{"id":4158,"date":"2020-04-27T19:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T00:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/?p=4158"},"modified":"2020-04-27T20:35:58","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T01:35:58","slug":"blessed-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/27\/blessed-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Blessed Are…"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/h6>\n

\"\" Painting by Hyatt Moore<\/p>\n

This is a message I shared today on Zoom with some of the ladies from my Church.<\/h6>\n

Before we start *here\u2019s a little bit of trivia:<\/p>\n

In Bible times the Rabbis would stand in the Temple to read from the scrolls. The scrolls were very expensive to make. It took long hours to make them, because they were hand written on parchment or materials made from animal skins and most of them were quite ornate. So not all Synagogues could afford more than the Torah (the first five books) and out of respect for the makers of the scrolls they would stand to read from them so they didn\u2019t get damaged.
\nAfter reading they would sit down. This showed that they would not be quoting from the old prophets, and then the people would know the teaching would be coming from their own interpretation. The rabbis would discuss the scripture and be open for questions. So, this became their custom.<\/h6>\n
Message Translation: Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n
1 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down<\/em><\/h6>\n
2 and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:<\/em><\/h6>\n
3 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.<\/em><\/h6>\n
4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.<\/em><\/h6>\n
5 “You’re blessed when, you’re, content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.<\/em><\/h6>\n
6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.<\/em><\/h6>\n
7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘carefull,’ you find yourselves cared for.<\/em><\/h6>\n
8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.<\/em><\/h6>\n
9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.<\/em><\/h6>\n
10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.<\/em><\/h6>\n
11 “Not only that – count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.<\/em><\/h6>\n
12 You can be glad when that happens – give a cheer, even! – for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.<\/em><\/h6>\n
In the Strong\u2019s Concordance #3107, the word for Blessed, makarios (mak-ar-ee-oss) is an adjective suggesting \u201chappy\u201d supremely blessed, a condition in which congratulations are in order. It is a grace word that expresses the special joys and satisfaction granted the person who experiences salvation. (I like that, it\u2019s a grace word.)<\/h6>\n
Knowing, that today, I was going to be giving a message, I asked the Lord to show me what he wanted me to speak about and, The Beatitudes popped into my mind.<\/h6>\n
I was reminded of how my mom had spoken on the Beatitudes when she was a little girl. She was number six out of seven children. Her dad died when she was 9 months old, leaving her mom to raise her children alone.<\/h6>\n
I want to share with you this story my grandmother used to tell me. She was very poor and times were hard in those days. It was around 1939. Granny\u2019s, son, Dan, came down with the croup and couldn\u2019t even drink a sip of water without struggling. She didn\u2019t have money for a doctor so she used home remedies but it wasn\u2019t working and he was getting worse. Granny\u2019s neighbor told her about a holy man who was in town that would pray for people and they would be healed. So, granny sent for the man to come and pray for Dan, her son, he was just a boy at the time.<\/h6>\n
This \u201cHOLY\u201d man came to granny\u2019s house and he said to her, \u201cMaim, it\u2019s just like praying through a brick-wall.\u201d She turned to heaven and said, \u201cLord, tear that brick wall-down.\u201d There was no air-conditioning in those days, they didn\u2019t even have screens on the windows but she kept them propped up. The man knelt down by the bed and began to pray. He prayed for over an hour and when he got up, he was drenched in sweat\u2026 Dan said, \u201cMama, I want a drink of water.\u201d He recovered and lived to be an old man and he never suffered with the croup again.<\/h6>\n
When my mom was about 11 years old, she joined the Salvation army, her and her older brother RL. They were asked to speak at one of the meetings. They weren\u2019t told it was a contest. Mom spoke on the Beatitudes and won first place. She had lots of trials in her life but later in her life she became an ordained minister and pastored a church for two years. Even in the seventies, women Pastors weren\u2019t accepted. But that didn\u2019t stop mom, she would say, \u201cthe Holy Spirit does the preaching.\u201d She went on to become an Evangelist. She obeyed God and she gave away what God gave her, and she never lacked. She was 83 when she was called home.<\/h6>\n
As I was wondering about what to talk about, the Holy Spirit reminded me about the Beatitudes, by reminding me, that mom had spoken on the Beatitudes as a little girl. I looked up the scriptures and read in Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.<\/h6>\n
I repeated the words, \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit\u2026\u201d what does that mean LORD? What does it mean to be poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven?<\/h6>\n
I had this picture in my mind of Jesus sitting down on the side of the mountain and began to teach his disciples and the people. These people, were the poor, and lowly. They came to hear this Rabbi, teacher, teach. He was like them but different. He didn\u2019t wear fancy robes, he didn\u2019t ask them for money or goods, he was kind, and he, walked among them. He even touched them when he prayed for them. He fed them and asked for nothing in return. Here the King of heaven was sitting in their midst and taught them freely. He didn\u2019t come to take anything from them, he came to give himself away\u2026you can only keep what you give away!<\/h6>\n
I knew there was more to be uncovered and so last week I prayed and said, \u201cHoly Spirit will you show me what Jesus meant when he said Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven?\u201d I began to ask, seek, and search for the meaning. I mean I\u2019ve read this passage many times but this time I knew there was a deeper meaning.<\/h6>\n
I took notes from my Spirit Filled Bible and from the website: \u201cHebrew for Christians.\u201d<\/h6>\n
\u2022 Jesus sat down on the side of the mountain and began to teach the attitudes we are to have as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.<\/h6>\n
\u2022 \u201cDon\u2019t read them as statements, read them as exclamations:<\/h6>\n
\u201cO the blessedness of the poor in spirit!\u201d
\nThe poor in spirit are those who recognize their spiritual poverty and casting aside all self-dependence, seek God\u2019s grace.<\/h6>\n
\u2022 Each initial phrase therefore does not function as a conditional statement but rather expresses a present reality:<\/h6>\n
\u201cO the joy of the poor in spirit, of the mourners, of the gentle, of those who sincerely care for what is right, of those who are merciful, of those pure in heart, of those who make peace, of those who are persecuted.\u201d<\/h6>\n
You see it\u2019s suggesting that the Beatitudes are presented in a progressive order, with each preceding one preparing for what immediately follows. The poor in spirit become mourners over their sinful condition.<\/h6>\n
\u2022 Humbled, we then deeply care for righteousness and find it in the sacrifice of Jesus who shows us mercy.<\/h6>\n
\u2022 As we become merciful, we learn to see beyond appearances to behold inner beauty in everyone.<\/h6>\n
\u2022 Hatred and strife, grieve our hearts, so we become peacemakers.<\/h6>\n
\u2022 Ultimately, however, our passion makes us misunderstood and mistreated, and therefore we become subject to persecution\u2026<\/h6>\n
\u2022 It\u2019s quite different from the world\u2019s values.<\/h6>\n
What is highly esteemed among the world is of little value to God, and, what is of value to God, is often scoffed at by the world.<\/h6>\n
The Apostle Paul says it so beautifully in scripture \u201cFor the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Cor. 1:25)<\/h6>\n
And so, we find that Humility is the keynote of the Beatitudes, just as pride is the keynote of fallen human nature.<\/h6>\n
We see Jesus sitting down, as he begins to teach. The Kingdom of heaven is a redeemed community of the righteous who practice sacrificial love for the welfare and honor of others.<\/h6>\n
Jesus is the true King and Source of this Kingdom. And as he goes on to expound in the Sermon on the Mount, the heart, of the law, is love, and love, is the law of the Gospel.<\/h6>\n
It\u2019s The Blessing of Brokenness\u2026<\/h6>\n
\u201cO the blessedness of the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:3
\n\u2022 The term translated \u201cthe poor in spirit\u201d is derived from a word that means \u201cto crouch as a helpless beggar.\u201d<\/h6>\n

\u2022 This word provides an image of someone in abject poverty, totally dependent on others for help.<\/p>\n

The \u201cpoor in spirit\u201d (Isa. 61:1) are those who are painfully aware of their exile and need for help from God.<\/h6>\n
The Jewish people had been praying and waiting for years for Messiah to come. They hoped beyond hope that this man, Jesus, was He, who they longed for. They were oppressed, enslaved, they had no country of their own, they were persecuted, taxed beyond limits, looked down on by the Romans, imprisoned and killed. They didn\u2019t need a King; they needed a Savior.<\/h6>\n
When we are emptied of ourselves, we are free from pride and enabled to seek the truth in humility.<\/h6>\n
Only when we come to the end of ourselves, when we realize our powerlessness and radical insufficiency, can we come to know Jesus as moshia, our Savior. This is an on-going dependency: we walk \u201cwith a limp\u201d so to speak, as did Israel. Our strength comes from the Lord.<\/h6>\n
Paul said, \u201cfor when I am weak, then I am strong: You are made rich indeed when you encounter your spiritual bankruptcy, brokenness, and must entirely depend on your daily miracle.<\/h6>\n
\u201cThe LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit\u201d (Psalm 34:18)<\/h6>\n
To live the kingdom life, it first starts with \u201cBrokenness\u201d<\/h6>\n
\u2022 A feeling that you\u2019re not whole, that you\u2019re a mess, and that your need for God\u2019s healing is constant and relentless.<\/h6>\n
There is such a difference between proud humanism and a broken and contrite spirit. Humility is a state of \u201cblessed neediness,\u201d of being \u201cpoor in spirit,\u201d a desperate ache for God\u2019s power of healing.<\/h6>\n
Our LORD Jesus testified: \u201cThe Son of Man came to seek and save the Lost (Lk. 19:10) and he found in the midst of the leper colonies of the hurting, (those suffering with Covid 19), the forgotten, (the homeless street people), the rejected, (prostitutes, addicts, widows, orphans, etc.) As the Man of Sorrows, he understands the language of our pain. (Isa. 53:3)<\/h6>\n
And let me just add, that, you can be wealthy and still be poor in spirit. It may be a little more difficult to put pride aside because you\u2019re self-sufficient, but it\u2019s about our heart\u2026not our pocketbook.<\/h6>\n
The opposite of poverty of spirit is human pride that leads to misery.<\/h6>\n
\u2022 Those who mourn are not necessarily those people in bereavement, but those who experience the sorrow of repentance.
\n\u2022 Meek, does not connote weakness, but rather, controlled strength. The word carries the ideas of humility and self-discipline.
\n\u2022 God is the supreme Peacemaker, and His sons\/daughters follow His example.
\n\u2022 The cause of persecution, is loyalty to righteousness, which Jesus makes specific in verse 11.
\n\u2022 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. V. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.<\/h6>\n
In closing let me say this:<\/h6>\n
God calls us to love him by accepting His Son. He\u2019s given us gifts and talents to serve him by serving others. Not for selfish gain but to glorify the Father.<\/h6>\n
He showed me long ago that my calling is to write and to pray\u2026I have a passion for both, and over a four-year period I\u2019ve written over 4,000 blog posts, inspirational poems and sermonettes that the Holy Spirit would put on my heart each day. Not to be seen or praised by anyone, but to tell people, whoever would listen, that Jesus loves them.<\/h6>\n
Last Wednesday my son Jonathan and I had a discussion. I told him how our ladies Bible study had mentioned the 12-step program. Jonathan has been in sobriety for fifteen years. And so, I told Jonny about it\u2026he said, \u201cYep, you can only keep, what you give away. That is something they teach in Alcohols Anonymous (AA.)\u201d<\/h6>\n
You can only keep, what you give away. So, what I give away is words\u2026written words and as I give them away more come\u2026As a speaker, I\u2019m quite shy and unsure of myself, but when I write, I can be as bold and creative as the Holy Spirit tells me to be. I give away what he gives me. To encourage others and to declare who Jesus is and that he loves us so much!<\/h6>\n
I have become, over the years, \u201cpoor in spirit\u201d but I am rich in faith, and I know that by the grace of God the Kingdom of Heaven is mine.<\/h6>\n
So, what does it mean to be poor in spirit and to live as a citizen of heaven? It means when you mourn you will be comforted, when you are meek, you will inherit the earth, and when you hunger and thirst after righteousness, you will be satisfied, when you are merciful you will receive mercy. When your heart is pure you will see God. Being a Peacemaker, you are the children of God and when you are persecuted for righteousness\u2019 sake: yours is the Kingdom of Heaven. It means to repent and to take on the attitude and the identity of Christ. And when we exalt him in humility, he will lift us up!!<\/h6>\n
With today\u2019s technology we can hear any sermon on television, through our computer, listen to a podcast and with just one click of the button we can read any translation of the Bible and zoom with people from around the world\u2026but the one thing that Jesus wants more, than any of that, is for us to be poor in spirit, to find a quiet place and sit at his feet and have a conversation with him. Then in all our mourning, or meekness, or hungering and thirsting after righteousness we will receive the very Kingdom of Heaven, we will sit with the Savior in heavenly places. That\u2019s what he longs for more than anything else. He wants us to have a relationship with Him.<\/h6>\n
I have two questions:
\n1. In regards to this passage, how do you view your heart? Are, you, poor in spirit, repentant, meek, merciful a peacemaker, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, etc.? Or do you see yourself, fearful, anxious, full of worry and doubt? How do you obtain the Beatitudes?<\/h6>\n
(Jesus is our example\u2026We sit at the feet of Jesus in a quiet place and let him feed us. Then you will receive God\u2019s Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.)<\/h6>\n
2. Do you know your calling, and if so, can you share it with us?<\/h6>\n
~Marla Shaw O\u2019Neill April 24, 2020<\/h6>\n
Zoom Meeting for Monday April 27, 2020 Virtual Small Group \u2013 Women\u2019s Prayer and Encouragement Hour<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Painting by Hyatt Moore This is a message I shared today on Zoom with some of the ladies from my Church. Before we start *here\u2019s a little bit of trivia: In Bible times the Rabbis would stand in the Temple to read from the scrolls. The scrolls were very expensive to make. It took long…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8aPxH-154","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4158"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4170,"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158\/revisions\/4170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becourageousbebold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}