Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.
“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Matthew 5: 1-12 NASB
“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
What the Word is Saying
This portion of scripture is often referred to the Sermon on the Mount and begins with what are commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. These are comparisons in line with the Kingdom of God. Then are in contrast to the worlds standards or what most would think of people in these conditions. Jesus calls attention to this for two reasons. One is to encourage those in these conditions and two to change the thinking of those who are not.
Beatitude---Kingdom Principle
Poor In Spirit---Kingdom of Heaven
Mourn---Comforted
Gentle---Inherit the Earth
Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness---Satisfied
Merciful---Mercy
Pure in Heart---See God
Persecuted for the Sake of Righteousness---Kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me (Jesus)---Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In the next 9 blog posts we will look at each one individually and attempt to see what the Lord is teaching us in them. Having looked at the “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” last time, today we will look at those who are “merciful.”
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
The merciful are those that give freely of themselves expecting nothing in return. Jesus showed mercy to the man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5). Here a man has been sick for thirty-eight years and has been at the pool side trying to get healing. The pagan belief was that when the waters became stirred up in the pool the first person to get to the spot of the stirring would receive healing. He had been trying for years and seemingly had lost his ability to even try any longer. Jesus comes up to him and asks him if he wants to be healed. He tells Jesus how that can happen since he has no one to help him into the pool. Jesus then tells him: “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk (John 5:8).” This is an act of mercy and grace by our Lord to the man. However, take a moment to think about how no one showed him mercy before then.
The immediacy of his response to Jesus about having no one to take him down into the pool means no one around him showed him mercy. They were unwilling to sacrifice of themselves to meet the glaring needs of this man. The Pharisees were aware of this man. They knew of his condition, that is how they knew to accuse Jesus of healing him on the sabbath. Where is the love your neighbor as yourself in this? There is none. There is no mercy shown to him. How can they expect to receive mercy from God when they would not show mercy to their neighbor? They cannot and that is the point Jesus is making.
We cannot earn our salvation. It is grace and grace alone by which we are saved. However, once we have been saved, we are sanctified and changed by the Holy Spirit. This change is evidenced by our actions. The Father is glorified when the rest of the world sees Him working through us. Being merciful is one of those attributes.
To follow the Lord means to give up your rights and do as He has asked you too. Do not fail to do as He asks. Maybe you have been convicted by this message. I implore you to repent and really seek Jesus and ask Him how He wants you to live your life. Then do it! No matter the cost, because great will be your reward in Heaven.
If you have not received Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I implore you to do so now. All He asks for is for you to accept the free gift He gave you. Therefore, humble yourself and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. He alone is all powerful and you submit to His authority. Next you must believe He did what He did. That is; die on a cross and rise again from the dead. These are both actions of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for with evidence not seen. Meaning you believe even though you don’t have physical evidence to prove it. I know you made it to this page for a reason and the Holy Spirit is working on your heart. The Father has drawn you and He alone can reveal to you the truth of what I am saying. I know that He is now, and you need to take a step of faith and pray these words with me.
Right where you are; say these words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord of all, I yield my will to your will for you are greater than me. I believe you came to this world and lived a sinless life; I believe you suffered and died on cross for my sins, I believe they put your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I also ask that you send me your Holy Spirit to give me power to live a sanctified life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, I urge you to contact us here so that we might come beside you and hold you up in prayer as you begin your journey with Jesus. I assure you that we have all been where you are. We may have committed different sins, but we are just as guilty, nonetheless. We all needed forgiveness and someone else supported us as we began our Journey with Him.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org.
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