Another message of Jesus involves standards for Christian life.
This is an even stronger message than that derived from His miracles.
Do we have spiritual goals!! Recovering from sickness and
have the providence alone is not a spiritual goal, but rather glorifying God once the
sickness has been healed and all other blessings received. That should be our spiritual
goals in healing and in all we receive from God, we should seek the healer, the provider,
instead of healing and gifts alone. We strife for a healthy balance between getting and
giving to the Lord. Our goal is to please Him above all things, We have been created for
God, not God for the people. Some blessings can only be received by doing the will of God
in serving Him, and will have eternal value, and is far above wordily gain, and the
comfort we gain for the short time we live on earth. Look at the following seven
blessings, they don't fit our comfortable circumstances, but have great rewards.
Many are blinded by the prosperity and name it claim it, and I can have it all now
gospel, and now wander aimlessly in confusion when they have discovered that " this
foreign gospel" will not have Gods approval and will not bring you spiritual welfare.
it promises provision for the here and now, but doesn't look be on human needs, it is meant
to satisfy the flesh for comfort and ease.
If we have a standard for listening to the voice of Jesus, then we will no longer
wander aimlessly or dwell in confusion. Our lives will be filled with incredible
inspiration and fullness.
*1) Blessed are the poor in Spirit. Matt 5:3
*2) Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matt 5:5
*3) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Matt 5:6
*4) Blessed are the merciful. Matt 5:7
*5) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matt 5:8
*6) Blessed are the peacemakers.Matt 5:9
*7) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. for theirs is the
Kingdom..
Through such teachings, Jesus
provides us with standards for living our lives. The presence of faith is not marked by
speaking in tongues or having passion and zeal. Having such personality traits as those
listed above evidence our faith.
I pray that all of you would have
such a personality.
1) Blessed are the poor in Spirit
Most people are not sensible of this,
they do not realize their condition, but think themselves rich, and increased with goods,
but there are some who are sensible of it, who see their poverty and want, freely
acknowledge it, and mourn over it and are humbled for it, broken under a sense of their
condition, they think low and realize as being poor of themselves, such will seek after
the true riches, both of grace and glory, and they acknowledge that all they have, or hope
to have, is owing to the free grace of God.
These are the people intended to be in this verse, who are not only "poor",
but are poor "in spirit"; in their own spirits, in their own sense and judgment:
and they may even be called "beggars ", they place themselves at the door of
mercy, and knock there, they call out to God, "God be merciful"; they stand in
wait, watching, for wisdom, and they will have no denial, yet receive the least favor with
thankfulness. Now these are pronounced "blessed", for this reason,
2) Blessed are the meek,
Who are not easily provoked to anger; who patiently bear, and put up with injuries and
affronts; carry themselves courteously, and affably to all; have the meanest thoughts of
themselves, and the best of others; do not envy the gifts and graces of other men; are
willing to be instructed and admonished, by the meanest of the saints; quietly submit to
the will of God,
They shall inherit the earth, not this present earth, as being the way it is now, for
this world will pass away and we will have a new earth as an inheritance promised to the
seed of Abraham, to the those of the faith as being heirs of God, and joint heirs with
Christ; whose is the earth, and the fullness thereof.
3) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst, Not after the riches, honors, and
pleasures of this world, but the justifying righteousness of Christ, which is imputed by
God the Father, and received by faith. To "hunger and thirst" after this,
supposes a want of righteousness, which is the case of all men, a sense of want of it and
is only perceived by persons spiritually enlightened, a discovery of the righteousness of
Christ to them, which is a true blessing throughout our walk with God.
So they shall be filled: with that righteousness, and with all other good things, in
consequence of it; and particularly with joy and peace, which are the certain effects of
it: or, "they shall be satisfied", that they have an interest in it; and so
satisfied with it, that they shall never seek for any other righteousness, as a justifying
one, in the sight of God; this being full, perfect, sufficient, and entirely complete.
4) Blessed are the merciful
,
Who show mercy to the bodies of men, to those that are poor, indigent, and miserable, in
their outward circumstances, by both sympathizing with them, and distributing unto them;
not only making use of expressions of pity and concern, but with readiness and
cheerfulness, with affection and tenderness, and with a view to the glory of God:
They shall obtain mercy; from man and God through Christ Jesus, whenever they are
attended with any uncomfortable circumstances of life;
If you listen to the voice of Jesus Christ,
Then your life must be consistent with the standards for living that Jesus has provided.
These include the standards given for us, for how we deal with others, and for the goals
of our lives. These all must coincide with the voice of God.
If you find yourself today suffering or sacrificing your life for a friend who
is grieving or who is poor in spirit, then you may consider yourself to be listening to
the voice of God.
We must also never forget that all that we do is for the glory of God.
5) Purity of heart
The heart of man is naturally unclean
and we are not able to make it clean, or to be pure from sin, neither is any man in this
life so pure in heart, that he is entirely free from sin.
This is only true of Christ, angels, and glorified saints, but this is also true for those
who, though they have sin dwelling in them, are justified from all sin, by the
righteousness of Christ, and are "clean through the word", or through
justification in Christ Jesus, on the account of that righteousness, all the iniquities
are them forgiven, whose hearts are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, which cleanses from
all sin, who have the grace of God in their hearts.
Though imperfect, it is entirely pure, there is not the least spot or stain of sin in
it:, therefore they earnestly desire after more purity of heart, lip, life, and
conversation.
And happy they are.
For they shall see God, in this life, enjoying communion with him, both in private,
public and in church, where we often behold the beauty of His holiness, and experience His
power and see His glory, and taste, and know, that He is good and gracious:
And we will see God in Christ, with the eyes of our understanding and with the eyes of our
bodies, after the resurrection.
The sight of Christ, and God in Christ, will be unspeakably glorious, desirable,
delightful, and satisfying, it will be free from all darkness and error, and from all
interruption, it will be transforming, and will last for ever.
6)Blessed are the peacemakers
Not the peace between men and God, because no man is able to make peace with God other
than Christ Jesus. Blessed are those who live at peace with their surrounding and are
indeed those who make peace between their brothers and sisters, who deminish strive and
envy and have the balm of a soothing oil to establish and create peace in the world.
Aaron loved peace, and pursued it, and made peace between a man and his neighbor, Mal
2:6
They shall be called the children of God, because they have the grace of God through
Jesus and this is manifested in their lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, in which the
fruit of the Spirit is made visible in their life, as maker of peace. This will show that
they are children of God, for they have the nature of God, sons of God they are, and are
known to be so now, by their peaceful life, which is given to them by the Spirit of God,
whereby they become like to the God of peace, and to Christ, the great and only
peacemaker, and so are truly sons of peace.
When we examine the message of Jesus Christ as revealed through His words found in
the four gospels, there is one topic that we tend not to focus on too often: the Holy
Spirit. Yet before ascending to heaven, Jesus said, "Do not depart from
Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father which you have heard from Me; for John
truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days
from now."
Be baptized with the Holy Spirit
Among the many words of Jesus, the final ones that He gave to His disciples were "Be
baptized with the Holy Spirit." I hope that all of you would seek to be baptized with
the Holy Spirit. Those who are baptized with the Holy Spirit have a different degree of
maturity of faith and a depth and weight in their knowledge of scripture.
When you serve the Lord daily and live in the Holy Spirit, we will find, how deep and
profound the world of the Holy Spirit is!
7) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.
To such belong the Kingdom of heaven, persecution is either verbal with the tongue,
by cruel mocking and mean language, or real, by deeds, such as confiscating of goods,
banishment, imprisonment of body, and all sorts of death. Even today so many Christians in
the Moslem world are bitterly persecuted for their faith in Christ many have to pay a
price for their faithfulness to the savior and yet the saints, abused, are happy;
Persecution for righteousness sake, on account of righteous and godly living, will
bring hatred and enmity of the men of the world.
When saints live righteously, they separate themselves from the world, they do not
belong to them, their religious life will set you apart and puts a brand upon you, It
distinguishes the other persons and confronts them with their wicked lives and practices,
and this fills them with wrath against God's people and puts them on persecuting them:
Also by "righteousness" may be meant, a righteous cause, the cause of Christ
and his Gospel; for making it a way of life in Christ, showing a love for his kingdom,
living as speaking of His person and the truths of His Word, saints expose themselves to
the rage and persecution of the world. In particular persecuted for preaching, maintaining
and embracing, the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ Jesus and in becoming the
righteousness of God in Christ.
Our faith is manifested in our lives.
Jesus tells us not only how to live our own individual lives, but also how we should live
toward others. "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for an
enemy." This is the standard for how we should live our lives in relation to others.
Jesus also provided for us vision, goals, and a calling for our lives.
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth." "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations." This is our
purpose and our calling for our lives.
May God Bless You other then worldly gain only
May He keep you in good health
May He Bless you with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places