How to be Blessed

The Great Teacher gives us the steps that lead to being blessed in what is commonly called the Beatitudes, taken from the great “Sermon On The Mount”. (Matthew 5:1-12)

 1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Here in Matthew chapter five, Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit...”  You will notice He did not say poor financially.   Being poor financially does not in itself bring any blessing.  The rich man in Luke 16 was not in hell because he was rich.  Nor was Lazarus in paradise because he was poor. Neither of these men were where they were because of their financial condition -- rather their spiritual condition.  Money can be a hindrance to finding or serving God but it need not be.  Prosperity is in the will of God, (see III John 2).  “Poor” means needy, a lack, destitute, etc.  So poor in spirit is to be spiritually needy, lacking the true riches, spiritual poverty, destitute, void, lost, undone, unsaved.  But why blessed?  Because he sees that need, his spiritual poverty.  He is aware that he is spiritually destitute.  Many do not see their true condition.  Those who are lukewarm do not.  The Laodiceans thought they were rich but in reality they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked, (Rev. 3: 17).  Therefore for that one who sees his true condition of being poor in spirit is truly blessed.  God desires that we see and admit our true condition.

“Blessed are those that mourn...” Here again, the act of mourning in itself produces no blessing.  However, for one to mourn over the fact that they are poor in spirit is to be blessed.  The Psalmist said in Psalms 38:17-18 “...my sorrow is continually before me.  For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sins.”  If you can mourn over your lost condition you are blessed as you are getting closer to the kingdom.  Closer to salvation.  According to II Corinthians 7:7-11, Godly sorrow is a blessing and works (leads to) repentance.  Nightly confession is neither repenting, nor godly sorrow.  If we are truly sorry about our sins we will have a willingness to quit doing them.  Repentance is a turning from, a forsaking of doing them.  The reason God wants us to weep and mourn over our lost condition is because of the awfulness of sinning against a just and loving God.   When we have been awakened to this we are sorry for what we have done and intend to forsake that lifestyle from here on out.

“Blessed are the meek...” To be meek is the opposite of proud and haughty.  It means to be humble, gentle, quiet and submissive.  Jesus was meek and lowly, (Matt. 11:29).  A meek and quiet spirit is of great price in God’s sight (I Pet. 3:4).  The Lord beautifies the meek with salvation (Psm. 149:4). If we stay meek we can inherit Canaan land, (sanctification, a second work of grace).  The reason God desires us to be meek is because without Him we are nothing.  We cannot bargain with God to be saved, we can only come humbly asking for forgiveness.  Even after we are saved, any talents or abilities we have are just what God chooses to give us. We must always stay meek and humble.

“Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness...” The only people that get saved are those that really want to.  Sad to say, most people never see themselves poor in spirit.  Most never mourn over their condition.  Most are not humble enough to approach God and also very few really desire to be righteous.  Those that do -- get filled.  Those that hunger and thirst after God will get saved and if they keep their appetite they will be filled with His Spirit.  Psalms 107:9, “He satisfies the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”   The reason God desires us to hunger and thirst after Him is because He desires our love, which has to be given voluntarily.  He has great things in store for those that will love Him.  

Jesus goes on to teach that blessed are the merciful, those that are pure in heart, (only He can make us pure) and the peacemakers.  He even teaches that those who are persecuted and reviled for righteousness and His sake are also blessed because great is their reward in heaven.  If we follow the steps He outlined for us to be blessed with salvation that will put us in opposition to others from time to time.  Just as there is either heaven or hell, righteous or wicked, there are either blessings or cursings.  I choose to be blessed.  How about you?  Bill Roberts

Gospel Truth and Publications, P.O. Box 142, Jackson Center, OH 45334