The Salvage Yard

We have had some audio difficulty with this weeks message, below is a manuscript that Pastor Ben Bainbridge used to preach from.  Some of the content may be different from the actual sermon, and for that we sorry for any inconvenience.

“Solid—Living The Blessed Life (It’s not what you think)” Today we’re continuing to look at what’s been called The Sermon on the Mount.  It’s some concentrated teachings of Jesus.  This has been called the greatest talk ever given.  Over the centuries it has influenced more people than any words ever spoken in the history of the human race.  We started by looking at the story Jesus told at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  The guy that builds the house on the sand; it gets destroyed.  The guy that builds the house on the rock that endures through the storm.  He says that’s kind of like people who listen to his words but don’t do anything about it, as opposed to somebody who actually does what he teaches, builds his life on his words—that becomes a solid life.  The point is that Jesus is not really concerned with people knowing a whole bunch of stuff, if they don’t actually do anything with it. That’s the problem that we all face over and over again. We know what we’re supposed to do, and we think that that’s an accomplishment. You get into a car; we’re all issued a book when we’re learning about driving.  It’s called “The Rules of the Road.”  We have to learn the book, but when an officer stops you for speeding or running a red light or something, do you ever try saying to him, “Officer, I know the book!  I love the book!  I agree with the book!  I scored really well on my test.  I was doing 55 in my heart.”  Is the officer very impressed with that?  They don’t really care if you know the book. What matters is, what are you doing? A whole lot of people who go to church think spiritual growth is about just learning more and more and more and more information and then being able to spit out the right answers.  You should know that Jesus is utterly uninterested in that.  He taught to change lives, not convey interesting information.  For him it was always all about changed lives. With that in mind let’s look at this part of the Sermon on the Mount. [SLIDE…] “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.  His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.  He said: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 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 5:1-11, TNIV). These are called the Beatitudes.  By the way, beatitude means, [SLIDE: “Beatitude = Supreme blessedness, exalted happiness, state of utmost bliss.”] supreme blessedness, exalted happiness, state of utmost bliss. All that sounds pretty good, maybe it sounds old fashioned, but these have some serious horsepower to them. But they can also be misunderstood.

Have you had a time in your life where you just knew you were way out of your league?  Some of you….might be able to identify with what it feels like once in a while to learn….to your chagrin that something or someone is way out of your league. The same thing has happened to me with golf.  I think I’m pretty good…oh wait.  I’m terrible at golf.  I can’t even pretend there. some of you play tennis….did you ever have a really good game or hit that magic shot and you say, “I think I’m pretty good”….and then you go to a U.S. open tournament….or you go someplace where there are professionals playing and it looks like the balls are coming out of shoulder-mounted rocket launchers?  And you say whoa-ho-ho….I mean, if I got on the court with that guy, I’d, I’m likely to get hurt. They are out of my league. Some of you are weekend hackers at golf courses….and you’ll hit two or three good drives in a row, get some good distance, and you start feeling pretty good about yourself.  And then you watch a professional tournament on television, or you actually go to one, and you watch someone….smack a ball two-hundred seventy-five, three hundred yards straight as an arrow and you go, “Uh-whoa-ooooh”….these guys are way out of my league what do you feel like when you conclude that something or someone is out of your league? Don’t you say to yourself, “Uh, I feel a little stupid”? ….I feel a little small….I feel like I might as well just quit, You just want to give up, don’t ya?

In the first century A.D., there existed a small group of men….not men and women, all men….who were widely revered as being the religious elite….they were the unchallenged superstars of spirituality; they raised religious fervor to an art form. They put the bar of spiritual expectations so high…. that the average man or woman on the street would say, of the scribes and the Pharisees–these religious elite leaders, they would say, “These guys are out of my league.  I could never compete in religion against these guys….I’d have to quit my job….to obey all the rules that they’ve put into effect for me to be made right with God.  There are so many hoops; the bar is so high….I’d just feel like quitting….rather than to try to compete at the level that they’ve raised religion.” So in that culture there were lots of men and women who had sort of given up on the religious system of the day….even though parts of their heart wanted to be right with God; I mean what it took, according to the system the scribes and Pharisees had set up, what it took was more than they could give and, as you might have guessed, the scribes and the Pharisees took a kind of perverse delight….in their elitism, their spiritual elitism. They paraded around sanctimoniously, and they took every advantage to position themselves publicly in a way that after they prayed in public, for instance, they would say to the rank and file people, you know, “In your face….you will never attain levels of spirituality like we have attained….we’re out of your league.”

Now against that cultural backdrop….enter, Jesus.  The mystery man of the first part, of the first century A.D. He’s thirty years old and he’s physically no different from other guys his age….he comes from a small town from a common family, and yet…strange things are starting to happen just a few weeks before this, he was in a large public gathering listening to a prophet, named John the Baptist, give a talk.   John the Baptist sees Jesus at the edge of the crowd, and he cries out in this powerful, prophetic voice, “Look, everybody! Look at this man!….he’s the lamb of God, who came to earth to take away the sins of the world….look, everybody–there’s God’s son….in human flesh. Now that sent a ripple through the crowd.  This ordinary looking man being called the Lamb of God who’s going to take away the sins of the world–that raised a few eyebrows.  Then shortly after that Jesus was baptized.  There was a big crowd there and when he came out of the water there’s a voice that thunders from heaven, and the voice says, “This is My Son….and I’m pleased with him; I love him….I’m announcing”, the voice says, “This is My Son.” That sent a ripple through the crowd.  People started to pay attention.  Then shortly after that Jesus starts going around doing miracles, healings, verifiable healings; I mean, not relieving back pains and stomach aches and curing house pets….he does verifiable miracles. Matthew 4:24 tells us he healed every kind of sickness and disease. The lame would walk; the blind would see; the deaf would hear. Lepers would have fair skin….and that sent huge, tidal waves of response through the area….I mean, there was more stir, and curiosity about Jesus of Nazareth than anybody walking the planet at that time. Who is this guy really?….might he indeed be God’s Son? And then the Bible tells us he starts talking about establishing a kingdom….a kingdom where people could be under the direct rule of God….before they wind up in the afterlife; like the kingdom starts now in this earth and goes on into eternity and people wonder what the kingdom is really like.  How is it going to differ from the religious system set up by the scribes and Pharisees? And then word gets out that Jesus is going to go public and give a thorough explanation about what his kingdom is like and multitudes, thousands and thousands of people say “I’m going to show up to hear that talk”….and so they show up on a hillside outside Galilee or in the Galilean district, outside Capernaum. They show up with blankets and picnic baskets and igloo coolers.  And they sit down….and they want to hear what Jesus is going to say about his kingdom.  And as in all public gatherings when you’re waiting for the main guy to give the main talk, there’s little discussions going on. Author Dallas Willard suggests that the prevailing two concerns in the crowd that day….were first, what will the kingdom really be like–and second….who would be able to qualify to get in.  You see, lots of people in the crowd had already heard enough about Jesus and seen enough of his miracles to say, “I think I want in”, but the bigger question was….”Am I gonna’ be able to get in?” The truth is that most of the people walking around had already concluded they couldn’t get in to the system of religion defined by the scribes and Pharisees.  The only one religious system that the crowd already was familiar with was a back-breaker….it had such ridiculously high standards and so many hoops and so much fine print to read and heed….many had already bailed out on that one.  So now some of them are sitting on the side of the hill, and they’ve got to be thinking, “I think I want in on the new kingdom that Jesus is talking about….but I’m afraid I won’t be able to get in….because Jesus’ kingdom requirements can only be more stringent than the scribes and the Pharisees. His bar can only be higher if he really is the Son of God….I mean, it might be a great kingdom–but what does it matter if I can’t get in?”  High school seniors might put it this way:….if my grades aren’t good enough to get me into Junior College, why bother applying for Harvard? So do you feel the tension? Most of the people want to get into that kingdom but feel like they don’t have a shot. So they’ve got that sickening feeling in the pit of their stomach: “Oh, I hope Jesus doesn’t make the kingdom sound real wonderful, because if he does and I want in and I can’t get in it’s going to be worse, than if I had never heard about it. And at that moment Jesus arrives….a hush falls over the crowd and everybody’s looking and everybody’s listening. And the first words out of his mouth, recorded in Matthew five verse two, “He opened his mouth”, what’s he going to say? What’s the first word? “Blessed….blessed.”  He starts his talk–the greatest message in history–he starts with the word “blessed.” “Divine favor is coming your way”–are you ready?  He’s saying divine favor has fallen on this crowd today. Wait ’til you hear what I have to say to you,” he says. “Wait ’til you hear it.”  And then he issues what have been known worldwide as the beatitudes. We’re just going to look at a couple of them tonight; we’ll go on in future weeks in the first beatitude, Jesus says, “I want to announce to all of you in the crowd today….that a windfall of benefit is going to come to the bankrupt among us. A windfall of benefit is awaiting and available to the bankrupt among us. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  The Luke version says, “Blessed are the poor….for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What on earth did he mean?  There were two groups of people in the crowd that day….there was a group of people who were rich in spirit, and there was a group that was poor in spirit. Jesus is saying, “I have good news….for those who are poor in spirit….I have no news for the rich in spirit.” What’s the difference between being rich and being poor?  What’s the difference between being affluent and being poverty-stricken?  What’s the difference between being rich in spirit and poor in spirit?  The scribes and the Pharisees in the crowd that day….would consider themselves rich in spirit. Rich in spiritual knowledge; rich in spiritual piety; affluent in spiritual activity….raising the spiritual bar very high and managing to leap over it almost every time.   They were rich in spirit.  In other words, they didn’t need anything from Jesus.  They had manufactured enough righteousness in and of their own human willpower to say, “We don’t need whatever he’s talking about. We’re rich in spirit.” There was another group represented in the crowd that day, and they were poor in spirit. They were people who knew they were not members of the spiritual honors society. They were ones who knew they were not too impressive: spiritually, morally, ethically–in fact, there were people in the crowd that day who sort of hung their heads low….realizing their spiritual net worth was downright scandalous.  It was to those people…. that Jesus said, “Divine blessing is coming today to those of you who are spiritually bankrupt….because I’m announcing to you today,” Jesus says, “The doors of my kingdom–get this!-….are wide open to you.” Those of you who have just about given up….on even hoping that you could gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven someday….I want to tell you I have good news for you….the door to my kingdom is wide open….to you.  Come on in.  Come on in.  Walk right in.” Can you imagine the impact of that first beatitude….on spiritually poverty-stricken people in the crowd that day?   ”Excuse me!  Excuse me! Did I hear you right, Jesus?  The kingdom of God is open to spiritual debtors like me, even if I don’t have a penny of personal righteousness to put on the table? The door is open to me?” And in so many words I said to him, “You know….the kind of forgiveness you really need, first, is the kind that Jesus said you could find in his kingdom. Maybe this failure will help you see who you really are. You’re broke! You’re busted! You’re spiritually bankrupt. But that’s the good news if you’ll be aware of it and admit it, because the doors of the kingdom, Jesus said, `Blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours….is the kingdom of heaven–the doors are open to you.” You know, people get all nervous because in Luke it’s recorded differently; it says, “Blessed are the poor,” and so Christian scholars fight, and they say, `Oh, is this a different beatitude?  Was there a grammatical error?  Did someone leave the `in spirit’ phrase off in the text?” And everyone’s nervous about it. I think Jesus was saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” on one occasion, and I think on another occasion Jesus was saying, “Blessed are the materially poor, too.  Because the kingdom’s doors are open to you as well…. there is no elitism in this kingdom! There’s no economic bias for who can get in….there’s no dress code; there’s no membership fee to get in; there’s no special privileges for the wealthy once you’re in. It’s a level playing field you come needy: spiritually needy, materially needy–needy in your soul blessed are the poor.  Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom’s doors are open to both.” This first beatitude rocked a certain group of people in the crowd that day–I mean, it rocked them.  They started saying to themselves for the first time in their lives, “Is it possible? Is it really possible….that someone with my grades could get into Harvard?  By virtue of what Jesus’ kingdom is like and what he’s going to do on a cross some day?….I mean, is it really possible that I could gain entrance–that the kingdom doors would be open to the likes of me? “

Before I move on to the second beatitude just let me remind you here: the mind-bending miracle that Jesus proclaimed on the mountainside in Galilee 2000 years ago is still….that miracle is still true and it’s still changing hearts today, like right now, I have the sense that there are some of you in this room….who know that you’re in spiritual arrears.  You know that you’re not a member of the spiritual honor society–you know it. Jesus is saying, “When will you just realize that what you need to do is….own the fact that you’re spiritually poor….and then you need to believe the fact that the kingdom of heaven is open to you; and you need to walk right in….on the merits of what Jesus did for you on the cross, and that alone. That alone!” Poor-in-spirit people feel that kind of desperate need….to do nothing more than to just….walk in to a kingdom whose doors have been made open by grace….offering nothing on the table but a needy, sin-stained heart….that requires redemption and Jesus says, “I have good news….for those of you who are almost giving up….blessed are the spiritually poor; blessed art the materially poor; blessed are all of you who don’t think you have a shot of getting into my kingdom….the doors are open to you–come on in. come on in.”

Next, Jesus said, “I have more good news to announce: the second piece of good news,” he says, “for all the people in this crowd who are bent over with sorrow, you will get some tenderness, some deep comfort.” The second beatitude is, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” What’s he saying?  Jesus is saying in the second beatitude, “I know that some of you in this crowd are so overwhelmed with sorrow of one kind or another; some of you are so grief-stricken and burdened-down by sadness today that you’re fighting a losing battle holding back your tears.  Some of you in this crowd are bent over with sorrow and you have come to the conclusion that you are inconsolable….there is no comfort anywhere for you in the cosmos.” And Jesus says for you who are sorrowing, “I have good news.  I’m not going to shout it; I’m just going to whisper it. The good news is: in my kingdom….you’ll find comfort, and my kingdom doors are open to you, come on in….come on in. There is comfort available somewhere in this universe; you’ll find it in my kingdom….so come on in.  It doesn’t even matter what’s causing your sorrow, really.  If you’re fighting back tears of remorse because you’ve fallen into sin, and you’ve ruptured you relationship with the Father and that’s killing you. “Well,” Jesus says, “I have good news for anyone crying over sin….you can find comfort, and forgiveness, and true soul consolation in my kingdom.” And if you’re fighting back tears of sorrow over loss, or physical pain, or emotional distress, or loneliness, or alienation or rejection, or lost innocence I just want to say again as tenderly as I can, `I have good news for you today: you’re going to find comfort and soul consolation in my kingdom, so mourners….mourners….come on in, the kingdom doors are wide open to you….” How do you think that beatitude felt to those in the crowd that day whose hearts were breaking?   There’s a metaphor in the psalms of God having a bottle with your name on it and with my name on it….and every tear that we’ve ever shed has been gently collected and put in that bottle where God can see it.  And take part in that suffering moment with us. And he says, “I would never just let any of your tears fall to the ground and evaporate into thin air….because I know how soul-wrenching sorrow can be so I collect every tear; I put it in a bottle; I’m there with You–in it, through it.”

Now, how do you think people felt when they found out that not only does God promise to do a direct work of soul-consolation, but that he’s charged a third person of the Trinity–the Holy Spirit–to be the continual comforter throughout the course of the rest of our lives and beyond that, how do you think the sorrowers felt when they discovered that once they’re in the kingdom, other people in the kingdom will care enough to come up alongside and share sorrows and actually weep along with us. The second beatitude felt like a healing river….to a whole pocket of people on the mountainside that day.  I mean, maybe the first beatitude flew right on by, but the second one found a home…..”Blessed are you who mourn, because in my kingdom, you’ll receive comfort, and the doors to my kingdom are open.  Come on, mourners, come on in.” By the way, in case you’re wondering, kingdom consolation is still available to mourners in June of 2009.  God still has an open jar with your name on it, ready for your tears. The Holy Spirit is still aching to indwell you and carry out his inner work of healing, and comfort, and churches like this one are still filled with people whose tender hearts will open up to your sorrows. So Jesus says, “Mourners: come on in….you’re not inconsolable; there’s comfort available in my kingdom.  There’s comfort available from my people.  Please, please come on in.” Finally, I’ll just take one more today. Jesus says, “I have some shocking news for the tender and shy among us: “Blessed are the gentle ones.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  You know, in every large crowd….the crowd gathered on that mountainside and the those gathered here today–in every crowd there are people who are meek-types, gentle-spirited types; tender types.  People who don’t push and shove to get to the front of lines. People who don’t step on other people to get to the top at work. People who don’t try to take twelve items through a ten-item express lane at the supermarket….people who won’t even assert themselves enough to sign up for an assertiveness training course. Any names come to mind? In every crowd….there are some tender types….tender-hearted types don’t usually do well in highly-competitive, performance-oriented settings and systems; even religious systems.  They sort of just get out of the way and they let the achievers and the drivers beat each other up on the way to the top.  And lots of times if the truth were known, these gentle-types beat themselves up for being the way they are.  Many heard the warnings of parents who said, “Come on, you can’t just sit there and let the world come to you. Get out there and scrape and claw and compete, and do unto others before they do unto you.” And they’ve heard the hype of teachers and speakers saying, “You know, you can do whatever you can imagine in your mind you can do.  You can take the world on and win, but you got to take charge and get out in front and beat up the competition.” And these gentle-spirited people wonder if they were accidentally placed on the wrong planet….because they don’t want to compete that way. They don’t. If it means beating somebody up, they don’t want to win….they secretly long for a kinder, gentler world. In this third beatitude, Jesus gazes over the crowd, and he says, “Listen….I have a blessing for some of you….I have good news for the meek and the tender-hearted among us: the kingdom is open to you. And you don’t have to scrape and claw and compete and step on somebody to get in….the door is open for people just like you are.  Just walk in. And once you’re in you don’t have to put your fingers in spiritual light sockets and become a different kind of person than you are now.  Jesus is saying, “I love gentle-types….I will be a gentle Savior; I will be a gentle shepherd; and here’s the point; I will see to your inheritance in this world and in the next. I will see to your inheritance in this world, and the next. That’s the kind of Savior I’ll be to you. That’s the kind of king I’ll be to you gentle-types in my kingdom. I’ll secure you’re inheritance for you.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Can you imagine how that felt to the tender-hearted in the crowd that day?….some of you can, because you’re getting some feeling of how it feels to you now.  Some of you are saying, “Ahhh…sounds too good to be true.”  That’s the first indication that you’re starting to really understand….the kingdom of God, when you think to yourself, “it sounds too good to be true.” If you find yourself thinking, “Nobody could love that purely.  No one could love that deeply.  No one could love that unconditionally,” you’re close….to understanding the nature of the kingdom of God that Jesus was announcing in the greatest sermon in history. “Blessed are the meek”…. God finds great delight when tender-hearted people cling tightly to him and his cross….for courage, and confidence, and strength, and maybe there’s a supernatural kind of deal that happens between gentle-hearted people….and Jesus. Could it be? Could it be? And the third beatitude says it could be and it is. Blessed are the gentle-hearts….for God will see to their inheritance on this earth….and on into the next. There is room for the gentle-hearts in the kingdom.

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