Written in Red: Beatitudes

The Bible is the Word of God. Every word of the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic were inspired by the Holy Spirit as he carried along the men who wrote recorded the words.

I believe in the Word of God! 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New, spread through 1189 chapters and 31,164 verses. Over 40 authors who were shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings. Despite these differences in occupation and the more than 1500 years it took to write it, the Bible is an extremely cohesive and unified book.

Today the Bible has been translated into over 2000 written languages, only Shakespeare comes in 2nd with approximately 50 languages!

The Bible is still the best selling “book” in the world today!

I believe in the Word of God!

THIS IS MY BIBLE

This is my Bible.

I am what it says I am.

I can do what it says I can do.

Today, I will be taught the Word of God.

So I boldly confess:

My mind is alert, My heart is receptive.

I will never be the same.

This is my Bible, my very own Bible. I am who it says I am, I have what it says I have, I can do what it says I can do. I am going, where it says I am going. Today, I will be taught the Word of God

I am about to receive

The incorruptible, indestructible, Ever-living seed of the Word of God.

I will never be the same .

Never, never, never.

I will never be the same.

In Jesus name. Amen.

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“My Bible is my all sufficient guide to faith and conduct.”

Written in Red

In years past, there were versions of the Bible that were called “Red Letter Editions”. These versions highlighted the words of Jesus in RED LETTERS.

Becuase of electronic editions and cheaper paper Bibles, those red letters are disappearing.

I heard early on in ministry that if I ever lacked sermon material, then I should open my Bible, “read the red, and pray for the power.”

Jesus’ words transformed every person who’s ears were blessed to hear them.

In Jesus says, “the Words I have spoken to you, they are SPIRIT and they are LIFE.”

:12 says that the Word of God is LIVING and ACTIVE.

says that the Word is the SWORD of the SPIRIT.

When we read and absorb the words of Jesus, we are encountering the Spirit of the Living God.

Today, we will begin to delve into these Words of LIFE and Words of SPIRIT.

The Beatitudes

There are two versions of The Beatitudes in Luke and Matthew.

Luke places Jesus in the Sermon on the Plain while Matthew places Jesus in the Sermon on the Mountainside.

We are going to dive into the Plain from Luke’s perspective.

Luke 6:17–19 TPT

Jesus and his apostles came down from the hillside to a level field, where a large number of his disciples waited, along with a massive crowd of people who had gathered from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal district of Tyre and Sidon. They had all come to listen to the Manifestation so that they could be healed of their diseases and be set free from the demonic powers that tormented them. The entire crowd eagerly tried to come near Jesus so they could touch him and be healed, because a tangible supernatural power emanated from him, healing all who came close to him.

3 Groups of People

1. Apostles (whom Jesus had just chosen out of the large group of followers).

2. Disciples (followers of Jesus- up to 72 or more at any time)

3. Crowd (those who were looking for healing and deliverance)

We talked about moving from being a believer (a crowd mentality) to a disciple. Sometime soon, let’s talk about moving from a disciple to an Apostle!

Blessings and Warnings

Beatitudes are found throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Take for example the beatitude of Elizabeth to Mary through the Holy Spirit in:

Luke 1:45 TPT

Great favor is upon you, for you have believed every word spoken to you from the Lord.”

Beatitudes are more than mere blessings as if someone sneezes and we rattle off “God bless you”.

Beatitudes are more than mere blessings. They are the actual declaration

Beatitudes are the actual declaration of a thing. When Jesus was pronouncing these blessings, He was declaring them over those who would receive them.

Luke 7:20–22 TPT

When they came before the Master, they asked him, “Are you the coming Messiah we’ve been expecting, or are we to continue to look for someone else? John the prophet has sent us to you to seek your answer.” Without answering, Jesus turned to the crowd and healed many of their incurable diseases. His miracle power freed many from their suffering. He restored the gift of sight to the blind, and he drove out demonic spirits from those who were tormented. Only then did Jesus answer the question posed by John’s disciples. “Now go back and tell John what you have just seen and heard here today. The blind are now seeing. The crippled are now walking. Those who were lepers are now cured. Those who were deaf are now hearing. Those who were dead are now raised back to life. The poor and broken are given the hope of salvation.

Luke 6:20–22 TPT

Luke 6:20–23 TPT

Looking intently at his followers, Jesus began his sermon. “How enriched you become when you are poor, for you will experience the reality of God’s kingdom realm. “How filled you become when you are consumed with hunger and desire, for you will be completely satisfied. “How content you become when you weep with complete brokenness, for you will laugh with unrestrained joy. “How favored you become when you are hated, excommunicated, or slandered, or when your name is spoken of as evil because of your love for me, the Son of Man. “I promise you that as you experience these things, you will celebrate and dance with overflowing joy. And the heavenly reward of your faith will be abundant, because you are being treated the same way as your forefathers the prophets.

Beatitudes

This form of beatitude is eschatological; it evaluates present circumstances in light of the → future and promises end-time salvation. In substance, it envisages history as nearing its end and announces the reversal of conditions (e.g., the poor will inherit the kingdom). From: The Encyclopedia of Christianity

The Blessings and the Warnings.

Jesus is talking to his Disciples and Apostles at this point. He addresses the crowd later.

His focus is to encourage those who are about to go through some things for the sake of following Him.

Let’s examine what else Jesus said, then we will break them down.

Luke 6:23-24

Luke 6:24–26 TPT

“But what sorrows await those of you who are rich in this life only. For you have already received all the comfort you’ll ever get. “What sorrows await those of you who are complete and content with yourselves. For hunger and emptiness will come to you. “What sorrows await those of you who laugh now, having received all your joy in this life only. For grief and wailing will come to you. “What sorrows await those of you who are always honored and lauded by others. For that’s how your forefathers treated every other false prophet.”

Poor vs. Rich.

Looking through a Kingdom view vs. a Capitalist view helps here.

The poor in a kingdom are looked after by that King and his kingdom.

When we are poor in spirit, we recognize that all we have, all our supply, all our resource comes from the King and His Kingdom. I have nothing with out Him.

Jesus said it would be hard for the rich to enter into the Kingdom of God. The clue is in verse 24. “Sorrows await for those who are rich IN THIS LIFE ONLY.

It’s fine to be rich in this life, just be rich in the KINGDOM as WELL!

I want to experience the reality of God’s Kingdom realm now and for eternity!

Hungry vs. Filled.

Jesus is the BREAD of LIFE!

We need to come to Him, hungry and ready to eat.

Can you imagine being called to come to a banquet at the White House?

Now can you imagine pigging out at an all you can eat buffet an hour before sitting at the table of President Trump?

You don’t come to the King’s table full of junk food and expect to be satisfied!

Otherwise, You will leave empty and unsatisfied!

Jesus calls us to feast at His table! All the things of this world can’t satisfy like Jesus’ table!

Weeping vs. Joy

Weeping may endure for a night, BUT JOY comes in the morning!

Jesus wept.

Not just at Lazarus’ funeral in the shortest verse in the Bible. He wept over the city of Jerusalem, He was a “man acquainted with sorrow.”

Someone once said, “You may soon forget those with whom you have laughed, but you will never forget those with whom you have wept.”

Have you noticed how much the world laughs? Yet, what happens when the lights go out and they hit their head on the pillow?

True joy endures beyond the moment of laughter.

Disciples of Jesus should be the most joyful people on the planet!

Hated vs. Honored

When we are hated, slandered, and thrown out because of our love for Jesus, HE WILL FAVOR US.

Be careful when people are constantly singing your praises, they are many times the ones who will abandon you at a moment’s notice!

Pastoral Confession: When someone comes to church once and then starts telling me how this is the best church on the planet and their last church was the worst church, worst people, and worst pastor they've had in the last 14 churches they’ve been a part of…i step back.

Do we seek the approval of men or the approval of God?

When this whole thing is all wrapped up, I want to be honored by God at the Bema Seat!

Luke 6:23 TPT

“I promise you that as you experience these things, you will celebrate and dance with overflowing joy. And the heavenly reward of your faith will be abundant, because you are being treated the same way as your forefathers the prophets.

Jesus said that to be counted with the Prophets of Old is to be honored by God.

They made fun of Elisha’s baldness, rejected Moses leadership, replaced Samuel with a new model, made Jeremiah the weeping prophet, Zacharias was murdered between the porch and the altar of the Temple.

The apostles didn’t know it at the time, but they would follow the same path of martyrdom as these saints of old.

But the promise is “overflowing joy”!

It’s in these instructions to the disciples and apostles gathered on the plain that Jesus, it’s in this very context that we get:

Luke 6:27–31 TPT

“But if you will listen, I say to you, love your enemies and do something wonderful for them in return for their hatred. When someone curses you, bless that person in return. When you are mistreated and harassed by others, accept it as your mission to pray for them. To those who despise you, continue to serve them and minister to them. If someone takes away your coat, give him as a gift your shirt as well. When someone comes to beg from you, give to that person what you have. When things are wrongly taken from you, do not demand they be given back. However you wish to be treated by others is how you should treat everyone else.

Luke 6:27–33 TPT

Luke 6:27-33

Let’s declare these things:

We declare that we are RICH in the KINGDOM of GOD. All our needs are met as we look to our PROVIDER, JESUS.

We declare that we are FILLED at the BANQUET Table of the LORD. We are content only in Him as we feast in His Presence.

We declare that we are FULL of JOY as we find pleasures forevermore at the Father’s RIGHT HAND where we are seated in HEAVENLY PLACES.

We declare that we are HIGHLY FAVORED by JESUS. We look to Him for our approval and our worth.

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