“Future Blessings”
[Matthew 5:1-12]
November 2, 2008 Second Reformed Church
You have heard what we call “the Beatitudes” this morning. “Beatitude” simply means “blessing.” You have heard the blessings this morning. These are nine future blessings that come to Christians. So, “rejoice and be glad,” if you believe in Jesus Alone for your salvation, good news – you are blessed – you will receive future blessings!
On this All Saints’ Sunday, as we remember those who have died and joined Jesus in Paradise, waiting for the culmination of all things and the full indwelling of the Kingdom, let us quickly consider these promises of future blessings from our God and Savior, Jesus.
“And [Jesus] opened his mouth and taught them, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are we when during affliction we submit ourselves humbly to God, considering everything in this world to be empty – nothing – compared to that which we long for in Jesus. If we are humble, if we turn to God – to Jesus – at all times, we will receive eternal life with Jesus. If everything that occurs to us – good and bad – fades away into nothingness when compared with Jesus and the glory that comes with Him, then we will be with Him eternally.
Paul wrote, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:7-11, ESV).
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Mourning prepares us for eternal joy: this world is a world of mourning, a world of suffering, a world that is not what God created it to be. Human sin has plunged the world into darkness. And as we endure through mourning, and with the mourning of our brothers and sisters, we understand all the more profoundly how much greater the comfort to be found in Jesus is.
We may remember an episode of “All in the Family” where Mike, the atheist son-in-law, was arguing that evil in the world proves that there is no Heaven. He asks Archie, his father-in-law, “If there is a God, and a Heaven, why does God allow evil?” Archie turns to his wife, Edith, for an answer, and she says, “Well, maybe so when we get there, we’ll notice the improvement.” The answer is not quite right, but it does suggest the point of this beatitude: those who mourn shall be comforted, and the worst mourning – suffering – that we endure – will be met in Jesus with comfort to surpass it. Our mourning now helps us to see – and hope for – so great a comfort.
Paul wrote, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5, ESV).
‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are we who are mild, gentle, ready to endure anything for the sake of Christ, but never willing to follow after the wicked. We who calmly, quietly do the work of the Lord and refuse to follow after evil and sin, shall inherit the earth.
We looked at this as we went through Peter’s letters and asked the question of what this could mean, since so many teach that the planet will be destroyed and we will just live as spirit-beings. And we saw that this is not so, that we will be resurrected and restored. The life after this life is a physical life. Hear again Paul’s words:
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we are saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 819-25, ESV).
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are we whose greatest desire is for Christ and His Righteousness. Blessed are we who consider everything other than Christ an unworthy treasure. We shall find our satisfaction in Christ – He will satisfy us by giving us Himself – and accomplishing His Work in us.
David expressed this when he wrote, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So have I looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and your glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (Psalm 63:1-8, ESV).
And we hear this promise in Paul, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:26, ESV).
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are we who are not merely willing to bear with our own afflictions, but take on the afflictions of others. Blessed are we who sympathize and empathize with others in their distress. We shall receive mercy from God. It is for us that Christ bore our afflictions.
Paul reminds us of this duty: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15, ESV).
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are we who are innocent – we who are not practiced in deceit. Blessed are we who don’t know how to lie and trick and deceive. For we shall see God on that final day. We shall come into His Presence and see Him and live – and live eternally with Him.
We remember Jesus’ warning, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves, so be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16, ESV).
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
Blessed are we who seek peace – we who seek to settle disagreements – we who try with all that we are to keep there from being strife. Blessed are we who seek to grow love among all our neighbors – that love that we find in Christ. We, then, shall be called the sons and daughters of God. We shall bear His Name correctly and show Him as He is.
Our God is a God of peace – not the peace that the world gives, but the peace that only comes through Jesus. His is not a peace that throws away the Truth, but makes the Truth the grounds of peace. “May the God of peace be with you all. Amen” (Romans 15:33, ESV).
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are we when we suffer for Jesus’ Sake – for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of defending Who Jesus is. We saw this in Peter’s letters, as the Christians were escaping the persecution of Nero, Peter told them that if they suffered for the sake of Christ, it was a good and blessed thing, but if they suffered for their own sins, well, that was their own fault, and they should take no pride in that.
If we live for Jesus, we will be persecuted in some way: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Timothy 3:12, ESV).
Peter wrote, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled’ (I Peter 3:13-14, ESV). For such shall have life eternal with Jesus.
‘Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’”
And we are blessed when the hypocrites accuse us of all kinds of evil for the sake of Christ – not if we have done evil, but if they accuse us as hypocrites – falsely charging us with crimes because of our testimony for Christ – rejoice We will have received the same treatment that the prophets received – the same treatment that the saints in glory received. We are in good company – did they do any less to our Lord and Savior, Jesus?
Peter wrote, “In your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if it should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (I Peter 3:15-17, ESV).
Nine future blessings for Christians, which also tell us to expect this life to be unfair. We should expect this life to be hard. We should expect this life to be full of disappointments, suffering, and hardship. And if we do – if we understand that Christ does not promise us a “bowl of cherries” in this life, we can bear with what happens here, by trusting Jesus, by trusting in His Promises, by looking forward to those blessings, and to the glory that is coming soon with Him when he returns.
The world without Jesus looks at war and economic strife, racism, sexism, ageism, inequality, pain, and suffering, and has no where to go with it. They are trapped, and either have to deny reality or fall under it. An atheist friend of mine and I were talking about the world and its trouble, and I asked him where his hope was, and he answered me honestly, with the only answer he could give as an atheist, “Hope is unrealistic.”
Brothers and sisters, we have hope! We have the sure promise of future blessings – blessings that the saints in glory are already beginning to enjoy. We can look forward in hope, in surety, and confess with Paul, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18, ESV). The worst we endure for the sake of Christ is nothing compared with the promises – the glory – that awaits us in Him. So hold fast to those promises, to those blessings that await us in Jesus. Let us remember that all those who have gone on before us in Christ await us in that glory. And we can live for Christ because we have hope, because Jesus took our place and shed His Blood, crediting us with His Righteousness and forgiving us for all our sins.
Let us prepare to meet Him at the Table, and let us pray:
Almighty God and Father, our Hope and Future Blessing, You are worthy of everything we are and everything we can give. Use us for Your Sake. Glorify Yourself through us. Magnify Yourself. And keep the Hope of Jesus before us – that in Him, we have life eternal, to the everlasting glory of God. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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