The strange blessings of God.
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus described the traits He was looking for in His followers. He made the multitude and His disciples to know that God blesses those who love out those traits.
In other words, The beatitudes. Each beatitude is a direct contradiction of society's way of life and like Jesus rightly pointed out; to develop these traits is bound to create opposition.
The best example of each trait is found in Jesus Himself. If we want to be like Him, applying the sermon on the mount will challenge the way we live each day.
The beatitude is a direct statement made by our Lord Jesus Christ. It contains the principles of life. Life without principles is like a sheep without a shepherd. The instructions of the beatitude is for the Christian to obtain blessings from the Lord.
God places a demand of sacrifice upon us before He will bless us. He will want the best we have as we can cite from Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:3-5. This is what makes His blessings strange.
God wants to take your best if He is going to give you the best, if you will learn how to open your heart and hand to give out in God's honour. Your fear of God will determine how God will favour you and honour you.
Thus, obedience to God must be instant. If you delay, you delay the process to receive from God. Abraham was a spiritual and also a physical man and in character, he was a man of principles. And this made him to instantly obeu God when God commanded him to sacrifice isaac, his son. (Genesis 22:1-18). This virtues can be found in the beatitude.
The beatitude is the teachings of Jesus Christ to the multitude on themount. The original word for BEATITUDE is derived from the latin word "Beatus" meaning "Happy or blessed or in a state of bliss". These values if followed carefully will not only bring a believer into a state of peace and happiness, but into the Kingdom of God after our journey on this earth is over.
So what then are these beatitudes as spoken by Jesus. Follow me as we explore **Matthew 5:3-10
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
To be poor in spirit is to be in a state of the soul which empties us of self in order to be filled with Jesus christ. To be poor in the spirit is to be humble and lowly in our own eyes from our hearts; to put away all confidence in our righteousness and strength depending only on christ for our justification. These are those who shall have the kingdom of heaven. They are the only people fit to be members of Christ church.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Gracious mourning for our soul is godly sorrow. Sorrow for sin with eyes set unto Christ. Gracious mourners are those who have a life of repentance. Who lament the corruption of their nature and their transgressions and God's withdrawing from them. They out of regards mourn also for the sins of others, looking with compassion on perished souls.
For they shall be comforted; it may not be immediately but plentiful provision is made for their comfort in heaven as seen by Lazarus in Luke 16:25
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to God, to His word. They humbly follow His directions and comply with all His designs, and are gentle to all men. The meek are those that bear provocation without being inflamed by it; they show their displeasure without allowing themselves to be thrown into any rage. They are blessed because they areobserved to live the most easy lives; have the most comfortable enjoyment of themselves, their friends and their God. All blessings of the earth beneath and the blessedness of heaven above are the portion of the meek.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Righteousness is for all spiritual blessings. All blessings are purchased for us by the righteousness of Christ confirmed by the faithfulness of God. We must hunger and thirst to become a new man, to bear the image of God, to have an interest in Christ and His promises. Hunger and thirst are appetites that return frequently and call for fresh satisfaction. Those who hunger and thirst after Spiritual blessings are blessed in those desires and shall be filled with those blessings because it is a desire of God's own raising and He will not forsake the work of His own hands.
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
In as much as the merciful may not be the wisest or the richest, Christ pronounces them blessed. The merciful are charitable inclined to help and aid person in misery or distress. We must learn to not only bear our afflictions but try to partake of the afflictions of our brethren. The merciful have compassion on the souls of others and help them, they pity the ignorant and instruct them; the careless and warn them,the sorrowful and comfort them. Such ones shall obtain mercy when he needs it because he that watereth shall be watered also himself. The merciful sgall obtain mercy with God, He will make their eays plain and be a light unto their path.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Here holiness and happiness are fully described. It contains more than tge other beautitudes because it is the most comprehensive character of the blessed. A pure heart is a honest heart that strives to abstain from all fleshly lust, immoral thoights and all filthiness of flesh and spirit. The heart purified and preserved entirely for God. Psalm 52:10, "create in me a clean heart, O God". The comfort of the pure in heart is that they shall see God. None but the pure in heart can enjoy the blessings of being in His presence.
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
The peacemakers are those that have a peaceful disposition. They love and desire to dwell in peace. God is a God of peacethe son of God is the Prince of peace; the spirit of adoption is a spirit of peace,the spirit of reconciliation is the spirit of peace so the peacemakers shall be called tge children of God. God will own them and as such, they will resemble Him
Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. The righteous must reckon upon hardships and troubles more than other men. This is because they are sought for to be destroyed and this is as a result of the enmity between the serpents seed against the holy seed ever since the time of Abel. Christ has told us thst it would be so with the christian church and we are not to think it strange (1 John 3:13) Those who are persecuted for righteousness sake shall be recompensed;theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Though in their suffering, there be nothing to merit of God, yet there is promise of reward in the future in eternity.
The strange blessings of God makes you a blessed man. The Lord will give you a good name and commend yoy, though people may despise you. Don't take the advise of wicked ones so the Lords blessings will be ours.
Thanks for reading through!
We find it strange, you calling God's blessings strange. They are as a result of his undeserved kindness to us. Your post is a really well organised one, thanks for contributing.
Upvoted & Resteemed
J8.
I always derive pleasure in reading the sermont on the mount, it is always very faith-strengthening - I feel as if Jesus is talking to me. The beatitudes are also another encouraging part of the scriptures that shows the blessing we will receive for each actions. Thanks for being informative as always.
The sermon on the mountain really have a secret message to pass to us but sometimes our human nature may not comprehend it all just like
Thanks for reading through... Everything God does is for our own benefit if only we can follow the things which God has commanded us to do, only then can we come into full manifestation of His blessings.
The beatitudes are no doubt spirit lifting. One i really love is the one about being persecuted for his name sake. This tells us that we would surely have the world oppose us because we act in the way of God but in the end we would have the Kingdom of God.
So we shouldn't worry if the world doesn't like us, it is only normal. In the end we shall live in glory with our father for eternity.
Eye catching topic the blessings of God are strange, but who is man that He is mindful of him
There is always a blessing for every act of obedience to his words
Tanks for sharing
Receiving blessings from God has principles to follow! Follow them closely are you will be blessed! Search for these principles in His word!
omonosa
I was first exposed to the beatitude when i was in high school. I didnt fully grasp the importance and gravity of what it contained until I recently meditated on this. The beatitudes serve to admonish us that having some qualities that the world does not appreciate would be appreciated by God. It encourages us to hold steadfast to that which we believe in. It encourages us to be humble, meek and kind to all and draws us close to the Lord Jesus.
The sermon on the mountain helps to consolidate the part of the scripture that says the blessings of God makes riches and adds no sorrow.
A very nice contribution to steemchurch @bateren. Especially the way you blend the topics and the pictures is just a great workdone
Like a shepherd, Principles are our guide, they determine our perception both morally and spiritually. A Life Filled With Principles is christ like and every christian should emulate it.
The beatitudea are an example of God's unmerited favours to humans. It goes a long way to show that there is a reward for all manner of people that have been called to the vineyard of God.
It shows that regardless of our position in the house of God, we all have our distinct rewards.