The Good Life Sermon

Let the good life find you. Let God find you in your powerlessness, whatever that looks like. Let God find you in your grief or mourning, whatever that looks like. Let God find you in your humility and unimportance because he is giving you the kingdom of heaven. He has given you the holy spirit to comfort and he has given you an important place in his kingdom. Amen? Amen. [00:20:13] (31 seconds)  #LetGoodLifeFindYou

If you truly pursue peace and righteousness, opposition will come. But Jesus says, it's not failure, it's blessing. It means you are walking in the ways of the kingdom of God. So, if that's you, don't give up. Keep making peace. Keep doing what is right because those who bear the cost of peace are not forgotten because Jesus calls them children of God and theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [00:36:37] (30 seconds)  #PursuePeaceKeepGoing

Jesus makes it adamantly clear that those who are blessed are the ones that give life, not take life. You know, sometimes I think we think by having status or title or money and any kind of influence that we're blessed. But as we have seen today in these nine statements that the good life, the blessed life is counter to society. Good life is generated when we choose life for all, everyone around me. And we, beloved, we are empowered by the saving work of Jesus on the cross and by holy spirit to choose life for all. [00:42:18] (46 seconds)  #ChooseLifeForAll

As we look at those first three statements that seem kinda heavy, we can see the surprise of who Jesus is calling. Right? It's not the self sufficient, not the imp impressive, but it's the humble and the hurting and the open. God meets us right where we're at and we don't have to pretend to have it all together. The doorway into the kingdom is not perfection or achievement or having it all together, it's surrender. [00:19:42] (28 seconds)  #SurrenderNotPerfection

As we let the good life find us, we must let the good life grow us. That means hungering for what is right, not just what is easy, but what is right. That means having a life marked by mercy, not judgment, but generosity. That means having a heart that is pure, undivided, sincere before God with pure motives. Jesus is transforming us into something new. He is inviting us into a deeper way of living, shaped by his character. [00:27:28] (43 seconds)  #TransformedByMercy

If I am hungry and thirsty for something, that means there is a desire there that has not yet been met. Right? Jesus is saying that the good life includes being unsatisfied with the disorder in our world and all of the broken relationships between people. To hunger and thirst for righteousness means that one lives in a deep longing and anticipation of a time when God brings ultimate justice on human evil and sets all things right once and for all. [00:23:35] (33 seconds)  #HungerForRighteousness

So where are we today, beloved? Maybe we are poor in spirit or discouraged, angry, depressed, or overwhelmed with the state of our world and our own lives. Or maybe we are mourning or grieving a loss of a loved one or our job or home or a dream or even the loss of a future given how our world is right now. Or maybe, we need to humble ourselves and submit to acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God and reaching out to those who are experiencing things I just mentioned. [00:18:44] (43 seconds)  #WalkHumblyActJustly

The preceding good life statements make it very clear that these surprise citizens of God's kingdom live in a world of oppression, injustice, and inequity that is very unsettling to them. And if one allows a holy discontent to take place, it will motivate action. The kinds of behaviors that will be generated will be peace seeking and peace making. Jesus is saying these words in a very intense political context under harsh Roman occupation. [00:31:24] (34 seconds)  #HolyDiscontentForJustice