Blessed Part 4
Matthew 5:1-12 (NKJV)
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed [are] those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed [are] the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed [are] those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed [are] the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed [are] the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed [are] the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed [are ]those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great [is] your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. A pure heart is a
Purity of heart is a
Hebrews 12:29 (NKJV)
29 For our God [is] a consuming fire.
Malachi 3:3 (NKJV)
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
John 15:1-2 (NLT)
1 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.
2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
John 15:3 (NKJV)
3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
Ephesians 5:26 (NKJV)
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NLT)
14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?
15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?
16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.
18 And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”
The blessing of purity is
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NKJV)
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord [is,] there [is] liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Peacemakers are bridge-
2 Corinthians 5:14-20 (NLT)
14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.
15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.
19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
Peacemakers are called the sons of God. This beatitude
John 13:35 (NLT)
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and great is their reward in heaven. To be persecuted means to be driven
There is
1 Peter 4:12-16 (NLT)
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
13 Instead, be very glad–for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
14 So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.
15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.
16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!
1 Peter 4:1-2 (NLT)
1 So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.
2 You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.
Matthew 6:20 (NKJV)
20 “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.