This document is a sermon about the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew. It discusses the eternal blessings that Christians receive through faith in Christ, such as holiness, adoption as God's children, redemption through Christ's blood, forgiveness of sins, and the promise that heaven and earth will one day be completely under Christ's rule. It encourages enduring suffering with joy, focusing on the promise of glory and joy to come through sharing in Christ's sufferings and resurrection. The sermon argues that if the Israelites had understood Jesus' message about the kingdom of heaven, they would have longed for its blessings rather than an earthly kingdom under Rome.

1. With Eternity’s Values
in View
by Samuel E. Ward
The Beatitudes
Matthew 5:3-12
View the text version of this sermon:
http://www.cbckck.blogspot.com
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2. Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV2011) 1 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.
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.
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3. 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.
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4. 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.
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5. Introduction to the Beatitudes
A. The Temporal Blessings of Common
Grace Which Are Ours by the Kindness
and Mercy of God.
Psalm 145:9; Mat 5:44; Luke 6:35;
Acts 14:17
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6. B. The Eternal Blessings of Grace Which
Are Ours by Faith in Christ, Eph 1:3-10
Ephesians 1:3-10 (NIV2011) 3 Praise be
to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with every spiritual
blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in
him before the creation of the world to
be holy and blameless in his sight.
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7. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption
to sonship through Jesus Christ, in
accordance with his pleasure and will— 6
to the praise of his glorious grace, which
he has freely given us in the One he
loves. 7 In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God’s
grace 8 that he lavished on us.
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8. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he
made known to us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure, which he
purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into
effect when the times reach their
fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in
heaven and on earth under Christ.
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9. 1. We ought to praise God for these
eternal blessings:
a. We will obtain holiness. The
necessity of holiness is expressed in
Hebrews 12:14.
b. We are adopted as God’s sons and
daughters.
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10. c. We have redemption by Christ’s
blood.
d. We have the forgiveness of sins.
e. We have the knowledge that one
day all of heaven and earth will be
completely under the rule of Christ.
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11. 2. We ought to endure suffering in joyful
thanks because of the promise of
these eternal blessings.
a. The promise of the joy to come.
Hebrews 12:1-4 (NIV2011)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded
by such a great cloud of witnesses, let
us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles.
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12. And let us run with perseverance the race
marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on
Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy set before him he endured
the cross, scorning its shame, and sat
down at the right hand of the throne of
God. 3 Consider him who endured such
opposition from sinners, so that you will
not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your
struggle against sin, you have not yet
resisted to the point of shedding your
blood.
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13. b. The promise of sharing in the glory
of Christ because we were willing
to share in His sufferings
Romans 8:14-18 (NIV2011) 14 For
those who are led by the Spirit of
God are the children of God. 15 The
Spirit you received does not make
you slaves, so that you live in fear
again; rather, the Spirit you
received brought about your
adoption to sonship. And by him we
cry, “Abba, Father.”
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14. 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our
spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now
if we are children, then we are heirs—
heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if
indeed we share in his sufferings in order
that we may also share in his glory. 18 I
consider that our present sufferings are
not worth comparing with the glory that
will be revealed in us.
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15. If only Israel could have
comprehended and the kingdom He was
describing to them that day on the
Mount, they would have yearned for the
kingdom of heaven rather than a kingdom
on earth. Yes, Rome had made them
poor, brought them grief, took away their
dignity, refused them justice, hardened
their hearts, made them cynical of the
value of doing right, unwilling to make
peace, and they had become victims of
persecution.
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16. But Jesus said that this was only a
temporary situation. God had something
much better for them if they would take
on the values of the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus expressed these in terms of
characteristics which describe those who
pledge their allegiance to Him. These are
people who live their lives . . .
These are the truly blessed ones!
These are the ones of whom Christ speaks
in the Beatitudes
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