(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #B680 - Living
Your Blessed Life_Part 2
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Dr. Byrd: We are going to
go right into the word of God.
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If you have your Bibles, take
them and turn to the Book of
Matthew. Matthew, chapter five,
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and we are going to verse number
six. Matthew, chapter five,
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verse number six. We are going
to read verses six, seven, and
eight. Matthew, chapter five,
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verses six, seven, and eight,
just three simple verses.
Matthew, chapter five, verses
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six, seven, and eight. The word
of God is clear. It says - And I
am reading from the King James
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Version of the Bible, "Blessed
are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness, for
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they shall be filled. Blessed
are they, the merciful, for they
shall obtain mercy.
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And blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God."
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"Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be
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filled. Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy, and blessed are the pure
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in heart, for they shall see
God." Living Your Blessed Life
Part 2. Living Your Blessed Life
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Part 2. Father, bless us now as
we go into your word, send your
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Holy Ghost. Your spirit is
already here, we offer you
praise today. We thank you for
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your grace. We thank you for
your mercy. God, as we preach
this word today to your people,
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I pray that you would speak to
them. That, God, they not see me
but see you working
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and living through me. That your
Holy Spirit will permeate
through the internet,
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permeate through the television.
And may your people be changed
and convicted by your word.
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Forgive us of our sins. And when
the appeal time comes, oh God,
move in a mighty way.
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Move by your mercy and sprinkle
out your grace. In the name of
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Jesus, we pray, begging for
forgiveness of sin, amen, and
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amen. Living Your Blessed Life
Part 2. So, Living Your Blessed
Life 102. Today, we continue our
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series. Now, remember, living
your blessed life is different
from living your best life.
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Because your best life might not
be a blessed life. I wish I had
a witness in this place.
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You see, your best life means
your most desirable type of
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life. But your blessed
life means a holy, happy, and
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consecrated life. So, you can
live your best life and travel
the world, eat in the finest
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restaurants, buy the house you
want, buy the car you want, go
to football games, go and play
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basketball, play golf, and you
can still be lost. But when you
live a blessed life -
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I wish I had a church in this
place. You will be saved. And I
would rather be blessed
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and saved than best and lost.
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Jesus tells us how to live a
blessed life through his famous
Sermon on the Mount.
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And in this Sermon on
the Mount, he is preaching
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and teaching and begins with the
section that we have come to
know as the beatitudes.
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Now, remember, the beatitudes,
quickly, are divided into three
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sections. The first three
beatitudes, found in verses
three through five,
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reveal blessings that come from
lowliness. The next set of
beatitudes, three more,
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in verses six through nine,
reveal that blessings come from
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holiness. And then, the last two
beatitudes are found in verses
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ten and eleven and they reveal
that blessings come from
persecution. So, first set,
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blessings come from lowliness.
The second set, blessings come
from holiness. And the third
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set, blessings come even in
persecution. And then, in verse
number twelve, Jesus tells us,
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"Rejoice, it is
celebration time."
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Now, last week, we dealt with
the first set of beatitudes, the
beatitudes of lowliness.
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The first beatitude, remember,
it said: "Blessed are the poor
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in spirit." To be poor in spirit
simply means to be humble. And
when you are humble,
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you realize that everything
you are and everything you have
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comes from God. Do I have a
witness in this place? The next
beatitude says: "Blessed are
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they that mourn, for they shall
be comforted." And what Jesus
really is saying here in this
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beatitude is, "Blessed is the
man, blessed is the individual
who mourns over the sin that is
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running rampant in the world."
You see when you think about the
fact that we were made in the
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image of God, the likeness of
God, and our fore-parents, Adam
and Eve, used to reside in
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Paradise, used to
reside in the Garden of Eden.
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And then, you compare that to
the present state of our world
in which we live today.
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You can only mourn
over our present condition.
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Because we have hurt the one who
has been so good to us. The
gifts have hurt the giver.
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Creation has
fallen from the creator.
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But Jesus teaches us in this
beatitude that mourning is
actually a blessing.
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Because when we mourn over our
fallen nature, it creates within
us a desire to live right,
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to do right, to talk right, and
to walk right. But then, we go
to the next beatitude.
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beatitude number three, and it
says: "Blessed are the meek, for
the meek shall inherit the
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Earth. " Now, meekness
is very similar to humility.
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Humility and meekness put the
needs of others ahead of your
own needs. "Blessed are the
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meek, for they shall inherit the
Earth." When you are meek, that
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is a good thing, because you are
able to get your inheritance.
What is your inheritance? Earth
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is your inheritance. And so now,
we come to the second set of
beatitudes, the beatitudes of
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holiness. Now, there are nine
beatitudes. I am going to preach
them in couplets of three.
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Today, I am just going to deal
with beatitudes four, five, and
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six. Next week, I will pick up
the last beatitude of holiness.
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And then, the two beatitudes
that promise that blessings come
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from persecution. So, week one
is three beatitudes. Week two is
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three beatitudes. And then week
three is three beatitudes.
Today, the second set, the
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fourth beatitude says, in verse
six: "Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after
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righteousness, for
they shall be filled."
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Now, if there is one thing we
all love to do, we love to eat.
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We do not smoke. We do not
drink, nor do we chew. But, we
love to eat. Come on, say amen.
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We feel blessed when we eat.
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God is good. I have never missed
a meal, hallelujah. It may not
be steak and potatoes,
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or should I say grillers and
potatoes. It may be beans and
rice, or rice and beans,
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or peas and rice, or rice and
peas. But, we have never missed
a meal, hallelujah.
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God has been good to us. Because
true hunger and true thirst are
not things most of us have
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experienced. But, in this text,
Jesus is not talking about
hunger and thirst in the
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physical sense. Jesus is not
talking about human appetite.
Jesus is talking about hunger
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and thirst in the spiritual
sense. Our hearts are hungry and
thirsty for meaning,
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significance, relationship, and
purpose. But instead of seeking
those things in God,
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too many of us are seeking those
things from somewhere else. Some
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seek it in a man. Some seek it
in a woman. Some seek it in a
house. Some seek it in a car.
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Some seek it in their job. But
Jesus said in Matthew 6:33: "But
seek ye first the Kingdom of God
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and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added unto
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you." The beatitude says:
"Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after
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righteousness' sake,
for they shall be filled."
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The only way you are going
to satisfy your spiritual hunger
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and thirst is to seek God's
righteousness. But not only
that, in this text,
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the Greek tense of the words
'hunger' and 'thirst' are in the
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present tense. And when a verb
is in the present tense in the
Bible, it means to do something
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and keep on doing it. In other
words, the present tense implies
continuous persistent action.
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Somebody is going to get this in
a minute. What Jesus is saying
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in this text is, "Blessed are
those who not only hunger and
thirst. But blessed are those
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who keep hungering, keep
thirsting but not after power,
not after possessions, not after
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prestige, not after popularity,
but hunger and thirst after
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righteousness, which can
be interpreted holiness."
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Be careful because everything
that walks like holy is not
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holy. Everything that talks like
holy are not holy. Everything
that dresses like holy is not
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holy. Everything that acts like
holy is not holy. Everything
that shouts like holy is not
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holy. Because holiness is not
about how high you jump when you
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shout. But how straight you walk
when you come back down.
Holiness or righteousness is a
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'churchy' term that is not used
very much in our culture today.
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In fact, the word righteousness
is used only one other time in
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the Gospels. But yet Matthew
uses it seven times, and five
out of these seven times are in
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the Sermon in the Mount. And so,
what Jesus is saying in this
sermon is that righteousness is
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something that ought to
be hungered and thirsted for.
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Today, what are you hungry and
thirsty for? Because what we
hunger for and what we are
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thirsty for, reveals the
character in our hearts. And I
have come to remind somebody
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today that only Jesus can
satisfy your deepest longings.
It does not mean that you will
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not have other longings. But, I
am here to tell somebody that
Jesus is stronger than your
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other longings because -
"Greater is he that is in me
than he that is in the world." I
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do not know about you, friends
of mine, but some days I have a
craving for a specific food.
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I have a yearning for my
favorite dish. What is my
favorite dish? I will tell you.
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Vegetable steaks, or the
vegetarian steaks in onion,
pepper, and mushroom gravy,
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on top of a baked potato, with
color greens, cornbread, and
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corn. Are you hearing what I am
saying? My wife cooks this, and
when she cooks this, I get
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excited. I wish I had
a witness in this place.
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But, in this text, Jesus is not
asking for my favorite food. In
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this text, Jesus is calling us
to hunger for Him, His word, His
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righteousness. That is why David
said in Psalm 34: "Oh, taste and
see that the Lord is good."
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But it is not just our hunger
that Jesus satisfies. It is also
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our thirst. Some things
just do not satisfy our thirst.
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But I know somebody, who when
you drink from his fountain, you
will never thirst again.
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If you do not believe me, ask
the woman at the well. If you do
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not believe me, ask the people
who were at the wedding at Cana.
If you do not believe me,
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ask the five thousand men plus
women and children who were on
that New Testament countryside
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that Jesus fed with two fish and
five rolls of bread. Blessed are
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those who hunger and thirst
after righteousness, for they
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shall be filled. Filled means
satisfied. When you are filled,
you feel well-fed. Filled means
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stuffed, hallelujah. When you
hunger and thirst for Jesus, and
when Jesus fills you somebody
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knows you are satisfied.
Somebody knows you are well-fed.
Somebody knows you are stuffed.
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Today, are you hungry for Jesus?
Today, are you thirsty for
Jesus? Because if you are, I am
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a witness that Jesus will fill
you. Fill my cup, Lord. Let it
overflow, oh Lord. And do not
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forget that when you hunger and
your thirst for Jesus and His
righteousness, do not stop
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hungering, do not stop
thirsting. Because anybody will
tell you that when you go on a
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food fast - let us say you go on
a food fast for twenty-one days,
three weeks. Your worst hunger
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and your worst anxiety for food
will occur and happen in the
first week. Somebody knows what
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I am talking about. When you go
on a twenty-one day fast, your
real hunger comes in those first
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seven days. But, you will notice
that in weeks two and three your
body grows ambivalent to food.
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You get numb to food. And
spiritually, the same thing
happens. If you do not daily
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hunger and thirst after God's
righteousness, you will grow
numb to spiritual food.
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It will not mean that much to
you. It will not be a priority
for you. You can take it or
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leave it. Are you
hearing what I am saying?
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But, let us go to the next
beatitude quickly. The Bible
says, in verse number seven:
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"Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall obtain mercy." Now,
we are to show mercy to others
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because God has shown mercy
to us. Mercy, by definition,
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is the compassion or forgiveness
shown to somebody else when it
is within one's power to punish
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or harm that someone. If someone
wants to know what the biblical
definition of mercy is,
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mercy is God not giving us
what we deserve. Let me say that
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again. Mercy is God not giving
us what we deserve like death.
God could punish us with death.
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We deserve it. But God
does not give it to us.
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But rather, he has forgiven us
and given us eternal life - For
the wages of sin is death
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but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ, our
Lord. And if God can forgive us,
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if God can give us what we do
not deserve, surely, we can do
the same for others.
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In other words, how are you
going to want mercy from God,
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but yet you can not give mercy
to somebody else? Blessed are
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the merciful, for they shall
obtain mercy. The mercies of
God. That is what Jeremiah said
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are new every morning. That is
what apostle Paul said when he
said: "I beseech you, brethren,
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by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies in living
sacrifice." The mercies of God.
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Mercy is what God gives you when
you do not deserve it. Today, I
do not know about you,
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but I thanked God for his mercy.
Mercy woke me up this morning.
Mercy started me on my way.
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Mercy let me have
something to eat this morning.
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Mercy kept my heart beating
while I was sleeping in the
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night. Mercy kept me from
getting in a car wreck on the
way to church today.
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I wish somebody were here
with me so they can say 'mercy'.
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We are living in a day and age
when people act like they do not
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need mercy. But somebody knows,
you would not be alive right now
if it were not for the mercies
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of God. Sitting up in your
house, looking all cute-wise and
otherwise. You ought to thank
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God for his mercy. But what I
like about Jeremiah, he does not
reduce it to one mercy.
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What I like about Paul, he does
not reduce it to one mercy. But
they mention mercy in plurality.
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They say, "Mercies, morning by
morning. New mercies I see. I
beseech you, brethren,
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by the mercies of God." It is
not that God has not given you a
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second chance but God is giving
you chance, after chance, after
chance, after chance,
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and it is not the holiest people
in the church that need to
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praise God. But it is the people
who have done all kinds of stuff
that need to praise God.
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Because you know that if God had
dealt with you justly for your
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sins, you would not be alive
right now. And somebody - You
ought not to care what anybody
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says, you ought not to care what
anybody thinks, but you ought to
thank God for your mercies.
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The mercies of God. Somebody -
You got your car because of
mercy. Your credit was jacked
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up. You had no money. But God
has mercy and God gave you a car
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anyway. And every time you get
in that car you ought to praise
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God. You ought to drive down the
road thanking God. Everybody
else is honking their horn
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and shouting expletives in
traffic. But you ought to thank
God for your mercy.
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You ought to thank God and just
drive down the road and say:
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"Thank you, Jesus. Thank you,
Jesus." Folk will look at you
and think like you are talking
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to yourself in your car. But you
know that if it had not been for
the Lord on your side if it had
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not been for God's mercies, you
would still be walking or
catching Uber or a lift. But God
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gave you mercy. Many of you
should be in jail right now,
00:18:37.35\00:18:39.58
watching this service on the
internet in jail if the warden
lets you, but Hallelujah,
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God gave you mercy. I do
not understand folk who do not
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understand mercy. You are living
in mercy. You are driving in
mercy. Your house is mercy.
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The fact that you got in school
is mercy. Your job is mercy.
Your marriage is mercy.
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Nothing but the mercies of God.
You should be strung up
somewhere. You should have had a
00:19:00.97\00:19:06.21
nervous breakdown by now.
Anybody who has been through
what you have been through
00:19:06.24\00:19:09.68
should have lost their minds.
But when your mind was falling
apart, and you were talking out
00:19:09.71\00:19:15.48
of your head, God's mercy came
in rescue. You went to bed at
00:19:15.52\00:19:19.95
night weeping but God woke
you up with joy in the morning.
00:19:19.99\00:19:22.56
Because God's mercy rocks you
in the bed in the midst of your
00:19:22.59\00:19:26.46
sleep. Somebody ought to thank
God for his mercy. Mercy gave
you another chance,
00:19:26.49\00:19:31.20
mercy gave you health, and mercy
gave you strength. I will bless
the Lord at all times.
00:19:31.23\00:19:36.27
His praise shall continually be
in my mouth. My soul shall make
her boast in the Lord.
00:19:36.30\00:19:41.01
The humbles are here, they are
up and be glad. O, come and
magnify the Lord with me,
00:19:41.04\00:19:45.25
and let us exalt
his name together.
00:19:45.28\00:19:47.68
And I have a right to praise
him. I do not need everybody.
00:19:47.72\00:19:52.99
Because if there are only a few
people in this church right now,
00:19:53.02\00:19:55.46
the pastors and the media team
are in it right now, because of
00:19:55.49\00:19:59.19
COVID-19. But I just need a few
folks who do not mind, who do
not care what anybody thinks.
00:19:59.23\00:20:05.93
You do not care what you
have on. You do not care who is
00:20:05.97\00:20:09.87
looking at you. You can be in
your car, your house, you can be
00:20:09.90\00:20:12.87
in the park. But, you are just
glad you are not in a hospital
00:20:12.91\00:20:15.31
somewhere. You are just glad
needles are not coming out of
00:20:15.34\00:20:18.45
your arms. You are just glad
that you are not on a ventilator
breathing through a breathing
00:20:18.48\00:20:22.88
machine. I know people will call
you crazy. But you are just
thankful for God's Mercy,
00:20:22.92\00:20:27.32
and I have a
right to praise Him.
00:20:27.36\00:20:29.86
Let me tell you all something.
Sometimes I do not need a praise
00:20:29.89\00:20:32.29
team. Sometimes I do not need
the other pastors. Sometimes I
do not need the organist.
00:20:32.33\00:20:36.33
It is just me and Jesus, and I
have to praise Him for His
mercy. "Blessed are the
00:20:36.36\00:20:44.07
merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy." I am almost done, I have
one more beatitude for the day.
00:20:44.11\00:20:50.81
Verse eight says: "Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they
00:20:50.85\00:20:58.99
shall see God." Now, this is the
most central and the most
significant out of all the
00:20:59.02\00:21:09.03
beatitudes. Because you can not
be poor in spirit without having
00:21:09.06\00:21:14.50
a pure heart. You can not mourn
for the things that displease
God, without having a pure
00:21:14.54\00:21:20.48
heart. You can not be meek, you
can not hunger and thirst after
righteousness. You can not be
00:21:20.51\00:21:26.18
merciful. You can
not be a peacemaker.
00:21:26.21\00:21:28.08
You can not be prepared to stand
persecution for the name of
Christ without having a pure
00:21:28.12\00:21:34.66
heart. Now, it is this beatitude
which is one of the most central
principles of Christian life in
00:21:34.69\00:21:40.53
the entire Bible. Because the
heart of the matter is the
matter of the heart.
00:21:40.56\00:21:46.40
You see, it is easy as a
Christian. It is easy to follow
rules, spiritual rules, social
00:21:46.43\00:21:57.21
rules, cultural rules, and
forget the matter of the heart.
God wants us to love Him and
00:21:57.25\00:22:04.99
obey Him not because of rules.
But He wants us to give Him our
00:22:05.02\00:22:10.63
hearts. Jesus said:
"Blessed are the pure in heart."
00:22:10.66\00:22:15.36
You will remember that
the scribes and the Pharisees
00:22:15.40\00:22:19.43
followed rules, and they
followed the rules well. They
thought of themselves as the
00:22:19.47\00:22:24.64
purest people on the planet.
They were extremely careful to
keep their outward appearance
00:22:24.67\00:22:28.98
clean before men. But they did
not serve the Lord from their
00:22:29.01\00:22:32.88
hearts. And so, Jesus told them
in Matthew chapter twenty-three,
read it when you go home.
00:22:32.91\00:22:36.99
He said: "Pharisees, scribes,
you are hopeless. You are
frauds. You are vipers.
00:22:37.02\00:22:45.96
You are snakes. Outwardly,
you appear righteous to men.
00:22:45.99\00:22:51.37
But inwardly, you are full
of hypocrisy and iniquity."
00:22:51.40\00:22:55.77
But Jesus said: "Blessed are the
pure in heart. Man looketh at
the outward appearance.
00:22:55.80\00:23:03.61
But God looks at the heart."
Jesus is concerned about our
00:23:03.65\00:23:09.58
hearts. The Gospel is all about
our hearts. Create in me a clean
00:23:09.62\00:23:15.72
heart, oh God. And renew
the right spirit within me.
00:23:15.76\00:23:18.66
It is not enough to clean up
our acts on the outside, but God
00:23:18.69\00:23:25.47
wants our insides. God wants our
hearts. Blessed are the pure in
00:23:25.50\00:23:30.64
heart. Being pure means you are
free from contamination and free
00:23:30.67\00:23:35.68
from immorality. Being pure in
conduct means honesty and
integrity in dealing with other
00:23:35.71\00:23:40.95
people. Jesus said: "Blessed are
the pure in heart." But that is
just the first part of the
00:23:40.98\00:23:47.92
beatitude. Do not forget the
second part: "Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they shall
00:23:47.96\00:23:57.00
see God." Hallelujah, somebody.
"Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God."
00:23:57.03\00:24:06.54
And so, the question begs
asking: What are you living for?
00:24:06.57\00:24:12.65
And that is the most important
question for any Christian. What
are you living for?
00:24:12.68\00:24:20.02
To be threescore and ten, and
then die? What are you living
00:24:20.06\00:24:28.46
for? That is the question that
this beatitude answers in most
00:24:28.50\00:24:35.24
explicit terms. Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they shall
see God. And that is the goal of
00:24:35.27\00:24:47.02
the Christian life. That is why
we live this life. That is why
we preach like we do, teach like
00:24:47.05\00:24:53.62
we do. That is why
we live like we do.
00:24:53.66\00:24:55.79
That we may live our lives in
such a way that one day we shall
00:24:55.82\00:25:03.83
see God. That we will have a
blessed life. So, one day, we
can see God, and oh, I want to
00:25:03.87\00:25:13.04
see him, look upon his face.
Then, I could sing forever of
his saving grace on the streets
00:25:13.07\00:25:22.85
of glory. I plan to lift
my voice, cares all past.
00:25:22.88\00:25:28.36
Hallelujah, home, at last, ever
to rejoice. I am living my life
so that one day I shall see God.
00:25:28.39\00:25:41.30
For the Lord, Himself shall
descend from heaven with the
00:25:41.34\00:25:46.14
shout, with the voice of the
archangels and the trumpet of
00:25:46.17\00:25:49.38
God, and the dead in
Christ are going to rise first.
00:25:49.41\00:25:51.61
Then we are allowed to remain
shall be caught up together up
in the clouds to meet the Lord
00:25:51.65\00:25:54.98
in the air, and so shall we ever
be with the Lord. Behold, I show
00:25:55.02\00:25:59.95
you a mystery, that one day we
shall not all sleep. But one day
we shall be changed, in a
00:26:00.06\00:26:04.79
moment, and the twinkling of an
eye. That this mortal will put
00:26:04.83\00:26:09.33
on immortality. That this
corruptible will put on in
corruption. And death is going
00:26:09.36\00:26:15.74
to be swallowed up in victory.
Be ye steadfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of
00:26:15.77\00:26:20.84
the Lord, for you know that your
labors are not in vain. And I
saw a new Heaven, and I saw a
00:26:20.88\00:26:27.65
new Earth, for the former Heaven
and former Earth were passed
00:26:27.68\00:26:30.75
away. And I saw the new
Jerusalem coming down out of
heaven as a bride adorned for
00:26:30.79\00:26:36.86
her husband. And there will be
no more crime, no more dying, no
more sickness, no more pain,
00:26:36.89\00:26:42.63
no more house note, no more car
note, no more cancer, no more
Coronavirus, no more racism,
00:26:42.66\00:26:49.87
no more prejudice, and no more.
If we want to see Jesus, we have
to be pure in heart,
00:26:49.90\00:26:56.24
and that is the
way to be blessed.
00:26:56.28\00:26:59.61
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of
Heaven. Blessed are they that
00:26:59.65\00:27:06.02
mourn, for they shall be
comforted. Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the
00:27:06.05\00:27:12.26
Earth. Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be
00:27:12.29\00:27:17.63
filled. Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall attain
mercy. And blessed are the pure
00:27:17.67\00:27:25.87
in heart, because one
day, they shall see God.
00:27:25.91\00:27:33.78
Thank you very much for tuning
in to this week's Breath of Life
00:27:33.82\00:27:38.32
broadcast. We hope and pray that
you've been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:27:38.35\00:27:42.92
If you would like to hear
this sermon in its entirety,
00:27:42.96\00:27:45.49
please feel free to visit
us at www.breathoflife.tv.
00:27:45.53\00:27:51.33
Or, call us at (256) 929-6460.
00:27:51.37\00:28:04.48
When I was eight years old,
I was diagnosed with Crohn's
00:28:04.51\00:28:10.29
disease. When I was fifthteen, I
had my first surgery. When I
think about the time that I lost
00:28:10.32\00:28:21.03
during my adolescent years, I
just can't seem to put it
togther. Even now I'm doing
00:28:21.06\00:28:31.37
treatment for my disease.
Everyone experiences loss. It's
not of matter of if but when.
00:28:31.41\00:28:45.72
www.breathoflife.tv
00:28:45.75\00:28:52.59
[END]
00:28:52.63\00:29:07.68