Happiness Is... B

You want to be happy. If you want to be really filled with the spirit. Don't go seeking some mystical experience.

Don't go chasing some elusive dream. You don't go popping from meeting to meeting, trying to catch it in the air. If you want to know happiness and must lessen the joy and gladness just studied the sermon on the Mount miss that. You don't need psychologists or other behavior experts to know what it takes to be happy. You simply have to understand what Jesus meant when he said things like Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the gentle Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, see what those simple yet life-changing statements mean as John MacArthur continues the study began yesterday on grace to you title the Beatitudes and now with the lesson here is John now we have to get the basics before we can understand this absolutely fantastic sermon. First of all I want to set for you. The context we have to get a biblical context. By that I mean a biblical background where are we in the Bible where are we in the flow of God's revelation. Where are we in God's plan of revealing his truth to man.

Well, this is a new point.

This is a dramatic change. This is a tremendous thing that God is saying that whereas the old covenant ends with the curse. The new one ends with the potential of the very character and nature of God indwelling the believer now me take you another thought about context. There is a political context hereto. That's just fantastic. The Jews were looking for a Messiah only their definition of a Messiah was a political ruler right there looking for somebody come, you know, riding into Jerusalem on a white horse and zap all of the Romans. They'd all fall over dead belated great revolution infinitely beyond anything they'd ever heard of even that of Judas Maccabeus and his sons. It overthrown grace temporarily why they expected some really warm rolling deal that happened when the Messiah arrived, they were looking for political things.

They tried to make Jesus the King there in Galilee. When he first began his ministry. John tells us because they thought they saw welfare state. He fed the 20,000 people, and they showed up the next morning for free breakfast they thought it was greatest thing that ever seen this guy was going to feed him. This can be constant welfare never have to work again. He just makes food there looking at the politics of it. They were looking at the accommodation to their own humanness. The Lord passed through and left them and didn't want to be that kind of a king was the Jews were looking for a political kingdom of Jesus never offered there's no politics in the sermon on the map not there is not one reference to the social, political aspect of the kingdom made not one, the Jews were so concerned about the politics and the social life. Jesus makes no reference to the stress I want to get this. The stress is on being at store.

You have to see the stress is on being it's not on a relaying or possessing is on being in other words, he's not after what men do these after what man are what men are.

Because what they are, will determine what they do all of the ideals that are given in the sermon on the manner contrary to human ideas about government human ideas about kingdoms. In fact, the most exalted people the most exalted people in Christ kingdom would be the lowest of the low in the world's evaluation. You know who the greatest man was who ever lived. Up until this time was John the Baptist as far as the world was concerned he was nothing but a raving maniac running around in a modified terms and suiting bugs and he was even a part of the religious system. Jesus said his greatest men literally and then he went on to say, but there's one greater than he and Otis the least in my king. The poor in spirit the morning. The me those who hunger and thirst feel empty inside those full of mercy, those pure in heart.

Those who make peace. Those who are persecuted, those who revile those who have all manner of evil and evil spoken against, you know, that sounds to me like the biggest list of losers I ever saw or by the world standards they are world says exert yourself demand your rights be a big shot was yourself. Hold onto your pride.

This is a different kind of king even advocates persecution without retaliation and blesses those who live that way. It's a spiritual king so the political aspect of this message was devastating.

It was absolutely everything was the opposite of what they expected the Messiah would say I want talk just one more area about the religious context and you'll have a general idea of the thrust of some of them are Jesus was confronting a very religious society affect the whole society full of religionists. They were professional ritualist and that's an important backdrop. Let me just divide them into four groups are forming groups within the religion of Judaism, the Pharisees and Sadducees, the Essenes and the zealots.

First of all, the Pharisees now here you go.

The Pharisees believed that happiness was found in the tradition or legalism.

They believe the real happiness came from obeying the tradition of the father. Then there were the Sadducees and the Sadducees believed that happiness was found in the present modernism. Liberalism can the past man where here we gotta do it now an updated religion brand-new liberalism. Check the old stuff, you know, in a sense, they both had a little tiny bit of truth.

The Pharisees were right.

Religion has to be based on the past Sadducees had a little bit of truth because true religions also got work in the present and then there were the Essenes and the Essenes said not happiness is in separation from the world who it sounds good on their talk about geographical separation is moved out of town so there were the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Essenes. Another were the zealots and the zealot says that happiness is found in the political overthrow.

Happiness is found in revolution happiness is found in knocking off Rome. Jesus was confronting a whole society full of religionists. They all had their own little thing going in the point that Jesus is making is hey you know you're all wrong. Everyone for the Pharisees. He was say religion is not a matter of external observance and for the Sadducees was saying. Religion is not a matter of human philosophy invented to accommodate the new day and to the Essenes. He was saying.

Believe me, religion is not a matter of geographical location and so the zealots he was saying and neither is religion a matter of social activism what he was saying is this, my kingdom is inside you see it's inside, that's the whole point. That's the whole message of Jesus to the world. That's the whole basis of the sermon on the mount. It's inside not outside what Jesus is saying right here I believe is cracking open the door on the new covenant of which Jeremiah said God would write his law on their inward part C go inside.

And so Jesus summed it up by saying to them, look, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the zealots and everybody who was either a conglomerate all of that are stood underneath those four areas I want to tell you all some unless your righteousness exceeds that kind of righteousness you will in no case enter my kingdom date unless you got more going for you than that external stuff you got no part in my king because as I said before, there is no source of blessing in the cursed Earth. It's beyond that all that religion was dealing with externals in the sermon on the mount invades Jewish thinking with the blast that true blessedness comes from the inside not the outside center today don't comfort yourself and the fact you got the right theology. The liberals can't cover themselves in the fact that they've spun off this great new theory. The Bible is not the word of God, a really updated a boy there really contemporary there flowing with the age. A man cannot comfort himself and the fact that he's moved away from the world moved up in the monastery sensor contemplates God undistracted by the things of the world or can a man comfort himself because he thinks that he's a social activist needs running around all over the place. Try to straighten out society. Those are not things Jesus is after all ultimately all those things have a corner on the part of the truth so to we need to be socially involved and we need to be set apart under God and we need to be contemporary and we need to be based on past but in and of themselves they are external and God's after what's inside. Way back in first Samuel 16.

Seven the Lord waited out when he said the Lord looks on the heart and Proverbs 423 says keep your heart. For out of it are the issues of life we regard your heart. That's the issue. Will you know if you took care of your spiritual hotlink to carry physical hardly amazing when it people are there literally going crazy over protecting their heart joggers everywhere, people riding bicycles, running up and down hills take care of the you know the Bible says you better guard the heart. That's the real issue. That's the real heart of the Hebrew, thinking it was the seed of all your knowledge of God the mind.

Listen, if we did as much to protect our spiritual heart as we do to protect our physical heart would be in great shape, spiritual. Sometimes we just ignore their that's what Jesus is after Luke 1139 Williams translations great on this passage distorts it. Jesus said now you have the habit of cleaning the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside you yourselves are full of greed and wickedness you fools did not the one who made the outside to make the inside to dedicate once for all your inner self and that once you will have everything else clean.

That's what Jesus message was that's the heart of the sermon now on the basis of that context. The net overview I want you to know it's important to study this receipt really important.

I believe there are at least five reasons why it's important to give to you real quick, number one because the sermon on the Mount will show you the absolute necessity of the new birth sermon on the Mount will show you that you can never please God on your own and your flesh never listened the sermon on the Mount to me goes way beyond the law of Moses in showing us the need for salvation. You can't live one day in a blessed condition apart from the new birth of Jesus Christ is the greatest thing in the New Testament to show man desperate situation that is in without God. The second thing I think we ought to study the sermon on the mount, not only because it shows the absolute necessity of the new birth, but because it clearly points to Jesus Christ. It is perhaps the single greatest insight into the mind of our dear Lord Jesus Christ 10, how he thinks that he is certain in honor where his heart really beat study assignment 10. What he really feels about living in about the standards for life.

Study the sermon third thing we ought to study the sermon on the mount because the only way to happiness for Christians you want to be happy. If you want to be really filled with the spirit. Don't go seeking some mystical experience.

Don't go chasing some elusive dream. You don't go cotton from meeting to meeting, try to catch it in the air.

If you want to know happiness and blessedness in bliss and joy and gladness, and you just study the sermon on the mountain with the practice, a lot of I think we ought to study. It is the best means I know of evangelism. Say what you mean evangelism. I'll tell you this.

If we ever live the sermon on the mount of the lack the world over is the greatest tool evangelism there is to live this kind of a life. And then lastly we should study the sermon on the mount and live it because it pleases God and you know that's a privilege that sinful John MacArthur just plain old me just ordinary me could please God, what an incredible thought funnier reason to study the sermon on the map funnier reason to give ourselves to let me have a look as we close at the first two verses, just to take it a step further. The occasion we've seen in the context I wanted to share some of the points very brief.

The occasion verse one and seeing the multitudes.

Jesus always cared for the multitude, and you know it says in Matthew 936, Matthew 1414 and Matthew 1532 that when he saw the multitudes, he had what compassion Jesus saw that multitude of people. The multitude is described in verse 23 to 25 of chapter 4 Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom healing all manner of sickness all manner of disease among the people's fame went throughout all Syria. They brought unto him all the sick that were taken with diverse diseases and torments those who were possessed with demons and those who were epileptics and those who had the palsy, and he healed them. And there followed him a great followed him rather great multitudes of people from Galilee Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and even beyond Jordan, here is this mass of humanity coming from North, South, East and West following them and when he sees them as always.

His heart is broken, you know, when he saw them hungry. He gave them food and when he sees the spiritual hunger of their hearts. The deepest thing that's in him as God reaches out to give them what they need. There was a wonderful attraction to Jesus Christ, crouches, surged after sick demon possessed, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes zealots ritualist and harlots. Pharisees and publicans, scholars and illiterates refined and degraded. Richmond and Biggers motley bunch with Jesus is always the attractor of man and or some strange attractiveness in Jesus Christ that knows nothing of class knows nothing of money and I think it's so beautifully summed up near words of the apostle Paul that in Jesus Christ there is neither male nor female Junior Gentile, bond nor free either Greeks or barbarians, so there was a general thrust toward Christ of the multitude and he saw the moment and he spoke and I had this is message really wasn't to them even. But he wanted them to hear they couldn't limit out they couldn't know this blessedness, but they could at least know that it was available so they were the secondary audience, but they were what prompted the message because he wanted them to hear it be attracted to.

So we see the context in the occasion and then a word about the preacher, who is the preacher.

He went up a new amount he was seated his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them say folks the greatest preacher there live. That's who the preacher is, of whom they said never a man speak like this man of whom they said he spoke as one having authority, not as the scribes and the Pharisees and what they meant. He didn't quote any sources he didn't quote in the old he spoke like he had authority on his own, of whom the woman of Samaria said come and see a man who told me all things whatsoever I have done over the preacher.

The sermon is one of the greatest illustrations of homiletics I've ever seen.

It's got three points I can't get a better homiletics and that fantastic introduction.

The introduction and in the first point, the citizens of the kingdom, and the second point, the righteousness of the kingdom and in the third point the exhortation to enter the kingdom and then in the last part of chapter 7 the effect that the sermon had its homiletic it flows beautifully. It moves from one thing to the other.

The transitions are magnificent master preacher.

He had structure he had power get a divine commission to one of the Old Testament prophets God and said I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, thou shalt be done and not be to them a retriever. Ezekiel 3. Later on, God came back to that same prophet in chapter 33 and so now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening. My mouth was open and I was no more dumb. And then the word of the Lord came on to me. You know our Lord Jesus Christ with all the power that he had with all the intellect that only God could have to develop a sermon like no other sermon yet restricted his mouth until God's sovereign will and timing opened yet.

Not only power and structure but a divine commission the context the occasion preacher the setting look at verse one again.

He wanted to amount he found a pulpit and by the way, it's beautiful.

Note that the Greek as the mountain.

The mountain what mountain or no Mountain particular is just the slope that slopes write down the North Shore Sea of Galilee right to the water lovely beautiful green sunlit.

One of the most magnificent scenes you never see in your life. The sit right there on the mount where Jesus gave this tremendous sermon and just look down the rippling waters of the sea of Galilee, surrounded by the gentle hills of Galilee on the right and the Golan Heights on the left and the beginning of the Jordan River ascending down the Jordan Valley to live finally comes to the Dead Sea to the right and over the hills to the west. The valley of Sharon and in the Mediterranean and there on that little hill set Jesus and spoke and it wasn't anything but a mountain. But the Greek says the mountain and it is at the mountain because of what mountain it was, but of what mountain he made it to become. It wasn't the mountain until he gave the sermon and then it was the email.

It was the amount with Matthew wrote it and it was the mountain because that's that's what Jesus taught. He made it demon. He had a way of sanctifying the very insignificance of the place and setting it apart is the mountain and throughout all the hundreds of years since the Christians of always remembered where that mountain was just a little slope, but it's the mountain why she made it the email and the style. One of the style, not just the context. The occasion to preacher the setting, but the style he was seated and when he was seated. He opened his mouth and taught them say he sat down because you see that was the Traditional Way, Rabbi taught and when a rabbi was just talking standing and walking around.

It was unofficial but we sat down Bangor that was a fish that was a fish. We even have that today when a professor is given an assignment at a university we say he is given the chair and from the chair he teaches. When a man sat down to teach. That was authoritative that was official and what Jesus was saying was not some random thought it was the official manifesto of the King manifesto of the key. He opened his mouth is a colloquialism in Greek beautiful colloquialism. It is used of solemn grave, dignified serious weighty statement. This is not just off-the-cuff.

This is dignified, solid grave teaching and also this phrase he opened his mouth is used in some extra biblical references to speak of somebody really shares his heart intimately so it was official. It was solemn. It was serious. It was dignified and it was his heart, and who were the recipients all it's right here in verse one, his disciples came to him she see they were the primary target because they were the only ones who could know the blessedness of which he spoke. They were the only ones you can live the sermon on the map. They were the only ones who can follow through. They were the only ones you could carry it out because they were the only ones who are partakers of God's own power and presence in their life was only possible for them and by the way below to me at this.

It's only possible for you as you know, Jesus Christ. It's only possible as your particular of the divine nature, late Archbishop Jean England once said that was impossible to conduct the affairs of the English nation on the basis of the sermon on the mount because the nation was not loyal to the King's right you can't live the sermon on the Mount must know the king so Jesus taught his son as they alone could live it out.

They alone could fill it out.

They alone carried out and you and I know that same price to know the same blessings. This is grace to you with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us today. John helped you understand what the foundational truths of Scripture that God promises lasting joy to those who give up everything to follow him. It's part of John's current study of the Beatitudes. Now John, today you describe the political and religious situation in which Jesus lived.

Now it's worth noting that those kinds of background details the insight into Jewish culture.

The historical context.

The original language of Scripture.

All that can make a big difference in rightly interpreting God's word. Well yes because look, we got an ancient document. It's thousands of years old and the only way we can understand what it meant when it was written is to understand this. The setting in the context, and I was answering a question that the question and answer time Sunday night. A Grace Church and this lady was saying try to teach my children to interpret the Bible, and yet I'm I'm seeing that in modern literature when they're asked to interpret some modern poem were some modern book or whatever they don't have any data to know what the author meant so they just sort of read into it whatever they think, and she asked me does that teach bad habits when you're dealing Scripture. Well it does big time because you you you may have to do that with a poem because you don't know the guy that wrote you don't have any contacts for you can't do that with the Bible and the good news about the Bible is you don't have to.

And the reason you don't have to. Is there 66 books and so the context of the Bible is really really rich. We can easily understand the language.

We can easily understand the context, customs, traditions are all kind of available to us. And so when you go to interpret the Bible. You're always going back to the original. Sometimes your people say we need to bring the Bible in modern times. You know, modern translations do that all the time they they try to update the Bible to make it more modern.

That is exactly the wrong thing to do.

We don't bring the Bible in modern times we take modern people in the Bible times because what it meant, then, is what it will always mean so. Knowing how to create the context and how to find the information that is sort of outside the verses themselves, but available is the key to Bible interpretation and I would say all of that to say this, you need to have a copy of the MacArthur study Bible because that's what the footnotes do they create the context. The data information that you need to rightly interpret Scripture 25,000 footnotes that I written at the bottom of every page in your Bible makes the hard to understand passages it easy to understand, explains the context does a lot of things in the MacArthur study Bible is available in English. New American Standard English standard version. New King James is also available in Spanish, German, French, Russian, Chinese, Italian, Arabic and Portuguese and all of that from Grace to you get the MacArthur study Bible so that you know the background when you're interpreting the word of God as you get that interpretation right right and with dozens of maps and charts and the 25,000 notes. John mentioned the study Bible is an all in one resource that can help you dig deeper into God's word, then you ever have before. To order the MacArthur study Bible. Contact us today. Call toll-free 855 grace or visit our website TTY.org again, the MacArthur study Bible is available in several English and non-English translations with several softcover hardcover and letter options.

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Call 855 grace or shop online at TTY.and while you're at TTY.org. Let me encourage you to download the grace to you at if you haven't already. The app allows you to listen to John's verse by verse teaching on your own schedule makes it easier for you to catch any episodes of grace to you that you may have missed.

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The doctrines of grace or any messages from John's sermon archive more than 3500 sermons there. Plus the app allows you to read daily devotionals by John articles on our blog to download the race to you at free of charge. Visit TTY.org now on behalf of John MacArthur and our entire staff. I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for tuning in today and be here at the same time tomorrow for 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time wasting