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Eight Steps to Perfection (The Beautitudes)

Posted on 26 Jul 2020, Pastor: Tolu Makinde

Title: Eight Steps to Perfection (The Beautitudes)

Text: Matt. 5:48, 1-12

[Mat 5:48] Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

[Mat 5:1] And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

[Mat 5:2] And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

[Mat 5:3] Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[Mat 5:4] Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

[Mat 5:5] Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

[Mat 5:6] Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

[Mat 5:7] Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

[Mat 5:8] Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

[Mat 5:9] Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

[Mat 5:10] Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[Mat 5:11] Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

[Mat 5:12] Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Introduction

At the end of Chapter 5 of the book of Matthew, Jesus Christ reminded us that we are expected to be perfect.
The beautitudes are the first teaching of Jesus Christ on the series titled “Sermon on the mount”.
Sermon on the mount spans three chapters in the book of Matthew, from chapter 5 through 7.
The sermon on the mount are teaching on what we ought to do on our journey of attaining perfection.
We cannot attain it by ourselves, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to get there.
Our Lord Jesus Christ mentioned 8 blessedness (beautitude) statements also known as beautitudes or beautiful qualities of a believer.
These eight qualities build on each other, rather than being independent or standing alone.
Think of them as layers in the foundation system of a believer
Each of the qualities have a reward attached to it, which are the actual blessing of the qualities.
- For example, the blessing of being poor in spirit is the kingdom of heaven
We will go through all eight one by one by the grace of God
I pray that you are blessed as you learn in Jesus name.

Main Topic

Step 1: Poor in spirit

[Mat 5:3] Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[Mat 5:3 AMP] Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous–with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!
The quality is being poor in spirit
The reward is the kingdom of heaven
Poor in spirit – poverty of the spirit
- The awareness that I cannot save myself
- The awareness that I am needy and dependent
- The awareness that I am defenseless by myself
- The awareness that neither money or power will spare me from suffering and death
- Once we have this awareness, we will start to follow Christ as we depend on him
Being poor in spirit also implies humility, thinking of ourselves as insignificant
The opposite of being humble is being proud and being proud puts one directly in opposition with the Lord
- [Pro 16:5] Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
- [Isa 2:11] The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. [Isa 2:12] For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
- [Mat 11:29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
- [Mat 18:4] Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
- [Mat 23:12] And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
- [Jas 4:6] But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
- [Jas 4:10] Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
- [1Pe 5:6] Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Being poor in spirit demonstrates our need for Jesus Christ, and a big part of that is being humble.
The reward is the kingdom of heaven

Step 2: They that Mourn

[Mat 5:4] Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
[Mat 5:4 AMP] Blessed and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!
The quality is to mourn
The reward is to be comforted
Apostle Paul explained it in 2 Cor. 7:9-11
- [2Co 7:9] Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
- [2Co 7:10] For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
- [2Co 7:11] For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Those who mourn implies those who have godly sorrow
Godly sorrow leads to repentance, salvation, and a change for the better.
Eccl. 7 explained it like this
- [Ecc 7:2] It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
- [Ecc 7:3] Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
- [Ecc 7:4] The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Mourning brings about a change for good that a merry heart will never do
- When you gave your life to Jesus, it was from a point of a sorrowful heart. You were convicted of the wrong things and lifestyle you have been living. That brought about a change in your life.
- Moses lived in Pharaoh’s house, but by a sorrowful spirit he knew he needed to deliver the children of Israel
  - [Heb 11:24] By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
  - [Heb 11:25] Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
- Nehemiah sat down and wept
  - [Neh 1:4] And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
As a believer, it is not every day that your heart should be merry and joyful.
There are moments of mourning, godly sorrow, that will lead to a deep prayer and action that will bring a lasting change
However, the reward of mourning is that you shall be comforted.

Conclusion

[Mat 5:48] Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
[Mat 5:3] Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[Mat 5:4] Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
These are the first two steps to perfection
We will continue next week by the grace of God.

Sermon

Eight Steps to Perfection (The Beautitudes)