SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/23/2020
11:06 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “The Beatitudes”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:3
Message of the
verse: “3 "Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We have been talking about how the
Sermon on the Mount is for believers, although it is evangelist in nature, but
the sermon is for believers. Now
blessedness is fundamentally an element of the character of God, when men
partake of His nature that comes through Jesus Christ they also partake of His
blessedness, and with this said we see clearly that the sermon is for
believers. MacArthur writes that “Others
can see the kingdom standards and get a glimpse of kingdom blessings, but only
those who belong to the kingdom have the promise of personally receiving and
experiencing the blessings. To be ‘blessed’ is not a
superficial feeling of well-being based on circumstances, but a deep
supernatural experience of contentedness based on the fact that one’s life is
right with God. Blessedness is based on
objective reality, realized in the miracle of transformation to a new and divine
nature.” I have to believe that this
highlighted statement from John MacArthur helps us understand a lot about what
this sermon is about and who it is for.
No believer can keep on their own what is stated in this sermon, but the
only way to keep and understand this sermon is through the Holy Spirit of God.
Have you ever read through the
Beatitudes and have them seem like the conditions and their corresponding blessings
do not seem to match? This could be
called paradoxical. When we look at
things found in the sermon like mourning, desire for righteousness, mercy, and
persecution, they are not the stuff of which happiness is made of. So to the natural man, and also to the
immature or to the carnal Christian, such happiness sounds like misery with
another name. We read from one
commentator as he has observed, it is much “as if Jesus went into the great
display window of life and changed all the price tags.”
MacArthur writes “In a way happiness
is misery with another name; Jesus had changed the price tags. He teaches that misery endured for the right
purpose and in the right way is the key to happiness. That basic principle summarizes the
Beatitudes. The world says, ‘Happy are
the rich, the noble, the successful, the macho, the glamorous, the popular, the
famous, the aggressive.’ But the message
from the King does not fit the world’s standards, because His kingdom is not of
this world but of heaven. His way to
happiness, which is the only way to true happiness, is by a much different
route.”
Seneca, who was a first-century
Roman philosopher who actually tutored Nero, wisely wrote, “What is more
shameful than to equate the rational soul’s good with that which is irrational?” The point that he was making is that you
cannot satisfy a rational, personal need with an irrational impersonal object. External things cannot satisfy internal
needs. Sometimes I get the urge to buy
something that in my mind I wrongly believe that whatever I buy will cause me
great satisfaction. It may make me feel
good for a while, but when the newness of it wears off so does the so-called
satisfaction. Only things that God gives
to me can truly bring satisfaction, and salvation is surely at the top of the
list. What I am talking about here is
exactly the philosophy of the world. You
read stories of people who will a great deal of money in the lottery and the
story that most of the time comes out is that the person who won a great deal
of money whishes that they had never bought that lottery ticket as what they
thought would bring happiness only brought great sorrow.
The
Old Testament story of Solomon tells us that he did not have to win the lottery
as he was probably the riches man ever to live and when you read his story in
the book of Ecclesiastes we read the following at the beginning of the book “1 The
words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 “Vanity of
vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is
vanity." 3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does
under the sun?” Solomon finally gets it
as we read the following from the last two verses “13The conclusion, when all has been heard, is:
fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every
person. 14 For God will
bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or
evil.”
Lord
willing we will begin our next SD with some things from the Lord from the
gospel of Luke.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I know from the beginning of this study on
the Sermon on the Mount that I have to realize what true happiness is all
about. I have to say that there are
things that I really like to do including playing golf and bowling along with a
bit of traveling too, and I have to realize that there is nothing wrong with
doing those things as long as they are not my major focus to be happy, only
that can come from the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the
Lord to bring about true happiness to me as I desire for Him to continue to
work in my life to bring about contentment, humility and joy as I study His
Word, which He is truly doing as I study the Sermon on the Mount.
3/23/2020 12:01 PM
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