The Blessed One (Mt. 5:1-12)
Let us bless one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” The title of today’s Word is “The Blessed One.” Understanding the word “blessing” well is a blessing. If you misunderstand what a blessing is, that is not a blessing, that is a curse.
Today, Jesus Christ is giving His first message to His disciples on the mount. Mt. 5:6-7 is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and he is talking about the Beatitudes today. There are around five messages of Jesus Christ in Matthew. Today as we receive God’s Word, I pray that you will be able to receive the grace of being able to see whether your blessings and God’s blessings are aligned and where they are different.
1. Israel’s situation
1) Colonized by Rome
The background of the message Jesus Christ is giving compares the blessings of the Jewish people and the Pharisees who were colonized, compared to the disciples following Jesus. The book of Matthew is the Word that Matthew is relaying to the Jewish people who believe in Jesus Christ, and the core message is that Jesus is the King. The book of Luke was written with the same content, but the audience was the Gentiles, people not of Jewish lineage. The reason it’s slightly different is because the Gentiles don’t know the law of the Jews, so Luke must relay the message so the Gentiles understand. This same content is written in Luke 6.
In order for the Word of God to go into you as your Word, you need to understand the background of the Word to receive the accurate Word. But if you do not understand the background, you will misunderstand it to mean however you want to understand, and the way you receive the Word will be the same way nonbelievers understand it. Then the works of the Word will not appear in your life. So the Bible is not something you should understand or interpret however you desire.
(1) State where Word was cut off
During the age of Matthew, it was a time where the Word of God was cut off from Israel while they were colonized by Rome. That means that for more than 4 generations, they were not receiving the Word of God and they were in the midst of curses, disasters, and crises.
(2) Worship at the temple
And even though the Word was cut off, they were still giving their worship in the temple. But when Jesus Christ went into the temple, He saw it was just a place for salesmen.
(3) Lost hold of the covenant
That means that even though their promise from God was cut off, they were still continuing their worship.
2) Jesus Christ
(1) Repent (Mt. 4:17)
That is when Jesus Christ told them to repent for the Kingdom has come near. Repenting means “Turn away from the road you’ve been going down.” The way you are going is incorrect, so turn around, and come back to the correct way of God’s covenant.
(2) The kingdom of heaven has come near (Mt. 4:17)
“Because the Kingdom of Heaven has come near, and that Kingdom of Heaven is Jesus Christ Himself. Wherever Jesus Christ is, that is Heaven, and whoever is in that land is the people of God. And there is an authority with which Jesus Christ rules in His Kingdom. Then Jesus Christ finds the fishermen and tells them, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Believing in Jesus Christ has an absolute cause and a goal. I did not go to Jesus, He came and found me.
(3) Disciples as the fishers of men (Mt. 4:19)
Jesus Christ finds and gives His grace to the people who have nothing to rely on at all. Our nature makes us follow people who are advantageous to us, not Jesus Christ. I follow the path that brings me success, not the path of Jesus Christ. However, Jesus Christ comes and finds us and gives us the word to follow Him. The goal is also absolute: He says “I will make you fishers of men.” If you believe in Jesus Christ correctly, your goal will also become sure. That is the characteristic of those who pursue Jesus Christ. If you don’t know the direction of the life you must live, you’re not following Jesus, you’re following something else. But there are some people who say their goal is certain. These people have a very certain goal, even though they’re not following Jesus Christ, they’re sure about something else. And with their certain goal in mind, they attend church, pretending they’re following Jesus. But if you believe in Jesus Christ, you become very simple. If I follow Jesus Christ, I become a fisher of men, it’s very simple. If you feel very complicated, that’s because there are many thoughts inside you making things complicated.
3) Only the disciples followed
(1) The sick were healed (Mt. 4:23-24)
Because Jesus Christ, who is the Kingdom of God, came to Earth, all the demons were cast out and those who were diseased were healed. Of course, because the Kingdom of God was established, the demons were cast out and diseases were healed. When people saw this, many people came and saw Jesus. But the reason they followed Jesus was because of the external things they saw.
(2) Jesus went up on a mountainside (Mt. 5:1)
They are not truly interested in Jesus Christ Himself, but simply the signs He was showing. Those are called the “crowds.” Jesus Christ turns those people away. It says in today’s passage, Mt. 5:1, “When he saw the crowds, he went up to the mountainside.”
(3) His disciples came to him (Mt. 5:1)
Later on, we see this again, when Jesus Christ does the miracle of feeding many people with five loaves of bread, and two fish, many crowds follow Him, but Jesus Christ runs away with His disciples and gives them a separate message. We do not follow Jesus Christ because of the signs that are revealed when we follow Him, but when we follow Him, these signs naturally appear.
2. Jesus’s teaching
1) Blessed
(1) Poor in spirit (Mt. 5:3, Lk. 6:20)
Jesus Christ is giving His Word to His disciples about what a blessing is, with these eight blessings. His content is never about ethics or morals. And it is absolutely not saying, “If you do this, you will receive this blessing.” If you look at the original text, it says the verb first, that says “Blessed are you.” He says, “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit.” In Luke 6:20, it doesn’t say “Those who are poor in spirit,” but “Those who are poor.” It’s because these Words were given to Gentiles, not believers, so it was said in a way they would understand.
So what are these blessings? Following Jesus Christ, Who is the source of blessings, is the blessing itself. We do not follow after Jesus Christ in order to receive a blessing, but those who are blessed follow Jesus. And the blessing that unbelievers and the people of the world talk about are different. God is telling us those are not blessings, they are curses and disasters. The Tower of Babel that was built by the strength of mankind was not a blessing; it will fall down, it is a curse. These disciples used to be fishermen, but they laid down their occupation and parents to follow after this young adult named Jesus, it means they have nothing to rely on. Being poor in spirit means there is nothing for your heart to rely on or hold onto. These people followed Jesus. That is where the blessing is. God is not saying that if you are poor in spirit, then He will bless you. He is saying if you are blessed, you will become poor in spirit.
(2) For theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:3, Lk. 6:20)
“For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” These are the people who are going to heaven, they go to heaven because of Jesus. Because of Jesus Christ, God’s Kingdom is established in my heart.
(3) Those who mourn, weep (Mt. 5:4, Lk. 6:21)
The second, He says, “Blessed are those who mourn.” Because we have nothing to rely on, we become sad. In Luke, He says, “Those who weep.” We aren’t weeping because our life is destroyed or we don’t have money. As we follow Jesus, many people will look down on us, and we may ask, “May we first bury our parents?” And Jesus says, “Let the dead bury themselves. Follow me.” So we may have sadness in terms of human relationships too. I don’t cry because things are bad, but because of the sadness in my heart.
As I was preparing this message, I remembered my past, when I first believed in Jesus Christ, and there were a lot of circumstances that I cannot express with words. As I go through the process of believing in Jesus Christ, He allows me to meet the people from my past. Those are the people who have seen my physical form. There was a state where I quit my job and had nothing. Because I had quit my job, I had no income, and I met the people I used to be in the military with, and they would look me up and down with sympathy. Around that time, all my peers had high positions at companies, and when I would call them, they would speak to me in a tone that said “What do you want?” So even if I wasn’t crying, I was sad, and there were even times when I would come to church, and people would look me up and down and look down on me. For me, once I received the gospel, I was so overjoyed that I went all into this. When my father passed away, I didn’t even get to see him. There were many of these things that happened because of Jesus Christ.
(4) They will be comforted, laugh (Mt. 5:4, Lk. 6:21)
Those who are blessed will receive things to mourn about but they will be comforted. In Is. 53, it says Jesus Christ has received our sadness for us, and because we believe in Him, our sadness is comforted.
2) Blessed
(1) Meek (Mt. 5:5) – Inherit the earth
Next, Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Being meek means being gentle. The word “gentle” also means being humble. Jesus Christ says, “Come to me, because I am gentle and humble in heart.” This gentleness means being humble before God, it doesn’t mean someone who speaks or acts gently. It means the person who stands before God, that is the person who becomes gentle or humble. Someone may have a very gentle or humble personality and they may act very softly, but if they do not stand before the Word of God, they are not actually gentle or humble.
These people will inherit the earth. “The earth” here is not talking about some kind of real estate, that’s why He uses the word “earth” and not “land.” Earth refers to the entire world, “Land” refers to a portion, like real estate. HTe fact that we will inherit the earth means God’s influence will be over the entire world. The people who follow and stand before the Word of God are under the influence of the Word of God. You should ask the wealthiest real estate agent if they are gentle in heart, and they do not follow God’s Word. He says, “If anything, you have to be cruel in order to get land.” In order to get more real estate, they actually have to be cruel in heart, and if you are foolish or naive, your land will actually be taken away.
But that is not the Word of God or a blessing. During this Biblical time, do you know how the Jews thought of the Kingdom of God? They knew that this Messiah would come to save them, but they thought He would be the strongest person in the world, to conquer Rome and free the Israelites, make them into the greatest nation, and conquer all the lands and gain possessions. The Messiah truly did come, but there was no reason for Him to come with that motive.
They looked at Him, and saw He was a poor carpenter’s son from Nazareth, born without a background, and thought, “Why do we need a Messiah like him?” The Kingdom of God they were imagining for themselves was simply one part of their imagination. How are you imagining the Kingdom of God right now? If you believe in Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God comes upon you, and there must be something you’re imagining about that. “Oh, because I believe in God, I will receive strength, and I’ll never be looked down upon, and I’ll be able to exert my authority over people.” The Bible is telling us that is not the Kingdom of God. He is teaching us that these are the blessings of the Kingdom of God:
(2) Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Mt. 5:6, Lk. 6:21)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Is there any righteousness in humans? The righteousness people talk about are things that are beneficial for me or for my friends, something that helps me out. During WW1, President Eisenhower helped the Allies in Normandy, and Germans thought Eisenhower was an evil person, but from the perspective of the Allies and the US, Eisenhower seems like a righteous person. So from the perspective of the world and unbelievers, someone is righteous if they are beliffical in me. But that is not the righteousness Jesus is talking about. God Himself is righteousness and God’s righteousness is revealed through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Rm. 1:17 says that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God. And Rm. 3 says no one is righteous, not even one. The righteousness that the Jews and the Pharisees had was one they received from the law. They were saying, “Because I keep the law of God, I am righteous.” So they were just principally and fundamentally wrong. The reason God gave us the law was to show us that everyone is a sinner, and no one is righteous. Because we know we’re sinners, we believe in Jesus Christ and become righteous, that is why He gave us the law. But that’s why the Jewish people thought they were righteous, in Ph. 3:9, Paul says, “I was blameless in regards to the law,” so he thought he was righteous.
I thought about my father. If there was ever a pastor or evangelist who came to our house, he would immediately cut them down with the Ten Commandments. He would ask them, “Do you keep all the Ten Commandments?” And they would have nothing to say, so they would all leave. My uncles would always say, “I’ve never seen a man who doesn’t look at any women, like your father.” So he had his own sense of righteousness. And I looked into my father’s eyes, and he couldn’t make eye contact with me. It means that he does actually look at other women. So there is no one who is righteous other than Jesus Christ.
But once we realize we are sinners under the law, we become thirsty for righteousness. That is the one who is blessed. If someone says, “I keep the Word like this or like that,” then their own righteousness is revealed, and that is not a blessing. I become righteous only because of Jesus Christ. So as you believe in Jesus Christ, you actually become more and more thirsty for righteousness. Look at Apostle Paul, even up to the very moment before his death, he says he was very tormented. He says there were two laws inside of him, the law of sin and the law of righteousness, and it is only by faith in Jesus Christ that makes him righteous, not by following the law. So if someone in the church says they are righteous, that is the one who is not blessed. If someone says “I do this” or “I do that,” that is the characteristic of someone who is not blessed. Simply because we believe in Jesus Christ, God makes us righteous, it is not by something we have done.
(3) Will be filled (Mt. 5:6, Lk. 6:21)
3) Blessed
(1) Merciful (Mt. 5:7) – Will be shown mercy
In Mt. 5:7, it says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Being merciful means your heart goes out to those you see who are less fortunate. Do we have any mercy from ourselves? If we did, that’d be great, but we have none.
In. Rm. 9:15-18, Jesus says, “I will have mercy on those who have mercy on others.” And in Rm. 9:16, it says that this mercy comes from God. God is saying He will show His mercy upon those who are merciful, and He will be hardened against those who are hardened. God is the one who gives us mercy. Our ability to have mercy on others actually comes from God. This means I receive mercy simply by believing in Jesus Christ, and that is the source for my mercy for others. These are the people who will receive mercy.
(2) Pure in heart (Mt. 5:8) – See God
Next, He says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Do the pure in heart see God? If you saw God, you’d die immediately. Because we are sinners, we are unable to see God. In Gen. 3, Adam and Eve were able to see God, but once they sinned, they hid from God. So we are not able to see God, but what does it mean for us to be pure in heart? In Job 32:5, Job had been suffering for a long time, and Job’s final confession is to say “I have seen God with my own eyes.” In the past, he had only known God with his brain, but now it was like he was seeing God with his own eyes.
How can we see God, we would die if we did? And God is spirit. It means you will know when God is with you. How? If you are pure in heart. What does it mean to be pure in heart? It means that the reason in your heart is the gospel. If the reason in your heart is money, you cannot see God, because you’re connecting anything to get money. If you live because of success, then you cannot see God. Then even if you listen to the messages, you will listen to it for money or success, so you cannot see God’s Word.
The people who exist for the simple reason that Jesus Christ solved all our problems on the cross will be able to see God with them. It’s possible that a pastor will not be able to see God because they studied theology and their job is to give the message. So it’s possible that people who see this pastor will think he has the greatest experience. However, if the reason why he is giving the message is not to save lives, but to increase the number of members in his church, he does not see God being with him. He will see everything through the lens of church revival, and that is what will stab that person. That is what you call “idol worship,” greed, and ambition.
Believing in Jesus is simply believing in Jesus. Then you can see God. Even in the midst of problems, crises, and conflicts, you will see God. But if you do not have God inside of you, but something else, then you will suffer in the problem because you’re not getting what you want. So being pure in heart means you must have no other motives, other than the gospel. It doesn’t matter how great, tremendous, or large you are; you will not be able to feel God. If there is a spiritual being who cannot feel God, they are already spiritually dead. And in the state of being spiritually dead, their problems will continue to increase. However, if Jesus Christ Himself becomes my goal or purpose, even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, it doesn’t matter, because I see God there.
(3) Peacemakers (Mt. 5:9) – Children of God
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Even if you look at politics or world relations, they say, “Those who are powerful can enjoy peace.” You can see that if you look at all the military strategies. That’s the reason everyone is struggling in this power struggle, the reason Poland is buying military supplies from Korea is so they can enjoy peace. That is the peace that the world talks about, but that’s not really peace. It might be a lack of war, but that is not true peace. If a couple is not arguing, does that mean they have peace? No. If there is a parent and child who don’t speak to each other, is that peace because they’re not fighting? No.
True peace is the fact that through Jesus Christ, all the obstacles between me and God have been broken down, and I can be reconciled with God. That is the person who has God’s peace, through Jesus Christ. Look at everything happening in the world now. There has not been a moment in mankind’s history where wars have stopped. The flow of the entire history of mankind is that the stronger nations swallow the weaker nations. So in order to prevent war and disasters, weaker nations will cling onto stronger nations, and stronger nations will come to break down weaker nations. So all these nations are trying to gain power, all for that one word–”peace.” But that’s not peace. Even inside war, you must have peace. It is only possible when we are reconciled with God through Jesus Christ. If there is a couple who doesn’t talk to each other, that is not peace. That may be a lack of fighting, but that is not peace. Through Jesus Christ, we have been reconciled with God, and only that person can have peace with other people. But because we are looking at the Bible with the education and ideologies of the world, that is not correct.
When Jesus Christ sent out His disciples to evangelize, He told them to ask people, “Do you have peace?” In other words, “Are you happy?” One of my friends is a very high-ranking police officer, and I asked him to evangelize, and he said he has no problems; both he and his wife are police officers. That is the happiness and peace that unbelievers talk about. But that is not the peace that Jesus talks about. “Are you in the state of peace with the Lord of all Lords?” So even if I give him the Word of God, he hears it differently because he’s an unbeliever. Do you have peace? That is why the Jews use the word “Shalom.” They use the word “peace” a lot.
What is the true blessing? The ones that make peace. We have no ability to make peace on our own, but through Jesus Christ, we have made peace with God. That is how peace comes upon us. That is the person who must study or become a military official in order for them to not sway this way or that. I hope you will look at yourself today through the Word of God. “What do I consider a blessing?” If there is a difference between the blessing that Jesus Christ talks about and what I think is a blessing, I am the one who must change. God has no interest in changing Himself. God is absolute, He is the creator and He is the truth. If you change the truth, it becomes false, so He must never change. I must change to align myself with God. We make alliances with people, “Let’s not fight anymore,” but that’s not peace. Even if a couple says, “Let’s not fight anymore,” that is not true peace. The one who has peace must go into a marriage in order for peace to be in their family.
(4) Those who are persecuted because of righteousness (Mt. 5:10, Lk. 6:22)
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Righteousness is only in the gospel. Whatever is good for me is not righteousness because if it is good for me, it will be a disadvantage to others. The righteousness of God is revealed only through the cross of Jesus Christ. However, if I am relaying the gospel of Jeuss Christ, and someone gives me a word I don’t like hearing, I will stop giving them the gospel. Or if I’m evangelizing, and it’s hurting my business, I will stop talking about the gospel. Or I stop talking about the gospel because I don’t want to be ostracized by people. That is not a blessing.
If you relay this gospel, you will be persecuted. Many people say, “I have been persecuted by my own family,” but oftentimes that is their fault. They’re not being persecuted because of Jesus Christ, but because of things they’ve said wrong. You shouldn’t say that’s why you’re being persecuted, if you say whatever you want or you keep making the same mistakes and people are criticizing you because of that. That is not the persecution Jesus Christ is talking about, you need to change yourself. However, if you are truly relaying the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you’re being persecuted, then yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.
3. Because of the Gospel
1) Blessed are you
In the beginning, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,” and at the end, He says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” He begins and ends with the Kingdom of Heaven, and this is your state if you believe in the Kingdom of God. These are all the things that come to you if you are in the Kingdom of God–you will be poor in spirit, you will mourn, you will become meek, you will hunger for righteousness, and you will become merciful. Does that mean if I’m rich, I’m not blessed? We’re not talking about Buddhist ideologies, where asceticism is a blessing.
There was a rich, young ruler who asked Jesus, “How can I receive blessings, I’ve followed the law.” Jesus Christ says, “Sell all your possessions and follow me.” This doesn’t mean you have to sell all your possessions, but He is saying, “This doesn’t belong to you.” The Lord gives you the daily bread and what you will eat for today, but everything else is not yours, it is to be used for God. There are so many people in the Bible who had many material possessions but they used it for world evangelization because they acknowledged that it is not theirs, but belongs to God. But people who think their wealth belongs to them have something that their heart relies on, that is not a blessing, that is not the Kingdom of God inside them. The kingdom of the world is inside their hearts.
So you shouldn’t listen to these words as ethics or morals, and you shouldn’t hear that you must be poor in the world. Say there’s a rich person who says, “This belongs to me,” do you think heaven is in their heart? Their heart will be in hell, because they always have to maintain their wealth. Let’s say, there’s another wealthy person, but they don’t think this wealth is theirs, it belongs to God. their wealth is always used when God needs it. Heaven will be in their heart, that is what this means. They will be poor in spirit, they rely on nothing. Just because they have material possessions doesn’t mean they rely on them.
(1) When people insult you (Mt. 5:11)
(2) Persecute you (Mt. 5:11)
(3) Falsely say all kinds of evil against you (Mt. 5:11)
Mt. 5:11, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” The standard of this is “Because of Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is the source of blessings. Every standard is for Jesus Christ, because of Jesus Christ; that is the beginning of blessings.
2) Reason to be joyful
(1) Great is your reward in heaven (Mt. 5:12)
Mt 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” I don’t know what exactly the reward is. Paul says there is a crown in heaven. And many verses in the Bible say there is a reward in heaven. There are some people who say, “Oh, I have nothing in the world and I was poor,” so I will be rich in heaven, but the Word of God does not say that. People say, “I was always looked down upon in the world, I had nothing, and I was always ridiculed because of the Lord, so in heaven, I’ll be rich,” but that’s not what it says. You devote to the Lord by the grace of the Lord, it’s not about enduring so you gain better things in heaven. Either way, there is a reward in heaven. There are even places in the Bible that say “You will receive a hundred times of blessings on earth and in heaven.” It’s only because of the gospel. If you make a mistake and cause harm to others, you must change yourself.
(2) Persecuted the prophets who were before you (Mt. 5:1)
“For in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” The Jewish prophets were persecuted by the Jews. Just like the disciples who followed Jesus Christ by the legalistic Israelites because they were talking about the opposite of legalism. People who say, “I’m righteous because I follow the law,” versus people who say, “I’m righteous only because I believe in Jesus Christ” are bound to be misaligned. Even in the church today, there are people who brag of their righteousness because of their actions. But you’re not able to boast at all, because God is guiding you by His grace. So there is nothing to boast of, other than Jesus Christ. People who are centered on the gospel versus people who are centered on the law are bound to be misaligned.
If you look at Luke, it says, “Yes, you will be blessed, but you will also be harmed.” The opposite of the Beatitudes today says you will also be harmed.
3) Woe to you
(1) You who are rich – You have already received your comfort (Lk. 6:24)
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” If your goal is to have more money, you have already received your comfort from people.
(2) You who are well fed – You will go hungry (Lk. 6:25)
If you are well fed now, you are bound to go hungry. Look at the rich man versus Lazarus, later on, Lazarus goes to heaven, and the rich man goes to hell and asks Lazarus, “Just give me a drop of water,” meaning he will become hungry.
Those who are poor, and from the perspective of Jewish people, those who had the gospel were poor, will go to heaven. This is not talking about being monetarily or materially poor, it means your heart is poor. Even if you have everything in the world, you are still poor. Those are the ones who will receive the Kingdom of Heaven and will go to the kingdom of Heaven.
(3) You who laugh now – You will mourn and weep (Lk. 6:25)
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” The Pharisees and Israelites were laughing. Even though they were colonized by Rome, they were laughing, thinking they were succeeding.
(4) When everyone speaks well of you – To the false prophets (Lk. 6:26)
“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers spoke of the false prophets.” Dees that mean we shouldn’t be complimented? If we help other people, we will be complimented. That is not what this means. If you accurately deliver the message of the gospel, you’re bound to be persecuted but if you skew the words of the gospel, you will be complimented, like the false prophets were. If Stephen had changed the words of the gospel, even a little bit, he would not have been stoned to death. If he’d changed the words a little bit or yielded a little bit, then people would have complimented him instead. But that would be his woe.
This is how Jesus is teaching His disciples the blessings of the Kingdom of God. What is the true blessing? Jesus Christ Himself is the blessing. Believing in Jesus is the blessing. As you believe in Jesus Christ, these are the eight things that will find you. Understand this is the blessing in the Kingdom of God. Therefore, repent for the Kingdom of God has come near,” it means turn away from what you once thought. Accept Jesus Christ as your King and Master, that itself is the blessing. Then the Kingdom of God, its inheritance and its mission will become mine. For this purpose, the filling of the Holy Spirit is the blessing.
You already have the blessing, so may you look upon everything with the Word of God, and know it is a blessing. This message is given to those who were waiting for blessings to come, you are already blessed. What you have is the blessing, your present reality is the blessing. These are things that rightfully follow those who follow Jesus. May you be restored with these blessings.
Conclusion
1. Jesus Christ is my King – Blessing
2. Kingdom of God – My things, my mission
3. Prayer to be filled with the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word God has given us.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Prayer
God, we thank You. We believe that believing in Jesus Christ, who is the source of blessings, is the blessing itself. We thank you for allowing us to see the eight states that naturally follow from believing in Jesus. We give our offering to you at this time. We pray your Kingdom will be established wherever it is used. May it establish the Kingdom of God to cast out demons and heal the diseased. We pray You will comfort those who mourn, and allow us to know that blessed are those who received persecution for the gospel. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. God, we pray that You will bless the two visitors so they will know, understand, and relay the true blessings. Allow them to know they have already been liberated from curses and sadness. May they be those who weep because of the gospel. May you bless them, their families, and everything they do so they may do everything for the gospel. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who have already received the blessing because of Jesus Christ and want to rely the blessings, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.