Blessed Are Those Who Hunger & Thirst For Righteousness

Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness, they will be filled.

Few of us know what it’s really like to be hungry or thirsty. In ancient world it was different – many were never far from starvation. For many food was scarce & water was a precious commodity. This helps us to have a better understanding of what Jesus is saying.

Let me phrase it as a question. How much do you want to be right with God – how much do you want to please Him? As much as a starving man wants food or man dying of thirst wants a drink?

Many don’t know what it’s like to be blessed because they’ve never hungered after the things of God. God promises that He will fill us if we hunger for Him. God Himself is the only thing that can satisfy the deepest desires of your heart.

God Bless,

Tim

Blessed Are The Meek

Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Most people associate meekness w/ weakness but not at all what it means.

The word “meek” was used to describe the taming of a wild animal. So meekness is really power under control. It’s a person whose life has been brought under control of the Holy Spirit.

The first 3 beatitudes correspond to the steps we take in becoming a Christian? We recognize that we are “poor in spirit” – that we are spiritually bankrupt.

Then our sin begins breaking our hearts – we mourn over the sin in our lives.

Finally submit to God. Living in submission to God is the key to experiencing His greatest blessings in our lives.

God Bless,

Tim

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

After Jesus says that we will be blessed if we are poor in spirit or blessed when we realize how hopeless we are without Him.  He tells us another way the be blessed:

When you understand what Jesus is saying here you can see why it’s next on the list.  He’s saying – When you finally realize that you’re spiritually broke and that God is your only hope then your sin breaks your heart and you mourn.

So, here’s a question for you.  How long has it been since you mourned because of the sin in your life?  When your sin becomes repulsive to you and you turn from it – that’s when God promises to comfort you

The Bible calls this Godly sorrow. It’s the kind of deep sorrow that David had because of his sin.  He expresses his sorrow to God in the 51^st Psalm as an example to us all.

Psalm 51:1-4 - ¹ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. ² Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. ⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

This is such a great example of the kind of sorrow that God looks for because David doesn’t try to minimize his sin.  He doesn’t try to justify his sin. Instead he owns it. He doesn’t make excuses because God knows the truth anyway.

So, Jesus is saying to us that if you want to be blessed then you need to be honest about your mistakes. You cannot receive the forgiveness that sets you free and the comfort that only He can give you until you get this right.

God Bless,

Tim

Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We heard a great message from Bill Chambers yesterday about what it means to be blessed. We were reminded that true blessings are spiritual blessings and that if you are a believer in Jesus Christ you have already been blessed to the max.

Ephesians 1:3 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

This is the same thing that Jesus was teaching His disciples in the 5^th chapter of Matthew. It’s a passage that we’ve all read and studied. It’s called the “beatitudes” and comes from a Latin word that actually means blessed. Here, Jesus clearly defines the source of true blessings.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

You may think you know how to be blessed by God. The religious Jews thought they could be blessed if followed the Law of Moses - if they offered the right sacrifices and observed all the special days. Jesus says – that’s not how you’re going to get God’s blessing.  You’ll be blessed if you’re poor in Spirit.

So what does it mean to be blessed? Blessed means blissful or fortunate and we know what it means to be poor. But what does it mean to be poor in spirit?

Some synonyms for the word “poor” are - busted, broke, and bankrupt. Now insert the word “spiritually”. Blessed or fortunate are people who are spiritually bankrupt. Blessed and fortunate are those who realize how spiritually broke they are without God in their life.

God Bless,

Tim