"Blessed are the Merciful" | Sermon on Matthew 5:7 by Pastor Colin Smith

Pastor Colin Smith preached this sermon on "Blessed are the merciful" (Matthew 5:7) the Beatitudes at The Orchard EFC in suburban Chicago in 2013.

If you like the series, you'll enjoy the book the series inspired: Momentum: Pursuing God’s Blessings through the Beatitudes from Moody Publishers.
https://unlockingthebible.org/product/momentum-paperback/

Sermon Series Description:
The Beatitudes are not telling you how to become a Christian—they tell you what a true Christian looks like. Everyone wants to be blessed. We want to be blessed in life, blessed in death, and blessed in eternity. In the Beatitudes, the Son of God tells us about the life that is blessed and about the people who are blessed. But Jesus does more than just describe a blessed life—He gives us a way to actually pursue it.

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http://www.unlockingthebible.org/sermon/blessed-are-the-merciful/

Blessed Are the Merciful
#10/18: Momentum: How To Make Progress In Your Christian Life
Matthew 5:7; Luke 10:25-37
January 5th / 6th 2013
by Pastor Colin S. Smith

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7

Please open your Bible at Matthew 5:7. We are resuming our series in the Beatitudes, these marvelous words of blessing that come directly from the Son of God.

What the Beatitudes Are and How to Use Them

The Beatitudes describe the distinguishing marks of a true Christian
They are not given to tell us how to become Christians. Christ did not come into the world to give us a formula. He did not come to tell us that if we do certain things we will receive certain blessings as a result.

The Beatitudes are not telling you how to become a Christian, they are telling you what a true Christian looks like. We are saved by Christ through union with him in his death and resurrection.

How would you recognize a person who has this union with Christ? The Beatitudes are the distinguishing marks of a true Christian. We are to use the Beatitudes like a mirror. They invite us to examine ourselves.

Here are the distinguishing marks a true Christian. Are these the things that are true of me? Are these the things that I am pursuing at the beginning of this new year?

The Beatitudes are given to us in a particular order
There is a progression in which each one leads to the next, and each comes out of the one that went before. We've tried to picture this by thinking about someone doing the monkey swing, in which you reach each ring with the momentum you gained from the last.

You will notice that I've picked that up in a new title for the series, "Momentum: How to Make Progress in Your Christian Life."

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3
Blessed is the person who knows that they do not have what it takes before God. All of us can begin there. All of us must begin there. There is no other place to begin.

2. Blessed are those who mourn. Matthew 5:4
When you see that you do not have what God requires of you, you begin to mourn. You see the position you are in, you recognize your own responsibility for it, and you begin to hate the sin that has put you there.

3. Blessed are the meek. Matthew 5:5
We saw that meekness is about becoming "used to the hand," submitting yourself to the hand of God. When you see your own position before God, you will be ready to submit yourself to God and to ask of him, "Give me what I do not have."

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Matthew 5:6
As you submit yourself to Christ, the Holy Spirit will create in you a great desire to be like him. A longing for holiness will be birthed in you. The Holy Spirit creates a hunger, a desire, a pursuit of righteousness in the life of every true Christian.

There is order and progress here. The Beatitudes are like jewels and Christ does not throw them down in a heap. He arranges them in order and strings them together like a beautiful necklace.

What Mercy is and Why it Matters
Read the whole transcript: http://www.unlockingthebible.org/sermon/ blessed-are-the-merciful/

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