(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #B679 - Living
Your Blessed Life_Part 1
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Today, we want to go to the
Book of Matthew, chapter five.
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Matthew chapter five, very
familiar passage to us. Matthew
chapter five, verse number one.
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Matthew chapter five, and we
are going to verse number one.
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The word of God says, "And
seeing the multitudes, he went
up into a mountain.
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And when he was set, his
disciples came unto him and he
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opened his mouth and he taught
them saying, 'Blessed are the
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poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.'"
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But he continues and says,
"Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
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Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth.
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Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled.
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Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
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Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God.
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Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the
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children of God. Blessed are
they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake,
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for theirs is the kingdom of
Heaven. Blessed are ye, when men
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shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of
evil against you falsely for my
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namesake. Rejoice and be
exceeding glad, for great is
your reward in heaven.
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For so persecuted, they
the prophets, which were before
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you." Dr. Byrd: Today, I want
to preach on the subject, living
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your blessed life. Living your
blessed life. Let us pray. God,
we thank you. We thank you for
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the word. We thank you for
prayer. We thank you for
offering. We thank you for
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Oaktown. We thank you for the
music. But God, we thank you now
that we come to the time
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in our worship experience that
you can speak to us. So speak
Lord, your servants heareth.
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We promise we will give you the
praise down on the glory. We
thank you, oh Lord.
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Now forgive us of our sins.
Penetrate and move through the
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airwaves, computer internet
waves, today. May Jesus be seen,
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may he be heard, and may he
be glorified today. It is in his
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name, we pray. Let everyone say
amen, and amen. Praise God.
Living your blessed life.
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Living your blessed life. Now,
everybody wants to live life to
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the fullest. Everyone wants to
get the best out of life. You
hear people all the time.
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Books have been written about
it, sermons preached about it,
live your best life.
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Travel the world, buy the house
you want, buy the car you want,
go to football games,
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play basketball, play golf, eat
in the finest restaurants, play
video games if you want.
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Enjoy your life and live
your best life. But today,
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I want to propose that
you live your blessed life.
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Because there is a difference
between your best life and your
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blessed life. Because your best
life might not be your blessed
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life. Best means excellent. Best
means your most enjoyable type
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of life, but blessed means
happy, holy, and consecrated.
And so a blessed life is a happy
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life, a holy life, and a
consecrated life, which means
you can live your best life and
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be lost. But you can live your
blessed life and be saved. I do
not know about you,
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but I would rather be blessed
and saved than best and lost.
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Are you hearing what I am saying
today? In our text, it is a
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familiar text. Jesus is
preaching his most famous
sermon. It is called the sermon
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on the Mount. Jesus is not
preaching from a stadium. He is
not preaching from an arena.
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Jesus is not even
preaching from a church.
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But he is preaching the Bible
teaches from the Mountainside.
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Now, there is no name given to
the mountain on which Jesus is
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preaching from, but many have
called this mountain the Mount
Sinai of the New Testament,
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because it holds the same
relationship to the Christian
church as Mount Sinai
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did to the Jewish
nation. You will remember,
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it was on Mount Sinai that
God proclaimed his Divine Law.
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But it was on this unknown
mountain of Galilee that Jesus
not only reaffirmed the Divine
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Law, but Jesus also explained
its true meaning in greater
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detail, and applied its
teachings to the practical
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problems of life. The text says,
"Jesus is preaching to his
disciples on the sermon on the
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Mount," Now, some people debate
as to who Jesus' is disciples
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are in this text. Is it just the
twelve apostles or does it
include all of his followers at
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the time? The answer to that
question is it includes both. It
includes, yes, the twelve
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disciples, but it also includes
the many others who follow Jesus
and listens to his teachings.
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They too were known as disciples
because remember, a disciple is
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merely a follower. Now, when you
read Ellen White in Desire of
Ages, she says not only were
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disciples present, but she says
spies were present. Let that be
a lesson to somebody today.
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Everybody always will have a
Judas in the midst. Yes, you
will have Peter, James, and
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John. But Judas will also be in
the midst. Everybody talking
about Jesus is not serving
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Jesus. Everybody talking about
heaven is not going to heaven,
and all skin folk are kinfolk,
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which can be interpreted by
everybody kin is not your kind.
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Are you hearing what I am
saying? Sometimes there are
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spies among us. Sometimes there
are moles among us. Sometimes
there are infiltrators.
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There are plants and double
agents among us. But when Jesus
gets to this mountain to preach,
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the Bible says he preaches to
all. He preaches to disciples,
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but he also preaches to the
spies, and maybe the spies will
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be converted, too. Are you
hearing what I am saying? Now,
when Jesus preaches,
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there is no music when he
preaches. There is no children's
story when he preaches.
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There is no collection of an
offering when he preaches. Jesus
is just given the word.
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There is nothing wrong
with music. We need it.
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There is nothing wrong
with the children's story.
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I love Oaktown. We need it.
There is nothing wrong with
taking an offering.
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We definitely need an offering,
because salvation is free,
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but somebody knows ministry
takes money. But every now and
then, I do not know about you,
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but I just need the word. Give
me the word of God. In this
text, Jesus is giving the word.
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The word, it is quick, it is
powerful, it is sharper than any
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two-edged sword. The word is
a lamp unto my feet and a light
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unto my path. Thy word have I
hid in my heart that I might not
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sin against thee. Give me the
word. Jesus begins this most
famous sermon by preaching and
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teaching the word, on a section
in the word, known to us as the
Beatitudes. Now quickly, what is
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a beatitude? A beatitude tells
us how to live a blessed life.
That is what a beatitude is.
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If you want to know how to live
a blessed life then you got to
read and understand the
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Beatitudes. In fact, the word
beatitude comes from the Latin
translation of the word
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blessing. So then if you want a
blessed life, you have got to
follow the Beatitudes,
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because the Beatitudes show us
that the Christian life is just
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that it is a life, not an
activity. Everybody wants to be
blessed. We want to be blessed
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in our relationships, blessed on
our jobs, blessed in our
families, blessed in our
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businesses, blessed in our
churches. We want to be blessed
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in our lives. Everybody wants to
be blessed because the opposite
of being blessed is being
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cursed, and nobody wants to be
cursed. But if we want to bless
life, we better listen to Jesus,
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the source of
all of our blessings.
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It is in these Beatitudes when
Jesus speaks about blessings
that he reveals to us what it
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means to live a life that is
pleasing to God. When you do,
blessings will follow.
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Now before we get
into the Beatitudes,
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there are three general rules
that I want to share today about
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the Beatitudes before we talk
about their specific meaning.
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Number one, notice that each
beatitude begins with the word
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blessed. "Blessed", that word
begins every beatitude. Blessed
can be translated into happy.
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Being happy is a good thing.
But let me remind you that being
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happy and having joy are two
different things. Happiness and
joy are not the same thing.
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Every beatitude begins with the
word blessed, which means happy,
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but do not confuse that
with joy. When we talk about
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happiness, happiness is
motivated by an external
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reality. But joy is something
that is based on an internal
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revelation. When I know who God
is, when I know what God has
done for me in my life,
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it does not make a difference to
me what happens on the outside,
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but It is all based on
who I know on the inside.
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You see, externally, when
somebody gives me flowers,
someone may give you flowers,
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you are happy. When someone
tells you that you sing well,
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you are happy. When someone
tells you that you preach well,
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you are happy. When you are
single and somebody invites you
out on a date, you are happy.
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When somebody gives you
so much money, you are happy.
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Because somebody has
done something for you on the
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outside. But joy is what is on
the inside. Joy is not based on
an external stimuli.
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Joy is based on what
is going on in the inside.
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Yes, we find happiness
when we follow the Beatitudes,
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but do not you forget that joy
is only found in Jesus, the
author of the Beatitudes.
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Yes, I want to be
happy, but I also want joy.
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Number two, the Beatitudes
are divided into three sections.
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The first section is
verses three through five,
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and they reveal that
blessings come from lowliness.
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The second set of Beatitudes
are found in verses six through
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nine, and they reveal that
blessings come from holiness.
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The third set of Beatitudes are
found in verses ten and eleven,
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and they reveal that
blessings come from persecution.
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And then when we get to
verse number twelve, hallelujah,
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Jesus tells us to rejoice
that it is celebration time.
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So we discover the Beatitudes
are divided into three sets.
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Then the third general rule that
we need to understand about the
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Beatitudes, it is important,
number three, to recognize that
the understanding of one
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beatitude leads to the
understanding of the next
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beatitude. In other words, the
sequential order of the
Beatitudes show us how to
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continually progress in the
Christian life. So that means if
you want blessings from
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Holiness, you have to first
understand that blessings come
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from lowliness. Just like
children in first grade, I had
known because my daughter is one
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of them, just like they have to
understand addition before they
are able to understand
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subtraction, you have to
understand the first set of
Beatitudes in order to
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understand the second set of
Beatitudes. And then you have to
understand the second set of
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Beatitudes before you understand
the third set of Beatitudes.
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Now today, we are not
going to be here all day
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and I am not going to preach all
three sets of the Beatitudes.
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I am just going to preach the
first set of Beatitudes.
Somebody at home is saying amen.
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Do not say it too loud. We are
going to begin with the first
set, verses three through five.
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Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of
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Heaven. Blessed are they
that mourn, for they shall be
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comforted. Blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the
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earth. Now quickly, in this
first set of Beatitudes, the
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first one says, "Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of Heaven.
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Blessed or happy are the poor
in spirit." What does that mean?
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To be poor in spirit means to be
humble. And when you are humble,
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you realize that all of your
gifts, all of your blessings,
come from the Lord.
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Everything you are and
everything you have comes from
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the Lord. Are you hearing what I
am saying? To be poor in spirit
does not mean you are poor
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in finances. Because there
are some people who are poor and
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finances but are not poor in
spirit, and then there are some
people who are rich in finances,
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but yet they are poor in spirit.
To be poor in spirit means to be
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humble in spirit, and to be
completely open to the word of
God. Poor in spirit is not I,
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but you, Christ, that lives
inside. Poor in spirit is not
spiritually proud or
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self-sufficient, because when we
are self-sufficient, we rely on
ourselves instead of God.
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But when we are poor
in spirit, we rely on God.
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Are you hearing what I
am saying? Poor in spirit is
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obedience and yielding to the
authority of God. Poor in spirit
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is obedience and yielding to
the teachings of Jesus. Poor in
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spirit is obedient and yielding
to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
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Poor in spirit is the opposite
of comparing ourselves to
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others. Poor in spirit is the
opposite of measuring our
spirituality to others.
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Poor in spirit is the opposite
of pride. Pride goeth before
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destruction, and a haughty
spirit before a fall. If it
weren't for the grace of God,
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where would any of us be
today? Let me say that again.
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I do not care how much
you think you got it going on.
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If it were not for the grace of
God, where would you be today?
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Do not get the big head. Do
not think you are better than
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somebody else. Do not think
you are all that and then some.
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You are just as lost as
that man drinking Jack Daniels,
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just as lost as that substance
abuser, just as lost as that
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lady of the night. Just as lost
as that liar, that cheater, that
deceiver, that heart breaker.
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Just as lost.
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There is no room in the
kingdom of Heaven for proud,
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self-satisfied or self-righteous
folk. If you want to live a
blessed life on this Earth
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and then enter the kingdom
of Heaven, you got to be poor in
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spirit. Are you hearing what I
am saying? The kingdom of Heaven
is not earned, friends of mine,
00:16:42.13\00:16:46.40
but it is given to those who
are humble. Just because you are
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nice, it will not get you there.
Just because you are a good
person, it will not get you
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there. Just because your moral,
it will not get you there. Just
because you are a church member,
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it will not get you there. There
will be a lot of nice, good,
moral, church members in hell.
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But those who have heard the
gospel, Hallelujah, and
responded with a humble heart
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and are truly poor in spirit,
those are the ones who enter the
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kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of Heaven.
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If you want to live a blessed
life, you got to be poor in
spirit. But not only that.
00:17:20.60\00:17:26.64
The next beatitude says,
"Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted."
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What Jesus is really saying in
this text is blessed is the one
who mourns over the sin that
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is running rampant in the world.
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Now, when you think about the
fact that we were made in the
image and likeness of God,
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and our foreparents, Adam and
Eve, they resided in paradise.
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They lived in
the Garden of Eden.
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And then you compare that to our
present state today after the
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fall, you can only mourn over
our current condition. Our world
00:17:58.37\00:18:04.61
is a mess. The coronavirus,
racial inequality, hurricane
approaching the United States,
00:18:04.65\00:18:10.19
the Postal Service in trouble,
voter suppression, crime on
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every hand. Our world is in
trouble and the state of our
world can only produce mourning
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and regret over our sins
and the sins of this world.
00:18:21.20\00:18:23.60
Why? We have hurt the one
who has been so good to us.
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The gift, that is us, has hurt
the giver. Creation has fallen
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from the creator. But in this
text, Jesus is saying that
mourning is a blessing.
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Because when we mourn over our
fallen nature, it creates a
desire in us to do what is
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right. Mourning makes us want to
act right. Mourning makes us
want to talk right.
00:18:52.99\00:18:59.13
Mourning makes us want to live
right. Mourning comes from those
who truly follow Christ,
00:18:59.17\00:19:04.51
because the ways of this world
are not the ways of God. So we
00:19:04.54\00:19:09.64
mourn because we have not lived
right. We mourn because we see
the foolishness in our lives.
00:19:09.68\00:19:14.75
We mourn because we see the mess
in our lives. We mourn because
sin was not God's desire for us.
00:19:14.78\00:19:22.79
The text says, "Blessed are they
that mourn." But the text does
not stop there, Hallelujah.
00:19:22.82\00:19:29.33
The text says, "Blessed are they
that mourn" but it also says
that they shall be comforted.
00:19:29.36\00:19:36.91
So number two, if you want to
live a blessed life, you have to
00:19:36.94\00:19:41.71
mourn over and be sorrowful for
sin. Beatitude number three, the
00:19:41.74\00:19:50.82
first set, these three are ones
of lowliness. The Bible says,
"Blessed are the meek,
00:19:50.85\00:19:58.53
for they shall inherit the
Earth." Now, beatitude number
00:19:58.56\00:20:05.93
one, blessed are the poor in
spirit. And beatitude number
three, blessed are the meek,
00:20:05.97\00:20:10.77
have a lot of similarities.
Beatitude number one is
00:20:10.81\00:20:15.18
humility. Beatitude number three
is meekness. Meekness is very
similar to humility.
00:20:15.21\00:20:21.48
Now, humility, let me remind
you, refers to thinking of
00:20:21.52\00:20:28.26
oneself less. Notice that I
said thinking of oneself less.
00:20:28.29\00:20:32.36
I did not say that humility
was thinking less of yourself.
00:20:32.39\00:20:37.17
I said humility is thinking of
yourself less. Somebody is going
to get that in a minute.
00:20:37.20\00:20:41.80
Humility and meekness put
the needs of others ahead of
00:20:41.84\00:20:46.47
yourself. They put the needs of
others ahead of your own needs.
00:20:46.51\00:20:49.74
The poor in spirit are
to receive the riches of the
00:20:49.78\00:20:54.75
kingdom in Heaven, and the meek
are to inherit the Earth. The
meek does not inherit the Earth
00:20:54.78\00:21:01.89
right now, but it does seem
sometimes that the proud do, the
00:21:01.92\00:21:06.59
arrogant do, the fat cats and
the slick mamas do. But I am so
glad today that in due time,
00:21:06.63\00:21:13.30
when it is all
over, at God's time,
00:21:13.34\00:21:16.40
the kingdom of this world is
going to be given to the saints
00:21:16.44\00:21:21.04
of God. To those who have
learned the grace of humility.
00:21:21.08\00:21:24.51
Because my Bible says that if
you humble yourself unto the
mighty hand of God,
00:21:24.55\00:21:30.19
he will exalt you in due time.
Do not get weary in well-doing.
00:21:30.22\00:21:35.92
If we faint not, we are going
to receive our just reward.
00:21:35.96\00:21:39.49
They that wait upon the Lord
God shall renew their strength.
00:21:39.53\00:21:44.23
God will exalt you in due time
through self out exaltation.
00:21:44.27\00:21:48.64
Adam and Eve lost the
kingdom entrusted to them.
00:21:48.67\00:21:53.38
The world is
calling us to a best life.
00:21:53.41\00:21:55.81
But God is calling us to a
blessed life. Best says
popularity. Blessed says
00:21:55.84\00:22:05.89
humility. Best says to stay on
top of the world. Blessed says
meekness. Best says notoriety.
00:22:05.92\00:22:14.66
Blessed says knowing Jesus.
00:22:14.73\00:22:17.67
A best life is nice, but
a blessed life is better.
00:22:17.70\00:22:22.94
Blessed are the meek for
they shall inherit the Earth.
00:22:22.97\00:22:28.61
Jesus said that even though
someone who is weak may go
without a lot of things in his
00:22:28.64\00:22:33.35
life. One day, they will inherit
the Earth. Friends of mine, that
is pretty good inheritance.
00:22:33.38\00:22:41.56
That is a son of the most
high God. One day, if I live a
00:22:41.59\00:22:49.03
blessed life, one day if I am
humble, one day, because I have
00:22:49.06\00:22:55.14
mourned sin. One day if I
am meek, one day I am going to
00:22:55.17\00:23:01.48
inherit the Earth. Now, you
know the rules of inheritance.
00:23:01.51\00:23:04.98
When a person dies, they pass on
everything to their offspring.
00:23:05.01\00:23:10.95
They pass on their money, they
pass on their property, they
pass on their cars,
00:23:10.99\00:23:16.93
they pass on their house. They
pass on their assets to their
00:23:16.96\00:23:22.76
offspring. Well, I am here to
let you know that two thousand
years ago, Jesus died,
00:23:22.80\00:23:28.84
but he left us an inheritance.
He left us with the opportunity
00:23:28.87\00:23:35.88
for eternal life. How did Jesus
do that? I am so glad you asked.
Jesus shed his blood on Calvary
00:23:35.91\00:23:44.29
for us, and because he shed his
blood for us, it covers all of
00:23:44.32\00:23:48.62
our sins. There is power in the
blood of Jesus, and the power in
the blood is not wrapped up in
00:23:48.66\00:23:55.10
what it is, but whose it is. You
hear me say it all the time.
When the Romans crucified Jesus,
00:23:55.13\00:24:01.97
they made a mistake. They shed
his blood. They should have hung
00:24:02.00\00:24:07.88
him. They should have knocked
him out. They should have beat
00:24:07.91\00:24:13.38
him up. They should have made
him drink poison. They should
00:24:13.42\00:24:19.29
have stoned him. But when they
shed his blood, his blood seeped
down to Earth and had a revival
00:24:19.32\00:24:30.53
over death, hell, and the grave.
And when you think about the
mistakes you have made in this
00:24:30.57\00:24:37.94
life trying to live your best
life instead of trying to live a
00:24:37.97\00:24:42.94
blessed life, and the
fact that you are still here,
00:24:42.98\00:24:45.68
it ought to tell you that there
is power in the blood of the
00:24:45.71\00:24:50.15
Lamb. Jesus left us an
inheritance. Jesus shed his
blood and because of his blood,
00:24:50.19\00:24:57.13
we have forgiveness from sin.
And because we have forgiveness
00:24:57.16\00:25:01.46
of sin, we can inherit the
Earth. We can inherit eternal
00:25:01.50\00:25:06.17
life. And the good news my
friends is I get ready to sit
00:25:06.20\00:25:09.07
down. The good news about Jesus'
blood is not only that it is
00:25:09.10\00:25:13.31
powerful, but the good news
about Jesus' blood is it will
never lose its power.
00:25:13.34\00:25:17.85
What am I talking about? The Red
Cross is always making appeals
00:25:17.88\00:25:24.22
for blood donors. They are
always running low on blood
00:25:24.25\00:25:27.86
supply. Now, for those that were
living during nine-eleven
however, it was a little
00:25:27.89\00:25:31.79
different. Because you will
remember, after the destruction
of the Twin Towers,
00:25:31.83\00:25:34.23
the Red Cross discouraged you
and stopped you from donating
00:25:34.30\00:25:38.63
blood. Because they had so much
blood, they needed us to stop
00:25:38.67\00:25:41.97
for a while, because they can
keep blood, preserve blood, and
they can use blood for a long
00:25:42.00\00:25:47.28
time. But any hematologist, any
blood doctor, will tell you that
they cannot keep blood forever.
00:25:47.31\00:25:57.05
Because the blood will
eventually lose its power. I do
not hear I have a church right
00:25:57.09\00:26:03.26
now. Two thousand years ago,
Jesus left his blood for anybody
who had an emergency.
00:26:03.29\00:26:11.27
And after two thousand years,
Heaven has never had to have
another blood drive.
00:26:11.30\00:26:17.74
Because the blood of
Jesus has never lost its power.
00:26:17.77\00:26:22.01
It still reaches to the highest
mountain. It still flows to the
00:26:22.04\00:26:27.68
lowest valley. The blood will
never lose its power. It worked
for my grandmother.
00:26:27.72\00:26:32.99
It worked for my grandfather.
It works for my father. It works
00:26:33.02\00:26:38.13
for my mother. It works for my
wife. It is going to work for my
00:26:38.16\00:26:41.63
children. The blood will never
lose its power. Somebody ought
to thank God for the blood
00:26:41.66\00:26:47.14
today. Somebody ought to thank
God for the inheritance of the
00:26:47.17\00:26:51.21
blood today, and because of this
inheritance, not only can you
00:26:51.24\00:26:54.91
have a best life, but you are
going to have a blessed life.
But you got to humble yourself.
00:26:54.94\00:26:58.15
You have got to mourn over
sin. You have got to be meek,
00:26:58.18\00:27:01.95
and then yours is the kingdom of
Heaven. You shall be comforted.
00:27:01.98\00:27:06.09
You shall inherit the Earth, and
that is a blessed life. I do not
want just a best life.
00:27:06.12\00:27:11.96
I want a blessed life.
Does anybody else want a blessed
00:27:11.99\00:27:15.96
life? Does anybody else want
a blessed life? I want to live a
00:27:16.00\00:27:20.87
good life. I want to live a fun
life. I want to live a loving
00:27:20.90\00:27:24.37
life. I want to
live a best life,
00:27:24.41\00:27:26.24
but I have got to live a blessed
life so I can inherit the
kingdom of Heaven. And so
00:27:26.27\00:27:32.78
today, the choice is yours.
What kind of Life do you want to
00:27:32.81\00:27:39.99
live? A best life or a blessed
life. Do not misunderstand
00:27:40.02\00:27:46.09
Thank you very much for tuning
in to this week's Breath of Life
00:27:46.13\00:27:50.30
broadcast. We hope and pray that
you've been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:27:50.33\00:27:55.07
If you would like to hear
this sermon in its entirety,
00:27:55.10\00:27:57.44
please feel free to visit
us at www.breathoflife.tv.
00:27:57.47\00:28:03.45
Or, call us at (256) 929-6460.
00:28:03.48\00:28:16.22
When I was eight years old,
I was diagnosed with Crohn's
00:28:16.26\00:28:22.36
disease. When I was fifthteen, I
had my first surgery. When I
think about the time that I lost
00:28:22.40\00:28:33.07
during my adolescent years, I
just can't seem to put it
togther. Even now I'm doing
00:28:33.11\00:28:43.18
treatment for my disease.
Everyone experiences loss. It's
not of matter of if but when.
00:28:43.22\00:28:56.20
www.breathoflife.tv
00:28:56.23\00:29:03.67
[END]
00:29:03.71\00:29:18.72