Introduction:

King George V wrote on the flyleaf of the Bible of a friend: "The secret of happiness is not to do what you like to do, but to learn to like what you have to do." Let me say that again.

Billy Graham said:

"Too many think of happiness as some sort of will-o'-wisp thing that is discovered by constant and relentless searching. Happiness is not found by seeking. It is not an end in itself. Pots of gold are not found at the end of the rainbow, as we used to think when we were children; gold is mined from the ground or panned laboriously from a mountain stream."

Friends, the beatitudes of Jesus that we have studied in recent weeks very clearly illustrate the biblical truth that it is not necessarily easy to be a Christian, and yet the Christian life is where real joy and happiness is experienced. Herbert Taylor said that he began each day reading the Sermon on the Mount aloud.

This morning I want to review briefly these beautiful teachings of Jesus, think about the three r's.

I. Requirement

1. Those who are Poor in Spirit
Less of you and more of God.

2. Those who mourn
Who feel you've lost what is most dear to you.

3. The meek
Content with just who you are, no more, no less, enjoying what cannot be bought.

4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Who have worked up a good appetite for God,

5. The merciful
When you care

6. The pure in heart
When you get your inside world-your mind and heart put right.

7. The peacemakers
When you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.

8. Those who are persecuted for righteousness sake
When your commitment to God provokes persecution

II. Reward

As we have slowly gone through the reward, the promise in each of them. Wow! What a list this is when we put them all together!

1. The Kingdom of Heaven
More of God and His rule

2. Comfort
Embraced by the One most dear to you.

3. Inherit the earth
Proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

4. Complete satisfaction
He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

5. Mercy
You find yourselves being cared for.

6. See God
See God in the outside world

7. Called Son or Daughter of God
Discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

8. The Kingdom of Heaven (same as 1st)
Deeper into God's kingdom

III. Response

You have read them for yourself and heard me review the requirements and the rewards this morning. The question that remains as we conclude this study is your personal response to each of these beatitudes

Dare you ask yourself, "How do I rate?" How many of Christ's beautiful attitudes have been assimilated into your life? This is a self test on your response to the Beatitudes that I have also had printed for you.

1. Am I trying to grasp things from God's hands or are my hands relaxed and empty so that I might receive?

2. Do I shrink from painful experiences or do I welcome them in the knowledge that they will make me a more sensitive person?

3. Am I so sure of God and His resources that I am free from a spirit of demandingness and over concern?

4. Is my goal to be happy, or is it to be holy? Am I more taken up with getting pleasure out of God than I am with giving pleasure to God?

5. Do I have a deep compassion and concern for the plight of others?

6. Is my heart clean and pure? Have I experienced an inner cleansing that has reached to the deepest depths?

7. Am I a reconciler - one who seeks to reconcile others to God and, where necessary, to each other?

8. Am I so identified with Christ that I experience the hatred which the world gives to those who remind them of Him?

Conclusion

When Bill Borden, the son of the wealthy Bordens, left for China to serve the Lord as a missionary, a number of his friends thought he was foolish to "waste his life," as they put it, trying to convert a few heathen to Christianity. But Bill loved Jesus Christ and he loved people! On his way to China he contracted a disease and died. At his bedside they found a note that he had written while he was dying. It read: "No reserve, no retreat, and no regrets."

Bill Borden had found more happiness in his few years of sacrificial service than many find in a lifetime.

A well known psychiatrist, Dr. James Fisher, travelled throughout the world looking for the positive qualities that make for good mental health. He said, "I dreamed of writing a handbook that would be simple, practical, easy to understand and easy to follow; it would tell people how to live - what thoughts and attitudes and philosophies to cultivate, and what pitfalls to avoid in seeking mental health. And quite by accident I discovered that such a work had been completed - the Beatitudes."

However, just because our Lord put these profound secrets for happiness in a simple outline does not mean that these truths are easy for us to practice each day.

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