So grades should be posted anytime now...I'm really nervous because it would be so awesome to make straight A's (which I have never done) but I not keeping my hopes up for it. But I wanna know what I got!!!! =<
Well I will go ahead and start my blog...
On Sunday my uncle preached about the Sermon on the Mount and how we need to be "Kingdom Living in a Fallen World". We only went through the first three Beatitudes this Sunday and he will be breaking down the rest during the next couple of weeks.
"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."
Matthew 5: 3-5
First he talked about the Kingdom of Heaven (or of God) and this quote from Sinclair Ferguson was really great, "The Kingdom of Heaven/God is the rule and reign of God, the expression of his gracious soverign will. To belong to the kingdom of God, then, is to belong to the people among whom the reign of God has already begun."
*The kingdom has come because the King of Kings has been born and is now walking the earth proclaiming His message. Wherever Jesus reigns, there the kingdom of heaven is already present.
He begins explaining what the kingdom of heaven is because that is what Jesus is talking about in the sermon on the mount..."blessed are those...for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
He hits the first three Beatitudes in this sermon:
"poor in spirit" means to be spiritually destitute (that we have nothing when going to God). How do we become poor in spirit? (1) We must not look to ourselves for righteousness (2) We need to look at God! John MacArthur made an excellent point on this topic, "The spiritually destitute are the happy ones. Why? Because they are the only ones who tap the real resource for happiness. They are the only ones who ever know God. Theirs is the kingdom - then and there, here and now."
"those who mourn" means that we need to mourn over our personal sin. He hits on David and his grieving over what he had done to Uriah. David says in Psalm 51:4, "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,..."
"Some Christinas never seem to discover this reality of like in God's kingdom. It is grace that makes us mourn for our sinfulness...but it is the grace of God that melts our hearts and causes a right attitude toward that sin, in sorrow, shame, and mourning." (S. Ferguson) and "...A deep doctrine of sin, a high doctrine of joy, and the two together produce this blessed, happy man who mourns, and who at the same time is comforted." (ML Jones) These two quotes really hit me on Sunday. I don't ever mourn for my sin...I never knew that we should be so grieved! Sin is a terrible thing and God hates it! But when we mourn, when we are grieved...we receive grace! We are comforted!
"are the meek" means to have strength under control; to be gentle, submissive, patient, tenderhearted. *Broken in spirit focuses on my sinfulness - Meekness focuses on God's holiness.* This is one area that I definately need to work in. My mother always to me that we all need to cultivate a meek and quiet spirit. I never knew why. I always thought it meant that I couldn't do certain things...like laugh really loud or be just a little crazy every once and a while. I thought it meant that I couldn't have any fun! But thats totally NOT what it means!! Meekness is compared to holiness and humility..."Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility,
meekness, and patience..." Colossians 3:12. Sinclair Ferguson defines meekness perfectly, "There is probably no more beautiful quality in a Christian than meekness. It enhances manliness; it adorns femininity. It is a jewel polished by grace. But it is all to rare. Is that because so few of us know what it is to be poor in spirit and to mourn for our sins?...Only as we come to God and his presence do we begin to discover ourselves as we really are. When we know what we are before God, and look to him for grace and salvation, then we become poor in spirit; then we mourn for out sins; then, having seen ourselves as we really are, we bow to his will in all things. And as we experience the gentleness of his grace, we are meek and gentle with others."
The sermon ended with this point, "Jesus is telling us how to become a part of this kingdom of his. It is by being poor in spirit, mourning for our sin, and trusting in Jesus."
I pray that I grow in these three areas! Oh how I long to be poor in spirit...I want to mourn and grieve over my sin...and I long to cultivate meekness! I pray that this will become a longing in all Christians.
(you can hear the full message Here)
