WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.280 Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most 00:00:09.280 --> 00:00:13.960 recent sermons and more. Thanks for listening, and be sure to add this show to your library 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.860 if you'd like to automatically receive new episodes each week. 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:34.820 Good morning, everybody. Glad that you could join us online. I'm looking forward to sharing God's 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:39.360 Word with you today a little bit different than what we normally do, and honestly, differently 00:00:39.360 --> 00:00:45.360 than we prefer. But I echo what Berger said. We're grateful that we have the opportunity and the 00:00:45.360 --> 00:00:51.960 technology to do these things. And so I'm glad that you're tuning in and you're joining us. But if you 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:55.640 have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us. We're going to be in Matthew chapter 00:00:55.640 --> 00:01:02.340 five. And we're going to continue our study in Matthew, but we will be doing so as we begin our 00:01:02.340 --> 00:01:06.640 study on the Sermon on the Mount. All right. So chapters five, six, and seven are a sermon that 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:12.440 Jesus taught. And we're going to look at the introduction to that today. A couple of things 00:01:12.440 --> 00:01:17.680 before we get into this. If you're visiting with us online, thank you for being here. We, you know, 00:01:17.700 --> 00:01:21.120 maybe you woke up this morning, you heard that a bunch of churches were canceled. And so you're 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:26.240 trying one out and however you ended up with us, you ended up with us and we're grateful 00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:31.100 that you're here. And here's the deal. We'd love to meet you. And so next Sunday, we hope 00:01:31.100 --> 00:01:35.260 to be back. There's no reason why we shouldn't at this point in time. And so we would love for 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:42.020 you to join us and to be with us in person next week. Next week is Baptism Sunday. We're 00:01:42.020 --> 00:01:46.860 excited about that. We've got quite a few people who are going to be getting baptized next Sunday. 00:01:46.860 --> 00:01:50.960 And so that will be an exciting service to be at as we partake in the Lord's Supper 00:01:50.960 --> 00:01:57.460 together. And as we see, I believe right now we got like six that are coming forth and forward in 00:01:57.460 --> 00:02:04.360 baptism. Now, Pastor Dave was supposed to be doing a baptism class today. And obviously for some others 00:02:04.360 --> 00:02:08.460 who would like to get baptized, and obviously, you know, we're not able to do that. And so if you're 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:12.800 one of those who signed up for the baptism class, be looking for, or you maybe even already received 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:18.140 something from Pastor Dave about that class, we're going to get you into the class that we can talk 00:02:18.140 --> 00:02:23.240 through baptism with you. And we look forward to scheduling your baptism at a future date. All 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:28.520 right. Another announcement that I want to share with you guys is on Sunday, February, this 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:35.860 Sunday, February, the 8th, I've got to check my calendar now. I think I may be giving you guys the 00:02:35.860 --> 00:02:41.580 wrong date. Nope, that is correct. On Sunday, February, the 8th, immediately following the service, 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:46.960 we're going to be doing an informational meeting about a mission trip to New York City for this 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:53.780 spring. The informational meeting will be about a partnering for a women's conference with Iglesia 00:02:53.780 --> 00:03:00.540 Bautista Nueva Vida, which is New Life Baptist that we partner with Pastor Walter and his congregation 00:03:00.540 --> 00:03:07.260 there. We will be doing a women's conference to reach their community and also to encourage the women 00:03:07.260 --> 00:03:12.380 women of their church. So if you're a lady at Willow Ridge Church and you're interested in going, 00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:18.960 please mark down on your calendar, Sunday, February the 8th, immediately following the service in room 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:25.740 102. We'll have a meeting where Brent Hawkins will go over some of those details, answer some questions, 00:03:26.320 --> 00:03:31.640 and to allow you to begin to pray through if this is something that God has for you to do. 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:39.500 Also, I just want to thank, you know, I know there may be thoughts out there about, you know, 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:48.280 overreactions or things and should churches have shut down today? And I just want to say that in light of 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:55.300 a lot of that that can be out there, you know, we would much rather be live as well. And this creates 00:03:55.300 --> 00:04:03.520 a definite certain level of additional work and nerves, especially for Berger, as he works to be able 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:09.020 to provide us venues like this. This doesn't just happen through, you know, snapping our fingers and 00:04:09.020 --> 00:04:14.480 this just works out. It's a lot of hard work on his end. And so I just want to take this opportunity, 00:04:14.480 --> 00:04:20.080 you know, just to acknowledge that and to thank him. And also to say right now, pretty much every 00:04:20.080 --> 00:04:25.160 church in our county is doing a live stream. So if something happens on Facebook, if something 00:04:25.160 --> 00:04:30.840 happens on YouTube, and all of a sudden this just goes away, we are recording this right now. We're 00:04:30.840 --> 00:04:37.220 doing this on a separate feed that he and I are on so that he can record it. So if all of a sudden 00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:40.760 Facebook just becomes overwhelmed or YouTube becomes overwhelmed because of the number of churches, 00:04:40.880 --> 00:04:43.900 not just in Lexington County, but all over the state, all over the Southeast, 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:49.360 this is being recorded and we will get it posted as soon as we possibly can. 00:04:49.960 --> 00:04:55.260 But I'm at home just like you guys are, right? And so I'm excited. I got my coffee that's right 00:04:55.260 --> 00:05:01.540 here with me. Last night, you know, sometimes we get wisdom from some really great sources and 00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:06.060 a little Grayson Howard at our church. Leslie sent me a message through Facebook last night when I said 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:10.300 I'll be sipping on my coffee during the message that he was afraid that I was going to spill some 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:13.900 coffee on my Bible. So here's what I'm doing to make sure that I don't spill coffee on my Bible. 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:19.200 I'm going to make sure that I put my lid on this, right? So I've got my coffee. I've got it there 00:05:19.200 --> 00:05:23.760 with me. I hope you have that too. And Grayson, buddy, thanks for looking out for me and I'm not 00:05:23.760 --> 00:05:28.520 going to spill any on my Bible. But also like I'm at home with you guys, I just want to go and say 00:05:28.520 --> 00:05:33.980 this on the front end of things. We have a very loud hound dog at our house named Otis. Some of you 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:38.880 have heard stories or even seen pictures of Otis and Aaron. The kids are doing the best job 00:05:38.880 --> 00:05:46.100 they possibly can to keep this very energetic hound dog quiet. But if all of a sudden you start hearing 00:05:46.100 --> 00:05:51.940 some loud barking, then that means that he has seen a squirrel, a bird, a leaf, or sometimes nothing and 00:05:51.940 --> 00:05:56.640 has just decided to start barking as loud as he possibly can. So don't panic. That's not anything 00:05:56.640 --> 00:06:00.860 happening at your house. That's happening here. And I'm just going to pretend like it's not there and 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:06.980 just work through it. And so I hope that you can as well. Well, I'm going to start off. I'm going to read 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:13.480 the first verse of Matthew 5 and then we'll pray and get into our study time this morning. So would 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:19.560 you join me? God's Word in 5.1 says, seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain and when he sat 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:28.060 down, his disciples came to him. Let's pray. God, we thank you, Lord, number one, that this storm is not 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:35.920 as bad as anticipated. Lord, we thank you that we've been blessed with the things that we've been blessed 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:45.380 with in order to gather together, even if it's online, Lord, to open your word. And Lord, while 00:06:45.380 --> 00:06:53.180 this situation by no means is ideal for us, we would much rather be together as a body, as a family 00:06:53.180 --> 00:06:59.200 together. God, we thank you that as you open your word, as we open your word, Lord, that you gather, 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:05.340 that you meet here with us as well. So God, speak to us and may you be glorified in all that is said 00:07:05.340 --> 00:07:12.760 and done. And so Jesus, let me pray. Amen. All right. So we're coming, like I said, to the beginning 00:07:12.760 --> 00:07:18.240 of a three-chapter section of Matthew known as the Sermon on the Mount. This is the first recorded 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:23.160 sermon that we get from Jesus. It had been there before that Jesus has been teaching to repent. 00:07:24.140 --> 00:07:27.940 Talking about the kingdom, but this is where we get in detail. This is the greatest amount of detail 00:07:27.940 --> 00:07:34.300 that we get of this. So a couple of things about this sermon that Jesus taught. We acknowledge, 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:38.500 historically speaking, the theologians have looked at this and said that they do not believe that this 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:43.680 is all that Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount. Instead, we're getting the condensed version. 00:07:43.820 --> 00:07:48.300 Now, there's a much more condensed version found in Luke chapter 6 and verses 20 through 49. 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:55.920 Luke, Dr. Luke gives us his condensed version. But here we get Matthew's condensed version of that. 00:07:56.060 --> 00:08:00.740 So there have been people that kind of argued back and forth about the credibility of that. And we see 00:08:00.740 --> 00:08:06.720 the credibility in it. We see the unity in those. And we trust that Matthew and Luke both recorded 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:11.260 all that the Holy Spirit had for them to record and that it is perfect for us, for what God 00:08:11.260 --> 00:08:16.560 needs for us. But by no means do we think that this was a short, we think it was a very lengthy 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:22.220 time that Jesus was there, both with a crowd and with his disciples. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:27.480 The second thing is, as we go through this, all right, chapter 5, 6, and 7, we're going to talk about a lot of 00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:29.680 things, we're going to talk about oaths, we're going to talk about anger, we're going to talk about lust, 00:08:29.760 --> 00:08:33.120 we're going to talk about marriage, we're going to talk about judging others, maybe there's fasting, 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:37.680 there's a lot of things that we're going to talk about. And I think this is very important, 00:08:38.380 --> 00:08:45.940 that this sermon needs to be understood in light of Jesus as King. Okay, number one, Jesus is King 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:55.240 and his call of repentance for us to be a part of his kingdom. And then this sermon is not necessarily 00:08:55.240 --> 00:09:03.560 how to become a part of the kingdom, but this sermon is instead intended for those of us who are a part 00:09:03.560 --> 00:09:09.580 of the kingdom, how we are to live, what our lives are to look like. And more importantly, as God deals 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:15.420 with the heart, we're going to see this in our marriage, like who we should be as members of the 00:09:15.420 --> 00:09:21.960 kingdom of heaven, as members of the kingdom of God. So if Jesus is our King, then this is who we should 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:28.580 be as we are a part of the kingdom. And then from this, what we will find is that as kingdom citizens, 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:32.720 like as we look at this, there's a couple things that we can draw from it. Number one, it's going 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:38.700 to determine our internal ethic, okay, our internal ethic, like who we are, like at our heart, at our core, 00:09:39.220 --> 00:09:45.400 that this really deals with that old, that sinful, and the new, and the holy, and the 00:09:45.400 --> 00:09:49.940 righteous of who we are in Christ, right? So it's going to determine an internal ethic of who we are. 00:09:50.040 --> 00:09:54.960 And then it's also going to determine an intentional ethic, okay? So it determines who we are, but an 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:00.280 intentional ethic of how we choose to live. So that as you and I see situations in our life, as you and 00:10:00.280 --> 00:10:05.820 I are working through the different struggles and the things that we face, that internally, this is who 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:11.640 we are. And so that this is our internal ethic, but then it should also be our intentional ethic of how we 00:10:11.640 --> 00:10:16.360 are seeking to live. So we can look at this and say, all right, God, like how should I approach 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:21.820 a topic like fasting? How should I approach a topic like anger? How should I approach marriage? 00:10:22.040 --> 00:10:28.140 Like, who should I be, and how should I live in this world? But then also within there, that when we 00:10:28.140 --> 00:10:33.580 find, and we will, we will time and time again find that we miss the mark, right, that we don't live up 00:10:33.580 --> 00:10:38.000 to the expectation, is that we continue to go back to the call to repentance that Jesus has called us to. 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:45.460 And we're going to see this in this first section as well today. Because here's the spiritual reality, 00:10:45.800 --> 00:10:50.920 or the actual reality, the spiritual reality for you and I, is we're not crushing it. You know, like 00:10:50.920 --> 00:10:56.280 we're not out there checking all the boxes, doing all the things, you know, like we have those issues 00:10:56.280 --> 00:11:00.220 within ourselves. And hopefully through the leading of the Holy Spirit, like you and I, as we study 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:06.460 through this together, right, we will experience sorrow for our sin. And then as we experience sorrow 00:11:06.460 --> 00:11:12.140 for our sin, that will lead us to repentance in God. And then in our repentance before God, we'll 00:11:12.140 --> 00:11:22.280 experience the sweetness and the goodness of his continued overflowing forgiveness in our life. 00:11:22.560 --> 00:11:29.040 All right. So let me read verses one and two of Matthew five. And then this is going to kind of give us 00:11:29.040 --> 00:11:35.040 the setting. And then we're going to look through these eight different beatitudes or kingdom 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:40.020 characteristics that we see. So verses one and two, seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain and 00:11:40.020 --> 00:11:47.060 we had sat down, his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them saying, so we're 00:11:47.060 --> 00:11:52.500 going to pause right there for just a moment. So here are a couple of things that I find fascinating 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:57.840 that kind of help explain the setting and the context of this passage of scripture. So the Bible tells us in 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:03.300 Matthew four, that a crowd has started to follow Jesus. So if you get your Bibles with me, look back 00:12:03.300 --> 00:12:09.840 at Matthew four, uh, verses 23 and the first part of 24, it says, and he went all throughout Galilee 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:16.300 teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing, get this in healing 00:12:16.300 --> 00:12:26.620 between every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all of Syria. 00:12:27.280 --> 00:12:32.300 All right. So what we have happening in this is Jesus is teaching. Jesus is not hiding his teaching. He's going 00:12:32.300 --> 00:12:38.160 into synagogues. He's going into public places. He's teaching. He's going out. He's healing. The Bible tells us, right? 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:45.820 Every disease, every affliction, all the things that are there, it goes down later, um, in, in verse 24 and explains 00:12:45.820 --> 00:12:52.800 various diseases and pains. Like he's even healing those oppressed by demons, like paralytics or, or walking. 00:12:52.800 --> 00:13:00.460 Like there's all sorts of healing that is happening, but it says very clear in verse 24 that his fame has 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:09.360 spread. Okay. People have heard about Jesus and they're intrigued. Okay. So this crowd that has followed 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:15.360 Jesus, this crowd that has come to Jesus at the beginning of chapter five, there's two groups of people who were 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:21.060 there, right? There's a much smaller group of disciples, those that Jesus has called. We saw that in the calling of his 00:13:21.060 --> 00:13:27.060 first disciples. Now there's been some time that has been there. So, so more disciples have come and follow Jesus, 00:13:27.060 --> 00:13:33.940 but there's a larger group of people, right? That they're not following Jesus as their, as their Lord. 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:39.580 They're not following Jesus as their savior, for instance, but they are following Jesus because they're fascinated. 00:13:40.140 --> 00:13:45.340 Um, they're intrigued about what will he do next? You know, is he some miracle healer? They don't know who 00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:49.000 he is. They don't know what he's about. They're hearing his teaching. It's different than before. 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:54.340 And so they're, they're, they're curious. Now this group of people largely that will be following Jesus. 00:13:54.340 --> 00:14:01.160 Now, both disciples, um, and, and the crowd, if you were to describe them in their physical condition 00:14:01.160 --> 00:14:08.040 of where they are, okay, they're tired, they're discouraged, they're oppressed. All right. And they're 00:14:08.040 --> 00:14:15.320 looking for a leader. They're experiencing, uh, the, the oppression of Rome and, and with 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:22.080 that, right. The weight of the Roman empire on them, it's affected, uh, the people, uh, that they feel 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:26.800 that weight spiritually. They feel that weight physically. They feel that weight through, through 00:14:26.800 --> 00:14:36.320 their government. Right. And so all of them are just exhausted. They're just worn out. So Jesus steps 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:43.600 into this moment, right? Jesus sees the setting and Jesus makes the decision. And there's lots of things 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:49.080 that Jesus could have done, but Jesus decides because this isn't the mission. This isn't why the 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:55.320 father has sent him. He makes the decision of obedience. And instead of starting a political movement, 00:14:55.320 --> 00:15:05.740 instead of starting a, a, a wartime rebellion, instead of starting a, a political, um, insurrection, 00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:19.500 uh, Jesus decides to teach them. And very specifically, he will teach them what it means to be blessed. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:29.440 Now, the people who were there would not have considered themselves blessed. In fact, they would 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:35.680 have considered themselves the opposite of blessed. They would have considered themselves oppressed. 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:41.460 You know, when, when, when we look at where we are, you know, what we're going to have to come to 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:48.720 is an understanding of as followers of Jesus. How do we ultimately see ourselves? In spite of the 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:55.420 conditions around us, in spite of what we're, what we're facing, are we, are we resting in hopeful? 00:15:56.380 --> 00:16:03.380 Um, do we see ourselves blessed in who we are in Christ? So let's, let's talk about this word blessed. 00:16:04.040 --> 00:16:11.860 A literal translation of this word blessed is the word happy. All right. Now you and I think of happy, 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:16.140 we think of a couple things, right? Like, um, I'm happy if I get a big bowl of ice cream. I'm happy 00:16:16.140 --> 00:16:20.320 when I get to go on vacation. I'm happy when I get to spend time with my family. Um, I'm happy when my 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:26.360 favorite sports teams win. I like, like we, we, we see this word, we're happy. And, and this word happy 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:30.480 though, that we see in scripture that Jesus is going to kind of work out for us. It's a little bit 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:40.900 different, um, than our notion of a fleeting coming and going only emotional. Now happy is emotional in 00:16:40.900 --> 00:16:48.500 the, in this context. It's emotional state, but, but it's also, it's capturing a bigger idea that 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:56.920 holds with itself a piece of internal, of eternal, right? Internal and eternal connotations, right? So this 00:16:56.920 --> 00:17:06.440 word captures the idea that as recipients of God's grace and God's favor, you and I are therefore 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:18.700 fortunate and blessed. And as a result of that, right, we are happy, right? We are happy. It's an emotion, 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:27.520 but it's also a state of being at the exact same time. So let's, let's understand this, this context. 00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:33.800 Let's look at it this way. Jesus is going to come to this crowd and Jesus is going to say to them, 00:17:33.800 --> 00:17:44.060 listen, in spite of your earthly current standings, in spite of your temporary circumstances, 00:17:44.060 --> 00:17:55.940 you are blessed when your current spiritual standing is in Christ, right? These are the words that we can 00:17:55.940 --> 00:18:03.480 see and that we know in the fullness of his message of this is what it means to be blessed. And that when 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:13.980 we are blessed, we are blessed now, and we are blessed for eternity. So what Jesus is doing for them, and I 00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:22.920 hope it's what Jesus is doing for us, is he's changing their, their perception of themselves and their 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:29.100 perspective, trying to make those words the same, their perception of themselves and their perspective of 00:18:29.100 --> 00:18:39.940 their earthly situation to cause them to look at an eternal kingdom standing with Jesus as king and 00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:49.620 them as citizens of the kingdom. So for you and I, is Jesus your king? And do you and I live in the 00:18:49.620 --> 00:18:58.320 reality of the internal impact of what it means to be citizens of the kingdom, even though in the 00:18:58.320 --> 00:19:03.320 fullness of that, right? It's not the reality in which we live in. There's still brokenness, there's still 00:19:03.320 --> 00:19:11.200 sin, there's still evil in the world, but we can hold to the fact that we are part of the kingdom and that 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:17.120 we will be a part of the fullness of the kingdom. So Jesus is going to give eight statements that we're 00:19:17.120 --> 00:19:22.140 going to look at concerning this state of blessing. And what he does, there's a pattern for this, right? 00:19:22.140 --> 00:19:31.080 He'll explain who we are first and then that we are blessed and then why we are blessed. So like who we are, 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:38.920 why we are blessed, right? And the blessed will be described culturally speaking, all right? So if you're 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:43.620 in that first audience and you're listening to what Jesus is saying, you're hearing some negative terms. 00:19:44.020 --> 00:19:49.740 And even for us, as we're going to hear these today, we're going to hear negative terms. But in the 00:19:49.740 --> 00:19:56.680 fullness of the gospel, Jesus is, is, is showing us in light of what he's done in light of who we are, 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:04.040 of what this means. So let's, let's look at the first one, Matthew five verse three, blessed are the poor 00:20:04.040 --> 00:20:13.740 in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So here we go. Number one, the blessed are the poor, 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:21.920 the blessed are the poor. Now the poor Jesus says are the poor in spirit, right? This, this isn't 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:27.480 connected right here with what we see with financially, right? There are people who are blessed spiritually 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:31.660 in Christ and they have wealth and there's people who are blessed in Christ and they do not have wealth 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:35.700 and everywhere in between. Well, we're going to talk about money much later on, right? Like we're 00:20:35.700 --> 00:20:40.080 going to get there, but Jesus is here is talking about the poor in spirit. And so what Jesus means 00:20:40.080 --> 00:20:45.680 by that, the poor in spirit is that, that the poor in spirit see themselves. We see ourselves as 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:50.940 spiritually broke, right? Uh, it's actually the same word for poor that would describe someone who's in, 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:57.980 who's in bankruptcy. All right. That we see ourselves spiritually bankrupt. Now here's the thing that's not 00:20:57.980 --> 00:21:01.460 great. I don't want to see myself as spiritually bankrupt. I want to see myself as spiritually 00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:07.180 rich. Well, let me explain. This means that when we are spiritually poor, when we are spiritually 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:14.600 bankrupt, that, that this means that you and I recognize in ourselves, right? That we do not 00:21:14.600 --> 00:21:22.080 have the ability to produce a righteousness of ourselves that's pleasing to God. And that's where 00:21:22.080 --> 00:21:30.100 blessing begins that you and I realize that in and of ourselves, apart from the kindness and the favor 00:21:30.100 --> 00:21:38.060 in the work of Christ, that we can do absolutely nothing to save ourselves, that you and I can do 00:21:38.060 --> 00:21:45.800 absolutely nothing to deserve, right? A relationship with God. And that while this is the first step of 00:21:45.800 --> 00:21:50.860 salvation, right? This is the repentance that Jesus is calling us to. But then this is a continual 00:21:50.860 --> 00:21:57.060 process on and on in our life and sanctification, right? As we become more like Christ, that we see 00:21:57.060 --> 00:22:01.700 those things of brokenness within our lives and we repent of those. We talked about this a few weeks 00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:07.040 ago, right? Like the sorrow, the dependence, the turn. It's an intellectual, it's a heart issue. 00:22:07.280 --> 00:22:12.800 It's a physical issue as we turn and follow him. And so when we are poor in spirit, we're incapable of 00:22:12.800 --> 00:22:18.900 righteousness, ourselves of salvation. And then we recognize that Jesus is capable. 00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:25.460 Jesus is capable. He's capable, not just for himself, right? In the fullness of his righteousness 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:31.520 and his perfection, but he's capable in that and that he imparts that righteousness and that 00:22:31.520 --> 00:22:36.380 perfection to you and I when we put our faith, our hope, and our trust in him. That's the beautiful 00:22:36.380 --> 00:22:41.500 picture of this. And then here's the deal. This is what God's word says, that blessed are the poor in 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:52.560 spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That's the reward. I'm spiritually broke. I'm spiritually 00:22:52.560 --> 00:23:04.780 busted. And so what do I get? The kingdom of heaven. And so we are poor in spirit when we are broken 00:23:04.780 --> 00:23:14.080 before God. And in that, we become partakers of the kingdom. So let's look at the second one found in 00:23:14.080 --> 00:23:24.400 verse four. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted, right? Blessed are those who 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:30.860 mourn. We mourn a lot of things in our world. We mourn things that we maybe should mourn for, right? 00:23:30.860 --> 00:23:35.980 When you lose something and you grieve something. I think maybe sometimes we mourn things that we 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:42.500 shouldn't. We mourn for the simple comforts oftentimes or the pleasures, the sinful desires 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:50.760 that we have when they're taken away from us. But the call here is blessed are those who mourn, 00:23:50.800 --> 00:23:56.940 for they shall be comforted. So we're looking at this in light of the gospel. Now, God does give comfort 00:23:56.940 --> 00:24:02.240 to those who mourn, especially in the loss or the passing of those whom they love. We see this, 00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:09.080 you know, Jesus, Jesus mourned, Jesus grieved when he heard that Lazarus had died, right? Even though 00:24:09.080 --> 00:24:14.640 Jesus would, would resurrect Lazarus, right? He still, he still grieved in that. And so if you're out 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:19.840 here today and you're walking through a season and it may be a close season, it may be a short season 00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:24.400 of times that you've lost someone that you love, or maybe it's an extended period of time. It's been 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:29.820 weeks, months, and sometimes even years. And you're mourning that, right? We have the God who comforts 00:24:29.820 --> 00:24:35.200 us through his Holy Spirit because we know that all the things of this world will pass away. Death 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:41.580 will be no more, right? With our eternity in him. But this in mourning, it's more than just mourning the 00:24:41.580 --> 00:24:49.180 loss of someone that we love, right? It's looking at bringing us back to repentance again, mourning the 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:55.620 sorrowful. That this attitude flows from our spiritual brokenness as we mourn over our sin. 00:24:56.100 --> 00:24:59.020 Now, when Jesus is talking to the group, right? So I'm going to try to make sure that I continue to 00:24:59.020 --> 00:25:04.740 connect to where we are, to where Jesus is in this original context, right? These people would have 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:09.620 thought that they would know what it means to mourn. Remember, they're controlled by Rome. 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:14.580 And crucifixion is something that we know of from the Bible because we see that that's how 00:25:14.580 --> 00:25:22.140 the Roman government executed Jesus. But in that also, if you remember the story of the cross, 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:26.820 right? Jesus's crucifixion isn't the only crucifixion that's happening at that time, 00:25:26.860 --> 00:25:31.700 right? Jesus was in the middle cross and there were two thieves who were on either side of Jesus. 00:25:32.260 --> 00:25:38.440 So the Romans, you see, they crucified a lot of people. When people that they heard that were trying 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:43.940 to lead an insurrection against them, right? They would crucify them. When people broke the law, 00:25:44.040 --> 00:25:49.420 they would crucify them. And their crucifixion process, for the most part, not always, but for 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:57.000 the most part, was done in a way as extreme measures in order to keep the people in order so that they 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:03.300 knew. So here's what Rome would do a lot of the times. So there's a story of a group of Jewish 00:26:03.300 --> 00:26:09.040 zealots who are tired of Rome. They're tired of the oppression that Rome has been given them. And so 00:26:09.040 --> 00:26:14.660 they decide that they're going to lead a charge against a small Roman battalion and overthrow the 00:26:14.660 --> 00:26:20.000 battalion and set their people free. Well, long story short, they don't. They fail and they're captured. 00:26:21.140 --> 00:26:28.040 And on the road that they were, on one of the roads around the town, I believe it was in Jerusalem, 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:33.740 right around the city that they were in, they were forced to carry their cross. And they would carry 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:37.700 their cross. And then whenever someone fell down, right, we read that Jesus, you know, he fell when 00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:41.940 he was carrying his cross and had to have help. When they fell down, they would then stop and they 00:26:41.940 --> 00:26:46.360 would put that cross up there and they would crucify that, that rebel there. And then they would move 00:26:46.360 --> 00:26:49.420 down the road. And when the next person fell, they'd crucify him there and they would keep going. 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:57.960 And then once they had died, not only did they leave the crosses up, but they left the bodies 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:05.020 on the crosses as well. And it was a reminder to everyone who walked past and saw those to make 00:27:05.020 --> 00:27:10.780 sure that you obeyed Rome. In fact, there's a lot of theologians believe that when Jesus is with his 00:27:10.780 --> 00:27:14.920 disciples and he says, take up your cross and follow me, that it's very likely that Jesus was on one of 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:21.420 these roads where you would have actually seen a cross, been the reminder of what's there. You know, 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:25.780 these people would have known mourning. Chances are they would have known someone whose life had been 00:27:25.780 --> 00:27:35.580 taken in an unjust manner. And so Jesus tells them, though, that those who mourn are blessed. But we see 00:27:35.580 --> 00:27:44.080 mourning here, right, in light of repentance, in light of sorrow. We see mourning, I think the best way that we 00:27:44.080 --> 00:27:52.620 see it in the life of a believer, follower of God is found in Isaiah 6. In Isaiah 6, God gives a vision 00:27:52.620 --> 00:28:00.980 to the prophet Isaiah. And Isaiah sees the throne room of God. And Isaiah responds to the throne room of 00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:12.200 God. And he responds in a way of awe, but also repentance, because he sees the holiness of God in light of the 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:21.580 sinfulness of himself. And here's his response, Isaiah 6, 5. It says, and I said, woe is me, for I am lost, 00:28:21.740 --> 00:28:28.960 for I am a man of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:38.820 King, the Lord of hosts. You see, when we see ourselves in light of who we are, in light of who God is, 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:48.140 right? And when we mourn who we are in repentance, here's the promise of what Jesus gives us. 00:28:48.740 --> 00:29:00.000 We get not wrath, we get comfort. So when we acknowledge that we're a sinner, when we acknowledge 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:09.760 that we're broken, when we acknowledge that we're sinful, what we get is not the wrathful hand of God, 00:29:10.120 --> 00:29:18.440 but what we get is the comforting embrace of God. Guys, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. 00:29:19.560 --> 00:29:26.160 That's a deeper level of comfort than what we could ever think that comfort could be, right? 00:29:26.980 --> 00:29:33.400 We deserve wrath. We are guilty and we in repentance are acknowledging that we are guilty 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:43.420 and we deserve the full punishment of God. But when we acknowledge that, we get comfort. 00:29:45.460 --> 00:29:53.540 Guys, would you embrace holy sorrow and repentance so that we can experience the comfort of the God who 00:29:53.540 --> 00:29:58.760 loves us? All right, third Matthew. Matthew 5, verse 5. 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:06.320 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. So blessed are the meek. So what does it mean 00:30:06.320 --> 00:30:17.600 to be meek? You know, when I think of meek, I think of passive, silent, timid, even weak, right? The 00:30:17.600 --> 00:30:24.280 meek are the weak. Don't be meek, be strong, be bold, be courageous. But Jesus says, blessed are the 00:30:24.280 --> 00:30:32.980 meek. And that in their meekness, there's inheritance that come. I read this definition this week and I 00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:39.480 loved it. It says this, that the meek are those who delight in a servant relationship with God 00:30:39.480 --> 00:30:46.940 and who subjects himself to God quietly without resistance. I'm going to tell you, 00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:57.700 to submit yourself to God is a bold step of faith that requires not meekness to the sinful patterns 00:30:57.700 --> 00:31:03.400 of the world, but a meekness to God so that we can go and live by the power of Holy Spirit and all 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:12.820 boldness and truth to be who God's called us to be. And here's the deal. Jesus himself. Jesus. 00:31:13.900 --> 00:31:19.680 Now, every town, you think that you're brave? We think that we're strong? We think that we have a 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:27.440 level of endurance. Jesus, every town he went into had people who hated him. Jesus stood face to face 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:33.960 with people who wanted to see him dead and he did not back down. Jesus went and faced the cross and the 00:31:33.960 --> 00:31:43.340 beating and all of that was there. Jesus, folks, in his humanity was a strong man. In his divinity, 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:48.840 he's all powerful. But listen to how Jesus describes himself in Matthew 11, 29. 00:31:49.960 --> 00:32:01.260 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle, gentle and meek and lowly in heart. 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:10.400 And in that, you will find rest for your souls. The son in complete obedience and surrender 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:14.500 and gentleness to the father calls us in the same way. 00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:25.440 You see, before kings win kingdoms through sending soldiers into battle to take. 00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:35.320 And Jesus says, I'm going to come and I'm going to fight and I'm going to win through my surrender, 00:32:36.040 --> 00:32:37.800 even surrender by death on the cross. 00:32:39.220 --> 00:32:46.840 And in that, when we respond in meekness, that you and I were given a promise. 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:53.340 And the promise is not that we will get, you know, not that we would just be a person in the kingdom, 00:32:53.820 --> 00:33:00.260 but an inheritance of the earth, the new heaven and the new earth. 00:33:01.040 --> 00:33:02.700 And in that, the kingdom. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:12.800 Because we come to God with a meekness that simply says, I am yours. 00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:14.440 I am yours. 00:33:15.300 --> 00:33:16.600 Jesus looks at a crowd. 00:33:17.960 --> 00:33:21.500 A crowd who believes they need a war hero. 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:23.480 They need a political hero. 00:33:24.120 --> 00:33:31.800 And they'll take arms to overthrow the government so that their limited kingdom could be established there. 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:34.000 And Jesus says, no, no, no. 00:33:35.060 --> 00:33:36.160 Come in meekness. 00:33:37.120 --> 00:33:38.520 And there is an inheritance. 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.980 It's a future inheritance that will fully be known and fully be received. 00:33:45.740 --> 00:33:47.540 But it's found in submission to God. 00:33:49.100 --> 00:33:49.960 And would you be meek? 00:33:51.660 --> 00:33:52.480 Verse 6. 00:33:54.320 --> 00:34:00.240 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 00:34:03.840 --> 00:34:06.320 Blessed are the hungry and the thirsty. 00:34:07.760 --> 00:34:08.960 What are you hungry for? 00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:11.500 What are you thirsty for? 00:34:11.960 --> 00:34:15.720 You know, they say never go to the grocery store when you're hungry. 00:34:16.040 --> 00:34:16.200 Right. 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:18.720 Because you'll buy more food than you actually need. 00:34:19.100 --> 00:34:19.200 Right. 00:34:19.240 --> 00:34:20.240 You'll blow the budget. 00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:22.240 You'll get things that aren't on the list. 00:34:22.720 --> 00:34:26.280 And specifically, they say that you will get more junk food. 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:31.980 Because when you're hungry, you see things that you think will satisfy you. 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:33.660 Even though they won't. 00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:35.720 Even though they're not good for you. 00:34:35.960 --> 00:34:39.820 So they say, eat a meal before you go to the grocery shop and never go hungry. 00:34:39.940 --> 00:34:40.080 Right. 00:34:40.660 --> 00:34:42.080 I ask you, what are you hungry for? 00:34:42.460 --> 00:34:43.560 What are you thirsty for? 00:34:43.940 --> 00:34:48.240 What are you there to receive that you think will satisfy you? 00:34:49.180 --> 00:34:52.180 When I was in college, I went on a summer mission trip to Mexico. 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:56.780 And again, let me emphasize Mexico in summer. 00:34:57.020 --> 00:34:57.320 All right. 00:34:57.840 --> 00:34:59.000 And it was hot. 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:05.320 It was way hotter than this boy from South Carolina knew that he could go through and that he could experience. 00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:06.980 And we went to build a church. 00:35:08.080 --> 00:35:13.120 And what they had for us, they had all of our materials and they were going to have water there for us. 00:35:14.360 --> 00:35:15.780 And so I didn't bring my water bottle. 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:17.520 Most people didn't bring their water bottle. 00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:18.440 And we got there. 00:35:18.760 --> 00:35:21.140 And anyway, the water wasn't there. 00:35:21.520 --> 00:35:23.280 And the water didn't show up. 00:35:23.520 --> 00:35:24.320 We were expecting water. 00:35:24.420 --> 00:35:24.840 It wasn't there. 00:35:25.380 --> 00:35:27.880 So we're working in the sun and the heat all day. 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:33.560 And we knew that there was a little, I'll describe it as like a convenience store, like right down the road. 00:35:34.560 --> 00:35:38.300 And so they said, well, when we need to, we can go there and we can get drinks. 00:35:39.120 --> 00:35:43.420 And so I'm going there and I'm thinking like, hey, I'm going to get some Gatorade. 00:35:43.640 --> 00:35:44.740 I'm going to get some bottles of water. 00:35:45.060 --> 00:35:47.740 You know, I'm really going to get my electric lights back up. 00:35:47.860 --> 00:35:49.900 I'm going to hydrate, do all the things that I need to do. 00:35:50.560 --> 00:35:54.900 And we walk in and they had two things on the shelf to drink. 00:35:55.120 --> 00:36:00.260 They had glass bottled Cokes and glass bottled orange Fanta. 00:36:00.820 --> 00:36:01.640 So that's it. 00:36:02.060 --> 00:36:05.740 No Gatorade, no water, Coke and orange Fanta. 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:08.660 Now, I was exhausted. 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.240 I was thirsty and we had a long day of work still ahead of us. 00:36:12.800 --> 00:36:19.940 So I grabbed a Coke, I grabbed an orange Fanta, popped them both, walking back down on both. 00:36:19.980 --> 00:36:26.540 And I want to tell you, in that moment, as parched as my mouth was, as thirsty as I was, 00:36:27.080 --> 00:36:33.060 that was by far the best tasting Coke and orange Fanta I'd ever had leading up to then. 00:36:33.060 --> 00:36:35.420 And honestly, probably ever since. 00:36:36.160 --> 00:36:41.780 And I remember remembering and thinking how good it was. 00:36:42.740 --> 00:36:44.080 But here's the deal. 00:36:44.860 --> 00:36:47.580 How long do you think that satisfaction lasted? 00:36:48.520 --> 00:36:55.420 Not only did it not last very long, but in all honesty, I think it made my condition worse. 00:36:56.320 --> 00:37:04.280 Because instead of getting what I needed to satisfy me, I settled for the lesser things. 00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:14.880 The Bible tells us, Jesus tells us, that blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:37:17.220 --> 00:37:18.780 What do you hunger and thirst for? 00:37:20.520 --> 00:37:24.320 Do you hunger and thirst for the things of God? 00:37:25.640 --> 00:37:29.320 Do you hunger and thirst for God himself? 00:37:31.240 --> 00:37:33.560 Do you hunger and thirst for the things of this world? 00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:38.580 Or do you hunger and thirst for Jesus? 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:41.680 You see, Jesus looks at this group of people. 00:37:43.460 --> 00:37:46.300 Maybe they were physically hungry. 00:37:47.060 --> 00:37:48.720 Maybe they were physically thirsty. 00:37:49.800 --> 00:37:54.800 You know, we see later on when Jesus feeds the thousands with just a few pieces of bread and fish, 00:37:55.220 --> 00:38:00.300 that people would come starving and they needed physical things. 00:38:00.380 --> 00:38:01.700 And Jesus accommodates that. 00:38:02.760 --> 00:38:08.680 But are we looking for ultimate satisfaction in the things of this world that will fade? 00:38:09.900 --> 00:38:13.980 Or in the God of this world, in Christ? 00:38:14.660 --> 00:38:17.120 Because when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:38:17.120 --> 00:38:33.680 Then, then, in spite of the circumstance, there we will find satisfaction when Jesus is enough. 00:38:35.320 --> 00:38:38.620 Do you hunger and thirst for Jesus? 00:38:38.620 --> 00:38:43.600 So, verse 7. 00:38:45.640 --> 00:38:50.220 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 00:38:50.780 --> 00:38:51.660 The merciful. 00:38:52.520 --> 00:38:57.360 Jesus calls us in being the merciful, right? 00:38:57.820 --> 00:38:59.520 To show mercy. 00:39:00.040 --> 00:39:03.880 Jesus calls us to show mercy because we have been shown mercy. 00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:17.460 Danny Akin says in his book on the Sermon of the Mount that Matthew 5, 7's call to be those who show mercy is the natural flow from the previous four statements that Jesus gave. 00:39:17.580 --> 00:39:18.900 Let me read to you what he says in his book. 00:39:19.820 --> 00:39:20.400 He says, 00:39:20.400 --> 00:39:40.860 The person who knows his spiritual bankruptcy, verse 3, grieves over his pitiful condition, verse 4, submits his will to God's will in all things, verse 5, and longs for godly righteousness, verse 6, shows mercy to the poor and needy because he knows himself to be poor and needy as well. 00:39:41.740 --> 00:39:47.400 Mercy can be viewed in a lot of ways, serving others, encouraging others, providing for others. 00:39:47.400 --> 00:39:58.420 But mercy means at its deepest level, at its ultimate call in our lives, forgiving others because we have been forgiven, right? 00:39:58.820 --> 00:40:06.820 That as we have experienced the grace and mercy of God, then therefore we are able to extend that to someone else. 00:40:07.280 --> 00:40:15.820 Let me just say that you and I have never had anyone sin against us to the depth that we have sinned against God. 00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:19.080 I don't care what it is that they've done to you. 00:40:19.900 --> 00:40:21.840 I don't care what it is that they've created. 00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:30.140 I do care in that I respect it or I'm sorry, I grieve with you in that because I know it could be a great loss. 00:40:30.200 --> 00:40:32.620 Some of you have experienced great loss within that. 00:40:33.320 --> 00:40:40.340 But what I'm getting to is how we've been sinned against pales in comparison to how we've sinned against God. 00:40:41.440 --> 00:40:46.320 And every thought and every action and every deed that is ungodly is an offense before him. 00:40:47.020 --> 00:40:55.940 And not only does he experience that offense from me as an individual and from you, but he experienced that from all of mankind for all time, right? 00:40:56.580 --> 00:40:58.120 This is the depth. 00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:08.400 And so if God can forgive us and God does forgive us and God shows mercy to us. 00:41:10.040 --> 00:41:16.500 Jesus says the response is not simply gratitude for God for forgiving us. 00:41:17.860 --> 00:41:19.640 But it's our call to forgive others. 00:41:21.140 --> 00:41:23.080 Again, let's put ourself in the context. 00:41:24.460 --> 00:41:25.460 They're oppressed. 00:41:25.720 --> 00:41:26.780 They're afflicted. 00:41:27.420 --> 00:41:28.720 They've had their own countrymen. 00:41:28.780 --> 00:41:30.980 We're going to look at this a little bit more in the coming weeks, right? 00:41:31.180 --> 00:41:33.520 Known as the tax collectors turn against them. 00:41:34.400 --> 00:41:38.600 They've had their own rulers turn against them and partner with Rome to oppress them. 00:41:39.420 --> 00:41:42.280 They've had their property taken. 00:41:42.400 --> 00:41:43.660 They've had their businesses taken. 00:41:43.980 --> 00:41:45.440 They've had their finances taken. 00:41:47.780 --> 00:41:48.660 Jesus says forgive. 00:41:50.140 --> 00:41:51.320 Jesus says show mercy. 00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:55.060 I imagine they would say that's hard, and it is. 00:41:56.040 --> 00:42:00.640 And I imagine for you and I, if we're being honest, sometimes to forgive others is hard. 00:42:02.100 --> 00:42:19.120 But when we are shown mercy, when God in salvation gives us the power of the Holy Spirit, it is a daily commitment and a pleading with the Holy Spirit to grow us so that we can forgive those who have hurt us. 00:42:19.580 --> 00:42:26.180 So that we can show mercy to those as God has showed us mercy. 00:42:27.140 --> 00:42:34.460 Will you show people mercy, even if your feelings tell you they don't deserve it? 00:42:36.540 --> 00:42:37.740 Matthew 5.8 says, 00:42:39.780 --> 00:42:43.720 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 00:42:44.780 --> 00:42:45.700 Blessed are the pure. 00:42:46.840 --> 00:42:47.460 Blessed are the pure. 00:42:48.280 --> 00:42:54.040 You see, the world says change what you do so that you can change who you are. 00:42:55.120 --> 00:43:04.440 Jesus, in this statement, he's not necessarily attacking a characteristic of the Roman world on them as much as he is the Jewish world, right? 00:43:04.680 --> 00:43:08.600 The Pharisees who will say it's more about what you do than about who you are. 00:43:09.240 --> 00:43:15.040 But God says, what I'm going to do is I'm going to come and I'm going to change who you are from the inside. 00:43:15.580 --> 00:43:20.100 That God's concerned with your heart above all else. 00:43:20.960 --> 00:43:27.760 And then from our heart, what will come from that is our obedience in our relationship with God. 00:43:28.620 --> 00:43:31.860 In 1 Samuel 16.7, when David is anointed as king, right? 00:43:31.960 --> 00:43:35.080 David, we think of David and we see all of his leadership characteristics, right? 00:43:35.220 --> 00:43:37.780 Even though David's got all of his faults that he has, right? 00:43:37.960 --> 00:43:42.800 All of his struggles that he has, we see David as a leader. 00:43:42.960 --> 00:43:47.400 But those around David, when David was anointed as king, would have not have seen David as this great leader. 00:43:48.140 --> 00:43:55.600 And so they thought that David was the least likely of all of the brothers who were looked at to be chosen to be king. 00:43:55.600 --> 00:44:02.500 But God, the Bible tells us that God, that they saw the outside, but that what God saw was the inside, right? 00:44:03.440 --> 00:44:06.480 And that's how God chose David. 00:44:07.360 --> 00:44:09.640 Matthew 15.18-19 says, 00:44:10.940 --> 00:44:14.880 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. 00:44:15.680 --> 00:44:24.860 For from the heart comes evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, faults, temptation, slander, right? 00:44:25.600 --> 00:44:29.220 That from the heart is the source of this. 00:44:30.420 --> 00:44:33.720 But that purity is possible. 00:44:35.180 --> 00:44:37.740 If not, Jesus wouldn't have said, blessed are the pure. 00:44:38.500 --> 00:44:40.400 But specifically, what does he say? 00:44:40.840 --> 00:44:43.540 Blessed are the pure in heart. 00:44:45.060 --> 00:44:48.460 Again, this isn't works-based righteousness. 00:44:49.600 --> 00:44:52.840 It's about the power of God and what God's going to do. 00:44:53.680 --> 00:44:58.560 And it's possible as we put our faith and trust in God and salvation. 00:45:00.060 --> 00:45:08.220 But as we continue to draw near to God, as we continue to pursue him, 00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:12.120 in that, in that, right, they shall see God. 00:45:12.220 --> 00:45:16.220 Now, I think right here in this, they shall see God. 00:45:17.020 --> 00:45:18.340 I think it's a two-part. 00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:22.220 I think it's an immediate and eternal, they shall see God. 00:45:22.800 --> 00:45:25.800 I do think it's an eternal, they shall see God, right? 00:45:25.880 --> 00:45:31.560 Like when we will spend eternity with God, like we will see, like the day of our faith is made sight, right? 00:45:31.640 --> 00:45:32.500 This is this. 00:45:32.800 --> 00:45:37.720 But I also think that as we draw closer to God, that we'll see God. 00:45:38.220 --> 00:45:42.480 Not in the instance that, you know, you're seeing me through this right now, but we'll see God at work. 00:45:42.660 --> 00:45:44.400 We'll see God at moving. 00:45:44.680 --> 00:45:46.200 We will see God growing us. 00:45:46.380 --> 00:45:47.900 We will see what God's doing at hand. 00:45:47.980 --> 00:45:54.540 We'll be able to see and experience relationally who God is. 00:45:56.100 --> 00:45:57.100 It's a pure in heart. 00:45:58.860 --> 00:46:01.100 Lastly, in Matthew 5, 9. 00:46:01.940 --> 00:46:03.540 I'm sorry, not lastly, I'm sorry. 00:46:04.580 --> 00:46:05.560 But we see this. 00:46:05.860 --> 00:46:10.180 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 00:46:10.620 --> 00:46:10.700 Right? 00:46:10.780 --> 00:46:11.680 Blessed are the peacemakers. 00:46:12.160 --> 00:46:14.580 So now, Jesus, again, look at a group of people. 00:46:15.200 --> 00:46:16.020 They're ready to fight. 00:46:16.800 --> 00:46:17.580 They're ready to fight. 00:46:18.420 --> 00:46:19.320 And Jesus said, wait, wait, wait. 00:46:20.080 --> 00:46:21.200 Blessed are the peacemakers. 00:46:22.980 --> 00:46:27.340 Because, see, they lived in a world where they did not believe that there was peace. 00:46:28.880 --> 00:46:30.220 So they can't be peacekeepers. 00:46:31.780 --> 00:46:33.060 They have to be peacemakers. 00:46:35.860 --> 00:46:40.000 And when they're peacemakers, they will be called sons of God. 00:46:41.060 --> 00:46:44.740 You see, this world wants you and I to look at ourselves as peacekeepers. 00:46:45.600 --> 00:46:47.960 But God calls us to be peacemakers. 00:46:49.320 --> 00:46:52.340 When I think about it with the word keeping the peace, 00:46:52.980 --> 00:47:02.120 I think we use that phrase with a layer of positivity that I'm not sure is there. 00:47:04.140 --> 00:47:12.600 Oftentimes, in keeping the peace, what we mean when we say that is we're going to choose to tolerate sin. 00:47:14.200 --> 00:47:16.200 We're going to excuse injustice. 00:47:19.200 --> 00:47:23.300 We're going to desire the glory of man or the pride of ourself. 00:47:24.360 --> 00:47:25.060 Hey, keep the peace. 00:47:27.060 --> 00:47:30.640 But peacemakers, you see, that's different. 00:47:32.560 --> 00:47:41.460 Because peacemakers realize that in the moment, what our world needs is not a false peace that's kept, 00:47:41.700 --> 00:47:48.700 but a true, eternal peace that's possible, but only through Jesus. 00:47:51.200 --> 00:47:55.460 So peacemakers call others to repentance. 00:47:57.260 --> 00:47:59.420 Peacemakers practice repentance themselves. 00:48:01.340 --> 00:48:03.260 Peacemakers love justice. 00:48:05.160 --> 00:48:08.320 Peacemakers desire justice themselves. 00:48:10.420 --> 00:48:14.520 Peacemakers desire, above all things, 00:48:14.940 --> 00:48:16.700 not the peace of man, 00:48:17.440 --> 00:48:18.740 but the glory of God. 00:48:20.880 --> 00:48:23.660 And so their obedience is found there. 00:48:25.260 --> 00:48:27.880 You see, I think sometimes when we use the word peace, 00:48:28.580 --> 00:48:31.880 we're settling for a counterfeit peace. 00:48:33.360 --> 00:48:34.800 A peace that's 00:48:34.800 --> 00:48:37.300 not really possible. 00:48:39.000 --> 00:48:41.060 A peace that if it does happen, 00:48:41.200 --> 00:48:42.480 will always be temporary. 00:48:43.920 --> 00:48:45.680 And it seeks the glory 00:48:45.680 --> 00:48:47.180 of man. 00:48:48.740 --> 00:48:49.880 But when we see 00:48:49.880 --> 00:48:50.760 true peace, 00:48:51.440 --> 00:48:53.580 what we find is that 00:48:53.580 --> 00:48:55.100 it's only possible through Christ. 00:48:56.860 --> 00:48:57.980 And in this, 00:48:58.440 --> 00:48:59.080 peacemaking 00:48:59.080 --> 00:49:01.380 always carries with it 00:49:01.380 --> 00:49:03.360 eternal ramifications. 00:49:05.380 --> 00:49:06.960 The Bible does tell us, 00:49:07.800 --> 00:49:08.420 so if you're like, 00:49:08.500 --> 00:49:09.220 alright, great, 00:49:09.540 --> 00:49:10.680 Bo says I don't have to keep peace, 00:49:10.740 --> 00:49:11.640 I can just go out and 00:49:11.640 --> 00:49:12.740 make everybody mad. 00:49:12.840 --> 00:49:13.940 No, no, the Bible says 00:49:13.940 --> 00:49:16.720 that we are to live at peace 00:49:16.720 --> 00:49:17.520 with others 00:49:17.520 --> 00:49:19.320 in Romans and in Hebrews. 00:49:19.920 --> 00:49:20.020 Right? 00:49:20.560 --> 00:49:20.920 In fact, 00:49:21.300 --> 00:49:22.900 I believe it is in Romans, 00:49:23.000 --> 00:49:23.920 okay, this is off the top of my head, 00:49:23.960 --> 00:49:24.920 I believe it is in Romans, 00:49:24.960 --> 00:49:25.420 and it says 00:49:25.420 --> 00:49:29.800 as best as you can accomplish 00:49:29.800 --> 00:49:30.460 for yourself, right? 00:49:30.520 --> 00:49:31.600 Like, as best as you can do. 00:49:31.700 --> 00:49:33.380 Like, you can't force this on others, 00:49:33.500 --> 00:49:34.560 but this is the standard 00:49:34.560 --> 00:49:36.300 that you're to hold to yourself. 00:49:36.900 --> 00:49:37.880 But peacemaking 00:49:38.000 --> 00:49:39.680 is the ultimate peace 00:49:39.680 --> 00:49:40.460 that we're called to. 00:49:41.220 --> 00:49:42.360 And it's found 00:49:42.360 --> 00:49:43.980 only in the gospel of Jesus. 00:49:45.220 --> 00:49:46.360 I read a guy this week 00:49:46.360 --> 00:49:46.760 who said 00:49:46.760 --> 00:49:49.140 the number one 00:49:49.140 --> 00:49:50.960 first step 00:49:50.960 --> 00:49:52.500 in peacemaking 00:49:52.500 --> 00:49:53.620 is evangelism. 00:49:54.380 --> 00:49:55.420 Sharing the gospel. 00:49:56.260 --> 00:49:57.640 There will always be 00:49:57.640 --> 00:49:58.220 a conflict 00:49:58.220 --> 00:49:59.200 in the world. 00:50:00.200 --> 00:50:01.400 There will always be 00:50:01.400 --> 00:50:03.020 an internal conflict 00:50:03.020 --> 00:50:05.000 between man 00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:06.820 as long as he's separated 00:50:06.820 --> 00:50:07.340 from God. 00:50:08.740 --> 00:50:09.660 But through the gospel 00:50:09.660 --> 00:50:10.620 of Jesus Christ, 00:50:11.360 --> 00:50:12.340 there is hope 00:50:12.340 --> 00:50:13.020 that is found 00:50:13.020 --> 00:50:15.520 and an everlasting peace 00:50:15.520 --> 00:50:16.680 can be found 00:50:16.680 --> 00:50:18.100 for an everlasting 00:50:18.100 --> 00:50:19.800 people. 00:50:21.180 --> 00:50:22.100 For blessed 00:50:22.100 --> 00:50:23.020 are the peacemakers. 00:50:24.220 --> 00:50:25.340 For they 00:50:25.340 --> 00:50:26.900 shall be called 00:50:26.900 --> 00:50:28.380 sons of God. 00:50:29.680 --> 00:50:29.940 You see, 00:50:29.980 --> 00:50:30.320 it's not about 00:50:30.320 --> 00:50:31.040 keeping the peace 00:50:31.040 --> 00:50:32.900 because there is 00:50:32.900 --> 00:50:33.600 no peace to keep. 00:50:34.360 --> 00:50:35.080 It's about 00:50:35.080 --> 00:50:36.000 peace that comes 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:37.240 from Christ 00:50:37.240 --> 00:50:38.440 and Christ alone. 00:50:39.200 --> 00:50:39.440 Now, 00:50:39.760 --> 00:50:41.000 this one is the last. 00:50:41.080 --> 00:50:41.560 I apologize 00:50:41.560 --> 00:50:42.180 from earlier. 00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:43.820 This is the last 00:50:43.820 --> 00:50:44.920 verses 10 through 12. 00:50:46.200 --> 00:50:47.120 Blessed are those 00:50:47.120 --> 00:50:47.740 who are persecuted 00:50:47.740 --> 00:50:48.460 for righteousness 00:50:48.460 --> 00:50:48.940 sake, 00:50:49.360 --> 00:50:49.900 for theirs 00:50:49.900 --> 00:50:50.380 is the kingdom 00:50:50.380 --> 00:50:50.880 of heaven. 00:50:52.480 --> 00:50:53.100 Blessed are you 00:50:53.100 --> 00:50:53.840 when others 00:50:53.840 --> 00:50:54.540 revile you 00:50:54.540 --> 00:50:55.560 and persecute you 00:50:55.560 --> 00:50:56.900 and utter all kinds 00:50:56.900 --> 00:50:58.060 of evil against you 00:50:58.060 --> 00:50:59.280 falsely on my account. 00:51:00.440 --> 00:51:01.620 Rejoice and be glad 00:51:01.620 --> 00:51:02.420 for your reward 00:51:02.420 --> 00:51:03.300 is great in heaven 00:51:03.300 --> 00:51:04.720 for so they persecuted 00:51:04.720 --> 00:51:05.340 the prophets 00:51:05.340 --> 00:51:07.220 who were before you. 00:51:07.760 --> 00:51:07.900 All right, 00:51:07.920 --> 00:51:08.240 lastly, 00:51:09.180 --> 00:51:09.420 all right, 00:51:09.960 --> 00:51:10.800 blessed are the persecuted. 00:51:12.040 --> 00:51:12.520 I want to share 00:51:12.520 --> 00:51:13.000 with you guys 00:51:13.000 --> 00:51:14.220 right now 00:51:14.220 --> 00:51:15.260 with what is happening 00:51:15.260 --> 00:51:16.180 all over the world 00:51:16.180 --> 00:51:17.220 is persecution 00:51:17.220 --> 00:51:18.500 is just rampant. 00:51:20.340 --> 00:51:21.320 Physical persecution 00:51:21.320 --> 00:51:22.120 against the church. 00:51:23.120 --> 00:51:23.600 There are Christians 00:51:23.600 --> 00:51:24.720 who are losing 00:51:24.720 --> 00:51:25.380 their lives. 00:51:25.920 --> 00:51:26.100 In fact, 00:51:26.160 --> 00:51:26.880 going on in India 00:51:26.880 --> 00:51:27.460 right now, 00:51:27.820 --> 00:51:28.180 you guys know 00:51:28.180 --> 00:51:29.100 we partner with a church 00:51:29.100 --> 00:51:29.900 and a Bible college 00:51:29.900 --> 00:51:30.320 and a lot of things 00:51:30.320 --> 00:51:30.700 over there. 00:51:31.900 --> 00:51:32.620 In the city 00:51:32.620 --> 00:51:33.560 where we go the most 00:51:33.560 --> 00:51:34.340 to do our ministry, 00:51:35.620 --> 00:51:36.400 almost every Sunday 00:51:36.400 --> 00:51:37.000 there are pastors 00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:37.780 who are drug out 00:51:37.780 --> 00:51:38.380 of their churches, 00:51:39.540 --> 00:51:40.980 women who are assaulted, 00:51:41.500 --> 00:51:42.780 men who are beaten, 00:51:43.620 --> 00:51:44.300 pastors who are thrown 00:51:44.300 --> 00:51:44.720 in prison, 00:51:45.240 --> 00:51:46.580 for doing nothing illegal, 00:51:47.700 --> 00:51:49.620 but simply gathering 00:51:49.620 --> 00:51:50.480 and meeting together 00:51:50.480 --> 00:51:52.480 as the church. 00:51:54.400 --> 00:51:56.060 I want to encourage you 00:51:56.060 --> 00:51:56.600 to be praying 00:51:56.600 --> 00:51:57.480 for that situation, 00:51:57.980 --> 00:51:59.360 that our brothers 00:51:59.360 --> 00:52:00.560 and sisters in India 00:52:00.560 --> 00:52:02.120 would be strengthened 00:52:02.120 --> 00:52:02.940 by God 00:52:02.940 --> 00:52:04.060 and would remain 00:52:04.060 --> 00:52:05.300 faithful in this. 00:52:06.300 --> 00:52:07.100 But we see 00:52:07.100 --> 00:52:07.760 that persecution 00:52:07.760 --> 00:52:09.360 is a continual thing 00:52:09.360 --> 00:52:10.620 that Jesus 00:52:10.620 --> 00:52:12.320 doesn't say might happen, 00:52:12.380 --> 00:52:13.320 but he actually promises. 00:52:15.220 --> 00:52:16.080 You see, 00:52:16.140 --> 00:52:16.680 living a life 00:52:16.680 --> 00:52:17.260 that reflects 00:52:17.260 --> 00:52:18.200 these beatitudes 00:52:18.200 --> 00:52:19.700 and the righteousness 00:52:19.700 --> 00:52:20.380 of God 00:52:20.380 --> 00:52:22.340 is an invitation 00:52:22.340 --> 00:52:23.420 to persecution. 00:52:26.900 --> 00:52:30.520 John 15, 18, 00:52:31.180 --> 00:52:32.100 Jesus says, 00:52:32.100 --> 00:52:33.740 if the world 00:52:33.740 --> 00:52:34.500 hates you, 00:52:35.560 --> 00:52:35.960 understand 00:52:35.960 --> 00:52:37.960 that it hated, 00:52:38.960 --> 00:52:39.800 understand 00:52:39.800 --> 00:52:40.920 that it hated me 00:52:40.920 --> 00:52:41.940 before 00:52:41.940 --> 00:52:43.680 it hated you. 00:52:44.520 --> 00:52:45.220 This is what we see, 00:52:45.640 --> 00:52:47.260 that the world 00:52:47.260 --> 00:52:48.360 in its depravity 00:52:48.360 --> 00:52:49.800 hates Jesus 00:52:49.800 --> 00:52:51.800 and that the more 00:52:51.800 --> 00:52:52.840 we become like Jesus, 00:52:53.180 --> 00:52:54.480 the more we stand 00:52:54.480 --> 00:52:55.020 for Christ, 00:52:55.800 --> 00:52:56.740 the more 00:52:56.740 --> 00:52:57.640 that we will 00:52:57.640 --> 00:52:58.420 experience these. 00:52:59.960 --> 00:53:00.500 But Jesus 00:53:00.500 --> 00:53:01.280 gives us 00:53:01.280 --> 00:53:02.820 three things 00:53:02.820 --> 00:53:03.500 of comfort here. 00:53:04.540 --> 00:53:05.660 We close on this. 00:53:06.860 --> 00:53:07.440 Number one, 00:53:08.680 --> 00:53:09.540 when you face 00:53:09.540 --> 00:53:10.140 persecution, 00:53:11.140 --> 00:53:12.700 it is evidence 00:53:12.700 --> 00:53:13.820 that you're 00:53:13.820 --> 00:53:14.160 a citizen 00:53:14.160 --> 00:53:14.660 of the kingdom. 00:53:15.940 --> 00:53:17.080 when you stand 00:53:17.080 --> 00:53:17.680 for the Lord, 00:53:18.340 --> 00:53:20.000 when you love 00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:20.580 others, 00:53:21.080 --> 00:53:22.320 when you seek 00:53:22.320 --> 00:53:23.320 to glorify God, 00:53:23.760 --> 00:53:24.700 when you share 00:53:24.700 --> 00:53:25.260 the gospel 00:53:25.260 --> 00:53:26.700 and you face 00:53:26.700 --> 00:53:27.300 persecution, 00:53:27.900 --> 00:53:29.300 it is a 00:53:29.300 --> 00:53:30.480 reminder, 00:53:31.100 --> 00:53:32.220 it is evidence 00:53:32.220 --> 00:53:33.060 that you're 00:53:33.060 --> 00:53:33.780 a child of God. 00:53:34.780 --> 00:53:35.280 Or else, 00:53:35.320 --> 00:53:35.820 why would you go 00:53:35.820 --> 00:53:36.140 through that? 00:53:36.980 --> 00:53:37.860 It's the evidence 00:53:37.860 --> 00:53:38.480 of who you are. 00:53:39.120 --> 00:53:39.540 Number two, 00:53:41.220 --> 00:53:41.960 a reward 00:53:41.960 --> 00:53:42.660 awaits you. 00:53:44.020 --> 00:53:44.460 I know it's 00:53:44.460 --> 00:53:44.820 hard in the 00:53:44.820 --> 00:53:45.100 moment, 00:53:46.380 --> 00:53:46.680 I know it's 00:53:46.680 --> 00:53:47.100 hard in the 00:53:47.100 --> 00:53:47.320 moment, 00:53:48.680 --> 00:53:49.480 but a reward 00:53:49.480 --> 00:53:50.000 awaits you. 00:53:53.160 --> 00:53:53.620 It's a 00:53:53.620 --> 00:53:54.000 reminder that 00:53:54.000 --> 00:53:55.540 Paul gives 00:53:55.540 --> 00:53:56.040 to Timothy 00:53:56.040 --> 00:53:58.040 as Paul is 00:53:58.040 --> 00:53:58.500 imprisoned 00:53:58.500 --> 00:54:00.080 and awaiting 00:54:00.080 --> 00:54:01.320 certain execution. 00:54:02.840 --> 00:54:03.340 There's a 00:54:03.340 --> 00:54:03.820 reward 00:54:03.820 --> 00:54:05.180 that's there. 00:54:06.460 --> 00:54:07.140 And I love 00:54:07.140 --> 00:54:07.260 this. 00:54:07.320 --> 00:54:07.480 I'm going to 00:54:07.480 --> 00:54:07.800 read to you 00:54:07.800 --> 00:54:08.180 verse 12 00:54:08.180 --> 00:54:08.500 again. 00:54:12.000 --> 00:54:12.360 Rejoice 00:54:12.360 --> 00:54:13.020 and be glad 00:54:13.020 --> 00:54:13.440 for your 00:54:13.440 --> 00:54:13.900 reward is 00:54:13.900 --> 00:54:14.220 great in 00:54:14.220 --> 00:54:14.440 heaven. 00:54:14.580 --> 00:54:15.060 So that's 00:54:15.060 --> 00:54:15.500 the reward 00:54:15.500 --> 00:54:15.940 that awaits 00:54:15.940 --> 00:54:16.140 you. 00:54:16.280 --> 00:54:16.540 But then 00:54:16.540 --> 00:54:17.700 verse 12, 00:54:17.900 --> 00:54:18.160 at the end 00:54:18.160 --> 00:54:18.620 of verse 12, 00:54:20.320 --> 00:54:20.960 for so they 00:54:20.960 --> 00:54:21.980 persecuted the 00:54:21.980 --> 00:54:22.660 prophets who 00:54:22.660 --> 00:54:23.120 were before 00:54:23.120 --> 00:54:23.480 you. 00:54:24.560 --> 00:54:25.060 Number three, 00:54:25.820 --> 00:54:26.420 when you're 00:54:26.420 --> 00:54:26.840 persecuted, 00:54:27.360 --> 00:54:28.380 you find 00:54:28.380 --> 00:54:29.000 yourself in 00:54:29.000 --> 00:54:29.500 excellent 00:54:29.500 --> 00:54:30.020 company. 00:54:32.040 --> 00:54:32.200 Right? 00:54:33.020 --> 00:54:33.800 The men 00:54:33.800 --> 00:54:34.420 and women 00:54:34.420 --> 00:54:35.240 of faith 00:54:35.240 --> 00:54:35.920 who have 00:54:35.920 --> 00:54:36.480 experienced 00:54:36.480 --> 00:54:36.900 this. 00:54:37.840 --> 00:54:38.420 And when 00:54:38.420 --> 00:54:39.120 we experience 00:54:39.120 --> 00:54:39.500 it, 00:54:40.080 --> 00:54:41.640 it's hard, 00:54:42.440 --> 00:54:42.980 it's 00:54:42.980 --> 00:54:43.440 difficult, 00:54:43.780 --> 00:54:47.240 but we 00:54:47.240 --> 00:54:47.720 stand 00:54:47.720 --> 00:54:48.800 in 00:54:48.800 --> 00:54:49.420 excellent, 00:54:49.880 --> 00:54:50.320 excellent 00:54:50.320 --> 00:54:50.780 company. 00:54:51.580 --> 00:54:52.280 So go 00:54:52.280 --> 00:54:53.480 and be 00:54:53.480 --> 00:54:53.860 blessed 00:54:53.860 --> 00:54:55.360 and be 00:54:55.360 --> 00:54:55.720 the kingdom 00:54:55.720 --> 00:54:56.420 people in 00:54:56.420 --> 00:54:56.740 Christ 00:54:56.740 --> 00:54:57.860 that God's 00:54:57.860 --> 00:54:58.140 called us 00:54:58.140 --> 00:54:58.400 to be. 00:54:59.000 --> 00:54:59.280 Would you 00:54:59.280 --> 00:54:59.520 pray with 00:54:59.520 --> 00:54:59.700 me? 00:55:00.940 --> 00:55:01.360 God, 00:55:01.380 --> 00:55:01.700 we thank you 00:55:01.700 --> 00:55:02.180 so much for 00:55:02.180 --> 00:55:02.800 today and 00:55:02.800 --> 00:55:03.460 this opportunity 00:55:03.460 --> 00:55:04.080 to gather. 00:55:04.940 --> 00:55:05.300 God, 00:55:05.360 --> 00:55:05.800 I pray that 00:55:05.800 --> 00:55:06.100 we would 00:55:06.100 --> 00:55:07.940 be who 00:55:07.940 --> 00:55:08.220 you've 00:55:08.220 --> 00:55:08.900 called us 00:55:08.900 --> 00:55:09.380 to be 00:55:09.380 --> 00:55:10.560 from who 00:55:10.560 --> 00:55:11.180 we are 00:55:11.180 --> 00:55:12.720 from the 00:55:12.720 --> 00:55:13.720 inside out 00:55:13.720 --> 00:55:15.160 and that 00:55:15.160 --> 00:55:15.500 we would 00:55:15.500 --> 00:55:16.040 go and 00:55:16.040 --> 00:55:16.420 live in 00:55:16.420 --> 00:55:17.100 the reality 00:55:17.100 --> 00:55:18.140 that in 00:55:18.140 --> 00:55:19.140 Christ we 00:55:19.140 --> 00:55:20.740 are blessed. 00:55:21.600 --> 00:55:22.040 God, 00:55:22.040 --> 00:55:22.380 thank you for 00:55:22.380 --> 00:55:22.760 keeping us 00:55:22.760 --> 00:55:23.140 safe. 00:55:23.840 --> 00:55:24.220 God, 00:55:24.280 --> 00:55:24.560 be with the 00:55:24.560 --> 00:55:24.900 workers, 00:55:25.240 --> 00:55:26.480 the police 00:55:26.480 --> 00:55:27.200 officers, 00:55:27.560 --> 00:55:28.220 the linemen, 00:55:28.420 --> 00:55:29.060 or all of 00:55:29.060 --> 00:55:29.440 those who 00:55:29.440 --> 00:55:29.820 are out 00:55:29.820 --> 00:55:30.340 taking care 00:55:30.340 --> 00:55:30.620 of whatever 00:55:30.620 --> 00:55:31.060 needs to be 00:55:31.060 --> 00:55:31.520 taken care 00:55:31.520 --> 00:55:31.680 of. 00:55:31.800 --> 00:55:32.060 We're not 00:55:32.060 --> 00:55:32.800 just in 00:55:32.800 --> 00:55:33.440 our community, 00:55:33.440 --> 00:55:33.900 but all 00:55:33.900 --> 00:55:34.920 over this 00:55:34.920 --> 00:55:35.520 region that 00:55:35.520 --> 00:55:36.280 is experiencing 00:55:36.280 --> 00:55:36.920 this from 00:55:36.920 --> 00:55:37.700 Texas to 00:55:37.700 --> 00:55:38.180 New York. 00:55:39.860 --> 00:55:40.320 Lord, 00:55:40.380 --> 00:55:40.740 keep them 00:55:40.740 --> 00:55:41.160 safe. 00:55:42.360 --> 00:55:42.480 Lord, 00:55:42.640 --> 00:55:43.940 may we 00:55:43.940 --> 00:55:44.320 live for 00:55:44.320 --> 00:55:44.720 the glory 00:55:44.720 --> 00:55:45.020 of your 00:55:45.020 --> 00:55:45.300 name. 00:55:46.080 --> 00:55:46.300 And it's 00:55:46.300 --> 00:55:46.620 in Jesus 00:55:46.620 --> 00:55:46.880 that we 00:55:46.880 --> 00:55:47.080 pray. 00:55:48.720 --> 00:55:49.320 That's it 00:55:49.320 --> 00:55:49.700 for this 00:55:49.700 --> 00:55:50.040 week's 00:55:50.040 --> 00:55:50.440 message. 00:55:50.960 --> 00:55:51.240 Be sure 00:55:51.240 --> 00:55:51.560 to check 00:55:51.560 --> 00:55:52.160 back next 00:55:52.160 --> 00:55:52.560 week for 00:55:52.560 --> 00:55:52.820 a new 00:55:52.820 --> 00:55:53.240 episode. 00:55:53.840 --> 00:55:54.020 And in 00:55:54.020 --> 00:55:54.580 the meantime, 00:55:54.820 --> 00:55:55.080 you can 00:55:55.080 --> 00:55:55.520 visit us 00:55:55.520 --> 00:55:56.380 online at 00:55:56.380 --> 00:55:58.020 willowridgechurch.org 00:55:58.020 --> 00:55:58.780 or by 00:55:58.780 --> 00:55:59.300 searching for 00:55:59.300 --> 00:55:59.740 Willow Ridge 00:55:59.740 --> 00:56:00.420 Church on 00:56:00.420 --> 00:56:00.880 Facebook, 00:56:01.220 --> 00:56:01.660 Instagram, 00:56:01.960 --> 00:56:02.440 and YouTube. 00:56:02.900 --> 00:56:03.380 Thanks again 00:56:03.380 --> 00:56:03.840 for listening. 00:56:06.280 --> 00:56:07.280 Bye.