Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied — Matthew 5:6.

Men, God made you with the natural desires for food and drink. When you become hungry you desire food and when you become thirsty you desire something to drink. And when you get something to eat and drink you are satisfied, until the next urge comes. This is how you were made. You were also made to be spiritually satisfied with righteousness, that is, with living in right relationship with God. Adam lived a spiritually satisfying righteous life prior to the fall. Christ certainly did as well when He lived on the earth (John 4:34, Hebrews 12:2).

However, after the fall man became discontent. Adam decided to disobey God and no longer live in right relationship to God. At that point satisfaction was replaced by discontentment. All of us come into this world with the same discontentment. And many of us try to replace it with scenic vacations, sports, drugs, romance, career advancement, money, peer acceptance and approval, and many other things that were never meant to satisfy. The discontentment creeps back every time. This is why Isaiah poses the question, “Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and you labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2)

Do you live with an underlying discontentment? Are you frustrated with your life? Maybe—perhaps unconsciously—you are seeking satisfaction from the wrong things, and those things are leaving you unsatisfied and discouraged.

According to Christ, the only thing that can satisfy man spiritually is righteousness. Sinful man needs to be forgiven and declared right with God on the basis of the righteous life of Christ. True heartfelt satisfaction can’t be had unless this acceptance is granted by God through faith in Christ. In addition to this legal standing, the Christian man needs to live a righteous life by obeying the Word of God in dependence upon God’s grace. When you men know that you are right with God and are seeking to live in right relationship with God, you will be satisfied.

Christ says you are blessed if you experience such satisfaction. Why? Because you were made to be satisfied in God by being and living in right relationship with Him. Now complete satisfaction won’t be experienced until Christ returns and you are made fully like Him. As the psalmist says, “As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake —Psalm 17:5.

Men, are you spiritually hungry and thirsty? Where are you seeking satisfaction? In
God or ?????

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth — Matthew 5:5

“If you want to be successful and happy, put yourself first. Be assertive. Be aggressive.” This is the philosophy of many in our society. In the workplace and business world some people assert themselves, to the point of taking advantage of others, in order to get all they can — money, power, prestige. Some will even lie and cheat, if they need to, in order to achieve success. In the arena of relationships (home or church) this “put yourself first, be assertive” attitude results in a person being controlling and harsh in order to get what he wants. It can also lead to difficulty in receiving criticism and the tendency to look down at others.

In this week’s beatitude, Jesus counters such a worldly attitude when He says, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” The quality of meekness is not to be equated with weakness or being a pushover. Jesus was meek and lowly. By no means was He a wimp. Meekness is a gentle and humble attitude that expresses itself in acts of kindness towards others in various life situations. It is present in a person who is poor in spirit and mourns over sin and in one who has an unwavering trust in God.

In the business world or workplace, the meek person works hard and wisely, but he doesn’t run over people or lie and cheat to succeed. His trust is in the Lord to bring him success, if that is what He wants. This enables him to treat those with whom he does business with respect, honesty, and integrity. If the boss criticizes him, he has the humility to receive it and make whatever changes he needs to make. The meek are teachable — James 1:19-20. If he is the one who has to give the criticism, he does it gently and constructively so as to help the person being criticized.

If meekness makes you teachable, it also makes you approachable. If you are going to lead well in your family, at your work place, and at church, those you lead must feel free to approach you without fear of being shut down. Meekness is essential to being approachable. Men, God wants you to lead in such a way that your wives and your children are eager to come to you with their struggles. Take a moment to evaluate whether those closest to you are eager to seek your help.

The world says that those who put themselves first and are self-assertive have it made. Christ says that is wrong. From His perspective, the meek are those who are truly blessed because they will inherit the earth. Yes, many in the world succeed because of their aggressive, put yourself first spirit. They get rich and acquire lots of stuff. But they will leave this world one day the same way they came in — with nothing. The believer may not have much to speak of in this world, but in the world to come he will be rich beyond measure. He is a fellow-heir with Christ, which means that at Christ’s Second coming, you will inherit your share of the new heavens and earth — I Peter 1:3-5; Revelation 21.

“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” — Matthew 5:4.

In this beatitude Jesus is calling the Christian and Christian leader to mourn over sin. For a person to mourn over sin means to be personally grieved or pained in his heart over it. Isaiah the prophet mourned over his sin when He cried out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” — Is. 6:5. Christ is talking about the kind of mourning that leads to repentance. Paul speaks about this in II Corinthians 7:5 where he mentions a godly sorrow over sin. This kind of godly sorrow or mourning leads to true repentance, which consists of a change of mind and lifestyle. This is in contrast to worldly sorrow or mere regret over the consequence of sin, which doesn’t lead to genuine repentance. For example, Judas betrayed Christ, regretted it, and then hanged himself.

Sin is infinitely offensive to God. It contradicts everything in His character. And when you couple that with the love of Christ for us on the cross so that we might be forgiven, we should mourn over our sin all the more and turn from it to a lifestyle that honors God.

Mourning over sin and turning from it is an attitude and practice that none of us will outgrow prior to heaven. Sin will always be a problem in this life. Repentance was required to enter a relationship with God and it is required to maintain a healthy relationship with Him. This includes those who are leaders. In fact, we are to set the example for those whom God has given us to lead.

Christ says that those who mourn over sin are very blessed. You are privileged and favored by God because you shall be comforted by Him. This means that God will forgive you of your sins when you mourn and repent. John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness —I John 1:9. To be comforted also means that God will comfort you for all the pain and sorrow that comes from living in a sinful world. One day Jesus Christ will return from the heavens and at that time he will bring you into the new heavens and new earth where righteousness and peace will reign. At that time, He will wipe away every tear from your eye. You will never mourn again. You will be comforted!

Perhaps, as you read this, you are saying, “I don’t have as deep a sense of sin as I should. What do I do? Three things:

1. Remember and rejoice over what Christ has done for you. He perfectly mourned over your sin for you when He lived a righteous life. He then died to pay the penalty for your lack of mourning and repentance over sin. Remember and rejoice.

2. Ask Christ to forgive you for not mourning over your sin.

3. Read and meditate on the Word. Ask God to show you areas in which you have become insensitive or callous to your own sin. The Holy Spirit will use the Word to bring conviction, which will lead to confession, and then to comfort.

When was the last time you mourned and repented over your sin? Is it a regular discipline in your life as a Christian and as a leader?

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven — Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven — Matthew 5:3

The beatitudes are part of the Sermon on the Mount, which was a sermon given by Jesus, primarily addressed to His twelve disciples. The disciples were followers of Christ and they were the future leaders of Christ’s church. In light of this, it is appropriate to see the beatitudes as describing the character or inner spiritual qualities not only of a Christian but also of a Christian leader.

In this first beatitude Jesus is talking about spiritual poverty. A person who is poor in spirit is someone who acknowledges in his heart that he is spiritually bankrupt before God (Isaiah 57:15, 66:2). He has a strong sense that he has nothing to offer God but rather is utterly dependent on God for everything.

Man comes into this world rich in spirit — he is self-centered and self-sufficient. He believes that he can manage his own life. He doesn’t need God. Or, he might believe that, “God helps those who can help themselves.” By God’s grace, we were humbled when we were made aware of our sin and that we deserved to suffer God’s wrath. God enabled us to understand that we had nothing to offer Him to make us commendable for salvation — nothing to buy the favor of heaven.

As Christians and Christian leaders we must maintain poverty of spirit. Not only are we wholly dependent on God for salvation from the penalty of sin but we are dependent on God for salvation from the power of sin (sanctification) Romans 7:24-25. We are dependent on God for everything in life. Luke says in Acts 17:28 that, “In Him we live and move, and exist.” It is not easy for us to maintain poverty of spirit. We still have the sinful tendencies of self-sufficiency, pride, and self-righteousness.

In what ways do you struggle with maintaining poverty of spirit in your role as father, husband or at work?

For example, suppose you have an idea for a family outing for this coming Saturday, where you would all drive up to the mountains for the day. Your wife says she would rather drive down to Charleston for the day. Are you hurt or defensive or angry that your wife didn’t like your idea? Is your plan the only way the family could enjoy a day together? Is your first consideration to serve your wife or yourself? Does your attitude demonstrate being poor in spirit? Think of some personal examples to discuss.

What can we do as men to grow in our poverty of spirit?

One way to grow in this area would be to examine how many of your personal discouragements have to do with being disappointed in others and the way they treat you. If this is a pattern, discuss how you could replace it by focusing on how you can bring encouragement and joy to these same folks.

Christ says that the poor in spirit are blessed (that is, privileged and favored by God) because theirs is the kingdom of heaven! We live under God’s glorious rule; the power of the kingdom is at work within us producing in us righteousness, peace, and joy by the power of the Holy Spirit. And what’s more, when the kingdom God comes in all its fullness, you will experience infinite pleasures forevermore in the presence of God.