| Heaven
Ministries
June/July 2005 |
Heaven Ministries Newsletter Kingdom of Heaven Is Here!! |
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Bible Study Christ's
Righteousness Peacemakers Marriage Articles Don't
Do It
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Bible study section.
Marriage
section.
------------------ SERMON ON THE MOUNT I Believe the "Sermon On The Mount" is the "social contract" of the believer. A constitution of laws to be set in our heart and mind and as such is a very important part of being a Christian. It is not only a code of conduct, but Jesus also explains to us the individual traits and characteristics that believers are to live by. Have you ever REALLY studied and understood what the "Sermon on The Mount" is all about? What are we waiting for? Let's start with how we are to live in God's Kingdom here on earth. Matthew 5:3 says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Here we see Jesus is comforting to the poor. Unfair religious and civil laws of the time were the cause of much persecution of these people. In the next verse he is asking us all to be meek toward all but perhaps even more so to the poor he was comforting. When we act proud, or behave smug and arrogant with others, we are not doing the will of God, but behaving selfishly. We don't want to be selfish, do we? If we are to be true believer's we need to be willing to humble ourselves to God and therefore also be humble toward our neighbor, meaning, we should not think we are a cut above because we live in a bigger house, or think we are smarter and wiser, or think we know more about religious matters, or because... When we act with genuine humbleness, not only are we pleasing our neighbor, but doing the will of God, which is showing evidence of a "poor spirit" rather than a haughty or mean spirit. You don't know how many times a day that I must give up my swollen pride and submit to God, my husband, friends, or relatives. About 3 or 4 times a day!! Most of the time, I don't want to do it, but I know that it is the right thing to do. This is a trait that Jesus would like all believers to instill into their heart. It is a " way of living" in the kingdom of heaven. We're not perfect, but if we don't try, we'll never be better either. The Kingdom of God is already here! Jesus preached in Matthew 5:5, Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. "Meek" in this verse means humility. God surely doesn't want us to be proud and arrogant. Pride closes us off from God. Pride makes us blind to the truth. Again, those who humble themselves before God are the true believers who do in fact inherit the earth. It is when we let go of haughtiness that our path in life becomes so much clearer and we can begin to understand and submit to Jesus' love for us. As Christians we should let down our defenses, give up whatever we feel is holding us in devils bondage and meekly follow God. Again, that would be submitting our will for God's will. Can you trust God with your life? Do you want to live in the Kingdom of Heaven now? Humble yourself and submit to God with all your heart. Let go of those things that are making you proud in spirit. The kingdom of heaven is yours now -- if you want it! God's kingdom is spiritual for all believers in Jesus Christ now. God's kingdom is in our heart and mind. We live for God's kingdom by being "poor in spirit" and showing God that we need him, and allowing our self to be needed. God doesn't want anyone to be too proud to feel they don't need him. The Kingdom of Heaven is already here!! Matthew 5:6 declares to us, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. No amount of law abiding, self perfection, doing good works, self-correction, or religious effort can make us right with God. What will make us right with God is giving up "our way" for "His way". Learning to be meek and poor in spirit is a good start on the road to setting us right with God. Righteousness only comes from God, it is a gift. We are, in fact MADE RIGHTEOUS BY TRUSTING IN JESUS CHRIST. Jesus exchanges our sins and shortcomings for his complete and absolute righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Sin was given to Jesus Christ at the crucifixion and Jesus Christ's righteousness is given to believers. If we hunger for Christ's righteousness, it will be given to us and our hunger will be satisfied through Christ's love for us. The Kingdom of God is here now! Let's go for it! So far we have learned that to live in the kingdom of heaven now, we must be meek and humble -- Believe and Trust in Jesus. Matthew 5:7 says, Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Just as your children obey what you do, we should obey the precepts of God. God loves us so much that he sacrificed himself so we could live forever. He also has forgiven us a multitude of sins because of his great mercy for us. Having received this great forgiveness from God, believers shall want to pass it onto others. Any person who is unwilling to forgive is not one with Jesus Christ. All who want to live in the kingdom of heaven should be willing to forgive trespasses against them by forgiving. It takes effort to forgive someone, but once you do, you will see what a lighter load you are carrying. Being merciful is behaving with compassion and kindness towards others. Is there someone that you need to forgive? Maybe you need to forgive yourself too? God's kingdom is waiting for you. Come and enter in. Jesus is calling you! Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Pure in heart? No one is completely pure in heart. How can this be? "Pure in heart" means to be morally straight, free from the corruption of sin. Sin eventually corrupts the heart by making it bitter and rebellious to anything that has to do with God. This allows satan into the heart and mind. Often satan is so sly that he bribes us into sinning when we don't even know that we are sinning. He bribes us with riches and lustfulness. Pretty soon sin has corrupted our whole outlook and attitude on life and we become blind to God's words. A corrupt heart will never see God. The only way to get rid of sin is by truly humbling our self and submitting to God. It is then that we acknowledge that we have sin in our life. This takes effort on our part. We won't be able to acknowledge that we have a weakness if we keep looking to the world for the answers. The world endorses sin. The next step is to trust and believe in Jesus with all our heart and mind, which will give us the power through the Holy Spirit to stop the sin. And finally Jesus Christ will make temptations of the world less tempting to us after we have trusted and believed in him. And by forgiving others we will learn to love like Jesus Christ loves us. And we will be living in the Kingdom of heaven! Notice how Jesus always says we have to "be" before we can "have". Meaning, first we are to practice being meek, humble, righteous, and forgiving before any of those things become a part of our life. In other words our walk with Jesus is living these things first, and the reward is the Kingdom of heaven. Only the forgiver will receive forgiveness. Only the merciful will receive mercy, etc. This is what the kingdom of heaven is all about. Living righteously, meekly, and forgivingly. Always with love as the foundation. Those who do these things are living the Sermon On The Mount ministry and will receive a taste of heaven NOW! What are we waiting for? Don't think that the Kingdom of Heaven is only for later, it is here now for all believers. Matthew 5:9 says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. The peacemakers are those who can forgive, be meek and humble, kind and compassionate and love their enemies. Everything we have been talking about thus far. The Christian with the Christ spirit attains these traits and uses them sincerely with others only through the righteousness of God. Remember, to receive the righteousness that comes from God, we first must give up our weaknesses to the Lord Jesus by believing and trusting in him. The next verse sums up who the peacemakers are. Romans 12:9-21 Wow! The above scripture is a lot of traits believers should have in them to be peacemakers. Actually these traits are fruits given to the Christian for his labor in Jesus Christ. You see, nothing comes without effort. We need to put forth effort to receive the fruits of our labor. God gives great abundance and wealth to those who follow Him. The first sentence really says it all. "Love must be sincere." Genuine love comes after God has given us the gift of righteousness though our acceptance of the holy spirit of Christ as our guiding light, and only after our repentance. God's gift will be given to those who TRUST and BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST. If love is not sincere, then all the other traits will be pretend too. The kingdom of God is here! Matthew 5:10 states, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. In what ways might a Christian be persecuted for righteousness? Let's look again at what righteousness is. Righteousness is the Christ morality, decency, and uprightness in the eyes of our Lord and it comes from God. That means it is in contradiction to the world. When you go out into the world do you see meekness, humbleness, compassion, purity, morality and peace? Individuals in the world carry those traits, but the world as a whole is the opposite of God's world. The world is in contradiction of the things Jesus preached about on the Sermon On The Mount. So, then knowing this a believer may at anytime exhibit outward signs of rebellion to the world and it's ways, while actually walking in the righteousness of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, they may be subject, in some manner to persecution, scorn and, or hate. This is what Jesus was talking about when he meant being persecuted for righteousness; persecuted for using "His name" in daily affairs. Righteousness is a gift from God given to those who trust and believe in Jesus Christ. It's that simple! Righteousness is then doing what Jesus Christ has done for us out of his unconditional love, which would be once again would be exchanging our sins and weaknesses for his complete and absolute righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Think of your own life in the above scripture. If you have not been persecuted, scorned, or hated because of the Kingdom of God, then what are you NOT doing that maybe you should be? ------------------ Following The Sermon on The Mount For Marriage What do you think would happen to your marriage if one spouse dutifully follows the teachings of the Sermon On The Mount? What kind of a marriage would people have if both husband and wife followed the characteristics of the Sermon on the Mount for their marriage? There would be way less divorce, wouldn't there? Also there would definitely be happier spouses/children in the household, wouldn't there? Below I have made a one week affirmation guide for marriage using the "Sermon on the Mount. Copy/paste/print this weekly marriage guide out -- follow it for three weeks and see how you feel about yourself/spouse. --------------------------------- 1.) Today on Monday, I will not act proud with my spouse. I will humble myself, even if I think I'm right. Blessed are the poor in spirit for their is
the kingdom of heaven 2.) Today on Tuesday, I will only please my spouse, not myself. The whole day I will be sincerely gentle and kind to my spouse. I will do only those things that would be giving and thoughtful to my wife/husband. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 3.) Today on Wednesday, I will give in to my husband/wife wishes. Whatever they ask, within reason will not be denied. I will not be self-seeking. 4.) Today on Thursday, I will find one or more biblical ways to enhance my marriage. What would God want me to do for my marriage today? How can I make my wife/husband feel good about themselves? How can I make them happy? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6 5.) Today on Friday, I will forgive my wife/husband for wounding my heart. I will ask God to rid my heart and mind of negative feelings and resentment towards my spouse. I will truly forgive. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7 6.) Today on Saturday, I will admit my weakness to my spouse and most importantly to God. today I will ask God to grant me forgiveness and free me from the temptation to sin. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God Matthew 5:8 7.) Today on Sunday, I will be a peacemaker. I will not quarrel or fight with my wife/husband. Today I will find one or more ways in which I can bring contentment and peace into my marriage. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 ---------------- One day, God is going
to have the biggest party the world has ever known. One day,
Jesus is going to be rewarded for all He suffered for us. The
world could care less about Jesus, much less make time for Him.
The world is so busy with schedules, television, and sports that they
push Jesus into a corner if they think about Him at all. There
is nothing wrong with watching television provided you would watch the
same programs if Jesus was sitting next to you. There is nothing wrong
with going to basketball, football, baseball games and other
activities if you include Jesus. I
used to be just as guilty. I would sit by the hour and watch
basketball games on television without once opening my Bible or
praying. Prayer is just talking to God about our lives. I
used to think I had to pray at least an hour a day until I heard a
Pastor friend of mine say in a sermon, “God is not impressed with a
long, eloquent prayer. He is touched by the condition of our
hearts.” Are
you telling the world that Jesus Loves them? Are you telling the
world that you love Jesus? Are you kneeling in prayer? If so,
are you kneeling in your heart? If you are only kneeling
physically and not in your heart, then it is in vain. Are
you bragging on Jesus? If not, you are missing out on a lot of
fun and excitement. There is Joy in serving Jesus. Start
telling others of the Love of Jesus and then prove Jesus Loves them by
your actions. It will make the Heart of Jesus happy. Joanne Lowe
Romans 14:11
“For
it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue confess to God.” King
James Version ---------------- |