bless·ed

James JDSN's sermon on "The Beatitudes" was soo good. and i can't believe of all the sundays, i forgot to bring my pen to take notes! but actually, i think it was a good thing that i forgot to bring my pen. too often i find myself busy jotting down notes and making sure that i have everything written down. but today, instead of focusing on my notebook, i was able to give my 100% attention to the sermon. and it felt so good.

Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and He began to teach them saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. -- Matthew 5:1-12

James JDSN first asked, "who are the blessed?" the answer: the people of God. we, christians, are the people of God. but apart from God, we aren't any of the things that God has described in the above verses.

1.) poor in spirit--> we are sooo prideful. how can we be poor in spirit when we have so much pride.
2.) mourn--> i liked James JDSN's example on this. he said he'll read the news and feel sorry for all the tragedies and sufferings going on in this world. but right after, he'll go on facebook and forget about them. he doesn't mourn. we don't mourn.
3.) meek--> i am weak, for sure. but in the above verse, the word "meek" is referring to those who are weak and depend solely on God. too often, we as christians don't depend on Him at all but rather, depend on ourselves or other people.
4.) hunger and thirst for righteousness--> when was the last time you hungered and thirsted for God?
5.) merciful--> so many of us hold grudges against those around us rather than trying to love and be merciful towards them. anger, bitterness, hate. yep, we're really not merciful.
6.) pure in heart--> we're filthy sinners. enough said.
7.) peacemakers--> do we try to maintain peace with our brothers and sisters? no, not really. that's why churches break up, that's why we have problems with people, etc.
8.) persecuted because of righteousness--> have i ever been persecuted when evangelizing His Word? no, never. i've never been persecuted because i've never went out and evangelized. nor do i really talk about christianity with my non-christian friends. me = fail.

apart from God, we have NONE of these attributes. and yet, we ARE the people of God. James JDSN's second question was, "how, then, are we the people of God? how, then, are we blessed?" the answer: through Jesus! He is ALL of these things and because He died for us, these attributes have been given to us. thank you, Jesus.

and finally, "what does it mean to be blessed?" the answer: we're made holy. through Christ, we are sanctified and justified. and since we are blessed, we need to live out our lives knowing that we are blessed. and since we are the people of God -- those who are poor in spirit, mournful, meek, etc.-- we need to live out our lives as being poor in spirit, mournful, meek, etc.

WOW. my longest sermon notes ever :) happy sunday everyone!