Salt, Light and the Law (Matthew 5:13-20)

Sis Christina Phang

24-01-2021

 

Matthew 5:13-20

New International Version

Salt and Light

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

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

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

What does Jesus expect of His disciples?

 

After giving His disciples a set of principles on how to live and on how to be blessed, Jesus is now commanding us to be the salt and light of the world. Jesus expects all believers to be an influence on the world around them. When He rolled out the Beatitudes, it is a set of high standards. But as believers in these challenging times, Jesus is challenging us as His disciples on how we can live differently so that we can impact the world for the Lord.

 

At that time, salt was used mainly as a preservative. Salt was applied to meat so that the meat could last longer. We also use salt as antiseptic for mouth ulcers or wounds. As salt of the earth and as His disciples, Jesus wants us to prevent decay in the society that we live in. He is asking us as Christians to live out the Beatitudes—the high standards—so that we can prevent rot and decay and to be that moral compass to society at large.

 

But what happens when we eat food that is too salty? Is there an issue of being salty Christians? When you eat too much salt, you become very thirsty. If we Christians become really salty for the Lord, it means it would cause people to thirst. If we live out the Beatitudes and the Kingdom principles, would we be able to create this thirst in the hearts of many who really, truly need Jesus?

 

As followers of Christ, how do we tap from the fountain of living water and never thirst again? Let’s continue to be salt of the earth to bring the Gospel and the living hope to people around us.

 

Let us now consider light. Light shines in the darkness. Light is actually a spectrum of electromagnetic waves.

 

Jesus is the light of the world.

 

John 9:5

New International Version

⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

 

John 8:12

New International Version

¹² … “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

 

Jesus is no longer in the world but we are. Jesus is asking us to illuminate the dark world around us. As followers of Christ, we know that Jesus lives in us so we are also light of the world.

 

The Beatitudes reminds us “Blessed are the pure in heart.” In the context of being light of the world, we get our lives right inside. We need to be comfortable in our own skin and we need to understand the purpose that God has called us and the role that God has given to each and every one of us. We do not only choose to walk in God’s will but we should also seek God that we would actually walk in God’s perfect will. When we say that light shines in the darkness, it means that we are making an impact and we are making something right in somebody else’s life situation that is very dire and hopeless. What is it that Jesus is asking you and I to do? We just have to look around. Jesus will bless us if we choose to live for Him. Let us just do our part so that we can truly reflect the light of Jesus. And like the rainbow, in the photons of light, there are many colours. We can bring colours to many people in society.

 

What happens when our world does not have salt and light?

 

Jesus reminds us to never lose our saltiness or hide that light under a bush. When salt loses its saltiness and when Christians stop living out the Beatitudes and the Kingdom principles, we become undercover or underground Christians. We read in Romans 1 that when the earth loses its moral compass, it starts to decay. People’s minds would be depraved and they would be given over to lustful desires and their hearts would be darkened.

 

Together, as a community of believers, as we intentionally seek after being disciples of Jesus Christ, we would never ever be undercover or underground Christians.

 

1 Peter 2:9

New International Version

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

 

We are a people who are called to give glory and praises to God. Let us encourage each other to continue to be the salt and light to the world.

 

Matthew 5:17-20

New International Version

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Jesus came not to abolish the Law but He came to fulfil them. At that time, His disciples were probably thinking that they could be unshackled from the Old Testament laws and the do's and don'ts of the Ten Commandments. That is very different from the Ten Commandments to how Jesus called us to live out the Kingdom principles through the Beatitudes. Every word in the Old Testament points to Jesus and when He came, He came to fulfil a lot of what the prophets in the Old Testament were speaking. Yet, Jesus warns us not to be like the Pharisees because they only had an outward appearance of conforming to the Law and they were not truly living it out. As Christians today, we praise God that we do not live under the Law but we live by grace. But Jesus says not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until all things are accomplished. We know that there is still a lot in the Word of God that needs to be accomplished. As followers of Jesus today, we need to truly live up to the expectations of Kingdom principles under grace. God’s Word is eternal and as believers, we need to hold on to the Word of God and it means living in obedience to all that Jesus has asked us to do.

 

Jesus teaches us that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees. To be blessed means to live a holy life.

 

To quote D.L. Moody: “A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.”

 

As Jesus calls us to be holy and to live a righteous life, we need to be living lives that make deep impressions to the society around us. And we need to be like lighthouses that do not boast about the things that we do, but we are here to just shine for Jesus.

 

The fundamental question is, are we INFLUENCERS in the community that God has placed us into?

 

We do not just want to be a disciple but we also want to be a discipler and a discipler that would multiply. Let us be influencers for Jesus Christ. Let us gather together a big following, not because we want them to follow us, but we want them to follow the Jesus that is in us. Let us, together, live and reflect the light of Jesus and be determined that the light of Jesus shines through us.

RELATED:

Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 5:1-6): Towards Spiritual Understanding 

Kingdom Principles for Kingdom Living (Matthew 5:7-12): True Spiritual Righteousness

Salt, Light and the Law (Matthew 5:13-20) 

The Spirit of the Law 1: Anger and Reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-26)

The Spirit of the Law 2: Man must be Righteous at Heart (Matthew 5:27-37)

Kingdom Principles for Kingdom Living (Matthew 5:7-12): True Spiritual Righteousness

Pr Josephine Lu

17-01-2021

Matthew 5:7-12

New International Version

⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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

 

Jesus wanted His disciples to know about the Scriptures and to live them out as life principles.

 

Matthew 7:24-27

New International Version

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

These life principles have to be put into practice. It is the very foundation that is built in us that causes us to be strong in times of shakings shakings, through the storms of life, challenges and difficulties that we are facing and will face in the future. This foundation that we’ve built by practising and living these principles will cause us to remain steadfast in our faith so that ultimately we can inherit the blessings that He has prepared for us.

 

Jesus was trying to emphasise how important these teachings. He drew away from the multitude to go up to the mountainside where He sat down and the disciples came to Him. It showed the seriousness of what He was about to share.

 

Jesus was communicating who He was through the Sermon on the Mount. He was letting them know who He was through His teaching. He was imparting His very life which was shown in the way He lived and He expected His disciples to emulate.  When we disciple someone, we are actually imparting life to them, not just mere words. Our lives speak louder than words.

 

Elder Saw also shared that the Sermon on the Mount was a clear direction on how we should live as His children; not legalistic observation of the law but the spirit of the law, that is what is in the heart of God. These kingdom principles are lived out as we choose to repent from the religious systems or worldly systems that have influenced our lives.

 

Matthew 5:7

New International Version

⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.

 

Whenever Jesus showed His attributes, there was always the opposite attributes shown by the Pharisees that was totally opposite of who He was. For example, He demonstrated mercy in the way He acted with the woman caught in adultery. (John 7:53-8:11) The Pharisees said those caught in adultery must be stoned according to the law of Moses. But Jesus told her to leave her life of sin for He does not condemn her. He showed that He truly had come to save the sinners, the tax collectors, the prostitutes—people deserving of condemnation but He came to seek them out. His love and mercy draws people into His kingdom. People would disregard them and look down on them but the heart of Jesus was to reach out to these people.

 

Matthew 9:12-13

New International Version

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

How do we react towards those who are under privileged, the prisoners and the prostitutes? Do we despise them in our hearts and say they are beyond redemption?  Have we spent time praying for them? They are in the midst of this darkness and how much time have we actually spent praying for them? Jesus came for them. He showed how much he loved them.

 

Matthew 20:30-34

New International Version

³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

 

 

Don’t underestimate the power of one encounter with the living God. People are in need of God’s love and mercy. When they experience His mercy through us, just one encounter can cause them to follow Him. Miracles and healings are often linked to a heart of mercy and compassion. Are we too busy to hear the cries of the needy, the destitute and the outcast of society?

 

In the midst of the crowds, He heard the blind men, He called them and He healed them. This is the heart of Jesus. 

 

In what circumstance can we be merciful to others that will ultimately portray Christlikeness in us.  When we have been wronged, are we able to forgive easily or do we feel we have the right to hold that offense, and bear grudges and unforgiveness in our hearts?

 

Mercy matters because we all need forgiveness. We are not perfect. We sin against others and others sin against us and there is always a need to forgive.

 

Christ’s mercy is His total favour given gladly to the undeserving heart.

 

He will never keep a record of our sins or failings.

 

Lamentations 3:22-23

New International Version

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

 

We can really depend on God’s mercy and His forgiveness. Through all our shortcomings, God is still doing a refining work in us. This attribute of mercy that we give to others depicts His heart that we are willing to humble ourselves and say that we forgive in spite of what’s been done against us and this will actually touch the hearts of the people and this will liberate them to know that they are forgiven.

 

His mercy can never be properly explained. It is experienced. The only way we can explain mercy is by being merciful ourselves.

 

Remember the story of the unmerciful servant? (Matthew 18:21-35) He had his own debt wiped away but refuses to forgive another servant who owed him a few cents.

 

Whenever we find it hard to forgive, remember how much we have been forgiven and release our hearts to forgive those who have wronged us.

 

We need to show forth God’s mercy.

 

Matthew 5:8

New International Version

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

 

Jeremiah 17:9-10

New International Version

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

¹⁰ “I the Lord search the heart
    and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”

 

Sin separates us from a close and intimate relationship with God. David’s cry in Psalm 51 was:

 

Psalm 51:10

New International Version

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 

David was one who knew the presence of God. He always longed to be in His presence. But when he sinned against God when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he wanted to come back to that place of abiding again.

 

Psalm 51:11

New International Version

¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.

 

David came back to the presence of God by confessing His sins. Whenever we have sins that are not confessed before God, it becomes a place that blocks us from the fullness of His presence. The joy and gladness seems to be stolen away from us, we suffer guilt, shame and heaviness. We thank God, that through Jesus Christ, we are able to confess our sins and come back to a close relationship with God the Father.

 

The prime target of the enemy is to defile our hearts with bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, resentment, lust and the love for the world. Instead of being pure, our hearts are defiled. This area of defilement hinders us from coming to and enjoying the very presence of God.

 

This “seeing God” is not only in the future when we enter the eternal kingdom but it is also present.

 

When we have these things that defile us inside of us, we can’t see God in the Scriptures. The Word of God does not speak to us anymore and we have doubt and unbelief. It hinders us from seeing God in our everyday life where God is showing us His protection and His provisions because we are blinded because of the conditions of our hearts.

 

Sin separates us from God. That’s why we need to purify our hearts.

 

Through the cross of Calvary, we have direct access to the very presence of our Lord. The more we have of Him in us, the more of His presence is over us. The more of the Word of God that we read, the more it cleanses us from within and purifies us. God puts us through tests to see what is really inside of us. And when these things surface, it is time for us to tell the Lord honestly and repent before Him and confess that we still have anger, impatience and lack of self-control and ask God to purify that things that defile our hearts

 

Having a pure heart is a divine work of the Holy Spirit. We need the outpouring of His presence and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in us to bring restoration to our hearts and to bring wholeness and healing and to make it pure once again.

 

Discipling others is really imparting the life of Christ to others. Out of the purity of our hearts, we will rightly portray who Christ is to the fallen world.

 

Psalm 51:17

New International Version

¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

 

God will not despise us when we come before Him with a contrite heart to tell Him of our sins, brokenness and mistakes. God really wants to restore us. He really wants to do that work of building us up, that we are able to be strengthened to face challenges and to be able to impart life to others.

 

There is so much fear in the hearts of the people and we need to come back to that place of abiding in God and let our hearts to be filled with peace and allow our hearts to be strengthened to face a new day again.

 

Matthew 5:10-12

New International Version

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

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

 

2 Timothy 3:10-13

New International Version

A Final Charge to Timothy

¹⁰ You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

 

Paul was imparting to Timothy “my way of life” which included persecutions and sufferings, and how he had to endure it. He warned Timothy that all who live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted.

 

Whenever you make a stand for God, whenever you do not compromise in a situation, whenever the world says to do this and you say no, you will be persecuted.

 

God promises us that there will be eternal blessings or rewards when we stand firm upon His Word and let our light shine in the midst of being tempted to compromise

 

Actually we should ask ourselves why we are not experiencing persecution.  Maybe we are so much a part of the world system and not standing for righteousness? Maybe we are afraid to make a stand for the Lord? Maybe some of us do not even share the gospel?

 

We need to check ourselves. Is there a fear of being rejected by the people? Is there a fear of being alone? This silence speaks a lot in God’s eyes.

 

When we disciple someone, we need to share with them that in walking with Christ, we need to forgive our persecutors and to humble ourselves to go through persecution and say what Jesus said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

 

We have not come to the point of being persecuted to the point of suffering. But let’s prepare ourselves to be strong enough in our hearts that we will not let go of our faith and that we will continue to remain faithful to the Lord. It is something that we need to really pray for ourselves and for our church to remain faithful to the end.

 

We are fighting a battle in the heavenlies as well. Satan tempted Jesus to give him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, if He would bow down to worship Him. (Matthew 4:8-9). Each kingdom has their own principles, code of ethics and standards. Which kingdom do we belong to?

 

That’s why when Jesus came, he first preached on repentance.  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17) Repentance is a turning away from the kingdom of the world and entering into His kingdom by being born again.

 

We thank God that we are translated from a kingdom of darkness to a kingdom of light but do not forget that Satan is there to tempt us to compromise and to follow his principles through compromises in our lives by the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. In the process, we lose the effectiveness of shining for the Lord and our testimony is marred because we choose to compromise, our strength is weakened because we give in to sin. So we need to strengthen what is within us through the Word of God through practising what the Lord has told us to do. It is not head knowledge but rather, a life that lives out God’s kingdom principles.

 

Jesus has promised us an eternal kingdom that will never fade away. While on earth, let us be trained in godliness and live out the kingdom principles that will influence the people to come to Him. Let us build a strong foundation by living out these principles that we will be able to be his disciples that remain strong in trying times and one day, we will rule and reign with Christ.

 

Let us be thankful for the heart of Jesus for drawing us away from the crowd and wanting us to come to that place of quietness where He will begin to search our hearts and speak to us. Let us humble ourselves before God and live out the principles by His grace and by the help of the Holy Spirit.

RELATED:

Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 5:1-6): Towards Spiritual Understanding 

Kingdom Principles for Kingdom Living (Matthew 5:7-12): True Spiritual Righteousness

Salt, Light and the Law (Matthew 5:13-20) 

The Spirit of the Law 1: Anger and Reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-26)

The Spirit of the Law 2: Man must be Righteous at Heart (Matthew 5:27-37)

Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 5:1-6): Towards Spiritual Understanding

Elder Saw Lip Hean

10-01-2021

 

Matthew 5:1-6

New International Version

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.

 

Matthew 3:1-2

New International Version

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

 

Matthew 4:17

New International Version

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Kingdom of heaven (or kingdom of God) is mentioned throughout the whole Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3, 5:10, 5:19-20, 6:10, 6:33 and 7:21.

In Revelation 21, one day the kingdom of heaven/God will be established as a physical yet spiritual kingdom when the new heaven and the new heaven come about.

Christ states three things in the Sermon on the Mount:

1)    Whenever He introduces any teaching, He likes to use this phrase: “You have heard, but now I tell you.” In other words, He is trying to give us the correct understanding of what the Law of God is all about. Why? Because the priests, the Pharisees and the scribes have been teaching on the outward, external appearances. They’re talking about legalistic observations of the Law and failing to understand the spirit of the Law.

2)    Do not be so caught up with the legalistic views of people concerning what the law is about. But rather, we must understand the heart of God so that in doing the will of God, understanding the mind of God and feeling the heart of God, that is the true observance of the Law.

3)    When we do that, we will then be lights. Ultimately what distinguishes a disciple from everybody else is that he is the light to the world. The world dwells in darkness. They approach God through a whole system of religion that emphasises the observance of the Law of God. But Jesus came to set us free from that mentality. He said that what is important is the Spirit, and not the letter of the Law.

We deal with four (of eight) beatitudes (or beautiful attitudes) this morning. They are the keys to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Bible says blessed is the man when he is in a position or in an attitude with God whereby he has a sense of being right in the middle of God’s will, protected by God and living the life as God designs him to be. The Bible teaches us that happiness depends on what you are, and not what you have.

Sin alienates God from man. And sin becomes a barrier. Unless that sin is paid for and dealt with, man can never be in communion with God ever. It is your right to pay for your sins. But if you pay for your sins, how are you ever going to be reunited back with God? That is why God gave His Son, the Lord Jesus, to save us. And in so doing, He gave us this salvation out of His own grace. All He needed from us is that we come to Him with this attitude that we are poor in spirit and that we are in need of salvation.

In order to be saved, we need actual repentance. When we come to God with true repentance, we start on our journey to salvation. We are delivered from the power and penalty of sin but we are not delivered from the presence of sin. Salvation is a process. One day, sometime in the future, God will recreate heaven and earth and we will be delivered from the presence of sin. In the meantime, as disciples, Sermon on the Mount is how we live our lives.

Jesus encourages us to be in a state of mourning, not only for ourselves but also for the conditions of the world. When we understand that we are spiritually bankrupt and salvation is given to us as a gift. Salvation is through repentance—coming to God and receiving Christ.

We are joyous people. But mourn means that when we look at ourselves, we understand the frailties and the weaknesses of the human heart and the human mind. We are still imperfect and we still need the sanctifying process that the Holy Spirit works within us.

In so doing, when we have this sense of mourning over this, we will have this correct attitude of how to approach God in prayer and how we will then allow the Spirit to slowly control us and enable us to live the life worthy of the calling to which God has called us.

The other aspect of mourning is to mourn for the world. Salvation is also for the whole world at large. 2020 has been a terrible year. From the political shenanigans to the American elections and to all the so-called prophets being proven wrong to the climax of it all, the pandemic itself, it has been a terrible year. How does it affect you and I? Do we mourn and tell God, is there anything that I can do to better it? Is there anything You want me to do to change some of these things? Are we concerned for the people at large or are we so happy and satisfied for the little niche that we have created for ourselves in our little comfortable life that we can pass a lot of judgments from the comfort of our chair and actually care very little of what is going around in this world?

We equate comfort to being cajoled and lovingly handled with kids gloves. God’s idea of comfort can be very different. Christ is the hope of our salvation. That assures us of our future. No matter how bad things are, Jesus has sorted it all out and will sort it out. We have an advocate who will fight for us at all times.

Over and above that, Jesus encourages us about suffering. There is comfort in suffering. When you are suffering for Christ, you are actually walking in His will and you are being blessed. Suffering is part and parcel of our lives here on earth. We will have to go through that because Christ went through all that and He has given an example for us to follow in His steps. It is through this suffering that we draw closer to God and that we understand God even better and we understand ourselves even more. This is the comfort that we will be able to endure and in the same way we are able to be dependent on Him, and we will then help others with what we have gone through.

This comfort that we receive, the Spirit helps us because we do not know how we ought to pray but the Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans and He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Sometimes when we are going through agony and suffering, we go to God and we don’t even know how to pray and we are even at a loss for words. As we mourn over the conditions of the world, the conditions of our friends, the frailties of our systems and the weaknesses of the flesh and of the heart, that’s when the Spirit of God takes over and prays through us with groans and utterances even we cannot understand. But because the Spirit understands, the Spirit is able to bring that message through to God and that comfort will be there in your heart when you know that God hears the groanings of the Spirit and therefore, you are well taken care of.

The world as we know it despises the weak. And in so doing, they also despise the meek. The world equates meekness with weakness but not so where Jesus is concerned. Jesus did not give in to the temptation of turning the stones to bread because then He would be catering to His own flesh. If He catered to His own flesh whenever He was suffering because He’s able to do so, when the time comes for Him to go to the cross, He will also resort to the same actions and therefore the cross would not come about. That is why Jesus refused to turn the stones to bread.

As disciples, there are many things in life that is within our power to do and within our power to achieve. But if we give in to our basic instincts to do these things, we may end up missing the best of God’s will for us.

Sometimes we do things because we are greedy. Sometimes we hit back at people because we are vengeful. Or sometimes out of sheer malice, we want to hurt somebody.

Meekness dictates that we don’t do it. Meekness doesn’t mean that you are weak and are unable to do it. True meekness means that you are able to control yourself so that you respond in a gentle manner, totally submitting to God and understanding that God has got your back. God’s got your back; you don’t have to do it for yourself. God has far more better things for you. Let go! Forgive! Act—but do not react!

Meekness:

1)    Diffuses anger or a situation

2)    Disarms critics

3)    Is persuasive and convincing

4)    Is attractive

5)    Communicates love

6)    Earns respect and trust

7)    Makes friends

8)    Makes you like Jesus

Eg.

Jesus (John 19:11)

Paul (Acts 16:35-40)

The freewill of man gives him the ability to harm you. Sometimes God intervenes, sometimes God goes around a long way. But God’s ultimately got your back. He knows how to handle the situation. He and His Will will always be done.

The age to come in Revelation 21 tells us the whole earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. One day you will see what God is going to do. And that time, you will reign with God and you will be able to enjoy the goodness of God in God’s kingdom.

To hunger and thirst for righteousness and to care for people is one of the prerequisite attitudes that every disciple must have.

To hunger for righteousness means to be driven to pray for it so much so that when you see the injustices of this world, God will satisfy your heart that He has everything under control despite what the critics and commentators say about the future of this country or the vaccines that are around or the pandemic that is going to take over the whole world or the coming of the antichrist or the trade war between China and America and the impending economic catastrophe that is going to befall all of us. As you are driven to pray and commune with God, the Spirit of God will minister to you and comfort and assure you that He has got your back. His Will will be done.

There is also a future fulfillment. Sometimes certain things do not happen immediately just because we want it so badly. But trust God. It may not happen now but it will happen in the future.

Apart from the fact that there is present assurances and future fulfillment, the real satisfaction when you hunger and thirst for righteousness is the communion that you have with God when God tells you it will be all right. It is not for us to dictate to God how, what, when and why. It is for us to be driven to prayer and in prayer, God will reveal whether He wants to fulfill it now and what He wants us to do now, then we will do it. But if God says no, I will do it in the future like He said to Baruch, in future it will be. The minute when you are driven to prayer, the minute you commune with God and the minute the Spirit of God answers, you will be filled and you will understand why God is doing this.

These four beatitudes are keys to the kingdom of God. It gives us a better understanding of what life as a disciple is like. If we have not engaged in deeper thought about this, it is time for us to think seriously and examine ourselves. The acid test to always examining ourselves and asking to what extent are we practicing these in the kingdom presently. Or are we so disturbed by what is going on around us so much so that we have forgotten the principles and the precepts that God has taught and we are no more lights. 

As disciples, let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

RELATED:

Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 5:1-6): Towards Spiritual Understanding 

Kingdom Principles for Kingdom Living (Matthew 5:7-12): True Spiritual Righteousness

Salt, Light and the Law (Matthew 5:13-20) 

The Spirit of the Law 1: Anger and Reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-26)

The Spirit of the Law 2: Man must be Righteous at Heart (Matthew 5:27-37)