Matthew 5
The Christian Attitude…. Living a life full of blessings… T&C Apply
What should the Attitude of a Christian Be to ensure that they live a life full of God’s Blessings?
How much of it do I reflect? Positive / Godly / Jesus Attitude >>> Greater Altitude… Closer to God.
And Jesus began to teach –
- – Am I listening?
- – Do I understand?
- – Am I applying His teaching?
Who is (considered) blessed in God’s eyes?
Who does God bless?
– Am I blessed, still chasing blessings from God, still wondering how others seem to get God’s blessings while I am still searching ?
– Have I positioned myself to be within the vicinity of God’s blessings to flow to me and through me?
– Do I even know that God blesses?
Positioned for Blessing – BeAttitudes >> Attitudes for Blessings?
1. Realization of my need for a saviour ( poor in spirit) , I humble myself towards God and cry out HELP! God is Faithfull and True to those who cry out to Jesus for salvation, the Saviour who gives access to the Kingdom of Heaven – No other way but through Jesus the Messiah.
2. As we approach, just as we are, the throne of Grace ( getting what we don’t deserve) we are overwhelmed by the Lord’s great Mercy ( not getting what we deserve – wages of sin is death) and we mourn for our sins… The things we have done against our Lord who sacrificed Himself and took our punishment for our sin. ( Thank you Jesus for your abundant mercy and grace in my life).
Repentance ( changing our ways) makes room for the Lord to come in and comfort me – it is OK my child, it is done, it is finished, it is paid for – whatever it is that you may have done, My Blood is sufficient and has paid it ALL for you. Wow – What AMAZING GRACE! He gives me all His Goodness in exchange for all my badness >> The Divine Exchange that took place at the Cross for my sake!
3. Because of getting to understand God’s Amazing Grace, all I can do is humble myself before Him – completely surrendering my life to the Lord. Nothing else matters in comparison to what God has done for me as well as what He has in store for me! As I get to accept all of Him – my life aligned to His will, purposes and plans – He accepts all of me and gives me access to the kingdom. As a son of the King, I have my inheritance in the kingdom – including the earth He created.
4. As I become more kingdom minded, I am inclined towards kingdom business. A hunger and thirst for justice develops. Possibly taking back for the kingdom the world and its people, from the kingdom of darkness (reclaiming for the Lord the family and the inheritance that was lost due to sin ). Pursuing kingdom business ( having my life’s pursuits aligned to the will, purposes and plans of God for my life) will give me the most satisfaction in life.
5. As I pursue kingdom business with the zeal it deserves, I should ensure that mercy prevails in my life towards others. Otherwise I may want to beat people into submission all in the name of the Lord thereby exhibiting a character opposite to the nature of God. God’s mercy that prevailed over my life through the Blood of Jesus is the same mercy that will prevail over the life of those I am pursuing for the kingdom. As a humble servant of the Lord, it is just for me to reflect to others that same Love that the Lord has for me and leave all else ( the judging) to Him.
6. All these things ( kingdom business) should be done with a pure heart. The Lord will scrutinise our motives for doing His work. A pure heart will enable us to see God ( in what we do and in others). A pure heart means we are eager to reflect the heart of God in all situations for His glory and it will require us to be more intimate and closer to Him. The Lord may grace us with more of His presence in our lives – will shall see more of Him being present in the different situations that we encounter in our daily life when we earnestly seek Him with a pure heart ( not the blessings but the blesser).
7. As I pursue peace ( as opposed to the chaos of killing, stealing and destruction by the enemy?) I am reflecting the Heart / Character of the Lord and therefore considered a child of God. The fruit we bear will be determined by whose tree ( God or the devil) we allow ourselves to be grafted into. We hence become a child of the tree that provides the nourishment needed to produce the fruit based on its character.
8. As we begin to enjoy salvation and its fruits ( righteousness) , the enemy comes to attempt to take back what was his ( forgetting that we were God’s first?). He will not let go easily and hence the persecution begins, usually to get one to give up on righteousness and return to the ways of unrighteousness (the world?). Usually a good indicator that one is on the narrow path to Heaven is the amount of resistance one will face in their pursuit of righteousness in any area of their lives.
A tree that bears good fruit will have the most stones throw at it ~ African proverb?
But God promises abundantly that we fight from victory, we are more than conquerors, His grace is sufficient…. to those who remain faithful and true to Him. They have access to all that heaven has to offer at their disposal to overcome whatever situation the enemy will throw at them. Indeed, the kingdom of heaven is theirs! And greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.
Not only will spiritual persecution be unleashed by the enemy ( we fight not against flesh and blood….) but physical persecution using his human agents may also follow as the conspiracy continues to make the already narrow path to righteousness more and more uncomfortable. Persecutions, mockings, lies, and all sorts of evil should therefore be expected against a true follower of Christ, just like God’s prophets of old . (Otherwise we should be worried that the devil may be comfortable that we are already his?) It possibly should reach a point where we are too much work, engaging to much of his demonic resources that he gives up on us to look for easier fish to fry?
A great(er) reward is guaranteed in heaven for those who endure suffering for the kingdom ( as opposed to the perishing earthly/worldly / fleshy ‘rewards’ the enemy may promise for those who compromise.) The enemy’s rewards lead to sin and death, the Lord’s rewards lead to life, and life more abundantly.
Our purpose in this life ?
( of being saved? Of being called a son in the kingdom? Of receiving the blessings of the Lord in our lives? )
1. – To be the salt of the earth.
2. – To be the light of the world
– Reflecting the the goodness ( plus all other attributes) of God to the rest of the world for the glory of God.
– Our lives being a testimony for Jesus – lifting His name up high by reflecting His image and likeness from glory to glory to the world around us so that He draws people to Himself.
– That an encounter with (God in) us brings about positive change in people and situations for the glory of God. We make life taste better ( not bitter) for others around us.
– Using our position in the kingdom to effect kingdom business.
– Shining a light down the narrow path for others to follow / be encouraged.
Am sure the different attributes of salt and light may be applied against our ( expected new) purpose to life after an encounter with the Lord Jesus. Otherwise what was it all for if my life bought at such a high cost by the Blood of the Lamb cannot produce any fruits for the kingdom of the Lamb?
Salvation is a free gift offered to us by grace through faith. Salvation is free to us because Jesus paid for it. Our (works of) faith ( what we do because we have faith in Jesus) should naturally produce the fruit of the person of our faith. That is why it is impossible to please God without faith, and that, faith without works ( of faith) is dead. Who we listen to and obey ( God or the devil) is who we have put our faith in and have therefore given power and authority to have dominion over our lives. Each will influence us to produce the fruit they require for their kingdom purposes for their glory. The choice for us is therefore between life or death, blessings or curse, the kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness.
#Â I Choose Life!
Jesus came to fulfill the law. No one else could!
# Thank you Jesus that you have fulfilled the rigorous demands of the law on my behalf by offering the sacrifice to pay for my sin.
To be great in the kingdom of heaven :
– Obedience to God’s law
– Teaching God’s law
But the Pharisees and religious teachers know and teach the law, but ones righteousness has to exceed theirs for one to enter the kingdom of heaven. (The right motive or intention ? Application of the law with the heart of God in mind / with the will purposes and plans of God in mind? )
– Or possibly a contrast, that even those who think they know the whole law and even try to obey even the minute details of it, they shall still fall short. No one is righteousness, no not one! We can only be made the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus by grace, through faith.
Salvation – It is not about ( and can never be about) what I can do to achieve or merit it but rather only about what Jesus has done!
Murder = anger >> brings judgement
Name calling >> brought to the court
Cursing >> danger of fires of hell
Reconciliation to God before sacrifice. I should go and reconcile with the person who has something against me first before offering a sacrifice to the Lord! Wow – it is that serious!
Settle differences with the adversary while on the way to court?
Possibly, applying the Blood of Jesus as payment for the transgression ( sin) so that the accuser of the brethren has nothing against one when they reach the Judge?? It is done, finished, paid for – the Judge will declare !! If one refuses the only way out through the precious Blood of the Lamb ( to get out off jail ‘ free ‘) one has to pay for the wages of their transgression. Nothing can be sufficient to cover for sin but the precious Blood of the Lamb.
Adultery = looking at a woman with lust = sin
Partial obedience = total disobedience to God! We can’t justify sin(ning), even a little ?
Whatever it is, however important we would think it is, whether it be for family, work, business, wealth, power, politics, political correctness, fame, seemingly good intentions in the eyes of man but not of God, ….( even our own eye or hand) it is literally a matter of (eternal) life and death…. nothing can ever be worth or justify the enormous cost of sin and the devastating eternal consequences of losing our soul to the suffering of hell ( paying the cost for our sin) .
Divorce by a man , unless for unfaithfulness = adultery.
Marrying a divorced woman = adultery
Was a woman allowed to divorce??
Do not make vows!
Show mercy to the evil person ( when one has the option for punishment?)! person with bad motives against one? Leaving the judgement to God? Not taking revenge?
Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you= reflecting the heart of Jesus the Son of God= we also considered sons of God if we reflect the character of Jesus. Jesus died for all, even His persecutors. Taking up our cross also requires that we die to our right for justice against our persecutors, placing it ( our rocks) at the feet of the Lord, and instead taking up mercy. That is the kind of perfection ( righteousness) that the Lord requires from us and we can only fulfill it in Christ Jesus.
# Thank you Jesus for presenting me to the Father as the righteousness of God. May Your Love, Mercy and Grace towards me also empower me to show love, mercy and grace towards others as You continue to transform me into your image and likeness, from glory to glory. Amen!
THE LIVING WORD 4 LIFE 