite? It is not enough to mourn over past sin; we must also hunger for future righteousness" (Stott, J: The Message of the Sermon on the Mount)

In case you are not yet convicted, here are a few more questions...

On a scale from 1 to 10 how hungry am I for spiritual things?

What is my attitude toward personal righteousness?

What do I hunger for in life?

To what extent do I hunger for God's Word?

How is my appetite for the truth of the Bible?

How am I growing in my love for holiness?

Do I long to be with mature Spirit-filled Christians?

Would I rather be with carnal, immature people?

How hungry am I for the works of the flesh?

Do I sincerely pray "Lord, keep me from the temptation which so easily besets me?"

Have you found yourself leaving your "first love"? (Rev 2:4). The antidote is a Spirit initiated and empowered intense hungering and thirsting for righteousness. (Rev 2:5 plus Mt 5:6)

Lord God, let it not be said of us as it was of Israel...

"They did not thirst when He led them"
(Isaiah 48:21)
AMEN

Beginning with Mt 5:7, the Beatitudes take on a people-to-people aspect. Thus those who are poor in spirit (Mt 5:3) respond to others by being merciful. (See also notes on Greek word eleos for mercy, notes on God's Attribute of Mercy)

Wouldn't it be wonderful to know that everything was right between not only you and God, but also you and others? Enabled by the Spirit, put this beatitude into practice and you can realize that potential beloved.

How can one
misinterpret (and misapply) Mt 5:7?

You can falsely conclude that being merciful to others will merit (or earn) mercy being repaid to you by God.

Thus they engage in diligent social action (which is commendable) with the idea of accruing merit that will be used as bargaining chips before God to receive mercy at judgment. Mt 5:3 reminds us that we are spiritual paupers desperately in need of God's grace and mercy. We mourn over our sin. We bend our wills in meekness to His perfect will. We hunger for His righteousness not our own. Thus a careful interpretation of the progression and relationship of this beatitude to the preceding (the context) leads one to conclude that beggars have no means by which to earn mercy.

Note: Again we see how critical it is to arrive at correct interpretation, (through careful observation which allows one to establish the correct context) lest we wander off the trail and onto the dangerous path of futile and inappropriate application.

What then is the correct interpretation of Mt 5:7?

Believers show mercy for they have been shown mercy and now have God's Spirit within enabling them to do what heretofore was impossible (now it is "Him-possible"!) This will be discussed more below.
 

Remember that the "Be attitudes" represent Jesus' description of what the ideal citizen of His kingdom looks like. A natural man (unregenerate, unredeemed by the blood of Jesus) cannot carry out these "Be attitudes". They are possible only to those who are saved (cf 2Cor 5:17)!

What is the reward of the merciful? Why are they blessed?
 They shall receive mercy
(Will discuss more later)

Note "they" and they alone will receive mercy ("they" is emphatic in Greek as with all the beatitudes. This emphasizes the "exclusivity" of the "club of the blessed")

What is the definition of mercy?

Mercy is the outward manifestation of pity

Mercy is
Compassion in action

Mercy...
sees a need
is moved by the need
has resources to meet the need

and
responds to the need

Thus mercy involves...
Recognition
Motivation
Action

Mercy looks not at what a man deserves or is worthy (remember how God saw us before Christ!) but what he needs

Merciful ~
"Mercy full"!

 (Click more discussion of definition of mercy)

Mercy is not shown in words but in action (1 Jo 3:17-18)

What about non-believers showing mercy?
Yes to a degree, they can show mercy in their natural, human strength. And yet their mercy will always be limited and tainted by the fallen sin nature we all inherit from Adam (cf Ro 5:12, 7:18).

What is the Source of mercy? (2 Cor 1:3)

God
The Father of mercies

God of all comfort
(showing mercy brings comfort)

Ultimately, the fountainhead of all mercy is God

Mercy is one of God's attributes
(see notes on His attribute of Mercy)

How does mercy relate to those dead in their transgressions in (Eph 2:4-7)?
God being rich in mercy

(because of His great love)

when we were dead in our transgressions (undeserving)

Made us alive with Christ
(by grace we were saved)

Note God's mercy involves...
Recognition - we sinned
Motivation - great love
Action - saved by grace

It is only as we come to know Christ as Savior that we can "tap into" God's inexhaustible supply of mercy. Believers are no longer restricted by their meager natural resources and can now show His supernatural mercy to others through acts of kindness and goodwill.

How does Jesus expand the meaning of being merciful...

What is His point in the parable in Mt 18:21-35? What was the occasion?
Peter asked Jesus if  forgiveness "times 7" was enough

Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven could be compared to the teaching in this parable

Synopsis: Slave unable to pay the king an "impossible" debt sought release and forgiveness which was granted out of compassion.

The forgiven slave was unwilling to forgive a lesser debt, throwing the debtor into prison.

The lord was informed, was angry and handed him to the torturers - asking should he not have had mercy even as he had received mercy?

Jesus' Point:
Kingdom Citizens should forgive proportional to how great forgiven...should motivate us to forgive

Note: As new creations in Christ, whose heart of stone has been replaced with a heart that beats for God, believers are benefactors of the rich mercy of the "King" (Eph 2:4) and as such should be motivated to show mercy, including mercy in the form of forgiveness (cf Col 3:12-13 discussed below, Eph 4:32, 5:1, Mt 6:12, 14-15, Ro 12:20-21)

James Montgomery Boice explains that there are three main points to this parable..."First, there is a judgment coming. Jesus did not pass over that teaching. He spoke of forgiveness, but He also spoke clearly of what happened to the wretched man in His story. He was cast into prison until he should pay back all he owed. That judgment hangs over everyone who has not experienced God's forgiveness through Christ. Second, there is forgiveness. God does forgive. God sent Jesus to be the basis for that forgiveness. Third, the only sure proof of a person's having received God's forgiveness through true faith in Jesus is a transformed heart and a changed life. How do we get that down into the practical areas of our lives, so that we actually begin to treat others as we have been treated? It is by standing before the thrice holy God and thus seeing ourselves as the vile sinners we are—vile and yet forgiven through the death of God's own beloved Son. That awareness should humble us so that we have simply no other option but to be forgiving to others from our heart. (Boice, J M: The Parables of Jesus) (Bolding Added)

How does Jesus' teaching in (Lu 6:35-36) further underscore the obligation kingdom citizens (believers) have to be merciful?

God gives mercy to...

Ungrateful and evil

"like Father, like sons"
Be merciful as your Father is merciful

How are kingdom citizens described in Col 3:12-13? How should this motivate us? How are we now to behave?

Chosen, holy, beloved!

Liberated and motivated by the Truth...that...
(1) He has elected us!
(2) He has set us apart from this world and for His good work.
(3) He bestows the Father's faithful covenant love upon us His sons and daughters.
 

Each of these grand truths should inspire us to walk worthy of our high calling

Consequently...

(1) When we see the need to forgive - "the debt someone owes us"
 

(2) We should recognize we have the Spirit of Christ in us Who enables us to meet that need and "forgive that debt"
 

and
 

(3) We should follow through and forgive the one who has a "debt" against us, recognizing that their debt is far less than the debt the Father has forgiven for us!

What is the rather stern warning in James 2:13?

No mercy = merciless judgment

Mercy triumphs over judgment
 

(NLT paraphrase "But if you have been merciful, then God's mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you")

The question is what judgment? Some favor this is a reference to the judgment of believers when their works will be burned up. A majority favor this as the Great White Throne judgment where those who never showed mercy, show by their lack of mercy they were not children of the Father of mercies. And thus they receive no mercy.

Dear kingdom citizen, Is there anyone that your Father in heaven is calling you to forgive even as you have been forgiven?

Will you be merciful
just as your Father is merciful?

Is there future mercy yet to be received? See 2Ti 1:15-18

In verse 18 Paul makes a statement that is like a wish or even a prayer for Onesiphorus that "the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day"

"That day" in context has to be the "day" of the Judgment Seat of Christ (see study of bema or Judgment seat of Christ) where we give account for the deeds in the body and we will receive reward or loss (2Cor 5:10, Ro 14:10, 1Cor 3:10-15)

"If we refuse to forgive and have absolutely no desire to forgive, we need to examine carefully whether we are Christians because forgiveness demonstrates whether we have ever been forgiven" (Hughes, R. K. Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom. Crossway Books)

How do believers show mercy?
What actions can (and should) we take?

1. Forgive
In the same way that we are forgiven we will forgive others (cf Col 3:12-13, Eph 4:32, 1 Pet 3:8)

Are you bearing a grudge, maintaining bitterness, seeking revenge, or holding someone in emotional hostage? The call of Christ is to forgive. You must release them from your own sentence of condemnation or indebtedness toward you.

Note that this does  not mean that your emotions and hurt is immediately gone? Kent Hughes says “The fact that you have forgiven and continue to forgive is a sign of grace, despite the ambivalences and imperfections of your forgiveness”

2. Have Compassion
Embrace the fallen and downtrodden. See (Gal 6:1). Rather than speaking about or acting vindictively toward the sinning brother in this passage we are to gently restore = mercy in action.

3. Giving
God has made us stewards of all He has given us and we demonstrate the mercy of God to others by the way we give to meet pressing needs.

Mercy does not mean to throw your resources to the wind, but to use them wisely in meeting the needs of those in distress.

4. Speaking
Mercy is found in speaking the gospel of Christ—that gospel of forgiveness and mercy, to fellow sinners.

The Psalmist declares, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary” (Ps 107:2, cf 1 Pet 2:9-10).

Here's the point: Those on the receiving end of mercy (believers) can now show mercy to others by proclaiming Jesus Christ as Redeemer to those still in bondage to sin and under an imminent sentence of eternal death (John 3:18, Heb 12:25, 1Jo 5:10)

5. Praying
We show mercy when we pray for the conversion of unbelievers.