THE GOSPEL: The "Beattitudes" Lesson!

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. (Matthew 5:1)

Jesus had healed a great multitude of people, and thousands of them had followed Him and the disciples to the coast of Galilee. (Mark 3:7-10; Luke 6:17-19; see THE GOSPEL: Everythig in God's Time) There He taught His longest sermon, covering almost every topic that will deal with man's relationship with God and man's relationship with eachother.  This is the first lesson of that sermon:

Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for 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 sons of God.
Blessed are those who 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.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 6:20-26)

Christ gets to the heart of the issue from the very beginning; our main problem is ourselves! We are ...not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3) This does not mean we should not consider ourselves at all, because the summary of the commandments tells us to: 1. "'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31; Matthew 22:37-40; Luke 10:27)  So how do we become "blessed" the way God desires us to be?  Well, the scriptures tell us very clearly:

To inherit the kingdom of heaven, The sacrifice you [God] desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. (Psalm 51:17 NLT) First, we must repent, ask God to forgive us for our sins and sincerely intend to live the right way, by obeying His Word.  A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor. (Proverbs 29:23) And The Word is Christ Jesus, therefore ...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ...for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

To receive the comfort of God, after we have repented of our sins, we must accept Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord, so that He can ...heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ...comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn..., To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3) And we will have need for comfort from God, because as we will read in the following scriptures, people will reject us and the message, even family and friends. 

To inherit our eternal home in the new heaven and new earth, we must not get caught up in the people and things of this world, but remain humble. Trust in the Lord and do good.  Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone. The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity. (Psalm 37:3-11 NLT)

To have a full life, while we're still here on the earth, we need to worry less about filling our bodies with physical food, but we need to become consumed with the spiritual food of the Word of God.  “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. “Come to me with your ears wide open.  Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love... (Isaiah 55:1-3 NLT) Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalm 34:8)

To receive mercy from God, or in other words, if we don't want God to give us what we deserve, judgement and punishment for our sins, then we have to also forgive others who have sinned against us, and we must not treat them as less than human if they choose to continue living in sin. So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. (James 2:12-13 NLT) For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose  and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. (Romans 14:8-13)

To be able to see God, while in the flesh and when this life is over, we must demonstrate the character of God, in other words become and behave as Christians, Chrsit-like. Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?  Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever. (Psalm 15:1-5 NLT)

To be called a child of God, we must learn how to live at peace with all people. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. (Titus 3:1-2)  Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.(Romans 13:1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 13-14)

To receive our eternal reward for being a child of God and submitting our lives to Him, we also must understand and accept the fact that many people will have a hard time believing that we have changed, and in our desire to lead others to this new life that they too can have in Christ, many people will reject the message and the messenger, us. And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (I Peter 3:13-17) To me, living means having Christ. To die means that I would have more of Him! (Philippians 1:21 NLV)

The lessons of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount"! Refer to the previous lessons, to study the entire sermon in context:The "Beattitudes" Lesson!; "Salt & Light" Lesson!; Importance of The Commandments!; "You Shall Not Murder" Lesson!; "You Shall Not Commit Adultery" Lesson!; 'Til Divorce Do Us Part?; Watch Our Mouth, and Responses!; Don't Be A Hypocrite, A Show-off!; God and His Kingdom First!; Don't Judge; Be An Example!; Follow The Leader!; Not Just Hearers, but Doers Also!