A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Monday, May 30^th, 2016. Today is the 151^st Day of 2016.

Today is Memorial Day.

On this day, we pause to remember those who died while defending our Freedoms. At 10am today, I will have the honor of bring the annual address for the American Legion at the Mackville Cemetery in Atwood. Please attend if you are able and pray for the LORD’s blessings of this event and those who are there.

Today is Tammy Daily’s Birthday.

There are only 215 days left in this year; and, there are only 20 days left until Father’s Day; and, there are only 209 days left until CHRISTMAS…

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT – “CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CITIZENS OF GOD’S KINGDOM”

Matthew 5:1-12
¹ “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

In direct contradiction of the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees of HIS day, Jesus gives this first of five sermons recorded in Matthew to show how the right application of God’s Law in the life of HIS people result in their being “blessed.”

“Makarios” (the Greek Word translated “blessed”) means to be “spiritually prosperous” or to be “fortunate because of the blessings of God.”

The false teachers of Jesus’ day – like the false teachers of our day – taught that if God was happy with you, you would be “healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

They taught that you can measure the spiritual prosperity of a person by the physical and financial prosperity of a person.

This is, of course, blasphemy.

Jesus is correcting this false doctrine to show that spiritual prosperity (or, blessedness) is the natural and universal result of salvation.

In other words, a saved person bears the characteristics HE mentions in these verses. All of these verses pertain to the condition of a saved person.

For example:

¹ “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Being “poor in spirit” does not mean these people are depressed; it means that they see their true spiritual condition before God. They know that without God they are – and would remain – lost.

People who see their true spiritual condition and realizing they are hopeless without Christ, call out to Christ for salvation with the result that they are “blessed.”

It is a blessed gift of God to see one’s self as we truly are.

And… when that accurate self-image results in our repentance and trust in Christ, we experience the ultimate blessing in all the universe – the salvation of our soul.

The blessing of seeing ourselves rightly? We become by grace “Citizens of the Kingdom of God.”

Amen.

Do not miss the opportunity for Mid-Week Prayer and Bible Study Wednesdays from 6:30 – 8:00pm. We are studying the Second Coming of Jesus and the events that follow into the Eternal State.

The lesson for next Wednesday, (6/1) is “Three 2’s of the Second Coming” pointing out three key elements of the future that come in Twos in the Scripture.

Each Wednesday will feature a stand-alone lesson, so even if you can’t make them all; be sure you catch as many of these lessons as you can.

Carpe Diem!