Seeing the Beattitudes in a Different Light

**fennywest** Wed 16 Mar 2011, 3:11 pm

[i]
Seeing the Beattitudes in a Different Light

[b]The Sermon on a Mountain: The Beatitudes Matthew 5 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

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¹When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them:

³“Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually helpless.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
⁴Blessed are those who mourn.
They will be comforted.
⁵Blessed are those who are gentle.
They will inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval.
They will be satisfied.
⁷Blessed are those who show mercy.
They will be treated mercifully.
⁸Blessed are those whose thoughts are pure.
They will see God.
⁹Blessed are those who make peace.
They will be called God’s children.
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what God approves of.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you,
persecute you,
lie, and say all kinds of evil things about you because of me.
¹²Rejoice and be glad because you have a great reward in heaven!
The prophets who lived before you were persecuted in these ways.

Beattitudes are attitudes
for the blessing of salvation.
And obtaining the mercies
of comfort in distress.
Without them, there is
no kingdom entry
But by them we realise
our sins and confess
That Jesus is Lord.
They feed us with the bread
of humility as we daily
see ourselves in the
mirror of the Word.
They make us hunger
for righteousness.
And promote peace
Because we now have
the Prince of Peace in our heart.
Although persecution will come
Because of our right-standing with God
We shall not be moved because of the reward to come.

“Blessed are those who realise their need for God. For the kingdom of heaven is given to them.”

This is the first beatitude; the cardinal blessing of any Christian or child of God. It is the key that unlocks the door of salvation, the womb of redemption; the hand that stays the sword of execution or damnation. This is the bridge that spans the chasm between God and man, bringing about reconciliation, New Creation, the freedom of freedoms. This is the attitude to be sought after like gold, rubies, diamond. Yes, even more than the diamonds the world can offer. This is the treasury of felicity, the passport to the City of God. This is what will trigger the music of peace with God and usher your oneness with God, and announce your forgiveness of sin and make a reservation for you in heaven.

This is the miracles of miracles. You can have other miracles such as your blind eyes being opened, a barren womb opened or even being raised from the dead and still go to hell unless you are so awed that you repented and gave your heart to Christ and lived for Him.

Can you see how important (paramount) the first beatitude is? Without it you are lost in your sins, hopeless, wallowing in the sewer and stench of sin, groping in darkness and hell-bound.

This attitude is not just to be cultivated, nurtured and grown to be saved, it is an attitude we should constantly, daily have in our walk with God.

Every moment of the day we need realise our need for God in all we do, wherever we are. We need to acknowledge Him in all our endeavours. That is the way to be assured of His provision, direction, protection and salvation in everything we do. We must not come to a place where we can go or do without Him.

God Himself said:’ There is a place by Me where you shall stand upon a rock.’

Jesus said, those who hear him and obey Him are wise and are like the one who builds his house on a rock. The winds came and bombarded it and so the storm, but the house remained standing, unlike those who heard Him and ignored Him. He likened them to the one who built his house on the sand. And the wind and storm came, like a tempest, a tsunami and in no time there was a big crash, a quick crumble, an unceremonious crush into smithereens. He also said, ‘I am the Vine and my Father is the Vine Dresser. No branch can bear fruit unless it remains in the Vine.

Remaining in the Vine is realising your need of Him. It is daily drinking of the fountain of life and being nourished by it. It is coming daily for that day’s mercies, that day’s wisdom, strength and direction. That is making Him Lord always. That is realising that without Him you cannot do anything worthwhile or significant in line with His will for your life.

So the question for you and I today is: have you taken the first step into having peace with God? Are you living in your strength or in His strength? Do you realise your need for God not just once, but all the days of your life? Are you consciously inviting Him in all your decisions or just inviting Him to rubberstamp them after you have made up your mind about them? Does He influence your desire? Is He Lord over them? Are they in line with His word?

⁹Blessed are those who make peace.
They will be called God’s children

Can you see how the first beatitude is so important? It unlocks the door to the other beatitudes. This is because we can see the other beatitudes as fruit of the regenerated human spirit, propelled and directed by the Holy Spirit. If this is not the case, tell me, what type of peace can one initiate that’s worthwhile if they do not have the Prince of Peace in them? Surely such peace will not last. That assembly in which it is forged will be nothing but a talking shop where they paper over crises, put plasters over gaping wound.

⁷Blessed are those who show mercy.
They will be treated mercifully.

What type of compassion can you have, that can count if you d not have the type of compassion that Jesus has and can engineer in you? When Jesus saw people He saw them through the eyes of God. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He saw them doomed, damned vulnerable, lost and this was what moved Him.

⁴Blessed are those who mourn.
They will be comforted.

The mourning that counts is the godly sorrow that leads to repentance. This is the mourning that is triggered from heaven and brings about humility and transformation. It opens your eyes to see that without Him you are nothing.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what God approves of.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

What type of righteousness will you have that is worth its salt if you have not realised that all your righteousness or perception of righteousness is just as filthy rags before God? For it is when you have been reconciled with Him and imputed His righteousness (clothe with His robe of righteousness) that you can see righteousness the way He sees it and be empowered to crave for it, hunger and thirst for it.

It is when you appreciate how merciful He has been towards you, forgiving your sins, dying for you whilst you were yet a sinner; then you will be able to have mercy on others in an acceptable way.

True purity comes from God. Without holiness no one can see God. It follows that no one can be pure in heart unless they have had an encounter with God who is holy and without blemish. The heart of the natural man is filthy, deceitful, dark, depraved, desperately wicked, who can know it? This, as we have seen, again underscores the need to realise your need of Him before you can have the purity of heart acceptable to Him and begin to see and perceive things as God sees them. And it is then and only then you can see Him.

Having the whole earth as your possession will turn out to be a curse if you do not realise first and foremost that you need Jesus to be the Lord of your life. But if you know Him, all other blessings will be like the icing on the cake.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. This presumes a relationship with God. They have realised heir need of God, repented and are walking faithfully with God, doing His will, enforcing his will. There is no doubt that if you live for God, your life will challenge those who are not and they will persecute you. When this happens, it is a cause for celebration and joy; a badge of honour rather than shame.

The same goes for those who are mocked because of their devotion, dedication and passion for the things of God and heart of God. Great will be their reward in heaven.

In conclusion, we can see that the sermon on the mount, is a blueprint for kingdom entry and living. We all need these attitudes from the day we called to the day we are called home. It is the key to the Kingdom of God and all it stands for: salvation, provision, protection, reconciliation, promotion, humility, mercy, perseverance, joy unspeakable and full of glory

.Matthew Henry Prayed:
” Blessed Jesus! how different are thy maxims from those of men of this world! They call the proud happy, and admire the gay, the rich, the powerful, and the victorious. May we find mercy from the Lord; may we be owned as his children, and inherit his kingdom. With these enjoyments and hopes, we may cheerfully welcome low or painful circumstances. “
(Mt 5:13-16)