WEBVTT 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:07.120 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:10.240 Sermons. This week we are beginning a brand new 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:12.880 teaching series called Summer on the Mount and 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:14.580 we are going to spend the rest of the summer 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:18.679 looking at Jesus' sermon on the Mount, arguably 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:22.039 one of the most important teachings of Jesus 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:26.920 in the Bible. And this teaching begins with a 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:31.079 ladder. a ladder that shows us how we climb into 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:33.539 the kingdom of God and what the kingdom of God 00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:37.380 is like as we are getting into it. So tune in 00:00:37.380 --> 00:00:40.500 as Rob takes us through each of those steps and 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:43.039 we climb a little higher to investigate what 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:45.439 the kingdom of God is really like and why it 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:52.340 matters for us today. Today's reading is from 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:55.700 the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 to 12. 00:00:56.489 --> 00:00:59.810 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on 00:00:59.810 --> 00:01:03.409 a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came 00:01:03.409 --> 00:01:08.290 to him and he began to teach them. He said, blessed 00:01:08.290 --> 00:01:11.049 are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom 00:01:11.049 --> 00:01:14.609 of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they 00:01:14.609 --> 00:01:18.049 will be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they 00:01:18.049 --> 00:01:21.629 will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who 00:01:21.629 --> 00:01:24.170 hunger and thirst for righteousness for they 00:01:24.170 --> 00:01:28.099 will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for 00:01:28.099 --> 00:01:31.519 they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:35.540 in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:38.239 the peacemakers, for they will be called children 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:42.340 of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted 00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:45.739 because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom 00:01:45.739 --> 00:01:49.340 of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:52.980 you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:57.500 of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:00.519 be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. 00:02:01.060 --> 00:02:03.739 For in the same way, they persecuted the prophets 00:02:03.739 --> 00:02:07.560 who were before you. The word of the Lord. Well, 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:10.199 listen, Martin Luther King had his I Have a Dream 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:14.539 speech. Abraham Lincoln had the Gettysburg address. 00:02:15.449 --> 00:02:18.050 Winston Churchill had all those wartime speeches. 00:02:18.310 --> 00:02:20.789 We will fight them on the beaches. We will do 00:02:20.789 --> 00:02:24.090 this. We will do that. Several times throughout 00:02:24.090 --> 00:02:27.389 history in the last centuries, these important 00:02:27.389 --> 00:02:30.870 speeches have happened at momentous moments that 00:02:30.870 --> 00:02:34.550 have really changed the world. But today, we 00:02:34.550 --> 00:02:37.930 are going to look at. Well, not today. This summer, 00:02:38.069 --> 00:02:41.009 we're going to look at the one speech, the one 00:02:41.009 --> 00:02:45.330 delivery that changed the world. And the funny 00:02:45.330 --> 00:02:47.370 thing was about this one we're looking at is 00:02:47.370 --> 00:02:49.009 actually it happened on a very ordinary day in 00:02:49.009 --> 00:02:51.030 an ordinary place in front of an ordinary group 00:02:51.030 --> 00:02:55.210 of people without very much fanfare at all, it's 00:02:55.210 --> 00:02:58.710 called The Sermon on the Mount. And this summer, 00:02:58.750 --> 00:03:00.250 we're going to be looking at it. We're calling 00:03:00.250 --> 00:03:02.969 this series The Summer on the Mount. And believe 00:03:02.969 --> 00:03:05.229 me, thousands and thousands of books have been 00:03:05.229 --> 00:03:07.330 written about The Sermon on the Mount. Millions 00:03:07.330 --> 00:03:09.710 of sermons have surely been preached on The Sermon 00:03:09.710 --> 00:03:11.650 on the Mount. Counting today, it's like a million 00:03:11.650 --> 00:03:15.810 and one. And it's called The Sermon on the Mount, 00:03:15.990 --> 00:03:19.050 right? But actually, it never calls itself The 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:21.770 Sermon on the Mount. I think John Mark Comer. 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:24.060 has a really good definition for what it is Jesus 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:27.620 does there. It's Jesus' manifesto for a whole 00:03:27.620 --> 00:03:30.860 new way to be human. in the in -breaking reality 00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:34.199 of the kingdom of God. The Sermon on the Mount, 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:36.060 you guys, is found in your Bibles. It's only 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:38.919 three chapters long, Matthew 5, 6, and 7. It's 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:42.639 only 100 verses long. And yet those 100 verses 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:45.439 have changed the world more than any of the other 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:48.039 speeches that were ever given. Today we're going 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:51.219 to just begin to look at that great speech, that 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:53.860 great sermon. But before we do it, we've got 00:03:53.860 --> 00:03:55.849 to just set the scene. And we've got to say, 00:03:55.949 --> 00:03:58.129 OK, where did this take place? Who was listening 00:03:58.129 --> 00:04:00.849 to it? What was going on? And that's where Matthew 00:04:00.849 --> 00:04:04.289 5, verses 1 and 2 begins. It says that when Jesus 00:04:04.289 --> 00:04:06.990 saw the crowds, he went up onto a mountainside. 00:04:07.030 --> 00:04:10.680 He sat down. And his disciples came to him and 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:13.759 began to teach them. By the way, the whole passage 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:15.620 we read this morning is on the back of the sermon 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:18.220 notes that you received this morning. But if 00:04:18.220 --> 00:04:20.639 you look at this, there's four things I want 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:22.660 to point out to you right away. First of all, 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:25.759 the place. Where did this take place? It tells 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:30.620 us Jesus went up onto a mountain side to deliver 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:33.360 this address. Now, ancient people have always 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:36.860 felt that mountains represented this point, this 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:39.449 place, where heaven and earth kind of connected 00:04:39.449 --> 00:04:41.870 with each other. It's this place where the creator 00:04:41.870 --> 00:04:45.430 meets the creation. But when you think of the 00:04:45.430 --> 00:04:47.089 mount, the Sermon on the Mount, do not think 00:04:47.089 --> 00:04:49.329 of these Swiss Alps or do not think of the Rocky 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:52.790 Mountains. Think of a little like rocky outcropping, 00:04:52.910 --> 00:04:55.170 the kind of place where if Jesus went up there, 00:04:55.370 --> 00:04:57.810 then people could see him better. And it created 00:04:57.810 --> 00:05:00.529 a place where they could hear him better as well. 00:05:01.089 --> 00:05:04.430 But the reason. Jesus chose a mountain was not 00:05:04.430 --> 00:05:06.750 because of the acoustics. I think the real reason 00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:09.110 Jesus chose a mountain was because of an important 00:05:09.110 --> 00:05:12.250 connection he wanted to make. You see, thousands 00:05:12.250 --> 00:05:15.329 of years before that, Moses, the great Moses 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:18.970 also climbed up onto a mountain to receive the 00:05:18.970 --> 00:05:21.889 Ten Commandments from God and brought those down 00:05:21.889 --> 00:05:24.170 to God's people. So you know what Jesus is saying 00:05:24.170 --> 00:05:26.769 in this little Sermon on the Mount thing? He's 00:05:26.769 --> 00:05:28.769 saying, hey, everybody, look at me. I'm like 00:05:28.769 --> 00:05:32.430 the new Moses. I'm going up a new mountain. And 00:05:32.430 --> 00:05:34.870 I'm going to give you some new teaching on how 00:05:34.870 --> 00:05:39.990 to be the brand new people of God. So that is 00:05:39.990 --> 00:05:42.529 the first thing we know about the place, very 00:05:42.529 --> 00:05:44.910 carefully chosen place. The second thing is the 00:05:44.910 --> 00:05:48.800 people. Who weren't there that day to hear this 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:52.160 amazing sermon? Well, for sure his disciples 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:54.519 were there. What we just read, it said his disciples 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:56.120 were there, and they were probably sitting in 00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:59.500 the front row, taking notes the whole time. But 00:05:59.500 --> 00:06:01.819 it wasn't just his disciples. It says there were 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:05.500 crowds there. Who was in the crowds? Well, go 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:07.839 back just before the Sermon on the Mount to Matthew 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:10.899 chapter 4, and you can see the people who were 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:13.620 hanging out with Jesus that day. It says, Crowds 00:06:13.620 --> 00:06:16.459 of people came bringing the sick and the suffering 00:06:16.459 --> 00:06:19.439 and the lame and the paralyzed so that Jesus 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:22.000 might heal them. Guys, what I'm saying is that's 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:24.920 very ordinary people. These were not the elite. 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:27.560 These were not academics who came to hear Professor 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:30.540 Jesus extol the virtues of the kingdom of God. 00:06:30.699 --> 00:06:34.639 These were people like you and me, just everyday 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:38.250 people. That's who the people were. Thirdly, 00:06:38.329 --> 00:06:40.649 though, let's talk about Jesus' posture. It tells 00:06:40.649 --> 00:06:42.829 us that, for some reason, when Jesus went up 00:06:42.829 --> 00:06:46.050 the mountain, that he then sat down. Oh, it's 00:06:46.050 --> 00:06:49.410 a long way down. Sat down to give this sermon. 00:06:49.470 --> 00:06:51.550 That may seem weird to you, but actually, in 00:06:51.550 --> 00:06:54.550 the ancient world, that's what you did when you're 00:06:54.550 --> 00:06:56.829 about to give a sermon. That's what a teacher 00:06:56.829 --> 00:06:59.689 would do. That's even what a rabbi would do in 00:06:59.689 --> 00:07:01.430 the synagogue before they gave their sermon. 00:07:01.449 --> 00:07:04.009 They would sit down. It was a posture of a teacher. 00:07:04.569 --> 00:07:07.730 which lets you know something else too. This 00:07:07.730 --> 00:07:10.470 sermon that Jesus gave, it was not like off the 00:07:10.470 --> 00:07:12.990 cuff. He wasn't just like, oh, shooting from 00:07:12.990 --> 00:07:15.670 the hip. Hey, here's some ideas. No, he had prepared 00:07:15.670 --> 00:07:18.970 this. It was polished. It was a rehearsed thing. 00:07:19.250 --> 00:07:21.490 Jesus had probably given this sermon several 00:07:21.490 --> 00:07:24.529 times before, and he'd probably give it several 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:29.430 times afterwards as well. Finally, the purpose. 00:07:29.829 --> 00:07:32.490 What was the point of this sermon? Well, I already 00:07:32.490 --> 00:07:36.629 hinted at this. This sermon was all about the 00:07:36.629 --> 00:07:41.569 kingdom of God. Or, as you'll read this morning, 00:07:41.649 --> 00:07:43.649 it said the kingdom of heaven. Just a quick note 00:07:43.649 --> 00:07:46.750 about that. Matthew. doesn't like to use the 00:07:46.750 --> 00:07:48.790 word kingdom of God. He always uses kingdom of 00:07:48.790 --> 00:07:50.769 heaven. Why is that? It's because Matthew was 00:07:50.769 --> 00:07:54.009 writing to a Jewish audience. And you might know 00:07:54.009 --> 00:07:56.730 this, but the Jewish people out of respect do 00:07:56.730 --> 00:07:58.850 not say God's name. They don't go around saying 00:07:58.850 --> 00:08:01.930 God. They always would say something else. And 00:08:01.930 --> 00:08:03.990 so as Matthew writes to them, he's not going 00:08:03.990 --> 00:08:05.509 to call it the kingdom of God. He's going to 00:08:05.509 --> 00:08:07.949 call it the kingdom of heaven. But you have to 00:08:07.949 --> 00:08:09.569 understand the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom 00:08:09.569 --> 00:08:12.730 of God mean exactly the same thing. But the whole 00:08:12.730 --> 00:08:15.029 point of this sermon, this is important, is to 00:08:14.889 --> 00:08:17.410 Help us understand what does it look like to 00:08:17.410 --> 00:08:22.730 live in the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of 00:08:22.730 --> 00:08:25.089 God. Now right away, some of you are here today 00:08:25.089 --> 00:08:27.170 and you're like, OK, Rob, you've officially lost 00:08:27.170 --> 00:08:29.649 me because I don't even understand what that 00:08:29.649 --> 00:08:32.870 means. Kingdom of heaven, kingdom of God. It 00:08:32.870 --> 00:08:36.149 sounds archaic. Here's all you need to know. 00:08:36.850 --> 00:08:41.009 The kingdom of God is anywhere, any place, any 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:46.159 time where God is in charge. where what God wants 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:50.480 to happen is actually happening. Now, the kingdom 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.080 of God actually existed and kind of came into 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:57.419 being 2 ,000 years ago when Jesus started walking 00:08:57.419 --> 00:08:59.879 around on Earth, healing people. Boom, the kingdom 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:02.220 of God. Teaching people. Boom, look, the kingdom 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:04.460 of God. It's popping up here and there. It was 00:09:04.460 --> 00:09:07.320 like Jesus' ministry, like popcorn. The kingdom 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:10.259 of God kept popping up here and there and everywhere. 00:09:10.700 --> 00:09:14.970 So it was present in history. But the kingdom 00:09:14.970 --> 00:09:17.809 of God is also something that is present right 00:09:17.809 --> 00:09:22.970 here, right now. It is visible even in this church, 00:09:23.149 --> 00:09:27.809 even in our city. Again, whenever people's lives 00:09:27.809 --> 00:09:31.789 are being transformed, whenever people are encountering 00:09:31.789 --> 00:09:35.210 the powerful presence of God, then the kingdom 00:09:35.210 --> 00:09:40.370 of God is among us even now, right? God is in 00:09:40.370 --> 00:09:43.440 charge. in when these things happen. But it's 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.000 also fair to say, it's also true to say, that 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:49.779 the kingdom of God has not fully come. It's growing, 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:53.159 often in secret and unseen ways. It's growing. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:57.600 But one day, God will rule. In every nation, 00:09:57.620 --> 00:10:01.159 God will rule. And in every heart, God will rule. 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:06.259 One day, this partial kingdom will become a total 00:10:06.259 --> 00:10:10.460 kingdom. We're just not there yet. So what you 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:12.519 could do is you could put it this way. The kingdom 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:16.679 has come. It is coming and it will come in full. 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.620 It's already here in part, but one day, my friends, 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.820 it will be here in power. So the question is 00:10:24.820 --> 00:10:29.480 in the meantime, how do we live? That's what 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:33.860 the sermon on the Mount is all about. And today 00:10:33.860 --> 00:10:36.059 we're just going to look at the opening of that 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:38.740 sermon, but you guys know openings are pretty 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:42.799 important. As a preacher who does sermons fairly 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:45.460 regularly, I know that openings are really important. 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:48.919 The way you open your sermon either makes people 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:51.299 pay attention or not, makes people listen, oh, 00:10:51.320 --> 00:10:53.659 I want to hear more or not, causes them to ask 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:56.200 some questions or not. And I have to tell you, 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:59.240 Jesus starts the Sermon on the Mount. I mean, 00:10:59.379 --> 00:11:01.940 it's a master class how he does this. He does 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:04.720 it in such a gripping and memorable way that 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:06.659 people have never forgotten it. And for the past 00:11:06.659 --> 00:11:08.899 2000 years, they've been saying it over and over 00:11:08.899 --> 00:11:11.700 again, singing it over and over again, reciting 00:11:11.700 --> 00:11:15.379 the beginning of his sermon. And that is because 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:18.039 the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount is commonly 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:22.080 called the Beatitudes. The be attitudes blessed 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:24.139 are the blessed are the blessed are but I think 00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:26.639 the real reason it's so gripping is that what 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.080 Jesus is doing at the beginning of his sermon 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:32.740 is he's giving us a ladder a ladder What do you 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:35.259 mean ladder Rob? I'll tell you what I mean You 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:37.360 know, in olden days or even today, if you go 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:40.220 into some farmers fields in Europe or, you know, 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:43.440 in the beautiful countryside, what you'll see 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:45.659 is fences all over the place because people keep 00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:47.039 their animals out there and they don't want their 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:49.120 animals to go outside the fences. But human beings 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:51.720 want to go over these fences. And so what they 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:54.700 do is they'll put ladders like this so that so 00:11:54.700 --> 00:11:57.200 that a farmer can come and go from one field 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:00.600 to the next. But the animals can't go from one 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:05.029 field to the next. Right. This is. really important, 00:12:05.070 --> 00:12:08.230 because I want you to understand. The Beatitudes 00:12:08.230 --> 00:12:14.809 are a ladder that gets you not from one field 00:12:14.809 --> 00:12:17.610 to the next, but it gets you from one world to 00:12:17.610 --> 00:12:20.450 another world. The Beatitudes are a ladder that 00:12:20.450 --> 00:12:23.529 get you from one way of living to another way 00:12:23.529 --> 00:12:26.529 of life. Listen to me on this. The Beatitudes 00:12:26.529 --> 00:12:31.659 are an eight runged ladder. that show you how 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:34.100 to get from the life you are living right now 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:37.399 to the life on the other side, which is the life 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:42.100 of the kingdom of God. That is why Jesus puts 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:45.340 the Beatitudes right at the start of the Sermon 00:12:45.340 --> 00:12:46.919 on the Mount, because what he's saying is this. 00:12:46.980 --> 00:12:49.639 Look, everybody, in this sermon, I'm about to 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:52.759 show you how to live your life according to God's 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:54.679 reign and rule over there. It's going to be amazing. 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:57.519 You're going to love it. But he says, but before 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.149 I can talk to you about that, I've actually got 00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:02.610 to talk to you about how to get into that kingdom. 00:13:02.730 --> 00:13:05.049 There's no point trying to live that way of life 00:13:05.049 --> 00:13:09.490 out here. You have to first gain entrance into 00:13:09.490 --> 00:13:13.769 the kingdom of God. And I actually believe that 00:13:13.769 --> 00:13:17.370 the first four Beatitudes are the first four 00:13:17.370 --> 00:13:22.370 steps that take us out of this place toward the 00:13:22.370 --> 00:13:26.969 kingdom. And then the next four Beatitudes We 00:13:26.969 --> 00:13:29.070 swing our leg over here. I'm not going to do 00:13:29.070 --> 00:13:32.669 it. I'm not going to do it. The next four take 00:13:32.669 --> 00:13:38.090 us down into this kingdom of God that is there 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:40.450 and ready for us at any time we can make this 00:13:40.450 --> 00:13:42.970 journey. In fact, I made a little rhyme to help 00:13:42.970 --> 00:13:47.110 us understand this idea, right? Four to get out, 00:13:47.649 --> 00:13:51.850 four to get in, then the rest of the sermon can 00:13:51.850 --> 00:13:53.669 begin. All right? Why don't you say that with 00:13:53.669 --> 00:13:58.019 me? four to get out, four to get in, then the 00:13:58.019 --> 00:14:01.620 rest of the sermon can begin. Now, before I go 00:14:01.620 --> 00:14:03.019 further, I gotta tell you, not everybody agrees 00:14:03.019 --> 00:14:07.019 with the take on the Beatitudes I'm about to 00:14:07.019 --> 00:14:10.200 go through. And fair, but I have to tell you 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:11.799 over the last two or three weeks in the readings 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:14.639 and the stuff I've listened to, I believe this 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.360 is a really effective way to understand what 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:19.419 these Beatitudes are all about. They are a ladder 00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:23.299 into the kingdom of God. And it's also not a 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:26.700 new idea. Because for the longest time, ancients 00:14:26.700 --> 00:14:30.600 have used this idea of a ladder as an example 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:33.200 of how to live the spiritual life. I found this 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:36.000 old icon. If you check it out, on the bottom 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:39.320 is the desert. And at the top is Jesus in heaven. 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:42.779 And people are working their way up this ladder. 00:14:42.980 --> 00:14:46.440 That's the spiritual life. People in faith and 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:50.179 obedience are walking up the ladder toward Jesus. 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:53.399 Now you'll notice, see those little scary demons 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:56.740 with spears and arrows? Pew! They're shooting 00:14:56.740 --> 00:14:59.860 people off the ladder. And yes, some people, 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:02.139 as they go through that spiritual journey, they're 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:04.559 succumbing to temptation. And they're falling 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:06.679 down. And then what do they have to do? They 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:10.279 have to start all over again and start climbing 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:12.919 again. Listen, there's so many problems with 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:14.360 this picture. I don't want you to go home with 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:15.960 this picture in your mind. I want you to have 00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:18.299 this picture in your mind. But the one really 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:21.220 important thing this is telling us is this. The 00:15:21.220 --> 00:15:24.279 Beatitudes are not describing eight different 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:27.720 kinds of people. This is just one kind of person, 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:30.759 right? You don't divide the Beatitudes up and 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:33.779 say, you know, I kind of feel like I like, you 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:36.340 know, blessed are the merciful, but I don't like 00:15:36.340 --> 00:15:38.299 blessed are those who mourn. Or you don't say, 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:41.299 hey, I'll take blessed are the peacemakers, and 00:15:41.299 --> 00:15:43.460 you can have blessed are the pure in heart. That 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:48.399 is not how it works, right? Everyone has to climb 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:52.519 every step. All these steps are just aspects 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:56.460 of how to get into and live in God's kingdom. 00:15:56.820 --> 00:15:59.379 Martin Lloyd Jones, old, old Welsh preacher, 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:02.419 he said this, there is beyond any question a 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:05.639 very definite order in these Beatitudes. Our 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:07.539 Lord doesn't place them in their respective positions 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:11.740 haphazardly or accidentally. There is what we 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:16.299 may describe as a spiritual, logical sequence 00:16:16.299 --> 00:16:22.860 to be found here. I like this metaphor for another 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:25.399 reason, and that's because of this word, macarius. 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:29.679 Say that with me, macarius. Yes, that is the 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:31.980 word that gets translated as blessed, but I will 00:16:31.980 --> 00:16:34.759 tell you there's huge controversy on how to translate 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.120 macarius. There actually is really no really 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:40.919 good English equivalent. Many do say, oh, it 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:42.799 means blessed. Blessed are the poor, blessed 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:45.639 are the meek, but listen, since when is being 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:49.820 poor blessed? Other people translate it as happy. 00:16:49.940 --> 00:16:52.100 Well, happy are the poor and hard. Happy are 00:16:52.100 --> 00:16:55.500 those who mourn, but since when are people happy 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:58.379 to be mourning the death of a loved one, right? 00:16:58.620 --> 00:17:01.519 And some have even translated Macarius into congratulations, 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:05.079 like congrats to the persecuted or stuff like 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:07.640 that. It's hard. There is actually, I don't think 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:11.140 one word that makes the connection in English, 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:14.039 but there are some phrases that I think are very, 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:16.970 very, very helpful. I think the better way to 00:17:16.970 --> 00:17:20.109 capture the essence of Makarios is this. It means 00:17:20.109 --> 00:17:24.190 something like you're on the right track or you're 00:17:24.190 --> 00:17:27.329 going in the right direction. Sin means you're 00:17:27.329 --> 00:17:29.910 going the wrong direction. Sin means you're falling 00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:33.049 off the ladder. But Makarios, no, Makarios means 00:17:33.049 --> 00:17:36.289 you're not lost. Don't worry. You're on the path 00:17:36.289 --> 00:17:39.910 God intended for you. And so rather than say 00:17:39.910 --> 00:17:42.910 blessed are the meek or happy are the meek, why 00:17:42.910 --> 00:17:45.579 not say To those who are meek, you're on the 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:48.400 right track. To those who are pure in heart, 00:17:48.500 --> 00:17:52.059 that's the path God has in mind for you. For 00:17:52.059 --> 00:17:54.980 those who are hungering for righteousness, you're 00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:59.019 climbing in the right direction. Keep on going. 00:17:59.859 --> 00:18:03.740 You're entering the kingdom of God. That, I think, 00:18:03.779 --> 00:18:09.740 is the better reading of Makarios. So let's climb 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:11.680 this ladder this morning in the time we've got 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:15.660 left. Let's ask the question. How do we enter 00:18:15.660 --> 00:18:17.319 into that kingdom? And once we're into that kingdom, 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:20.259 how do we live? Four to get out, four to get 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:23.680 in. But I just don't want people to walk away 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:27.640 today thinking, oh, that was a very interesting 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:31.200 take. Oh, how novel or how creative to have a 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:32.440 ladder. I've never thought of it that way, but 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:35.740 that's not what ladders are for. Ladders are 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:38.900 invitations. I mean, don't you want to climb 00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:41.640 every ladder you see? Right? You see a ladder? 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:43.380 Ooh, I want to climb that ladder. Let's see where 00:18:43.380 --> 00:18:45.160 it goes. That's how I want you to think about 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:48.359 today's sermon. Today's sermon is an invitation 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:51.920 for you to climb this ladder or keep climbing 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:56.859 this ladder into a life with Jesus. Ask yourself, 00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:59.880 even before I go any further, have you started 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:03.279 climbing this ladder? Are you somewhere on the 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:06.400 climb? Have you crossed over the top to the other 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:09.440 side? Right? Are you ready to leave this world? 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:13.519 and live in the next world? Let's start. Here 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:14.960 we go. I'm going to whip through this, by the 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:19.519 way. The latter begins with step one. Blessed 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:21.299 are the poor in spirit. And guys, I want to tell 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:23.400 you, I think this first step is all about admitting. 00:19:23.940 --> 00:19:27.720 It is about admitting you are poor in spirit. 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:30.480 It's admitting the poverty of your spirit. The 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.940 first thing you have to do to enter the kingdom 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:36.019 is you have to say, I got nothing. Spiritually, 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:38.460 I am completely bankrupt. Spiritually speaking, 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:41.640 I've got nothing in my bank account. I've got 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.819 nothing in and of myself to earn my way into 00:19:45.819 --> 00:19:49.180 that kingdom. My balance is zero. That's your 00:19:49.180 --> 00:19:51.500 starting point, to acknowledge you got nothing. 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:54.180 And I don't know how many of you are familiar 00:19:54.180 --> 00:19:57.099 with Alcoholics Anonymous, but they have a 12 00:19:57.099 --> 00:19:59.279 -step program. And their very first step is the 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:03.089 same idea. We admitted we were powerless. and 00:20:03.089 --> 00:20:06.490 that our lives had become unmanageable. You cannot 00:20:06.490 --> 00:20:09.430 enter the kingdom of God apart from this first 00:20:09.430 --> 00:20:11.849 step. You can't take a bottle that's half full 00:20:11.849 --> 00:20:14.329 of old wine and fill it with new wine and expect 00:20:14.329 --> 00:20:15.849 it to taste good. You've got to bring it back. 00:20:16.069 --> 00:20:18.930 You've got to empty it out. And only then can 00:20:18.930 --> 00:20:21.210 you fill it with the new wine of the kingdom. 00:20:21.630 --> 00:20:23.690 Only once you've emptied yourself out, only when 00:20:23.690 --> 00:20:25.950 you've totally emptied yourself of your pride 00:20:25.950 --> 00:20:29.890 can you begin to live the kingdom life. Otherwise, 00:20:29.970 --> 00:20:32.170 you will fail miserably. You might say, oh, I 00:20:32.170 --> 00:20:34.289 got it. I can handle it. I can live over there. 00:20:34.309 --> 00:20:37.109 No, you can't. You can't. In order to climb in, 00:20:37.109 --> 00:20:40.549 you have to admit you cannot do it. That's step 00:20:40.549 --> 00:20:43.609 one. How do you like that? Step one. Here's step 00:20:43.609 --> 00:20:48.529 two. Blessed are those who mourn. Now, let's 00:20:48.529 --> 00:20:50.250 think about this one. Is Jesus saying blessed 00:20:50.250 --> 00:20:52.289 are those? Happy are those who've lost loved 00:20:52.289 --> 00:20:55.009 ones? No. He's talking, spiritually speaking, 00:20:55.569 --> 00:20:59.789 about a spiritual kind of mourning. your own 00:20:59.789 --> 00:21:02.500 brokenness. Mourning your own sins, mourning 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:05.960 the train wreck of your life, mourning the fact 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:07.619 of all the mistakes that you've made. We call 00:21:07.619 --> 00:21:10.740 this repenting, by the way. It's this sorrow 00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:14.039 that comes when you actually look at the things 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:16.240 you've done and what's going on inside of you. 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:19.400 And you just acknowledge that, and you name that. 00:21:19.420 --> 00:21:21.900 But more than that, you turn away from it. You 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:24.079 say, I'm done with that way of life. I repent 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:27.920 of my sins. Not just I feel bad about them, but 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:31.599 I am leaving them behind. Jesus is calling us 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:35.440 to a kind of mourning that leads to this life, 00:21:35.819 --> 00:21:38.880 right? Paul said, Christ Jesus came into the 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:43.380 world to save sinners, of which I am the worst. 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:47.319 Guys, I am the worst sinner. That is step two. 00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:51.079 Step one is saying I got nothing. Step two is 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:53.740 saying even what I do got is pretty gross and 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:57.720 miserable, if I'm honest with you, okay? Sin 00:21:57.720 --> 00:22:01.529 has separated us from God. We have to acknowledge 00:22:01.529 --> 00:22:06.269 our sin, that's step two. Now step three, blessed 00:22:06.269 --> 00:22:11.869 are the meek, right? Now if step one was blessed 00:22:11.869 --> 00:22:13.490 to the poor in spirit, step two is blessed to 00:22:13.490 --> 00:22:16.589 those who, blessed are the meek, essentially 00:22:16.589 --> 00:22:19.740 means this. You gotta humble yourself. Before 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:22.380 you go any further toward the kingdom, stop thinking 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:24.880 of yourself so much. Gosh, you're always thinking 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.779 of yourself, whether it's thinking of how great 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:28.839 you are, or whether it's thinking of how pathetic 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:31.359 you are, whether it's thinking of how successful 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:33.640 you are, or whether it's thinking of what a failure 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:35.660 you are. You're constantly thinking of yourself. 00:22:36.140 --> 00:22:39.359 Meek people are done with that. They stop thinking 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:42.349 of themselves. They take their eyes off of themselves, 00:22:42.349 --> 00:22:45.670 and they focus their eyes instead on God. Again, 00:22:45.789 --> 00:22:47.910 Martyn Lloyd -Jones says, we spend our whole 00:22:47.910 --> 00:22:51.630 of our lives watching ourselves. But when a man 00:22:51.630 --> 00:22:55.049 becomes meek, when a man hits step three, gosh, 00:22:55.049 --> 00:22:56.609 I don't think I really want to go much higher 00:22:56.609 --> 00:23:00.009 than this. But when a man hits step three, they 00:23:00.009 --> 00:23:01.710 have finally said, you know what? I'm taking 00:23:01.710 --> 00:23:05.650 my eyes off my life. I got to refocus my eyes 00:23:05.650 --> 00:23:11.940 and my attention on God Himself. Okay? So that 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:14.920 brings us through the first three Beatitudes. 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:18.119 And notice all three of those are about emptying, 00:23:18.539 --> 00:23:23.720 right? Poverty, mourning, meekness. Now that 00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:25.680 brings us to the next one, which I would say 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.200 is actually the most important step on the whole 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:32.339 journey. And that is you go from emptying to 00:23:32.339 --> 00:23:34.819 desiring. So let's say you get up this high. 00:23:34.940 --> 00:23:36.740 It's almost like you can look over now into the 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:39.089 kingdom and you can see, oh my gosh. That is 00:23:39.089 --> 00:23:41.529 the kind of life I want. I'm hungry for that 00:23:41.529 --> 00:23:44.589 life. I'm thirsty for that life. I'm longing 00:23:44.589 --> 00:23:48.089 for the world to look that way. I wish I could 00:23:48.089 --> 00:23:51.769 be made right. I wish the world could be made 00:23:51.769 --> 00:23:55.029 right. If you feel that way, then guess what? 00:23:55.069 --> 00:23:58.730 You're on step four. You are ready. You are hungry. 00:23:59.029 --> 00:24:01.950 You are thirsty to be made new. You are thirsty 00:24:01.950 --> 00:24:07.269 for the world to be made new. And if you guys. 00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:09.759 When that happens, you are so close to the kingdom. 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:12.200 You are so close to the kingdom. But the only 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:15.440 way to actually swing your leg over to the other 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:17.799 side and cross the threshold and enter into the 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:19.779 kingdom of God, you cannot do that part on your 00:24:19.779 --> 00:24:24.079 own. You have to instead trust what Jesus has 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:28.960 done for you. You see, God made Jesus, who had 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:34.339 no sin, to be sin for us so that we might become 00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:36.440 the righteousness of God. You're hungry and thirsty 00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:38.400 for righteousness. You can't get it yourself. 00:24:38.940 --> 00:24:41.500 But Jesus has a righteousness that he's willing 00:24:41.500 --> 00:24:43.099 to give you because he already lived the life 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:44.440 you should have lived. He died the death that 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:46.460 you should have died. And now all you got to 00:24:46.460 --> 00:24:48.819 do to cross over to the other side is to put 00:24:48.819 --> 00:24:52.339 your faith and your trust in Jesus. And what 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:54.440 he's done for you on the cross, he laid down 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:58.299 his life for you. This is the biggest step, people. 00:24:59.019 --> 00:25:01.680 It's also the most risky step, because at the 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:04.099 top of the ladder, it's very teetery, right? 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:07.839 And you're putting your trust in someone else. 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:11.920 You're putting your trust in Jesus. Hey, are 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.910 you there today? Are you right there at the top? 00:25:16.049 --> 00:25:18.609 And you're hungry for a new life. You're hungry 00:25:18.609 --> 00:25:21.269 for a new world. And you can almost taste it. 00:25:21.390 --> 00:25:24.329 But you're just nervous to put your trust in 00:25:24.329 --> 00:25:27.509 Jesus. Guys, that's the step. That's step four. 00:25:27.890 --> 00:25:31.470 Do it. Make that decision. Repenting, yes. Humbling, 00:25:31.750 --> 00:25:35.309 yes. Desiring and trusting Christ, that is the 00:25:35.309 --> 00:25:38.470 step. Once you've done that, guess what? Welcome. 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:40.619 to the kingdom of God. I can't turn this ladder 00:25:40.619 --> 00:25:42.059 around because it doesn't have steps on the other 00:25:42.059 --> 00:25:45.440 side. But imagine you crossed over. And now look, 00:25:45.559 --> 00:25:49.299 you've come over the top. You're in the kingdom 00:25:49.299 --> 00:25:52.039 of God. Welcome to this new life, this new world 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:54.180 that God has created for you. And once you are 00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:57.740 over here, guys, that is when the real transformation, 00:25:57.940 --> 00:26:00.779 the real change in your life begins to happen. 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:02.160 And one of the first things that you're going 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.539 to notice starts to happen. Again, now I'm up 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:07.490 here and I'm going to descend. One of the first 00:26:07.490 --> 00:26:10.089 things that's going to happen is your relationships 00:26:10.089 --> 00:26:12.490 are going to start to be transformed. They're 00:26:12.490 --> 00:26:15.390 going to start to be made new. Because what happened 00:26:15.390 --> 00:26:18.309 was you just realized, man, God was so merciful 00:26:18.309 --> 00:26:21.170 and gracious to me. He forgave me and showed 00:26:21.170 --> 00:26:24.109 such compassion to me. That's the only way I 00:26:24.109 --> 00:26:26.250 got over here. So now that I'm in this world, 00:26:26.490 --> 00:26:29.349 you can bet I'm going to be merciful and compassionate 00:26:29.349 --> 00:26:31.329 to others. Because I know what it felt like. 00:26:31.509 --> 00:26:35.210 I know how much God had given me in His mercy 00:26:35.210 --> 00:26:38.299 that I want to extend. that mercy to others. 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:41.700 I would say this. If you are over here on kind 00:26:41.700 --> 00:26:44.420 of on step five, and you're having a hard time 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:46.359 being compassionate and merciful to other people, 00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:49.400 it's probably because you didn't actually grasp 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:52.720 really well the compassion and mercy that God 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:56.119 extended to you. Because if you grasp that, you 00:26:56.119 --> 00:26:59.319 would be a much more merciful, caring, patient 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:03.059 person with other people, people who are merciful. 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:06.839 are compassionate. And they don't just feel mercy. 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:10.660 They help others. They act it out, right? They 00:27:10.660 --> 00:27:13.420 show practical help to people who need it, even 00:27:13.420 --> 00:27:15.380 people who they don't particularly like or people 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:18.579 who they don't think deserve it. You didn't deserve 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:23.140 it. So you will gladly show that mercy to others. 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:26.319 Guys, that is a huge step five. You cannot go 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.819 any further into the kingdom until you get that 00:27:28.819 --> 00:27:31.200 step. Look at this. We cannot climb further up 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:35.519 the ladder. or down the ladder, unless we begin 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:39.339 to take others with us, mercy interrupts our 00:27:39.339 --> 00:27:45.420 climb and turns us outward. Kingdom people, they 00:27:45.420 --> 00:27:48.700 forgive, they don't retaliate. Kingdom people 00:27:48.700 --> 00:27:51.940 help, they don't withhold help. Kingdom people 00:27:51.940 --> 00:27:56.960 love, even when it costs them. That's the world 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:00.970 you're walking into, right? Keep on going. Keep 00:28:00.970 --> 00:28:04.609 on going. Step six now. Jesus says, blessed are 00:28:04.609 --> 00:28:08.269 the pure in heart for they shall see God. Guys, 00:28:08.410 --> 00:28:10.569 I just want to say, I think the best way to understand 00:28:10.569 --> 00:28:13.769 this particular step is to understand the word 00:28:13.769 --> 00:28:19.650 pure. Pure is opposed to divided. A divided heart 00:28:19.650 --> 00:28:21.750 is what many of us struggle with and many of 00:28:21.750 --> 00:28:23.990 us struggled with over here on this side in the 00:28:23.990 --> 00:28:26.789 old world. We were two different people. We were 00:28:26.789 --> 00:28:29.269 one person on Sunday and we were another person 00:28:29.269 --> 00:28:31.490 on Monday. We were one person when we came to 00:28:31.490 --> 00:28:34.029 church, but we were another person when we went 00:28:34.029 --> 00:28:37.150 to school. Our hearts were split. We were divided, 00:28:37.210 --> 00:28:40.809 right? But as we step down closer and further 00:28:40.809 --> 00:28:43.349 into the kingdom of God, our heart has to start 00:28:43.349 --> 00:28:45.450 coming together. The person we are over here 00:28:45.450 --> 00:28:48.180 has to be the person we are over here. our friends 00:28:48.180 --> 00:28:50.319 has to be the same person that we are when we're 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:53.039 gathering together in worship in church. Single 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:57.680 -mindedness, a single heart. Tim Keller, the 00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:59.099 late Tim Keller, he puts it this way. He says, 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:02.420 a pure heart means your faith isn't just an act. 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:04.759 You're not just putting on a performance. It's 00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:07.940 actually who you are, especially when no one 00:29:07.940 --> 00:29:11.329 is watching. No masks anymore. You're not pretending. 00:29:11.410 --> 00:29:14.130 No performance anymore. You're coming down into 00:29:14.130 --> 00:29:17.009 this world. You've got to be real. Your heart 00:29:17.009 --> 00:29:20.549 has got to be pure. That's why, when we come 00:29:20.549 --> 00:29:22.829 down into this world, we start practicing things 00:29:22.829 --> 00:29:26.250 like prayer. and Bible reading, and Sabbath, 00:29:26.670 --> 00:29:29.730 and solitude, because all those practices are 00:29:29.730 --> 00:29:32.710 focusing our heart, focusing our heart on one 00:29:32.710 --> 00:29:36.329 thing and one thing alone, and that is God. That's 00:29:36.329 --> 00:29:38.230 why it says the pure of heart will see God, not 00:29:38.230 --> 00:29:39.789 because we're going to see God in heaven, but 00:29:39.789 --> 00:29:42.569 because the more we have a single -minded and 00:29:42.569 --> 00:29:45.730 single focus in our prayer and devotion, we're 00:29:45.730 --> 00:29:48.069 going to see God in prayer. We're going to see 00:29:48.069 --> 00:29:51.680 God in worship. Guys, we're almost there. We're 00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:56.339 almost there. Two steps to go. Blessed are the 00:29:56.339 --> 00:30:01.019 peacemakers. Peacemaking is all about reconciliation. 00:30:02.140 --> 00:30:07.279 Simply put, in the kingdom, you know that you 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:09.640 have been reconciled to God by the sacrifice 00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:12.640 of Jesus. So therefore, in the kingdom, you are 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:17.079 going to join God in that reconciling work by 00:30:17.079 --> 00:30:20.789 healing. bringing wholeness, building bridges, 00:30:20.930 --> 00:30:22.890 not building more fences. In fact, I don't think 00:30:22.890 --> 00:30:25.130 that in the kingdom of God there are any fences. 00:30:25.210 --> 00:30:27.769 I think this is the last fence. And once you're 00:30:27.769 --> 00:30:30.809 in here, it's all about building bridges, not 00:30:30.809 --> 00:30:34.970 putting up walls. Peacemaking is the work of 00:30:34.970 --> 00:30:37.609 those who are no longer at war with themselves. 00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:41.450 We've been reconciled with God. And so now we 00:30:41.450 --> 00:30:45.440 can help others find that same peace. Kingdom, 00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:48.720 peacemakers pursue reconciliation, not revenge. 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:52.819 They forgive, even when it's really hard to forgive. 00:30:53.059 --> 00:30:55.400 You guys know about that. They pray for their 00:30:55.400 --> 00:31:00.200 enemies. They work toward justice. This is step 00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:03.819 seven. You're really getting into what this world 00:31:03.819 --> 00:31:06.339 is like and what it means to live in the kingdom. 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:08.859 But there's one more step. And this is one that 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:11.440 you might think doesn't make any sense. Because 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:13.259 you might have thought, oh, by the time we land 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:15.519 over here, the last step, surely the last one 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:19.480 will be about peace and comfort and joy and victory. 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:24.480 But instead, Jesus makes the final step off the 00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:30.099 ladder about what? Suffering and persecution? 00:31:31.059 --> 00:31:35.740 Why? Here's why. Because the more you become 00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:38.700 like Jesus, the more you're going to attract 00:31:38.700 --> 00:31:43.029 the kind of opposition. that he did. Martin Lloyd 00:31:43.029 --> 00:31:45.269 -Jones, again, puts it this way. Persecution 00:31:45.269 --> 00:31:48.809 is the ultimate test. It tells you whether you're 00:31:48.809 --> 00:31:50.690 truly living in the kingdom or whether you're 00:31:50.690 --> 00:31:53.829 still clinging to that world over there. You 00:31:53.829 --> 00:31:56.670 see, the world over here is so different than 00:31:56.670 --> 00:31:58.490 the world over here, that if you're actually 00:31:58.490 --> 00:32:01.769 going to live this way, people over there aren't 00:32:01.769 --> 00:32:04.269 going to be happy about it. And that you can 00:32:04.269 --> 00:32:08.990 expect resistance, but remain faithful, even 00:32:08.990 --> 00:32:13.579 if it costs you. So there you go, guys. Four 00:32:13.579 --> 00:32:17.000 to get in. No, I said it wrong. Four to get out, 00:32:17.579 --> 00:32:21.539 four to get in, and the rest of the sermon can 00:32:21.539 --> 00:32:25.460 begin. We just climbed our way, right? Again, 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:27.880 this isn't an academic exercise. This is a ladder. 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.200 Where are you on the ladder? Have you taken step 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:35.460 one? Have you admitted your need? Have you taken 00:32:35.460 --> 00:32:39.200 step two? Have you confessed? your sin and the 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:42.599 brokenness in your life? Or are you ready to 00:32:42.599 --> 00:32:45.440 take the big step four, to swing your leg across 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:48.660 to the other side, to actually trust your life 00:32:48.660 --> 00:32:51.359 to Jesus and the work that he did for you on 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:53.319 the cross to give you the righteousness that 00:32:53.319 --> 00:32:56.140 you need? Are you ready to cross over? Maybe, 00:32:56.180 --> 00:32:59.099 actually, you already have crossed over. Some 00:32:59.099 --> 00:33:00.980 of you, you've been on this side of the ladder 00:33:00.980 --> 00:33:03.059 for a long time now, but you're struggling with 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:05.769 showing mercy. Or you're struggling with your 00:33:05.769 --> 00:33:07.849 devotions, your prayer life. Or you're still 00:33:07.849 --> 00:33:10.349 struggling with reconciling. Or maybe it's the 00:33:10.349 --> 00:33:11.970 persecution that's really getting to you. It's 00:33:11.970 --> 00:33:15.250 really hard for you to stand firm, even when 00:33:15.250 --> 00:33:18.809 it costs you. So whether you're at the first 00:33:18.809 --> 00:33:22.049 rung of the ladder, whether you're over here 00:33:22.049 --> 00:33:25.809 on the first rung, or whether you're over here 00:33:25.809 --> 00:33:28.450 coming off the sixth or seventh rung, that's 00:33:28.450 --> 00:33:30.269 OK. Maybe you're halfway up and you're just holding 00:33:30.269 --> 00:33:33.420 on for dear life. Whatever. What matters is that 00:33:33.420 --> 00:33:36.519 you respond to the invitation. Jesus has come. 00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:40.740 Come, climb the ladder. Come into the kingdom. 00:33:41.559 --> 00:33:43.900 And if you do, you're going to find something 00:33:43.900 --> 00:33:46.680 very interesting. Jesus already climbed this 00:33:46.680 --> 00:33:51.079 ladder. I mean, think about it. Jesus totally 00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:55.599 emptied himself. Jesus mourned. Jesus was meek. 00:33:55.769 --> 00:33:58.849 Jesus hungered for righteousness. Jesus was merciful. 00:33:59.230 --> 00:34:01.410 Was there ever anyone who was more pure in heart 00:34:01.410 --> 00:34:03.990 than Jesus? Anyone who ever sought peacemaking 00:34:03.990 --> 00:34:06.730 more than Jesus? And of course, Jesus himself 00:34:06.730 --> 00:34:10.309 was persecuted. He was beaten. He was mocked. 00:34:10.389 --> 00:34:13.989 He was crucified for the kingdom. Jesus has already 00:34:13.989 --> 00:34:18.750 climbed this ladder. And this ladder is his biography, 00:34:19.269 --> 00:34:22.710 right? This is his life. But because he climbed 00:34:22.710 --> 00:34:25.590 it, he's made it secure for us. And that means 00:34:25.590 --> 00:34:28.809 we don't need to be afraid to climb. He will 00:34:28.809 --> 00:34:31.949 climb with us. Jesus is the reason you can take 00:34:31.949 --> 00:34:37.170 your next step. So, step onto the ladder, everybody. 00:34:37.550 --> 00:34:42.210 Wherever you are, first rung, halfway up, clinging 00:34:42.210 --> 00:34:46.809 for dear life, take the next step. Jesus has 00:34:46.809 --> 00:34:49.949 gone before you. The Holy Spirit's gonna go with 00:34:49.949 --> 00:34:55.000 you. And the Father is waiting at every rung 00:34:55.000 --> 00:35:00.460 with His grace. And once you've entered the kingdom, 00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:04.599 well, that's when the real adventure begins. 00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:11.019 Thanks be to God. Amen. Thank you for tuning 00:35:11.019 --> 00:35:13.300 in to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 00:35:13.559 --> 00:35:16.440 This sermon was recorded at Trinity Church Streetsville 00:35:16.440 --> 00:35:20.800 in Mississauga, Ontario on July 6th, 2025.