Checklist for Lasting Joy, Part 3

Stop and think for a moment. What are the things that bring you the greatest measure of joy? What is it that delivers lasting happiness and genuine contentment? At the beginning of His renowned Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presented a list of blessings with spiritual rewards. Over the generations, they've come to be known as the Beatitudes. Built into these time-tested statements are promises of rich rewards. What you're about to hear today on Insight for Living is the third and final program based on these statements, as found in Matthew chapter 5.

Chuck Swindoll titled this message, Checklist for Lasting Joy. It's good to remember the Beatitudes are pronouncements. They're not probabilities. They're not commands.

They're celebrations. This is a new way of life based on a new way of thinking that Christ enables. Let's give a kind of a brief examination to each one of the eight Beatitudes. Number one, poor in spirit, verse three. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Second, blessed are those who mourn.

You think the first one was tough. How about this one? Blessed are those who mourn. Oh, the lasting joy of those who mourn. This is the strongest word in the Greek language for a passionate lament. It's the sorrow of a broken heart, the ache of a soul, the mental anguish, mourning over the wrongs of our world, grieved, grieved over one's own carnality. Certainly would include mourning over those we have lost, but it's deeper than that. It's caring very deeply about our continuation in the same sins. Psalm 32 verse 5 refers to binding up the brokenhearted. There's great heartache here, but followed by great renewal.

See it? You will be comforted. You will be given comfort.

Blessed are the mourning. Now the gentle, verse five. Blessed are the gentle. The old King James, I think, renders this meek. Blessed are the meek, which to the world sounds like weak. Numbers 12 verse 3 says Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth, but I don't know if anyone I've met who would call Moses weak.

A man of enormous strength that could lead the people through the wilderness, still meek. In fact, if you would, look at Proverbs 16 32. Let me correlate this with a good verse of scripture. 16 32, I think it's the end of the verse. Yes, 32 says he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty. Look at the next part. And he who rules his spirit, then he who captures a city.

That's gentle. Ruling a city with grace. And what are we promised? Shall inherit the earth. God will enlarge your influence.

God will use you in ways you never would expect. That'll be our reward. Great peace within.

Great joy. Here's the fourth. By the way, the first four are God-ward. The last four are for this earth.

Look at the last of the four to start with. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Oh, the lasting joy awaiting those souls who long for righteousness, who have an insatiable appetite for spiritual truth. This has reference to a passionate desire to know and walk intimately with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is truth for the Christian. If you're without Christ, this doesn't make any sense at all.

I understand that. Jesus is speaking now to his followers. And I speak now to you who know the Lord Jesus. You can't get enough of his word. You can't dream deeply enough at the fountain of truth. You can't stay away from that which feeds your soul.

Prayer to you is a relief, not an obligation. You find great joy in reading the scriptures and applying the scriptures. In fact, the result is you will be satisfied.

Look at this. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. The Lord said to the disciples when they began to hear the exacting requirements of discipleship and began to leave, he said, do you also want to go away? And Peter said, no, Lord, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

That's hungering and thirsting for righteousness. I want to know more and more of what God says. I want to know more and more of what this means. I want to live it out more and more in my life as I get older. I want it to blend into the way I respond to people. I want it to sharpen my thinking.

I want it to soften the blows of my words of correction. I want it to give me compassion and understanding. Starving for that. Jesus looked for followers like that. Oh, the blessedness many times over of the one who hungers and thirsts and is thirsty for righteousness. You will be satisfied.

Now we go to the last four which have to do with one another. Blessed are the merciful. Oh, the lasting joy to you who are merciful. This means those whose hearts are moved over others in need. You have a desire to step in and assist them.

And if possible, to relieve their pain. That's called merciful. It's not just feeling pity or sympathy for someone. It's getting inside their lives. And as you rub your hand along the rough edges of their trial, you hurt too.

You identify with that. The good news is that as a result, look at the end of it, you will receive mercy. The mercy you give will be mercy shown back to you.

What goes around comes around. Here's the pure in heart. That's number six. Look at it. Blessed are the pure in heart. You know what I think it means is simply utterly sincere. No deception.

No phony baloney. No lying to themselves or others. One whose motive is right, never deceitful, whose life never is marked by hypocrisy. You find a person like that, hook up with them.

They're rare. I like the way John Stott writes, some people weave around themselves such a tissue of lies that they can no longer tell which part of them is real or which is make-believe. The opposite of this. The pure in heart never has a hidden motive. The pure in heart never sets you up to fail. The pure in heart never takes advantage of you and your weakness. The pure in heart never does something so that they might get the credit.

They live such a transparent life that they know nothing of deceit. When I travel in Australia, I hear a word used for men who are like this and I love the way they refer to men like this. They called him a lovely man. In America lovely is more effeminate or often used for the feminine way, but not over there. He's a lovely man.

What a lovely man. I think the pure in heart are lovely men and women. And what will happen? They will see God. They will witness how God is at work. They will feel his very presence and they'll model it as well. The pure in heart get glimpses of the Lord, the living God, and you would swear at times that they bear the very image of Christ.

I knew a man during my internship when I was out in Northern California serving Ray Stedman as an intern and he had us spend some time with a man who was truly a godly man. In fact, he carried a Bible that he prayed with an open Bible and he ran his fingers over the text as he prayed and some of the pages that ink was rubbed off. He didn't do it to show off. That wasn't his way. Pure motive, pure heart, genuine man, a lovely man, sincere before God that made me think that's the way Jesus was. Wouldn't you have loved to have walked alongside him? Wouldn't you have loved to watch him when he has this adult standing by him and she's the object of the Pharisees scorned as they stand there with their rocks in their hands to kill her and he says, you who are without sin, you cast the first stone.

Peter Marshall puts that beautifully. He said at that moment you could hear the rocks hit the pavement as they fell out of their hands. What a lovely man to say to this woman when they're all gone, now go and don't do that anymore. No one is going to condemn you, now go on. I hope you do that with some who fall. I hope you have the temerity, I hope you have the character to say to that person, you know my heart goes out to you and you recover from this. I want you to know I care about your future. I'm in your corner.

I'm here for you, pure in heart. Verse 9, blessed are the peacemakers. We hardly need much explanation here, yet I think we may need some. A peacemaker releases tension, doesn't feed it. A peacemaker seeks solutions, not arguments. A peacemaker works hard to keep offense from happening, from festering. A peacemaker generates more light and less heat. A peacemaker calms situations, doesn't stir the pot. Proverbs 15 one, a soft answer turns away wrath.

Grievous words stir up anger. Now this isn't a reference to being passive and letting people walk all over you, that's not what this is about. This isn't peace at any price. This isn't enabling abuse in your home. That's not peacemaking. That's enabling error and sinfulness and brutality. That's not keeping the peace.

This has to do with deliberately guarding against making offenses when that could easily happen. And I'll tell you, if you're going to be a pastor, you need a good dose of this. Pastors know the best and the worst of most people they're around because they share that with them. And it's his responsibility to keep the peace, keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

And what does it say about peacemakers? We will be called sons of God. Means we will reflect his nature. We will model his ways.

Eighth and finally, here's the tough one. Blessed are those who have been persecuted. Don't stop reading there or you'll misread this and you'll justify people picking on you for various reasons. You will call yourself persecuted.

Wait a minute, let it say what it says. Blessed are the persecuted for the sake of righteousness. I have that circled in my Bible. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, falsely say all kinds of evil against you. Don't stop reading. Because of me. Circle that.

Because of me. This is a persecution that happens because one is like Christ, is modeling the life of Christ, is walking on this earth as Messiah once did. And those who hate him hate us. That's why ISIS will kill those who were Christians. Because they despise Messiah. That makes all the sense in the world.

We hate it, we should. The persecution comes because they see evidence of Messiah in them or the name Messiah in their race and they resist it and resent it. And I will tell you that still goes on. In fact, do you know that more persecution, intense persecution has happened in the last 100 years than in any other era in the history of Christianity?

These last 100 years. I came across a very meaningful statement from a man named Polycarp. You may have never heard of him. He was one of the early church fathers, loved Christ intensely in an era when it wasn't popular.

When is it ever? And he was suffering persecution because of Jesus and his love for Christ. One of the most famous of all martyrs, who was the Bishop of Smyrna.

The mob dragged him to the tribunal of the Roman magistrate. He was given the inevitable choice. Either sacrifice to the Godhead Caesar, or die.

Here was his response. 80 and 6 years have I served Christ. He has done me no wrong, how can I blaspheme my King who saved me? So they dragged him to the stake and he uttered his final prayer. Oh Lord God almighty, the father of thy well-beloved and ever blessed son, by whom we have received the knowledge of thee, I thank thee that thou has graciously thought me worthy of this day and of this hour.

And the flames carried him into eternity. Final words, I thank thee, O Lord Christ, for the privilege of representing you. This statement found in Matthew 5 has nothing to do with politics.

Get that straight. Someone may not agree with you politically and they turn on you. You're not being persecuted in the sense of Matthew chapter 5. It's not about politics.

It's not about philosophy. It is about Christ. It is about righteousness. Oh the deep, deep joy that comes to those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, who are so linked to me that the people despise them because they are like me. Jesus taught, rejoice and be glad because you have a great reward ahead of you.

Can you imagine Polly Carp's reward? Or the reward of someone you know who has died for the faith or suffered for it. Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Tradition has it that they sawed Isaiah the prophet in two.

Read the end of Hebrews 11. The time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Sampson, Jephthah, David also, and Samuel and the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms and brought righteousness and stopped the mouths of lions and quenched the violence of fire. Out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead, raised to life. Others were tortured. These were people who hid in dens and caves of the earth, people of whom the world was not worthy.

That's who this is talking about. The day may come when you and I for our love for Christ will be taken to the stake. May God sustain us and deepen us in such a way that we live through it confident in our Savior. Now I got a couple of practical suggestions and then I'm through.

You thought the end would never come, but now it's come. Very simple, very simple words. Here's the first. Apply one beatitude to each day of the week.

Okay? Monday, start with poor in spirit and tomorrow begin to think of yourself as dependent rather than independent. Begin to think of yourself as the person about whom life does not revolve. You live your life for others dependent on Christ. On Tuesday turn to morning and think of the sinfulness of your own sin and the heartbreak of the sin of one who's walking in carnality and remember them and remember yourself before God. A contrite heart the Lord does not despise, Psalm 51 assures us.

I think it's verse 17. And then Wednesday try gentleness, kindness, tender heartedness. Just be a gentle person through the day. Lord, may your gentleness flow through me. May I respond gently.

May I be a person of true meekness, strength under control. And then Thursday and Friday you say, well there are eight of them. There's only seven days in a week.

Well go figure. You can handle it. Just turn it around and keep rolling, keep rolling through the year. You will be a different person than you began this year. You'll be different.

And I will assure you there will be those who will see you as more weird than they've ever seen you in their life. And that's okay. I learned in the Marine Corps that when they're all happy there's something wrong with my testimony. Live for Christ. Let the chips fall. Don't be ugly about it. Don't be offensive in it. Just live for Christ and I'll tell you they will hate you for it.

Not everybody, thank goodness. Here's the second. Pay closer attention to the contrast between the world system and Christ teaching. Pay closer attention. Listen better to the TV commercials. Pay closer attention to the media and look and listen for the things of this world you will not hear one word about any of the Beatitudes. Because it is not valued by the world. J.B. Phillips had the audacity to come up with his own Beatitudes from the world system.

Listen to this. Happy are the pushers for they get on in the world. Happy are the hard-boiled for they never let life hurt them. Happy are they who complain for they get their own way in the end. Happy are the blase for they never worry over their sins. Happy are the slave drivers they get results. Happy are the knowledgeable men and women of the world they know their way around. Happy are the troublemakers they make people take notice of them and on and on and on.

It's a counterculture and I invite you to move to the counter. For some of you it's a first-time thought but it would be so beautiful to have your testimony work its way out in such a way that when you die they say what a lovely person. What a fine woman.

What a godly man. Let's pray. There may never have come a time in your life when you turn to Jesus.

Now's the time. Here at our church we don't beg you. We don't ask you to walk down an aisle. We don't even ask you to stand up. You can if you want to but we don't ask that. All we do is say this is your moment to trust in Christ.

If you never have before you need to know what you're in for. You're in for a life of grace. The enablement of the Spirit of God that will teach you how to carry out your life in this countercultural manner so that you are truly different from the way you've ever been before. I invite you to turn to Christ now. Lord help us as we get a hold of what your son taught. Give us the ability to turn off what we have learned all through our lives that work against the very things Jesus told us to do and to be like. Teach us Father to do so in such a way that it's authentic not phony.

We will live in such a way that Christ is seen, modeled, and ultimately followed. And for those who can't stand him give us the courage to stand up against their attacks. Give us strength with meekness. Give us wisdom with knowledge. Give us courage with gentleness. May we be like Christ. We pray in his name.

Everybody sit. Amen. With Chuck Swindoll's closing prayer we conclude a message that started Monday. Over the last three programs we've been talking about the Beatitudes. Chuck refers to these blessings from Jesus as a checklist for lasting joy. To learn more about this ministry or Chuck Swindoll we invite you to go online and explore.

All the details can be found at insightworld.org. Over the last year many of our listeners have resolved to study their Bible on a deeper level with the extra time that the pandemic has afforded. While working at home or becoming quarantined many people are leveraging this time to read and study as never before. Along those lines I'm pleased to remind you that Insight for Living offers the Swindoll Study Bible. This is a fully integrated study Bible complete with scripture, helpful commentary from Chuck, his practical insights, and more. And you can purchase the Swindoll Study Bible by going to insight.org slash offer. And when you're prepared to dig deeply into the Gospel according to Matthew, which is the primary focus of our current series, we recommend that you add Swindoll's Living Insight commentary on Matthew to your personal collection as well.

The commentary on Matthew comes in two hard bound volumes and they're written in a style that's easy to understand and the format is simple to navigate. To purchase Swindoll's Living Insights commentary on Matthew or the Swindoll Study Bible go to insight.org slash store. Or if you'd prefer you can call us if you're listening in the U.S. dial 1-800-772-8888. Insight for Living Ministries is a nonprofit organization made possible not by the purchase of study tools but through the voluntary gifts of grateful friends. To help us continue providing these daily programs and all of the collateral resources, you can give a donation by calling us. If you're listening in the U.S. dial 1-800-772-8888 or by giving online at insight.org. Join us when Chuck Swindoll describes what it means to be salt and light for Christ. That's Thursday on Insight for Living. The preceding message Checklist for Lasting Joy was copyrighted in 2015 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R Swindoll Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.