May 3
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT PART 1
BLESSED
-Jesus sees the multitudes. He goes up into a mountain ( The Mountain, The Mount of Olives ). He is set, and His disciples
come unto Him to hear Him teach. Jesus opens His mouth and begins to teach, saying, … BLESSED … WHAT AN
INTRODUCTION!
-This most famous sermon ( The Sermon On The Mount ) by the Lord Jesus Christ is also referred to as the BEATITUDES. The
word "Beatitudes" means: supreme blessedness, exalted happiness, blissful, peace, the declarations of blessedness pronounced
by Jesus Christ. Considering that the very last word in the Old Testament ( Malachi 4:6 ) is the word CURSE, this is quite
an introduction. Jesus starts out His first sermon with the word BLESSED!
-The Old Covenant left a curse over man’s head due to the fact that he could not keep the law ( The Law of Moses
). Jesus came to fulfill the law and to pronounce a blessing to all those who would believe on Him. So … Let us talk
about the word blessed.
-The word "blessed", which is many times translated happy, actually means: TO BE FULLY SATISFIED, as opposed to happy in
the world sense of the definition. As well, it means: the state of the believer in Christ, the joy that comes from salvation,
and inner peace which is not based on external circumstances.
-Jesus began His Sermon On The Mount by telling man of a condition that is available to him, whereby he might be fully
satisfied. Jesus was giving us the key to a life of true fulfillment, which can only be found inside the confines of a relationship
with our Heavenly Father. His sermon points to the fact that the things of this world can never FULLY SATISFY us. Man is created
to worship God, and the only thing that will fully satisfy this longing and craving is a relationship with His Creator.
-Let us leave the realm of being partially satisfied, which leads to emptiness and frustration. Jesus came to invite men
into a STATE OF TRUE BLESSEDNESS AND FULFILLMENT. We are of course speaking of the magnificent Kingdom of God that is available
to all men in the here-and-now. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. In Adam we are cursed. In
Christ we are …
-BLESSED!-
