Latest / The Higher Pursuit Podcast / The Beatitudes: What Are You Hungry For?

Transcript

The Beatitudes: What Are You Hungry For? · The Higher Pursuit Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_00: But here's what I want you to catch.
0:01
SPEAKER_00: Jesus begins with who we are becoming on the inside, not religious performance on the outside.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: That would have been radical to the people listening to him, both Jew and Gentile, because the Gentile religions were all pagan, and that was about making offerings to God and doing things to appease the gods.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: But the Pharisees in the Jewish religion had developed an entire religious system around what righteousness looked like externally.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: However, here comes Jesus and he starts talking about things like being there, friends.
0:50
SPEAKER_00: I'm Cecily LaChapelle, and this is the Higher Pursuit Podcast.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad that you're tuned into this podcast where we talk specifically about things that will encourage you and strengthen you in your pursuit of the Lord.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: For more content, check out our ministry website at HirePursuit Ministries.com.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: You can also find me on YouTube at Cecily LaChapelle with Higher Pursuit Ministries.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay, now let's dive into the podcast.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: Hey everyone, and welcome to the Higher Pursuit live stream and podcast.
1:28
SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, welcome.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: This is a place where we're pursuing more of the Lord together, whether it's learning how to study his word, learning how to fellowship with God in the secret place, or growing in our ability to discern the word of God in our everyday lives.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: That's what this live stream is all about.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Cecily La Chappelle.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: And right now we're in a series that I'm calling Word Alive, How to Study Your Bible.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: And we're using the Gospel of Matthew as our text.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: So if you're just joining us, I do encourage you to go back and listen to previous episodes.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: You can watch the video versions like this on YouTube, or you can find the audio versions wherever you listen to your podcast.
2:11
SPEAKER_00: We have been building week by week.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: And I think that having that foundation would really help you get the most of where we're going.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: But tonight you can still join us because this is going to be just as much of a standalone episode as the others.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: So everybody, get ready.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: We're going to open our Bibles to Matthew chapter five.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: Grab your handout.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: The link is in the chat.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: If an oh hi Lisa, good to see you.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: You can just open that PowerPoint, I'm not PowerPoint, sorry, um, PDF for your handout, and you can have that handy and follow along.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: And feel free to take notes because tonight we're not so much going to be about teaching.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: Tonight we're going to do something a little different.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: We've been focusing in Word Alive on how to study the Word.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: But tonight's probably going to feel a little bit more like the Word is studying us.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: And I'm trusting that the questions that we ask ourselves and what the Word shows us is going to bring lasting fruit.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: But before we get started, let's just do a quick recap of the beatitudes that we have covered so far.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: Because there's two things that I want you to keep in mind as we study today.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: First of all, remember Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience who knew how to study scripture.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: So a Jewish learner wouldn't simply read through Matthew the way we might sit down and just read a chapter in a book, or even maybe the way we would just read a chapter in our Bible.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: They would slow down, number one.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: They would notice and look for words and patterns.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: They were taught to read mystically, looking for repetitions, chiasms, all sorts of things like that.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: They would make connections to other scriptures, especially a Jewish learner would make connections to the Old Testament, as we've talked about in this study, and they would look for layers of meaning.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: And I said this before and I want to say it again.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: If you want to become someone who mines for gold in the Word of God, who discovers those deeper truths that aren't just sitting on the top of the surface, but are there waiting to be uncovered, then you have to be willing to go down rabbit trails.
4:33
SPEAKER_00: Don't be afraid of the rabbit trails.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: A good friend of mine, Whitney, I hope she's on tonight.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: If you're on the live stream, she, when she was first studying the Bible, and I told her she should get a study Bible with study notes.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: One time we were in a conversation and she said, I can't stop reading this.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: She said, one study note leads to another and leads to another.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: This is so amazing.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know all this great stuff was in the Bible.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: So don't be afraid of the rabbit trails.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead and look up that word.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: Follow that cross-reference.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: Ask to your ask yourself, hmm, I wonder why Matthew included this detail, but Mark or Luke or John didn't include it.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: Find out what that phrase that you're looking at would have meant to the original audience.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes what looks like a rabbit trail, I say is exactly where you're going to find the gold.
5:26
SPEAKER_00: That has happened to me so many times.
5:29
SPEAKER_00: And if you've been reading the word for any number of years, I bet it's happened to you too.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: Put a thumbs up in the chat if you have ever had that happen to you, where you went to the word to study one thing, you went down a rabbit trail, and then all of a sudden there was this mind-blowing revelation or understanding about something.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: Give me a thumbs up if that's ever happened.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: So the second thing that I want us to remember is the overarching theme of the servant sermon sermon on the mount.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: The ESV Filament Bible study notes describe the theme as the Messiah's call to righteousness.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: So if it's a call to righteousness, I think that's a word we kind of need to parse out a little bit because it could mean a lot of things to a lot of people.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: It could mean a lot of things to a lot of different religions.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: It could mean a lot of things to even different sects of Christianity.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: Lisa just gave me a thumbs up.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: You've had that happen to you.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: So at its simplest, we're talking about being in right standing with God when we're talking about righteousness.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: And we're talking about living according to his standards.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: And what we've been discovering is that the Beatitudes give us a roadmap of righteousness.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: But here's what I want you to catch.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: Jesus begins with who we are becoming on the inside, not religious performance on the outside.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: That would have been radical to the people listening to him, both Jew and Gentile, because the Gentile religions were all pagan, and that was about making offerings to God and doing things to appease the gods.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: But the Pharisees in the Jewish religion had developed an entire religious system around what righteousness looked like externally.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: However, here comes Jesus and he starts talking about things like being poor in spirit, mourning over your sin, about meekness and hungering and thirsting for righteousness, about showing mercy and having purity of heart and peacemaking.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: Guys, these are heart conditions.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: These have nothing to do with a set of religious programs.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is showing us that the kingdom of righteousness works from the inside out.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: And that's where I want us to slow down today.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: We could rush through these final beatitudes, we could define each one.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: I could pull out some really cool facts and study notes, and then we could move on.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: But I don't want to do that tonight because these aren't simply characteristics for us to learn.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: They're invitations to let Jesus examine us.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: So as we walk through these last beatitudes today, I want you to do something different.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: Don't just ask, what does this mean?
8:36
SPEAKER_00: Ask Holy Spirit, what does this reveal about me?
8:41
SPEAKER_00: What does this reveal about you?
8:45
SPEAKER_00: So when we're reading these last beatitudes, let's be thinking, is any of this already evident in my life?
8:52
SPEAKER_00: Where do I need to grow?
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Is there something in my heart that you want to expose?
8:58
SPEAKER_00: Is there something you want to heal?
9:01
SPEAKER_00: Is there something you're asking me to change?
9:05
SPEAKER_00: Because the goal of studying the word isn't simply to know more Bible.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: While that's not always a bad thing, it's to become more like Jesus, right?
9:14
SPEAKER_00: So let's allow his word to do some work in us today.
9:19
SPEAKER_00: To begin with, let's start with Matthew 5, 6.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: That's where we left off last week.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: And that says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: They shall be filled.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: Hi, everybody.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: While I hate to interrupt a good discussion, I do want to tell you about my book, Repurpose Your Pain: Moving from Pain to Purpose and from Instability to Firm Faith.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: In the book, I share 10 pain points that are common to most people, and I share my personal stories, my experiences with those pain points, and how I repurposed that pain.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: Then we dive into what the Word of God has to say about how we repurpose that pain.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: You need to know that this book is really two books in one because it includes workbook activations to help you apply the truth that you've learned to your life.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: So grab your copy today on Amazon, Christian Book Distributors, or any place books are sold.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: So before we dive into this Beatitude, I want to tell you about a season in my own life when my hunger shifted.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't even recognize it while it was happening.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: So a lot of you know that I wrote a book called Repurpose Your Pain.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: What you may not know is that during the final stages of getting that book ready, I was also preparing for the launch.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: So I'm communicating back and forth with layout at my publisher and having to make at some point some considerable layout decisions and changes for the book.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: But what here's what they don't tell you when you write a book.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: Writing a book is actually the fun part.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: Getting it into people's hands is torture.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: Suddenly, I had to build a website, create social media, plan a launch, create content.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't know how to do any of it.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: So here I am waking up every morning with anxiety and a task list that somehow seemed to grow overnight.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: And gradually the pressure began dictating my priorities.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: I knew I needed time with the Lord.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: Tell me if this has ever happened to you.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: I especially knew that I needed that extended tabernacle time that nourishes my spirit and gives me space to hear his voice.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: But every morning I could hear this in my mind.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: I don't have time for this.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: I'll get to it tomorrow until tomorrow became today.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: And over and over and over.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: And without realizing it, I allowed my hunger to shift.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: Instead of waking up hungry for the presence of God, I was waking up hungry to finish the list.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: I was waking up hungry to check things off my list.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: I was waking up hungry to have achievement, to have success in one area, but not success in the area that really mattered.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: And the more I fed the other hunger, the bigger it became.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: While my hunger for the Lord diminished.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden comes the day that I had like a cuckoo for cocoa puffs breakdown.
12:41
SPEAKER_00: I remember crying so hard, I couldn't even stop.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: My poor husband is just looking at me, thinking, What what do I do with you?
12:51
SPEAKER_00: You you're cracking up.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: And I genuinely thought, what is happening to me?
12:57
SPEAKER_00: And by then I had neglected the Lord so long that asking him for help almost felt hypocritical.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: Tell me in the chat if that's ever happened to you.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: If you've ever let what you feel like is too much time or too much space, too much water under the bridge, maybe too much sin.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: You just let it go and you know you need to return to the Lord, but you feel like he's gonna be really disappointed.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: He's really upset.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna tell me I told you so.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: Well, yes, I've gotten some yeses here.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: Linda Nardella says, Yes.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: Lisa, Linda Hawkins says, I bet we've all experienced this, especially some of the get it done folks.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, Linda Hawkins.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
13:50
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: It's crazy how we can make that shift when we've gone from hungering to the Lord.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: And I'll be honest, I think that that is just a scheme of the enemy.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Because when our hunger for the Lord is where it needs to be, we're kind of unstoppable.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: There's almost nothing we can't do.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: So, what does the enemy want to do?
14:18
SPEAKER_00: Pull us from our power source and divert our hunger to another direction.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: I mean, Adam and Eve, perfect example.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: Their hunger got diverted to a piece of fruit, and here we all are.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: Joe says, so, so familiar with that.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: Business becomes the work of the devil.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: It absolutely can.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: You know, God gives us work, God gives us tasks.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: Adam and Eve were working in the garden, so work isn't a bad thing.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: But it's when we get our identity from it, or when we feel like success or checking things off our task list is going to give us something that we think we're not getting from God.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: I'll be honest in my own life, maybe you can relate to this, but I find that there's a dopamine hit that I get from achievement that I don't always feel like I get from the Lord.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: And that can sound, I'm sure I can be misinterpreted from that, but it's a quick hit, a dopamine hit of, oh, I got something done.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: I achieved something.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm pushing the needle forward in progress, in success.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: Where sometimes with the Lord, it's a little bit more subjective, where you're like, I was with the Lord, I felt your presence, but there with him, there aren't tasks to accomplish.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: So you can't say, well, I got that done.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: And so for that reason, sometimes my hunger can get diverted into that, into the wrong arena for the wrong reasons.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, back to my story.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: Thankfully, I knew by here, by this time in my walk with the Lord, that the answer was not to run from the Lord.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: I have had to run back to God with my tail between my legs so many times that I knew just don't waste time, Cecily, get it over with.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: So I ran back to him.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: I repented and I returned to my first love.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: And then I got really practical.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: I've told this to you guys before.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: I had to put my phone and my Apple Watch outside the door.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: I asked the Holy Spirit to help me focus.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: I prayed out loud when my mind wandered and I started feeding the right hunger again.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: And then when I returned, his presence was right there.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: I mean, did all the anxiety disappear instantly?
16:45
SPEAKER_00: No.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: But gradually, as you guys can relate, my hunger for him began to rise again.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: My peace returned, my focus returned, and I began choosing my time with the Lord over the demands of my schedule.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord did his part.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: Lisa Demurs says, we experience the dopamine hit from achieving something we believe is in our control.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: So when we are focusing our hunger around things we can control, then we divert our hunger from the one who is in control.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: And whatever hunger we continually feed will grow.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: Whatever hunger we continually neglect will diminish.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: So maybe the question we need to ask when Jesus says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, isn't Am I hungry for God?
17:53
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's what hunger am I feeding?
17:58
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes the thing that's competing with our hunger for God isn't something sin, it isn't something sinful.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: Just like Joe just said, business can become the work of the devil.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's a deadline, sometimes it's a goal, sometimes it's things we can control, success, success, responsibilities, even something God Himself has called us to do.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: I knew that God had called me to write that book, but he didn't call me to make an idol out of it.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: He didn't call me to put the tasks of the book or the book launch or book marketing above him.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: So ask the Holy Spirit today, what hunger have I been feeding?
18:42
SPEAKER_00: And has it diminished or increased my hunger for you?
18:47
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: Good word, Lisa says.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: Well, maybe you feel like you've failed and fallen.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: It's time to get up and get back in the race.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Doubt and wavering are not disqualifiers unless you allow them to be.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: What I love is that God's great mercy and compassion on our weakness because he knows how weak we are.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: It's greater than our failures and flaws.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: Can I get a hallelujah?
19:15
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Jesus, that his goodness is greater than my weakness.
19:20
SPEAKER_00: We just have to get back up and do the things that we did at first when Jesus was in that first love position.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: John 6.35 says, what Jesus says in this verse, I am the bread of life.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: And Psalm 42, one, we all love this one.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: We can feed that hunger and thirst until we are just literally panting for God.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: So if your hunger and thirst have dwindled, I encourage you to do a few things.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: Go to the Lord and confess it.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: Number one.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: Number two, put it under the blood.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: And number three, ask the Holy Spirit to do what he specializes in.
20:11
SPEAKER_00: Restore your joy, fuel your passion, and give you fresh vision.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: That's what he is there for.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: He's there to do those things for us.
20:23
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's move on to the next verse, Matthew 7.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: So this verse is written in Greek.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: But the word for mercy that I really want us to focus on is the word that we can find in the Old Testament in Hebrew.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: And it is the word Hesed.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: Give me a thumbs up in the chat if you are familiar with this word, if you have seen it, heard it, heard about it, you've heard something taught about this word.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: It's spelled a few different ways in English.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: So C-H-E-C-E-D or C-H-E-S-E-D.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: There's a number of different ways.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: And it's one of those Hebrew words you start in the back of your throat because it starts with the letter HET.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: So it's and in the Hebrew, that word is multiple layers of meaning.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: It can be translated as loving kindness, mercy, compassion, goodness, love, and so much more.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: Linda Nardella has a thumbs up.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: She knows she's been exposed to that word, has said, Well, let me see.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: Let me go over here and give you this one.
21:45
SPEAKER_00: There we go, Exodus.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: Then the Lord passed in front of Moses and called out the Lord, the Lord God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, maintaining loving devotion.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Mercy to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.
22:06
SPEAKER_00: So that is that word Hesed in the Hebrew.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: And as you can see, it was translated as loving devotion in my translation.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: So God's mercy, loving devotion, that's not a one-time gesture.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: So many of us think about mercy as a one-time act or gesture.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: So for instance, if I um if I do something to, if I do something to Joe, let's just say I run over Joe's dog.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: That's terrible.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: But, and he could come back and demand retribution from me.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: But he sees how broken up I am about it.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: He sees I'm just devastated and I feel terrible.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: So he shows mercy.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: So that's a one-time act.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm not running over Joe's dog every day, and this is not like an ongoing problem that we have.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: But we are running over God's laws every day.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: We are running over his heart every day.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: We are running over Joe, thumbs down, Joe and Redding.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: He's like, no, that's not a good example, Cecily.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: I know.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, my friend.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: I was just trying to do, I was trying to pick an example that would make everybody go, oh, he would really have to show you mercy for that.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: But um we are constantly trampling God's kindness and his goodness.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: And so when mercy is translated as loving devotion, I love that translation because it shows that God is devoted to us with love.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: And that's what mercy looks like.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: Not just this one time, yeah, you blew it, and I'll, I, I, I'll, I won't give you what you deserve.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: Let's move on.
23:54
SPEAKER_00: Drive on.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: It's not that, it's every minute saying, I'm still devoted, I'm still showing you love, I'm still giving you what you don't deserve.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: And when we look at how that word is translated as loving devotion, you can see God's mercy marries him to us.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: He's chosen to be devoted to us for the long term in a loving, gentle, compassionate way.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: That's totally different than a one-time gesture of mercy when we blow it.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: It is eternal devotion with eyes wide open, regarding the object of his love, regarding the weakness of our nature.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: And this is also God calling out who he is.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: I love that scripture where he says, This is the, this is the Lord, the Lord God.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: And he describes himself, he's describing his nature, that he's kind, he's good, he is displaying loving devotion.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: So when you're tempted to doubt God's goodness, just know God cannot change or lie.
25:10
SPEAKER_00: So even when our brains can't compute, for instance, why a good God would allow suffering, we have to come back to this declaration.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: God is married to us.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: He is a good God.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love that.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: And let me see.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: I think I've got another scripture for you.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: I love this scripture.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: He has shown you, oh man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before your God.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about how we love mercy.
25:54
SPEAKER_00: But first, let's talk about someone who didn't love mercy.
25:58
SPEAKER_00: In Matthew 18, 21 to 35, there's a parable about a servant, and he owed his master it goes into Old Testament, I mean, um ancient Jewish um money, currency.
26:16
SPEAKER_00: That's the word I'm looking for.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: And so we really don't have an exact idea, but it's the gist of it is that he owed more than he could ever, ever, ever pay if he if he worked overtime for the rest of his life and gave every dime and didn't even eat.
26:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, this servant could still never pay the master back.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: It was some ludicrous amount of money.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: And the master forgives him.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: He like he falls on his face before the master, pleads for mercy.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: The master gives him mercy, forgives the debt.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: And then here's the crazy part the servant then goes out and finds a fellow servant.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: Now think you've got master to servant.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: So someone who is above the servant is merciful down to him, has compassion when he doesn't have to be.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: And now the servant finds someone on his level, servant to servant, and this guy owes him a little bit of money, pocket change.
27:14
SPEAKER_00: And he grabs him by the throat and is, you know, shaking him and saying, Give me my money.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: And the master finds out about it and is absolutely ripped and has this um unmerciful servant thrown in outer darkness.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: So when we read that, we need to ask ourselves, am I demanding payment for a debt God is asking me to release?
27:44
SPEAKER_00: Payment doesn't necessarily mean money, does it?
27:48
SPEAKER_00: What about this?
27:50
SPEAKER_00: They owe me an apology.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: They owe me an explanation.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: They owe me recognition.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: I did that, and they never even said thank you.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: They owe me for what they did to me.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: We might not say it with exactly those words, but that is those are the conversations that roll around in our head.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: And when we see people cause us to be not warm, not loving.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: That's not mercy.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: We're called and equipped, my friends, by the Holy Spirit to extend mercy because we live every day as recipients of God's loving devotion.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know about you.
28:40
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes mercy is not easy to give, not in the way that God gives it.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: So, how do we do that?
28:52
SPEAKER_00: This is exactly the bar of the beatitudes that Jesus is setting.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: He's setting the bar so high that if we don't lean on the Holy Spirit living inside us, there's no way that we will ever do it.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: But because the same Holy Spirit lives in us that lived in Jesus, we have been enabled to do these things.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: We have been enabled to love with a love that goes beyond us.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: It might not happen overnight, but if we don't quit, if we stay the course and continue to say, Lord, help me be merciful in the way you are merciful to me.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: Help me to forgive in the way that you have forgiven me.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: Help me to show loving devotion that doesn't quit.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: I can't do it without you.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: Then the Holy Spirit will come in and give us the assistance that we need.
29:55
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's move on to Matthew 5:8.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
30:04
SPEAKER_00: That word for pure is the Greek word katharos, which means pure, clean, clear, or without mixture.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: So here I have a glass of water.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: What if I just put a little bit of rat poison in here?
30:23
SPEAKER_00: Just a couple drops of rat poison.
30:28
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't smell, it has no color.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: Would you drink it?
30:34
SPEAKER_00: No.
30:35
SPEAKER_00: I doubt you would.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: The point isn't that Christians have to achieve sinless perfection.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: The point is that we have a new creation identity in Christ.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: We have to ask ourselves, what am I allowing to become mixed into what God has made clean?
31:00
SPEAKER_00: Because we are clean before the Lord.
31:05
SPEAKER_00: However, we could mix some things in with the purity.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: For instance, faith mixed with unbelief, obedience mixed with self-interest, ministry mixed with a need for recognition, love for God mixed with a love for the approval of people, generosity mixed with wanting something back.
31:38
SPEAKER_00: This is who we are now if we're born again.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: We are this clear glass of water.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Behold, the new has come.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the clear, pure righteousness of God.
32:10
SPEAKER_00: So we have to understand purity isn't an identity we're trying to earn.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: We're learning to live consistently with the new identity that Christ has already given us.
32:24
SPEAKER_00: That is the crux of your faith in what Jesus has accomplished on your behalf.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: So while we are striving to live in the reality of who we are, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: Linda Gelman says, love this one in particular as it addresses the motives we have.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: Pure heart, pure motives.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: Yes, my friend, absolutely.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: All right, so I'm going to take a little drink of my sparkling pure water.
33:03
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
33:05
SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's move on to Matthew 5, 9.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
33:15
SPEAKER_00: So there's two application notes I want to bring up here.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: Number one, children reflect their parents.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes for good, sometimes not so good.
33:26
SPEAKER_00: I know families, you might know families too, that their kids look so much like the parents that you could put a stranger in a room of a hundred people, and a stranger would be able to match up the children to the parents because they look so much alike.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: And also sometimes you can match the children to the parents because of the way they act, or even the voices.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: We just had friends from France come and stay with us for a couple of weeks.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: And so we had some of our grown children and grandchildren over to meet them and them to meet our children, all of that.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: And they commented that my daughter Ashley's voice is so much like mine.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: I don't think so.
34:11
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure she probably doesn't think so.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: But they said, oh yes.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: The second she started to speak, the her facial expressions and her voice are just like you.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: I thought, well, that is so interesting.
34:24
SPEAKER_00: I didn't ever think of it that way.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: So we as children of God, we're called to reflect our parent, our father God.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: Our voice should be like his, our expressions should be like his.
34:38
SPEAKER_00: Our love, the motivations of our heart should be like his.
34:42
SPEAKER_00: We want to be sons of God.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: The second point is that Jesus made peace between God and us.
34:50
SPEAKER_00: He is the ultimate peacemaker.
34:54
SPEAKER_00: But here's a distinction that I want to make.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: You might have heard this before, but many of us confuse peacemaking with peacekeeping.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: A peacemaker is willing to enter into a conflict to bring reconciliation.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: It might seem a little counterintuitive to walk into a fight, but sometimes we have to do that to bring reconciliation.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: A peacekeeper, however, will avoid conflict at any cost.
35:24
SPEAKER_00: Now, to as an example of a peacemaker, look at Jesus.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: He wasn't afraid of confrontation, not at all.
35:33
SPEAKER_00: He spoke truth, he exposed sin, but he also forgave, restored, and then he ultimately laid his life down to reconcile us to God.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: So if we're called to reflect God the Father, and Jesus is our spiritual big brother, then we need to see that biblical peacemaking is not keep everybody happy, make sure everybody likes you.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: No, it's what will reconciliation require of me?
36:04
SPEAKER_00: What will reconciliation require of me?
36:10
SPEAKER_00: Here are some examples.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: Two of your family members aren't speaking.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: Do you gossip about it or help make peace?
36:21
SPEAKER_00: Someone misunderstands you.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: Do you recruit people to your side or do you go directly to that person to talk to them about it?
36:32
SPEAKER_00: You've offended someone.
36:34
SPEAKER_00: Do you defend your intentions or do you humble yourself and make it right?
36:41
SPEAKER_00: So tell me in the chat, what is one characteristic of a peacemaker that you think is important?
36:50
SPEAKER_00: So in the chat, tell me what is one characteristic of a peacemaker that you think is important.
36:58
SPEAKER_00: Maybe one characteristic of a peacemaker you're working on.
37:03
SPEAKER_00: I know if I were to put that down, mine would be confrontation.
37:08
SPEAKER_00: I hate confrontation.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: I would avoid it.
37:15
SPEAKER_00: Except I've lived long enough now to see the fruit of godly, prayer-filled, Holy Spirit-infused confrontation.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: I've seen growth in me.
37:31
SPEAKER_00: I've seen growth in other people.
37:33
SPEAKER_00: And it's never gone as badly as I thought when I have walked into conflict with the heart of a peacemaker, not looking out for my own self-interest, hoping that I come out looking like a hero.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: That's been a huge game changer for me.
37:54
SPEAKER_00: All right, we're moving on now to Matthew 5, 10, and 11.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: Whew.
38:03
SPEAKER_00: Remember, we talked last week that these beatitudes are a pathway.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: They are a progression of maturity in Christ.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: So we started off by being poor in spirit, right?
38:19
SPEAKER_00: That was the beginning of our walk with the Lord.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: We can't even begin to walk with Jesus until we're poor in spirit and we recognize that we are sinners in desperate need of a savior, that we are spiritually bankrupt.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: That's point A.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: And now here we are, walking in maturity at this point, and we're getting persecuted for looking and acting as sons of God.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: And we're going to get persecuted for righteousness' sake.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus says, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
38:53
unknown: Woo!
38:54
SPEAKER_00: And verse 11, blessed are you.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: So that means you're fully satisfied, you're overflowing in your soul.
39:04
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
39:15
SPEAKER_00: What I picked up on in that verse was Jesus saying, on my account, or because of me.
39:21
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting because back in this time, the rabbis would teach what the Torah was saying, but they would never equate themselves with God.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: They would talk about being persecuted, but they would never have said on my account or because of me.
39:46
SPEAKER_00: So here Jesus is blatantly equating himself with God.
39:52
SPEAKER_00: Throughout the Old Covenant or the Old Testament, there are multiple references of Jews suffering persecution because of their faith in Yahweh, their faith in God.
40:03
SPEAKER_00: And now Jesus is telling these disciples and the listeners that are gathered all around that they're going to suffer for being his disciple.
40:13
SPEAKER_00: That is no small thing.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: Tell me in the chat.
40:32
SPEAKER_00: How many?
40:34
SPEAKER_00: How many who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted?
40:37
SPEAKER_00: A few?
40:39
SPEAKER_00: Many?
40:42
SPEAKER_00: What was the word that Timothy used or that Paul used to Timothy?
40:47
SPEAKER_00: Tell me in the chat.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: All right.
40:51
SPEAKER_00: My friends, there should be something about following Jesus that costs us something.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: Not because we're trying to be offensive.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
41:03
SPEAKER_00: All.
41:04
SPEAKER_00: Linda Gelman, Lisa, Linda Nardella saying all, all.
41:09
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: All who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think we should buckle our seatbelts, people, because I think a lot of us have been avoiding persecution.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: We've been trying to fly under the radar as if being invisible, not making a stink for Jesus or not standing up for our faith.
41:32
SPEAKER_00: Somehow we can skirt around persecution.
41:36
SPEAKER_00: But as I just said, there should be something about following Jesus that makes us noticeable, that costs us something.
41:43
SPEAKER_00: We're not trying to be in disagreement with people, uh, but allegiance to Jesus does eventually put us at odds.
41:52
SPEAKER_00: It puts us at odds with the world.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: It puts us at odds because of the values of the kingdom.
41:58
SPEAKER_00: And the world is getting darker and darker and darker.
42:02
SPEAKER_00: And so if you be, if you are living your life at all for Jesus, then you are absolutely in odds, at odds with this world.
42:15
SPEAKER_00: So we need to ask ourselves this question: is there anywhere that I'm editing my obedience because I'm afraid of what it'll cost me?
42:26
SPEAKER_00: I can think of a few areas for me.
42:31
SPEAKER_00: I think I edit my social media sometimes because of what it will cost me.
42:37
SPEAKER_00: It's happening less and less because, you know, fortunately, I'm just getting it out there and it's going to be what it's going to be.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: But I can see how in certain conversations, even sometimes with my neighbors, I will skirt around things and not say something I would really love to say.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: Because I think, well, you know, why cause a stink?
43:06
SPEAKER_00: Why I don't really have time to get into that conversation right now.
43:11
SPEAKER_00: Whoo, Jesus.
43:13
SPEAKER_00: Lord have mercy.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: Lord have mercy.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: All right.
43:17
SPEAKER_00: Well, I've got some things I want, some questions that I want to ask us.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: Let's see, we'll start with this one.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: Hunger.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: Let's ask ourselves these questions.
43:28
SPEAKER_00: What has my appetite?
43:31
SPEAKER_00: This is as we conclude in review.
43:34
SPEAKER_00: Mercy.
43:36
SPEAKER_00: Whose debt am I still demanding?
43:41
SPEAKER_00: Purity.
43:42
SPEAKER_00: Where has mixture entered my heart?
43:48
SPEAKER_00: Peacemaking.
43:49
SPEAKER_00: Where is God asking me to pursue reconciliation and courage?
43:57
SPEAKER_00: Where is fear of people?
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Affecting my obedience.
44:03
SPEAKER_00: My friends, don't just listen to this teaching and move on.
44:07
SPEAKER_00: Take those five questions into the secret place this week.
44:10
SPEAKER_00: Sit with the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to search you.
44:14
SPEAKER_00: I know I will be.
44:16
SPEAKER_00: Next week, when we come back to the Beatitudes, it's not going to be the Beatitudes, when we come back to the Sermon on the Mount, we're going to be in what's called the similitudes.
44:25
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus shifts from describing the character of kingdom people to describing their influence as in you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: So be thinking about that.
44:38
SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to dig into that with you.
44:41
SPEAKER_00: All right, guys.
44:42
SPEAKER_00: I've really enjoyed tonight.
44:43
SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed digging into these last parts and allowing the word of God to search us.
44:52
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
44:54
SPEAKER_00: Father, your word says, search me, O God, and know my heart.
45:00
SPEAKER_00: Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts.
45:03
SPEAKER_00: And see if there is any hurtful or wayward way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
45:13
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we come to you and we say, show us where we're hungering and thirsting for things that we shouldn't be feeding.
45:24
SPEAKER_00: If there are appetites that aren't for our first love, and help us to feed the appetite for you, for more of you, more of your presence, more of your glory.
45:38
SPEAKER_00: And in the area of mercy, just reveal to us this week, Holy Spirit, if we are still holding someone in our debt, and with purity, has any mixture entered our heart?
45:53
SPEAKER_00: Is there any unforgiveness, any bitterness, even maybe unforgiveness toward ourselves, not letting ourselves off the hook, holding ourselves hostage?
46:05
SPEAKER_00: And in peacemaking, God, are you asking us to pursue reconciliation with someone and we've just been avoiding it?
46:15
SPEAKER_00: And is there any fear of man that is affecting our obedience, affecting our walk?
46:23
SPEAKER_00: Father, we thank you so much for the Sermon on the Mount.
46:27
SPEAKER_00: The fact that we have the words of Jesus, the words of the Son of God that we can highlight, underline, memorize, apply to our lives.
46:40
SPEAKER_00: We're so grateful for your word.
46:43
SPEAKER_00: We're so grateful for your spirit.
46:46
SPEAKER_00: We're so grateful for your loving devotion.
46:49
SPEAKER_00: That you've bound yourself to us in covenant, that you have married yourself to us.
46:55
SPEAKER_00: We don't ever have to be afraid.
46:57
SPEAKER_00: We won't be rejected.
46:59
SPEAKER_00: We won't be turned away.
47:01
SPEAKER_00: I thank you, Lord, for your goodness and your mercy.
47:06
SPEAKER_00: Stay with us, Lord.
47:07
SPEAKER_00: Continue to do your work in us.
47:10
SPEAKER_00: And we give you all the thanks and the praise in Jesus' mighty name.
47:14
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
47:16
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
47:17
SPEAKER_00: Well, guys, I had a wonderful time with you as always.
47:20
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for chiming in in the chat.
47:22
SPEAKER_00: It was great.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: And I look forward to seeing you next week when we start diving into the similitudes.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: I will see you then.
47:31
SPEAKER_00: God bless.
47:33
SPEAKER_00: Hey, family.
47:35
SPEAKER_00: I pray that you were blessed and encouraged by that episode and that you took away something you can use in your walk with the Lord starting today.
47:44
SPEAKER_00: Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
47:50
SPEAKER_00: So I thank you for making me a part of your pursuit.
47:54
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, abide in Him.