|
||||||
| Sermon #23 "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying," MAT 5:1-2. In the first message of this series on the Sermon on the Mount, we looked at the introduction. Now let's continue in the introduction looking at the magnitude that the first word of verse three contains. The word blessed is the first word of the gospel. It is a blessing when we can see how the Lord Jesus, "opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed...." In the first message we dealt with how He was revealed in His Kingly office. We also saw that His ascent into the mountain was a demonstration of His ascent into His Kingly office. The central theme of this message is His Kingly authority in the words brought forth. He spoke with such Kingly authority when He opened His mouth to begin the message of the gospel. MAT 7:28 says, "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." As we start dwelling on the message that He brought forth from the mountain, let's look at the authority of His Word. He spoke the first word of His sermon, blessed, with power and authority. The people understood that He didn't preach like other men. "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." The people saw an authority and power in the message that Christ brought forth. The gospel begins with the word blessed in MAT 5:3. Gospel means good news. The good news of the gospel began with blessed. The gospel began with the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus "opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake," MAT 5:2-11. That first word of the gospel was blessed. Each beatitude starts with that word. Let's look at this word and see what it conveys to us. The gospel that was sealed for generations from the foundation of the earth began with "Blessed." Jesus gave the distinguishing marks of those who are blessed. The seven beatitudes each give the distinguishing mark of those who are blessed. Those seven descriptions are not about seven different classes of people. They are seven characteristics of one people, not of seven different types, which is a common misunderstanding. These are the seven characteristics which those who are blessed have. Let's understand the importance of the word blessed, because it is the key word to the seven beatitudes, and it pertains to the seven different characteristics of one people. These beatitudes are the distinguishing marks of the members of the Kingdom of God. Let's look at these very carefully and sensitively. The word blessed has several meanings. We must trace these to understand the authority that stands in this word in the beatitudes. In the original language, the word for blessed in the beatitudes has a significantly different meaning than the word blessed in other parts of Scripture. Let's see the authority that flowed forth from Christ when He used this word in the beatitudes. ISA 56:2 says, "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil." You might think that this word blessed runs parallel with the one in the beatitudes. However, this isn't quite true. Here the word is taken from the Hebrew word esher. Its translation is "happiness." ISA 56:2 says that the man is happy who does these things. ISA 61:9 says, "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed." Reading this casually, we wouldn't distinguish between the use of blessed here and in the beatitudes. Again, however, it has a very distinct meaning. In this verse the word is taken from the Hebrew word barak. This can be used to mean: "to kneel to bless God as an act of adoration, and vise-versa, as a man receiving benefit, or to praise, salute, or to thank." In this instance, the word has a substantially different meaning than in ISA 56:2. The English language uses the same word for all of these meanings. We need to understand the true meaning of blessed in the beatitudes to understand what Christ truly meant when He used it with such authority. In MAT 14:19 we read, "And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude." The same word is used in 21:9. "And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." In MAT 14:19 and in MAT 21:9 the word blessed is taken from the Greek word, eulogeo. This word can be used to mean: "To speak well of, i.e. (religiously) to bless, thank, or invoke a benediction upon, prosper: bless, praise." This word has a completely different meaning again. In MAT 5:3-11 the word blessed is a much richer word. The word blessed is taken from the Greek word makarios. This word can be used to mean: "to enlarge or to lengthen; to greatly enlarge; to be supremely blessed." It is a very strong word for blessed. Probably the closest we could come is fully blessed. Now we should understand the power behind the word "Blessed" in MAT 5:3- 11. It is saying, "Supremely Blessed." Matthew is the fortieth book of the Bible. Forty is a symbol of fullness and completeness. What is the meaning of the word blessed? It means to be fully blessed. Through the Old Testament the full blessing of the gospel was never received because it was dealing with types and shadows. It was dealing with the proclamation of a gospel that had never been fully revealed. They were dealing with a prophetic gospel. The first word of the gospel which Jesus used when opening His mouth means: "the fullness of, supremely blessed." It is the fulfilling of those blessings that were proclaimed throughout the Old Testament. This is so rich. It is so beautiful that we can see the Kingly office of Christ when He comes forward to proclaim the blessing with the power and authority of a King. He blesseth and no man can alter it. When He says it is blessed, it is blessed because He spoke with the authority of a King. In REV 5:1 we read, "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals." That is the gospel according to the thirty- nine books standing before Matthew. They were yet sealed. The seal was broken when the voice of Christ set forth. With the first word of the gospel, He said, "Blessed." Now He came with the power of the gospel spoken with the authority of a King, as it had never been brought forth before. He didn't teach as the scribes. He taught as one with authority. Take notice of REV 5:5. "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David...." The very first verse of Matthew reveals Christ's Kingdom in His genealogies. It says, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." In REV 5:5 we see the Lion of the tribe of Judah with Kingly authority. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He was the descendant of David who, "...hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." With the authority of the King, He broke those seals which were sealed from the foundation of the earth. He started the blessed gospel with the word blessed. That fullness of the gospel was brought forth by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount which began with, "Blessed." V:6 says, "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, [The power and kingly authority is in the blood of the lamb which was slain.] having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." Take notice that when Christ preached the Sermon on the Mount, He had not yet been slain. He hadn't shed the blood, but we must understand that now Christ has come. He has been circumcised and baptized. GAL 5:3 says, "For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law." In His circumcision, Jesus became a debtor to do the whole law for His church. The circumcision of Jesus Christ was His pledge to fulfill the law, so His perfect obedience may be imputed to and imparted unto His church. In MAT 3:13-17 we read of His baptism. Therein He was marked for death. The baptism of Jesus was His pledge that He would step into the wrath of God and pay the debt of the penalty of sin. Now the Father has accepted Jesus' pledge to purchase salvation for His church by His blood and righteousness. Therefore He was now able to bring forth the gospel with the authority of a King, and He is in the position to pronounce the blessing. Now the shout of a King is among the church of Christ. REV 5:13 says, "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." They looked to the Kingly authority. The one sitting upon the throne was the one with the authority to break the seals. He had the power and the Kingly office, so He could come forward saying, "Blessed." He was able to pronounce that blessing with a Kingly authority. In 1-SA 4:5 see how the congregation of the Lord shouted for joy at the power and authority of the Lord, their King. "And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again." In REV 5:8-12 we read, "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; [What did they do?] Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb...." Do you see the parallel between this and what happened in Israel in 1-SA 4:5? What was the ark of the covenant? It is the ark of His strength. It is the symbol of the Kingdom of Christ. When the ark of the covenant, or the Kingdom of Christ, came into Israel, the armies of Israel gave a great shout so the earth rang again. Think of how the heavens must have rang again when that ark of the covenant, i.e., that King of kings and Lord of Lords, came into the camp to break those seals to bring forth His gospel. He could come forth on that mountain pronouncing, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, etc." He could come with something besides the curse of the law. That blessedness of salvation could be proclaimed. The heavens rang with the voices of ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angles over the victory of the Church, over that authority of the King. Jesus now had the Kingly authority to bless. In NUM 23 Balak had hired Balaam to curse Israel. However, in V:20 Balaam said, "Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it." How did he try to reverse it? He counseled Balak to send the Midianitish women into the camp of Israel to commit adultery with Israel and cause them to serve idols to bring the Lord's disfavor on Israel. He taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before them. Balaam did everything in his power to reverse the blessing. Isn't it blessed if we can understand that even our sins cannot reverse our blessing? The Lord says that He will chasten and purify. He says that He will bring them back, but the blessedness proclaimed by the King is irrevocable. Look at the power of the King. Balaam said, "Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it." The power of the blessing that was placed upon the church was in the Kingly authority of the One who had pronounced the blessing. In V:21 He says, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them." Do you see the shout of the King? Balaam was trying to work for Balak to bring the Lord against His church. The Lord opened Balaam's eyes to see the shout of the King. He opened His eyes to see the power of the shout we saw in REV 5. Our sin or our perverseness is not a hindrance to the Lord. He removes that with chastening. He will break our stubbornness and the power of sin, but the Lord will never reverse the blessing. He said, "...he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it." We can't reverse it ourselves. We don't have that choice. The blessing isn't because of what we do or earn. It is the blessedness that has been pronounced by the Lord from eternity. The King has the power and authority to pronounce the blessing. He will make us poor in spirit to prepare our hearts for the blessing of those who are poor in spirit. He will bring His work of grace in our heart and chasten us to bring us to where He wants us. He will never reverse the blessing. NUM 23:21 says, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them." Why hasn't He beheld iniquity in Jacob? "For he hath made [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," 2CO 5:21. The Lord looks upon the entire perverseness and wickedness of His church as washed away in the bloody sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord looks upon His church as being washed in the precious blood. He sees all the perverseness of His church washed away. The Lord leads His church as He did Jacob through a lifetime of teaching to learn the sinfulness of sin. He taught Jacob the sin of deceitfulness by allowing him to be deceived. His own children deceived Jacob with the blood of a kid and the coat of their brother just as he deceived his father. The Lord let him experience the bitterness of his own sin, but his sin could never reverse the blessing. "Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it." The power of sin cannot reverse the blessing because it was brought forth with the power and the authority of the King. LUK 4:36 says, "And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! [Do you see the power and authority of the Word of Christ?] for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out." When He pronounces the word blessed, all the power of sin is broken. The power of the unclean spirit is broken. "...What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out." This is authority of the Word of the King when He said, "Blessed." The blessings He pronounced on the Sermon on the Mount are eternal blessings. They cannot and will not be reversed. What authority! What power! ROM 14:9 says, "For to this end [i.e., for this purpose] Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living." You can see the Kingly office. This shows the Kingly authority that was given unto Christ. He was given the Kingly authority so the unclean spirits must submit to Him. The uncleanness of our hearts has to be purged out. He works that grace in the soul. The blessing will never be reversed. Jesus is crowned with such authority. "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, [Why?] that he might be Lord both of the dead and living." In ACT 5:31 we read, "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Do you see the chronology? Take close notice of it. This wasn't written in error. This is how it is written in the Word of God. Repentance comes before forgiveness of sin. There is no salvation outside of repentance. When the Lord Jesus says "Blessed," what is the first blessing that He gives? The first blessing He gives is repentance. The first beatitude speaks of the blessedness of the poor in spirit. It comes ahead of forgiveness of sin. Forgiveness of sins will never be granted in the soul of an unrepentant sinner. "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins," ACT 5:31. When the Lord Jesus said "Blessed," He granted the greatest blessing first. He granted repentance before remission of sins. In HEB 2:8 we read, "Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him." The Lord set the Lord Jesus Christ as the ruler of the heaven and earth. He put all things under subjection to Him. Even the unclean spirits must come out at His command. When the Lord Jesus speaks with the Kingly authority of His Word saying, "Blessed," all the uncleanness of the flesh and sins of our hearts must come into subjection; they must be purged away. In REV 1:5 we see, "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood...." He was the Prince of the kings of earth. His Kingdom is over the kingdoms of this earth. He was the Prince of the kings of the earth. He rules in providence over the universe. He brings about all things according to His Will. He works salvation in the soul through repentance and grants remission of sin through His authority as King. Jesus said in MAT 10:34, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." He comes with the Sword of His Spirit. He works the dividing between the things of our flesh and the things of the Spirit. He works in us the will to do His good pleasure. In REV 1:18 we read, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." MAT 24:24 says, "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." What a blessing that the Christ we serve has power over those false christs and false prophets who cannot reverse the proclamation of "Blessed" found in the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ will work grace in those whom He has pronounced "Blessed," to dispel all corruption. He will cast out all of the unclean spirits. He will lead His own in the way that leadeth unto life. He has the keys of hell and of death. In REV 3:7 we read, "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, [That is the everlasting kingdom that was pronounced upon David and his seed.] he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth." The Lord Jesus Christ was given the key and the authority to open and to close. We find in REV 19:16, "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." This is the heavenly vision of Christ in His exalted state in heaven. With this Kingly authority, Jesus opened His mouth with the word blessed. That was the beginning of the gospel in the Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are the poor in spirit...Blessed are they that mourn...Blessed are the meek...," MAT 5:3-5. This King Jesus is the one who pronounced the blessing. Let's look at the Sermon on the Mount. Let's see how Jesus opens His mouth with such Kingly authority when He says, "Blessed." He had such power. From Mount Sinai we hear, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them," GAL 3:10. That is the curse which came upon the human race because of sin. From Mount Calvary we hear, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree," GAL 3:13. Take notice that the curse was not canceled. The curse of sin was transferred; it wasn't laid away. The curse of sin could not be canceled because the justice of God had to be satisfied. Any man who came close to Mount Sinai had to be thrust through with a sword, but from Mount Calvary is proclaimed, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." With this authority, we see Jesus sitting on the Mount preaching His sermon. Why? He has contracted to take the curse and fulfill the law. Now He has become the debtor to fulfill the whole law for us. He charged it to His account. This is much like we do today when we buy something for someone else and charge it to their account. We receive the goods, and he pays for it. We can do this because the other man gave us the authority to do so. When Christ was circumcised on the third day, He become a debtor to do the whole law for His church. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law," GAL 4:4. When Jesus was baptized He took our curse under a broken law and placed it on His account. The curse of the broken law came upon Him, and His church was set free. Our whole debt to keep the law, and its curse for every violation of that law were charged to His account. When Jesus stepped into the waters of baptism, He was marked for death, stepping under the wrath of the Father to take away the penalty of sin. When He took upon Himself not only to satisfy the law with perfect obedience, but to pay the penalty of the law for His church, His church came out free. Now He has the authority to sit on the mount and say, "Blessed." He had accepted our debt to be charged to His account. He came to purchase our salvation with His blood and righteousness. When the Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised and baptised, He became the debtor to do the whole law and to remove the curse of the law for His church. He doesn't lie, therefore He could start preaching "Blessed." In NUM 23:19-21 we read, "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. [There we see the shout of the King that is among them. We can see that He has ascended on the mount with the authority of a King to pronounce those blessings.] He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them." The shout of a king is shown in 1-SA 4:5-7, "And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, [Even the heathen recognized that it was the ark of their strength.] for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore." The ark of the Lord is a symbol of authority. The prayer of King Solomon is shown in 2CH 6:41-7:2. "Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: [The name Christ means anointed.] remember the mercies of David thy servant. Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house." The ark of the Lord was the ark of their strength. The authority of the King is our strength. That is the authority for which the Israelites shouted and the earth rang again. It was for the power of that authority. We find the prayer of David in PSA 132:6-9. "Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood. We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength. [The ark points to the strength, power, and dominion of the kingdom.] Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy." This speaks in a prophetic way of the voices of the angels spoken of in REV 5. It was the shout of a King by the voice of the angels when the King truly entered the camp to break the seals, and the gospels were brought forth. REV 19:12-13 says, "His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [This is showing the authority of the King. Do you see where the seals were?] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God." That name was known by no man except He Himself. That demonstrates the power of The Word of God. That Kingly authority is in the Word of God, "...and his name is called The Word of God." He starts out the gospel with "Blessed." Is any other word more powerful in the Word of God than that one word at the beginning of the gospel? It distinguishes between the curse of the law and the blessedness of the gospel which sprung forth. V:14 says, "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." REV 19:7- 8 speaks about the white raiment of the saints. It tells how the raiment was white and clean. That was the righteousness of the saints. In this verse, we are seeing the armies of heaven. This shows the power of the righteousness of Christ. It is the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ unto His saints. It is how the perfect image of Christ was formed in them. Now they are riding with Him on white horses, dressed in white linen. The clean and white, fine linen is the righteousness of saints. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren," ROM 8:29. This fine linen is the perfect image of Christ imparted in the soul. It is the work of repentance. It is the work of sanctification. No person will ever enter heaven without the clean and white, fine linen. Christ has the authority to first grant repentance, and then the remission of sin, so we might be clad in that fine linen. In PSA 138:2 we read, "I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." That makes you tremble and stand in awe of His holy WORD. The authority of the WORD of God is vested in the King of kings. He came forth with a name that no man knew, except He Himself. That name was "...the Word of God." The name of Jesus is to be magnified to the ends of the earth. Yet, PSA 128:2 says, "...thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." Do you see the blessedness and the power of the Word of God? Do you see the authority of that Word? How can anyone ever contradict or gainsay the Word of God? We must stand in awe and in holy reverence of His Word. He started with "Blessed." That is such a rich word. It is the purity and fullness of all blessings. Now he says, "...for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." Look at the authority of the Word. MAT 5:2-3 says, "And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." That word has such tremendous power when it comes forth with such authority. How can any man barter His Word for human reasoning. Satan's gospel places human reasoning ahead of the authority of God's Word. When Lazarus was laying dead in the grave, it was by the power and authority of the Word of God that he was brought forth from the grave, JOH 11:43. See the power in the Word. The heavens and the earth were created by the authority of the Word. JOH 1:1 tells us that. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That is the blessed name which no man knew. V:2-3 say, "The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." The authority of the Word of God brought forth the heavens and the earth. This was the authority which said, "...Let there be light: and there was light," GEN 1:3. That Word will be magnified above all His name. That Word is God. JOH 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Christ came forth with the Word of the gospel. He started the gospel with "Blessed." That shows such authority. That authority is irreversible. There is such a beauty in the absolute power of the King. When you see the beauty of blessed, look at the magnitude of the Sermon on the Mount. That is where the gospel fountain of living waters sprung forth. Now I pray God will be with us as we proceed with this series on the Sermon On The Mount to understand what those blessings are. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." May the power and authority of this word blessed be applied in our hearts with the authority of the King. Amen. |
|
