If you have ever been involved in the secular business world, then you know what I’m talking about. For most people out there, they are trying to scratch and claw their way to the top…doing everything they can do in order to make a few more dollars to get a few more possessions and a few more company perks to make them look good and feel good about who they are and what they are doing, and to try gain the respect and admiration of the people around them. And you know what’s really sad? At the end of our lives, each and every one of us will die and leave everything we have ever gained in this world to somebody else. And you know what I discovered? It won’t mean nearly as much to them as it did to us, and they will most likely waste everything that we spent our lives trying to accumulate. All of it will amount to nothing but wood, hay and stubble…just like the Bible said it would.
But do you know what’s important in the Kingdom of God? I want you to imagine for a few minutes if you will what the Disciples felt like that day as Jesus sat with them on the mountainside teaching this great lesson. Open your Bibles with me if you will to the book of Matthew, chapter 5, beginning with verse 1 as I read:
“And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (verses 1-11)
Tell me, how do you think you would have felt if you had been there that day? A little confused I am sure. And I am sure that they were also. I can picture Peter, the impetuous one, as he sat there listening to these words. Peter was always ready to fight for what he thought was right. But the problem was, until the day of Pentecost, Peter was still very carnal in his thinking and so he still acted in a worldly manner.
But you know what...when the Day of Pentecost came, Peter became a different man. He thought differently, he spoke differently and he acted differently. He was no longer that strong-willed, impetuous Peter who had previously jumped out of the boat thinking he could walk on water…and then sinking because of his unbelief. He was no longer that man who in the heat of the moment chopped off the guard’s ear in the Garden that night. And He was no longer the one who denied that he even knew that man Jesus. No, Peter was different after the Holy Spirit came and filled him, and if you are filled with the Spirit of God, you will be a different person too. You will no longer think as the world thinks…you will no longer speak as the world speaks…and you will no longer act as the world acts. You will be different! You will be changed!
Listen to Peter later on in life: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7) That advice sure flies in the face of many of the worldly encounters that I have run into…doesn’t it with you also? And then in Acts 3:6 he said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And when he took that lame man by the hand, strength flowed into him and he walked under the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
But all this was typical of what Jesus taught. In Luke 6:38 He taught: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Seems that everything the Bible teaches is just the opposite of what the world thinks. And do you know what’s even stranger? When I read these things, I get a warm feeling in my heart, and I know that they are good and right and truth. And I am certain that it’s the only way to live that really makes sense to me. Friends, God’s way is the way of hope…His way is the way of peace…Jesus came to give us peace and hope and rest. He came to set us free from the ways of the world. He came to teach us that there are things that are much more important than the next salary raise or the next promotion that we need to be investing our lives in. He came to teach us the ways of the Kingdom of God.
You see, the way to be filled with the Spirit of the Living God is to be emptied of “self”. It’s to put Jesus in His rightful position as Lord and Master of our lives and to allow Him to live through us. You know that prayer that we call the Lord’s Prayer? When it says, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Do we really mean that part or are we just reciting words? Because if we really mean it, then we must learn to operate on this earth the way that God requires….through humbleness, meekness, peace and gentleness. We must follow the example that Jesus gave us…we must become servants. Mark 10:45 reminds us, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” And if we are going to follow Him…then we must become servants too.
Prayer: Father, I know that I am far from the Example that You sent though the Lord Jesus Christ, and I know that far too many times I fail to think with a Heavenly Mind…but instead I react to the things of this life in a worldly manner. I really do want to do better Father. Please teach me to live the way that Jesus taught us to live and help me to think the way that Jesus showed us to think. I want to show others the way to the Kingdom of Heaven so that they might desire to meet its King and to follow Him to. Thank You Father for making me more and more like Him. In Jesus Name I pray…Amen.
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