Christ Jesus preached to the people and healed the sick. Word spread among the people about Christ Jesus and the people followed him. The Holy Bible says great multitudes followed him. Christ Jesus stopped to preach to the multitude and this one day preached the message that we now call the Sermon on the Mount.
The Sermon on the Mount was the key to being blessed. Many people want to be blessed but do not realize that they have to behave in a way that will allow Lord God to bless them. I hear people want and even demand and truly expect blessings, but rarely do I see anyone trying to abide in God’s word in order to be blessed.
Blessings do not belong to everyone. Blessings are granted by Lord God to his children, his followers, his faithful as reward for their love and dedication to Lord God and Christ Jesus. Deuteronomy 28 list blessings for those who keep God’s commandments and list curses for those who do not. Keeping the God’s commandments are key and very important, but there are also statutes that Lord God has set for us.
The Holy Bible is not just documentation of historic events. The Holy Bible tells us of people who knew Lord God and keep his statutes and we are shown how they were blessed by God. The Holy Bible also tells us about bad people and tells us of how they were not blessed and sometimes cursed because Lord God was angry with them.
Christ Jesus preached to the people telling them how they had to choose righteousness, how they had to believe in Lord God and believe in Christ Jesus, and how they were supposed to treat each other. Christ Jesus even preached that if you choose to sin that you were of the devil. Everyone has to choose between right and wrong and choose if they are going to follow Lord God and Christ Jesus or follow the devil. For those who have chosen to follow Lord God and Christ Jesus, they have the ability to be blessed by keeping Lord God’s commandments and statutes.
The Sermon on the Mount is special because it goes beyond the basic instruction of the ten commandments. The first part of the Sermon on the Mount list those who are blessed and how they are blessed. It makes sense that if I want to be blessed, then I will do the part required to become blessed.
The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:3-12
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.
All of these are important but there is one that I would like to point out to everyone. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. If we want to go to heaven, in addition to knowing and believing in Christ Jesus, we also must be pure of heart.
In order to go to heaven, we must be believers in Christ Jesus prior to our death, but we also must be pure of heart. When Lord God looks into your heart, what does he see? Does he see malice or hatred? Does he see your sin or your love of sin? In order to be pure of heart, we must abide in Lord God, keep Lord God’s commandments and statues, and be repentant of all sin we have committed.
I have heard others say that we do not need to repent again and again, but I do think we need to repent until it is no longer in our heart and we need to pray to Lord God and Christ Jesus to cleanse us of sin. More importantly we need to pray and focus on Lord God, abiding in Lord God and Christ Jesus, so we have that loving relationship with them, so they are always ready to help and always ready to bless. Abiding in Lord God and Christ Jesus means that they are my focus and means that I think about them everyday. Living my life this way means that my heart is more likely to be pure.
Another point that I would like to make is that if my heart is pure, then there is no hatred in my heart. Lord God gave us ten commandments and Christ Jesus gave us the eleventh commandment: Love your enemies and to even bless those who curse us. If I do this, then my heart remains pure.
Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
As for being treated unfairly, we need to take that to Lord God in prayer and leave it there. Let Lord God handle it and let Lord God grant justice. We do need to pray to Lord God about it and tell him all about it. Do not assume that you do not need to tell Lord God or Christ Jesus just because Lord God is all knowing and because he is God. He needs to hear from you how it affected you but do leave it there. Do not try to get justice on a personal level. Do report it to the police if their actions against you are physically harmful and do report it to the police if their actions have broken the law. Otherwise, handle everything in prayer and try to keep your heart pure.
In the name of Christ Jesus, I pray to Lord God and Christ Jesus requesting that you hear my prayer. Please forgive my sin and cleanse me of all sin. Please help me overcome all that my enemies have done to act against me. Please help me forgive them and at the same time please grant me justice for all they have done. Please remove all hatred from my heart and help me to be pure of heart. Please know I love you and know that my relationship with Lord God and Christ Jesus is the most important relationship that I have. Please be with me daily. I pray this request in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.
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