Clean Transcript

Promises Of The Law - Part 7

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

• Matthew chapter 5, and we're going to read the first 12 verses. This is the seventh message in the series on the promises of the law. I'm still dealing with sanctions. I dealt with sanctions last week from Deuteronomy 28. But I want us to read the first 12 verses of Matthew chapter 5. The Bible says, "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him."

  #1 | 0:13 to 0:41 | cleaned

• "And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after 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 the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

  #2 | 0:42 to 1:31 | cleaned

• In this series on the promises of the law, I have been demonstrating the fact that without the law you cannot understand or know or comprehend what sin is, because the Bible tells us very clearly, "by the law is the knowledge of sin." I also pointed out how without the law there is no salvation. Not that we keep the law to obtain salvation, but the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. And our Lord not only died in order to give us a sacrifice for our sins, but He also kept the law of God perfectly and worked out a perfect righteousness which is given unto us. And then also pointed out from Galatians 3 how that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, how it actually teaches us salvation.

  #3 | 1:32 to 2:23 | cleaned

• And then I started dealing with sanctions. Now before we get started on today's message I want to just share with you two passages only because so many people try to deny, denounce the Old Testament and the law. I want you to see what our Lord says in John 5 first. If you would turn there we are coming right back to Matthew. But look in John chapter 5 and He is speaking here to these Jews.

  #4 | 2:24 to 2:50 | cleaned

• and to the Pharisees who do not believe on Him. But in John chapter 5 beginning there with verse 45, look what he says. John 5 and verse 45, our Lord tells them, "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust."

  #5 | 2:51 to 3:12 | cleaned

• Now watch this wonderful statement. "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" So our Lord is indicating really it's impossible to believe in Him without believing in the Old Testament, without believing in the law, without believing in Moses. Because He said, "If ye believe not the writings of Moses," the first five books, "how shall ye believe my words?" In other words, there is a continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament. It's not two Bibles but one Bible.

  #6 | 3:13 to 3:53 | cleaned

• And if you will turn back to the book of Luke chapter 16, everyone knows the story of the rich man and Lazarus. And just to show you that our Lord is talking about specific individuals I want you to look at verse 19. So many people try to say that this is a parable. But the truth is the Lord does not say it is a parable and He specifies two individuals. He says in verse 19, "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores." Now you know the story that Lazarus died and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man died and the Bible said he was in hell.

  #7 | 3:54 to 4:48 | cleaned

• He lifted up his eyes, being in torment. Skip down to verse 24, "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." And of course Abraham says that is impossible. Now skip down to verse 27, "Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." So Abraham is saying, if you don't believe Moses and the prophets, you're not going to believe the New Testament either. And the very fact that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead proves very conclusively if you don't believe the Bible you are certainly not going to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

  #8 | 4:48 to 5:58 | cleaned

• Now we have been talking about sanctions and last week I dealt with Deuteronomy 28 and I showed you how that you have positive and negative sanctions. And the sanctions that are mentioned in Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28, 29, actually are under the phrases or the words, the blessings and the curses. So you have positive sanctions, which are blessings, and you have negative sanctions, which indeed are curses. So when we talk about sanctions, it is not just simply Old Testament theology. Sanctions exist in the New Testament as well.

  #9 | 5:58 to 6:36 | cleaned

• And as we look in Matthew chapter 5, we're going to find not only in this passage, but also in other passages, there are those that are called blessed children. And there are those that are called cursed children. And when we talk about children in this instance, we're not talking about little kids. We're talking about adults. We're talking about the very fact that us are basically labeled as children. For instance, wisdom is speaking in Proverbs 8 and verse 32 and says, "Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways." So, hearken unto me, O ye children, blessed are they that keep my ways. So it is not little bitty babies that wisdom is talking to, it is those who are able to keep the ways of God. In Proverbs 20 and verse 7, the Bible says that "the just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him." So the children that are blessed after their father has led a life of integrity and virtue and honor and character.

  #10 | 6:36 to 7:48 | cleaned

• They will continue to be blessed until they die and that's exactly what he's saying. And then you have to remember in 1 John chapter 2, John writes, and he says, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." So he is talking to believers. And all through the New Testament believers are referred to as children.

  #11 | 7:49 to 8:14 | cleaned

• And then listen to this one in 2 Peter 2 verses 14 and 15. Here is the phrase that deals with cursed children. Now I want you to understand that when he talks about cursed children he is talking about whoremongers, and adulterers, and covetous individuals. Listen to what he says, "Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness." So here he is talking about these adulterers, these covetous individuals, and he calls them cursed children.

  #12 | 8:14 to 8:58 | cleaned

• If you would please grasp this truth that God is immutable. And the word immutable just simply means that God is unchangeable. And that which was true of God in the Old Testament is equally true of God in the New Testament. God does not change and consequently His law does not change either. That is why we talk about the immutability of God and that is why He says in Malachi 3 and verse 6, "I the LORD change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." And of course we have the same truth in the New Testament because in Hebrews 13 verse 8 we are told, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." So the sovereign, just, and righteous God that ruled in the Old Testament is the same sovereign, just, and righteous God that rules in the New Testament. There is no difference. There is no difference in His word, for Psalm 119 verse 89 says, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." Now when we talk about sanctions, we're talking about judgments and we're also talking about blessings. Because God is righteous, His judgments fall upon those who rebel against Him. Because God

  #13 | 9:00 to 10:23 | cleaned

• is faithful, His solemn threatenings are fulfilled. Because God is omnipotent, that is He is all-powerful, none can resist Him, none can thwart Him, none can hinder Him. Because God is omnipresent, there can be no secret sins because God is everywhere at one time in the totality of His being. You cannot hide from God. In fact, anthropomorphically speaking, that is man-form speaking, the Bible says in Proverbs 15, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." And that is speaking of God's omniscience, or God's omnipresence. And then of course God is omniscient in the fact that He knows everything.

  #14 | 10:24 to 11:16 | cleaned

• There is no problem that can master Him. There is no difficulty that can baffle His wisdom. God is not only omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, and faithful, and righteous, and everything that He does is absolutely perfect. That's why in Romans 2 and verse 2 we read, "But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things." We are sure that the judgments of God are according to truth. Now, not only are God's judgments according to truth, but God's blessings are according to truth as well. He bestows His blessings in grace and in mercy. When you look at Matthew chapter 5, you have here an awful lot of blessings that are mentioned. These blessings are known as sanctions, but they are positive sanctions.

  #15 | 11:16 to 12:22 | cleaned

• And when you get to the Sermon on the Mount, which this passage is referred to, there are individuals who seek to try to limit this sermon and the applications of this sermon. In fact, I have read books that say that the Sermon on the Mount applies to Jews only. I've also read individuals say it only applies to the saved. If you look in verse 1, "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him." Well, there were the multitudes there and there were his disciples. Now whether the disciples came to him alone or whether some of the multitude came with them, I don't know, but if they did then certainly this sermon would have been to a mixed multitude as well. So let me give you a statement by Arthur W. Pink and he hits the nail on the head what he's talking about is Matthew chapter 5. Listen carefully.

  #16 | 12:23 to 13:21 | cleaned

• He says this: "There has been considerable difference of opinion concerning the ones to whom this sermon really applies, the saved or the unsaved. Extreme positions have been taken on both sides with a good deal of unnecessary dogmatism. Personally we regard this sermon as a forecast of and an epitome of the entire oral ministry of Christ. That it summarizes the general tenor of his whole teaching. The older we grow, the less do we approve of the drawing hard and fast lines through the scriptures, limiting their application by insisting that certain parts belong only to such and such a class, and under the guise of rightly dividing the word, apportioning segments of it to the Jews only, to the Gentiles only, or to the Church of God only."

  #17 | 13:22 to 14:18 | cleaned

• "Man makes his canals rigidly straight, but God's rivers wind in and out, and God's commandment is exceeding broad, and we must be on our guard against placing restrictions of our own." So you know he is correct in saying that when you look at the word you have to understand 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable" and he tells you it's profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. That would include Matthew chapter 5 as well. Now when you look at Matthew chapter 5, this passage does not begin with maledictions, curses, and woes. This passage begins with blessings. May I remind you, however, our Lord was not hesitant to pronounce maledictions, curses, as woes. All you have to do is read Matthew 11, Matthew 23, and Luke chapter 10. He not only pronounced curses and woes upon cities, but upon groups as well.

  #18 | 14:19 to 15:34 | cleaned

• He says, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida!" Then he would say, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" all down through the scripture. He does pronounce these negative sanctions upon these individuals who are wicked and rebellious.

  #19 | 15:34 to 15:50 | cleaned

• Now, the interesting thing is when you look at Matthew chapter 5 and you see all of these blessings that are being pronounced, we must understand that in reality there are some curses being pronounced as well. Our Lord does not elaborate upon the curses. He leaves it to the hearer or to the reader to understand and to apply these truths.

  #20 | 15:51 to 16:19 | cleaned

• Now let me tell you something that I've told you a multitude of times and this is just for your information so that we can work through this passage. Every negative has a positive. Every positive has a negative. One of our problems is when we read scripture and we see positives, that's all we think about. We never concern ourselves with the negatives. Likewise, when we read scripture and we see negatives, we never concern ourselves with the positives. We have to understand that you cannot have a positive without a negative, and you cannot have a negative without a positive. These principles go together in scripture.

  #21 | 16:20 to 17:07 | cleaned

• When our Lord begins in verse 3 and he says "blessed" and he uses the word "blessed" all the way down through verse 11. The Greek word "blessed" is the word makarios, which literally means blessed or happy. Now, let's begin with verse 3. I'm going to give you another quick quote and then I'm going to show you some scripture. Look in verse 3. He begins by saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." So, let's ask the question, who are the poor in spirit? And what does it mean to be poor in spirit? The pronounced blessing in verse three, the positive sanction in verse three, is only upon those who are poor in spirit. First of all, let me give you a quote by Pink again, describing what it means to be poor in spirit. Then I'm going to show it to you from scripture. He says this: "Being poor in spirit, it is the opposite of that haughty, self-assertive and self-sufficient disposition, which the world so much admires and praises.

  #22 | 17:08 to 18:30 | cleaned

• It is the very reverse of that independent and defiant attitude which refuses to bow to God, which determines to brave things out, which says with Pharaoh, 'Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?' To be poor in spirit is to realize that I am nothing, that I have nothing, that I can do nothing, and that I have need of all things. Poverty of spirit is a consciousness of my emptiness, the result of the Spirit's work within.

  #23 | 18:31 to 19:07 | cleaned

• It issues from the painful discovery that all my righteousnesses are as filthy rags. It follows the awakening that my best performances are unacceptable, yea, an abomination to the thrice holy One. Poverty of spirit evidences itself by its bringing the individual into the dust before God, acknowledging his utter helplessness and his deserving of nothing but hell." Now when you stop and think about that, it was Jacob who said, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies." And when you stop and think,

  #24 | 19:07 to 19:48 | cleaned

• everything that we do is tainted with sin, even our prayer life. We can't even pray without thoughts entering our mind and our minds wandering. We cannot love the Lord without even our love being tainted with sin because we're sinners. And you realize if God gave us what we really truly deserved, we not only would not be alive, we'd be in hell ourselves because every sinner deserves justice, but God in His grace has given us mercy. So, Pink is saying that the poor in spirit are those who are nothing, have nothing, can do nothing, and have a need of all things. To be poor in spirit is someone who has a broken heart, and a contrite heart, and a humble heart. Let me show you.

  #25 | 19:49 to 20:41 | cleaned

• I want you to turn in your Bibles, first of all, hold Matthew 5, but go back if you would please to Psalm 34, Psalm 34, and look at verse 18. Psalm 34 and verse 18. Look at what the scripture says. Psalm 34 verse 18, "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

  #26 | 20:41 to 21:19 | cleaned

• That is, you have nothing in yourself. Turn right over to Psalm 51. This is a Psalm where David is acknowledging and confessing his own sin. And he says this in verse 17. Psalm 51, verse 17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." What is a broken and contrite heart? It's someone who has nothing in and of himself, can do nothing, and has need of God in His grace. If you would turn right over to Isaiah, Isaiah 57 and verse 15, the first major prophet, Isaiah 57 and look if you would please at verse 15. Isaiah 57 verse 15, you're going to see this is stated over and over in Scripture. Isaiah 57 verse 15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." And then one other, if you look in Isaiah 66

  #27 | 21:19 to 22:52 | cleaned

• and verse 2. Isaiah 66 and verse 2, He says this: "For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." So when God says "blessed are the poor in spirit," He is talking about blessed are those individuals who are humble, broken, contrite, submissive, and that tremble at His word.

  #28 | 22:48 to 23:27 | cleaned

• Now, let me ask you a question. Our Lord said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." If the poor in spirit are blessed, what about those who are not poor in spirit? And the answer is they would be cursed. Do you understand what He's saying? Someone that is poor in spirit is someone who is broken and humble and submissive and depending upon God, but someone who is not poor in spirit is someone who is arrogant and haughty and heady and high-minded and trusts in himself. That's why in Jeremiah 17 and verse 5, listen carefully: "Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." So those who are not poor in spirit are not blessed. They are cursed.

  #29 | 23:28 to 24:36 | cleaned

• So here's a simple truth. If you are not blessed, you are cursed. And if you will remember correctly in Proverbs 6, one of the seven things that God hates is a proud look. And the proud look just speaks of that haughty, arrogant, rebellious attitude that people have when they refuse to bow and surrender to the Word of God. So when He says "blessed are the poor in spirit," if you are not poor in spirit, then you are not blessed in this instance. You would be cursed. So now you have a positive and a negative. If you will skip down to verse 4, look what He says. Matthew 5 verse 4, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Now mourning is something that you and I do not particularly enjoy. It is something that goes against our flesh.

  #30 | 24:36 to 25:32 | cleaned

• And the truth is we'd much rather rejoice and be happy than we had to be concerned with problems and circumstances. We do not necessarily like to mourn. But I want you to look at this. "Blessed are they that mourn." Now if we're blessed, why are we mourning? That's a decent question. If we have been blessed by God, why are we mourning? And the answer is we mourn over our sins. We mourn over the sins of others. We mourn over the sins of our society. We mourn over the sins of our nation. Does it make you happy

  #31 | 25:33 to 26:24 | cleaned

• that the governor of New York signed a bill allowing abortion up to the time a child is born and even immediately thereafter? Well, of course not. Because it's murder. It should cause us to mourn. It should cause us to mourn because of the sodomy and the transgenderism, the pedophilia, all the stuff that's going on in this country. If you would study the book of Ezra and the book of Daniel, you'll find that both of those men not only confessed and acknowledged their sins, they also confessed and acknowledged the sins of their nation, of their society, of their people. So our Lord says, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." In other words, the only way you're going to be comforted is if you are mourning.

  #32 | 26:26 to 27:21 | cleaned

• Now let me give you just a couple of scriptures in this light. In Isaiah 61, verses 2 and 3, the Word of God says, "...to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified." So here are those that are mourning. God says they are going to be comforted. They are going to have the oil of gladness in their lives.

  #33 | 27:22 to 28:04 | cleaned

• In Lamentations 1 and verse 4, and you remember Lamentations was written on the fall and the destruction of Jerusalem. He went on to say in Lamentations 1 and verse 4, "The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate." In other words, everything is broken down. Stop and look around at the church today. Look at Christianity today. Look at religion today, using that word very broadly. Very few respect anything that is biblical and right today. I remember when I was a boy going to church, and the church we went to, most of the men there were farmers. And most of the men smoked. And I have seen as a boy, I watched with my own eyes, our pastor walked up to a man who was smoking. And the man

  #34 | 28:05 to 29:06 | cleaned

• would take the cigarette out of his mouth, put it behind him, and either hold it or pinch it out while he talked to the pastor. Today folks would never think of doing that. Just blow the smoke in your face and keep going. I'm just saying there's been a change. And our Lord tells us that the ways of Zion do mourn. You remember that passage in Ezekiel chapter 9? In fact, I've got a message on that passage, which I've preached several years back now, "Will It Happen Again?" is the title of the message. But listen to what God said before He destroyed Jerusalem. Listen, "And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof." God said, you set a mark on the foreheads of those men that are sighing and crying. They're mourning over the wickedness of this city. I'm going to spare them.

  #35 | 29:06 to 30:13 | cleaned

• For the rest, they're going to be destroyed. You get to Luke chapter 6 and verse 25, our Lord says, "Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep." In other words what He is saying is this: we may mourn now and laugh later, or we may laugh now and mourn later. And when you get to the book of James chapter 4 and verse 9, it is indeed commands. He said, "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness." Now I want you to look back at verse 4. Think about this: "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." If those that mourn are blessed and if they realize that their mourning shall be turned into joy and comfort, what will be the state of those who do not mourn, but who laugh and ridicule and mock? Are they blessed or are they cursed? You follow me? You cannot have a positive without a negative. And every one of these blessings that God pronounces also includes a curse, a negative sanction. Look in verse 5. He says, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Now the word "meek" is the Greek word praus, which refers

  #36 | 30:14 to 31:48 | cleaned

• to a mildness of disposition, a gentleness of spirit, a meekness and submissiveness. Let me explain it a little better. This word actually means to be broken to yoke. You can take a young oxen or two young oxen and put a yoke upon their neck. They're going to kick and twist and do everything imaginable until they're broken to yoke. And once they're broken to yoke, they're gentle, they're submissive, and they plow. Same thing with a horse. You put the bridle and the reins on the horse. You put the saddle on the horse. The horse may kick and do all kinds of things until the horse is broken, then the horse is submissive. And that is basically what our Lord said to Saul of Tarsus when he fell on the road to Damascus there, He said, "Saul, Saul, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." And the pricks there was that long pointed stick sharpened at one end that when the oxen kicked they would stick him with that stick.

  #37 | 31:48 to 33:07 | cleaned

• And He said, you don't want to do that. So the meek are those that are broken to yoke. Now meekness toward God is that disposition which you and I have concerning His dealings for us and with us and in us. In other words, we're not disputing with God. We're not resisting God. We're not asserting ourselves. We're not demanding certain things. We're not involved in self-interest. Meekness is that which stems from our absolute trust in God, in His sovereignty, and in His providence. There are many instances and providential things that happen to us, situations and circumstances that we do not like and that we would not desire to be in, but we find ourselves in them. What can we do? We can argue, we can get mad, we can get upset, or we can just say, "Lord, I didn't want this. I didn't plan on this.

  #38 | 33:07 to 34:11 | cleaned

• It was not my fault. It was brought on me in Your providence. I'm not going to argue with You. I'm just going to submit and allow You to work it out." That is literally a meek attitude.

  #39 | 34:12 to 34:23 | cleaned

• Now look what He said. He said, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Well, let me ask you a question. If you're not meek, what's gonna happen to you? You're certainly not going to inherit the earth, because only the meek are going to inherit the earth. Let me show you. I want you to hold Matthew 5 but turn in your Bibles to Psalm 37. Look in Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Let's begin first of all with verses 1 and 2. Psalm 37 beginning there with verse 1, God says, "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity." Now watch. "Fret not thyself because of evildoers." Don't get bent out of shape. "Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity." Wow. You say, "Well boy, I have to do this and I have to do that. Man,

  #40 | 34:23 to 35:42 | cleaned

• they go around, they go to the beach on Sunday, they go fishing on Sunday, they go do this, they do that. Man, I have to go to church." And God says, "No, don't be envious of the workers of iniquity." Why? Look in verse 2, "For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." Hmm. Skip down to verse 7. Look what He says: "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of

  #41 | 35:42 to 36:48 | cleaned

• peace." Now if you would skip down to verse 34. Look what He says again: "Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off."

  #42 | 36:48 to 37:26 | cleaned

• Now, "Blessed are the meek," why? "For they shall inherit the earth." But what about those who are not meek? They shall be cut off. They shall be destroyed. They shall not inherit the earth. So when our Lord blesses the meek, at the same time it places a curse upon those who are not meek. The blessed meek shall inherit the earth; those who are not in that group shall be cut off. So He says, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Now go back to Matthew 5 and look down to verse 6. I'm just trying to show you very quickly the positive and the negative sanctions that go together. He says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that if those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are blessed, then those who do not hunger and thirst after righteousness are cursed.

  #43 | 37:26 to 38:31 | cleaned

• Now the word "righteousness" here is that which is right, that which is just, that which is upright, that which is pure, that which is correct, not only in thinking but feeling and acting as well. Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness, God says, are being blessed because they are going to be filled. Those who do not hunger and thirst after righteousness are not blessed and they will not be filled. Because they are cursed.

  #44 | 38:32 to 39:05 | cleaned

• You cannot have a positive without a negative. And every one of these blessings indicates there are indeed negatives. Look in verse seven. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. It is the merciful that obtain mercy. What do the unmerciful obtain? What do they get? And the answer is they get God's judgment. They get God's curse. Let me give you a couple of scriptures and I want you to listen and then I'm going to quote one and I want you to think about it. 2 Samuel 22 and verse 27, the Bible said, "With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury." You know what something is that is unsavoury? It's not good. You don't like it. You want to spit it out. I

  #45 | 39:08 to 40:27 | cleaned

• will tell you this: when I was a boy, my father and mother took us and we were over at our neighbor's house and the adults were in the living room having coffee and fellowshipping. All of us children were playing. I couldn't have been more than eight or nine, but it was the first year that saccharin came out. I never heard of saccharin, never seen saccharin. But my father called me and he said, "Son, come get me another cup of coffee." So I went and got the coffee and I went into the kitchen and my dad always took two teaspoons of sugar in his coffee. Okay.

  #46 | 40:29 to 41:07 | cleaned

• And the neighbor lady said, "The saccharin's on the table." Okay, I opened the bottle, I put two teaspoons of those little tablets in that coffee and stirred it up. And I never will forget, my father took the first sip of that coffee. He spit it right out on the carpet. And he said, "Son, if I didn't think this stuff would kill you, I'd make you drink every drop of it."

  #47 | 41:09 to 41:39 | cleaned

• Well, how would I know? I mean, you know, I'd never heard of saccharin before in my life. I didn't know one of those little pills was equal to a whole teaspoon of sugar, you know. But it was quite unsavoury. He didn't like it at all. And the truth of the matter is, with the froward God says, "I'm going to show myself unsavoury towards you, you won't like what I'm going to do to you."

  #48 | 41:40 to 42:04 | cleaned

• Now that same scripture is given to us also in Psalm 18 verse 26, "With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward." In other words God said, "I'm going to treat you just exactly the way you treat others." Wow. And when you get to the book of James chapter 2 and verse 13, he said, "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy." He shall have judgment without mercy on those who have showed no mercy. So when God says, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy," the opposite is cursed are the unmerciful, for they shall not receive mercy. You cannot have a positive without a negative. Now look if you would please at verse 8. He says, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Purity of heart is an absolute necessity; it is absolutely essential if you are to see God. And the Greek word for purity is katharos, which refers to that which is ethical, free from corrupt desire, free from sin and guilt, free from every admixture of that which is false.

  #49 | 42:04 to 43:27 | cleaned

• It means it is sincere, it is genuine, and it refers to that which is blameless and innocent. And the only way that we can be pure of heart is through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only Jesus Christ who gives us purity of heart. None of us can boast of a pure heart, a pure mind, a pure disposition, a pure being in and of ourselves. We are not that way by nature, and we cannot make ourselves that way. Only Jesus Christ can do that. So when He says, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God," then you have to ask yourself this question. If only the pure in heart are going to see God, what's going to happen to those who are not pure in heart? Well, the implication is they shall not see God. If you do not see Him, that means you are separated from Him. Death is more than physical separation. There is a spiritual death. Do you remember that passage in Revelation 22 and verse 15?

  #50 | 43:27 to 44:51 | cleaned

• When it talks about the kingdom and everything that's in the kingdom, then he says this: "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." So if the pure in heart are going to see God, they are blessed. Those who are not pure in heart, those who have not been made pure in the Lord Jesus Christ, are cursed and they shall not see God. They shall be judged by Him. Then if you look in verse 9, he says, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

  #51 | 44:51 to 45:35 | cleaned

• Now, the word for peacemakers here refers not only to peacemakers, but also to those who love peace. And the reason they are peacemakers is because they love peace. You know, I sometimes have to smile at how plainly our Lord spoke. When He says, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God," what would you call the troublemakers? What would you call the wicked and the rebellious and those who fight against God, who sow discord? What would you call them? Obviously they're not going to be blessed, they're going to be cursed. I would imagine when He says "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God," maybe in our minds we should think of John 8 and verse 44 when He looked at those Jews who did not believe in Him

  #52 | 45:36 to 46:42 | cleaned

• and said, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." So if the peacemakers are going to be called the children of God, then obviously those who are not peacemakers are going to be the cursed children, children of the devil, and certainly not children of God.

  #53 | 46:42 to 47:15 | cleaned

• Now, look at verses 10-12, let me try to put this together for us. Verses 10-12, He said, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Now wait a minute, blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake. The only way that you can be persecuted for righteousness' sake is if you are righteous. You can't be persecuted for being righteous if you're not righteous. So here's a blessing upon those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake and He says, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Well, let me ask you a question. What about those who are not persecuted for righteousness' sake because they are not righteous? Is theirs the kingdom of heaven? No. Can't possibly be. Because this positive sanction is only upon those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, which means that they are righteous by the grace of God. Now look what else He said in verse 11: "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you, note this next

  #54 | 47:16 to 48:34 | cleaned

• word, "falsely." That is, they're lying against you. You're not that way, but they're lying against you. Years ago, I had someone make a statement concerning me and they said that I said such and such, which I never said. And there was a word that I've never used. And I looked at Alice and I said, "Have you ever, in all the time that we've been married, have you ever heard me use that word?" "No." I asked my daughters. I said, "Have you ever, ever heard me use this word?" "No sir." And the truth is I never.

  #55 | 48:34 to 49:21 | cleaned

• Come to find out the person was proved to be a liar just a little bit later. But the point I'm trying to make is this, our Lord says we are blessed when men revile us and persecute us and say all manner of evil against us falsely. Now we are not blessed if what they say against us is the truth. If people cannot curse you for being righteous, that means you are not righteous.

  #56 | 49:22 to 49:52 | cleaned

• Now look if you would please at verse 12, He says this: "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." So, if you get persecuted for righteousness' sake, He is saying that you are in good company. Because you are in the company of those prophets in the Old Testament who were persecuted for bringing the word of God and the truth of God.

  #57 | 49:52 to 50:19 | cleaned

• Now, here's the point of me reading and going over all of these 12 verses very quickly. And I said quickly because entire volumes have been written on these 12 verses. It was my intent not to expound these 12 verses, but just to demonstrate one simple point, and that is sanctions occur in the New Testament. You have blessings and you have curses. And the fact of the matter is it is absolutely impossible to escape God's sanctions. I pointed that out last week when we looked at the negative sanctions and He said very clearly that these curses will come upon you and overtake you.

  #58 | 50:19 to 51:05 | cleaned

• You cannot outrun the judgments of God. Neither can you outrun the blessings of God. And last week I ended with this and I'm just going to mention again Malachi chapter 3 verses 8 through 11. I'm not going to read it, but you remember that is where our Lord said, "Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation." Now He had not only said you were cursed with a curse individually, He went on to say this whole nation is cursed. And then He went on to say, "Prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

  #59 | 51:05 to 51:51 | cleaned

• In other words, it will just inundate you. It will flood you. But the point I'm making is, He said, "Prove me now herewith, saith the LORD." In other words, this is a way that we can prove those sanctions ourselves. We will know whether we are blessed, and we will certainly know whether or not we are cursed. And let me mention this again. I said last week, and I'm saying it again this week, God's sanctions are irresistible and inescapable. You cannot resist them. You cannot stop them. You cannot thwart them. You cannot overthrow them. And you cannot escape them. You cannot outrun them, either the negative sanctions or the positive sanctions. Now I've got one application. I want you to listen to it. If you do not believe that there are sanctions in the New Testament, you just try dying one time without the Lord Jesus Christ. You will find out there are sanctions. I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 10 and look at verse 29 and let me show you something else. The more you deny the Lord Jesus, the more you denounce Him, the more you resist Him, the worse becomes your punishment. Look if you would Hebrews chapter 10 and let's begin reading there

  #60 | 51:51 to 53:36 | cleaned

• with verse 28. Watch carefully. Hebrews 10 verse 28, "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses." You violated the law that God gave through Moses, God said no mercy, you were stoned to death with two or more witnesses. So he that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.

  #61 | 53:36 to 54:02 | cleaned

• Now watch verse 29, "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." But He said, "How much worse punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God?"

  #62 | 54:02 to 54:42 | cleaned

• The more you despise Him, the more you denounce Him, the more you deny Him, the more you denigrate Him, the worse your judgment will be. There are sanctions in the New Testament, just like there are sanctions in the Old Testament. We have one Bible, not two. We have one God, and He is the same God in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, and His law is still the same. You cannot escape or resist His sanctions. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ,

  #63 | 54:43 to 55:28 | cleaned

• we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You for Your blessings. But Lord, we also thank You for Your curses because we know that all of Your judgments are according to truth. Thou art the righteous, holy, and just judge of all the earth. We commit ourselves unto Thee and ask You to work in our hearts and give us, Lord, grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

  #64 | 55:28 to 56:02 | cleaned

• In Thy name we pray, amen.

  #65 | 56:03 to 56:05 | cleaned

• ♪

  #66 | 56:20 to 56:45 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:09:58Z