HOW TO BE BLESSED BY GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020.

SUBJECT : HOW TO BE BLESSED BY GOD!

Memory verse: 

"

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

"

 (Luke 6 Acts vs 21.)

READ: Matthew 5 vs 3 - 12:

5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:4: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5:5: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
5:6: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
5:7: Blessed are the merciful , for they shall obtain mercy.
5:8: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
5:10: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:11: Blessed are you, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake.
5:12: Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets which were before you.

INTIMATION:

Jesus, in the longest recorded sermon, described the traits He was looking for in His followers. He said that God blesses those who live out those traits. Each beatitude is an almost direct contradiction of society’s typical way of life. In the last beatitude, Jesus even points out that a serious effort to develop these traits is bound to create opposition. The best example of each trait is found in Jesus Himself. If our goal is to become like Him, applying the beatitudes will challenge the way we live each day.

Each beatitudes tells how to be blessed by God. Blessed means more than happiness. It implies the fortunate or enviable state of those who are in God’s kingdom. The Beatitudes don’t promise laughter, pleasure, or earthly prosperity. Being “blessed” by God means the experience of hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances. To find hope and joy, the deepest form of happiness, follow Jesus no matter what the cost.

The “Poor in spirit”—not proud, conceited, or arrogant are blessed. This character trait clashes with the worldly values of pride and personal independence. We must recognize our humanity, spiritual poverty, and destitution (Romans 7 vs 24 - 25). We must empty ourselves of self-reliance and learn to be humble before God. Those with such an attitude of mind will submit to the kingdom reign of God, and consequently are blessed.

Mourning here is grieving over spiritual poverty and sinfulness. The humble person recognizes his or her spiritual poverty, and thus mourns over his or her inadequacies before God. This character trait clashes with the worldly value of happiness at all cost. 

The meek—lowly, mild, gentle, unselfish , not arrogant or self-seeking, will inherit the earth in the sense that they will enjoy the greatest that life has to offer. Because they understand the brevity of life and the temporary nature of material things, their concentration of thought is on that which is above. This character trait clashes with the worldly value of seeking power, and materialism.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are those who realize their sinful condition and mourn over their sin, hunger and thirst after the justification that can come only from God by His grace. Such people seek the knowledge to God through His Word. It is the Word of God that will supply the knowledge of how to be justified of one’s sin. God is the source of righteousness. 

Those who are merciful sympathize, and have pity on others. They thus seek to relieve the suffering of others because God has had mercy on them in relation to their sin. Their mercy will reap mercy from God. This trait clashes with the worldly value of strength without feeling.

The “Pure in heart” are sincere, without guile or a vile heart of evil motives, and do not seek to find evil on others. They will understand the pure nature of God, and thirst after such purity. This trait clashes with the worldly value of deception.

Peacemakers are those who recognize their own sinfulness will seek peace of mind with others. Such are sons of God for they portray the spirit of God in their relationship with others. They are not contentious, nor do they have a spirit to argue with others. This character trait clashes with the worldly value of personal peace being pursued without concern for the world’s chaos.

God’s way of living usually contradicts the world’s. If you want to live for God, you must be ready to say and do what seems strange to the world. You must be willing to give when others take, to love what others hate, to help when others abuse. By giving up your own rights in order to serve others, you will one day receive everything God has in store for you.

Rejoice is the attitude of those who truly understand the inner nature of the Christian life. They are able to rejoice in persecution for they know that life exists beyond this world. The fact that you are being persecuted proves that you have been faithful; faithless people would be unnoticed. In the future God will reward the faithful by receiving them Into His eternal kingdom, where there is no more persecution. 

The Beatitudes are a standard of conduct for all believers. They contrast kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary). These Beatitudes are not multiple choice—pick what you like and leave the rest. They are interwoven and must be taken as a whole. They describe what we should be like as Christ’s followers.

Prayer: Abba Father, in You all things consist. Give me the grace to manifest the character traits after the order of my Messiah Jesus Christ that I may be blessed, in the mighty Name of Jesus I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND MATURITY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2020.

SUBJECT : SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND MATURITY!

Memory verse: 

"Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

 (Ephesians 4 vs 13.)

READ: Mark 4 vs 26 - 29:

4:26: And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground;
4:27: and should sleep by night and rise day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
4:28: For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  

4:29: But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.

INTIMATION:

Spiritual growth can be compared to human’s need for food, occasioned by hunger, and the process of farming for food production. No human can survive without food, and hunger drives them to feed. First, the human’s need for food necessitates the farming to produce food. The farmer procures the land, and clears the land for cultivation. The ridges are done, the seeds are planted. Then the farmer waters the plants, and adds nutrients (for example Fertilizer) as the case may be. Weeds grow in the farm and the plants grow among the weeds. The farmer weeds the farm, and tends the plants to maturity. The plants mature and bear fruits, and the fruits are harvested. 

Christ is the farmer, and invades our lives at conversion. When we open our lives, He plants the seed of the Word in our hearts (Luke 8 vs 11). While some open their lives to Him the first time He knocks on the door, most of us are resistant and defensive. The moment we open our ourselves to Christ (the farmer), He secures the land, which is our heart, for planting of the seed. The land is cleared, and ridges made. There are a lot more work of watering, weeding, and tending the farm that has to be done. 

Yes, you have given your heart, but a lot more of your life are yet to be surrendered to Him. God is not worried that you have given as much as you understand at that moment. Once Christ has entered, clears the land, makes the ridges, and plants the seed, He begins the process of watering, weeding, and tending to get the best of you. Though there will be struggles and battles, but the outcome will never be in doubt.  God has promised that ‘He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.’ (Philippians 1 vs 6.) God promises that His harvest will be magnificent and prolific—the best fruit ever grown. 

Many spiritual functions parallel physical functions. As our bodies hunger and thirst, so do our souls. But our souls need spiritual food and water. We would not think of depriving our bodies of food and water when they hunger and thirst. The living Word, Jesus Christ, and the written Word, the Bible, can satisfy our hungry and thirsty souls. God allows hunger in our lives to make us look for food (His provision). Hunger is tantamount to the problems God allows in our lives, to make us always come back to Him. These life's challenges usually "soften us up," and reminds us of our need for Him. 

The maturity of the plant is tantamount to our conforming to Christ, and becoming the disciples of Christ, and bearing fruits after His type, our type. Christlikeness is our eventual destination, but the journey involves a lot of activities. These activities start with our believing through worship, belonging to him through fellowship, and becoming like Him through discipleship. Every day God wants you to become a little more like Him. 

It is easy to grow impatient with God and feel like giving up hope because things are moving too slowly. When we are close to a situation, it is difficult to see progress. But when we look back, we can see that God never stopped working. We should always do spiritual checkups on ourselves. We should look for a growing awareness of Christ’s presence and power in our lives. If we’re not actually seeking to grow closer to God, we are drawing farther away from Him. 

Your witness may be weak and your efforts may seem to have slow or small influence, but the Word of God is a powerful growth agent. Keep your eyes on the great harvest to come and don’t let bad soil or weeds discourage you from faithful service and witness.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the seed of Your Word planted in my heart. I ask for Your tending to the seed, and nurturing the growing plant that it may grow and produce fruit after the likeness of Christ, as the fruit abide my joy will be full in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

To help you spiritual growth process, think about what you are doing that might be spiritually ineffective or obsolete. Perhaps you need to intensify your study and find helps that provide more substance. Perhaps you need to grow by engaging in new areas of service that express your faith. Seek God for how He would help you keep growing in your faith.

THE OLD MAN VERSUS THE NEW MAN!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2020.

SUBJECT: THE OLD MAN  VERSUS THE NEW MAN!

Memory verse: “

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

” (Romans 6 vs 6.)

READ: Ephesians 4 vs 20 - 24:

4:20: But you have not so learned Christ,

4:21: if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:

4:22: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 

4:23: and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 

4:24: and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

INTIMATION:

Christ died for our sins, and the power of sin over us died with Him on the cross. The Christian’s body of sin, the “old man,” (our sinful nature), died once and for all in His death on the cross, so we are freed from its power. The “body of sin” refers to our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Though we often willingly cooperate with our sinful nature, it is not us but the sin in us that is evil. And it is this power of sin at work in our lives that is defeated. Through faith in Christ’s substitutionary work for us, we have a new nature—“the new man”—and stand righteous before God. 

Before we believed in Christ, our nature was evil. We disobeyed, rebelled, and ignored God (even at our best, we did not love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind). 

Our old selves were crucified with Christ. 

The Christian, however, has crucified the old rebellious nature—the old man—and replaced it with a new loving nature—the new man. 

God looks at us as if we had died with Christ. Because our sins died with Him, we are no longer condemned (Colossians 2 vs 13 - 15). Relationally, we have become one with Christ, and His experiences are ours. In our daily lives, we must regularly crucify sinful desires that keep us from following Christ. This, too, is a kind of dying with Him (Luke 9 23 - 25).

Although, God does not take us—the new man— out of this world or make us robots—we will still feel like sinning and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before, we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ. Now, when we commit sin, we will definitely be troubled in our spirit, and regret your actions. However, our human feelings and efforts cannot help us enough; we need the help of Christ through the Holy Spirit to overcome our sinful nature. Therefore, call on Him to help you overcome your evil desires and sinful tendencies.

When we decide to accept Christ’s gift of salvation (Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 10), it is both a one time decision, as well as a daily conscious commitment. We are not to be driven by desire and impulse. We must put on the new nature, head in the new direction, and have the new way of thinking that the Holy Spirit gives. 

Our old way of life before we believed in Christ is completely in the past. We should put it behind us like old clothes to be thrown away. 

People should be able to see a difference between Christians and non-Christians because of the way Christians live. We are to live full of light. Living the Christian life; the new man’s life is a process. Although we have a new nature, we don’t automatically think all good thoughts and express all right attitudes when we become new people in Christ. But if we keep listening to God, we will be changing all the time. As you look back over last year, do you see a process of change for the better in your thoughts, attitudes, and actions? Although change may be slow, it comes as you trust God to change you.

Every Christian is in a continuing education program. The more we know of Christ and His work, the more we are being changed to be like Him. Because this process is lifelong, we must never stop learning and obeying. There is no justification for drifting along, but there is an incentive to find the rich treasures of growing in Him, it takes practice, ongoing review, patience, and concentration to keep in line with His will. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the new nature You imparted to me through Christ! Give me the grace to continually be changed from glory to glory into Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!