Characteristics of the Kingdom - Sermon on the Mount Series

This week’s devotional is an excerpt from the book, The Call to Contentment: Life Lessons from the Beatitudes written by Norman Wilson and Jerry Brecheisen. We hope you will be encouraged.

Introduction

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.…—Matthew 5:1–2

It was the traditional posture for a Jewish teacher. Seated, surrounded by watchful eyes and eager ears. Also sitting on the hard ground were devoted students who hoped that the truths of the ages would fall from the lips of their rabbi. They were attentive, expectant.

But this was no ordinary educator. This was the Master whose words had echoed through the halls of heaven. And these weren’t merely the truths of the ages. They were the truths of eternity. These were authoritative insights from One who had lived a perfect life yet walked shoulder-to-shoulder with the common man, life lessons from the Giver of Life.

There was no doubt that what He would say would be worth enduring the discomfort of a Judean hillside to hear. The God of Creation was about to school mere mortals on the Kingdom of Heaven. He would show them how to be whole and happy in the here and now while keeping the gleam of eternity in their eyes. This would be no lifeless, yawn-inspiring oration, but a refreshing draught from the well of wisdom, welcome encouragement for world-weary pilgrims. The disciples gathered; the crowds listened in.

We’re still listening.

You and I need to know how to focus on the eternal.

We still need to learn contentment and love while living in a world of grabbers and users. We still need blessing. We still need peace. Perhaps now, more than ever.

The Secret to Happiness

Pascal said, “We never really live, but we hope to live,” and it’s true. Most of us are straining for something that seems just out of reach. Or else why are some people happy while others are steeped in misery? Why do some whistle while others whine?

What would it take to make you happy? A new job? A new home? A new relationship? Money in the bank? Better health? I’ve learned—often the hard way—that none of these things bring contentment. Oscar Wilde epitomized our condition when he wrote, “We are always arranging for being happy, but we never are.”

Is it even possible to be content in a discontented world?

Jesus of Nazareth says yes.

In this awesome introduction to the world’s greatest sermon, He spells out the winning formula in practical terms. Answers flowed from the heart of the Galilean that day as He defined happiness in a way that would cause any of us to sit patiently on the cold ground, eagerly awaiting the next word.

And the lesson was remarkably simple.

Jesus taught us that blessedness—happiness—isn’t something you do or something you have or even something you are. Happiness is the response of your heart to the grace of God in your life. We are blessed—we are happy—because we have sought God and found Him. Happiness springs from knowing His peace and purpose in our lives.

The Real Thing

The Beatitudes form the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Matthew, the tax collector turned truth-gatherer, documented the event, recording the words of his Master. Here is the most practical job description for a human being that has ever been written. No greater life lessons have ever been taught.

Jesus began at the very center of human need—the longing for contentment. “Blessed are—,” He pronounced. The phrase blessed are can be translated happy are.

The Greek language has two words for happiness. One indicates a happiness derived from external sources. The other, the one used here, denotes happiness that comes from within. The former draws joy from circumstances: good weather, good health, and good friends; possessions, position, and prestige.

That brand of happiness seldom brings lasting contentment. As Thackeray reflected, “Vanity of Vanities! which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?”

The latter happiness exists even when the perks of prosperity are lacking. It is plugged into a different power source. Jesus says you can be refreshed even in the desert. You can sing even in the storm. You can learn to wrap your arms around a persecutor and call him friend.

That’s not happiness as we usually understand it. It isn’t happiness based on external conditions; it has an internal source. This is happiness that can be experienced regardless of the situation. It’s the state of being that allowed the Apostle Paul to write from the confines of a Roman prison, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4).

The Starting Point

It’s said that the first word in the teaching of Buddha is suffering. I notice that the first word in the teaching of Christ is blessed. The Christian life is a life of blessing. Through these powerful principles, Jesus tells us how to live above the wanting, whining, and warring of society.

He tells us how to find comfort in the midst of pain.

He tells us how to feel joy in spite of grief.

He tells us how to feed on abundance though surrounded by poverty.

The Master Teacher says that we can be content without material things, holy without natural goodness, and loving without obvious graces.

Unnatural?

By whose standards?

Jesus set the bar high enough to make the leap humanly impossible, but low enough to make it attainable this side of heaven. Multitudes of hungry hearts departed the mountain filled with the Bread of Life.

The feast continues.

The Sermon on the Mount doesn’t have an expiration date. The Beatitudes have an eternal shelf life. If you are seeking—really seeking, desperately seeking—a spiritual nail upon which to hang your tattered burdens, I invite you to begin here, with the Beatitudes.

Here are eight statements of eternal truth for times like these.