The Beatitudes Part 3 Announcements about Gods Kingdom

Beatitudes - Announcements about God’s Kingdom Maybe these announcements could just offer us the most amazing good news you could ever hope to read; that God is always available to us and is fully present in the ache, the lack, the “not -yet-ness” of life. Stu G 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness or they will be filled Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, or they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness or theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5: 1 -10

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Math 5: 8 NIV) “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. (Matt 5: 8 The message) One of the most distinguished words in the Bible is the Hebrew word “Qadosh”, holy; a word more than any other is representative of the mystery and majesty of the divine. Now what was the first holy object in the history of the world? Was it a mountain? Was it an alter? …. . in fact it is applied to time: And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy”. There is no record in all of the creation story of any object in space that would be endowed with the quality of holiness Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath

The hebrew word is Shalom which describes a kind of wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken, everything right between us and god, us and each other us and the earth Shalom is not the absence of conflict but mutual flourishing. . Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God Matt 5: 9 (NIV) Peace keepers stay behind walls, they walk on eggshells, they don’t interact with people who are different and all they aver get is all they currently have. They are not walking towards a better future. “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family. Peace makers engage with other listen and build a better future for everyone. Peace makers walk out into the conflict zone and we all have conflict zones. Matt 5: 9(The Message) Stu G

Matt 5: 10 (NIV) The beatitudes are predominantly about blessings of Gods prescence for people in bad situations, not a list of spiritual virtues to attain - they are about being not doing. But they are not just passive announcements - they are a prophetic call to action to show mercy, to live undivided, to be peacemakers. Action that comes not from trying to achieve a blessing or states but action compelled by grace…. Are we doing anything worth persecuting ? “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. Am I swimming upstream? What am I an activist for? What am I resisting? Am I just going with the flow? Who am I speaking out for? Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven Matt 5: 10(The Message) Stu G

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness Blessed are the poor in spirit Blessed are the peacemakers Blessed are the meek Blessed are the pure in heart, Blessed are the merciful, Blessed are those who are persecuted Blessed are those who mourn, In this life we want answers What God offers is Presence You will be shown mercy You will be called children of God You will see God. Yours is the kingdom of heaven. You will be comforted. You will inherit the earth You will be filled